Nice-looking Natives--Albinos--Ancient Remains in Ohuivo--Local
Traditions, the Cocoyomes, etc.--Guachochic--Don Miguel and
"The Postmaster"--A Variety of Curious Cures--Gauchochic
Becomes My Head-quarters--The Difficulty of Getting an Honest
Interpreter--False Truffles--The Country Suffering from a Prolonged
Drought--A Start in a Northwesterly Direction--Arrival at the
Pueblo of Norogachic.
Followed the river a day's journey up and noticed some small tobacco
plantations on the banks. I met some good-looking people, who had come
from Tierras Verdes, the locality adjoining on, the south. Their
movements were full of action and energy. Their skins showed a
tinge of delicate yellow, and as the men wore their hair in a braid,
they had a curious, oriental appearance. The women looked well in
black woollen skirts and white tunics. The people from that part of
the country are known for their pretty, white, home-made blankets,
and it was evident that in those inaccessible parts the Indians had
still something for the white man to take away.
The natives of this valley had a curious habit, when they were made
to dive for fish, of afterward throwing themselves in a row on the
sun-heated sand to warm their stomachs for a minute or two.
Near Ohuivo, in the mountains toward Morelos, there used to live a
family of ten albinos. When I was there only two survived, smallpox
having made havoc among them. Their skin was so delicate that even the
contact with their clothing irritated it. Mr. Hartman visited one of
them, an old woman who lived in a cave with her husband, a small,
dark-skinned fellow, and the two certainly were "mated, but not
matched." Her features were entirely Indian, but her complexion was
unique in Mexico, even among the white population. She reminded one
of a very blond type of Scandinavian or Irish peasantry. Her hair was
yellowish-white, but her eye-brows and -lashes were snow-white. The
face and body were white, but disfigured with large red spots and
small freckles. She kept her eyes more than half shut, and as she
was very shy it was not possible to ascertain the color of the iris;
but Mr. Hartman was assured by the husband that it was bluish.
Most of the Indians in Ohuivo live in houses. The few caves that are
occupied are not improved in any way. One cave contained ancient
habitations, and tradition says that there the Tubares had once
established themselves. The cave is nothing but a nearly horizontal
crack in the rock, situated on the southern side of the river, some
300 feet above the bottom of the valley. It runs from south-east to
north-west to a length of about 200 feet, interrupted perpendicularly
by a crevice. Entering the cave at the southernmost end I found twelve
low-walled rooms, standing singly, but closely side by side. They were
square with rounded corners. The walls were built of stone and mud and
one foot thick, and the floors were hard and smooth. A store-room, in a
good state of preservation, resembled in every detail the store-houses
used by the Tarahumares of the present day, being square and built of
stone and mud. In none of these rooms was it possible for me to stand
upright. Apart from this group, a few yards higher up in the cave,
were two small houses. The floor of the cave was getting higher and
higher. I had to crawl on my stomach for about ten yards and came
suddenly to the edge of a precipice; but a track led around it to the
other side, where I found the main portion of the houses, eighteen
in all, the largest having a side thirteen feet long, though the
others were considerably smaller. They were arranged just like those
of the first section, in one row, and were made of the same material,
except a few, which were built of adobe. In these the walls were only
eight inches thick. One of the rooms was still complete, had square
openings, and may have been a store-room. The others seem to have had
the conventional Indian apertures. In two chambers I noticed circular
spaces sunk into the floor six inches deep and about fourteen inches
in diameter. What I took to be an estufa, nineteen feet in diameter,
was found in the lowest section. Behind it was only a small cluster
of five houses higher up in the cave.
Though this is the only ancient cave-dwelling I visited in Ohuivo,
I was assured that there were several others in the neighbourhood. The
broken country around Zapuri is interesting on account of the various
traditions which, still living on the lips of the natives, refer to a
mysterious people called the Cocoyomes, regarded by some Tarahumares
as their ancient enemies, by others as their ancestors. They were
the first people in the world, were short of stature and did not
eat corn. They subsisted mainly on herbs, especially a small agave
called tshawi. They were also cannibals, devouring each other as
well as the Tarahumares. The Cocoyomes lived in caves on the high
cliffs of the sierra, and in the afternoon came down, like deer, to
drink in the rivers. As they had no axes of iron they could not cut
any large trees, and were unable to clear much land for the planting
of corn. They could only burn the grass in the arroyos in order to
get the fields ready. Long ago, when the Cocoyomes were very bad,
the sun came down to the earth and burned nearly all of them; only
a few escaped into the big caves.
