Evening star., 1936-08-19
This is the fourth OF series OF
stories on the N1Uajo Indians.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
STAFF Correspondent of The Star.

BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Staff Correspondent of The Star.
M EXICAN SPRINGS, N Mex,
M August l9-Mexican Springs
isn't a town-it's Depart
L ment of Agriculture expert
ment station isolated in the $4,000
square-mile reservation of the Navajo
Indians.
Three years ago it was set up by
the Office of Indian Affairs primarily
to provide work relief for INDECENT
Navajos. Today men are coming
around the world-from Europe, Au-
stralia, India, South Africa-to visit
it. In its huddle of one-story wooden
laboratories and stone Indian hoguns
a group of enthusiastic young scien-
fists is solving some of the worlds
most pressing problems.
Mexican Springs is different kind
Of experiment station. 1t is the State
in a test tube Its experiment Is the
welding of the resources. human and
material. of a vast area into CO.
ordinated whole-from the invisible
bacteria at the roots of wild,
purple blooming legume to the shy
Indian woman hand-weaving rugs
and blankets from native wool under
the shade of a yellow pine in the
mountains. Its material is $1,000
thinly populated, rapidly deteriorat-
ing, storm -lacerated acres Of lowland
and mountain in one Of the dryest
regions in the United States.
Land Of Shepherds.
It is functioning as Department
Of Agriculture of the Navajo nation.
But 1t also Is working out ways OF
preserving the agricultural integrity
of the whole Southwest and of other
vast areas of the world which are
beset with the same problems. Three
years ago the Navajo country was
undergoing the disintegration typical
of the entire area. 1t is land. pri-
marily of shepherds-or rather shep-
herdesses. for the flocks are owned
and cared for by the women Of the
tribe. The race had been increasing
rapidly in numbers, from 5000 to
about $4,000 in little more than half
a century of peace. The size Of the
flocks had kept pace with the popu-
lation, and the quality of the sheep
had deteriorated so that more an
imals were required to produce the
same amount of wool and mutton.
The growing herds had grazed the
rich valleys so close that there were
no grass roots left to hold the light
soil. As a result the torrential show
ers, the lands only source Of moisture,
had torn great gullies, 20 to 40 feet
deep, in the soil. These instantly gath
cred all the moisture which fell. For a
few hours after a storm they would be
raging rivers. The moisture didn't
have a chance to sink into the earth
where it could stimulate the grass
roots. So the grass died. It was
succeeded by ANIMALS like the Russian
thistle or tumbleweed, and other
weeds which afforded even less nutri-
ment. These, in turn, couldn't stand
the pressure of increasing drought
and were, succeeded by thin patches
of toxic growths like poison milk
weeds, which killed stock forced by
hunger to feed upon them.
Reach Barren Cliffs.
The Navajo women moved their
flocks farther up the mountain sides.
There the same process was repeated.
They moved again, and once again
suffered from the vicious circle OF
soil destruction. They finally could
90 on farther. Their backs were
against the barren cliffs. Their an
cient gods and medicine men couldn't
help them, and neither could their
white neighbors who were in even
worse difficulties from the same
causes. In fact, say soil conserva-
ton experts now at work in the area,
If the Indians had been left alone to
their ancient ways without the bene-
fit of lot of pseudo-scientific advice
from extension agents and others,
their own crisis might have been long
delayed. 1t is notable that the meth
ods now being used to repair the
damage are copies of farming prac-
tices followed by these Indians from
time immemorial. They were pre-
venting erosion long before white men
had dreamed Of it and were the pre-
historic pioneers of food control.
Next to sheep the Navajos depend
chiefly on corn and beans. But with
the increasing destruction Of the land
these crops became scantier and
scantier. The net result Of all this,
three years ago, was q waste land
upon which q growing population
lived miserably upon diminishing
food supply. The consequences OF
the destruction were far wider in their
effects. Enormous quantities of top
soil were washed down the gaping
arroyos as silt into the San Juan and
Little Colorado Rivers. These, In
turn, deposited it into the Colorado.
There it piled up behind Boulder
Dam and was threatening to ruin the
Nations great investment In few
years.
The land was so desolate that per-
sons unfamiliar with the history Of the
country threw up their hands and pro-
posed that It be abandoned and the
stricken population moved out. But
tbs ancient Indian agriculture 1tsel1
furnishsd . hint for Q different solu-