The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft Part 68

Aff. Rept._, 1871, p. 50.

[713] 'Their utensils for the purpose of grinding breadstuff, consist of two stones; one flat, with a concavity in the middle; the other round, fitting partly into the hollow of the flat stone.' _Henry_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. v., p. 209; _Smart_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1867, p. 418; _Velasco_, _Noticias de Sonora_, p. 282.

[714] 'The cradle of the Navajo Indians resembles the same article made by the Western Indians. It consists of a flat board, to support the vertebral column of the infant, with a layer of blankets and soft wadding, to give ease to the position, having the edges of the frame-work ornamented with leather fringe. Around and over the head of the child, who is strapped to this plane, is an ornamented hoop, to protect the face and cranium from accident. A leather strap is attached to the vertebral sh.e.l.l-work, to enable the mother to sling it on her back.' _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., pp. 435-6, and plate p. 74.

[715] 'The saddle is not peculiar but generally resembles that used by the Mexicans. They ride with a very short stirrup, which is placed further to the front than on a Mexican saddle. The bit of the bridle has a ring attached to it, through which the lower jaw is partly thrust, and a powerful pressure is exerted by this means when the reins are tightened.' _Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, p. 292. 'Sa selle est faite de deux rouleaux de paille relies par une courroie et maintenus par une sangle de cuir.' _Lachapelle_, _Raousset-Boulbon_, p.

82; _Tempsky's Mitla_, p. 80. The Navajos have 'aus zahem Eschenholz gefertigten Sattelbogen.' _Mollhausen_, _Fluchtling_, tom. iv., p. 39.

[716] 'Das Netz war weitmaschig, aus feinen, aber sehr starken Bastfaden geflochten, vier Fuss hoch, und ungefahr dreissig Fuss lang. Von vier zu vier Fuss befanden sich lange Stabe an demselben, mittelst welcher es im Wa.s.ser, zugleich aber auch auf dem Boden und aufrecht gehalten wurde.'

_Mollhausen_, _Reisen in die Felsengeb._, tom. i., p. 227; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., p. 220.

[717] 'El apache para sacar lumbre, usa ... un pedazo de sosole y otro de lechuguilla bien secos. Al primero le forman una punta, lo que frotan con la segunda con cuanta velocidad pueden a la manera del ejercicio de nuestros molinillos para hacer el chocolate: luego que ambos palos se calientan con la frotacion, se encienden y producen el fuego.'

_Velasco_, _Noticias de Sonora_, p. 282.

[718] The Navajos 'manufacture the celebrated, and, for warmth and durability, unequaled, Navajo blanket. The Navajo blankets are a wonder of patient workmans.h.i.+p, and often sell as high as eighty, a hundred, or a hundred and fifty dollars.' _Walker_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1872, p.

53. 'Navajo blankets have a wide and merited reputation for beauty and excellence.' _Cremony's Apaches_, p. 305; _Ind. Aff. Rept., Spec.

Com._, 1867, p. 341; _Turner_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1852, tom. cx.x.xv., p. 314; _Whipple, Ewbank, and Turner's Rept._, pp. 13, 32, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. iii.; _Davis' El Gringo_, p. 411; _Hughes'

Doniphan's Ex._, p. 203; _Scenes in the Rocky Mts._, p. 180; _Figuier's Hum. Race_, p. 481; _Peters' Life of Carson_, p. 125; _Prichard's Nat.

Hist. Man_, vol. ii., p. 567; _Farnham's Life in Cal._, pp. 373-4.

[719] 'This art may have been acquired from the New Mexicans, or the Pueblo Indians.' _Eaton_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 217.

'This manufacture of blankets ... was originally learned from the Mexicans when the two people lived on amicable terms.' _Cremony's Apaches_, p. 367.

[720] 'The blanket is woven by a tedious and rude process, after the manner of the Pueblo Indians.... The manner of weaving is peculiar, and is, no doubt, original with these people and the neighboring tribes.'

_Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, p. 291; _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 437.

[721] 'The spinning and weaving is done ... by hand. The thread is made entirely by hand, and is coa.r.s.e and uneven.' _Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, p. 291. 'The wool or cotton is first prepared by carding. It is then fastened to the spindle near its top, and is held in the left hand. The spindle is held between the thumb and the first finger of the right hand, and stands vertically in the earthen bowl. The operator now gives the spindle a twirl, as a boy turns his top, and while it is revolving, she proceeds to draw out her thread, precisely as is done by our own operatives, in using the common spinning-wheel. As soon as the thread is spun, the spindle is turned in an opposite direction, for the purpose of winding up the thread on the portion of it next to the wooden block.' _Backus_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 436.

