The Raymer enterprise., 1920-10-28
\ HE recent discovery BY scien.
lists Of a lost tribe Of Ameri.
can Tndians-the Havnsunni-

veais n situation so astonishing that
II would seem Incredible II the story
'ame from source less reliable than
the American Museum Of Natural His.
tory. writes J. A. Brashears In the
New York Sun.
/ clOistered In a fertile valley. where
sheer walls cut the great plateau to
depth VI 5000 feet, Leslie Spier. a
member Of the museums staff. hi.
found a tribe Of wild primitive In.
'iians stlll living the lives Of their an.
,restors and in almost total ignorance
nj the forward march Of civilization
/ Here on the banks Of Cataract creek
which flows northward to Cascade In
| 20 the torrents Of the Grand Canyon
hrse aborigines and their forebenr,
have lived for ten centuries with sci
'l'm y glimpse OF the territory lying
beyond the canyon top, The chef OF
The tribe counts the visits of the white
man On the fingers Of one hand
Anthropologlsts have poked into the
utmost corners of the earth. from pole
to pole: have studied and classified the
various tribes Of Indians for years.
while In some remarkable manner the
iavasupai, living within our very bor.
lers. have escaped notice.
| These lndians--there now are only
| 10 In the tribe-eOnstitute the only
purely aboriginal and primitive com.
munity In the United States today
They have lived like hermIts. The
nstouIs and machines. the social nd.
| vanceS Of the outside world have fail.
ID to penetrate the fastness OF thei
-enlm
Not Easy to Visit Them.
To reach their home. 50-mie ride
wcr n waterless tract is necessary
| When the brink Of the chasm IL
coached the drop of 5000 feet has to
70 made mostly on foot along hardly
perccptible trail. Only small part
II the hazardous twelve-mile descent
| m be made mounted. One mtIsi lit.
rally cling to the walls Of the canyon
IN no place Is the trail wider than
three feet and the animals rub their
sides raw through scraping along the
side of the canyon.
In one place the two walls come
together and form corner. Here II
: necessary to make 5OO-foot drop
by zigzuggng from wall to wall. Thi.
s the most perious section of the
journey for the trail Is nothing more
"hHG n series of steps. The animals
must jump from one to the other. As
The men on foot must walk in front
heir lives are constantly endangered
Should pack animal miss its footing
The man In front would be knocked to
oblivion.
Today the Havasupai subsist on a
marvelOusly cultivated tract two and
one-quarter miles long and about one.
| quarter of a mile wide. They depend
chiefly on agriculture for their sup
port, but iE former days they descend
I'd far south down their valley In quest
NJ deer. antelope and bear, The camps
are situated along the east side Of the
creek, which irrigates the land 50 well
| hat enough food Is harvested of this
small section Of one md onc-hulf
SQUIRE miles to supply them from sen.
| son 10 season.
Some OF Their Customs
Mr. Spier classlfics the tribe aS ''in
| tcrin"diary," since their rtiltur" EN-
braces traits peculiar to the fnur ad
! iacGni tribes Of the southwest area
IN general characteristics" he said
| they lean more toward the Purblws nt
northern Mexico. The custom thai pre-.
wallis among the Pueblos-that Of III"
men and women working together IN
the tcld-alsO exists among the Supnl
THE men also make clothing ont of
buckskin. u domestic trait character.
lstic Of the Puebos The influence of
The other adjacent tribes, while slight
may he seen In the construction Of
various types Of huts and tepeeS. The
Hayasupai build four different types
Thee. iSsa log and mud hut common
unuug the Nuvhjos; the coiical
| that, he'd iepee built to great extent
among the Mohayes and the square
matched hut Of the Plateau Indians
"Among the American Indians he
| continued. 1.-The nomadi' md wnrliks
trnits predominant. but the Havasupni
are unique in this respect. They are
peaccably inclined and happy in The
contemplation Of their own works
Expert Corn Growers.
The Havasupai live In camps during
the summer months along the creek in
the midst Of their farms. They ure
expert In raising corn crops.
The deep canyon bed, irrigated by
the cataract, il an oasis In the arid
desert which surrounds the canyon.
Corn, beans. squash and fruit are
raised In abupdance and the peaches
are especially delicious. according to
Mr.. Spier. The nearby mountains
abound In sheep. deer. antelope and
wild turkeys. so there is no lack of
fresh meat.
In winter the tribe takes to the
Lodges and caves on the mountain side
high above the danger levels Cataract
creek always overfows during the
rainy season and mandates the land.
"IIere." said Mr.. Spier, II found some