The New York herald., 1875-10-01

Of the modest and beautiful Mum pa-you-signfying
the Moqui tongue snake that win not bite-every
head uncovered In a moment, and each OF US felt
clumsy, dirty and ashamed Of our torn garments and
unshaven faces Harry, guide, conversed with the
In Spanish, and SO We were enabled 10 make our
errand understood.
on this FIRST mesa, approaching from the east stand
three towns:-Tegua, pronounced locally Tay-wah,
Se-chdm-a-wee and Moqui pronounced Mckee. The
second is sometimes given with the first as is but
small village separated by but a few hundred feet;
nevertheless, it is OF the Moqui towns AS
stroed along the and streets Of these
interesting places attention attracted all
sides by hundreds Of curious sights First
tho buildings themselves, built perhaps
Ave centuries ago, still standing In perfect
preservation and others deserted and crumblng gradu
ally away. Where one house ended and another com
menced il was impossible TO toll Frequently tho sue
stories occupied by different families, and
usually two the extent Of space There
but tumble Of walls, above the other for four
stories. Rooms had been dug into the solid rock be-
meath feet and only Of their exist
by observing square holes in the ground
we passed along. The successive stories Of
house usually recede something after the
style OF the Egyptian pyramids, until in some cases,
four Stories ave counting the subterranean,
small apertures in the walls through which must
stoop TO The underground rooms usually
warehouses; whore blankets the pse-kee
mixed and baked. One thing particularly
noticeable in the style and architecture Of all of these
buildings, and that was marked similarity to the
ruins of those ancient buildings from which had
just come The walls oil the two we're built and
plastered out of the materials and in the same
Many Of these Moqui houses pastered
externally with layer of adobe speared with the
hand, just as we had seen in Of tho ruins along
the San Juan RIver and here 1t may be said that we
had the pleasure = observing the fair Nun -payou
ployed at this work. The doors and windows Of the
two similar, being wider at the bottom than the
top but the greatest point of resemblance between the
two is in the roofs. For long time did not
discover ruin possessing any indications of hav-
ing been rooted until in the canyon of the
Rio de Chiefly which had been thoroughly protected
from decay by the overhangng rocks that the roof
almost perfect laid. This made
actly the roofs of all the Moqui houses, being
posed OF parallel poles Of cedar, filed IN with willow
twlgs and leaves We noticed many OF the depressons
among the which evidently the subterra-
warehouses OF the modern Moqui towns In tho
extensive ruins previously described, on the Hovven-
weer there Of these depressed rooms To
be sure the ruins OF the ancient people which still
OF places from the which stand the
towns but this is accounted for by the necessities Of
those bloody times,
ON THE EVENING or OUR ARRIVAL
we strolled through the streets to pass away the
time and learn much OF the manners and customs OF
the people We might pick up. The hundreds OF
dogs which infested the place heraded coming and
followed in packs never, however, attempting to
bite. Thus accompanied by a band OF music
wherever Making ourselves at home
entered, without bidding, wherever liked Climb
ing up one or the ladders we passed into a room
where robe was spread for US to sit upon,
and the pee-kee was set before In
every house we visited we were treated in
this hospitable manner. Passing along a court we
would pause to look down shaft at family at
supper below, reclining around low table, on which
sat the mutual bowl of food into which each thrust his
hand and brought forth what he wished In all the
houses noticed immense quantities of corn dried
the cob which was to be seen stored around the walls
piled up along the sides Of the like wood
This provide for possible failure OF the crops
so that famine would be prevented The corn was
usually the red and blue grained variety which the Ma
vajos raise.
At sunset the men came in from their days labor
the fields in squads Of four five, almost Naked with
their hoes their shoulders and their boomefangs
might have killed during the day in their hands The
hoes and weapons laid pile in the centre Of
the court and all hands repaired to their re-
spective dwellings to sup. We noticed that the
only weapons these people possessed, with the
exception of half a dozen guns IN the tribe,
which only obtained recently, weapons
Of the hunt consisting Of wooden boomerangs and
small bows and arrows for killing rabbits the arrows
without points OF any kind. This would designate
them peaceful nation their ancestors we
find no trace Of any ancient weapons among them.
The first night Of stay camped to the north Of
these towns, quarter or a mile away, the plain
below, beyond Of tho principal reservoirs This
was ten feet in depth, surrounded by circular
wall fifteen feet in diameter and descended by stone
steps At daybreak could several figures, stand
ing ike sentnes the parapets OF the houses watch
ing for the rise As he appeared slowly above
the horizon these figures dropped away slowly
by one, and stole down from the to the spring
below, each with huge jug, wrapped in shawl and
supported from the back All the women and many of
the repair regularly every morning to the springs
Of which there three four at the foot Of the
and carry up water TO last during the day The
jugs spherical, with small necks, which fat
tened on side to ct the back of the
bearer and will hold generally about four gallons
being filed usually by Of gourd with hole at
the end OF the handle This mesa stands about 400
feet above the springs and the paths either side
the rock succession Of Steep winding steps
Ascending to the mesa early, in order to photograph
the towns, rarnbled around in search Of
good specimens Of the modern pottery to bring away
with mementoes. II with little curiosity
that stopped and passed the threshold Of Of the
houses to witness the interesting process Of
MANUFACTURE or PEE-KEE
Moqui bread which wc had SO frequently eaten since
arrival Under large, fat smooth, horizontal
stone some feet long, foot aud half wide and
three or four inches thick hot lre burning Be
tore this a woman the floor baking. In pot by
her side a thin, pasty mixture Of greensh -four
trnade from the red and blue cornl cedar
ash and water Into this the woman dipped
her hand and smeared thtn coat.
ing over the stone or oven, which had
been previously creased TO prevent adhesion In few