362 THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS OP 



some nations they reach down to the knees ; among others to the calves, and 

 even to the feet. Both sides of the thighs, as well as the rest of the body, re- 

 main perfectly naked. In order to save labor, some women wear, instead of the 

 back-aprons, a piece of untanned deer-skin, or any woollen or linen rag which 

 they can now-a-days obtain. Of the same untanned skin tliey make, if they 

 can get it, their shoes or sandals, simply flat pieces, which they attach to the 

 feet by coarse strings of the above-mentioned aloe, passing between the big and 

 small toes and around the anklcvS. 



Loth sexes, the grown as well as the children, wear the head always uncov- 

 ered, however inclement the weather may be, even those in a certain mission 

 who understand how to manufacture pretty good hats from palm-luaves, Avhich, 

 on account of their lightness, were frequently Avorn by the missionaries while 

 on their travels. The men allow the hair to grow down to the shoulders. Wo- 

 men, on the contrary, wear it much shorter. Formerly they pierced the ears of 

 new-born children of the male sex with a pointed stick, and by putting bones and 

 pieces of wood into the a])erture they enlarged it to such a degree that, in some 

 grown persons, the flaps hung down nearly to the shoulders. At present, how- 

 ever, they have abandoned this unnatural usage. It has been asserted that 

 they also pierce the nose. 1 can only say that I saw no one disfigured in that 

 particular manner, but many middle-aged persons with their ears perforated as 

 described above. Under certain circumstances, and on their gala days, they 

 paint different parts of the body with red and yellow color, which they obtain 

 by burning certain minerals. 



The baptized Indians, of course, obsei'ved more decency in regard to dress. 

 The missionaries gave each male individual, once or twice in a year, a piece of 

 blue cloth, six spans long and two spans wide, for covering the lower part of 

 the body, and, if their means allowed it, a short woollen coat of blue color. The 

 women and girls Avere provided Avith thick white veils, made of avooI, that cov- 

 ered the head and the Avhole body down to the feet. In some missions the 

 women recei\'ed also petticoats and jackets of blue flannel or Avoven cotton 

 ehirts, and the men trowsers of coarse cloth and long coats. But the Avomen 

 ihroAv aside their veils, and the men their coats, as soon as they leave church, 

 because those coverings make them feel uneasy, especially in summer, and im- 

 pede the free use of their limbs, Avhich their mode of living constantly requires. 

 I Avill mention here that all these goods had to be brought from the city of 

 Mexico, since nothing of the kind can be manufactured in California for want 

 of the necessary materials. The number of sheep that can be kept there is 

 small, and, moreover, they lose half their avooI by passing through the thorny 

 shrubs, of which there is an astonishing abundance in this ill-favored country. 



It is not to be expected that a people in as low a state of development as the 

 Californians should make use of many implements and utensils. Their Avbolc 

 furniture, if that expression can be applied at all, consists of a boAv and arrows, 

 a flint instead of a knife, a bone or pointed piece of Avood for digging roots, a 

 turtle-shell serving as basket and cradle, a large gut or bladder for fetching 

 water and transporting it during their excursions, and a bag made like a fishing 

 net from the fibres of the aloe, or the skin of a Avild cat, in Avhich they preserve 

 and carry their provisions, sandals, and perhaps other insignificant things Avhich 

 they may happen to possess. 



The bows of the Californians are more than six feet long, sliglitly curA^d, 

 and made from the roots of Avild willows. They are of the thickness of the 

 five fingers in the middle, round, and become gradually thinner and pointed 

 tOAvards the ends. The bow-strings are made of the intestines of beasts. The 

 shafts of their arroAvs consist of common reeds, Avhich they straighten by the 

 fn-e. They are above six spans long, and have, at the lower end, a notch to 

 catch the string, and three or iour fi'athers, about a finger long, not much pro- 

 jecting, and let into slits made for that purpose. At llie upper end of the shaft 



