The San Francisco call., 1899-08-27
NTENAR1AN INDIAN WOMEN OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY

have never bothered their heads an hour
over what they should wear and how to
provide for 1t. They have lived always in
wickiups made of straw and brush and
when one wickiup was old and weather.
beaten the whole Indian family would go
to work and make a new one in a day.
These old women ran more than half nude
for over half a century, and never put on
the clothes of civilization until the immi-
grafton of palefaceS into Southern Califor-
mia demanded it.
Temescal has been married three times
and has had, first and last more than a
dozen children. Her last husband died
a year ago at the age of about 50. She
has several children who are between the
ages of 20 and so years. She has a great
and has several great-great-great-gr
children, but the relationship is so remote
when il gets to that stage that the pro-
all interest in their increasing progeny
One of the old lady's great-great-grand-
sons is a bright, active man in the sponge
and oyster business in Guaymas, Mexico
His mother and his grandfather were
full-blooded MeXicans, and he has very
little of the Indian character in him.
Se-mul-lah, the eldest of the aged trio
of sisters, is said bv the white ranchers
who live near the Saboba reservation to
have been the smarteSt of the trio until
about seven years ago, when she had an
attack of the grip that nearly ended her
days and dulled her mind. She used to
have fairly good memory of events, but
no idea, as few Indians do, of ages and
the lapse of time She remembered the
building of the second San Diego mission
by the priests and the Indians. That was
an earthquake in 1907 that ruined several
of the Franciscan missions in California.
husband, and all the names of her many
children but two or three of her eldest
sons. She is a proud old dame, and to
this day she knows what are the gaudiest
garments. and she vigorously insists on
filling her own pipe and feeding herself.
She seldom speaks and then only in few
words of Spanish She used to be proud
of her extreme age. but now pays no at
tention to the passing years that MAKE
her span of life the more unusual She
walks sometimes a half mile or so about
the Indian village, and will pose at any
time so that kodak fiend may get her
picture.
Ning-lio is the jolliest Of the three sis
ters. She has been the mother of fifteen
or sixteen children she does not know
exactly herself Heap long time" she
answers with veXation when questions IN
volving dates or numbers are asked. She
is a good worker even IN her n1nety-nlnth
year. She gets in her annual crop OF
mesquite beans and hunts up pIusn 1or
kindling fire to cook with outside Of her
habitation of cornstalks and brush. She is
the historian of the family, and some in
teresting bits of information ABOUT the
days of the Franciscan missions in South
ern California have been had from her.
The late Helen Hunt Jackson, when writ
ing Ramona" had chats with old Ming
lio, who was about ST years old at the
time; but an Indian interpreter mad to be
used Nfng-Iio is as active as a woman Of
Is. She will walk mile or two and beg
friendly ranchman. and she can scold a
person soundly who abuses the NANCY
dog that always accompanies her.
The local physicians at San Diego say
they see no reason why these old sisters
NAV not live years longer. They are all
in good health and there is nothing that
comes into their lives to shorten their
long career on this earth. They are
deeply wrinkled and their flesh is hard
and tough They sleep half the time and
their digestion seems perfect.