The morning call., 1891-01-11
A STRANGE TALE
OF SUPERSTITION.
A Queen Who Was Supposed to Be Pos
SGSSGd Of Supernatural Powers.
How "Pale-Faced Lightning" Dispersed and
Put to Flight Band of Zunis Who Had
Come to Conquer Her Tribe.

hunting ground of the Apaches, writes a
| Globe Democrat correspondent from Santa
Fe, n. Mex.
Prior to the establishment of missions,
which the archives show to have been more
than two centuries ago, there came up the
| Salt River Valley strange tribe of Indians,
| who settled at the foot of Superstition
| Mountain. Their stature was about four
| feet, and they came into the valley 1000
| strong, and brought with them a drove of
sheep. These strange invaders were peace
| full, and followed farming, and the Apaches
regarded them as possessing supernatural
| powers, and for this reason the squatter
| tribe was not moleSted The Indians at
once began work by irrigating and iilling
| the soil. On the summit of the mountain
! they built stone wall, where at night they
slept in security from tn encroachments of
their warlike neighbors. The religious rites
| of the strangers surprised the Apaches
| When the sun rose on the eastern SLOPES the
dwarfs would rise, and, facing the orb Of
| light, stand motionless until it had risen
above the mountains. Then they would lie
| face downward for several moments, during
| which incantations were performed by the
| medicine men, after which they would rise
and 20 about their daily work.
| The dwarfs occupied their little domain
for five years, when the Apaches, who had
| traded with the " little men" were given a
| surprise. The Apaches had often noticed
| that the central figure in all the religious
| rites of the dwarfs had been a woman much
| taller than the dwarfs,
| COMMANDING IN APPEARANCE,
| With white skin and long, flowing light
| hair. In their ignorance and superstition
the Attaches attached 10 this queen super
| natural powers. During the five years they
| had never seen this woman in the valley,
| and they noted that the little Indians re-
| garded her as a deity. About the middle of
| learned that body of armed warriors were
| IN archIEg into the country from the south
| They prepared for defense, but learned that
| the coming warriors were only in search Of
| the dwarIS, and they abandoned hoStIlltieS
In the meantime the Apaches noted the
! agitation oil the dwarfs and saw them max
! Ing preparations for resisting a foe. Great
| piles Of stones were piled on the edges of
| the Drecipices overlooking the valleys, the
| sheep were driven into the mountains and
! the rude farming utensils taken to the sum-
| nit The Apaches, who are natural born
| aSSaSslns, had no grievance against the
| dwarfs, but were not displeased with the
| prospects OF war, for they thought it would
be TO their gain.
The chief of the Zunis, as the invaders
| called themselves, told a strange story to
| account for the hostilites of the tribe
against the dwarfS. He said that dozen
| years before the priests Of his tribe had
! lOurneyed TO the waters of the rising sun.
| Here they found among tribe of Indians a
| beautiful pae-faced SQuaw. BY a barter
| the priests secured the woman and brought
| her home, where she was held in high VEN
| GRAFTON and reverence. The tribe regarded
| her as possessing supernatural powers.
| The chief now in command of the invaders
| proposed TO wed her, but she took refuge
| with tue dwarfs, who were a branch of their
tribe, which was an offshoot Of the Pueblo
| Indians.
The chief demanded the dwarfs to sur
render the pale-iaced squaw, but they par
| leyed aud migrated. The chief had now
come to secure the woman ana punish the
dwariS The invading war; ors were about
| 200 strong, aud were armed with bows and
arrows, rough spears and
| STONE BATTLE-AXEs.
| The dwarlS were scarcely armed at all
| and the Apaches figured on an easy victory
for the invaders The armed warriors fol-
lowed the mountain ridge, and approached
| Superstition Mountain without attempting
to scale its steep sides.
| 1t W2S on bright warm afternoon that
| the invaders approached the fort. Not per-
| son was in sight but one, aud she the white
woman, stood outside the rough walls. by
the side of muddy pool, about 100 feet
from the wall. She knew that not an arrow
| would be shot or q spear thrown at her, and
| she stood there, her hair streaming in the
breeze, picture of beauty that even the I'M
| tuiolSu COulu not Help DuG dunlfo,
fitting gantlet of battle for the knight
Grants OF old. Urged by their chief, the
| Indians made a wild rush toward her; but
she stood still, the most perfect confidence
marked in every feature of her beautiful
| face. When the foe was but a short dis
| lance away she picked up an alia-or earthen
! 1ar-and emptled the contents into the pool,
| then ran quickly, scaling the wall by lad
| der that was drawn up after her.
In moment balls of fire seemed to roll
rafaIa Mo-, IS, L.
fell dead on their way to the fort; others,
| terror-strlcken, jumped over the precipices
ana met their death. The chief was one of
the first killed, and the diSorganized band
retreated, while the Apache sentinels who
| had been stationed to watch the battle fled
in terror. Several hundred of the invaders
| persisted, and not an arrow was fired.
The Indians who escaped SAID at once that
their defeat was brought about by the
Great Spirit, and returned home. After
this the wonderful powers of the white
sQuaw were spread through the country into
every Indian tribe, and were sufficient for a
time to protect the dwarfs. Two years
after this band of Chiricahua warriors, the
most bloodthirsty of the Apache nation.
| visited the Pinals in the valley. While
intoxicated on pulque they attacked the
| dwarfs and Let u like reception to the Zunis,
| which
KILLED MANY OF THEM.
| From this time the little dwarfs were uu-
|
disappeared as suddenly as they came, GO
ing to the southwark. The Apaches called
the woman pale faced Lightning" aud
claimed That she had disappeared in blaze
| of fire, and that the dwarfs, knowing their
| protector had gone, fed to a more secure
=, place. The spirit of the pale-faced squaw
I is now supposed to reside in a cave In the
| mountain, and not one of the Indians can
be hired to this day to go up Superstition
| Mountain.
| The phenomenon that so surprised the In
dians is explained by gentleman residing
at Phoenix, Ariz., Mr.. p. c. Bcknall. He
says that on the north side of the precipice,
| near the old fertilization, is dyke of pyrit-
| Gus iron, and on the south side the mineral
| appears in the form of copperas. In the lat
| ter there was small hole, in which water,
| impregnated with salt, was constantly drip
| ping. From this across the mountain were
| veins of copper in the native state. The
| copper stringers connecting the lodges rested
on a kind of Stag, produced by volcanic heat.
| Here was positive and negative pole, con-
| nected with q good electric conductor and a
| chemical decomposition that would produce
a current sufficiently strong to be destruc-
| tive 10 animal life.
HamiltOn's Resources of Arizona" third
| edition, 1884, makes reference to the Gave
of the Spirit Mother" as it was called by
the Indians, which is supposed to be the
| cave where the spirit of the white suuaW
I'LL