White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-05-20
plain against you for making a DIS
turbance, so off you will go.

Il thought once tnaL l Woiiu
thwart them by fastening my traps
TO drags and letting the coyotes drag
them off. following them myself with
my hound. There was Snow on the
ground at the time and II was the
winter of 1y1S-19, the n that was
so cold and the snow hung on so
long. The drag trails were so con-
~spicuous in the snow that the Nav
ajos got onto it instantly and tracked
them before l could ever get there,
1t being miles from my camp. |
never got one Of those coyotes or
traps. The coyotes were killed ard
left. being ruined by other coyotes
or birds, and the traps were stolen.
Every n of those drag trails that
followed through tho snow had pre-
viously been followed nv enc or
more Indians until the coyote was
caught up with and killed Az the
trap taken
s.one morning early a Moqui In
dian-sometimes called Hopis-
came 10 my door and said, Sail,
sail. gave him some sal. to cook
his breakfast and when he was gone
ii occurred to me that he might have
stolen some of my traps that were
in a heap outside the door. l re-
membered the peculiar position in
which one was lying, and sure
enough il was gone. | went to the
trading post man, n of the finest
fellows | ever knew and a true friend
of mine, telling him of the theft.
His counsel was eve to whip an
Indian or show fight. He went after
that Moqui and said something that
l did not sayvy, then followed II with
'Hideena, hideena,' The Moqui went
on n run to his pile of junk, heaped
up against old Pie Faces hogan-Pie
Face being another Indian who work
ed there-pulled out the trap and
rave IL to me. felt like taking the
trap in hand and Draining him with
Ii but restrained myself on account,
of my friendship fer Mr.. Bruehman,
the trader. What he had told the
Moqui was that | was about to jump
in my car. run to Winslow and have
him pulled. 'Hideena' can hurry
up This trading post was net ON
the reservation by a mile or so. 50 !
could have had the Moqui pinched
without referring ii TO any agent.
Besides the Moqui reservation was
miles away, being situated as d com
paratively small square area In the
center of and completely surrounded.
by the vast Navajo reservation.
1T is because Na9aios are Theoso-
phists that they fear 20 kill coyotes.
That is, they are retroactive Theoso-
phists. They believe that when they
die their spirits return in the form
of coyotes and that these sheep kill
ers are their fathers. grardfGtEcrs.
aunts and unoles. Ali Nayajos are
in the sheep and goat business, that
being practically their sole means of
susteIance. From the wool and mo-
hair they "a their famous blan-
kets. They are willing 20 have the
coyote killed by white mon but hate
to do it themselves. Yet they will
do it provided they do ret have tc
touch them. and especially II by do
ing so they ear detach and rteal p
trap. But when they do en- they in
was an Indian trader who was raised
on the Navajo reservation. He ran
a trading post for Richardson broth
ers OF Winslow. Four a ago
when furs were high he tried TO get
the Nayajos to trap and bring in
coyote skins for him. lie offered
them S. apiece and you cannot blame
him when he was getting ST.. lie
had several bottles of Chamberlain
cough remedy in the store ard trans
ferred 1t to uniabeled bottles. tell
ing the Nayaios that IL they would
drink that after %skinning q coy ote
they would not have bad dreams.
lie charged them 81 a bottle. There
after they brought hin many skins
and invariably insisted Oh him aell-
ing them a bottle of the %ansi-dr,hm
stuff for 81, so he did a rushing
business all around. I was told that
as soon as some slight accident hap
pened to one OF their number the
Navajos would get onto the fake and
Joe would have to move of, but I
have heard how II car1e -ut."
y. J.. Gallagher To Go To Hamilton
Z. ]. Gallagher, who has been
employed during the winter in the
big pit at Ruth, was here during the
week preparing to go to Hamilton,
where he has some fine MINING
claims upon which he has been Keep
ing up the annual work for several
years.
u
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