CUSTOMS OF THE INDIANS. 



Ill 



Whilst 



the little one^ wliicli is given with some trivial ceremony^ and the mother then returns with it 

 to her home. 



Nothing is known of their religion. At one time they profess to worship the sun and moon; 

 at another they say the Indian and white man have the same Grod ; then you find them making 

 pilgrimages to the sepulchre of some departed chieftain^ celehrated for deeds of valor or civic 

 honors. 



As to tlieir government, they are divided into bands, each having its own head. There is 

 one principal hereditary chief presiding over the whole. Each of the former, with the advice of 

 its memhers, decides upon all affairs relating directly to the band to which he belongs. Any 

 important business affecting the whole, is acted upon by a council of chiefs— the principal 

 chieftain governing their deliberations. Each chief punishes delinfiuents by beating them 

 across the back with a stick. Criminals brought before the general council for examination, if 

 convicted, are placed in the hands of a regularly appointed executioner of the tribe, who inflicts 



such punishment as the council may direct. 



An execution took place among the Cuchanos whilst we were in their neighborhood, which 

 created great sorrow among us all. An Indian boy named " Bill" was in the habit of going 

 up and down the river on board the steamboat, and frequently visited the post and our camp. 

 Being very smart and good-natured, he became a great favorite ; and speaking some little Eng- 

 lish and Spanish, could act as interpreter. He was secretly accused and tried before the council 

 for " being under the influence of evil spirits"— the evidence going to show, that for the sake 

 of frightening a little child he had forewarned it of its death on the following day, whkh, in 

 reality, accidentally took place. He was convicted and sentenced to be executed, 

 seated on the ground with three others of his tribe, laughing, talking, and playing cards, the 

 executioner walked up behind him and struck him three blows upon the forehead and each 



r 



temple, killing him instantly. 



Their games are few. The principal one is called mo-upp, or in Spanish, redondo, played 

 with two poles fifteen feet long, and a ring some few inches in diameter. They play another 

 with sticks, like jack-straws ; also monte and other games of cards, but know no ball plays. 

 Old and young join in the games. Different from most Indians, they seem to be good-natured, 

 laughing and talking all the time. They are very affectionate towards each other, and it is 

 not unusual to see them walking with their arms around each other's waists. 



Music is not much cultivated among them. They sing some few monotonous songs, and the 

 beaux captivate the hearts of their lady-loves by playing on a flute made of cane. They manu- 

 facture but few articles. The women make baskets of willow, and also of tule, which are im- 

 pervious to water ; also earthen ollas or pots, which are used for cooking and for cooling water ; 

 they answer the latter purpose very well-being porous, the water oozes out and evaporates on 

 the surface. The men make headstalls and reatas for horses. . ^ -, * 



Although constantly in the water, these Indians never use canoes, but swim from shore to 

 shore ; and in the event of moving their families some distance down stream, they place them on 

 rafts of wood or balsas of rushes, push them out in the channel, and trust to the current, di- 

 rectinor their movements with a pole. t xv • 



Owmg to tl>e mild climate and the abaeEce of rains, they require hut httle shelter, and their 

 houses are of the meanest oonstruetion. Sometimes they make them of upnght poles a few feet 

 in height, crossed horizontally hy others on the top, upon which rest brush and dirt. The 



