The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-03-19
THE LAST OF THEIR TRIBES
Three Men Remain of Two Mighty
Indian Nations.

Indian Nations.
| The Bureau Of American Ethnology will
this summer takeup the work Of exploration
| among two tribes of Indians in New Mex
! leo who were once mighty nations. From
| the time when they were discovered by the
| Spanlards, however, they have dwindied
| down until but three aged people remain.
| From these Old remnants the bureau expects
| to gather, before the last opportunity is
gone, the history and traditions OF some OF
| the most Interesting people that ever lived
| ON this continent.
The place where they live is on the West
Rio Grande, near Ell Paso, Tex. and it was
| here that the ancestors were found hun
I; dreds of years ago. The tribes are known
| as the Sumas and the Mansos, the first
I! being fierce and warlike people, while he
| latter were peaceful and kind. They lived
| in large settlements and numbered many
| thousand souists Yet i'll the course of years
| the tribes, instead Of increasing, have de-
creased until there are almost none leSt TO
| tell the story. =
| 1t is supposed that disease is the cause Of
the rapid defamation of the race, for when
some contagious disease, like smallpox,
OF stopping it by quarantine, as among tile
whites War and pestilence have joined to
slaughter the tribes, and when the few old
men now living pass away, the aines VIII
be lost, except as a histol ical fact and the
race will become as extinct as did the
species of the 81 eat aux, which was once so
numerous in New Zealand.
One OF the scientists of the bureau spent
No. tH.s
Sumas two years ago, and succeeded in
learning a great deal about their previous
history. But, as the survivors are very
feeble, the government wishes that steps
be taken at once, SO that the study OF this
people may be made while the last men
of the race are still in the land OF the
living. Living near the Sumas and the
Mansos lis another almost extinct people,
the tribe OF Pecos, of which there areliving
but two aged men. These old men look
like dried specimens OF humanity. and are
cared for by Indians OF another nation.
They had their pictures taken in their
blankets, and the photographs are still
preserved by the bureau.
The earliest traditions known give to
the Pecos the honor of being the first in
habitants of their land, and the evidences
found hy digging In ancient ruins prove
that the Pecos had lived in the country
from the earliest dawn Of its period OF
human habitation. The Spanish mention
this people as being found in 1910, and
they claim that the great Mexican En-
perro, Montezuma, was born of their race
and enigrated into the land over which
he later ruled When, in 1910, Francisco
vasqucz de Coronado first visited the vii
lagos of the Pecos, he was met by the
inhabitants, who offered to him tanned
hides, shields. and buffalo robes, the latter
with tie long hair still attached to the
skin.
There was at that time well-fortified
village, known as Cicuye. found, its homes
being built on the summit of a rock, and
these homes were four stories in height, all
clustering about great square. The set
Element was surrounded by low stone
wall and from the roofs of the houses
hung ladders, by means of which the SEN
tinels were nightly posted and called to
each other by large trumpets The un-
married women went about naked until
they were welded. The town was situated
in a narrow valley between mountains,
and it contained about 500 warriors.
mi 543 the Spanish leader left the coun-
try of the Pecos, but two priests remained,
later Oh meeting death at the hands OF the
Indians Ia $50 thetribewas again visited
by the Spanish. VINO found them prosper
Sous nation, with five cities Of %, 600 souls
They were skilled people, cultivatedin the
arts of weaving snd pottery, and their
houses were Arnoss as good as thete of the
Europeans of that day. In I5S7 the Span
ish conquest Of New Mexico took place.
and Onate marched into the settlement of
San Juan, the people swearing allegiance To
the crown ofeSpaih. This was before any
notable settlement had been made by the
English on the American continent.
For a hundred years the tribe of Pecos
was under Spanish rule Then in 1850,
the Indians revolted, captured the town
of Sante Fe, and made a huge bonfire of
all the ecclesiastical and official records of
the nation. A few precious documents
were saved from the flames. During the
time of the rule of Spain the Indians had
made great strides in the arts OF peace,
and their far5us We're full OF ripening grain
andtheir towns models of peaceful industry.