The Republican journal., 1898-03-31
The Pueblo Indians.
| Correspondence of The Jourua,

io"u anu we'll travelled person familiar
perhaps with the country east of the Mis-.
slsslppi river, and west of the RocL,,
mountains, but of the great nlata.ns ~,
the eastern slope of the Rockies he knows
only what he has seen from the car win
dows and probably received a Door i'm
preston. New Mexico and Arizona nre
sent rather forbidding appearance to the
traveller on the Santa Fe road. but these
territories had their inhabitants and a
civilized life and history, long before Co.
lumbus set sail from the shores of Spain
and if one took the time to see the relics
OF these ancient races he would be well
repaid for the trouble and expense.
The cliff jewellers fashioned their bom.s
by digging out caves in the sides of great
bluffs OF soft sandstone, and probably
were driven to these habitations for safety
by their more war-like neighbors. The
entrances were effected either by steep,
narrow trails which were easily defended
or by ladders which could be drawn nm
| The race has departed and left their
| acknowledgements utensils and even
their own mummies, but no account of
| themselves.
The Pueblo Indians have al ways been a
| peaceable, industrious tribe and differ
much from the Indians of the plains
They live in Pueblos or villages; or more
| properly speaking, in communal houses
| which are built tier upon tier, the roof of
one tier being the porch of the tier above
| The only means of entrance is by ladder
which is drawn up after one. Some of
the pueblos contain as many as thousand
| rooms and their inhab tants are INTELLIGENT
industrious, independent natives, who
have never been degraded by government
| assistance and who live as did their an
cestOrs when discovered three and a half
centuries ago. The Indians who roamed
| the plains have become debauched and
are wards of Uncle Sam; miserable.
i troublesome creatures who now flock
| for ''nickel, no penny" The Pueblo In
dians bring specimens of their handcraft
and odd pottery can be bought ridiculous
ly cheap if one bargains rightly Their
| government is patriarchal.
Near the station at Saguna is seen one
of their most important dwellings. The
headmen of the tribes sometimes had
| houses of their own. The three principal
tribes are the Moquis, Zunis and Taos.
The Indians cared for by the United States
are fast dying off, mostly OF consumption.
| Those we saw were wretched in their
rags of bandana cloth and -four bags. The
children are supposed to 90 to school and
Indian marshals are appointed to enforce
attendance. The women are prematurely
old, and tote their papooses about as
they would any ordinary bundle. They
pretend to be afraid of a camera, but a
dime will purchase courage
At Flagstaff, Arizona, you see many
Nava 10 Indians, who are famous for their
beautiful blankets, fine specimens of
which are worth from $50 to S1O0 From
satisfactorily made to the Grand Canon of
the Colorado, which is perhaps the most
wonderful formation in the world. At
places the walls of the canon are nearly
perpendicular, and mile high, and color
ed in the most beautiful shades. Not far
away from Flagstaff is the wonderful
petritied forest, which is now protected
from vandals by government control
But you must not think of these terri
tories as wholly given over to natives. and
freaks of nature, as within their borders
Montezuma Hotel at "Las Vegas Hot
Springs, New Mexico. The hotel is quite
as fine as any you will find in the East, and
the water and mud baths are very bene-
fetal for disorders of the skin and blood,
and for rheumatism. The surrounding
country, with its canons, trails and
mountains, is beautiful and affords num-
berless excursions for riding and driving.
For nine ont of Ten cases of throat or lung
trouble, the climate of Colorado and New
Mexico will be found the best in the
world, physicians generally agreeing that
high and dry atmosphere is the best fol
most cases.
In South Santa Fe county, New Mexico,
is the largest known deposit of turquois in
the world. These mines have been work
ed for two centuries or more, first by the
Pueblo Indians, subsequently by the Mex
leans, and now they are operated by
Americans. The Pueblo Indians who
dwell along the Rio Grande have
''feishes'' made OF turquois which they
keep hidden from the gaze of the
stranger, and guard with jealous
C are for fear that if they become
lost or polluted with the touch of the
stranger the bad spirit will blight their
crop of grains and fruit. ] have seen
two of their idols made in the crude image
of man, that would weigh full half a
pound. The only mines that are being
worked with any regularity belong to
Tiffany & Co. of New y ork, and the Gem