The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-01-26
THE HAsKIN Letter
TIE PUEBLO INDIANS IL Architecture and Social Life
LIE TT 3 3
By Frederic ] Haskin.


Icaclques meet, and the dancers are
painted and arrayed for the ceremon-
taI dances.
The social unit Of Pueblo society is
not the family. but the clan. The
husband and wife must be Of diner
emit clans, and the children belong to
the clan or the woman; thar is, de-
scent Is through the female instead
iof the male. Woman's rights are a
reality. In the Pueblo world. The
woman Is owner Of the house and Of
everything in 1t, except the personal
effects OF her husband, and she has
full power to eyict him IL his con-
duct Is unsatisfactory. The man cul-
tiyates the soil. and he owns the
fields, but when the crops have been
brought home, his wife has an equal
voice In the disposition Of them.
The home life of the Pueblos seems
to be singplarly peaceful and well
managed. Coniugal fidelity is the
rule, and the Pueblo has been a mon
ogamist ever since the white man has
known him. Children are neither
spoiled nor cowed, and all family
relations are founded upon respect
for seniority. The younger children
must obey the elder, and the aged
are held In respect and yeneration by
all.
The only domestic creatures which
the Pueblo had when the white man
found him was the turkey, and that
he kept more for feathers than for
food. Now, however, he owns
horses, cattle. sheep, goats and bur-
ros. Practically every male Pueblo
owns and rides a horse, while nearly
every family possesses farm wagon.
and the '.principales' and officials
often ride In buggies. Sheep have
taken the place of cotton, which was
cultivated by the prehistoric Pueblo.
But the modern Indian is not very
successful shepherd. Neither do his
herds amount to much. Agriculture
always has been, and still remains his
forte. He has made excellent use OF
wheat and fruit. which were brought
to him by the white man. and in
some Of the pueblos. notably Isleta,
has learned to make wine.
Contact with civilization has tended
to make Of the Pueblo more and more
a farmer, and has caused him to aban-
don, or nearly so, many Of his ma
tive crafts. At the time Of the con-
quest, he knew how to spin and
weave, make baskets, and an excel
lent grade Of pottery. Today, he no
longer weaves blankets, but instead
earns the money wherewith to buy
one from store, or from the Nava-
jos. to whom he taught the business.
In the busy agricultural pueblo OF
Isleta, little pottery is made now, al
though most of the pueblos still prac-
tice this craft because of the CONNER
cial demand for the product.
The Pueblo is born trader. In
prehistoric times he dealt IN buffalo
hides, salt, paint and cotton mantles,
and traded with Apache, yvinanche
Navajo and Ute whenever he was not
at war with them. Today, he is a
! familiar figure at many railroad
station in the Southwest, where he
sells fruit, pottery, and an manner of
ltrlnkets and ornaments.
! The Pueblos have an elaborate sys-
tenn Of folk songs and folk stories.
The latter contain q great deal OF
humor. and consist chiefly in tales Of
adventure in which animals talk and
plan. the coyote always triumphing
by his shrewdness. like HBre'r Rab-
bit" in the Uncle Remus stories.
The songs are chanted at work, and
In the evening by groups OF young
men that gather in the streets of the
village, and by the women at their
daily occupations. In fact, the Pueb-
10 seems to have song for every oc-
casion. Some of the songs are mere
lily rhythmical chants. but others are
4 poems Of genuine beauty.
The Pueblo religion calls for num-
erous ceremonial dances and foot
races. In these the Indian is deeply
in earnest. and yet he has a great
deal of fun. In the early part Of
August every year the Indians Of the
Santo Domingo pueblo hold harvest
dance that is usually witnessed by Q
large number Of Caucasian spectators
THE Indians treat the visitors with re-
spect, and allow their housetops to be
utilized for a grandstand, but they
seriously object to cameraa.
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