146 THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA. 
it would produce, but to my disappointment it did not excite 
them or elicit any expression of wonder. Even the steam 
whistle failed to move them ; they did not understand it and 
would not exhibit surprise. . Two years later a brig sailed 
up the river and the Indians were full of excitement. The 
size of the sails and the strength of the ropes came within 
their comprehension, filling them with wonder. The task of 
gathering fibre enough to weave so much cloth, and such 
ropes, made the white man a wonderful worker in their 
estimation. 
It has been eustomary to attribute certain general qualities 
to whole tribes of Indians, and this has been done to those 
of whom I have written. I can only say that no two In- 
dians of my acquaintance were alike, and their mode of life 
would naturally develop individuality of character. 
The charges of lying and stealing, as urged against them, 
have some foundation in fact, although the Indian might 
make some such defence as our soldiers made to the accu- 
sation of theft of honey and chickens while marching 
through the South during our late war. "They did not steal, 
they took what they wanted and expected to live on the enemy. 
No Indian ean steal from his tribe, however, without los- 
ing his character, and their desire to have position in the 
tribe makes both men and women as careful of their reputa- 
tions as those in civilized life. Indians and white men can- 
not live side by side happily, nor without fighting till the 
white man is acknowledged master. The Indian is cat-like, 
attached to localities, and kills only such game as he needs 
for food; he is stealthy by nature, and patiently waits his 
opportunity to strike. The white man is migratory and 
carries his attachments to strange lands, making his home 
where his ambition or nature attracts him, and is destructive 
alike to game or forests. The Indian, if he become an ob- 
stacle, is classed with wild animals, and is hunted to the 
death; this antagonism becomes mutual and is perhaps as 
natural as the antipathies of cats and dogs. 
