The Native Races (Vol. 1-5). Hubert Howe Bancroft

Johnson's Cal. and Ogn., p. 132; Powers' Account of John A. Sutter, MS.; and Id., Letter to the author, MS.

520. 'Reinlichkeit kennen sie nicht, und in ihren Hütten sind die diversesten Parasiten vertreten.' Wimmel, Californien, p. 177. 'I have seen them eating the vermin which they picked from each other's heads, and from their blankets. Although they bathe frequently, they lay for hours in the dirt, basking in the sun, covered with dust.' Delano's Life on the Plains, p. 305. 'In their persons they are extremely dirty.' Eat lice like the Tartars. Beechey's Voy., vol. ii., pp. 76–7. 'Very filthy, and showed less sense of decency in every respect than any we had ever met with.' Gibbs, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 106.

521. 'Ein Bogen mit Pfeilen und ein Spiess sind ihre Waffen; alles dieses wird meistens aus jungem Tannenholz verfertigt. Die Spitzen der Pfeile und Spiesse bestehen aus scharfen, künstlich behauenen Steinen, zur Bogensehne nehmen sie die Sehnen wilder Ziegen; ausserdem führen sie in Kriegszeiten eine Art von Schleuder, mit welcher sie Steine auf eine grosse Entfernung werfen.' Kostromitonow, in Baer, Stat. u. Ethno., p. 89. Bow 'from three to four and a half feet long.' Farnham's Life in Cal., p. 368. 'Their arms are clubs, spears of hard wood, and the bow and arrow. … Arrows are mostly made of reeds.' Taylor, in Cal. Farmer, Feb. 22, 1860. 'Die einzige Waffe zur Erlegung des Wildes ist ihnen der Bogen und Pfeil.' Wimmel, Californien, p. 180. 'Their only arms were bows and arrows.' Hale's Ethnog., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. vi., p. 222. Bows 'about thirty inches long … arrows are a species of reed … spears are pointed with bone.' Delano's Life on the Plains, p. 306. 'The quiver of dressed deer-skin, holds both bow and arrows.' Gibbs, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 123. 'The point (of the arrow) itself is a piece of flint chipped down into a flat diamond shape, about the size of a diamond on a playing-card; the edges are very sharp, and are notched to receive the tendons with which it is firmly secured to the arrow.' Borthwick's Three Years in Cal., p. 131. 'Arrows are pointed with flint, as are also their spears, which are very short. They do not use the tomahawk or scalping knife.' Thornton's Ogn. and Cal., vol. ii., p. 91. 'Leurs armes sont l'arc et les flèches armées d'un silex très-artistement travaillé.' La Pérouse, Voy., tom. ii., p. 305. 'Ces arcs sont encore garnis, au milieu, d'une petite lanière de cuir, qui a pour object d'empêcher la flèche de dévier de la position qu'on lui donne en la posant sur l'arc. … Ils prétendent que cette précaution rend leurs coups encore plus sûrs. Les flèches sont moins longues que l'arc, elles ont ordinairement de 80 à 85 centimètres de long, elles sont faites d'un bois très-léger et sont égales en grosseur à chaque extrémité … l'autre extrémité de la flèche est garnie, sur quatre faces, de barbes en plumes qui ont 10 centimètres de longueur sur 0,015 millimètres de hauteur.' Petit-Thouars, Voy., tom. ii., p. 138. They 'maintain armories to make their bows, and arrows, and lances.' Arrows 'are tipped with barbed obsidian heads … the shaft is ornamented with rings of the distinguishing paint of the owner's rancheria. Their knives and spear-points are made of obsidian and flint.' Arrows are of two kinds, 'one short and light for killing game, and the other a war-shaft measuring a cloth-yard in length.' Revere's Tour, pp. 121–2. 'Ces flèches offrent peu de danger à une certaine distance, à cause de la parabole qu'elles sont forcées de décrire, et qui donne à celui que les voit venir la temps de les éviter.' Auger, Voy. en Cal., p. 163. 'La corde, faite avec du chanvre sylvestre, est garnie d'un petit morceau de peau qui en étouffe le sifflement.' Mofras, Explor., tom. ii., p. 378; see Atlas, plate 25. 'Ihre Waffen bestehen nur in Bogen und Pfeil.' Mühlenpfordt, Mejico, tom. ii., part ii., p. 455. 'They have no offensive arms at all, except bows and arrows, and these are small and powerless. … Arrows are about two feet long.' Gerstaecker's Journ., p. 212. 'Sometimes the bow is merely of wood and rudely made.' Chamisso, in Kotzebue's Voy., vol. iii., p. 48. 'Their weapons consist only of bows and arrows; neither the tomahawk nor the spear is ever seen in their hands.' Beechey's Voy., vol. ii., p. 77. 'A portion of the string is covered with downy fur' to deaden the sound. Arrows are invariably pointed with flint. They have 'sometimes wooden barbs.' Javelins pointed with flint, or sometimes simply sharpened at the end. Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 109. Arrows were about three feet long, and pointed with flint. Short spears also pointed with flint. Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. v., p. 198. 'Traian unas lanzas cortas con su lengüeta de pedernal tan bien labradas como si fuesen de hierro ó acero, con solo la diferencia de no estar lisas.' Palou, Noticias, in Doc. Hist. Mex., serie iv., tom. vii., p. 68. 'Los mas de ellos traian varas largas en las manos á modo de lanzas.' Id., p. 61; Lord's Nat., vol. i., p. 249; Langsdorff's Voy., vol. ii., p. 165; Life of Gov. L. W. Boggs, by his Son, MS.

