St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-04-08

low. The spectacle of men, women
and children scrambling up those lad
ders and diving down through the
roof is one never to be forgotten. 1t
is performed with agility by old and
young, male and female. Once within
his house and the ladder withdrawn,
the PueblO's habitatiOn formerly be-
came his castle, in which he could de-
fy attacks of all ordinary foes.
This village contains about 400
souls the entire tribe. Their dwellings
are patterns of neatness. No Yankee
house wife has neater kitchen than
is seen in these dwellings of the abO-
rhymes. The men are of good size,
with straight black hair, frequently
done up behind in a cue, and with
other outward appearance of the North
American Indians. The women are
under medium hight, plump, round
faced, with bright, black eyes and jet
black Changed" hair. The children
are healthy looking, well-behaved and
tolerably clean. The women were all
at work some grinding at the mill as
they did in SOlOmon's time, pulveriZing
the corn between two stones others
were kneading their bread and baking
it by little open fire in one corner of
the room, while still others were max
ing and decorating pottery, making
moccasins, blankets and other articles
for use or sale. The men were work
ing their land and preparing to put in
crops. Their lands are irrigated by
water which runs in bitches from the
Tesuque river, little stream which
courses down this valley from the
mountains and is never dry.
The tribe elects its governor who
has complete control of the community.
He lives in house similar to the
others, and before the ladies could be
presented to him they had to climb
the inevitable ladder. The governor
receives cOurteOusly and talks t1uently
Tin Spanish.) Hanging above his lit
tie bunk Tor chair of state) is heavy,
silver cane, which on exami-
nation was found to have been pre-
scented to him by President Lincoln
when this red man went to Washing
ton in 1868 to plead the cause of his
nation. The head of the staff is hand
somely inscribed with the name of that
great and good president. 1t is Il me-
mentO kept with scrupulous care by
this Indian, who will never allow it
carried out of his room.
The visit to this village of the
PueblOs left the impression of a clean,
peaceabIe, industrious people, with
scarcely a characteristic of the ideal
Indian.
To the scholar and student of arch
aeOlOgy this particular people and
this section of country is of great in
terest. 1t should be remembered that
such English scholars as Hugh Miller
consider this country as the oldest part
assert that the oldest civilization was
on this continent; that there was a
people here with arts and sciences and
culture. when our forefathers were
barbarians in the woods of Germany.
Who these early settlers were may not
be clearly known. 1t is not fully de-
termined whence they came nor whith-
Ell they went. 1t matters little wheth-
er this people originally came from
Egypt or those of the far East came
from this country. That the works of
art left by the early inhabitants close
ly resemble those found in Egypt is in
disputable.
Travelling through country with
such possibilities of history must be
the excuse for this long letter.
G.. Nj. STONE.