The St. Mary banner., 1916-07-01

| AA SOAohouO u1Ol SACu q AAtSAS
army northward from Mexico
across the deserts of Sonora and Ari
zona until in what is now the western
part of the state OF New Mexico. he
found and conquered and occupied q
group of Pueblo Indian towns whose
fame had reached him under the
designation of the Seven Cities OF
Cibola," or Zuni. AS the years went
on one or another of the seven allied
towns was abandoned and its inhabit-
ants moved to the central one OF the
group, Halona. place of the Ants.
For over two hundred years now, the
wfole Zuni tribe has concentrated it.
self in this settlement which is known
to Americans as the Pueblo Zuni, and
to It's inhabitants as Ittiwawa, The
Middle Place." for in native belief its
site marks the exact center of the
earth. writes A. L. Kroeber, professor
OF anthropology in the University of
California, in the American Museum
Journal.
With the possible exception OF two
or three other Pueblo settlements.
Zuni is thus the Oldest inhabited town
In tie United States, far surprising
in antiquity jamestown, Plymouth and
other early English settlements. as
well as Sante Fe and St. Augustine of
Spanish foundation. The tribe num-
bers 1000 souls or as many as it could
muster after 1t had gathered itself to-
gether after the first disastrous shock
Of Spanish contact The houses are
still built in the prehistoric way of
stone masonry. mortared and plas-
tered with clay, and rise densely clus-
tered. terraced one above the other to
height Of four or five stories.
Live Life Of Long Ago.
The life too of the Zuni, runs In the
current Of long ago. They have bor-
rowed from the American his shirt
and his overalls. and have learned to
like his coffee and sugar. his bacon
and wheat flour. Sheep and donkeys
they obtained long since from the
Spaniards. and many today can boast
Of owning horses and wagons. But
inwardly and in all his relations with
other Indians. the Zuni is still purely
aboriginal. He does not know wheth-
er today is Sunday or Wednesday.
whether it is January or July; or what
the American names of the store keep
per. missionary and government agent
are. He knows these people by nick
names which he or some friend has
given them, and he reckons time by
the number OF days to the next cere-
monial dance ordained by his priests.
He supports himself as his forefathers
Of the immemorial long ago did. |
through raising corn by hand culture
in sandy patches where it would seem
that the grain would not even sprout |
in the middle of the plaza around |
which his town is built stands de- |
caying. roofless and gutted Catholic |
church, which his fOrefathers built of |
adobe under the direction of Spanish |
but two centuries of |
Christian regime have not Influenced |
the inward spirit of the Zuni He |
knew that soldiers stood back OF the |
priest and therefore he obeyed him.
yet he hardened his heart against |
him. and no sooner did Spanish and |
Mexican authority relax than the In
dian quietly shook of the hateful yoke |
Of imposed religion, and reverted open
ly to tte ancient native ceremonials
which he and his fathers had kept !
alive by secret practices in hidden un-
foreground rooms within fifty yards of
the walls of the mission.
Such tremendously tenacious con-
servatism has kept the Zuni substan-
tally where they we're before Colum-
BUS discovered America. They are not
hostile to Americans. in fact their ma
i've code OF politeness requires that
every one should be treated with
They are merely indiffer-
ent to ourselves. All that every Zuni
asks Is that he should be left alone
o support himself. to practice his re-
igion, and to live his life as his IA
hers did. without interfering with
anyone and without being interfered
With
1t is no wonder then that these re-
narkable people have long attracted
attention from anthro-
biologists and students Of the aborig-
nal. Frank Hamilton Gushing. whose
,enius in certain directions has never
,een equaled among any Of his col
eagu.s 9. took up his residence at Zuni
'As,1v forty vaays aeo and became IN