522. Petit-Thouars, Voy., tom. ii., p. 139.

523. Fages, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1844, tom. ci., p. 164; Marmier, Notice, in Bryant, Voy. en Cal., p. 228. It is impossible to locate with certainty the San Miguel of Fages. There are now several places of the name in California, of which the San Miguel in San Luis Obispo County comes nearest the region in which, to agree with his own narrative, Fages must have been at the time. The cimeter mentioned by him, must have strongly resembled the maquahuitl of the ancient Mexicans, and it was possibly much farther south that he saw it.

524. Powers' Pomo, MS.; Sutil y Mexicana, Viage, p. 169.

525. Butte Record, Aug., 1866.

526. 'Suelen entrar en ella entonando cánticos militares mezclados de extraños alaridos; y acostumbran formarse los campeones en dos lineas muy próximas para empezar disparándose flechazos. Como uno de sus principales ardides consiste en intimidar al enemigo, para conseguirlo procura cada partido que oiga el contrario los preparativos de la batalla.' Sutil y Mexicana, Viage, p. 170. 'On coming in sight of the enemy they form in an extended line, something like light infantry, and shouting, like bacchanals dance from side to side to prevent the foe from taking deliberate aim.' Revere's Tour, p. 122.

527. In the vicinity of Fort Ross: 'In ihren Kriegen wird Unerschrockenheit geachtet; gefangene Feinde tödtet man nicht, sondern wechselt sie nach beendigtem Kampfe aus; nie verurtheilt man sie zu Sklaven.' Baer, Stat. u. Ethno., p. 77. Near Feather River 'they carry off their dead to prevent their being scalped, which next after death they are most fearful of.' Kelly's Excursion to Cal., vol. ii., p. 83. In the Sacramento Valley 'the Californians differ from the other North American tribes in the absence of the tomahawk and of the practice of scalping.' Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 108. At Clear Lake, 'they do not scalp the slain.' Revere's Tour, p. 122. In the vicinity of San Francisco 'occasionally, they appear to have eaten pieces of the bodies of their more distinguished adversaries killed in battle.' Soulé's Annals of San Francisco, p. 52. At Monterey, 'lorsqu'ils avaient vaincu et mis à mort sur le champ de bataille des chefs ou des hommes très-courageux, ils en mangeaient quelques morceaux, moins en signe de haine et de vengeance, que comme un hommage qu'ils rendaient à leur valeur, et dans la persuasion qua cette nourriture était propre à augmenter leur courage.' La Pérouse, Voy., tom. ii., p. 306. 'Muchos indios armados de arco y flechas y llamándolos vinieron luego y me regularon muchos de ellos flechas, que es entre ellos la mayor demostracion de paz.' Palou, Noticias, in Doc. Mex. Hist., serie iv., tom. vii., p. 53. At Santa Cruz they eat slices of the flesh of a brave fallen enemy, thinking to gain some of his valour. They 'take the scalps of their enemies … they