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diff --git a/16426-8.txt b/16426-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b397720 --- /dev/null +++ b/16426-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13692 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2), by Carl Lumholtz + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) + +Author: Carl Lumholtz + +Release Date: August 4, 2005 [EBook #16426] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNKNOWN MEXICO, VOLUME 1 (OF 2) *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman + + + + + + + Unknown Mexico + A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western + Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among + the Tarascos of Michoacan + + + By + + Carl Lumholtz, M.A. + + Member of the Society of Sciences of Norway; Associé Étranger de la + Société de l'Anthropologie de Paris; Author of "Among Cannibals," Etc. + + + Volume I + + + + + + + + + To + Morris K. Jesup, M.A., LL.D. + President of the American Museum of Natural History of New York + The Patron and Friend of Science + This Work Is Respectfully Dedicated As a Token of Gratitude and Regard + + + + + +Preface + + +In the course of my travels in Australia, and especially after +my arrival at Upper Herbert River in Northern Queensland, I soon +perceived that it would be impracticable for me to hunt for zoological +specimens without first securing the assistance of the natives of +the country. Thus it came about that for over a year I spent most of +my time in the company of the cannibalistic blacks of that region, +camping and hunting with them; and during this adventurous period +I became so interested in these primitive people that the study of +savage and barbaric races has since become my life's work. + +I first conceived the idea of an expedition to Mexico while on a +visit to London in 1887. I had, of course, as we all have, heard of +the wonderful cliff-dwellings in the Southwest of the United States, +of entire villages built in caverns on steep mountain-sides, accessible +in many cases only with the aid of ladders. Within the territory of +the United States there were, to be sure, no survivors of the race +that had once inhabited those dwellings. But the Spaniards, when +first discovering and conquering that district, are said to have +come upon dwellings then still occupied. Might there not, possibly, +be descendants of the people yet in existence in the northwestern +part of Mexico hitherto so little explored? + +I made up my mind, then and there, that I would answer this question +and that I would undertake an expedition into that part of the American +continent. But my ideas were not realised until in 1890 I visited +the United States on a lecturing tour. On broaching the subject of +such an expedition to some representative men and women, I met with a +surprisingly ready response; and interest in an undertaking of that +kind being once aroused, the difficulties and obstacles in its way +were soon overcome. + +Most of the money required was raised by private subscription. The +principal part of the fund was, however, furnished by a now deceased +friend of mine, an American gentleman whose name, in deference to +his wishes, I am bound to withhold. The American Museum of Natural +History of New York and the American Geographical Society of New York +contributed, each, $1,000, and it was arranged that I should travel +under the auspices of these two learned institutions. Many scientific +societies received me most cordially. + +The Government in Washington readily furnished me with the official +papers I required. The late Mr. James G. Blaine, then Secretary of +State, did everything in his power to pave my way in Mexico, even +evincing a very strong personal interest in my plans. + +In the summer of 1890, preparatory to my work, I visited the Zuñi, +Navajo, and Moqui Indians, and then proceeded to the City of Mexico +in order to get the necessary credentials from that Government. I +was received with the utmost courtesy by the President, General +Porfirio Diaz, who gave me an hour's audience at the Palacio Nacional, +and also by several members of his cabinet, whose appreciation of +the importance and the scientific value of my proposition was truly +gratifying. With everything granted that I wanted for the success of +my expedition--free passage for my baggage through the Custom House, +the privilege of a military escort whenever I deemed one desirable, +and numerous letters of introduction to prominent persons in Northern +Mexico who were in a position to further my plans--I hurried back to +the United States to organise the undertaking. My plan was to enter, +at some convenient point in the State of Sonora, Mexico, that great +and mysterious mountain range called the Sierra Madre, cross it to +the famous ruins of Casas Grandes in the State of Chihuahua, and then +to explore the range southward as extensively as my means would permit. + +The western Sierra Madre may be considered a continuation of the +Rocky Mountains and stretches through the greater part of Mexico into +Central and South America as a link of the Cordilleras, which form a +practically uninterrupted chain from Bering Strait to Cape Horn. The +section occupying Northwestern Mexico is called Sierra Madre del +Norte, and offers a wide field for scientific exploration. To this +day it has never been surveyed. + +The northernmost portion of the Sierra Madre del Norte has from time +immemorial been under the dominion of the wild Apache tribes whose hand +was against every man, and every man against them. Not until General +Crook, in 1883, reduced these dangerous nomads to submission did +it become possible to make scientific investigations there; indeed, +small bands of the "Men of the Woods" were still left, and my party +had to be strong enough to cope with any difficulty from them. + +Inasmuch as my expedition was the first to take advantage of the +comparative security prevailing in that district, I thought that +I could best further the aims of Science by associating with me a +staff of scientists and students. Professor W. Libbey, of Princeton, +N. J., took part as the physical geographer, bringing with him his +laboratory man; Mr. A. M. Stephen was the archæologist, assisted +by Mr. R. Abbott; Messrs. C. V. Hartman and C. E. Lloyd were the +botanists, Mr. F. Robinette the zoölogical collector, and Mr. H. White +the mineralogist of the expedition. + +All the scientific men were provided with riding animals, while the +Mexican muleteers generally rode their own mounts. Our outfit was +as complete as it well could be, comprising all the instruments +and tools that might be required, besides tents and an adequate +allotment of provisions, etc. All this baggage had to be transported +on mule-back. We were, all in all, thirty men, counting the scientific +corps, the guides, the cooks, and the muleteers, and we had with us +nearly a hundred animals--mules, donkeys, and horses--as we crossed +the sierra. + +It was a winter campaign, and from Nacori, in Sonora, to Casas +Grandes, in Chihuahua, we were to make our own trail, which we did +successfully. Ancient remains were almost as rare as in the rest of +the Sierra Madre del Norte; yet traces of ancient habitations were +found in the shape of stone terraces, which had evidently served +agricultural purposes, and at some places rude fortifications were +seen. In the eastern part we came upon a considerable number of +caves containing house Croups, the builders of which, generally, +rested in separate burial-caves. In the same locality, as well as +in the adjacent plains of San Diego, Chihuahua, we found numerous +mounds covering house groups, similar in construction to those in the +caves. From underneath their floors we unearthed about five hundred +beautifully decorated pieces of pottery. + +Among the further results of the expedition may be mentioned the +gathering of large collections of plants, among them twenty-seven +species new to science; fifty-five mammals, among which the _siurus +Apache_ was new to science, and about a thousand birds. A complete +record was made of meteorological observations. + +Thus far, although the question regarding surviving cliff-dwellers was +answered negatively, the field southward in the sierra was so promising +that I was eager to extend my explorations in that direction. The +funds of the expedition, however, began to run low, and in April, +1891, I had to return to the United States to obtain more money with +which to carry on a work that had opened so auspiciously. I left +my camp in San Diego in charge of one of my assistants, instructing +him to go on with the excavations during my absence. This work was +never interrupted, though the force of men was now considerably +reduced. The law prohibiting excavations without the special permit +of the Government of Mexico had not yet been promulgated. + +I was so absolutely confident of the ultimate success of my efforts, +in spite of discouragements, that I twice crossed the entire continent +of North America, went down to the City of Mexico and came north +again--a journey of over 20,000 miles--seeing prominent people and +lecturing to arouse a public interest. Finally, the American Museum +of Natural History of New York decided to continue the explorations, +the funds being this time supplied mainly through the munificence +of the late Mr. Henry Villard, and toward the end of that year I was +able to return to my camp, and in January, 1892, lead the expedition +further south. My scientific assistants were now: Mr. C. V. Hartman, +botanist; Mr. C. H. Taylor, civil engineer and photographer, and +Mr. A. E. Meade, mineralogist and zoological collector. + +This time we came upon Cave-Dwellers. The Tarahumare Indians of +the Sierra Madre, one of the least known among the Mexican tribes, +live in caves to such an extent that they may properly be termed +the American Cave-Dwellers of to-day. I determined to study these +interesting people, especially the so-called _gentiles_ [1] (pagans), +and as this was not practical, even with the present reduced size of +the expedition, I gradually disbanded the entire company and at last +remained alone. + +By selling most of my animals, and a large part of my outfit, and +through the untiring efforts of two American ladies, whose friendship +I highly esteem, I was enabled to continue my researches alone until +August, 1893, when I took my Tarahumare and Tepehuane collections to +Chicago and exhibited them at the World's Fair. Extensive vocabularies +of the Tarahumare and Tepehuane languages, as well as a vocabulary +of the now almost extinct Tubares, were among the results of this +expedition, besides anthropological measurements, samples of hair +and osseous remains. + +The great possibilities Mexico offers to ethnology proved an +irresistible incentive to new researches, and seeing the results +of my previous expeditions, the American Museum of Natural History +of New York again sent me out on what was to be my third and most +extensive Mexican expedition, which lasted from March, 1894, to +March, 1897. During these three years I again travelled alone, that +is, without any scientific assistants, at first with two or three +Mexicans. Soon, however, I found that my best companions were the +so-called civilised Indians, or even Indians in their aboriginal state, +who not only helped me by their mere presence to win the confidence +of their tribesmen but also served me as subjects of observation. As +before, I stopped for months with a tribe, discharging all alien +attendants, and roughing it with the Indians. In this way I spent +in all a year and a half among the Tarahumares, and ten months among +the Coras and Huichols. At first the natives persistently opposed me; +they are very distrustful of the white man, and no wonder, since he +has left them little yet to lose. But I managed to make my entry and +gradually to gain their confidence and friendship, mainly through my +ability to sing their native songs, and by always treating them justly. + +Thus I gained a knowledge of these peoples which could have been +procured in no other way. When after five or six months of such +sojourns and travel my stock of "civilised" provisions would give out, +I subsisted on what I could procure from the Indians. Game is hard +to get in Mexico, and one's larder cannot depend on one's gun. As +in Australia, my favourite drink was hot water with honey, which, +besides being refreshing, gave a relish to a monotonous diet. + +All along my route I gathered highly valuable material from the +Tarahumares, the Northern and the Southern Tepehuanes, the Coras, +the Huichols, and the Tepecanos, all of which tribes except the last +named dwell within the Sierra Madre del Norte; also from the Nahuas on +the western slopes of the sierra, as well as from those in the States +of Jalisco and Mexico; and, finally, from the Tarascos in the State +of Michoacan. Of most of these tribes little more than their names +were known, and I brought back large collections illustrating their +ethnical and anthropological status, besides extensive information +in regard to their customs, religion, traditions, and myths. I also +completed my collection of vocabularies and aboriginal melodies. On +my journey through the Tierra Caliente of the Territory of Tepic, +and the States of Jalisco and Michoacan, I also obtained a number of +archaeological objects of great historical value and importance. + +In 1898 I made my last expedition to Mexico under the same auspices, +staying there for four months. On this trip I was accompanied by +Dr. Ales Hrdlicka. I revisited the Tarahumares and Huichols in order +to supplement the material in hand and to settle doubtful points that +had come up in working out my notes. Sixty melodies from these tribes +were recorded on the graphophone. + +Thus from 1890 to 1898 I spent fully five years in field researches +among the natives of northwestern Mexico. The material was collected +with a view to shedding light upon the relations between the ancient +culture of the valley of Mexico and the Pueblo Indians in the southwest +of the United States; to give an insight into the ethnical status +of the Mexican Indians now and at the time of the conquest, and to +illuminate certain phases in the development of the human race. + +So far the results of my expeditions to Mexico have been made public +in the following literature: + + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: "Explorations in Mexico," Bulletin of the American +Geographical Society, 1891. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: Letters to the American Geographical Society of +New York, "Mr. Carl Lumholtz in Mexico," Bulletin of the American +Geographical Society, Vol. III., 1893. + +J. A. ALLEN: "List of Mammals and Birds Collected in Northeastern +Sonora and Northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, on the Lumholtz +Archæological Expedition, 1890-1892," Bulletin of the American Museum +of Natural History, Vol. V., Art. III., 1893. + +B. L. ROBINSON and M. L. FERNALD: "New Plants Collected +by Mr. C. V. Hartman and Mr. C. E. Lloyd upon the Archæological +Expedition to Northwestern Mexico under the Direction of Dr. Carl +Lumholtz," Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, +Vol. XXX., 1894. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: "American Cave-Dwellers; the Tarahumares of the Sierra +Madre," Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol. III., 1894. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: "The Cave-Dwellers of the Sierra Madre," Proceedings +of the International Congress of Anthropology, Chicago, 1894. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: Four articles in SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE: "Explorations +in the Sierra Madre," November, 1891; "Among the Tarahumares, the +American Cave-Dwellers," July, 1894; "Tarahumare Life and Customs," +September, 1894; "Tarahumare Dances and Plant Worship," October, 1894. + +C. V. HARTMAN: "The Indians of Northwestern Mexico," Congrès +International des Americanistes, Dixième Session, Stockholm, 1894. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: "Blandt Sierra Madres huleboere," Norge, Norsk Kalender, +Kristiania, 1895. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ and ALES HRDLICKA: "Trephining in Mexico," American +Anthropologist, December, 1897. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: "The Huichol Indians in Mexico," Bulletin of the +American Museum of Natural History, Vol. X., 1898. + +TARLETON H. BEAN: "Notes on Mexican Fishes Obtained by Carl +Lumholtz." Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, +Vol. X., 1898. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ and ALES HRDLICKA: "Marked Human Bones from a Prehistoric +Tarasco Indian Burial-place in the State of Michoacan, Mexico," +Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. X., 1898. + +ALES HRDLICKA: "Description of an Ancient Anomalous Skeleton from the +Valley of Mexico, with Special Reference to Supernumerary Bicipital +Ribs in Man," Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, +Vol. XII., 1899. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: "Symbolism of the Huichol Indians," Memoir of the +American Museum of Natural History, Vol. III., May, 1900; 228 royal +quarto pages and 3 coloured plates. + + +IN PREPARATION: + +CARL LUMHOLTZ: "Conventionalism in Designs of the Huichol Indians," +Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History. + + +The present volumes give a succinct account of my travels and +work among the remote peoples of the Sierra Madre del Norte and +the countries adjacent to the south and east as far as the City of +Mexico. Most of what I tell here refers to a part of the Republic +that is never visited by tourists and is foreign even to most +Mexicans. Primitive people are becoming scarce on the globe. On the +American continents there are still some left in their original +state. If they are studied before they, too, have lost their +individuality or been crushed under the heels of civilisation, much +light may be thrown not only upon the early people of this country +but upon the first chapters of the history of mankind. + +In the present rapid development of Mexico it cannot be prevented that +these primitive people will soon disappear by fusion with the great +nation to whom they belong. The vast and magnificent virgin forests +and the mineral wealth of the mountains will not much longer remain +the exclusive property of my dusky friends; but I hope that I shall +have rendered them a service by setting them this modest monument, +and that civilised man will be the better for knowing of them. + +That I have been able to accomplish what I did I owe, in the +first place, to the generosity of the people of the United States, +to their impartiality and freedom from prejudice, which enables +foreigners to work shoulder to shoulder with their own advance +guard. I wish to extend my thanks in particular to the American +Geographical Society of New York, and still more especially to +the American Museum of Natural History of New York, with whom I +have had the honour of being connected more or less closely for ten +years. To its public-spirited and whole-souled President, Mr. Morris +K. Jesup, I am under profound obligations. I also take pleasure in +acknowledging my indebtedness to Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who initiated +my Mexican ventures with a subscription of $1,000; furthermore to the +Hon. Cecil Baring, Mr. Frederick A. Constable, Mr. William E. Dodge, +Mr. James Douglass, Mrs. Joseph W. Drexel, Mr. George J. Gould, Miss +Helen Miller Gould, Mr. Archer M. Huntington, Mr. Frederick E. Hyde, +Mr. D. Willis James, Col. James K. Jones, the Duke of Loubat, +Mr. Peter Marié, Mr. Henry G. Marquand, Mr. F. O. Matthiessen, +Mr. Victor Morawetz, Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, Mrs. Edwin Parsons, +Mr. Archibald Rogers, Mr. F. Augustus Schermerhorn, Mr. William +C. Schermerhorn, Mr. Charles Stewart Smith, Mr. James Speyer, +Mr. George W. Vanderbilt, Mr. William C. Whitney, of New York; +to Mr. Frederick L. Ames, Mrs. John L. Gardner, Mrs. E. Mason, +Mr. Nathaniel Thayer, Mr. Samuel D. Warren, Dr. Charles G. Weld, +of Boston; to Mr. Allison D. Armour and Mr. Franklin MacVeagh, of +Chicago; to Mrs. Phoebe Hearst, Mr. Frank G. New. lands, Mrs. Abby +M. Parrot, Mr. F. W. Sharon, of San Francisco; to Mr. Adolphus Busch, +of St. Louis; to Mr. Theo. W. Davis, of Newport; and to the late +Mr. E. L. Godkin. + +Much valuable support or assistance I have also received from +Mrs. Morris K. Jesup; Mrs. Elizabeth Hobson, of Washington, D. C.; +Miss Joanna Rotch, of Milton, Mass.; Mrs. Henry Draper, of New York; +Mrs. Robert W. Chapin, of Lenox; the late Mr. E. L. Godkin; Professor +Alexander Agassiz; Professor F. W. Putnam, Curator of the American +Museum of Natural History in New York; Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, of +Philadelphia; Professor Franz Boas, Curator of the American Museum of +Natural History in New York; Dr. B. L. Robinson and Dr. M. L. Fernald, +of Harvard University; Professor J. A. Allen and Mr. L. P. Gratacap, +Curators of the American Museum of Natural History. + +I am under obligation to Mr. Marshall H. Saville, Curator of the +American Museum of Natural History, especially for the placing of +the names of the ruins of Southern Mexico on one of the maps; to +Miss Alice Fletcher, of Washington, D. C., and Mr. Edwin S. Tracy for +transcribing from the graphophone three of the songs rendered in this +book, and to Mrs. George S. Bixby for aid in transcribing the native +music. Finally I desire to express my appreciation of the untiring +services of my private secretary, Mrs. H. E. Hepner. + +The upper illustration on page 65 is a reproduction of a photograph +kindly furnished me by Mr. Frank H. Chapman, and the illustration in +Vol. I., pages 145-146, is made from a photograph acquired through +the late Dr. P. Lamborn. The illustration in Vol. II., pages 464-465, +I owe to the courtesy of Mr. D. Gabriel Castaños, of Guadalajara. + +The coloured illustrations are represented as the objects appear when +the colours have been brought out by the application of water. + +The maps do not lay claim to an accuracy which, under the +circumstances, it was impossible to obtain, but they will, I hope, +be found to be an improvement on the existing ones. + +Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, who has just returned from the Hyde expedition, +informs me that in visiting the western part of Sonora he found pure +Opata spoken west of Rio de Sonora and north of Ures, _e.g_., in Tuape. + +Wherever dollars and cents are given Mexican currency is meant. + +In the Indian Songs II., 10 and 18, I have made an attempt at rendering +the native words in English in such a form that the translations +could be sung, without, however, deviating from the original. + +In the native words "x" should be given the sound of the Greek chi. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I + +Preparations for the Start--Our Dry Goods Relished by the +Cattle--I Become a "Compadre"--Beautiful Northern Sonora--Mexican +Muleteers Preferable in Their Own Country--Apache Stories--Signs +of Ancient Inhabitants--Arrival at Upper Yaqui River--Opata +Indians now Mexicanised--A Flourishing Medical Practice--Mexican +Manners--Rock-carvings--How Certain Cacti Propagate, Pages 1-16 + +CHAPTER II + +A Remarkable Antique Piece--A New Species of Century Plant--Arrival +at Nacori, at the Foot of the Sierra Madre--Trincheras--A +Mammoth Tusk Secured--Climbing the Sierra Madre--A New Squirrel +Discovered--Solitude--Apache Monuments--Arrival at Upper Bavispe River, +Pages 17-40 + +CHAPTER III + +Camping at Upper Bavispe River--Low Stone Cabins, Fortresses, and +Other Remains Indicating Former Habitation--The Animals Starve on the +Winter Grass of the Sierra and Begin to Give Out--A Deserted Apache +Camp--comfort at Last--The Giant Woodpecker--We Arrive at the Mormon +Settlements of Pacheco and Cave Valley, Pages 41-59 + +CHAPTER IV + +A Splendid Field Prepared for Us by the Ancient Agriculturists of Cave +Valley--House Groups in Caves Along a Pretty Stream--Well-preserved +Mummies Found in Caves--More Trincheras--Our Excavations in +Caves and Mounds Confirm to the Mormons their Sacred Stories--We +Move to the Plains of San Diego--Visit to Casas Grandes and the +Watch-tower--Successful Excavations of the Mounds near San Diego, +Pages 60-98 + +CHAPTER V + +Second Expedition--Return to the Sierra--Parrots in the +Snow--Cave-dwellings at Garabato, the most Beautiful in Northern +Mexico--A Superb View of the Sierra Madre--The Devil's Spine +Ridge--Guaynopa, the Famous Old Silver Mine--Aros River--On Old +Trails--Adventures of "El Chino"--Cure for Poison Ivy, Pages 99-117 + +CHAPTER VI + +Fossils, and One Way of Utilising Them--Temosachic--The First +Tarahumares--Ploughs with Wooden Shares--Visit to the Southern +Pimas--Aboriginal Hat Factories--Pinos Altos--The Waterfall near +Jesus Maria--An Adventure with Ladrones, Pages 118-135 + +CHAPTER VII + +The Uncontaminated Tarahumares--A Tarahumare Court in Session--The +Power of the Staff--Justice has its Course--Barrancas--Excursion to +the Gentiles--Tarahumare Costumes Simple and Inexpensive--Trincheras +in Use Among the Tarahumares, Pages 136-155 + +CHAPTER VIII + +The Houses of the Tarahumares--American Cave-dwellings of +To-day--Frequent Changes of Abode by the Tarahumare--The Patio or +Dancing Place--The Original Cross of America--Tarahumare Storehouses, +Pages 156-178 + +CHAPTER IX + +Arrival at Batopilas--Ascent from Batopilas to the Highlands of the +Sierra--A Tarahumare who had been in Chicago--An Old-timer--Flight +of Our Native Guide and its Disastrous Consequences--Indians Burn the +Grass All Over the Country--Travelling Becomes too Difficult for the +Animals--Mr. Taylor and I Go to Zapuri--Its Surroundings--The Pithaya +in Season, Pages 179-189 + +CHAPTER X + +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, +Pages 190-202 + +CHAPTER XI + +A Priest and His Family Make the Wilderness Comfortable for +Us--Ancient Remains Similar to those Seen in Sonora--The Climate of the +Sierra--Flora and Fauna--Tarahumare Agriculture--Ceremonies Connected +with the Planting of Corn--Deterioration of Domestic Animals--Native +Dogs of Mexico, Pages 203-217 + +CHAPTER XII + +The Tarahumares Still Afraid of Me--Don Andres Madrid to the +Rescue--Mexican Robbers Among the Tarahumares--Mode of Burial in +Ancient Caves--Visit to Nonoava--The Indians Change their Minds about +Me, and Regard Me as a Rain-god--What the Tarahumares Eat--A Pretty +Church in the Wilderness--I Find at Last a Reliable Interpreter and +Proceed to Live à l'Indienne, Pages 218-234 + +CHAPTER XIII + +The Tarahumare Physique--Bodily Movements--Not as Sensitive to Pain as +White Men--Their Phenomenal Endurance--Health--Honesty--Dexterity +and Ingenuity--Good Observers of the Celestial Bodies and +Weather-forecasters--Hunting and Shooting--Home Industries--Tesvino, +the Great National Drink of the Tribe--Other Alcoholic Drinks, +Pages 235-257 + +CHAPTER XIV + +Politeness, and the Demands of Etiquette--The Daily Life of the +Tarahumare--The Woman's Position is High--Standard of Beauty--Women +Do the Courting--Love's Young Dream--Marriage Ceremonies, Primitive +and Civilised--Childbirth--Childhood, Pages 258-275 + +CHAPTER XV + +Many Kinds of Games Among the Tarahumares--Betting and +Gambling--Foot-races the National Sport--The Tarahumares are the +Greatest Runners in the World--Divinations for the Race--Mountains +of Betting Stakes--Women's Races, Pages 276-294 + +CHAPTER XVI + +Religion--Mother Moon Becomes the Virgin Mary--Myths--The Creation--The +Deluge--Folk-lore--The Crow's Story to the Parrot--Brother +Coyote--Beliefs about Animals, Pages 295-310 + +CHAPTER XVII + +The Shamans or Wise Men of the Tribe--Healers and Priests in +One--Disease Caused by Looks and Thoughts--Everybody and Everything +has to be Cured--Nobody Feels Well without His "Doctor"--Sorcery--The +Powers of Evil are as Great as those of Good--Remarkable Cure for +Snake-bite--Trepanning Among the Ancient Tarahumares, Pages 311-329 + +CHAPTER XVIII + +Relation of Man to Nature--Dancing as a Form of Worship Learned +from the Animals--Tarahumare Sacrifices--The Rutuburi Dance Taught +by the Turkey--The Yumari Learned from the Deer--Tarahumare Rain +Songs--Greeting the Sun--Tarahumare Oratory--The Flowing Bowl--The +National Importance of Tesvino--Homeward Bound, Pages 330-355 + +CHAPTER XIX + +Plant-worship--Hikuli--Internal and External Effects--Hikuli both Man +and God--How the Tarahumares Obtain the Plant, and where They Keep +It--The Tarahumare Hikuli Feast--Musical Instruments--Hikuli Likes +Noise--The Dance--Hikuli's Departure in the Morning--Other Kinds of +Cacti Worshipped--"Doctor" Rubio, the Great Hikuli Expert--The Age +of Hikuli Worship, Pages 356-379 + +CHAPTER XX + +The Tarahumare's Firm Belief in a Future Life--Causes of Death--The +Dead are Mischievous and Want Their Families to Join Them--Therefore +the Dead Have to be Kept Away by Fair Means or Foul--Three Feasts +and a Chase--Burial Customs--A Funeral Sermon, Pages 380-390 + +CHAPTER XXI + +Three Weeks on Foot Through the Barranca--Rio Fuerte--I Get My Camera +Wet--Ancient Cave-dwellings Ascribed to the Tubar Indians--The Effect +of a Compliment--Various Devices for Catching Fish--Poisoning the +Water--A Blanket Seine, Pages 391-407 + +CHAPTER XXII + +Resumption of the Journey Southward--_Pinus Lumholtzii_--Cooking +with Snow--Terror-stricken Indians--A Gentlemanly Highwayman and +His "Shooting-box"--The Pernicious Effect of Civilisation Upon the +Tarahumares--A Fine Specimen of the Tribe--The Last of the Tarahumares, +Pages 408-421 + +CHAPTER XXIII + +Cerro de Muinora, the Highest Mountain in Chihuahua--The Northern +Tepehuanes--Troubles Cropping Out of the Camera--Sinister Designs +on Mexico Attributed to the Author--Maizillo--Foot-races Among the +Tepehuanes--Influence of the Mexicans Upon the Tepehunaes, and _Vice +Versa_--Profitable Liquor Traffic--Medicine Lodges--Cucuduri, the +Master of the Woods--Myth of the Pleiades, Pages 422-436 + +CHAPTER XXIV + +On to Morelos--Wild and Broken Country--The Enormous Flower-spike of +the Amole--Subtropical Vegetation of Northwestern Mexico--Destructive +Ants--The Last of the Tubars--A Spectral Ride--Back to the United +States--An Awful Thunder-storm--Close Quarters--Zape--Antiquities--When +an "Angel" Dies--Mementos of a Reign of Terror--The Great Tepehuane +Revolution of 1616--The Fertile Plains of Durango, Pages 437-450 + +CHAPTER XXV + +Winter in the High Sierra--Mines--Pueblo Nuevo and Its Amiable Padre--A +Ball in My Honour--_Sancta Simplicitas_--A Fatiguing Journey to +the Pueblo of Lajas and the Southern Tepehuanes--Don't Travel After +Nightfall!--Five Days Spent in Persuading People to Pose Before the +Camera--The Regime of Old Missionary Times--Strangers Carefully +Excluded--Everybody Contemplating Marriage is Arrested--Shocking +Punishments for Making Love--Bad Effects of the Severity of the Laws, +Pages 451-470 + +CHAPTER XXVI + +Pueblo Viejo--Three Languages Spoken Here--The Aztecs--The +Musical Bow--Theories of Its Origin--Dancing Mitote--Fasting +and Abstinence--Helping President Diaz--The Importance of Tribal +Restrictions--Principles of Monogamy--Disposition of the Dead, +Pages 471-483 + +CHAPTER XXVII + +Inexperienced Help--How to Acquire Riches from the Mountains--Sierra +del Nayarit--The Coras--Their Aversion to "Papers"--Their Part in +Mexican Politics--A Déjeuner à la Fourchette--La Danza, Pages 484-495 + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +A Glimpse of the Pacific from the High Sierra--A Visionary Idyl--The +Coras Do Not Know Fear--An Un-Indian Indian--Pueblo of Jesus +Maria--A Nice Old Cora Shaman--A Padre Denounces Me as a Protestant +Missionary--Trouble Ensuing from His Mistake--Scorpions, Pages 496-507 + +CHAPTER XXIX + +A Cordial Reception at San Francisco--Mexicans in the Employ of Indians +--The Morning Star, the Great God of the Coras--The Beginning of +the World--How the Rain-clouds were First Secured--The Rabbit and +the Deer--Aphorisms of a Cora Shaman--An Eventful Night--Hunting +for Skulls--My Progress Impeded by Padre's Ban--Final Start for the +Huichol Country--A Threatened Desertion, Pages 508-530 + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + + Portrait of the Author _Frontispiece_ + A Dasylirion, 1 + Cottonwood, 4 + _Cereus Greggii_, a small cactus with enormous root, 5 + Fronteras, 7 + Remarkable Ant-hill, 8 + Church Bells at Opoto, 10 + Also a Visitor, 11 + A Mexican from Opoto, 12 + Rock-carvings near Granados, 15 + The Church in Bacadehuachi, 17 + Aztec Vase, Found in the Church of Bacadehuachi, 18 + _Agave Hartmani_, a new species of century plant, 19 + Ancient Pecking on a Trachyte Boulder one foot square, 20 + In the Hills of Northeastern Sonora, 24 + Adios, Señor! 27 + View toward the Northwest from Sierra de Huehuerachi, 29 + Our Principal Guide Leaving Us, 32 + A Mule with its Pack of Crates, 33 + The Photographic Mule, 34 + On the Crest of the Sierra, 37 + Apache Monument, 39 + Camp in the High Sierra, 47 + Bringing in Deer, 51 + The Largest Woodpecker in the World, 54 + Distant View of Cupola-shaped Granary in Cave, 58 + Single Wall in Cliff, 61 + Ground Plan of House Groups in Granary Cave, 62 + Cupola-shaped Granary in Cave, 64 + Granary in Tlaxcala, 65 + Bases of Granaries in Cave, 65 + Ground Plan of House Groups in Cave on East Side of the + River, 66 + Sandal Plaited from Yucca Leaves, 67 + Heel of a Sandal, Showing Plaiting, 68 + Piece of Wood Showing Drill Mark, 68 + Pendant of Wood, 69 + Implement for Throwing, 69 + Burial Caves in Cave Valley, 70 + A Mummified Body, 71 + Rock Paintings in White on the Inside of a Burial Cave in + Cave Valley, 72 + A Trinchera in Cave Valley, 73 + Ancient Cave-dwellings in Strawberry Valley, 75 + Interior View of Cave-dwellings Shown on Page 75, 76 + Exterior View of Cave-dwellings in Strawberry Valley, 77 + Objects Found in Mounds at Upper Piedras Verdes River, 81 + Painting on Rock on Piedras Verdes River, 82 + Figures on Walls of a Cave-house on Piedras Verdes River, 83 + Figure on Rock on Piedras Verdes River, 83 + Hunting Antelope in Disguise, 84 + Casas Grandes, 85 + Ceremonial Hatchet with Mountain Sheep's Head. From Casas + Grandes. Broken, 88 + Earthenware Vessel in Shape of a Woman. From Casas Grandes, 89 + Cerro de Montezuma and the Watch Tower Seen from the South, 91 + Double Earthenware Vessel, from San Diego, with Hollow + Connection at Base, 92 + Extension of Designs on Plate I., _a_, 95 + The Horned Toad Jar, Seen from Above and Below. Plate I., + _c_, 95 + Extension of Designs on Plate I., _d_, 95 + Extension of Designs on Plate III., _e_, 95 + Extension of Designs on Plate V., _e_, 97 + Black Ware, Highly Polished, 97 + Extension of Design on Plate IV., _a_, 98 + Extension of Design on Plate IV., _b_, 98 + Extension of Designs on Plate IV., _c_, 98 + Extension of Designs on Plate IV., _f_, 98 + Extension of Designs on Plate V., _c_, 98 + Ancient Cave-dwelling at Garabato, 101 + Part of Cave-dwellings at Garabato, 103 + Design in Red on Second-story Wall, 105 + Piece of Matting from Garabato Cave, 107 + Ancient Cave-houses and Granaries near Aros River, 111 + Tarahumare, 119 + Tarahumare Plough with Wooden Share, 121 + Tarahumare Ploughshare Made of Oak, 122 + Tarahumare Ploughshare of Stone, 122 + Young Southern Pima, 123 + Middle-aged Southern Pima, 124 + Southern Pimas Living in a Brushwood Inclosure, 125 + Pine Cone Serving as a Comb, 127 + Southern Pima Arrow Release, 128 + Small Crosses Placed in a Log in Front of Southern Pima + House, 128 + The Waterfall of Basasiachic, 129 + Tarahumare Ploughman, 133 + Ancient Stone Hammer Seen in the Presidente's Yard, 134 + Tarahumare Indians from Pino Gordo, 137 + Tarahumare Court in Session at Cusarare, 140 + Barranca de Urique, 145 + Our Tarahumare Carriers and the Gobernador, 148 + Tarahumare Men, 149 + Tarahumare Woman, 150 + Necklace of Seeds of _Coix Lachryma-Jobi_, 151 + Tarahumare Ear-ornament: one seed _Coix Lachryma-Jobi_ at + top. Natural size, 151 + Tarahumare Ranch near Barranca de Cobre, showing ploughed + fields supported by stone walls, 152 + Tarahumare Ranch near Barranca de Cobre, showing agriculture + on terraces, 152 + Tarahumare House near Barranca de Cobre, 157 + Tarahumare House in the Hot Country, 158 + Cappe of Sandstone Pillar, showing effect of erosion, 159 + Tarahumare Family Camping under a Tree, 161 + Inhabited Cave, the Home of a Tarahumare Belle, 162 + The Belle of the Cave, 163 + Side View of Cave on Page 165, Showing Store-houses and + Inclosure, 164 + Inhabited Cave, Showing Store-houses, Inclosure, and Extended + Floor, 165 + Cave with Wooden Ladder Leading to a Store-room, 169 + Crosses Made from the Natural Growth of Pine-trees in Front + of Tarahumare House, 172 + Crosses in Front of Tarahumare House, 173 + Cross, 174 + Tarahumare Store-house of Stones and Mud, 175 + Caves Used as Store-houses, 176 + Tarahumare Store-houses Made of Logs, 178 + Cactus Flowers, 179 + Making Larvae Ready for the Pot, 182 + Gathering Pithaya, 188 + In the Highlands of the Sierra, 194 + Tarahumare Interpreters, 201 + Indian Trail Cut in a Ridge of Tuff, 202 + Pecking on Rock in the Neighbourhood of Norogachic, 203 + Tarahumare Girl from the Neighbourhood of Norogachic, 205 + Pecking on Rock in the Neighbourhood of Norogachic, 207 + Winter Morning in the Sierra, 209 + Dogs of Chihuahua, 216 + Tarahumare Girdles, 219 + Aspect of the Tarahumare Country in Humarisa, 227 + Taking My Baggage Down an Indian Trail in the Barranca de + San Carlos, 231 + Tarahumare Woman, 236 + Tarahumare Man, 237 + Usual Crouching Position of the Tarahumare, 238 + Tarahumare Man, 239 + Tarahumares Sunning Themselves, 240 + Tarahumare Girl. The Hair Worn in Mexican Fashion, 242 + Weaving a Girdle, 249 + Patterns of Tarahumare Belts, 249 + Woman Pottery Maker and Some Results of Her Labour, 250 + Tarahumare Pottery from Panalachic, 252 + Basket for Straining Tesvino, 254 + Tarahumare Blanket, 259 + A Tarahumare Call, 260 + Tarahumare Arrow Release, 262 + Tarahumare Baskets, 263 + Tarahumare Girl Carrying Water, 265 + Tarahumare, Showing Mode of Wearing Blanket, 268 + Tarahumare Blankets, 274 + Stone Disk for Playing, 277 + Sticks Used by Tepehuanes for Playing, 278 + Value of the Different Sides of a Knuckle-bone, 278 + Tarahumares Playing Quinze, 279 + Cross Marking the Track of the Foot-runners, 283 + Tarahumares Racing by Torch-light, 285 + Making Wagers at a Foot-race, 288 + Part of Tarahumare Rattling Belt, 290 + Tarahumare Foot-runners, Photographed after the Race, 291 + Tarahumare Women Crossing a Stream in Their Race, 293 + Fork and Wooden Ball Used in Women's Game, 294 + Stick and Ring Used in Women's Game, 294 + The Coyote, _Canis Latrans_, 303 + Tarahumare Shaman's Rattles, 313 + Rubio, the Shaman, 316 + Rubio, the Shaman, and His Wife at Home in Their Cave, 319 + Shaman Rubio's Cave, Seen from the Outside, 320 + Rubio, the Shaman, Examining a Man Accused of Sorcery, 324 + Trepanned Tarahumare Skull, Female, 328 + The Beginning of the Rutuburi and the Yumari Dance, 335 + Dancing Yumari, 341 + Sacrificing Tesvino after a Yumari Dance, 345 + Ready to Begin Eating and Drinking after a Night's Dancing + of Rutuburi, 349 + _Echinocactus_, 357 + Hikuli or Peyote, the principal sacred cacti, 358 + Dry Hikuli, 359 + Shaman's Notched Stick, 366 + Ancient Notched Sticks, 366 + Tarahumare Women Dancing Hikuli at Guajochic Station, 369 + _Mammilaria fissurata_, 373 + Shaman Rubio and His Company at a Hikuli Feast. Photographed + after a Night's Singing and Dancing, 376 + Tarahumare Medicine Figure, Mexico, 378 + Ancient Ritualistic Petrograph, Arizona, 378 + Mourning, 380 + View from the North across Barranca de San Carlos, near + Guachochic, 392 + Barranca de San Carlos, in its Upper Part, 395 + One of My Companions in Barranca de San Carlos, 397 + The Widow Grinding Corn in Her Camp, 399 + Bow and Throwing-stick for the Fish-spear, 401 + The Amole, a Species of Agave, 402 + Tarahumares on the Rio Fuerte Fishing with Their Blankets, 405 + _Pinus Lumholtzii_, 409 + Civilised Tarahumare Boy, 417 + Juan Ignacio and His Son, Pagan Tarahumares, 419 + A Tepehuane Family, 423 + Old Log-houses near Nabogame, 424 + Tepehuanes from Nabogame, 427 + Tepehuane Medicine Lodge near Mesa de Milpillas, 432 + A Well-known Tepehuane Shaman, 434 + _Salvia elegans_, var. _sonorensis_, 438 + The Flower-spike of the Amole, 439 + _Cereus cæspitosus_, 440 + Tubar Man, 442 + Tubar Women, 443 + Beads of Burnt Clay, from Tubar Tombs, 444 + Tepehuane Sling made from Maguey Fibre, 458 + Tepehuane Pouch made from Maguey Fibre, 459 + Tepehuane Store-house, near Lajas, 461 + The Musical Bow of the Tepehuanes of the South, and of the + Aztecs, 475 + Rattle for Ankle, made from Empty Pods of a Palm, 477 + Cora Men and Women from Santa Teresa, 489 + Cora Pouch, of Unusual Shape, made of Wool. Patterns represent + Flying Birds and a row of Deer, 492 + Cora Indians from Mesa del Nayarit, 501 + The Sacred Dancing-place of the Coras, called Towta, the + supposed residence of the great Taquat of the East of the + same name. Photographed after the Dancing was over, 517 + God's Eye, made by the Cora Tribe as a Prayer for My Health + and Life, 521 + + + + + +COLOURED PLATES + + + + PLATES I., II., III., IV. Pottery from San Diego _at end + of volume_ + PLATE V. Pottery from San Diego and Casas Grandes _at end + of volume_ + PLATE VI. A Tarahumare Beauty _facing page 266_ + + + + + + +UNKNOWN MEXICO + + +Chapter I + + Preparations for the Start--Our Dry Goods Relished by the + Cattle--I Become a "Compadre"--Beautiful Northern Sonora--Mexican + Muleteers Preferable in Their Own Country--Apache Stories--Signs + of Ancient Inhabitants--Arrival at Upper Yaqui River--Opata + Indians now Mexicanised--A Flourishing Medical Practice--Mexican + Manners--Rock-carvings--How Certain Cacti Propagate. + + +Heavy floods in the southern part of Arizona and New Mexico, with +consequent wash-outs along the railroads, interfered with my plans and +somewhat delayed my arrival at Bisbee, Arizona, a small but important +mining place from which I had decided to start my expedition. It is +only some twenty odd miles from the Mexican border, and the Copper +Queen Company maintains there well-supplied stores, where the necessary +outfit, provisions, etc., could be procured. The preparations for +the start consumed more than two weeks. Animals had to be bought, men +selected and hired, provisions purchased and packed. In the meantime +I was joined by the various scientific assistants appointed to take +part in the expedition. + +The horses and mules were bought in the neighbourhood. In purchasing +animals much caution is required in that part of the country, +as even men who pose as gentlemen will try to take advantage of +the situation. One such individual not only raised his prices, but +delivered unbroken animals. Much loss of time and endless annoyance +were caused, first in the camp and later on the road, by unruly +mules, that persistently threw off their packs and had to be subdued +and reloaded. + +Gradually, I had succeeded in finding the necessary men; This was +another hard task to accomplish. There are always plenty of fellows, +ready for adventures, greedy to earn money, and eager to join such +an expedition. But to select the right ones among the cow-boys and +miners of the border lands is most difficult. + +By what appears, furthermore, to be the compensating justice of Nature, +the treasures of the earth are always hidden in the most unattractive, +dismal, and dreary spots. At least all the mining places I ever +visited are so located, and Bisbee is no exception. To get away from +the cramped little village and its unsavoury restaurant, I established +my first camp four miles south of it on a commodious and pleasant +opening, where we could do our own cooking. But here a new annoyance, +and rather a curious one, was met with. The cattle of the region +evinced a peculiar predilection for our wearing apparel. Especially +at night, the cows would come wandering in among our tents, like the +party who goes about seeking what he may devour, and on getting hold +of some such choice morsel as a sock, shirt, or blanket, Mrs. Bossie +would chew and chew, "gradually," to quote Mark Twain, "taking it in, +all the while opening and closing her eyes in a kind of religious +ecstasy, as if she had never tasted anything quite as good as an +overcoat before in her life." It is no use arguing about tastes, not +even with a cow. In spite of this drawback, it was pleasant to be out +in the country, which was growing delightfully green after the rains, +and gave us a foretaste of what we might expect. + +The last thing to do, after all other preparations had been completed, +was to get into the camp three small bags containing seven hundred +and fifty Mexican dollars, since among the Mexican country population +paper money is hardly of any use. There was some talk about a raid on +the camp by some toughs in the neighbourhood, but we made our start +unmolested, on September 9, 1890. + +Thanks to my letters from the Mexican Government, I had no trouble +at the custom-house in San Pedro. I stopped a few days there, +nevertheless, to buy some Mexican pack-saddles, called aparejos, +which, roughly speaking, are leather bags stuffed with straw, to be +fastened over the mules' backs. Through the courtesy of the Mexican +custom officials I also secured two excellent and reliable Mexican +packers, to take the place of some Americans who had been fighting +in the camp and proved themselves unfit for my purpose. + +As a mark of regard, one of the custom officers invited me to act as +godfather to his child. I had to support the baby's head during the +ceremony, while an elderly woman held the little body. According to +custom, I gave twenty-five cents to every member of the party, and to +the child a more adequate present. From now on I was called compadre +by most of the people in the village, and that sacred relationship was +established between myself and the baby's family, which is deemed of +so much importance in the life of the Mexicans. During ten years of +travel and ethnological activity I have never met the child again, +but I hope that he is getting on well. + +How beautifully fresh the country looked as we travelled southward +in Northern Sonora! The dreary plains of Arizona gave way to a more +varied landscape, with picturesque hills studded with oaks and mountain +cedars. Along the rivers cottonwood was especially noticeable. There +was also an abundance of wild-grape vines. Everywhere near the shady +creeks I saw the evening primrose, brilliantly yellow, while the +intense, carmine-red flowers of the lobelia peeped out from under the +shrubs. But of all the flowers on the banks of the streams, the most +remarkable was the exquisitely beautiful _Datura meteloides_, with +its gorgeous white crown, six inches long and four inches wide. We +saw one cluster of this creeper fully fifty feet in circumference. It +is well known among the Navajo Indians that the root of this plant, +when eaten, acts as a powerful stimulant; but the better class among +the tribe look upon it with disfavour, as its use often leads to +madness and death. The effect of the poison is cumulative, and the +Indians under its influence, like the Malays, run amuck and try to +kill everybody they meet. + +There is also found a species of cactus, with a root which looks like +an enormous carrot. One small plant had a root four feet long. It is +used as soap. + +Among the birds, doves and flycatchers were most commonly seen, one +species of the latter frequently dazzling our eyes with its brilliant +vermilion plumage. + +The men I had hired before crossing the border did not work at all well +with the Mexicans. They generally considered themselves vastly superior +to the latter, whom they did not recognise as "white men." Personally, +I preferred the Mexicans, who were obedient, obliging, and less lawless +than the rough, mixed-white citizens of the American Southwest. As +an illustration of the moral status of the frontier population, I may +relate that when about sixty miles south of the border, a custom-house +official stationed in the neighbourhood insisted upon examining all my +baggage, which, of course, would have involved a lot of trouble. He +was neither worse nor better than other custom officers, who seem to +exist only to annoy people, and by the exertion of a little patience I +succeeded in settling the matter satisfactorily. But one of my foremen, +who had noticed my annoyance, came up to me and asked if I desired +"to get rid" of him; if I did, said he, he knew how he could serve +me so that nothing more would be heard from the Mexican! + +I gradually weeded out this unscrupulous element among the men, +and replaced most of the American with Mexican muleteers, who are +far superior in that particular line of business. In hiring them, +only one precaution had always to be observed: never to accept one +unless he had a good recommendation from his village authorities or +some prominent man in the neighbourhood. + +The first village of any importance we passed was Fronteras. It +is built on the summit and slopes of an elevated plateau and looks +extremely picturesque at a distance. Seen close, however, it turns +out to be a wretched little cluster of adobe, or sun-dried brick, +houses. Not only the town itself, but also all the ranches in the +neighbourhood are erected on elevations, a precaution from former +days against the bloodthirsty Apaches. + +Not so very long ago Fronteras was quite an important place, numbering, +it is said, some 2,000 inhabitants. But the Apaches, by their incessant +attacks, made the life of the villagers so miserable that the place +became depopulated. Once it was even entirely abandoned. Many stories +of the constant fights with these savages are related by the survivors +of those struggles. Never was it safe in those days to venture outside +of the town limits. Yet the conflicts did not always end in one way, +and the Mexicans sometimes got the better of the raiders, although +it may be doubted whether the methods by which these results were +brought about would come under the rules of modern warfare. + +One bright moonlight night an old man, who had himself taken part in +many an Apache fight, led me to a deep gorge where seven Apaches once +met their doom. The story he told was as follows: + +A large band of warriors came threateningly into the town. They had +killed two hawks and, decorated with their feathers, were on the +warpath. As they were in such numbers the Mexicans realised that it +would be useless to attempt resistance, and therefore sued for peace, +which was granted. A peace-banquet followed, during which mescal, +the Mexican brandy, flowed freely, distributed without stint to the +warriors by their wily hosts, who were abiding their time. When the +Apaches were intoxicated the villagers fell upon them and captured +seven men; most of the band, however, managed to escape. Next day +the prisoners were taken to the ravine and speared, charges of powder +being deemed too good for them. Only el capitan, pointing to his head, +requested, as a special favour, to be shot, which was done. Their +bodies were buried in the ravine where they fell, but too long a time +had already elapsed since the event to enable me to secure for my +collections the specimens for which I had been on the lookout. Yet +I was told by the inhabitants that the ground about the town was so +full of Apache remains that I should have no difficulty in gaining +my object in places close by. A number of Apaches, men and women, +I was informed, had once been dumped into a well. I set to work at +the place indicated, and our efforts were rewarded by the exhumation +of eight skulls in perfect condition, besides many typical bones. The +last raid of the Apaches on Fronteras was in 1875. + +Passing Cochuta about a hundred miles south of Bisbee, we came upon +a deposit of fossils. It was scarcely more than a mile in extent, but +many bones were said to have been taken away from it as curiosities. I +had already observed isolated fossil bones along the creeks on several +occasions during our travels, but we could find nothing here of value. + +Signs that the country was in former times occupied by another race +than its present inhabitants are seen everywhere throughout the +region we traversed following the road to the south. Here they appear +frequently as remarkable groupings of stones firmly embedded in the +ground. Only the tops of the stones (the total length of which is +about one foot) are seen above the surface, much as stones are used +in parks and gardens for ornamental purposes. They are arranged in +circles or in rectangles. I saw two circles close to each other, each +six feet in diameter. One rectangle measured fifty feet in length +by half that in width. Low walls divided it into three indistinct +partitions. There was never any wall built underneath these surface +stones, nor were there any traces of charring. Among the ruins found +on top of the hills we collected a lot of broken pottery and some +flint arrowheads. In several places in this district we found gold +and coal, but not in paying quantities. + +Some forty miles south of Cochuta we turned in a southerly direction, +ascending a hilly plateau 3,200 feet above sea-level. Here we observed +the first orchids, yellow in colour and deliciously fragrant, and in +the cañon below we met the first palms. The rocks continued to show +volcanic and metamorphic formation. + +About 130 miles south of Bisbee we caught the first glimpse of the +Sierra Madre rising above the foot-hills, some forty miles off +to the east. Its lofty mountain peaks basking in the clear blue +ether, beckoned to us inspiringly and raised our expectations of +success. This, then, was the region we were to explore! Little did I +think then that it would shelter me for several years. It looked so +near and was yet so far, and as we travelled on southward the sight +of it was soon lost again. + +We gradually descended to the Bavispe River, a name here given to the +Yaqui River, in accordance with the custom which the Mexicans have +in common with people in other parts of the world of giving different +names to one river in its course through different districts. It was +a treat to catch the first sight of the magnificent sheet of water +the river forms near the town of Opoto, as it slowly wends its way +through green shrubs. It is the largest river of the west coast of +Mexico and is here about 1,400 feet above the level of the sea. + +Following the river to the south, we soon passed the towns of Guasavas +and Granados. The vegetation along the river banks is in strong +contrast to the land in general. Here are fields of sugar-cane, and +in the orchards, orange, fig, and lime trees grow in abundance. The +country, though fertile, is dry, and the heat is great. Even at the +end of October the thermometer sometimes registered 100° F. in the +shade. The grass had become dry and scarce, and it was difficult to +keep the animals in satisfactory condition. + +This territory was once in the possession of the large tribe of +Opata Indians, who are now civilised. They have lost their language, +religion, and traditions, dress like the Mexicans, and in appearance +are in no way distinguishable from the labouring class of Mexico with +which they are thoroughly merged through frequent intermarriages. + +As we passed the hamlets, our large party and outfit created quite a +sensation and aroused the people from the uneventful routine of their +daily existence. They used to surround my tent, especially mornings +and evenings, as if an auction had been going on inside. Some of +them wanted to sell things that would come in handy, such as fowls +or panoche (brown sugar). One woman offered me three chickens for one +dollar. I told her she charged too high a price, as chickens were not +worth more than twenty-five cents apiece; but she insisted that she +wanted a dollar, because she had promised that amount to the padre +for reading a mass for a man who had died in the time of Hidalgo at +the beginning of the century. + +But most of the crowd flocked to my tent to consult me about their +ailments. It was useless to tell them that I was not a medical man, or +that I had not much medicine to spare, carrying only what I expected +to use for my own party. If I had given them all they wanted, our +little stock would have been exhausted on the first day; but in +order to soften my heart they would send me molasses, sugar-cane, +and similar delicacies. One poor old woman who was suffering from +cancer even offered me her donkey if I would cure her--an offer in +a way equivalent to a Wall Street magnate's millions, for the donkey +was her sole possession on earth. + +They all were anxious to have me feel their pulse, whether there was +anything the matter with them or not. They firmly believed that this +mysterious touch enabled me to tell whether they were afflicted with +any kind of disease and how long they were going to live. A woman in +delicate condition wanted me to feel her pulse and to tell her from +that when her child was going to be born. I only hope that my practical +advice and the little medicine I could give them relieved some of their +backaches and sideaches, their felons, croups, and fevers and agues, +and above all, their indigestion, which is the prevailing trouble in +that section of the country. But I confess that I was nearly tired out +with these consultations. In consequence of frequent intermarriages +there are many deaf and dumb persons among them, and epilepsy and +insanity are by no means rare. + +On the other hand, I was assured that such a character as a thief was +here unknown. However this might be, it was certain that the Mexicans +of Eastern Sonora were a nice class of people. They were pleasant to +deal with, very active and obedient, and I never wish for better men +than those I then had in my camp, nearly all of whom were from these +parts. The people were poor, but genuinely hospitable. Of course +they were ignorant, and might not, for instance, recognise a check +unless it was green. In each town, however, I found one or two men +comparatively rich, who knew more of the world than the others, and +who helped me out in my difficulties by going from house to house, +collecting all the available cash in town, or what coffee and sugar +could be spared to make up the deficiency. One thing is certain, I +should never have gotten on so well had it not been for the friendly +and obliging attitude of the Mexicans everywhere. As an instance, when +the great scarcity of grass began to tell seriously on the animals, +I was efficiently helped out by the courtesy of some influential +men. Without any personal letters of introduction I received many +services whenever I showed my letters of recommendation from the +Governor of the State, and had a hearty welcome. + +I was so much impressed with the readiness of the people to accommodate +and serve me that my notebook contains the remark: "I find the Mexicans +more obliging than any nation I have ever come in contact with." It +has been my lot to travel for years in Mexico, and my experience with +her people only tended to deepen the pleasant impression I received +at the outset. Anyone who travels through Mexico well recommended +and conducts himself in accordance with the standard of a gentleman +is sure to be agreeably surprised by the hospitality and helpfulness +of the people, high and low, and it is not a meaningless phrase of +politeness only by which a Mexican "places his house at your disposal." + +It is of the utmost importance to have as your chief packer a man +who thoroughly understands how to take care of the animals. It is not +the custom in Mexico, as it is everywhere in Australia, to wash the +backs of the animals as soon as the packs or saddles are taken off--a +precaution which is very beneficial, as it strengthens the skin and +prevents inflammation and sores. In the Southwest they do not wash +their beasts of burden until the mischief is done and they have to +allay the swelling and heal up the cuts. If not properly cared for +from the beginning, the animals will soon be ailing; some grow unfit +for service, and much time is lost mornings and evenings curing their +sores. Through the carelessness of some packers I lost several valuable +mules from such wounds. In summer the blue-bottle fly aggravates +the annoyance, as it lays its eggs in the open spaces of the skin, +and maggots develop in a very short time. Of course there are many +ways of ridding an animal of this pest, but here, as everywhere, +the proverbial ounce of prevention is better than the pound of cure. + +A curious case of a man whose life was threatened by a blue-bottle +fly and its maggots came to nay notice. He was a soldier, and once in +a fight he had his nose cut off so that the nostrils became entirely +exposed. One night when he was asleep, drunk, a fly laid its eggs in +his nose, and when these were hatched it seemed as if the man was to +be eaten up alive. I gave him some relief by syringing the parts with +a solution of corrosive sublimate. Then an intelligent Mexican, who +had an extensive knowledge of the numberless native medicinal plants +(many of which, no doubt, are very valuable), treated the patient, +and in two days the poor wretch seemed to be in a fair way to be saved. + +Near Granados I heard of some petroglyphs, or rock-carvings, and +sent Mr. Stephen to examine them. The Mexicans called them "Painted +Face." They were to be found only two miles and a half to the northwest +of the town, and were interesting. The designs were rudely pecked on +the moderately smooth felsite cliffs on a nearly perpendicular wall +in the foot-hills, about forty feet above the bed of the arroyo, or +gulch. All the human figures were drawn in the characteristic style +that we find farther north, the hands and feet being defined with +three radiating lines, like a bird's track. The size of the figure, +carved in something like a frame, is about twenty by twenty-four +inches, and each of the three figures in the group close below is +about eighteen inches high. Some of the drawings evidently represent +the deified dragon-fly found almost everywhere among the ruins of +Arizona and Northern Mexico. There are also the concentric circles, +the conventionalised spiral, and the meander design, so common among +the North American Indians, and still in use among the Moquis. + +Our botanist, Mr. Hartman, drew my attention to an interesting cactus, +which is beautifully shaped like a candelabra, and attains a height of +three to five feet. As it grows old, the top joints of the branches +become thick and heavy and are easily broken off by the wind. The +joints, like all other parts of the plant, are beset with numerous +inch-long spines, and many of them fasten in the loose, moist soil +and strike root. In this way many new plants are formed, standing in +a circle around the mother plant. On sloping ground the young plants +form rows, some forty feet long. There was a fruit to be observed, +but very scarce in comparison with that of other species of _Cereus_ +growing in the vicinity. + + + + + +Chapter II + + A Remarkable Antique Piece--A New Species of Century Plant--Arrival + at Nacori, at the Foot of the Sierra Madre--Trincheras--A + Mammoth Tusk Secured--Climbing the Sierra Madre--A New Squirrel + Discovered--Solitude--Apache Monuments--Arrival at Upper Bavispe + River. + + +From Granados we took an easterly course, being at last able to +cross the Bavispe River, which, owing to heavy rains in the sierra, +had for some time been overflowing. Starting from this point, the +ground gradually rising, we arrived at Bacadehuachi, a small village +remarkable for its church, a massive adobe structure, the grand style +of which looked somewhat out of proportion in these mountains. It had +been built by the Franciscans more than 100 years ago, on the site +of an older Jesuit church, remains of which are still in existence, +and which in turn had been erected on the ruins of an ancient temple. + +While inspecting the church Professor Libbey discovered that one +of the holy water fonts or stoups was a piece of great antiquity, +and we were informed that it had been dug up from the débris of the +ancient temple when the foundations for the present building were +laid. Its aesthetic value appealed even to the unscientific builders +of the church, who deemed the vessel worthy of a place in the new +cathedral, where it served as a bénitier. Unfortunately, it had been +found necessary to engrave on the ancient carving some Roman letters +dedicating the vessel to its new purpose. Though this somewhat mars its +general character, the vase is a most valuable relic of prehistoric +Mexico, not only as a masterpiece of ancient art, but still more as +a way-mark or sign-post showing the trend of Aztec migrations. + +It was not possible to obtain it right away, but a few days later +I sent a messenger to a gentleman in Granados, whose wife had been +relieved from illness by some remedy of mine, requesting him to use his +influence with the priest, and in due course I had the satisfaction +of possessing this valuable relic of history. The vase is made of +a soft, unctuous stone resembling steatite (soapstone); it is true +agalmatolite, a mineral popularly called pagoda stone. Through the +mouth of the human head carved out in front passes a copper tube, +which once no doubt pierced the thick wall of the vessel and penetrated +into its interior. This tube had been stopped up to make the piece +available for its new purpose. + +Marching for several days through oaks and mesquites, over hills and +rising country, we reached Nacori, a poor village in the foot-hills of +the Sierra Madre. It is scarcely forty miles from Granados, and lies +at an elevation of 3,700 feet. Our camp, about two miles outside of +the village, was permeated with a delicious odour of acacia blossoms, +and water in the neighbouring mountains, though strongly impregnated +with iron, was quite palatable. + +In this region Mr. Hartman found a new form of agave with delicate +stripes of white on the lanceolate leaves that constitute the basal +rosette of the plant. The flower stalk is only twelve or thirteen +inches high, and I should not wonder if this diminutive and beautiful +century plant some day became fashionable in greenhouses. It grows in +large numbers in the crevices of the rocks, the perpendicular walls +of cañons often being studded with the bright little rosettes when +the drought has withered all herbaceous vegetation. + +From here I made an excursion to an ancient pueblo site. As usual, +there were traces of small dwellings, huts of undressed stone, +and fragments of pottery. We found three mortars and one pestle, +a remarkable number of metates (the stone on which corn is ground), +and the corresponding grinding stones, showing that a large population +must have once lived here, huddled together in a small space. + +But the most striking feature of antiquity met thus far on our journey +were curious stone terraces built across the small gullies. They +are called trincheras (trenches). Some of them do not appear to be +very old, and many present the appearance of tumble-down walls, but +the stones of which they are constructed were plainly used in their +natural state. Although many of the boulders are huge and irregular in +shape, they were used just as they were found. The building material +always conformed to the surroundings: in places where conglomerate +containing water-worn boulders abounded, this was used; where porphyry +was prevalent, blocks of that material were employed. There is no +trace of dressing or cutting, but in the mason work considerable +skill is evident. The walls are not vertical, but incline somewhat +toward the slope on which they are erected. The terrace thus formed +is often filled with soil to the height of the wall-top for a space +of from fifteen to twenty feet. Earth taken from them does not show +any colours. Some of these trincheras measure thirty feet in length +by four feet in height, while the smallest ones I saw were only five +feet long and three feet high. Naturally enough, the largest ones are +in the lower part of the gullies; then, some twenty-five feet back +and above, others almost as large may be found. As the arroyo rises +and narrows, the walls, each placed a little higher up the slope than +the preceding one, are necessarily smaller. + +In the mountains near Nacori, especially on their eastern and +southeastern sides, trincheras were encountered in every gulch as high +up as six thousand feet, though steep crests and the mountain tops +bear no traces of them. In one arroyo, which was about a thousand feet +in length and of comparatively gentle slope, twenty-nine trincheras +were counted from the bed of the main drainage to the summit of the +mountain. Some of them were quite close together, three being within +eighteen feet of one another. + +These trincheras somewhat resemble the small terrace gardens of +the Moqui Indians, and have undoubtedly been used for agricultural +purposes, just as they are used by the Tarahumares to this day (page +152). It is true that they are built in great numbers, sometimes +in localities that would appear unsuitable for farming; but, on the +other hand, they are seldom, if ever, found far from the remains of +habitations, a fact from which it may also reasonably be inferred +that the ruined houses, as well as the trincheras, were originally +built by the same race. Some of the terraces were, no doubt, erected +as a protection of the crop against enemies and wild animals; but +it is impossible to think that they were intended for irrigation +dams, though we did see water running through some, coming out of a +marsh. Still less likely is it that they had been used as mining dams. + +As soon as the plains of Northern Sonora were left behind, and the +country became hilly and broken, these peculiar structures were +conspicuous. At first they appeared more like walls built simply +along the slopes of the hills, and not crossing gulches. They seem +to be more numerous in the western and central part of the sierra, +its spurs and foot-hills, than in the eastern part of the great +range. As regards their southern extent, they are not found further +south than the middle part of the state of Chihuahua. Captain Bourke, +in his book, "An Apache Campaign," mentions that "in every sheltered +spot could be discerned ruins, buildings, walls, and dams, erected by +an extinct race once possessing these regions." Mr. A. F. Bandelier, +on his journey to the Upper Yaqui River, in 1885, which took him as +far as Nacori, also refers to them, and Professor W. J. McGee, on his +expedition in 1895, found in Northeastern Sonora ruins locally known as +_Las Trincheras_, which he considered the most elaborate prehistoric +work known to exist in Northwestern Mexico. They comprise, he says, +terraces, stone-walls, and inclosed fortifications, built of loose +stones and nearly surrounding two buttes. + +I must not omit to mention that in a week's exploration in the +mountains near Nacori, Mr. Stephen and his party did not find any +pottery fragments, nor flint flakes, nor grinding stones. They reported +that there was in that region no other trace of an early people than +the hundreds of trincheras in the lower portions of the arroyos. + +Noteworthy, however, was the frequent occurrence of old trails across +the hills, some quite plainly traceable for three and four hundred +yards. Old oaks stretched their limbs across many of them quite close +to the ground. + +While at Nacori I learned from the inhabitants that at no great +distance from their town there were several deposits containing _huesos +giganteos_ (giants' bones), a name given to fossils in this part of the +world, where the people imagine that the large bones were originally +those of giants. I had then neither time nor men to make excavations +of any importance; but Mr. White, the mineralogist of the expedition, +whom I sent to look into the matter, and who devoted a week to the +examination of the deposits, reported that one of them, in a valley +sixteen miles south of Nacori, was a bed of clay thirty feet thick and +about a mile and a half long. On the edge of this field he discovered +a tusk six feet eight inches long and twenty-six inches at its widest +circumference, and having almost the curve of a circle. It was not +petrified and had no bone core, but the hole filled in with clay, +and its colour was a rich mahogany. It was undoubtedly the tusk of +a mammoth. + +From the beginning it had surprised me how very ignorant the people +of Sonora were regarding the Sierra Madre. The most prominent man +in Opoto, a town hardly forty miles from the sierra, told me that +he did not know how far it was to the sierra, nor was he able to say +exactly where it was. Not even at Nacori, so close to this tremendous +mountain range, was there much information to be gotten about it. What +the Mexicans know about that region may be briefly summed up thus: +That it is a vast wilderness of mountains most difficult of approach; +that it would take eight days to climb some of the high ridges; +that it contains immense pine forests alive with deer, bear, and +wonderfully large woodpeckers, able to cut down whole trees; and that +in its midst there are still existing numerous remains of a people +who vanished long ago, but who once tilled the soil, lived in towns +and built monuments, and even bridges over some of its cañons. + +This general ignorance is mainly due to the fact that until very +recently this entire part of the sierra, from the border of the +United States south about 250 miles, was under the undisputed control +of the wild Apache Indians. From their mountain strongholds these +marauders made raiding expeditions into the adjacent states, west +and east, sweeping down upon the farms, plundering the villages, +driving off horses and herds of cattle, killing men and carrying off +women and children into slavery. Mines became unworkable; farms had +to be deserted; the churches, built by the Spaniards, mouldered into +decay. The raiders had made themselves absolute masters, and so bold +were they that at one time a certain month in the year was set apart +for their plundering excursions and called "the moon of the Mexicans," +a fact which did not prevent them from robbing at other seasons. Often +troops would follow them far into the mountains, but the "braves" +fought so skilfully, and hid so well in the natural fortresses of +their native domain, that the pursuit never came to anything, and +the Mexicans were completely paralysed with fear. The dread of the +terrible pillagers was so great that even at the time when I first +went into the district, the Mexicans did not consider it a crime to +shoot an Apache at sight. + +Such a scourge did this tribe become that the Governor of Chihuahua +had a law passed through the Legislature, which put a certain price +upon the head of every Apache. But this law had soon to be repealed, +as the Mexicans, eager to get the reward, took to killing the peaceful +Tarahumares, whose scalps, of course, could not be distinguished from +those of the Apaches. + +It was not even now safe for a small party to cross the Sierra Madre, +as dissatisfied Apaches were constantly breaking away from the San +Carlos Reservation in Arizona, and no Mexican could have been induced +to venture singly into that vast unknown domain of rock and forest, +about which lingered such painful memories of bloodshed and terror. [2] +In the early part of our journey a Mexican officer had called on me +to offer, in the name of the Governor of the State of Sonora, his +services as escort and protection against the Apaches; but I declined +the courtesy, preferring to depend rather upon my own men. I am happy +to say that I had no personal encounter with the dreaded "Shis Inday," +or Men of the Woods, as they call themselves, though on one occasion +we came upon fresh tracks near one of our camps, and also upon small +bunches of yucca leaves tied together in a peculiar way known to the +Mexicans as signs intelligible only to the Apaches. + +The only precaution I had taken against possible attacks was to augment +my force of trustworthy Mexican muleteers. Among the new recruits +was an honest-looking Opata Indian, who joined the camp one evening, +clad in the national costume of white cotton cloth, and carrying in +his hand a small bundle containing his wife's petticoat (probably +intended to do duty as a blanket) and a pair of scissors. This was his +whole outfit for a winter campaign in the Sierra Madre. They are hardy +people, these Indians! This man told me that he was thirty years old; +his "señora," he said, was twenty-five; when he married her she was +fifteen, and now they had eleven children. + +Finally I succeeded in securing two guides. One of them was a very +intelligent man, who had been several times in the sierra; the other +one had been only as far as Chuhuichupa, and, although he did not +remember the way very well, still he thought that with the help of +the other man he would be able to make out the route. As we could do +no better, we had to take him as the best guide available. + +After having received some supplementary provisions from Granados, +I at last, on December 2, 1890, began the ascent. It was a beautiful +day; the air was clear and warm and the sun shone bright, as it always +does at this time of the year in this favoured region. The genius of +spring seemed to hover about, and snow, frost and scarcity of grass +seemed far removed contingencies. Everything looked promising. + +As I left the town, following the pack-train after having made the +last settlements with the natives, I passed a little hut, the last +homestead on this side of the sierra. In front of it stood a young +girl, her hand raised to shade her eyes against the rays of the sinking +sun. She had watched the expedition go by, and was much excited by the +strange sight of so many men, the wonderful array of animals and great +quantity of baggage never before seen in those parts of the world. With +her fine dark eyes, her loose wavy hair and graceful figure, she made +a strikingly beautiful picture, and as she called out in a sweet, +melodious voice, _"Adios, Señor!"