THE NAVAHO AT HOME
The Navaho reservation, embracing nearly four million acres, or eleven
thousand square miles, was established by treaty with the Navahoes of
June 1, 1868, and has been modified or enlarged by subsequent executive
orders of October 29, 1878, January 6, 1880, May 17, 1884, April 24,
1886, November 19, 1892, and January 6, 1900. The major portion is
in Arizona, but about six hundred and fifty square miles are in New
Mexico. Its average elevation is about six thousand feet, though near
the Colorado River it is often but four thousand. The highest peak
is about in the centre of the present reservation, in the Tunicha
Mountains, and is upwards of nine thousand five hundred feet high.
The Tunicha range is covered with glorious and majestic pines, and
all along its flanks are wide plateaus through which gloomy and
massive canyons convey the storm waters from the heights above into
the plains below. Its close proximity to the Grand Canyon suggests
what its general appearance might be. Drained deep down by the canyons
and gorges tributary to this great vampire canyon, it is seamed and
scarred by the dashing down of many waters. Its rocks are cut up into
a thousand fantastic forms and shapes, which look over sterile valleys
full of sand. These valleys are numberless, and one of them, the
I-chi-ni-li,--commonly called the Chin-lee,--stretches from the south
to beyond the San Juan River on the north, to the west of the Tunicha
range.
The ancient boundaries of the land, long prior to the advent of the
Spaniard, were four majestic mountains, which now approximately
determine the reserve. On the east is Pelado Peak; on the south, Mt.
San Mateo (commonly called Mt. Taylor); on the west, the San Francisco
range; and on the north, the San Juan Mountains. Each of these is over
eleven thousand feet in height. Hence it will be seen that there is a
vast range of altitude, yet it is questionable whether anywhere else
in the world so large a population inhabits so barren and inhospitable
a country. On the lower levels it is mainly desert, with scant pasture
here and there; on the higher mesas or plateaus there are many
junipers, pinions, and red cedars.
It is a difficult matter to determine the population of the Navahoes.
While they were in captivity the official count was seven thousand
three hundred, but desertions were frequent, and at one time about
seven hundred of the renegades came in and surrendered, and it is well
known that many never were captured or surrendered.
In 1869 the government distributed thirty thousand sheep and two
thousand goats to them, and a count was ordered. This was a most
favorable time to make it, as besides the sheep and goats, two years'
annuities were given out, and rations distributed every four days. The
total summed up some nine thousand.
In 1890 the official census reported 17,204, but Cosmos Mendeleff,
writing in 1895-96, says the tribe numbers only "over 12,000 souls."
It scarcely seems possible, if the count in 1869 was anything near
accurate that the population could have increased to 17,204 in 1890.
Still it must be remembered that, though not prolific, the Navaho is
a good breeder. He is healthy, vigorous, robust, and strong, and his
wife (or wives, for he is a polygamist) equally so. Living an out-door
life, inured to hardships, generally possessed of plenty to eat, of
coarse, rough, hearty, but nutritious food, engaged in occupations and
indulging in sports that cultivate their athletic powers, free from the
consumptive and scrofulous tendencies of most reservation Indians, they
are well fitted to be the progenitors of healthy children.
Though polygamists, they are moral and chaste. In their legends they
have always regarded marital unfaithfulness as a prolific source of
sorrow and punishment. In their Origin Legend this sin led to their
banishment from the first world, and again from the second, and also
from the third, the wronged chief execrating them as follows: "For such
crimes I suppose you were chased from the world below; you shall drink
no more of our water, you shall breathe no more of our air. Begone!"
In this legend Washington Matthews tells of Góntso, or Big Knee, a
chief who had twelve wives, four from each of three different gens or
families. Though he was a bountiful provider, his wives were unfaithful
to him. He complained to the chiefs of their families and to their
relations and begged them to remonstrate with the wicked women, but
remonstrances and rebukes seemed to be in vain. At last they said to
Big Knee, "Do with them as you will, we shall not interfere." The
next time he detected the unfaithfulness of his wives he mutilated
one, another he cut the ears from, a third cut off her breasts, and
all these three died. A fourth he cut off her nose, and she lived. He
thereupon determined that henceforth he would cut off the nose of any
unfaithful wife, for that would be a visible mark of her shame and yet
would not kill her. She would be compelled to live, and all men and
women would know of her wickedness. But even this horrible punishment
did not have the deterrent effect he expected. It was not long before
another and then another was detected and punished, until, before long,
his whole family of wives was noseless. Instead of rebuking themselves
and their sins as the cause of their mutilation these women would
gather together to rail against their husband, and their relations,
whom they claimed should have protected them. Big Knee was compelled to
sleep alone in a well-protected hut, and the women grew more determined
than ever to work him an injury.
