The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft - Part 48
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Part 48

_Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, 1873, vol. x., p. 535. 'Also called Moahtockna.' _Taylor_, in _Cal. Farmer_, _June 22, 1860_. 'The word Modoc is a Shasta Indian word, and means all distant, stranger, or hostile Indians, and became applied to these Indians by white men in early days, by hearing the Shastas speak of them.' _Steele_, in _Ind.

Aff. Rept._, 1861, p. 121.

[428] Speaking of Indians at the junction of the Salmon and Klamath rivers: 'They do not seem to have any generic appellation for themselves, but apply the terms "Kahruk," up, and "Youruk," down, to all who live above or below themselves, without discrimination, in the same manner that the others (at the junction of the Trinity) do "Peh-tsik,"

and "Poh-lik."' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 151.

[429] 'The Bay (Humboldt) Indians call themselves, as we were informed, Wish-osk; and those of the hills Te-ok-a-wilk; but the tribes to the northward denominate both those of the Bay and Eel river, We-yot, or Walla-walloo.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 133.

[430] They are also called Lototen or Tututamy, Totutime, Toutouni, Tootooton, Tutoten, Tototin, Tototutna, etc.

[431] For further particulars as to location of tribes, see notes on TRIBAL BOUNDARIES, at the end of this chapter.

[432] Mr. Gibbs, speaking of the tribes seen on the Klamath and Trinity rivers, says: 'In person these people are far superior to any we had met below; the men being larger, more muscular, and with countenances denoting greater force and energy of character, as well as intelligence.

Indeed, they approach rather to the races of the plains, than to the wretched "diggers" of the greater part of California.' _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 140. 'The Indians in the northern portion of California and in Oregon, are vastly superior in stature and intellect to those found in the southern part of California.' _Hubbard_, in _Golden Era_, 1856. The Indians on the Trinity 'are of another tribe and nature from those along the Sacramento.' _Kelly's Excursion_, vol. ii., p. 166. Speaking of the Wallies, they, 'in many respects differ from their brethren in the middle and lower counties of the State. They are lighter colored and more intelligent.' _Johnson_, in _Overland Monthly_, 1869, vol. ii., p. 536.

[433] 'The males are tall, averaging in height about five feet eight inches, are well proportioned, athletic, and possess the power of endurance to a great degree.' _Hubbard_, in _Golden Era_, March, 1856.

'The people here (Rogue River) were larger and stronger than those in South California, but not handsomer.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p.

317. Speaking of Indians on the Klamath River, 'their stature is a trifle under the American; they have well-sized bodies, erect and strong-knit.' _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. viii., p. 328. On the upper Trinity they are 'large and powerful men, of a swarthier complexion, fierce and intractable.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 129. Near Mount Shasta, 'a fine-looking race, being much better proportioned than those more to the northward, and their features more regular.' _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., p. 254. At Klamath Lake, 'well-grown and muscular.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 277.

On the Trinity, 'majestic in person, chivalrous in bearing.' _Kelly's Excursion_, vol. ii., p. 166.

[434] In the vicinity of Klamath lake 'the squaws are short in comparison with the men, and, for Indians have tolerably regular features.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 277. In the Rogue River region 'some of them are quite pretty, usually well-formed, handsomely developed, small features, and very delicate and well-turned hands and feet.... They are graceful in their movements and gestures, ... always timid and modest.' _Hubbard_, in _Golden Era_, March, 1856. On the Klamath River, 'with their smooth, hazel skins, oval faces, plump and brilliant eyes, some of the young maidens,--barring the tattooed chins,--have a piquant and splendid beauty.' _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. viii., p. 329. On the Klamath and Trinity Rivers, many of the women 'were exceedingly pretty; having large almond-shaped eyes, sometimes of a hazel color, and with the red showing through the cheeks.

Their figures were full, their chests ample; and the younger ones had well-shaped busts, and rounded limbs.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 140. But as to the beauty of women tastes never agree; Mr Kelly in his _Excursion to Cal._, vol. ii., p. 167, speaking of a band of 'n.o.ble-looking Indians' which he met near Trinity River, says that they were 'accompanied by a few squaws, who, strange to say, in this lat.i.tude are ugly, ill-favoured, stunted in stature, lumpy in figure, and awkward in gait,' and concerning the Rogue River Indians a lady states that 'among the women ... there were some extremely clumsy figures.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 317. The Pit-River Indian girls 'have the smallest and prettiest feet and hands I have ever seen.'

