The Native Races (Complete 5 Part Edition). Hubert Howe Bancroft
Meacham's Lecture, in S. F. Alta California, Oct. 6, 1861; Miller's Life Amongst the Modocs.
483. Polygamy is common among the Modocs. Meacham's Lecture, in S. F. Alta California, Oct. 6, 1873. On Pitt River a chief sometimes has five wives. 'The most jealous people in the world.' The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS.; Roseborough's letter to the author, MS. 'Among the tribes in the north of the State adultery is punished by the death of the child.' Taylor, in California Farmer, March 8, 1861. 'The males have as many wives as they are able to purchase;' adultery committed by a woman is punished with death. Hubbard, in Golden Era, March, 1856. Among the Cahrocs polygamy is not tolerated; among the Modocs polygamy prevails, and the women have considerable privilege. The Hoopa adulterer loses one eye, the adulteress is exempt from punishment. Powers' Pomo, MS. The Weeyots at Eel river 'have as many wives as they please.' Gibbs, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 127. At Trinidad Bay 'we found out that they had a plurality of wives.' Maurelle's Jour., p. 19.
484. All the young unmarried women are a common possession. Powers, in Overland Monthly, vol. viii., p. 330. The women bewail their virginity for three nights before their marriage. Gibbs, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 173. If we believe Powers, they cannot usually have much to bewail.
485. Boys are disgraced by work. The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS. Women work, while men gamble or sleep. Wiley, in Ind. Aff. Rept. Joint Spec. Com., 1867, p. 497; Parker, in Ind. Aff. Rept., 1857, p. 242; Roseborough's letter to the author, MS.
486. Kane's Wand., p. 182.
487. For the god Chareya, see Bancroft's Nat. Races, vol. iii., pp. 90, 161.
488. Pfeiffer's Second Journ., p. 318. The Pitt River Indians 'sing as they gamble and play until they are so hoarse they cannot speak.' The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS.
489. Chase, in Overland Monthly, vol. ii., p. 433.
490. 'They used tobacco, which they smoaked in small wooden pipes, in form of a trumpet, and procured from little gardens, where they had planted it.' Maurelle's Jour., p. 21.
491. The Pitt River Indians 'give no medicines.' The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS. 'The prevailing diseases are venereal, scrofula and rheumatism.' Many die of consumption. Force, in Ind. Aff. Rept., 1871, p. 157. At the mouth of Eel river 'the principal diseases noticed, were sore eyes and blindness, consumption, and a species of leprosy.' Gibbs, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 128. They suffer from a species of lung fever. Geiger, in Ind. Aff. Rept., 1858, p. 289. 'A disease was observed among them (the Shastas) which had the appearance of the leprosy.' Wilkes' Nar., in U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. v., p. 255.
492. 'The only medicine I know of is a root used for poultices, and another root or plant for an emetic.' The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS. 'The root of a parasite fern, found growing on the tops of the fir trees (collque nashul), is the principal remedy. The plant in small doses is expectorant and diurtetic; hence it is used to relieve difficulties of the lungs and kidneys; and, in large doses, it becomes sedative and is an emmenagogue; hence, it relieves fevers, and is useful in uterine diseases, and produces abortions. The squaws use the root extensively for this last mentioned purpose.' Hubbard, in Golden Era, March, 1856.
493. A Pitt River doctor told his patient that for his fee 'he must have his horse or he would not let him get well.' The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS.; Powers, in Overland Monthly, vol. viii., p. 428; Gibbs, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 175.
494. The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS.; Rector, in Ind. Aff. Rept., 1862, p. 261; Ostrander, in Id., 1857, p. 369; Miller, in Id., p. 361.
495. Temescal is an Aztec word defined by Molina, Vocabulario, 'Temazcalli, casilla como estufa, adonde se bañan y sudan.' The word was brought to this region and applied to the native sweat-houses by the Franciscan Fathers. Turner, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. iii., p. 72, gives 'sweat-house' in the Chemehuevi language, as pahcaba.
496. Roseborough's letter to the author, MS.; The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS.; Pfeiffer's Second Journ., p. 317; Powers' Pomo, MS.; Chase, in Overland Monthly, vol. ii., p. 432.
497. Meacham's Lecture on the Modocs, in S. F. Alta California, Oct. 6, 1873; The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS.
498. On Pitt River they burn their dead and heap stones over the ashes for a monument. 'No funeral ceremonies.' The Shastas and their Neighbors, MS. On the ocean frontier of south Oregon and north California 'the dead are buried with their faces looking to the west.' Hubbard, in Golden Era, March, 1856. The Patawats and Chillulas bury their dead. The Tolewahs are not allowed to name the dead. Powers' Pomo, MS. 'It is one of the most strenuous Indian laws that whoever mentions the name of a deceased person is liable to a heavy fine, the money being paid to the relatives.' Chase, in Overland Monthly, vol. ii., p. 431. 'The bodies had been doubled up, and placed in a sitting posture in holes. The earth, when replaced, formed conical mounds over the heads.' Abbott, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. vi., p. 69. 'They bury their dead under the noses of the living, and with them all their worldly goods. If a man of importance, his house is burned and he is buried on its site.' Johnson, in Overland Monthly, vol. ii., p. 536. 'The chick or ready money, is placed in the owner's grave, but the bow and quiver become the property of the nearest male relative. Chiefs only receive the honors of a fence, surmounted with feathers, round the grave.' Gibbs, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 175. 'Upon the death of one of these Indians they raised a sort of funeral cry, and afterward burned the body within the house of their ruler.' Maurelle's Jour., p. 19.
499. Muck-a-muck, food. In the Chinook Jargon 'to eat; to bite; food. Muckamuck chuck, to drink water.' Dict. Chinook Jargon, or Indian Trade Language, p. 12.
500. In the vicinity of Nootka Sound and the Columbia River, the first United States traders with the natives were from Boston; the first English vessels appeared about the same time, which was during the reign of George III. Hence in the Chinook Jargon we find 'Boston, an American; Boston illahie, the United States;' and 'King George, English—King George man, an Englishman.'
501. 'They will often go three or four miles out of their way, to avoid passing a place which they think to be haunted.'