The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-27
HERE ARE THE
 PEOPLE OF PEACE Painted Desert the Home of
 Suffragist Ideals LAND OF WoMANS RIGHTS Centuries Ago the Hopi Women Went on Strike and Won the Privilege
 of Choosing Husbands and Ruling tho Tribe.


 beleaguered by the suffragist hosts may find fully illustrated the fate that will be his when the womans right move- ment reaches it's fullest fruition. Long before the beskirted woman of the east even thought about demanding the bal lot their blanketed sisters in the Hopi Indian nation had fought out the matter and won.
 The Hops are better known to fame as the Mokis, or Moquis, but the latter appellation was bestowed upon them in derision by their warlike enemies in the Navajo and Apache tribes. Hopt means people of peace" Moqui means dead men," wherein the lezcioographer may perhaps discover the origin of that piece of slang, Ia dead one"
 Hopi women do not vote, but it is only because they do not want to. They dp about everything else that Is masculine, and do it because they like 1t.
 Hopi houses are theirs, and their chil- dren take the mothers name, not the fathers. When a Hopi maiden makes up her mind to marry she does not trou> ble herself about asking the consent of the man upon whom her eye has alighted with favor. She goes and asks his mother.
 The husband does not prepare home for his bride. She takes him into hers. The produce which he raises is hers whenever 1t is stored in her house, and no Hopi man ever has property in his own name.
 Hopi houses are of an architecture purely Hopi Always they are built high on some isolated mesa. They are often two but never more than three, stories In height. The second story is built sev- eral feet back of the first story, 50 that the roof of the latter is a terrace for the second and the third recedes still farther. QTn and molders. The rocks and timbers are carted from the tree clumps down on the desert on the backs of burros. This work is done by the men. After the men have delivered the material, the women go to work.
 Without any of the tools of the mason they lay the stones with precision. The division of labor is complete. Some carry the rocks and the sand, some mix the adobe, some do the laying and the finish ing. Building a house is great fun, and the neighboring women are always glad to help the new home builder. The hand is used as trowel and with 1t the adobe is plastered on and the walls smoothed.
 The roof Is mass of willow and earth supported by crossbeams and poles. The floor is of hard packed dirt and the in- terior decorations consist of gypsum whitewashing and symbolic paintings. Sheets of gypsum formerly served for windows, but nowadays doors and win dows from some far-on blaming mill are in almost every home.
 Tradition has 1t that the ascendancv = teh Hopi woman was secured ce ago as the result Of a strike The Hopi used his woman as a beast den, following the usual Indian custo
 They rebelled and gathered by selves on an unoccupied mesa. they held out resisting all blandishn and entreaties and threats, and only a- sented to return when assured that he < should be complete bosses in the hos and the vilege. Generations of rulership have stamped the Hopi women as the superior sex. They are beautiful as maidens. good looking as women. and often retain their rounded faces and fine hair until old age comes on.
 Compared to them the men are stunted The women are of more than avera ge good figure, muscular, and healthy look ing The men grow wizened early and go about their tasks as though they didn't get much out of life. Of smaller stature, they are often very hardy, and as mes sengers are capable of going tremendous distances without apparent fatigue.
 The same difference marks the mental activities of the two sexes. The men seem to have little to concern themselves about and are dull witted, while the women are alert and energetic, and in disposing of their baslSetry and pottery, made by themselves, they are much the better bargatners.
 The men are slow of speech and inclined 10 be silent. The women are talkative and a house building stunt Is accompan- fed by more conversation than half a dozen sewing circles among the pale faces.
 The harder tasks are cheerfully shoul- dered by the capable women, and while they are busy at them the men are con- demned to weave the clothing of their wives and knit the stockings for the whole household
 When a girl reaches maria geable age the youth of Hopi villages get ample warning. Upon her usually pretty head appear the two whorls which denote that she Is bent on matrimony. These whorls are made of her hair, resembling two gigantic surmounting the real ears. Ill shape they are supposed to be akin to the squash vines blossoms. symbolic of virginity.
 When she makes her choice that ends it. Sometimes 1t Is necessary to resort 10 force. but usually the man gives in at the start, as he knows he must at the last. He Is at once set to work making the cloth for the brides rousseau, while she comes over to his home and puts in few weeks grinding corn for his mother
 On the wedding day down comes the mass of hair. Thereafter 1t hangs in two rolls down the side of her head, regular Indian fashion These rolls are made in imitation of the squash, denoting fruit fulness their greatest wish.
 The little there is of government is nj the hands of the men, who also form the priesthood. The Hopi is a very re- ligious gentleman About half of each month is taken up in religious ceremon- fals of one kind or another Most famed of these ceremonials is the snake dance
 The Indian department has not been very successful in inducing the Hopis to assume the dress of the white man. The men wear the hair long, with a. band about the forehead. Their shirts are of calico, the trousers of white muslin slit on the side from the knee down. They wear rawhide moccasins and soeess socks The more fastidious assume loud velvet shirts, necklaces. and finger rings of silver
 The women wear a dress made like blanket. This is thrown over the shoul- ders and the two sides are sewn up. An opening Is left for the right arm, while the left shoulder remains bare. Around the waist is worn a fancy woven sash, underneath which sometimes is calico undervest.
 The skirt reaches just below the knee. When footwear is donned the moccasin is used with stockings of buckskin, thongs of the latter being used as garters above the knee.
 The full subjection of the Hopi hus- band is found in the fact that he Is re- touired to do all the outside work the field labor, stock caring, and the like.