The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-05-30
"A PECULIAR MEXICAN PLANT.
Properties of the Peyote.


 Professor Mooney, of the Bureau of Ethnology has lately returned from a trip through the southwestern portion of this country and a portion of Mexi-
 co. This was one of the ethnologist's
 regular working trips. A study was
 made Of a number of Indian tribes with a special view of Investigating their
 use of the plant belonging to the cac- tus family known as peyote, sometimes designated as mescal, in connection with their religious ceremonials. As the result If his researches Professor Mooney found that the peyote is used by the different Indian tribes as far
 south as the City of Mexico, though a
 number of them use it in a different manner.
 Professor Mooney left Washington in
 September, accompanied by his wife. He went to New Mexico, where he pur-
 sued his Investigations among the tribes of Haicarilla Indians. The pro- lessor found that they did not have the
 peyote. Next, the Pueblos, on the Rio
 Grande, were visited. They knew of the existence of the plant but made no use of it. It was found that the
 
 the Mescalero tribe of Indians, in southwestern New Mexico. After visit ing some of the tribes on the border of Texas and Mexico, the professor and his wife paid a visit to the family of Governor Shepherd, in old Mexico, the professor making side trips to follow up his work among the Taru Mari h. dians, among the Sierra Madre Noun tains.
 The trip from the railroad at Chill huahua to Batopilas, where the mines are, and where the Shepherds reside, is about three hundred miles, through probably one of the most difficult re- gions of mountain country to traverse l in America. Some idea of the difficult | ties to be encountered can be under stood when it is stated that the trip | take nine days, including one day | which is necessary to spend in arrang- | ing the mule train. Three days of the | trip are spent in wheeled vehicle and | the other five on the backs of mules. | Horses cannot be used, Professor Mooney says, as they are not sufficient | ly surefooted. At one point descent | of six thousand feet is made in two
 hours house.
 Along the route are placed adobe huts
 or shelters, in which the travellers I spent the night, wrapped in blankets. The mule train is called the "conduc- | tor'' The trip was made without hurt | by the professor and his wife, he going | ahead often to study the characteris- | tics of the Indians.
 The Tarus Maris, he states, are much | like the Pueblo Indians, but are much
 more primitive. They wear simply | breech clouts and hunt with bow and
 arrows. A party of them was seen chasing a deer, the chase being con- ducted by posting number of them in ambush, thus forming relays, and wearing out the animals by this means. Some of the other tribes were also wis.,
 ited. It was found by the professor
 that the religious use of the peyote
 was general by these people Their method of using 1t differs in many re- spects from that of tribes in New Mex ico and further north. Some of them | use only what is known as the but ton" of the plant, while others make requisition of the whole plant. In most
 of the cases the ceremonials last @ day and night in others continuing as long as four days. In addition to in-