r. For the cold and wet seasons the
Diggers in the northern part of California have a different kind of
dwelling. They dig a pit several feet deep, of the size of the
proposed lodge. Then they drive poles into the earth around the edge
of the pit, and bend them over so that they will meet at the top,
where they are fastened together, making a covering over the pit. They
then cover the whole building with earth to the thickness of several
inches, or even a foot, leaving a small hole at the top to serve as a
chimney. Another hole is made at the side, large enough to admit the
body. When they wish to sleep they build a fire in the center of the
lodge, then creep in feet foremost and lie in that position to the
fire.

The Diggers have a curious way of marrying. When a man takes a fancy
to a girl and wants her as his squaw, he speaks to her parents and
talks to her a little. Then he lies down with her, and if she lies
still they are considered man and wife; but if she gets up and runs
away, the courtship is at an end, and the man never tries to get her
again. A Digger man can have as many wives as he chooses, but the
woman can only have one husband.

When a Digger dies they burn him, with all his implements, and have a
great mourning during the ceremony. They believe that when a man dies
his spirit goes to the East, and keeps going until it comes to a great
water. A large boat is there to take him over. All the good get safely
across and go to a very large house where they eat, drink, and gamble,
until they are tired, when they go off among the trees. The bad people
who go in the boat reach the middle of the water, when the bottom
falls out, and they are lost forever.

Whilst in California we frequently visited what is now San Francisco,
but which was then a small village of a dozen houses, known by the
Spaniards as "Yerba Buena." A few French and Spanish traders were the
only white residents, and to those we carried down bear meat, buffalo
robes, and furs of various kinds, together with small bits of gold
found in the mountains, receiving in exchange blankets and "snakyeye,"
or whiskey. These trips were made several times during the year, but
were finally terminated by the occurrence that resulted in our leaving
that part of the country. A large party of Diggers surprised a small
hunting party of Snakes and took from them their ponies. A number of
warriors were sent out from our tribe to demand them back, but the
Digger