hands, as in a case mentioned by the same writer (199).  A Wappo Indian abandoned his wife and went down the river to a ranch where he took another woman.  But the lawful spouse soon discovered his whereabouts, followed him up, confronted him before his paramour, upbraided him fiercely, and then seized him by the hair and led him away triumphantly to her bed and basket.  It is to check such unseemly “new-womanish” tendencies in their squaws that the Californians resorted to the bugaboo performances already referred to.  The Central Californian women, says Bancroft (391), are more apt than the others to rebel against the tyranny of their masters; but the men usually manage to keep them in subjection.  The Tatu and Pomo tribes intimidate them in this way: 

“A man is stripped naked, painted with red and black stripes, and then at night takes a sprig of poison oak, dips it in water, and sprinkles it on the squaws, who, from its effects on their skins, are convinced of the man’s satanic power, so that his object is attained.”  (Powers, 141.)

The pages of Bancroft contain many references besides those already quoted, showing how far the Indians of California were from treating their women with chivalrous, self-sacrificing devotion.  “The principal labor falls to the lot of the women” (I., 351).  Among the Gallinomeros,

“as usual, the women are treated with great contempt by the men, and forced to do all the hard and menial work; they are not even allowed to sit at the same fire or eat at the same repast with their lords” (390).

Among the Shoshones “the weaker sex of course do the hardest labor” (437), etc.  With the Hupa a girl will bring in the market $15 to $50—­“about half the valuation of a man.” (Powers, 85.)

Nor do matters mend if we proceed northward on the Pacific coast.  Thus, Gibbs says (198) of the Indians of Western Oregon and Washington, “the condition of the woman is that of slavery under any circumstances;” and similar testimony might be adduced regarding the Indians of British Columbia and Alaska.

Among the eastern neighbors of the Californians there is one Indian people—­the Navajos of Arizona and New Mexico—­that calls for special attention, as its women, according to Horatio Hale, are not slaves but “queens.”  The Navajos have lived for centuries in a rich and fertile country; their name is said to mean “large cornfields” and the Spaniards found, about the middle of the sixteenth century, that they practised irrigation.  A more recent writer, E.A.  Graves,[210] says that the Navajos “possess more wealth than all the wild tribes in New Mexico combined.  They are rich in horses, mules, asses, goats, and sheep.”  Bancroft cites evidence (I., 513) that the women were the owners of the sheep; that they were allowed to take their meals with the men, and admitted to their councils; and that they were relieved of the drudgery