_Miller's Life amongst the Modocs_, p. 374.

[435] At Crescent City, Mr Powers saw some 'broad-faced squaws of an almost African blackness;' the Patawats in the vicinity of Mad River and Humboldt Bay are 'blackskinned, pudgy in stature; well cushioned with adipose tissue;' at Redwood Creek 'like most of the coast tribes they are very dark colored, squat in stature, rather fuller-faced than the interior Indians.' _Pomo, MS._ At Trinidad Bay 'their persons were in general indifferently, but stoutly made, of a lower stature than any tribe of Indians we had before seen.' _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., p.

246. At the mouth of Eel River the Weeyots 'are generally repulsive in countenance as well as filthy in person.... Their heads are disproportionately large; their figures, though short, strong and well developed.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 127. Carl Meyer names the Indians he saw at Trinidad Bay, _Allequas_, or Wood-Indians (Holzindianer). I do not find the name anywhere else, and judging by his description, they appear to differ considerably from the natives seen in the same vicinity by Vancouver or Mr Powers; he, Meyer, says; 'Sie sind von unserm Wuchse, starke und beleibte, kraftige Gestalten. Ihre Haut ist wenig zimmet oder lohfarbig, eher weisslich, wie die der antisischen Inkas gewesen sein soll; bei der Jugend und besonders beim weiblichen Geschlechte schimmert oft ein sanftes Roth auf den w.a.n.gen hervor. Ihr Kopf ist wenig gedruckt, die Stirn hoch, der Gesichtswinkel gegen 80 Grad, die Nase romisch gekrummt, das Auge gross in wenig quadratisch erweiterten Augenhohlen und intelligent, die Lippen nicht aufgetrieben, das Kinn oval, und Hande und Fusse klein.' _Nach dem Sacramento_, p. 215.

[436] At Pitt River they 'have no dress except a buckskin thrown around them.' _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._ Near Mount Shasta 'they can scarcely be said to wear any dress, except a mantle of deer or wolf skin. A few of them had deer-skins belted around their waists, with a highly ornamented girdle.' _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., p. 255. Near Pitt River, the Indians were nearly naked. _Abbott_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. vi., p. 61. At Trinidad Bay 'their clothing was chiefly made of the skins of land animals, with a few indifferent small skins of the sea-otter.' _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 247. 'The men, however, do not wear any covering, except the cold is intense, when indeed they put upon their shoulders the skins of sea-wolves, otters, deer, or other animals.' _Maurelle's Jour._, p. 16. 'They were clothed, for the most part, in skins.' _Greenhow's Hist. Ogn._, p. 118. On Smith River they were 'in a complete state of nature, excepting only a kind of apology for an ap.r.o.n, worn by the women, sometimes made of elk's skin, and sometimes of gra.s.s.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 313. Among the Weeyots at Eel River the men 'wore a deer-skin robe over the shoulder, and the women a short petticoat of fringe.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 127. On Klamath River their only dress was the fringed petticoat, or at most, a deerskin robe thrown back over the shoulders, in addition. _Id._, p. 141. 'The primitive dress of the men is simply a buckskin girdle about the loins; of the women, a chemise of the same material, or of braided gra.s.s, reaching from the breast to the knees.' _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. viii., p. 329. 'Were quite naked excepting the maro.' _Wilkes' Nar._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. v., p. 253. The Klamath Lake Indians 'wear little more than the breech-cloth.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 277. 'They were all well dressed in blankets and buckskin.' _Abbott_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol.

vi., p. 70. Carl Meyer, speaking of a tribe he names Allequas, at Trinidad Bay, says: 'der Mann geht im Sommer ganz nackt, im Winter tragt er eine selbst gegerbte Hirsch- oder Rehdecke uber die Schultern.' 'Die Allequas-Weiber tragen im Sommer von Bast-Schnuren oder von Rehfellstreifen, im Winter von Pelzwerk oder Ganseflaum verfertigte Schurzen, die bis auf die Knie reichen.' _Nach dem Sacramento_, p. 217, 219. 'The Klamaths, during the summer go naked, in winter they use the skins of rabbits and wild fowl for a covering.' _Thompson_, in _Ind.

Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 283.

