Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1859-01-08

And spi OF all he 'hus aehed,
Ne life ms divinc- light
Thai his, up n the heavenly side.
High Tide. and singular indians In the
Colorado IL legion.
The preliminary report of his explo-
ration of the Colora ado river in Calitor-
MIA and the unknown region where it
has It's sources, Lieut.. Ives gives the
following account Of the extraordinary
tides near the mouth of the river, and
of a singular tribe of Indians in the
interior.
The region at the mouth OF the
/ Colorado IS n fiat eYpansc of mud
! The lines Of the shore and the channels
/ that afford entrances to vessels from
the Gut are shifting and changeabie
and bars, shoals and Isla DIS, composed
of semml fluid mass, are IN constant
prooress Of formation and removal
/ The navigation for thirty miles above
is rendered PERIODICAL, dangerous by
the strength and magnitude Of the
spring tides. They have rise and
a fall of from twenty five to thirty feet
and flow of extraordinary velocity.
! The floods preceded by bore or
huge tide wave, from four to seven
feet high. In certain narrow bends it
is very powerful and violent, but
gradually loses its force as 1t asceuds,
and at distance OF thirty miles Is
scarcely preceptIble. Along wider
portions of the river are curves Of the
shore in which its force Is not felt,
and here boats may be safel Y moored
till this dangerous wave has rolled by.
Upon the shoals are formed what is
called " tidcrips," where the sudden
check given to the rushing volume Of
water causes it to bound along in high
successive waves. Steamboats, that
come to the mouth of the river during
the spring tides must descend above
tide water during the cbb, and start to,
return two or three hours after the
commencement of the flood.
+" Moquis Indians, whose residence
border up on the country OF the
Navaoes, were the first large tribe
seen after leaving the Colorado. There
J are seven towns, dignifed by the early
Spanish explorers with the title Of
cities, and ruins of others that are now
deserted. The tribe is much smaller
. than has been sometimes stated. The
number Of the population has beer
supposed to be about seven thousand
but | should consider one half of thl.
an extravagant estimate. The town:
F., are situated within few miles of eacl
!. other, and on the tops of isolated ano
e PERCEPTIONS hills they are enclosed 10y
, walls of stone and tolerably well con
structed. The houses are built arouno
an open court, and the only mode o
entrance is by ladders that conduct t.
:. small platform on the top OF thu
e exterior, upon which the doors ant
windows of the habitations OPEN
Springs near the submits of the hill
furnish supply Of water, and to pro
q vide against seasons Of drought ther,
are large stone reservoirs, cxcecdingl,
well made, placed in the hollows alon,
the faces Of the bluffs. Some OF tn
towns are approached by flights O
u stone steps, and the steep ascent is lai'
c out in neatly arranged terraced gar
|, dens, the mansonary Of whose revet
, ments is kept in excellent order an,
preservation. Orchards of peach tree
: bearing an Indifferent quality of irui,
u grow on the hill sides. In the broa
valleys below arc fields Of cotton, COZ
u pumpkins and MELONS, whose cultiva
ton, under great disadvantages OF sol
climate, and agricultural outfit, exhibit
% a degree Of industry that in an lncia
a is truly remarkable. Both men an
:. women labor in the field. The
Al possess considerable number Of shee
nearly ali Of Jet black color-an
some poultry. The women wear
. long black gown Of their own weavin
\ and the men variegated blankets ais
= Of home manufacture. They are
q standing ili-maie race, with pleasar
though h"mcly faces, and are perfcctl
pes.ccablc and inoficnslvc They scci
IL to suffer but little ro,estatlon frol
, warllke tribes, which is due less to the
&c own proves, than to the natnr;
Il defcnses Of their towns, whose con
handing position and difficult approac
afford security against both snrpris
10 and assault The progress they hav
re made in agriculture and manufactur,
< helps TO MAINTAIN their peaceful reli
.. tons. Indians fiom all parts of Ne
Mexico, and from Utah having recours
to them for blakcts, and in times
As scarcity, for provisions. Their unruI
n. and powerful neighbors, the Navaoe
n sometimes commit dcpredations upo
]. them, but, even with these an appea
ancc Of friendly intercourse is prcscr,
,. ed. A Gu ious fact was noticed, an
n illustrative OF certain peculiaritics
OF the Indian race, that the whole tril
I'd do not speak the same Iangusge-th
. individuals in some Of the towI
20 absolutely protesting TO be unable