Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-09-15
NEW MEXICO INDIANS
A General Statement As to Their
Education, Condition, Water
Rights, Etc.
AND THEIR FARMS
They Own Considerable Property and Raise
Much Farm Produce, But They Follow
Old Methods of Cultivation and
Handling Their Crops.

'N'AoA "a bhtS NSDho eiio iiid o6C
cy in this city, of which Hon. N. S.
Walpole, of Pueblo, Colo, is agent. But
estimates have been made of the popu-
lation of the thirty-two Indian pueblos
in the agents jurisdiction. The num-
Der of males above Is years of age is
2,496; females above IA years of age,
1926; school children between the ages
of 6 and 16, 2,112; number of children at
tending school, 1,102. The population
of the pueblos is as follows: Zuni, in
GLIDING Ojo Caliente, Nutria and Pos
cado, lap; Acoma, including Acomita,
1,276; Santo Domingo, LOIS; Isleta, 1000;
San Felipe, $50; Jemez, ASS; Taos, 402;
San Juan, 376; Pahuate, 375; Cochiti,
1855; Santa Ana, 300; Laguna, 1872; Santa
Clara, 246; Paraje, Casa Blanca and
Santana, 1888; San Ildefonso, $50; Zia,
104; Picuris, So; Nambe, So; Tesuque,
81; Sandia, II.
These Indians raised last year 65,353
bushels of wheat, IS, 1902 bushels of corn,
1888 bushels of beans, 1926 bushels of
onions, 1856 bushels Of oats, rs bushels
of turnips, rs bushels of potatoes and
1,510 bushels of other vegetables, $4,000
melons, 1890 pumpkins and 1914 tons of
hay. The methods of farming are in
most instances of the crudest nature,
the same that have been customary for
at least 200 years. While the Indians are
ready to make use of modern imple-
Ynantc whom offnra1 tn them thnv arc
not sufficiently cognizant of the adj
vantages of using to provide them
selves with the implements. Nowhere
within the bounds of the agency can
crops be raised without irrigation,
which renders agriculture more ardu-
Gus than in more favored sections of the
country. The Pueblo bitches and sys-
tenn of irrigation are equal to those Of
any of their neighbors, or, in fact, to
any open ditch system in use. 1t is in
harvesting and threshing their grain
that the most antiquated methods pre-
vail, wheat and oats being harvested
with the old reaping hook, which has
been in use for thousands of years.
lllIeSlllIlS Is uOIlG VII u llICSIlllI5 llOOl
in precisely the same manne as among
the people of 5000 years ago by driv-
ing animals over it until the grain is
threshed out of the straw. In the proc
ess it becomes mixed with all
of foreign substances, which have to be
picked out with the fingers or washed
in water from a ditch. Grain threshed
in thai manner will not bring as good
a price on the market as 1t should. De-
spite this encouragement several Of the
Pueblos raise grain for the market. If
they We're furnished with a few thresh-
ing machines, one of which could be
used by several pueblos, they would be
enabled to make far larger profits on
market, thus enabling them to over
come their extreme poverty and ad-
vance in civilization.
The Pueblo Indians have always been
noted for their proficiency in making
pottery. The pottery produced is very
beautiful, but is also very fragile, and
cannot be shipped without the greatest
care in packing. This results from the
method of manufacture. The dirt is
made into soft mud and shaped into the
desired form by the hands, after which
it is dried in the sun. When it has be-
come sufficiently hardened 1T Is polished
by rubbing with the palm of the hand
and painted in various fantastic de-
a.~,, !, fto, v,h;oh r. ic Ih11rooI in q slow
fire kindled in the open air. All the
pueblos make more or less Of pottery,
and each pueblo has it's distinctive de-
signs.
Weaving is also carried on to some
extent in a few of the pueblos.
There are seventeen day schools in
the agency, three of which were organ
lied during last year. The attendance
is exceedingly good, having increased
81 per cent last year over the year pre-
ceding.
Most of the school buildings are in
very bad condition, though some i'm
provement is shown over the year pre-
ceding. At Nambe, Zia, San Felipe n
San Ildefonso steps are now being taken
to erect school buildings costing from
81, 900 to 81, 800. All the schools have good
seating facilities, wei 200 double desks
having been sent out during the year.
The work of the teachers is of excellent
character, and in most cases shows a
great amount Of tact and interest.
Many of the school buildings are over
crowded. During the year about 200
children have been sent from the pueb-
los to the non-reservation schools at
Santa Fee and Albuquerque, while 9TH
ers attend contract and UNCONVENTIONAL
schools. The day schools were attend
ed by 712 children.
Two missionaries of the Dutch Re-
formed church, Rev. A. Vanderwagen
and wife, are supported by the church
at Zuni. C. e. Lukens is a medical mis-
sionary at Laguna, supported by the
Presbyterian church, and Is doing a
dered valuable service in fiohting the
smallpox epidemic and relieving the
sick from other diseases. Two teachers
who conduct the school at Seana, be-
tween Laguna and Acoma, are also sup
ported by the Presbyterian church, and
are doing very successful work. In the
st. Catharine's Indian school, conduct
ed by the Sisters Of the Blessed Sacra-
ment, about 100 Indian children are
taught and cared for each year. There
is a contract boarding school at Ber-
nalillo, which Is doing good work.
During the first four months of the
fiscal year almost all the Pueblos were
severely afflicted with malaria, in most
cases caused by the water supply. This