Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-27
INTERESTING TOPICS
Those Treated by Associated Histor-
ians of America.
AN Old NATION OF INDIANS
Invasion of New Mexico and En-
gish Labor Unions.
THOSE PRESENT TODAY

| The Associated Historians of America
| began their work Of telling each other in
I teresting things about their work at 1913
| o'clock this morning, in the lecture hall of
| the National Museum. They had started
| their tenth annual session last evening at
| the columbian University, and todays
| meeting was in continuation of the pro-
| ceedings. program of nine papers was
| the order of the day. The delegates were
| a bit slow IN arriving on account Of the
| slow going, due to the freezing that fol-
| lowed the snow storm. Prof Windsor of
| Harvard called the meeting to order and
| announced the first paper, which was read
by Mrs. Lee C. Hardy of New York on the
| habits, government and superstitions of
the TEXAS Indians.
| Interesting Indians.
| 1t proved to be the only connected mar
| rative which has been written of this
nation Of Indians. who possessed the dis
| tinguishing excellence of having been al
| ways friendly to the white man. The
rame. TEXAS, had it's existence long before
the generally accepted account Of how
Texas received it's appellation. The origin
| Of it has not been aScertained. but the
| first mention of it in history is where we
are told that Nuno de Guzman i'm 1880 had
4
| ration consisted of forty-eight distinct
| tribes, banded together in leagues of from
| five to nine tribes. over each tribe was
| XineS, and the league was ruled by
| grand Xinesi. The tribes were governed
| by their own consent. 1t was a confeder-
| acy. 1t was also a community of interests
| and of work. They allowed no idleness:
there was certain work to do and those
| who refused We're punished by whipping.
| They held their rulers in great respect
and showed especial reverence for age.
The TEXAS worshiped one God, saying that
lie possessed the power OF doing every
| thing, they recognized and understood a
great first cause; yet they believed that
all things, animate and inanimate, could
be propitiated by prayer They attached
| no penalties to infidelity in conjugal rela-
| tons. One might leave the other accord
| ing to inclination. 1t was simply a mutual
agreement, without fight or quarrel to
| mar its simplicity. Some of the tribes
practiced polygamy, irrespective Of con-
sanguinity. They lived in houses made of
posts and fine grass, without windows. cir.
cular in front and twenty varas high"
A fire was kept continually burning. Their
beds were made of palm mats stretched
between posts and canoped with the same,
rudely painted. The men went nude in
summer. but dressed in buffalo hides when
ii was cold. The women never went I'M
draped from the waist down; they wore
deer skins. They believed in the immor-
tally of the soul and believed the souls
of the dead were gathered together in fam
lilies and sent to populate new worlds. They
were agricultural in their habits planted
for their subsistence, were docile, kind
obedient and very courteous; easy to evan
gelize, said the prieStS-who deprecated an
army being sent there, as they needed no
protection. When trouble arose II was
entirely due to the soldiery, who, jealous
of the influence of the church, meddled
with the kindly natives, interfered with
their wives and made themselves generally
obnoxious. They inhabited an enormous
extent of territory covering nearly all of
that vast stretch of country which is now
called Texas.
New Mexico.
Prof George Parker Winship Of Harvard
next read a. paper telling why Coronado
went to New Mexico in 1910. He said that
the Spanish expedition to New Mexico in
that year, under the command of Coronado,
was in part a result of the need of getting
rid of the soldiers of fortune, who had
come over from Europe to take part in the
conquest of the old world. There was no
specially attractive field for their services
between 1885 and 1910, and they settled in
the City of Mexico and other towns of New
Spain, living as best they could and prov
ing a constant source of trouble to Niceroy
Mendoza and the colonists. The Spanish
settlers in old Mexico had heard before
1886 that there were wealthy cities in the
north, but the first reliable report was
brought in that year by Caleza de Vaca,
Spaniard, who had been wrecked on the
Texan coast some years before. He had
walked to Mexico and had heard rumors
from the Indians about the more popuious
cities on the upper Rio Grande. Between
1886 and 1889 several efforts were made to
reach these cities without success. In 1853
a Franciscan friar, Marcas de Mia, crossed
the mountains and got sight or the
seven cities of Cibola, the pueblo villages
of the Zunis. The indscretion OF the negro
Esteyan, who accompanied the 1rlar as
guide, made it impossible for him to enter.
The friar returned and gave such glowing
4 l. oil los ~
determined to send an expedition to con-
quer the region. The friars story was re-
peated from the pulpits and market places
until greatly exaggerated Ideas spread III
regard to the size and wealth or the clues.
1t was currently reported that they were
surrounded by high stone walls, and that
their houses were many stories high. Inc
people, 1t was said, had vast heros OF cat
tle-probabIy the buffalo herds of the plains
and also of sheep, besides having large
stores OF gold, silver and precious stones.
A large army was collected IN the spring
of lb+O which started to conquer the
seven cities, confident of finding vast stores
of wealth, which should rival the treasures
of Montezuma and the lncas OF Peru In
stead, they only found the Pueblo Indians
of Tuni and Tusayan, much as they exist
today.
An Old Institution.
The third paper of the day was by Prof
Bernard Moses of the University of Cali
fornia on the casa de Contradiction of
Seville" being read in abstract by Prof
George B. Adams of Yale. The paper was
an account of the Spanish office of colonial
administration, during the time when the
Spanish holdings in America required spe-
cfal care at the seat of the home govern
n;ent
Prof Moses called this establishment the
India office" of Spain, and described its
vast system of accounts, inspection and
finance. Corruption, he said crept into the
vast scheme of administration, and scan
dals resulted Great fleets were fitted out
from time to time for the colonies, from
which individuals grew rich, and the re-
suit was the final downfall of the Casa de
Contradiction.
Jury System.
DR.. Walter B. Seattle of Geneva, Switzer-
land, sent a paper, which was read In his
absence, on Some European Notifications
Of the Jury System" He showed that the
system was introduced on the continent by
the French revolution, for criminal trials
only. The code Napoleon retained it, but
required merely a majority vote for the
verdict, and abolished the jury of accusa-
ton, corresponding to our grand jury, and
which has never since found a footing
either in France or the nelghboring coun-
tries.
Southern Regulators.