[722] _Backus_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 436. 'The colors are woven in bands and diamonds. We have never observed blankets with figures of a complicated pattern.' _Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, p. 291.

[723] 'The colors, which are given in the yarn, are red, black, and blue. The juice of certain plants is employed in dyeing, but it is a.s.serted by recent authorities that the brightest red and blue are obtained by macerating strips of Spanish cochineal, and altamine dyed goods, which have been purchased at the towns.' _Backus_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 436. 'The colors are red, blue, black, and yellow; black and red being the most common. The red strands are obtained by unravelling red cloth, black by using the wool of black sheep, blue by dissolving indigo in fermented urine, and yellow is said to be by coloring with a particular flower.' _Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, p. 291. The women 'welche sich in der Wahl der Farben und der Zusammenstellung von bunten Streifen und phantastischen Figuren in dem Gewebe gegenseitig zu ubertreffen suchen.

Ursprunglich trugen die Decken nur die verschiedenen Farben der Schafe in breiten Streifen, doch seit die Navahoes farbige, wollene Stoffe von Neu-Mexiko beziehen konnen, verschaffen sie sich solche, um sie in Faden aufzulosen, und diese dann zu ihrer eigenen Weberei zu verwenden.'

_Mollhausen_, _Reisen in die Felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. 235; _Ruxton's Adven. Mex._, p. 195.

[724] 'Ils (the Apaches) travaillent bien les cuirs, font de belles brides.' _Lachapelle_, _Raousset-Boulbon_, p. 82. 'They manufacture rough leather.' _Pike's Explor. Trav._, p. 335. 'Man macht Leder.'

_Ha.s.sel_, _Mex. Guat._, p. 195. 'It has been represented that these tribes (the Navajos) wear leather shoes.... Inquiry from persons who have visited or been stationed in New Mexico, disaffirms this observation, showing that in all cases the Navajo shoes are skins, dressed and smoked after the Indian method.' _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol.

v., p. 204; _Cremony's Apaches_, p. 305; _Gregg's Com. Prairies_, vol.

i., p. 286. They 'knit woolen stockings.' _Davis' El Gringo_, p. 411.

'They also manufacture ... a coa.r.s.e woolen cloth with which they clothe themselves.' _Clark_, in _Hist. Mag._, vol. viii., p. 280; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., p. 403, vol. ii., pp. 244-5. 'The Navajoes raise no cotton.' _Backus_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 212. 'Sie sind noch immer in einigen Baumwollengeweben ausgezeichnet.' _Thummel_, _Mexiko_, p. 349. 'These people (the inhabitants of Arizona in 1540) had cotton, but they were not very carefull to vse the same: because there was none among them that knew the arte of weauing, and to make apparel thereof.' _Alarchon_, in _Hakluyt's Voy._, vol. iii., p. 433; _Bent_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. i., p. 243; _Ten Broeck_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 89; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 680; _Alcedo_, _Diccionario_, tom. iii., p. 184.

[725] The Xicarillas, 'manufacture a sort of pottery which resists the action of fire.' _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., p. 8; _Graves_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 177. The Yuma 'women make baskets of willow, and also of tule, which are impervious to water; also earthen ollas or pots, which are used for cooking and for cooling water.' _Emory's Rept.

U. S. and Mex. Boundary Survey_, vol. i., p. 111; _Revillagigedo_, _Carta, MS._, p. 21. 'Figure 4. A scoop or dipper, from the Mohave tribe, and as neat and original an article in earthenware as could well be designed by a civilized potter.' _Whipple, Ewbank, and Turner's Rept._, p. 46, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. iii. 'Professor c.o.x was informed that the New Mexican Indians colored their pottery black by using the gum of the mezquite, which has much the appearance and properties of gum arabic, and then baking it. Much of the ancient pottery from the Colorado Chiquito is colored, the prevailing tints being white, black, and red.' _Foster's Pre-Hist. Races_, p. 250; _Ruxton's Adven. Mex._, p. 195. The Yampais had 'some admirably made baskets of so close a texture as to hold water; a wicker jar coated with pine tree gum.' _Sitgreaves' Zuni. Ex._, p. 10; _Bent_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. i., p. 243.

