, 1870-07-21
fndiAMs OF the Great American
Desert.

Captain Juhn Moss. Superintendent of tha
Iintc Mining Company, is utilizing the labor
Of the 1iute 1ndians. and has about twenty OF
the N CONSTANTLY emplose ed at various work. I
witnessed their labor With much interest
They work with alacnty. like children, so long
a. ttcy can endure raIld movement, then they
take q rest. With patcilce, time, and di.ei-
pl,ne think they will make good and profits
Lie laneIe1s. They are paid fifty cents a day
eight to zee them at wusk.
Captain John Mugs lIae absolute coutrot OYER
tl.is LAtiol Of Indians, as we'll LII over al the
tEtGs Tor the distance of thousand miles
north and south. west Of the sierra Seysds
range OF mountains
lie ~ altogether a remarkable character. Ho
L woIshipped bS tue Indians, aud with them
us VII! IL Al the tlat Of superior creature.
LIE LAS been among the Indians for twenty
seazs and, among tEuse OF the G1eat Basin.
WEI OF tht Sierra Nevada mountains. tA-lya
tea1s. He eI.eake twenty-five different Iudia,,
lanEuaEer. tue pes of tho Indiau in ANYTHING.
ai1 l., besides. ! man OF talent, Refinement
aud culture.
a large iacticn of the Flute tribe Of Indiana
i've OF, The great American Desert, region
about l.NG miles I0uE from north to Rnnth
aud about aUD miles wide from east To vesf'
there are VI, this derett. stretches OF 100
ml!e= WITHOUT EEasH or water. 1t IL a region
Ut sand and rocky mountains, with hut little
stge'at,on, and this Ut a peculiar stuutel
ratt. there ID little wood, little grass. and
little Watez procured from holes. 4 r,,npinty
stream il almost unknown There is almost 4
total st sence Of xascF III the as 80 t,t the collar
l'eat u fearful in its intensity, ranging from
10 to ltv degrees Fahrcni,eit. This Ia the
hume Of the ''Dc-ert Indian" and eotnc facts
exhibiting his nature. haGita and peculiaritiea.
may be interesting. to your readers.
The ''berert Indian" IL az much reflection,
Of tie country be inhah,s ~ the nzafI. or the
I'M la il tt11 l.
and active His necessities have rendered him
superior IN endurance. quickness. sagacity and
intelligence to all neighboIins tribes. Two
mouths ago . "Deeert Indian" carving cI.
Fress, travelled 120 miles in twenty-two con
secutive houre.
Their upper extremities IRE rerr slender.
they ealry scarce a.y tlcti, but thai employed
in loconotion- Their life has i,upte-ae1 ufnn
them wonderful physiology; their CAPACITY
to eat and to starEe il truly astounding. SIX
goEtns rs; ago' seven Indians, including child
IRON drinking alkaline water, which weighed
not less than one thousand pounds, from 3
o'clock IN the afternoon TO IL O'Clock
sn me morning Of the succeeding
oHn!-lntestnnes, an ME- .n hesEt, liver, lunss, and
marrow taken from tlem- In short a, ID
o'clock next day nothing remained Of the hoYne
put ine hoofs. So in less than twentv-four
hoofs, peg capita, more than one hundred
pbuuus Oh meat.
Another instance. About year ago gentle
MN driving number of horses aeross tho
desert lost thirty Of them, At intervals, along
the road. 4 r1rty OF - Desert 1nt1ians" start
ed in upon the road. 70 fatal to the horses,
| and devoured every one Of them 81 they went.
| coming out on tho other eide Of the dsaert. "A
| fat as eeais. They travel in the scorciing hest
| OF the desert. from seventy to eighty miles 4
| dav without difficulty.
| Il would seem that the Piute tribe of Jndi.
sns are in pTucess Of spontaneous and natnrsl
e7termir a'ion. independent ot any destructive
/ effects from contact With civilization
The ntatieties of Europe and Aner,co. nm
| cured in the most accurate manner. ana m
| the largest scale. give Of ali the Lltths. II
| boys to every 90 girls. The uniformity IA
| complete, rigid and nnvaryipg. For pu,nbcr
OF yeass past, in the piute tf1be. from carefni
,nvestiG2tiont1 1t has been ascertained that three
boys are born to every girl. Everywhere IL
Observed great deficiency Of equaws among
them. 1t il mathematical. at this rate, th,s
ere lcpg. the Piute tribe Will become extinct
| from inherent causes.
For the last si1 years the Desert Indians"
| have found it exceedingly difficult to exist.
Hare and rabbits weEe their great sources Of
| food, and, at one time, they fairly swarmed
among the sage and stunted vegetation Of
the desert. They we're invaded, Some Ten
Year. since, By Soma epidemic dlaease, 40 that
now only few remain.