Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-01-01
Curious Traits Of
Navajo indians

ais who live entirely by the practice,
but even the small boys are game.
sters and adapt the pictorial Sunday.
school cards to gaming purposes.
Their blankets illustrate gambling.
and even their account OF the crea.
ton must have woven into 1t the story
Of a game. This Is a serious and ap-
parcntly native vice OF formidable pro-
portions at once confronts the teach
er and the missionary, The question
OF the best way to overcome It is4 stu
an open one. The prohibition Of It's
practice does not 60 to the. root pt
the matter. sad, all our logic fails TO
convince the India1- that he has MOI
as great ! right to play for stakes. as
he taA 10 breatAe. saa .a.ays
"A curious .tsalt.o o. the Navajo, com.
mon no dOSbt to all Indians. IL hts re,
lationstoI HIN horses and hig dogs. -
our mind II II incomprehensible. Evetg
man fmAiutaihs many dogs and fot
!, what reason n h difficult to 'ds.
cover. They are iIl.kept. ! starving,
cowardly CANNES which bear as little
resemblance TO our own intelligent,
devoted dogs Is can be imagined
They r not for use, certainly not for
beauty. and apparently they are no
protection. | have never heard ans
reasonable explanations Of the Indians
having so many: perhaps he considers
that. the more he can maintain the
important he isr Toward his
horses his attitude seems even more
singular. They are. Of course. par.
Of bis wealth. but from our point OF
view he should have a favorite one
among them all. to which he should
give nor care aud devotion. ~rom
small boyhoOd he draws Horses In
the sand or on the rocks md M early
learns TO ride and rope the real AMI
NAL. He spends most OF hts time oa
horseback till he dies. He celebrates
his horse In his blankets. and learns
also tKa most difficult harsemanshtp
Of which he "a very proud. ,Rut APP
parentfy n animal il the same as
another: to him. He will ride one to-
death and select It's SUCCESSOR from
the herd. 10 break Il by the most crm~.
method. Of to starSe II apd beat It.
Fear seems the only element devel.
oped In the beast, The bits ased max.
one shoulder to look upon. and Ia buy.
Ing a Navajo horse, II 10 ssld that one
must wish to find scars OF. tAe animal,
Indicating that It has been no severe
ly handled In the breaking that Its
spirit has been broken. have, seen
whipped TIA tie blood ran,
This wss done without aager. appar.
emily. but indifferently. a. II there
were. no, Other. ways Our own uttle
NAvajos WAuaAs which hss besa gems
tied BY, careful treatment. was finally
sesold 70 is original ovnee.s The man
vas. ~ Intelligent persoe vhs ceulc
sresk xuat EsakMsh ana ~ho he'd hsc
considerable intercourse with the
white man. but whea I asked him ear
neatly e. ~ ysoof - the 0ortesAe, had
"a. mes~, eomptsheasiua than 4
wesss teTAinH Ssnskrit. ss.s~. .~.sI
Axl stood. - the hast mesa tooktnf7
back upon the hot silent. beautiful.
but Improbable stretches Of the Ma.
'vajo ,iand, and down, mon the co..
gcous painted desert which seemed
It's. rtghtful artistic background. 4
ron1cred earnestly upcn the future Of
my Navajo friends. No race or fam
lily In this age can live always to Il.
self. and some day to these people VIII
come the inevitable collision with tn,
forces Of the outside world. and We
have 10 do with the great question Of
preparing him for the impact.
There are a number n dances In
the city this evening. the principal
ones being the Fireman's bail 1t the
Duncan. the Maynower masquerade
at the Barber Opera house and the
Literary Society ball and Corpadres
dance at Rosenthal hall.