As to ailments, Lower Californians are subject to consumption, burning fevers, indigestion, and cutaneous diseases. Small pox, measles, and syphilis, the last imported by troops, have destroyed numberless lives. Wounds inflicted by the bites of venomous reptiles may be added to the list of troubles. Loss of appetite is with them, generally, a symptom of approaching death. They submit resignedly to the treatment prescribed by their medicine-men, however severe or cruel it may be. They neglect their aged invalids, refusing them attendance if their last sickness proves too long, and recovery appears improbable. In several instances they have put an end to the patient by suffocation or otherwise.[869]
Diseases are treated externally by the application of ointments, plasters, and fomentations of medicinal herbs, particularly the wild tobacco. Smoke is also a great panacea, and is administered through a stone tube placed on the suffering part. The usual juggleries attend the practice of medicine. In extreme cases they attempt to draw with their fingers the disease from the patient's mouth. If the sick person has a child or sister, they cut its or her little finger of the right hand, and let the blood drop on the diseased part. Bleeding with a sharp stone and whipping the affected part with nettles, or applying ants to it, are among the remedies used. For the cure of tumors, the medicine-men burst and suck them with their lips until blood is drawn. Internaldiseases are treated with cold-water baths. The means employed by the medicine-man are repeated by the members of the patient's family and by his friends. In danger even the imitation of death startles them. If an invalid is pronounced beyond recovery, and he happens to slumber, they immediately arouse him with blows on the head and body, for the purpose of preserving life.[870]
DEATH AND BURIAL IN LOWER CALIFORNIA.
Death is followed by a plaintive, mournful chant, attended with howling by friends and relatives, who beat their heads with sharp stones until blood flows freely. Without further ceremony they either inter or burn the body immediately, according to the custom of the locality: in the latter case they leave the head intact. Oftentimes they bury or burn the body before life has actually left it, never taking pains to ascertain the fact.[871]
Weapons and other personal effects are buried or burned with the owner; and in some localities, where burying is customary, shoes are put to the feet, so that the spiritualized body may be prepared for its journey. In Colechá and Guajamina mourning ceremonies are practiced certain days after death—juggleries—in which the priest pretends to hold converse with the departed spirit through the scalp of the deceased, commending the qualities of the departed, and concluding by asking on the spirit's behalf that all shall cut off their hair as a sign of sorrow. After a short dance, more howling, hair-pulling, and other ridiculous acts, the priest demands provisions for the spirit's journey, which hishearers readily contribute, and which the priest appropriates to his own use, telling them it has already started. Occasionally they honor the memory of their dead by placing a rough image of the departed on a high pole, and aquamaor priest sings his praises.[872]
The early missionaries found the people of the peninsula kind-hearted and tractable, although dull of comprehension and brutal in their instincts, rude, narrow-minded, and inconstant. A marked difference of character is observable between the Cochimís and the Pericúis. The former are more courteous in their manners and better behaved; although cunning and thievish, they exhibit attachment and gratitude to their superiors; naturally indolent and addicted to childish pursuits and amusements, they lived among themselves in amity, directing their savage and revengeful nature against neighboring tribes with whom they were at variance. The Pericúis, before they became extinct, were a fierce and barbarous nation, unruly and brutal in their passions, cowardly, treacherous, false, petulant, and boastful, with an intensely cruel and heartless disposition, often shown in relentless persecutions and murders. In their character and disposition the Guaicuris did not differ essentially from the Pericúis. In the midst of so much darkness there was still one bright spot visible, inasmuch as they were of a cheerful and happy nature, lovers of kind and lovers of country. Isolated, occupying an ill-favored country, it was circumstances, rather than any inherent incapacity for improvement, that held these poor people in their low state; for, as we shall see at some future time, in their intercourse with civilized foreigners, they were not lacking in cunning, diplomacy, selfishness, and other aids to intellectual progress.[873]
NORTHERN MEXICANS.
TheNorthern Mexicans, the fourth and last division of this group, spread over the territory lying between parallels 31° and 23° of north latitude. Their lands have an average breadth of about five hundred miles, with an area of some 250,000 square miles, comprising the states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo Leon, and the northern portions of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas.
