Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1890-09-09
A~PVG0lO o,suNoR
M Aosnas aaA Hov TASv WssSAip 1Ao
49, - 49, CAIisSle1s.

harp their 1AhuaI festivals, tho ORIGIN
OF which Il IoSt IN tho mystery Of the
prehistoRi0 aRcs. Tho Catholic priests,
writes C1AIenco- Pullcn In u0rpcris.
Weekly, put all tho Christian venccr.
Ing poesiH 4ver, tho essontiu; hSathcn-
Ism OF tho oeremoniols. and undcr their
t ia0uenoe, these celebrations occur usual
IL. on or near some saints day. Conspic-
uouS among these publications. "a tho hnr-
vest festival when. with games and
dances, tho people rejoice over tho ripen.
ing OF tho fruits Of tho earth. After tho
performance Of seorot rites within tho
sessufAs, TO, which ceremonies no. ono
not member Of tho tribe IL admitted,
tho maskers, musicians md othcrs, all.
decorated in paint, ribbons and brass
ornaments, stream forth into. tho, open
space before the village, whore. with
the peculiar stamping step attending all
Indian performances OF the kind. arc
continued tho PROFESSIONS and dances, 70
tho music OF rude DIES, drums and gong
beating. In somo Of their. dances tho.
performers arc attirod in complete suits
OF buckskin. adorned with fringcs, but
tons, beads, feathers and ribbons, com.
pletely covering the foco and hcod. sur
mounted will. horns, and having only
small Sits for sight and breathing.
Tho Pucblos, providont folk who be-
lieve In intrenching themselves with all
tho supernatural pos7ors, do not neglect
ON these occasions to visit the church
to pay duo obeisancc to the Christian
God and lesser divinities. The church,
. fine old structure Of ndobe. was re-
built In 1702. after 1t had been dis.
mnntled in the Indian revolt OF 1850.
It Is . mEssiVe ediflcC ono hundred and
fifty feet long, forty feet wide and forty
feet high. with walls sevcn foot thick,
standing, fronte3 by an extensive and
ancient burial ground, on tho southern
brink Of the mesa. Tho sand for this
cemetery was brought up from the foot
OF tho blLN and placed In depression
ut this point-an operation which, nc.
cording to priestly tradition, occupied
forty years. Tho hugo buttreSscs, ono
Ht each, front corner Of tho church, arc
capped above the roof by rude belfries
In which swing two bells, which Indian
tradition asserts to be the gift OF tho
Queen OF Spain ut some period In tho
eighteenth century. One Of those bells
bears the inscriptions: ''San Pedro. A.
d. l710." It Is o wonder how these
heavy bells and the great pine. beams,
forty foot long md Of proportionato
thickness, that GROSS the body OF the
church, were ever brought to tho TOD Of
tho mesa.
:. Adjoining tho church are tho ruins of
tho old franciscan mission Of San
Estcvan dc Acomn, established. SAYS
tho eminent archmologist and historian
Prot Ad. Ii. Daudelier, by Fray
Juan Ramirez not long after tho year
1923, hoi naming tho place after st.
Sebastian on account OF its rocky sides
and tho largo number Of pebbles 40
oumuloted on and about It. s., Erny
Ramirez returned to Mexico. and died
thcro in 1904. His successor was Fray
Lucas Maldonado, from Tribuionn,
Mexico; also q Franciscan. In faeE ,ip
to the uprising OF tho Indians Of Now
Moxico under Popo nnd Catite in 1880,
tho franciscan order controlled all tho
missions among tho Pueblos. On Au.
gust 10, 1880. twonty-ono franciscan
frlars were murdered in various parts OF
New Mexico, and among Thorn Fray
Maldonado, Of Acoma. After the recon.
quest OF the province, twelve years
lotcr' Oy inc SpanioruS undCE Diego do
Vargas, thoro wero for several years
occasional disturbances and bloodshed.
but by tho beginning of tho eigh teonth
century tho province had become
tranqullliscd, and tho Pueblo Indians
and the Spaniards had adjusted their
requirements 30 as to gctalO.,g together
withent Agroat amount of friction.
ltisa strange and tpioturcsQuc si.ht
whom within tho thick wallis OF tho old
church, dimly lighted by deop windows
liko PORTFOLIOS, in which shoots " mica,
or ycso transparent gypsum sorvo for
glass, tho Indians, In tho same fashion
OF drcss whlch. their ancestors wore
whom thoy built fires to tho sun in
anciont dnys7-somo wrapped in Navajo
blankets, with broad black and whito
stripes, and rcd diamond figures in tho
contor--pass to and from tho altar, with
its briHht but irnnrcs,aixh tlccor., tf;,,,a,