TO CALIFORNIA. 2^83 



that a negro-head may be called handsome in 

 comparison with theirs: they are principally dis- 

 tinguished from the negroes by their very long, 

 smooth, and coal-black hair. Ihe missionaries 

 assured us that it was difficult to instruct them, on 

 account of their stupidity ; but I believe that these 

 gentlemen do not give themselves much trouble 

 about it. They also told us, that the Indians came 

 far from tlie interior of tlie country, and voluntarily 

 submitted to them, (which we likewise doubted,) 

 that their instruction in religion immediately com- 

 menced, and that they were baptized sooner or 

 later, according to their abilities. California is a 

 great expence to the Spanish government, which 

 derives no other advantage from it, than that every 

 year a couple of hundred heathens are converted 

 to Christianity, who however die very soon in their 

 new faith, as they cannot accustom themselves to 

 the different mode of life. Twice in the year they 

 receive permission to return to their native homes. 

 This short time is the happiest period of their ex- 

 istence; and I myself have seen them going home 

 in crowds, with loud rejoicings. The sick, who 

 cannot undertake the journey, at least accompany 

 their happy countrymen to the shore where they 

 embark, and there sit for days together, mournfully 

 ffazino; on the distant summits of the mountains 

 which surround their homes; they often sit in this 

 situation for several days, without taking any food, 

 so much does the sight of tlieir lost home affect 



