The Portland daily press., 1896-10-03

houses in the cliffs or on high mesa
points. And DR.. Walter Fewkes, Of the
Smithsonian Institution, and field work
ers, under Major Powell's direction,
have proved the truth Of these traditions
BY excavating along the lines indicat-
ed by the Hopt story teller. They are
known to be descendants of "cliff dwell
ers'' in the strict meaning of that term.
The origin of these people is quite an
other question. They may have come
from the south-fIom Central America.
They may have come from China. Prob
ably they came from General America.
Certainly they are set apart from the
nomadio northern Indian. To me they
seem Chinese or Egyptian. I saw faces
among them which were marvellously
Semitic, while their fspeeoh-their "pig-
con English"-had the movement and
the endings of the Chinese. They are
dark bronze in color, and mainly light
and graceful and are matchless climbers
and runners-suoh development being q
necessity In clifr folk. 1t is among this
mysterious people that sthnologists are
seeking today for origins and develop
msnts to explain and account for the
Aztec, the mound builder, and the cliff
dwsller.
About 100 miles north of the Santa Fe
road and midway in the northern half of
Arizona lies tho Indian reservations
called Tusayan, after tho Spanish.
Within few miles square, there lie tho
seven villages named above-best known
of which 10 Walpi. To reach them you
must ride across wild, shelterless land
Of sand and sage brush. land without
water and with little heritage. You will
pass by the Navajo hogans on the way,
but no other roof, save one trading
ranch. Even in the rainy season" II
is necessary to sling cnntesn of water to
your saddle. Grass is soanty. and your
horse suffers for lack of food as well as
water. The landscape has little life save
the rabbit, the prairie dog, the rattle
snake, and the horned toad. And yet
here in this lonely desert land some
thousands of people live in cities known
to be three centuries old. They have
their own government, their own GUS
toms, enormously old, their own dress
and language different from the Apache
and the Navajo. Ethnologically they
belong to the Shoshonean family.
In 1541 We have the first mention of
them by Spanish explorers. Coronado on
an expedition In search of riches and
wonders was lured across the desert by
tales of great CITY in the plain. He
came with men in "war clothes" and
departed iuto the mysterious south. And
then other men like unto him came, and
"men In long dresses (priests) who
taught the Hopi folk many new things,
and brought them peach seeds, and horses
and mules and sheep, but also made
the people captive, and forced them to
build churhes and drag great trees across
the desert from the mountains to the
west-''also they interfered with the
songs and prayers of tho Hopisuh.'
Then they went away and the churches
rotted down, and the Hopituh returned
to their own beloved dances and cere-
monies, and songs. They were at peace
for many years, but the Ute and the
Navajo still threatened, therefore they
| kept to their high rock. Then at last
many years later came other white men
winter than the men from the south.
These men had no iron coats. They
wore blue clothes-blue as the jayDird
and they brought priests and women
who taught the children to look un der
standingly on white leaves. '"This white
man said to the Navajo, You no come
to hurt the Hopi' to the Ute, You keep
on your own land. Hopi people yelly
well like the Pahana.'
| 1t took fear of man to set these villages
on these heights. AS approached Walpi
l could hardly believe anything living
was upon it. The houses, massive, dirt
colored, fat, and square MS rocks, secreted
themselves upon the cliff. like turtles.
| The first evidence of life was small field
of corn set deep In ''the wash" or dry
river bed. Then an old man watch ing
| it-seated beneath shade of ptnon
| boughs. Then some peach trees knee
deep in sand. Then some red-roofed hous
es built by the Government. By this
time could see tiny figures moving
about on the high lodges and on the roofs
OF the houses. Up the trail a man on 8
burro was driving flock of sheep and
goats. He wore light cotton trOuser,
and calico shirt. His legs were bare
and on his head was straw hat. Fur
Their up the trail some old women were
rolling with huge bottles of water slnni
on their backs. From the moment / en-
tered that trail WAS deep in the elemen
tai past. Here was life reduced to it,
simplest form. Houses of heavy walls
with interiors like cellars or caves, set fol
defence upon a cliff. Here we're fla
roofs, thick, to keep out the sun and t.
make a dooryard for the next tier o.
houses above. Here were nude ohildrel
with tang led hair, wild as colts ant
feet ~ antelopes, dancing on crags a
high as church spires. here were dogs
just one remove from wolves-solemI
dogs, able to climb ladder. Here wer'
/