The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1876-04-01
10 rue MEMBERS OF l. L. s.
+. @ur 0lio.
The MOqui Indians.

A pQfticn Of the Hayden exploring ex-
pedition penetrated that part of Arizona
occupied by the "Moqui Indians" tribe
differing 50 widely in their habits and
customs from the ordinary tribes Of North
American Indians, as to lead to the sup
position that they spring from distinct
rnce' They are gentle, peace-loving, peo-
pie, and, unlike tho wilder tribes, do not fol-
low the chase, but in a rude way cultivate
me soil, from which they gain scanty
supply Of corn and some of the eommoncr
vegetable.
Cattle, sheep and goats, which they
rAisc II considerable numbers, find peren-
MEL pasturage in the valleys and on the
slopes leading up to the mesas upon which
their towns are built Their habitations,
which are built of stone, bear evidence of
having been erected at period antedating
the discovery Of this continent, and are
stlll sabstantial edifices, that give promise
Of remaining after the remnant of the tribe
shall have passed away.
Those houses are frequently four stories
high, each successive story receding like
terraces on hillside, and are 50 conuec-
ted % 70 make it uncertain where one
house ends or the other begins. The
architecture Of these buildings bears a
striking similarity to that Of the ruins of
ancient bnildings found 10 many parts of
Arizona, and which are not unfrequently
met along The course Of the Colorado and
San Juan riyers. The men of the Moqui
tribe, unlike the average Indian, perform
Geld labor, and gather and garner their
crops with frugality which may be the
outgrorth Of necessity, but which seems
70 be tho oifect Of a remote, but not to be
updertutcd civilization, which their tradi-
tions claim as having at one time prevailed
throughout The present territories of Ari.
roma and New Mexico, and the adjacent
Stntos Of Sonora and SiDaloa in Mexico.
The women, as in other tribes, do not
bear The burdens while the men lounge in
idleness, and indulge in the vices incident,
70 barbaric life, but are busted with do
mestic duties. They wear, in primitive
sort Of way, such blankets as cannot be
woven on the best looms that the inventive
talent Of Europe or America can produce,
and which are equalled only by those
made BY the Navajoes, a neighboring
tribe, whose tastes and manners of life
cIoae|y correspond with their own. Pos.
olelins country isolated by great stretches
Of arid desert, and almost impenetrable
hoqptain ranges and spurs, the warlike
Consnches, Apaches, and Arapahoes,
U1Qeo hand is against every man, have
not moIested them, and they have, since
IAelr history has been known among us,
'X+@~@+~<+ *Wrt& ibhoNehe afoSahituo uuuib-
(Qxbed w the turmoil Of contending tribes
u the axgressive innovations Of the restless
lraMixrAnt whose search for "Arcadia" is
~ ollon MARKED by treachery and injustice.
a. tribe, whose traditions point to
111(olo lIrne when their people covered
~ re1Ion over which the ruins of ancient
<||111> nd fortified towns are thickly
Gc1I(1fcd has now dwindled to a mere
11>1 1IrIess than two thousand-and the
o11Qty 1o1s-grown houses that line the
4nci11< o0Q<ls and streets of their seven
reuriulnG owns, give melancholy evidence
<mt the Eentle race is rapidly passing
4H9y Among the long list Of American
PASTORAL tribes, the Moquis, is their love
q o1<|1qItQral pursuits, their, affection for
leIf o1spfing. the consideration with
1oIc1 Lhey treat their women, the interest
lcY (akos 81 manufactures, as illustrated
a l|Ae production Of blankets, wooleh
<IQtI|1 poltery, &C., the absence, in their
I|1ce. n dre-arms or other implements Of
|ove Of home aud the traditions
y >|EG<er around it, their horror Of con-
9ot|onl and their shrinking modesty of
'eneanor mark them, if not separate
1yId, y ribe occupying an advanced