114 
TRADE WITH THE INDIANS.— THEIR APPEARANCE AND DRESS. 
inent and confusion. Savedra counted six hundred Indians in camp, and probably half of them 
had brought bags of corn or baskets of meal for sale. The market was established; and all 
were crowding, eager to be the first at the stand, amid shouts, laughter, and a confusion of 
tongues—English, Spanish, and Indian. The result was, the acquisition by us of about six 
bushels of corn and two hundred pounds of flour, and the supply w*as not exhausted. • There 
must have been at least ten bushels of beans for sale, and great numbers of pumpkins, some two 
feet in diameter, and weighing perhaps twenty-five pounds. They receive, in exchange, 
in order of preference, small white or large blue beads; red blankets cut into strips six 
inches wide; white cotton cloth; and calico, in pieces three or four yards in length. Other 
articles and trinkets they esteem of no value. When the trading was concluded, they ranged 
about camp in picturesque and merry groups, making the air ring with peals of laughter. 
Some of the young men selected a level spot, forty paces in length, for a play-ground, and 
amused themselves in their favorite sport with hoop and poles. The hoop is six inches in 
diameter, made of an elastic cord. The poles are straight, and about fifteen feet in length. 
Rolling the hoop from one end of the course, two persons chase it half way, and at the same 
instant throw their poles. He who succeeds in piercing the hoop wins the game. 
Target firing and archery were then practised—our own people firing with rifles and Colt’s 
pistols, and the Indians shooting arrows. Fortunately, the fire-arms were triumphant; and 
finally an old Mojave, in despair at their want of success, ran in hot haste and tore down the 
target. It is said that several sad-looking fellows in the crowd are slaves, prisoners taken in 
the last expedition against the Cocopas. In the military code of this people, a captive is for¬ 
ever disgraced. Should he return to his tribe, his own mother would discard him as unworthy 
of notice. There are only two Cuchans here, Jose and his friend; others are said to be on their 
way hither. The chief, Manuel, informs us that the object of their visit is to obtain a fresh 
supply of provisions, their own grain and vegetables having been exhausted in trade with the 
troops at Fort Yuma. 
Notwithstanding the unity of language, the family resemblance, and amity which exists 
between Cuchans and Mojaves, there is exhibited on the part of the latter a jealousy similar to 
that witnessed among Pimas and Maricopas towards each other. An instance of this feeling 
occurred this evening. A woman caught her little son endeavoring to conceal some trinket that 
he fancied. She snatched the article from him with a blow and a taunt, saying, “Oh, you Cu- 
chan ! ” Some one inquired if he belonged to that tribe. “ Oh, no,” she replied, “ he is a 
Mojave, but behaves like a Cuchan, whose trade is stealing.” 
These Indians are probably in as wild a state of nature as any tribe now within the limits of 
our possessions. They have not had sufficient intercourse with any civilized people to acquire 
a knowledge of their language or their vices. Leroux says that no white party has ever before 
passed them without encountering hostility. Nevertheless, they appear to be intelligent, and 
to have naturally pleasant dispositions. The men are tall, erect, and finely proportioned. 
Their features are inclined to European regularity; their eyes large, shaded by long lashes, 
and surrounded by circles of blue tint that add to their apparent size. The apron or breech- 
cloth for men, and a short petticoat made of strips of the inner bark of the cotton-wood for 
women, are the only articles of dress deemed indispensable. But many of the females have 
long robes or cloaks of furs. The young girls wear beads. When married, their chins are 
tattooed with vertical blue lines, and they wear a necklace with a single sea-shell in front, 
curiously wrought. These shells are very ancient, and are esteemed of great value. A few 
were in camp to-day, mounted on spirited horses. They scrupulously avoided all superfluous 
clothing, but were neatly painted and decked in their most fashionable ornaments. Their 
bodies and limbs were tinted and oiled so as to appear like well-polislied mahogany. Dandies 
paint their faces perfectly black. Warriors add a streak of red across the forehead, nose, and 
chin. Their ornaments consist of leather bracelets, trimmed with bright buttons, and worn 
upon the left arm; a kind of tunic made of a buckskin fringe hanging over the shoulders; 