[726] _Gregg's Com. Prairies_, p. 286. 'In regard to the manufacture of plumage, or feather-work, they certainly display a greater fondness for decorations of this sort than any Indians we have seen.... I saw no exhibition of it in the way of embroidery.' _Simpson's Jour. Mil.

Recon._, p. 79; _Thummel_, _Mexiko_, p. 349.

[727] 'Mines d'argent exploitees par les Comanches, qui en tirent des ornements pour eux et pour leurs chevaux, ainsi que des balles pour leurs fusils.' _Domenech_, _Jour._, p. 132.

[728] The Mescaleros had 'a raft of bulrush or cane, floated and supported by some twenty or thirty hollow pumpkins fastened together.'

_Hutchings' Cal. Mag._, vol. iii., p. 56. The Yumas had 'batteaus which could hold 200 or 300 pounds weight.' _Id._, vol. iv., p. 546. The Mojaves had 'Flossen, die von Binsen-Bundeln zusammengefugt waren (die einzige Art von Fahrzeug, welche ich bei den Bewohnern des Colorado-Thales bemerkte).' _Mollhausen_, _Tagebuch_, p. 401. 'Merely bundles of rushes placed side by side, and securely bound together with willow twigs ... their owners paddled them about with considerable dexterity.' _Whipple_, in _Pac. R. R. Rept._, vol. iii., p. 117, and plate. _Mollhausen_, _Reisen in die Felsengeb._, tom. i., pp. 238, 254; _Ives' Colorado Riv._, p. 69.

[729] 'Immense numbers of horses and sheep, attesting the wealth of the tribe.' _Ives' Colorado Riv._, pp. 128, 130. 'They possess more wealth than all the other wild tribes in New Mexico combined.' _Graves_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1854, p. 179. 'They are owners of large flocks and herds.' _Bent_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. i., p. 243; _Eaton_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 217; _Backus_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., pp. 211, 212; _Scenes in the Rocky Mts._, p. 180; _Davis' El Gringo_, p. 411; _Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, pp. 291-2; _Gallatin_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1851, tom.

cx.x.xi., p. 289; _Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man_, vol. ii., p. 567; _Hughes'

Doniphan's Ex._, p. 173; _Peters' Life of Carson_, p. 124; _Thummel_, _Mexiko_, p. 349; _Simpson's Jour. Mil. Recon._, p. 79; _Palmer_, in _Harper's Mag._, vol. xvii., p. 460; _Cremony's Apaches_, p. 254; _Emory's Reconnoissance_, p. 60.

[730] The Jicarilla Apaches 'manufacture a species of coa.r.s.e earthenware, which they exchange for corn and wheat.' _Keithly_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1863, p. 115. _Stratton's Capt. Oatman Girls_, p.

123.

[731] 'Das Eigenthum des Vaters nicht auf den Sohn ubergeht, sondern da.s.s Neffen und Nichten als die rechtma.s.sigen Erben anerkannt werden wenn nicht der Vater bei Lebzeiten schon seine Habe an die eigenen Kinder geschenkt hat.' _Mollhausen_, _Reisen in die Felsengeb._, tom.

ii., p. 234. 'The husband has no control over the property of his wife.... Property does not descend from father to son, but goes to the nephew of the decedent, or, in default of a nephew, to the niece ... but if, while living, he distributes his property to his children, that disposition is recognised.' _Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, pp. 294-5. 'When the father dies ... a fair division is not made; the strongest usually get the bulk of the effects.' _Bristol_, in _Ind. Aff.

Rept. Spec. Com._, 1867, p. 357.

[732] 'The blankets, though not purchasable with money ... were sold, in some instances, for the most trifling article of ornament or clothing.'

_Simpson's Jour. Mil. Recon._, p. 81. Sh.e.l.l beads, which they call 'pook,' are their subst.i.tute for money.' _Whipple_, in _Pac. R. R.

Rept._, vol. iii., p. 115.

[733] The Querechos encountered by Coronado had with them 'un grand troupeau de chiens qui portaient tout ce qu'ils possedaient.'

_Castaneda_, in _Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, serie i., tom. ix., p. 117.

'The only property of these people, with the exception of a few articles belonging to their domestic economy, consists entirely in horses and mules.' _Marcy's Army Life_, p. 22; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., p.

23; _Kennedy's Texas_, vol. i., p. 347; _Marcy's Rept._, p. 188; _Mollhausen_, _Tagebuch_, pp. 116-17.

