Near the
centre of the group of huts stood the temescal - an institution with
nearly every Southern California tribe of Indians - where those who were
ill subjected themselves to the heroic treatment of parboiling over a
fire, until in a profuse perspiration, to be followed, on crawling out,
by a plunge into the icy water of the stream. It was truly a case of
kill or cure.
Let us return to the hillside hut, and make the acquaintance of its
inmates. Passing through the humble opening, the interior is disclosed
to the curious eye at one glance. The ground embraced within the circle
of the wickiup had been dug away so as to make an even, hard floor two
or three feet below the surface of the earth outside. To the right,
standing on the floor, were two large, round baskets, each one with a
capacity of half a dozen gallons. They were made in conformity to the
general type of basket of the Southern California aborigine, but with
the distinctive marks peculiar to the tribe to which belonged the
dwellers within, and woven so tightly as to hold water without
permitting a drop to pass through.
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