Weekly Arizona citizen., 1880-12-18
THE MO0UIs.
A Curious Race of Indians in the SNortheastern Corner of Arizona The Sun- Worshipers, and TheirPe- cuIIar Customs-A Happy and Con- tented Tribe.
Prescott Democrat.l


 In the northeastern part of Arizona Territory, there lives race of Indians who possess many peculiarities of in- terest 10 those who consider that the proper study of mankind IS man.
 From Mir. c. E. Davis, who has been out there in company with John Reese. taking the census of the tribe, we are indebted for the following in teresting particulars concerning these Indians. their habits, customs and mode of life.
 The Moquis have no knowledge of how or when they became settled in their present abode. They claim to he descendants of the Ancient AZtecs, but whether or not they are Of the same race as the original inhabitants of the cities of Cabola, is a question that offers wide field for investigation.
 There are seven villages in all-siX inhabited by the MOquis, and one by the Oribas, who are to all appearances the same people, only speaking diff fereRt dialect. These villages are To- cated on rocky, barren mesas, the Or
 iba village being about twenty miles west of The Moquis. The approach to the villages is by a single ZigZag path which winds around the face of the clff. and barely permits a single horseman to advance. The houses are built of rock, the dwellings rising in the shape of terraces, are entered by means of ladders. which are drawn up every night Il
 Fuel has to be packed to some of the villages on backs of burroS, over six miles, while water is brought from a mile tO two miles distant. On the sandy plain at the foot of these mesas, are TaIsed fine crops of corn, pumpkins. melons and delicious peaches. They own many horses, sheep and goats, which are carefully guarded every night in stone corrals on the steep sides of the mesa, where watchful seEtinels keep bright look out all night long.
 The Moquis stand in mortal dread of theIr warlike neighbors, the Nav ajos, who are distant from them some twenty-five miles tO the north, and whose ideas concerning the rights of property are considerably mixed.
 The Moqui villages are on two l mesas-three on each. The different villages are only a few hundred yards | apart, yet no two of them speak the | same dialect. The headchieitanship l is hereditary in one fam fly, but each | village has Sub-chiei.
 The Moquis worship the sun and | many forms of idols. They also have | a reverence for rattlesnakes, and once | a year they indulge in what is known | as the snake-dance, in which they | twine these reptiles about the body, l neck and arms, as they whiTl through | the wild orgies of their dance, but | they have a sure antIdote against the | poison.
 The MOquis bachelors buy their dusky mates from the parents, the | price of a wife being about six po- nies, but it varies according io the | quality. They have a very simple | and effective mode of settling do- mestic difficulties. When the wife discovers " incOmpatibility of tenn perament,' and finds that the husband is not the man she thought he was, she orders him 10 pick up his move able effects, and stand not on the or der of his going but 'git' at once. As a consequence of this simple di- vyrCe law the women are said to own nearly all the real estate in the Mo quis villages, for the house falls Co the wife wben the matrimonial tie is sev- cred.
 The beauy of the tribe going on a courting expedition dress in gOr- geOus manner in velvet knee brooches ornamented with silver buttons, their briddle and saddle being also profuse- ly Oruamented with the same metal There Is difference in dressing the hair between the matrons and mai dens. The latter wear it in sharp puffS projecting over the ears. which is an intimaiion Co the anxious beau that Barkis is willin'. After mar riage the hair is worn long on the shoulders and banged in the latest style in front. The women do nearly all the word in the village. repair the houses, grind the corn by matJats, etc.
 The tribe Is prosperous, peaceful and industrious. The agent lives about eight miles from the village, and furnishes them their aunuities every year A Mir. Keam has a store at the Agency and does a large trade with the tribe. buying theIr wool. corn and other products. He lately shipped 13000o pounds of wool. The Government Is about to start board ing school at the Agency, winch will no doubt be well attended and be of great good to the tribe.
 Taken altogether, these native Ari- zonans are a happy and contented race. Their cares are light, their wants are few aud easily supplied. They are isolated from the busy world. .ts struggles and it's settlements. and pass their days in peaceful, patri- irchal simplicity, as did their ancesi- DTS for centuries before them.