Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-19
Peculiar Tribe of Indians
Their Descendants.
DIMIN UTIVE PEOPLE
THEIR HOME UPON THE TOP OF
A HUGE ROCK.
But Little Known Of Their Rites and
Customs-Near Approach
to Civilization,

=,
| a peculiar tribe of Indians found in the
| southwestern part of New Mexico. is in the
| possession of the United States bureau of
ethnology in Washington. This tribe is
| regarded as the lineal descendants of the
| ancient cliff dwellers,'' and although to-
DAY they are almost as civilized, to all
practical purposes as the white race yet
very little is known in regard to their an
| clent myths and legends, and there is an
| dir Oh mystery about them which is be-
Wilderinsly fascinating to the stranger.
NO White man has ever witnessed many
| or their solemn ceremonies and the mean
lngs and practices of their religious life
are still undivulged secrets held by the
principales' and members of the tribe.
On account of this reluctance to divulge
their traditions and beliefs the category Of
! the religious rites and customs of the
AcomaS has never been completely COM
pied. one of their religious ceremonies
| may be seen by the stranger the ID Of Sep
TEMPER the feast of San Esteban, the pa
iron saint OF Acoma, and though they are
supposed to be Christianized their rites on
| this occasion are such an admixture of
Christianity and paganism that it is evil
dent they still cling tentatively to older
forms than those Instituted by the whites
rms assertion is substantiated by those
who have spent days and weeks with the
| tribe, and noticed the var'ous little prac-
| tees which are only subjective of the form
of worship.
The houses contain many mysterious
| symbols which the stranger dare not
touch. while small parcels of sacred corn
meal, tied with husks; miniature bows and
arrows and sticks tufted with feathers are
to be seen slowed away in crevices In the
rocks of their habitation. Each man wears
little pouch, which he would not open for
the wealth of the universe. and each has
| certain words which he may not speak in
another's presence. On lighting their pipes
| they blow the first six puffs of smoke in
| different directions. and numerous other
| significant customs obtain among them.
Oldest Settlement In America.
| 1t is also an interesting fact to note that
| the pueblo Of Acoma is the oldest contin-
uously inhabited settlement in America.
| Other pueblos have changed their sites but
| this tribe has occupied the same location,
it is alleged, since prehistoric times. 1t
| was first seen by the Spaniards in 1870
| when Coronado went on his quest for the
| mythical Gran Quivira, and II is known
| that the village existed for centuries be-
| fore that time.
| The pueblo is located on the flat top of
| an immense mesa, or rock springing up
almost perpendicularly from the level plain
| to q height Of over $50 feet, and it covers
| an area of about seventy acres. This "city
! of the sky as it has been called. consists
| of three tiers Of houses. construct ed in ter
| race form. of stone and adobe, and extend
| ing east and west for nearly a thousand
| feet. and 1t has population of about 800
| souls. The town is reached by stone steps
| cut in the sides of the rock along a sort
| of crevice reaching from the top to the
| bottom. A huge natural cavity on the top
| of the mesa forms a great ciStern. which
| catches the snow and rain and furnishes
| water for the Inhabitants the year around.
| There is also sufficient room on the rock
| to store provisions.
| Each year during the spring the whole
| tribe goes off to the farming land, about
| fifteen miles distant. in the valley, where
| sufficient food Is raised by irrigation to
keep the tribe in comfort until the next
| season. The harvest Is borne back to the
| mesa and stored on the top Of the rock.
| There has been modern trail constructed
by which the horses and cattle may be
| taken up, but this trail Is an achievement
| Of recent date.
Defense Against Attack.
| The village was placed on the top Of this
almost impregnable rock as precaution
| of defense against enemies. There is a
| legend that the tribe in very ancient times
| had their pueblo on the Enchanted Mesa"
called Katzmo. which is an immense rock
about three miles from the present site OF
| Acoma. The enchanted mesa Is about 40
| feet high and is split by a crevfce. The
| story goes that in the early times while
| the men were in the valley tremendous
! storm erose and the village was entirely de-
| stroyed. only three old women of the tribe
being left on the rock after the devastation
| of the elements took place. The fury Of the
| storm was so intense that 1t also destroyed
| the means of gaining access to the top OF
the mesa, and the survivors on the rock
| persisted from starvation, while the rest OF
| the tribe on the ground below sought a
place OF refuge on the present site OF the
! village.
The enchanted rock was visited in 1897
by Prof William Libbey of Princeton, who
! reached the top by means Of life-saving
equipment. and it Is claimed that he was
| the first human being that has stood on
| the top Of that mesa since the ancient
| AconAH were driven from it by the storm.
| Professor Libbey stated that he was una
| BILE to find any traces of habitation and
| was Inclined to discredit the legend OF the
| Indians; but about forty-one days later
| Mr.. Frederick Webb Hodge Of this city.
representing the United States bureau Of
ethnology. reached the summit with other
companions by means of ladder and rope.
| picking their way along the crevice. While
| on the top the party discovered pieces OF
! very ancient pottery and rude stone mon
| ument while along the crevfce were in
| dentations denoting stone steps, and in the
| talus at the bottom Of the mesa were found
other evidences Of the rock having been
| inhabited; and so. with these evidences sup
| porting the tradition. 1t has been generally
accepted that at very ancient time Kat
| limo was the abode Of the Acomas.
Once a Race Of Warriors.
The AcOmaS were at one Time q very war
| like tribe, and. 1t is said. were never de-
| feated but once. when in 1899 Vicente de
| Zaldivar, a Spaniard. with small army
| laid Siege to the town and forced Its sur
| render after an assault that has become
| famous for its brilliance and fierceness.
| The tribe rebelled against Spanish author
| ity, along with the other pueblo tribes. in
1850 at which time more than a score Of
missionaries and over four hundred Span
ish colOnists were massacred and the
| church was destroyed They; however, be-
came gradually accustomed to the fnva-
| sion of the whites. and later submitted
peaceably to Spanish authority.
One feature of the village which Is nota-
BILE is the immense church and graveyard
which are located on one side of the rock
| The building was constructed in about 100
! latter the conquest, and its massive stone
| and adobe walls are sixty feet high and ten
| feet through, while the edifice covers more
ground than any cathedral in the United
| States The graveyard Is In front OF the
| church and has been built up on the almost
| vertical side of the mesa. 1t Is 300 feet
square and in some places about forty feet
deep 1t is not a remarkable fact to note
| that nearly forty years were consumed in
| the construction of this burial place when
! it is known that at first an outer wall was
| built and then the earth had to be carried
nearly 400 feet up the steep rock from the