Nearly parallel with the Pacific seaboard, and dividing the states of Sonora and Sinaloa from Chihuahua and Durango, runs the great central Cordillera; further to the eastward, passing through Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and San Luis Potosí, and following the shore line of the Mexican Gulf, the Sierra Madre continues in a southerly direction, until it unites with the first-named range at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. All of these mountains abound in mineral wealth. The table-land between them is intersected by three ridges; one, the Sierra Mimbres, issuing from the inner flank of the Western Cordillera north of Arispe, extending in a northerly direction and following the line of the Rio Grande. The middle mountainous divide crosses from Durango to Coahuila, while the third rises in the state of Jalisco and taking an easterly and afterward northerly direction, traverses the table-land and merges into the Sierra Madre in the state of San Luis Potosí. On these broad table-lands are numerous lakes fed by the streams which have their rise in the mountains adjacent; in but fewspots is the land available for tillage, but it is admirably adapted to pastoral purposes. The climate can hardly be surpassed in its tonic and exhilarating properties; the atmosphere is ever clear, with sunshine by day, and a galaxy of brilliant stars by night; the absence of rain, fogs, and dews, with a delicious and even temperature, renders habitations almost unnecessary. All this vast region is occupied by numerous tribes speaking different languages and claiming distinct origins. Upon the northern seaboard of Sonora and Tiburon Island are theCeris,Tiburones, andTepocas; south of them theCahitas, orSinaloas, which are general names for theYaquisandMayos, tribes so called from the rivers on whose banks they live. In the state of Sinaloa there are also theCochitas,Tuvares,Sabaibos,Zuaques, andAhomes, besides many other small tribes. Scattered through the states of the interior are theÓpatas,Eudeves,Jovas,Tarahumares,Tubares, andTepehuanes, who inhabit the mountainous districts of Chihuahua and Durango. East of the Tarahumares, in the northern part of the first-named state, dwell theConchos. In Durango, living in the hills round Topia, are theAcaxées; south of whom dwell theXiximes. On the table-lands of Mapimi and on the shores of its numerous lakes, theIrritilasand many other tribes are settled; while south of these again, in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí, are theGuachichiles,Huamares, andCazcanes, and further to the east, and bordering on the gulf shores we find the country occupied by scattered tribes, distinguished by a great variety of names, prominent among which are theCarrizasorGarzas,Xanambres, andPintos.[874]
PHYSICAL PECULIARITIES IN NORTH MEXICO.
Most of these nations are composed of men of largestature; robust, and well formed, with an erect carriage; the finest specimens are to be found on the sea-coast, exceptions being the Ópatas and Chicoratas, the former inclining to corpulency, the latter being short, although active and swift runners. The women are well limbed and have good figures, but soon become corpulent. The features of these people are quite regular, the head round and well shaped, with black and straight hair; they have high cheek-bones and handsome mouths, with a generally mild and pleasing expression of countenance. They have piercing black eyes, and can distinguish objects at great distances. The Ceris see best toward the close of the day, owing to the strong reflection from the white sands of the coast during the earlier part of the day. The Carrizas are remarkable for their long upper lip. The men of this region have little beard; their complexion varies from a light brown to a copper shade. Many of them attain to a great age.[875]
For raiment the Cahitas and Ceris wear only a small rag in front of their persons, secured to a cord tiedround the waist; the Tarahumares, Acaxées, and other nations of the interior use for the same purpose a square piece of tanned deer-skin painted, except in cold weather, when they wrap a large blue cotton mantle round the shoulders. The women have petticoats reaching to their ankles, made of soft chamois or of cotton or agave-fibre, and atilmaor mantle during the winter. Some wear a long sleeveless chemise, which reaches from the shoulders to the feet. The Ceri women have petticoats made from the skins of the albatross or pelican, the feathers inside. The Ópata men, soon after the conquest, were found well clad in blouse and drawers of cotton, with wooden shoes, while their neighbors wore sandals of raw hide, cut to the shape of the foot.[876]
The Cahitas, Acaxées and most other tribes, pierce the ears and nose, from which they hang small green stones, attached to a piece of blue cord; on the head, neck, and wrists, a great variety of ornaments are worn, made from mother-of-pearl and white snails' shells, also fruit-stones, pearls, and copper and silver hoops; round the ankles some wear circlets of deer's hoofs, others decorate their heads and necks with necklaces of red beans and strings of paroquets and small birds; pearls and feathers are much used to ornament the hair. The practice of painting the face and body is common to all, the colors most in use being red and black. A favorite style with the Ceris is to paint the face in alternate perpendicular stripes of blue, red, and white. The Pintos paint the face, breast, and arms; the Tarahumares tattoo the forehead, lips, and cheeks in various patterns; the Yaquis the chin and arms; while other tribes tattoo the face or body in styles peculiar to themselves. Both sexes are proud of their hair, which they wear long andtake much care of; the women permit it to flow, in loose tresses, while the men gather it into one or more tufts on the crown of the head, and when hunting protect it by a chamois cap, to prevent its being disarranged by trees or bushes.[877]
NORTHERN MEXICAN DWELLINGS.
