THE SO-CALLED CALIFORNIA ^'DIGGERSr 213 



would go back to their homes, calmed and comforted why, they 

 alone know, but can not or will not tell. A half hour before sun- 

 set they repeated the visit, remaining until the sun dropped from 

 sight, when the expression of their sorrow often rose to wild 

 screams and shrieks which only exhaustion could calm, for they 

 found no comfort until the sun rose again. 



It is difficult to obtain information on what they believe to 

 have been their origin. It is the one thing which they seem to 

 hold sacred and do not care to talk about. One Indian smiled as 

 he said : " Oh, all same as white man ; Indians think lots of things 

 'bout that." However, the following traditions were told to me 

 by one old Indian, and I afterward learned from a civilized In- 

 dian woman that they were what the majority of these Indians 

 believe. 



The first was that two big mountains, probably Mounts Shasta 

 and Lassen, got mad one day a long time ago and threw up lots 

 of dirt, all kinds of wild animals, one big chief, and two mahalas. 



The second is best told in the Indian's own language : 



"Long time ago, no Indians, no white man, no nothing; all 

 water, one big lake. Sometimes little mountains, little trees, lit- 

 tle grass, but no Indians. Lots of deer, lion, bear, wild cat, ebry- 

 thing like that. Great Spirit come in big canoe, take good deer, 

 good lion, good wild cat, good bear, make Indians ; then tell these 

 Indians kill all bad deer, bad lion, bad bear, bad wild cat they all 

 bad." There is a shadowy relation here to the Oriental idea of 

 the transmigration of the soul, which the student of comparative 

 religions may take for what it is worth. 



There is no evidence whatever of any written language among 

 this people. While there is much of legendary lore among them, 

 it is entirely traditionary in its character. It is also pervaded to 

 a great extent with a spirit of mysticism so as to render many of 

 their legends almost unintelligible. The following tribal legend 

 is a fair sample of their poetical stories. It is well known among 

 the members of the tribe, and is related in substantially the same 

 language by all : 



A dead pine tree has stood many years in the deep, clear water 

 of Homer Lake, which lies at the foot of Mount Keddie, in the 

 Sierra Nevada Mountains. According to the old Indian tradition, 

 it turns around once every year, when a great Water Spirit im- 

 prisoned in its base raises its head to take a look at the world. 

 The legend says that when the Indians first came to the valley 

 where the lake is situated they found it one great body of water. 

 They came in canoes and lived for years on the tops of high 

 mountains. The Water Spirit had full control and made them no 

 end of trouble. One day they gathered in a body and made sup- 

 plication to the Great Spirit, who answered by commanding the 



