Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1905-11-16
KILLED AT FIESTA.
Indian Medicine Man is Accide entaIy
Shot During the Ceremonies
Will Be Investigated.
Special to the New Mexican

Special to the New Mexican.
Dixon, N. NJ, Nov. 16.-News from
The Picuris Pueblo, about twelve
miles from here, has just been re-
ceived, stating that Monday last at q
fiesta at the Pueblo, during which a
good deal of shooting and firing OF
rifles and revolvers was indulged in
by the inhabitants OF the Picuris
Pueblo, one of their leading and most
influential men, Antonio Maria Var
gas was shot accidentally in the righ,
leg, just below the abdomen and dice
within few minutes after the bullet
struck him, the latter having evidently
severed main artery.
People Sorrow Stricken.
The people of the Pueblo were sor
row stricken and Immediately as tols
ell of their sorrow, unbound their hair
both men and women, and indulged in
loud lamentations, wailing and tears,
which were kept up all night. They
felt that the death OF Vargas was a
great blow to them, as he had been
one Of their leading advisors, the his
torian of the Pueblo and a sort of a
medicine man and soothsayer.
About three years ago, a brother of
Vargas met similar death in the
village of Penasco about three miles
| distance from Picuris
The shot which killed Antonio Ma
Iria Vargas was fired by Antonio Mar
tinez, a young man OF good habits,
who was educated at Carlisle, Pennsyl-
vania, speaks good English and has
worked as sheep herder for years
in that vicinity as we'll as in Colo
RADIO and Wyoming.
AS far as known, the shooting was
purely accidental. 1t is the custom Of
the several Indian Pueblos, on peace
feast days for the men and boys to
indulge in the shooting of fire arms.
This custom evidently was adopted
from the Spaniards and Mexicans who
practiced shooting and making good
deal of noise on ceremonial and feast
occasions. There was no whiskey in
the Pueblo and there was no drunk.
enness or undue excitement. 1t was
a festival occasion which came to a
sad end.
viii Investigate.
|. w. Dwyer, the farmer at the Taos
Pueblo, has been directed by Superin-
tendent Clinton ]. Crandall, in whose
Jurisdiction, the Picuris and Taos
Pueblos are situated, to proceed to Pi
cllris immediatelv, make searching In
vestigation and due report on the un
fortunate occurrence. The Pueblos a
Picuris are good and well behaved pee
Iple, they number only about 100 al
told, although at the time OF the com
/ ing OF the Spaniards to this section
early Spanish writer's state that tn
Pueblo contained over 5000 inhabi
ltants.
Superintendent Crandall is /
Ireturn from a recent vlsl
there, and after careful exam
ination, concluded that Picuris was
one of the oldest Pueblo settlements
in New Mexico. This, he thinks, is
evident by the fact that there are
five or six large estufas, all connected
by underground passages, there and IL
very good state of preservation. MI
Crandall also believes that the Oldest
|house in the pueblos In this Territor!
is located here.
House of Dirt.
If was built of dirt as are ancien
buildings in the Canton district o
China. and in the Aztec ruins ant
lCiff dwellings in the Southwest. Thi
was before the time the inhabitants o
; this section knew how to manufactllr
brick. The walls were built by plaf
ling sections of upright boards ve'
tically three or four or five feet apar
and the moist earth was piled betwee
them and then tramped down. I'm
building is still in good condition an
is five stories high. This Is tt
only building of the kind still standir
lexcept one at the ruins at Casas Gra
!, de, near Florence, Arizona.
BY instructions Of the secretary
> the interior, canopy roof has recent
been constructed for the protection
the Casas Grande structure. III
house at Picuris is of equal impol
= ance and similar precautions shou
> be taken there, as 1t is OF great nj
: torical and archaeological interest