When the Californians want to drink, they wade into the river, up to
their middles, where they take up the water in their hands, or stoop
down and suck it with their mouths. Their time is occupied between
hunting, fishing, eating, and sleeping; and having abundant exercise,
and rather a spare diet, their lives are ordinarily prolonged to
considerable age, many of both sexes appearing to be very old, by
their faces being much wrinkled, and their hair very grey. Their bows
are about six feet long, with strings made of deer's sinews, but their
arrows seemed too long for their bows; and considering that they have
no adequate tools, these articles must require much time in making.
The shafts of their arrows consist of a hollow cane, for two-thirds of
their length, the other third, or head, being of a heavy kind of wood,
edged with flint, or sometimes agate, and the edges notched like a
saw, with a very sharp point. They made no display of their arms to
us, and we seldom saw any in their hands, though they have need of
some arms to defend themselves from wild beasts, as I saw some men who
had been severely hurt in that way, particularly one old man, who
had his thigh almost torn in pieces by a tiger or lion, and though,
healed, it was frightfully scarred. The women commonly go into the
woods with bows and arrows in search of game, while the men are
chiefly occupied in fishing. I can say nothing respecting their
government, except that it did not seem any way strict or rigorous.
When the king appeared in public, he was usually attended by many
couples, or men walking hand in hand, two and two together. On the
first morning of our arrival, he was seen in this manner coming out of
a wood, and noticing one of my officers cutting down a tree, whom
he judged to be better than ordinary, by having silver lace on his
waistcoat, be shewed both his authority and civility at the same time,
by ordering one of his attendants to take the axe and work in his