Nevada County CA Archives History - Books .....Indianology 1867
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Book Title: Bean’s History And Directory Of Nevada County, California

INDIANOLOGY.

  It was my intention to make rather an extended notice of this subject, but on
investigation I find the material much more scanty than I at first was led to
suppose.

  The Indians of Nevada county are but a handful. The whole tribe speaking the
same language, and having the same habits, extends from Rabbit Creek on the
north, to Yankee Jim's on the south, and from Empire Ranch to Nevada, inclusive
of all these places, and probably does not number to exceed five hundred
persons. Their numbers were formerly much larger, but the old tale of contact
with civilization destroying the Indian is to be told. Whisky, the great
leveller, has laid them low; besides diseases unknown until the advent of
Americans, have taken fearful hold upon the aborigines here as well as in the
more eastern regions of the United States.

  The habits of the Indians here are filthy. They usually resided in Summer in
the open air or under temporary shelter of bushes. In Winter they erected
conical frames of wood, and covered them with earth, leaving a hole in the top
for the smoke to escape. The whole presented the appearance of a smoking coal
pit. Very lately, some Indians have constructed small cabins of boards with
roofs of shakes, and having doors and chimneys, which are but little inferior to
the cabins of miners. The food of the Indians was formerly acorns, the nut of
the pine, seeds, grasshoppers, and whatever they could command by the chase. At
the present time they purchase of the whites, flour, sugar and potatoes, and
some few other articles of food.

  Like the Eastern Indian, the Digger is a polygamist. There is no restriction
upon him in Digger law which prevents him from having as many wives as he wants,
though it is rare to see a man with more than one; but it is probably owing more
to his want of means than want of inclination. When marriage is contemplated the
parents are propitiated with presents. The union is understood to be for life,
or good behavior. The Indian takes his bride for better, but not for worse.

  He has no tradition about coming to this country; but says most decidedly that
he grew here as well as his ancestors before him. When asked who made the
movable stone mortars that have been dug up from the soil, he says they were not
made by his tribe, but were given them by- the one who made the acorns, and
since then the Indians have learned to make their own mortars in the solid and
immovable rock.

   The Nevada Indians burn their dead like the ancient Romans, and bury "the
ashes. The only exception to this custom is with the dead bodies of their
dreamers. These are buried for one year, when the bones are dug up and burnt.
The women put on mourning for relatives, by covering their heads and smearing
their faces, shoulders and breasts with a black pitch, which, is suffered to
remain many months. The corpse is dressed in the best it possessed while living;
beads, bows and arrows, blankets, and every thing belonging to the deceased, are
laid upon the pyre. The relatives and friends dance, howling around the flames
till the body is consumed.

  The Indian here has a very correct notion of right and wrong, and can give a
list with, precision of what he deems wrongs, such, as to stamp the perpetrator
as a bad Indian. He says the Indian always had such ideas, and did not obtain
them from the whites.

  Their religions rites are very few, and their ideas of a future life rather
confused. Like all undeveloped minds, they easily imbibe the mystic notions of
others, and it is impossible to say what the former belief of the Indian was. If
they ever had a general belief, it seems to be clouded by what they have learned
from the whites.

  The Indian of this region has many points of resemblance with his Eastern
brother. The same arrow-head, the same council house, where the chief receives
his friends, the same taciturnity and gravity, the same medicine man, the same
respect for dreamers or prophets, and the same improvidence belong to the race.
But he differs widely in other respects. The Nevada Indian is not migratory; he
practices no torture on his enemies; the rite of adoption of wives and children
of enemies is not known, but all are killed indiscriminately; chiefs are not
hereditary or selected for prowess, but are chosen for other qualities,
principally, it would seem, for ability to entertain or reward their friends.
There is no regular chief to the tribe at present. Like all barbarous races, the
Indian is addicted to games of chance.

  The mechanical skill of the tribe was not great. The women wove baskets so
compactly as to hold water, and the men made their arrows and a very superior
bow, having a covering of sinew along its back, which, retained the elasticity
of the instrument.

  The Indian doctor has but few and simple remedies. He applies poultices of
plants to bruised flesh; but for fever and other pains the disease is pretended
to be sucked out.

