ETHNOLOGY. 455 



of basket-trap in his month, and silently floating clown the current, 

 catches the fish as they ascend. On the lakes and sloughs, and on Tower 

 Kern River, they employed a species of canoe made of tule, with flat 

 triangular bottom and flat sides, with a sharp prow, and about 10 feet 

 long. Their original clothing is almost totally disused, and specimens 

 of it are now difficult to obtain ; but it was exceedingly scanty, and con- 

 sisted chiefly of breech-cloths for both sexes, with hareskin robes for 

 winter-wear or for bedding. In summer the men and children went 

 quite naked. 



These Indians have been subject for many years to the influence of 

 the Spanish missions on the coast, and they have acquired from the 

 Mexicans all the arts and tricks of horsemanship, while many of them 

 are skillful vaqueros. The men have learned to make fancy bridles 

 and whips of horse-hair— girdles, sashes, and the like; and the 

 women execute very beautiful embroidery for shirts and feminine 

 garments j and they look with contempt on some of the coarse annu- 

 ity goods which are distributed among them. They are housed far 

 better than the Indians of any other California or Nevada reservation, 

 in comfortable, though ill-lighted, structures of adobe, and they have 

 clean-swept floors, clean bedding, with bedsteads to keep them off the 

 ground, plenty of clothing for the climate, and apparently enough to eat. 

 If the reservation belonged to the Government (it is leased) so that 

 it could have, as it has not now, control of the irrigating appliances, 

 these Indians would be very well established ; but as it is, they feel 

 restless and uncertain, and do not make as good "improvements" as 

 they would if they felt more sure of their future. 



With the industries they have acquired also some of the vices of the 

 Mexicans, and murders are much too frequent on the reservation ; the 

 Indians are fond of horse-racing, gambling, and drinking ; aud in this 

 they are encouraged by bad men in the vicinity, who sell them liquor. 

 Indeed, the sentiment of the whole community is hostile to the reserva- 

 tion rather than otherwise, so that the agent cannot procure conviction 

 and punishment for this offense. 



Leaving this reservation on the 8th of November, I went to San 

 Francisco, where I was unavoidably delayed until the 17th. Thence I 

 went to Ukiah City, Mendocino County, and proceeded on to Round 

 Valley reservation, which is under the control of Rev. J. L. Burchard, 

 of the Methodist Church. It is at present inhabited by about 950 

 Indians. Mr*. Burchard, I am happy to state, is a very efficient offi- 

 cer, has a pretty thorough comprehension of the aboriginal nature, 

 and has accomplished reforms and improvements which are quite re- 

 markable. I visited this reservation something like four years ago, and 

 am consequently enabled to make comparisons and state progress ; and 

 I can say that the latter has been very creditable, especially in the de- 

 partment of manners and morals. Mr. Burchard has thoroughly eradi- 

 cated that most universal and persistent of all savage vices— -ambling; 



