OF LOS ANGELES CO., CALIFORNIA. 27 



Tlio laniiuage is still spoken b_v a mimber of people, not- 

 witli>;tandiiii? statements niaile to the contrary. The words 

 Cahuilla and Coaluiilla should be abandoned, as they are liable 

 to cause confusion with a similar name, of a distinct stock, 

 in Mexico. The word Verdugos also occurs as Verdugas, in 

 Letter XII. 

 The herds of cattle and horses owned by the Missions were 

 grazed in favorable localities, each herd being under the con- 

 trol of a chief herder and the neces.sary number of assistants. 

 The chief herder's duty was, also, to have every animal 

 branded, a record of which was kept in the shape of a 

 notched stick, or Bali, which was regularly submitted to the 

 major dovio of the Mission. Fig. 1 represents a stick of this 

 kind, now in the collection of Mr. Coronel of Los Angeles. 



The stick is about twenty-four inches in length, and three- 

 fourths of an inch thick in diameter, each way. The handle has 

 the edges bevelled and upon each of the four faces thus pro- 

 duced are the characters I, II, X, >• , signifying respectively 

 bull, cow, heifer and ox. For cattle, the end opposite the 

 handle is notched, thus giving the rude idea of horns. For 

 horses, the end is pointed, in imitation of the sharp ear of a 

 horse. When the stick is used by a herder of horses, the 

 same marks are used, upon the handle, as for cattle, but with 

 the signification, in order, as follows: stallion, mare, colt, 

 gelding. Whenever an animal is branded, a notch is cut into the 

 sharp edge of the proper stick, and upon the line of the char- 

 acter on the handle to designate the sex or age of the sub- 

 ject. Thus an accurate record was kept of nil stock handled, 

 a custom and method vrhich was copied by the Mexican 

 herders and retained until a few years ago. 



Notched sticks were also used by the herders and laborers 

 to record their accounts with the major dome. These sticks 

 were nicely worked out of dogwood, polished, though not 

 quite as long as the above. Only two sides were used, one 

 bearing the character IXI, for money, and a simple line cut cross- 

 wise, for work. On the money side there were notches for 

 reals and long cuts, extending across the stick, for dollars. 

 Upon the opposite side notches for days worked, and lines 

 across the surface for weeks. In this manner credit could be 

 given on the " money side," and there was always exactness 

 between these stick records and those kept in proper form by 

 the superiors. 



Other records were also examined by the writer, in which 