Their houses are of light construction, usually built of sticks and reeds, and are covered with coarse reed matting. The Chinipas, Yaquis, Ópatas and Conchos build somewhat more substantial dwellings of timber and adobes, or of plaited twigs well plastered with mud; all are only one story high and have flat roofs. Although none of these people are without their houses or huts, they spend most of their time, especially during summer, under the trees. The Tarahumares find shelter in the deep caverns of rocky mountains, the Tepehuanes and Acaxées place their habitations on the top of almost inaccessible crags, while the Humes and Batucas build their villages in squares, with few and very small entrances, the better to defend themselves against their enemies—detached buildings for kitchen and store-room purposes being placed contiguous.[878]
The Northern Mexicans live chiefly on wild fruits such as the pitahaya, honey, grain, roots, fish, and larvæ; they capture game both large and small, and some of them eat rats, mice, frogs, snakes, worms, and vermin. The Ahomamas along the shores of Lake Parras, the Yaquis, Batucas, Ceris, Tarahumares, and the Ópatas since the conquest have become agriculturists and cattle-breeders, besides availing themselves of fishing and hunting as means of subsistence. On the coast of Sonora, there being no maize, the natives live on pulverized rush and straw, with fish caught at sea or in artificial enclosures. The dwellers on the coast of Sinaloa consume a large quantity of salt, which they gather on the land during the dry season, and in the rainy reason from the bottom of marshes and pools. It is said that the Salineros sometimes eat their own excrement. According to the reports of the older historians, the Tobosos, Bauzarigames, Cabezas, Contotores, and Acaxées, as well as other tribes of Durango and Sinaloa, formerly fed on human flesh,—hunted human beings for food as they hunted deer or other game. The flesh of their brave foes they ate, thinking thereby to augment their own bravery.[879]
METHODS OF HUNTING.
The Ceris of Tiburon Island depend for food entirely on fish and game. They catch turtle by approaching the animal and suddenly driving the point of their spear into its back, a cord being attached to the weapon by which they drag the prize on to the raft as soon as itsstrength has become exhausted. According to Gomara, the natives of Sonora in 1537 were caught poisoning the deer-pools, probably for the skins, or it may have been only a stupefying drink that the pools were made to supply. The Sinaloans are great hunters; at times they pursue the game singly, then again the whole town turns out and, surrounding the thickest part of the forest, the people set fire to the underbrush and bring down the game as it attempts to escape the flames. A feast of reptiles is likewise thus secured. Iguanas are caught with the hands, their legs broken, and thus they are kept until required for food. For procuring wild honey, a bee is followed until it reaches its tree, the sweet-containing part of which is cut off and carried away. The Tarahumares hunt deer by driving them through narrow passes, where men are stationed to shoot them. Others make use of a deer's head as a decoy. For fishing they have various contrivances; some fish between the rocks with a pointed stick; others, when fishing in a pool, throw into the water a species of cabbage or leaves of certain trees, that stupefy the fish, when they are easily taken with the hands; they also use wicker baskets, and near the Pacific Ocean they inclose the rivers, and catch enormous quantities of smelt and other fish, which have come up from the sea to spawn. The Laguneros of Coahuila catch ducks by placing a calabash on their heads, with holes through which to breathe and see; thus equipped, they swim softly among the ducks, and draw them under water without flutter or noise. Tatéma is the name of a dish cooked in the ground by the Tarahumares. The Laguneros make tortillas of flour obtained from an aquatic plant. The Zacatecs make the same kind of bread from the pulp of the maguey, which is first boiled with lime, then washed and boiled again in pure water, after which it is squeezed dry and made into cakes. Most of the people usepozole, orpinolatl, both being a kind of gruel made of pinole, of parched corn or seeds ground, the one of greater thickness than the other; alsotamales, boiled beans, andpumpkins. The Ceris of Tiburon eat fish and meat uncooked, or but slightly boiled. The Salineros frequently devour uncooked hares and rabbits, having only removed their furs.[880]
HOW ARROWS WERE MADE AND POISONED.
