SOUTHERN CALIFOKNTANS. 29 



and in the absence of a male heir devolved on the female next of kin." 

 In the Journal of Cab rill o's voyage it is stated that while on the coast " a 

 female chief visited the ship and remained two nights." 



Polygamy was evidently practised to some extent, but probably de- 

 pended principally upon the wealth of the individuals, and hence was gen- 

 erally confined to men in power ; but this, like many other customs, varied 

 with different tribes. 



In keeping with the general Indian character, dancing and gambling 

 are stated to have been the chief occupations of the men when not engaged 

 on a raid or in procuring food. Many of the dances were in connection 

 with their ceremonies and superstitions, while others are mentioned as sim- 

 ply for amusement. The sorcerers were numerous and had great power 

 from the superstitious chai-acter of the people. 



In the vicinity of Santa Bai'bara and on the islands cremation does not 

 seem to have been practised so far as known, though north, south, and east 

 of this district it prevailed to some extent, adjoining tribes having different 

 customs in this respect. In the Santa Barbara region each village, as a 

 rule, had its particular cemetery; but slight differences in the character of 

 the burial places and in the designation of the graves have been noticed. 

 On the island spoken of in Dr. Yarrow's report, near La Patera, while the 

 principal burying ground was doubtless near the edge of the cliff (see his 

 report on a following page), yet instances of isolated burials were discov- 

 ered in various kinds of places. In the majority of the villages the ceme- 

 tery was very near the sites of the former houses, often even in the accumu- 

 lated debris forming the shellheap, as described by Mr. Schumacher. In 

 one case on the islands he found that an old cemetery had been abandoned, 

 and the more recent burials had been in the deserted houses on one part of 

 the shellheap. On the mainland the cemeteries were often of considerable 

 extent and long used. In some instances the bodies had been buried here 

 and there in the sand, but usually they were placed close together, and 

 the same ground used over and over, as in some modern burial places 

 of our own, where in course of time old and forgotten graves are disturbed 

 to make a new one. In this way many of the bones of bodies and articles 

 of greater age were found to have been disarranged and mixed with those 



