In the character of the several nations of this division there is a marked contrast. The Apaches as I have said, though naturally lazy like all savages, are in their industries extremely active,—their industries being theft and murder, to which they are trained by their mothers, and in which they display consummate cunning, treachery, and cruelty.[786]The Navajos and Mojaves display a more docile nature; their industries, although therein they do not claim to eschew all trickery, being of amore peaceful, substantial character, such as stock-raising, agriculture, and manufactures. Professional thieving is not countenanced. Though treacherous, they are not naturally cruel; and though deaf to the call of gratitude, they are hospitable and socially inclined. They are ever ready to redeem their pledged word, and never shrink from the faithful performance of a contract. They are brave and intelligent, and possess much natural common sense.[787]The Tamajabs have no inclination to share in marauding excursions. Though not wanting in courage, they possess a mild disposition, and are kind to strangers.[788]The Comanches are dignified in their deportment, vain in respect to their personal appearance, ambitious of martial fame, unrelenting in their feuds, always exacting blood for blood, yet not sanguinary. They are true to their allies, prizing highly their freedom, hospitable to strangers, sober yet gay, maintaining a grave stoicism in presence of strangers, and a Spartan indifference under severe suffering or misfortune. Formal, discreet, and Arab-like, they are always faithful to the guest who throws himself upon their hospitality. To the valiant and brave is awarded the highest place in their esteem. They are extremely clannish in their social relations. Quarrels among relatives and friends are unheard of among them.[789]
THE PUEBLOS.
The non-nomadic semi-civilized town and agricultural peoples of New Mexico and Arizona, the second division of this group, I call thePueblos, or Towns-people, frompueblo, town, population, people, a name given by the Spaniards to such inhabitants of this region as were found, when first discovered, permanently located in comparatively well-built towns. Strictly speaking, the term Pueblos applies only to the villagers settled along the banks of the Rio Grande del Norte and its tributaries, between latitudes 34° 45´ and 36° 30´, and although the name is employed as a general appellation for this division, it will be used, for the most part, only in its narrower and popular sense. In this division, besides the before-mentionedPueblosproper, are embraced theMoquis, or villagers of eastern Arizona, and the non-nomadic agricultural nations of the lower Gila River,—thePimas,Maricopas,Pápagos, and cognate tribes. The country of the Towns-people, if we may credit Lieutenant Simpson, is one of "almost universal barrenness," yet interspersed with fertile spots; that of the agricultural nations, though dry, is more generally productive. The fame of this so-called civilization reached Mexico at an early day; first through Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and his companions, who belonged to the expedition under the unfortunate Pámphilo de Narvaez, traversing the continent from Florida to the shore of the gulf of California; they brought in exaggerated rumors of great cities to the north, which prompted the expeditions of Marco de Niza in 1539, of Coronado in 1540, and of Espejo in 1586. These adventurers visited the north in quest of the fabulous kingdoms of Quivira, Tontonteac, Marata and others, in which great riches were said to exist. The name of Quivira wasafterwards applied by them to one or more of the pueblo cities. The name Cíbola, fromcíbolo, Mexican bull,bos bison, or wild ox of New Mexico, where the Spaniards first encountered buffalo, was given to seven of the towns which were afterwards known as the seven cities of Cíbola. But most of the villages known at the present day were mentioned in the reports of the early expeditions by their present names. The statements in regard to the number of their villages differed from the first. Castañeda speaks of seven cities.[790]The following list, according to Lieutenant Whipple's statement, appears to be the most complete. Commencing north, and following the southward course of the Rio Grande del Norte; Shipap, Acoti, Taos, Picuris, San Juan, Pojuaque, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Nambe, Tesuque, Cochite, Pecos, Santo Domingo, Cuyamanque, Silla, Jemez, San Felipe, Galisteo, Santa Ana, Zandia, Laguna, Acoma, Zuñi, Isleta, and Chilili.[791]The Moquis who speak a distinct language, and who have many customs peculiar to themselves,inhabit seven villages, named Oraibe, Shumuthpa, Mushaiina, Ahlela, Gualpi, Siwinna, and Tegua.[792]
By the Spanish conquest of New Mexico the natives were probably disturbed less than was usually the case with the vanquished race; the Pueblos being well-domiciled and well-behaved, and having little to be stolen, the invaders adopted the wise policy of permitting them to work in peace, and to retain the customs and traditions of their forefathers as they do, many of them, to this day. Attempts have been made to prove a relationship with the civilized Aztecs of Mexico, but thus far without success. No affinities in language appear to exist; that of the Moquis, indeed, contains a few faint traces of and assimilations to Aztec words, as I shall show in the third volume of this work, but they are not strong enough to support any theory of common origin or relationship.[793]
PIMAS AND PÁPAGOS.
The Pimas inhabit the banks of the Gila River about two hundred miles above its confluence with the Colorado. Their territory extends from about the bend of the Gila up the river to a place called Maricopa Coppermine; northward their boundary is the Salt River, and south the Picacho. They are generally divided, andknown as the upper and lower Pimas, which branches show but slight dialectic differences. When first seen their territory extended further southward into Sonora. The Pápagos, their neighbors, are closely allied to them by language. In nowise related to them, but very similar in their manners and customs, are the Maricopas, who reside in their immediate vicinity, and who claim to have migrated to that place some centuries ago, from a more westerly territory.
All these people, although not dwelling in houses built, like those of the Pueblos, of solid materials, have settled villages in which they reside at all times, and are entirely distinct from the roving and nomadic tribes described in the Apache family. When first found by the Spaniards, they cultivated the soil, and knew how to weave cotton and other fabrics; in fact it was easily observable that they had made a step toward civilization. I therefore describe them together with the Pueblos. The region occupied by them, although containing some good soil, is scantily provided with water, and to enable them to raise crops, they are obliged to irrigate, conducting the water of the Gila to their fields in small canals. The water obtained by digging wells is frequently brackish, and in many places they are forced to carry all the water needed for household purposes quite a long distance. The climate is claimed to be one of the hottest on the American continent.