[437] 'An Indian will trap and slaughter seventy-five rabbits for one of these robes, making it double, with fur inside and out.' _Powers' Pomo, MS._

[438] _Fremont's Explor. Ex._, p. 204; _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., pp. 107, 127; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., 282.

[439] _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., p. 282; _Fremont's Explor. Ex._, p. 204.

[440] _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 142.

[441] _Maurelle's Jour._, p. 17; _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol.

iii., pp. 127, 142; _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. viii., p. 329; _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 317. 'Die Allequas (Trinidad Bay) haben starkes, ziemlich geschmeidiges Haar, das der Manner und der Kinder wird bis auf einen Zoll Lange regelma.s.sig abgebrannt, so da.s.s sie das Aussehen von t.i.tuskopfen erhalten. Zuweilen sieht man die Manner auch mit einem ziemlich langen, durch eine harzige Flussigkeit gesteiften, aufgerichteten Zopf, der als Schmuck betrachtet, bei festlichen Anla.s.sen, oder im Kriege mit rothen oder weissen Federn geziert wird, und alsdann dem Schopf eines Wiedehopfs gleicht.' _Meyer_, _Nach dem Sacramento_, p. 215. 'Both men and women part their hair in the middle, the men cut it square on the neck and wear it rather long, the women wear theirs long, plaited in two braids, hanging down the back.' _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._

[442] _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 127. 'Barthaare haben sie, wie alle Indianer Nord-Amerikas, nur wenig; sie werden ausgerupft, und nur in der Trauer stehen gela.s.sen.' _Meyer_, _Nach dem Sacramento_, pp. 215-16.

[443] The men tattoo so that they may 'be recognized if stolen by Modocs.' 'With the women it is entirely for ornament.' _The Shastas and their Neighbors_, _MS_. At Rogue River the women 'were tattooed on the hands and arms as well as the chin.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 317.

At Trinidad Bay 'they ornamented their lower lip with three perpendicular columns of punctuation, one from each corner of the mouth and one in the middle, occupying three fifths of the chin.' _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 247. Maurelle says the same, and adds that a s.p.a.ce is left between each line, 'which is much larger in the young than in the older women, whose faces are generally covered with punctures.'

_Jour._, p. 17. At Mad River and Humboldt Bay, the same, 'and also lines of small dots on the backs of their hands.' _Powers' Pomo_, _MS_. At mouth of Eel River 'both s.e.xes tattoo; the men on their arms and b.r.e.a.s.t.s; the women from inside the under lip down to and beneath the chin. The extent of this disfigurement indicates to a certain extent, the age and condition of the person.' 'In the married women the lines are extended up above the corners of the mouth.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., pp. 127, 142. 'I have never observed any particular figures or designs upon their persons; but the tattooing is generally on the chin, though sometimes on the wrist and arm.

Tattooing has mostly been on the persons of females, and seems to be esteemed as an ornament, not apparently indicating rank or condition.'

_Johnston_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 223. The squaws among the Cahrocs on the Klamath 'tattoo, in blue, three narrow fern-leaves, perpendicularly on the chin.' 'For this purpose they are said to employ soot, gathered from a stove, mingled with the juice of a certain plant.'

_Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. viii., p. 329. Among the Shastys the women 'are tattooed in lines from the mouth to the chin.' _Hale's Ethnog._, in _U. S. Ex. Ex._, vol. vi., p. 218. Among the Allequas at Trinidad bay: 'Die Madchen werden im funften Jahre mit einem schwarzen Streifen von beiden Mundwinkeln bis unter das Kinn tattowirt, welchem Striche dann alle funf Jahre ein parallellaufender beigefugt wird, so da.s.s man an diesen Zeichnungen leicht das Alter jeder Indianerin ubersehen kann.... Die Manner bemalen sich bei besondern Anla.s.sen mit einem Tannenfirniss, den sie selbst bereiten, das Gesicht, und zeichnen allerlei geheimnissvolle Figuren und Verzierungen auf w.a.n.ge, Nase und Stirn, indem sie mit einem holzernen Stabchen den noch weichen Firniss auf den einzelnen Stellen von der Haut wegheben.' _Meyer_, _Nach dem Sacramento_, p. 216.

[444] 'I never saw two alike.' _The Shastas and their Neighbors_, _MS_.

