The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-10-07
The Digger Indians of California Their Ha-
bits and CustonS-Thc Antedilurinn Indian.

bits and Cnstoms-Thc Antcdilurinn Indian.
CoCLTEREvILLE, CAL, July 81, 1867.
on our way TO the Yosemite we stopped for
the night at the well known rancho OF Clark's,
near the Big Trees. Around the house are
those magnificent and symmetrical trees,
often more impressive than the Seq ur;t itself
| the sugar ines, reaching here 4 height Of over
200 feet
Beneath one OF those quecnly trees. rs we
rode in, was n little camp of Digger In
dams | examined them with interest The
men were small, short, pot hcllcd and small
limbcd. with complcXions as dark az some
tribes o! negroes check bones high and pro-
Imn"nt, the eyes tar apart and deep, over
hanging eyebrows, and masses of long,
straight, ink black hair growing low over the
forehead. The frontal head was not low-thc
women We're taller in proportion and better
lookinG-som"iimes with Il deep, rich coppery
complexion. They were all Sustingly dirty,
and with hut little clothing on thcm-mOs tly
pieces of the old clothing Of the whites AT
night l awakened and distur bed bv a long,
wild cry, between 4 wall and Il supplication,
proceeding sometimes from their tent, and
sometimes from the forest near it. II was
sIngul;rly wild and plaimtivc. l inquired in
| III" morninc what it was. 1t was them
cusscd lnjnns, was told, "ycIlin cause a
| squaws Sick-goin 10 die, l suppose l
went over TO the tent and found a woman
wrapped in the furs Of some wild animals, but
with no other covering, lying outside the ten /,
and some other women mutterins SON" spells
| over her, and caring for her most tcndcrly
| others, their faces hlac'!rncd with pitch, were
| weeping bitterly. ! felt her pulse She was
| IN high fever and much pain, evidently pro-
| badly under 4 severe attack OF rheumatic fc-
ver, TO which these poor creatures are very
| subject from their exposed lt". around her
were conical basket", made so close rs 10 he
| filled With liquid and dishes of the mlnZani IN
seed, and roasted acornS ttheir favorite food !
| with baskets of sn;ils for frying. Other bas-
kcts III the tent contained pine. seed, from
| which they extract :: nutritious food. Their
fuvoritc tit bit later in tho s"a1On are roasted
grasshoppcrs and fried crickcts. Everything
| was dirty ana miserable about their quarters
| TO the last degree. They seemed as they truly
are, among the lowest tribes OF the human
| race, though the immemorIal abOriginccs OF
| California.
The travellers at the rancho spoke of their
waIlIngS over the sick woman ~ we would
speak of the howlinGs of dogs but 10 me their
| grief seemed a- Fcn OF human affection as il
| ever doe among the refined and the inteli-
gent. Evidently they cling 10 the form of the
| diving woman rs we cling 10 The forms OF our
| beloved ones and it Was ~ hard 10 speak the
| last word TO the cold ear of the poor Indian
suuaw' beneath. the pine shadow rs it is
FOR us beneath the Curtained bed, and Death
tore 1t their EcaTtslringS Just as ii tears IL
ours That night, as the wild, aEoniZed wall
| which was half suppllCat!ou, sounded
through the forest, there seemed 10 me IN u the
same ilnmcasurablc depth -'h;Ch belongs
everywhere 10 hutua" @oTrow, and l thought
that the ear which catches every human groan
and II" tcnS to the cry OF the lowest must have
Opcucd most icnGcriy of All 10 that vail Of de-
pressed agony and 10 that inarticu!c, ago
nHu@ prayer.
In" Digger Indi.ns arc diminishing con-
tinually through the Usual causes which
destroy 81 wage racce i'll contact with civilized
from tn" cErcssiN" usr of alcoholic drinks and
| rem the Diseases of the whites.
! There are laws, strictly enforced, making ii
| Il penal offence, punishable with fine and i'm
i,k,ii
sun succeed, however. IN Procuring some.
| They and their relative branches are the only
| tribes il America who never had any agrlcul-
tur". Their only stores for winter are pine
| buds and :iCOruS. This miScrab bic diet has
| caused their POOR physique, though II dos
rot seem 10 have diminished their vitality, rs
| they were remarkably iumS-livcd when the
| whites arrived. They seldom use a gun, but
have bows of great elasticity ahd strength.
| In winter their dwellings are conical frames
| OF wood covered with earth, with IN ap"r-
urc for the escape of the smoke. a few have
wooden cabins, Ink" the miners. According TO
| those who have studied their habits closely,
| they are polygalEistS, though, on account of
| their poverty, IL IS rare 10 50" Il man with
| more than wife. They burn their dead,
| and the women put on mourning by smcarinc
| the face shoulders, and breast with baCl;
pitch Their religious notions arc exceed
| luglv vague, and there i good reason 10 be-
| ll.vc that with them, rs with many tribes on
| the eastern coast the idea of = Great
| SPIRIT ~ has been GtflEcu more from lnclI
| Christian teachers than from their own iutu-
| iiious. They are said TO have 4 clear code OF
| their own OF right and wrong.
| ~ our party were riding recently through
the. forest in Mariposa county We suddenly
heard 4 strange yelling, and found ourselves
| right in the midst OF an encanpncnt OF these
Indians. 1t was beautifully chosen, on an
open grassy knoll i'll the midst of thick trees,
| with :: clear spring on one side. a chief far
above the usual appearance OF the D@Eers
came forward 10 meet us. He looked like The
| best of our Eastern ludans--halc and
| strongly made with an acquiline nose, dark
| copncr icomplrXion and well shaped head, and
| The usual long, black hair low on the fore.
| head. He was said 10 be a great hunter, and
had Il rifle in his hand. The Others We're sit
| ting or lying on the ground, evidently having
| no covering for the night. They Were short,
weakly, miserable looking creatures, eXcep,
| some OF the women, who appeared TO have 4
| better physiuUc. These last We're only half
clad, and showed long, penduous breasts
| They All seemed exceedingly harmless, good
| natur.d creatures, and took the Jokes OF some
OF the party III The liveliesL way.-t0rre-
| S},ondenct Nei0 York TineS
| TThe writer gives IN account of n skull founc
in a shaft sunk in Calarcras county, l3O fee
beneath the surface of the earth, i'll II stratum
| of gravel between TWO of lava He think
| this skull that OF Il Root.Dgser, and infer
that the tribe existed III that part Of th'
| world either in the lliocene or The Post PHO
| Gene period, when the nlStadou and elephan
| wandered through the forest of the Slerras
| and the tapir, the buffalo, and the hors,
ahounded in the valleys. If this be true th'
| Digger is indeed one Of the oldest tribes OF
| earth But is it? This question Will still
I.rise in the mind Of the geologiSt spite OF the
| xJytg.i