_ I took this kindly greeting from a +pretty girl as a good omen for my journey. On the spur of the moment +I dismounted and perpetuated the auspicious scene by means of a kodak +which I carried fastened to the pommel of my saddle. I wish it had been +possible for me to send her that picture as a token of my gratitude +for her cheery greeting. She surely would have appreciated it, as +all Mexicans delight in seeing their photographs. Then I turned my +face to the east and soon overtook my men. + +To reach the Sierra Madre from the Bavispe River by way of Nacori, +two--or, as the Mexicans consider it, three--sierras have to be +crossed, all running, generally speaking, in a northwesterly to +southeasterly direction. The first two ranges are quite easy to +climb. The third is the Sierra Madre proper, which the Mexicans here +call Sierra de Nacori, as the upper Bavispe River from its source makes +a great detour toward the north around it, thereby partly separating +it from the main chain. Even this range does not really present any +unsurmountable difficulties if the weather is fine; in bad weather, I +admit, some parts of the trail we made would be all but impracticable. + +Having reached the second range called the Sierra de Huehuerachi, +near its northern terminus, and looking backward, we see the Sierra de +Bacadehuachi lying farthest to the west. On its eastern flank tower +steep-tilted broken masses of conglomerate, and the frowning row +of hog-backs just north and east of Nacori are only a continuation +of that range. But looking east from where we were we obtained the +first close view of the main range of the Sierra Madre (Sierra de +Nacori). It rises bold and majestic on the opposite side of the valley, +at the bottom of which runs the little river of Huehuerachi. + +In this valley we camped for two days, being delayed by rains. It was +early in December, but we found _Helianthus_ ten to twelve feet high in +bloom everywhere in the cañons. A _Salvia_ with a blue corolla, dotted +with red glands, was very striking, a new variety, as it proved. We +also observed elders with flowers and leaves at the same time, and +the _Bambusa_ formed a thick light-green undergrowth in beautiful +contrast to the darker shades of the oaks, elders, and fan palms. The +latter were the last of their kind we saw on this side of the sierra. + +We then went six miles further to the northeast. At first the trail +followed the little river, whose clear and rapid water is about a +foot deep and on an average six feet wide. Frequently its bed had +to be cleared of palm trees to make it passable for the pack train, +and big boulders and heavy undergrowth made travel rough. Then, +ascending a cordon which led directly up to the main range, we +followed for a while a dim trail on which the Apaches used to drive +the herds of cattle they had stolen, and which is said to lead to a +place so inaccessible that two Indians could keep a whole company at +bay. The surface soil we had lately been travelling over was covered +with boulders and fragments of conglomerate. + +The Sierra Madre was now so close that the tilted masses of its rocks +seemed to overhang our tents threateningly where we had pitched them +at its foot. From this camp we had about the same splendid view as +from the ridge of Huehuerachi we had just left behind; and between +us and the foot-hills of the Sierra de Bacadehuachi stretched out a +vast mass of barren-looking rocks and hills. The Mexicans call them +_agua blanca_, a designation also applied to the small water course +that runs through them in a northerly and southerly direction, but +which from our point of view could not be made out in the chaotic +confusion. Away off toward the north, at a distance of from fifteen +to twenty miles, could be seen a high chain of sharp peaks. + +I may mention here that I found the water of many streamlets and +brooks throughout the western mountains of Mexico to have a slightly +whitish colour and a dull, opalescent look, like a strong solution +of quinine. The Mexicans call it _agua blanca_, or _agua zarca_, and +consider it the best water they have. Many places, especially ranches, +are named after it. In the locality where we now found ourselves the +water had a slightly bitter taste, owing to a strong admixture of +iron and other minerals, but generally it was very palatable. + +Here, only twenty-three miles from Nacori, and at an elevation +of 4,000 feet, we were obliged to make camp for three days. Dense +fogs and occasional hard showers made travel impossible. Besides, +our principal guide, Agustin Rios, became dangerously ill. He was +sixty-five years old, and I decided to send him back. + +When I hired him I had not been aware that he was afflicted with an +incurable disease, and that on this account his wife had tried to +keep him at home. Now he had to be carried on a sort of palanquin +constructed for the occasion, and I regret to state that he died +before he reached his home in Nacori. He had been a reliable man, +and his loss was very deplorable. + +Before he left he gave me directions for finding a rather large ancient +pueblo, which he had come across once in the sierra, and of which he +frequently spoke to us. However, our search for it proved fruitless, +and I am inclined to think that it would probably not have differed +much from those we found later on Bavispe River. + +From now on I made it a rule to send three or four men about two days +ahead of the main body of the expedition, to make a path. Occasionally +they were guided by Apache tracks, but for the most part we cut our own +way through the wilderness. Instead of adopting the Mexican method of +going uphill as straight as practicable, I had the trail cut zigzag, +and to this I attribute the fact that I was able to pull through at +all, as it saved the animals an immense amount of strain. The steepest +inclination we ascended was 40°, while for the most part we climbed +at an angle of about 30°. On some of the ridges, in order to help an +animal up, one man had to drag it by a line, while two others pushed +it from behind. In many places the mules had to be led one by one +along the narrow edge of chasms. + +To look at these mountains is a soul-inspiring sensation; but to travel +over them is exhaustive to muscle and patience. And the possibility +of losing at any moment perhaps the most valuable part of your outfit +is a constant and severe strain on your mind. Nobody except those who +have travelled in the Mexican mountains can understand and appreciate +the difficulties and anxieties attending such a journey. Not only the +animals themselves, but everything they carry is vital to the success +of the expedition, and there is always a danger that, for instance, +your camera and photographic outfit, and the priceless collection of +negatives already taken, may roll down a precipice. + +A mule with its bulky pack is, to a certain extent, helpless on these +narrow mountain trails. Old and experienced animals often manoeuvre +their packs with a cleverness that is almost human: yet, whenever a +mule runs accidentally against some projection, or its foot slips, +the poor beast invariably loses its balance, and over it goes, +down the hill with ever-increasing velocity. + +On one occasion I heard a noise coming from above without being at +first able to discern what caused it. A few stones came tumbling down, +and were presently followed by a donkey, pack and all, turning over +and over with astounding speed. It cleared a perpendicular rock some +twenty feet high and landed at its base, rolling over twice. Then, +to my amazement, it rose to its feet in the midst of its scattered +cargo. And do you know what that cargo consisted of?--a case of +dynamite and our tool chest! As fast as their legs could carry them, +two Mexicans were by its side, promptly reloading the donkey and +leading it up to the trail as coolly as if nothing had happened. A +very fine mule, raised on the plains of Arizona, was naturally giddy, +and met with such a mishap three times in one day, tumbling down 150 +to 200 feet without, however, being seriously hurt. At first I was +greatly shocked to see the animals thus rolling over and over with +their packs, down the mountain sides, never stopping until checked by +some large tree or rock, sometimes 200 feet below. But the Mexicans +were evidently quite accustomed to such happenings, which seemed to +be in the regular line of their travel. + +I could not help admiring the agility as well as the valour of my +Mexican packers and muleteers on such occasions. They moved about as +sure-footed and quick as sailors on their ship, and always on the +alert. Whenever one of the poor beasts lost its foothold, the men +would instantly run after it, and as soon as some obstacle stopped +its downward career they would be by its side and relieve it of its +burden. Of course, sometimes the animal was badly bruised about the +head, and unable to carry a pack for a few days; but, _mira-bile +dictu!_ in the majority of cases it rose to its feet. Then, after +giving it a few moments' respite, the packers would strap the cargo +again on its back, unless they deemed it proper to take a part of +it upon themselves, so that the beast might more safely climb the +declivity. The men really seemed indefatigable. One of them once took +upon his head a large case of honey and carried it up the ridge on a +run. Strange as it may sound, on my first journey across the Sierra +Madre I did not lose one animal by such accidents. + +Climbing, climbing, climbing, one massive cordon after another, at the +start through dense oak thickets, and over hills flattened and eroded +with countless deep, precipitous gashes seaming the rock in every +direction. Numerous springs oozed and trickled from the stratified +conglomerate along the edges, sides, and bottoms of the ravines. The +tops of some of these truncated knolls were quite swampy in the +depressions, and covered with a thin-stemmed feathery grass. Here and +there was a clump of scrub oaks; sparsely scattered about were small +pines. We found great numbers of _Opuntia Missouriensis_, called by +the Mexicans nopal; small mesquite shrubs, too, are seen everywhere, +while the resurrection plant covers great areas, like the heather +on the Scotch hills. Here are also found century plants, or agaves, +and many species of small ferns, such as the graceful maidenhair. In +the larger water-courses are poplars and maples, now presenting their +most brilliant hues, and carrying the thoughts of the Americans back +to their Northern homes. + +Thus we advanced for about six miles and made camp, at an elevation +of 6,300 feet, on some old trincheras, with a fine view over the vast +country we had left below. Large flocks of gray pigeons of remarkable +size squatted on the pine trees nearby, and two specimens of the +gigantic woodpecker we here observed for the first time. Here, too, +Mr. Robinette shot a new species of squirrel, _Sciurus Apache_. It +was large, of a pale grayish-yellow color varied with black, and +having a long, full and bushy tail. + +We had now arrived in the pine region of the sierra. The Mexican +scouts reported that the country ahead of us was still more difficult +of access; but the track having been laid out well by Professor Libbey +along the pine-covered slopes, we safely arrived at the crest of the +sierra, which here has an elevation of 8,200 feet. The steep slopes +of the valleys and crevices were covered with slippery pine needles +eight to twelve inches long, while the pines rose up to a height +of a hundred feet or more. The forest, never touched by a woodman's +axe, had a remarkably young and fresh look about it. Now and then, +however, at exposed places we came upon trees broken off like matches, +telling of what terrific storms may rage over these solitary regions +that received us calmly enough. Not until we had reached the top did +we feel the wind blowing pretty hard from the east and encouraging +us in our hopes that the fine weather would continue, although the +moon appeared hazy. + +Having ascended the sierra, we made a picturesque camp on the top +of the cordon, in the midst of forests so dense that we did not get +any view of the landscape. While here, Mr. Stephen discovered, on +the summit of a peak, about four hundred and twenty feet above the +brow of the ridge, a small, circular structure about four feet in +diameter. Four or five large fragments of scoria, each about fifteen +inches high, were set around in a circle, and the space between them +was filled in with small fragments. No nicety was shown in the work, +but the arrangement of the stones was not accidental. It was, however, +quite old, for in several places the fragments were cemented together +with a thick coat of lichen. The purpose of the circle is a matter +of conjecture. + +We were now obliged, as the guide did not seem to know any more +of the country, to explore ahead of us before the main body of the +expedition could proceed further. Several of us went out in different +directions, and I happened to strike the right course, which here +unexpectedly goes first northward. Accompanied by my dog "Apache," +I walked in the fresh morning air through the sombre pine woods, +the tops of which basked in glorious sunshine, and along the high +cordon, which ran up to a height of 8,900 feet (the highest point +reached on my first expedition over the Sierra Madre), until I came +to a point where it suddenly terminated. But I soon ascertained that +a spur branching off to the east would lead us in the right direction. + +I sat down to gaze upon the magnificent panorama of the central +part of the Sierra Madre spread out before me. To the north and +northeast were pine-covered plateaus and hills in seemingly infinite +successions; on the eastern horizon my eyes met the dark, massive +heights of Chuhuichupa, followed towards the south by ridge upon +ridge of true sierras with sharp, serrated crests, running mainly +from northwest to southeast. And between them and me was an expanse +of gloomy, pine-hidden cordons, one succeeding close upon another, +and running generally in the same direction as the sierras. Primeval +stillness and solitude reigned all over the woodland landscape. I +like the society of man, but how welcome and refreshing are occasional +moments of undisturbed communion with Nature! + +On the following day the pack train moved along the path I had walked +over. We were pleasantly surprised to find at this season, the middle +of December, and at this elevation, a species of violet in bloom, +while _Lupinus_ and _Vicia_ were already in seed. We made our camp +at a place 7,400 feet above sea level, and here we noticed trincheras +close by, with water running through them from a marsh. + +We also happened to come upon some stone piles made of rough stones +laid on top of each other to a height of about three feet. The Mexicans +called them "Apache Monuments," and I saw here eight or ten, three +at a distance of only twenty yards from each other and lying in a +line from east to west. On the next day we found an Apache track with +similar monuments. Some of these piles did not seem to be in places +difficult to travel, and therefore could hardly have been intended +for guide-posts, though others might have served that purpose; nor +is it easy to see how they could have been meant for boundary marks, +unless they were erected by some half-castes who kept company with the +Apaches, to divide off the hunting grounds of various families. It +seems to me more likely that they are connected with some religious +rite. + +We had some little difficulty in making our descent to the Bavispe +River, but at last we discovered, and travelled down, an old but +still practicable trail, dropping nearly 1,000 feet. A little further +northward we came down another 1,000 feet, and thus we gradually +reached Bavispe, which is here a rapid, roaring stream, girth-deep, +and in many places deeper. It here flows northward, describing the +easterly portion of the curve it forms around the Sierra de Nacori. + +I selected as a camping ground a small mesa on the left bank of the +river, among pines and oaks and high grass, about forty feet above +the water edge. A meadow set park-like with pines extended from here +nearly three-quarters of a mile along the river, and was almost half a +mile wide. Near our camp we found several old and rusty empty tin cans, +such as are used for putting up preserved food. One of them was marked +"Fort Bowie." Doubtless this spot had been used before as a camping +ground, probably by some of General Crook's scouts. + + + + + +Chapter III + + Camping at Upper Bavispe River--Low Stone Cabins, Fortresses, and + Other Remains Indicating Former Habitation--The Animals Starve on + the Winter Grass of the Sierra and Begin to Give Out--A Deserted + Apache Camp--comfort at Last--The Giant Woodpecker--We Arrive at + the Mormon Settlements of Pacheco and Cave Valley. + + +At Bavispe River we had to remain for some little time to allow +the animals to recuperate, and to get them, as far as possible, +in condition for the hard work still ahead. I also had to send back +to Nacori for fresh provisions. Of course, not much was to be gotten +there, but we got what there was in the line of food stuffs, panoche +(brown sugar) and corn. My messengers had orders to bring the latter +in the form of pinole, that is, toasted corn ground by hand into a +fine meal. This is the most common, as well as the most handy, ration +throughout Mexico. A little bag of it is all the provisions a Mexican +or Indian takes with him on a journey of days or weeks. It is simply +mixed with water and forms a tasty gruel, rather indigestible for +persons not accustomed to it. When boiled into a porridge, however, +pinole is very nourishing, and forms a convenient diet for persons +camping out. Aside from this we still had a supply of wheat flour +sufficient to allow the party fifteen pounds a day, and our stock +of canned peas and preserved fruit, though reduced, was not yet +exhausted. The jerked beef had given out even before we reached the +main sierra, and we had to depend on our guns for meat. Luckily, the +forest was alive with deer, and there were also wild turkeys. Thus +there was no difficulty about provisions, although the Americans +sighed for their beloved bacon and hot biscuits. + +Fish seemed scarce in this part of the Bavispe River; at least we +did not succeed in bringing out any by the use of dynamite. We got +only five little fish--one catfish, and four suckers, the largest +six inches long. + +On Christmas Day the black bulb thermometer rose in the sun to 150° +F., although that very night the temperature fell to 22.9° F., a +difference of nearly 130°. The warmth was such that even a rattlesnake +was deceived and coaxed out by it. + +We made every effort to celebrate Christmas in a manner worthy of our +surroundings. We could not procure fish for our banquet, but one of +the Mexicans had the good luck to shoot four turkeys; and Kee, our +Chinese cook, surprised us with a plum pudding the merits of which +baffle description. It consisted mainly of deer fat and the remnants +of dried peaches, raisins, and orange peel, and it was served with a +sauce of white sugar and mescal. The appreciation of this delicacy by +the Mexicans knew no bounds, and from now on they wanted plum pudding +every day. + +On the upper Bavispe we again found numerous traces of a by-gone +race who had occupied these regions long before the Apaches had +made their unwelcome appearance. In fact, all along on our journey +across the sierra we were struck by the constant occurrence of rude +monuments of people now long vanished. They became less numerous in +the eastern part, where at last they were replaced by cave dwellings, +of which I will speak later. + +More than ever since we entered the Sierra de Nacori, we noticed +everywhere low stone walls, similar to those we had seen in the +foot-hills, and evidently the remains of small cabins. The deeper we +penetrated into the mountains, the more common became these hut-walls, +which stood about three feet high, and were possibly once surmounted +by woodwork, or, perhaps, thatched roofs. All the houses were small, +generally only ten or twelve feet square, and they were found in +clusters scattered over the summit or down the slopes of a hill. On one +summit we found only two ground plans in close proximity to each other. + +The stones composing the walls were laid with some dexterity. They +were angular, but never showed any trace of dressing, except, perhaps, +by fracture. The interstices between the main stones were filled +in with fragments to make the walls solid. Neither here nor in any +other stone walls that we saw were there any indications of any mud +or other plaster coating on the stones. + +On top of a knoll in the mountains south of Nacori, at an elevation +of 4,800 feet, well preserved remains of this kind of dwelling were +seen. The house, consisting of but one room about ten feet square, +was built of large blocks of lava. The largest of these were eighteen +inches long, and about half as thick, and as wide. The walls measured +about three feet in height and one foot and a half in thickness, and +there was a sufficient amount of fallen stone debris near-by to admit +of the walls having been once four or five feet high. There were the +traces of a doorway in the northwest corner of the building. Numerous +fragments of coarse pottery were scattered around, some gray and some +red, but without any decoration, except a fine slip coating on the +red fragments. + +In the Sierra de Nacori, on the summit of a steep knoll, and at an +elevation of about 6,500 feet, we found two huts of such laid-up +walls. The rough felsite blocks of which they were composed were +surprisingly large, considering the diminutive size of the cabins. We +measured the largest block and found it to be two feet long, ten inches +wide, and eight inches thick. There were many others almost as large +as this one. But there was only one tier of stones left complete in +place. Although there were well-built trincheras in all the surrounding +arroyos, there were no traces of either tools or pottery on that hill. + +On the western slope of the Sierra de Nacori, on top of another knoll, +and at an elevation of 6,400 feet, we found numerous rude ground plans, +some of which showed rubble walls fifteen inches thick. They formed +groups of four or five apartments, each ten by twelve feet. But on +the north side of that summit there was a larger plan, nearly eighteen +feet square; however, the outlines of the entire settlement were not +distinct enough to enable us to trace its correct outlines. + +Many fragments of pottery lay about, but neither in number nor in +interest could they be compared with those found near the ruins in the +southwest of the United States, for instance, near the Gila River. Some +of the potsherds were one-third of an inch thick, and large enough to +show that they had been parts of a large jar. They were made of coarse +paste, either gray or brown in colour. Some had a kind of rude finish, +the marks of a coarse fibre cloth being clearly discernible on the +outside. Others were primitively decorated with incisions. One sherd +of really fine thin red ware was picked up, but there was no trace +of ornamentation on it. We found, besides, a few cores of felsite +and some shapeless flakes and several fragments of large metates. + +In the valley formed between the mountains on the upper Bavispe River +we met with very many such houses. The clusters which we came across +seemed to have been composed of a larger number of houses. Parapets, +also built of undressed stones and surrounding these villages, +now became a constant feature. Even within sight of our camp was +such a parapet, six feet high, and house ruins were near by. We also +discovered an ancient pueblo consisting of thirty houses, all of the +usual small dimensions, but not all alike in shape. Some were round, +others triangular, but most of them were rectangular, measuring eight +by ten feet. Along two sides of this village ran a double wall, while +the other two sides were bound by a single wall constructed on the +same principle. Evidently these walls were built for the protection +of the people in time of war. + +About five miles south of our camping place the river turns eastward, +and again two miles below this point it receives a tributary from +the west. One day I followed the broken cordon on its eastern bank, +then turned north and ascended an isolated mountain, which rises +about fifteen hundred feet high above the river. There is a small +level space on top, and on this there has been built, at some time, +a fortress with walls of undressed stones from two to six feet high +and three feet thick. It was about fifty paces long in one direction, +and about half that length in the other. Remains of houses could be +traced, and inside of the walls themselves the ground plan of three +little chambers could be made out. + +On the Bavispe River we photographed a trinchera which was about eight +feet high and thirty feet long; and one of the foremen observed one +which was at least fifteen feet high. + +I decided to move the camp one and a half miles down the river, and to +its right bank, on a cordon, where Mason, one of my Mexican foremen, +had discovered some ruins. It was very pleasant here after the rather +cool bottom of the valley, which in the morning was generally covered +with a heavy fog. On this ridge were many traces of former occupancy, +parapet walls and rude houses divided into small compartments. The +parapets were lying along the north and south faces of the houses, +and just on the brink of the narrow ridge. On the south side the ridge +was precipitous, but toward the north it ran out in a gentle shallow +slope toward the next higher hill. The building material here is a +close-grained felsite, and huge fragments of it have been used in +the construction of the parapets. These boulders were, on an average, +thirty-five inches long, twenty-five inches thick and fifteen inches +wide; while the stones used in the house walls measured, on the +average, fourteen by nine by seven inches. + +On the western end of the ridge is a small house group, which, for +convenience sake, I will designate as "Mason's Ruins." They showed +a decidedly higher method of construction, and the walls were better +preserved, than in any we had seen so far. The ground plans could be +readily made out, except in a small part of the southwest corner. These +walls stood three to five feet high, and the stones here too were +dressed only by fracture. They were laid in gypsiferous clay, a mass +of which lay close to the southwest corner. This clay is very similar +to the material used by the Moquis in whitening their houses. The +stones themselves were felsite, which abounds in the locality. The +blocks have an average size of twelve inches square by six inches +thick. It should be noted that no regard was paid to the tying of the +corners and the partition walls; but considerable care had been taken +in making the walls vertical, and the angles were fairly true. The +walls were almost twelve inches thick, and on the inner side they +had evidently never been plastered. + +Being coated with some white plaster, these ruins look white at a +distance, and the Mexicans therefore called them _casas blancas_. I +heard of an extensive group of such buildings near Sahuaripa, and +there are also some ruins of this category near Granados, and in +the hills east of Opoto. Undoubtedly they belong to a more recent +period than the rude stone structures described before. Most of the +ancient remains of the Sierra are remnants of tribes that expanded +here from the lowlands, and only in comparatively recent times have +disappeared. I also perceived that they were built by a tribe of +Indians different from those which erected the houses in the caves of +the eastern and northern Sierra Madre, and in the country east of it, +and may safely be ascribed to Opatas. + +In spite of the rest here, the animals did not seem to improve on the +grama and buffalo grass. It was rather perplexing to note that they +grew weaker and weaker. The grass of the sierra, which was now gray, +did not seem to contain much nourishment, and it became evident that +the sooner we proceeded on our journey, the better. To save them as +much as possible, we loaded only half the regular weight on the mules +and donkeys, and sent them back the next day to fetch the balance of +the baggage. In this way, and by strengthening the poor beasts with +a judicious use of corn, I managed to pull through and overcome this +most serious of all difficulties, which, at one time, threatened to +paralyse the entire expedition. + +On December 31st we moved up a steep zigzag trail cut out by us, +and then went north and east through broken foot-hills. We got into +a series of cordon mesas, but the breaks between them were not at +all difficult to pass. On the mountain sides grew oaks and, higher +up, pines. + +The country was wild and rugged. Everywhere we encountered fallen +rocks, and there was a scarcity of water. It was a kind of comfort +to see now and then some trincheras in these desolate regions. At +four o'clock we camped on a steep place amidst poor grass, and only +a trickling of water in the bed of a little rill. + +Here, at last, the men whom I had sent to Nacori for provisions +overtook us, bringing eighteen dollars' worth of panoche, and two and +a quarter fanegas of pinole. Measuring by fanegas was then still in +vogue in Mexico; a fanega equals about sixty-four kilograms. + +This, the messengers stated, was all that the women would grind for +us. Twenty of them had been set to work to fill our order, and when +they had laboured until their hands were tired, they declared they +would grind no more; and if the _caballeros_ in the mountains wanted +further quantities, they should come and make mills of themselves. From +this we judged that their tempers had risen in proportion to the heaps +of pinole they were producing, and that they did not bless the day +when we had come into their peaceful valley, since it meant so much +hard work for them. + +Though we were now provisioned for some time to come, I was anxiously +looking forward to the day when we should reach the eastern side +of the sierra. The animals were rapidly giving out, and it was the +opinion of the packers that they could not last longer than a week; +but what little corn we could spare for them each day worked wonders, +and in this way we enabled them to carry us through. + +The most noticeable among the plants in the valleys was the madroña or +strawberry tree (_Ardutus Texana_) growing singly here and there. Its +beautiful stem and branches, ash-grey and blood-red, are oddly twisted +from the root to the top. Now and then, in this world of pine trees, +we came upon patches of grama grass. We also observed piñon trees, +a variety of pine with edible seeds. + +Apache monuments were plentiful in this part of the sierra, and +after four days of travel, on January 5, 1891, we arrived at an +old Apache camping place, called by the Mexicans "Rancheria de los +Apaches." It was a sheltered place, and we decided to stop again and +rest, as now we could not be very far from the Mormon colonies in the +eastern part of the sierra. We had, on the day before, heard a shot, +which had not been fired by anyone of our party, and we had met some +short-horn cattle that must have belonged to some settlers. + +We halted on a bare conglomerate scalp near a little creek, which we +called "Bonito," and which shortly below our camp joins the Gabilan, +an affluent of the Bavispe River which probably has its origin near +Chuhuichupa. The elevation of our camp was 6,620 feet. The summit +of the sierra toward the east appeared to be 2,000 feet high, and +the first ridge, at the foot of which we camped, rises here almost +perpendicularly about a thousand feet. The little stream already +mentioned originates in a deep cañon and adjoining it are four large +cordons descending from the ridge east of us and spreading themselves +out like a gigantic fan, which we had noticed from some distance on +the previous day. From our camp led a track eastward, up along one +of these cordons, and a reconnoitring party found a Mormon settlement +ten or twelve miles off. + +The day after our arrival I went out to take a look at the +country. South of us, at no great distance from the camp, I found +patches of fertile black soil partly cultivated with corn and +turnips that did not appear to be flourishing, and with potatoes +which were doing well. An old horse stood there, and I also noticed a +small tent. Going up closer I found a plough standing outside. This +made quite a queer impression in these solitary mountains, but the +implement was apparently not out of place, judging from the beautiful +black soil near-by. In the tent I saw a heap of bed-clothes piled up +on some tin pails, and there were also some pots with potatoes and +corn. The owner of all this was not at home; but the atmosphere was +American, not Mexican. I had evidently come upon an outpost of one +of the Mormon colonies. + +Throughout January the days continued to be fine, though at times a +southerly cold wind was blowing; but at night it was cold and the +water in our buckets was often frozen. Then we felt what a real +comfort a large camp-fire is. Before sundown we would gather the +fallen trees and such sorts of wood, and roaring fires were built +in front of each tent. The smoke, to be sure, blackened our faces, +but the fire made the tents wonderfully comfortable, filling them +with light and warmth. For beds we used fragrant pine boughs. + +We also had several falls of snow, the heaviest two and a half inches, +and on the coldest night, on January 10th, the thermometer went down +to 6° F. As the rays of the sun partly melted the snow in the course +of the day, the animals could at least get a meagre meal. On January +15th a cup of water froze inside of my tent, but during the day we +had 57° F. + +We soon found out that in the river Gabilan, some four miles south of +our camp, there were immense quantities of fish, which had come up to +spawn. No one ever interfered with them, and their number was simply +overwhelming. As the task of feeding thirty men in these wild regions +was by no means a trifling one, I resolved to procure as many fish as +possible, and to this end resorted to the cruel but effective device +of killing them by dynamite. I trust that the scarcity of provisions +in the camp will serve as my excuse to sportsmen for the method I +employed. We used a stick of dynamite six inches long, and it raised a +column of water twenty feet in the air, while the detonation sounded +like a salute, rolling from peak to peak for miles around. In two +hours three of us gathered 195 fish from a single pool. Most of them +were big suckers; but we had also thirty-five large Gila trout. All +were fat and of delicate flavour, and lasted us quite a long time. + +Never have I been at any place where deer were so plentiful. Almost +at every turn one of them might be seen, sometimes standing as if +studying your method of approach. I sent out five men to go shooting +in the northwesterly direction from the camp, and after a day and a +half they returned with ten deer. At one time we had fifteen hanging +in the kitchen. + +One morning our best marksman, a Mexican named Figueroa, brought +in three specimens of that superb bird, _campephilus imperialis_, +the largest woodpecker in the world. This splendid member of the +feathered tribe is two feet long; its plumage is white and black, and +the male is ornamented with a gorgeous scarlet crest, which seemed +especially brilliant against the winter snow. The birds go in pairs +and are not very shy, but are difficult to kill and have to be shot +with rifle. One of their peculiarities is that they feed on one tree +for as long as a fortnight at a time, at last causing the decayed tree +to fall. The birds are exceedingly rare in the museums. They are only +found in the Sierra Madre. On my journeys I saw them as far south +as the southernmost point which the Sierra Madre del Norte reaches +in the State of Jalisco, above the Rio de Santiago. I frequently +observed them also in the eastern part of the range. + +Here, too, a great many specimens of the rare Mexican titmouse and +some beautiful varieties of the duck tribe were procured. + +A few days after our arrival at the Rancheria de los Apaches, Professor +Libbey left our camp, returning to the United States by way of Casas +Grandes. After bidding him good-bye, I made an excursion of a week's +duration to the north of our camp, to look for possible antiquities, +especially a _casa blanca_, of which I had heard considerable from +the people in Nacori. + +The woods, considering that it was midwinter, were quite lively +with birds. Everywhere I saw bluejays; crested titmice, too, were +plentiful, as well as crossbeaks. A large yellowish squirrel also +attracted my attention. It was of the same kind as that recently found +by our expedition. The country was hilly and full of small cañons, +and well watered by springs. Outcroppings of solidified volcanic +ash looked in the distance like white patches in the landscape. We +searched diligently for some twenty-five miles to the north of the +main camp, and also toward the east and west, but no trace of former +habitation was found except trincheras and house ruins such as we had +seen before. Near one of the group of houses I saw three metates in +an excellent state of preservation. + +While out on this trip I was one day surprised by the appearance of +a Mormon in my camp. It was really a pleasure to see someone from +the outside world again; and this was a frank and intelligent man, +very pleasant to talk to. He told me that he had never been farther +north than where he was now; nor had he ever been farther west than +the little creek about two miles west of the place where he met me, +which he called the "Golden Gulch." This creek probably originates +in the mountains near by; there was still another creek west of us +which joined the Golden Gulch near the Mormon's tent, and this he +called "North Creek." The ranch near our main camp he had taken up +only about three years ago, and he considered agriculture in this +region successful, especially with potatoes. Maize, too, may also +ripen. Furthermore, he told me of some interesting cave dwellings +near the Mormon settlement on the eastern edge of the sierra, which +I decided to investigate. + +When the Mormons had come to colonise parts of northern Mexico, an +American called "Apache Bill," who had lived for a number of years +with the Apaches, told them of a large, fertile valley showing many +evidences of former cultivation. Probably he referred to a locality +that had once been inhabited by a remnant of the Opata Indians, +who had become christianised and had received fruit trees from the +missionaries. The trees, when found, were said to be still bearing +fruit, while the people had vanished--having probably been killed +off by the Apaches. + +I returned to the main camp, leaving, however, two men behind to +search still further for the _casa blanca_. When they returned after +a few days, they reported that nothing could be found, and that the +country was difficult of access. On my return I found the men who had +gone to Casas Grandes back already, bringing with them some provisions +and the first mail for three months. + +Two miles east of our camp obsidian was found _in situ_. It was not +in the natural flow, but in round, water-worn pebbles deposited in +the conglomerate. Many of these had been washed out and had rolled +down the hill, where a bushel of them might be collected in a few +hours. The outcrop does not extend over a large area, only about two +hundred yards on one side of the bank. + +On January 22d I started eastward toward the Mormon settlement, +passing the watershed at a height of 8,025 feet. After fifteen +miles of travel we arrived at the Mormon colony called Pacheco, and +situated on the Piedras Verdes River. It consists of small wooden +houses lying peacefully on the slope, surrounded by pine forests, +at an elevation of seven thousand feet. A saw-mill bore evidence of +industry. There were sixteen families living here, and as we arrived +some eighty children were just streaming out of school. Near by stood +a kindly looking old man, possibly their teacher. The children, who +ranged in age from seven to eighteen years, were all studying in one +class. They showed remarkably varied physiognomies, yet all looked +healthy and sturdy, and were demure and well-behaved. + +We made camp one and a half miles from the village, and in the evening +we were visited by my friend from the sierra and another Mormon. Both +expressed their readiness to serve us in every way they could; we +bought some potatoes and half a hog. + +As is the custom with the Mormons, they have several colonies outlying +from a central one. Among these is Cave Valley, about five miles east +to north from Pacheco, immediately upon the river already mentioned. On +the following day I went there with the scientific corps to examine the +cave dwellings of which the Mormons had been speaking. The settlement +(having an elevation 6,850 feet) consisted of eight houses. Knocking +on the door of one of these I walked in, introduced myself, and stated +the purpose of my visit. "How do you do?" said my host; "my name is +Nelson"--as if he had been accustomed to receive strangers every day. + +Mr. Nelson was quite a charming old man, more than seventy years old, +but hardy. In spite of the cold, he walked out in his shirt sleeves +in the full moonlight to select a camping place for me. The animals, +he suggested, might be left in the field for the night; he would see +about them in the morning, and he did not think there would be any +difficulty about keeping them there. We got a fine camp on top of a +hill with a view of the valley in which the caves are. + +Mr. Nelson told us of two interesting caves on this side of the river; +also, that there were numerous "inscriptions" (petroglyphs), that the +country was full of mounds, and that skeletons and mummies had been +found but had been buried again. From his statement it was evident +that we had a rich field before us, and the results of the following +day more than came up to our expectations. + +The old man, acting as our guide, showed us on the way to the valley +a primitive kind of corn-mill driven by water power, and with some +pride he pointed out to us an "infant industry," the product of which +so far was a dozen wooden chairs with seats of interwoven strips of +green hide, instead of cane. + +A number of caves were found to contain houses. One of them +especially made a great impression on us on account of an extraordinary +cupola-shaped structure, which from a considerable distance sprang into +view from the mouth of the cave. Most of the caves were found on the +western side of the river; but there were also some on the eastern +bank, among them a number of burial caves. In one of the latter a +well-preserved mummy was shown to us. It had already been taken up +two or three times to be looked at; but our guide intimated that the +influential Mormons in Utah did not want to have the skeletons and +caves disturbed. I therefore left it for the present, but thought that +in time we might get this, with whatever others might be found there. + +I was introduced to a Mormon in the neighbourhood, who invited me to +excavate a large mound close to his house. He would even help to dig, +he said, and I was free to take whatever I might find inside of it. He +was sure that there would be no difficulty about the mummies I might +want to remove from the burial caves. + + + + + +Chapter IV + + A Splendid Field Prepared for Us by the Ancient Agriculturists + of Cave Valley--House Groups in Caves Along a Pretty + Stream--Well-preserved Mummies Found in Caves--More Trincheras--Our + Excavations in Caves and Mounds Confirm to the Mormons their + Sacred Stories--We Move to the Plains of San Diego--Visit to Casas + Grandes and the Watch-tower--Successful Excavations of the Mounds + near San Diego. + + +Finding the locality so inviting for research, I decided to remain +here, returning to Pacheco only to despatch the rest of my party to +make excavations at the ranch of San Diego, thirty miles to the east, +down on the plains of Chihuahua. The ranch was temporarily leased +by an American, Mr. Galvin, who received my expedition hospitably, +and invited the members to remain as long as they pleased and to make +excavations wherever they wanted. + +Cave Valley is the widening of a long, low-walled cañon through which +the Piedras Verdes River flows. As its name implies, it contains +many caves in the felsitic conglomerate overlying the region. It is +from one-quarter to half a mile wide, and has a fine, rich, loamy +soil. The stream is ten to twenty feet wide and from one to three +feet deep. Fine forests of pine, oak, cedar, and maple surround it, +and make it an ideal dwelling-place for a peaceful, primitive people. + +The little knoll on which we were encamped rises on the north side +of a brook which empties itself in the river. It was in equally close +proximity to the dwellings of the living and the dwellings of the dead. + +Up the main stream, on the western wall of the cañon, and about +a mile from our camp, is a large cave containing the curious +cupola-shaped structure already mentioned. The cave is easy of +approach up a sloping bank from its south side, and arriving at it +we found it quite commodious and snug. It is about eighty feet wide +at its mouth, and about a hundred feet deep. In the central part it +is almost eighteen feet high, but the roof gradually slopes down in +the rear to half that height. + +A little village, or cluster of houses, lies at its back and sides. The +interior of most of the rooms must have been quite dark, though the +light reaches the outside of all the houses. The walls are still +standing about six feet high. The compartments, though small, are +seldom kennel-like. Some of the houses have shallow cellars. The roof +of the cave was thickly smoked over its entire surface. From traces +of walls still remaining on it, we may infer that a second story +had been built toward the centre of the cave, though this could only +have been five feet high. These traces of walls on the roof further +prove the important fact that this second story had been built in +terrace-fashion, receding about four feet back from the front of the +ground story. + +The cave had evidently been occupied for a very long time, the houses +showing many alterations and additions, and on the walls I counted as +many as twelve coatings of plaster and whitewash. The conventional +design of the ear of corn is well preserved in every doorway. Rude +scrawlings of soot and water cover nearly all the front walls, +mixed here and there with a few traces of red ochre. There are +meander designs, lightning, and drawings of cows and horses; but +the latter were doubtless put on after the walls were demolished, +and their general appearance denotes recentness. + +Several of the cyclopean riffles lead from the cave cliff to the +stream. + +The houses here, as well as in all other caves we examined, were +built entirely of a powdery substance, the decomposed material of +the cave itself. Great quantities of it were found on the floors +of caves which had not been occupied by man. It is not of a sandy +nature, and its colour is light brown, sometimes almost grey, or +even white. The ancient builders simply had to mix it with water +and mould it into bricks, which, though fairly uniform in thickness, +were very irregular in size. There were no marks of implements on the +walls; all the work seems to have been done by hand and smoothed over +with some wetted fabric. In one cave of this valley the walls show +finger-marks on the plaster. Occasionally we found a small boulder +of hard stone embedded in the wall. + +The most unique feature of this cave, however, is the cupola-shaped +structure which stands in an open space in front of the house group, +near the mouth of the cave, but still under its roof. Its height, +measured inside, is twelve feet, and its widest inside diameter is +eleven feet. Its walls average eight inches in thickness. It has +one aperture three feet wide at the top, another one of the same +dimension near the base, and there are several others nearly opposite +each other. In the two upper ones are seen distinct impressions of +timber in the plaster. + +The building was made by twisting long grass into a compact cable +and laying it up, one round upon another. As the coil proceeded, +thick coats of plaster were laid on inside and outside. This plaster, +which is the same material as that of which the houses are constructed, +got thoroughly mixed with the straw during the process of building, +and the entire structure was finished without any opening except +the one at the top. The other apertures were undoubtedly cut out +afterward. There is no trace of withes or other binding material to +hold the straw cables in place. They are kept in position only by +the plaster, which here, as in the houses, is almost as hard as the +conglomerate of the surrounding rocks. + +My Mexicans from Sonora called it _olla_, a jar, and insisted that it +was a vessel used for keeping water; but this is entirely improbable, +for several reasons, mainly because the river is in close proximity and +easy of access. It was without the slightest doubt a granary. Similar +structures, used for that purpose to the present day, may be seen in +the States of Vera Cruz and Tlaxcala. In a cave only a short distance +away, the rear portion of which also contained a group of houses, we +found between the mouth of the cave and the house walls the remains +of five of these peculiar buildings which I call granaries. They, +too, were made of straw and plaster, similar to the one described, +but the walls here were only two inches thick. The remains showed +that they had not been set up in any special arrangement, nor were +all five alike. Two of them were deeply sunken into the floor of the +cave, and inside of them we found, between the rubbish and debris +that filled them, several grains of corn and some beans. + +The other caves which we examined in this valley were of the same +general character as these two, although we found no granaries in +them. On this page is shown the ground plan of a cave on the east +side of the river, and attention is drawn to the singular concrete +seats or blocks against the wall in the house on the west side of +the cave. A floor of concrete had been made in this cave extending +inward and fairly level. + +Evidence of two-storeyed groups of houses was clearly noticeable +in many caves; but our investigations were somewhat impeded by the +destruction wrought by some Mormon relic-hunter, who had carried off +almost everything removable. He had even taken away many of the door +lintels and hand-grips, in fact, most of the woodwork, from the houses. + +In the rear of some of the caves it was so dark that we had to light a +candle to find our way, crawling from house to house. In one instance +we found a stone stairway of three steps. + +In spite of the tremendous dust which is raised by digging into the +ground, and which makes the work very arduous, we searched diligently +and succeeded in bringing to light a number of objects which fairly +welt illustrate the culture of the ancient people. Among them were +needles and awls of bone; a complete fire drill with a stick showing +drilling, basketry work covered with piñon pith mats and girdles, +threads of fibre or hair, and sandals plaited of yucca leaves. Wads +of cotton and pieces of pottery were found in many places; and an +interesting find was a "boomerang" similar to that used to this day +by the Moqui Indians for killing rabbits. The handle is plainly seen, +but the top is broken. The implement, which is made of very hard, +reddish wood, has but a slight curve. We discovered many smooth pieces +of iron ore that had probably been used for ceremonial purposes, +and a bow that had been hidden away on a ledge. + +That the ancient cave-dwellers were agriculturists is evident from +the numerous corncobs, as well as grains of corn and beans, that we +came upon. Datems, a green, sweet fruit still eaten by the Mexicans, +were identified everywhere in the cave-dwellings. + +Having effectually started the work of investigation here, I went to +look after the second section of my expedition, which had been sent +to San Diego. I covered the thirty-five miles with four pack mules in +one day. There is a charming view from the brow of the sierra over +the plains of San Diego, which are fully ten miles wide; but after +descending to them I found a hard, cold wind blowing. The weather +here is not at all as pleasant as in the sheltered Cave Valley up in +the mountains. + +I went to Casas Grandes, a village of 1,200 souls, six miles north +of San Diego, and succeeded in getting a draft cashed. On learning +that Mr. Moses Thatcher, a prominent Mormon apostle from Utah, was on +a tour of inspection of the colonies, I proceeded to Colonia Juarez, +a prosperous Mormon settlement on the Piedras Verdes River, ten miles +from Casas Grandes and six miles from San Diego. It was only four +years old, but had already a number of well laid-out broad streets, +set on both sides with cottonwood trees, and all the houses were +surrounded by gardens. I explained to Mr. Thatcher that I desired +to make excavations in Cave Valley, and he courteously acceded to my +wishes, adding that I might take away anything of interest to science. + +To reduce expenses, I paid off many of my Mexican men, who then +returned to their homes in Sonora, going over the sierra by the +trail we had made in coming east. A few months later several of them +returned, bringing others with them, and asked to work again in the +camp, which remained in San Diego for about nine months longer--long +enough for us to see quite a little trade in oranges, sugar, tobacco, +etc., developing between Sonora and Chihuahua by way of the road cut +out by us, and called, after me, _el camino del doctor_. + +Excavations in Cave Valley were continued, and the burial caves gave +even better results than the cave-dwellings. They were located in +the eastern side of the cañon, which is rarely touched by the sun's +rays. With one exception the ceilings and sides of these caves were +much blackened by smoke. There was not the slightest trace of house +walls, and no other sign that the place had ever been inhabited; +therefore, a fire here could have had no other purpose than a religious +one, just as the Tarahumares to this day make a fire in the cave in +which they bury their dead. Indeed, at first sight there was nothing +in the cave to indicate that they had ever been utilised by man; +but below the dust we came upon a hard, concrete floor, and after +digging through this to a depth of three feet, we fortunately struck a +skull, and then came upon the body of a man. After this we disinterred +that of a mother holding a child in her arms, and two other bodies, +all lying on their left sides, their knees half drawn up, and their +faces turned toward the setting sun. All were in a marvellous state +of preservation, owing to the presence of saltpetre in the dust. This +imparted to the dead a mummy-like appearance, but there was nothing +to suggest that embalming or other artificial means of preservation +of the bodies had been used. The entire system was simply desiccated +intact, merely shrunken, with the skin on most of the bodies almost +unbroken. The features, and even the expression of the countenance, +were in many cases quite distinct. Some had retained their eyebrows and +part of their hair, and even their intestines had not all disappeared. + +The hair of these people was very slightly wavy, and softer than +that of the modern Indian; in fact, almost silky. The statures were +quite low, and in general appearance these ancients bear a curious +resemblance to the Moqui Indians, who have a tradition that their +ancestors came from the south, and who, to this day, speak of their +"southern brethren"; but it would be very rash to conclude from +this that the cave-dwellers of northwestern Chihuahua are identical +with the Moqui ancestors. I afterwards brought to light several +other bodies which had been interred under similar conditions. The +bottom of the burial caves seems to have always been overlaid with +a roughly level, concrete floor. There was no trace here of cysts, +or other formal sepulture. + +None of the remains wore ornaments of metal, but various shell +ornaments, anklets and bracelets of beautifully plaited straw, which, +however, crumbled into dust when touched. Their clothing consisted of +three layers of wrappings around the loins. Next to the body was placed +a coarse cotton cloth; then a piece of matting, and over that another +cotton cloth. Between the legs was a large wad of cotton mixed with +the feathers of the turkey, the large woodpecker, and the bluejay. In +a few instances, the cotton cloth was dyed red or indigo. Near the +head of each body stood a small earthenware jar of simple design; +in some cases we also found drinking gourds placed at the head, +though in one instance the latter had been put on the breast of the +dead. Buried with the person we found a bundle of "devil's claws" +(_Martynia_). These are used by the Mexicans of to-day for mending +pottery. They drill holes through the fragments to be joined and pass +into them one of these claws, just as we would a rivet. The claw is +elastic and strong, and answers the purpose very well. My Mexicans +understood at once to what use they had been put. + +As already alluded to, trincheras were also found in Cave Valley, +where they were quite numerous. There was one or more in every +ravine and gully, and what was a new feature, some were built across +shallow drainages on the very summit of a hill. This summit was a +bald conglomerate, about 150 feet above the valley. In one place we +observed eight trincheras within 150 feet of each other, all built +of large stones in the cyclopean style of masonry. The blocks were +lava and hard felsite, measuring one and a half to three feet. As +a rule, these trincheras had a lateral extent of thirty feet, and +in the central part they were fifteen feet high. After all the great +labour expended in their construction, the builders of these terraces +had secured in each only a space thirty feet long and fifteen feet +wide; in other words, these eight terraces yielded together barely +3,000 square feet, which means space enough for planting five or +six hundred hills of corn. People who do not know the Indians would +consider this too small a result to favour the theory that these +terraces were erected for agricultural purposes. But the Indian's +farming is, in proportion to his wants, conducted on a small scale, +and he never thinks of raising more corn than he actually needs; +in fact, many tribes, as for instance the Tarahumares, seldom raise +enough to last the family all the year through. + +Further groups of cave-dwellings were found some ten miles higher +up the river, in what is called the "Strawberry Valley," probably +through the prevalence of the strawberry tree, of which several +beautiful specimens were seen. The largest cave there contained +fourteen houses. Unlike the dwellings in the Cave Valley, here a +gallery ran in front of the houses. The woodwork here was fresher than +that of the Cave Valley houses, and as the walls had only three coats +of plaster and whitewash, and the corners did not show much wear, +these dwellings were undoubtedly of more recent origin. But the +general character of the structures was similar to those we first +investigated. No implements were found in these caves. In the same +locality were quite a number of smaller caves containing houses in +demolition. In one of them the walls were composed of stones and mud, +and here we also saw the first circular-shaped house in a cave. + +By digging below the concrete floor of one of the rooms, we came upon +the skeletons of five adults. This was a singular fact, showing that +these ancient cave-dwellers observed the custom of burying their +dead under the floors of their houses when conditions permitted +it. Cave-dwellings comprising twenty rooms were also seen by the +Mormons at the head of Bavispe River. + +My relations with the Mormons continued to be friendly, and in my +dealings with them I found them honest and business-like. While +thriftily providing for the material requirements of this life, they +leave all their enjoyment of existence for the future state. Their life +is hard, but they live up to their convictions, though these, in some +points, date from a by-gone stage in the development of the human race. + +They were much interested in our work, never doubting but that +it could only be to their advantage to have light thrown upon the +mysteries buried in their caves, as, in their opinion, our researches +would only confirm the statements made in the "Book of Mormon," +which mentions the prehistoric races of America. They told me that +the book speaks of the arrival of three races in America. The first +landing was made at Guaymas in Sonora, the people being fugitives +from the divine wrath that destroyed the Tower of Babel. They were +killed. The second race landed in New England, coming from Jerusalem; +and the third, also coming from Jerusalem, landed in Chile. + +We spent altogether about six weeks in Cave Valley, and the weather, +as far as our experience went, was pleasant enough, although in +February, for several days, a strong, cold wind was blowing, so as to +interfere with our work in the mounds at daytime and with our sleep +at night. In addition to the discomforting feeling that at any moment +my tent might be blown down, I was worried by the possibility of its +falling on the results of our excavations, the pottery and skeletons, +which, for safety's sake, I kept in my tent. The situation was not +improved by some indiscreet burro (donkey), who would stray into the +camp and get himself entangled in the tent ropes. + +On January 30th nearly seven inches of snow fell. One day a flock of +twenty-five turkeys was observed near our camp; but our efforts to +get within shooting distance proved futile, as these cunning birds, +who apparently move about so unconcernedly, always disappeared as if +they had vanished into the ground, whenever one of us, no matter how +cautiously, tried to approach them. + +News of Apaches was again afloat, and one day a Mexican officer called +at the camp obviously in pursuit of Apaches from whom he had recently +taken twelve horses: but unfortunately the men had escaped. The +presidente of Casas Grandes had been advised of the killing of two +Americans near San Bernardino by some Apaches, and had also ordered +some men to look for the miscreants in the sierra. + +Having thoroughly investigated the caves, we turned our attention to +the mounds, which are very numerous in this part of the country. They +are always covered with grass, and sometimes even trees grow on +them. When excavated they disclosed the remains of houses of a type +similar to that of the cave-dwellings. Some of the mounds were high +enough to justify the supposition that the houses had two stories, +each six or seven feet high, and containing a number of rooms. From +the locality in which the mounds were found it becomes at once +evident that the houses which once stood there were not destroyed by +inundations and covered by diluvial deposits. The mounds are composed +of gravelly cement and fine debris of house walls, and the rooms left +are completely filled with this material. It is easy to imagine how +the mounds were formed by the gradual demolition of the ceilings, +plastering, and roofs, forming a heap which to-day appears as shapely +as if it had been made by man for some definite purpose. + +The houses were communal dwellings, each consisting of one room, +which generally was not quite ten feet square. The walls, eight +to nine inches thick, built of a mixture of clay and earth, were +fairly well preserved in places. In one house, which had unusually +solid compartments, the walls were twenty, and in some places even +thirty-three, inches thick. Here nothing could be found, either in +the rooms or by excavating below the floor. The same conventional +doorways were met with in all the mound houses, but there was hardly +any trace Of woodwork. + +Excavations in one of the mounds near our camp disclosed very +interesting composite structures. One part of the walls consisted of +large posts set in the ground and plastered over, forming a stuccoed +palisade. At right angles with this was a wall of cobble-stones, +and among the buried debris were fragments of adobe bricks. In one +room of this group, at a depth of less than five feet, we struck a +floor of trodden concrete. Breaking through we found a huddle of six +or seven skeletons, which, however, were not entire. + +Rarely if ever was any object found in these rooms, except, perhaps, +some stray axe, or some metates and grinding stones, and in one case +a square stone paint pot. But by digging below the concrete floors +we came upon skeletons which seemed to have been laid down without +regard to any rule, and with them were invariably buried some household +utensils, such as earthenware jars and bowls, beautifully decorated; +axes and mauls, fairly carved and polished. One very rare object was +secured: a doubled-grooved axe. The skeletons were badly preserved, +but we were able to gather several skulls and some of the larger bones. + +The floor material was so hard that only by means of heavy iron +bars could we break through it. As it was impracticable for us to +make complete excavations, the number of rooms each mound contained +cannot be stated. There were in the immediate neighbourhood of Cave +Valley at least ten or twelve separate groups, each of which had +from four to eight rooms on the ground floor. The entire district is +richly studded with mounds. On an excursion three or four miles down +Piedras Verdes River I saw several groups of mounds, some of which, +no doubt, contained many objects of antiquity. On top of one low hill +was a large group, and half a mile north of this another, 160 paces +long and containing two oblong mounds. Some of the mounds were ten +or twelve feet high. + +A very trustworthy Mormon informed me that there were no ruins, +in caves or otherwise, along the river between this settlement and +Colonia Juarez; nor were there any, he said, for a hundred miles south +of Pacheco, though mounds could be seen in several places. Therefore +when I at last departed from Cave Valley, I took his advice and did +not follow the course of the Piedras Verdes River down to San Diego, +but led the pack train the safer, though longer, way over the regular +road. The country along the river was afterward explored by members of +my expedition. They came upon several small caves high up on the side +of the cañon, some of which had once been inhabited, to judge from the +many potsherds and the smoky roofs; but no cave-houses were found until +higher up the river, where some were seen in the sandstone cliffs. + +I broke camp in Cave Valley on March 11th, and arrived on the same +day at Old Juarez, a few miles from my camp at San Diego. Now the +weather was warm; the grass was sprouting, and I noticed a flock of +wild geese going northward. + +The plains of San Diego used to swarm with antelopes, and even at +the time of my visit herds of them could be seen now and then. One +old hunter near Casas Grandes resorted to an ingenious device for +decoying them. He disguised himself as an antelope, by means of a +cloak of cotton cloth (manta) painted to resemble the colouring of +the animal. This covered his body, arms, and legs. On his head he +placed the antlers of a stag, and by creeping on all fours he could +approach the antelopes quite closely and thus successfully shoot +them. The Apaches, according to the Mexicans, were experts at hunting +antelopes in this manner. + +We excavated a mound near Old Juarez and found in it a small basin of +black ware. There were twelve or fifteen other mounds, all containing +house groups. The largest among them was 100 feet long, fifty feet +wide, and ten feet high; others, while covering about the same space, +were only three or four to six feet high. They were surrounded, +in an irregular way, by numerous stone heaps, some quite small, +others large and rectangular, inclosing a space thirty by ten feet. + +From an archæological point of view, the district we now found +ourselves in is exceedingly rich, and I determined to explore it as +thoroughly as circumstances permitted. One can easily count, in the +vicinity of San Diego, over fifty mounds, and there are also rock +carvings and paintings in various places. Some twenty miles further +south there are communal cave-dwellings, resembling those in Cave +Valley, which were examined by members of the expedition at the San +Miguel River, about eight miles above the point at which the river +enters the plains. Inside of one large cave numerous houses were +found. They had all been destroyed, yet it was plainly evident that +some of them had originally been three stories high. + +But the centre of interest is Casas Grandes, the famous ruin situated +about a mile south of the town which took its name, and we soon went +over to investigate it. + +The venerable pile of fairly well preserved ruins has already been +described by John Russell Bartlett, in 1854, and more recently +by A. F. Bandelier; a detailed description is therefore here +superfluous. Suffice it to say that the Casas Grandes, or Great Houses, +are a mass of ruined houses, huddled together on the western bank +of the river. Most of the buildings have fallen in and form six or +eight large mounds, the highest of which is about twenty feet above +the ground. Low mesquite bushes have taken root along the mounds +and between the ruins. The remaining walls are sufficiently well +preserved to give us an idea of the mode of building employed by the +ancients. At the outskirts of the ruined village the houses are lower +and have only one story, while in its central part they must have been +at one time at least four stories high. They were not palaces, but +simply dwellings, and the whole village, which probably once housed +3,000 or 4,000 people, resembles, in its general characteristics, +the pueblos in the Southwest, and, for that matter, the houses we +excavated from the mounds. The only features that distinguish these +from either of the other structures are the immense thickness of the +walls, which reaches as much as five feet, and the great height of the +buildings. The material, too, is different, consisting of enormous +bricks made of mud mixed with coarse gravel, and formed in baskets +or boxes. + +A striking fact is that the houses apparently are not arranged in +accordance with any laid-out plan or regularity. Nevertheless they +looked extremely picturesque, viewed from the east as the sun was +setting. I camped for a few days on top of the highest mound, between +the ruined walls. + +No circular building, nor any trace of a place of worship, could be +found. The Mexicans, some of whom have nestled on the eastern part +of the ruins, have from time to time come upon beautiful jars and +bowls, which they sold to relic hunters or used themselves. Such +pottery is far superior in quality and decoration to anything now +made in Mexico. The ancient metates of Casas Grandes, which are much +appreciated by the present inhabitants of the valley, are decidedly +the finest I have ever seen. They are square in shape, resting on +four legs, and well finished. There have also been taken out some +stone axes and arrowheads, which are much like those found in the +Southwest of the United States. + +Some years ago a large meteorite was unearthed in a small room +on the first floor of one of the highest of the buildings. When +discovered it was found carefully put away and covered with cotton +wrappings. No doubt it once had served some religious purpose. On +account of its glittering appearance, the Mexicans thought it was +silver, and everybody wanted to get a piece of it. But it was taken +to Chihuahua, and the gentleman who sent it to Germany told me that +it weighed 2,000 pounds. + +There are still traces of well-constructed irrigation ditches to be +seen approaching the ruins from the northwest. There are also several +artificial accumulations of stones three to fifteen feet high and of +various shapes. One of them has the form of a Latin cross measuring +nineteen feet along its greatest extent. Others are rectangular, +and still others circular. About three miles off, toward the west, +are found pictures pecked on large stones, one representing a bird, +another one the sun. + +An interesting relic of the population that once prospered in Casas +Grandes Valley is a watch tower, plainly visible on a mountain +to the southwest, and about five miles, in a straight line, from +the ruins. Well-defined tracks lead up to it from all directions, +especially from the east and west. On the western side three such +trails were noticed, and several join at the lower part of the ridge, +which runs southward and culminates in the promontory on which the +watch tower stands 1,500 feet