The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-04-30
ZUNI CUSHINGS WAYS AND
 WORK.
ZUNI

WORK.
 The Genius, the Character and the Sto
 ry of This Remarkable Man.
 An appointment for long-sought In
 terview with the brilliant ethnologist ] Frank Hamilton Cushing, has thls week
 been plotted from my calendar by the
 cold finger of death. To repair my loss
 scientific colleagues and intimate
 friends of that young genius have beer
 sharing with me their memory of the
 most striking experiences in the event
 full forty-two years of his short life.
 Gushing was as much a born ethnolo-
 gist as was Napoleon born general
 With few Indian relics collected upon
 his fathers farm in early boyhood he
 built for himself a pedestal upon which he stood as "the Schliemann of the new
 world" when scarcely thirty. He was
 but twenty-two when the late Professor Baird, secretary of the Smithsonian In | stitution, commissioned him in 1879 to accompany government expedition de- parting for the pueblo country of Ari-
 zona and New Mexico His tactful di-
 plomacy and undaunted aggressiveness
 were apparent from the very outset. Riding several miles in advance of his
 caravan, Gushing fearlessly entered the | unstudied pueblo of Zuni, meeting on
 the outskirts lonely shepherd. Halt ing his horse and stopping to exchange friendly grasp with the surprised red man, he noted that the latter breathed upon the hand outstretched toward him.
 Passing into Zuni the eager young sa- want found all of the villagers assem- bled about their dance plaza witnessing l a solemn religious ceremonial The sudden intrusion of white man was threatening q general remonstrance when Cushing thoughtfully seized the hand of one of the elder of his hosts and ,breathed heavily upon it, just as he had seen the herder do his own. The old man was pleased, smiled and ad dressed his scowling kinsmen. From that time until his untimely death the ethnoogist was privileged character among the Zunis.
 While other members of his expedi- ton were standing aloof from these primitive people, Cushing was industri- ously at work endearing himself to the hearts of the little children, knowing that through such safe channels he might best reach the confidence of the mothers and fathers. He was careful each day to fill his pockets with sugar and pretty trinkets. Offering such temptations, he soon had the little ones in his arms. At the same time he bus fed himself measuring, sketching, wield- ing his brush and taking copious notes.
 One day while inspecting Cushing's sketches, an old Zuni crone recognized the portrait of her little granddaughter and spent the remainder of the day sob- ping and moaning. This adventure was but the beginning of series of frictionS which taxed the young travellers abun- dant diplomacy. The Zunis regarded the making of 8 photograph or sketch of an individual as the taking of his shadow" process belonging to witch craft and depriving the subject of a part of his substance Though warned many times, Cushing persisted in perch ing himself upon the housetops and painting characteristic types, especially the gaudy participants in the many weird rituals. Suspicion of his witch craft became wrought to such pitch that several councils had to be held to devise means of offsetting his alleged evil influence. Various methods of tor ture and execution were discussed. It was finally decided to revive for his benefit a weird ceremony of sacrifice Gushing was early upon the scene, sketchbook in hand. A feature of the dance was the entrance of two execu- tioners welding huge clubs. Uttering wild shrieks. they sprang upon the lad der and made dash for the industri- ous painter. The latter drew his hunt ing-knife and flourished it with threat ening gestures, By accident he bran- dlshed the blade toward the sun and thereby made a signal which to the sr- perstitious Zunis had some sacred meaning He was released, and in his stead a dog was cast into the arena to fall beneath the clubs of the brutal exe- cutioner.
 One day when the chief of the pueblo remonstrated again on account of the persistent sketching, this question was deftly put by Cushing: "Do you want Washington to be a friend of the Zu- his? How can you expect a people to like another without knowing something about them? Some fools and bad men have said, The Zunis have no reli- gion." The effect was as desired, and no more opposition to the sketching was met.
 A friend who accompanied the noted ethnologist during part of his long stay in the pueblo told me of other nar- row escapes. To amuse the Zunis, one day toy telephone was constructed, and Cushing proceeded to project his 1 voice from a distance into the ears of | the superstitious people. The old peo- pie shook their heads. The amusement l was not so pleasing as was anticipated. Another council was called, and the young student again found himself up for trial. When allowed to speak for himself, he had a difficult task explain ng the intricate mechanism of the tele- phone.
 Some time after this measles broke ut in Zuni. Disease among the people s invariably attributed to witchcraft |, rigid searck for the witch or wizard 1 vas Immediately instituted. In mo- \ nent of Cushing's absence his rooms vas subjected to a rigid examination. Al |