[Illustration: KAPATA, ANTELOPE PRIEST, AT WALPI.]
[Illustration: A MASHONGANAVI HOPI, GOING TO HOE HIS CORN.]
About this time the people got up a big ceremony for the benefit of
Big Knee. It lasted nine days, and on the night of the last day the
mutilated women, who had kept themselves secluded in a hut, came
forth, and with knives in their hands, proceeded to sing and dance as
was expected of them. Around the fire they circled, singing "Peshla
ashila"--"It was the knife that did it to me"--and peering among the
spectators for their husband. He was safe, however, for he was hidden
in the circle of branches that made the dance corral. As they concluded
the dance they ran from the corral, cursing all who were present with
fearful maledictions: "May the waters drown ye! May the winters freeze
ye! May the fires burn ye! May the lightnings strike ye!" and other
equally malicious curses. Then they departed and went into the far
north, where they now dwell, and, according to the Navahoes, whenever
these noseless women turn their faces to the south we have cold winds
and storms and lightning.
From this legend it is observed that the husband's power over the
wife was somewhat limited. Góntso dare not punish his wives without
the consent of their relations. This freedom of the woman is observed
to this day, she regarding herself in most things as the equal, and
sometimes the superior, of her husband.
From all I can learn, marital unchastity is uncommon, though where the
tribe is in close contact with the towns along the railway there are
generally to be found men who will sell their wives and daughters,
and mothers who will sell their girls to debased white men. Among the
respectable members of the tribe, if a man discovers that his wife, or
one of them, is unfaithful, he may take it upon himself to chastise
her, but such is the independent position of the woman that he must be
very wise and judicious or she will speedily leave him.
Divorce is not common, but is allowable for cause, the parties chiefly
concerned generally settling all the details. Occasionally, however,
a transaction occurs that in civilized society would occasion quite a
buzz of busy tongues. One such happened but a few years ago. Mr. George
H. Pepper of the American Museum of Natural History tells the story.
The facts were within his own knowledge. One of the husbands had a wife
who positively refused to wash and brush his hair. He would coax and
persuade, urge and command, threaten and bluster, but all to no effect.
The dusky creature was neither to be led nor driven. If he wanted his
hair washed and combed he must do it himself.
While the disappointed husband was cogitating over his miserable
marital experiences, a friend from a distance, with his wife, came to
visit him. As the men got to talking and finally exchanging confidences
about their wives, the one told the other of the unwifely conduct of
his spouse. The visitor condoled with his host and told what a good
wife he had, how very obedient she was, and the like, until he had
quite exalted her, and the host determined to take a better look than
he had hitherto given at such a paragon of a wife. Whether this was a
scheme of the visitor or not it was scarcely possible to tell, but,
anyhow, it worked out as well as if it had been carefully planned;
for as the host studied the visitor's wife he fell head over ears
in love with her, and, strange to say, a corresponding affinity was
discovered to exist between the two others. Accordingly, a day or two
later the visitor suggested to the host that as he (the host) wanted
a wife to wash and comb his hair, while he (the visitor) was content
with a wife that would do neither, what was to hinder their "swapping"
their life partners and thus making a satisfactory end to his domestic
difficulties? With joy the disappointed husband accepted the offer,--a
little "boot" was required to make the exchange satisfactorily, and
then the result was communicated to the women. Neither of them was
consulted in the slightest, but without any hesitancy they fell in
with the agreement. The visitor rode off satisfied, accompanied by his
new wife, while the wife who came as a visitor inaugurated her new
relationship by shyly coming into her new husband's hogan with an olla
of water, the necessary soap-root, and the whisk with which to wash and
comb her liege's hair. And now, for three years, the two couples are
known to have lived together in "amity and concord."
A few years ago it would perhaps have been safe to designate the
Navahoes as the most wealthy Indians of the United States. Many of them
were worth hundreds of dollars. They understood and practised the art
of irrigation; they grew large crops of corn, squash, melons, beans,
chili, and onions. Some had large and thriving bands of horses, which
they traded with the Havasupais, Wallapais, Hopis, Paiutis, and other
neighboring people. I have often met a band of six or eight Navaho
traders with horses and blankets in the canyon of the Havasu, and they
took away the well-dressed buckskins in exchange, for which these
canyon people are noted. From the Paiutis, they obtained baskets and
their _tusjehs_, or wicker-work, pinion gum-covered water-bottles.