The Pueblos, and Moqui villagers, are a race of small people, the men averaging about five feet in height, with small hands and feet, well-cut features, bright eyes, and a generally pleasing expression of countenance.[794]Their hair is dark, soft, and of fine texture, and their skin aclear shade of brown.[795]The woman seldom exceed four feet in height, with figure rotund, but a graceful carriage, and face full, with pretty, intelligent features and good teeth.[796]Albinos are at times seen amongst them, who are described as having very fair complexions, light hair, and blue or pink eyes.[797]
DRESS OF THE PUEBLOS.
The Pimas and their neighbors are men of fine physique, tall and bony, many of them exceeding six feet in height, broad-chested, erect, and muscular, but frequently light-limbed with small hands, though the feet of both sexes are large. They have large features, expressive of frankness and good nature, with prominent cheek-bones and aquiline nose, those of the women being somewhat retroussés.[798]The females are symmetrically formed, with beautifully tapered limbs, full busts, pleasing features, embellished with white and evenly set teeth.[799]Their coarse hair grows to a great length and thickness, and their dark complexion becomes yet darker toward the south.[800]The ordinary dress of thePueblos is the breech-cloth and blanket; some add a blouse of cotton or deer-skin, a waist-belt, and buckskin leggins and moccasins. The women wear a long, cotton, sleeveless tunic, confined round the waist by a colored girdle, a species of cape bordered in different colors, fastened round the neck at the two corners, and reaching down to the waist, while over the head a shawl is thrown. The feet are protected by neat moccasins of deer-skin or woolen stuff, surmounted by leggins of the same material. They have a habit of padding the leggins, which makes them appear short-legged with small feet.[801]The men bind a handkerchief or colored band round the head. Young women dress the hair in a peculiarly neat and becoming style. Parting it at the back, they roll it round hoops, when it is fastened in two high bunches, one on each side of the head, placing sometimes a single feather in the center; married women gather it into two tight knots at the side or one at the back of the head; the men cut it in front of the ears, and in a line with the eye-brows, while at the back it is plaited or gathered into a single bunch, and tied with a band.[801]On gala occasions they paint and adorn themselves in many grotesque styles; arms, legs, and exposed portions of the body are covered with stripes or rings,and conical-shaped head-dresses; feathers, sheep-skin wigs, and masks, are likewise employed.[802]The habiliments of the Pimas are a cotton serape of their own manufacture, a breech-cloth, with sandals of raw-hide or deer-skin. Women wear the same kind of serape, wound round the loins and pinned, or more frequently tucked in at the waist, or fastened with a belt in which different-colored wools are woven; some wear a short petticoat of deer-skin or bark.[803]They wear no head-dress. Like the Pueblos, the men cut the hair short across the forehead, and either plait it in different coils behind, which are ornamented with bits of bone, shells, or red cloth, or mix it with clay, or gather it into a turban shape on top of the head, leaving a few ornamented and braided locks to hang down over the ears.[804]Each paints in a manner to suit the fancy; black, red, and yellow are the colors most in vogue, black being alone used for war paint. Some tattoo their newly born children round the eyelids, and girls, on arriving at the age of maturity, tattoo from the corners of the mouth to the chin. Some tribes oblige their women to cut the hair, others permit it to grow.[805]For ornament, shelland bead necklaces are used; also ear-rings of a blue stone found in the mountains.[806]The dwellings of thePIMA AND MARICOPA DWELLINGS.agricultural Pimas, Maricopas, and Pápagos consist of dome-shaped huts, either round or oval at the base. There are usually thirty or more to a village, and they are grouped with some regard to regularity. Strong forked stakes are firmly fixed in the ground at regular distances from each other, the number varying according to the size of the hut, cross-poles are laid from one to the other, around these are placed cotton-wood poles, which are bent over and fastened to the transverse sticks, the structure is then wattled with willows, reeds, or coarse straw, and the whole covered with a coat of mud. The only openings are an entrance door about three feet high, and a small aperture in the center of the roof that serves for ventilation. Their height is from five to seven feet, and the diameter from twenty to fifty. Outside stands a shed, open at all sides with a roof of branches or corn-stalks, under which they prepare their food. Their houses are occupied mainly during the rainy season; in summer they build light sheds of twigs in their corn-fields, which not only are more airy, but are also more convenient in watching their growing crops. Besides the dwelling-place, each family has a granary, similar in shape and of like materials but of stronger construction; by frequent plastering with mud they are made impervious to rain.[807]The towns of the Pueblosare essentially unique, and are the dominant feature of these aboriginals. Some of them are situated in valleys, others on mesas; sometimes they are planted on elevations almost inaccessible, reached only by artificial grades or by steps cut in the solid rock. Some of the towns are of an elliptical shape, while others are square, a town being frequently but a block of buildings. Thus a Pueblo consists of one or more squares, each enclosed by three or four buildings of from three to four hundred feet in length, and about one hundred and fifty feet in width at the base, and from two to seven stories of from eight to nine feet each in height. The buildings forming the square do not meet, but in some cases are connected by bridges or covered gangways, and in some instances the houses project over the streets below, which being narrow, are thus given an underground appearance. The stories are built in a series of gradations or retreating surfaces, decreasing in size as they rise, thus forming a succession of terraces.
