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.The formation is generally sandstone; limestone crops out occasion-ally and a kiln is now burning, a half mile to the Left for the use ofWingate.We found the weather delightful, in this elevated table-land; the sky, AMONG THE ZUNIS 407as it so generally is in Arizona & New Mexico, was faultless and thetemperature so balmy that the birds in the swaying pine tops werestimulated to floods of melody.Eight miles from Wingate, rested our team.Here we were overtaken by a band of Navajoes, driving a large herdof several thousands of sheep and goats: We journeyed along withthem, an odd procession of men, women, children, dogs, ponies,donkeys, sheep, goats, lambs and kids, on until we came to a verybad declivity where they turned off to the West and we soon lostsight of them.Going down this bad grade, I left the vehicle, (a buck-board.) andwalked in advance; the road cutting through a red clay soil, without-croppings of what, in my hurried examination, I took to belimestone.At the foot of the hill, we entered the head of the valleyof Nutria (Beaver.)7 a pretty little glen at that point not over ¼mile wide.On each side were high bluffs of sandstone, covered inplaces with a scattering growth of pine.At foot of the bluffs, was astretch of green grass and other herbage affording pasturage to sev-eral thousands of sheep and goat, under care of three or four Zunichildren.A curious wall of sandstone, 50 ft.high ran down the centerof the valley for 30 or 40 rods, its crest occupied by tiny black &white kids, not over a month old, which gazed at us in grave eyedwonderment.A thousand yards farther, at an abrupt turn of the roadaround a projecting ledge of rocks, the valley suddenly widened to1500 2000 yds; down its centre, a little brook, 5 ft.Wide and 6 deep, wound its way, affording water for irrigating the wheat fieldswhich here commence.At suitable points, small houses had been built to afford neces-sary shelter to the laborers, and a great many scare-crows were inposition to scare away birds and predatory animals.We crossed the stream at a stout dam of pine logs, stone and clayand entered the little pueblo of Nutria, one of the outlying towns ofthe Zunis, but occupied only during the summer for planting andharvesting.Its situation is at the foot of a low hill, having enough wood for allpurposes, and about 1500 yds.South of a very high ledge of sand-stone, which commands it completely and would make it untenable7.Exactly how Bourke made this translation is a mystery.A nutria is an entirely differ-ent animal from a beaver, and the Spanish word for beaver is castor. 408 THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGYwere hostile riflemen to post themselves in the cliffs.The soil of thevalley, I should say, seems to be fertile and perhaps as much as 300A[cres].are under cultivation at this point.The houses at Nutriaare small and intended, apparently, for single families.I entered one, built of flat small pieces of sandstone laid in mud,plastered smooth with lime, inside and out.Stone steps led up tothe room I was invited to enter.Its divisions were 12 x 14 by 6½in hght.[sic] the floor of packed earth, the ceiling of round pinesaplings, 3 in D[iameter]., covered with riven slabs of same tree.The door was made with nails and secured by a chain.Light andventilation were obtained through three apertures in the wall; one6 x 14 , filled in with pieces of glass; one large kept constantly openand 2 x 4 ; and the third filled in with a movable glass shutter of sixsmall panes.Besides these, there were an opening in the ceiling, 8 x 8 , covered with a smooth, flat stone and the chimney openingout from the hearth at middle point of the north wall.This chimneywas constructed upon sound principles and has a good draught; freefrom smoke.The accompanying sketch will explain the idea.My hosts were small in stature; the men not over 5 7 ; expression offace good-natured; hair dishevelled but kept back from face by a filletof old red calico.Mocassins of reddish-brown buck-skin, rising aboveankle and fastening on outside of instep with one silver button.Soleof raw-hide and toe protected by a small upraise, nothing so large atthe [toe] shield of the Apache, who live in a cactus country.He wore both leggings and under leggings; the latter of blue worsted;the former of buckskin both reaching to the knee and then held inplace by red worsted garters.Loose drawers, shirt and breech-clout,all of cotton cloth, once white; shirt worn outside of pants and draw-ers open on the outer side from knee down.Two quite pretty but dirty children stood by me while writing; theyounger dressed in a simple slip reaching to knees; the elderwearing besides the slip, a jacket of American make.The smalleralso had ear-ornaments, simply circlets of silver: There were twosquaws; one, gray-haired, old and wrinkled, whose life was nearlyspent.Her dress was made much as that of the Navajo women, of AMONG THE ZUNIS 409blankets, fastened at Right shoulder, but exposing Left arm, shoul-der and part of bust.A girdle of red worsted confined it at waist.Infront, she wore an apron of coarse white manta, of which she alsohad a cloak, covering her shoulders.Around her neck was a col-laret, reaching to waist, made of silver balls and quarter dollars andterminating in a pendant.Like the man, she wore woolen leggings; feet bare.The youngersquaw was dressed entirely in manta , but also wore mocassins,made as are all those seen here, perfectly plain.She had no jewels.One side of the room was taken up with a scaffold, covered withfresh mutton, old clothing and a pile of sheepskins which they useas bedding.There were also some coarse blankets of Navajo and Zuni make,and a rug, such as can be seen among the Moquis, made of strandsof wool, with insertions of cayote & rabbit fur.The cooking utensilswere iron pots and crockery ware, the latter made by themselves.There were also two baskets, round & flat, made of green willowtwigs and coarse in construction.The table-ware, spoons, ladles &c.were also of earthenware, and in several cases pieces of old tin canshad been already shaped to the same uses.Near the hearth werebundles of dried twigs for kindling.The food, besides the muttonabove spoken of, consisted of two earthen platters of yellow andblue corn, parched with salt and a number of strings of muttontallow and what I took to be dried sheep entrails.From a cornerof this room, a little door, 15 wide by 4 high, led by a couple ofsteep steps down to a small store-room 8 @ 9 square, 6 in height,and 3½ ft.below the level of the one first entered.It contained afew farming implements, American shovels, hoes, forks, picks &axes and half a dozen large earthen jars and ollas ; in a basin, onthe floor was a bunch of tempered clay, ready to be moulded intopottery.Three open slits in the walls, each 8 x 10 , gave light andair, besides what was afforded by the two chimneys in the corners,of one wall.They were made thus: a platform ran from wall to walland 3½ ft.above floor; upon this, the chimneys were built, of pinelogs, mud & stone [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]