As for sheep and goats, there are few places in the United States where
so many were to be found as on the Navaho reservation. Every family
had its flock, as every woman was a blanket weaver; and one of the
prettiest sights in the whole Painted Desert Region was to come upon
a flock of these gentle, domestic creatures quietly pasturing, led or
driven by the owner herself, or one of her children.
But the last few years have made a great difference in their
prosperity. Rains have been rare, water scarce, and pasture scant,
and as a result their flocks are reduced to woeful proportions. Their
nomadic habits render the improvement of their locations impossible,
and their superstition in regard to the burning of a hogan in which any
one has died compels frequent migrations.
There is no doubt but that for the past three hundred years of historic
time the Navahoes have been thieves, robbers, and murderers. The Hopis
contend that all the sheep they had before the general distribution,
earlier referred to, were stolen from them. This is probably true, but
it is equally probable that had the Navahoes not stolen them the Utes
would; and while this seems poor comfort, after facts showed that it
was an exceedingly good thing that Navahoes rather than Utes became
their possessors. For, once in their possession, the Navahoes became
careful breeders (for aborigines) of sheep, and when marauding bands of
Utes came into the country the warlike Navahoes drove them away, thus
defending the sheep so that the Hopis could obtain the nucleus of a new
flock later on.
In the next chapter I present, a fairly full and accurate account of
the art of blanket-weaving, for which the Navahoes are now so noted.
As a rule the physical development of the Navahoes is sturdy and
robust, as will be seen from the accompanying photographs. They average
well, and with slight range on either side from a fair and normal
development. There are few excessively strong, and equally few very
weak people among them. The same may be said of their fatness and
leanness, both extremes being rare.
The men, as is common with all Indians, pluck out the hair on both lips
and chin, though, occasionally, one will find a man who has allowed his
moustache to grow. The hair on the head is seldom cut, and with both
sexes is allowed to grow long. The men tie it in a knot behind, and
wrap a high-colored "banda" around the forehead, thus confining the
hair and adding considerably to their own picturesqueness.
Being a prosperous people, they are generally contented looking, and
wear that air of complacent self-satisfaction that is a sure sign of
prosperity. It seems clearly to say: "We are a good people, a specially
favored because specially deserving people, hence look upon us and
understand our prosperity." There are no beggars among the better
class of the Navahoes, and men as well as women are hard workers. As
a nation they are decidedly producers. Mr. Cotton has large gangs of
them working at grading, etc., on the Santa Fé Railway, and they can
be found helping white men in as many and as various occupations as
the Chinese in California. The industry of the women is proverbial,
for seldom will one be found idle, her greatest seeming pleasure being
to have her hands constantly occupied. What with carding the wool,
washing, dyeing, and spinning it, preparing the dyes (after collecting
them) for coloring it, and then weaving the blankets for which they
are famous, going out into the mountains to collect the wild seeds and
roots of which they are fond, caring for the corn, tending the sheep
and goats, preparing the daily food, and many other duties that they
impose upon themselves, none can say they are not models of industry.
Men, women, and children alike are fearless riders. The wealth of many
a man is determined by his possessions of horses and sheep, and from
earliest years the boys are required to attend to the bands of horses.
In their semi-nomad life the women ride about with the men, and thus
become skilled riders. They sit astride, mounting and dismounting as
easily as the men, and riding wherever occasion demands.
The saddles are made by the men, and are a modification of the
big-horned Mexican variety. The tree is cut out with infinite patience
and care, and is then covered with rawhide or bought leather, and
adorned with rows of brass-headed nails. The girth, or cinch, is home
woven, of wool, cotton, or horsehair, the former being preferred.
[Illustration: THE ANTELOPE PRIESTS LEAVING THEIR KIVA FOR THE SNAKE
DANCE.]
[Illustration: THE WIDOW, DAUGHTERS, AND GRANDCHILDREN OF THE NAVAHO
CHIEF, MANUELITO.]
