The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-08-31

sesseS the elements, if not the full favor,
dude there is but little doubt since
wore mis- hair definitely banged! He wo
three shirts of various qualities AID length
= We were able, at safe distance, to NAL
careful calculations upon the latter poiu
because he seemed in no way concerned
defeat our purpose. If however there we
any doubt about his dudism, it would
hushed by silhouette of his pants. H
e wife had evidently sewed them on him wi
good stout Irvine, leaving a wide hapno
margin, IN Comparison with which the "A
tents OF the pants seemed little ba e 4i'
= ana MS feet Yes; he wore pointed shos Az.
] points on each shoe. He led us up aqoef
INTO the executive mansion. 1t IuIl' of
mud and rooted in by successive ~ ea9 49,, %
poles, sticks, brush and mud. TT az ~
rooms, connected by a sort of N -nole,
Inc 'front.' room has narrow o,,nllhg across
us entire length. Through tE tne ;, EoNe'
or has complete oversight one VllIaSe.;
Inc 1oor OF the front roor's covered i w oii
SKINS Upon the wall lit, sllver-iho tl tsa
picture OF the Madonna, Htnesslns 40 we
the floor are piecei of lottery in different
stages of manufactures Along the floor are
rolls of blankets whin serve dou6iy as seats
and beds. Across tie corner OF the room Is
a little mud crate The back room contains
the provisions anF grain. string oil dry
| ing meat hangs rom one end of the room to
the other. A War-drum, about the size of a
nail keg, completely covered with skin,
stands in the corner. A long lance and
! bows and arrows hang against the wall
/ While sitting on the hard mud floor, talking
| to his Excellency through little Spanish
| boy, whom we had brought as interpreter
his wife sat before us a dish of crab-apples
After a little formal munching the purchase
of little pottery, and a parting salutation
we climbed down the ladder, followed by the
family dog. The go up and down ladders
through holes in the roof with perfect ease.
The other houses of the village are much the
same as that of the Governor, except the
open front commanding view OF the viii
lage being accessible through the roof by
means of ladders.
The Governor and fiscal, or a financial
manager, are elected about the middle of
each December. The Governor directs the
labor of the community, and settles their
disputes. He apportons to each man what
he shall do.
Although they generally use guns they
frequently, in hunting, use the bow and ar
row. They are small farmers, each pueblo
containing about 900 acres. Land cannot
be conveyed by them without the consent of
the Territorial Legislature. Each man has
his portion of ground to work, and their pro
ducts are kept separate The corn in the ear
is piled in corner of the back room upon a
raised platform. They boil the corn in lime
water until the outside skin can be easily re-
moved, and after drying the grain grind it i'll
a stone mortar. The cake called tortilla
made from this meal is IN thin blue flakes.
The meal from this corn is said to be at least
one-third more nutritious than that of the
grain we use The religious idea is one of
great moment to them. The devotional
pueblo still goes to the top of a neighboring
knoll to see the sun rise, and with it the
coming OF Montezuma, and if he come not,
they scatter toward the heavens handful of
meal and walk back to breakfast The scat
tering of the meal is typical of their conf
dence in the great producer Davis, in writ
ing of this people twenty-five years ago, SAYS
that he believes them to have no ca
pacity for poetry or music, and there
fore no legends Mr.. Ellison, how
them for thirty-five years, says that they
have legends innumerable but they are ex-
tremely Indifferent about communicating
them. We are accustomed to look to the
Pilgrim Fathers as affording us the first in
stance of a republican form of government
upon this continent. These people, how
ever, maintained such form when the first
Spanish discoveries traversed this country in
1910, and continue it vet.
THE NAvAJos.
While speaking of the Puebos it may be
well to say word about the Navajos, their
lifelong enemies. A large number of their
tribe attended the Santa Fe celebration lust
ended. 1t is pretty well established that the
Navajos came from tribe in British Co.
lumbia. Their reservation covers a portion
of the line between New Mexico and Ari-
IONA, They are nomadic, and are intrud ers
in the country which they iuhabIt, being es-
essentially warlike. 1t is the largest tribe
on a reservation, numbering 1900. They
Craze one million sheep, and this forms the
principal occupation of the men, The
women are exceedingly skillful in weaving
blankets, which are remarkable for fineness
OF texture and often contain tasteful de-
signs and gaudy colOrs. They have, how
ever, no artistic value, as the de-
signs are usually representations OF adj
ventures or battles. The loom is
made of two perpendicular sticks
around which the yarn is passed. They live
in cone-shaped lodges, constructed of poles,
covered with brush and skins and open at
the top. They live chiefly on mutton.
They are a lecherous set; some Indians
having three or four wives A father will
sell child into prostitution. The process
of divorce is very simple, The wife takes
her. children and returns to the family
lodge.
Touching the relation of the government
to these Indians, it would seem that all the
elements of trouble are present. We were
informed by an agent of the tribe that the
government had never yet fulfilled an oblig-
alton with them. The treaty of 1868 agreed
with the Navajos to provide each man with
a definite tract of land and farm implements;
and to provide school-house for each thirty
pupils, with a suitable corps of teachers.
That these Indians are capable of learning is
demonstrated by the fact that the tribe has
now fourteen children at the Indian school
at Carlisle and all are making excellent prog
ress. Not one of the conditions of the
treaty has been complied with. The govern
ment owed the tribe, last July. $156,000 upon
failures to do what it agreed to do. and,
although the matter has been called to the
attention of Congress by the Commissioner
OF Indian Affairs, it has continually refused
to consider the matter
Disputes are constantly arising between
tho xvb nd I,a Tnl h.