The weapons universally used by these nations were bows and arrows and short clubs, in addition to which the chiefs and most important warriors carried a short lance and a buckler. The arrows were carried in a quiver made of lion or other skins. The Tarahumares and some others wore a leathern guard round the left wrist, to protect it from the blow of the bow-string. Flint knives were employed for cutting up their slain enemies. The Ceris, Jovas, and other tribes smeared the points of their arrows with a very deadly poison, but how it was applied to the point, or whence obtained, it is difficult to determine; some travelers say that this poison was taken from rattlesnakes and other venomous reptiles, which, by teasing, were incited to strike their fangs into the liver of a cow or deer which was presented to them, after which it was left to putrefy, and the arrows being dipped into the poisonous mass, were placed in the sun to dry; but other writers, again, assert that the poison was produced from a vegetable preparation. The wound inflicted by the point, however slight, is said tohave caused certain death. The arrows were pointed with flint, or some other stone, or with bone, fastened to a piece of hard wood, which is tied by sinews to a reed or cane, notched, and winged with three feathers; when not required for immediate use, the tying was loosed, and the point reversed in the cane, to protect it from being broken. The Ceris and Chicoratos cut a notch a few inches above the point, so that in striking it should break off and remain in the wound. Their clubs were made of a hard wood calledguayacan, with a knob at the end, and when not in use were carried slung to the arm by a leather thong. Their lances were of Brazil wood, bucklers of alligator-skin, and shields of bull's hide, sufficiently large to protect the whole body, with a hole in the top to look through. Another kind of shield was made of small lathes closely interwoven with cords, in such a manner that, when not required for use, it could be shut up like a fan, and was carried under the arm.[881]
Living in a state of constant war, arising out of family quarrels or aggressions made into each other's territories, they were not unskilled in military tactics. Previousto admission as a warrior, a young man had to pass through certain ordeals; having first qualified himself by some dangerous exploit, or having faithfully performed the duty of a scout in an enemy's country. The preliminaries being settled, a day was appointed for his initiation, when one of the braves, acting as his godfather, introduced him to the chief, who, for the occasion, had first placed himself in the midst of a large circle of warriors. The chief then addressed him, instructing him in the several duties required of him, and drawing from a pouch an eagle's talon, with it proceeded to score his body on the shoulders, arms, breast, and thighs, till the blood ran freely; the candidate was expected to suffer without showing the slightest signs of pain. The chief then handed to him a bow and a quiver of arrows; each of the braves also presented him with two arrows. In the campaigns that followed, the novitiate must take the hardest duty, be ever at the post of danger, and endure without a murmur or complaint the severest privations, until a new candidate appeared to take his place.[882]
WAR CUSTOMS IN NORTH MEXICO.
When one tribe desires the assistance of another in war, they send reeds filled with tobacco, which, if accepted, is a token that the alliance is formed; a call for help is made by means of the smoke signal. When war is decided upon, a leader is chosen, at whose house all the elders, medicine-men, and principal warriors assemble; a fire is then lighted, and tobacco handed round and smoked in silence. The chief, or the most aged and distinguished warrior then arises, and in a loud tone and not unpoetic language, harangues his hearers, recounting to them heroic deeds hitherto performed, victories formerly gained, and present wrongs to be avenged; after which tobacco is again passed round,and new speakers in turn address the assembly. War councils are continued for several nights, and a day is named on which the foe is to be attacked. Sometimes the day fixed for the battle is announced to the enemy, and a spot on which the fight is to take place selected. During the campaign fasting is strictly observed. The Acaxées, before taking the war-path, select a maiden of the tribe, who secludes herself during the whole period of the campaign, speaking to no one, and eating nothing but a little parched corn without salt. The Ceris and Ópatas approach their enemy under cover of darkness, preserving a strict silence, and at break of day, by a preconcerted signal, a sudden and simultaneous attack is made. To fire an enemy's house, the Tepagues and others put lighted corn-cobs on the points of their arrows. In the event of a retreat they invariably