At Klamath lake they are 'painted from their heads to their waists all colours and patterns.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 277. The Modocs 'paint themselves with various pigments formed from rotten wood, different kinds of earth, &c.' _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. x., p. 536.

Kane 'took a sketch of a Chastay (Shasta) female slave (among the Chinooks) the lower part of whose face, from the corners of the mouth to the ears and downwards, was tattooed of a bluish colour. The men of this tribe do not tattoo, but paint their faces like other Indians.' _Wand._, p. 182. Ida Pfeiffer, _Second Journ._, p. 315, saw Indians on Smith river, who painted their faces 'in a most detestable manner. They first smeared them with fish fat and then they rubbed in the paint, sometimes pa.s.sing a finger over it in certain lines, so as to produce a pattern.'

_Miller's Life Amongst the Modocs_, p. 361.

[445] 'No taste in bead work.' _The Shastas and their Neighbors_, _MS_.

'In den Ohren tragen die Allequas (at Trinidad bay) Schmucksachen, welche sie theils von den Weissen erhalten, theils aus Holz nachahmen; auch sind diese Gegenstande zuweilen durch Steinchen ersetzt, die talismanische Krafte besitzen sollen. Nur die in den fernen Bergen wohnenden tragen holzerne oder auch eiserne Ringe in den Nasenwandungen.' _Meyer_, _Nach dem Sacramento_, p. 216; _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 142; _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p.

317; _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. x., p. 537; _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., plate xiv.

[446] _Maurelle's Jour._, p. 18.

[447] _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., p. 247.

[448] 'The lodges are dome-shaped; like beaver-houses, an arched roof covers a deep pit sunk in the ground, the entrance to which is a round hole.' _Lord's Nat._, vol. i., p. 278. 'Large round huts, perhaps 20 feet in diameter, with rounded tops, on which was the door by which they descended into the interior.' _Fremont's Explor. Ex._, p. 204. 'The Modoc excavates a circular s.p.a.ce from two to four feet deep, then makes over it a conical structure of puncheons, which is strongly braced up with timbers, frequently hewn and a foot square.' _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. x., p. 536; _Id._, vol. ix., p. 156. 'The style was very substantial, the large poles requiring five or six men to lift.'

_Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 175. 'Have only an opening at the summit.' _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., p. 261. On the inside of the door they frequently place a sliding panel. 'The Kailtas build wigwams in a conical shape--as all tribes on the Trinity do--but they excavate no cellars.' _Powers' Pomo_, _MS_. See full description of dwellings, by _Johnston_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 223.

The entrance is a 'round hole just large enough to crawl into, which is on a level with the surface of the ground, or is cut through the roof.'

_Johnson_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. ii., p. 536; _Miller's Life Amongst the Modocs_, p. 377.

[449] 'Built of plank, rudely wrought.' The roofs are not 'horizontal like those at Nootka, but rise with a small degree of elevation to a ridge in the middle.' _Vancouver's Voy._, vol. ii., pp. 241-2. Well built, of boards; often twenty feet square; roof pitched over a ridge-pole; ground usually excavated 3 or 4 feet; some cellars floored and walled with stone. _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p.

140. 'The dwellings of the Hoopas were built of large planks, about 1 inches thick, from two to four feet wide, and from six to twelve feet in length.' _Trinity Journal_, _April, 1857_. 'The floors of these huts are perfectly smooth and clean, with a square hole two feet deep in the centre, in which they make their fire.' _Maurelle's Jour._, p. 17. 'The huts have never but one apartment. The fire is kindled in the centre, the smoke escaping through the crevices in the roof.' _Hubbard_, in _Golden Era_, _March, 1856_. The houses of the Eurocs and Cahrocs 'are sometimes constructed on the level earth, but oftener they excavate a round cellar, four or five feet deep, and twelve or fifteen feet in diameter.' _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. viii., p. 530; _Meyer_, _Nach dem Sacramento_, p. 220; _The Shastas and their neighbors, MS_.

[450] Kit Carson says of lodges seen near Klamath lake: 'They were made of the broad leaves of the swamp flag, which were beautifully and intricately woven together.' _Peters' Life of Carson_, p. 263. 'The wild sage furnishes them shelter in the heat of summer, and, like the Cayote, they burrow in the earth for protection from the inclemencies of winter.' _Thompson_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 283. 'Their lodges are generally mere temporary structures, scarcely sheltering them from the pelting storm.' _Palmer_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 262.

