CALIFORNIA. 201 



and sand-bars. Here Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold ascertained 

 his position to be in latitude 39° 13' 39" N., longitude 122° 12' 17" 

 W.; which, joined to the work of the land party, gives the exploration 

 of the whole extent of the Sacramento river, from its source to the 

 sea, a distance of two hundred miles. The first fork, or the junction 

 of Pitt's with that of Destruction river or creek, is in latitude 40° 47' 

 N., longitude 122° 34' W. 



The Indians of this tribe, the Kinkla, were disposed to be much 

 more friendly than those met with during the two preceding days. 

 The party had some intercourse with them, and many of the women 

 were seen, some of whom wore the peculiar Polynesian dress, called 

 the maro, which in this case was made of strings from the California!! 

 flax, which is common in this part of the country. Where this 

 cannot be procured, they use the tula (Scirpus lacustris). This 

 garment hangs in considerable thickness both before and behind, but 

 is open at the sides. 



Of these Indians it is reported that no one has more than one wife. 

 Their village was similar to that already described. The women 

 were not very prepossessing in their appearance, although the younger 

 ones had pleasing faces and fine forms; but the men were large and 

 stout, and would be termed finely formed. The women were em- 

 ployed in drying grass-seed and acorns in the sun, of which the latter 

 seemed to be the principal part of their food. These Indians had 

 small fishing-nets, somewhat resembling in size and shape a lady's 

 reticule. These they made use of when diving for mussels, and in a 

 short time procured half a bushel of them. They had also larger 

 nets, which very much resemble our own ; but on close examination, 

 the manner of forming strands of the cordage was found to be 

 different. 



Their language is soft compared to that of the northern Indians, 

 and as much so as that of the Polynesians. In but a few cases was 

 the guttural sound of tch observed ; and the repetition of syllables is 

 frequent, as "wai-wai," and " hau-hau-hau." Lieutenant-Comman- 

 dant Ringgold obtained a small vocabulary of the language from a 

 chief, and Captain Suter furnished much information respecting it. 

 According to him, although there are many tribes, yet they speak no 

 more than two distinct languages, one of which prevails on the east 

 and the other on the west side of the Sacramento. This information, 

 however, was contradicted by other authorities ; but as this subject 



VOL. V. 51 



