justice. But the Iroquois, to whom the Delawares had long been subject,
came to the aid of the Penns, and the last hope of righting the wrong
was gone forever.
There seems a sort of poetic justice in the later experiences of the
principal men in the affair. Marshall never got his five hundred acres
of land, and his wife was killed in an attack by the Indians. Eastburn
was repudiated by Thomas Penn, and his heirs were notified that they
"need not expect the least favor." Penn himself was brought before the
king and forced to disown many of his acts and agents in a most
humiliating manner.
But all this did not repair the injury to the Delawares, and they never
again owned, as a tribe, a single inch along the river from which they
took their name.
A small monument, erected by the Bucks County Historical Society, marks
the spot where the old chestnut-tree formerly stood. In order that this
might not seem to condone an unworthy deed, the monument was dedicated,
not to those who made or conducted the walk, but to the Lenni-Lenape
Indians--"not to the wrong, but to the persons wronged."
The inscription on the stone reads:
TO THE MEMORY OF THE LENNI-LENAPE INDIANS,
ANCIENT OWNERS OF THIS REGION,
THESE STONES ARE PLACED AT
THIS SPOT, THE STARTING-POINT
OF THE
"INDIAN WALK,"
September 19, 1737.
THE FIRST AMERICANS
BY F. S. DELLENBAUGH
IN the middle of the sixteenth century, when the Spaniards who had
followed Columbus and Cortes to the New World worked their way northward
into the region that is now New Mexico and Arizona, they found to their
surprise a people dwelling there in well-constructed, flat-roofed houses
of stone. They gave to these people the name of _Pueblos_, or villagers,
to distinguish them from the wild tribes; and by this name they have
been known in general ever since, though each village and cluster of
villages has its distinctive title.
The Pueblos, instead of roaming about, subsisting on chance game,
cultivated Indian corn so largely that they ordinarily were able to
store a supply to provide against the possibility of future famine; and
such is still their custom. Not only had they made this progress in
agriculture and architecture, but they had also done something in the
way of manufacturing, especially in the making of pottery and weaving of
blankets. Their pottery was varied in shape and ornamentation and
skilfully modeled without the aid of a wheel. Of the potter's wheel they
are ignorant to this day, still following the practice of their
forefathers in this matter as in many others. Their blankets of cotton
were unique in their designs; and these designs are perpetuated to-day
in woolen material, as well as in cotton, though the latter is now used
principally in the sacred ceremonies.
Those towns nearest to Santa Fe (which itself was originally a Pueblo
village and is, probably, the oldest town inhabited by white people in
the United States) came most directly under the influence of the
Spaniards. They made Santa Fe their seat of government, and gradually
many Spanish customs prevailed among the natives in this part of the
country. The Spanish priests, following the army of invasion, soon made
converts, and eventually the barbarous rites of the people in the towns
near Santa Fe were abolished in favor of Christianity. Churches of
adobe, or sun-dried brick, were erected, and the Christian religion was
in time accepted by numerous communities.
The towns at a distance were not so easy of access, and hence longer
maintained their independence, supporting and favoring the smoldering
discontent of those in other localities whose prejudices or patriotism
resented the Spanish dominion. These native patriots believed the
salvation of their country demanded the expulsion of these domineering
foreigners from their land. We cannot blame them for thus regarding the
Spaniards, for we should certainly resent any interference by foreign
powers with our affairs, and the Pueblos were, in many respects, a
civilized people and had governed themselves for centuries before the
Spaniards appeared in their territories. Secretly, these patriots worked
to arouse their fellow-countrymen against the intruders, hoping to
succeed in a revolution which should annihilate the Spanish power and
restore the ancient rites and customs. Several of these conspiracies
were discovered by the Spanish Governor-General, and the conspirators
paid for their patriotism with their lives; but, in a few years, others
took their places, and while peace seemed to smile on all the land, a
volcano was seething under the very feet of the invaders.
There had been so much internal dissension among the Pueblos over
religion and over water-privileges (often a matter of the utmost
importance in those arid lands) before the arrival of the Spaniards,
that concerted action must have been difficult to bring about; but at
last, near the end of the seventeenth century, there was a mighty
uprising, the foreigners were driven out of the country, and retreated
into Mexico, and those villages which had been under the Spanish yoke
revived their native ceremonies, which had been in disuse for a full
century.
Meanwhile the Spaniards were not content to let slip so easily this
accession to their king's domain. Collecting a stronger army, General
Vargas returned, and conquered village after village, until the
rebellion was extinguished for all time. Never since that day have the
Pueblos shown a warlike spirit, having accepted their subjugation as
inevitable. They were made citizens by Spain, but since their territory
became a portion of the United States they have ranked politically with
the other Indians. The last locality to be brought under subjection was
the Province of Tusayan, the home of the Mokis.
