468 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



indeed, generally considered as the handsomest in New Cali- 

 fornia." 



The present Indians of San Diego and Los Angeles Counties, a 

 group of whom are presented in Fig. 1, are fair representatives of 

 the mission Indians of southern California. They approach more 

 nearly to LangsdorfFs description than to the pen-portraii drawn 

 by Vancouver. It is to be remembered, however, that these In- 

 dians belong to the great inland Shoshonian family, and are 

 doubtless intellectually brighter than were their brethren of the 

 coast farther north, about Santa Barbara and San Francisco, who 

 represent distinct families. 



I have seen a considerable number of the mission Indians in 

 recent years, and can testify to the general accuracy of Langs- 

 dorfFs description, though of course they differ much individually 

 and among different tribes. In general it appears to me that the 

 Indians of the interior of the State are less sluggish physically, 

 and are mentally brighter, than those nearer the coast. Taking 

 the coast tribes all in all, they are the lowest type of Indian I 

 have ever seen, and it is probable that they represent the lowest 

 type north of Mexico. 



At first this fact seems totally at variance with the fitness of 

 things ; for, if California was not literally a land flowing with milk 

 and honey, it possessed every attribute to be desired by a bar- 

 barous people. Its climate was mild and equable ; its coast and 

 inland waters teemed with fish and mollusks ; while the land 

 abounded with game and with nuts, roots, and seeds which were 

 both nutritious and easily procured. With such advantages as 

 these it might be supposed that the natives would have far out- 

 stripped the dwellers of less favored sections. Human progress, 

 however, does not always follow the lines of least resistance, and 

 it is probable that in their struggle toward civilization the races of 

 the world owe less to their advantages than to their disadvantages. 

 To put this seeming paradox in other words, man's improvement 

 has been largely compulsory, and, when he is not too heavily 

 handicapped, adverse surroundings stimulate instead of checking 

 his progress. Certain is it that the fine climate and abundant 

 natural products of California had their full effect in developing, 

 or rather in retarding the development, of the natives. Though 

 not deficient physically, the Indians, especially of the warmer 

 portion of the State, were exceedingly indolent and stupid. As a 

 rule they were not hunters but fishers, and hence their blood was 

 not quickened and their muscles hardened by the excitement and 

 toil of the chase ; nor were their wits sharpened to the same ex- 

 tent as those of the hunting tribes by the manifold and varied 

 necessities of their calling, nor by the sterner duties of war ; for 

 the hunting tribes are invariably warlike. Not so the Calif or- 