carry off the dead, as it is considered a point of honor not to leave any of their number on the field. Seldom is sex or age spared, and when prisoners are taken, they are handed over to the women for torture, who treat them most inhumanly, heaping upon them every insult devisable, besides searing their flesh with burning brands, and finally burning them at the stake, or sacrificing them in some equally cruel manner. Many cook and eat the flesh of their captives, reserving the bones as trophies. The slain are scalped, or a hand is cut off, and a dance performed round the trophies on the field of battle. On the return of an expedition, if successful, entry into the village is made in the day-time. Due notice of their approach having been forwarded to the inhabitants, the warriors are received with congratulations and praises by the women, who, seizing the scalps, vent their spleen in frantic gestures; tossing them from one to another, these female fiends dance and sing round the bloody trophies, while the men look on in approving silence. Should the expedition, however, prove unsuccessful, the village is entered in silence and during the dead of night. All the booty taken is divided amongst the aged men and women, as it isdeemed unlucky by the warriors to use their enemy's property.[883]
Their household utensils consist of pots of earthen ware and gourds, the latter used both for cooking and drinking purposes; later, out of the horns of oxen cups are made. The Tarahumares use in place of saddles two rolls of straw fastened by a girdle to the animal's back, loose enough, however, to allow the rider to put his feet under them. Emerging from their barbarism, they employ, in their agricultural pursuits, plows with shares of wood or stone, and wooden hoes. The Ceris have a kind of double-pointed javelin, with which they catch fish, which, once between the prongs, are prevented from slipping out by the jagged sides.[884]
The Ahomoas, Eudebes, Jovas, Yaquis, and Ópatas weave fabrics out of cotton or agave-fibre, such as blankets or serapes, and cloth with colored threads in neat designs and figures; these nations also manufacture matting from reeds and palm-leaves. Their loom consists of four short sticks driven into the ground, to which a frame is attached to hold the thread. The shuttle is an oblong piece of wood, on which the cross-thread is wound. After passing through the web, the shuttle is seized and pressed close by a ruler three inches in breadth, which is placed between the web and supplies the place of a comb. When any patterns are to be worked, several women assist to mark off with wooden pegs the amount of thread required. The Yaquis and Ceris manufacture common earthen ware, and the Tarahumares twist horse-hairinto strong cords; they also use undressed hides cut in strips, and coarse aloe-fibres.[885]
PROPERTY OF CERIS, ÓPATAS, AND YAQUIS.
No boats or canoes are employed by any of the natives of this region; but the Ceris, the Tiburones, and the Tepocas make rafts of reeds or bamboos, fastened together into bundles. These rafts are about eighteen feet long and tapering toward both ends; some are large enough to carry four or five men; they are propelled with a double-bladed paddle, held in the middle and worked alternately on both sides.[886]
Subsequent to the conquest, the Ópatas and Yaquis accumulated large flocks of sheep, cattle, and bands of horses; the latter are good miners, and expert divers for pearls. Their old communistic ideas follow them in their new life; thus, the landed property of the Tarahumares is from time to time repartitioned; they have also a public asylum for the sick, helpless, and for orphans, who are taken care of by male and female officials calledtenanches. Pearls, turquoises, emeralds, coral, feathers, and gold were in former times part of their property, and held the place of money; trade, for the most part, was carried on by simple barter.[887]
The Northern Mexicans make no pretensions to art; nevertheless, Guzman states that in the province of Culiacan the walls of the houses were decorated withobscene paintings. They are all great observers of the heavenly bodies and the changes in the atmosphere; the Yaquis count their time by the moon. They are good musicians, imitating to perfection on their own instruments almost any strain they happen to hear. Their native melodies are low, sweet, and harmonious. In Petatlan they embroidered dresses with pearls, and as they had no instrument for piercing the jewel, they cut a small groove round it, and so strung them. With pearls they formed on cloth figures of animals and birds.[888]
I find nowhere in this region any system of laws or government. There are the usual tribal chieftains, selected on account of superior skill or bravery, but with little or no power except in war matters. Councils of war, and all meetings of importance, are held at the chief's house.[889]
MARRIAGE AND POLYGAMY.