In some of the towns these terraces are on both sides of the building; in others they face only toward the outside; while again in others they are on the inside. In front of the terraces is a parapet, which serves as a shelter for the inhabitants when forced to defend themselves against an attack from the outside. These terraces are about six feet wide, and extend round the three or four sides of the square, forming a walk forthe occupants of the story resting upon it, and a roof for the story beneath; so with the stories above. As there is no inner communication with one another, the only means of mounting to them is by ladders which stand at convenient distances along the several rows of terraces, and they may be drawn up at pleasure, thus cutting off all unwelcome intrusion. The outside walls of one or more of the lower stories are entirely solid, having no openings of any kind, with the exception of, in some towns, a few loopholes. All the doors and windows are on the inside opening on the court. The several stories of these huge structures are divided into multitudinous compartments of greater or lesser size, which are apportioned to the several families of the tribe. Access is had to the different stories by means of the ladders, which at night and in times of danger are drawn up after the person entering. To enter the rooms on the ground floor from the outside, one must mount the ladder to the first balcony or terrace, then descend through a trap door in the floor by another ladder on the inside. The roofs or ceilings, which are nearly flat, are formed of transverse beams which slope slightly outward, the ends resting on the side walls; on these, to make the floor and terrace of the story above, is laid brush wood, then a layer of bark or thin slabs, and over all a thick covering of mud sufficient to render them water-tight. The windows in the upper stories are made of flakes of selenite instead of glass. The rooms are large, the substantial partitions are made of wood, and neatly whitewashed. The apartments on the ground floor are gloomy, and generally used as store-rooms; those above are sometimes furnished with a small fireplace, the chimney leading out some feet above the terrace.PUEBLO HOUSES.Houses are common property, and both men and women assist in building them; the men erect the wooden frames, and the women make the mortar and build the walls. In place of lime for mortar, they mix ashes with earth and charcoal. They make adobes or sun-dried bricks by mixing ashes and earth with water, which isthen moulded into large blocks and dried in the sun. Some of the towns are built with stones laid in mud. Captain Simpson describes several ruined cities, which he visited, which show that the inhabitants formerly had a knowledge of architecture and design superior to any that the Pueblos of the present day possess. Yet their buildings are even now well constructed, for although several stories in height, the walls are seldom more than three or four feet in thickness. The apartments are well arranged and neatly kept; one room is used for cooking, another for grinding corn and preserving winter supplies of food, others for sleeping-rooms. On the balconies, round the doors opening upon them, the villagers congregate to gossip and smoke, while the streets below, when the ladders are drawn up, present a gloomy and forsaken appearance. Sometimes villages are built in the form of an open square with buildings on three sides, and again two or more large terraced structures capable of accommodating one or two thousand people are built contiguous to each other, or on opposite banks of a stream. In some instances the outer wall presents one unbroken line, without entrance or anything to indicate the busy life within; another form is to join the straight walls, which encompass three sides of a square, by a fourth circular wall; in all of which the chief object is defense. The Pueblos take great pride in their picturesque and, to them, magnificent structures, affirming that as fortresses they have ever proved impregnable. To wall out black barbarism was what the Pueblos wanted, and to be let alone; under these conditions time was giving them civilization.[808]
PUEBLO ESTUFAS.
The sweat-house, or as the Spaniards call it, theestufa, assumes with the Pueblos the grandest proportions. Every village has from one to six of these singular structures. A large, semi-subterranean room, it is at once bath-house, town-house, council-chamber, club-room, and church. It consists of a large excavation, the roof being about on a level with the ground, sometimes a little above it, and is supported by heavy timbers or pillars of masonry. Around the sides are benches, and in the center of the floor a square stone box for fire, wherein aromatic plants are kept constantly burning. Entrance is made by means of a ladder, through a hole in the top placed directly over the fire-place so that it also serves as a ventilator and affords a free passage to the smoke. Usually they are circular in form and of both large and small dimensions; they are placed either within the great building or underground in the court without. In some of the ruins they are found built in the center of what was once a pyramidal pile, and four stories in height. At Jemez the estufa is of one story, twenty-five feet wide by thirty feet high. The ruins of Chettro Kettle contain six estufas, each two or three stories in height. At Bonito are estufas one hundred and seventy-five feet in circumference, built in alternate layers of thick andthin stone slabs. In these subterranean temples the old men met in secret council, or assembled in worship of their gods. Here are held dances and festivities, social intercourse, and mourning ceremonies. Certain of the Pueblos have a custom similar to that practiced by some of the northern tribes, the men sleeping in the sweat-house with their feet to the fire, and permitting women to enter only to bring them food. The estufas of Tiguex were situated in the heart of the village, built underground, both round and square, and paved with large polished stones.[809]
HOW FOOD IS OBTAINED.
From the earliest information we have of these nations they are known to have been tillers of the soil; and though the implements used and their methods of cultivation were both simple and primitive, cotton, corn, wheat, beans, with many varieties of fruits, which constituted their principal food, were raised in abundance. The Pueblos breed poultry to a considerable extent; fish are eaten whenever obtainable, as also a few wild animals, such as deer, hares, and rabbits, though they are indifferent hunters.[810]The Pápagos, whose country doesnot present such favorable conditions for agriculture are forced to rely for a subsistence more upon wild fruits and animals than the nations north of them. They collect large quantities of the fruit of the pitahaya (cereus giganteus), and in seasons of scarcity resort to whatever is life-sustaining, not disdaining even snakes, lizards, and toads.[811]Most of these people irrigate their lands by means of conduits or ditches, leading either from the river or from tanks in which rain-water is collected and stored for the purpose. These ditches are kept in repair by the community, but farming operations are carried on by each family for its own separate benefit, which is a noticeable advance from the usual savage communism.[812]Fishing nets are made of twisted thread or of small sticks joined together at the ends. When the rivers are low, fish are caught in baskets or shot with arrows to which a string is attached.[813]The corn which is stored for winter use, is first par-boiled in the shuck, and then suspended from strings to dry; peaches are dried in large quantities, and melons are preserved by peeling and removing the seeds, when they are placedin the sun, and afterward hung up in trees. Meal is ground on the metate and used for making porridge, tortillas, and a very thin cake calledguayave, which latter forms a staple article of food amongst the Pueblos. The process of making the guayave, as seen by Lieutenant Simpson at Santo Domingo on the Rio Grande, is thus described in his journal. "At the house of the governor I noticed a woman, probably his wife, going through the process of baking a very thin species of corn cake, called, according to Gregg, guayave. She was hovering over a fire, upon which lay a flat stone. Near her was a bowl of thin corn paste, into which she thrust her fingers; allowing then the paste to drip sparingly upon the stone, with two or three wipes from the palm of her hand she would spread it entirely and uniformly over the stone; this was no sooner done than she peeled it off as fit for use; and the process was again and again repeated, until a sufficient quantity was obtained. When folded and rolled together, it does not look unlike (particularly that made from the blue corn) a hornet's nest—a name by which it is sometimes called." The Pimas do all their cooking out of doors, under a shed erected for the purpose. They collect the pulp from the fruit of the pitahaya, and boiling it in water, make a thick syrup, which they store away for future use. They also dry the fruit in the sun like figs.[814]
The Pueblos and Moquis are remarkable for their personal cleanliness and the neatness of their dwellings.[815]
PUEBLO WEAPONS.
