The St. Johns herald., 1895-06-27
ZINC ENVELOPES
Methods of tho Navajo Indians in
 Capturing the T.Enid Animal
Pens in Wh:c!l Hundreds of the War; Creatures Are Corraicd mt Onee-A Cruel Practice That should
 Be Checked.

Few people in the west, ano scarcely any in the east, have any idea of the unique manner in which the Navajo Indians have from time inluenorial caught aHtclOpcs, writes correspor1 cnt at Helen. N M Thousands Of the beautiful creatures still abound upon
 the vast tablclands of this territory
 Tn the country just south of the Maya 10 reserva .iCn. and between it and tho Atlantic C Pacific railroad, one ire
 qaantly comes upon long, straight rows of the trullls of trees and the branches of cedar and pine. stretching for miles across these treelcss plams In many places, says tt2e Chicago Jour nal. they arc nearly rotted away, and only the larger limbs and trunks now mark these lines. These are the ruin of ancient antelope corrals or pens The large bands Of antclopcs have long since been destroyed in this part of the country, and only small herds of from five to ten can bc seen. These are mostly hunted down upon the Amer ican or white mans plan. However, directly south Of Winslow, about fifty miles distant, large bands of these graceful creatures still roam, and there is in existence there a new corral that is in running order at the present time. 1t is 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 order of the old chief. Gano Mumcho and his son, Many Horses. A place was selected where slight hill was found upon the border of wide prai rie. Not even a sagebush could be seen, and trees for the corral had to be brought from the cedar-covercd hills nearly ten miles away. They were cut and dragged to the place by the men and boys on horseback. A close pen, cir cular isl form, about one hundred feet across, was first built against the steep side of the hill. so that the tops of the opposite side. Two lines of trees were then dragged and laid loosely upon the ground, but close enough to appear like a brush fence. These lines at the pen are about twenty yards apart and run almost parallel fer one hundred yards or so and then spread apart at m angle of about thirty degrees and ex- tend across the plains for four and half or five miles,
 When the party reaches the corral for the annual hunt the chief first se- lects the officers, four to watch each point of the compass around the pen. For each a pit is dug deep enough to put him ont of sight. The less space required the more the occupant is cs- tcemcd and considered worthy of pro motion later on. The chief and his as sistant then take their places at the right side of the entrance to the pen, standing in hole dug for tho pur- pose. and just deep enough to hide all except their heads. From five to eight Indians on the hcetest horses are set out at daybrca!l to surround band of anteIopes and head them toward the corral. An antelope when startled keeps as far as possible away from any place where an enemy might be hiding, hence they keep as far away from the wings of the corral. which arc 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 inclosed in stout pen, around which they run in circle, never trying to jump over. The shouts and wells of the Indians at length so completely terrify the poor animals that they stand trembling and appar- crLly unconscious of the Indians, who now approach and kill them with clubs, hatchcts, stones or anything at hand. As many as two hundred and fifty have been caught at one time in this man. ner. and for wholesale destruction of game it surpasscs any murdering proc ess in vogue, and should be stopped en. tirely.