St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1894-01-20
HOW NAVAJOS KILL
Slaughter In Which the Animals Have
No Chance.

Slaughter In Which the Animals Have
No Chance.
Few people in the West, and scarcely
any in the East, have any idea Of the
unique manner in which the Navajo In
dams have from time immemorial caught
antelopes. Thousands of the beautiful
creatures still abound upon the vast
table lands of New Mexico.
In the country just south Of the Navajo
reservation, and between it and the At
antic and Pacific Railroad, one frequently
comes upon long, straight rows of the
trunks Of trees and the branches OF cedar
and pine, stretching for miles across
these trceless plains. In many places
they are ncarly rotten away, and only the
larger limbs and trunks now mark these
lines, These are the ruins Of ancient all
telope corrals or pens. The large bands
of antelopes have long since been de-
stroyed in this part Of the country, and
only small herds of from five to ten can
be seen. These are mostly hunted upon
the American or white mans plan. How
ever, directly south of Winslow, abou.
fifty miles distant, large bands Of these
graceful creatures still roam, and there 10
in existence there new corral that is in
running order at the present time. It 10
here that the old men of the tribe, who
believe in the ancient manner of catching
game, enjoy their annual hunt.
This corral was built in 1890 by the Or
der of the old chief, Gano Mumcho, and
his SOC, Many Horses As tie
of the order had nearly died out, it was
60 ho1I re to
teach the lesser chiefs their several du-
ties, for, like the fraternities Of to-day,
they require their Grand Master, Vice
Grand Master, Conductors, Guards, SC.
After these had been Instructed thor
oughly, party of nearly two hundred
men and boys on horseback started to To-
cate this spot for the revival of their old
sport.
A place was selected where slight hill
was found upon the border of wide
prairie Not even sage bush could be
seen, and trees for the corral had to be
brought from the cedar-covered hills
nearly ten miles away These were cut
and dragged to the place by the men and
boys on horseback. A close pen, circular
in form and about 100 feet across, was
6rst built against the steep side of the hill
10 that the tops of the posts used could
not be seen from the opposite side. Two
lines of trees were then dragged and laid
loosely upon the ground, but close
enough to appear Ike brush fence.
These lines at the pen are about twenty
yards apart, and run almost parallel for
100 yards or so and then spread apart at
an angle of about thirty degrees and ex-
tend for four and half or five miles.
When the party reaches the corral for
the annual hunt the chief first selects the
officers, four to watch each point of the
compass around the pen. For each pit
is dug deep enough to put him out Of
sight. The less space acquired the more
the occupant is esteemed and considered |
worthy of protection later on. The
chief and his assistant then take their |
places at the right aide of the entrance
to the pen, standing in hole dug for
the purpose and just deep enough to hide
all except their heads. From five to
eight Indians on the heetest horses are
sent out at daybreak to surround band |
of antelopes and head them toward the
corral An antelope, when startled,
Keeps us IaG GS posslpic away 4Iolu auy
place where an enemy might be hiding,
hence they keep as far away from the
wings of the corral, which are on either
side of them, as they can. After being
closed in upon they cannot turn back, as
the drivers are in hot pursuit, and they
make dash for the top of the HILL
which, to them, appears to be the only
opening between the horrid lines of brush
fence. But, alas for them, they find
themselves enclosed in q stout pen, around
which they run in circle, never trying
70 jump over. The shouts and yells Of
he Indians at length SO completely ter
,ify the poor animals that they stand
and apparently unconscious of
he Indians, who now approach and Kill
hem with clubs, hatchets, stones, or
anything at hand. As many as $50 have
been caught at one time in this manner,
md for wholesale destruction of game ii
urpasses any process in vogue, and
hould be stopped entirely.-Globe-