Their weapons are bows and arrows, spears, and clubs. The Pueblos use a crooked stick, which they throw somewhat in the manner of the boomerang; they are exceedingly skillful in the use of the sling, with a stone from which they are said to be able to hit with certainty a small mark or kill a deer at the distance of a hundred yards. For defense, they use a buckler or shield made of raw hide. Their arrows are carried in skin quivers or stuck in the belt round the waist.[816]Bows are made of willow, and are about six feet in length, strung with twisted deer-sinews; arrows are made of reeds, into which a piece of hard wood is fitted.[817]The Pimas wing their war arrows with three feathers and point them with flint, while for hunting purposes they have only two feathers and wooden points.[818]It has been stated that they poison them, but there does not appear to be good foundation for this assertion.[819]Clubs, which are used in hand-to-hand combats, are made of a hard, heavy wood, measuring from twenty to twenty-four inches in length. In former days they were sharpened by inserting flint or obsidian along the edge.[820]
WAR CEREMONIES.
The Pimas wage unceasing war against the Apaches, and the Pueblos are ever at enmity with their neighbors, the Navajos. The Pueblos are securely protected by the position and construction of their dwellings, from the top of which they are able to watch the appearance and movements of enemies, and should any be daring enough to approach their walls, they are greeted by a shower of stones and darts. As an additional protection to their towns, they dig pitfalls on the trails leading to them, at the bottom of which sharp-pointed stakes are driven, the top of the hole being carefully covered.[821]Expeditions are sometimes organized against the Navajos for the recovery of stolen property. On such occasions the Towns-people equip themselves with the heads, horns, and tails of wild animals, paint the body and plume the head.[822]Lieutenant Simpson mentions a curious custom observed by them, just previous to going into action. "They halted on the way to receive from their chiefs some medicine from the medicine bags which each of them carried about his person. This they rubbed upon their heart, as they said, to make it big and brave." The Pueblos fight on horseback in skirmishing order, and keep up a running fight, throwing the body into various attitudes, the better to avoid the enemies' missiles, at the same time discharging their arrows with rapidity.[823]The Pimas, who fight usually on foot, when they decide on going to war, select their best warriors, who are sentto notify the surrounding villages, and a place of meeting is named where a grand council is held. A fire being lighted and a circle of warriors formed, the proceedings are opened by war songs and speeches, their prophet is consulted, and in accordance with his professional advice, their plan of operations is arranged.[824]The attack is usually made about day-break, and conducted with much pluck and vigor. They content themselves with proximate success, and seldom pursue a flying foe.[825]During the heat of battle they spare neither sex nor age, but if prisoners are taken, the males are crucified or otherwise cruelly put to death, and the women and children sold as soon as possible.[826]The successful war party on its return is met by the inhabitants of the villages, scalps are fixed on a pole, trophies displayed, and feasting and dancing indulged in for several days and nights; if unsuccessful, mourning takes the place of feasting, and the death-cries of the women resound through the villages.[827]
PUEBLO TRADE.
For farming implements they use plows, shovels, harrows, hatchets, and sticks, all of wood.[828]Baskets of willow-twigs, so closely woven as to be water-tight, and ornamented with figures; and round, baked, and glazed earthen vessels, narrow at the top, and decorated with paintings or enamel, are their household utensils.[829]Formashing hulled corn they used the metate, a Mexican implement, made of two stones, one concave and the other convex, hereafter more fully described. Among their household utensils there must also be mentioned hair sieves, hide ropes, water-gourds, painted fans, stone pipes, and frame panniers connected with a netting to carry loads on their backs.[830]In their manufacture of blankets, of cotton and woolen cloths, and stockings, the Pueblos excel their neighbors, the Navajos, although employing essentially the same method, and using similar looms and spinning instruments, as have been described in the preceding pages. Although the women perform most of this work, as well as tanning leather, it is said that the men also are expert in knitting woolen stockings. According to Mühlenpfordt the Pimas and Maricopas make a basket-boat which they callcora, woven so tight as to be water-proof without the aid of pitch or other application.[831]All these nations, particularly the Pueblos, have great droves of horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, sheep, and goats grazing on the extensive plains, and about their houses poultry, turkeys, and dogs. The flocks they either leave entirely unprotected, or else the owner herds them himself, or fromeach village one is appointed by the war captain to do so. The Pápagos carry on an extensive trade in salt, taken from the great inland salt lakes. Besides corn, they manufacture and sell a syrup extracted from the pitahaya.[832]The laws regulating inheritance of property are not well defined. Among some there is nothing to inherit, as all is destroyed when the person dies; among others the females claim the right of inheritance; at other times the remaining property is divided among all the members of the tribe. In general they care but little for gold, and all their trade, which at times is considerable, is carried on by barter; a kind of blue stone, often called turquoise, beads, skins, and blankets, serving the purpose of currency.[833]
The Pueblos display much taste in painting the walls of their estufas, where are represented different plants, birds, and animals symmetrically done, but without any scenic effect. Hieroglyphic groupings, both sculpturedand painted, are frequently seen in the ancient Pueblo towns, depicting, perhaps, their historical events and deeds. With colored earths their pottery is painted in bright colors.[834]Many Spanish authors mention a great many gold and silver vessels in use amongst them, and speak of the knowledge they had in reducing and working these metals; but no traces of such art are found at present.[835]
LAWS OF THE PUEBLOS.
Among the Pueblos an organized system of government existed at the time of Coronado's expedition through their country; Castañeda, speaking of the province of Tiguex, says that the villages were governed by a council of old men; and a somewhat similar system obtains with these people at the present time. Each village selects its own governor, frames its own laws, and in all respects they act independently of each other. The governor and his council are elected annually by the people; all affairs of importance and matters relating to the welfare of the community are discussed at the estufa; questions in dispute are usually decided by a vote of the majority. All messages and laws emanating from the council-chamber are announced to the inhabitants by town criers. The morals of young people are carefully watched and guarded by a kind of secret police, whose duty it is to report to the governor all irregularities which may occur; and especial attention is given that no improper intercourse shall be allowed between the young men and women, in the event of which the offending parties are brought before the governor and council and, if guilty, ordered to marry, or if they refuse they are restricted from holding intercourse with each other, and if they persist they arewhipped. Among their laws deserves to be particularly mentioned one, according to which no one can sell or marry out of the town until he obtains permission from the authorities.[836]In the seven confederate pueblos of the Moquis, the office of chief governor is hereditary; it is not, however, necessarily given to the nearest heir, as the people have the power to elect any member of the dominant family. The governor is assisted by a council of elders, and in other respects the Moqui government is similar to that of the other towns.[837]The Pimas and Maricopas have no organized system of government, and are not controlled by any code of laws; each tribe or village has a chief to whom a certain degree of respect is conceded, but his power to restrain the people is very limited; his influence over them is maintained chiefly by his oratorical powers or military skill. In war the tribe is guided by the chief's advice, and his authority is fully recognized, but in time of peace his rule is nominal; nor does he attempt to control their freedom or punish them for offences. The chief's office is hereditary, yet an unpopular ruler may be deposed and another chosen to fill his place.[838]
WOMEN AMONG THE PUEBLOS.
