SOCIETY. 389 
At this time the American residents of Humboldt county are at 
war with the Indians there. The poor Indian, afoot, and armed 
only with the bow and arrow, is no match for the rich Ameri- 
can, armed with rifle and revolver, and mounted on a horse, 
which saves him from fatigue, takes him swiftly to the best 
point of attack, or carries him still more swiftly from danger. 
For every white man that has been killed, fifty Indians have 
fallen. 
In 1848, nearly every little valley had its tribe, and there 
were dozens of tribes in the Sacramento basin, but now most 
of these tribes have been entirely destroyed. Syphilitic dis- 
eases and brandy have co-operated with the bullet and the 
knife to make room for the white men. The Indians are fond 
of strong liquor, and when they can get it, frequently become 
habitual drunkards. The squaws drink as much as the 
“bucks.” Among a tribe of drunken men and women, matri- 
monial constancy is not to be expected; nor is it found among 
the Indian women in California. The infectious disease which 
threatens to utterly destroy all barbarous and semi-barbarous 
nations, has slain many of the red men in this state, as well as 
in other parts of the continent. 
The Indians of California, with the exception of the Mojaves, 
“are supposed to belong to the general division of the Shosho- 
nees, which includes also the Indians of Nevada Territory, and 
a majority of those in Utah. They are physically and intel- 
lectually inferior to their relatives in Nevada Territory, and 
far inferior to the Indians who dwelt during the last century 
east of the Mississippi River. The red men of this state hava 
but a small share of the courage, military spirit, and intcllect- 
ual activity of the Shawnees, Miamis, Delawares, and the other 
tribes who contended so stoutly for the possession of the valley 
of the Ohio. The majority of the Californian Indians never 
learned to use fire-arms, and never dared to meet the white 
men in battle. A few in the northern part of the state have 
obtained fire-arms, use them well, and fight stubbornly, but 
they are a small proportion. 