The Ceris and Tepocas celebrate the advent of womanhood with a feast, which lasts for several days. The Ahome maiden wears on her neck a small carved shell, as a sign of her virginity, to lose which before marriage is a lasting disgrace. On the day of marriage the bridegroom removes this ornament from his bride's neck. It is customary among most of the tribes to give presents to the girl's parents. The Tahus, says Castañeda, are obliged to purchase a maiden from her parents, and deliver her to thecacique,[890]chief, or possibly high priest,to whom was accorded thedroit de seigneur. If the bride proves to be no virgin, all the presents are returned by her parents, and it is optional with the bridegroom to keep her or condemn her to the life of a public prostitute. The Bauzarigames, Cabezas, Contotores, and Tehuecos practice polygamy and inter-family marriages, but these are forbidden by the Ceris, Chinipas, Tiburones, and Tepocas. Different ceremonies take place upon the birth of the first child. Among some, the father is intoxicated, and in that state surrounded by a dancing multitude, who score his body till the blood flows freely. Among others, several days after the birth of a male child, the men visit the house, feel each limb of the newly born, exhort him to be brave, and finally give him a name; women perform similar ceremonies with female children. The couvade obtains in certain parts; as for instance, the Lagunero and Ahomama husbands, after the birth of a child, remain in bed for six or seven days, during which time they eat neither fish nor meat. The Sisibotaris, Ahomes, and Tepehuanes hold chastity in high esteem, and both their maidens and matrons are remarkably chaste. The standard of morality elsewhere in this vicinity is in general low, especially with the Acaxées and Tahus, whose incestuous connections and system of public brothels are notorious. According to Arlegui, Ribas, and other authors, among some of these nations male concubinage prevails to a great extent; these loathsome semblances of humanity, whom to call beastly were a slander upon beasts, dress themselves in the clothes and perform the functions of women, the use of weapons even being denied them.[891]
Drunkenness prevails to a great extent among most of the tribes; their liquors are prepared from the fruit of the pitahaya, mezquite-beans, agave, honey, and wheat. In common with all savages, they are immoderately fond of dancing, and have numerous feasts, where, with obscene carousals and unseemly masks, the revels continue, until the dancers, from sheer exhaustion or intoxication, are forced to rest. The Ópatas hold a festival calledtorom raqui, to insure rain and good crops. Clearing a square piece of ground, they strew it with seeds, bones, boughs, horns, and shells; the actors then issue forth from huts built on the four corners of the square, and there dance from sunrise to sunset. On the first day of the year they plant in the ground a tall pole, to which are tied long ribbons of many colors. A number of young maidens, fancifully attired, dance round the pole, holding the ends of the ribbons, twisting themselves nearer or away from the center in beautiful figures. Upon other occasions they commemorate, in modern times, what is claimed to be the journey of the Aztecs, and the appearance of Montezuma among them. Hunting and war expeditions are inaugurated by dances. Their musical instruments are flutes and hollow trunks beaten with sticks or bones, and accompanied with song and impromptu words, relating the exploits of their gods, warriors, and hunters. They are passionately fond of athletic sports, such as archery, wrestling, and racing; but the favorite pastime is a kind of foot-ball. The game is played between two parties, with a large elastic ball, on a square piece of ground prepared expressly for the purpose. The players must strike the ball with the shoulders, knees, or hips, but never withthe hand. Frequently one village challenges another as upon the occasion of a national festival, which lasts several days, and is accompanied with dancing and feasting. They have also games with wooden balls, in which sticks are used when playing. The players are always naked, and the game often lasts from sunrise to sunset, and sometimes, when the victory is undecided, the play will be continued for several successive days. Bets are freely made, and horses and other property staked with the greatest recklessness.[892]
CUSTOMS IN NORTHERN MEXICO.
Loads are carried on the head, or in baskets at the back, hanging from a strap that passes across the forehead. Another mode of carrying burdens is to distribute equally the weight at both ends of a pole which is slung across the shoulder,à la Chinoise. Their conceptions of the supernatural are extremely crude; thus, the Ópatas, by yells and gesticulations, endeavor to dispel eclipses of the heavenly bodies; before the howling of the wind they cower as before the voice of the Great Spirit. The Ceris superstitiously celebrate the new moon, and bow reverentially to the rising and setting sun. Nuño de Guzman states that in the province of Culiacan tamed serpents were found in the dwellings of the natives, which they feared and venerated. Others have a great veneration for the hidden virtues of poisonous plants, and believe that if they crush or destroy one, some harm will happen to them. It is a commoncustom to hang a small bag containing poisonous herbs round the neck of a child, as a talisman against diseases or attacks from wild beasts, which they also believe will render them invulnerable in battle. They will not touch a person struck by lightning, and will leave him to die, or, if dead, to lie unburied.[893]
MEDICAL TREATMENT.