That the Navahoes are or were expert engineers, and could construct
difficult trails, is evidenced by their trails into Chaca Canyon from
the mesa above. Simpson thus describes what he saw in 1849: "A mile
further, observing several Navahoes high above us, on the brink of the
north wall, shouting and gesticulating as if they were very glad to
see us, what was our astonishment when they commenced tripping down
the almost sheer wall before them, as nimbly and dexterously as minuet
dancers! Indeed, the force of gravity, and their descent upon a steep
inclined plane, made such a kind of performance absolutely necessary to
insure their equilibrium."
They are a remarkably intelligent people, and their faces are, as a
rule, pliant and expressive. There is none of the proverbial stolidness
to be found among any except very few of the older men of the Navahoes.
If you are unwelcome you will know it,--surly looks and words will ask
your mission and bid you begone. On the other hand, if you are welcome,
glad smiles will light up the faces of your friends, and you will hear
sweet words uttered by melodious and tuneful voices. It is seldom that
your courteous advances will be repelled, though they are very ready to
resent unwelcome intrusions. I have often sat for hours in the hogans
of entire strangers, and the conversation of men and women was general
and punctuated with laughter and smiles, showing that they know how to
make and appreciate jokes.
The Navahoes play a game common in the Southwest, which they call
nanzosh. It is a simple game, yet they seem to get endless fun and
amusement from it, often gambling large sums upon their favorite
players, for, while it looks and is simple, it is not easy to play
so as to win. It requires great skill and accurate throwing. The
implements are two long poles and a small hoop. The poles are generally
of alder and in two pieces, a fathom long, and a long, many-tailed
string called the turkey-claw is fastened to the end of each. Two
players only are needed. One throws the hoop. Both follow, and when
they think the hoop is about to fall, they throw their respective poles
so that the hoop, in its fall, will rest upon those portions of their
poles that give the highest counts.
Catlin describes a similar game played by the Mandans, though their
pole is a single piece of wood, as is that of the Mohaves and Yumas,
both of whom have the same game.
The taboo is in existence in all its force among the Navahoes. The
most singular of these is that which forbids a man ever to look upon
the face of his mother-in-law. Among civilized people it is a standard
subject for rude jesting, this relationship of the mother-in-law,
but with the Navahoes, the white man's jest is a subject of great
earnestness. Each believes that serious consequences will follow if
they see each other; hence, as it is the custom for a man to live with
his wife's people, constant dodging is required, and the cries of
warning, given by one or another of the family to son or mother-in-law,
are often heard. I was once photographing the family of Manuelito, the
last great war-chief of the Navahoes. The widow of the chief, her two
daughters, their husbands and children, made up the group. But there
was no getting of them together. I would photograph the mother with her
daughters and grandchildren, but as soon as I called for the daughters'
husbands, the mother "slid" out of sight, and when I wished for her
return, the men disappeared.
Then, too, a Navaho will never touch fish, much less eat it. According
to one of the shamans, the reason for this is, that some of their
ancestors were once turned into fish in the San Juan River, and, were
they to eat fish, they might thus become cannibals, and eat descendants
of their own ancestors. As neither Matthews nor Stephen refers to this
cause of the taboo, I merely give it for what it may be worth. The
former tells of a white woman, who, in a spirit of mischief, threw a
pan of water in which fish had been soaked over a young Navaho. He
changed his clothes and bathed himself carefully, in order that no
taint of the tabooed fish might remain upon him. I have had a great
deal of fun by innocently offering candy in the form of fish to
Navahoes. As they are fond of candy, it was a strong proof of the power
of the taboo that they invariably refused to touch it.
Superstition naturally forms a large part of the Navaho's thought. He
believes in charms, amulets, fetishes, witchcraft, taboos, magic, and
all the wondrous things he can conceive. His name for a personal fetish
is _Bizha_, "his treasure, something he especially values; hence his
charm, his amulet, his personal fetish, his magic weapon, something
that one carries to mysteriously protect himself."
The talisman or amulet for the gambler is a piece of fine turquoise,
because Noholipi, a gambling god, who appears in their Origin Legend,
was made successful always with a large piece of this precious stone.
There are quite a number of medicine-men, or shamans, among the
Navahoes, some good, others bad. It has been my privilege to know
several who are men of dignity and character.