above the plains. + +The western side of the ridge is in some places quite precipitous, +but there is a fairly good track running along its entire extent to +the top. Sometimes the road is protected with stones, and in other +places even with walls, on the outer side. Although the ascent is, +at times, steep, the top can be reached on horseback. + +The path strikes a natural terrace, and on this is seen a ruined +house group built of undressed stones on the bare rock. Some of the +walls are twenty-four inches thick. And a little to the south of +it is a large mound, from which a Mormon has excavated two rooms. A +very well-built stone wall runs for more than 100 paces from north +to south on the western, or most easily accessible, side of the pueblo. + +After leaving this ancient little village, we made a pleasant ascent +to the top, where a strikingly beautiful panorama opened up before us +on all sides. The summit commands a view of the fertile valleys for +miles around in every direction. To the west is the valley of the +Piedras Verdes River, and to the east the valley of Casas Grandes; +and in the plains to the south the snakelike windings of the San +Miguel River glitter in the sun. Toward the north the view is immense, +and fine mountains form a fitting frame for the landscape all around +the horizon. + +What a pre-eminently fine position for a look-out! As I contemplated +the vast stretches of land commanded from this point, I pondered +for how many centuries sentinels from this spot may have scanned +the horizon with their eagle eyes to warn their people of any enemy +approaching to disturb their peaceful occupations. + +The fort is circular and about forty feet in diameter. The surrounding +wall is on one side about eleven feet high and very broad, while in +other places it is much lower and narrower. There are four clearly +outlined chambers in the centre; but by excavations nothing could be +found in them, except that the flooring was one inch thick. + +It was quite warm here. Some birds were about, and there were a few +flowers out. Wild white currant bushes were growing inside of the +fortress, breathing delicious fragrance. But aside from the top, +the mountain was all but barren of vegetation. + +A few days afterward I went on an excursion up the Casas Grandes +Valley, as far as the Mormon colony Dublan. This valley, which is about +fifteen miles long and equally as broad, is very fertile where properly +irrigated, and maize and wheat fields delight the eye. Naturally, the +country is well populated, and the mounds which are met with everywhere +prove that this was already the case in ancient times. In fact, +mounds, in groups or isolated, are numerous as far north as Ascension. + +How richly the apparently poor soil repays the labour which man +expends on it may be seen in the flourishing colony the Mormons have +here. Wherever they go, the Mormons transform waste land into scenes +of prosperity, so much so that the Mexicans attribute the success of +these indefatigable developers to a gold mine, which they are supposed +to work secretly at night. + +As I found it imperative to return to the United States in the interest +of the expedition, I considered it expedient to reduce my scientific +corps to three. My camp at San Diego I left in charge of Mr. H. White, +who later on was relieved by Mr. C. V. Hartman. During my absence +they conducted excavations of the mounds along the southern bank of +the Piedras Verdes River, near its junction with San Miguel River, +and in convenient neighbourhood to the camp. Neither the mounds +themselves nor the houses inside of them differ much from those +already described on the upper part of the river, except that some +of the mounds here were somewhat larger. Judging from the beams +left, they probably contained a few three-story houses. However, in +either locality most of the mound houses were only one story high, +and where second or third stories were indicated, they were never +found intact. In neither place were circular houses observed. The +mounds here were located on a rich, alluvial clay soil. + +Here, as on the upper part of the river, the treasures we secured +were taken from underneath the floors of the houses, where they +had been buried with the dead. Here, as there, they consisted of +beautifully decorated earthenware jars and bowls, some of them in +bizarre representations of animal and human forms, besides stone +implements, shell beads, pieces of pyrites and turquoise, all being +generally unearthed intact. + +The things were found alongside of skeletons, which were huddled +together in groups of from two to five in one of the corners. The +jars, bowls, etc., had generally been deposited close to the body, +as a rule near the head. The skulls of the skeletons were mostly +crushed, and crumbled to dust when exposed to the air. There was no +trace of charring on the bones, although in some cases charcoal was +found close to the skeletons. + +To excavate such mounds is slow and tedious work, requiring much +patience. Sometimes nothing was found for weeks. Small mounds gave +results as good as, if not better than, some large ones. In shape they +are more or less conical, flattened at the top; some are oblong, a few +even rectangular. The highest among them rose to twenty or twenty-five +feet, but the majority varied from five to twelve feet. The house +walls inside of them were from eight to sixteen inches thick. + +The pottery which was excavated here may be judged by the accompanying +plates. It is superior in quality, as well as in decoration, to that +produced by the Pueblos of the Southwest of the United States. The +clay is fine in texture and has often a slight surface gloss, the +result of mechanical polishing. Though the designs in general remind +one of those of the Southwestern Pueblos, as, for instance, the cloud +terraces, scrolls, etc., still most of the decorations in question +show more delicacy, taste, and feeling, and are richer in colouring. + +This kind of pottery is known only from excavations in the valleys of +San Diego and of Piedras Verdes River, as Well as from Casas Grandes +Valley. It forms a transition from the culture of the Pueblos of +Arizona and New Mexico to that of the Valley of Mexico, a thousand +miles farther south. In a general way the several hundred specimens +of the collection can be divided into four groups: + +(1) The clay is quite fine, of white colour, with a slightly +grayish-yellow tinge. The decorations are black and red, or black +only. This is the predominant type, and may be seen in Plates I. and +II.; also Plate III., _a_. + +(2) Of a very similar character, but somewhat coarser in texture, and +heavier. See Plate III., _b_ to _g_, and Plate IV., _f_ Both these +groups include variations in the decorative designs, as may be seen +in the rest of Plate IV. + +(3) Brown pottery with black decorations. See Plate V., _a, b, c_, +and _e_. + +(4) Black ware. + +Here follows a condensed description of the more important specimens +shown in the plates: + +PLATE I + +Heights: _a_, 18.5 cm; _b_, 15.2 cm; _c_, 16.2 cm; _d_, 18.8 cm; _e_, +11.3 cm; _f_, 8.5 cm. + +_a_, particularly graceful in outline and decoration, is a +representative type that is often found. + +_c_, from Colonia Dublan, is made in the shape of a horned toad, +the lizard so familiar to anyone who has visited the Southwest of +the United States. The head with its spikes, and the tail as well, +are well rendered; the thorny prominences of the body are represented +by the indentations around the edge. + +_d_, the principal decoration here is the plumed serpent with a +bird's head. + +_e_, a vase in the shape of a duck. + +_f_, a bowl decorated only around the edge and in the interior. + +PLATE II + +Height, 16.5 cm. + +Here is shown what, in regard both to manufacture and to decoration, +is the best specimen in the collection. Its principal ornaments are the +plumed serpent and two birds, all clearly seen in the extension of the +design above and below the vase. The lower section is a continuation +of the upper one. + +The birds are represented as in flight. Mr. M. H. Saville is +probably right in considering them as quetzals, though the habitat +of this famous trogon is Central America and the southernmost part +of Mexico. The bird and the serpent form the decoration of other +jars of this collection and would indicate that the makers of this +pottery were affiliated with the Aztecs in their adoration of the +great deity Quetzalcoatl. + +PLATE III + +Heights: _a_, 18.5 cm; _b_, 18 cm; _c_, 17 cm; _d_, 11 cm; _e_, +14.5 cm; _f_ 15.3 cm; _g_, 24.2 cm. + +_c_, a jar in the shape of a conventionalised owl. + +_d_, a jar in the shape of a fish. + +_f_ is a much conventionalised representation of four horned +toads. Around its upper part it has two serpents, apparently coral +snakes, attached in high relief. + +PLATE IV + +Heights: _a_, 14 cm; _b_, 16.8 cm; _c_, 18.6 cm; _d_, 12.2 cm; _e_, +22 cm; _f_, 18.5 cm. + +_a_, a very realistic representation of the rain-grub. + +_c_ has a black slip. + +_d_ is very strong and highly polished, and differs also in colouring +from the rest. + +PLATE V + +Heights: _a_, 3.7 cm; _b_, 9.8 cm; _c_, 25.6 cm; _d_, 17 cm; _e_, +20.7 cm; _f_, 19.3 cm; _g_, 19.3 cm. + +This brown ware is very handsome, and its ornamentation is strikingly +artistic in its simplicity. See, for instance, Plate V., _e. D, f_, +and _g_ represent pottery from Casas Grandes, distinguished by a +certain solidity and a higher polish. + + + + + +Chapter V + + Second Expedition--Return to the Sierra--Parrots in the + Snow--Cave-dwellings at Garabato, the most Beautiful in Northern + Mexico--A Superb View of the Sierra Madre--The Devil's Spine + Ridge--Guaynopa, the Famous Old Silver Mine--Aros River--On Old + Trails--Adventures of "El Chino"--Cure for Poison Ivy. + + +When in the middle of January, 1892, I resumed my explorations, +my party was only about one-third as large as it had been the year +before. In pursuance of my plan, I again entered the Sierra Madre, +returning to it, as far as Pacheco, by the road on which we had come +down to San Diego. We travelled over freshly-fallen snow a few inches +deep, and encountered a party of eight revolutionists from Ascension, +among whom I perceived the hardest looking faces I had ever laid eyes +on. All questions regarding their affairs they answered evasively, +and I could not help feeling some anxiety for three of the men, who +with a Mexican guide, had for some weeks been exploring the country +around Chuhuichupa, a discarded cattle range some forty miles south of +Pacheco. Next day I sent a man ahead to warn them against the political +fugitives. The Mormons told me that for more than a fortnight they +had been keeping track of these suspicious-looking characters who +had been camping in the neighbourhood. + +There were repeated falls of snow, and the sierra assumed a thoroughly +northern aspect. Only the multitude of green parrots with pretty +red and yellow heads, chattering in the tree-tops and feasting on +pine cones, reminded us that we were in southern latitudes. As all +tracks had been obliterated by the snow, I secured a Mormon to guide +us southward. + +About ten miles south of Pacheco we passed Mound Valley, or +"Los Montezumas," so named after the extraordinary number of +montezumas, or mounds, found in the locality, probably not far from +a thousand. Looking at them from a distance, there seemed to be some +plan in their arrangement, inasmuch as they formed rows running from +north to south. They are small, and nearly all of them are on the +south side of a sloping plain which spread itself over about 500 +acres in the midst of densely pine-covered highlands. + +On making camp a few miles south of this plateau we found that one +of the mules had strayed off. My dismay over the loss of the animal +was not alleviated by the news that the mule was the one that carried +my blankets and tent, and that I had a good prospect of passing at +least one uncomfortable night on the snow. The American who had been +intrusted with keeping count of the animals on the road immediately +went back to look for the lost one; but not until next day did a +Mexican, who had been sent along with him, bring back the pack, +which the mule had managed to get rid of. The animal itself and its +aparejo were never recovered by us. + +On my arrival at Chuhuichupa I found everything satisfactory. There +are extensive grass-lands here, and a few years after our visit the +Mormons established a colony. The name Chuhuichupa is interesting, +as it is the first one we came upon that was of undoubted Tarahumare +origin "chuhui." being the Spanish corruption of "Chu-i," which means +"dead." The name signifies "the place of the dead," possibly alluding +to burial caves. + +Here Mr. Taylor had discovered very interesting cave-dwellings, fifteen +miles southeast to east in a straight lilac from the camp, but fully +twenty-five miles by the track he had followed. The Mexicans called +the cave Garabato, a Spanish word, which in Mexico is used in the +sense of "decorative designs," and refers here to ancient paintings +or scrawlings on the house walls. The cave is situated in a gorge on +the northern slope of the Arroyo Garabato, which drains into the Rio +Chico. It is in conglomerate formation, faces east, and lies about 215 +feet above the bottom of the gorge. The ascent is steep and somewhat +difficult. At a little distance the high, regular walls of the houses, +with their many door and window openings, presented a most striking +contrast to their surroundings of snow-covered jagged cliffs, in the +lonely wilderness of pine woods. Some of the walls had succumbed to +the weight of ages, but, on the whole, the ruins are in a good state +of preservation, and although I found cave-dwellings as far south as +Zapuri, Chihuahua, none of them were nearly as well preserved nor +on such an extensive scale. Time would not allow me to visit the +cave myself, and the following description is based on notes taken +by Mr. Taylor on the spot, as well as on his photographs and his +verbal explanations. + +The space covered by the houses and fallen walls was 125 feet from +side to side, and at the central part the dwellings were thirty-five +feet deep. The roof of the cave, or rather, the overhanging cliff, +was at the highest point eighty feet above the floor. The houses were +arranged in an arc of a circle so large as hardly to deviate from a +straight line. The front row seems to have been of but one story, +while the adjoining row back of it had two stories. The roof of +the houses at no place reached the roof of the cave. Each room was +about twelve feet square, and the walls, which showed no evidence +of blocks or bricks, varied in thickness from fifteen inches at the +base to seven inches at the top of the highest. At some places large +stones were built into the walls; in another wall wooden posts and +horizontal sticks or laths were found. The surface of the walls, +which were protected against the weather, was smooth and even, and +the interior walls showed seven or eight coatings of plaster. The +floors, where they could be examined, were smoothly cemented and so +hard as to effectively resist the spade. The pine poles which formed +the roof were smooth, but not squared; they were three to four inches +in diameter; and some of them were twenty-four feet long. According +to all appearances, they had been hewn with a blunt instrument, as +they were more hacked than cut. Many of them were nicely rounded +off at the ends, and several inches from the ends a groove was cut +all around the pole. + +In the centre of the back rooms of the ground floor there was +usually a pine pole, about ten inches in diameter, set up like a +rude pillar. Resting on this and the side walls of the rooms in a +slight curve was a similar pole, also rounded, and running parallel +to the front of the houses; and crossing it from the front to the +rear walls were laid similar poles or rafters about four inches in +diameter. The ends of these were set directly into the walls, and +covering them was a roofing of mud, some three inches thick, hard, +and on the upper surface smooth. The second story, where it had not +caved in, was covered in the same manner. None of the lower story +rooms had an outlet to the apartments above, and the evidence tended +to prove that the second story houses were reached from the bottom of +the cave over the roofs of the front row of houses by means of ladders. + +Most of the rooms were well supplied with apertures of the usual +conventional form; sometimes there were as many as three in one +room, each one large enough to serve as a door. But there were also +several small circular openings, which to civilised man might appear +to have served as exits for the smoke; but to the Indian the house, as +everything else, is alive, and must have openings through which it can +draw breath, as otherwise it would be choked. These holes were three or +four inches in diameter, and many of them were blocked up and plastered +over. A large number of what seemed to have been doorways were also +found to be blocked up, no doubt from some ulterior religious reason. + +A peculiar feature of the architecture was a hall not less than forty +feet long, and from floor to rafters seven feet high. Six beams were +used in the roof, laid between the north and south walls. There were +rafters of two different lengths, being set in an angle of about +ten degrees to each other. The west wall contained twelve pockets, +doubtless the cavities in which the rafters had rested. They were, +on an average, three inches in diameter, and ran in some six inches, +slanting downward in the interior. The east wall was found to contain +upright poles and horizontal slats, forming a framework for the +building material. The interior was bare, with the exception of a ledge +running along the southern side and made from the same material as the +house walls. It was squared up in front and formed a convenient settee. + +At the end of this hall, but in the upper story, was found a house +that was distinguished from the others by a peculiar decoration in +red, while the space around the door was painted in a delicate shade +of lavender. + +There seems to have been still another hall of nearly the same length +as the one described, but which must have been at least one foot and +a half higher. It is now almost entirely caved in. + +No objects of interest were found that could throw any light on the +culture of the builders of these dwellings, except the fragment of +a stone axe and a piece of matting. + +The day after my arrival at Chuhuichupa I continued my journey, now +accompanied by Mr. Taylor and Mr. Meeds. We had as a guide an old +Mexican soldier, who had been recommended to us as a man who knew the +Sierra Madre better than anyone else. He had, no doubt, lived a wild +life; had taken part in many a "scrap" with the Apaches, as his body +showed marks of bullets in several places, and he had prospected for +gold and silver, traversing a good deal of ground in the mountains at +one time or another. But topographical knowledge _per se_ does not +necessarily make a good guide. Although "Don Teodoro," by something +like instinct, always knew where he was, it did not take us long to +discover that he had not judgment enough to guide a pack-train, and his +fatuous recklessness caused us a good deal of annoyance, and even loss. + +After leaving the grass-lands of Chuhuichupa, we passed through +extensive pine regions, full of arroyos and cordons, and it struck +me how silent the forest was here. No animal life could be seen +or heard. About ten miles south we caught sight of the Sierra de +Candelaria, which suddenly loomed up in the southeast, while the +Arroyo de Guaynopa yawned on our left. We slowly ascended a beautiful +cordon running toward the southwest. The track we followed, our guide +assured us, was _el camino de los antiguos_, but it probably was +only an Apache trail. The cordon was rather narrow, and from time +to time gave us sweeping views of the stupendous landscape in one +direction or another, as the animals slowly made their way up and +finally reached the summit. A grandly beautiful sight awaited us; +we went a little out of our way to gain a promontory, which, our +guide said, was designated "Punto Magnifico." It was at an elevation +of 8,200 feet, and gave us certainly the most strikingly magnificent +view of the Sierra Madre we yet had enjoyed. + +An ocean of mountains spread out before and below us. In the midst +of it, right in front of us, were imposing pine-clad mesas and two +weathered pinnacles of reddish conglomerate, while further on there +followed range after range, peak after peak; the most distant ones, +toward the south, seeming at least as far as eighty miles away. The +course of the rivers, as they flow deep down between the mountains, +was pointed out to us. The principal one is the Arros River, which +from the west embraces most of the mesas, and then, turning south, +receives its tributaries, the Tutuhuaca and the Mulatos, the latter +just behind a pinnacle. West of the Arros River stretches out the +immense Mesa de los Apaches, once a stronghold of these marauders, +reaching as far as the Rio Bonito. The plateau is also called "The +Devil's Spine Mesa," after a high and very narrow ridge, which rises +conspicuously from the mesa's western edge and runs in a northerly +and southerly direction, like the edge of a gigantic saw. To our +amazement, the guide here indicated to us where the camino real from +Nacori passes east over a gap in the "Devil's Spine" ridge, and then +over several sharp buttes that descend toward the mesa. An odd-looking +mesa lay between Rio Bonito and Rio Satachi. Farthest to the west +were the big hogbacks near Nacori, standing out ominously, like a +perpetuated flash of lightning. The sun was nearing the horizon; the +air was translucent, and the entire panorama steeped in a dusky blue. + +Immediately below us, to our left, lay Guaynopa. The mountainside +looked so steep that it seemed impossible for us to descend from +where we were. But we already heard the voices of our muleteers +singing out to the animals 1,000 feet below, and that reminded us +that we also had better reach camp before darkness should overtake +us. We descended 2,500 feet, and, leaving the pines behind, found +ourselves in a warmer climate. It never snows here, according to our +guide. That the precipitation took the shape of rain we learned when +we were impeded by it for two days. + +There were yet eighteen miles between us and the deserted +mines of Guaynopa. It was a laborious journey over the hills, +mostly ascent. Finally we came to a steep slope covered with oaks, +along which there was a continuous descent toward Guaynopa. While +zigzagging our way down, we caught sight of a large cave with houses +and some white cone-shaped structures staring at us across an arroyo +midway up the opposite side, which was at least two thousand feet +deep. Through my field glasses I could make out very distinctly a +group of houses of the usual pattern; and the large, white structures +could without difficulty be recognised as granaries, similar to those +observed in Cave Valley. It was my intention to go back and examine +this cave more closely, as soon as I had found a camping place; but +circumstances interfered. Several years later the cave was visited +by Mr. G. P. Ramsey, to whom I owe the following brief description. + +The cave is situated about twenty-five miles in a straight line south +of the Mormon colony of Chuhuichupa. There are indications of a spring +in the cave, and there is another one in the arroyo itself. The +buildings are in a very bad condition, owing to the action of the +elements and animals; but fifty-three rooms could be counted. They were +located on a rocky terrace extending from the extreme right to the +rear centre of the cave. This extreme right extended slightly beyond +the overhanging cliff, and contained groups of two-storied houses. In +the central part of the cave were a number of small structures, built +of the same material and in a similar manner as those I described +as granaries in Cave Valley. They were still in excellent condition, +and, as will be seen at a glance, they are almost identical with the +granaries used to the present day in some southern States of Mexico. + +We continued our descent, and, having dropped altogether some 2,000 +feet, at last found ourselves alongside some lonely and unattractive +old adobe houses. They were built by the Spaniards and are reputed +to have once been the smelter of the now abandoned silver mine of +Guaynopa. Only the naked walls remain standing on a decline, which +was too steep to give us sufficient camping ground. So we went still a +little further, to the top of a hill near by, where we made a tolerably +good camp. + +This then was the famous locality of Guaynopa, credited with hiding +such fabulous wealth. There was still another mine here of the same +repute, called Tayopa, and both of them are said to have been worked +once by the Jesuits, who before their expulsion from Mexico were +in possession of nearly all the mines in the country. According to +tradition, the Apaches killed everybody here, and the mines were +forgotten until recent times, when ancient church records and other +Spanish documents revealed their existence. Several expeditions have +been sent out, one, I believe, by the Government for the purpose of +locating them; but being situated in the roughest and most inaccessible +part of the Sierra Madre, they are still awaiting their rediscovery, +unless, contrary to my knowledge, they have been found in recent +years. There is no doubt that the country carries very rich silver +ore, and we ourselves found specimens of that kind; but the region +is so difficult of access that it probably would require too great +a capital to work the mines. + +There was now a plain track leading along the hillside down toward +the Rio Aros, which is scarcely two miles off; but the country was so +wild and rugged that the greatest care had to be exercised with the +animals to prevent them from coming to grief. The path runs along the +upper part of a steep slope, which from a perpendicular weathered cliff +drops some 400 feet down into a gorge. As the declivity of the slope +is about forty-five degrees, and the track in some places only about +a foot wide, there is no saving it if an animal loses its foothold, +or if its pack slips. All went well, however, until we reached a point +where the track commenced to descend, when our villain of a guide tried +to drive some burros back on the track, instead of leading each one +carefully. The result was that one of the poor beasts tumbled down, +making immense bounds, a hundred feet at a time, and, of course, +was killed. + +We had no difficulty in fording the Guaynopa Creek near its junction +with the Aros River, and selected a camping place on a terrace 200 feet +above it. The stream, which is the one that passes the cave-dwellings, +carries a good deal of limpid water, and there are abundant signs +that at times it runs very high. The elevation of the ford, which +is here about the same as that of Aros River, 3,400 feet, was the +lowest point we reached in our crossing of the Sierra Madre between +Chuhuichupa and Temosachic. It took us almost the entire day to move +the animals the one mile and a half to this camp. On the way we had +found some good quartz crystals in the baryte, about four inches high +and one inch in width. + +The country before us looked more forbidding than ever, as if it +did not want us to penetrate any further into its mysteries, but our +guide seemed to be quite at home here. + +Our march toward Rio Chico was about thirty miles of ups and downs, +ascending to a height of 7,600 feet and descending again some 3,000 +feet. In the beginning it was almost impossible to make out the track; +where it did not lead over bare rocks, it was nearly obliterated +by overgrown grass. The first ascent was over a mile long in a +straight line; then, after a little while, came the most arduous +climbing I had until then ever attempted. Following the slope of the +mountain, the track rose higher and higher in long zigzags, without +any chance for the animals to rest, for at least three-quarters of +a mile. It was necessary to push them on, as otherwise the train +would unavoidably have upset, and one or the other have rolled down +the declivity. One large white mule, El Chino, after it had almost +climbed to the top, turned giddy at the "glory-crowned height" it +had reached, and, sinking on its hind legs, fell backward and rolled +heels over head down, with its two large canvas-covered boxes, like +a big wheel. As luck would have it, it bumped against a low-stemmed +old oak that cropped out of the hillside in an obtuse angle to it, +some ninety feet below. Making one more turn up the stem, the mule was +nicely caught between the forked branches, which broke the momentum, +loosened the cargo, and caused the animal to fall back into the high +grass. One box landed close by, the other, containing our library, +pursued its course downward 200 feet further, bursting open on the +way and scattering the wisdom of the ages to the winds, while the +mule escaped without a scratch. + +The burros came into camp three hours after us, and the drivers +explained how they had succeeded in bringing them up the long slope +only by constantly punching them to prevent them from "falling asleep." + +As we continued our journey toward Rio Chico the panorama of the +sierra changed continuously. We got a side view of the big Mesa de +los Apaches, and many weathered pinnacles of eroded conglomerate were +seen standing out like church spires in this desert of rock, varying +in colour from red to lead gray. Once we caught sight of a stretch of +the Rio Aros deep down in a narrow, desolate valley, some 3,000 feet +below us. The geological formation of the region is mostly volcanic; +then follows conglomerate, and on the high points porphyry appears. + +We camped on the crest of the eastern side of the Rio Chico Cañon, +in an ideal place with bracing air. A fine, sloping meadow afforded +quite an arcadian view with the animals peacefully grazing and resting; +but looking westward, the eye revelled in the grand panorama of the +sierra. The two sides of the Rio Chico Valley rise here evenly from +the bottom of the gorge so as to suggest the letter V. In many places +its brow is overhung by precipitous cliffs, and further down still +more steeply walled chasms yawn up from the river bed. + +My chief packer now became ill from the effects of poison ivy. He was +one of those unfortunate individuals who are specially susceptible to +it. According to his own statement it sufficed for him to pass anywhere +near the plant, even without touching it, to become afflicted with the +disease. In this case he did not even know where he had contracted it, +until the cook showed him some specimens of the plant near an oak tree +close by the kitchen tent. The poor fellow's lips were badly swollen; +he had acute pains in his eyes, and felt unable to move. Sometimes, he +said, the disease would last ten days, and his skin become so tender +that he could not endure the weight or contact of his clothes. But +by applying to the afflicted parts of his body a solution of baking +soda in water, I was able not only to relieve his suffering, but to +enable him, after two days, to continue with us on our journey. + +In the meantime we had investigated some caves in the conglomerate +of the steep cañon side, about 250 feet above the bottom of the +gorge, and rather difficult of access. The house group occupied the +entire width of a cave, which was eighty feet across, and there was +a foundation wall made of stone and timber underneath the front +part. The walls were made of stone, with mortar of disintegrated +rock that lined parts of the cave and were plastered inside and out +with the same material. Lintels of wood were seen in the windows, +and rows of sticks standing in a perpendicular position were found in +two of the walls inside of the plastering. On one side of the cave, +some two feet off, was a small tower, also in ruins, measuring inside +four feet in diameter, while the walls were about six inches thick. + +Pinnacles of eroded conglomerate are a prominent characteristic of +the landscape west of the Rio Chico; further on, the usual volcanic +formation appears again. After fully twenty miles of travel we found +ourselves again in pine forests and at an altitude of 7,400 feet. Here +we were overtaken, in the middle of February, by a rain and sleet +storm, which was quite severe, although we were sheltered by tall +pine trees in a little valley. It turned to snow and grew very cold, +and then the storm was over. Here a titmouse and a woodpecker were +shot, and the bluebirds were singing in the snow. + +Travelling again eleven miles further brought us to the plains of +Naverachic, where we camped. It was quite a treat to travel again +on comparatively level land, but, strange to say, I felt the cold so +much that I had to walk on foot a good deal in order to keep warm. The +word Naverachic is of Tarahumare origin; navé means "move," and ráchi +refers to the disintegrated trachyte formation in the caves. + +We had just emerged from a district which at that time was traversed +by few people; perhaps only by some illiterate Mexican adventurers, +though it had once been settled by a thrifty people whose stage of +culture was that of the Pueblo Indians of to-day, and who had vanished, +nobody knows how many centuries ago. Over it all hovered a distinct +atmosphere of antiquity and the solemnity of a graveyard. + + + + + +Chapter VI + + Fossils, and One Way of Utilising Them--Temosachic--The First + Tarahumares--Ploughs with Wooden Shares--Visit to the Southern + Pimas--Aboriginal Hat Factories--Pinos Altos--The Waterfall near + Jesus Maria--An Adventure with Ladrones. + + +About thirty miles from the village of Temosachic (in the Tarahumare +tongue Remosachic means Stone Heap) we entered the plain of Yepomera, +and came upon an entirely different formation, limestone appearing +in an almost horizontal layer some thirty feet deep. In this bed +the Mexicans frequently find fossils, and at one place four large +fossil bones have been utilised as the corner posts of a corral +or inclosure. We were told that teeth and bones were accidentally +found at a depth of from twenty to thirty feet and some bones were +crystallised inside. This formation, which stretches itself out toward +the east of Temosachic, but lies mainly to the north of this place, +has an extent of about fifteen miles from north to south, and from +three to four miles from east to west. + +Fossils picked up by Mr. Meeds in the cutting of a creek near Yepomera +consisted of some fragmentary teeth and pieces of bones from some +small animal. They were found in the hard clay that underlies the +lime-stone. Large fossil bones also are said to have been gathered +near the town of Guerrero, Chihuahua, quite recently. It seems to +be a custom with the common people to make a concoction of these +"giants' bones" as a strengthening medicine; we heard of a woman who, +being weak after childbirth, used it as an invigorating tonic. + +Here in Temosachic we were joined by Mr. Hartman, who had brought +part of our baggage from San Diego by wagon in order to enable us to +travel as unencumbered as possible. + +From now on, until as far as the southern border of the State of +Chihuahua, the country is occupied by the large Indian tribe of the +Tarahumares. They are now confined to the Sierra Madre, but in former +times they also occupied the entire plain of Chihuahua, as far west +as the present capital of that State, and in a narrow strip they may +have reached as far as 100 miles north of Temosachic. They were the +main tribe found in possession of the vast country which is now the +State of Chihuahua, and although there are still some 25,000 left, +the greater part of them have become Mexicanised, adopting the +language and the customs of the whites, together with their dress +and religion. Father Ribas, in the seventeenth century, speaks of +them as very docile and easily converted to Christianity. + +The high plateau of the Sierra Madre for a couple of hundred miles +southward is not difficult to follow. Most of it is hilly and clad in +oaks and pines; but there are also extensive tracts of fine arable +land, partly under cultivation, and fairly good tracks connect the +solitary villages and ranches scattered over the district. The country +of the aborigines has been invaded and most of the descendants of +the former sovereigns of the realm have been reduced to earning a +precarious living by working for the white and mixed-breed usurpers +on their ranches or in their mines. The native language, religious +customs, and dress are being modified gradually in accordance with the +new régime. Only in the less desirable localities have the Tarahumares +been able to hold their own against the conquerors. + +There is not much interest attached to the study of half-civilised +natives, but the first pure-blooded Tarahumares I met on their little +ranch about ten miles south of Temosachic were distinctly Indian and +very different from the ordinary Mexican family. There was a kind of +noble bearing and reserve about them which even the long contact with +condescending whites and half-breeds had not been able to destroy. The +father of the family, who, by the way, was very deaf, was a man of some +importance among the native ranchers here. When I approached the house, +mother and daughter were combing each other's hair, and did not allow +themselves to be disturbed by my arrival. The younger woman wore her +long glossy tresses plaited in Mexican fashion. She evidently was in +robust health and had well-moulded, shapely arms and an attractive +face, with an eagle nose. She was beautiful, but I could not help +thinking how much better she would have looked in her native costume. + +On the road we had several times overtaken donkey-trains carrying +corn to the mines of Pinos Altos. In the small Rio Verde we caught +three kinds of fish: suckers, catfish, and Gila trout, which grow +from one to three feet long, and, according to Tarahumare belief, +change into otters when they are old. + +The name of the village of Tosanachic is a Spanish corruption of +the Tarahumare Rosanachic, which means "Where there is White," and +alludes to a number of white rocks or cliffs of solidified volcanic +ash, which rise to a height of some fifty feet and give to the little +valley quite a striking appearance. There are caves in these rocks, +and three poor families of Pima Indians lived in some of them. + +In the village we noticed the first Tarahumare plough, the share +of which was made of a section of oak. In its general appearance it +is an imitation of the ordinary Mexican plough, in other words, is +simply a tree stem with a branch as a handle. But, however primitive +in design and construction, the civilised man's implement always has +an iron share. Of course, such among the Tarahumares as can afford +iron shares, never fail to get them; but in several parts of their +country ploughs made entirely of wood, that is to say, ploughs with +wooden shares, are seen. The foremost part of such a plough is cut to +a point, and into a groove made for the purpose a section of tough oak +is inserted, to serve as a share. It is held in place by the tapering +of the groove, and some wedges or plugs. The share has naturally to be +renewed quite frequently, but it serves its purpose where the ground +is not stony. Later on, in Cusarare, Nararachic and other places, +I found ploughshares of stone applied in the same manner as were the +wooden ones. + +Here at an elevation of 7,600 feet, and at the end of February, +I saw the first flowers of the year, some very fresh-looking yellow +_Ranunculus_. On crossing the ridge to Piedras Azules, sixty-odd miles +south of Temosachic, a decided change of climate and vegetation was +noticeable. I found another kind of _Ranunculus_, as well as various +other flowers, and as we passed through a small but gorgeous cañon, +with the sun shining against us through the fresh leaves of the +trees, everything in Nature made the impression of spring. All was +green except the ground, which was gray. The road was stony, and bad +for the feet of the animals; altogether the country presented a new +aspect with its small volcanic hills, many of them forming cones. + +A few Indian hamlets surrounded by peach trees in full bloom were +found here. The Indians here are Pimas, who, in their general +characteristics, resemble the Tarahumare, although they impress you +as being less timid and suspicious, and more energetic, perhaps also +more intelligent, than the latter. We had no difficulty in taking some +photographs. Among those who agreed to have their pictures taken was a +dignified, courteous old man, who thought he was a hundred years old, +but was probably only eighty. He showed me some scars on his body, +which were a souvenir from a fight he once had with a bear. + +In order to see more of the Southern Pimas I went to the near-by +village of Yepachic, which I think is also a Tarahumare name, yepá +meaning snow. There are, however, more Mexicans than Pimas in the +village, and the presidente was a half-caste Tarahumare; he was once +a shepherd, but had made money by trading mescal to the natives--six +bottles for a cow. + +Although the Pimas whom I visited in the neighbourhood, were very +reserved, and even more Indian-like than the Tarahumares I had seen +so far, still in their dress they showed more traces of advancing +civilisation than the latter tribe. Everything here betrays the +nearness of the mines, with the characteristic accompaniment of cheap +clothes, cheap, tawdry jewelry, and a slight influx of iron cooking +utensils. The Pimas, like the Tarahumares, use pine cones for combs; +and we picked up several discarded ones near their houses. + +I went still fifteen miles further northward, but found that most +of the Indians there had gone to the Pinos Altos mines to look for +work. That "March comes in like a lion" I realised even here in the +sierra, when, on this excursion, on which I had not taken my tent +along, I was overtaken by a snow-storm. We had gone to bed with the +stars for a canopy, clear and beautiful; we woke up under blankets +of snow, which turned to rain, drenching us to the skin and making +us shiver with cold. + +I saw several small, shallow caves, and learned that many of them +were utilised by the Pimas during the wet season. I also passed a +rock-shelter, which served as a permanent home. The housewife was +busy making straw hats. She was very shy, as her husband was away; +but I elicited the information that she gets two reales (25 cents) +for each hat. The making of straw hats and mats is quite an industry +among the Pimas. In the houses they have a cellar-like dug-out outside +of the dwelling and covered with a conical roof of dry grass. These +cellars, in many cases, serve not only as the work-rooms, but also +as store-rooms for their stock in trade. + +In one or two instances I found Pima families living in open +inclosures, a kind of corral, made from cut-down brushwood. I +noticed two small caves that had been transformed into storehouses, +by planting poles along the edge and plastering these over with mud, +to make a solid wall, behind which corn was stored. + +In Yepachic I estimated there were about twenty Pima families. I +had some difficulty in inducing them to pose before the camera; the +presidente himself was afraid of the instrument, thinking it was a +diabolo (devil). + +There are probably not more than sixty Pima families within the State +of Chihuahua, unless there are more than I think near Dolores. Some +twenty-odd families of these live in caves during the wet season, +and a few of them are permanent cave-dwellers. I understand that the +Pimas in Sonora utilise caves in the same way. + +I made an excursion from the mine of Pinos Altos (elevation 7,100 feet) +to Rio Moris, about ten miles west, where there are some burial caves; +but they had already been much disturbed by treasure seekers, and I +could secure only a couple of skulls. An interesting feature of the +landscape near Rio Moris is a row of large reddish pinnacles, which +rise perpendicularly from the river-bed up along the hillside, and form +a truly imposing spectacle. An excited imagination may see in them so +many giants suddenly petrified while walking up the mountain. Around +Pinos Altos and Jesus Maria the rock is of blue porphyry, quite hard +in places, and speckled with little white patches. It is in this rock +that the gold- and silver-bearing quartz occurs. + +Through the courtesy of the bullion-convoy I was enabled to dispatch +some of my collections via Chihuahua to the museum at New York, +among other things eight fine specimens of the giant woodpecker. + +Then, sending my train ahead, I made with a guide a little detour to +visit the beautiful waterfall near Jesus Maria. It is formed by the +River Basasiachic, which, except during the wet season, is small and +insignificant. Before the fall the stream for more than a hundred +yards runs in a narrow but deep channel, which in the course of +ages it has worn into the hard conglomerate rock. The channel itself +is full of erosions and hollowed-out places formed by the constant +grinding and milling action of the rapidly rushing water, and the +many large pebbles it carries. Just at the very brink of the rock, +a low natural arch has been eroded, and over this the stream leaps +almost perpendicularly into the deep straight-walled cañon below. The +height of the cascade has been measured by a mining expert at Pinos +Altos, and found to be 980 feet. Set in the most picturesque, noble +environments, the fall is certainly worth a visit. + +I arrived at its head just as the last rays of the setting sun +were gilding the tops of the mountains all around. The scenery was +beautiful beyond description. Above and around towered silent, solemn +old pine-trees, while: the chasm deep down was suffused with a purple +glow. About midway down the water turns into spray and reaches the +bottom as silently as an evening shower, but as it recovers itself +forms numerous whirlpools and rapids, rushing through the narrow gorge +with an incessant roar. When the river is full, during the wet season, +the cascade must present a splendid sight. + +I wanted to see the fall from below. The guide, an elderly man, +reminded me that the sun was setting, and warned me that the distance +was greater than it seemed. We should stumble and fall, he said, +in the dark. But as I insisted on going, he put me on the track, and +I started on a rapid run, jumping from stone to stone, zigzagging my +way down the mountainside. The entire scenery, the wild, precipitous +rocks, the stony, crooked path, the roaring stream below--everything +reminded me of mountains in Norway, where I had run along many a +_säter_ path through the twilight, alone, just as I was running now. + +As luck would have it, I met an Indian boy coming up from the river, +Where he had been trout fishing, and I asked him to accompany me, +which he did. About half-way down we arrived at a little promontory +from which the fall could be seen very well. The rock seemed to be +here the same as on top, showing no sign of stratification. A few +yards from the point we had reached was a spring, and here we made +a fire and waited for the moon to rise. To make him more talkative, +I gave the boy a cigarette. He spoke only Spanish, and he told me that +he had neither father nor mother, and when his uncle died he was quite +alone in the world; but a Mexican family brought him up, and he seemed +to have been treated well. At present he was paying two dollars a +month for his board, earning the money by selling grass in Pinos Altos. + +At nine o'clock we began to ascend through the moonlit landscape. I +had left my mule some hundred yards from the fall, and here I also +found the guide. At two o'clock in the morning I arrived at my camp. + +The road continued through rather monotonous country, the altitude +varying from 6,300 to 7,700 feet. Grass began to be scarce, and +the animals suffered accordingly. It is the custom with Mexican +muleteers to select from among themselves a few, whose business +throughout the journey it is to guard the animals at night. These men, +immediately after having had their supper, drive the animals to a +place where suitable pasture is found, never very far from the camp, +and bring them back in the morning. They constitute what is called +la sabana. Comparatively few men suffice for this duty, even with a +large herd, as long as they have with them a leader of the mules, +a mare, preferably a white one. She may be taken along solely for +this purpose, as she is often too old for any other work. The mules +not infrequently show something like a fanatic attachment for their +yegua, and follow blindly where they hear the tinkling of the bell, +which is invariably attached to her neck. She leads the pack-train, +and where she stops the mules gather around her while waiting for the +men to come and relieve them of their burdens. Sometimes a horse may +serve as a leader, but a mare is surer of gaining the affection of +all the mules in the train. This is an important fact for travellers +to bear in mind if they use mules at all. In daytime the train will +move smoothly, all the mules, of their own accord, following their +leader, and at night keeping close to her. In this way she prevents +them from scattering and becomes indispensable to the train. + +But in spite of the vigilance of the sabana and the advantage of a +good yegua, it may happen, under favourable topographical and weather +conditions, that robbers succeed in driving animals away. While giving +the pack-train a much-needed rest of a day in a grassy spot, we woke +next morning to find five of our animals missing. As three of the lot +were the property of my men, they were most eagerly looked for. The +track led up a steep ridge, over very rough country, which the Mexicans +followed, however, until it suddenly ran up against a mountain wall; +and there the mules were found in something like a natural corral. + +Not until then did our guide inform me that there lived at Calaveras +(skulls), only three miles from where we were stopping, a band of +seven robbers and their chief, Pedro Chaparro, who was at that time +well-known throughout this part of the Tarahumare country. I had +no further experience with him, but later heard much of this man, +who was one of a type now rapidly disappearing in Mexico. He did +not confine his exploits to the Mexicans, but victimised also the +Indians whenever he got an opportunity, and there are many stories +in circulation about him. + +On one occasion he masqueraded as a padre, a black mackintosh serving +as his priestly garb. Thus attired he went to the unsophisticated +Tarahumares in the more remote valleys and made them send out +messengers to advise the people that he had come to baptise them, +and that they were all to gather at a certain place to receive his +blessings. For each baptism he charged one goat, and by the time +he thought it wise to retire he had quite a respectable herd to +drive home. When the Indians found out that they had been swindled, +they caught him and put him into jail, intending to kill him; but +unfortunately some of his Mexican confrères heard of his plight +and came to his rescue. However, a few years later, this notorious +highwayman, who had several murders to answer for, was caught by the +government authorities and shot. + +On the road, as we travelled on, we met many Tarahumares carrying on +their backs trays (_huacales_) with apples, which they were taking +to market. The price per tray was $2, and the apples were delicious. + +At night it was very cold, the thermometer falling to 13° below the +freezing point. I was sorry to learn from my men that the prospects +of grass further south were small. + +At the village of Bocoyna (elevation 7,100 feet) we were 400 miles from +San Diego by the track we had made. Bocoyna is a corruption of the +Tarahumare Ocoina (ocó = pine; ína = drips; meaning Dripping Pine, +or Turpentine). Here I had to stop for two days, because no less +than six of us, including myself, were suffering from the grippe, +which a piercing, dry, cold wind did not tend to alleviate. However, +as the worst cases did not last more than five days, we soon were all +well again, though the Mexicans were almost overcome by the effects +of the disease. + +The presidente here was a powerful-looking half-caste and very +original. After I had read to him twice my letter from the governor +of the state, in which the people were told, among other things, +to promote the success of the expedition in every way, especially by +selling us what provisions we needed and not to overcharge us, he, +by way of obeying the orders of his superior, immediately ordered +that not more than $6 should be charged for a fanega of corn. He +also had at once four nice, fat hens killed and sold them to us at +the market price. + +After we passed Bocoyna, the country for ten miles was flat, but +fertile. It was gratifying to observe that here the Indians had some +ranches with considerable land still left to them. We passed several +such homesteads lying close together, and as many as four yokes of oxen +were ploughing, each attended by a Tarahumare, whose entire clothing +consisted of a breech-cloth. The Indians here are very numerous and +they are still struggling to resist the encroachments of the whites +upon their land, though the ultimate result is in all cases the same. + + + + + +Chapter VII + + The Uncontaminated Tarahumares--A Tarahumare Court in Session--The + Power of the Staff--Justice has its Course--Barrancas--Excursion + to the Gentiles--Tarahumare Costumes Simple and + Inexpensive--Trincheras in Use Among the Tarahumares. + + +We were lucky enough to secure a guide who, spoke the Tarahumare +language very well, and our next stop was at the pueblo of Cusarare +(a Spanish corruption of Usarare, usáka = eagle), an Indian village +situated in a rather rough country full of weathered porphyry +rocks. We made camp a few miles outside of the village and sent the +guide to prepare the people for our coming. There had recently been +considerable talk among the Mexicans of the wild people in the deep +gorges, called barrancas, and it was with no little anticipation that +I approached the country now immediately before us. There were no +Mexicans living in Cusarare, nor in the country ahead of us; in fact, +with the exception of the small mining camp in Barranca de Cobre, +there were none within fifty miles to the south, and almost an equal +distance from east to west. + +Indian pueblos throughout Mexico are almost abandoned for the greater +part of the year. I refer, of course, only to those which have not +yet become Mexican settlements. The first thing the missionaries in +the early times had to do was to force the Indians to leave their +scattered ranches and form a pueblo. To make a place a pueblo they +had to build a church. The Indians were pressed into service to erect +the building, and kept at work, if necessary, by a troop of soldiers +who often accompanied the missionaries and in this way assisted them +in spreading the gospel. + +From the missionaries' point of view this was a very practical +arrangement; but the purpose of having the Indians remain in the +villages has not been accomplished to this day. Only the native-chosen +authorities, who are obliged to reside there during their term of +office, form something like a permanent population in the pueblos. The +natives come together only on the occasion of feasts, and on Sundays, +to worship in the way they understand it. Someone who knows the short +prayer, generally the gobernador, mumbles it, while the congregation +cross themselves from time to time. If no one present knows the prayer, +the Indians stand for a while silently, then cross themselves, and +the service is over. + +After church they meet outside for the second purpose that brings them +to the village, namely, the transaction of whatever judicial business +may be on hand, generally the adjustment of a theft, a marriage, etc. + +I arrived in the pueblo on a Sunday, and a great many Indians had come +in. Easter was approaching, and every Sunday during Lent, according +to early missionaries' custom, the so-called "Pharisees" make their +appearance. These are men who play an important part in the Easter +festival, which always lasts several days. They paint their faces +hideously, tog themselves up with feathers on their sombreros, and +carry wooden swords painted with red figures. Such ceremonies were a +clever device of the Jesuits and Franciscan missionaries to wean the +Indians from their native feasts by offering them something equally +attractive in the new religion they were teaching. The feasts are +still observed, while the teachings are forgotten. + +I found the people assembled before the old adobe church, where they +had just finished their service. The gobernador at once attracted my +attention as he stood with his large white blanket wrapped around him, +Indian fashion, up to his chin--a fine, almost noble personality, +with a benign expression on his eagle face. + +The Indian never allows anything to interfere with whatever business +he may have on hand, be it public or private. Presently all rose, +and eight men, the authorities of the pueblo, marched in two rows to +the court house, followed by the rest of the people. There is always +found near the church a commodious building, called La Comunidad, +originally intended as city hall, court house, and hotel. In this +case it was so dilapidated that the judges and officers of the court +about to be held took seats outside on the lawn in front of one of +the walls. They were preparing to administer justice to a couple of +offenders, and as this is the only occasion on which I have seen the +details of Indian judicial procedure carried out so minutely as to +suggest early missionary times, I am happy to record the affair here +in full. + +The gobernador and four of the judges seated themselves, white man's +fashion, on a bench erected for the purpose, where they looked more +grand than comfortable. Two of them held in their right hands canes of +red Brazil wood, the symbol of their dignity. The idea of the staff +of command, sceptre, or wand, is wide spread among the Indians of +Mexico; therefore, when the Spaniards conquered the various tribes, +they had little difficulty in introducing their batons (_la vara_), +as emblems of authority, which to this day are used by the gobernadors +and other officials. They are made much in the same way as the ancient +staffs, and of the same material, the heavy, red Brazil wood. Below +the head of these canes there is always a hole bored, and through this +a leather thong is passed, by which the staff is hung up on the wall +when not in use. Those of the highest authorities are ornamented with +silver caps; the lesser officers have smaller canes, in proportion to +the degrees of their dignity, while the lowest officials have only a +thin stick, about a foot and a half long, through the hole of which +a red ribbon is passed. The small canes are not carried in the hand, +but stuck in the girdle on the left side. Nobody summoned before the +judges by a messenger carrying a staff of red Brazil wood dares to +disobey the command. The most desperate criminal meekly goes to his +doom, following often a mere boy, if the latter has only a toy vara +stuck in his belt with the red ribbons hanging down. It is the vara +the Indians respect, not the man who carries it. + +No supreme court in any civilised community is so highly respected +and so implicitly obeyed as were the simple, grave men sitting in +front of the crumbling adobe wall and holding on to their canes with a +solemnity that would have been ridiculous, if it had not been sublime. + +Four "soldiers" formed a line on each side. There was nothing to +distinguish them from ordinary civilians, except their "lances," +or bamboo sticks to which bayonet points had been fastened. These +lances they planted in the ground and seated themselves. Presently +the two culprits, a man and a woman, came forward, with never a +suggestion in their placid faces that they were the chief actors in +the drama about to be enacted. They seated themselves in front of +the judges, while the witnesses took their places behind them. The +mother of the woman sat close by her guilty daughter, but there was +no other exhibition of sentiment. The judges did most of the talking, +addressing questions to the defendants, who made a few short answers; +the rest of the assemblage observed a decorous silence. There were +neither clerks nor lawyers. + +I was, of course, not able to follow the testimony, but it was very +short, and it was explained to me that the woman had run away with a +married man. They had provided themselves with plenty of corn from the +man's former home, and furthermore had stolen some beans, and lived +very happy in a cave for a year. The man could not be captured, even +though on several occasions he visited his family. But they frequently +made native beer, and got drunk, and while in this condition they +were caught and brought before this tribunal. + +While the trial was going on, one of the "soldiers" got up and went +some twenty yards off, dug a hole in the ground and planted a thick +pole or post in it. No sooner had he completed his task, when the +accused man rose with a queer smile on his face, half chagrined, +half sarcastic.. Dropping his blanket, he walked deliberately up +to the pole, flanked by two soldiers, each of whom took hold of his +hands, and by putting them crosswise on the further side of the pole, +made the culprit hug the pole very tightly. Now another man, wrapped +closely in his blanket, stepped briskly up, drew as quick as a flash +a leather whip from under his garment, and dealt four lashes over +the shoulders of the prisoner, who was then released, and stolidly +walked back to his seat, as if nothing had happened. + +Now came the woman's turn to be punished for her part in the +thefts. They took off her blanket, but left on a little white +undergarment. She was marched to the pole and held in the same manner +as the man; but another man acted as executioner. She, too, received +four lashes, and wept a little when they struck her; but neither she +nor her fellow-sufferer made any attempt at, or sign of, revolt against +the sentence of the court. While the chastising went on, the audience +rose and stood reverently. After returning to her seat, the woman +knelt down, and both delinquents shook hands with the chief judge. + +There still remained the second part of the accusation to be dealt +with, the one relating to the marital complications. The man asked +permission to leave his first wife, as he wanted to marry the woman +with whom he ran away. But no divorce was granted to him. He was +ordered to return to his legitimate spouse, who was present at the +proceedings with her child in her arms. Evidently disappointed, he +slowly stepped over to where she was standing and greeting him with +a happy smile. + +But the woman with whom he had been living had now to be provided +with another husband. Who would take her? The judge addressed the +question to a young man, a mere boy, standing near by, and he replied +that he would marry her, if she were willing. She said yes, so he sat +down beside her. Their hands were placed together, the gobernador +said a few admonishing words to them, and they rose, man and wife, +duly married. How was this for rapid transit to matrimonial bliss? + +The next day the guide took us up along some higher ridges, and +after ten or twelve miles of slow ascent, we arrived at the summit of +Barranca de Cobre, where we made a comfortable camp about half a mile +back of the point at which the track descends into the cañon. Here +we had an inspiring view; deep gorges and ravines, the result of +prolonged weathering and erosion, gashing the country and forming +high ridges, especially toward the south and west. In other words, +here we observed for the first time barrancas, which from now on +form an exceedingly characteristic feature of the topography of the +Sierra Madre. These precipitous abysses, which traverse the mighty +mass of the sierra like huge cracks, run, as far as Sierra Madre +del Norte is concerned, mainly from east to west. In the country of +the Tarahumare, that is to say, the State of Chihuahua, there are +three very large barrancas. They are designated as Barranca de Cobre, +Barranca de Batopilas, and Barranca de San Carlos. The Sierra Madre +del Norte runs at an altitude of from 7,000 to 8,000 feet, at some +points reaching even as high as 9,000 feet. It rises so gradually in +the east, for instance, when entered from the direction of the city +of Chihuahua, that one is surprised to be suddenly almost on top of +it. The western side, however, falls off more or less abruptly, and +presents the appearance of a towering, ragged wall. In accordance +with this general trait of the mountain system, the beginnings of +the barrancas in the east are generally slight, but they quickly +grow deeper, and before they disappear in the lowlands of Sinaloa +they sometimes reach a depth of from 4,000 to 5,000 feet. Of course, +they do not continue equally narrow throughout their entire length, +but open up gradually and become wider and less steep. + +Besides these large barrancas, which impede the traveller in the +highlands and necessitate a course toward the east, there are +innumerable smaller ones, especially in the western part of the +range, where large portions of the country are broken up into a mass +of stupendous, rock-walled ridges and all but bottomless chasms. A +river generally flows in the barrancas between narrow banks, which +occasionally disappear alltogether, leaving the water to rush between +abruptly ascending mountain sides. + +As far as the first of the large barrancas was concerned, near the top +of which we were standing, we could for some little distance follow +its windings toward the west, and its several tributaries could be made +out in the landscape by the contours of the ridges. Barranca de Cobre +is known in its course by different names. Near the mine of Urique +(the Tarahumare word for barranca), it is called Barranca de Urique, +and here its yawning chasm is over 4,000 feet deep. Even the intrepid +Jesuit missionaries at first gave up the idea of descending into it, +and the Indians told them that only the birds knew how deep it was. The +traveller as he stands at the edge of such gaps wonders whether it +is possible to get across them. They can in a few places be crossed, +even with animals if these are lightly loaded, but it is a task hard +upon flesh and blood. + +It was in these barrancas, that I was to find the gentile (pagan) +Indians I was so anxious to meet. From where I stood looking at it +the country seemed forgotten, lonely, untouched by human hand. Shrubs +and trees were clinging to the rocky brows of the barrancas, and +vegetation, could be seen wherever there was sufficient earth on the +mountain and the sides of the ravines; but, on the whole, the country +looked rather barren and lifeless. + +Still, it did not take us long to find traces of human beings. Our +tents were pitched on an old trinchera. Cut deep into a rough ledge +not far off was the rough carving of a serpent, sixty feet long, that +must have been left here by a race antecedent to the Tarahumares. And +a little further off we came upon the ruins of a modern Tarahumare +house. It seems as if the Indians must extract a living out of the +rocks and stones; though when we got down into the barranca and into +the ravines we came upon patches of land that could be cultivated; and +there were some small areas of pasture, although extremely precipitous. + +The first thing to do was to despatch the guide into the valleys +and gorges below, which from our camping place could not be seen, +only surmised, that he might persuade some Tarahumares to act as +carriers on an excursion I contemplated making through the region. In +a couple of days a party was made up, consisting, besides myself, of +Mr. Taylor, the guide, two Mexicans, and five Tarahumares with their +gobernador. Bundles weighing from forty to seventy-five pounds were +placed on the backs of the Indians and the Mexicans; even the guide +took a small pack, though it would have been beneath the dignity +of the gobernador to take a load upon himself. But his company was +valuable on account of his great influence with his people. + +It was an exceedingly interesting excursion of several days' +duration. Owing to the presence of the gobernador the Indians received +us well. Nobody ran away, though all were extremely shy and bashful, +and the women turned their backs towards us. But after a while they +would offer us beans from a pot cooking over the fire. They served +them in earthenware bowls with a couple of tortillas (corn cakes). In +another vessel, which they passed around among us, they offered +the flavouring, coarse salt and some small chile (Spanish peppers), +which vegetable is cultivated and much relished by the Tarahumares. + +But the most interesting dish was iskiate, which I now tasted for the +first time. It is made from toasted corn, which is mixed with water +while being ground on the metate until it assumes the consistency +of a thick soup. Owing to certain fresh herbs that are often added +to the corn, it may be of a greenish color, but it is always cool +and tempting. After having tramped for several days over many miles +of exceedingly rough country, I arrived late one afternoon at a cave +where a woman was just making this drink. I was very tired and at a +loss how to climb the mountain-side to my camp, some 2,000 feet above; +but after having satisfied my hunger and thirst with some iskiate, +offered by the hospitable Indians, I at once felt new strength, +and, to my own astonishment, climbed the great height without +much effort. After this I always found iskiate a friend in need, so +strengthening and refreshing that I may almost claim it as a discovery, +interesting to mountain climbers and others exposed to great physical +exertions. The preparation does not, however, agree with a sedentary +life, as it is rather indigestible. + +The dress of the Tarahumare is always very scanty, even where he +comes in contact with the whites. One may see the Indians in the +mining camps, and even in the streets of the city of Chihuahua, +walking about naked, except for a breech-cloth of coarse, home-spun +woollen material, held up around the waist with a girdle woven in +characteristic designs. Some may supplement this national costume +with a tunic, or short poncho; and it is only right to add that most +of the men are provided with well-made blankets, which their women +weave for them, and in which they wrap themselves when they go to +feasts and dances. The hair, when not worn loose, is held together +with a home-woven ribbon, or a piece of cotton cloth rolled into a +band; or with a strip of palm leaf. Often men and women gather the +hair in the back of the head, and men may also make a braid of it. + +The women's toilet is just as simple. A scrimpy woollen skirt is +tied around the waist with a girdle, and over the shoulders is worn +a short tunic, with which, however, many dispense when at home in the +barranca. The women, too, have blankets, though with them they are not +so much the rule as with the men. Still, mothers with babies always +wear blankets, to support the little ones in an upright position +on their backs, the blanket being tightly wrapped around mother and +child. The women nowadays generally wear sandals of the usual Mexican +cowhide pattern, like the men; but there is ample evidence to prove +that such was not the case in former times. + +The people are, for Indians, not especially fond of ornaments, and +it is a peculiar fact that mirrors have no special attraction for +them. They do not like to look at themselves. The women often wear +ear-ornaments made of triangular pieces of shell attached to bead +strings, or deck themselves with strings of glass beads, of which the +large red and blue ones are favourites; and necklaces made from the +seed of the _Coix Lachryma-Jobi_ are used by both sexes, chiefly for +medicinal purposes. The men wear only single strings of these seeds, +while the necklaces of the women are wound several times around the +neck. The shaman, or medicine-man--a priest and doctor combined--is +never without such a necklace when officiating at a feast. The seed +is believed to possess many medicinal qualities, and for this reason +children, too, often wear it. + +Peasant women in Italy and Spain use the same seed as a protection +against evil, and even American women have been known to put strings +of them on teething children as a soothing remedy. + +An important fact I established is that the Indians in the barrancas, +in this part of the country, use something like trincheras for the +cultivation of their little crops. To obtain arable land on the +mountain slopes the stones are cleared from a convenient spot and +utilised in the construction of a wall below the field thus made. The +soil is apt to be washed away by heavy rains, and the wall not only +prevents what little earth there is on the place from being carried +off, but also catches what may come from above, and in this way +secures sufficient ground to yield a small crop. Fields thus made +can even be ploughed. On the slopes of one arroyo I counted six such +terraces, and in the mountainous country on the Rio Fuerte, toward +the State of Sinaloa, chile, beans, squashes, _Coix Lachryma-Jobi_, +and bananas are raised on trincheras placed across the arroyos that +run down the hills. There they have the form of small terraces, +and remind one of similar ones found farther north as ancient ruins, +to such an extent that one might suppose that the Tarahumares have +made use of the relics of antiquity. Mr. Hartman in one long arroyo +thereabouts observed four at some distance from one another. They were +from four to ten feet high, and as broad as the little arroyo itself, +some eight to sixteen feet. + + + + + +Chapter VIII + + The Houses of the Tarahumares--American Cave-dwellings of + To-day--Frequent Changes of Abode by the Tarahumare--The Patio + or Dancing Place--The Original Cross of America--Tarahumare + Storehouses. + + +The houses we saw on this excursion were of remarkable uniformity, and +as the people have had very little, if any, contact with the whites, +it is reasonable to infer that these structures are original with +them. On a sloping mesa six families were living in such buildings +not far from one another. + +These houses have a frame of four forked poles, planted firmly into +the ground, to form a square or rectangle. Two joists are laid over +them parallel to each other. Under one of them, in the front of the +house, is the doorway. The joists support the fiat roof of loose pine +boards, laid sometimes in a double layer. The rear joist is often a +foot or so lower than the front one, which causes the roof to slant +towards the back. The boards may simply be logs split in two and with +the bark taken off. The walls are made by leaning boards, ends up, +against the roof, while the door consists of a number of boards, +which are removed or replaced according to convenience. In most +instances the doorway is protected from the outside against wind +and weather by a lean-to. Access to the house is gained sideways, +even where a small vestibule is built, extra poles being driven in +the ground to support the porch-roof boards. + +While this style of architecture may be said to be typical throughout +the Tarahumare country, there are many