Here in Zapuri the Cocoyomes had four large caves inside of which
they had built square houses of very hard adobe; in one of the caves
they had a spring. The Tarahumares often fought with them, and once,
when the Cocoyomes were together in the largest cave, which had no
spring, the Tarahumares besieged them for eight days, until all of
the Cocoyomes had perished from hunger. From such an event the name of
Zapuri may have been derived. Intelligent Mexicans, whom I consulted,
agree that it means "fight" or "contest" (Spanish, _desafio_).
From a place called Tuaripa, some thirty miles farther south, near the
border of the Tepehuane country, and in the same mountainous region,
I have the following legend, about the Cocoyomes and the serpents:
Two large serpents used to ascend from the river and go up on
the highlands to a little plain between Huerachic and Tuaripa,
and they killed and ate the Cocoyomes, returning each time to the
river. Whenever they were hungry they used to come up again. At last
an old man brought together all the people at the place where the
serpents used to ascend. Here they dug a big hole and filled it with
wood and with large stones, and made a fire and heated the stones until
they became red hot. When the serpents were seen to make their ascent
on the mountain-side, the men took hold of the stones with sticks,
and threw them into the big, wide-open mouths of the serpents, until
the monsters were so full with stones that they burst and fell dead
into the river. Even to this day may be seen the marks on the rocks
where the serpents used to ascend the mountain-side.
Once having again ascended to the highlands, I found rather level
country as far as Guachochic, some forty-five miles off by the track
I followed. The name of the place signifies "blue herons," and the
fine water-course, which originates in the many springs here, was
formerly the abode of many water-birds. The locality thus designated
is to-day a cluster of Mexican ranches, most of them belonging to one
family. There is an old church, but at present no independent Indians
live in Guachochic; the aborigines found about the place are servants
of the Mexicans.
Guachochic lies at an elevation of 7,775 feet and at the southern
end of a mesa, the largest one in the Sierra Madre del Norte, being
twelve miles long and three miles wide. Except on the southern end
this plateau is bordered with stately pine forests. Many Indians live
on the mesa and in the numerous valleys adjoining it, but they are all
"civilised"; that is, contaminated with many Mexico-Christian notions,
and have lost their pristine simplicity.
I had a letter of introduction to the principal personage in
Guachochic, Don Miguel, who enjoys the rare reputation of being just
and helpful toward the Indians; and, being a large land-owner, he is
a man of considerable influence also with his fellow-countrymen. To
those in need he lends money on liberal terms out of the pile of
silver dollars buried under the floor of his house. Robbers know
from sad experience that he is not to be trifled with. Once, when a
band of marauders had taken possession of the old adobe church and
were helping themselves to the buried cash of the inhabitants of the
ranches, he rallied the terrorised people, gave the robbers battle and
routed them effectually. He upholds authority against lawlessness,
and wants justice to have its course, except when one of his own
relatives has done the shooting--I was sorry to learn that in this
regard he was probably not beyond rebuke; but his many good deeds to
the needy and oppressed, whether Mexican or Indian, should make us
lenient toward this failing. The Indians appeal to him of their own
accord. Three ruffians once went to the house of a well-to-do Indian,
recently deceased, and told his mourning relatives that they had come
to see to the division of the property among the heirs, and that they
must have good things to eat and plenty to drink while thus occupied;
calling upon the relatives to brew plenty of beer and kill an ox. Their
orders were promptly obeyed; but in addition they charged the heirs
a fee of three oxen, one fanega of corn, and some silver money. This
struck the simple and patient Indians as rather excessive, for what
would then be left to divide between themselves? So they took their
grievance to Don Miguel to be settled. I do not know of any white
man in those parts who would have taken the trouble, as he did,
to protect the poor Indians' rights against the wily schemers.
The old gentleman was not at home when I arrived at his ranch, but
I met one of his sons, who lives at Guachochic.
