St. Paul daily globe., 1893-05-23
NAVAJos AND THEIR WAYS.
Magnificent Workmanship of a
Barbarian Tribe,
New York Sun.

ANO" yin Jun.
According to recent census of the
Navajos in the region southwest of Col
orado they number $4,000 persons.
Schoolcraft forty years ago put down
the Navaios in two groups at IL, 800. He
said they lived in stone houses. They
live now mostly in wooden hutS. The
census figures show $500 males and
$500 females. with 5000 clad wholly IN
citizens dress and 1900 partly. Only
thirty could read and only fifty could
talk English, while only 100 were set
down as occupied in civilized pursuits.
They were seemingly increasing at
rapid rate, for the deaths were 700 a
year and the births just twice as many.
The famous blankets of the Navajos,
made from the wool of their own sheep.
are specially priced by army folks in
the far West, and remarkably well
suited as decoration for camps and
barracks. Though beautiful examples
of weaving and dyeing, they are not
easily introduced into the sober decora-
tionS of everyday dwellings. An eX-
tremely handsome one i'll the possession
of New Yorker measures about three
feet six by four feet SIX, and has many
shades of red and blue along with white
and soft gray. 1t was sent from Col
oradO. with the advice to the recipient
to turn the hose on it for an hour and
then brush it with clean. hard broom.
The woven belt of the Navajo is
greater rarity than the blanket, because
the latter is necessity, while the
formar is luxury. The belts, as we'll
as the blankets, are usually made by
the women, though some Of the men
eau weave with great skill. When a
Navajo woman is going to weave belt
she constructs her simple loom in the
open air. She leans two stout cedar
poles against the caves Of her cabin,
and sinks their lower ends into the
ground about yard apart. She Sc
cures the upper ends to the timberS
and places double cross piece about
six inches from the top. She places an
other cross piece foot from the ground.
The poles have the bark on, but the
cross pieces are usually smooth. Upon
this loom the Navajo woman strings her
warp, and the weaving is done with a
simple shuttle. Sometimes the Navajo
WAIVER dispenses with part of her loom.
anc thrusting her legs through the warp,
keeps it taut with her own weight.
A well-w0Yen belt could be bought a
few years ago for S12 TO SIS. Before
long it will be difficult to obtain really
first-class samples of Navajo work, as
the cheapnesS of machine woven
blankets begins to appeal even to the
savages. According to an authority
upon the Nevajos, curves never appear
in the designs of their blankets and
belts. Stripes, diagOnals and loZenges
make up the chief figures. A figure that
looks like the letter L is a common orna-
ment, and other figures that suggest at
tempts at the representation OF animals
occur. The cOlOrs used by the NavajoS
in their fabrics are red, brilliant orange,
yellow, blue, green, black, white and
gray.
1t is worthy of note that the Navajo
skull is unusually f1attened. perhaps
from the fact that the babe is carried'in
common Indian fafhion. strapped to a
board. 1t is not certain, however, that
the flattening results from this, as the
child's head is freed as soon as the neck
and back are strong enough for the
little one to control the movements of
the head. This commonly comes about
at six months, and it is doubtful
whether a slight change i'll the forma-
ton of the skull impaired then would
continue through life.
A student of the Navajos exhibits an
interesting photograph Of family
group, including a child seated at play
with bow and arrows. The mother is
weaving a belt upon the charistic loom
learned against a cosy cabin of upright
cedar palings, while the husband, COM
fortably clad in Navajo costume, looks
OIL. The picture seems to represent
condition of life considerably above
SaVagery.