variations. Generally attempts +are made to construct a more solid wall, boards or poles being laid +lengthwise, one on top of the other, and kept in place by sliding the +ends between double uprights at the corners. Or they may be placed ends +up along the side of the house; or regular stone walls may be built, +with or without mud for mortar. Even in one and the same house all +these kinds of walls may be observed. A type of house seen throughout +the Tarahumare country, as well as among the pagan Tarahumares in +the Barranca de Cobre, is shown in the illustration. + +It is also quite common to see a frame work of only two upright poles +connected with a horizontal beam, against which boards are leaning +from both sides, making the house look like a gable roof set on the +ground. There are, however, always one or more logs laid horizontally +and overhung by the low eaves of the roof, while the front and rear +are carelessly filled in with boards or logs, either horizontally or +standing on ends. In the hot country this style of house may be seen +thatched with palm-leaves, or with grass. + +The dwelling may also consist only of a roof resting on four +uprights (_jacal_); or it may be a mere shed. There are also regular +log-cabins encountered with locked corners, especially among the +southern Tarahumares. Finally, when a Tarahumare becomes civilised, +he builds himself a house of stone and mud, with a roof of boards, +or thatch, or earth. + +It is hardly possible to find within the Tarahumare country two houses +exactly alike, although the main idea is always easily recognised. The +dwellings, though very airy, afford sufficient protection to people +who are by no means sensitive to drafts and climatic changes. The +Tarahumares do not expect their houses to be dry during the wet +season, but are content when there is some dry spot inside. If the +cold troubles them too much, they move into a cave. Many of the +people do not build houses at all, but are permanent or transient +cave-dwellers. This fact I thoroughly investigated in subsequent +researches, extending over a year and a half, and covering the entire +width and breadth of the Tarahumare country. + +In this land of weather-worn porphyry and inter-stratified sandstone, +natural caves are met with everywhere, in which the people find a +convenient and safe shelter. Although it may be said that houses are +their main habitations, still the Tarahumares live in caves to such +an extent that they may be fitly called the American cave-dwellers +of the present age. + +Caves were man's first abode, and they are found in certain geological +formations in all parts of the globe. Human imagination always peopled +the deep, dark caverns with terrible monsters guarding treasures, and +legends and fairy tales still cling about many of them. Shallow caves, +however, have from the earliest time attracted man to seek shelter in +them, just as the animals took refuge in them against the inclemency +of the weather. Prehistoric man in Europe was a cave-dweller, and +modern investigations have given us a clear and vivid picture of the +life of the ancient race, who existed in France while the mammoth +and the reindeer were roaming over the plains of western Europe. + +As civilisation advanced, under changing climatic conditions, and as +man began to improve his tools and implements, he deserted the caves +and preferred to live in houses of his own building. But a long time +after the caves had been abandoned as abodes of the living, they were +still used for interring the dead. Do we not remember the story told +in Genesis, how Abraham bought for 400 shekels a cave from Ephron +that he might bury Sarah there and have a family tomb? + +The cave-dwellers of France vanished many thousand years ago; but +there are yet in several parts of the globe, for instance, in Tunis +and in Central Africa, races who still adhere to the custom of living +in caves, although their condition of life is different from that of +the antediluvian cave-dwellers. + +In Mexico the cave-dwellers are in a transitory state, most of them +having adopted houses and sheds; but many of them are still unable to +perceive why they should give up their safe and comfortable natural +shelters for rickety abodes of their own making. Padre Juan Fonte, +the pioneer missionary to the Tarahumares, who penetrated into their +country eighteen leagues from San Pablo, toward Guachochic, speaks +of the numerous caves in that country and relates that many of them +were divided into small houses. Other records, too, allude to the +existence of cave-dwellers in that part of the Sierra Madre. Still, +the fact of there being cave-dwellers to-day in Mexico was until +recently known only to the Mexicans living in their neighbourhood, +who regard this condition of things as a matter of course. + +While most of the Tarahumares live permanently on the highlands, +a great many of them move for the winter down into the barranca, +on account of its warmer temperature, and, if they have no house, +they live wherever they find a convenient shelter, preferably a cave; +but for want of better accommodations they content themselves with +a rock shelter, or even a spreading tree, This would suit them well +enough were it not that, at least in recent years, there has not been +rain enough in the barrancas to enable the people to raise there the +corn they need. They therefore go back to the highlands in March, +because in the higher altitudes rainfall can be depended upon with +more certainty. The general custom among the Indians living near to +a barranca is to plant two crops of corn; one in early March on the +crest, and the other one in June, at the beginning of the rainy season, +down in the barranca, and after having harvested at both places they +retire to their winter quarters to enjoy themselves. Sometimes the cave +of a family is not more than half a mile from their house, and they +live alternately in one or the other abode, because the Tarahumares +still retain their nomadic instincts, and even those living permanently +on the highlands change their domicile very frequently. One reason +is that they follow their cattle; another that they improve the land +by living on it for a while; but there are still other reasons for +moving so much about, which are known only to themselves. In summer +many people leave their caves on account of the scorpions, tarantulas, +and other pests that infest them. + +In front of the entrance to the cave there is generally a wall of +stone, or of stone and mud, raised to the height of a man's chest, as +a protection against wind and weather, wild beasts, etc. The cave is +fitted up just like the houses, with grinding stone, earthen jars and +bowls, baskets, gourds, etc, The fire is always in the middle, without +hearth or chimney, and the jars in which the food is cooked rest on +three stones. A portion of the ground is levelled and made smooth for +the family to sleep on. As often as not there are skins spread out +on the floor. Sometimes the floor space is extended by an artificial +terrace in front of the cave. In a few cases the floor is plastered +with adobe, and I have seen one cave in which the sides, too, were +dressed in the same way. Generally there are one or two store-houses +in the caves, and these constitute the chief improvement. Of course, +there are a good many caves where there are no storehouses; still they +are the striking feature of the cave. A few times I found walls of +stone and mud erected inside of the cave, breast high, to partition +off one or two rooms for the use of the family, as well as for the +goats and sheep. Often, inclosures are built of wooden fences for +the domesticated animals and occupy the greater part of the cave. + +The largest inhabited cave I have seen was nearly a hundred feet in +width and from twenty to forty feet in depth. If caves are at all deep, +the Indians live near the mouth. They never excavate caves, nor do they +live in dug-outs. I heard of one arroyo, where six inhabited caves, +only thirty or fifty yards apart, can be seen at one time; but this +is a rare case. Generally they are farther apart, maybe a hundred +yards to a mile, or more; and that suits the Tarahumares very well, +each family preferring to live by itself. + +In one place I saw a cave, or rather a shelter under a big boulder, +utilised as a dwelling; and here a kind of parapet had been built of +stone gravel, terrace fashion, to enlarge the area of the cave floor. + +Inhabited caves are never found in inaccessible places, as is the +case with cliff-dwellings in the southwestern part of the United +States. Where caves are difficult of access, the Indians may place +a wooden ladder, or rather, a notched tree trunk, which is the +national style of staircase. Once I saw steps cut into the soft "rock" +(solidified volcanic ash), leading up to a dwelling. There was also +a kind of settee cut out of the cave-wall. + +Many of the caves are remarkably symmetrical in shape, and naturally +quite comfortable. Caves may be found in the arroyos in the highlands, +as well as in the barrancas. If I were to designate a region where +they are more plentiful than elsewhere, I should mention the country +from Carichic towards Urique, and also to the north and west of +Norogachic. Many caves have within the memory of man been permanently +abandoned, owing to the occupancy of the land by the Mexicans, as +the Indians dislike to be near the whites. + +The Tarahumares are not the only tribe still clinging to caves. As we +have seen, the Pimas, too, are, to a limited extent, cave-dwellers, +and the same is the case with the northern Tepehuanes, as well as +with the allied Huarogios in their small area. + +Are these cave-dwellers related to the ancient cliff-dwellers in the +southwestern part of the United States and northern Mexico? Decidedly +not. Their very aversion to living more than one family in a cave +and their lack of sociability mark a strong contrast with the +ancient cliff-dwellers, who were by nature gregarious. The fact +that the people live in caves is in itself extremely interesting, +but this alone does not prove any connection between them and the +ancient cliff-dwellers. Although the Tarahumare is very intelligent, +he is backward in the arts and industries. It is true that the women +weave admirable designs in girdles and blankets, but this seems +to be the utmost limit of their capabilities. In the caves they +sometimes draw with ochre clumsy figures of animals and women, and +on some rocks may be seen outlines of feet scratched with stone "in +order to leave their imprint in this world when they die." Tarahumare +pottery is exceedingly crude as compared with the work found in the +old cliff-dwellings, and its decoration is infantile as contrasted +with the cliff-dwellers' work. The cliff-dwellers brought the art of +decoration to a comparatively high state, as shown in the relics found +in their dwellings. But the cave-dweller of to-day shows no suggestion +of such skill. Moreover, he is utterly devoid of the architectural +gift which resulted in the remarkable rock structures of the early +cliff-dwellers. These people as far as concerns their cave-dwelling +habits cannot be ranked above troglodytes. + +The Tarahumare never lives all his life in one house or cave; +nor will he, on the other hand, leave it forever. He rarely stays +away from it for more than two or three years. A family, after +inhabiting a house for a time may suddenly decide to move it, even +if it is built of stone. The reason is not always easy to tell. One +man moved his house because he found that the sun did not strike it +enough. After a death has occurred in a dwelling, even though it was +that of a distant relative incidentally staying with the family, the +house is destroyed, or the cave permanently abandoned; and many other +superstitious apprehensions of one kind or another may thus influence +the people. Very often a man moves for the sake of benefiting the +land, and after tearing down his house he immediately plants corn +on the spot on which the house stood. A family may thus change its +abode several times a year, or once a year, or every other year. The +richest man in the Tarahumare country, now dead, had five caves, +and moved as often as ten times in one year. + +A never absent feature of the Tarahumare habitation, be it house or +cave, is a level, smooth place in front of it. This is the dancing +place, or patio, on which he performs his religious exercises, and +he may have more than one. The formation of the land may even oblige +him to build terraces to obtain space enough for his religious dances. + +On this patio, which measures generally about ten yards in every +direction, one, two, or three crosses are planted, as the central +object of all ceremonies (except those in the cult of the sacred cactus +híkuli [3]). The cross is generally about a foot high; sometimes it +stands two feet above ground. It is made of two sticks of unequal +length, preferably sticks of pine wood, tied together in the form of +the Latin cross. I saw two crosses raised outside of a man's house, +which were formed by the natural growth of small pine trees, and +these were four feet high. The shamans, for their curing, use small +crosses--three or four inches long. + +It is a well-known fact that on their arrival in America the Spaniards +to their amazement found Indians in possession of the cross. Omitting +here the cross of Palenque, the symbol of a tree, the tree of life, +it is safe to say that the original cross of most Mexican tribes is +the Greek cross, though the Latin was also used. To them the former +is of fundamental religious moment, as indicating the four corners +of the world; but a word for cross, or anything corresponding to +it, does not occur in the language of any of the tribes known to +me. Nevertheless the cross (the Greek), to the Indian the symbol of +a cosmic idea, is pecked on the rocks, or drawn on the sand, or made +in corresponding strokes with medicine over the patient's body. + +With the Tarahumare the cross is the pivot around which all his +ceremonies and festivals move. He always dances to the cross, and on +certain occasions he attaches strings of beads, ears of corn, and other +offerings to it. It is used by the heathen as well as by the Christian +Tarahumares. The question is whether this tribe has changed its form +since its contact with the whites or whether the cross was originally +like the one in use to-day. From many of the Tarahumares' utterances +I incline to think that their cross represents a human figure with +arms outstretched, and is an embodiment of Father Sun, the Perfect +Man. When two crosses are placed on the patio, the smaller stands +for the moon. This conception also explains the custom of setting up +three crosses at the principal dance, the rutubúri, the third cross +representing probably the Morning Star. Among Christianised natives +the three crosses may come gradually to mean the Trinity. + +On one occasion I saw a cross at least ten feet high with a cross +beam only one foot long, raised next to two crosses of ordinary +size, all standing on the patio of a well-to-do Indian, and the +inference was easily drawn that the high cross was meant for Father +Sun. The Northern Tepehuanes say that the cross _is_ Tata Dios, +the Christianised Indian's usual designation of God. + +The impression that the cross represents a human figure gains further +probability by the fact that a cross is erected on the special patio +of the dead, and I have noticed that this cross is moved in the course +of the ceremonies to the principal dancing place "to see the dancing +and drink tesvino," as the Indians explained it. Surely, this cross +represented the dead. + +On this page are seen the front and rear view of a cross which is +of great interest, although its shape is evidently an exaggerated +imitation of a Catholic cross or crucifix. I came upon it in the +mountainous country east of Morelos, and the Tarahumares near the +Ranch of Colorados presented it to me. It had apparently not been made +long ago, and was painted with red ochre. The arms have been tied on +in the usual fashion with a twine of fibre, the mode of fastening it +appearing most distinctly on the back of the cross. + +Seen from the front the designs on the head, or the uppermost part, +represent the Morning Star, the dots being his companions, the other +stars. But it is significant that this constellation is also called +the "eyes" of the cross. The dots on the other side of the cross are +also meant for stars, in order that, as the Indian explained to me, +Tata Dios may see the stars where they are dancing; he lives in the +stars--a belief evidently arising from Catholic influence. The human +figures painted on the cross are intended to emphasise its meaning. The +most important of these human-like contours are those directly below +the junction of the arms with the vertical stem. They are evidently +repetitions of the main cross, the arms being expressed in the crude +carvings. What the various pairs Of curved sidelines mean, I am unable +to say. + +What is of more importance to the Tarahumare than his dwelling is +his store-house, which he always builds before his domicile. In fact, +his personal comfort is made secondary even to that of his domestic +animals. As a survival of the time when he had no house at all may +be noted the fact that husband and wife, after having been away on a +journey for several days or longer, do not on the first night after +their return sleep in the house or cave, but at some convenient place +near the store-house. + +These store-houses are always well put together, though many of +them are not large enough to accommodate a medium-sized dog, the +Tarahumares preferring number to size. In them he stores what little +property he has beyond that in actual use, chiefly corn and beans, +some spare clothing and cotton cloth, hikuli, herbs, etc. The door of +the house is made from one or more short boards of pine wood, and is +either provided with an ingeniously constructed wooden lock, or the +boards are simply plastered up with mud along the four edges. The +Tarahumare rarely locks his house on leaving it, but he is ever +careful to fasten the door of his storehouse securely, and to break +open a store-house sealed up in the manner described is considered +the most heinous crime known to the tribe. Mexicans have committed +it and have had to pay for it with their lives. + +The most common kind of store-house is from four to six feet high, +round, and built of stones and mud, with a roof of pine boards, +weighed down with earth and stones. Other store-houses of similar +size are square and built of boards with corners interlocked. They, +too, are covered with boards. These diminutive buildings are often +seen inside of caves; or else they are erected in places difficult of +access, on tops of boulders, for instance. Sometimes they are seen in +lonely places, more often, however, near the dwellings; and the little +round structures make a curious effect when erected on boulders in the +vicinity of some hut, looking, as they do, like so many diminutive +factory chimneys. They proclaim more clearly than anything else the +fact that when the people reach that stage in their development in +which they begin to till the soil, they soon become careful of the +little property they have, in marked distinction to the savage and +nomadic tribes, who are always lavish and improvident. I have seen as +many as ten store-houses of the kind described, and once even fourteen +near one dwelling, but generally one or two only are found near by. + +Small caves, especially when difficult to reach and hidden from view, +may be utilised as store-houses, and are then sealed up in the same +way as the other varieties are. Sometimes regular log-houses are used. + + + + + +Chapter IX + + Arrival at Batopilas--Ascent from Batopilas to the Highlands of the + Sierra--A Tarahumare who had been in Chicago--An Old-timer--Flight + of Our Native Guide and its Disastrous Consequences--Indians + Burn the Grass All Over the Country--Travelling Becomes too + Difficult for the Animals--Mr. Taylor and I Go to Zapuri--Its + Surroundings--The Pithaya in Season. + + +We continued our way toward the south, crossing Barranca de Cobre +where it is 3,300 feet deep. The track we followed was fairly good, +but led along several dangerous precipices, over which two burros +rolled and were killed. The highest point we reached on the track over +the highlands south of the barranca was 8,300 feet. There seemed to +be a divide here, the climate being cool and moist, and the farthest +ranges toward the south and west enveloped in mist and fog. Although +Barranca de Batopilas is not as narrow and impressive as the barranca +we had just left, still the mighty gap, as we looked into its hazy +bottom from the highlands, presented an imposing, awe-inspiring sight. + +Following the windings of the well-laid-out road we descended into the +cañon and made camp a few miles this side of the town of Batopilas. The +silver mines here, which are old and famous, were discovered in the +seventeenth century. I was cordially received by Mr. A. R. Shepherd, +the well-known mining expert, whose courtesy and kindness were much +appreciated by the members of the expedition. + +My recent experience had convinced me that the only way to study +the natives properly was to live among them for a length of time, +and as such a thing was out of the question with so large a party +as I still had with me, I made up my mind to discharge as soon as +possible everybody and to remain alone. + +The country was now suffering from a relentlessly scorching sun. The +heat increased as the wet season approached, and, as the animals were +getting weaker and weaker, I disposed here of about half of them, and +the number of attendants and the amount of baggage were correspondingly +reduced. On continuing the journey with the weak and hungry mules, +we found the ascent of the southern side of Barranca de Batopilas +quite laborious; but on the crest we enjoyed the fresh breeze, the +more gratefully after the enervating heat in the bottom of the cañon. + +Thus we arrived at the village of Yoquibo (yokí = bluebird; ivo = +mesa: bluebird on the mesa). Here I had to stop for a few days to +reconnoitre the road. I was told that the grass had been burned +by the Indians almost as far as the ranches of Guachochic, our +main objective point. The Indians at that time (May) always burn +the grass, and the entire country is wrapped in smoke. This, they +think, is necessary to produce rain; smoke-clouds and rain-clouds, +in their opinion, bringing about the same ultimate result. But it is +exceedingly trying for travellers, man and beast. Only by accident is +some little spot of grass spared here and there, and progress becomes +almost an impossibility. + +Immediately upon our arrival I went to see the gobernador, and, +strange to say, I found him engaged in teaching his young wife how +to weave. Three months ago his first wife had died of smallpox. Old +bachelors and widowers have a hard time in getting wives, because +the Tarahumare belles have a decided preference for young men. But +the wifeless Indian feels very unhappy, as it means that he has to +do all the woman's housework, which is very laborious, and therefore +thoroughly distasteful to him. By way of fascinating this young girl, +the gobernador had to exert himself to the extent of teaching her +how to make girdles and wearing apparel. + +The next day this gentleman returned my call, carrying his bow +and arrows. I had already learned in Batopilas that the party of +Indians who, about two years ago, had been exhibited by a now deceased +traveller as representative cave-dwellers, had been gathered mainly in +the neighbourhood of Yoquibo. My visitor had been one of the troupe, +and I was eager to find out what impression the civilised world had +made on this child of nature, who had never known anything but his +woods and his mountains. Therefore, almost my first question was, +"How did you like Chicago?" "It looks very much like here," was the +unexpected reply. What most impressed him, it seemed, was neither the +size of the city nor its sky-scrapers, though he remembered these, +but the big water near which those people dwelt. He had liked riding +in the railroad cars, but complained that he had not had enough to +eat on the journey. + +His experience on the trip had familiarised him with the white man +and his queer, incomprehensible ways, and made him something of a +philosopher. I wanted him to accompany me on my visits to the few +houses here, as the people were very shy and timid. Although he was +very much engaged, as I could see, having to look after his animals +as well as his wife, he obligingly went with me to two houses. We +saw a woman with twins; one of them a miserable-looking specimen, +suffering from lack of food. + +There were also some cave-dwellings near Yoquibo, one or two of +which were occupied. In the afternoon, when I went out alone, the +people all disappeared the moment they saw me approaching, except one +group of strangers who had come to beg and did not pay any attention +to me. They were too busily engaged in making ready for the pot a +certain kind of larvae, by extracting them from the cocoon, a small +white sac of silky texture found on the strawberry tree. + +The guide told me that Indians like these, who beg for food, always +return, to those who give them alms, the amount of the gift, as soon +as their circumstances allow. + +Here in Yoquibo I met one of those Mexican adventurers who under +one pretext or another manage to get into the Indian villages and +cannot be routed out again. Certain of them ply some little trade, +generally that of a blacksmith, others act as "secretaries," writing +what few communications the Indians may have to send to the government +authorities; some conduct a little barter trade, exchanging cheap +cotton cloth, beads, etc., for sheep and cattle; but most of them +supply the Indians with Mexican brandy, mescal. The one in Yoquibo had +established himself in the only room left intact in the old dilapidated +vicarage, and eked out a living by selling mescal to the Indians. + +This fellow's appearance, especially his unsteady, lurking eyes, +suggested the bandit. No doubt, like most of his class, he was +in hiding from the government authorities. He was something of a +hypochondriac, and among other ailments he thought he had an animal +in his stomach, which he got in there by way of a knife-stab he +had received some time ago. When he came to me to get some remedy, +he carried a rather fine rifle, and in spite of all his suffering, +real or imaginary, the bandit nature asserted itself, when I made +some complimentary remark regarding his weapon. His half-closed eyes +slurred in a crafty, guileful manner from side to side as he drawled: +"_Despues de Dios, mi rifle!"_ ("Next to God, my rifle!") + +After considerable looking about, I at last found an Indian willing +to act as guide for the next stage of our journey. He was an elderly +man, and at dusk he was quietly sitting near the camp fire, eating +his supper, when the tall figure of Mr. Hartman appeared on the scene, +wrapped in a military overcoat. He probably looked to the Indian very +martial and threatening as he approached through the twilight. At any +rate, his appearance had a most unexpected effect on our guide. I +suddenly heard a noise behind me, and on looking around, I saw him +running as fast as his legs would carry him, leaving his supper, +dropping his blanket, splashing through the creek and disappearing in +the night, never to be seen again by us. He imagined that a soldier +was coming to seize and kill him; that the meat-pot in which he +was to be cooked was already on the fire, while the skulls of other +unfortunates that had been eaten were lying in a heap near one of the +tents. He alluded apparently to four skulls which I had taken out of +an ancient burial cave. In explanation I will say that some time ago +he had been arrested for some crime and had broken away from jail; +soldiers, or rather, the police, were after him, and he mistook +Mr. Hartman for one of his pursuers and ran for safety. + +The incident proved somewhat unfortunate for us. In consequence +of the wild stories he told about us, the Indians, of a suspicious +nature anyway, sent messengers all over the sierra, warning the people +against the man-eaters that were coming. Our strange proceedings in +Cusarare, namely, the photographing, had already been reported and +made the Indians uneasy. The terrible experience of our runaway guide +seemed to confirm their wildest apprehensions, and the alarm spread +like wildfire, growing in terror, like an avalanche, the farther it +went. We found the ranches deserted on every hand, women and children +hiding and screaming whenever they caught a glimpse of us. At every +turn our progress was impeded. Wherever I came I was abhorred as +the man who subsisted on babies and green corn, and the prospect +of my ever gaining the confidence of the Indians was exceedingly +discouraging for the next four or five months. + +Though it was impossible to secure a new guide, I still made a start +next day, following a fairly good track which leads south toward +Guachochic. Yet further obstacles presented themselves. The animals +began to give out. It was the season of the year when they change their +coats, and are in poor condition even under the best circumstances, +and mine were exhausted from lack of food. They would not eat the dry +grass, and the green pasture was still too scanty to suffice for their +maintenance. The information that the natives had burned all the grass +proved correct to its fullest extent, so there was nothing for me to +do but to establish a camp, scarcely a day's journey off, at Tasajisa, +where there was some pasture along the ridges that had as yet escaped +the fire of the Indians. Leaving the larger part of my outfit and +about half of my mules in charge of my chief packer, Mr. Taylor and +I continued the journey with the best and strongest of the animals, +making a circuitous tour to the little mining town of Zapuri, in the +neighbourhood of which were some caves I wanted to investigate. + +After a day's journey we turned westward and got beyond the range +of the fires. Turkeys were seen close to our camp and appeared +plentiful; I also saw a giant woodpecker, but just as I got ready +to shoot, it flew away with a great whirr of its wings. We soon +began to descend, and after a long and fatiguing day's travel over +cordons and sierras, and through a wide barranca surrounded by +magnificent towering mountains, we arrived, late in the afternoon, +at Zapuri. The superintendent of the mine, to whom I brought a letter +of introduction from the owner of the property, received us with +cordial hospitality. Here the climate was splendid; the nights were +just pleasantly cool, the mornings deliciously calm; they were all +the more enjoyed after the windy weather of the sierra. + +Immediately upon my arrival here I had a chance, through the courtesy +of the superintendent, to secure a Mexican and some strong mules, +which took Mr. Taylor over to Parral on his way back to the United +States. Mr. Hartman remained with the expedition two months longer, +to join me again the following year for a few months. I also got a +guide for myself and made an excursion to the caves in the neighbouring +barrancas. After we had gone some ten miles over very bad roads, we +came to the home of an old Tarahumare woman, who was reputed to be very +rich. Knowing Mexican exaggeration in this regard, I computed that the +twelve bushels of pesos she was supposed to have hidden might amount, +perhaps, to $50 or $100 Mexican money. Whatever her wealth was, she +showed it only in a lavish display of glass beads around her scrawny +neck; they must have weighed at least six or eight pounds. But then, +her homestead was composed mainly of four or five substantial circular +store-houses. + +The wealth of the Tarahumare consists in his cattle. He is well +off when he has three or four head of cattle and a dozen sheep and +goats. There is one instance where a man had as many as forty head +of cattle, but this was a rare exception. They rarely keep horses, +and never pigs, which destroy their cornfields; and are believed, +besides, to be Spaniards (_Gachupines_). Pork, though sometimes eaten, +is never sacrificed. No tame turkeys are kept, but occasionally the +people have some hens, and in rare cases a family may keep a turtle +dove or a tame quail. When a man has oxen, he is able to plough a +large piece of land and raise enough corn to sell some. But corn is +seldom converted into money. + +Here we packed the most necessary things on our best mule, and with +the guide and two Indians, who carried bundles, we descended to the +river. The road was fairly good, but as we approached the river we +came to several bad places. In one of these the mule's aparejo struck +a rock, which caused the animal to lose its foothold. Unresistingly +it slid down the steep slope for about seven yards and came against a +tree, forefeet on one side, hindfeet on the other. The boy who led it, +eager to do something, managed to get the halter off, so that there +was nothing by which to hold the animal except its ears. I held fast +to one of these, steadying myself on the loose soil by grabbing a root +sticking out of the ground. The intelligent animal lay perfectly still +over the trunk. Finally I managed to get out my bowie-knife and cut +the ropes off the pack, which rolled down the hill, while the mule, +relieved of its bulky burden, scrambled to its feet and climbed up. It +was born and bred in the barranca, otherwise it would never have been +able to accomplish this feat. + +Toward evening we arrived at the section of a barranca called Ohuivo +(Oví = return, or "the place to which they returned") on the Rio +Fuerte. The Indians here, although many of them have been affected +by the nearness of the mines, are reticent and distrustful, and our +guide evidently had not much influence with them. They refused to +be photographed, and even the gobernador ran away from the terrible +ordeal. + +During the several days I remained in this valley the heat never +varied from 100°, day and night, which was rather trying and made +doing anything an exertion. The country looked scorched, except for +the evergreen cacti, the most prominent of which was the towering +pithaya. Its dark-green branches stand immovable to wind and storm. It +has the best wild fruit growing in the north-western part of Mexico, +and as this was just the season when it ripens, the Indians from all +around had come to gather it. It is as large as an egg and its flesh +soft, sweet, and nourishing. As the plant grows to a height of twenty +to thirty-five feet, the Indians get the fruit down with a long reed, +one end of which has four prongs, and gather it in little crates of +split bamboo, which they carry by straps on their backs. It is a sight +to see men, women, and children start out gaily at daybreak, armed +with slender sticks, climbing rugged heights with grace and agility, +to get the pithaya, which tastes better when plucked at dawn, fresh +and cool, than when gathered during the heat of the day. The fruit, +which lasts about a month, comes when it is most needed, at the height +of the dry season (June), when the people have a regular feasting-time +of it. Mexicans also appreciate the pithaya, and servants frequently +abscond at that time, in order to get the fruit. The beautiful white +flowers of the plant are never found growing on the north side of +the stem. + +With the Indians, the pithaya enters, of course, into religion, +and the beautiful macaw (guacamaya), which revels in the fruit, +is associated with it in their beliefs. The bird arrives from its +migration to southern latitudes when the pithaya is in bloom, and +the Indians think that it comes to see whether there will be much +fruit; then it flies off again to the coast, to return in June, +when the fruit is ripe. The following gives the trend of one of the +guacamaya songs: "The pithaya is ripe, let us go and get it. Cut off +the reeds! [4] The guacamaya comes from the Tierra Caliente to eat +the first fruits. From far away, from the hot country, I come when +the men are cutting the reeds, and I eat the first fruits. Why do +you wish to take the first fruits from me? They are my fruits. I eat +the fruit, and I throw away the skin. I get filled with the fruit, +and I go home singing. Remain behind, little tree, waving as I alight +from you! I am going to fly in the wind, and some day I will return +and eat your pithayas, little tree!" + + + + + +Chapter X + + 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 tshawí. 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. + + + + + +Chapter XI + + A Priest and His Family Make the Wilderness Comfortable for + Us--Ancient Remains Similar to those Seen in Sonora--The Climate + of the Sierra--Flora and Fauna--Tarahumare Agriculture--Ceremonies + Connected with the Planting of Corn--Deterioration of Domestic + Animals--Native Dogs of Mexico. + + +Called on the padre and found him to be a very social, nice, +energetic-looking person with a tinge of the "red man" in his veins. + +He complained to me that the Indians were lazy about coming to +mass. None of them paid taxes, and there was no way of forcing +them. Nearly all of them he considered heathens, and only about a +thousand came to the feasts. They arrive in the village on the evening +before, and hear vespers. Then they give themselves up to drinking, +and on the feast day proper are not in a condition to go to church. + +He thinks there are some great men among the Tarahumares, but that, +their mental faculties being entirely uncultivated, they are, as it +were, rough diamonds. In the padre's opinion not only all the Indians, +but also the Mexicans living' among them, will soon relapse into +paganism altogether. + +Living under rough conditions as he does, it is a lucky thing for +the padre that his physique is equal to emergencies. Once at the +neighbouring village of Tonachic (= where there are pillars) he +admonished the people, in a powerful sermon, to mend their ways. As +they were coming out of the church, a scoundrel who resented the +charges attacked him with a stick, but the padre managed to disarm +him and gave him such a sound thrashing with his assailant's own +weapon that the latter had to keep his bed for a fortnight. + +He showed me his stately old adobe church, built in missionary +times. The ceiling, however, was infested with myriads of bats, +the smell of which was quite sickening, and I was glad to get out +again. With him in this uttermost outpost of Christendom lived +his aged mother and six sisters, and they treated us with all the +hospitality their very limited means permitted. We especially enjoyed +their home-made macaroni. + +In the family of the good priest lived a little Indian orphan girl, +about five years old, as nice and sweet a child as one might wish to +see. He was teaching her how to read and write, and she had learned +her letters in two months. + +The padre, good-natured to officiousness, helped me to get Indians +to be photographed, fie also would insist upon arranging them before +the camera. His efforts, however, were directed more toward achieving +artistic triumph than scientific truth, and he wanted, for instance, +to decorate the Indians with peacock feathers. He yielded, however, +to my suggestion that turkey feathers would be more appropriate, +and straightway ordered one of his turkeys to be caught and deprived +of some of its tail feathers. The only way in which I could show +my appreciation of the disinterested kindness of the family was by +photographing them, too. + +It was a new sensation to them, and the ladies asked to have it done +next day, as they wanted to arrange their hair and prepare themselves +properly. + +After them it was the turn of the presidente of the village "to look +pleasant," but at this juncture the camera met with an accident. The +ring holding the lens broke and fell out. This happening miles away +from civilisation was decidedly annoying. But the sisters proved +themselves equal to the occasion. Their father having been a tinsmith, +they had picked up the trade and had tools; and the ring was soldered +on so well that it lasted until I returned to the United States the +following year. + +Norogachic is situated in the most populous part of the Tarahumare +country, and its presidente exercises authority over the large +surrounding district. He told me that his municipality counted +4,168 souls, among them about 300 Mexicans. With the help of a +very intelligent Mexican I made a rough calculation of the number +of Indians belonging to Tonachic and Guachochic, next neighbours +of Norogachic, and estimated in the former 350, and in the latter +250 families. Counting each family as consisting of eight members, +this would give us a population of 4,800. Thus the most populous +part of the Tarahumare country, including the three municipalities +of Norogachic, Tonachic, and Guachochic, would contain a population +of about 8,500 Indians, + +As the presidente of Norogachic is an honourable man and speaks the +native language, he exercised great influence over them, and on one +occasion, when they had gathered in large numbers and threatened to +avenge some abuse, he was able to avert disaster. Nature had endowed +him with the doubtful blessing of bloodshot eyes, a feature generally +attributed to powerful sorcerers, and this was perhaps more a point +in his favour than otherwise with the Indians. + +One day he took us to the top of a hill where there were some stones +set in circles, about one foot above and half a foot under the +ground. They reminded us of similar stone arrangements we had come +upon in Sonora, but these were larger and more primitive. Altogether +there were nine circles, varying in size from nine to thirteen feet in +diameter. One, however, measured only five feet across, and the stones +forming it were fully two feet above the ground. Close by was another +similar small circle, and some little distance off still another. On a +small mesa I found a flint arrow-point. There were also some potsherds +there, but of the same kind as those used by the people of to-day. + +The natives rightly count only three seasons--the dry, the rainy, +and the winter. The first lasts from March till June, and is very +warm and windy. Throughout July and August one can generally count on +thunder-storms and heavy rains, while the mornings are bright. The +rains then rarely extend over a large territory, but are confined +to local showers, a circumstance very annoying to the agricultural +inhabitants, who often see dark clouds rolling up, apparently full +of moisture, yet resulting in nothing but gusts of wind. A ridge may +change the course of the clouds. Sometimes one valley may be flooded +with rain, while not far away the heat is drying up everything. During +September and October more constant rains occur, and may last more +or less for a week at a time. + +In the beginning of the wet season (July and August) the rains come +from the south-west, but later on north-eastern winds bring rain. In +winter there are constant winds from the south-east to the north, +somewhat trying until one gets used to them. Snow is by no means +unknown, and Indians have been known to freeze to death when caught +out intoxicated. + +The climate in the sierra, although not so pleasant on account of the +constant winds, is extremely salubrious, the heat never exceeding 97° +F., while the nights are deliciously cool. Lung diseases are here +unknown. When I asked an old American doctor in Guadalupe y Calvo +about his experience in regard to the health of the people, he said, +"Well, here in the mountains they are distressingly healthy. Despite a +complete defiance of every sanitary arrangement, with the graveyards, +the sewers, and a tannery at the river's edge, no diseases originate +here. When cholera reached the mountains some years ago, nobody +died from it. The people simply took a bath in Mexican fashion, +and recovered." Down in the barrancas, however, where the heat often +becomes excessive, the climate is far from healthy, and I have seen +even Indians ill with fever and ague, contracted generally during +the rainy season. + +Between these two extremes, on the slopes of the sierra, toward +the warm country, at an elevation of 5,000 feet, I found the most +delightful climate I ever knew. It was like eternal spring, the +air pure and the temperature remarkably even. There is a story of +a Mexican woman, who, settling in this part of the country, broke +her thermometer because the mercury never moved and she therefore +concluded that it was out of order. The pleasantness of the climate +struck me particularly on one occasion, after a prolonged stay in +the invigorating though windy climate of the sierra. I had caught a +cold the night before, and was not feeling very well as I dozed on +the back of my mule while it worked its way down the mountain-side, +but the sleep and the delightful balmy air made me soon feel well +again. At times a mild zephyr played around us, but invariably died +out about sunset. The night was delightfully calm, toward morning +turning slightly cooler, and there was nothing to disturb my sleep +under a big fig-tree but the bits of figs that were thrown down by +the multitudes of bats in its branches. They were gorging themselves +on the fruit, just as we had done the afternoon before. + +Journeying on the pine-clad highlands, the traveller finds nothing to +remind him that he is in the southern latitudes, except an occasional +glimpse of an agave between rocks and the fantastic cacti, which, +although so characteristic of Mexican vegetation, are comparatively +scarce in the high sierra. The nopal cactus, whose juicy fruit, +called tuna, and flat leaf-like joints are an important article of +food among the Indians, is found here and there, and is often planted +near the dwellings of the natives. There are also a few species of +_Echinocactus_ and _Mammilaria_, but on the whole the cacti form no +conspicuous feature in the higher altitudes of the sierra. + +Along the streamlets which may be found in the numerous small +valleys we met with the slender ash trees, beside alders, shrubs, +_Euonymus_ with brilliant red capsules, willows, etc. Conspicuous in +the landscape was still the madroña, with its pretty, strawberry-like, +edible berries. + +Flowers on the whole are not abundant in the sierra. The modest +yellow _Mimulus_ along the water-courses is the first to come and the +last to go. Various forms of columbine (_Aquilegia_) and meadow rue +(_Thalictrum_) should also be remembered. In August and September I +have seen the sloping hills of the sierra north-west of the pueblo +of Panalachic (Banalachic; banalá = face, _i. e_., the outline of a +prominent rock near by), covered with large crimson flowers, and also +certain yellow ones, called _baguis_, making the country appear like +a garden. I noticed in the same locality two kinds of lovely lilies, +one yellow and one containing a single large red flower. The Tarahumare +have names for all these plants. + +Before all, however, should be mentioned the carmine-red +_Amaryllis_. Like the crocus and the snowdrops of northern climates +it appears before the grass is green. It is a perfect treat to the +eye to meet now and then in this dry and sandy country, and at such +a chilly elevation, this exquisitely beautiful flower, which is +here appreciated only by the humming-birds. Edible plants, species +of _Mentha, Chenopodium, Cirsium_, for instance, and the common +water-cress, are, at a certain time of the year, numerous; but fruits +and berries are rare, blackberries being the most common ones. + +Animal life is not particularly plentiful in the sierra. Still, deer, +bears, and mountain lions are fairly common, and there are many kinds +of squirrels and rats. The jaguar (_felis onza_) is found now and then +on the summits of the barrancas. Eagles, hawks, turkeys, blackbirds, +and crows are the most noticeable birds. The turkey is called by +the Tarahumares, tshiví; by the Mexicans of the sierra of Chihuahua, +_guajolote_; while farther south he is designated _cocono_. Now and +then the brilliant green trogon is met with. + +There are many species of woodpeckers, all familiar to and named by +the Tarahumares. The giant woodpecker is seen in the more remote parts, +but it is on the point of being exterminated, because the Tarahumares +consider his one or two young such a delicacy that they do not hesitate +to cut down even large trees to get at the nests. The Mexicans shoot +them because their plumage is thought to be beneficial to health. It +is held close to the ears and the head in order to impart its supposed +magnetism and keep out the maleficent effects of the wind. In the +pairing season these birds keep up a chattering noise, which to my +ears was far from disagreeable, but very irritating to a Mexican whom +I employed. He used to shoot the birds because they annoyed him. + +Corn is the most important agricultural product of the Tarahumares. The +average crop of a family may be estimated at six or twelve fanegas. One +exceptionally rich Tarahumare, now dead, is said to have raised as +much as four hundred fanegas a year, but this was a fact unique in the +history of the tribe. The people also raise beans, squashes, chile, +and tobacco, all on an exceedingly small scale. On the highlands, +the primitive plough already described (page 121) is still used +sometimes, though it is rapidly being superseded by ploughs of Mexican +pattern. In the arroyos and barrancas, where the condition of the +land makes ploughing impossible, the Indians use the ancient mode +of agriculture, still in vogue among remote natives of Mexico and +called _coamillar_. They cut down the trees, clear a piece of land +from brushwood, and leave it in this condition until just before the +wet season sets in. Then they burn the wood, which by that time is +well dried up, and plant the corn in the ashes. They simply make a +hole in the earth with a stick, drop a few grains of corn into it, +and close it up with the foot. Of the usual number of grains I am +not aware. The Tepehuanes use four. Their hoes are generally bought +from the Mexicans or else home-made, the natural knotted growths of +tree limbs being utilised. Women never assist in ploughing, though +they may be seen helping in the fields with the weeding and hoeing, +and even with the harvesting. + +In the sierra a piece of land may yield good crops for three years +in succession without manure, but in the broad mountain valleys and +on the mesas a family can use the same field year after year for +twenty or thirty seasons. On the other hand, down in the barrancas, +a field cannot be used more than two years in succession, because +the corn-plants in that time are already suffocated with weeds. The +planting is done from the middle of April to the first week in July, +and the harvest begins about the first week in October and lasts +until the beginning of December. + +Communal principles prevail in clearing the fields, in ploughing--each +furrow in a field is ploughed by a different man--in corn planting, +in hoeing, weeding, harvesting, gathering wood for feasts, in fishing +and in hunting. + +If a man wants to have his field attended to, the first thing he +has to do is to prepare a good quantity of the national stimulant, +a kind of beer called tesvino. The more of this he has, the larger +the piece of land he can cultivate, for the only payment his helpers +expect and receive is tesvino. + +The master of the house and his sons always do first one day's work +alone, before their friends and neighbours come to help them. Then +they begin in earnest to clear the field of stones, carrying them +in their arms or blankets, and cut down the brushwood. Tesvino is +brought out into the field, and iskiate, and the men, all very much +under the influence of the liquor, work with the animation of a heap +of disturbed ants. + +When the work of hoeing and weeding is finished, the workers seize +the master of the field, and, tying his arms crosswise behind him, +load all the implements, that is to say, the hoes, upon his back, +fastening them with ropes. Then they form two single columns, the +landlord in the middle between them, and all facing the house. Thus +they start homeward. Simultaneously the two men at the heads of the +columns begin to run rapidly forward some thirty yards, cross each +other, then turn back, run along the two columns, cross each other +again at the rear and take their places each at the end of his row. As +they pass each other ahead and ill the rear of the columns they beat +their mouths with the hollow of their hands and yell. As soon as they +reach their places at the foot, the next pair in front of the columns +starts off, running in the same way, and thus pair after pair performs +the tour, the procession all the time advancing toward the house. + +A short distance in front of it they come to a halt, and are met +by two young men who carry red handkerchiefs tied to sticks like +flags. The father of the family, still tied up and loaded with +the hoes, steps forward alone and kneels down in front of his +house-door. The flag-bearers wave their banners over him, and the +women of the household come out and kneel on their left knees, first +toward the east, and after a little while toward each of the other +cardinal points, west, south, and north. + +In conclusion the flags are waved in front of the house. The father +then rises and the people untie him, whereupon he first salutes the +women with the usual greeting, "Kwira!" or "Kwirevá!" Now they all +go into the house, and the man makes a short speech thanking them all +for the assistance they have given him, for how could he have gotten +through his work without them? They have provided him with a year's +life (that is, with the wherewithal to sustain it), and now he is going +to give them tesvino. He gives a drinking-gourd full to each one in the +assembly, and appoints one man among them to distribute more to all. + +The same ceremony is performed after the ploughing and after the +harvesting. On the first occasion the tied man may be made to carry +the yoke of the oxen, on the second he does not carry anything. + +The southern Tarahumares, as well as the northern Tepehuanes, +at harvest time, tie together some ears of corn by the husks, +two and two. The ears are selected from plants which have at least +three or four ears, and after a while tesvino is made from them. At +the harvesting feast, the stalks of these plants are strewn on the +ground, as well as stalks of squash plants, and over them the people +dance kuvála. + +The Tarahumare takes good care of his domestic animals and never kills +one of them, unless it be for a sacrifice. Sheep and goats are kept at +night in enclosures or caves. The shepherd follows his flock wherever +the animals choose to find their food, and there are no better herdsmen +than the Tarahumares, who wisely trust to the natural instinct of the +beasts. They do not pride themselves on breeds. It is astonishing to +notice the number of rams with two pairs of horns among the tribe. In +every flock two or three specimens may be observed, one pair bending +forward, the other to the side. I have seen some with three pairs of +horns. Near Nonoava, where the Indians are much Mexicanised, they make +butter and cheese, using the rennets from the cow, sheep, and deer, +but they do not drink the milk, saying that it makes them stupid, and +they are watchful to prevent their children from drinking it. Dogs +are not much liked except for hunting. A great number of them hang +around the houses, but they have to make their own living as best +they can. They are of the same mongrel class found everywhere among +the Indians of to-day. They are generally of a brownish color and +not large, but some of them are yellow and with ears erect. + +The so-called dogs of Chihuahua, which command quite a price among +dog-fanciers, are found only in the capital of the state. They are +small pet dogs and very timid, with large ears and prominent eyes. I +understand that the yellowish-brown are considered the purest breed, +but they are found in many different colors, from snow-white and +black-and-white to dark-brown. They are said to have a small cavity +on the top of the head, though according to some authorities this is +not an unfailing mark of the breed, which seems to be indigenous. The +illiterate Mexican, in his tendency to connect everything good with +Montezuma, thinks that the pure dogs of Chihuahua are descendants +of those which were left behind by that regent near Casas Grandes +at the time when he started south, which afterward became wild and +degenerated into the prairie-dogs of to-day. + +Another dog indigenous to Mexico is the hairless dog, also a pet, +found throughout the republic among the Mexicans. It is credited with +possessing curative properties, for which reason people keep them in +their beds with them at night. + + + + + +Chapter XII + + The Tarahumares Still Afraid of Me--Don Andres Madrid to the + Rescue--Mexican Robbers Among the Tarahumares--Mode of Burial + in Ancient Caves--Visit to Nonoava--The Indians Change their + Minds about Me, and Regard Me as a Rain-god--What the Tarahumares + Eat--A Pretty Church in the Wilderness--I Find at Last a Reliable + Interpreter and Proceed to Live à l'Indienne. + + +As I travelled along I found the natives unobliging and afraid of +me. One man who had hid himself, but was after a while forced to +reappear, bluntly asked, "Are you not the man who kills the fat girls +and the children?" At another time I was taken for Pedro Chaparro, +the famous robber, who had notoriously deceived the Indians. The +guide took only a half-hearted interest in me, as he feared that by +being seen with me he was ruining his trade with the natives, who +were especially suspicious about my writing in my note-book, taking +it as a proof of my design to take their land away from them. Still, +I accomplished a good deal and made interesting observations, though +the difficulties under which I had to labour were quite exasperating. + +It was a positive relief, when in the beginning of August, six weeks +after my start from Guachochic, I arrived at Guajochic (guajo = +_sancudo_, a small mosquito), one of the stations where the bullion +trains stop on their travels between Batopilas and Carichic. The man +then in charge of this rather lonely looking place, Andres Madrid, +turned out to be very interesting. Born of Tarahumare parents, +in the town of Carichic, he had received quite a liberal Mexican +education and was virtually a Mexican, though in hearty sympathy +with his native tribe. His grandfather had been a noted shaman, +or medicine man, whom Don Andres, as a boy, had accompanied on his +travels. He was intelligent, lively and imaginative, of a strong +humourous vein, and very entertaining. Generous in giving information +about the Indians, and speaking the native language, he would have +made an ideal interpreter, except for the fact that he grew tired too +easily. Only by piecemeal and when having an abundance of time could an +ethnologist expect to take advantage of his accomplishments. As he was +honest, and helpful to the Indians, and besides was a representative +of the Mexican authorities, the Indians had unlimited respect, nay, +adoration, for him. + +Knowing all that happens in the sierra, he had already heard of me some +time ago, and laughed at the cannibalistic propensities attributed +to me. He immediately sent a messenger to el capitan at Nararachic, +to advise him of my arrival, and to request him to tell the Indians +to present themselves to be photographed by a man who came from +Porfirio Diaz, a name to conjure with in Mexico, who wanted to know +all about the Tarahumares. Nararachic is an insignificant pueblo, +to which the Indians of this locality belong. The name means "where +one was weeping." + +Being taken under the wing of Don Andres benefitted me in many +ways. When the Indians from the hills all around could see my white +tent close by his little home, they understood that I could not be so +bad, or else the good Don Andres would not have anything to do with me. + +The Indians in the vicinity had recently gone through the sensation of +fighting with four real robbers, who had several times succeeded in +plundering store-houses while the owners were off at some feast. At +last the Indians had caught them. The thieves travelled on foot, +but had a pack-horse which carried all the blankets and handkerchiefs +stolen, the total value of which ran up to $112. Sixty-five Tarahumares +had banded together in the course of four or five hours, and obliged +the robbers to take refuge in a cave, from which they defended +themselves with rifles for several hours. The Tarahumares first threw +stones at them, as they did not want to waste their arrows. Finally +Don Andres, who had been sent for, arrived at the place, and induced +the robbers to surrender; but only with difficulty could he prevent the +Tarahumares from attacking them. "What does it matter," they said, "if +one or two of us are killed?" Cowards as the Tarahumares are when few +in number, they do not know fear when many of them are together. They +are harmless when not interfered with, but neither forget nor forgive +an injury. On several occasions they have killed white men who abused +their hospitality, and they even threatened once, when exasperated by +abuses, to exterminate all the whites in some sections of their domain. + +The robbers were taken by an escort of Indians to the little town of +Carichic, and from there sent to Cusihuiriachic ("where upright pole +is") to be tried. This place is about a hundred miles from Nararachic, +and as the Indians during the next weeks were called to be present at +the trial as witnesses, it annoyed them not a little. They were sorry +they had not killed the evil-doers; and it would even have been better, +they said, to have let them go on stealing. + +In the fight the gobernador had got a bullet through his lung. I +saw him a fortnight afterward, smoking a cigarette and on the way to +recovery, and after some days he, too, walked to Cusihuiriachic. A few +months later the robbers managed to dig themselves out of the prison. + +On an excursion of about ten miles through the picturesque Arroyo +de las Iglesias, I passed seventeen caves, of which only one was +at present inhabited. All of them, however, had been utilised as +dwellings before the construction of the road to Batopilas had driven +the Indians off. + +I saw also a few ancient cave-dwellings. Of considerable interest were +some burial-caves near Nararachic, especially one called Narajerachic +(= where the dead are dancing). A Mexican had been for six years +engaged there in digging out saltpetre, with which he made powder, +and the cave was much spoiled for research when I visited it. But +I was able to take away some thirty well-preserved skulls and a few +complete skeletons, the bodies having dried up in the saltpetre. Some +clothing with feathers woven in, and some bits of obsidian and of +blue thread were found, but no weapons or utensils. According to the +miner, who appeared to be trustworthy, he had excavated more than a +hundred corpses. They were generally found two and a half feet below +the surface, and sometimes there were others underneath these. With +many of them he found ear ornaments made of shells, such as the +Tarahumares of to-day use, besides some textile made of plant fibre, +and a jar with beans. + +A few months later at Aboreachic (Tarahumare: Aoreachic = where +there is mountain cedar) I examined a burial-cave in which the dead +were interred in a different manner from that described before. The +cave is somewhat difficult of access. The ascent of 300 feet has +to be made over a track at some places so steep that holes have +been cut for the feet, to enable a person to climb up. On reaching +the top I found a spacious cave, which had been used as a kind +of cemetery, but unfortunately the peculiarity of the cave had +attracted treasure-seekers, whose destructive work was everywhere to +be seen. Still I could see that the corpses had been placed each by +itself in a grave in the floor of the cave. The graves were oblong or +circular basins lined with a coating of grass and mud and about three +feet deep. Apparently no earth had been placed immediately over the +body, only boards all around it laid lengthwise in a kind of box. The +bodies were bent up and laid on their sides. Over the top boards +was spread a layer of pine bark about an inch thick, which in turn +was covered with earth and rubbish three inches deep, and this was +overlaid with the coating of grass and mud so as to form a solid disk +four or five inches, thick. The edge of the basin was slightly raised, +thus making the disk a little higher than the level of the floor. I +secured four skulls from here, besides a piece of excellently woven +cloth of plant fibre, another piece interwoven with turkey feathers, +and a fragment of a wooden needle. + +Don Andres told me that he had observed similar modes of burial in +the neighbourhood of Nararachic. It may be worth mentioning that +the miner who excavated in the burial-cave near Nararachic mentioned +above, told me of having met with somewhat similar structures in his +cave; the material was the same, but they were of different sizes, +not larger than two feet, and he found them empty. + +The ancient modes of burial that I have come upon, in the Tarahumare +country are either like those in Nararachic or in Aboreachic. There +scarcely seems any doubt that the bodies buried here were +Tarahumares. The Indians of to-day consider the dead in the ancient +burial-caves their brethren, and call them Ana-yáuli, the ancients. + +From Guajochic I went to Nonoava (in Tarahumare: Nonoa, nonó = father), +although this town is outside of the Tarahumare country proper. The +natives here, as may be expected, are pretty well Mexicanised, and +losing their customs, religion, and language. The Apache raids were +well remembered here, as they were in Carichic, Cusarare, and Bocoyna. + +I came upon a Mexican here who had married a Tarahumare woman. His +predilection for her tribe was also attested by his dress, which +was exactly like that worn by the natives. He had a dark, almost +swarthy complexion, but otherwise he did not resemble an Indian. His +big; stomach and short arms and legs betrayed his real race, and +contrasted strangely with the slender limbs and graceful movements +of the Tarahumares. + +Near Nonoava I photographed a magnificent fig-tree of the kind called +_beyota_, the fruit of which is appreciated even by the Mexicans. It +was 116 feet across, and the leaves, as in other trees of the species, +were very small. There are larger trees of this kind to be found, +but they are rare. In the wet season, when the figs are ripe, the +Tarahumares have a habit of singing under the trees while gathering +the fruit. + +I noticed some beautiful mezquites in the bed of a creek, the bottom +of which was clayish. Although the season for it was late, Indians +were gathering the fruit. The proper season is before the rain sets +in. The Indians throw the seeds away, but boil the fruit, grinding +it between stones and mixing it with water. This drink is also used +through Sonora and Chihuahua by the Mexicans. + +On my return I again spent some time in Guajochic. The Indians came +to visit me every day, and following my rule of giving to every +visitor something to eat, I was making satisfactory progress in +cultivating their friendship. Some of them after eating from my +plates and cups, went to the river to rinse their mouths and wash +their hands carefully, to get rid of any evil that might lurk in +the white man's implements. To be generous is the first step toward +gaining the confidence of both the Indians and the Mexicans, and a +gift of food is more eloquent than a long speech. The Indian, however, +before he knows you, always wants to see you eat first. + +I interviewed many of the shamans, and began to gain some little +knowledge of their songs, which helped to bring me nearer to +them. Shortly after my first arrival here it happened that rain fell, +and precipitations continued quite frequently during my stay. The +Indians, who are intensely interested in rain, to obtain which they +make so many exertions and sacrifices, evidently began to connect my +presence with it. Before my departure they confided to Don Andres +that "It was no good that that man went away; it might happen that +he carried the rain with him." They even seemed to delight now in +posing before my mysterious camera, which they imagined to be a +powerful rain-maker. I heard no more excuses for not wanting to +be photographed. They no longer told me that it would cause their +death, and that their god would be angry with them; nor was there +any more of that unwillingness expressed by one Indian who told me +that, inasmuch as he did not owe me anything, he did not want to be +photographed. Thus, almost without knowing it, I established friendly +relations with the people. + +However, it must not be thought that all my troubles were ended +yet. The Indians are very clannish, and, although my damaged prestige +was now almost restored, and, no doubt, favourable rumours heralded +me wherever I went, still the good-will of each district had in a way +to be won. Many months later, when I found myself among the pagans +farther south, I was interpellated quite persistently on the subject +of the skulls in Yoquibo. They wanted to know why I had dug them +up. My Mexican interpreter, whom they took to task on the subject, +advanced an explanation, which was no doubt strictly in accordance +with his best knowledge and belief. He declared that my object had +been to find out whether those people had been properly baptised--a +reason which apparently perfectly satisfied the Indians. + +I travelled in a southeasterly direction, making my way back to +Guachochic, over the highlands of Humarisa (húmashi = to run). This +locality is of considerable elevation, with the Indian ranches lying +about here and there on strips of level land, which run in among +the rocky hills like _fjords_. Bears are quite common here, and the +Indians have difficulty in guarding their fields against them. They +are not even to be frightened by stones, and at night they will eat +corn until they have enough, and then walk away. + +The time of the year in which it is most difficult for the Indians +to subsist had passed, and the copious rains of the past months had +developed ears of corn. Rarely or never do the Indians plant corn +enough to last them all the year round, and they have, therefore, +during the summer to depend for support mainly on herbs, roots, fruits, +etc. The leaves and flowers of the ash-tree are cooked and eaten, +and the flowers of the pine-tree. They never suffer from hunger when +living near a river, where they can fish, but in the highlands they +have been known to die of starvation. + +These natives are fonder of corn than of any other food, and when +working for the whites would leave without a word if no more corn +or flour were forthcoming. They like, too, to have meat every day, +though they cannot always get it. They rarely, if ever, kill any of +their domestic animals for food, as, according to their views, man is +only the manager for the gods to whom these creatures really belong, +and cows, sheep, and the like can be killed only as sacrifices and +eaten at the feasts. But any kind of animal in the forest and field, +in the air and the water, is acceptable. I once asked a strong and +healthy-looking Indian how he managed to keep in such good condition, +when food was so scarce, and he said that he ate meat, "What kind of +meat?" I asked, and he replied, "Mice, gophers, and small birds." Their +favourite meat, however, is deer, mice, and skunks. + +Chunks of meat are simply laid upon the coals to roast, or turned +before the fire on a wooden spit, the ends of which rest on +stones. This, by the way, is the universal method of cooking meat +in Mexico. These Indians often eat their meat almost raw, nor have +they any repugnance to blood, but boil and eat it. Fish and frogs are +broiled by being placed between two thin sticks tied together at the +ends to do duty as a gridiron. + +The flowers of the maize are dried in the sun, ground and mixed +with water; if not required for immediate consumption they are put +in jars and kept for the winter. Many herbs are very palatable, as, +for instance, the makvásari (of the _Crucifercæ_), which is also kept +for winter use after having been properly dried. In the autumn the +Indians sometimes eat potatoes, which, when cultivated at all, are +planted between the corn, but grow no larger than pigeon eggs. The +people eat three kinds of fungi, and they have an extensive knowledge +of the poisonous ones. Salt and chile are used as relishes. + +A peculiar delicacy is arí, the secretion of a scale insect, _carteria +mexcicana_. In the months of July and August it is gathered from the +branches of certain trees in the barrancas, rolled by hand into thick +brown sticks, and thus preserved for the winter. A small portion is +boiled in water and eaten as a sauce with the corn porridge. Its taste +is sweetish acid, not particularly pleasant to the palate, but very +refreshing in effect, and it is said to be efficacious in allaying +fever. The Indians prize it highly, and the Mexicans also buy it. + +Just a few miles before reaching Guachochic, one passes the pueblo of +Tonachic, from whence the Indians have been more or less driven off +by the whites. In missionary times the village appears to have been +of some importance, to judge from the church, which is quite pretty, +considering its location in the middle of the sierra. In the sacristy +I saw lying about three empty cases, but the silver crucifixes +and chalices they once contained had been carried off by Mexican +thieves. The man in charge of the building showed me three immense +drawers full of gold- and silver-embroidered silken robes of exquisite +fineness and great variety. There were at least several dozens of them. + +The altar-piece was arranged and painted very tastefully in red and +gold. Several oil paintings were hanging in the church, but so darkened +by the hand of time that it was impossible to make out whether they +were of any artistic merit. Wonderful men those early missionaries, +who brought such valuables into this wilderness, over hundreds and +thousands of miles, on the backs of mules or Indians. It was rather +anomalous to see the poor, naked Indians outside the door, for whose +benefit all this had been done. A woman was sweeping away the dirt +from the swarms of bats that nested in the ceiling. + +The richest and most prominent man in the village enjoyed the +reputation of being a great ladron. When I called on him I found +him in bed suffering from a tooth-ache. He had his head wrapped up +and was completely unnerved, and many people came to sympathise with +him in his affliction. When I told him that I liked the Tarahumares, +he answered, "Well, take them with you, every one of them." All he +cared for was their land, and he had already acquired a considerable +portion of it. His wife was the only person in the village who knew +how to recite the prayers in the church. This made the husband feel +proud of her, and he evidently considered her piety great enough to +suffice for the family. + +On my return to Guachochic I discharged the Mexicans who had been +with me since my travels through Sonora; they were here of little +use to me, as they did not know the country. I also disposed of the +greater number of my mules, keeping only about half a dozen. + +With the kind permission of Don Miguel I installed