Note 532 — Chapter IV · CALIFORNIANS.

Roquefeuil's Voy., pp. 25-6. Tule is an Aztec word, from tollin, signifying rushes, flags, or reeds. Molina, Vocabulario. Mendoza says that when the ancient Mexicans arrived at the site of Mexico, it was a complete swamp, covered 'con grandes matorrales de enea, que llaman tuli.' Esplicacion del Codice, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. v., p. 40. That the Spaniards themselves had not boats at this time is also asserted by Kotzebue: 'That no one has yet attempted to build even the simplest canoe in a country which produces a superabundance of the finest wood for the purpose, is a striking proof of the indolence of the Spaniards, and the stupidity of the Indians.' New Voy., vol. ii., p. 90.