The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-01-29
HOME OF THE YAQUIS.
Country of Mexican Indians of Prami-
mitive Character.

ing Joined the Mexican COnStltutlou-
alists, have been reputed by genera
tions the best savage fighters south
of the Rio Grande. For the better
part of four centuries they have re-
sisted Spanish-American civilization,
though they have had sort of native
civilization that enabled them all the
better to battle the Mexican authorl-
ties. The last serious uprising OF
the Yaquis occurred in 1900, when
they nearly destroyed force of Mexl-
can troops, and the Mexicans took a
terrible revenge by Staying many OF
the Yaquis, men, women and chill
dren, and carrying off nearly 250 OF
them into virtual slavery in Yuca-
tan. Some authorities say that the
Yauuis numbered 10000 in the mid
die of the eighteenth century, and
less than $1,000 at the close Of the
nineteenth, shrinkage due to al
most continual wars. There has
been, however, a good deal of guess
work as to these Indians, and until
comparatively recent times, although
oficials maps Of Mexico pretended to
plot the YaQuis territory, much OF
it had never been surveyed. 1t would
take a pretty spry census enumerator
to count and classify the Yaquls OF
tie wild mountains.
The chief historic home of the va
uuis is the central mountain region
of Sonora, through which the Yaquls
River flows into the Gulf of Califor-
mia. There is loose employment OF
the term Yaqui, however, and it is ap-
piled by some persons to almost any
of the shy, wild Indians living IN
Western Mexico. The Pima and the
Opata Indians joined with the Yaquls
In at least one war, that of 1887
when a Yaqui chief conceived the no
ton of forming the Sonoron tribes
into an Indian State. There had been
a formidable rising Of the Yaquls
seven years before, as there was a
little more than 20 years later. Be-
tween wars the Yaquis on the edge
of civilization maintain trade rela-
tions with the Mexicans and some
of them are employed in various oc-
cupations even in the cities. A va
aui, however, is essentially a man OF
the wild, shy creature, stunning
the stranger, and resenting the in
trusion of the white.
The YaQuis raise some crops ana
make crude pottery and excellent
woven articles, but they have no
more than Walt Whitman the passion
for owning things" They also hate
superfuous clothing. When Mexico
passed a law requiring all men to
wear trousers, the Yaqnis resented 1t
as an outrage. After that law was
passed it was no uncommon thlng
to see a Yaqui clad in natures garo,
and little else, approaching a city
with his trousers in a neat bundle
on his head, and his wares brought
for sale perched on top. Near the
entrance of the town, the good man
would don his hated trousers and
having entered the place, transact
ed his business, and started back to
his wilds, would pause outside OF
the police zone to remove the encum-
bering garments, so that he could
make the better speed homeward.
An adventurous American, now
soberly employed in a highly respon-
sible business on Long Island, when
travelling some years ago across
Mexico to the Gulf of California, en-
countared a fellow traveller, who
persuaded him to make a detour
into the Yaqui country.
The stranger professed to believe
that there were mines in the Yaqul
territory worth prospecting there.
That has long been a belief and Sono-
"a is rich in silver. There is also
persistent popular notion that the
wild recesses of the Yaqul hide an
old Mexican city in an excellent state
of preservation. The two travellers
in this instance soon got into the
edge of the Yaqui country and found
that the inhabitants made no resis-
rance to their advance, but fed be-
fore them. Women and children
could be seen fading into the thicket
as the strangers approached. Thatch-
ed huts were found with the embers
still warm on the earth, but not a
human being was in sight. The huts
were absolutely bare of food, and
without other furniture than a few
crude utensils and here and there a
woven mat.
Being we'll mounted, the travellers
took roush mountain trail and fol-