The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-08-31

TAOS. New Mexico. Aug. 31.-The
Indians of Taos Pueblo, about 600 in
number, form one American commun-
ity which has been relatively little
affected by fluctuations in the cost OF
living.
These Indians are the communal
owners of a rich tract of valley farm
ing land, upon which their pueblo
stands, and of many square miles OF
the mountains adjoining it. Their an
cestors were living here when the
Standards came The Spanish, Mex
lean and United States governments
have successfully confirmed them in
the title to these lands.
The Indians meet the cost-ot-nVlng
problem in a way which may be ADOPT
ed by other farmers in this country II
something is not done to make farm
ing more profitable as commercial
venture. While the cotton planter IN
Texas raises nothing but cotton, sells
it for less than it cost to produce, and
faces bankruptcy and want, the Pueblo
Indian raises almost everything ne
needs, sells little and buys little. HIS
lands produce wheat, corn, beans, pota-
toes all sorts of melons, and fresh
vegetables and a little fruit. On his
mountain range he raises cattle en-
ough to keep him in brief. In the hne
| trout stream that flows down the
Pueblo Canyon he can catch all the
fish he wants all summer. He grlnds
/ his own meal dries fruits and veget-
ables, and jerks meat for winter con.
sumption. If shoes are high he makes
his own mocasins, and the rest of his
clothing is not elaborate. He makes
his own pottery He tuilds his Own
house and keeps it in repair. There
is little he must buy except sugar, cot
fee, lard, and a few things in the way
of clothing and utensils.
Examinations of conscripts showed
that a large percentage of the Mexi
cans in New Mexico are undernourish
ed. 1t showed the same thing will
regard to poor people all over thu
United States. The Indian is general
lily a poor man, in that he has little
money and few possessions, but he il
almost never undernourished. H
looks well-fed, and he has the physica
stamina and prowess of which civiliza
: ton is robbing the rest of us. In tn
foot races which take place at hi
fiestas he shows great wind and speed
He can do as hard a days work a
any man on earth. The Indians hav
only a few acres of land per capita
! but they have enough sense TO max
J that land nourish them, instead o
trying to make money, and thereb
nourishing the jobbers, wholesalers, re
: tailers, and all the rest of the CONNER
cial army.
A Spartan Bather.
:. The Indian preserves another virtu
which civilized man often loses whe
: he is poor, and that is cleanliness!
: There is nothing sordid or dirty abou
]. the way the Indian lives Every morI
: ing, winter and summer, he battles i
: the clear stream which runs past hi
r door. He will not battle in war;
{ water, not even in a natural war;
! spring. But he will chop a hole in til
h ice in January and battle himself an
S his papoose in ice water
= The inside of his house, if he is
e poor Indian, is sparsely furnished. bl
: it is scrupulously clean. Walls an
Q ceiling are covered with a speci;
whitewash that the Indian himse
makes, and it gives the plastere
abode the appearance of polishe
ivory. In a corner is little fireplac
Along one side of the wall the beddir
:, is rolled up and covered with a brigl
= blanket to make sort of divan. tt
effect is one of cleanliness, simplicir
and pleasing harmony of color
Some of the Indians, who have mac
money by working for white men
by trading in cattle and horses. hav
furnished their houses with chairs ar
iron bedsteads and sewing machines.
young man from the East was i
troduced to an Indian of about his ov
g, $50 in attendance at the Cbrj.+i,