The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1882-12-15
For The Agis and hteliigcncer.
The National Museum.
NO. II.
INDIAN SPECIMENS.

1
In our last gave a sketch of the Museum
in general outline. ! have since had the
privilege of the Geological Department, from
which have gained, many curious facts of
interest about the Peublos and other Indians.
| The Zunis particularly claim our attention.
Iuni is the largest remaining peublo,
situated on knoll, high up in the "Sierra
| Madre," ofNew Mexico, from which the de-
partment exhibit II cast Of the whole town,
| made of papicr mache, on ground work of
| twenty feet in length and eleven in width,
| resembling in color the real puebos, which
| are made of sandstone and adobe, u sun dried
drab clay, which forms durable mortar, last
ing for ages This knoll rises slightly to-
ward the end, giving the upper portion quite
| n view of the lower part of the town, and the
| road which leads in from Fort Wingate, by
| the corner grocery, the quite familiar feature
| to us of all villages, which is designated by
| the numerous figures near the door. At the
extreme end, near the most elevated part, is
| the Governors home, at the base of which
| runs the Zuni creek.
The pucblos are built in terraces, one upon
| another, and so on until the number of stories
desired is obtained, with openings in the
roofs for doors and windows; ladders placed
ut the side as n means of access. Since the
advent of the white man in Zuni land, they
have cut windows and doors near the ground
still using the ladders for the higher terraces
and in going from one to the other. There
are but few narrow streets, all the town
seeming us one huge house, yet each having
the privacy of separate houses Some con
tain 800 rooms. In the centre is an old Span
ish Cathedral, with archcd front and double
pOrtiCo, with stccplc where two bells still
hang, like the old Cathedral, out of use. The
ground is used by the Iunis as a cemetery
In all the eighteen acres which comprise the
Iuni knoll, there is but one tree. The gar
dens are near the entrance to the town, and
are cultivated by the squaws
Against the houses we notice little pens,
made of sticks driven into the ground, form
ing cages, in which they keep their tame ca
giles. OFF from the houses, are large pens,
with bars, where the sheep and other ami
mails are kept In the yards of the houses
are clothes props, driven into the ground,
| with poles across where the clothes are dried.
The bake ovens are queer little mounds,
| of adobe and stone, either built on the roofs
or in the yards of those who have yards.
The windows of the Geological department
have some finely executed transparent pho
| tographs, showing Lunis of both sexes and
OF all ages. One shows quite an amusing
scene of three girls, where one is looking
complacently on, whilst the second is seated
| on the ground, combing the hair of the third
| with a brush of switches, seeming to enjoy
| the performance much more than the third,
whose face expresses anything but compla-
cency, as she holds tightly to long plat
| separated from the back hair. Another of
an Indian sitting on the ground weaving q
blanket on loom, fac-simile of one exhibited
| in the main hall, brought from New Mexico.
Then there are different scenes of the pueblos
and their domestic life, besides lifc-sized pho
| tographs of men and women of different ages,
with natural life-like expressions.
| Pottery is their chief avocation. There
are large cases of their work, in varied styles,
more odd and antique looking than beauti.
ful-curious bird shaped pitchers and dishes
decorated with queer figures, and finished fire.
qucntly with the familiar lines of the wall of
| Troy.
| Among the most unsightly, yet one of the
most interesting Of the specimens are some
rough followed out stones, brought from the
mills of the Iunis, in which their grain is
ground, or rubbed. These mills are made OF
sandstone, and measure from five to ten feet
| long, divided into compartments, each hay
| ing flat grndstone. These slabs are grad.
uatcd successfully from coarse to fine, the
squaws alone doing the work, kneeling before
the mills, rubbing up and down with these
long stones between which the grain is
placed. This is continued until the grain
has passed through all the compartments,
and is ground sufficiently fine for use.
After leaving the Geological department
we come into the main hall, where there are
some still more curious exhibits of the Haidas
from Queen Charlotte Islands. These curl
Gus looking posts are called Totem posts, and
are used for adjoining the fronts of the chiefs
houses, costing several hundreds of blankets.
They are carved out of huge cedar trees
some sixty feet high two grotesque heads at
top resembling frogs, with great white teeth
human arms and hands holding n scorpion.
like figure below then an immense frog.
shaped head, and great claw feet painted in
various bright colors. The door is one huge
head, with gaping mouth and hooked nose
with an opening above ground, about three
feet, through which they descend to theil
houses These totems are the coat.ofarms
of the family whose houses they decorate
each member having portion of the figure
represented MS his or her especial mark.
Great care and interest have been shown
by Major Powell and others in these collec
tions of the red man. At the same time W.
are almost persuaded to agree with Artemu.
Ward, who says that "a great deal of feeling
and sentiment have been wasted ON the rec
man, driving him further and further TOWARD
the setting sun, but for my part, think 1t il
rather hard on the Sun" S. M. G.
. |
| REV. r. Marshall West, Elljcott CITY, saws