Among the Pueblos the usual order of courtship is reversed; when a girl is disposed to marry she does not wait for a young man to propose to her, but selects one to her own liking and consults her father, who visits the parents of the youth and acquaints them with his daughter'swishes. It seldom happens that any objections to the match are made, but it is imperative on the father of the bridegroom to reimburse the parents of the maiden for the loss of their daughter. This is done by an offer of presents in accordance with his rank and wealth. The inhabitants of one village seldom marry with those of another, and, as a consequence, intermarriage is frequent among these families—a fertile cause of their deterioration. The marriage is always celebrated by a feast, the provisions for which are furnished by the bride, and the assembled friends unite in dancing and music. Polygamy is never allowed, but married couples can separate if they are dissatisfied with each other; in such a contingency, if there are children, they are taken care of by the grandparents, and both parties are free to marry again; fortunately, divorces are not of frequent occurrence, as the wives are always treated with respect by their husbands.[839]To the female falls all indoor work, and also a large share of that to be done out of doors. In the treatment of their children these people are careful to guide them in the ways of honesty and industry, and to impress their minds with chaste and virtuous ideas. Mothers bathe their infants with cold water, and boys are not permitted to enter the estufas for the purpose of warming themselves; if they are cold they are ordered to chop wood, or warm themselves by running and exercise.[840]A girl's arrival at the age of puberty among the Gila nations is a period of much rejoicing; when the first symptoms appear, all her friends are duly informed of the important fact, and preparations are made to celebrate the joyful event. The girl is taken by her parents to the prophet, who performs certain ceremonies, which are supposed to drive the evil out of her, and then a singing and dancing festival is held.When a young man sees a girl whom he desires for a wife, he first endeavors to gain the good will of the parents; this accomplished, he proceeds to serenade his lady-love, and will often sit for hours, day after day, near her house, playing on his flute. Should the girl not appear it is a sign she rejects him; but if, on the other hand, she comes out to meet him, he knows that his suit is accepted, and he takes her to his house. No marriage ceremony is performed. Among the Pápagos the parents select a husband for their daughter to whom she is, so to say, sold. It not unfrequently happens that they offer their daughter at auction, and she is knocked down to the highest bidder. However, among all the nations of this family, whether the bridegroom makes a love-match or not, he has to recompense the parents with as much as his means will permit.[841]Although polygamy is not permitted, they often separate and marry again at pleasure. Women, at the time of their confinement as well as during their monthly periods, must live apart; as they believe that if any male were to touch them, he would become sick. The children are trained to war, and but little attention given to teaching them useful pursuits. All the household labor is performed by the women; they also assist largely in the labors of the field; severe laws oblige them to observe the strictest chastity, and yet, at their festivals, much debauchery and prostitution take place.[842]
With but few exceptions, they are temperate in drinking and smoking. Intoxicating liquors they prepare out of the fruits of the pitahaya, agave, aloe, corn, mezcal,prickly pear, wild and cultivated grapes. Colonel Cremony says that the Pimas and Maricopas 'macerate the fruit of the pitahaya (species of cactus) in water after being dried in the sun, when the saccharine qualities cause the liquid to ferment, and after such fermentation it becomes highly intoxicating. It is upon this liquor that the Maricopas and Pimas get drunk once a year, the revelry continuing for a week or two at a time; but it is also an universal custom with them to take regular turns, so that only one third of the party is supposed to indulge at one time, the remainder being required to take care of their stimulated comrades, and protect them from injuring each other or being injured by other tribes.'[843]All are fond of dancing and singing; in their religious rites, as well as in other public and family celebrations, these form the chief diversion. DifferentPUEBLO DANCES.dances are used on different occasions; for example, they have the arrow, scalp, turtle, fortune, buffalo, green-corn, and Montezuma dances. Their costumes also vary on each of these occasions, and not only are grotesque masks, but also elk, bear, fox, and other skins used as disguises. The dance is sometimes performed by only one person, but more frequently whole tribes join in, forming figures, shuffling, or hopping about to the time given by the music. Lieutenant Simpson, who witnessed a green-corn dance at the Jemez pueblo, describes it as follows:
'When the performers first appeared, all of whom were men, they came in a line, slowly walking and bending and stooping as they approached. They were dressed in a kirt of blanket, the upper portion of their bodies being naked and painted red. Their legs and arms, which were also bare, were variously striped with red, white and blue colors; and around their arms, abovethe elbow, they wore a green band, decked with sprigs of piñon. A necklace of the same description was worn around the neck. Their heads were decorated with feathers. In one hand they carried a dry gourd, containing some grains of corn; in the other, a string from which were hung several tortillas. At the knee were fastened small shells of the ground turtle and antelope's feet; and dangling from the back, at the waist, depended a fox-skin. The party was accompanied by three elders of the town, whose business it was to make a short speech in front of the different houses, and, at particular times, join in the singing of the rest of the party. Thus they went from house to house, singing and dancing, the occupants of each awaiting their arrival in front of their respective dwellings.'
A somewhat similar Moqui dance is described by Mr Ten Broeck. Some of the Pueblo dances end with bacchanalia, in which not only general intoxication, but promiscuous intercourse between the sexes is permitted.[844]'Once a year,' says Kendall, 'the Kereshave a great feast, prepared for three successive days, which time is spent in eating, drinking and dancing. Near this scene of amusement is a dismal gloomy cave, into which not a glimpse of light can penetrate, and where places of repose are provided for the revellers. To this cave, after dark, repair grown persons of every age and sex, who pass the night in indulgences of the most gross and sensual description.'