Dr. Matthews, in writing of them, thus strongly expresses himself:
"There are, among the Navahoes, charlatans and cheats who treat
disease; men who pretend to suck disease out of the patient, and then
draw from their own mouths pebbles, pieces of charcoal, or bodies
of insects, claiming that these are the disease which they have
extracted. But the priests of the great rites are not to be classed
with such. All of these with whom the writer is acquainted are above
such trickery. They perform their ceremonies in the firm conviction
that they are invoking divine aid, and their calling lends dignity to
their character." Of Hatali Natloi, the smiling chanter, he says: "He
would be considered a man of high character in any community. He is
dignified, courteous, kind, honest, truthful, and self-respecting."
This is the universal testimony of all who know this class of men with
reasonable intimacy. Though the white man may believe the performances
of a shaman ridiculous or superstitious, that need not interfere with
his respect and esteem.
To understand this subject aright, one must clearly apprehend the
Indian meaning of the terms "medicine," and "medicine-men." Oftentimes
the latter are called priests, sometimes thaumaturgists, oftener
shamans, and, of course, by all unknowing white men are unhesitatingly
denounced as frauds and humbugs. Now to the Indian all things that
work injury to him are bad medicine. If you write his name (or any
scrawl he cannot understand) on a piece of paper and look at it
solemnly and then at him, at the same time shaking your head, you can
persuade him into the belief that it is "bad medicine." Owen Wister
recently wrote in one of the popular magazines an interesting story,
the whole plot of which was based upon his knowledge of this fact.
With the Navaho it is "bad medicine" to touch an achindee hogan (or
house). When a person dies within a house, the rafters are tumbled over
the body, and the whole set on fire. After that it would be exceeding
"bad medicine" for a Navaho to go near the spot, or touch a piece of
wood belonging to that hogan; for the spirit (the achindee) is supposed
to remain in the locality, and he resents any undue intrusion into his
domain. Before I was aware of the custom and feeling, I camped near
an abandoned and partially burned hogan. When I sent my Navaho man to
it for wood for a fire, he went half a mile away into the mountain
and stayed there. I was unable to understand his feeling, but later I
learned that except under the pangs of direst hunger, he would never
have touched a morsel of food prepared over a fire in which wood from
the achindee hogan had been used.
Medicine-men are often used as instruments for the working of private
revenge. Cowards are to be found among Indians as among white men.
Among white men these despicable wretches attack their foes through
the columns of newspapers or in the pages of magazines, while among
the former they call in the services of a medicine-man. This hired
charlatan then either directly or by proxy works upon the fears
of the man he is hired to injure. Sometimes he actually poisons or
otherwise harms him under pretence of protecting him. But the Indian
is dreadfully superstitious, and to work upon his mind is easy, and he
soon imagines himself to be sick.
For the cure of disease the better class of Navaho shamans have a
system of chanting, praying, dancing, bathing, sweating, etc., that Dr.
Matthews has fully described in the United States Bureau of Ethnology
reports. The complexity of these ceremonies cannot be comprehended or
conceived by those whose knowledge of the Indian is superficial and
casual.
If, however, a shaman makes himself unpopular, or fails to cure in
several successive cases, or earns the enmity of a treacherous shaman
foe, he is liable to be accused of witchcraft, and if a sufficient
number of the people can be made to believe the charge he is speedily
done away with. One of the shamans made famous by Dr. Matthews was
recently killed on account of his harsh and tyrannical manner. He was
accused of witchcraft and shot. Hence it will be seen that the Navaho
is not yet perfect--any more than his white brother. No, indeed!
There are other points in which he is similar to his brother of the
white skin. Some years ago I journeyed in a wagon with an old Arizona
pioneer, Franklin French, from Winslow, on the line of the Santa Fé,
through the Hopi country, the Mormon town of Tuba City, past the Navaho
settlements of Willow Springs, Echo Reef, etc., to Lee's Ferry of the
Colorado River.
Beyond Willow Springs we camped one night, and I went to a Navaho hogan
to purchase corn and vegetables for ourselves, and feed for the horses.
Everything was six prices too high, but the Navahoes knew I was in
need of their articles and raised the prices accordingly. It is not
only the white man that understands the principle of "cornering the
market." We compromised, however, and, after a hearty supper and a chat
around the camp-fire, I rolled myself up in my blankets ready to sleep
until called for breakfast in the morning.
But what a babel of confusing and distressing sounds it was that
awakened me! Surely we must be beset by a band of marauding Navahoes,
bent on murdering us! No; it was only a wordy fight between my driver
and three Navaho women, who had come to demand compensation for
depredations committed in their corn-field by our horses. Hobbled,
and turned loose, they had discovered somehow, during the night, that
on Echo Reef were corn and other good fodder to be had in the place
of the scant feed offered below; so, following their noses, they had
wandered into corn-fields and melon-patches to their own delectation,
but the manifest injury of the crops. What was to be done about it?