[Illustration: A PUEBLO INDIAN BESIDE AN EAGLE-CAGE]
At that time this province was so difficult to reach, that the horses
of the Spanish general's troops were completely demoralized, and he was
therefore obliged to omit a visit to Oraibi, the largest and furthest
removed of the villages. He had, however, met with little resistance
from the inhabitants, and, doubtless, did not deem the Mokis a warlike
race. After the departure of Vargas, the Mokis continued their old ways
and were seldom visited, so that even now, three and a half centuries
after the first visit of the Spaniards, they remain nearly in their
original condition.
Next to the Moki towns, the Pueblo of Zuni maintained its primitive
customs to the greatest extent, and from similar causes.
The illustration is from a photograph made in Zuni by Mr. Hillers,
photographer of the Bureau of Ethnology, and shows one of the natives,
dressed in the costume of to-day, beside an eagle-cage. The costume is
composed of simple materials, the trousers being of unbleached cotton,
the shirt of calico, and the turban generally of some soft red cloth.
The Mokis wear their hair cut straight across the eyebrows in a sort of
"bang," then straight back even with the bottom of the ear, the rest
being made up into a knob behind. All are particular about their
ornaments, caring little for any common sorts of beads, but treasuring
coral, turquoise, and silver.
The eagle is sacred among Pueblos who have not abandoned their native
religion, and the feathers are used in religious ceremonies. For this
reason the eagle is protected and every feather preserved. His
nesting-places are carefully watched, and often visited, so that a
supply of feathers, from little downy ones no larger than a twenty-five
cent piece to the stiff and long ones from the wing and tail, are
preserved in every family,--the first, or downy ones, to breathe their
prayers upon; the larger ones for other sacred uses. Sometimes several
"prayers" are fastened to one little twig that all may proceed together
to their destination. There is something very poetic in this breathing
of a prayer upon a feather from the breast of an eagle--in flight the
king of birds, familiar with regions which man can know only through
sight.
The Navajos have no reverence for the bird. They make raids upon the
nesting-places where for centuries the Mokis have obtained feathers, and
these raids are a common source of trouble between the two tribes.
None of the present buildings of the Pueblos are equal in masonry to the
ruins common throughout the region. These were ruins even when the
Spaniards arrived, and, consequently, it is supposed that a superior
people once occupied the country, who may, however, have been either
ancestors or kindred to the Pueblos. In time the question may be solved
through the numerous legends illustrated in pottery decoration, for all
the decorations have a meaning, and the legends are handed down by word
of mouth from father to son. Once when the legends were being discussed,
Pow-it-iwa, an old Moki, poetically remarked to a friend of mine, "Many
have passed by the house of my fathers, and none has stopped to ask
where they have gone; but we of our family live to-day to teach our
children concerning the past."
ANIMAL STORIES
RETOLD FROM
ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE
IN SIX VOLUMES. EDITED BY M. H. CARTER, DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE, NEW YORK
TRAINING SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS
ABOUT ANIMALS
Interesting facts about animals in general.
BEAR STORIES
Information and adventure.
CAT STORIES
Dealing with the cat as a pet.
STORIES OF BRAVE DOGS
Showing the dog's love and devotion to man.
LION AND TIGER STORIES
Stories of adventure.
PANTHER STORIES
Stories of adventure.
EACH ABOUT 200 PAGES, FULL CLOTH, 12MO
THE CENTURY CO.
GEOGRAPHICAL STORIES RETOLD FROM ST. NICHOLAS MAGAZINE IN SIX VOLUMES
A Series of Books of Adventure, Travel and Description, chiefly in the
Great Sections of the United States
WESTERN FRONTIER STORIES
Stories of the early West, full of adventure.
STORIES OF THE GREAT LAKES
Niagara and our great chain of Inland Seas.
ISLAND STORIES
Stories of our island dependencies and of many other islands.
STORIES OF STRANGE SIGHTS
Descriptions of natural wonders, curious places and unusual sights.
SEA STORIES
Tales of shipwreck and adventures at sea.
SOUTHERN STORIES
Pictures, scenes and stories of our Sunny South.
Each about 200 pages. 50 illustrations.
Full cloth, 12mo.
THE CENTURY CO.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note:
Page 134, "racoons" changed to "raccoons" (fawns, raccoons, buffalo)
End of Project Gutenberg's Indian Stories Retold From St. Nicholas, by Various