Reed flutes and drums are their chief instruments of music; the former they immerse in a shallow basin of water, and thereby imitate the warbling of birds. The drum is made of a hollow log, about two and a half feet long and fifteen inches in diameter. A dried hide, from which previously the hair has been scraped, is stretched over either end, and on this the player beats with a couple of drumsticks, similar to those used on our kettle-drums. Gourds filled with pebbles and other rattles, are also used as a musical accompaniment to their dances.[845]
CUSTOMS OF PIMAS AND PÁPAGOS.
The Cocomaricopas and Pimas are rather fond of athletic sports, such as football, horse and foot racing, swimming, target-shooting, and of gambling.[846]Manycurious customs obtain among these people. Mr Walker relates that a Pima never touches his skin with his nails, but always uses a small stick for that purpose, which he renews every fourth day, and wears in his hair. Among the same nation, when a man has killed an Apache, he must needs undergo purification. Sixteen days he must fast, and only after the fourth day is he allowed to drink a little pinole. During the sixteen days he may not look on a blazing fire, nor hold converse with mortal man; he must live in the woods companionless, save only one person appointed to take care of him. On the seventeenth day a large space is cleared off near the village, in the center of which a fire is lighted. The men form a circle round this fire, outside of which those who have been purified sit, each in a small excavation. Certain of the old men then take the weapons of the purified and dance with them in the circle; for which service they receive presents, and thenceforth both slayer and weapon are considered clean, but not until four days later is the man allowed to return to his family. They ascribe the origin of this custom to a mythical personage, called Szeukha, who, after killing a monster, is said to have fasted for sixteen days.
The Pápagos stand in great dread of the coyote, and the Pimas never touch an ant, snake, scorpion, or spider, and are much afraid of thunderstorms. Like the Mojaves and Yumas, the Maricopas in cold weather carry a firebrand to warm themselves withal. In like manner the Pueblos have their singularities and semi-religious ceremonies, many of which are connected with a certainmythical personage called Montezuma. Among these may be mentioned the perpetual watching of the eternal estufa-fire, and also the daily waiting for the rising sun, with which, as some writers affirm, they expectantly look for the promised return of the much-loved Montezuma. The Moqui, before commencing to smoke, reverently bows toward the four cardinal points.[847]
Their diseases are few; and among these the most frequent are chills and fevers, and later, syphilis. The Pueblos and Moquis resort to the sweat-house remedy, but the Pimas only bathe daily in cold running water. Here, as elsewhere, the doctor is medicine-man, conjuror, and prophet, and at times old women are consulted. If incantations fail, emetics, purgatives, or blood-letting are prescribed.[848]
The Pimas bury their dead immediately after death. At the bottom of a shaft, about six feet deep, they excavate a vault, in which the corpse is placed, afterhaving first been tied up in a blanket. House, horses, and most personal effects are destroyed; but if children are left, a little property is reserved for them. A widow or a daughter mourns for three months, cutting the hair and abstaining from the bath during that time. The Maricopas burn their dead. Pueblo and Moqui burials take place with many ceremonies, the women being the chief mourners.[849]
CHARACTER OF THE PUEBLOS.
Industrious, honest, and peace-loving, the people of this division are at the same time brave and determined, when necessity compels them to repel the thieving Apache. Sobriety may be ranked among their virtues, as drunkenness only forms a part of certain religious festivals, and in their gambling they are the most moderate of barbarians.[850]
The Lower Californianspresent a sad picture. Occupying the peninsula from the head of the gulf to Cape San Lucas, it is thought by some that they were driven thither from Upper California by their enemies. When first visited by the Missionary Fathers, they presented humanity in one of its lowest phases, though evidences of a more enlightened people having at some previous time occupied the peninsula were not lacking. Clavigero describes large caves or vaults, which had been dug out of the solid rock, the sides decorated with paintings of animals and figures of men, showing dress and features different from any of the inhabitants. Whom they represented or by whom they were depicted there is no knowledge, as the present race have been unable to afford any information on the subject.
LOWER CALIFORNIA.
The peninsula extends from near 32° to 23° north latitude; in length it is about seven hundred, varying in width from thirty-five to eighty miles. Itsgeneral features are rugged; irregular mountains of granite formation and volcanic upheavals traversing the whole length of the country, with barren rocks and sandy plains, intersected by ravines and hills. Some fertile spots and valleys with clear mountain streams are there, and in such places the soil produces abundantly; then there are plains of greater or less extent, with rich soil, but without water; so that, under the circumstances, they are little more than deserts. These plains rise in places into mesas, which are cut here and there by cañons, where streams of water are found, which are again lost on reaching the sandy plains. Altogether, Lower California is considered as one of the most barren and unattractive regions in the temperate zone, although its climate is delightful, and the mountain districts especially are among the healthiest in the world, owing to their southern situation between two seas. A curious meteorological phenomenon is sometimes observed both in the gulf and on the land; it is that of rain falling during a perfectly clear sky. Savants, who have investigated the subject, do not appear to have discovered the cause of this unusual occurrence.
The greater part of the peninsula, at the time of its discovery, was occupied by theCochimís, whose territory extended from the head of the gulf to the neighborhood of Loreto, or a little south of the twenty-sixth parallel; adjoining them were theGuaicuris, living between latitude 26° and 23° 30´; while thePericúiswere settled in the southern part, from about 23° 30´ or 24° to Cape San Lucas, and on the adjacent islands.[851]
The Lower Californians are well formed, robust and of good stature, with limbs supple and muscular; they are not inclined to corpulence; their features are somewhat heavy, the forehead low and narrow, the nose well set on, but thick and fleshy; the inner corners of the eyes round instead of pointed; teeth very white and regular, hair very black, coarse, straight, and glossy, with but little on the face, and none upon the body or limbs. The color of the skin varies from light to dark brown, the former color being characteristic of the dwellers in the interior, and the latter of those on the sea-coast.[852]
COCHIMÍ AND PERICÚI DRESS.