French was advising that the Navahoes imitate the example of the Hopis
and cut off a portion of the ear of each offending animal, but the
women angrily laughed him to scorn and vociferously demanded _cinquo
pesos_ for the damage. These were not forthcoming, but I urged the
squaws on, telling them to insist that the hoary-headed old miser pay
them their just demands, and informing them, in purest English, of the
opinions French had expressed regarding them, as a people, the night
before. The aborigines didn't quite know what to make out of my fluent
verbosity, and French at last impatiently turned to me and told me
there'd be a "pretty general monkey and parrot time started here pretty
quick, if I didn't let up, and that'll be follered by a pretty tall
foot-race between us two, in which you'll be 'way off in the lead."
So we compromised with our dusky visitors by inviting them to eat up
the remnants of our breakfast, and then carry away a little coffee and
sugar. The only thing I am now afraid of is that, at the next visit
I make them, they will privately and stealthily, under the cover of
night, lead our steeds into the forbidden fields, and encourage them in
their thefts, in order that they may enjoy another "compromise."
Primitive peoples at an early date felt the desire for personal
adornment. With the Navaho this found expression in painting the body
with various colored ochres or clays, in fashioning garments out of the
skins of animals, in wearing head-dresses and other fantastic ornaments
made from feathers, and in necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and wristlets
made of small flint arrowpoints, or of the dried seeds of juniper,
pinion, and other plants, or of bones. Later they secured beads of
shell, turquoise, and coral by barter.
But nearly all this primitive decoration received a rude shock of
displacement when the Mexican colonist came upon the scene, with his
iron, copper, and silver adornments glittering in the sunlight. From
coveting, the Navaho took to possessing by fair means or foul. He would
barter his skins or other native possessions for the precious metals,
using brass and copper for the making of ornaments, and iron for
tipping his arrows. Silver, however, has never lost its charm for him.
The Mexican vaquero, trapped out in the glittering metal, has ever been
his ideal of personal adornment, and he retains it to this day. Silver
is the only coin they care to accept, though the better educated now
know the superior value of gold.
There are some clever, skilful silversmiths among them--peshlikais, as
they call themselves. In crucibles of their own manufacture they melt
the precious metal, using a crude and primitive blast furnace, with
charcoal as fuel, and the molten silver is then poured into moulds
which they have shaped out of sandstone or other rock. They understand
the art of uniting two pieces of metal together, for many of their
ornaments are hollow and globular, originally made in two parts and
then joined. Scarcely a man or woman of any standing in the tribe does
not possess a home-manufactured necklace of silver beads or articles
of some design,--a finger ring or two, one or more bracelets, and
sometimes a pair of ear pendants. Above all they covet the belt with
large silver disks. Each of these disks is made of two or more silver
dollars, melted and run into a flat mould. This thick sheet is then
hammered out to the required size and shape, which is either oval or
circular, and chased with small tools. The border is generally filleted
and the edges scalloped. When finished each disk has a value of twice
its original cost in coin silver. Sometimes a belt will contain eight
or nine disks and a buckle, which cannot be bought for less than
thirty-six to forty dollars. This, too, is actual cost price. If the
Navaho doesn't care to part with it, an extra five or ten dollars, or
even more, is required to induce him to let it go.
In addition to these objects of personal adornment, many of the more
wealthy have silver bridles. The bridle itself is made of leather or
woven horsehair, and then the silver strips and bars, artistically
chased and decorated, are placed and fastened on the headstall. Silver
buttons of pretty and tasty design are commonly used on gaiters and
moccasins. These are made from beaten coins, twenty-five and fifty-cent
pieces, and the obverse side is often found in its original state as
stamped in the United States or Mexican mint.
The bracelets are of various designs, sometimes simple round circlets;
other times the silver is triangular, but the most common shape is a
flat band, on the outer side of which chasings and gravings are made.
These bracelets are made so that they can be slipped sideways over the
wrist. These and all the other articles mentioned are worn equally by
women and men.
