The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1878-10-05


the slave of the husband. She carries
wood and water, spins and we;ives, has
the sole care of the children, and does all
the work in the field except plowing and
sowing. 1t is the Pima woman that, with
patient hard labor, winnows the chaff
from the wheat and then carries the latter
upon her head to the store of the trader,
where the husband-who has preceded
her on horseback-sells it, spending per-
haps al the money received for it, m the
purchase of articles Intended only for his
CWn use. Pima women rarely ride on
! horseback. The husband always travels
mounted while the wife trudges along on
| foot, carrying her child or heavy laden
! ki-hO tbasket) on her head and back
Women, during childbirth, and during
the continuance Of their nlenses, retire to
small hut built for this purpose in the
vicinity Of their own dwelling place. Men
never enter these hhts when occupied by
women, and the latter while here have
separate blankets and eat from dishes
used by no one else.
v--wEAPONs AND MANNER or FIGHTING.
The only weapons used by the Pimas
before the introduction of firearms were
the bow and arrow and war-clut. For
defensive purposes they carried 4 round
sbielc, about two feet in diameter, made
OF rawhide, which, when thoroughly dry,
becon1es so hard that an arrow, even if
sent by powerful enemy at a short dis
tance, cannot penetrate it. These Wea-
pons are still used by them to great eX-
tent, and, like all Indians, they arg good
lrarksmcn with the bow, Shooting birds
Oh the wing and fishes While swimming
in the shallow waters Of the Giia river
For hunting fishes and small game they
ns6 arrows without hard points, but the
arrows used in battle have sharp, two
edged points, made of flint, glass or iron.
When going on scout against Apache
Indians, their bitter foes, the PiHaS fire.
quently dip the poirts of their arrows
into putri6 meat, and it is said that a
wound caused ty suci1 an arrow will
finally produce death: The war-club is
made of mesquite wood, which is hard
and heavy. 1t is about sixteen inches
long, half being handle, and the other half
the club proper. With it they strike the
enemy on the head This weapon is used
eycn now, for the Pimas rarely attack
theit foe in open daylight. They usually
surround the Apache raneheria at night,
some warriors placing themselves near
the doors of al the huts; then the terrible
war-cry is sounded, and when the sur
doors OF their huts the ar.clubs Of the
Pinas descend upon their heads with a
crushing force The Pimas never scalp
their dead enemies; in fact no Pima will
ever touch an Apache further than it is
necessary to kill him. Even the yet OF
killing an Apache by means OF an arrow
is believed to make unclean whose bow
discharged the fatal arrow. They firmly !
believe that Ill the Apaches ere possessed |
of an evil spirit, and that all who kill |
them become unclean and remain 81 until |
again cleansed by u peculiar process Of
puriflcation. The Pima warrior who has |
killed an Apache at once separates him !
self from all his companions; (who are not |
even permitted to speak to him. and re-
turns TO the vicinity of his home. Here |
he hides himself in the bushes near the
river bank, where he remains secluded |
for sixteen days, eonVersing With no one,
and only seeing during the whole period
Of the cleaning process an old woman ap
pointed to carry food TO him; but who
never speaks. During the twenW-four
hours Immediately following the killing
the Pima neither eats nor drinks; after
this he partakes Of food and water spar
ingIy, but for the whole sixteen days me
eat meat nor salt, Deither must he
drink anything but fiyer-water. For the
first four days he frequently bathes him
self il the river; during the second four
tiays he plasters his hair with a mixture
Of mesquite gum and black clay, which
is allowed to dry and become
hard, uuon his head, and is washed during
the night OF the eighth day. On the ninth
morning he again besmears his head with
black clay without the gum; on the even
ing of the twelfth day he washes his hair,
combs il, braids it in long strands and
ties the end with red ribbon or turls
around it red shawl, aud then for four
lays more frequently washes his body in
.he Giia river. On the evening Of the ,
sixteenth day he returns to his village, Is
net 10y one Of the old men of his tribe, ,
Who, alter the warrior has placed him
self at full length upon the ground, bends '
Down, passes some of the saliva OF his +
mouth into that of the warrior and blows +
lis breath into the nostrils of the latter. G
The warrior then rises, and now, and not /
until now, is he again considered clean; 7
lis friends approach him and joyfully G
congratulate him on his victory. q
The Apache Indians, the most savage i
IN the continent during the past twenty
i've years have murdered hundreds of
Americans and Mexicans; and have thus C