The National tribune., 1903-08-20

oA thC ne
his head with black clay without the gum
on the evening of the 10Th day he washes
his hair, combs it, braids it in long strands,
and ties the ends with red ribbon or a
shawl; and then for four days more fire.
quently washes his whole body in the
ella river.
On the evening of the 10th day he re-
turns to his village, is met by one of the
old men of his tribe, who, after the war
riOr has placed himself at full length upon
the ground, bends down, passes some of
the saliva in his mouth into that of the
warrior, and blows his breath into the nos
trils of the latter. The warrior then rises
and now, and not until now, is he again
considered clean his friends approach him
and joyfully congratulate him on his vic
tory.
The Apache Indians, the most savage
on the continent, ever since 1858 have
murdered hundreds of whites and half
breeds, and have thus obtained a large
supply of firearms and ammunition. In
order to cope with them successfully the
Pimas have purchased many guns and
pistols, and are now tolerably well armed
with improved weapons. No restriction
has ever been placed on the sale of arms
and ammunition to these people.
The Pimas never capture Apache men,
These are killed on the field, but women
and girls and half-grown boys are brought
back to the reservation at times, though
frequently all the inhabitants of the
Apache village are killed.
Apache prisoners are rarely treated in
cruel manner. For the first week or
two they are compelled to go from village
to village and are exhibited with pride
and made to join the war-dance. Often,
too, the peculiar war-hoop of the Apaches
is sounded by some old Pima squaw as a
taunt to the prisoners, but after the lapse
of few weeks they are treated kindly,
share food and clothing with their cap
tors, and generally become contented.
learn the Pima language, and remain upon
the reservation. Instances have occurred
where Apache prisoners have attempted
to escape, but they have invariably been
overtaken and killed as soon as recap
| tured. Quite number of captured
Apache children are sold by the Pimas to
whites and Mexicans. These children, if
properly trained, are said to become very
docile and make good house servants.
In rare instances will a Pima ever
marry an Apache woman, even after she
has resided for two or three years on the
reservation; but generally full-grown
Apache women become public prostitutes,
and their owners appropriate the money
received from these women from degraded
white men.
| PIMA INDUSTRY AND FOOD.
The men do not labor except SO far as
is necessary to enable them to raise crop.
Each village elects two or three old men
who decide everything pertaining to the
digging of irrigating bitches Nexican
"acequias) and making dams, and who
also regulate the time during which each
landowner may use the water of the
acequia for irrigating purposes. Eacl,
village has constructed years ago main
acequia from which smaller bitches carry
the water to the respective fields. In Or
der to force the water of the ella River
into their acequias the Pimas dam the
river at convenient spots by means of
poles tied together with bark and rawhide
and stakes driven into the bed of the
river. Small crevices are filled with bun.
dies of willOw-branches, reeds, and q weed
called "galuna." These frail structures
rarely stand longer than a year, and are
often entirely carried away when the river
rises suddenly, which occurs in the
Spring of the year, if much snow has fall
len during the Winter upon the mountains
whence the stream issues, and also some
times during the Summer after heavy
showers. Their acequias are often 10 feet
deep at the dam, and average from four
to six feet in width, and are continued fol-
miles, until finally the water therein is
brought on level with the ground to be
cultivated, when the water is led off BY
means of smaller bitches all through theiI
fields. Having no instruments for sur
veying or striking of levels, they still dis
play considerable ingenuity in the selec
ton Of proper places for the "heads OF
bitches"
The Pimas and Maricopas have a reser
walton containing 100 square miles and
extending along {be ella RIVER for a dis
lively sPall part Of this area, however
is Available for agricultural purposes, fol
a portion of the soil on the reservation i.
strongly impregnated with alkali; some
spots are marshy, and all the land be
yond the immediate river bottom land 81
high above the level Of the river that If