376 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
many cases not reported in the papers. Exclusive of the In- 
dians slain there were four hundred and five homicides. In 
many instances no particulars of the killing were given, but of 
those cases where the mode of death was well ascertained, 
there were forty-seven executed by mobs, nine were executed 
according to law, ten were criminals killed by sheriffs or police- 
men in attempting to arrest or detain them, six were foreign- 
ers killed by the collectors of the foreign miners’ license, 
thirty-two were killed by Indians, seventeen were killed in jus- 
tifiable homicide by men who were compelled to defend them- 
selves, twelve were killed in fights about mining claims, eight 
were killed in fights at gambling tables, sixteen were mur- 
dered for purposes of robbery, and forty-six were found mur- 
dered under circumstances that did not indicate whether the 
motive was deliberate murder, sudden anger, robbery, or self- 
defence. These homicides occurred in nearly equal propor- 
tions in the four seasons of the year, and in the different popu- 
lated districts of the state. The homicides of each year 
between 1850 and 1855 were at least as numerous as those of 
the last-named year, but since then there has been a great fall- 
ing off, and now I think the number does not exceed seventy- 
five in a year, exclusive of the Indians, of whom the yearly 
average slain since 1856 has not been less than one hundred. 
It may appear a very singular and rapid change, that the an- 
nual number of homicides in a state should decrease eighty per 
cent. within a period of six years, but it must be remembered 
that California is in a condition of swift transition, and that 
our society is far more stable now than it was in 1855, 
Why is it that there are so many bloody affrays in Cali- 
fornia? The first and great cause is the high temper of the 
people. The Americans are an arrogant race. Every man 
thinks himself as good as his neighbor, if not better. They 
are a people who will not be insulted. They consider harsh 
words insulting. They are fond of using harsh words to one 
another. Custom authorizes them to apply the word “liar” 
frequently, and custom justifies a man called “liar” in repay- 