"I am the postmaster," he said proudly, stepping forward and showing
me, at the same time, his credentials, which he evidently always
carried in his pocket. The mail from the lowlands to the mining
towns passes over this place, and the mail-carrier sleeps in this
house. In the course of the year he may also bring a few letters to
the inhabitants of this part of the country. We soon entered into
a conversation about postal matters, which naturally interested me
greatly, as I was anxious to communicate as often as possible with the
outside world. In spite of the great pride this man took in his office,
his notions regarding his duties were rather vague. Being desirous of
knowing what was going on among his neighbours, he had no compunction
about opening the few letters they got; not that he destroyed them
after reading them--he very coolly handed them over opened. The people
did not like this, and considered it rather high-handed on his part;
but then, what was there for them to do about it?
He said he had heard that I could cure people. When a man is called
Doctor, the Mexican peasantry expect him to possess comprehensively
all useful knowledge in the world. Looking at me for a moment, this
healthy, ruddy-cheeked man suddenly, without saying a word, took hold
of my hand and pressed it against his forehead for a little while;
then, all the time in silence, he carried it backward until my fingers
touched a small excrescence on his back. Now was the chance to find
out whatever was the matter with him!
On my next visit to his office he received me with a queer, hesitating
expression on his face, and suddenly blurted out, "Can you cut out
trousers?" For some time he had had a piece of cloth in his house,
and he said he would pay me well if I could help him to have it made
into trousers. To cure people, mend watches, repair sewing-machines,
make applejack, do tailoring, prognosticate the weather--everything
is expected from a man who comes from far away. And the good people
here are astonished at a confession of ignorance of such matters, and
take it rather personally as a lack of good-will toward them. It is
the old belief in the medicine man that still survives in the minds
of the people, and they therefore look upon doctors with much greater
respect than on other persons.
People who live outside of civilisation are thrown upon their own
resources in cases of sickness. The daughter of my Mexican guide was
confined and the coming of the afterbirth was delayed. I give here, for
curiosity's sake, a list of the various remedies applied in the case:
1. The carapace of the armadillo, ground and taken in a little
water. This is a Tarahumare remedy, said to be very effective for
the trouble mentioned.
2. The skunkwort (the herb of the skunk).
3. The patient to hold her own hair in her mouth for half an hour.
4. The wood of _Palo hediondo_, boiled.
5. _Urina viri_, half a cup. This remedy is also externally used for
cuts and bruises.
6. Fresh excrement from a black horse. A small quantity of water is
mixed with it, then pressed out through a piece of cloth and taken
internally.
7. Perspiration from a black horse. A saddlecloth, after having been
used on the horse, is put over the abdomen of the woman.
8. A decoction of the bark of the elm.
9. Pork fat.
After a number of days the patient recovered. Whether it was _propter
hoc_ or merely _post hoc_ is a matter of conjecture.
Guachochic served admirably as a central point from which excursions
in various directions could be made, as it lies in the very midst of
the Tarahumare country. It is true that the Mexicans have appropriated
all the best land round about, and their extensive and fertile ranches
lie all around Guachochic. Toward the east, in the direction of the
pueblos of Tonachic and Lagunitas, the broad strip of good arable
and pasture land as far as Parral is owned exclusively by Mexicans.
But in the immediate neighbourhood of Guachochic toward the west
and south lie the ridges and barrancas that run toward Sinaloa,
and these are inhabited by pagan Tarahumares. Toward the north the
Indians hold undisputed sway over that extensive region of mountains,
pine-covered plateaus and well-watered arroyos around the pueblos
of Norogachic, Pamachic and Nararachic, and here are found the most
independent Tarahumares that are left, who still defy the whites to
take their land away from them. They are more valiant than the rest
and not easily intimidated.
The first thing for me to do, after establishing camp near Guachochic,
was to secure strong mules and the necessary men to bring up the
outfit that had been left behind in Tasajisa, and after a week's
absence they returned with all the animals and goods intact.
