, 1853-11-12
NO. 10.

their enemies dare not follow them. When
a'slranger approaches, they appear on the
top Of the rocks and houses WATCHING his
movements. One of their villages at which
Capt. Walker stayed for several DAYS, il
five or six hundred yards long. The houses
are generally built of stone and mortar
some of them Of adobe. They are very
snug and comfortable, and many of them
are two, and even three stories high. The
inhabitants are considerably advanced in
some Of the arts, and manufacture excellent
woolen clothing, blankets leather, basket
work and pottery. Unlike most Of the In
dian tribes OF this country, the women work
with IN doors, the men performing all the
farm and out door labor As a race, they
are lighter in color than the Digger Indians
of California. Indeed, the women arc tol-
erably fair in consequence of not being so
much exposed TO the sun. Among them,
Capt. Walker saw three perfectly white,
with white hair and light eyes He saw
two others of the same kind at the Zuni
village, nearer the Rio Grande. They
were no doubt Albinos, and probably gave
rise to the rumors which have prevailed of
the existence Of white Indians in the Basin.
The Moquis have probably assisted ma
ture in levcling the top of the mountain as
site for their villages. They have cut
down the rocks in many places, and havo
excayated out Of the solid rock a number of
large rooms, for manufacturing wooden
cloth Their only arms are bows and ar
rows, although they never war with any
other tribe. The Navajoes carry of their
stock without opposition. But unlike al
most every other tribe Of Indians on the
continent, they are scrupulously honest
Capt. Walker says the most attractive and
valuable articles may be left exposed, and
they will not touch them.
Many Of the women are beautiful, with
forms of faultless symmetry. They ass
very neat and clean, and dress in quite a
picturesque costume of their own manuiac-
ture. They wear dark robe with a red
border, gracefully draped so as TO leave
their right arm and shoulder bare. They
have most beautiful hair, which they ar
range with great care. The condition of a
female may be known from her manner of
dressing the hair. The virgins part their
hair in the middle behind, and twist each
parcel around hoop six or eight inches in
diameter. This is nicely smoothed and
oiled and fastened to each side Of the head,
something like large rosettee. The effect
is very striking. The married women
wear their hair twisted into club behind.
The Moquis farm in the plain by day
and retire to their villages on the mountain
at night. They irrigate their lands by
means Of the small streams running out Of
the sides Of the mountain. Sometimes when
It fails 10 snow on the mountains in winter,
their crops are bad. For this reason they
always keep two or three years provisions
laid up, for fear Of famine Altogether
they are a most extraordinary people, far
in advance of any other aborigines yet dis
covered on this continent. They have
never had any intercourse with the whites.
and of course their civilization originated
with themselves. What field is here for
the adventurous traveller We have rarely
listened TO anything more interesting than
Capt. Walkers plain, Unaffected story Of
his travels in the Great Basin.