Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-07-18

valley of Mexico Report
followed report. each more arid than
the last. until the yicoro, Of New
Spain. iuhamod by the tales OF Pizar-
ro's brilliant conquest Of Peru. or
ganized great expedition and sent
II out to discover and conquer the far.
away Eldorado and bring back the
treasure they so foudly hoped TO find
there. The great Coronado was cho-
sen communicating and on Eas
ter morning Of the year 154O began
the most remarkable journey Of dis.
coyery I'm America For months they
Travelled over the deserts. mountains.
and plains, meeting with all the vicis-
STUDIES and dangers Of an unknown
country, until at last they reached the.
land OF standing rocks" the home Of
the cliffdwe!ling Indians in the pres
ent states of Arizona and New Mex
leo
Here they found not only wild and
warlikc Indians but a gentler race Of
aborigines much further advanced I'm
culture than any other Indians they
had mot since leaving central Mexico
They were an agricultural people.
dwelling In many-storied stone or mud
houses, and their descendants to this
day live, in many instances. on the
same sites and in a few cases in the !
identical buildings that their ances-
tors occupied when the Spaniards first
saw them over three and a half cen
turtles ago.
The old buildings, called pueblos by
the Spaniards, are the oldest contlnu.
ously-inhabited structures on the
American continent, and their inhabi-
tants are more nearly in their original
condition than any other American
Indians today.
AS an example of the canyons one
may be mentioned. known to the In
dams as lseye. the walls of which rise ,
sheer from the sands OF its river-bed !
over 1000 feet. and where erosion has ,
sculptured the most stupendous nat
ural monuments I'm stratified sand $
stone in the world. Alternating with ;
the canyons are mesas, fat-topped !
mountains, many of which are I
crowned with living Indian towns. {
such as the pueblos OF the Hopi In 6
dians in Arizona and the superbly sit /
uated AcOma In New Mexico. while S
others reveal the broken-down walls
of ancient cities Of the Stone Age peo- y
pie. n
Among the living Indian tribes that I
call this wondrous land home are the r
Hopi and Navajo. the most interesting e
OF all the remaining Indian tribes in n
the United States. The Hop peoplc n
are town builders and live on the ton p
OF the cliffs in the midst of great -
desert. sustaining themselves bv agri- n
culture and small bands Of sheen |
Eight little rock-built villages are tho ~
homes Of this tribe: they number . nj
600 souls and they have probably E,
lived in their fortress-like cities for n
] 900 years They have no chiefs I'm
the strict sense of the word but are hi
governed by men who have shown by =,
their lives and characters that they n.
are good leaders. They are a splendid a,
and fearless people who represent TO. Al
day but remnant OF the once-power- Il,
full Indian nation. a phase of human. W
ity rapidly passing away before the ~
aggressive march Of Western civiliza-
ton. -,
The Ilopi Indians are experts I'm the q
art of basketry and pottery. as well IN
as in the weaving Of cotton. Their &C
life is marked by elaborate III
ceremonials. OF which the best known W
Is the snake dance. They look upon m
as messengers TO the NJ
gods. and in the snake dance formally 81
charge them with requests and pray TT
ers. The ceremony begins in an un. tr
foreground chamber known as an CO
estufa. and ends when the dancers in