Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-10-15
The Experience of Dr. Mary Pradt
Harper in Counting the Indians
on a Reservation.
A TRIP FROM FORT DEFIANCE
A Journey Over Steep Mountain Trails
and a Primeval Country-Some of the
Joys of Roughing It-Navajo Life
and Methods.

the census enumeratOrS among the
Navajos, gives some of her experiences.
She says
The first few days my work was about
Fort Defiance, so 1 was able to get in
every night to comfortable quarters at
the agency. Then it was necessary to
take longer trips, and with a school boy
interpreter l set out one Monday morn
ing. That night camped in a Navajo
hogan, or rather kin, which lean
house. My hostess invited me to join
the family at the evening meal. This
consisted of a stew of mutton, served in
a granite utensil of a kind not usually
seen; native bread, and coffee. My por-
ton of the stew "a served to me in a
saucer; the rest Of the family sat
around, each dipping his or her spoon
into the utensil until it vas empty. The
house was of stone, containing one room
about lexis. The two windows were not
made to open, so when bedtime came
and a dozen natives camped down on
their s%heepskins the air was rather
thick, as they persisted in keeping the
door closed.
In the morning the old squaw was up
early, and after performing her ablu-
lions in the frying pan proceeded to
wash up the dishes from the night be-
fore and finally to fry the mutton for
breakfast in the same pan. My appetite
was rather poor that morning. This
family is considered very we'll to do,
and it's stone house is a mansion COM
pared with the ordinary brush or mud
hogan or hut Of the natives. 1t is as
scantily furnished as one can imagine,
there being neither beds, chairs, tables,
cook stove nor any Of the articles con-
sidered necessary to the poorest house
hold. A few sheepskins and blankets, a
very meager supply of cooking uten-
sils and dishes, a few articles of cloth
ing hanging over a pole suspended from
a rafter, composed the household goods.
The fireplace, although rude, is quite a
luxury, as the natives usually make the
fire on the earth floor. and the smoke
escapes through the hole in the roof left
for that purpose.
Next we were located at the house of
a half-blood, Henry Dodge, or "Chee,"
probably the best known and most in
f~1uential member of the tribe. After a
few days in the vicinity I moved my
supplies to Moore's trading post. From
this point I was obliged to go such long
distances that it was economy Of time
to camp out. I had engaged a guide for
this part Of my work-a regular savage,
n who knew the country and every
trail through the mountains. He was
blind in one eye, and could never have
of a large amount of beauty at
any time; his grizzled hair was tied in
a knot with cotton Irvine; about his
head he wore a black rag, the remains
OF a silk handkerchief; his shirt was of
gaudy calico; his neither garments were
cheap trousers Of American make, and
his feet were incased in the usual buck
skin moccasins. My cavalier avantes
ahead, occasionally looking back
with a hideous, one-eyed grin intended
for a ~reassuring smile.
OVER MOUNTAIN TRAILS.
From sunrise until sunset we rode
through mountain trails hunting for
sheep camps, as in summer the Navajos
their sheep up out of the heated
valleys into the cool mountain benches,
where water is plentiful. I found my
gentle savage most helpful; by daylight
the horses were run in and fed, the fire
made and my coffee boiling before I had
emerged from my blankets. I carried
my w coffee and some light provi-
but usually managed to strike a
hogan at noon and get some native
bread and mutton stewed or broiled on
the Goals. Sometimes I slept under the
stars, sometimes under a rude shelter
Of brush and poles at a sheep camp. 1t
is not altogether pleasant to sleep with
in a few feet Of a flock Of sheep and
goats huddled close to the fire, kept
burning in front Of the shelter to scare
away the bears and wolves. Frequent
ly my guide pointed out bear tracks,
but we encountered no bears. 1t is not
exactly agreeable to feel sheep ticks
travelling across your countenance, or
to have sand rattle down from the open
work roof upon your head, and sleeping
in ones clothes becomes m~onotonous;
but one realizes how very few our real
necessities are.
I had intended spending the last night
ac Little Water School, as my work was
in that direction at the last. But night
overlook US in the mountains, and we
were obliged to camp at a sheep camp.
where we found an old man and two
young girls; they pointed out a hogan
for us to sleep in. 1t was a beautiful
hogan, built Of peeled logs Of uniform
size; was p%entagonal in shape and IN
usually large and high. It was evil
IDENTIFY a medicine lodge. Lifting the
blanket which did duty as a door, I dis
a small fire burning in the GEN.
ter of the hogan and nea it an old man
reclined on a sheepskin. My guide o
replenished the fire and put on the cof-
fee pot. The old man who owned the
sheep brought us some native bread in
a basket of Navajo make, and with
some canned meat our bill Of fare was
complete. Presently another native ap-
peared, a visitor. One Of the girls
brought in several sheepskins for my
bed. I rolled myself in a blanket and
slept. Old man number one, the
visitor and my guide all slept in the
hogan also. IA