The finger rings are often adorned with a rude setting of turquoise
or garnet. The former is found in various parts of New Mexico, and on
their reservation they dig garnets, spinel rubies, jacinths, peridots,
opals, smoky topaz, and crystal spar in large quantities. From the
Petrified Forest they obtain jasper, carnelian, chalcedony, agate, and
amethyst. All these objects are rudely polished and shaped, and used on
rings, ear pendants, or necklaces.
It has been stated that the Navaho is exceedingly superstitious about
making or allowing to be made any representation of a snake, and
that on one occasion a silversmith who offended by beginning to make
a bracelet of rattlesnake design was cruelly beaten, his workshop
demolished, and the hated emblem destroyed. This may be true, but I
have ridden all over the Navaho reservation wearing both a rattlesnake
ring and bracelet, and have had several made for me, on different parts
of the reservation, by different peshlikais. I am now wearing a ring of
rattlesnake design made by a Navaho silversmith and given to me with
this thought as explained to me by the donor: "The snake watches and
guards for us our springs and water-courses. Water is the most precious
thing we possess in the desert. I make for you this ring in the form of
a snake, that the power that guards our most precious thing may always
guard you."
[Illustration: WIFE OF LEVE LEVE, WALLAPAI CHIEF.]
[Illustration: THE MARCH OF THE ANTELOPE PRIESTS, ORAIBI, 1902.]
I wore this ring when unfortunately I was bitten by a rattlesnake at
Phœnix, in February, 1902; but as I speedily recovered, I am satisfied
that my Navaho friend will insist that it was the ring and its
virtues that kept me from sudden death, and that hastened my complete
recovery.[4]
[4] Since writing this I visited the Hopi Snake Dance at Oraibi, in
September, 1902. One of the Navahoes I met there informed me that he
had come as the messenger of my peshlikai friend at Tohatchi, and he
asked, "When _klish_ (the rattlesnake) bit you did you wear the klish
ring?" I answered, "Yes." "Then," said he, "that was the reason you
recovered. Had you not worn it you would speedily have died." Of course
I believed him.
A most interesting settlement of Navahoes is that of To-hatch-i, or
Little Water, some forty miles northwest of Gallup, New Mexico. Here
I was invited by Mrs. E. H. De Vore, the teacher of the government
school. The drive is over an interesting country, part of which is
covered by junipers and cedars, and where the road winds around
strangely and fantastically sculptured rocks as it reaches the great
Navaho plateau.
The major portion of the Navahoes were kind and hospitable and greeted
me cordially. The day after my arrival I was talking with Hosteen
Da-ä-zhy about the other Indian tribes I had visited, when suddenly
the thought came to me which I immediately expressed: "When I go to my
friends the Hopis and Acomas and Zunis they always know I am weary
and tired with my long journey across the sandy desert, and they have
their women prepare a bowl of "tal-a-wush" and cool and refresh me by
shampooing my head." Talawush is the Navaho for the root of the amole
(soap-root), which, macerated and then beaten up and down in a bowl of
water, produces a delicious lather, which, for a shampoo, has no equal.
In a moment, as though grieved by his thoughtlessness and want of
hospitality, Da-ä-zhy called to his oldest daughter, and bade her
prepare some talawush to give me a shampoo. The woman muttered some
protest,--"it was enough to wash her own husband's head without having
to wash mine,"--but her father sternly rebuked her for her want of
courtesy to the stranger. In a short time the preparations were all
made. I sent to Mrs. De Vore and borrowed a couple of towels, and then
in the shade outside knelt down with my head over a large bowl full
of the refreshing suds. Very gently at first, and afterwards more
vigorously, the good woman lathered my head--and oh, how cooling and
soothing it was!--while her sister and the interpreter stood by and
laughed. Then Hosteen himself came and laughed at the droll remarks of
his daughter. This general laughter called others, and by and by Mrs.
De Vore and her sister could not resist the temptation to come and see
what all the fun was about. Just as they sat down, close by, my gentle
manipulator was saying: "Navaho men have hair only on the top of their
heads, but you have hair also on the bottom [my beard]. Shall I also
put talawush on the bottom hair as well as the top?" Laughingly I bade
her put it everywhere she liked, and just as my mouth was at its widest
she brought up a handful of suds and filled it full. Of course I half
choked, and this only made the laugh greater than ever, for, with the
greatest coolness and sly nonchalance she exclaimed: "It is a good
thing that you got a mouthful. White men need to have their mouths
washed out pretty often!"
And what a delightful sensation the whole operation gave one! It was
refreshing beyond description, and, for days after, my hair was as
silky and soft as that of a child.