78 VOYAGE TO THE 



and embraces the ends, where they are turned back to 

 receive the string ; the sinew is fixed to the bow 

 while wet, and as it becomes dry draws it back the 

 reverse way to that in which it is intended to be used. 

 The Indian manner of stringing these bows is pre- 

 cisely similar to that practised by the lovers of archery 

 in England ; but it requires greater skill and strength, 

 in consequence of the increased curvature of the bow, 

 and the resistance of the sinew. 



The religion of all the tribes is idolatrous. The 

 Olchone, who inhabit the seacoast between San Fran- 

 cisco and Monterey, worship the sun, and believe in 

 the existence of a beneficent and an evil spirit, whom 

 they occasionally attempt to propitiate. Their ideas 

 of a future state are very confined : when a person dies 

 they adorn the corpse with feathers, flowers, and beads, 

 and place with it a bow and arrows ; they then extend 

 it upon a pile of wood, and burn it amidst the shouts 

 of the spectators, who wish the soul a pleasant journey 

 to its new abode, which they suppose to be a country 

 in the direction of the setting sun. Like most other 

 nations, these people have a tradition of the deluge ; 

 they believe also that their tribes originally came 

 from the north. 



The Indians in their wild state are said to be more 

 healthy than those which have entered the missions. 

 They have simple remedies, derived from certain me- 

 dicinal herbs, with the property of which they have 

 previously made themselves acquainted. Some of 

 these roots are useful as emetics, and are administered 

 in cases of sickness of the stomach : they also apply 

 cataplasms to diseased parts of the body, and practise 

 phlebotomy very generally, using the right arm for 

 this purpose when the body is affected, and the left 



