CALIFORNIA. 





(.i)iform.i. of thin pieces of sedge fastened together with met* 

 * v <W threads, and covered thei bodies with skins of 



sea wolves, hares, foxes, and other beasts. They 

 all In-daubed their faces with ointment, and painted 

 their skin by way of ornament. 



Tlu- Cahfornians being a wandering people, remo- 

 ving from place to place in quest of subsistence, tlu ir 

 habitations were suited to their mode of life. They 

 cost them very little trouble in the construction ; and, 

 when overrun with vermin, as was sometimes the case, 

 they set fire to them, and then rebuilt them in an 

 hour or two. Some of them were composed of a few 

 stakes fixed in the ground, which were drawn toge- 

 ther at the top, and covered with bark or sedge ; 

 the entrance was low and narrow ; the fire was placed in 

 the centre, and the smoke escaped through a hole in 

 the top. They lay down on skins spread round the 

 fire, and slept indiscriminately, without distinction 

 of age or sex. Others consisted merely of a little space 

 inclosed with stones heaped upon one another, half 

 a yard high, without any covering but the heavens, 

 and >o constructed that they had not room to 

 stretch themselves at full length. The whole of 

 their furniture consisted of a bow and arrows, a wood- 

 en spear, a bowl made in the shape of a high crown- 

 ed hat, a batea or jug, a bone which served them for 

 an awl, a little piece of touchwood for kindling a 

 fire, and pita nets for fishing, for gathering fruits, 

 and for carrying their children. These nets shewed 

 very great skill, and were made of so many different 

 colours, and such exquisite workmanship, that Fa- 

 ther Taraval affirms, " of all the nets I ever saw in 

 Europe and New Spain, none were comparable to 

 these, either in whiteness, the mixture of the other 

 colours, or the strength and workmanship, in which 

 they represent a vat variety of figures." This fur- 

 niture was carried by the women when they removed 

 from one place to another ; the men had only their war- 

 like weapons, with their appurtenances, as flints and 

 feathers for their arrows, and strings for their bows. 

 Polygamy, though admitted and practised among 

 the Californians, was not general, but appeared to be 

 confined chiefly to the southern districts. Among 

 some of the nations their marriages were negociated 

 by the bridegroom presenting the bride with a batea 

 or jug made of mescal thread; her acceptance de- 

 noted her consent, which she communicated by re- 

 turning a net for the head. Among others, the 

 agreement was concluded at the end of a feast, given 

 by the lover to the whole rancheria. Their mar- 

 riages, however, lasted only during the pleasure of 

 the parties, and were annulled by the slightest mo- 

 tive. They attached very little importance to the 

 exclusive possession of their women, as they often 

 .staked their favours as prizes at their games ; and so 

 weak is natural affection among this people, that 

 mothers have been known frequently to destroy their 

 children in any scarcity of food. 



The disorders to which the Californians were sub- 

 ject, arose chiefly from intemperance in their pleasures, 

 and the vicissitudes of the climate. In winter, they were 

 exposed to sore throats, pleurisies, and catarrhal affec- 

 tions; and to putrid, bilious, and inflammatory fevers in 

 the summer. They were also liable to dysentery, oph- 

 thalmia, and to itch, and other cutaneous affections. 

 



Dot, though their diteascs were both numerous and va- 

 rious, the method of cure was nearly the tame in all ; 

 which consisted in the ute of a few plants, fume* of wild 

 tobacco, cold bathing, and Moving, or the warm air- 

 bath. Their only physicians were the priests, who en* 

 deavoured to inspire confidence in their remedies, by a 

 pretended intercourse with invisible spirits ; and their 

 cures were always administered with great ostenta- 

 tion and solemnity. The moit remarkable was the 

 application of the ckaciiaco, a tube formed out of a 

 hard black stone. This tube being filled with ci- 

 marrun, or wild tobacco, and applied to the affected 

 part, the smoke was either sucked in, or blown 

 down, according to the physician's direction. *' This 

 powerful caustic," says Venegas, sometimes with- 

 out any other remedy, has been known entirely to 

 remove the disorder." But, when all remedies pro- 

 ved ineffectual, when herbs, juices, baths, and the 

 chacuaco had been tried in vain, the patient's rela- 

 tions were assenbled around him, that he might die 

 in their presence ; and if he had a daughter or sister, 

 the physician cut off the little finger of her right 

 hand, pretending that the blood would either save 

 the patient, or at least remove from the family all 

 sorrow for his death. He wai no sooner supposed 

 dead, than they immediately proceeded to bury or 

 burn him, with all his utensils, which was done amidst 

 the continued outcries and bowlings of the specta- 

 tors. 



In this account of the manners and religion of the 

 Californians, we have confined ourselves entirely to 

 their savage state, before the knowledge of Chris- 

 tianity was introduced among them by the Jesuits, 

 and their country annexed to the Spanish dominions 

 in America. The independent tribes still retain the 

 same habitations, the same dresses, and the same 

 amusements ; but since the establishment of the Spa- 

 nish missions in California, their savage manners 

 have been greatly softened, many of their religious 

 ceremonies abolished, and civilization and agriculture 

 have rapidly increased. In these missions, the co- 

 lour and industry of the Indians, the house of the 

 monks, the magazines built of bricks, the threshing 

 floor, the cattle, the horses, all present the appear* 

 ance of a plantation in any of the West India colo- 

 nies. But, before we proceed to a description of 

 their present state, we deem it proper to give a brief 

 account of the discovery of the country, and of its 

 establishment by the Spaniards. 



We have already observed, that California was first 

 discovered in 15Ji, by Hemando dc Grixalva, in a 

 voyage undertaken by the order, and at the particu- 

 lar expense of the famous Hernan Cortez, who had 

 fitted out several small squadrons for the purpose of 

 prosecuting his discoveries in the South Sea. Dis- 

 contented with the tediousness and unsuccessfulnes* 

 of these discoveries, Cortez embarked in person, in 

 1536, with 400 Spaniards and 300 negro slaves, and 

 landed in the eastern coast of California, in the bay 

 of Santa Cruz, now called the Port de la Paz. Ha- 

 ving coasted both sides of the gulf, with great diffi- 

 culty and danger, he returned to Santa Cruz, with 

 the loss of many of his companions, who had died of 

 famine and fatigue. Urgent affairs, however, demand- 

 ing his presence iu Mexico, he committed the command 



