stucke plumes of feathers; but in the forepart onely single feathers like hornes, every one pleasing himselfe in his owne device.'
Drake's World Encomp., pp. 121, 126. 'Asi como Adamitas se presentan sin el menor rubor ni vergüenza (esto es, los hombres) y para librarse del frio que todo el año hace en esta Mision (San Francisco), principalmente las mañanas, se embarran con lodo, diciendo que les preserva de él, y en quanto empieza á calentar el Sol se lavan: las mugeres andan algo honestas, hasta las muchachas chiquitas: usan para la honestidad de un delantar que hacen de hilos de tule, ó juncia, que no pasa de la rodilla, y otro atrás amarrados á la cintura que ambos forman como unas enaguas, con que se presentan con alguna honestidad, y en las espaldas se ponen otros semejantes para librarse en alguna manera del frio.'
Palou,
Vida de Junípero Serra, p. 217. At Monterey, and on the coast between Monterey and Santa Barbara the dress 'du plus riche consiste en un manteau da peau de loutre qui couvre ses reins et descend au dessous des sines. … L'habillement des femmes est un manteau de peau de cerf mal tannée. … Les jeunes filles au-dessous de neuf ans n'ont qu'une simple ceinture et les enfans de l'autre sexe sont tout nus.'
La Pérouse,
Voy., tom. ii., pp. 304–5. 'Ils se percent aussi les oreilles, et y portent des ornemens d'un genre et d'un gout trés-variés.'
Rollin, in
La Pérouse,
Voy., tom. ii., p. 53. 'Those between Monterey and the extreme northern boundary of the Mexican domain, shave their heads close.'
Boscana, in
Robinson's Life in Cal., p. 239. On the coast between San Diego and San Francisco 'presque tous … vont entierement nus; ceux qui ont quelques vêtements, n'ont autre chose qu'une casaque faite de courroies de peau de lapins, de lièvres ou de loutres tressés ensemble, et qui ont conservé le poil. Les femmes ont une espèce de tablier de roseaux tressés qui s'attache autour de la taille par un cordon, et pend jusqu'aux genoux; une peau de cerf mal tannée et mal préparée, jetée sur leurs épaules en guise de manteau, compléte leur toilette.'
Fages, in
Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1844, tom. ci., p. 155; see also
Marmier,
Notice, in
Bryant,
Voy. en Cal., p. 227. 'Sont tres peu couverts, et en été, la plupart vont tout nus. Les femmes font usage de peaux de daim pour se couvrir. … Ces femmes portent encore comme vêtement des espèces de couvertures sans envers, faites en plumes tissues ensemble … il a l'avantage d'être très-chaud. … Elles portent généralement, au lieu de boucles d'oreilles, des morceaux d'os ou de bois en forme de cylindre et sculptés de différentes manières. Ces ornements sont creux et servent également d'étuis pour renfermer leurs aiguilles.'
Petit-Thouars,
Voy., tom. ii., p. 135. Speaking generally of the Californian Indians, 'both sexes go nearly naked, excepting a sort of wrapper round the waist, only in the coldest part of the winter they throw over their bodies a covering of deer-skin, or the skin of the sea-otter. They also make themselves garments of the feathers of many different kinds of water fowl, particularly ducks and geese, bound together fast in a sort of ropes, which ropes are then united quite close so as to make something like a feather skin.' It is very warm. 'In the same manner they cut the sea-otter skins into small strips, which they twist together, and then join them as they do the feathers, so that both sides have the fur alike.'
Langsdorff's Voy., vol. ii., pp. 163–4. See also
Farnham's Life in Cal., p. 364, and
Forbes' Cal., p. 183. 'Im Winter selbst tragen sie wenig Bekleidung, vielleicht nur eine Hirschhaut, welche sie über die Schulter werfen; Männer, Frauen und Kinder gehen selbst im Winter im Schnee barfuss.'
Wimmel,
Californien, p. 177;
Lord's Nat., vol. i., p. 249;
Patrick, Gilbert, Heald, and Von Schmidt, in
Ind. Aff. Rept., 1856, pp. 240–4;
Choris,
Voy. Pitt., part iii., p. 4, and plate xii.;
Mühlenpfordt,
Mejico, vol. ii., part ii., p. 455;
Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., p. 239;
Shea's Catholic Missions, p. 98;
Johnston, in
Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 223;
D'Orbigny,
Voy., p. 457;
Augur,
Voy. en Cal., p. 100. After having collated the above notes I was rather taken aback by meeting the following: 'The general costume of nearly all the Californian Indians gives them rather an interesting appearance; when fully dressed, their hair, which has been loose, is tied up, either with a coronet of silver, or the thongs of skin, ornamented with feathers of the brightest colours; bracelets made in a similar manner are wore; breeches and leggings of doe-skin, sewed, not unfrequently with human hair; a kind of kilt of varied coloured cloth or silk (!), fastened by a scarf, round their waist; … The women wear a cloth petticoat, dyed either blue or red, doe-skin shirt, and leggings, with feathered bracelets round their waist.'