most of my baggage +in one of his houses, and considered his ranch a kind of headquarters +from which I made several long excursions in various directions. Thanks +to my pack and riding mules I could take along, as barter, corn, glass +beads, tobacco, and cotton cloth, and bring back collections made on +the road. I was accompanied by a couple of Mexicans from this part +of the country and some Indians who acted as carriers. Of course, +whenever I went down into the barrancas, I had to leave my mules +and cargo in some safe place on the highlands and take along only +the most necessary stores as we proceeded on foot. On such trips I +had to depend entirely on the natives; they secured the food, and +selected the cave or rock shelter, or the tree under which we slept. + +Our bill of fare was made up mainly of corn and beans, with an +occasional sheep or goat, and some herbs and roots as relishes. Corn +was prepared in the styles known to the Indians, either as corn-cakes +(tortillas) or, more often, by simply toasting the grains on a piece +of crockery over the fire. The dish is easy enough to prepare and +does not taste at all bad, but it is hard work for one's teeth to +make a meal of it, as the kernels assume the consistency of little +pebbles, and many months of such a diet lengthens your dentist's +bill at about the same ratio as that in which it shortens your +molars. You will ask why I did not carry provisions along with +me. Simply because preserved food is, as a rule, heavy to carry, +to say nothing of its being next to impossible to secure more when +the supply is exhausted. Some chocolate and condensed milk which I +ordered from Chihuahua did not reach me until seven months after the +date of the order. Besides, the Indians are not complaisant carriers, +least of all in this exceedingly rough country. + +For over a year I thus continued to travel around among the +Tarahumares, visiting them on their ranches and in their caves, on +the highlands and in the barrancas. There are few valleys into which +I did not go in this central part of the Tarahumare country, that is, +from the Barranca de Batopilas and Carichic in the north toward the +regions of the mining place Guadalupe y Calvo in the south. By and by I +also found a suitable lenguaraz, Don Nabor, who lived a day's journey +from Guachochic. He was a tall, lank, healthy-looking fellow, some +fifty years old, very poor and blessed with a large family of sons and +daughters, some of them full grown. All his life he had been intimate +with the Indians; he spoke their language as well as he did Spanish, +and really liked the Tarahumares better than his fellow Mexicans. Being +a great hunter but a poor shot he brought home but little game, +and made his living chiefly by trading with the Indians. He was the +picture of good-nature, laughing with the Indians at their jokes, +and weeping with them at their sorrows. Among them he passed as a wit, +and being very honest was a general favourite. He never took anything +without asking, but was not backward about that. Of his teeth he had +hardly any but two of his upper incisors left, which was rather hard +for a man of his ravenous appetite; but he utilised them with such +squirrel-like dexterity as almost to keep pace with others. + + + + + +Chapter XIII + + The Tarahumare Physique--Bodily Movements--Not + as Sensitive to Pain as White Men--Their Phenomenal + Endurance--Health--Honesty--Dexterity and Ingenuity--Good Observers + of the Celestial Bodies and Weather-forecasters--Hunting and + Shooting--Home Industries--Tesvino, the Great National Drink of + the Tribe--Other Alcoholic Drinks. + + +The Tarahumare of to-day is of medium size and more muscular than his +North American cousin, but his cheek-bones are equally prominent. His +colour is light chocolate-brown. I was rather surprised often to find +the faces of the people living in the warm barrancas of a lighter +colour than the rest of their bodies. The darkest complexions, +strange to say, I encountered on the highlands near Guachochic. In +the higher altitudes the people also develop higher statures and are +more muscular than in the lower portions of the country. + +Both men and women wear long, flowing, straight black hair, which +in rare cases is a little wavy. When a woman marries, I am told, +she cuts her hair once. When the hair is cut because it has grown +too long and troublesome, they place it under a stone or hang it in +a tree. A shaman once cut his hair short to get new thoughts with the +new hair, and while it was growing he kept his head tied up in a piece +of cotton cloth to keep his thoughts from escaping. When the people +are very old, the hair turns gray; but they never grow bald. Beards +are rare, and if they appear the Indians pull them out. Their devil is +always represented with a beard, and they call the Mexicans derisively +shabótshi, "the bearded ones." Much as they enjoy tobacco, an Indian +would not accept some from me, because he feared that coming from a +white man it would cause a beard to grow on his face. + +There are more women in the tribe than men. They are smaller, but +generally just as strong as the other sex, and when angered, for +instance by jealousy, the wife may be able to beat her husband. Hands +and feet are small. Many of the women have surprisingly small and +well-shaped bones, while the men are more powerfully built. The corner +teeth differ from the front teeth in that they are thicker, and, in +spite of exceptionally fine teeth, tooth-ache is not unknown in the +tribe. Men, even those who are well nourished, are never stout. The +women are more inclined to corpulency. + +Eight people with hair-lip, seven hunchbacks, six men and four women +with six toes to their feet, and one or two cases of squint-eyes came +under my notice. One boy had a club-foot with toes turned inside, and I +saw one man who had only stumps of arms with two or three finger-marks +on each. I have observed one case of insanity among these Indians. + +_Pediculi_ (lice) from the heads and clothing of the Tarahumare are +blackish in colour, but the claw is not different from that of the +white men's parasites. + +When at ease, the Tarahumare stands on both legs, without stiffness. In +micturition he stands, while the Tepehuane sits down. The body is +well balanced. The gait is energetic. He swings his arm and plants his +foot firmly, with the toes generally in, gliding along smoothly with +quick steps and without swaying to and fro, the body bent slightly +forward. The palm of the hand is turned to the rear. Tarahumares climb +trees by embracing the tree as we do; but the ascent is made in jumps, +the legs accordingly not embracing the tree as, much as is the case +with us. In swimming they throw their arms ahead from one side to +another. They point with the open hand or by protruding the lips and +raising the head at the same time in the desired direction. Like the +Mexicans they beckon with their hands by making downward movements +with their fingers. + +To the casual observer the native appears dull and heavy, so much +so that at first it would seem hopeless to get any intelligent +information out of him; but on better acquaintance it will be found +that their faces, like those of Mexican Indians in general, have more +variety of feature and expression than those of the whites. At the +same time it is true that the individual does not show his emotion +very perceptibly in his face. One has to look into his eyes for an +expression of what passes in his mind, as his face is not mobile; +nor does he betray his feelings by involuntary actions. If he blushes, +as he sometimes does, the colour extends down the neck and is visible +in spite of his dusky skin. Laughter is never immoderate enough to +bring tears to the eyes. The head is nodded vertically in affirmation +and shaken laterally in negation only by the civilised Tarahumares. + +There is a slight though undefinable odour about the Tarahumare. He +is not aware of it; yet he will tell you that the Mexican smells +like a pig, and the American like coffee, both offensive odours to +Tarahumares. They all love to feel warm, and may often be seen lying +in the sun on their backs or stomachs. Heat never seems to trouble +them. Young babies sleep on their mothers' backs without any covering +on their heads to protect them from the fierce rays of the summer +sun. On the other hand, the Tarahumare endures cold unflinchingly. On +an icy winter morning, when there are six inches of snow on the ground, +many a man may be seen with nothing on but his blanket fastened around +his waist, pursuing rabbits. + +While their senses are keen, I do not consider them superior to +those of any well-endowed white man. To test eyesight, Sir Francis +Galton directs us to cut out a square piece of white paper one and +a half inches a side, paste it on a large piece of black paper, and +mark how far a person can distinguish whether the square is held +straight or diagonally. None of the Indians could distinguish the +different positions until they were within seven hundred and ten +feet. On another occasion, however, when I tested six individuals, +four men could tell the position of the square at a distance of nine +hundred and five feet. One of these had syphilis. They certainly +do not feel pain in the same degree as we do. On this point any +collector of hair could have reason to satisfy himself. Scientists +consider the hair a particularly distinguishing feature among the +races of men, not only in regard to its colour, but also as to its +texture. In fact, the human race is by some classified according to +the character of the hair of the head. Compared under the microscope +a section of the hair of a Chinaman or an American Indian is found to +be circular, that of a European oval in shape. As a rule, the flatter +the hair the more readily it curls, the perfectly cylindrical hair +hanging down stiff and straight. A section of the straight hair of a +Japanese, for instance, forms a perfect circle. So much importance +being attached to the structure of the hair, I made a collection +from different individuals. They were willing enough to let me have +all the samples I wanted for a material consideration, of course, +but the indifferent manner in which they pulled the hair from their +heads, just as we should tear out hairs from the tail of a horse, +convinced me that inferior races feel pain to a less extent than +civilised man. I once pulled six hairs at a time from the head of +a sleeping child without disturbing it at all; I asked for more, +and when twenty-three hairs were pulled out in one stroke, the child +only scratched its head a little and slept on. + +They are not so powerful at lifting as they are in carrying +burdens. Out of twelve natives, ten of whom were eighteen and +twenty years old, while two owned to fifty years, five lifted a +burden weighing 226 2/5 pounds (102 kilograms). I was able to lift +this myself. The same five lifted 288 3/5 pounds (130 kilograms), +as also did two strong Mexicans present, aged respectively eighteen +and thirty years. In order to test their carrying capacity, I had them +walk for a distance of 500 feet on a pretty even track. One very poor +and starved-looking Tarahumare carried 226 2/5 pounds (102 kilograms) +on his back, though tottering along with some difficulty; two others +carried it with ease, and might have taken it farther. All three were +young men. + +Their endurance is truly phenomenal. A strong young man carried a +burden of over 100 pounds from Carichic to Batopilas, a distance of +about 110 miles, in seventy hours. While travelling with such burdens +they eat nothing but pinole, a little at frequent intervals. + +The wonderful health these people enjoy is really their most attractive +trait. They are healthy and look it. It could hardly be otherwise +in this delightful mountain air, laden with the invigorating odour +of the pines combined with the electrifying effect of being close to +nature's heart. In the highlands, where the people live longer than +in the barrancas, it is not infrequent to meet persons who are at +least a hundred years old. Long life is what they all pray for. + +They suffer sometimes from rheumatism, but the most common disease is +pleurisy (_dolor de costado_), which generally proves fatal. Syphilis +rages in some parts of the country. There was at the time of my +visit to Pino Gordo hardly a native there who had not, at one time +or another, been afflicted with it; but the victims get quickly over +it without special treatment, sometimes within a year. Children of +syphilitic parents show the symptoms soon after birth. Small-pox, too, +plays havoc among the population. I have seen some people suffering +with cataract in the eyes, and some foot-runners complained that +their sight sometimes became impaired during or after a race. The +Tarahumares have not any cases of tape-worm, although their sheep +have it; probably the large quantities of tesvino drunk during the +winter may have something to do with this. + +Medicine takes remarkably strong hold of the Indians. One man suffered +for two weeks from fever and ague, lost his appetite, and seemed +a general wreck; but after a two-grain quinine pill became at once +himself again, and a few days later was able to take a message for +me to a place forty miles off and return the same day. + +The natives do not bathe except in the wet season. When they go to +feasts, they wash their hands and faces, and the women comb their +hair. Sometimes they may wash their feet, but more frequently they +clean their heads. In fact, the regular way of taking a bath is to wash +the head. For this purpose they use an agave called soké. Occasionally +they use a white earth from Cusarare, called _javoncillo_; it is very +soft and it is also used as white colour in decorating pottery. When +the men go into deep water to bathe they smear fat all over their +bodies to guard against all kinds of bad animals in the water; women +do not usually take this precaution. + +A Tarahumare does not commit homicide unless he is drunk. There are +only isolated exceptions. A _jefe politico_ (prefect) told me that +in forty years he had heard of only two murders. In both of these +cases a drunken husband had killed his wife at a feast, and knew +nothing of the crime after he became sober. I have been told that in +some rare instances a Tarahumare woman will sit on her child right +after its birth to crush it, in order to save herself the trouble +of bringing it up. The Tepehuanes are reputed to do the same thing, +and for the same purpose. Still with both tribes crimes of this kind +are exceedingly rare. + +Suicide is never committed unless a person is drunk and angered by some +slight or by jealousy. At one time there was a veritable epidemic of +suicides among the Indians near Guachochic, the men hanging themselves +with their girdles; one of them even suspended himself by the feet. But +it is doubtful whether a pagan Tarahumare ever killed himself. + +As a rule, the Tarahumare is not a thief. Only when he thinks himself +entirely unobserved, he may appropriate some trifle that particularly +strikes his fancy, but the indications are that he learned the art +from the Mexicans. Once on our travels we passed a man who was weeding +his field. We tried to induce him to give us some information, but +he was too busy to talk, and we went on. Soon he noticed that we had +accidentally dropped our large axe, and immediately he interrupted +his pressing work and came running after us with it. I wanted to +compensate him for the trouble he had put himself to, but he would +not accept the money I offered, saying that he had not had to go far, +and, anyway, he did not bring the axe to get payment for it. + +As long as he is in his native state, a Tarahumare never cheats +at bargains. He does not like to sell anything that is in any way +defective. He always draws attention to the flaw, and if a jar has +any imperfection, it requires much persuasion to make him part with +it. He shows honesty also in other ways. Often I trusted Indians with +a silver dollar or two for corn to be delivered a few days later, and +never was I disappointed by them. On the other hand, they are chary of +selling anything to a stranger. When a Mexican wants to buy a sheep, +or some corn, or a girdle, the Tarahumare will first deny that he has +anything to sell. What little he has he likes to keep for himself, +and he considers it a favour to part with any of his belongings for +money. A purchase, however, establishes a kind of brotherhood between +the two negotiants, who afterward call each other "naragua," and a +confidence is established between them almost of the same character +as that which exists between compadres among the Mexicans. + +From outsiders they accept silver coins, but not paper money, +because they have been cheated with wrappers from cigarette boxes, +and besides, they have no means of keeping such money safe and sound +from mice, moisture, etc. Among themselves a little trading goes on, +the highlands obtaining from the barrancas in the west copal, chile, +ari, ear ornaments made from shells, and goats, in exchange for +corn and beans. The Indians from Nararachic go to Rio Concho for the +shells from which they make their ear pendants. The powder produced +in working the shells is saved and mixed with salt to be used as a +remedy for eye troubles. + +The tribe has undeniably a certain gift for mechanics. The people are +deft with their fingers and do everything neatly. This shows itself +in their ingeniously constructed wooden locks and in the niceness +with which they stuff animals. They are also very clever in following +tracks, and even recognise the hoof-prints of particular horses among +others in the same trail. They will also tell you that a tired deer +keeps its toes more closely together than an animal just aroused from +its lair. And never do they lose their way in the forest, not even +when drunk. They love to sit among their corn plants, and will hide +among them when strangers approach. + +The Tarahumares are inquisitive, and will stand for a long time +looking at you from a distance, if anything unusual attracts their +attention. They are very critical and there is much gossip going on +among them. They also laugh at the Mexicans, and say that the hair on +their faces is like the fur on a bear. Squint-eyes also afford them +much amusement. They are smart, attentive and patient. They have no +qualms of conscience about telling an untruth, but my experience with +them shows appreciation and gratitude for benefits received. An Indian +whom I had occasion to treat to a good meal, many months afterward +at a feast came up and said to me, "You were good to me when I was +very hungry," and he proved his thankfulness by assisting me in +various ways in establishing friendly relations with his people, +which otherwise would have been very difficult to bring about. + +Children are bright, and when sent to school learn Spanish +quickly. They also master reading and writing without difficulty. They +are diligent, eager to learn, and very religious, docile, and easily +converted to Christianity. + +There is a story about a padre who asked a Tarahumare boy, "What is +God doing in Heaven?" The boy said, "The same as the macaw does in the +tree." The padre asked, "What does the macaw do in the tree?" and +the boy replied, "He eats the good seeds and lets the bad ones +drop." A Mexican asked me if God was going to walk on earth again, +and my Tarahumare attendant remarked, "No, he is now afraid to come, +because people have too many rifles." + +When they learn something their ambition runs high, and the boys +always want to become generals and presidents of the republic. + +The Tarahumares are careful observers of the celestial bodies, +and know the Pleiades, the Belt of Orion, and the Morning and the +Evening Star. The Great Dipper is of no special interest to them. Near +Guachochic the Tarahumares plant corn in accordance with the positions +of the stars with reference to the sun. They say if the sun and the +stars are not equal the year will be bad; but when the stars last +long the year will be good. In 1891, the sun "travelled slowly," +and the stars "travelled quickly," and in June they had already +"disappeared." Therefore the Tarahumares predicted that their crops +would be below the average, which came true. On June 3d I asked an +Indian how much longer the sun would travel on, and he told me that +it ought not to be more than fifteen days. The Tarahumares are reputed +to be good weather prophets among the Mexicans, who frequently consult +them upon the prospects of rain. The Indians judge from the colour of +the sun when he rises as to whether there will be rain that day. If the +crescent of the moon is lying horizontally, it is carrying much water; +but when it stands up straight, it brings nothing. This belief is +shared by the Mexicans. When the moon is full and has "a ring around," +she is dancing on her patio. At the period of the dark moon she is +dead, but will return after three days. Eclipses are explained as +collisions between the sun and the moon on the road, when they fight. + +The Tarahumare men make bows and arrows, and in the central part of +the country are great hunters and clever at shooting. The fore-shaft of +their arrows is made of palo hediondo, a wood used also in the making +of needles. But the people living near the pueblo of Panalachic and +the Barranca de Cobre are poor shots, and their favourite weapon is +the axe. The boys still play with slings, which not so long ago were +used for killing squirrels. A club with a stone (Spanish, _macana_) +is said to have been formerly in common use. The grandfathers of the +present generation of Nararachic had flint-tipped arrows. The Indians +also know how to prepare excellent buckskin. They peg the hide on the +ground and leave it for three days, and when it is sufficiently dry +the hair is scraped off with a knife. It is then smeared over with +the brain of the animal and hung up in the sun for four days. The +next step is to wash it well in warm water in a wooden trough. Then +it is well kneaded, and two people taking hold of it draw it out of +the water and stretch it well between them. It is dried again and is +then tanned with the crushed bark of the big-leaved oak-tree. + +A natural cavity in a rock is chosen for a vat, in which the skin is +left for two days. After this it is well rinsed and squeezed until no +water remains in it. Two persons are required for the operation, which +is always performed in a place on which the sun beats strongly, while +at the same time it is sheltered from the wind by surrounding rocks. + +Deer are caught in snares fastened to a bent tree, so that the animal's +foot is held, while the tree when released hoists the quarry up. The +Indians also chase deer with dogs toward some narrow passage in the +track where they have placed sharp-pointed pine sticks, two feet long, +against which the deer runs and hurts itself. Blackbirds are decoyed +by kernels of corn threaded on a snare of pita fibre hidden under +the ground. The bird swallows the kernel, which becomes entangled in +its oesophagus and is caught. Small birds are also shot with bow and +arrows, or killed with stones. + +The Tarahumare is ingenious in devising many kinds of traps for birds +and animals. Into the burrow of the gopher he places a small upright +frame cut from a piece of bark. There is a groove inside of the frame, +and in this the snare runs; and a string is attached to a bough above +ground. Another string, on which some grains of corn are threaded, +keeps the snare set and obstructs the gopher's passage through the +frame. When trying to get at the kernels the gopher cuts the string, +the snare is released, and he is caught in his own burrow. + +Squirrels are hunted in the most primitive way--by cutting down the +tree on which an animal is discovered. Sometimes it will escape when +the tree falls, and then the man has to cut down another tree, and +thus he may go on felling as many as ten trees before he can bag his +game, not a very substantial reward for a whole day's work. + +The women make girdles and blankets on primitive looms, inserting +characteristic designs in the weaving. It takes four days of constant +work to make a girdle, but no woman weaves more than one blanket in a +year, and it is almost an event when it is finished. The weaving frame +consists simply of four sticks--placed on the ground tied together in a +rectangle or triangle, and pieces of reed on which the thread is wound, +one for each colour, are used as shuttles. Textiles from Pamachic are +especially highly valued. The blankets from that locality are sold +all over the Tarahumare country and are the finest made by the tribe. + +The Tarahumares are not far advanced in the art of making +pottery. Their work is crude and not very substantial. The industry +is practised only by the women, and the degree of ability varies +considerably. The art is often hereditary. The nicest pottery I found +in the neighbourhood of Panalachic, where it is decorated with certain +designs in red and white. One woman in a western barranca cultivated +a specialty of making large jars for holding tesvino. The largest +jar shown in the illustration was nearly eight feet in circumference. + +Women when making pottery taste a little of the clay before commencing +work, ascertaining whether it is the right kind or not. Some of the +clay is acid and not good. The clay which is serviceable is a little +sweet and of a pale yellow colour. The clay is dried and ground, and +then mixed with ground pieces of old pottery instead of sand. To make a +piece of pottery, a lump of clay is hollowed out in the shape of a cup, +and on this foundation the jar is built up, thin layers of clay being +placed on successively, and smoothed carefully over with wet hands, +making the walls thinner and thinner. The vessel is built up standing +on a bowl filled with ashes and covered with a piece of cotton cloth. + +I saw a clever woman make a medium-sized jar in twenty-seven +minutes. She was seated in the sun, and finished four vessels in one +afternoon. Then, assisted by her husband, she began to even them +on the outside with a small, smooth, oblong piece of a gourd. The +vessels were then put into the house in order that they might not +dry too quickly. After an interval of fifteen minutes, during which +she nursed her infant, which had been bothering her all the while, +she began work again. First, with the edge of a sharpened stick +she removed all irregularities on the outside and on the brim, and +then with a stone she polished the vessel. To polish the jars seemed +to take the longest time, for each of the workers was engaged on a +vessel for over an hour, and even then had not completed the task. They +polished outside and a little way inside below the brim. Finally they +painted decorations with ochre, and polished again for a long time, +but only the outside. Now the jars were again put into the house to +dry a little more before the polishing was finished. + +To burn the jars, they must first be thoroughly dried, as otherwise +the fire would crack them. When the weather is nice the fire may be +made outside the house; but usually it is built inside on the ordinary +fireplace. Each vessel, one at a time, is turned upside down over +charcoal, and pieces of pine bark are built up all around and over it +like a square little hut, then ignited. Care is taken that no piece +of bark comes so near to the jar as to touch and injure it. Where +bark cannot be readily procured, wood is used. The heat first turns +the clay dark, and afterward a pretty yellow colour. + +There is one industry which has a peculiar bearing on the whole life +of the Tarahumare, namely, the making of native beer. + +Nothing is so close to the heart of the Tarahumare as this liquor, +called in Mexican Spanish _tesvino_. It looks like milky water, and +has quite an agreeable taste, reminding one of kumyss. To make it, +the moist corn is allowed to sprout; then it is boiled and ground, +and the seed of a grass resembling wheat is added as a ferment. The +liquor is poured into large earthen jars made solely for the purpose, +and it should now stand for at least twenty-four hours; but inasmuch +as the jars are only poorly made, they are not able to hold it very +long, and the people take this responsibility on themselves. A row of +beer jars turned upside down in front of a house is a characteristic +sight in the Tarahumare region. + +The tesvino forms an integral part of the Tarahumare religion. It is +used at all its celebrations, dances, and ceremonies. It is given +with the mother's milk to the infant to keep it from sickness. In +"curing" the new-born babe the shaman sprinkles some over it to make +it strong. Beer is applied internally and externally as a remedy +for all diseases Tarahumare flesh is heir to. No man could get his +field attended to if he did not at first make ready a good supply +of tesvino, because beer is the only remuneration his assistants +receive. Drinking tesvino at the feast marks the turning-point in +a person's life. A boy begins to drink tesvino because now he feels +himself a man; and when a girl is seen at feasts, it is a sign that she +is looking for a husband. No marriage is legitimate without a liberal +consumption of tesvino by all parties present at the wedding. Hunting +and fishing expeditions are accompanied by beer-drinking to insure +luck. No matter how many times the Tarahumare changes his abode in +the course of his life, he always makes tesvino when moving into a +new house or cave. Even the dead would not get any rest, but come +back and harm the survivors, if a quantity of tesvino were not set +aside for them. In fact, there is absolutely no act of importance +that is not, in one way or another, connected with the drinking of +this beer. Never is a jar commenced unless some of the liquor is +sacrificed before the cross, for the gods are believed to be as fond +of the beer as are mortals. Rain cannot be obtained without tesvino; +tesvino cannot be made without corn; and corn cannot grow without +rain. This, in a nutshell, is the Tarahumare's view of life. + +There are many occasions during the year, especially during the winter +time, when regular symposiums are held, generally inside of the house; +but the people never drink tesvino unless there is some purpose to +be attained, be it luck in some undertaking, or good crops, or the +health of the family, or some similar benefit. They may dance yúmari +for a little while at any of these functions. + +It is the custom to appoint one man to distribute the liquor among +the guests. In doing this the host offers to the chosen one three +drinking-gourds full of tesvino, which the latter empties, and he +enters upon his duty by giving to every man present three gourds +in succession and to every woman four. The guests, although from +politeness hesitating between each gourd-ful, are only too delighted +to comply with this inviolable rule, which speaks eloquently for +their constitutions. + +The seat beside the distributer is the most coveted. I, too, was always +glad to get it, because it gave me the best chance to observe the +behaviour of the Indians at the feasts. The dispenser establishes +himself close to the big jar, and being immensely popular with +everybody he is never left alone. The geniality of the Tarahumares, +their courteousness and politeness toward each other in the beginning +of a feast, is, to say the least, equal to that of many a civilised +gentleman. When the cup is offered to anyone, he most urgently +protests and insists that the distributer shall drink; often this +remonstrance is heeded, but the gourd is never emptied; something +is always left in it, and this the guest has to take, and a second +gourdful is immediately held out to him. Though he again refuses, he +generally allows himself to be persuaded to drink it, and this mock +refusing and urging goes on as long as they have their wits together. + +To my knowledge, this beer is not known outside of the Tarahumare +tribe and their immediate neighbours, the northern Tepehuanes, the +Tubars, and some Mexicans in Chihuahua who have also adopted it. It +must not be confounded with the well-known Mexican drink, pulque, +to which it is superior in flavour. It is very nourishing, and the +Indians as well as the Mexicans are in the habit of abstaining from +food before partaking of the beer, which they assert would otherwise +not agree with them. But, food or no food, at all feasts and dances +they drink such incredibly large quantities that they are invariably +completely overpowered by it, though when taken in moderation tesvino +is only mildly stimulating. + +Another national beverage, maguey wine, is made from a favourite +sweet food of many Indian tribes, which a white man's stomach can +hardly digest, namely, the baked stalk of the maguey plant, or that +of other agaves. To prepare the liquor, the leaves are cut from the +bulb-shaped stalk or heart, which looks like a hard white head of +cabbage. These hearts contain a great deal of saccharine matter, +and are baked between hot stones in earth mounds, being protected +against contact with earth by layers of grass. + +When the Tarahumares want to make maguey wine they leave the baked +stalks in water in natural hollows or pockets in rocks, without any +covering. The root of a certain plant called frijolillo is added as +a ferment, and after two days the juice is wrung out with a blanket. + +An intoxicating drink is also made from another agave, called tshawí, +which, though common on the higher slopes of the barrancas, has only +recently become known to science. According to tradition it is the +first plant God created, and the liquor made from it is considered +by the pagan Tarahumares as indispensable to certain ceremonies. The +Tepehuanes, too, put much importance on this brew, and say that the +plant is so sensitive that if one passes a jar in which it is being +boiled the liquid will not ferment. + +Finally it should be mentioned that an intoxicating, though extremely +distasteful drink is made from the stalk of the maize plant (_caña_), +by pounding this material into a pulp, then allowing it to soak in +water for three days, when it is fermented, whereupon the liquor is +prepared in the same way as the maguey wine. + + + + + +Chapter XIV + + Politeness, and the Demands of Etiquette--The Daily Life of the + Tarahumare--The Woman's Position is High--Standard of Beauty--Women + Do the Courting--Love's Young Dream--Marriage Ceremonies, Primitive + and Civilised--Childbirth--Childhood. + + +For a barbarian, the Tarahumare is a very polite personage. In +his language he even has a word "rekó" which is the equivalent of +the English "please," and which he uses constantly. When passing a +stranger, or leaving a person, he draws attention to his action by +saying, "I am going." As he grows civilised, however, he loses his +good manners. + +In spite of this he is not hospitable; the guest gets food, but there +is no room for him in the house of a Tarahumare. A visitor never +thinks of entering a house without first giving the family ample time +to get ready to receive him. When he approaches a friend's home, good +manners require him to stop sometimes as far as twenty or thirty yards +off. If he is on more intimate terms with the family, he may come +nearer, and make his presence known by coughing; then he sits down, +selecting generally some little knoll from which he can be readily +seen. In order not to embarrass his friends he does not even look at +the house, but remains sitting there gazing into vacancy, his back +or side turned toward the homestead. Should the host be absent the +visitor may thus sit for a couple of hours; then he will rise and go +slowly away again. But under no circumstances will he enter the home, +unless formally invited, "because," he says, "only the dogs enter +houses uninvited." Never will the lady of the house commit such a +gross breach of etiquette as to go out and inform him of her husband's +absence, to save the caller the trouble of waiting, nor will she if +alone at home, make any statements as to that gentleman's whereabouts. + +The Tarahumare never does anything without due deliberation; therefore +he may, for quarter of an our, discuss with his wife the possible +purport of the visit, before he goes out to see the man. They peep +through the cracks in the wall at him, and if they happen to be +eating or doing anything, they may keep the visitor waiting for half +an hour. Finally the host shakes out the blanket on which he has been +sitting, throws it around himself, and, casting a rapid glance to the +right and left as he passes through the door, goes to take a seat a few +yards distant from the caller. After some meditation on either side, +the conversation, as in more civilised society, opens with remarks +about the weather and the prospects for rain. When this subject is +exhausted, and the host's curiosity as to where the man came from, +what he is doing, and where he is going to, is satisfied, the former +may go back to the house and fetch some pinole and meat for the +traveller. The object of the visit not infrequently is an invitation +to take part in some game or foot-race; and as the men are sure to +remain undisturbed, they generally reach some understanding. A friend +of the family is, of course, finally invited to enter the house, and +the customary salutation is "Assagá!" ("Sit down!") In this connection +it may be noted that the Tarahumares in conversation look sidewise, +or even turn their backs toward the person they speak to. + +After having eaten, the guest will carefully return every vessel in +which food was given to him, and when he rises he hands back the skin +on which he was seated. Should occasion require, the host will say: +"It is getting late, and you cannot return to your home to-night. Where +are you going to sleep? There is a good cave over yonder." With this +he may indicate where the visitor may remain over night. He will also +tell him where he may find wood for the fire, and he will bring him +food; but not unless the weather is very tempestuous will he invite +an outsider to sleep in the house. + +When at home the Tarahumare keeps regular hours, rising and retiring +with the sun. Having slept on a skin on the floor, rolled up in his +blanket, without anything for a pillow except perhaps a stone or a +chunk of wood, he sits for a while near the fire, which is kept up +most of the year at night in the house or cave. His wife brings him +his breakfast of pinole. While combing out his long black hair with a +pine cone, he may ask the boys and girls whether they have attended +to the traps he told them to set on the night before. They run out +and soon they come in with some mice. "Here they are," they say, +"but they are very poor!" The father, however, may consider them fat +and nice, and the mother affably adds: "Of course, they are fat, +since they have eaten so much corn." They go about to roast them, +while the husband looks on. Generally the Tarahumares have a number +of traps set to catch mice. They are so fond of this "game" that, +when civilised, they have been known to ask permission from Mexican +acquaintances to go through their houses to hunt for them. The mice +are skinned and threaded on a thin stick, which is stuck through +their necks and serves as a spit. + +Having enjoyed the dainty morsel thus set before him, the husband +now tells his wife what he is going to do to-day. He will run deer or +hunt squirrels, and accordingly takes his bow and arrows or his axe +with him. In spring-time he may go to the field. The wife also tells +of her plans for the day. The work that engages most of the time of +the housewives in Mexico is the grinding of the corn, on the metate, +for corn-cakes; and if she has any time to spare she boils beans, +looks for herbs, or works on her weaving-frame; but she never sits +about idle. She looks as conscientiously after her duties as any white +woman; she has always something to do, and many things to take care +of in her small way. + +About sunset the husband returns, bringing a squirrel or rabbit, +which he carries concealed in his blanket, that no neighbour may +see it and expect an invitation to help to eat it. As he goes and +comes he never salutes his wife or children. He enters in silence +and takes his seat near the fire. The animal he caught he throws +toward her where she is kneeling before the metate, so that it +falls on her skirt. She ejaculates "Sssssssssss!" in approval and +admiration, and, picking it up, praises its good points extravagantly: +"What a big mouth! What large claws!" etc. He tells her how hard he +worked to get that squirrel, how it had run up the tree, and he had +to cut down that tree, till finally the dog caught it. "The dog is +beginning to be very good at hunting," he says. "And now I am very +tired." She spreads before him a generous supper of beans, herbs, +and maize porridge, which she has ready for him. And while he eats +she goes industriously to work removing the fur from the game, but +leaving on the skin, not only because it keeps the meat together +while it is boiling, but mainly because she thinks there is a good +deal of nourishment in it, which it would be a shame to waste. + +When the man is at home, and neither sleeping nor eating, he may sit +down and make a bow or some arrows; or, stretched out on his back, +he may resort to his favourite amusement, playing his home-made +violin. Like all Indians of Mexico, the Tarahumares are fond of +music and have a good ear for it. When the Spaniards first came, +they found no musical instruments among the Tarahumares except the +short reed flute, so common to many Mexican tribes, the shaman's +rattle, and the rasping stick. But they soon introduced the violin +and even the guitar, and throughout Mexico the Indians now make these +instruments themselves, using pine wood and other indigenous material +in their construction, sometimes with remarkable skill and ingenuity, +and for glue the juice of a certain lily root. Having no idea of the +value of money, they frequently sell a tolerably good instrument for +fifty or even twenty-five cents. + +Toward evening the Tarahumare father of a family gets more talkative +and chats with his wife, and then + + + + "The day is done, and the darkness + Drops from the wings of night + As a feather is wafted downward + From an eagle in his flight." + + + +And as the shadows deepen, he wraps himself closer in his blanket, +and before he knows it childlike slumber enfolds him. Frequently he +grows hungry in the middle of the night, and reaches out for food, +as well as for his violin, devoting himself to music for half an hour, +before he drops off to sleep again. + +There are more women in the tribe than men, and they are looked upon +as of less importance. There is a saying among the people that one +man is as good as five women. Her prayers are not of as much value as +his, because she prays only to the moon, and her deity is not as big +as his, the sun. For this reason her place is behind the man in all +dances. Yet she occupies a comparatively high position in the family, +and no bargain is ever concluded until the husband has consulted his +wife in the matter. I am bound to say, however, that on such occasions +every member of the household, even the youngest and smallest child, +is asked to give an opinion, and, if one of the little tots objects, +the sale will not be closed. In such cases there is nothing for the +customer to do but to try to influence the young business man who +raised the objection, not directly, but through his parents. This +accounts for a good deal of the frightful loss of time incurred +in dealing with these Indians. The purchase of a sheep may require +two days, and the negotiations concerning an ox may extend over an +entire week. + +That a woman of intelligence and character is appreciated even among +barbarians is proven by the fact that once a woman was made gobernador, +or chief, because "she knew more than men." She did not assume the +title, but she is said to have ruled with more wisdom and justice +than many of her predecessors and successors. + +Husband and wife never show their affection in public except when +drunk. Parents kiss their little ones on the mouth and on the stomach, +and the youngsters express their love for each other in the same +way. On some occasions I have seen lovers sitting closely together, she +holding on to his forefinger. The women are of a jealous disposition. + +The Tarahumare standard of beauty is not in accordance with the classic +ideal as we perceive it, nor is it altogether in conformity with modern +views on the subject. Large, fat thighs are the first requisite, and +a good-looking person is called "a beautiful thigh." Erect carriage is +another essential to beauty. In the face, the eyes attract more notice +than any other feature, and the most admired ones are "the eyes like +those of a mouse." This is the highest praise that can be bestowed +upon anyone's personal appearance. They all like straight hair, and +consider hair very ugly when it has a curl at the end. I once asked +a bright young Tarahumare how the man must look who is most admired +by women, whether his mouth and nose should be large or small, etc., +and he replied, "They must be similar to mine!" Aside from good looks, +the women like best men who work well, just as in civilised countries +a woman may look out for a good _parti_. + +But wealth does not make the possessor more attractive to the girls. In +Nararachic was an elderly man who owned forty head of cattle and +eighteen horses. When he became a widower, he had to live with an +elderly woman of bad reputation, as he could not get another woman +to marry him. + +The young women enjoy absolute liberty, except as regards Mexicans, +against whom they are always warned. They are told that they become +sick from contact with such men. Never are they forced to contract what +would turn out to be a loveless marriage. A beautiful Indian girl was +much sought for by a Mexican. He spoke the Tarahumare language very +well, and offered to give her a good house and fine clothes and a +whole handful of silver dollars. Her brother, who was half civilised, +and therefore more corrupt than the ordinary Indian, also tried to +persuade her to accept the rich suitor. But she tossed up her head +and exclaimed, "Tshíne awláma gátsha negalé" which, freely translated, +means: "I do not like that fellow; love goes where it chooses." + +The custom of the country requires the girl to do all the courting. She +is just as bashful as the young swain whom she wishes to fascinate, +but she has to take the initiative in love affairs. The young people +meet only at the feasts, and after she hag gotten mildly under the +influence of the native beer that is liberally consumed by all, she +tries to attract his attention by dancing before him in a clumsy +way up and down on the same spot. But so bashful is she that she +persistently keeps her back turned toward him. She may also sit down +near him and pull his blanket and sing to him in a gentle low voice +a simple love-song: + + + Se-(se)-ma-te re-hoy i-rú Se-(se)-ma-te re-hoy i-vá + Beau-ti-ful man to be sure, Beau-ti-ful man to be sure. + + +If occasion requires, the parents of the girl may say to the parents +of the boy, "Our daughter wants to marry your son." Then they +send the girl to the boy's home, that the young people may become +acquainted. For two or three days, perhaps, they do not speak to +each other, but finally she playfully begins to throw pebbles at +him. If he does not return them, she understands that he does not +care for her. If he throws them back at her, she knows that she +has won him. She lets her blanket drop and runs off into the woods, +and he is not long in following her. + +Sometimes the boy, when he likes a girl very much, may make the +first advances, but even then he has to wait until she throws the +first pebbles and drops the blanket, for, among the Indians, it is +the woman who seeks the man, and the fair who deserve the brave. + +Next day they come home together, and after this they do not hide +themselves any more. The parents of the girl are advised to make +tesvino, as the young couple should not be separated any more, and +word is sent out to a few friends and relatives to come to the wedding. + +The guests arrive in the afternoon and most of the people remain +outside of the house during the ceremony, but the bridegroom and his +parents go inside, where they seat themselves on skins spread out on +the floor. The mother of the girl has placed a large skin next to a +big jar of tesvino, and on this the father of the boy sits down. As +soon as he has taken his place, the host offers him three gourds +full of the drink and requests him to accept the office of honour, +the distribution of tesvino to all present, and he immediately enters +upon his duties. He first gives four gourds full to the mother of the +bride, as the mistress of the tesvino, and three gourds full to the +host, the master; then four gourds full to his own wife. The bridal +couple have been called in and told to sit down side by side, and +all the rest of the people come in and stand around the pair. There +is no special place assigned to anyone; but the father of the boy +stands up and his mother sits down, while the girl's father sits +down and her mother stands up. The boy's father now makes a speech, +telling the bridal couple that they must remain together, and never +separate nor fight. He specially tells the young man that he has to +kill deer and take care always to bring some animal home to his wife, +even if it be only a chipmunk or a mouse. He also has to plough and +to sow corn and to raise crops, that he and she may always have enough +to eat and not go hungry. + +The father of the girl next takes the word, addressing himself mostly +to the bride. Now that she is united to the man of her choice, she +should always comply with her wifely duties. She must make blankets +for her husband, and be industrious, make tesvino and iskiate, +pinole, tortillas, gather herbs, etc., that her husband may always +have something to eat and not go hungry. He names all the herbs +singly. She must also help him, in her way, with the ploughing and +sowing, so that he may raise plenty of corn to make tesvino that +others may help him. She never must be lazy. + +The father of the girl now gives tesvino to his future son-in-law, +whose father in turn gives some to the bride. The bridal couple are +covered with blankets, and in some cases his and her right hands +are tied together. There is no other marriage ceremony. But all the +guests partake of the liberally flowing bowl, and the festivities +end in general and complete intoxication. + +About two weeks later, the parents of the bridegroom make a feast +exactly the same in character, but now the father of the girl +occupies the seat of honour next to the big tesvino jar and acts as +distributer. He also makes the first speech. The bridegroom gives +to his brother-in-law a flint for striking fire, and six arrows. No +matter how many brothers the bride has, they all get this present. It +is considered an exchange for the girl. The shamans avail themselves +of _jus primæ noctis_. + +After the marriage the bridal couple separate, each staying in the old +home for several weeks, after which the young man comes to live with +his father-in-law for half a year or a year, until he has had time to +make a house for himself. In the meantime the young couple are fed, +but they receive nothing else. The young man has his own animals, which +he got when he was small, and now his father gives him a piece of land. + +Among the Christian Tarahumares the fiscal is advised of any +contemplated marriage. This functionary has charge of the church +edifice and the teaching of the children. It is his duty to take the +young couples to the padre to be married. But the padre is far away and +comes around only once a year, and sometimes even less frequently, +and then the fiscal, so to say, rounds up all the matrimonially +inclined. On account of their innate ardour to comply with all +religious requirements the Tarahumares are willing to go through the +ceremony, though to them it has no significance beyond the payment of +one dollar. On this account they do not mind waiting for the padre's +blessing for a couple of years, until they get ready to part with +the dollar, thereby generally saving an extra trip for baptising. + +As the padre's visits are so few and far between, the fiscal even +considers it incumbent upon himself to make up matches on his own +account, telling the people that when the padre comes they should +be ready to get married. But so independent are the Tarahumare girls +that it has happened that when the padre asks the portentous question, +they cry, "Kæke, kæke" ("No, no"), and run away. + +In my time there was a padre (now removed) who emulated the example +of the shamans and was frequently in his cups. On one occasion he +was unable to perform the marriage ceremonies, and the sacristan +accompanying him had to take his place. All this man knew about the +rite was to ask the man and the woman whether they would have each +other. On hearing their "Yes" he would say, "Where is the dollar?" and +pocketing it send the couple off with, "Now you are all right." + +When an addition is expected in the family the chief preparation of +the woman is to get ready a quantity of beer, calling on her friends +to help her, while the husband goes to look for the shaman. When +she feels her time is approaching, she retires to some lonely spot, +as she is too bashful to bear her child while others are about. She +tightens her girdle around her waist, and bears her child sitting up, +holding on to something above her, like the branch of a tree. After +the little stranger has arrived the husband may bring her a jar with +warm water from which she occasionally drinks. He also digs a hole, +in which, after he has gone, she buries the placenta, placing stones +on top of the place on account of the dogs. The umbilical cord is +cut with a sharp reed or a sharp-edged piece of obsidian, but never +with a knife, for in that case the child would become a murderer +and could never be a shaman. I once asked a Tarahumare where he was +born, expecting him to give me the name of some ranch; I was rather +amused when he pointed to a big stone a little farther on along the +slope. That was his birthplace. + +The mother may lie down for that day, but the following morning she +works as usual, as if nothing had been the matter with her. The husband +does not work for three days, because he thinks his axe would break, +or the horns of his ox would fall off, or he would break a leg. The +third day he takes a bath. + +When the baby is three days old the shaman comes to cure it. A big +fire is made of corn-cobs, the little one is placed on a blanket, and +with the father's assistance the shaman carries it, if it is a boy, +three times through the smoke to the four cardinal points, making +the ceremonial circuit and finally raising it upward. This is done +that the child may grow well and be successful in life, that is, in +raising corn. Then the shaman takes a burning corn-cob from the fire +and with the charred end makes three parallel lines lengthwise over +the child's head and three across them. He also sprinkles tesvino +on the head and other vital parts of the body to make them strong, +and cures the umbilical cord. He may, too, anoint the child with the +fat of the rattlesnake mixed with herbs, and leave it in the sun, +that the light may enter its heart. For his services the shaman gets +a little maize, beans, salt, etc. + +On the fourth day the mother goes down to the river to bathe, and +while bathing leaves the little one naked, exposed to the sun for +at least an hour, in spite of all its wailings, that Father Sun may +see and know his new child. The baby is not washed until it is a year +old. Then it is cured again, by the shaman, who on various occasions +throughout its life repeats his curing, that the child may grow well +and that no sickness or bad accidents may befall it. To protect +it still further, pieces of palo hediondo or the chuchupate root, +the strong smell of which is supposed to avail against disease, +are wrapped in a piece of cloth and tied around the child's neck. + +The mother nurses the child until it is three years old. In some +instances she begins to give it once in a while a little pinole when +it is only six months old. When two years of age a child begins to +walk and to talk. Sometimes when the mother is busy, for instance +at the metate, and will not stop to nurse him, the little rascal may +take a stick and in his way try to beat her. + +The Tarahumare woman is a faithful mother, and takes good care of her +children. She generally has from six to eight, often more. While small +the children play with primitive dolls. They dress up corn-cobs with +scraps of textiles and put them upright in the sand, saying that they +are matachines and drunken women. They also play, like other children, +with beans and acorns, or with young chickens with their legs tied +together. Of course the youngsters maltreat these. Sometimes they +play, too, with stuffed squirrels, but there are no special children's +games. The father makes bows and arrows for the boys, and instructs +them in hunting and agricultural work. As the girls grow up, the mother +teaches them how to spin yarn and weave blankets, "for," she tells +them, "otherwise they will become men." She also warns them not to +have children too rapidly in succession, for there is no one to carry +them for her. Women cannot eat the tenderloin until they are very old, +because if they did they could have no children. For the same reason +they must not eat the pancreas. The women who fear lest they may have +difficulty in giving birth to a child make soup of an opossum and eat +it. Girls must not touch deer antlers, or their breasts would fall off. + +A characteristic custom is that the children, no matter how old they +get, and even after they are married and have families of their own, +never help themselves to anything in the parents' house. The mother has +to give all the food, etc., and she gives as long as she has anything. + +Parents never inflict corporal punishment upon the young people. If +a boy does not behave himself, he gets scolded, and his father's +friends may also remonstrate with him at a feast. Otherwise, the +children grow up entirely independent, and if angry a boy may even +strike his father. A girl will never go so far, but when scolded will +pout and weep and complain that she is unjustly treated. How different +is this from the way in which, for instance, Chinese children treat +their parents! It does not favour much the theory that the American +Indians originally came from Asia. + + + + + +Chapter XV + + Many Kinds of Games Among the Tarahumares--Betting and + Gambling--Foot-races the National Sport--The Tarahumares are the + Greatest Runners in the World--Divinations for the Race--Mountains + of Betting Stakes--Women's Races. + + +To my knowledge there is no tribe so fond of games as the +Tarahumares. There are few days in the year when a man has not a game +of some kind to play. Even when they become civilised and demoralised, +in spite of their depression and poverty this passion of theirs still +clings to them. While it is true that there is always something of +value, however insignificant, put at stake, their gambling spirit +is not vicious. They have some curious practices in their play: when +going to run a race, or when intending to play _cuatro_ or _quinze_, +they do not eat chile. Where holes in the ground are required for a +game, as in cuatro and quinze, they are generally made in the level +space on a rock. + +Very common is it to see two young men amusing themselves with +shooting-matches, shooting arrows at an arrow which has been +shot out into the ground some fifty yards off as a mark. This +arrow, as well as the game itself, is called in Mexican Spanish +_lechuguilla_. In Tarahumare the game is called chogírali, and the +target-arrow chogira. The arrow coming nearest the chogira counts +one point; and if it comes within four fingers' width of the aim, +it counts four. The game is for twelve points. The distance is not +measured from the points of the arrows, but from the winged parts, +one man measuring for all. If a shot arrow strikes so as to form a +cross with the chogira, it counts four. If it only touches the point +of the latter in the ground it counts two. If two arrows happen to +form crosses, neither counts. + +Instead of arrows, three sticks may be employed. One is thrown +out at a distance and is the chogira, and the other two sticks are +thrown toward it, and count in a similar way as the arrows. Often +while travelling, the Tarahumares play this game, in either form, +as they go along the road, perhaps for the entire distance. Two and +three pairs may play together. + +There is also a game very similar to quoits, played with stone disks, +fiat on one side and convex on the other. It is called rixiwátali +(rixíwala = disk), and two and two play against each other. First one +stone is moistened with spittle on one side to make it "heads or tails" +and tossed up. The player who wins the toss plays first. Each has +three stones, which are thrown toward a hole in the ground, perhaps +twenty yards off. One of each party throws first, then goes to the +hole and looks at it, while the other players make their throws. The +stone falling nearest to the hole counts one point; if it falls into +the hole, it counts four; if the stone of the second player falls on +top of the first stone in the hole, it "kills" the first stone. The +game is out at twelve. To measure distances, they break off small +sticks. Lookers-on may stand around and bet which of the players will +win. Another game is called tákwari, "to beat the ball"; in Spanish, +_palillo_. It is played only by women. Two play at a time. One knocks +a small wooden ball toward one goal, while her opponent tries to get +it to another. This game is also played by the northern Tepehuane +women, who sometimes use two short sticks tied together in the middle, +instead of the ball. The sticks are thrown ahead from their places +on the ground with a kind of quick, prying movement, with the aid of +a longer stick. + +Civilised Tarahumares, as well as the Mexicans, play with knuckle-bones +as dice. The game is called _la taba_, and the bones are taken from +either the deer, the sheep, or the goat. Only one bone is used by the +two players. Twelve points make a game, and each player has twelve +grains of corn with which he keeps count. He makes two rings in +the sand, and puts his twelve grains in one ring, and as the game +progresses he transfers them into the second ring until the game +is out. + +Their greatest gambling game, at which they may play even when tipsy, +is quinze; in Tarahumare, romavóa. It is played with four sticks +of equal length, called romálaka and inscribed with certain marks +to indicate their value. Practically they serve the same purpose +as dice, but they are thrown in a different way. The player grasps +them in his left hand, levels their ends carefully, lifts his bundle, +and strikes the ends against a flat or square little stone in front +of him, from which they rebound toward his opponent. The sticks +count in accordance with the way they fall. The point of the game +is to pass through a figure outlined by small holes in the ground +between the two players. The movements, of course, depend upon the +points gained in throwing the sticks, and the count is kept by means +of a little stone, which is placed in the respective hole after +each throw. Many accidents may impede its progress; for instance, +it may happen to be in the hole into which the adversary comes from +the opposite direction. In this case he is "killed," and he has to +begin again from the starting-point. The advance is regulated by a +number of ingenious by-laws, which make the game highly intellectual +and entertaining. If he has the wherewithal to pay his losses, a +Tarahumare may go on playing for a fortnight or a month, until he has +lost everything he has in this world, except his wife and children; +he draws the line at that. He scrupulously pays all his gambling debts. + +The northern Tepehuanes also know this game, and play with sticks +eighteen to twenty inches long. As these larger sticks fly quite a +distance off when rebounding, the players sit rather far apart. + +Wrestling also may be observed, but what may be termed the national +sport, of which the Tarahumares are inordinately fond, is foot-racing, +which goes on all the year round, even when the people are weakened +from scarcity of food. The interest centres almost entirely in +the betting that goes with it; in fact, it is only another way of +gambling. It is called ralá hípa ("with the foot throw"), the word +alluding to a ball used at the race. + +No doubt the Tarahumares are the greatest runners in the world, not +in regard to speed, but endurance. A Tarahumare will easily run 170 +miles without stopping. When an Indian is sent out as a messenger, +he goes along at a slow trot, running steadily and constantly. A +man has been known to carry a letter in five days from Guazapares to +Chihuahua and back, a distance of nearly 600 miles by the road. Even +considering shortcuts, which he, no doubt, knew, it was quite a feat +of endurance; for he must have lived, as the Indians always do while +travelling, on pinole and water only. + +Where the Indians serve the Mexicans they are often employed to run +wild horses into the corral. It may take them two or three days, +but they will bring them in, the horses thoroughly exhausted, while +the men, who, of course, economise their strength, and sleep, and eat +pinole, are comparatively fresh. In the same way they will run down a +deer, following it for days through snow and rain, until the animal +is cornered and easily shot with arrows, or until it is overtaken +utterly jaded and its hoofs dropping off. + +This propensity for running is so great that the name of the tribe +alludes to it. Tarahumare is a Spanish corruption of ralámari, the +meaning of which, though somewhat obscure, may doubtless best be +given as "foot-runners," because ralá certainly means "foot." + +The race is always between two localities, each side being represented +by from four to twenty runners. The two parties show in their +apparel some distinctive mark; for instance, all of one troop have +red head-bands, while the others may wear white ones. + +A peculiar feature is that the men toss along a small ball as they +run, each party having one of their own. These balls are about +two and a half inches in diameter and carved from the root of the +oak. The foremost runner kicks it with the toes of his right foot, +so as to make it bound along as far as 100 yards, and he and all +the men behind him follow in the same trot as before. The first man +reaching it again kicks it onward. It must never be touched by the +hand, unless it happens to fall in some awkward place, as between +stones or in a water-pool, when it is picked up and kicked on. + +There is never any laid-out track, but the circuit is determined in a +general way by crosses cut in trees. There are certain favourite places +always used as race-courses. The runners seem to have a preference +for the level tops of low ridges lying in a circle, wherever this is +possible. If this is not feasible, they may run forward and back on +a ridge, starting always near the middle, from some little plane or +other convenient place, where the people gather for the occasion. + +There is a manager for each party, and the two arrange the time +and place for the race to be held, also the number and length of +the circuits to be made. A circuit may measure from three to twelve +miles in extent, and when the circuits are short as many as twenty +may be agreed upon. At one race-course near Carichic, the circuit +is about fourteen miles long, and twelve circuits may be run here +without stopping. Runners of equal ability are matched against each +other, each side being, of course, anxious to secure the best. The +managers take care of their men until the race comes off. The training +consists mainly in abstinence from tesvino for two or five days before +the event. When preparing for a big race the runners may practise; +not that they need training in running, for that comes to them as +naturally as swimming to the duck; but only that they practise kicking +the ball and try the ground. + +Much more important are the magical devices by means of which they +endeavour to secure their own success and to defeat their opponents. A +daring manager may go to a burial cave, taking two balls with him. He +digs out a bone, preferably the tibia from the right leg, and sets +it on the floor of the cave in which it has been found. In front of +it he places a jar with tesvino and some vessels containing food. On +either side of these he lays one of his balls, and in front of all +he plants the cross. The food and the beer are the payment to the +dead that he may help to win the race by weakening the adversaries. + +As human bones are supposed to induce fatigue, some may be brought +to the race-track and secreted there in such a way that the competing +runners have to pass over the spot, while the manager's own crew are +advised of the danger, to avoid it. The man uses the utmost care not +to touch the bones with his fingers, lest he should dry up; instead, +he uses sticks in handling and carrying them. + +Scores of remedies are brought to the scene, either to strengthen +friends Or to weaken opponents. Certain herbs are thrown into the +air or shaken before the runners to enervate them. Some enterprising +Mexican may bring a white powder or similar substance, declaring that +it is very efficacious, and get a Tarahumare to pay a high price for +it. But whatever means are employed, one way or the other, there +is always a counter-remedy to offset its effect. Specially potent +is the blood of the turtle and the bat, stirred together, dried, +and mixed with a little tobacco, which is then rolled into a cigar +and smoked. Hikuli and the dried head of an eagle or a crow may be +worn under the girdle as a protection. + +The services of the shaman are indispensable for the foot-runners. He +helps the manager, himself often a shaman, to rub the men with herbs +and smooth stones to make them strong. He also makes passes over them +to guard them against sorcery. On the day before the races he "cures" +them. Food and remedies are placed on a blanket beneath the cross, +together with many magical things. The herbs are very powerful and +have to be tied up in bags of buckskin or cotton cloth, as otherwise +they might break away. The water for the runners to drink is also +placed underneath the cross, and candles are set on either side of the +pile. The runners bring their balls and stand in a row around the +cross. Then the shaman, taking his position in front of the latter, +smokes incense of copal over them, and sings of the tail of the grey +fox, and other songs. He also makes a speech, warning them not to +accept pinole or water in other people's houses. All their food and +drink must come from their relatives as a guard against witchcraft +and illness. The runners drink three times from the water and the +strengthening remedies; then the principal runner leads the others in a +ceremonial circuit around the cross, walking as many times around it as +there are circuits to be run in the race. The men sleep near the cross, +to watch the remedies on the blanket. With them they have some old man, +for old men see even when they sleep, and watch against sorcery. + +After the ceremony the shaman takes each runner aside and subjects him +to a rigid examination in regard to his recent food and his relations +with women. Fat, potatoes, eggs, and anything sweet are prohibited, +because all these things make the men heavy; but rabbits, deer, rats, +turkeys, and chaparral-cocks are wholesome, and such nourishment +enables them to win. + +An augury as to which side will win is also taken. Water is poured into +a large wooden tray, and the two balls are started simultaneously and +rolled through the water over the tray. The party whose ball first +reaches the other end will surely win. This test is gone through as +many times as there are to be circuits in the race. + +A race is never won by natural means. The losers always say that they +have been bewitched by the others. Once I was taking the temperature +of some foot-runners before they started, and their opponents, +seeing this, lost heart, thinking that I had made their contestants +strong to win the race. Often one of the principal runners becomes +disheartened, and may simulate illness and declare that their rivals +have bewitched him. Then the whole affair may come to nothing and the +race be declared off. There are stories about injurious herbs that +have been given in pinole or water, and actually made some racers +sick. It may even happen that some dishonest fellow will pay to the +best runner of one party a cow if he lets the other party win. But, +as a rule, everything goes on straightforwardly. No one will, however, +wonder that there are six watchmen appointed by each side to guard the +runners from any possible peradventure, and to see that everything +goes on in a proper, formal way. Tipsy persons are not admitted, +and women in a delicate condition are carefully kept away, as the +runners become heavy even by touching such a woman's blanket. + +On the day of the race the forenoon is spent in making bets, the +managers acting as stakeholders. These people, poor as they are, +wager their bows and arrows, girdles, head-bands, clothes, blankets, +beads, ari, balls of yarn, corn, and even sheep, goats, and cattle. The +stakes of whatever nature are tied together--a blanket against so many +balls of yarn, a stick of ari against so many arrows, etc. At big +races the wagers may amount to considerable heaps of such articles, +and the position of manager requires a man of decision and memory, +for he has to carry all the bets in his head and makes no written +record of them. The total value of the wagers may reach a thousand +dollars, and what to the Indians are fortunes may change hands in +accordance with the result of the race. One man on one occasion had +$50 worth of property at stake. + +The scene is one of great animation. As many as two hundred people +may assemble, among them women and children. At the gathering-point, +which is called in Tarahumare "the betting-place," all the bets are +made, and here the race is started and concluded. Here the managers +also place a row of stones, one stone for each circuit to be run, +and whenever a circuit is completed one stone is taken away. In +this way the count is kept. The runners walk about wrapped in their +blankets like the rest of the people. They have had nothing to eat +all day but pinole and tepid water, and their legs have been rubbed +with warm water in the morning by the managers. + +When finally all the people have arranged their stakes the gobernador +steps forward and makes a speech, in which he specially exhorts the +runners not to throw the ball with their hands; if they do, they +certainly will go to hell! He also warns them against cheating of +any kind. + +At a given signal, quick as lightning, the runners throw off their +blankets, and one man in each party, previously selected, throws his +ball as far as he can, and all the runners start after it. A second +ball is always kept in reserve, in case the first should be lost. + +The racers wear rattles of deer-hoofs and bits of reeds tied together +on a strip of leather, which they stick in the backs of their girdle +or hang over their backs. The magic rattling keeps them from falling +asleep while running, so they