Il6 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



shale. The Indians who occupied the country where the stone was 

 found — near San Pedro — were the Playsanos or hwlanders, one of 

 the two geographic divisions of the Kauvuya tribe. They were in 

 the habit of erecting headstones over their dead, and inscribing 

 various characters thereon, but of what nature I could not at this 

 late day ascertain from the Indians themselves, as the custom has 

 been discontinued for quite a number of years. 



I am informed, however, that many of the gravestones found at 

 the old burial places in the vicinity of San Pedro and Wilmington 

 were removed, together with other stones and rocks, to be used as 

 ballast by vessels leaving the harbor at the former place. The In- 

 dians who formerly dwelt near the seacoast were chiefly employed 

 in fishing, and from the character and position of the several etch- 

 ings they appear to represent a whale hunt, probably to denote the 

 profession of the deceased to Avhose memory the tablet had been 

 erected. Similar customs prevail among the southern Innuit of 

 Alaska, and the Ojibwa.* Among the former, the post erected usu- 

 ally bears rude drawings of the animals, weapons, etc., which the 

 deceased was in the habit of hunting and using. This even ex- 

 tended to females, upon whose headstones household utensils and 

 implements were depicted. 



Upon Ojibwa gravestones, the totem of the deceased is drawn in 

 an inverted position, with such other mnemonic characters as may 

 serve to inform the observer of the important events in the life of 

 the departed. t 



The coast Indians of Los Angeles county, Cal., made annual 

 trips inland to the marshy sources of some of the streams for the 

 purpose of collecting grass seed to make meal. The chief, I am 

 informed, when praying to the " Great Spirit" for future abundant 

 rains and supply, took a mouthful of water and sprayed it toward 

 the four cardinal points. This ceremony was also recorded by 



* Similar gravestones with various characters are also reported from Siberia. 

 Strahlenberg. Das Nord-und Ostliche Theil von Europa iind Asia, u. s. w. 

 Stockholm, 1730. P. 337. 



For information relating to custom in southern Europe, see Dr. Moriz Hoernes. 

 paper, "Alte Graberin Bosnien und der Herzegowina," in Mittheil. der Anthrop. 

 Gesel. in Wien., XIII Hand., (Der neuen Folge III Hand), 1883, pp. 169-177, 



Fig- 37-57- 



f Sclioolcraft, I, 356. 