Intermittent and other fevers prevail among the people of Northern Mexico. Small-pox, introduced by Europeans, has destroyed many lives; syphilis was introduced among the Carrizos by the Spanish troops. The Tarahumares suffer from pains in the side about the end of the spring. The Ópatas of Oposura are disfigured by goitres, but this disease seems to be confined within three leagues of the town. Wounds inflicted by arrows, many of them poisoned, and bites of rattlesnakes are common. Friends, and even parents and brothers leave to their fate such as are suffering from contagious diseases; they, however, place water and wild fruits within the sufferer's reach. To relieve their wearied legs and feet after long marches, they scarify the former with sharp flints. In extreme cases they rub themselves with the maguey's prickly leaf well pounded, which, acting as an emollient on their hardened bodies, affords them prompt relief. The Carrizos cure syphilis with certain plants, the medicinal properties of which are known to them. As a purgative they use the grains of themaguacate, and as a febrifuge thecenicilla(teraina frutescens). With the leaves of the latter they make a decoction which, mixed with hydromel, is an antidote for intermittent fevers. They also use theleaves of the willow in decoction, as a remedy for the same complaint. In Sinaloa, the leaf and roots of theguacoare used by the natives as the most efficacious medicine for the bites of poisonous reptiles. The Ópatas employ excellent remedies for the diseases to which they are subject. They have a singular method of curing rattlesnake bites, a sort of retaliative cure; seizing the reptile's head between two sticks, they stretch out the tail and bite it along the body, and if we may believe Alegre, the bitten man does not swell up, but the reptile does, until it bursts. In some parts, if a venomous snake bites a person, he seizes it at both ends, and breaks all its bones with his teeth until it is dead, imagining this to be an efficacious means of saving himself from the effect of the wounds. Arrow wounds are first sucked, and thenpeyotepowder is put into them; after two days the wound is cleaned, and more of the same powder applied; this operation is continued upon every second day, and finally powdered lechugilla-root is used; by this process the wound, after thoroughly suppurating, becomes healed. Out of the leaves of the maguey, lechugilla, and date-palm, as well as from the rosemary, they make excellent balsams for curing wounds. They have various vegetable substances for appeasing the thirst of wounded persons, as water is considered injurious. The Acaxées employ the sucking processes, and blowing through a hollow tube, for the cure of diseases. The Yaquis put a stick into the patient's mouth, and with it draw from the stomach the disease; the Ceris of Tiburon Island also employ charms in their medical practice.[894]
I find nothing of cremation in these parts. The dead body is brought head and knees together, andplaced in a cave or under a rock. Several kinds of edibles, with the utensils and implements with which the deceased earned a support while living, are deposited in the grave, also a small idol, to serve as a guide and fellow traveler to the departed on the long journey. On the lips of dead infants is dropped milk from the mother's breast, that these innocents may have sustenance to reach their place of rest. Among the Acaxées, if a woman dies in childbirth, the infant surviving is slain, as the cause of its mother's death. Cutting the hair is the only sign of mourning among them.[895]
CHARACTER.
The character of the Northern Mexicans, as portrayed by Arlegui, is gross and low; but some of these tribes do not deserve such sweeping condemnation. The Mayos, Yaquis, Acaxées, and Ópatas are generally intelligent, honest, social, amiable, and intrepid in war; their young women modest, with a combination of sweetness and pride noticed by some writers. The Ópatas especially are a hard-working people, good-humored, free from intemperance and thievishness; they are also very tenacious of purpose, when their minds are made up—danger often strengthening their stubbornness the more. The Sisibotaris, Ahomamas, Onavas, and Tarahumares are quiet and docile, but brave when occasion requires; the last-mentioned are remarkably honest. The Tepocas and Tiburones are fierce, cruel, and treacherous, more warlike and courageous than the Ceris of the main land, who are singularly devoid of good qualities, being sullenly stupid, lazy, inconstant, revengeful, depredating, and much given to intemperance. Their country even has become a refuge for evil-doers. In former times they were warlike and brave: but even this quality they have lost, and have become as cowardly as they are cruel. The Tepehuanes and other mountaineers are savage and warlike, and their animosity to the whites perpetual. The Laguneros and other tribes of Coahuila are intelligent, domestic, and hospitable; the former especially are very brave. In Chihuahuathey are generally fierce and uncommunicative. At El Paso, the women are more jovial and pleasant than the men; the latter speak but little, never laugh, and seldom smile; their whole aspect seems to be wrapped in melancholy—everything about it has a semblance of sadness and suffering.[896]