Guachochic is an uninteresting place at its best, and at this season
it seemed especially dreary, on account of the crop failure from
which the sierra had been suffering for the last two years. There is
never much to get here, but now even corn and beans could hardly be
bought. It was therefore quite a treat to have a square meal with
Don Miguel, whose wife was a clever cook, and who, considering all
circumstances, kept a fair Mexican table. He could also give me some
general information about the Indians; but not only here, but in
many other parts of Mexico, I was often astonished at the ignorance
of the Mexican settlers concerning the Indians living at their very
doors. Aside from certain conspicuous practices, even intelligent
Mexicans know little of the customs, much less of the beliefs, of
the aborigines. Regarding the pagans in the barrancas, I could get
absolutely no information beyond a general depreciation of them as
savages, _bravos_ (fierce men) and _broncos_ (wild ones). One Mexican
whom I interviewed about certain caves thought that the only thing
I could be looking for was the silver possibly hidden in them, and
therefore told me that there were 12,000,000 pesos buried in a cave
near the mining town Guadalupe y Calvo, waiting to be recovered. Thus
it was exceedingly difficult in the beginning to determine just which
would be the best way to start my investigations, and all that was
left for me to do was to find out for myself where my best field was
by making extensive excursions into the domains of the Tarahumare in
company with an intelligent interpreter. And there was the rub! There
are in this part of the sierra a certain number of men who make a
living by dealing with the Indians, and who, having been born and
bred in the country, speak the difficult language of the Tarahumares
as well as the Indians themselves. But as each man operates in a
certain district and has a monopoly of the trade with the Indians
within its confines, the temptation to cheat the unsophisticated
natives out of their little property is naturally very great, and by
far the greater number of the dealers succumb to it. As soon, however,
as one of them is found out, he loses his influence with the Indians,
and to go with a man of that stamp would have been disastrous to my
purpose. The duty of the _lenguaraz_, as the interpreter is called,
is to smooth the traveller's way among the distrustful Indians with
skilful words, to get provisions, make bargains, and explain to the
Indians the purpose of his visit. Last but not least, he must obtain
all possible information from them. This may mean one day's hard work,
and the trying of his patience with many apparently futile questions
which are made to get at the Indian's real meaning. Thus it may be
understood how one is completely at the mercy of one's lenguaraz,
and how important it is for the success of an expedition to find
the right man. There is nothing else to do but to try and try again,
one after another.
The Indians near Guachochic seemed all to be depressed, poor, and
hungry. Most of their animals had died from lack of food, and the
few that had not succumbed to starvation had to be sold in exchange
for corn. A couple of Indians who were on their way to Parral to buy
wheat died of starvation before they reached their destination. The
Indians ascribed the hard times to the presence of the whites, who had
deprived them of their lands as well as of their liberty. The gods,
as they put it, were angry with the whites and refused to send rain.
In the summer, especially in July, a false truffle is found on the
highlands of Guachochic, which serves as a food to the Indians. It
grows abundantly a couple of inches below the ground, raising the earth
a little; and is found also under the limb of a fallen tree. The dogs
help in finding this fungus, and they are so fond of it that they
go of their own accord to look for it. Pigs grow fat on this food,
and coyotes, bears, and grey foxes also eat it. It is considered by
Professor W. G. Farlow as a variety of _Melanogaster variegatus_, which
he calls _Mexicanus_. It tastes like an over-ripe pear, with a flavour
of onion when one first bites into it. The ordinary _Melanogaster
variegatus_ is eaten in Europe, and esteemed for its pleasant taste.
It was disagreeable to travel during the dry season, on account of
the difficulty in getting provisions and finding pastures for the
animals. But I made up my mind to start under any circumstances on an
excursion toward the north-east, knowing that the fresh grass would
come up quickly after a few of the thunder-storms not infrequent at
that season. Toward the end of June I selected a few of my strongest
animals, and, leaving one of my Mexicans to take care of the remainder,
started out with two. As luck would have it, a heavy storm drenched
our first camp, and afterward the rain seemed almost to pursue me,
much to the delight of the Indians I visited, who had been praying and
dancing for rain for a long time. One day I had the imposing spectacle
of three thunder-storms coming up from different directions. The one
in the south sent flashes of lightning out of its mass of dark clouds
over the clear sky; but after all, not much rain resulted.
There was no difficulty in finding one's way from Guachochic to
Norogachic. At one place I noticed an Indian trail leading up a ridge
apparently consisting of volcanic tuff. To facilitate the ascent,
steps, now worn and old, had been cut for a distance of a couple of
hundred feet. I made my way among the Indian ranches to Norogachic,
the residence of the only priest living at present in the Tarahumare
country. The name of the place contains an allusion to a certain rock
in the vicinity. There is another priest who pays some attention to
the Tarahumares, but he lives in Nonoava, and makes only annual visits
to baptise infants or marry their elders who wish for the blessings
of the Church.