say; besides, the deer-hoofs lend +them the swiftness of the stag. Some runners adorn themselves with +feathers from various birds, preferably the macaw and the peacock, +tying them to short sticks. The few Tarahumares who have ever seen +a peacock think a good deal of this bird, because it is considered +light-footed and mystic, being foreign to their country. Some runners +may be seen who paint their faces and legs with white chalk, near +Batopilas, for instance. + +They do not run at an extraordinary speed, but very steadily, hour +after hour, mile after mile. Good runners make forty miles in six or +eight hours. At one race, when they covered according to calculation +twenty-one miles in two hours, I timed the leading runner and found +that he made 290 feet in nineteen seconds on the first circuit, and +on the next in twenty-four seconds. At a race rehearsal I saw them +cover four miles in half an hour. + +The public follows the race with great enthusiasm from beginning to +end, the interest growing with each circuit. Many begin to follow the +runners, shouting to them and urging them on. They also help them by +pointing out the ball so that they can kick it without stopping to look +for it. The wives of the contestants heat water and prepare pinole, +which they hold out in drinking-gourds to the men as they pass. The +latter stop for a few seconds to partake of this their favourite +dish; and if this cannot be done, the tepid water is thrown over +the shoulders of the runners, by way of refreshing them. As darkness +comes on, torches of resinous pine wood are lighted and carried along +to illuminate the path for the runners, that they may not stumble, +making the scene one of extreme picturesqueness, as these torchbearers, +demon-like, hurry through the forest. + +One contestant after another drops out. The excitement becomes wilder; +more and more people join in accompanying the few runners left, their +principal motive being to shout encouraging words to the runners and +urge them to exert themselves to the utmost. And at last the best +man comes in, generally alone, the others having either given up the +contest or being far behind. + +The race usually commences at midday; but often the bets are not +finished until late in the afternoon. It may last four hours and +even longer. A famous runner, now dead, could run from midday until +sunrise. There is no prize for the winner himself, except the golden +opinions he earns among the women; and his father may accept presents +from lucky bettors. A man who wins a cow is expected to give two pesos +to the victorious runner; in case he wins a goat he gives half a real. + +The race over, the wagers are immediately paid and the Indians quickly +disperse, soon to arrange for another contest. + +Sometimes there is an old man's race preceding that of the young men, +the latter being always the principal event of the day. Races are +also run by women, and the betting and excitement that prevail on +these occasions run as high as at the men's races, though on a smaller +scale. Instead of tossing the ball with their toes, they use a large +wooden fork, with two or three prongs, to pitch it forward. Sometimes +they have a ring of twisted strips of yucca leaves instead of the +ball, but more often two interlocked rings which they throw ahead +with a stick curved at the end. This game, which is called rowé-mala +(rowé signifies a ring), must be very ancient, for rings of this kind +have sometimes been found in ancient cliff-dwellings. It is certainly +a strange sight to see these sturdy amazons race heavily along with +astonishing perseverance, when creeks and water-holes come in their +way, simply lifting their skirts _à la Diane_ and making short work +of the crossing. + + + + + +Chapter XVI + + Religion--Mother Moon Becomes the Virgin Mary--Myths--The + Creation--The Deluge--Folk-lore--The Crow's Story to the + Parrot--Brother Coyote--Beliefs about Animals. + + +The pagans or _gentiles_ in the barrancas say that they have two gods, +but no devil. These gods are Father Sun (Nonorúgami) and Mother Moon +(Yerúgami). The Sun guards the men in the daytime; therefore the +Tarahumares do not transact business after sunset. He also makes the +animals sleep. The Moon watches at night, and is the special deity +of the women. In her nightly vigils she is assisted by her son, the +Morning Star, who commands all the other stars, because they are his +sons and they are Tarahumares. The Stars advise their brothers on +earth when thieves are entering their houses. When the Tarahumares +affirm anything solemnly, they say, "By those above!" meaning the Sun, +Moon, and the Stars. + +But the greater part of the Tarahumares are nominally Christians, +though all that they know of Christianity are the words _Señor San +José_ and _Maria Santissima_. Moreover, they have adopted the words +_Tata_ (Father) _Dios_ (God) for their Father Sun; and the Virgin +Mary becomes with them a substitute for Mother Moon, and in natural +sequence the wife of Tata Dios. They celebrate in their own peculiar +way all the Christian feasts they know, with as much pleasure and as +elaborately as their own native ceremonies. + +Next in importance is the Devil, whom they fear even more than their +own sorcerers. He is always represented with a big beard, such as the +Mexicans wear. He is old and has only one eye, and the shamans have +seen him often. He plays the guitar, but never the violin, because +the bow and the strings form a cross. He would like very much to go +to heaven, and the shamans have to work hard to keep him from doing +so. There is also a female devil, his wife, who bears many children, +always twins, who are the original Mexicans. + +Their paradise consists in big ranches, where they will get all the +animals which in this life they sacrificed to Tara Dios. The occupation +of Tata Dios in heaven is to run foot-races with the angels, while the +Devil vies with the sorcerers in making the lives of the Tarahumares +uncomfortable, he being the chief sorcerer of all. + +The Tarahumares are the sons of God, and the Mexicans the sons of the +Devil. For this reason the Tarahumares say that it is no crime to eat +the cows of the Mexicans; they think the cows do not really belong to +the Shabotshi anyway. Neither do they tell when a Tarahumare steals +anything from a Mexican, while they are very quick to find out if +one Tarahumare steals from another. + +I give here some of the myths and traditions of the tribe. Those +which Christian ideas have entered into will easily be recognised, +and it is not necessary to draw special attention to them. + + + + +Creation Myths + + +In the beginning there were many worlds before this, but one after the +other came to an end. Just before the world was destroyed for the last +time, all the rivers flowed toward the place where the sun rises. But +now the waters also flow toward the other side, where the sun sets. [5] + +The bears put the world into shape. Before their time it was nothing +but a waste of sand. + +In ancient times there were plenty of lagoons around Guachochic; +but the land was put in order, when the people came and began to +dance yumarí. + +The rocks were at first soft and small; but they grew until they +became large and hard. They have life inside. + +The people grew up from the soil, while the earth was as level as a +field ready for sowing. But in those days they lived to be only one +year old, and then they died like the flowers. + +According to another tradition they descended from heaven with corn +and potatoes in their ears, and were led by Tata Dios into these +mountains, the middle of the world, having originally come from the +north-east or east. + + + + +The Sun and the Moon in the Beginning of the World + + +In the beginning the Sun and the Moon were alone, and they were +children. They wore dresses made of palm-leaves, and they lived +in a house thatched with palm-leaves. They had neither cattle nor +sheep. Both the Sun and the Moon were dark, and the Morning Star was +the only one that shed any light on the earth. The Moon Was eating +lice from the hair of the Sun, and the Morning Star was watching at +night. There were 600 Tarahumares at that time, and they were much +hampered by the darkness. They could not do their work, and they had +to hold each other's hands, and they were stumbling all the time. Then +they cured the Sun and the Moon by dipping small crosses into tesvino, +and touching the Sun and the Moon on the chest, on the head, and on +the back. Then the Sun and the Moon began to shine and to shed light. + + + + +Star Legend + + +A man lived with three women. He was making arrows while they went +to look for squirrels and woodchucks, and when they could find none +they killed their father. Then they said: "It is of no use to stop +here any longer. Let us go away." When the man saw them running +away he shot arrows after them. The women were ascending to heaven, +holding each other's hands, and he transfixed them to the sky, where +they can still be seen just as they rose, as three bright stars in +the belt of Orion. The three women remained in heaven, but the man +remained in the world and was changed into a coyote. + + + + +Deluge Legends + + +When the world became full of water, a little girl and a little boy +climbed up on a mountain, called Laváchi (gourd), which is south of +Panalachic, and when the waters subsided they came down again. They +brought three grains of corn and three beans with them. The rocks +were soft after the flood, and the footprints of the little boy and +the little girl may still be seen. They planted the corn and went to +sleep and had a dream that night; then they harvested, and all the +Tarahumares are descended from them. + +The Tarahumares were fighting among themselves and Tata Dios sent +much rain, and all the people perished. After the flood he sent three +men and three women to people the earth. They planted corn at once, +bringing three kinds, the same varieties still found here--soft corn, +hard corn, and yellow corn. + + + + +Giants + + +On the heights once lived giants. They were as big as pine-trees and +had heads as big as bowlders. They taught the Tarahumares how to plant +corn, by cutting down trees and burning them, but they ate children. + +A woman bore a giant in a cave, which was situated very high up on +the side of a valley. She died, because the child was so large, and +he was taken care of by his grandmother. Once when she was asleep, +she turned over and crushed him. + +From Wasivori (near Cusarare) came giants to Nararachic to ask +alms. Tesvino they liked very much. They worked very fast, and the +Tarahumares put them to hoe and weed the corn, and gave them food and +tesvino. But the giants were fierce, and ravished the women while the +latter were under the influence of the Moon; therefore the Tarahumares +got very angry and they mixed a decoction made from the chilicote-tree +with the corn that they gave the giants to eat, and the giants died. + + + +Tata Dios and the Devil--The Sheep and the Deer--Why the Cocks Crow +in the Morning [6] + + +Tata Dios came down into the world, and he had in his house many +large jars filled with strong tesvino. On the other side of the river +Huerachic, in the big arroyos, lived the Devil. He was very poor, +and he had only one small jar with tesvino, and that was bad. The +Devil and his brother invited Tata Dios to come and drink tesvino +with them. Tata Dios went to the Devil's house, and they gave him +the jar and the drinking-gourd, and he sat down to drink; but he +did not get intoxicated because there was not enough tesvino. When +he had emptied the jar, Tata Dios said: "Now we will go to my house +and drink tesvino; I have some, too." They accepted the invitation, +and all went away together, and Tata Dios gave them a large jar full +of tesvino and the drinking-gourd. They drank much, and the Devil and +his brother sang like the Mexicans, until they lay down on the ground +completely overcome. Later in the night the Devil rose, and he went +to the wife of Tata Dios. And when she awoke, she was very angry, +and roused her husband, and he fought with the Devil, until Tata +Dios got killed. But after a while he rose and said to the Devil, +"Now go away, go below." "I am going home to get my weapons," said +the Devil. But first he went into the house of Tata Dios and robbed +him of his money, and [noticing the reporter's book] of his books and +everything. He hid all the things in his house and Tara Dios came to +look for them. Tata Dios again was very angry, and they fought until +he was killed. But this time, too, he rose and said to the Devil, +"Go below," and the Devil went below and remained there, and Tata +Dios went home. + +One day at dawn the people saw the lands full with sheep everywhere. On +a flat stone Tata Dios drew figures like the tracks of the deer, +and from them all the deer originated. + +When Tata Dios returned to heaven, he carried in his right hand a +rooster, which he placed on top of a palm-tree. The cock crowed three +times while Tata Dios ascended to heaven. After this, whenever the +sun rises in the morning, the cocks on earth respond when they hear +the cocks in heaven crow. + +After Tata Dios had gone to heaven he never came back. He is angry with +the Tarahumares, and he wants to destroy the world, but the Virgin +says: "Let the people alone; I pity the family we left behind." This +is the reason why the world stands. + +When Tara Dios went away, he said, "I will leave two crosses here." He +then put up a cross where the sun sets at the end of the world, +and another where the sun rises. The cross in the east he uses +when he rises to heaven and when he comes to visit the Tarahumares, +and the cross in the west is for the Tarahumares when they die and +go to heaven. Between these two crosses the Tarahumares live. They +would like to go to the crosses and worship before them, but they are +prevented from doing so by large bodies of water. They therefore set +up small crosses in front of their houses, and before them they hold +their dances, and God comes to eat near these crosses. He only eats +the soul or substance of the food, and leaves the rest for the people. + + + + +The Giants, the Crow, and the Blackbird + + +The Crow, who is very knowing, told the following story to the Parrot, +who told it to the pagans: + +The Blackbird and the Crow, long, long ago, saw a contest between +two giants, who made a bet as to which of them could throw a stone +farthest. The stakes were four deer. One giant, called Golí, carried +a bird in his hand and threw it instead of the stone; so he won; then +he returned to where the Blackbird and the Crow were standing. The +Blackbird said to the Crow, "They will not do us any harm until they +stoop to pick up a stone." But the Crow replied, "Maybe they bring the +stone in their hands." So they flew away, and while they were flying +the Crow said, "I am going to the mountain to look for my wife and +my son. They went away and have been lost for six days." + + + + +The Deer, the Toad, and the Crow + + +The Crow set out for the mountain, where the Deer and the Toad were +making a bet. "Let us try," they said, "who can see the sun first in +the morning." The stakes were twenty-five Gadflies, and they asked +the Crow to be a witness to the contest. In the morning they were +ready to watch for the sun. The Toad was looking westward from the +highest mountain, but the Deer looked to the east. The Toad said, +"Look here, Brother Crow, I have already seen the sun starting," and +the Crow said to the Deer: "Brother Deer, you have lost. Give him +the twenty-five Gadflies." The Deer asked one day's time to catch +the Gadflies, but the Toad thought he was not going to pay him, +and said to the Deer, "Let us have a race, that you may settle your +bet." The Deer readily consented to this, and a stone was put up as +the goal. The Toad went away to call many other toads, and placed +them at intervals toward the goal, and when the Deer arrived at the +stone the Toad was already sitting on it, and said, "Brother Deer, +you have lost." And the Deer went away. + +Then the Toad said to the Gadflies: "Go and sting the Deer much, that +he may have to run quickly. If you will sting him much, I will never +eat you." The Gadflies were vexed with the Deer, because he had put +them up on a bet, therefore they were very willing to sting the Deer, +and they have been stinging him ever since. + + + + +Story of the Coyote + + +The Coyote asked permission from Tata Dios to come into the world, and +Tara Dios asked him what he would do there. The Coyote replied that +he would steal the animals and the corn from the Tarahumares. Then +Tata Dios gave him permission to go and make a living in this way, +because the Coyote did not know how to work. + + + + +The Mountain Lion, the Coyote, and the Grey Fox + + +The Coyote challenged the Mountain Lion to a contest, that they might +see which of them had the better eyesight and was the smarter. The Lion +said, "Let us see who can first shoot an animal." Then he proposed +that they should go to a water-hole, and to this the Coyote agreed; +so they started out on the hunt. The Lion climbed up on a tree, +but the Coyote remained below on the ground, and paid no attention +to what the Lion was doing. A deer came, and the Lion struck it +dead. The Coyote saw this from where he was hunting, and by and +by he found a dead mare. When they met again the Lion said to the +Coyote, "Well, how did you get on?" The Coyote replied: "Very well; +I killed a mare." But the mare had been dead so long that she was +smelling. Therefore the Lion said to the Coyote, "Don't be a liar," +and he chased him off, and the Coyote was ashamed of himself. + +The Coyote next met the Grey Fox, and told him to go and challenge the +Lion. The Grey Fox went to the Lion and said: "How do you do, Brother +Lion? I hear you got the best of Brother Coyote." The Lion replied: +"No, Brother Grey Fox; the Coyote made a fool of himself." Then the +Grey Fox said: "Let us see whether you can get the best of me, and +which of us can catch a rabbit first." So they went to the mountain +to look for rabbits. At sunrise the Lion took a position facing the +north, and the Grey Fox faced south, and both of them watched for +rabbits. After spying for a while, the Lion saw one, but by that +time the Grey Fox was asleep alongside of him. So the Lion said to +the rabbit: "Pass right between us, and then go to the hole in the +oak-tree on the rock, and act as if you wanted to go into the hole, +but go away to one side." Then the Lion woke up the Grey Fox and +said: "Over there is a rabbit. He went into a small hole into which +I cannot follow him; but you are small, and you can catch him." The +Grey Fox just saw the rabbit's tail disappearing behind the rock, +but the rabbit hid himself, and did not enter the hole, as the Lion +had told him. "All right," said the Grey Fox, "I will go; but, as you +saw the rabbit first, you have won the bet." But the Lion said: "No; +you go into the hole, and fetch the rabbit out and eat him." Then the +Grey Fox entered the hole, and the Lion made a fire in front of it, +and when the Grey Fox came out again he was burned, and his feet +were sore from the fire. That is why the Grey Fox always walks so +lightly. And he reproached the Lion, saying that he was very bad, +and begged him to let him go and not to kill him. He cried and went +to hide himself in a cave, because he was afraid of the Lion. Then +the Humming-bird who lived in the cave stung him in the face with +his bill and in the eyes, and he went away and never came back again. + + + + +The Hens, the Grey Fox, and the Coyote + + +The Woodpecker made a guitar and gave it to the Butterfly to play on, +and the Cock danced a pascual, and the Cricket danced with the Locust, +and the Hen was singing. While the dance was going on, the Coyote +came to see what he could get from the feast, and the Grey Fox also +came, and he brought some tunas (fruit of the nopal cactus). They +were very nice and sweet, and he gave one to the Coyote and said, +"Here, Brother Coyote, take this nice mouthful." He had well rubbed +off the spines, and the fruit tasted well to the Coyote. It made his +heart glad, and he wanted more. The Grey Fox said to the Coyote, +"I will give you more tunas, but you must eat them with your eyes +shut." He gave him some tunas from which he had not cleaned off the +spines, and as the spines hurt the Coyote he became very angry and +wanted to eat the Grey Fox. But the Fox said to him: "Don't be angry, +Brother Coyote: I will give you a drink; and don't howl, because there +are dogs around." He went to the Cock and to the Hen, and asked them +for tesvino, and he brought it to the Coyote and said, "Here, Brother +Coyote, drink this." The Coyote drank two gourdsful, and then a third +one, and when he had finished this he began to howl, because he was +very drunk, and he asked the Grey Fox, "Why are they all dancing?" The +Grey Fox replied: "They dance, because Miss Cricket married Mister +Locust; therefore the Butterfly is playing on the guitar, and the Cock +dances with delight, and the Hen is singing." But the Coyote said: +"I don't want the Hen to sing; I want to eat her." Then the Grey +Fox took the Coyote into the arroyo and told him to remain there, +while he went to fetch the Hen. But instead of the Hen he got two very +fierce dogs and put them in a bag, and carried them into the arroyo, +where the Coyote was waiting. He was very drunk and very angry, +and he said to the Grey Fox, "Why did you keep me waiting so long, +you cursed old Grey Fox t" The Grey Fox replied: "Don't be angry, +Brother Coyote; here I bring you some very nice Hens. I was looking +for many of them, that is why I remained away so long. Now, shall I +let them out one by one, or do you want them all at once?" The Coyote +replied, "Let them out all at once, that I may have a good old time +with them." Then the Grey Fox opened the bag, and out came the two +fierce dogs; and they caught the Coyote and bit him and tore him to +pieces. The Grey Fox ran away and hid himself, but afterward he came +and got the paws of the Coyote and threw them into a water-pool. + + + + +The Mountain Lion and the Bear + + +The Mountain Lion killed a deer, and the Bear wanted to take it away +from him. They fought, and the Lion won, and the Bear asked his pardon, +because the Lion is more powerful than the Bear. + + + + +The Frog and the Coyote + + +The Frog and the Coyote made a wager as to which of them would gain +in a foot-race. They were to run along a ridge, and return to a point +close by the starting-point. The Coyote lost, because the Frog jumped +directly over to the finishing-point. This happened twice, and the +Coyote wanted to kill the Frog, but the Frog dived into a water-hole, +where the Coyote could not catch him. + +The Bears, whose skin is of the same color as the Tarahumares, are +called "grandfathers," amúli, and are so to speak their forebears. In +ancient times they danced on top of the mountains, where they have +roads yet. + +Often the bears are sorcerers, who, after death, assumed the shape +of these animals. In fact, there are two kinds of bears, one that +is real, and another one that is a dead Tarahumare. The people do +not know which is which. Only the shamans can make the distinction, +and it is useless to try and kill the man-bear, because he has a very +hard skin, and arrows cannot pierce it. He is the very devil. + +The following curious incident happened near Nararachic a few years +ago: A bear had done much damage to a Tarahumare's corn-field. Some +forty Indians with over fifty dogs gathered together to kill the +bear. In order to make the dogs ferocious, the Indians set them to +fight among each other, by way of preparing them for the hunt. The +Indians now divided themselves into several parties, and presently +one lot encountered the bear. They asked the shaman who was with them +whether the creature was a bear or something else, and he replied, +"Let the dogs on and see." As the dogs had never seen a bear, they were +timid, and did not bark or attack the beast; therefore the shaman said: +"This is not a bear. All is lost. The dogs do not know him, and the +bear does not see the dogs with his eyes. He is from hell, and he is +a devil, who came here in the shape of a bear, because he wants to +eat us. Let him alone and let us all go away." And they all retreated. + +The mountain lion is a good animal and watches over the people. When +he sees an animal such as the bear or the coyote approach a man, +he roars to warn the man; and if the man pays no attention, the lion +attacks the animal to save the man; therefore strips of his skin are +worn around the ankles and the neck as a protection. + +The grey fox is considered an astute animal and is feared. If he passes +by a house in which there is a sick person, and calls three times, +the patient will die. One of my Indian men related the following +story: One night he and another man were sleeping in a house when +he heard the grey fox whistle. At first he did not know what it was, +and he said to his companion, + +"Listen, what is that?" The other one said, "This is a very bad +thing, very ugly." He was a man who knew something, and he said, +"If this grey fox returns for two nights more and whistles outside +of the house of our sick neighbour, that man will die." My informant +did not believe this at the time; but the next night the grey fox +returned and whistled very uncannily, and on the third night he did +it again. And on the following morning a man came and asked the Indian +to help him to bury the neighbour who had died during the night. They +went to the house of the dead man, and "then," the narrator concluded, +"I knew that the grey fox had said the truth, for the grey fox never +tells a lie." + +The grey fox and the rabbit in ancient times danced rutubúri. + +The horned toad holds the world. It says: "Don't tread on me! I am the +colour of the earth and I hold the world; therefore walk carefully, +that you do not tread on me." + +The master of the deer lives inside of the mountains, in the earth; +therefore the Tarahumares place small quantities of corn and beans, +or three arrows in a jar, on top of the highest mountain to buy the +deer from the one below. + +The brown ground squirrel (chipawíki), which lives among rocks and +seldom ascends trees, is thought to become a serpent. This belief is +also current among certain classes of Mexicans. A Mexican told me that +a man once smashed the head of a chipawíki in the hollow of a tree, +and when he wanted to take his game out, he found that the rest of +the animal had the body of a serpent. It cannot be used for sacrifices. + +Rats become bats. + +The owl is very bad. Whenever it comes to a house and screeches, +somebody falls ill. If it calls three times, in three consecutive +nights, the sick person will die. The owl is also very smart. It knows +when the Tarahumare's blanket (in which he is wrapped when sleeping +along the fire) is going to be burned. When the owl hoots near a home +it says, "Chu-i, chu-i, chu-i,"--"dead, dead, dead." Owls are killed +but not eaten. + +The goat sucker makes darts through the air and calls down rain. It has +two nice fat young, which the Tarahumares consider a great delicacy. + +The crow is much in disfavour because it eats the corn. Only the +young crows are eaten. + +The large swifts (olamáka) are thought to be witches, who pierce the +souls of people and eat them. They are used by the sorcerers, whom they +obey like dogs. Once a woman was sitting in a corn-field watching it +by the side of a fire, and making yarn, when a swift settled on her +skirt. She told a girl to bring a large basket, with which she covered +the bird up, caught it and had it for many years. Every night the bird +flew away, and then returned in the morning. Once, when the woman +was absent at a tesvino feast, the girl killed the bird and roasted +it. She could not eat it, however, because it had such a bad smell, and +the woman found it on her return in the basket, dead and roasted. The +girl ran away and the raccoons ate the corn the woman was watching. + +The giant woodpecker during the wet season rises high up toward the +sun; that is why he gets his tail burned. + +When the Tarahumares handle any kind of fish they take care not to +touch their hair, for fear that it may turn grey and they become old. + +The rattlesnakes are the companions of the sorcerers and watch to meet +them and then talk with them. A Mexican once killed a rattlesnake, +and the Indian grew very angry and said that the snake had protected +his house; now he had no one to guard it. + +Large serpents, which only the shamans can see, are thought to live +in the rivers. They have horns and very big eyes. + +The dragon-fly has no song; it flies about without making a noise. + +Tata Dios put sheep into the world; they are good animals because they +give wool from which people can weave blankets, and their meat is good, +and they do not weep when they are killed. But goats were put into +the world by the Devil; their hair is of no use, their meat is bad, +and they howl much when they are killed. + + + + + +Chapter XVII + + The Shamans or Wise Men of the Tribe--Healers and Priests + in One--Disease Caused by Looks and Thoughts--Everybody and + Everything has to be Cured--Nobody Feels Well without His + "Doctor"--Sorcery--The Powers of Evil are as Great as those + of Good--Remarkable Cure for Snake-bite--Trepanning Among the + Ancient Tarahumares. + + +Without his shaman the Tarahumare would feel lost, both in this life +and after death. The shaman is his priest and physician. He performs +all the ceremonies and conducts all the dances and feasts by which +the gods are propitiated and evil is averted, doing all the singing, +praying, and sacrificing. By this means, and by instructing the people +what to do to make it rain and secure other benefits, he maintains +good terms for them with their deities, who are jealous of man and +bear him ill-will. He is also on the alert to keep those under his care +from sorcery, illness, and other evil that may befall them. Even when +asleep he watches and works just as if his body were awake. Though +real illness is the exception with him, the Tarahumare believes that +an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, and for this +reason he keeps his doctor busy curing him, not only to make his body +strong to resist illness, but chiefly to ward off sorcery, the main +source of trouble in the Indian's life. The demand for shamans is +therefore great, but the supply is quite equal to it. For instance, +in the little village of Nararachic and the neighbouring ranches, +where there are about 180 households, twenty-five shamans are living, +each of whom takes care of about twenty souls, though only about ten +of them enjoy great reputation in the community. + +Before a man is allowed to consider himself a shaman, he is examined +by a "board" of recognised members of the profession, who pass upon +his fitness to enter their ranks. + +These priest-doctors have their specialties. Some sing only at +rutuburi or yumari dances, others only at hikuli-feasts. A few of +them do not sing at all, but are merely healers, although far the +greater number also sing at the feasts. Those who make a specialty +of the hikuli cult are considered the greatest healers. They all +conscientiously fast and pray, complying with the demands of the +gods, which impose restrictions and abstinence, and they are therefore +called "righteous men" (owirúami). They are the wise men of the tribe; +and as rain-makers, healers, and keepers of the heritage of tribal +wisdom and traditions, their influence is powerful. + +Their services are never rendered gratuitously; in fact, what with +the payments they receive from singing at feasts and curing the +sick, they generally manage to live better than the rest of the +people. Whenever a shaman is hungry, he goes to the house of some of +his well-to-do clients and cures the family, receiving all the food he +wants in payment for his efforts, for what would become of the people +if the shaman should die? The Devil would surely take them away at +once. Therefore the best parts of the meat from the animal killed +for the feast is given to the shamans, and they generally get all +the tesvino they can hold. In winter time, when numerous feasts are +being held, the shamans are nearly all the time under the influence +of their native stimulants. Yet this does not seem to harm them, nor +does it in the estimation of the people detract from the efficacy of +their singing; the curing is no less potent, even though the doctor can +hardly keep from falling all over his patient. It is always incumbent +on the shamans to be peaceful, and they never fight at the feasts. + +The singing shamans invariably have a primitive musical instrument, +the rattle, with which they beat time to their singing and +dancing. Ordinarily it is made from a gourd filled with pebbles and +mounted on a short stick which serves as a handle. Another kind +is made from coarse shavings glued together. The latter variety +is not infrequently decorated with daubs of red or some similar +painting. Sometimes at the feast the shaman, even nowadays, may be +seen wearing a head-dress made of the plumes of birds. Through the +plumes the birds are thought to impart all that they know. Besides, +the plumes are supposed to keep the wind from entering the shaman's +body, and thus prevent him from falling ill. + +When curing, the shamans may sometimes use rational means. There is +in existence around Norogachic for instance, a kind of sweating-bath, +made by placing in a hole in the ground, just large enough for a man +to sit in, several hot stones, pouring water on them, and covering +them up with branches of the fragrant mountain cedar. The steam +passing through the latter is credited with curative power. + +The Indians know several excellent medicinal herbs. Palo amarillo is +a kind of household remedy used extensively in every family. There +are many other highly valued herbs and trees, some of which have a +wonderfully refreshing and invigorating aromatic scent. Headache is +cured by a green herb called pachoco, of which they smell until they +begin to sneeze. To cure constipation they boil ari with a grain +of salt, or they heat stones and pour water over them and sit over +the steam. + +Both the sacred little cactus called híkuli and the maguey have +undoubtedly medicinal properties, but the administration of these +remedies, especially of the former, is connected with so many rites and +ceremonies that their therapeutic value becomes obscured. The curative +power of tesvino is absolutely magical, and this is the remedy to +which recourse is most commonly had. In administering it the shaman +makes his customary passes, and exhales over the patient to blow away +the disease. He also dips a small cross into the liquor, and with the +wetted end taps the sick man on the head, neck, shoulders, and back, +and draws crosses over his arms. Finally the patient is given three +spoonfuls of the liquor, while all the members of the family stand +around and murmur approvingly, "Thank you, thank you." Occasionally +tesvino is exclusively used for curing, with the aid of two small +crosses, one of red Brazil wood, the other of white pine. If he +chooses, a shaman may provoke illness as well as cure it, but he +cannot cure the person he made ill. + +When a shaman is asked to cure a person of any complaint, +real or imaginary, his first move is to find the cause of the +trouble. According to his opinion illness is brought on either by +the wind or by sorcery. From the former kind of disease nobody dies, +although the heart, the liver, or the head may be attacked; but the +other kind is serious. Sorcerers may put snakes into the legs, and +such animals as centipedes, toads, larvae, scorpions, or even small +bears into the body of some unfortunate person, and these disturbers +have to be drawn out at once or else they will eat the sick man's +heart. The shaman therefore first feels the patient all over, to +find if something--in other words, the disease-bringing animal--is +moving underneath the skin. Illness may also result from small stones, +or the spine of the nopal placed in the body by the same agency. + +A person suspected of having been bewitched is told to hold his mouth +open to the sun, that the shaman may see whether the evil entered the +body through this aperture. People become bewitched at night through +the openings of the body, and the shaman also examines the nostrils, +ears, etc. It is also the shaman's business to find out who caused +the trouble, and since he can see more than ordinary people he is +able to track the offender. + +Some people by their mere looks or thoughts are liable to make +a. person ill. Such illness may be brought on in retaliation for some +slight or offence, and may even result in death. The first thoughts +of a person falling ill are: Whom have I offended? What have I taken +that I should have left alone, and what have I kept that I should have +given? Then the shaman may tell him to find the person to whom he had +refused to give food, and the sick one and his wife go from house to +house asking the people: "Was it you whom I refused food? Someone +has made me ill, and I want him to make me well again." If he can +find the person whom he had offended, and arrange matters with him, +he will recover. + +The doctor may find that the person's heart is on the wrong side, +and prescribe a liberal allowance of tesvino to get it back to its +proper place. But generally the skill of the shaman is taxed more +severely and he resorts to the more direct and powerful methods of +magic. A common occurrence is that of illness caused by maggots, which +the shaman has to extract from the patient by means of a sucking-tube, +a short piece of reed about three inches long, cut from a kind of reed +different from that of the arrow-shaft. He places it on the afflicted +spot, and after sucking vigorously for a minute or so empties from +his mouth into his hand or into a corn-leaf, what purports to be the +maggots. I never had an opportunity of examining closely the small +white bits of something or other that he spit out, but they seemed +to me to be tiny pieces of buckskin which the man had secreted in his +mouth and which swelled up when saturated with saliva. To the shaman +they represent maggots; that is, the embodiment Of the disease, and +all the people firmly believe that they are maggots. The corn-leaf +and its contents are buried; a cross is made on the ground over the +spot and a ceremonial circuit run around it. When resting between +operations, the shaman places his sucking-tube into a bowl of water +in which some herbs are soaking. + +The mode of curing, however, varies. A common way in use near +Guachochic is to make the patient stand on all fours and bathe him +well with water; then to place him on a blanket and carry him over +a fire toward the cross and the four corners of the world. When put +down on the ground again he lies or kneels on the blanket, and the +shaman places his tube against the afflicted part and begins to suck +forcibly, while the rest of the people stand around with sticks, ready +to kill the disease so as to prevent it from returning and doing harm +to others. Presently the shaman produces from his mouth a small stone, +which he asserts was the cause of the disease. While the people are +furiously beating the air, he proceeds at once to bury it in the earth, +or in the bottom of the river, into which he dives. He may suck out +as many as eight stones, but generally contents himself with four; +and for treating a man in this way he receives four almuds of maize. + +On one occasion, when I had taken a little cold, I asked a shaman +friend whether he could cure me. "Certainly I can," was the confident +reply. He took from a little basket, in which he kept his hikuli +or sacred cacti and probably similar valuables, three black stones +and said that he would sell one of these to me; if I put it into +warm water it would cure me. This was not quite to my liking, as I +wanted him to perform the magical feat of sucking maggots out of the +skin. He complied with my request, and told me to go ahead to my camp, +whither he would follow me soon. On his arrival I offered him some +food, as my case was not urgent, but he declined, and proceeded +to cure me. A saddle blanket was spread out for me to kneel on, +and my Mexican and Indian attendants were told to retire, while he +made his examination. Having ascertained that I had a headache, +he took my head between his dirty hands, pressed it, applied his +lips to my right ear, and commenced to suck very energetically. This +was rather trying to my nerves, though not unendurably so. Presently +he let go his hold, and spit out quite a lot of blood into a cup an +Indian boy was holding out to him. He repeated the operation on my +left ear with the same result. "More pain?" he asked. "Yes," I said, +"in my right hand." He immediately grabbed that member in his mouth, +biting almost through the skin over the pulse, and after having +sucked for a little while, deposited contents, of a similar nature, +into the cup from his mouth. It was afterward found that the blood +was mixed with a considerable number of grass seeds, which had been +the cause of my illness. I had not known that I was so "seedy." + +The curing is often performed at dances, during the night, as +the family who give the feast expect to receive, in return for +all their trouble and expense, the benefit of the shaman's magic +powers, whether any of them are ill or not. Once a man, his wife, +and his child had been cured with tesvino, but nevertheless they still +anxiously looked to the shaman for more treatment, apparently feeling +that they needed more strength against coining evil. The woman said: +"Yesterday I fell into the water and got wet and felt ill, and in the +night I dreamed that I was dead and that you cured me." To this the +doctor replied, "Yes, that is why I came to cure you." Then, yielding +to their beseeching glances, he daubed them again, this time holding +their hands and with a little cross in his left hand. Then he said: +"Now you need not be afraid; I have cured you well. Do not walk about +any more like fools and do not get wet again." And they were content. + +There is a shaman near Baqueachic (baká = bamboo reed) who has a +great reputation for curing cattle, or rather for keeping them in +health. Every year he makes a tour of the different ranches, and the +Indians bring their animals to him to be treated. A large hole is dug +in the ground and a fire kindled in it. Then some green branches of +the mountain cedar and some copal are thrown in and burned, and the +animals driven one by one through the smoke. Since the veterinary +gets one animal for each ceremony, he becomes quite rich. + +The shamans also undertake to cure the sun and the moon, because these, +too, are often ill and have to be righted. Not a feast is held in which +some spoonfuls from the jars containing the remedies are not thrown +up for the benefit of the sun and the moon. Occasionally, however, +special ceremonies have to be performed to cure the celestial bodies, +particularly the moon, because from her all the stars receive their +light. At the period of the dark moon she is considered to be sick and +tied up by the Devil, and the world is sad. Then the shamans assemble +to consult about her ailment and the means of curing her. An ox may +be killed and tesvino made. In killing the animal, care is taken +not to injure the heart, which is treated with great ceremony. The +people always avoid touching it, and at sacrifices they hang it +with the lungs to a stick raised near the cross. The shamans stand +near, with small earthenware dishes containing copal incense; while +the oldest cuts with his knife four crosses on four diametrically +opposite points of the heart, and from the upper part all but slices +off a piece, which is left hanging down beside the main part. All the +blood the heart contained is sacrificed to the four cardinal points +with much singing. Then the shaman asks for an earthen bowl which has +never been used before, and in this he places the heart and burns it +without adding fat or anything else. The ashes he rubs between his +fingers until reduced to a fine dust, which he mixes with water and +some medicinal herbs. The shamans stand in the middle, and the people +around them, and all are unanimous in their prayer that they may see +the moon. Each shaman takes three spoonfuls of medicine, the rest of +which is thrown on the cross, and the shamans watch all night. + +The Christian Tarahumares even feel called upon to cure the church when +those buried in and around it have been noisily dancing and damaging +the building to make the people give them tesvino. The principal shaman +heads the procession, carrying a jar of the liquor. His assistant holds +in one hand a bowl containing water mixed with the crushed leaves of +the maguey, and in the other some fresh maguey leaves. The tesvino, +as well as the green water, is liberally thrown upon the walls and +the floor of the church to lay the perturbed spirits. + +How to cure smallpox is beyond the ken of the shamans, but they try +to keep off the dread enemy by making fences of thorny branches +of different trees across the paths leading to the houses; and +snake-skins, the tail of the grey fox, and other powerful protectors or +charms, are hung around the doors of their dwellings to frighten the +disease away. The same purpose is accomplished through the pungent +smell produced by burning in the house the horns of cows, sheep, +and goats. + +The shamans also profess to produce springs by sowing water. They make +a hole one yard deep in the rocky ground. Water is brought in a gourd +and poured into it, together with half an almud of salt. The hole is +then covered up with earth, and after three years a spring forms. + +High as the shamans stand in the estimation of the people, they are by +no means exempt from the instability of mundane conditions, and the +higher a man rises the less secure is his position. The power to see +everything, to guard against evil, and to cure illness issues from the +light of his heart, which was given him by Tata Dios. It enables him to +see Tata Dios himself, to talk to him, to travel through space at will, +for the shamans are as bright as the sun. But all this supposed great +power to do good may at any moment be turned to evil purposes. There +are indeed some shamans whose kindly, sweet-tempered manners and +gentle ways enable them to retain their good reputation to the end; +but few go through life who can keep themselves always above suspicion, +especially when they grow older; and innocent persons have on this +account been cruelly persecuted. Such a fate is all the more liable +to befall them on account of the recognised ability of a shaman to +both cure and produce disease. + +No doubt the great quantity of stimulants taken by shamans in the +course of their career causes them to go periodically through a +state of excitement, which, combined with the enthusiasm which +they work themselves up to, gradually gives to these men, who +frequently are richly endowed with animal magnetism, a supernatural +appearance. Advancing years have their share in making such a man +look odd and uncanny, not only on account of his grey hair, wrinkled +face, and shaggy eyebrows, but still more by his reserved bearing +and distinctive personality. Women shamans, too, may turn bad and +become witches. + +Much as in cases of heresy among Christian ministers, the other shamans +hold a consultation regarding a suspected colleague, and may decide +that the light of his heart has failed him and that he is no longer one +of them. From that time on, good people avoid him; they no longer give +him food, and do not tolerate him about their homes; they are afraid +of him; and the better a shaman he was before, the more terrible a +sorcerer he is now supposed to have become. Soon every accident that +happens in the locality is laid at the accused man's door. + +There are, on the other hand, many evil-minded persons who pretend to +possess supernatural powers to do harm, and accept payment for services +of that kind; in short, who make it a business to be sorcerers. The +power of the sorcerer to do evil is as great as the ability of the +good shaman to cure it. The sorcerer may rasp on his notched stick, +and sing death and destruction to a person or to attain his ends +he may use hikuli, smooth stones, the corpse or the foreleg of +some highly venerated animal and powerful rain-maker, as the toad, +which is never killed except by bad persons. A terrible thing in +the hands of a sorcerer is a humming-bird stripped of its feathers, +dried, and wrapped in pochote wool. To the Tarahumares the brilliant +little bird, often mentioned in their songs, is a good and mighty +hero-god, but the sorcerer perverts his great power to his own evil +purposes. The sorcerer is feared by all; pregnant women, especially, +go out of his way, as he may hinder them from giving birth to their +children. When Tarahumares see a shooting star they think it is a +dead sorcerer coming to kill a man who did him harm in life, and they +huddle together and scream with terror. When the star has passed, +they know that somewhere a man has been killed, and that now the +sorcerer is taking out his heart. + +If a man does any harm to a powerful sorcerer, the latter, after +death, enters into a mountain lion or jaguar or bear, and watches by +the wayside until the offender comes, when he kills him. + +Sorcerers are also believed to prevent rain from falling, and therefore +the people were once much pleased when they saw me photographing a +sorcerer. The camera was considered a powerful rain-maker, and was +thought to make the bad man clean. The people may chastise a man +suspected of sorcery, to frighten him from doing further mischief. A +sick person also is supposed to improve when the sorcerer who made +him ill is punished; but if accidents and misfortune continue to +happen, the accused man may be killed. Such extreme measures have +been resorted to even in recent years, though rarely. + +The magical powers of a sorcerer are appalling. When a Tarahumare walks +with a sorcerer in the forest and they meet a bear, the sorcerer may +say: "Don't kill him; it is I; don't do him any harm!" or if an owl +screeches at night, the sorcerer may say: "Don't you hear me? It is +I who am calling." + +The sorcerer dies a terrible death. Many dogs bark and run away and +come back; they look like fire, but they are not; they are the evil +thoughts of the sorcerer. The river, too, makes a greater noise +as it flows, as if somebody were dipping up water and pouring it +out again. Uncanny, weird noises come from every part of the house, +and all the people in it are much frightened. Hardly anyone goes to +talk to the dying man, and no one bids him good-bye. The Christian +Tarahumares do not bury him in the churchyard with other people, but +alone in a remote cave, and they bury all his things with him--his +machete his axe, and heavy things that other people never take along, +but which the sorcerer, because he is very powerful, can carry with +him when he goes to heaven. + +As we have seen, the medical education of the shamans is extremely +limited. Their rational _materia medica_ is confined to the hikuli +cactus and a few roots and plants. Aside from this they have a cure +for snakebites which is really remarkable. The injured man kills the +reptile, cuts out its liver and gall, and smears the latter over the +wound; he may also eat a piece of the liver, but it must be taken from +the animal that inflicted the injury; then he will be well again in +three days. If people die of snake-bites, it is because the reptile +escaped. The gall of a rattlesnake has a sickening smell; even my +dogs were repulsed by it when I once killed a four-foot rattler. The +method may be considered as in accord with the modern theory that +the bile of many animals contains strong antitoxins. + +However, there is nothing new under the sun. In the Talmud we find +recommended as a cure for hydrophobia to eat the liver of the dog +that bites one; and in the Apocrypha we read that Tobias was cured +of blindness by the gall of a fish. + +Most surprising of all is the fact that this tribe, which to-day +shows but very slight knowledge of surgery, should in former times +have practised trepanning. That the Tarahumares understood this art is +evident from two skulls which I brought back from their country. The +skulls were found under the following circumstances: + +In 1894 I stayed for a fortnight in a remote part of the Sierra Madre, +called Pino Gordo on account of its magnificent pine-trees. The +district is separated on the north from the central part of the +Tarahumare country by the deep Barranca de San Carlos, and there are +no Mexicans living within its confines. The place in which I found one +of the skulls is twenty miles north of the mining town of Guadalupe +y Calvo. A lonely trail leads through it on which, only occasionally, +perhaps once in the course of a month, a Mexican from the ranches at +Guachochic may journey to Guadalupe y Calvo. + +One day the principal man of the locality, who had been very friendly +to me, showed me a burial-cave. I had persuaded him that it was +better for me to take away the bones contained in it, in order to +keep them in a good house, than to let them remain where they were, +"killing sheep and making people sick." "But why do you want them?" he +asked. Having been satisfied on this point, he one day led the way to +a wild, steep arroyo, pointed at its head, and having thus indicated +where the cave was, at once left me. I made my way as best I could +up the steep little gorge, accompanied by one of my men. On arriving +at the top I found the entrance to the cave completely covered with +stones plastered together with mud. A heap of stones was also piled +outside against the wall. + +The cave I found very small, and, contrary to the exaggerated reports +of the Indians, it contained only three skeletons. According to the +custom prevailing throughout part of the country of the Tarahumares, +these remains had not been buried. The skeletons were simply lying +on their backs, from east to west, as if looking toward the setting +sun. A few crudely made clay vessels of the ordinary Tarahumare type +were found alongside of them. On gathering the three skulls I was at +once struck by a circular hole in the right parietal bone of one of +them. As they undoubtedly belonged to the Tarahumares, the question +at once occurred to me: Can it be possible that this barbaric tribe, +not particularly advanced in the arts, was capable of trepanning? The +remoteness of the place entirely negatives the suggestion that a +civilised surgeon could have had anything to do with it. + +The skull, the lower jaw of which is missing, is that of a Tarahumare +woman over fifty years of age. The age of the specimen itself is +impossible to arrive at, on account of the peculiar circumstances in +which it was preserved. However, the cranial walls still contained +some animal matter, were still somewhat fatty to the touch, and +retained some odour. A spindle provided with a whorl made from a +piece of pine-bark, which was lying among the bones in the cave, +indicates that the body of this female had not been put there in +recent times. This variety of whorl, so far as I can ascertain, has +not been observed among the Tarahumares of the present day. It is, +indeed, possible that the skeleton may be pre-Columbian. + +The skull does not present any deformities or fractures, and the +singular aperture is almost exactly round, measuring two centimetres +in diameter. A careful examination shows that the cut was made a long +time, several years in fact, before death. The regularity of the hole +indicates beyond doubt that it is artificial. + +Another skull taken from a burial-cave near Nararachic is also that of +a female, and the opening here, too, is in the parietal bone, and in +almost the same place as the opening in the first skull described. In +this second specimen the cavity is almost filled in with new bone, +and as in this instance the edges are very regular and uniform, +and distinctly beveled, they show that the operation was performed +by scraping. This cannot be said of the first specimen found; the +almost circular form of the opening, and its perpendicular walls, +prove conclusively that in this instance the surgeon did not employ +the simple method of scraping the bone. I have never found among the +Tarahumares any implement with which such an operation could have +been performed. Possibly it was done with a kind of flint wimble with +three teeth, much like the instrument used to-day in trepanning by +the Berbers in L'Aurés, who cure even headaches by this method. It +is, of course, impossible to say now whether the ancients performed +the operation simply to relieve the patient of bone splinters, pus, +blood, etc., pressing on the brain, or whether it was done to let +out an evil spirit. It is the first time that cases of trepanning +have been found in Mexico. + + + + + +Chapter XVIII + + Relation of Man to Nature--Dancing as a Form of Worship Learned + from the Animals--Tarahumare Sacrifices--The Rutuburi Dance Taught + by the Turkey--The Yumari Learned from the Deer--Tarahumare Rain + Songs--Greeting the Sun--Tarahumare Oratory--The Flowing Bowl--The + National Importance of Tesvino--Homeward Bound. + + +Since the people obtain their subsistence from the products of the +soil, they naturally are deeply concerned in the weather upon which +their crops depend. Rain, therefore, is the focal point from which +all their thoughts radiate. Even the plough is dipped into water +before it is put to use, in order that it may draw rain. The people +may try to force the moon and the sun to give them rain. In times +of drought they reproach especially the moon for making the people +live on the leaves of the ash-tree and what other poor stuff they +can find; on her account they are getting so thin that they can no +longer recognise themselves. They scold her, and threaten to denounce +her to the sun. The sun himself may be rebuked for lack of rain. At +other times they may throw up water to heaven with many ceremonies, +that Tata Dios may replenish his supply. Generally, however, their +relations with the gods, as with men, are based on the business +principle of give and take. + +Sacrifices of food, the meat of domestic animals or of game, and +of tesvino, are needed to induce Father Sun and Mother Moon to let +it rain. The favour of the gods may be won by what for want of a +better term may be called dancing, but what in reality is a series of +monotonous movements, a kind of rhythmical exercise, kept up sometimes +for two nights. By dint of such hard work they think to prevail upon +the gods to grant their prayers. The dancing is accompanied by the +song of the shaman, in which he communicates his wishes to the unseen +world, describing the beautiful effect of the rain, the fog, and the +mist on the vegetable world. He invokes the aid of all the animals, +mentioning each by name and also calls on them, especially the deer +and the rabbit, to multiply that the people may have plenty to eat. + +As a matter of fact, the Tarahumares assert that the dances have +been taught them by the animals. Like all primitive people, they +are close observers of nature. To them the animals are by no means +inferior creatures; they understand magic and are possessed of much +knowledge, and may assist the Tarahumares in making rain. In spring, +the singing of the birds, the cooing of the dove, the croaking of +the frog, the chirping of the cricket, all the sounds uttered by the +denizens of the greensward, are to the Indian appeals to the deities +for rain. For what other reason should they sing or call? For the +strange behaviour of many animals in the early spring the Tarahumares +can find no other explanation but that these creatures, too, are +interested in rain. And as the gods grant the prayers of the deer +expressed in its antics and dances, and of the turkey in its curious +playing, by sending the rain, they easily infer that to please the +gods they, too, must dance as the deer and play as the turkey. + +From this it will be understood that dance with these people is a very +serious and ceremonious matter, a kind of worship and incantation +rather than amusement. Never do man and woman dance together, as in +the waltz and polka of civilised people. The very word for dancing, +"nolávoa," means literally "to work." The wise old man may reproach +laggard, inexperienced younger ones, saying, "Why do you not go to +work?" meaning that they should go to the dance and not stand idly +about while the feast is going on. If the Tarahumares did not comply +with the commands of Father Sun and dance, the latter would come down +and burn up the whole world. + +The Indian never asks his god to forgive whatever sin he may have +committed; all he asks for is rain, which to him means something to +eat, and to be free of evil. The only wrong toward the gods of which +he may consider himself guilty is that he does not dance enough. For +this offence he asks pardon. Whatever bad thoughts or actions toward +man he may have on his conscience are settled between himself and +the person offended. I once asked a prominent heathen shaman why the +people were not baptised, and he said: "Because Tata Dios made us +as we are. We have always been as you see us. People do not need to +be baptised, because there is no devil here. Tara Dios is not angry +with us; why should he be? Only when people do bad things does he +get angry. We make much beer and dance much, in order that he may +remain content; but when people talk much, and go around fighting, +then he gets angry and does not give us rain." + +Dancing not only expresses prayers for rain and life, but also +petitions the gods to ward off evil in any shape, as diseases of man, +beast, or crops. The people may dance also in case too much rain is +falling, or for luck in field work, hunting, despatching the dead, +etc.; and in this way they also give thanks for the harvest. By +dancing and with tesvino they express all their wants to the gods, +or, as a Tarahumare told me, "We pray by dancing and the gourd." + +With the dances is always connected the sacrifice of an animal; +the greater portion of the meat is eaten by the people themselves, +who, beside, bring forth all kinds of nice food, the best they +have. Such dancing festivals, as a matter of course, are given either +by individuals or by the community. It is thought that Tara Dios +himself comes down each time to make his demands on the Tarahumares +for dancing and sacrificing. He communicates his wishes in a dream +to someone, not necessarily a shaman; and in the dry season, when the +Indians begin to prepare their fields, most of these notices come and +are generally made known to all at a race, where many people always +come together. During all these months hardly a day passes without +a messenger being sent out from some place in the country to advise +one or the other of the principal shamans that God has come down and +demanded a feast. Sometimes Tata Dios asks for an ox to be killed; +at other times he wants only a sheep. Frequently he indicates that +the animal must be white; on other occasions he is not particular +about the colour. The threat is added that if the sacrifice is not +forthcoming, and the people do not dance soon, all the corn will +be burned up, and they will have to die of hunger. Or, if there has +been too much rain, the notice may say that, unless they sacrifice +and dance at once, all will be drowned, because it is going to rain +tremendously. Occasionally it is directed that they dance only a +little while, then rest, then dance again; or else they have to keep +on dancing for a night and a day, or two nights in succession. When a +great many sacrifices have been made and animals begin to be scarce, +Tara Dios may have to content himself with iskiate and tortillas. The +people may continue to make feasts and to dance, and yet get no other +results but fresh messages, ordering still more sacrifices. Then the +Indians begin to argue with Tata Dios that he must not be so greedy; +he has filled himself up with oxen and sheep and tesvino, and they +cannot give him any more. When such revolt seems imminent the shaman +may throw out an ominous hint that the sacrifices have to be made; +for what would the Tarahumares say if Tata Dios wanted one of them +to be killed? + +Among the reasons given by the Christian Tarahumares for continued +dry weather are the following. The Devil has made Tara Dios sick and +has tied him up; or the Moon (Virgin Mary) is sick; or the people +have not given Tara Dios enough food and he is very hungry; or the +railroad engines of the Americans are making so much smoke that Tara +Dios is angry; or, finally, someone at a feast has infringed upon +the law of decorum, and thereby annulled its value. + +At present domestic animals are considered more valuable at sacrifices +than the beasts of the field and the forest; yet squirrels (chipawiki), +turkeys, deer, rabbits, and fish are still used to some extent, +especially by those who do not possess domestic animals. Twenty men +may go out to hunt a deer, or from six to ten men try to bring in +four or five squirrels for a communal feast, to which all contribute +the corn necessary for the tesvino, say, half an almud, more or less, +according to the means of each householder. Never does any one man +give all the corn required for a tribal feast, though he may donate +all the meat, in the shape of an ox, a cow, or a sheep. Goats are +sacrificed only at burial functions. If the people do not give the +best they have for the sacrifice, they will obtain only poor results. + +The dances are always held in the open air, that Father Sun and Mother +Moon may look upon the efforts of their children to please them. They +dance on the level space in front of the dwelling, preferably each +danced on its own patio. Some people have as many as three such +dancing-places, but most of them have to content themselves with +one. If a Tarahumare could afford it, he would have ten patios to +accommodate more people and dances near his house. + +To my knowledge there are six different dances, but of these I will +describe only two, the rutuburi and the yumari, as these are the most +important and the two almost exclusively used in the central part of +the country. The other four I saw only among the southern Tarahumares. + +The rutuburi was taught to the people by the turkey. Generally three +crosses are put up, and there are three shamans, the principal +one being in the middle; his assistants need not be shamans, +but the master of the house and his son, or some trusted friend, +may officiate. When the dancing is about to begin, these men take a +position in a line before the crosses, facing east, and shake their +rattles continuously for two or three minutes from side to side, +holding the instruments high up in the air, as the rattling is +meant to attract the attention of the gods. Then, with the singing +and shaking of the rattles--now down and up--they move forward in a +manner similar to that of a schoolgirl skipping over a rope, passing +the crosses to a point as far east as the starting-point was to the +west, altogether about eighteen yards. They then turn around and move +back to the starting-point. In this way they keep on dancing forward +and back three times, always in an easterly and westerly direction, +swinging their rattles down and up, while passing from one point +to the other, and from side to side whenever they reach it. The +down-and-up movement of the rattle is not a simple down and up, but +the down stroke is always followed by a short after-clap before the +arm rises for the new swing, producing thus a three-part rhythm. They +sing the following stanza, repeating it over and over again: + + + Ru-tu-bú-ri væ-ye-na Ru-tu-bú-ri væ-ye-na + Rutuburi, from one side to the other moving! Rutuburi, + from one side to, etc. + + Ó-ma wæ-ka xá-ru-si. Ó-ma wæ-ka xá-ru-si. + All! many! Arms crossed! All! many! Arms crossed! + + +This is the introduction and prelude to the whole dance. After this +formal opening the men take their places in line to the right of the +shamans, and the women to the left. They stand for a few minutes while +the shamans sing and swing their rattles, the men silently holding +their arms folded over their breasts, as described in the song. This +crossing of the arms I take to mean a salutation to the gods. While +the Tarahumares of to-day never salute each other by shaking hands, +neither is there any trace at present of their ever having saluted +each other by crossing arms over the breast, which form was probably +never used except with the gods, at ceremonies. + +All the people are closely wrapped in their blankets, which they wear +throughout the dance. In its general traits, the dance is performed +in the same way as the opening ceremony. The shamans, or sometimes +only the leader, jumps along as described, but the men just walk +to and fro, and have to take long steps in order to keep abreast +with the leaders. The women follow the men after the latter have +gone several yards ahead, skipping in the same way as the shamans, +though less pronounced. They stamp the, hard ground with the right +foot and run without regard to time, so that the pattering of their +naked feet reminds one of a drove of mules stampeding. They overtake +the men, so as to turn around simultaneously with them and wait again +for a few seconds for the men to get ahead of them. Thus the dance +is continued without interruption for hours and hours. This may sound +as if the spectacle was monotonous; but such is not the case. On the +contrary, there is a certain fascination in the regular, rhythmical +movement from side to side--like the double pendulum of some gigantic, +unseen clock. The shaman specially captivates the attention of the +observer, being the very incarnation of enthusiasm. He swings his +rattle with energy and conviction, as if bent on rousing the gods +out of their indifference, while he stamps his right foot on the +ground to add weight to the words, which he pours forth in a loud, +resonant voice from his wide-open mouth. Although the Tarahumare, as +a rule, has a harsh and not very powerful singing voice, still there +are some noteworthy exceptions, and the airs of the rutuburi songs +are quite pleasing to the ear. These, as all their dancing-songs, +are of great antiquity and strangely enchanting. + + + Rutuburi Dance. + + Vá-sa-ma du-hú(-hu-ru)-si Sæ-va-gá wi-li + In flowers (is) jaltomate, [7] in flow-ers stands up, + + Sæ-va-gá wi-lí wú-ka wú-ka. + In flowers stands up getting ripe, getting ripe. + + + Rutuburi Dance. + + Ra-ya-bó va-mí va-mí-(ru) ra-ya-bó + (On the) ridge yon-der, yon-der (On the) ridge + + be-mó-ko ra-ya-bó be-mó-ko. + fog (on the) ridge fog. + + + The water is near; + Fog is resting on the mountain and on the mesa. + The Bluebird sings and whirs in the trees, and + The Male Woodpecker is calling on the llano, + Where the fog is rising. + The large Swift is making his dashes through the evening air; + The rains are close at hand. + When the Swift is darting through the air he makes his + whizzing, humming noise. + The Blue Squirrel ascends the tree and whistles, + The plants will be growing and the fruit will be ripening, + And when it is ripe it falls to the ground. + It falls because it is so ripe. + The flowers are standing up, waving in the wind. + The Turkey is playing, and the Eagle is calling; + Therefore, the time of rains will soon set in. + + +In the wet season, when the rabbits are about, the shamans sing of +the rabbit. In winter time they sing of the giant woodpecker, and +in harvest time, when the people begin to make merry, they sing of +the blackbird. + +The yumari was learned from the deer. According to tradition it is +the oldest dance. At the hour appointed, the shaman, facing the cross +and the east, here, too, opens the proceedings by shaking his rattle +to both sides to notify the gods. Then he begins to walk around the +cross, humming a song and marching in time to the rattle, which he +now swings down and up. He makes the ceremonial circuit, stopping at +each cardinal point for a few seconds. After this he begins his dance, +and the rest of the assemblage gradually join in. The dance consists +in short walks, forward and backward, with lock-step, the men being +arrayed in line on both sides of the shaman, their eyes fixed on +the ground, their elbows touching. In this way they swing to and +fro, generally describing a curve around the cross, or, sometimes, +forming a circle against the apparent movement of the sun. The women +dance in a similar way, in a course of their own behind the men; +but they frequently break ranks, jumping forward and backward with +movements wholly devoid of grace. When the dance goes in a circle, +the women move with the sun. + +The tones marked with the accent > in each of the following yumari +songs are grunts. + + +The yumari songs tell that the Cricket wants to dance; the Frog wants +to dance and jump; and the Blue Heron wants to fish; the Goatsucker +is dancing, so is the Turtle, and the Grey Fox is whistling. But it +is characteristic of the yumari songs that they generally consist +only of an unintelligible jargon, or, rather, of a mere succession +of vocables, which the dancers murmur. + +Unlike the rutuburi, the yumari soon becomes tiresome, in spite of +its greater animation. Yet the spectacle has something weird in it, +especially when seen by the fitful flicker of the fire, which throws +a fantastic light upon the grotesque figures, like goblins moving +about on the same space. Many mothers carry their sleeping infants on +their backs. Sometimes, the blanket which supports the baby loosens, +and the little thing hangs half out of it, following every movement +of the parent. + +At most feasts both these dances are performed, and the Indians +themselves consider them to have the same general purpose. It is, +therefore, not easy to see the relation of the two dances to each +other. Rutuburi is the more serious dance, and is more efficacious +than yumari, though the latter, of course, has its own special value; +for instance, it expresses a prayer that the shaman may have strength +to cure. In yumari, all sing and dance, and very frequently all the +performers are drunk, while during the former dance absolute decorum +is observed. Both dances are for the sun and the moon--rutuburi, +in order to call them down; yumari, to despatch them. Therefore, the +usual dancing-feasts commence with rutuburi. When the function is about +to be concluded, an hour or two before sunrise, yumari is commenced, +and leads over to the second part of the festival, the eating and +drinking. After this, yumari may be continued throughout the day, +while the Indians get drunk. Rutuburi is also danced at thanksgiving +for the harvest, while on such occasions yumari asks for a good year +to come. Then, again, rutuburi may be danced throughout the day, and +yumari at night; but generally the former dance commences soon after +sunset. On one occasion, while I was waiting for the performance +to begin, the son of the house, in answer to my query, pointed to +the sky, and told me that the dance would not commence until the +Pleiades reached a certain spot in the heavens, which I calculated +to mean about eleven o'clock. This indicated that the stars have some +connection with the dancing. + +At the break of dawn busy hands begin to get everything ready for the +great ceremony of the sacrifice. For several days the women of the +household and their friends have been making tortillas and boiling +beans and _tamales_ (small quantities of unsalted ground corn, wrapped +and boiled in corn-husks). An animal was killed on the preceding day, +and the meat has been boiling (without salt) in large jars all day +and all night. Tata Dios does not like bones, therefore no bones +are cooked with this meat. Several of the women have been dividing +their time between dancing and watching the food-supply, to guard +it against mishap from any source: A blanket is spread underneath, +just to the west of the cross, or the three crosses, as the case may +be, and on it in a line they place the jars of tesvino; behind these +are set three small earthenware bowls filled with the stringy mass +of the meat; then come three baskets of tortillas; and finally three +little jars with wooden spoons in each are brought on and put in their +proper places, behind the rest of the food. The latter vessels contain +medicines to be taken, for the welfare of the people is looked after +from every point of view. + +In the meantime the dancing goes on with undiminished force. Nearly +every night during the dry season, for nobody knows how many centuries, +the Morning Star has been looking down upon his sons, the Tarahumares, +as they dance in the heart of the sierra, casting his last rays +upon the weird scene around their dying fires before he flees from +the approaching keeper of the day. Just before the first beam of +the rosy light announces the coming of Father Sun, the dancing +ceases, and the rattles are added to the sacrificial offerings on +the blanket. Everybody now is ready to do homage to the deity about +to appear above the horizon. The shaman greets him with the words, +"Behold, Nonorugami is coming!" and then solemnly proceeds toward +the cross, while the people form a line behind him and preserve a +respectful silence throughout the ensuing ceremony. He fills a large +drinking-gourd with tesvino, and, holding it in his left hand, throws a +small dipperful of the liquor with his right hand into the air, three +times to each cardinal point, making the ceremonial circuit. Then +the meat and the tortillas are sacrificed in the following way: +The shaman takes up from the ground the vessel in front of him, and +lifts it three times toward heaven. Then with his fingers he takes +up a little meat, offers it to the cross with the word "Koá!" (Eat), +and throws it up into the air. Next he breaks off a small piece of +tortilla, and repeats the same ceremony. Thus he sacrifices to all +the cardinal points. The two assistants of the shaman follow their +principal in every act he performs. + +The solemnity of the scene is by no means impaired by the numerous +dogs, which are gathering to see what they can snatch up. Of course, +the people drive them away, but in the end they always get Nonorugami's +share of the food, while the god is supposed to eat only the nourishing +substance. + +What is left in the jars or bowls after the sacrifice is placed back on +the blanket under the cross. The broth of the meat, too, is sacrificed, +and so is the blood of the animal that has been killed for the feast. + +Whenever the shaman returns to the people after performing the +sacrifice, he says, "This was done on behalf of Nonorugami," and +all the people respond: "Matetravá! Matetravá! Kalahúpo!" (Thank +you! Thank you! It is all right!) + +When the gods have had their share of the tesvino and the food, +the curing begins. The medicines are cold infusions of different +medicinal plants. The shaman standing directly in front of the +middle cross, takes up the jar containing the chief medicine, palo +hediondo; his assistant to the north takes up the bowl containing +a root called ohnoa; and the one on the south maguey water. After +having duly sacrificed to the gods, the great shaman himself takes +three spoonfuls of the medicine, and gives the same quantity to his +assistant to the north, who in turn first takes his remedy and then +gives some to the shaman. In the same way the latter exchanges with +his assistant to the south, and then the two assistants exchange +remedies. The bowls are then handed by the shaman to the owner of the +house, who in turn passes them on to the first man in the row, and +from him they go from hand to hand to the last man in the line, each +man taking three spoonfuls out of each bowl, while each of the women +gets four. The man who drinks last gives the bowls back to the owner +of the house, who in turn hands them to the shaman, who puts them back +on the blanket underneath the cross. Meanwhile the incense-burners +have been filled with hot coals, on which the shaman now throws +some copal, the smoke of which he waves over all the people. He, as +well as the other men, open their blankets a little to get the smoke +on their bodies. This finishes the curing act, and now a speech is +made. At private festivals the shaman is the orator of the occasion, +but at communal or tribal festivals the gobernador is expected to, +and generally does, perform this part of the proceedings. Rhetoric is +one of the accomplishments of the Tarahumares, though it is not to be +judged in accordance with the white man's standard. Here is a speech +made by the gobernador at the end of one of the feasts I witnessed: + +Listen to me! Stand up in a row and listen to what I have to tell +you. All of you stand up in line, men, women, and children, because +I am going to give you my words, to present to you the words which +the One Above bids me to tell you. Now all is over! We have done +something good to Tara Dios, and he has given you life to dance; and +now he is giving you life for another year. All of you will have to +make feasts like this. You have no experience; therefore listen to +me and hear what I have to tell you. If you do not believe what I am +telling you, the Devil will carry you off. You all are inexperienced, +all of you who are standing here in a row around. Be quiet, and do all +your business quietly. Drink quietly, talk quietly, sing quietly. And +do not fight, because if in the fight you kill somebody, what will +you have afterward? Nothing but sorrow and sadness! The One who +is above us bids me to tell you, to say to all of you, men, women, +and children, that this water, this tesvino that we are drinking is +what makes us lose our heads. You know it all, and the One Above +knows that this is the truth that I am telling you. Don't fight, +don't pull each other's hair, don't beat anyone in the face until he +bleeds. For the blood and the hair belong to Tata Dios, and you pull +his hair and shed his blood. Drink tesvino to your hearts' content, +get much drunk, but then lie down and sleep, and in the morning you +return to your homes without coming to blows with anyone. + + +All the time the speech is punctuated with expressions of approval, +and at the end they all say: "Matetrava! Matetrava! Kalahupo!" (Thank +you! Thank your It is all right!) + +A speech is also often made in the beginning of the feast, when much +the same sentiments are expressed. The orator tells the people to +follow the good example of the host, that sacrificing and dancing may +go on here, there, and everywhere, so that the gods will get plenty to +eat and grant the prayers of the Tarahumares. He strongly admonishes +them to keep away from women, as otherwise the value of the feast +would be lost. This day belongs to Tara Dios, and nothing else is to +be thought of. If anyone transgresses this command, he will have to +give an ox or a sheep and tesvino, to make the feast all over again. + +While the dancing and singing, sacrificing and speechmaking, are going +on, the people behave with decorous solemnity and formality. The +ceremonies are never interrupted by unseemly conduct; everybody +deports himself with grave sobriety, and refrains from loud talking and +laughing and from making any disrespectful noise. But after the gods +have been given their share, the people go in, no less energetically, +for enjoying themselves. + +Food and tesvino are never distributed by the same man, nor are men +and women waited on by the same functionary; in other words, one man +is appointed for each sex, to dispense the tesvino, and two others +to serve the food. + +They eat but little of the solids, as it is customary for the +guests to take home their portions, the women bringing jars and +baskets along for the purpose. Little or nothing of the tesvino is +spared, and it is the avowed intention and aim of everybody to get +"a beautiful intoxication." They all like to get drunk. An Indian +explained to me that the drunken people weep with delight, because +they are so perfectly happy. Every Tarahumare has in his heart a +cross which Tata Dios placed there long, long ago, and this cross +they respect. When drunk they remember Tata Dios better. At their +feasts they sit alongside of him and drink with him. The women sit +alongside of the Moon and remember ancient times. + +But unfortunately this blissful stage of their intoxication does not +last long, and then the animal nature in them manifests itself. Under +the influence of the liquor, men and women rapidly lose that +bashfulness and modesty which in ordinary life are such characteristic +traits of their deportment. Furthermore, whatever grudge one man +may' have against another now crops out, and very likely a fight +will ensue, in which the two opponents recklessly pull each other's +hair and punch each other's faces. Sometimes in such an outbreak of +unreasoning animalism one of the combatants will seize a stone and +batter the other one's head to crush it. Afterward, when sober again, +the murderer may deeply deplore his deed--if he remembers it at all. + +Mothers, when overcome by the spirit of the feast, may unawares allow +their babies to fall out of the blankets and into the fire. Children +may frequently be seen with bruises and scars which they carry as +mementoes of some tesvino feast. I know one man who had no hair on +one side of his head, having when a child been a victim of such an +accident. But seldom, if ever, is a child allowed to become fatally +injured. + +Taking it all in all, it is a good-natured, jolly, silly crowd, +out for a good time and enjoying themselves. All are good friends, +and familiarity becomes unlimited. Late in the afternoon those still +able to walk start on their way home. Rarely, however, can they +reach their domiciles, if these are any distance off, before nature +enforces her rights; and the track is strewn with men and women, who, +overcome with the effects of their spree, have lain down wherever +they happened to be, to sleep themselves sober. Tarahumare society has +not yet advanced far enough to see anything disgraceful in debauches +of this kind, which, if viewed from their standpoint, are _pro bono +publico_; and we ourselves need go back only to our grandfathers' +and great-grandfathers' time to find that inebriety was not at all +inconsistent with good morals and high standing. Moreover, no matter +how often the Tarahumares indulge in such saturnalia, as soon as they +recover their senses they are as decorous and solemn as ever. Their +native stimulant does not seem to affect either their physical or +their mental faculties, and, all scientific theories to the contrary, +their children are strong, healthy, and bright. + +Aside from social and religious considerations, the drinking of tesvino +is a vital factor in the national life of the tribe. Incredible as +it may sound, yet, after prolonged and careful research into this +interesting psychological problem, I do not hesitate to state that +in the ordinary course of his existence the uncivilised Tarahumare +is too bashful and modest to enforce his matrimonial rights and +privileges; and that by means of tesvino chiefly the race is kept +alive and increasing. It is especially at the feasts connected with +the agricultural work that sexual promiscuity takes place. + +A large gathering is not necessary in order to pray to the gods by +dancing. Sometimes the family dances alone, the father teaching the +boys. While doing agricultural work, the Indians often depute one +man to dance yumari near the house, while the others attend to the +work in the fields. It is a curious sight to see a lone man taking his +devotional exercise to the tune of his rattle in front of an apparently +deserted dwelling. The lonely worshipper is doing his share of the +general work by bringing down the fructifying rain and by warding off +disaster, while the rest of the family and their friends plant, hoe, +weed, or harvest. In the evening, when they return from the field, they +may join him for a little while; but often he goes on alone, dancing +all night, and singing himself hoarse, and the Indians told me that +this is the very hardest kind of work, and exhausting even to them. + +Solitary worship is also observed by men who go out hunting deer or +squirrels for a communal feast. Every one of them dances yumari alone +in front of his house for two hours to insure success on the hunt; +and when putting corn to sprout for the making of tesvino the owner +of the house dances for a while, that the corn may sprout well. + +In certain parts of the country, near Aboreachic, for instance, +a dance called valixíwami is in vogue. Here the line of the women +faces that of the men, and the two rows dance backward and forward, +following each other all the time. + +In a dance called cuváli, which is found still further south, the +movements are the same as in the dance just mentioned, but the steps +are different. It is danced for the same reason as rutuburi is, and +it makes the grass and the fungi grow and the deer and the rabbits +multiply. This is the only dance known to the Tepehuanes. + +In the winter they dance for snow, a dance called yohé; and finally +there is a dance called ayéna, which calls the clouds from the north +and south that they may clash and produce rain. + +I was present at feasts in which four of these dances were performed, +and the order in which they followed each other was: Rutuburi, yumari, +valixiwami, cuvali. + +According to one version of the tradition, both yumari and rutuburi +were once men who taught the Tarahumares to dance and sing. They live +with Father Sun. Valixiwami and cuvali were also men and companions +of the former, but much younger. + +At certain feasts for the benefit of the moon, three cigarettes are +offered under the cross. The shaman takes one of them, gives a puff, +raising the cigarette at the same time upward toward the moon and +saying: "Suá" (rise) "vamí" (yonder) "repá" (upward). This is repeated +three times. The master of the house and his wife do the same. The +ceremony is performed in order to help the moon to make clouds. Now +all present may smoke. The Tarahumare never smokes in the middle of +the day; he would offend the sun by so doing. He indulges in the +"weed" mostly at feasts when drunk. When an Indian offers another +man tobacco and a dry corn-leaf to roll his cigarette it is a sign +that everything is well between them. + +Every year between March and May a large performance takes place on a +special patio in the woods. Its purpose is to cure or prevent disease, +and much tesvino is consumed. A straw-man, about two feet high, dressed +in cotton drawers, and with a handkerchief tied around its head is +set up next to the cross. It represents Father Sun, and the cross +is his wife, the Moon. Sometimes a stuffed recamúchi (cacomistle, +_bassariscus_) is used either in the place of a straw-man or in +addition to it. After the feast is over, the manikin is taken to +the place from which the straw was obtained, in order to make the +grass grow. The Christian Tarahumares keep it in the sacristy of +their church. + +The latter also celebrate Christmas, and on this occasion some of +them, the so-called _matachines_, paint their faces and carry on their +backs stuffed animals, such as the grey fox, squirrel, or opossum, +while dancing to the music of the violin. They jokingly call the skins +their _muchachitos_, and hold them as women carry their babies. At +present the only object is to make the beholder laugh; but of course +the play is a remnant of some ancient custom, the meaning of which is +now forgotten through the new associations with which the missionaries +of old imbued the ceremonies and rites found among the pagans. + +A similar suggestion of antiquity is unmistakably embodied in the +deer masks, as well as in the heads with antlers attached, which the +same men also may wear. + +During Easter week live rattlesnakes are carried about, but the heads +of the reptiles are tied together so that they can do no harm. One +man may have as many as four serpents with him. + + + + + +Chapter XIX + + Plant-worship--Hikuli--Internal and External Effects--Hikuli both + Man and God--How the Tarahumares Obtain the Plant, and where They + Keep It--The Tarahumare Hikuli Feast--Musical Instruments--Hikuli + Likes Noise--The Dance--Hikuli's Departure in the Morning--Other + Kinds of Cacti Worshipped--"Doctor" Rubio, the Great Hikuli + Expert--The Age of Hikuli Worship. + + +To the Indian, everything in nature is alive. Plants, like human +beings, have souls, otherwise they could not live and grow. Many are +supposed to talk and sing and to feel joy and pain. For instance, +when in winter the pine-trees are stiff with cold, they weep and pray +to the sun to shine and make them warm. When angered or insulted, +the plants take their revenge. Those that are supposed to possess +curative powers are venerated. This fact, however, does not save them +from being cut into pieces and steeped in water, which the people +afterward drink or use in washing themselves. The mere fragrance of +the lily is supposed to cure sickness and to drive off sorcery. In +invoking the lily's help the shaman utters a prayer like this: + + + "Sumatí okiliveá sævá rakó cheeneserová + "Beautiful this morning in bloom lily thou guard me! + waminámela ke usugitúami cheeotshéloaya + drive them away (those who) make sorcery! thou make me + grow old! + cheelivéva tesola chapimélava otshéloa + thou give me walking-stick (to) take up (in) old age + rimivélava Matetravá Sevaxóa + (that I may) find! thanks exhale fragrance + wiliróva!" + standing!" + + +("Beautiful lily, in bloom this morning, guard me! Drive away +sorcery! Make me grow old! Let me reach the age at which I have to +take up a walking-stick! I thank thee for exhaling thy fragrance there, +where thou art standing!") + +High mental qualities are ascribed especially to all species of +_Mammilaria_ and _Echinocactus_, small cacti, for which a regular cult +is instituted. The Tarahumares designate several varieties as hikuli, +though the name belongs properly only to the kind most commonly used +by them. These plants live for months after they have been rooted up, +and the eating of them causes a state of ecstasy. They are therefore +considered demi-gods, who have to be treated with great reverence, +and to whom sacrifices have to be offered. + +The principal kinds thus distinguished are known to science as +_Lophophora Williamsii_ and _Lophophora Williamsii_, var. _Lewinii_. In +the United States they are called mescal buttons, and in Mexico +_peyote_. The Tarahumares speak of them as the superior hikuli (hikuli +wanamé), or simply hikuli, they being the hikuli _par excellence_. + +The Huichol Indians, who live many hundred miles south of the +Tarahumares, also have a hikuli cult, and it is a curious and +interesting fact that with them the plant has even the same name, +although the two tribes are neither related to nor connected with each +other. The cults, too, show many points of resemblance, though with the +southern tribe the plant plays a far more important part in the tribal +life, and its worship is much more elaborate. On the other hand, the +Huichols use only the species and variety shown in the illustration, +while the Tarahumares have several. Major J. B. Pond, of New York, +informs me that in Texas, during the Civil War, the so-called Texas +Rangers, when taken prisoners and deprived of all other stimulating +drinks, used mescal buttons, or "white mule," as they called them. They +soaked the plants in water and became intoxicated with the liquid. + +The plant, when taken, exhilarates the human system, and allays all +feeling of hunger and thirst. It also produces colour-visions. When +fresh, it has a nauseating, slightly sour taste, but it is wonderfully +refreshing when one has been exposed to great fatigue. Not only does +it do away with all exhaustion, but one feels actually pushed on, as I +can testify from personal experience. In this respect it resembles the +Peruvian coca; but unlike the latter, it leaves a certain depression, +as well as a headache. Although an Indian feels as if drunk after +eating a quantity of hikuli, and the trees dance before his eyes, +he maintains the balance of his body even better than under normal +conditions, and he will walk along the edge of precipices without +becoming dizzy. At their nocturnal feasts, when drinking heavily +of both tesvino and hikuli, many persons may be seen to weep and +laugh alternately. Another marked effect of the plant is to take +away temporarily all sexual desire. This fact, no doubt, is the +reason why the Indians, by a curious aboriginal mode of reasoning, +impose abstinence from sexual intercourse as a necessary part of the +hikuli cult. + +The effect of the plant is so much enjoyed by the Tarahumares that +they attribute to it power to give health and long life and to purify +body and soul. The little cacti, either fresh or dried, are ground +on the metate, while being mixed with water; and this liquor is the +usual form in which hikuli is consumed. + +Hikuli is also applied externally for snake-bites, burns, wounds, and +rheumatism; for these purposes it is chewed, or merely moistened in +the mouth, and applied to the afflicted part. Not only does it cure +disease, causing it to run off, but it also so strengthens the body +that it can resist illness, and is therefore much used in warding off +sickness. Though not given to the dead, since the dead are no longer +in need of remedies, hikuli is always partaken of at the feasts of +the dead. + +Moreover, hikuli is a powerful protector of its people under all +circumstances, and it gives luck. If a man carries some hikuli in +his belt, the bear cannot bite him and the deer cannot run away, but +become quite tame and can easily be killed. Should he meet Apaches, +hikuli would prevent them from firing off their guns at him. It +gives luck in foot-races and all kinds of games, in climbing trees, +etc. Hikuli is the great safeguard against witchcraft. It sees even +better than the shamans, and it watches that nothing bad is put into +the food. The Christian Tarahumares, when they partake of hikuli, +think that the devil runs out of their stomachs. Hikuli purifies any +man who is willing to sacrifice a sheep and to make native beer. There +is, however, no remedy for a murderer; not even hikuli can cure him. + +The Christian Tarahumares make the sign of the cross when coming into +the presence of the plant, and I was told to lift my hat to it. It +is always saluted in the same way as a man, and is supposed to make +the customary responses to the salutations. Hikuli is not as great as +Father Sun, but sits next to him. It is the brother of Tata Dios; and +the greatest hikuli is his twin brother, and is therefore called uncle. + +Sometimes these plants are dressed up in pieces of blankets, and +cigarettes are placed before them. Boys must not touch hikuli, and +women only when they act as the shaman's assistants and have to grind +it. As a matter of fact, only shamans can handle it properly, and even +they wash their hands carefully, and sometimes elect not to touch it +at all, making use of little sticks instead of their fingers. Certain +shamans washed their hands and rinsed their mouths immediately after +eating from my vessels, because hikuli would be angry with them for +eating strange food cooked by strange people. + +Hikuli is not kept in the house, because it is extremely virtuous, +and might become offended at the sight of anything immodest. It is +placed in a special jar or basket, in a separate store-house, and is +never taken out until tesvino and meat have been offered to it. If this +were neglected, it would eat the Indian's soul. If anything happens +to hikuli--for instance, if irreverent mice eat it--the owner fears +that he may be made crazy as a punishment for his failure to guard +it. If anyone should steal hikuli, he would be sure to go crazy, +unless he returned the plant to its original owner. He must also kill +an ox and make a big feast, in order to set himself right again with +the mighty god and with the people. + +After four years, hikuli grows old and mouldy, and loses its +virtues. It is then buried in a corner of the cave or the house, or +taken to the place where it came from, and fresh plants are obtained +instead. According to tradition, when Tata Dios went to heaven in the +beginning of the world, he left hikuli behind as the great remedy of +the people, Hikuli has four faces and sees everything. Its power is +well shown in the following myth: + +The Bear in a cave said to Hikuli, "Let us fight and let us first +smoke over there." They smoked and they fought, and Hikuli was stronger +than the Bear. When Hikuli threw the Bear down, all the wind went out +of the Bear; but the Bear said again, "Let us smoke and let us fight +a few times more." And they did so, and Hikuli again threw down the +Bear, and the Bear seated himself on a stone and wept, and went away, +and never returned. + +Hikuli is not indigenous to the Tarahumare country of to-day. To +obtain it long and until recently perilous journeys have to be +undertaken every year to the plateaus of eastern Chihuahua, in the +Sierra del Almoloy, near the railroad station of Ximenez, and to +the Sierra de Margoso, beyond Santa Rosalia de Camarga, crossing +the tracks of the Mexican Central Railroad. From two or three to a +dozen men start out to get the plants, first purifying themselves +with copal incense. It takes a week or ten days to get to the Sierra +de Margoso, where the plants are chiefly found, and about a month is +consumed on the entire journey. Until they reach the hikuli country, +the Tarahumares may eat anything; but once there, they must abstain +from everything except pinole. Upon arriving at the spot, the pilgrims +erect a cross, and near it they place the first plants taken up, that +these may tell where others may be found in plenty. The second batch +of plants gathered is eaten raw, and makes the men drunk. As speech +is forbidden, they lie down in silence and sleep. The following day, +when perfectly sober again, they begin early in the morning to collect +the plants, taking them up with the utmost care, by means of sticks, +so as not to touch or injure them, because hikuli would get angry +and punish the offender. Two days are spent in gathering the plants, +each kind being placed in a separate bag, because, if they were mixed +together, they would fight. The bags are carefully carried on the +backs of the men, as the Tarahumares generally have no horses. + +In the field in which it grows, it sings beautifully, that the +Tarahumare may find it. It says, "I want to go to your country, that +you may sing your songs to me." It also sings in the bag while it is +being carried home. One man, who wanted to use his bag as a pillow, +could not sleep, he said, because the plants made so much noise. + +When the hikuli-seekers arrive at their homes, the people turn out +to welcome the plants with music, and a festival at which a sheep or +a goat is sacrificed is held in their honour. On this occasion the +shaman wears necklaces made of the seeds of _Coix Lachryma-Jobi_. In +due time he takes them off, and places them in a bowl containing water +in which the heart of the maguey has been soaked, and after a while +everyone present gets a spoonful of this water. The shaman, too, takes +some, and afterward wears the necklaces again. Both plants, the _Coix +Lachryma-Jobi_ as well as the maguey, are highly esteemed for their +curative properties; and in his songs the shaman describes hikuli +as standing on top of a gigantic seed of the _Coix Lachryma-Jobi_, +as big as a mountain. + +The night is passed in dancing hikuli and yumari. The pile of fresh +plants, perhaps two bushels or more, is placed under the cross, and +sprinkled with tesvino, for hikuli wants to drink beer, and if the +people should not give it, it would go back to its own country. Food +is also offered to the plants, and even money is placed before them, +perhaps three silver dollars, which the owner, after the feast, +takes back again. + +During the year, feasts may be held especially in honour of hikuli, +but generally the hikuli dance is performed simultaneously with, +though apart from, the rutuburi or other dances. On such occasions +some shamans devote themselves exclusively to the hikuli cult, in +order that the health of the dancers may be preserved, and that they +may have vigour for their work. + +The hikuli feast consists mainly in dancing, which, of course, is +followed by eating and drinking, after the customary offerings of +food and tesvino have been made to the gods. It is not held on the +general dancing-place, in front of the Tarahumare dwelling, but on a +special patio. For the occasion a level piece of ground may be cleared +of all stones and rubbish, and carefully swept with the Indian broom, +which is made of a sheaf of straw tied in the middle. + +Meanwhile some people go into the woods to gather fuel for the +large fire which will be needed. The fire is an important feature +of the hikuli-feast, a fact indicated by the name, which is napítshi +nawlíruga, literally, "moving (_i.e_. dancing) around (nawlíruga) the +fire (napítshi)." There seems to be a preference for fallen trees, +pines or oaks, but this may be because they are found in plenty +everywhere, are drier and burn better, and finally save the men the +labour and time of cutting them down. Quite a number of such trunks +are brought together, and placed parallel to each other in an easterly +and westerly direction; but not until after sunset is the fire lighted. + +The master of the house in which the feast is to be held gives some +plants to two or three women appointed to the office of shaman's +assistants. At an ordinary gathering, a dozen or two of the plants +suffice. The women are called rokoró, which means the stamen of the +flower, while the shaman is the pistil The women grind the plants +with water on the metate, and then take part in the dance. They must +wash their hands most carefully before touching them; and while they +are grinding a man stands by with a gourd, to catch any stray drop +of liquor that may drip from the metate, and to watch that nothing +of the precious fluid is lost. Not one drop must be spilled, and +even the water with which the metate is afterward washed, is added +to the liquid. The drink thus produced is slightly thick and of a +dirty brown colour. + +The shaman (sometimes there are two) takes his seat on the ground +to the west of the fire, about two yards off. On the opposite side +of the dancing-place, toward the east, the cross is placed. The +shaman's male assistants, at least two in number, seat themselves +on either side of their principal, while the women helpers take a +position to the north of the fire. On one occasion I observed that +the men grouped themselves on one side of the shaman, the women on +the other. Close by the shaman's seat a hole is dug, into which he or +his assistants may spit, after having drunk or eaten hikuli, so that +nothing may be lost. After this improvised cuspidor has been used, +it is always carefully covered with a leaf. + +As soon as the shaman has seated himself, he takes a round +drinking-gourd, and by pressing its rim firmly into the soil and +turning the vessel round, makes a circular mark. Lifting up the bowl +again, he draws two diametrical lines at right angles in the circle, +and thus produces a symbol of the world. + +In the centre he puts a hikuli, right side up; or he may dig a hole +in the centre, to the depth of five or six inches, and place the +hikuli in this. He then covers it up with the gourd, bottom up, +so that the plant stands within a hollow sphere. The gourd may be +replaced by a wooden vessel of similar shape; but in any case it is +firmly planted in the ground to serve as a resonator for the musical +instrument,--the notched stick, which the shaman leans against the +vessel, and on which with another stick he rasps an accompaniment to +his songs. If he does not plant the gourd carefully in the ground, +it will make a discordant sound, which will vex the demi-god, and he +will cause someone in the house to die. The noise produced by the +rasping is enjoyed by Hikuli; that is why he is placed beneath the +bowl. He is powerful, and manifests his strength by the noise produced. + +The notched stick, as well as the rasping-stick, is made from the +heavy, hard Brazil-wood, brought from the vicinity of San Ignacio, +the hikuli country. The shaman holds the notched stick in his left +hand, a little away from himself, so that it touches the vessel at a +point below the middle of its length, the part between the shaman's +hand and the point of contact being a little longer than the portion +from that point to the end of the stick. + +The notched sticks which are shown in the illustration, from a +Tarahumare burial-cave, are apparently of considerable age. The Indians +to whom I showed them did not know them, but they all affirmed that +they were rasping-sticks. On two sides of one of them are slanting +lines, which symbolize the road of Tata Dios; on the intervening sides +are transverse lines which represent falling rain. As the implements +were found near Baborigame, they may possibly have belonged to the +Tepehuanes, the northern members of whom also have the hikuli cult. + +When the shaman begins to rasp, he starts from the farther end +of the notched stick, though not quite at the point, and runs his +rasping-stick quickly and evenly, about twenty-six times, toward +himself, and away again; then he makes three long strokes down and +outward, each time throwing out his arm at full length, and holding +the stick for a second high up toward the east. This is repeated +three times, and is the prelude to the ceremony. Now he begins to +sing, accompanying himself with even strokes on the notched stick, +playing regularly, one stroke as long and as fast as the other, +always first toward himself, then down again. His songs are short, +lasting only about five minutes. + +Presently the shaman's assistants, men and women, rise. They carry +censers filled with burning charcoals and copal, and emitting a heavy +smoke, and proceed toward the cross, to which they offer the smoking +incense, kneeling down, facing east, and crossing themselves. This +feature, if not wholly due to Catholic influence, is at least strongly +affected by it. + +Having offered incense to the cross, they return to the shaman. The +women now sit down again in their previous places. The men receive +from the shaman rattles (_sonajas_) consisting of deer-hoofs tied with +bits of reed to a strap of leather. They are either held in the right +hand or slung over the shoulder. When there are not enough rattles +for all assistants, a bell may be substituted. + +Finally everything is ready for the dance to commence. The men wear +white blankets, in which they keep themselves wrapped up to the chin +throughout the night; but they have no sandals. The dance is performed +by the shaman's assistants, and consists of a peculiar, quick, jumping +march, with short steps, the dancers moving forward one after another, +on their toes, and making sharp, jerky movements, without, however, +turning around. They dance in the space between the fire and the cross, +and move in a direction opposite to the sun's apparent movement. Nobody +present is allowed to walk in contra-direction to the dancers. After +six or eight rounds, they enlarge the circuit so as to include the +fire; and whenever a dancer finds himself just between the shaman and +the fire, he quickly turns around once, then, dancing as before, moves +on to the dancing-place proper. Now and then the dancers give vent +to what is supposed to be an imitation of the hikuli's talk, which +reminded me of the crowing of a cock. Beating their mouths quickly +three times with the hollow of their hands, they shout in a shrill, +falsetto voice, "Hikuli vava!" which means, "Hikuli over yonder!" + +The women take their turns separate from the men, though sometimes they +dance simultaneously with them. They move around in silence, and their +dance is slightly different from that of the other sex. Sometimes two +and two may be seen dancing toward each other. They all wear freshly +washed, clean white skirts and tunics, and the entire scene around +the big fire is marvellously picturesque. + +The dancing may sometimes lag, but the singing and the rhythmical +rasping of the shaman are kept up through the night, interrupted +only once or twice, when he sees fit. He politely excuses himself to +Hikuli, and formal salutations are exchanged with the plant under +the bowl both when he goes and when he returns. On such occasions +he stops his singing and rasping, and notifies Hikuli by striking +the notched stick several times quickly with the rasping-stick, +and finishing off with three slow beats. + +His songs describe how Hikuli walks with his rattles and with his +staff of authority; he comes to cure and to guard the people and to +grant a "beautiful" intoxication. To bring about the latter result, +the brownish liquor is dispensed from a jar standing under the cross. A +man Serves it in small quantities from agourd, which he first carries +around the fire on a rapid run, making three circuits for the shaman, +and one for the rest of the assemblage. The spirits of the feasters +rise in proportion to their potations. Sometimes only the shaman and +his assistants indulge in the drinking; on other occasions all the +people partake of the liquor. + + + Song to the Hikuli. + + Hí-ku-li o-ku-lí-va-va Ta-mi-sæ-li-va re-gá + Hikuli, uncle! Our authority thus! + + A-go-ná wi-lí si-næ Na-na-já re-gá we-lá + Yonder standing upright, see! The ancients thus placed him. + + + +The secondary effect of the plant, depression and drowsiness, shows +itself more plainly on the company when they sit down between the +dancing, than on the well-trained shaman, who, besides, is kept awake +by his occupation. As one or the other of his assistants succumbs to +sleepiness, he has to ask permission of Hikuli, through the shaman, +to go off and rest for a while, and must properly notify Hikuli of +his leaving and returning to duty. Toward morning all the assistants +are struggling hard to overcome somnolence, while the shaman sings +and rasps as conscientiously and enthusiastically as ever. + +But all rouse themselves for the important acts of curing the people +by rasping and of despatching Hikuli. Just at daybreak, as the fire is +dying out, the shaman gives the welcome signal that the dance is over, +by the three final raps on his notched stick. Then the people gather +at the eastern end of the dancing-place, near the cross. The shaman +rises from his seat, carrying in his hands his rasping implements, and, +followed by a boy who carries a gourd with water, he proceeds to confer +upon everybody present the benediction. Stopping in front of each +one, he solemnly dips the point of the rasping-stick into the water, +and after touching the notched stick lightly with the wetted end, +first in the middle, then on the lower end, and finally on the top, +he daubs the head of the person three times with it. Then he rests +the end of the notched stick against the man's head and rasps three +long strokes from end to end, throwing out his hand far into the air +after each stroke. The dust produced by the rasping, infinitesimal +though it be, is powerful in giving health and life. Now he turns +toward the rising Sun, holding out his implements to him; and, quickly +rubbing up and down a few times at the lower end of the notched stick, +he makes a long stroke from end to end, passing the hand far out from +the stick toward the Sun. By this act, three times performed, he waves +Hikuli home. In the early morning, Hikuli had come from San Ignacio +and from Sara-polio, riding on beautiful green doves, to feast with +the Tarahumares at the end of the dance, when the people sacrifice +food, and eat and drink. The greatest Hikuli eats with the shaman, +who alone is able to see him and his companions. If Hikuli should +not come to the feasts, there would always be on the Tarahumares the +breath or stain of sorcery. + +Having bestowed his blessings, Hikuli forms himself into a ball, and +flies home to his country, accompanied by the owl, who also flies to +its shelter at that hour. + +The dust produced by the rasping of the shaman in the course of +the night is carefully gathered up and kept in a buckskin bag as a +powerful remedy for future use. + +After the feast everybody has to wash his face and hands, a duty +esteemed most important. + +Besides hikuli wanamé ordinarily used, the Tarahumares know and +worship the following varieties: + +1. Mulato (_Mammilaria micromeris_).--This is believed to make the +eyes large and clear to see sorcerers, to prolong life and to give +speed to the runners. + +2. Rosapara.--This is only a more advanced vegetative stage of the +preceding species--though it looks quite different, being white and +spiny. This, too, must only be touched with very clean hands, in the +moral sense, it would seem, as much as in the physical, for only people +who are well baptised are allowed to handle it. It is a good Christian +and keeps a sharp eye on the people around it; and when it sees anyone +doing some wrong, it gets very angry, and either drives the offender +mad or throws him down precipices. It is therefore very effective in +frightening off bad people, especially robbers and Apaches. + +3. Sunami (_Mammilaria fissurata_).--It is rare, but it is believed +to be even more powerful than wanamé and is used in the same +way as the latter; the drink produced from it is also strongly +intoxicating. Robbers are powerless to steal anything where Sunami +calls soldiers to its aid. + +4. Hikuli walúla sælíami.--This is the greatest of all, and the +name means "hikuli great authority." It is extremely rare among +the Tarahumares, and I have not seen any specimen of it, but it was +described to me as growing in clusters of from eight to twelve inches +in diameter, resembling wanamé with many young ones around it. All +the other hikuli are his servants. The reason why so few of these +plants are brought to the Tarahumare country is that he is very +greedy, requiring oxen for food, not being satisfied with sheep, +goats, or anything else. Therefore but few Tarahumares can afford +to entertain him in their country. If an ox is not killed for him, +he will eat the Indian. He always holds his head down, because he is +listening to all the ceremonies that are being held in the Tarahumare +land, and he is always full of thoughts of how he may cure his sons, +the Tarahumares. He never dies. When a person is very ill, and there +is no such hikuli in the country, the shaman in his thoughts flies +to the hikuli country, where "the great authority" stands looking +at his children, the people, and offers him the soul of an ox that +has been sacrificed. Hikuli accepts the offering, and sends back his +blessings by his servants, who are always well dressed and wear straw +hats, "like regular Americans," as my shaman friend Rubio expressed +it. Only the shamans, however, can see them come, to cure the hearts +of the people and to clean their souls. + +All these various species are considered good, as coming from Tata +Dios, and well-disposed toward the people. But there are some kinds +of hikuli believed to come from the Devil. One of these, with long +white spines, is called ocoyome. It is very rarely used, and only for +evil purposes. If anyone should happen to touch it with the foot, +it would cause the offending leg to break. Once when I pushed one +of these globular spiny cacti out of my way with a cane, my Indian +attendant immediately warned me, "Leave it alone, or it will make +you fall down precipices." + +At one of the feasts which I witnessed I wished to taste hikuli, as +it was new to me. A lively discussion arose between the shamans, and +I was finally told that I might sit with them, as it was known that I +had some of the sacred plants in my possession. The condition was made, +however, that I should take off my sombrero. It happened to be a cold +and windy December night, but I obeyed and put my handkerchief over +my head, to which no objection was raised. The man who carried the +gourd, first danced in front of the shaman, then around the fire, +and finally brought it to me. The liquid tasted somewhat bitter, +but not exactly disagreeable; and while I drank, the man looked at +me with astonishment, as if he had expected that hikuli would refuse +to be taken by me. + +I drank only a small cupful, but felt the effect in a few +minutes. First it made me wide awake, and acted as an excitant to the +nerves, similar to coffee, but much more powerful. This sensation +lasted for about ten minutes, when it was followed by a depression +and a chill such as I have never experienced before. To get warm +I almost threw myself into the fire, but not until morning was the +feeling of cold conquered. Some Tarahumares told me that they are +similarly affected, and for this reason they do not take it. When I +told the shaman about the effect hikuli had on me, he asked whether +I had rasped on the notched stick, because, he said, hikuli does not +give chills to people who rasp. In other words, according to him, +the effect might be warded off by physical exercise. + +A shaman who agreed to sell me some hikuli took me with him to his +house. Then he walked over to a store-house of pine boards, and with +a long stick undid the lock from within, taking off a few boards from +the roof to get at it. After some searching, he produced a small +closed basket. Holding this in his hand, he rapidly ran around me +in one ceremonious circuit, and said in a scarcely audible voice: +"Thank you for the time you have been with me; now go with him; I +will give you food before you go." The smoke of copal was blown over +the plants in the basket, that they might eat; and I had to smell +of the incense, so that hikuli might find pleasure in being with +me. The shaman then opened the basket and asked me to select what I +wanted. I picked out twelve plants, but, as he asked $10 for them, +I contented myself with three. + +On my way back to civilisation, I spent some time at Guajochic, +near which place the great hikuli expert, Shaman Rubio, lives. He +is a truly pious man, well-meaning and kind-hearted, living up to +his principles, in which Christianity and Paganism are harmoniously +blended. He is highly esteemed by all his countrymen, who consider him +the greatest hikuli shaman in that part of the Tarahumare country. His +profession brings him a very comfortable living, as his services are +constantly in demand, and are paid for by fine pieces of the animals +sacrificed. For curing the people he even gets money; and what with +praying and singing, drinking tesvino and hikuli, fasting and curing +the sick, he passes his days in the happy conviction that he keeps +the world going. From him I obtained specimens of the various kinds +of cacti which the Tarahumares worship,--a betrayal of the secrets +of the tribe, for which the other shamans punished him by forbidding +him ever to go again on a hikuli journey. Though in the first year +he obeyed the sentence, he did not take it much to heart, feeling +himself far superior to his judges, who, he knew, could not get along +without him, and in the end would have to come to him; for he is the +most virtuous of them all, and therefore knows the commands of Tata +Dios better than anyone else. + +It is to him that I owe a good deal of what I know about this +plant-worship, as well as several songs used in the cult. He came +often to see me, and one day told me in confidence that the hikuli +in my possession would have to be fed before they started on their +long journey to the United States; for it was a long time since they +had had food, and they were getting angry. The next time he came he +brought some copal tied up in a cotton cloth, and after heating the +incense on a piece of crockery he waved the smoke over the plants, +which he had placed in front of him. This, he said, would satisfy +them; they would now go content with me, and no harm would come to +me from sorcerers, robbers, or Apaches. This was a comfort, for to +reach Chihuahua I had to pass through some disturbed country, and +there were rumours of a revolution. + +It seems that at present only the districts around Nararachic and +Baqueachic get hikuli from its native country, and that all the others +procure it from these two. Until recently the people of Guachochic +also went to fetch plants, and a few may yet undertake the journey. One +old man showed me some hikuli which he had gathered thirty-five years +ago. At Nararachic they use hikuli all the year round, that is, as +long as they have corn, because "hikuli wants tesvino." The people in +the barrancas are too timid to go on the expeditions, and they buy the +plants at the price of a sheep apiece. The purchaser holds a feast, +not only when he brings the demi-god to his home, but also a year +after the event. In the eastern section of the country, and in the +foothills around Rio Fuerte, hikuli is not used at all. It is very +rarely planted by the Tarahumares; the only instance I saw of it was +in Tierras Verdes. + +A significant light is thrown on the antiquity of the cult, as +well as on the age of the tribe itself, by a certain variation in +the ceremonial which I observed in the southwestern part of the +Tarahumare country. There it is the custom of the shaman to draw +underneath his resonator-gourd a mystical human figure in the sand, +and to place the hikuli in its centre. Regarding this mystical figure, +my lamented friend, Frank Hamilton Cushing, informed me that similar +or almost identical drawings are found depicted on the lava rocks of +Arizona. In a letter dated October 30, 1893, he said: + + + The figure you sketch for me is closely allied, for example, + to very ancient ritualistic petrographs in the lava regions + of Arizona. You will see this at a glance by the figure of + one of those petrographs, which I reproduce in juxtaposition + with yours: + + Others which I have recorded are even more strikingly + similar. I have always supposed that these figures were + designed for "medicine" ceremonials, but thought of them + rather as pertaining to the medicines of the elements, wind, + rain, water, etc., used in connection with sacrifices (with + which ceremonial rites were terminated) than as connected + with actual medicinal ceremonials. I was led to this belief + by finding in connection with some of them little cup-shaped + concavities pecked into the angles of the figures (as _a, a, + a_). You will observe that a line is drawn from the middle and + straight portion of my figure and coiled around the concavity + at the right side, and that the terminations of the upper + cross lines are bifurcated around similar though smaller + concavities. This entire figure represents a water-animal + god, one only of a number of semi-human mystic monsters. For + convenience his heart is drawn out to one side, and within it + is placed the cup of the "chief" medicine; while in his left + hand is the cup of the "good" medicine, and in his right hand + the cup of "bad" (_i.e_., strong) medicine. If in the light of + this you re-examine your figure, you will see with me that it + represents a man-god sitting, his legs doubled under him and + his medicines distributed around and upon him according to his + parts, and in accordance also, probably, to their importance + and the case in hand. He must always have the chief of all + medicines placed on his heart, as the renewer of life. Then, + strictly with reference to the ailment to be treated, and its + location in the body or limbs of the patient (I should say), + the other medicines. I throw this out as a suggestion, yet + with much confidence in its at least approximate correctness as + indicated by my comparative studies. Probably a consultation of + your notes and the remembrance of variations of the ceremony + you have seen, will signify to you whether I am right or + not. Remember that if these people have this ceremonial in + connection with the treatment of disease, they will also have + it in the treatment of the weather, etc., when "diseased," + so to say. You have opened up a new significance of many + outlines among the older lava-remains, and if my record + of these in turn has helped to explain your diagram, etc., + you can judge of my pleasure and appreciation." + + + + + +Chapter XX + + The Tarahumare's Firm Belief in a Future Life--Causes of + Death--The Dead are Mischievous and Want Their Families to Join + Them--Therefore the Dead Have to be Kept Away by Fair Means or + Foul--Three Feasts and a Chase--Burial Customs--A Funeral Sermon. + + +The idea of immortality is so strong with the Tarahumares that death +means to them only a change of form. They certainly believe in a future +life, but they are afraid of the dead, and think that they want to +harm the survivors. This fear is caused by the supposition that the +dead are lonely, and long for the company of their relatives. The dead +also make people ill, that they too may die and join the departed. When +a man dies in spite of all efforts of the shamans to save his life, +the people say that those who have gone before have called him or +carried him off. The deceased are also supposed to retain their love +for the good things they left behind in this world, and to be trying +every way to get at them. So strong is the feeling that the departed +still owns whatever property he once possessed, that he is thought to +be jealous of his heirs who now enjoy its possession. He may not let +them sleep at night, but makes them sit up by the fire and talk. To +soothe his discontent, tesvino and all kinds of food are given him, +because he needs the same things he needed here. In the course of +the year several ceremonies are performed, by which he is actually +chased off, and the survivors constantly take precautions against +his return to bother them. + +Sometimes the dead are sent by sorcerers to harm people and make them +ill, but generally they come of their own accord. They enter the house +at night and drink the tesvino and eat the food prepared for a feast, +and what they cannot eat they spoil. To protect the beer against such +mischief the people place bows and arrows next the jars, and cover +the vessels with sprigs of the odorous artemisia. The dead will also +kill cattle and sheep, and spit and blow in the faces of the people, +to make them ill, and possibly cause their death. Sometimes the dead +are viewed as spirits, and the shaman sees them flying through the +air, like birds. If the spirit of a dead person takes up his abode +in a house, the owner of the dwelling will feel a choking sensation, +dry up, and die, unless the shaman gives to the dead plenty of tesvino, +and drives him away with incantations. + +The dead are supposed to be about at night; therefore the Tarahumares +do not like to travel after dark, for fear of meeting the dead, who +whistle when they pass the living. Only shamans can travel at night, +although sometimes even they have to fight with the dead, who come +running out of the caves on all fours. In the daytime the Tarahumares +are not afraid of the dead, though even then they do not dare to visit +burial-places, modern or ancient. I found it difficult to get Indians +to carry bones of skeletons excavated from ancient burial-caves, and +even the Mexicans would not allow their animals to carry burdens of +that kind, for fear that the mules would get tired, that is to say, +play out and die. + +When a person dies, his eyes are closed, his hands crossed over +his breast, and the relatives talk to him one by one, and bid him +good-bye. The weeping widow tells her husband that, now that he has +gone and does not want to stay with her any longer, he must not come +back to frighten her or his sons or daughters or anyone else. She +implores him not to carry any of them off, or do any mischief, but +to leave them all alone. + +A mother says to her dead infant: "Now go away! Don't come back +any more, now that you are dead. Don't come at night to nurse at my +breast. Go away, and do not come back!" And the father says to the +child: "Don't come back to ask me to hold your hand, or to do things +for you. I shall not know you any more. Don't come walking around here, +but stay away." + +The body is wrapped in a blanket almost before it is cold, to be +buried later, but food is at once placed around it, and ashes are +liberally strewn over and around the corpse, to enable the relatives +to discover, by the tracks, into what kind of animal the dead has +changed. At night some fox or coyote, polecat or rat, is sure to be +attracted by the smell of the food; but the people believe that it +was the departed who returned in the form of the animal to get his +food. A shaman, without even looking at the tracks, may be able to +tell what animal shape the dead assumes. + +Within twenty-four hours the corpse is taken away to be buried. It +is tied in three or four places to one or two poles and carried by +two men. Women never go with them to the funeral. As soon as the +undertakers have accomplished their task, they immediately wash their +persons well. Upon their return, branches of the mountain cedar are +burned inside of the house, to "cure" it. + +The body is laid at rest in a shallow grave inside of a cave or +just outside of it, with the head to the east and the feet to the +west. In some caves, however, this rule is not adhered to, for I +found corpses placed in accordance with the formation of the floor +of the cave. The body is covered with an inch of earth, then with a +row of pine or palm sticks put on lengthwise, and over this a layer +of earth is spread five or six inches deep. On top of all, stones +are thrown. The bodies of grown persons are stretched out to their +full length, but with children the knees are generally drawn up. + +This is one Way in which the pagan Tarahumares bury their dead. Another +mode, equally common, is to place the body lying on its back, on the +surface, without any earth to cover it; in this case the mouth of the +cave is walled up with stones, or stones and mud, and several bodies +may be found inside. + +When exhuming skeletons I have frequently found bits of charcoal, +which was explained by the fact that during the first night the +mourners keep a fire near the grave, which to-day serves the same +purpose as candles. This also accounts for the smokiness of the +interior of the burial-caves, even of the ancient ones. + +The dead keeps his buckskin pouch and three small gourds with +beans. Three ears of corn are placed to the left of his head, +as well as a small jar of tesvino. Another small jar of tesvino +is placed near his feet, as well as his bow and arrows, the stone +with which the arrows are stretched, reeds and sinews, his steel for +striking fire, the small stick with which paint is put on the arrows, +his sucking-tubes when the deceased has been a shaman, in fact all +his light-weight belongings, besides balls of gum from the pine-tree, +necklaces of _Coix Lachryma-Jobi_ and a hikuli plant. Everything heavy, +such as his axe, machete, beads, and money, he leaves, as it is thought +that the weight would hinder him from rising to heaven. This is the +practical view the Indians have taken since their contact with the +whites, as valuables frequently attract marauders. The dead man's +sandals, his violin, and the vessels from which he used to take his +food, are kept in a separate place for a year, that is, until after the +last function for the dead is over; then at night the shaman and other +men take them away and bury them somewhere, but not with the dead. The +skins on which he died are treated in the same way, and are never +used again, lest a very ugly dog might be born of them. The house is +always destroyed, and the me-tare and many jars and baskets are broken. + +On the third day after the death, the relatives begin to prepare +the first feast for the dead, which is held within a fortnight. One +or two sheep or goats are killed, and the lungs, the heart, and the +windpipe are hung from a stick outside the burial-cave. + +As soon as the tesvino is ready the feast comes off, although +comparatively little of the liquor is used at this first function. The +relatives, men and women, visit the grave and leave a jar with pinole, +a small jar with tesvino, three tortillas, and three cigarettes +with the dead, if he was a man; with a woman, four tortillas, etc., +are required. The size of the tortillas varies with the age of the +person. For adults the ordinary tortilla is used; to young people over +six years old, medium-sized ones are given; and children get small +ones, about an inch and a half in diameter. I have seen medium-sized +ones made into the shape of a cross. + +All the mourners talk to the departed, the shaman first. He tells +him that he had better take away everything they have given him, and +not come and disturb the people he has left behind. He should leave +them alone, and some day they, too, will have to go where he is. He +should not kill any of the animals belonging to the family, as they +have killed a sheep for him and given him the best part, the lungs, +that he may eat and be satisfied and not take what now is theirs. + +At the first feast I have seen worn in the hair by both men and Women +a peculiar kind of artificial flower. It is made from a short bit +of reed in one end of which four incisions are made, with the parts +turned outward to stand out like the corolla of a flower. It is stuck +under the hair-ribbon at one side of the head. The mourners also make +crosses on their foreheads with charcoal. + +The second feast is given half a year later, and again animals are +killed and a large quantity of tesvino is made. Three men and three +women carry food and tesvino to the grave, the relatives remaining +at home. On their return they stop at a distance from the house and +throw ashes over each other's heads before entering. + +For the third function, which is the largest, an animal is selected +from among those last acquired by the deceased, and quantities of food +and beer are prepared. This feast is the final effort to despatch the +dead. A large earthen bowl is made especially for the purpose. It is +about two feet in diameter and six inches deep. It is filled with +water, and a drinking-gourd placed inside of it, upside down. The +shaman beats this gourd with a corn-cob fastened to the end of a +little stick. His assistants help him, one by swinging the rattle, +the other by singing. After a while the shaman lifts the bowl up and +after carrying it about in three ceremonial circuits throws it into +the air. It falls to the ground and breaks into many pieces, and the +people dance and trample on the shreds and on the drinking-gourd. + +The young people conclude the function by running a race of some +hundred yards. The men have their ball, and as they run they scatter +ashes to the four cardinal points to cover the tracks of the dead. They +return rejoicing, manifesting their delight by throwing up their +blankets, tunics, and hats, because now the dead is at last chased +off. If the deceased be a woman, the women run a race with rings +and sticks. + +A very elaborate third function, given by a widow, was described to me +as follows: There were five patios. On one, for the dead, was erected +one large cross and two small ones, and three gourds with tesvino and +a basket with uncooked meat were placed near by. A fire was lighted, +and one man had to watch here. On another patio one cross was raised, +and a branch from a pine-tree placed next to it. Here, too, a jar +with tesvino and a basket with uncooked meat were deposited, and one +man and two women kept watch, but no ceremonies were performed. A +third patio was for the hikuli cult, where the shaman rasped and +sang. On the fourth patio, yumari was danced, and one large cross +and two smaller ones had been erected. Finally, on the fifth patio +four torches of resinous pinewood, each a yard high, were placed at +the four cardinal points. A peculiar feature was that one man alone +danced here between these four torches, cutting with his knife three +times through each flame as he danced. This he did in reprises. + +According to the names which the Tarahumares apply to the three +functions for the dead, the main idea of the first is to give food; +of the second, to replenish the first supply; and of the third to give +drink. The three feasts are on an increasing scale of elaborateness, +the first being comparatively insignificant. Each generally lasts one +day and one night, and begins at the hour at which the dead breathed +his last. There is always a special patio prepared for the dead, and +another one for the hikuli cult, besides the ordinary dancing-place, +and much howling and singing goes on, especially at the last. + +At the feasts, the shaman steeps herbs in water and Sprinkles this +medicine over the people. Hikuli dancing and singing always play a +prominent part at all the festivities, for the plant is thought to be +very powerful in running off the dead, chasing them to the end of the +world, where they join the other dead. Yumari is danced at intervals +and much tesvino is used, and at all feasts the survivors drink with +the dead. + +There are three feasts for a mall, and four for a woman. She cannot +run so fast, and it is therefore harder to chase her off. Not until +the last function has been made will a widower or a widow marry again, +being more afraid of the dead than are other relatives. + +After the death of a person, anyone who rendered him any service, as, +for instance, watching his cattle for a week, claims something of what +the dead left. He is satisfied, however, with a girdle or the like. + +Once I was present at the burial-feast for a man who had hanged himself +a fortnight before, while under the influence of liquor and angry +over some property out of which he considered himself cheated. He had +changed into a lion. Two men and two women carried food and tesvino; +the wife did not go with them, as the deceased had died alone, and +she was afraid of being carried off by him. His father-in-law led the +procession, carrying a goat-skin with its four feet remaining. The +animal had belonged to the deceased and had been sacrificed for him, +and the skin was to be given to him that in his new life he might +rest on it. The suicide had been buried in a little cave with his +feet toward the entrance. Having deposited the food near the dead +man's head, the women sat down on a stone inside, while the men stood +up near the mouth of the cave, all faces turned toward the grave. The +father-in-law seated himself on a stone near the feet of the dead. It +was a dreary winter evening in the Sierra and the scene was singularly +impressive. The old man was a strong personality, powerfully built, +and a shaman of great reputation, who in his entire bearing showed +his determination to keep the dead at bay. He seemed to exercise a +reassuring influence over the whole assembly. + +I shall not easily forget the solemn and convincing way in which he +upbraided the dead for his rash act. Taking the reed flower from his +hair and holding it in his right hand, he waved it down and up, as if +swayed by the force of his own thoughts, in accentuating his points, +and he talked and argued with the dead for a quarter of an hour. The +man was a great orator, and spoke so earnestly that my interpreter +Nabor was affected almost to tears. The speech was a kind of dialogue +with the dead, the speaker supplying the responses himself, and this +is the gist of it: + +Why are you there?--Because I am dead.--Why are you dead?--Because I +died.--Why did you die?--Because I chose to.--That is not right. You +have no shame. Did your mother, who gave you birth, tell you to do +this? You are bad. Tell me, why did you kill yourself?--Because I +chose to do it.