[451] 'Slightly constructed, generally of poles.' _Emmons_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 218. 'The earth in the centre scooped out, and thrown up in a low, circular embankment.' _Turner_, in _Overland Monthly_, p. xi., p. 21.

[452] _Powers' Pomo, MS._

[453] 'The rocks supply edible sh.e.l.l-fish.' _Schumacher's Oregon Antiquities, MS._ 'The deer and elk are mostly captured by driving them into traps and pits.' 'Small game is killed with arrows, and sometimes elk and deer are dispatched in the same way.' _Hubbard_, in _Golden Era_, _April, 1856_. 'The elk they usually take in snares.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 317. 'The mountain Indians subsisted largely on game, which of every variety was very abundant, and was killed with their bows and arrows, in the use of which they were very expert.' _Wiley_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1867, p. 497. 'Die Indianer am Pittflusse machen Graben oder Locher von circa 5 Kubikfuss, bedecken diese mit Zweigen und Gras ganz leicht, soda.s.s die Thiere, wenn sie daruber gejagt werden, hinein fallen und nicht wieder herauskonnen. Wilde Ganse fangen sie mit Netzen ... Nur selten mogen Indianer den grauen Bar jagen.' _Wimmel_, _Californien_, p. 181; _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._

[454] Schumacher, _Oregon Antiquities, MS._, cla.s.sifies their ancient arrow and spear points thus: Long barbs with projections, short barbs with projections, and long and short barbs without projections. 'The point of the spear is composed of a small bone needle, which sits in a socket, and pulls out as soon as the fish starts. A string connecting the spear handle and the center of the bone serves, when pulled, to turn the needle cross wise in the wound.' _Taylor_, in _Cal. Farmer_, _March 8, 1861_; _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 146.

[455] _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._; _Hubbard_, in _Golden Era_, _April, 1856_; _Wiley_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1867, p. 497. 'In sp.a.w.ning-time the fish school up from Clear Lake in extraordinary numbers, so that the Indians have only to put a slight obstruction in the river, when they can literally shovel them out.' _Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. x., p. 537; _Schumacher's Oregon Antiquities, MS._

[456] 'The camas is a bulbus root, shaped much like an onion.' _Miller's Life Amongst the Modocs_, p. 22.

[457] 'A root about an inch long, and as large as one's little finger, of a bitter-sweetish and pungent taste, something like ginseng.'

_Powers_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. x., p. 537.

[458] 'An aquatic plant, with a floating leaf, very much like that of a pond-lily, in the centre of which is a pod resembling a poppy-head, full of farinaceous seeds.' _Ib._ See also _Meyer_, _Nach dem Sacramento_, p.

222. 'Their princ.i.p.al food is the kamas root, and the seed obtained from a plant growing in the marshes of the lake, resembling, before hulled, a broom-corn seed.' _Palmer_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 263.

[459] The Klamaths 'subsist upon roots and almost every living thing within their reach, not excepting reptiles, crickets, ants, etc.'

_Thompson_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 283; _Heintzelman_, in _Ind.

Aff. Rept._, 1857, p. 391; _Roseborough's letter to the author, MS._

[460] _Turner_, in _Overland Monthly_, vol. xi., p. 24.

[461] At Rogue River, 'the men go in the morning into the river, but, like the Malays, bring all the dirt out on their skins that they took in.' _Pfeiffer's Second Journ._, p. 317. At Pitt River they are 'disgusting in their habits.' _Abbott_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. vi., p. 61; _The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS._ 'Of the many hundreds I have seen, there was not one who still observed the aboriginal mode of life, that had not a sweet breath. This is doubtless due to the fact that, before they became civilized, they ate their food cold.' _Powers'

Pomo, MS._ 'They always rise at the first dawn of day, and plunge into the river.' _Hubbard_, in _Golden Era_, _March, 1856_. 'Their persons are unusually clean, as they use both the sweat-house and the cold-bath constantly.' _Gibbs_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iii., p. 142. 'Mit Tagesanbruch begibt sich der Allequa (Trinidad Bay) in jeder Jahreszeit zur nahen Quelle, wo er sich am ganzen Leibe wascht und in den Strahlen der aufsteigenden Sonne trocknen la.s.st.' _Meyer_, _Nach dem Sacramento_, p. 221; _Roseborough's letter to the author, MS._