The Portland daily press., 1896-11-07
Valuable Specimens Of Pottery
Brought from Arizona.
CLIFF JEWELLERS SKILLED HANDI-
WORK.
DIR. Fewkes Talks of His Interesting Eth
biological Work.
Washington Star. }

One of the most interesting and valua-
ble collections that has reached the
National Museum in a long time has
just been unpacked. and the work OF
preparing and oataloguing it for exhibit
ton has already been begun.
The collection represents some four
months work by DR.. J. Walker Fewkes
the eminent ethnologist of this oity.
who, together with Mr.. Walter Hough,
in the exhumation and study of the
ruins of Moki village in Arizona. The
value of their study can hardly be over
estimated, in view of the additional light
| that 1T casts upon the history and life
of those most interesting Pueblo people.
learned, they brought back to Washing
ton a most remarkable collection of pot
terry and household utensils, as well as
articles of personal adornment. that be-
longed to these people in prehistoric
times. With reference to the Pueblos of
the southwest, the word re historic Is
used to denote the time previous to the
year 1910, SO that the collection repre-
sents the handiwork of the Mokis at
least three hundred and fifty years ago,
and possibly great deal more than that.
MAGNITUDE OF THE COLLECTION.
In all, something like 5000 different
articles were secured and forwarded to
this city. 1t is believed that no expedi-
tion among the Pueblos or cliff dwellers
was ever 10 fruitful in results. Certain
~. as one sees the great collection for
the first time he is struck not only by
its magnitude, but by it's diversity, as
well. Careful scientific study, lit Is be-
lieved. will tend to broaden our present
knowledge of tho origin as well as the
manners of the Mokis. who are regarded
BY ethnologists as a division of the same
family to which the Zunis belong.
DR.. Fewkes made the little railroad
town of Winslow, AIiz.. the base of oper-
ations for his summers field work. To
the north lies group of Pueb1us, which
is known as the Tusayan villages. ooou-
pied by the Mokis Of today. Much has
been written OF them, but it was DR..
Fewkes' aim to learn more of the an
cisnt history Of the people in an effort to
solve the vexed problem of the direction
from which they originally came. By
some 1t is claimed that the Mokis came
from the south, and are really Aztecs,
while others believe they migrated from
the north, and to some the fact that
| shells were very common among them,
along with other objeots from near the
sea, answers for proof that they origin
ally dwelt near the Pacific.
. The Mokis, according. to DR.. Fewkes
differ but little from their an cestors,
and are the same quiet, peacaable, agri
cultural people, who would rather run
| than fight, and who were probably
driven into these desert regions by the
more warlike plains Indians. The cliff
dwellings, it is generally admitted, were
strongholds from which the people could
make their way to the valleys below te
till the soil, and In which they tool
refuge when threatened by the incursioni
of their foes. The Mokis are still good
natured, agricultural people, who hav.
never given the government the slightest
trouble, and have never been compelled
to call on I'm Gle Sam for rations. They
are jovial, happy set, bwho enjoy JOKE
or bit of fun, and are entirely different
from the ordinary conception of an In
dian as preternaturally solemn AND
taoiturn chap.
THEY APPRECIATE A JOKE.
"In fact. said DR.. Fewkes, in oonver
sation with a Star reporter yesterday
eft would be hard to find people WHIT
appreciate joke more than the Mokil
do. have seen them laugh until they
fairly rolled upon the ground. I had {
mum Der of them at work for me during
the summer and 1t seemed MS though
they always picked on some member o.
the band as the butt of their joker, ant
any comioal incident would start then
to laughing heartily"
While at the Tusayan Villages DR.
Fewkes was told by the old people thsr,
that they used to live about eighty miles
south and that that was the place whence
they came. They gave him to under
stand that If he would make search
there he would come upon the ruins O.
a former pueblo. He found 1t withou
any difficulty at point where the A tlan
tito and Pacific railroad crosses the Little
Colorado river and about three mile
from the town of WInslow. The pueblo
Is known as Homolobi and from its siz
1t is supposed to have accommodated be
tween 300 and 400 people. 1t is undoubt
eddy prehistoric, that is, it antedate
1910. There are three other ruins In tn
neighborhood, one or two of which or
probably larger than Homolobi. blu
there were not dug into. From a dis
tancs the ruins of this ancient: ueblo
DR.. Fewkes says. looks not unlike
mound rising out OF the desert, blu
when it came to be Investigated It wa
found to be peculiarly rich in relics O
that earlier civilization. They shoy
| that the Mokis were we'll advanced in til