40 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



Spaniards who came to California while Spain held dominion 

 of the country, brought few women with them, but took In- 

 dian women for wives ; and the descendants of these women 

 form a majority of the Spanish Calif jrnians. Among the 

 wealthier families, the Indian cast of countenance has almost 

 disappeared. Although the features are sometimes thick, the 

 expression of the face is mild and pleasant. The complexion 

 is dark, and grows darker with age ; the hair is black and 

 straight, the eyes black, the cheeks ruddy. Many of the men 

 are handsome, tall, broad-shouldered, large-boned, strong, 

 healthy, and long-lived. They grow fleshy as they grow old ; 

 and the same remark applies to the women. Tiiey are a good- 

 natured race, very kind and obliging to their friends, but out 

 of place among Americans, who are too sharp for them in 

 trading. Instead of increasing in wealth with the develop- 

 ment of the country, the Spanish Californians have been rap- 

 idly growing poorer, and now they own not one-twentieth of the 

 landed property which they had in 1848. Then they owned 

 nearly everything ; now there is not a leading merchant or 

 millionaire among them. They regret the conquest. They 

 lived in a very simple manner under the Mexican dominion, 

 but they were secure in their property, and were the political 

 masters. Now they form a small and powerless minority, 

 among a people far superior to them in agricultural and 

 mechanical skill and business knowledge a people who are 

 absorbing all their wealth, and who look upon them and treat 

 them as inferiors. Although some of the Spanish Californians 

 are content with the change of dominion, yet many hate the 

 Americans. Indeed, the condition of affairs in some of the 

 counties where the Spanish population is numerous, was near 

 civil war at various periods between 1851 and 1854. Most 

 of the Spanish Californians live in the country ; their chief 

 wealth is in land and cattle, and the main occupation of the 

 poorer classes is herding cattle. 



38. Chinese. The Chinese population of California was 



