Evening star., 1926-11-07

with it's trading Indians inside and its
lounging ones outside, was besieged
with thirsty crowd demanding pop,
sarsa parilla. anything wet.
Hopi Indians surrounded us, hung
with old turquoise jewelry, and fear
less poultry strutted about our feet.
Tame hawks were chained on the fiat
tops of the Indian houses, for we had
reached at last the house-dwelling
The Hopi lives in a house built Of
adobe and timber. Direct descendant
OF the cliff dwellers, even in those pre-
historic days they were house build
ers. The great caves we had come to
see, followed by nature in high cliff
faces. were only the sites in which
they built their dwellings of masonry,
earth and wood.
Each village is built on the top Of a
steep and almost inaccessible cliff To
reach their tiny desert fields, even
to get to their water-springs. they
must descend a thousand feet along
a steep trail. where the rocks are
followed by the passage Of their bare
feet. To go home at night the weary
shepherd or worker in the fields must
again make that long and torturing
climb.
And they cannot be lured away
Like eagles, they build their nests
high. so that they can search the
horizon for enemies They trust no
one. not even the Government.
I sat on wool-scale and ate my
luncheon, and drank Of the best water
we were to find on the desert. while
chickens waited at my feet for falling
crumbs. and an ancient Indian gentle
man planted himself before me and
roi tod
same time pointing to himself.
Mary" / finally replied. indicating
my chest. Mary"
MARY" he said with broad smile.
This filtration might have gone on
indefinitely. but the time had come to
go on. Life is like that. No sooner
does a new interest come than it Is
time to go on.
Bill, our driver. approached me as
l sat on the scale. slightly smeared
with peach butter, and ended the
George and Mary business abruptly.
"All ready?" he inquired.
For What?"
ITO go up on the mesa"
You don't mean" / protested, ito
climb that cliff in the car, do you?"
There's wagon-road. It's all
right for cars
1 looked at Bill and I looked at
the cliff. Both were tall. stern and
extremely determined as to face l
rose.
We're the lead car, you know,
Bill" / said. "If there's any trouble,
We'll get into it. But If you say
WE climbed. At 900 feet above the
w plain we hung on the edge Of
the cliff. and the others said the
view was wonderful. l had by eyes
shut.
But the truth about that road Is
that 1t Is safe, sufficiently wide; and
with a rough coping at its worst
places. Those Years when the dance
Is at Ora.;i or Hotevila. dozens Of
cars negotiate it, and there Is no rec
ord OF tragedy.
On top Of the cliff was Oraibi. I'm
agine, then. collection Of adobe
houses. sometimes superimposed, one
on another. The color OF houses and
mesa blends. so that there is a curious
lack Of definition about the outlines
Of the buildings. The roofs are fiat
and access to them is gained by lad
ders.
No leaf Of vegetation grows Even
the Indian children, running nude, or
largely so, give 70 touch Of color, for
their bodies are the color Of the red
brown earth. But there Is color in
the blankets and jewelry Of the men,
In the shawls Of the women-color
which is vivid and roma ntic..
The more curious Of the party
watched the Indian women cutting