Adam without the fig-leaves was not more naked than were the Cochimís before the missionaries first taught them the rudiments of shame. They ignored even the usual breech-cloth, the only semblance of clothing being a head-dress of rushes or strips of skin interwoven with mother-of-pearl shells, berries, and pieces of reed. The Guaicuris and Pericúis indulge in a still more fantastic head-dress, white feathers entering largely into its composition. The women display more modesty, for, although scantily clad, they at least essay to cover their nakedness. The Pericúi women are the best dressed of all, having a petticoat reaching from the waist to the ankles, made from the fibre of certain palm-leaves, and rendered soft and flexible by beating between two stones.Over the shoulders they throw a mantle of similar material, or of plaited rushes, or of skins. The Cochimí women make aprons of short reeds, strung upon cords of aloe-plant fibres fastened to a girdle. The apron is open at the sides, one part hanging in front, the other behind. As they are not more than six or eight inches wide, but little of the body is in truth covered. When traveling they wear sandals of hide, which they fasten with strings passed between the toes.[853]Both sexes are fond of ornaments; to gratify this passion, they string together pearls, shells, fruit-stones and seeds in the forms of necklaces and bracelets. In addition to the head-dress the Pericúis are distinguished by a girdle highly ornamented with pearls and mother-of-pearl shells. They perforate ears, lips, and nose, inserting in the openings, shells, bones, or hard sticks. Paint in many colors and devices is freely used on war and gala occasions; tattooing obtains, but does not appear to be universal among them. Mothers, to protect them against the weather, cover the entire bodies of their children with a varnish of coal and urine. Cochimí women cut the hair short, but the men allow a long tuft to grow on the crown of the head. Both sexes among the Guaicuris and Pericúis wear the hair long and flowing loosely over the shoulders.[854]
Equally Adamitic are their habitations. They appear to hold a superstitious dread of suffocation if they liveor sleep in covered huts; hence in their rare and meagre attempts to protect themselves from the inclemencies of the weather, they never put any roof over their heads. Roving beast-like in the vicinity of springs during the heat of the day, seeking shade in the ravines and overhanging rocks; at night, should they desire shelter, they resort to caverns and holes in the ground. During winter they raise a semi-circular pile of stones or brushwood, about two feet in height, behind which, with the sky for a roof and the bare ground for a bed, they camp at night. Over the sick they sometimes throw a wretched hut, by sticking a few poles in the ground, tying them at the top and covering the whole with grass and reeds, and into this nest visitors crawl on hands and knees.[855]
LOWER CALIFORNIAN FOOD.
Reed-roots, wild fruit, pine-nuts, cabbage-palms, small seeds roasted, and also roasted aloe and mescal roots constitute their food. During eight weeks of the year they live wholly on the redundant fat-producingpitahaya, after which they wander about in search of other native vegetable products, and when these fail they resort to hunting and fishing. Of animal food they will eat anything—beasts, birds, and fishes, or reptiles, worms, and insects; and all parts: flesh, hide, and entrails. Men and monkeys, however, as articles of food are an abomination; the latter because they so much resemble the former. The gluttony and improvidence of these people exceed, if possible, those of any other nation; alternate feasting and fasting is their custom. When so fortunate as to have plenty they consume large quantities, preserving none. An abominable habit is related of them, that they pick up the undigested seeds of the pitahaya discharged from their bowels, and after parching and grinding them, eat the meal with much relish.Clavigero, Baegert, and other authors, mention another rather uncommon feature in the domestic economy of the Cochimís; it is that of swallowing their meat several times, thereby multiplying their gluttonous pleasures. Tying to a string a piece of well-dried meat, one of their number masticates it a little, and swallows it, leaving the end of the string hanging out of the mouth; after retaining it for about two or three minutes in his stomach, it is pulled out, and the operation repeated several times, either by the same individual or by others, until the meat becomes consumed. Here is Father Baegert's summary of their edibles: "They live now-a-days on dogs and cats; horses, asses and mules; item: on owls, mice and rats; lizards and snakes; bats, grasshoppers and crickets; a kind of green caterpillar without hair, about a finger long, and an abominable white worm of the length and thickness of the thumb."[856]
Their weapon is the bow and arrow, but they use stratagem to procure the game. The deer-hunter deceives his prey by placing a deer's head upon his own; hares are trapped; the Cochimís throw a kind of boomerang or flat curved stick, which skims the ground and breaks the animal's legs. Fish are taken from pools left by the tide and from the sea, sometimes several miles out, in nets and with the aid of long lances. It is said that at San Roche Island they catch fish with birds. They also gather oysters, which they eat roasted, but use no salt. They have no cooking utensils, but roast their meat by throwing it into the fire and after a time raking it out. Insects and caterpillars are parched over the hot coals in shells. Fish is commonly eaten raw; theydrink only water.[857]It is said that they never wash, and it is useless to add that in their filthiness they surpass the brutes.[858]
Besides bows and arrows they use javelins, clubs, and slings of cords, from which they throw stones. Their bows are six feet long, very broad and thick in the middle and tapering toward the ends, with strings made from the intestines of animals. The arrows are reeds about thirty inches in length, into the lower end of which a piece of hard wood is cemented with resin obtained from trees, and pointed with flint sharpened to a triangular shape and serrated at the edges. Javelins are sharpened by first hardening in the fire and then grinding to a point; they are sometimes indented like a saw. Clubs are of different forms, either mallet-head or axe shape; they also crook and sharpen at the edge a piece of wood in the form of a scimeter.[859]
Their wars, which spring from disputed boundaries, are frequent and deadly, and generally occur about fruit and seed time. The battle is commenced amidst yells and brandishing of weapons, though without any preconcerted plan, and a tumultuous onslaught is made without regularity or discipline, excepting that a certain number are held in reserve to relieve those who have expended their arrows or become exhausted. While yet at a distance they discharge their arrows, but soon rush forward and fight at close quarters with their clubs and spears; nor do they cease till many on both sides have fallen.[860]
IMPLEMENTS IN LOWER CALIFORNIA.
Their implements and household utensils are both rude and few. Sharp flints serve them instead of knives; a bone ground to a point answers the purpose of a needle or an awl; and with a sharp-pointed stick roots are dug. Fire is obtained in the usual way from two pieces of wood. When traveling, water is carried in a large bladder. The shell of the turtle is applied to various uses, such as a receptacle for food and a cradle for infants.
