The Red Cloud chief., 1888-05-18
THE ZUNI INDIANS.
a Curious People That l. Neither Anelsat
Nor DngeniWuN.

a Curious People That IL Neither Ancisns
Nor Ingenious.
Cosmos Mende.eff has returned from
Arizona to Washington. Mendelef. L,
his name indicates. is q Russian. and
he is an Intelligent and expert explorer
on the staff of Major John ". Powell,
Chief Of the Bureau Of Ethnology. For
six wears he and his older brother.
Victor. have been engaged in the survey
Of the antique ruins Of ChacO and the
inhabited pueblos If Zuni and the seven
villages Of Tusayan. and together they
mapped the queer habitations of those
mysterious people. and have made for
the National Museum models o: the
largest and most interesting pueb!os.
Mendelef has made some three hum
dred photographs and \ large number
Of free-hand sketches of the strange
residences IF this remnant of a race.
Il don't know that :here is much
that is really new" said Meadeleff.
1T WAS formerly. indeed recently.
thought that the pueblos wer. very
ancient-the same in which this half
civilized ~ lived at the time If the
Spanish conqueSt-bu: We now know
better. The Inhabited villages which
exist to-day are all modern. It was
formerly supposed that the Tusayan
Indians never changed their place Of
abode. but held to the same site from
generation to generation. h is now
known that they have been in the habit
of abandoning their old houses and
building new. In early days the vii
Lagos were mostly in the lowlands. and
they were gradually crowded up ~
climbed up to the practically inacces-
sible mesas-sharp ellis. easily de-
fensilAe. The reasons for An abandon
ment Of villages and the building Of
others are many. sometimes military.
but often rooted in some superstition.
The builders Of these pueblos had
very meager architectural attaiaments.
Their houses are poor piles of stone
and mud. Their ingenuity vas puerile.
The element Of skill is almost wholly
lacking. These curious ruins are simply
an evidence Of the existence of y race
with unlimited time at their disposal
and unlimited material at hand. Every
where is shown a lamentable lack Of
constructive ability. They did not
know how to make = square room. or
how to rear one wall at right angles.
or how t. make . circle Or even y
straight line"
Mr.. MendeleT has comprehensive
photographs Of the even Tusayan vii.
lagos. Eac; village consists of fifteen
o. twenty houses and each house Of
several residences. The house is a
series Of terraces. receding as they rise.
The first story is about seven feet high.
and is approached from without only
by \ ladder. which leads to q hole in
the roof. In war times the ladder il
always pulled up. From the rear Of
this story rises the second story. seven
feet higher. mounted also by \ ladder.
and other ladders lead to . third and
perhaps fourth story. Of course the
first story under this arrangement is Of
much the largest and the upper story
Of much the smallest area. and rs the
latter il the lishtest. the best ventilated
and the safest, being defensible from
all the roofs below. it is the ~favOrite
hahitation. and usually occupied BY
the officers and the aristocracy. 1t is
estimated that in all the seven Tusayan
villages there are 1000 people. They
live mainly on Indian corn. squashes
and beans. Taey are under Mormon in
tluencs and will not permit a census or
hold much intercourse with Americans
Colonel and Mrs. Stevenson had trouble
with them, and were compelled to de.
part. Mr.. Mendeleff and his party
were treated remarkably we'll and are
puzzled in trying to account for it.
Perhaps the oldest thing" added
Mr.. Mendeleff. after a moments pause.
els the status Of woman in these queer
communities. She owns all the houses
and most of the property. The man
owns the crop in the field. but As soon
as it is harvested it belongs to his wife.
She controls the house and all that IS in
it. She works steadily and constantly
in the duties Of the household. but she
does no field work. and. taking it all
together. her condition compares favor
ably with that of the American farmers
The descent of all property is in
the female line and through the mother;
it is she who makes the will and pro-
vides for the offspring"
What does the man own then, ?"
1.-The donkeys. perhaps" he said;
''but l am not sure about that"
And the land:?"
mo. the land is not owned individu.
ally. Ever since before historic time
land has been owned by the whole ma
ton. If an Indian goes out and takes
up some Land not in use and cultivates
it. nobody y take it from him. But
4 he stops using it anybody else can
Jump it. 1t belongs to the fellow tina,
IAN use it."
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