Coulter's Adventures, vol. i., pp. 172–3. Surely Mr. Coulter should know an Indian dress from one composed of Mexican cloth and trinkets.
508. At Bodega the women 'were as much tatooed or punctured as any of the females of the Sandwich islands.' Vancouver's Voy., vol. ii., p. 436. In the Sacramento Valley 'most of the men had some slight marks of tattooing on the breast, disposed like a necklace.' Pickering's Races, in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 105. Dana, in a note to Hale, says: 'The faces of the men were colored with black and red paint, fancifully laid on in triangles and zigzag lines. The women were tattooed below the mouth.' Hale's Ethnog., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. vi., p. 222. 'Most of them had some slight marks of tattooing on their breast; somewhat similar to that of the Chinooks. … The face was usually painted, the upper part of the cheek in the form of a triangle, with a blue-black substance, mixed with some shiny particles that looked like pulverized mica.' Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. v., pp. 198, 259. 'Their faces daubed with a thick dark glossy substance like tar, in a line from the outside corners of the eyes to the ends of the mouth, and back from them to the hinge of the jawbone … some also had their entire foreheads coated over.' Kelly's Excursion to Cal., vol. ii., p. 111. 'The women are a little tattooed on the chin.' Pfeiffer's Second Journ., p. 307. At Monterey and vicinity, 'se peignent le corps en rouge, et en noir lorsqu'ils sont en deuil.' La Pérouse, Voy., tom. ii., p. 305. 'Se peignent la peau pour se parer.' Rollin, in La Pérouse, Voy., tom. iv., p. 53. 'This one thing was obserued to bee generall amongst them all, that euery one had his face painted, some with white, some blacke, and some with other colours.' Drake's World Encomp., p. 126. 'Tattooing is practised in these tribes by both sexes, both to ornament the person and to distinguish one clan from another. It is remarkable that the women mark their chins precisely in the same way as the Esquimaux.' Beechey's Voy., vol. ii., p. 77. 'Les indigènes indepéndents de la Haute-Californie sont tatoués … ces signes servent d'ornement et de distinction, non seulement d'une tribu à une autre tribu, mais encore, d'une famille à une autre famille.' Petit-Thouars, Voy., tom. ii., pp. 134–5. 'Tattooing is also used, but principally among the women. Some have only a double or triple line from each corner of the mouth down to the chin; others have besides a cross stripe extending from one of these stripes to the other; and most have simple long and cross stripes from the chin over the neck down to the breast and upon the shoulders.' Langsdorff's Voy., vol. ii., p. 167; see plate, p. 169. When dancing, 'ils se peignent sur le corps des lignes régulières, noires, rouges et blanches. Quelques-uns ont la moitié du corps, depuis la tête jusqu'en bas, barbouillée de noir, et l'autre de rouge; le tout croisé par des raies blanches, d'autres se poudrent les cheveux avec du duvet d'oiseaux.' Choris, Voy. Pitt., part iii., p. 4; see also plate xii. 'I have never observed any particular figured designs upon their persons, but the tattooing is generally on the chin, though sometimes on the wrist and arm.' Mostly on the persons of the females. Johnston, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 223. 'Les femmes seules emploient le tatouage.' Auger, Voy. en Cal., p. 165.
509. 'Il est bien rare qu'un Indien passe la nuit dans sa maison. Vers le soir chacun prend son arc et ses flèches et va se réunir aux autres dans de grandes cavernes, parce-qu'ils craignent d'être attaqués a l'improviste par leurs ennemis et d'être surpris sans défense au milieu de leurs femmes et de leurs enfants.' Fages, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1844, tom. ci., pp. 316–7.
510. Two authors describe their dwellings as being much smaller than I have stated them to be: 'leur maisons ont quatre pieds de diamètre.' Marmier, Notice, in Bryant, Voy. en Cal., p. 238. Their wigwams have 'une élévation
