Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1886-06-12
THE ANCIENT puesLos or TAOS.

Interior of the Huts--Councii Chamber
Under Carriers.
The pueblos of Taos, for there are two
Of them, side by side, overlook the town
and are nestled at the foot of sage
grown hills. From n distance, as one
approaches them, the two piles of sun
baked houses resemble pair of ant
hills, or collections of mud blocks, such
as swallows might have constructed for
habitation. And nearer acquaint-
ance does not wholly dispel ones first
illusions The huts are small in size and
are built one on top of the other, without
regard to any rule. The roof Of one
house is the foundation OF another.
Shaky ladders, worn and old, reach from
the ground to the roof above, and en-
trance to the various habitations is by
means Of second ladder leading
through trap door cut i'm the house top.
The interior of the huts is dimly lighted
and usually consists Of one room, the
walls Of which are whitewashed and
hung about with the belongings Of the
resident. In their younger years the
pueblos were surrounded by high wall,
which served as n means of protection
against the attacks of enemies, and the
villages were inhabited by large and
/ active population. Now, however, the
| wall is down, and the Indians, number
ing about 500 in all. are quiet, peace
able, rather lazy, but wholly picturesque
| people. They are self-supporting and
own large flocks OF sheep and goats.
Each pueblo has its governors, and tho
councils Of the tribe are held in what IN
known as an estufa, a cavern-like place
excavated from beneath the ground, and
entered by a ladder which projects far
above the narrow opening. In this sub
terranean cave the cases involving breach
Of discipline and the laws Of the people
are considered and framed, while tradi-
ton reports that there is also kept burn
ing down there light which is destined
to light the return Of the mystic god,
Montezuma, for whom the priests offer
prayer from the housetops, both in the
morning and at night Whether this is
so or not has never been clearly decided,
and probably never will be. Nostranger
is allowed to go into an estufa, and judg-
ing from the smell arising from the
darl1-Iooking place no white man would
ever wish TO investigate the truth OF the
story.
Separating the two pueblos Of Taos is
a narrow shallow creek. Here, at all
hours, from early morning until late at
night, the women Of the village gather.
Some are filling earthen jugs with water,
others are washing, and not a few are
giving their naked children a much
needed bath. They are full OF mischief,
these black-eyed and often pretty girls,
and have little hesitation in wetting n
stranger by pretending to let fall one Of
their heavy jugs at a convenient mo-
ment Their dress consists Of a single
garInent--of calico or some other coarse
material. which reaches barely to the
| knee and falls away from the shoulder
IN rather immodest manner Gathered
around their heads and falling in really
graceful folds over the shoulder is q
| black shawl, behind which the face is
, often concealed wills real OF affected
modesty.
The pottery 10 homemade and Is not
D to be compared IN finish or design with
that which used 10 be made by the fore
fathers of the present race. But II
answers all the purposes Of the time,
I however, and possesses in rare instances
considerable merit. The women do the
work Of the village. Mothers at II years
: of age, gray-haired, fat and sloveniy d
q 80, and blear-eyed. lean and toothless al
90, they mend their husbands clothes,
2 carry the wood and water into the
houses, tend the sheep, dig in the fields,
D cook, wash and labor from early morn
/. until late at night. Common baking
ovens are scattered about the plazas
D Made Of sun-baked brick and oval in
D shape, they are filed with hot Goals unit
sufficiently heated, and are then cleaned
out and the bread put in. After the Loaf
= is baked, and while the ovens are still
a warm, the dogs Of the village crawl II
4 and gain comfortable nap.-New Mex
= leo Cor. San Francisco Chronicle.