The Lower Californians have little ingenuity, and their display of mechanical skill is confined to the manufacture of the aforesaid implements, weapons of war, and of the chase; they make some flat baskets of wicker work, which are used in the collection of seeds and fruits; also nets from the fibre of the aloe, one in which to carry provisions, and another fastened to a forked stick and hung upon the back, in which to carry children.[861]
For boats the inhabitants of the peninsula construct rafts of reeds made into bundles and bound tightly together; they are propelled with short paddles, and seldom are capable of carrying more than one person. In those parts where trees grow a more serviceable canoe is made from bark, and sometimes of three or more logs, not hollowed out, but laid together side by side and made fast with withes or pita-fibre cords. These floats are buoyant, the water washing over them as over a catamaran. On them two or more men will proceed fearlessly to sea, to a distance of several miles from the coast. To transport their chattels across rivers,they use wicker-work baskets, which are so closely woven as to be quite impermeable to water; these, when loaded, are pushed across by the owner, who swims behind.[862]
Besides their household utensils and boats, and the feathers or ornaments on their persons, I find no other property. They who dwell on the sea-coast occasionally travel inland, carrying with them sea-shells and feathers to barter with their neighbors for the productions of the interior.[863]
They are unable to count more than five, and this number is expressed by one hand; some few among them are able to understand that two hands signify ten, but beyond this they know nothing of enumeration, and can only say much or many, or show that the number is beyond computation, by throwing sand into the air and such like antics. The year is divided into six seasons; the first is called Mejibo, which is midsummer, and the time of ripe pitahayas; the second season Amaddappi, a time of further ripening of fruits and seeds; the third Amadaappigalla, the end of autumn and beginning of winter; the fourth, which is the coldest season, is called Majibel; the fifth, when spring commences, is Majiben; the sixth, before any fruits or seeds have ripened, consequently the time of greatest scarcity, is called Majiibenmaaji.[864]
Neither government nor law is found in this region; every man is his own master, and administers justice in the form of vengeance as best he is able. As FatherBaegert remarks: 'The different tribes represented by no means communities of rational beings, who submit to laws and regulations and obey their superiors, but resembled far more herds of wild swine, which run about according to their own liking, being together to-day and scattered to-morrow, till they meet again by accident at some future time. In one word, the Californians lived,salva venia, as though they had been free-thinkers and materialists.' In hunting and war they have one or more chiefs to lead them, who are selected only for the occasion, and by reason of superior strength or cunning.[865]
MARRIAGE.
Furthermore, they have no marriage ceremony, nor any word in their language to express marriage. Like birds or beasts they pair off according to fancy. The Pericúi takes as many women as he pleases, makes them work for him as slaves, and when tired of any one of them turns her away, in which case she may not be taken by another. Some form of courtship appears to have obtained among the Guaicuris; for example, when a young man saw a girl who pleased him, he presented her with a small bowl or basket made of the pita-fibre; if she accepted the gift, it was an evidence that his suit was agreeable to her, and in return she gave him an ornamented head-dress, the work of her own hand; then they lived together without further ceremony. Although among the Guaicuris and Cochimís some hold a plurality of wives, it is not so common as with the Pericúis, for in the two first-mentioned tribes there are more men than women. A breach of female chastity is sometimes followed by an attempt of the holder of the woman to kill the offender; yet morality never attained any great height, as it is a practice with them for different tribes to meet occasionally forthe purpose of holding indiscriminate sexual intercourse. Childbirth is easy; the Pericúis and Guaicuris wash the body of the newly born, then cover it with ashes; as the child grows it is placed on a frame-work of sticks, and if a male, on its chest they fix a bag of sand to prevent its breasts growing like a woman's, which they consider a deformity. For a cradle the Cochimís take a forked stick or bend one end of a long pole in the form of a hoop, and fix thereto a net, in which the infant is placed and covered with a second net. It can thus be carried over the shoulder, or when the mother wishes to be relieved, the end of the pole is stuck in the ground, and nourishment given the child through the meshes of the net. When old enough the child is carried astride on its mother's shoulders. As soon as children are able to get food for themselves, they are left to their own devices, and it sometimes happens that when food is scarce the child is abandoned, or killed by its parents.[866]
LOWER CALIFORNIAN FEAST.
Nevertheless, these miserables delight in feasts, and in the gross debauchery there openly perpetrated. Unacquainted with intoxicating liquors, they yet find drunkenness in the fumes of a certain herb smoked through a stone tube, and used chiefly during their festivals. Their dances consist of a series of gesticulations and jumpings, accompanied by inarticulate murmurings and yells. One of their great holidays is the pitahaya season, when, with plenty to eat, they spend days and nights in amusements;at such times feats of strength and trials of speed take place. The most noted festival among the Cochimís occurs upon the occasion of their annual distribution of skins. To the women especially it was an important and enjoyable event. Upon an appointed day all the people collected at a designated place. In an arbor constructed with branches, the road to which was carpeted with the skins of wild animals that had been killed during the year, their most skillful hunters assembled; they alone were privileged to enter the arbor, and in their honor was already prepared a banquet and pipes of wild tobacco. The viands went round as also the pipe, and, in good time, the partakers became partially intoxicated by the smoke; then one of the priests or sorcerers, arrayed in his robe of ceremony, appeared at the entrance to the arbor, and made a speech to the people, in which he recounted the deeds of the hunters. Then the occupants of the arbor came out and made a repartition of the skins among the women; this finished, dancing and singing commenced and continued throughout the night. It sometimes happened that their festivals ended in fighting and bloodshed, as they were seldom conducted without debauchery, especially among the Guaicuris and Pericúis.[867]
When they have eaten their fill they pass their time in silly or obscene conversation, or in wrestling, in which sports the women often take a part. They are very adroit in tracking wild beasts to their lairs and taming them. At certain festivals their sorcerers, who were called by somequamas, by otherscusiyaes, wore long robes of skins, ornamented with human hair; these sages filled the offices of priests and medicine-men, and threatened their credulous brothers with innumerable ills and death, unless they supplied them with provisions.These favored of heaven professed to hold communication with oracles, and would enter caverns and wooded ravines, sending thence doleful sounds, to frighten the people, who were by such tricks easily imposed upon and led to believe in their deceits and juggleries.[868]