SOCIETY. 381 



Bar. — A low bank of sand or gravel, at the side of a river, 

 deposited by the stream. 



Bummer. — An idle, worthless fellow, who does no work 

 and has no visible means of support. The word " loafer," like 

 *' lounger," does not designate the general conduct or perma- 

 nent character of a man, but only a temporary idleness. A re- 

 spectable, industrious man may become a " loafer" by making 

 idle, impertinent visits in business places during business hours ; 

 but the word " bummer" implies a low, lazy character. It is 

 l^robably derived from the vulgar German words Bummeln 

 and Biunmeler., which are about equivalent to " loafer " and 

 " loaf." Its origin has been attributed to Boehmen., the Ger- 

 man name of Bohemia, a nation celebrated for the number of 

 its sharpers and adventurers. The Gipsies are called Bohemi- 

 ens in France, because of their roving lives and worthless char- 

 acter. " Bummer" is generally suj^posed here to be a Califor- 

 nianism. 



Bumming., acting the bummer, used in such phrases as " he 

 is bumming around." 



Cahallada (ca bal yah' da), a herd of broken horses. 



Canada (can yah' da), a small caiion, a deep ravine, a nar- 

 row valley with steep sides. 



Canon (can' yon), originally a tube, and hence applied to 

 mean a deep gorge with high, steep walls. Comparatively few 

 caiions and caiiadas are to be found in that portion of the Unit- 

 ed States east of the Mississippi, but they are abundant in Cal- 

 ifornia. The Spaniards place the accent on the last syllable of 

 caiion (can yone'), but in ordinary American usage the accent 

 is on the first syllable. It is frequently spelt " canyon," and 

 " kanyon." 



Corral (cor ral') a pen into which a herd of cattle or horses 

 is driven, when one is to be caught. 



To coi^al^ to drive into a corral ; to drive a person into a 

 position from which he cannot escape. 



To coyote., a mining term, to dig a hole resembling the bur- 

 row of the coyote^ or small California wolf. 