[734] 'There are no subdivisions of land acknowledged in their territory, and no exclusive right of game.' _Neighbors_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. ii., p. 131. 'Their code is strictly Spartan.' _Marcy's Army Life_, p. 23.

[735] 'They are sufficiently astute in dealing.' _Burnet_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. i., p. 232. 'Le chef des Indiens choisit, parmi ces objets, ceux qui sont necessaires a sa tribu.' _Soc. Geog._, _Bulletin_, serie v., No. 96, p. 193. 'In Comanche trade the main trouble consists in fixing the price of the first animal. This being settled by the chiefs.' _Gregg's Com. Prairies_, vol. ii., p. 45; _Parker's Notes on Tex._, pp. 190, 234; _Burnet_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. i., p. 232; _Domenech_, _Jour._, p. 130; _Dewees' Texas_, p. 36.

[736] Mr Bartlett, describing an excursion he made to the Sierra Waco near the Copper Mines in New Mexico, says, he saw 'an overhanging rock extending for some distance, the whole surface of which is covered with rude paintings and sculptures, representing men, animals, birds, snakes, and fantastic figures ... some of them, evidently of great age, had been partly defaced to make room for more recent devices.' _Bartlett's Pers.

Nar._, vol. i., pp. 170-4, with cuts. In Arizona, Emory found 'a mound of granite boulders ... covered with unknown characters.... On the ground nearby were also traces of some of the figures, showing some of the hieroglyphics, at least, to have been the work of modern Indians.'

_Emory's Reconnoissance_, pp. 89, 90, with cut. The Comanches 'aimaient beaucoup les images, qu'ils ne se la.s.saient pas d'admirer.' _Domenech_, _Jour._, p. 136.

[737] 'The Apaches count ten thousand with as much regularity as we do.

They even make use of the decimal sequences.' _Cremony's Apaches_, p.

237.

[738] 'They have no computation of time beyond the seasons ... the cold and hot season ... frequently count by the Caddo mode--from one to ten, and by tens to one hundred, &c.... They are ignorant of the elements of figures.' _Neighbors_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. ii., pp. 129-30.

'Ce qu'ils savent d'astronomie se borne a la connaissance de l'etoile polaire.... L'arithmetique des sauvages est sur leurs doigts; ... Il leur faut absolument un objet pour nombrer.' _Hartmann and Millard_, _Tex._, pp. 112-13.

[739] The Navajos have no tribal government, and in reality no chiefs.

_Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, p. 288. 'Their form of government is so exceedingly primitive as to be hardly worthy the name of a political organization.' _Davis' El Gringo_, pp. 412, 413; _Ives'

Colorado Riv._, p. 71. 'Ils n'ont jamais connu de domination.' _Soc.

Geog._, _Bulletin_, serie. v., No. 96, p. 187. 'Each is sovereign in his own right as a warrior.' _Cremony's Apaches_, p. 177.

[740] 'It is my opinion that the Navajo chiefs have but very little influence with their people.' _Bennett_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1869, p.

238, and 1870, p. 152; _Bristol_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept. Spec. Com._, 1867, p. 357.

[741] 'Los padres de familia ejercen esta autoridad en tanto que los hijos no salen de la infancia, porque poco antes de salir de la p.u.b.ertad son como libres y no reconocen mas superioridad que sus propias fuerzas, o la del indio que los manda en la campana.' _Velasco_, _Noticias de Sonora_, pp. 282-3. 'Every rich man has many dependants, and these dependants are obedient to his will, in peace and in war.' _Backus_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 211; _Ten Broeck_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv., p. 89. 'Every one who has a few horses and sheep is a "head man."' _Letherman_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1855, p. 288; _Mollhausen_, _Reisen in die Felsengeb._, tom. ii., p. 233. The rule of the Querechos is 'essentially patriarchal.' _Marcy's Army Life_, p. 20.

[742] 'When one or more (of the Navajos) are successful in battle or fortunate in their raids to the settlements on the Rio Grande, he is endowed with the t.i.tle of captain or chief.' _Bristol_, in _Ind. Aff.

Rept._, 1867, p. 357. 'En cualquiera de estas incorporaciones toma el mando del todo por comun consentimiento el mas acreditado de valiente.'

_Cordero_, in _Orozco y Berra_, _Geografia_, p. 373. The Comanches have 'a right to displace a chief, and elect his successor, at pleasure.'