The Socorro chieftain., 1907-10-12
NAVAJO DID NOT SABE
The Telephone Box Was a Myc-
terry That Completely Non
Dlused the Noble Red Men.
Mr.. MARTIN HAS EXPERIENCE
In Trying to Speak the Navajo Lin
so and Explain the White
Mans Ways.


DAYS of the Socorro county fair
Hon. w. f.. Martin extended the
hospitality of his back ward to
the band of Navajo Indians, who
pitched their tepeeS there and
lived there i'll the most approved
fashion of the modern but degen-
crate red man. One of Mr.. Mar
tins experiences is related in the
following interesting language
in the Albuquerque Citizen:
'On Sunday morning of the
Socorro county fair, w. +. Mar
tin, one of the officers of the fair,
was awakened by loud rapping
at his door. Going to the door
MIR. Martin was greeted by a
number of Navajo Indians, who
were in Socorro as an attraction
of the fair.
The spokesman of the party
began jeSticulating and in very
broken English told Mr.. Martin
that he wanted to see Jose +.
Montoya. Now Mr.. Montoya is
the man who interceded for the
fair association with the Nava-
JOS and was responsible for them
being there. He was at that
time, However, on his ranch
three miles north of Socorro and
probably asleep. Mr.. Martin
told his red brethren that Mr..
Montoya was not in the city and
could not be seen just then but
would probably be there early
in the day. This did not satisfy
the NavajoS. They wanted to
see Mr.. Montoya Immediately.
In thinking the situation
over, trying to figure out some
way through the difficulty which
had thus unceremoniously pre-
sented itself. Mr.. Martin
thought of the telephone. Mr..
Montoya had telephone to his
ranch and if he could get him
the Indians would probably be
paciiied by talking to him over
the wire.
He beckoned the leader of
the Indians to come into the
house and ringing up central
asked for the Montoya ranch.
The Indian watched the white
man with undiSguised miSgiving.
He did not Sabe all that ringing
and talking 10 a brown box on
the wall, and owing to Mr.. Mar
tins small vocabulary of Navajo,
he had some trouble explaining
it to the red men. Luckily Mon
toya answered the phone himself
and Mr.. Martin told him that
the Navajos wanted to talk to
him. MIR. Montoya speaks Ma
vajo iluently.
1t was with great difficulty
that Mr.. Martin got the receiver
to the red mans ear and it was
still more tedious job to get him
to talk into the little box. The
Indian would drop the receiver
and step back, surveying the
wall and even looking into the
dark corners of the room, for the
owner of the mysterious voice.
He listened i'll blank amazement.
lie called the other Indians in
and each one took turn at the
receiver, and all were mystiiied
and none of them satisfied that
Montoya was really at his home
three miles away but thought
that he was in the wall or on
the outside. They went out to
see and some stood watch on the
outside while others listened to
the voice in the telephone.
After an hour of this kind of
maneuvering, very interesting to
Mr.. Martin to say the least, the
Navajos left more puzzled than
when they came, but they want
ed to know more about the tele-
phone, so Mr.. Martin arranged
with Captain Matthews, manager
for the Colorado Telephone COM
pany at Socorro, for visit of the
Navajos to the central office.
Indian Agent Custer at Mag
dalena, who the Indians knew
very we'll, was informed of the
contemplated visit of the Navajos
to the telephone Office, and re-
quested to be within call of the
telephone at the noon hour. The
Indians knew also that Mr.. Gus
ter was at Magdalena twenty
eight miles away.
The Indians were prompt in
their appointment and there fol-