  I have been able to gain but little information respecting the language of the
"Customah Midah," as the Nevada Indians call themselves. Philologists count the
frequent recurrence of vowel sounds as indicative of the long influence of a
warm climate on the language of a people. The language of the Indians here has
its full share of vowels, and beyond this fact I am unable, at this writing, to
say much concerning the tongue spoken by the Indians.

  They have their story-tellers, who entertain their hearers the whole night
long with weird, and fanciful tales, like the Arabs of the desert. As a specimen
of the kind of stories pleasing to the Indian ear, I give one that was related
me by an Indian, in broken English. He received it from an old man who dreamed
it, he said. Here it is:

  It was a long time ago. A California lion and his younger brother, the wild
cat, lived in a big wigwam together. The lion was strong and fleet of foot. He
was more than a match for most of the animals he wanted to eat. But he could not
cope with the grizzly, or the serpent that crawled on the earth. His young
brother was wise. He had a wonderful power. From a magical ball of great beauty,
he derived an influence potent to destroy all the animals his older brother was
afraid of. They hunted together, the cat going before. One day—it was a long
time ago—the two went out to hunt. " There is a bear," said the lion. The cat,
pointing to the bear, said, "die," and the bear fell dead. They next met a
serpent, and he was killed in like manner. They skinned the snake and took along
his skin for its magical power. A little farther on two large and very beautiful
deer were found feeding together. "Kill one of these for yourself." said the boy
brother to his man brother, "but catch me the other alive." The lion gave chase,
and at night he returned to his wigwam. "Did you bring me back one of the
beautiful deer?" said the cat. "No," said the lion, "it was too much work. I
killed them both." Then the cat was sorry, and did not love his brother. They
were estranged. The cat would not go out to slay the bear and the snake any
more, and the lion would not go out for fear of the bear and the snake. He
thought He would use the medicine ball of his brother, the cat, and learn to
kill the bear and the snake himself. One day—it was a long time ago—the lion was
playing with the ball, and tossing it up, he saw it go up and up, and out of
sight. It never came down. Then the deer scattered ail over the earth and the
hunting has been poor ever since. The cat was disconsolate for the loss of the
magical ball. He left the wigwam to wander alone. He sorrowed for his loss and
looked to find the ball again. It was a long time ago. Big water run all round
from "Lankee" Jims to Humbug, and away up to the high mountains. The wild cat
went north. He climbed a tree by the water. He wished for the lost ball. By and
by he saw a beautiful ball hanging, like a buckeye, on a limb. He picked it off.
  It was very pretty. He put it in the snake-skin to keep it so it would not get
away. He went along the shore of the big water till he could see across it. Two
girls were on the other side cooking. The ball jumped out of the snake-skin and
rolled over in the water. It went across the river. One of the girls came down
to the stream to get some water in her basket, and saw the beautiful ball
rolling and shining in the water. She tried to dip it up in her basket. But it
would roll away. She said, "sister, come and help me catch this beautiful ball."
The sister came. They tried a long time, but finally caught it in the basket. It
was bright and very pretty. They were afraid it would get away. One held it for
a time, and then the other. They were very glad. At night they put it between
them in the bed. They kept awake a long time and talked about their prize. But,
at last they fell asleep. They woke in the morning—the ball was gone—there was
lying between them a full grown young man. And that was the first man that ever
came on the earth. This was a long time ago.

  NOTE.—Since writing the above, ray friend, J. E. Squire, informs me that a
strange inscription is found on the rocks a short distance below Meadow Lake.
The rocks appear to have been covered with a black coating, and the
hieroglyphics or characters cut through the layer and into the rock. This
inscription was, probably, not made by the present tribe inhabiting the lower
part of Nevada county. It may have been done by Indians from the other side of
the mountains, who came to the lake region near the summit to fish; or it may
have a still stranger origin.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Bean’s History and Directory of Nevada County, California

CONTAINING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY, WITH
SKETCHES OF THE VARIOUS TOWNS AND MINING
CAMPS, THE NAMES AND OCCUPATION OF
RESIDENTS; ALSO, FULL STATISTICS
OF MINING AND ALL OTHER
INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES.

COMPILED BY EDWIN F. BEAN.

PRINTED AT THE DAILY GAZETTE BOOK AND JOB OFFICE,
1867.


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