The broad ax., 1896-11-14

day. what oddsl So long AZ he has
pouch IF tobacco In his pocket. shell
ter, no matter how rude. for his head.
blanket. n air Of overalls. and 81.
for his body. with the whereNsitn1s
cor filing hls stomach at more or lese
regular intervals. he is ''muy couteto.
Why should he worry? The year b
long, and after that another viii come.
and then another, and so on to the
end. Why work ones self to death,
Ike the foolish Americana? Do not
the birds. when building their nests.
pause frequently and twitter to each
other as they sway side by side on
the boughs Why should a man pre-
tend to know more than a bird? There
Is plenty Of time 20 prepare the land
for maize, fritOle. and sandal patches,
not forgetting the rows OF chiles.
Where Is tie harm. then. II Pedro and
Ramona sit down In the shade for n
quiet smoke, or even n comfortable
little snooze. with the meadow larks
over Wonder in the willows, singing
sweetest melodies? Mankna-mana-
na-neyer do today what you can just
as well put on till tomorrow. That
Is the Indians philosophy, and. as he
appears to thrive and be happy upon
Il, who shall say his Is not the most
sensible way OF getting through hfeG
Go over into the American settlement
yonder and see the white man rushing
to and frc from early morning until
late At night. driving. hurrytng. as
only an American does. Yet what
does he get out of life more than the
Indian? Why not 60 over into Saboha
consider the Indian, study his ways.
and be wise?
Now the road climbs up on the mesa
above the bottom lands. which have
been TILED by the Indians these many
years. The strip OF arabic land IL
small, hence none may be wasted In
roads. which are regulated TO the bar
rem mesa. where no water Is. Down
down elbow a row OF cottonwood
trees-their soft. downy blossoms
floating away on the breeze and max
ing little drifts In the ruad-marks
the line Of the Eenja which carries the
water from the river To the little fields
OF the Indians. And. by the way,
these poor miserable. ignorant, untu-
tored savages have hit upon a solu-
ton Of the land question which is the
acme of fairness, and which all the
combined wisdom OF ages cannot well
surpass II Is Eothing more nor less
than a practical and successful ex-
qualification OF the theories OF these
who do not believe In individual
ownership OF land. To begin with,
none OF the villagers are speculative
farmers. That Is to say, none OF them
carr to raise larger crops or cultivate
more land than will provide for the
simple wants OF their families. None
desire TO accumulate beyond that
point. So each yeNr the village chief
aIlots to those who apply such tracts
Of land as they desire TO cultivate.
No man Is given control over larger
area than he actually cultivstes, and
there is enough for all So long as a
man desires the piece Of land and VIII
care for Il he retains II. but tie
moment he refrainS from cuttivs ting
the whole or any portion Of il. then
IL IL taken away, provided any one
wants IL. But no one owns an acre
Of land. 1t all belongs TO the control
of the Captain, In whose decisions al
acquieSce.
Scattered along the hanks OF the 1T
tie acauia in the shade OF the cotton
woods are the houses OF the villagers,
their walls Of gray adobe scarcely dis
tioguishable from the soil itself. Herr
and there a woman or girl 10 hard At
work washing clothes in the stream.
and on the limbs OF the willows and
guatemotes are spread snowy gar
ments. mingled with those of brighter
hue. showing that a regard for cieanli-
ness Is not At AZ Incompatible with In
dian nature. and is equally strong with
the love OF bright colors. Iaddling in
the water or rolling about In the sun.
sometimes with a single garment.
sometimes naked as the day they were
born. were plump. brown-skinned ba-
bies. their black eyes swapping with
curiosity as the visitors halted n mo-
ment. while anon 4 hand Of a dozen Of
the little rascalS would go scurrying
away into the bush like a flock Of star
tied quail Evidently the boyle man
Is as much Of a reality with these
youngsters as with others Of lighter
hue.
The schoolhouse Is. of course. visit
ed. IL Is q low, brown-walled adobe
structure. almost hidden beneath the
branches and foliage Of great cotton
wood trees near the road. Doors and
windows stand open to admit the
balmy air. and through them glimpses
are caught Of q number Of Jet-llick