Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-10
THE SUN woRsHfrrns.


zupis.
From the Cleveland tohioD Leader
Fifteen miles east OF the western bounaarv
line Of New Mexico and ATTY miles south Of tue
Navajo Indian reservation stands The h,t.e
pueblo Of Zuni. OF village Of Zuni. The word
''pneblo" means village. and when Pueblo L.
dams are spoken Of the term includes all tha-.
tribes who dwell in villages. The Znni--prs-
nounced Zoonyees probably the in-,st IN
teresting tribe Of Pueblo Indians. The Preshg-
terrain board OF missions has maintained =
mission station in the village Tor several yoars.
IL being established twelve wears ago ~
Mr.. Gushing. For the past four Yeas
the station has boon in charge % Me-
Mary f. Dissettc. sister q Capt r.
X Dissette. Miss Dissette is at pre-est
visiting her brother at his home in Glen,ille.
She arrived q week ago. bringing with her =
little eight-year-old Zuni girl. Miss DssctAs
will take her protege TO Washington. and Afusr
brief visit there they will return 90 ihrir
western home. The little stranger Isl bright
eyed copper-skinued child. with fairly regular
features and glossy black hair Her Indian
name Is Tsawcenadeetsa. but Miss nis-etie has
christened her Daisy. She talks English vefv
well. and with accent that is pleasing to tts
ear. She Is the only member Of her race NhO
ever learned to speak English.
A Leader represen tative called on Miss nius-
cite and Daisy yesterday afternoon and Learned
many interesting facts about the Zuuis. Tie
nearest town 20 the village il Gallup, on TIE
Atlantic and Pacific railroad. which is ihirtf-
SIX miles away. Fort wingate - situated
forty-fve miles TO the northeast Of the village
In the summer time most OF the 2unis live a
their farms. on which thew cultivate wheat
corn and melons. and take care OF their large
Hooks OF sheep. Sheep raising Is. In fact, the
principal industry. When winter draws nigh
the people return 20 the village aud 70
main there until spring
The houses adobe and are built one IN
top OF another. after the style If the Aztec.
The mission house is 40 by IS fee; in size a. 4
contains four large rooms. besides hall ari
bath room. There are about 500 inhabitaufs
! in the village. and they are divided into cla-a
such az the Bar cian. Eagle clan. &c The
head men Of the clans are called tenisn,os afl
they form n sort Of council 10 direct the affairs
of the village. There is store in the village
Its owner being an American named Graham
/ he and the ladies at the mission station are sIs
| only Americans in the place.
The natives buy their supplies from him AID
/ he buys their produce. the medium OF pEvmcat
being principally silver dollars. And here Il
may be stated that those same silver dollars ase
very often counterfei;ed bS the motives. whs
melt the solder from the tinware purchased
4 from the trader and by means OF moids mad
/ IN the sand cast counterfeit dollars that would
deceive any one bat an expert
/ The men wear cotton trousers, open on ore
| side from the ankle 10 the knee and n hrieit
calico shirt confined at the waist b,n brood
! silver belt. A gnuiv blanket and A band Il
! cloth around the forehead to keep the hair "a
1 place complete the costume. The women wear
a short, straight. black gown and a square
shawl around the shoulder The Women
dresses are made by the Moqgi Indians. The
Lnnis are physica.ls small race. much smaller
| than their neighbors. the Nnvajos. Thor
features are, as rule, less coarse than tho-e q
J other branches OF their race. and the women,
| when young. are very pretty. The women 10
all the grinding and plaste-inC: they make the
gardens and do most Of the field work. Tee
men do the sewing and knitting for the coul-
munity and take care Of their hocks
The Zuni religion is very complicated and 20
J interviewer with supe-stitions that il oannot is
readily described. The people are sun worshii,-
ers, and claim to hold closely 10 the traditions
/ OF their fathers There are several hou-es in
! the village which are called estritas, where the
religious rites are carried on. The word estrl q
means "a stove, and was lied 20 the temples
because there was supposed 60 be always q nfe
burning therein. As a matter of fact. the q -
] Is only lighted on occasions Of ceremony Ilfs
more pious among the Zthis greet the orb 4
| day at sunrise and sunset. aud the winter and
summer solstices are carefully observed.
Among the many superstitions is whi,
calls TO mind the old pretended remedy for dog
bite-a hair of the dog. IL any one l. hurt the
hair of the animal or a portion Of the this
which caused the accident. is burned and tie
injured person is required 70 inhale the smota.
/ For instance. a sick child one day fell out OF a
/ toy wagon at the mission station. The faIl
caused the little one no injury. but his mother
| asked for a silver from the wagon, NO that she
| could burn il and make her child inhnle ils
! smoke. Her request was no: granted. and tiss
child soon afterward died from consnmptioh,
but the mother aud other natives firmly be-
heved that the child passed from life because
he was not allowed 10 iuhale smoke from the
wagon out Of which he fen
! There are at present tventy-three children
enrolled at the mission school. ia is hard o
get the children into the habit OF attending rcs-
/ u.arly, Miss DissCtte said. land so we ha .
adonted the rlaa Of giving them a meal at
noon. We teach them habits OF industry and
supply them with civilized clothes A great
deal of romance has been spread abroad in to-
gard to the Zunis and their customs. but tie
fact is, they exceedingly filthy peopla;
so the first thing we try 10 teach the children .
cleanliness. They are given a bath every Sat-
urday and are made TO wash their clothes IN
Monday
"In summer time the village is very dull. 20
the men are away on their farms. and in the
winter their religions dances form the Only ca
citement. In winter the Zunis are inyarinblv
/ in one Of three stages-either preparing for q
dance. dancing or recovering from a dance.
/ The principal feast and dance. and one that -
! peculiar to the Zunis. takes place in Sosembef.
| ut which time the new houses built during the
year are dedicated. The men procure large
quantities Of bad whisky from the Navajos Ral
Mexicans for use at this feast. and the debauoh
generally lasts a week.
I'm Zuni the children do pretty much theT
please, but as they grow up they are requiredtS
rigidly observe all the customs and manners q
their people. The Zunis don't count their age.
They consider il would be showing ingratitude
to the gods who gave them life to keep truck a
their age. great many children die every
year, but those who attain maturity generally
live to old age. We think Daisy about eight
years old, but have no means of knowing ca
actly. Her father is an intelligent man. and VS.
quite willing to have her leave the village vita
US. BE wants her TO learn English, so that she
can help her people in dealing with the whites,
but he does not want her to become American
lied am afraid that when she grows up hoe
people will want her to give mp her ideas and 20
back to the life to which she was born"
Hiss Dissette has interesting collection
OF Zuni curiosities, among them several fDe
pieces Of pottery made and painted by the
women. There are several competent silver
smiths among the tribe. and the principal use
they make of Uncle Sans money is 10 melt %
down and work the silver into rings. bracelets
and other ornaments. "a Zuni will often have
S15 worth Of silver ornaments on his person,
while the rest of his outfit is not worth IS
cents" said Miss Dissette. The women al
carry their burdens their heads and il 10
surprising what weight they are able to sup
port. The ZuDis have q preparation made a