--Now what did you get for it, lying there, as you are, +with stones on top of you? Were you not just playing the violin in +the house with us? Why did you hang yourself in the tree? + +Here I leave this tesvino and food for you, the meat and tortillas, +that you may eat and not come back. We do not want you any more. You +are a fool. Now I am going to leave you here. You are not going to +drink tesvino in the house with us any more. Remain here! Do not come +to the house, for it would do you no good; we would burn you. Good-bye, +go now; we do not want you any more! + + +All present then said good-bye to him, and all the women added, +"Fool!" and then they all ran quickly into a deep water-hole, splashing +into it clothes and all, that nothing from the dead might attach +itself to them. They changed their wet attire after their arrival +at the house. Later in the evening a magnificent hikuli feast was +held. The Indians sat around the big fire, which cast a magical light +over the tall old pine-trees around the patio, while the dancers moved +about in their fantastic way through the red glow. Such a scene makes +a deeper impression than any that could be produced on the stage. + +The Christian Tarahumares believe that the shaman has to watch the +dead throughout the year, or the deceased would be carried away by +the Devil. If the feasts were not given, the departed would continue +to wander about in animal shape. This is the direful fate meted out +to people who are too poor to pay the shaman. Sometimes, if the dead +person has not complied in life with the customary requirements +in regard to feasts and sacrifices, the shamans have a hard time +in lifting him to heaven. It may take hours of incantations and +much tesvino to get his head up, and as much more to redeem his +body. Sometimes the head falls back, and the shamans have to call +for more tesvino to gain strength to lift him up again. + +The Tarahumares had no great scruples about my removing the bodies of +their dead, if the latter had died some years before and were supposed +to have been properly despatched from this world. Where a body had +been buried, the bones that were not taken away had to be covered up +again. One Tarahumare sold me the skeleton of his mother-in-law for +one dollar. + + + + + +Chapter XXI + + Three Weeks on Foot Through the Barranca--Rio Fuerte--I Get + My Camera Wet--Ancient Cave-dwellings Ascribed to the Tubar + Indians--The Effect of a Compliment--Various Devices for Catching + Fish--Poisoning the Water--A Blanket Seine. + + +On a cold day in the end of October I started from Guachochic bound +for the upper part of the great Barranca de San Carlos and the country +southward as far as there were Tarahumares. Everything seemed bleak +and dreary. The corn was harvested, the grass looked grey, and there +was a wintry feeling in the air. The sere and withered leaves rustled +like paper, and as I made camp near an Indian ranch I saw loose stubble +and dead leaves carried up in a whirlwind, two or three hundred feet +up toward a sky as grey and sober as that of northern latitudes at +that time of the year. We travelled to the southeast from Guachochic +over pine-clad hills, coming now and then to a lonely ranch. + +About seven miles before reaching the barranca I arrived at a point +8,600 feet high, from which I could look over this vast expanse of +woodland, extending all the way up to the deep gorge and diminishing +in breadth toward the northwest. At San Carlos, a ranch but recently +established in this wilderness, I left my animals, and immediately +prepared for an extended excursion on foot into the barranca and +its neighbourhood. + +Nearly the whole country of the Tarahumares is drained by the river +Fuerte, which, with its many tributaries, waters as many barrancas. The +main one, namely Barranca de San Carlos, is from 4,000 to 4,500 feet +deep, and sinuous in its course. If there were a passable road along +its bottom, the distance from the source of the river to a point +a little below the village of Santa Ana, where Rio Fuerte emerges +from the Sierra, could be easily covered in two days; but as it is, +a man requires at least a week to travel this distance, so much is +he impeded by the roughness of the country. + +Having descended into the barranca, which now felt almost uncomfortably +warm, after the piercing winds of the highlands, I first visited +the plateaus on the southern side, where the Indians have still kept +themselves tolerably free from the white man's evil influence and are +very jealous of their land. One night, while camping in a deep arroyo +with very steep sides frowning down on us, one of the Indian carriers +woke us with the startling news: "Get up! A stone is falling and will +strike us!" I heard a noise, and instantly a stone, half the size of +a child's head, hit the informant himself, as he sleepily rose. He +lost his breath, but soon recovered, and no further damage was done. + +I secured the necessary carriers and went down again to the river, +which I now followed westward from Nogal for about twenty-five +miles. The elevation at Nogal is 4,450 feet, about 800 feet higher than +the place at which we left the river again. At the outset we came upon +two very hot springs, the water of which had a yellow sediment. The +gorge was narrow throughout. Sometimes its two sides rise almost +perpendicularly, leaving but a narrow passage for the river. We then +had either to wade in the water or to ascend some thousand feet, in +order to continue our way. But generally there was a bank on one side +or the other, and now and then the valley widened, yielding sufficient +space for some bushes, or even a tree to grow, though it soon narrowed +again. In some such spots we found a shrub called baynoro, with long, +flexible branches and light-green leaves. Its small, yellow berries +were as sweet as honey, but they did not agree with the Mexicans, +who had stomach-aches and lost their appetites after eating them. The +Indians made the same complaints, but I felt no ill effects from them. + +Along the river we saw the tracks of many raccoons and otters, and +there were also ducks and blue herons. + +The colour of the water in the deep places was greyish green, +and as the river rises in the high sierra, it felt icy cold to wade +through. One day we had to cross it eight times. On one such occasion, +while wading waist-deep, the Indian who carried the photographic outfit +in a bag on his back, forgot for a moment, on account of the stinging +cold, how far his burden hung down, and let it dip into the water. The +prospect of being prevented, perhaps for a long time to come, from +photographing, was very annoying. Six plate-holders were so wet that I +could not even draw the shutters out, but luckily I had more elsewhere. + +We came upon several ancient cave-dwellings, all of which were rather +small, and attributed by the Tarahumares to the Tubar Indians. One of +them was situated about 250 feet above the bottom of the barranca. A +two-storied, rather irregularly shaped building occupied the entire +width of the cave, without reaching to the roof. The floor of the house +was scarcely two yards broad, but the building widened out very much, +following the shape of the cave. The materials used in the construction +were stone and mud or, rather, reddish grit; and smaller stones had +been put between larger ones in an irregular way. The walls were only +five or six inches thick and were plastered with mud. An upright pole +supported the ceiling, which was rather pretty, consisting of reeds +resting on the rafters, and covered on top with mud. The ceiling of +the second story had been made in the same way, but had fallen in. A +piece of thick board half covered the entrance. In the first story I +found an additional chamber, and in it a skeleton, of which I secured +the skull and some typical bones. + +Not far from this, and situated in very rough country, was another +cave, that contained ten one-storied chambers of the same material +and construction. The cave was fifty feet long and at the mouth seven +feet high. The apertures of the chambers were fairly squared, and not +of the shape of the conventional ear of corn. One door was a foot +and a half broad, and two feet and a half high. I crawled through +the chambers, which were miserably small. The floor was plastered, +and in some rooms I noticed circular holes sunk into the ground in +the way that I had already observed in Zapuri. There were also small +square holes, the sides being six inches long in the front wall. + +Twenty miles from here, just north of the pueblo of Cavorachic, was a +third cave which contained thirteen houses in ruins, The material here, +too, was the same as before, but the houses were built to the roof of +the cave, and were rounded at the corners. Peculiar round loop-holes +were seen here, too. Eight of them formed a horizontal line, and one +extra hole was a little higher up. A track could be made out at certain +places along the river, but the country was very lonely. In the course +of several days only six Indian families were encountered, and two of +those lived here only temporarily. We also met five stray Indians that +had come down from the highlands to fetch bamboo reeds for arrows, +etc. It was quite pleasant to meet somebody now and then, although, +unfortunately, no one had anything to sell, except a few small fish, +the people being themselves as hard up for food as we were. We +carried our little metate on which we ground corn for our meals, +but we found it very difficult on this trip of four weeks' duration +to secure from day to day corn enough to satisfy our wants. One item +in our menu, new to me, but common throughout northern Mexico, was +really excellent when we could procure the very simple material from +which it was made, namely squash-seeds. These were ground very fine +and boiled in a saucepan. This dish, which is of Tarahumare origin, +is called pipian, and looks like curds. Mixed with a little chile it +is very palatable, and in this period of considerable privation it +was the only food I really enjoyed. + +But such luxuries were not served every day. Far from it. For several +days in succession we had nothing but corn-cakes and water. Therefore +our joy was great when at last we one day espied some sheep on the +other side of the river. They belonged to a woman who watched them +herself, while wintering among the rocks with her herd of about a +dozen sheep and goats. I sent my interpreter over to make a bargain +for one of the animals, and as he did not return after a reasonable +lapse of time, and as we were all hungry, I went across the river +myself to see the dashing widow. I found my man .still bargaining, +lying on the ground stretched out on his stomach and resting his head +on his hands. She was grinding corn on the metate and seemed to pay +little attention to either of us, but her personal attractiveness +at once impressed me. She was still in her best years and had fine +bright eyes. A ribbon dyed with the native yellow dye from lichens +ran through the braids of her hair, and was marvellously becoming +to her almost olive complexion. I could not help saying, "How pretty +she is!" to which the interpreter, in a dejected mood, replied: "Yes, +but she will not sell anything, and I have been struggling hard." "Of +course, she will sell," said I, "handsome as she is!" at which remark +of mine I noticed she smiled. Though I judged from the way in which +she wore her hair, in two braids, hanging in a loop in the neck, that +she had been in association with the Mexicans, I did not expect that +she could understand Spanish so well. I immediately returned to my +camp to fetch some beads and a red handkerchief to make an impression +on my obdurate belle. But on my way back to her I met my interpreter, +who brought the glad tidings that she had made up her mind to sell, and +that I might send for the animal whenever I wanted it. The price was +one Mexican silver dollar. So I sent my "extras" along with the money, +and in return received a fine sheep with long white wool, when all +we had hoped for was only a goat. There is not the slightest doubt in +my mind that my felicitous compliment brought about this happy result. + +During our travels along the river, every day we came upon traps for +catching fish. The Tarahumares have various modes of fishing. Sometimes +they manage to catch fish with their hands in crevices between stones, +even diving for them. In the shallow parts of the rivers and in the +brooks, following the course of the stream, two stone walls a foot or +two high are built. These walls converge at the lower end and form a +channel, in which is placed horizontally a mat of stalks of the eagle +fern (_Pteris aquilina_). When the fish attempt to cross this mat, +through which the water passes freely, they are intercepted. Often +the fish caught in this way are only an inch long, but none is too +small for a Tarahumare to reject. + +Other similar walls form square or oblong corrals, where the fish +can easily enter, but not so readily find a way out. After dark the +owners come with lighted torches and carefully examine the corrals, +turning up every stone. The fish are blinded by the glare of the +light and can be caught and thrown into baskets. Frogs, tadpoles, +larvae, and water-beetles are also welcome. + +In the central part of the country they use a spear made of a thin +reed and tipped with thorns of the nopal. Sometimes it is shot from +a diminutive bow, like an arrow. But a more interesting way is to +hurl it by means of a primitive throwing-stick, which is nothing but +a freshly cut twig from a willow (_jaria_) about six inches long, +left in its natural state except for the flattening of one end on one +side. The spear is held in the left hand, the stick in the right. The +flat part of the latter is placed against the end of the spear, which +is slightly flattened on two sides, while the end is squarely cut +off. By pressing one against the other, the throwing-stick is bent, +and sufficient force is produced by its rebound to make the spear +pierce small fish. Many a Tarahumare may be seen standing immovable +on the bank of a streamlet, waiting patiently for a fish to come, and +as soon as he has hit it throwing himself into the water to grab it. + +But a more profitable way of catching fish is by poisoning the +water. In the highlands a kind of polygonum is used for this +purpose. It is pounded with stones and thrown into the small +corrals. When the fishing is to be done on a somewhat extensive scale, +two species of agave--the amole (the soap-plant) and the soke--are +used, and many households join in the sport. First of all maguey plants +have to be collected, and wine made, as this is indispensable to the +success of the undertaking. At the place selected for the fishing +the people assemble, and two managers are appointed, one for each +side of the river. It is their duty to see that everything is done +in the right and proper way and all the requisite ceremonies are +observed. The women are a couple of hundred yards back cooking herbs +and making pinole for the men to eat. No pregnant women are allowed +to be present, as then the fish would not die. + +Half-circular corrals of stone are built to intercept the fish that +drift along, irrespective of any private traps that may be found on +the place. Fish caught in the latter belong to those who put up the +traps. While constructing these corrals, the men catch a few fish with +their hands, between the rocks, open them in the back and give them to +the women, to broil. When they are done, the men pound the fish to a +pulp, mix it with pinole, and roll the mass into a ball two or three +inches in diameter. One of the managers then goes down stream, below +the corrals, and places the ball in a water pool. It is a sacrifice to +the master of the river, a large serpent (Walúla), which makes an ugly +noise. Every river, water-hole, and spring has its serpent that causes +the water to come up out of the earth. They are all easily offended; +and therefore the Tarahumares place their houses some little distance +from the water, and when they travel avoid sleeping near it. + +Whenever the Tarahumares make pinole while away from home, they +sacrifice the first part to the water-serpents, dropping it with +the little stick with which the pinole is stirred. They sprinkle +it first forward, then to the left, then to the right, and then +upward, three times in each direction. If they did not do this, the +water-serpents would try to catch them and chase them back to their +own land. Besides the sacrifice of the fish ball, they offer axes, +hats, blankets, girdles, pouches, etc., and especially knives and +strings of beads, to the master of the fish, who is considered to +be the oldest fish. This is in payment for what they are going to +catch, and the donations are either hung to a cross or a horizontal +bar specially erected in the middle of the river, and remain hanging +there until daybreak, when their respective owners take them back. + +In the meantime eight or ten men have gathered the amole and soke. They +wrap the plants in their blankets and bring them direct to the river, +where they are to be used. The leaves are pounded with stones and +spread out for a while before sunset. As soon as it is dark the men +throw them into the water, and trample on them to make the juice come +out. Three or four men take turns, standing waist-deep in the water, +treading with all their might and howling. The effect of the poison +in the course of the night is said to reach down some 300 yards. It +stupefies the fish, and although many of them revive, a few are killed +and may be eaten, as the poison does not affect the meat. + +The managers see to it that everybody does his duty and that no one +falls asleep during the night, while the women help by watching the +mats, that the otters may not eat the fish caught in them. + +A curious detail is that one man on each side of the river is deputed +to heat stones and throw them into the river three or four at a time, +every half-hour, possibly to frighten off the serpent. During the night +not one fish is taken up, but at daybreak the managers go down the +river to investigate the effect of the poison, and upon their return +the fish are gathered in, the men often diving into deep water for +them. The work is done with great earnestness and almost in silence, +the women helping the men in catching the fish. While. the fishing is +going on they do not eat any of the fish, for fear of not getting more, +but during the day quantities are broiled and eaten, without salt or +chile, however, and the bones are invariably thrown into the fire. Most +of the fish are cut open in the back and placed on rocks or on trees +to dry for future use. Such fishing may last for two days and nights, +and is finished by dancing yumari and drinking maguey wine. On one +occasion as much was caught as ten men could carry. Expeditions of +this kind may be repeated two or three times a year; but when food +is plentiful a whole year may pass without one being undertaken. + +Palo de la flecha, too, is used as poisoning material, and seems to +be even more powerful than the two plants mentioned. There is a milky +juice under the bark of this tree which, when it comes in contact with +the human skin, makes it smart like a burn. The water is poisoned by +cutting the bark from the trunk and boughs directly into the water, +the people taking care to stand to the windward. One man who neglected +this precaution got some juice in his eyes and was blinded for three +days, though an application of salt water finally cured him. + +Although a single man may poison fish in a small way even in winter, +he is hardly likely to do so except in summer-time, when provisions +are low. The Indians dislike going into cold water; besides, they +say that the cold impairs the effect of the poison. + +In summer-time the Indians may also improvise a net with the help +of their blankets, and drag the river at suitable places. Farther +down on the Rio Fuerte, I once saw them make a large and serviceable +net by fastening sixteen blankets together lengthwise with a double +row of wooden pins. Along the upper edge of this net they made a hem +three inches deep, and through this they passed vines securely joined +together by means of the fibres of the maguey to do duty as ropes. The +opposite edge of the net had a hem four inches deep and this was filled +with sand to sink it as it was dragged in. The boys and girls were +told to go ahead and splash all they could in the water to prevent +the fish in the net from swimming out, and it was funny to see them +dive heels over head into the water over and over like porpoises, +the girls as well as the boys, with their skirts on. The fishermen +advanced slowly, as the net was heavy. When it was brought in toward +the shore, the women, even those with babies on their backs, helped +to drag it. As the two ends of the net reached the bank, the big fish +were picked out and thrown landward, while the remainder were brought +up with a dip-net made of three blankets. Eighty good-sized suckers +were secured, besides a large quantity of "small-fry." + + + + + +Chapter XXII + + Resumption of the Journey Southward--_Pinus Lumholtzii_--Cooking + with Snow--Terror-stricken Indians--A Gentlemanly Highwayman + and His "Shooting-box"--The Pernicious Effect of Civilisation + Upon the Tarahumares--A Fine Specimen of the Tribe--The Last of + the Tarahumares. + + +From this trip I returned to San Carlos, mainly over the highlands +south of the barranca, and shortly afterward was able to continue my +journey toward the southwest. The cordons here, generally speaking, +have a southerly direction, running parallel to each other. + +Reaching at one place an elevation of 8,800 feet, I had a fine view +of the entire central part of the Tarahumare country, seeing as far +as Cerro Grande, at the northern end of the llano of Guachochic, +in which direction the country, as a matter of course, looked quite +flat. Nearest to us were wild-looking arroyos and cordons, covered +in the lower portions with oak-trees, and higher up with pines. We +were in the midst of vast pine forests, and even the country north +of us looked like one uninterrupted forest of pines. + +The Tarahumares have names for six kinds of pines. One species, first +met with near Tutuhuaca, was new to science. Though not a large tree, +it is very ornate, owing to its slender, whip-like branches, and its +hanging needles, from eight to ten inches long. It grows here and +there in groups at high altitudes, on decomposed volcanic tuff. The +needles are boiled by the Indians and the Mexicans, and the decoction +used as a remedy for stomach troubles. It is not disagreeable to take, +the taste resembling that of anise-seed. The Tarahumares prefer the +wood of this variety of pines for the making of their violins. I +found this species as far south as the sierra above Pueblo Nuevo, +in the State of Durango. + +The vegetation of the Sierra Madre is incomparably stronger and +more luxurious than that of the cold North. The pine-trees in higher +altitudes, for instance in Norway, appear miserably puny and almost +stunted when compared with the giants of the South. Trees of 100 to +150 feet high and 10 to 15 feet in girth are frequent. We noticed +some species of pines the needles of which were over a foot long. + +The region through which we were passing seemed uninhabited, and there +were really but few Indians living here. The cordon nearest to the +one on which we were standing was covered with snow, and we climbed +without difficulty to a point 9,300 feet high. There was no water, +but snow three inches deep in some places, yielding all the water we +required, though it had a slight flavour of the pines. The Mexicans +did not like it, and said they would not eat food cooked with snow; +but after I had shown them that the water obtained in this way was +very good, they also took to it. + +On our arrival at some Indian ranches, the people screamed with terror, +ran away and hid themselves. There was something so unusual about their +fright, that the interpreter and I went out of our way to investigate +the matter. I saw two children making their escape among the bushes +as best they could, a boy leading a three-year-old girl all the time, +never deserting her. We found the children and a young woman on top of +a rock. After we had succeeded in allaying their fears, they answered +our questions readily. It appeared that two men from this place had +recently been hanged by some people from Cienega Prieta, the ranch +for which we were making. One of the victims had been revived, but +the other had died. My Indian boy Patricio knew about the outrage, too. + +I had at the outset been warned against robbers south of Guachochic, +and advised never to sleep in houses--a thing I rarely did, anyway, +for other reasons. One man especially, Teodoro Palma, had an unsavoury +reputation as a "gentlemanly highwayman." In the desolate region +where his residence lies, his father had maintained a band of valiant +men, who made regular plundering expeditions, driving cattle away, +etc. It was a common tale that travellers who had to pass his place +were invited to come in, but never came out again. The bodies of the +victims, it was said, were buried at night in the cemetery of the +Indian village of Chinatu, a few miles distant. Times had changed +since then, and the son was more guarded in his operations, but still +sufficiently active. + +In order to avoid a long detour to the east, I had chosen to follow +the track which passes this place, though travellers generally give +it a wide berth; besides, I thought best to take the bull by the +horns. When I reached the robber's stronghold, I did not find Don +Teodoro at home, though he was expected to return the next day. In +the mean time the superintendent showed me around the house and sold +me some necessary provisions. + +The house looked forbidding enough. A wall of adobe, eighteen feet +high, ran all around the establishment, shutting it in securely. It +was provided with two small towers, which had loop-holes for rifles. + +In the house was a small chapel, in which Don Teodoro and his father +before him had frequently knelt to pray. The altar was decorated with +the pictures of many saints, and in the centre was a painting of the +Christ-child, a crucifix, and an artificial apple. + +When the lord of the manor arrived the following day, I immediately +went to see him. As I passed through the enclosure he was scolding +the superintendent, but on perceiving me he stepped forward to +receive me. This modern Fra Diavolo was about thirty years old, +rather short of stature, but unusually well built. He wore an +embroidered brown jacker and a blue waistcoat, and around his neck +was thrown a many-coloured scarf. On one side of his sombrero was a +scarlet rosette. Under it gleamed brown, piercing eyes. His hair was +cut short. Altogether he was quite good-looking, except for a cruel, +sensual expression of the features. His entire manner, erect carriage, +and quick, decisive movements told me he was a man of violent temper +and extreme determination. + +He led the way into a room, and I handed him my letter of +recommendation from the Mexican Government, and explained what I +was doing in the sierra. After he had read the letter, he said that +he was my friend. I told him that I had heard there were robbers in +the vicinity, and in case I was molested I should apply to him for +assistance, since he was a very influential man. Of course I knew as +long as he did not rob us we were quite safe. I then photographed him +and his house, and he evidently felt quite flattered. He accompanied +me for a mile down the road, and then, taking me aside, handed me +back the paltry sum I had paid for the provisions, saying he did +not accept payment from his guests. This was rather embarrassing, +but there was no way out of it, and I had to accept it. I afterward +sent him a copy of his photograph to even up matters. + +The guide with whom Don Teodoro had provided me pointed out to us +a place where his master last year killed and robbed a man. "He is +a poor shot," he added, "except at close range, and he generally +travels at night." In 1895 Don Teodoro Palma himself was killed by +the Indians. If half the rumours about him are true, he certainly +deserved his fate. He never dared to go down to the lowlands, because +"he owed so many dead," as the saying goes. A few years before my +visit, an American had been killed and robbed in the vicinity, and +his countrymen in Chihuahua offered a reward for the apprehension of +the murderer, dead or alive. Don Teodoro knew that a certain friend +of his had perpetrated the crime, and in order to secure the reward +he invited him to his house and shot him down in cold blood. + +I arrived safely in Guadalupe y Calvo, a once flourishing place, but +now quite dead, since the mines have ceased to be worked. There are +large Mexican ranches southeast of the town, and whatever Tarahumares +live hereabout are servants of the Mexicans and frequently intermarry +with the Tepehuanes. + +I thus traversed from north to south the country over which the +Tarahumares once held sway. To-day we find this tribe, approximately, +between Guadalupe y Calvo and Temosachic; roughly speaking, between +the twenty-sixth and twenty-ninth degrees northern latitude. + +Civilisation, as brought to the Tarahumare, is not fraught with +benefits for him. It rudely shakes the columns of the temple of +his religion. The Mexican Central Railroad crushes his sacred plants +without thought of its anger, which is vented on the poor Tarahumare by +sending him bad years and ill-luck. While the Indians deny themselves +the pleasure of smoking tobacco in the daytime for fear of offending +the sun with the smoke, the white men's furnaces and engines belch +forth black clouds of smoke day after day, keeping the people out +of the sight of Tara Dios, and thus preventing him from guarding +them. In the engine itself they see the Devil with a long tongue and +a big beard. + +Worse than that, the foot of civilisation destroys his home; for the +whites draw the boundary line of his country closer and closer. The +better class of Mexicans keep to themselves, and seldom, if ever, +bother about the Indians at their doors, whose mode of living and +way of thinking are so different from their own. The class of whites +on the borderland of such civilisation as the Tarahumare comes in +contact with is not the kind that will or can improve him, being +ignorant and unscrupulous. The Indian civilised by them is a very +unpleasant person to deal with. He has learned to cheat and to steal, +and he no longer carries out his contracts and agreements. Having +learned the value of money, his greed is awakened, and he begins to +look out only for his own profit. + +The first white men with whom the Indian gets acquainted are the +traders who speak his language, and whose sole aim is to enrich +themselves at his expense and compel him to deal with them. If the +Indian does not want to sell, the lenguaraz loses his patience, throws +a few dollars toward him, takes the ox, and goes off. Many will go +still further. They force the native to borrow from them, whether +he wants the money, the cloth, the mescal, or the use of the horse, +or not. Many Indians would refuse mescal, satisfied with their native +stimulants, but see no other way of getting rid of the unwelcome and +obtrusive white than by yielding to his demand. The agreement is made +that he must return the so-called loan on a certain date, two or three +months hence; the Indian, of course, having no almanac, easily makes a +mistake in his calculation, and the date passes. The dealer has gained +his point. He saddles his horse, looks up the Indian, and makes a +great to-do about all the trouble he is put to in collecting the debt, +charging not only enormous interest for overtime, but adding exorbitant +travelling expenses and fees. He succeeds by threats and intimidation +in getting his damages adjusted in such a way that, in return for +the paltry sum he lent the Indian, he now drives off two or three oxen. + +The Indians, being honourable in their dealings, do not at first +contact with the whites suspect rascality, and many stories are told +illustrating the ease with which they have been cheated. + +Once a Mexican bought a sheep from a native on credit, and, +after killing it, paid for it with the head, the skin, and the +entrails. Another man did still better. He paid for his sheep with +the same valuables, and "spoke so well" that the Indian was content to +remain in his debt as the final result of the transaction. On another +occasion a native was induced to sell eleven oxen, almost his entire +stock, to a Mexican. It was agreed that the latter should pay two cows +for each ox, but not having any cows with him he left his horse and +saddle as security. The Indian is still waiting for the cows. When +I expressed my surprise at the ease with which he allowed himself +to be swindled, he replied that the Mexican "spoke so well." They +are so delighted at hearing their language spoken by a white man, +that they lose all precaution and are completely at the mercy of the +wily whites, who profit by their weakness. + +Some tough lenguaraz is not ashamed to cheat at games until the +Indian has lost everything he has. One poor wretch lost several +oxen in one game of quinze. Other sharpers borrow money from the +natives and never pay back the loan, or else impose fines on the +Indians under the pretext of being authorities. Some foist themselves +upon the Tarahumares at their feasts, which they disturb by getting +drunk and violating women. Where the Indians are still masters of the +situation they catch such an offender and take him before the Mexican +authorities, insisting upon his paying for all the requirements for +another feast, as he has spoiled the value of the one on which he +intruded. In the central part of the country, near Norogachic, they +may even kill such a transgressor. + +It is generally through mescal that the Indians become peons. When +the Indian has once developed a taste for mescal, he will pay anything +to get it, first his animals, then his land. When he has nothing more +to sell, the whites still give him this brandy and make him work. And +there he is. To work himself free is next to impossible, because his +wages are not paid in money, but in provisions, which barely suffice +to keep him and his family alive. Indians are sometimes locked up +over night to force them to work. + +The children of such parents grow up as peons of the Mexicans, who +deal out miserable wages to the descendants of the owners of the +land on which the usurpers grow rich. Before the occupancy of the +country by the new masters, the Tarahumares never knew what poverty +was. No wonder that the Christian Tarahumares believe that hell is +peopled so thickly with Mexicans that there is not room for all. Some +have been crowded out, and have come to the Tarahumares to trouble +them. The Indians in some districts have been cheated so much that +they no longer believe anything the white men tell them, and they do +not offer food any more to a white stranger if he is what they call +"deaf," in other words, unable to speak and understand their language +and explain what he is about. + +They make very good servants when treated right, although they often +want a change; but they will return to a good master. I once had a +Tarahumare woman in my employ as cook. She was very industrious and in +every way superior to any Mexican servant I ever had. When not busy +with her kitchen work, she was mending her own or her two children's +clothes. While very distrustful, she was good-tempered and honourable, +and spoke Spanish fairly well, and her eyes indicated unusual +intelligence. A white man had deserted her to marry a Mexican woman, +and she grieved much, but in time she became reconciled to her fate, +though she declared she would never marry again, as all men were bad. + +The Tarahumares have made excellent soldiers in fighting for the +Government. In one of the civil wars, their leader, Jesus Larrea, +from Nonoava, a pure-bred Tarahumare, distinguished himself, not only +by bravery and determination, but also as a commander. In private +life he was civil and popular. + +The majority speak their own language, and in the central and most +mountainous part, the heart of the Tarahumare country, they are of +pure breed. Here the women object to unions with outsiders, and until +very recently light-coloured children were not liked. Mothers may +even yet anoint their little ones and leave them in the sun, that +they may get dark. The consensus of opinion among the tribe is that +half-castes turn out to be bad people and "some day will be fighting +at the drinking-feasts." A few instances are known in which women +have left their half-caste babies in the woods to perish, and such +children are often given away to be adopted by the Mexicans. In the +border districts, however, the Indians have become much Mexicanised +and intermarry freely with the whites. + +Be it said to the credit of those high in authority in Mexico, they +do all in their power to protect the Indians. But the Government +is practically powerless to control the scattered population in +the remote districts. Besides, the Indians most preyed upon by the +sharpers cannot make themselves understood in the official language, +and therefore consider it hopeless to approach the authorities. In +accordance with the liberal constitution of Mexico, all natives are +citizens, but the Indians do not know how to take advantage of their +rights, although sometimes large bodies have banded together and +travelled down to Chihuahua to make their complaints, and have always +been helped out--for the time being. The efforts of the Government +to enlighten the Indians by establishing schools are baffled by the +difficulty in finding honest and intelligent teachers with a knowledge +of the Indian language. + +Where the Indians have had little or nothing to do with the whites, +they are obliging, law-abiding, and trustworthy. Profit is no +inducement to them, as they believe that their gods would be angry with +them for charging an undue price. As a matter of fact, they sell corn +all the year round, whether it be scarce or plentiful, at the same +price, though the Mexicans charge them very different prices. The +almighty dollar has no devotees among these Indians. They have no +need of aught that money can buy, and are swayed by persuasion and +kind and just treatment more than by gold. If they have a few coins, +they place them in a jar and bury them in some remote cave, taking from +the horde only a little when they have to buy some necessity of life. + +Among the pagans in Pino Gordo I met the finest specimen of the +Tarahumare tribe, a shaman, called Juan Ignacio. Although he had +never been as far as Guadalupe y Calvo, and only twice in his life +to Babori-game, and had thus spent all his life in the mountains +among his own people, he showed a courtesy and tact that would have +graced a gentleman. He took splendid care, not only of myself, but +of my men and animals as well, giving us plenty to eat, sending his +man to chop wood for us, etc. He was possessed of the nicest temper, +and was truthful, a rare quality among Tarahumares, as well as square +in his dealings. His uprightness and urbanity commanded respect even +from the lenguarazes, and they did not rob him as much as the other +Indians of the district; consequently he was quite well-to-do. + +While living among the heathen, of whom there are vet some three +thousand left, I had no fear of being robbed of any part of my +outfit. The Indians themselves would not touch anything, and there were +no strange Mexicans about. If they had come, the Tarahumares would +have immediately warned me. Everything was perfectly safe as long as +I had an honest interpreter. The Tarahumare in his native condition +is many times better off, morally, mentally, and economically, than +his civilised brother; but the white man will not let him alone as +long as he has anything worth taking away. Only those who by dear +experience have learned to be cautious are able to maintain themselves +independently; but such cases are becoming more and more rare. + +It is the same old story over again, in America, as in Africa, and +Asia, and everywhere. The simpleminded native is made the victim of +the progressive white, who, by fair means or foul, deprives him of his +country. Luckily, withal, the Tarahumare has not yet been wiped out +of existence. His blood is fused into the working classes of Mexico, +and he grows a Mexican. But it may take a century yet before they +will all be made the servants of the whites and disappear like the +Opatas. Their assimilation may benefit Mexico, but one may well ask: +Is it just? Must the weaker always be first crushed, before he can +be assimilated by the new condition of things? + +Future generations will not find any other record of the Tarahumares +than what scientists of the present age can elicit from the lips of +the people and from the study of their implements and customs. They +stand out to-day as an interesting relic of a time long gone by; as a +representative of one of the most important stages in the development +of the human race; as one of those wonderful primitive tribes that +were the founders and makers of the history of mankind. + + + + + +Chapter XXIII + + Cerro de Muinora, the Highest Mountain in Chihuahua--The Northern + Tepehuanes--Troubles Cropping Out of the Camera--Sinister Designs + on Mexico Attributed to the Author--Maizillo--Foot-races Among + the Tepehuanes--Influence of the Mexicans Upon the Tepehunaes, and + _Vice Versa_--Profitable Liquor Traffic--Medicine Lodges--Cucuduri, + the Master of the Woods--Myth of the Pleiades. + + +On my return from an excursion southward from Guadalupe y Calvo as +far as Mesa de San Rafael, I ascended on January 12, 1895, Cerro +de Muinora, probably the highest elevation in northern Mexico. I +say probably, because I had no opportunity of measuring Cerro de +Candelaria. Approached from the north it looked like a long-stretched +mountain, covered with pines, and falling off abruptly toward the +west. It is conspicuous in the songs and beliefs of the Tepehuane +Indians. + +We made a camp about 1,000 feet below the top, among the pines, with +snow lying all around us, and in the night a flock of parrots flew +screeching past the tents. I was surprised to find the temperature so +mild; there was no ice on the water, not even at night. The aneroid +showed the height of the top to be 10,266 feet (20.60 in. at a +temperature of 40° F., at 5.15 P.M.). I noticed more birds between +our camping-place and the top than I had ever seen before in pine +forests. Blackbirds, the brown creepers (_certhia_), and red crossbills +were seen on the very top. + +From Guadalupe y Calvo I continued my journey to the northwest in order +to visit the Tepehuanes, about fifteen hundred of whom still exist +here in the northernmost outpost of the tribe's former domain. Only +seventeen miles north of Guadalupe y Calvo is the Tepehuane village +Nabogame (in Tepehuane, Navógeri, "where nopals [navó] grow"). + +The Tepehuane region includes some fine agricultural land. There +are fields there which have been planted for forty and fifty years +in succession, as for instance in Mesa de Milpillas; but here, too, +the whites have appropriated a considerable portion of the country, +though the Tepehuanes are largely in possession of their land, because +they are more valiant than the Tarahumares, and can only be deprived +of their property through the agency of mescal, for which they have +an unfortunate weakness. + +The Tepehuanes are less phlegmatic and more impressionable and +impulsive than the Tarahumares. One woman laughed so much that she +could not be photographed. They are noisy and active, and in the +fields they work merrily, chatting and laughing. Even when peons of the +Mexicans they are not so abject-looking as the Tarahumares, but retain +their proud and independent manners. They behave almost like men of +the world in comparison with the unsophisticated Tarahumares. In the +eyes of some of the Tepehuane women I noticed a fire as bright as in +those of Italians. + +These Indians live in commodious log-cabins, with interlocked +corners. The roofs are gabled and often supported by piles of +wood. They are covered with shingles, over which are placed rows of +stones to keep them in place. The doors are furnished with jambs. + +The Tepehuanes call themselves Ódami, the meaning of which I could +not find out. By the Tarahumares they are called Sæló ("walking-stick" +insects (_phasmidæ_), in Mexican-Spanish _campamoche_). The Tepehuane +language is not melodious, being full of consonants, and hard like the +people themselves. They still speak it among themselves, though there +are but few who do not understand Spanish. The Mexicans frequently +enter into marriage with them. + + + So-(só-)da-gi u-ki-(ji-)ru tu-vá-ni-mi. + (There is) water (_i.e_., tesvino) in the house; He is coming + down (to us). + + +As to their religion they are far more reticent than the Tarahumares, +and it is difficult to get information on this subject. One reason for +this is that they are afraid of being laughed at by the Mexicans. They +still keep up their dances and secret rites and their ceremonies, +customs, and beliefs. Although in many points they resemble the +Tarahumares, in others fundamental differences exist, such as the +complex observances of rules in regard to puberty, none of which have +been found among the Tarahumares. + +Ignorant Mexicans, who have but a faint idea as to who is president +of their country, more than once have attributed land-grabbing +intentions to my expedition. With my three or four Mexicans and +Indians and a dozen pack mules, I have been credited with designs of +conquering Mexico for the Americans. Even here in Nabogame a Mexican +settler felt uneasy about his holdings and stirred the Indians up, +saying that if they allowed "that man to photograph them, the Devil +would carry off all of them, and it would be better to kill him." I +was to meet the people on a Sunday, and in the morning I received this +discouraging letter written by a Mexican for the Indian gobernador or +"general," who, to affirm or authenticate the letter, had put a cross, +as his mark or signature, underneath his name: + + + Pueblo De Nabogame, January 29, 1893. + + Dear Mr. Picturemaker: + + Do me the favour not to come to the pueblo to photograph, which + I know is your intention. I believe the best for you to do is + to go first to Baborigame, because, as far as this pueblo is + concerned, I do not give permission. Therefore, you will please + decide not to pass this day in this pueblo photographing. + + Your obedient servant, + + José H. Arroyos, + + General. + + To Mr. Picturemaker. + + +Taking my Mexican attendant with me, I walked over to the place +where some twenty Indians and several Mexicans had assembled. The +scheming instigator of the trouble had brought his rifle with him, +to give weight to his words; but the Mexican judge was on my side, +and after he had read my letters from the Government, he made a +speech in which he convinced the people that they must obey the +authorities. The Tepehuanes soon saw the force of his argument, and +the defeated agitator slunk away. The outcome of the dispute was that +the Indians expressed their regret that there were not more of them +present for me to photograph; if I desired, they would send for more +of their tribe to come and pose before the camera. + +Around Nabogame grows a plant called _maizillo_, or _maizmillo_. It +is more slender than the ordinary corn-plant and the ears are +very small. It grows among the corn and has to be weeded out, as +it injures the good plants. However, several Mexicans assured me +that, when cultivated, the ears develop. After three years they grow +considerably larger and may be used as food. A man in Cerro Prieto +raises this kind only; others mix it with the ordinary corn. I was +told that people from the Hot Country come to gather it, each taking +away about one almud to mix with their seed corn. The combination is +said to give splendid results in fertile soil. + +Can this possibly be the original wild plant from which the ordinary +Indian corn has been cultivated? If the information I received about +it in Mexquitic, State of Jalisco, is correct, then this question must +be answered negatively, because my informant there stated that the +plant is triennial. In that locality it is called _maiz de pajaro_, +and it is cultivated as a substitute for the ordinary corn, or for +use in making atole. The Huichol Indians also know it and raise it; +they call it tats. + +For about a month I stopped at Mesa de Milpillas, which is a fertile +high plateau. The country is now almost open, yet magnificent pines +still remain, and Cerro de Muinora stands guard to the south. This +is the stronghold of the northern Tepehuanes. + +I then descended toward the west to the village of Cinco Llagas, +and found the Tepehuanes there pure-bred, although speaking +Spanish. Ascending again to the sierra over the mining camp of San +José, I arrived in Baborigame (Tepehuane, Vawúlile = "where there is +a large fig-tree"). The pueblo is finely situated on a llano one mile +and a half in diameter, and surrounded by pretty hills. I took up my +abode in a Tepehuane shanty in the neighbourhood of the village. The +owner asked for the rent in advance, and for the amount of fifty +centavos Mr. Hartman and I secured the right of occupancy, without +time limit. I stayed there from March 31st to April 30th. There are +a couple of Mexican stores at Baborigame, and the village is more +Mexican than Indian. The Tepehuanes live on their ranches, and come +in only on festive occasions, to mingle with their "neighbours," +as the Mexicans are designated by the Indians in all parts of Mexico. + +I was told that native travelling merchants from southern Mexico, +called Aztecs and Otomies, pass through Baborigame every five years, +to sell their goods. They bring articles of silk and wool, wooden +spoons, needles and thread, and do nice embroidery work, and make or +mend garments. + +The Tepehuanes of the north have much the same games and sports as +the Tepehuanes, and at Easter-time, foot-races _à la_ Tarahumare were +arranged as part of the general festivities of the season. Two hundred +and ninety people assembled, among them a few Tarahumares. There +were several races, the runners being divided into different groups, +men and women (married and unmarried), and children. As among the +Tarahumares, two parties opposed each other in each race, and the +men ran with balls, the women with rings. The married women, although +fat and heavy, made better time than the young girls. + +The runners who distinguished themselves most were the married men, +ranging in age from eighteen to thirty years, the best of whom made +thirteen circuits in three hours and one minute and a half. I measured +the circuit, and found it to be 9,223 feet long; therefore the total +distance run was nearly twenty-three miles. The two men who came in +first, one a Tepehuane, the other a Tarahumare, showed no signs of +fatigue. By way of comparison, I will add that the best one among +some young Mexicans, who raced at the same time, took twelve minutes +for the circuit, and all arrived breathless, and would apparently +not have been able to continue much longer. I was credibly informed +that eight years ago a man who had died but a short time before +could make twenty-seven circuits, or more than forty-seven miles, +on this race-course. This runner was well known in that part of +the sierra. His antagonist made twenty-six circuits, then fell down +exhausted, while the victor indulged in a prolonged dance the next +day. The race lasted from noon until eight o'clock in the evening. + +Some of the Tepehuane customs have been adopted by the Mexicans. For +instance, after the harvesting is over, the owner or his son is +tied on to a horse, and has to carry a cross made from three ears +of corn. The horse is led to the house, and is received with rifle +shots; and the men tell the women in the house that the man on the +horse has stolen the corn, and they will not let him go unless they +are given tesvino and a ball. The demand, of course, is acceded to, +and drum and violin furnish the music for the dance. + +The Tepehuanes around Baborigame now frequently rent their lands to +the Mexicans for a term of years, but rarely get it back, for the +"neighbours" have a powerful agent in mescal. The enormous profit +accruing from trading in this brandy with the natives may be judged +from the fact that a demijohn of the liquid costing $5 contains 24 +bottles, for each of which the trader gets from the Indians one sack +of corn, worth $1. On this quantity he realises elsewhere at least +$5. In other words, on an outlay of, say, $50, he earns a gross $1,200; +deducting expenses for transportation of the corn, etc., leaves still +a net profit of at least $1,100. + +The Tepehuanes have medicine lodges in remote places, where they +secretly gather once a month, or every other month. The name of the +lodge is Vakir Nuídadu (vakir = the inside of the house; nuídadu = +where there is singing; _i.e_., "the house where there is singing +inside"). Here they sing to call down their god Túni, whom they +also call their brother-in-law (Gunósi). He instructs the shaman +how to proceed to get rain, and to avert evil, by making tesvino and +by dancing. + +The gathering at the medicine lodge begins at dusk, three shamans being +present. A cross is raised and many kinds of flowers from the barrancas +are attached to it. Eagle feathers, too, are hung to it, as well as +strings of beads. From each arm of the cross is suspended an "eye of +the god" (Vol. II, Chap. XI), called in Tepehuane, yágete. There are +three jars with tesvino, and three bowls with meat are placed before +the cross. + +The fire is put out, and the shamans begin to sing different songs with +different melodies, continuing until nearly midnight, when a noise +is heard on the roof, as if somebody were walking there. The Indians +sing on, and the walking on the roof is heard three times. At last the +roof opens, and behold somebody jumps on the floor three times. The +singing stops, and Tuni (Tata Dios) is among the people. He looks +like a Tepehuane, with a breech-cloth and tunic, but without blanket, +and with a bandana around his head. The borders of the breech-cloth +and of the tunic are of gold, and so are the ends of his hair. Only +the shamans see him. + +He greets them with the usual salutation, "Váigase!" and the +assemblage responds in the same way. He plays with the Indians, +and calls them his brothers-in-law. Three cigarettes are made and +placed near the tesvino. "Smoke, brother-in-law!" they say, and all +laugh and make merry with Tuni. He then makes a speech, telling them +to make plenty of tesvino in their houses, in order that the world +may not come to an end. He is invited to drink, and to sing three +different songs, in which all the men join. He then drinks tesvino, +with such a gurgle that all can hear it. "How strong it is," he says; +"I may not even be able to get home!" He also sprinkles tesvino over +them. Anyone who wants to drink simply stretches out his arm, saying +nothing, and a full drinking-gourd is placed in his hand. When empty, +the gourd vanishes. Such a person will remain drunk until morning, +for Tuni's hand is strong. + +He remains for about half an hour, and when he leaves he says that +he will come back if the people make tesvino for him. He vanishes +like a breath, noiselessly. + +Immediately after he has gone, a female deity comes, whom they call +Santa Maria Djáda (mother; that is, the moon). The same salutations are +exchanged, and the women ask her to sing. She, too, receives tesvino, +and makes a speech, the trend of which is that they must go on making +the liquor through the year, lest their father should get angry and +the world come to an end. Afterward the Snow and the Cold also come +to play with the people in a similar way. + +Cúcuduri is the name of the master of the deer and the fish. He +also makes rain and he is heard in the thunder. He is a small but +thick-set man, and in foggy weather he rides on a deer over the +mountain-tops. When there is much fog and rain, a Tepehuane may go to +a wrestling-contest with Cucuduri in the forest. He throws an arrow +on the ground, and the little man appears and agrees to put up a deer +against the arrow. They wrestle, and often Cucuduri is thrown, although +he is strong. Then the man will find a deer close by, and shoot it. + +The fisherman hears in the ripple of the flowing water the weeping of +Cucuduri, and throws three small fish to him. If he should not do this, +he would catch nothing. Cucuduri would throw stones into the water and +drive the fish off, or he would even throw stones at the man himself. + +The Tepehuanes never drink direct from a brook, but scoop up the +water with their hands, else in the night the master of the spring +might carry them inside of the mountain. + +They never cut their finger and toe nails, for fear of getting blind. + +They say that the seat of the soul is between the stomach and the +chest, and they never wake up a man who is asleep, as his soul +may be wandering about. Sometimes a man is ill because his soul +is away. The doctors may be unable to make it come back, and still +the man lives. Soul is breath; and when a man dies, his soul passes +through the fontanels of the head, or through the eyes or the nostrils +or the mouth. + +If anyone steps over a man, the latter will not be able to kill +another deer in his life. A woman can be passed in this way without +such danger. + +When the wind blows hard, it is because a woman delayed curing herself. + +The reason the Tepehuanes make four feasts to despatch a dead woman +from this world, and only three for a man, is their belief that a +woman has more ribs than a man. + +Unmarried women are not allowed to eat meat from the spinal column +of the deer, as those bones look like arrows. If they ate this meat, +their backs would grow curved and they would have back-aches. + +The Tepehuanes do not eat pinole with meat, because their teeth would +fall out. After eating pinole they rinse their mouths. + +One kind of squirrel is thought to change into a bat, another into +a parrot. The ground-squirrel changes into a serpent. Catfish become +otters, and larvae on the madroña-tree are transformed into doves. + +When a hen crows, an accident is going to happen, unless the hen is +immediately killed. + +The moon sometimes has to fight with the sun. If weather depended only +on the moon, it would rain always, for the benefit of the Tepehuanes. + +The Pleiades are women, and the women of this world are their +sisters. They were living with a man who used to bring them their +food. One day he could not find anything, and drew blood from +the calf of his leg, and brought it in a leaf from the big-leaved +oak-tree. He told the women it was deer-blood, and thus he sustained +them. On discovering that it was his blood, they became very angry +and ascended to heaven, where they are yet to be seen. + +When he came home in the afternoon he missed them, and followed their +tracks, but could not find them. He slept alone, and in the night he +said to the mice, which he took for the women, "Come, come to boil the +deer-blood!" He continued his search until he reached the place where +they had disappeared. The women, seeing from above how he went around +looking for them, laughed, and he caught sight of them and called out, +"Tie your girdles together that I may get up also." He climbed up; +but when he had almost reached them, the oldest of the women told +the others to let him drop, because he had deceived them. He became a +coyote and has remained in that shape ever since. If he had succeeded +in getting up, he would have become a star, the same as the women. + +The three stars in the Belt of Orion are deer. + + + + + +Chapter XXIV + + On to Morelos--Wild and Broken Country--The Enormous + Flower-spike of the Amole--Subtropical Vegetation of Northwestern + Mexico--Destructive Ants--The Last of the Tubars--A Spectral + Ride--Back to the United States--An Awful Thunder-storm--Close + Quarters--Zape--Antiquities--When an "Angel" Dies--Mementos of + a Reign of Terror--The Great Tepehuane Revolution of 1616--The + Fertile Plains of Durango. + + +After having at last succeeded in getting men, I continued my journey +to the northwest, over the very broken country toward the town of +Morelos, inhabited almost entirely by pagan Tarahumares. There were, +of course, no roads, only Indian trails, and these in many places +were dangerous to travel with beasts of burden. The barrancas during +the month of May are all but intolerably hot, and it was a relief to +get up now and then on the strips of highland that intersperse the +country and look as fine as parks. At the higher altitudes I noticed +a great number of eagle ferns, and the Indians here plant corn in +the small patches between the ferns, merely putting the grains into +the gravelly red ground without tilling the soil at all. + +Lower down were groves of big-leaved oak-trees. Their leaves are +sometimes over ten inches long and of nearly the same breadth, and +are frequently utilised by the Indians as improvised drinking-vessels. + +On the summits of the barrancas, and on the slopes over which we +descended into the valleys, an astonishing number of parasites and +epiphytes was observed, especially on the pines and oaks. The round +yellow clusters growing on the branches of the oaks sometimes give the +entire forest a yellow hue. In the foot-hills I saw a kind of parasite, +whose straight, limber branches of a fresh, dark green colour hang +down in bunches over twenty feet in length. Some epiphytes, which most +of the year look to the casual observer like so many tufts of hay on +the branches, produce at certain seasons extremely pretty flowers. + +In the valleys of the western inclines of the sierra there is nothing +suggestive of tropical luxuriance or romance in the landscape, +which impresses one chiefly with its towering mountains and vast +slopes. Grass is plentiful enough among the stones and rocks, and +groups of fresh green trees indicate where ground is moist and water +to be found. The country is dry, and from January to June there is +no rain. Yet an aloe, which smells like ham, is so full of juice +that it drips when a leaf is broken. This, too, is the home of the +agaves, or century-plants, and I know of nothing so astonishing as +the gigantic flower-spike that shoots upward from the comparatively +small plant called amole. One fine day in May I came upon one, which +I measured. It was by no means the largest one to be found, but the +spike itself, without the stalk, was 15 feet 8 inches in height, and +31 inches in circumference at its thickest part. It seemed a pity +to cut down such a magnificent specimen, but, as I wanted to count +the flowers, I had one of my men fell it with a couple of blows of +an axe. After counting the flowers on one section, I estimated that +the entire spike bore at least 20,000 beautiful yellow blossoms, +each as large as a tulip. It required two men to carry the spike, and +as they walked they were followed by a multitude of humming-birds, +which remained fearlessly at work among the flowers of what they +evidently considered their own private garden. They might have to +fly miles before finding another like this. The flower-stalk of the +maguey is eaten before it flowers. It looks like a big bamboo stick, +and when roasted in the hot ashes is very palatable, sweet, and tender. + +Below the Indian village of Coloradas stands an isolated peak 400 to +500 feet high, in regard to which the Tarahumares have the following +legend: A Tepehuane once cut bamboo reeds and tobacco, down on the +river, and being followed up by the Tubars changed himself into this +stone. The man's girdle can still be made out. + +At the village my interpreter asked me for the cover of a copy of +London _Truth_, and for the wrapper on my photographic films, that +with these pictures he might adorn the altar of the old adobe church. + +The country is but thinly populated east and north of Morelos, and +the steepness of the valleys through which the Indians are scattered, +makes it difficult to reach them. At the time of my visit these +Indians had absolutely nothing to sell us but the sweet mescal +stalks. In the end of May I reached Morelos, an old mining place, +about 1,800 feet above sea-level. + +The surrounding hills and mountains were covered with the typical +Mexican vegetation of the warm regions. The many odd-shaped cacti +form a strong contrast to the light and pinnate leaves of the +numerous leguminous shrubs, acacia, sophronia, etc. The chilicote, +or coral-tree (_erythræa_), with scarlet flowers, is seen everywhere; +also palo blanco, with a white stem, looking like an apple-tree. The +year 1893 was an exceedingly dry one throughout northern Mexico. My +mules, obliged to travel under a scorching sun, sometimes had to be +without water for twenty-four hours. Still, in those hot barrancas, +I saw no difference in the vegetation. The trees and plants did not +seem affected by rain or no rain. The only exception I noticed was that +the fiat, leaf-like joints of the nopal cactus shrivelled up a little +on the surface, but the fleshy inside seemed as juicy as ever. Even +during the dryest season the trees and shrubs here blossom and bear +fruit, and mornings and evenings the air is filled with the perfume of +acaciæ, cacti, and other plants. One is at a loss to understand how the +cattle can subsist on these shrubs, but they have adapted themselves to +circumstances, and are able to chew up the thick stems of the cacti, in +fact the whole plant, with the result, however, that their stomachs are +so filled with spines that the Mexicans cannot utilise the tripe. The +frugal Indian is the only one who does not reject it, but manages to +burn off the biggest spikes while toasting the tripe on cinders. + +Near Morelos are ancient house ruins, some round and some square, and +also traces of circular fortifications built of loose stones. Several +of the latter were from sixteen to twenty yards in diameter and +located on the top of mountain ridges. The remains are attributed to +the Cocoyomes. + +The commonly accepted idea that in southern latitudes anything +may be easily cultivated is often proved by actual observation to +be fallacious. Sometimes there may be too much rain, sometimes not +enough. The worst enemies of plant-life in the warm countries are the +many pests. One evening my host, Don Manuel Perez, showed me some of +the foes he had to combat in order to maintain his garden. Certain +kinds of ants bite off the flowers and leaves and carry away the +pieces. The insects come out at night and may strip a tree of its +leaves and fruits before morning. It was an astonishing sight to see +the dark stem of an elder looking .as if it were green, on account +of the multitude of ants, each of which carried a bit of green leaf +half an inch long. Every evening a man went around to burn them off +with a torch of resinous pine-wood. + +Some Tubar Indians were induced to come to Morelos to be measured +and photographed. The few representatives of the tribe I saw had +good figures and small hands and feet. They seemed to be shy, but +rather kind-hearted, jolly people, resembling the Tarahumares in +appearance. They are found from the village of San Andres, three +miles from Morelos, as far as the village of Tubares. According +to tradition their domain extended in former times much higher up +on both sides of the river, to where Baborigame is now. But they +were gradually restricted to the locality on which the remnant of +the tribe at present resides. They are said to have been fierce and +constantly fighting the Tarahumares. There are now not more than a +couple of dozen pure-bred Tubars left, and only five or six of these +know their own language, which is related to the Nahuatl. The name +of the tribe as pronounced by themselves is Tuvalím. + +Most of the Tubars are found in the pueblo of San Miguel, seventeen +miles from Morelos, down the river. An old woman told me that she did +not know what the Tubars had done that they were disappearing from +the world. The few remaining members of the tribe were related to +one another, and the young people had to marry Mexicans. The customs +of the Tubars evidently resembled much those of their neighbours, +the Tarahumares, who until recent years invited them to their +dances. The Tubars danced yohe, and the dancers accompanied their +singing by beating two flat sticks, like two machetes. They did not +use hikuli. In the sacristy of the church in the old Tubar village of +San Andres, I found a complete tesvino outfit, jars, spoons, etc., +the vessels turned bottom up, ready for use. The saints, too, must +have tesvino, because they are greedy and exacting, and have to be +propitiated. The Tubars are said to have worn white girdles. + +Mr. Hartman, whom I left in San Miguel to conclude some investigations, +returned a few weeks later to the United States. On the small plateaus +near San Miguel, two hundred feet or more above the river, he found +interesting old tombs, which were well known to the inhabitants under +the name of _bovedas_. The presence of a tomb was indicated on the +surface by a circuit of stones from three to five feet in diameter +set in the ground. There were groups of ten or twelve circuits, and +the tombs underneath were found at a depth of five or six feet. They +consisted of small chambers excavated in the clayey soil, and were +well preserved, though they contained no masonry work; still at one +place a yoke of oxen while dragging the plough had sunk down into +the subterranean cavity. The entrance to such a tomb is from one +side, where a large slab, placed in a slanting position, protects the +inside. Nothing was discovered in the four tombs that were opened but +some curious slate-coloured beads of burnt clay. People of the district +reported, however, that small jars of earthenware had been found in +the _bovedas_. No doubt the absence of skeletons was due solely to the +length of time that had elapsed, for even in the cemetery of the church +Mr. Hartman found similar tombs that contained several skeletons. These +tombs were indicated by the same kind of stone circuits as the rest, +but were only about three feet down in the hard clay, and had no slabs +in front of the entrance. In one of them Mr. Hartman found six corpses +more or less decomposed, the sepulchre having evidently been used +for a long time. In the same cemetery the Mexicans buried their dead. + +I continued my journey down the river through the country once +inhabited by the Tubars. As the heat was intense, I availed myself +of the light of the full moon and travelled at night. Now and then +the read touched the big river where the croaking of the frogs was +intensely doleful and monotonous, but withal so loud that on a quiet +night like this they could easily be heard two miles off. + +Warm winds fanned me to sleep, and only when my mule ran me against +some spiny branch, did I wake to find myself in a fantastic forest of +leafless, towering cacti, that stood motionless, black, and silent +in the moonlight, like spectres with numberless arms uplifted. The +overwhelming noise of the frogs seemed to voice their thoughts and +forbid me to advance farther. But the mule accelerated its pace, the +shadows glided quicker and quicker, up and down the stony, slippery +path that wound its way through this ghostly forest. + +In the daytime there was a disagreeably strong, warm wind blowing, +making it difficult even to get the saddles on our mules, but the +nights were calm. At the pueblo of San Ignacio nobody speaks the +Tubar tongue. Blue herons have a permanent breeding-place here on +an almost perpendicular rock, four to six hundred feet high, where +I counted twenty nests. + +In travelling down to Tierra Caliente there is one place at which +one must leave the river and ascend to the pine region. This is below +the village of Tubares. The river narrows here and forms rapids, and +it has been calculated that the water in flood-time rises sixty-five +feet. Alligators do not go above these rapids. In two days' journey +from Morelos one may reach the undulating country of Sinaloa, _la +costa_, which is warmer even than the barrancas. + +At San Ignacio I left the river, and turned in a northeasterly +direction to Batopilas. After five days' pleasant sojourn at +Mr. Shepherd's hospitable home there, I again ascended the sierra, +and, after visiting the Indians of Santa Ana and its neighbourhood, +arrived at Guachochic. Leaving my mules here in charge of my friend +Don Carlos Garcia, I soon started again toward the northeast on my +way back to the United States, passing through the Indian ranches, +and finally arriving at Carichic (in Tarahumare Garichi, "where +there are houses," probably ancient) on July 31st. At less than an +hour's distance from the place I was overtaken by a thunder-storm, +the heaviest my Mexicans or I had ever experienced. In a few minutes +the almost level fields were flooded as far as the eye could see, +and the road we followed began to run with brown water. As we advanced +through the mud, the small arroyos were rapidly filling. The rain did +not abate, and the force of the currents steadily increased. When +only three hundred yards from the town we found ourselves at the +edge of a muddy stream, running so rapidly that it tore pieces from +the bank, and carried small pines and branches of trees with it. As +it was impossible to cross it, we had to wait, however impatiently, +for the rain to subside sufficiently to allow us to wade through the +water. And all the next day was spent in drying my things. + +One year later I was again in Carichic, and from there I made my way +to Guachochic. One night I had to spend in the house of a civilised +Indian, as it rained too heavily for us to remain outdoors. The +house was made of stone and mud, without windows, and the door had +to be closed on account of the dogs. There was no way for air to get +in except through the chimney, over the fireplace. There were nine +people and one baby in the small room. Strange to say, I slept well. + +My mules and outfit had been well taken care of at Guachochic, and +I now arranged with Don Carlos Garcia to take most of my belongings +to Guanazevi, a mining town in the neighbouring State of Durango, +while with a few of the best mules I crossed Barranca de San Carlos +near Guachochic, and pursued my way through regions inhabited by +Tarahumares and Tepehuanes. A stammering Tarahumare was observed, +the only Indian with this defect that has come to my notice. + +The road I followed to Guanazevi from Guadalupe y Calvo leads through +a part of the Sierra Madre which is from nine to ten thousand feet +high and uninhabited, and for two days we met nobody. In winter the +region is dreaded on account of the heavy snowfalls that are liable +to occur here. Several people are said to have perished, and one +freighter on one occasion lost twenty-seven mules. In the wet season +bears are numerous, and, according to trustworthy information, have +attacked and eaten several Tarahumares. + +We camped one night at a place where a man had been killed by robbers +some time before, and one of the Mexicans shudderingly expressed his +fear that we should probably hear the dead man cry at night. This +led to a discussion among the men as to whether the dead could cry or +not. The consensus of opinion was that the dead could cry, but they +could not appear. This, by the way, is the common Indian belief. My +Tepehuane servant took an intense interest in the arguments. His +face became suddenly animated with fear, and the thought of the dead +changed him from an indolent fellow into a valuable aid to my chief +packer in watching the animals at night. His senses became so keen +as to be quite reassuring in regard to robbers at night, and from +that time on he was really a valuable man, active and alert. + +There is a small colony of Tarahumares living a few miles north of +Guanazevi, near San Pedro. Here I excavated some corpses that had +been buried several years before on a little plain. The graves were +about four feet deep. In Guanazevi a silver "bonanza" was in full +blast and much activity prevailed. + +We were now outside of the sierra proper; but on the route south, +which I followed for several days, I was never farther away from +the mountain range than thirty miles. At Zape, about twenty miles +to the south, there are some ancient remains. As the principal +ones have been described by E. Guillemin Tarayre, who explored +Mexico under Maximilian, it is not necessary for me to dwell on the +subject. Suffice it to say that walls constructed of loose stones +are commonly seen on the crests of the low hills and are attributed +to the Cocoyomes. Circles and squares made of stones set upright in +the ground may also be seen, and nicely polished stone implements +are frequently to be found near by. + +Outside of Zape are a number of ancient burial-caves, which have been +disturbed by treasure-seekers. As a curiosity, I may mention that a +Mexican once brought to light a big lump of salt that had been buried +there. It was given to the cattle. + +One afternoon a gay little procession of men and women passed my camp, +some on horseback, others walking. One of the riders played the violin, +another one beat a drum. An old woman who just then stepped up to sell +something explained to me that "an angel" was being buried. This is +the designation applied to small children in Mexico, and I could see +an elaborate white bundle on a board carried aloft by a woman. My +informant told me that when a child dies the parents always give it +joyfully to heaven, set off fireworks and dance and are jolly. They +do not weep when an infant dies, as the little one would not enter +Paradise, but would have to come back and gather all the tears. + +The way southward led through undulating country devoid of interest. To +judge from the clusters of ranches, so numerous as to form villages, +the land must be fertile. There were no more Indians to be seen, +only Mexicans. All along the road we observed crosses erected, where +people had been killed by robbers, or where the robbers themselves +had been shot. A man's body is generally taken to the cemetery for +burial, whether he was killed or executed, but a cross is raised on +the spot where he fell. The crosses are thus mementos of the reign +of terror that prevailed in Mexico not long ago. Most of the victims +were so-called Arabs, or travelling peddlers, sometimes Syrians or +Italians, but generally Mexicans. + +The most important place I passed was the town of Santiago +de Papasquiaro, which is of some size, and situated in a rich +agricultural country. The name of the place means possibly _"paz +quiero"_ ("I want peace"), alluding to the terrible defeat of the +Indians by the Spaniards in the seventeenth century. There is reason +to believe that before 1593 this central and western part of Durango +had been traversed and peopled by whites, and that many Spaniards +had established haciendas in various parts of the valley. They held +their own successfully against the Tepehuanes until 1616, when these, +together with the Tarahumares and other tribes, rebelled against +them. All the natives rose simultaneously, killed the missionaries, +burned the churches, and drove the Spaniards away. A force of Indians +estimated at 25,000 marched against the city of Durango, carrying +fear everywhere, and threatening to exterminate the Spanish; but +the governor of the province gathered together the whites to the +number of 600, "determined to maintain in peace the province which +his Catholic Majesty had placed under his guardianship." He routed +the enemy, leaving on the field more than 15,000 dead insurgents, +without great loss to his own troops. The Indians then sued for peace, +and after their leaders had been duly punished, they were dispersed +to form pueblos. The insurrection lasted over a year, and many bloody +encounters between the natives and their new masters occurred in the +course of the following centuries, the result being that the Indians +in the State of Durango have not been able to maintain themselves, +except in the extreme northern and southern sections. + +There was an epidemic of typhoid fever in some of these ranch-villages, +and in one place I saw two dogs hung up in a tree near the road, having +been killed on account of hydrophobia. A strong wind was blowing day +and night on the llanos along the river-course, which annoyed us +not a little. It was a real relief to get up again on the sierra, +about fourteen miles south of Papasquiaro, and find ourselves once +more among the quiet pines and madroñas. + + + + + +Chapter XXV + + Winter in the High Sierra--Mines--Pueblo Nuevo and Its Amiable + Padre--A Ball in My Honour--_Sancta Simplicitas_--A Fatiguing + Journey to the Pueblo of Lajas and the Southern Tepehuanes--Don't + Travel After Nightfall!--Five Days Spent in Persuading People + to Pose Before the Camera--The Regime of Old Missionary + Times--Strangers Carefully Excluded--Everybody Contemplating + Marriage is Arrested--Shocking Punishments for Making Love--Bad + Effects of the Severity of the Laws. + + +The sierra for several days' journey southward is about 9,000 feet +high, and is not inhabited, except in certain seasons by people who +bring their cattle here to graze. I doubt whether anyone ever lived +here permanently. The now extinct tribes, to whose territory this +region belonged, dwelt, no doubt, in the valleys below. The high +plateau consists of small hills, and travelling at first is easy, +but it becomes more and more rough as one approaches the big, broad +Barranca de Ventanas. + +Having passed for several days through lonely, cold, and silent woods, +now and then interspersed with a slumbering snow-field, it was a real +pleasure to come suddenly, though only in the beginning of February, +upon plants in full bloom on the high crest that faced the undulating +lowlands of Sinaloa, which spread themselves out below, veiled in +mist. The warm air wafted up from the Hot Country brings about this +remarkable change in the flora of the precipitous inclines toward +the west. The air was filled with perfume, and it was lovely to be +on these high, sunny tops. Foliage trees, especially alders, began +to appear among the pines, basking in the dazzling sunshine. I also +noticed some fine ferns spreading out their graceful fronds. + +A few miles farther and much lower I made camp above the Indian pueblo +of San Pedro, as far as I could make out the most eastern extension +of the northern Aztecs (Mexicanos or Mexicaneros, as they are called +here). From here southward I found them in many of the warm valleys +of the Sierra intermingled with Tepehuanes and Coras. + +There is an excellent road zigzagging down to the mining place of +Ventanas ("Windows," from the formation of a rock) for the greater +part of the distance; but at the outset the way, at two places, is +so narrow that parties coming from opposite directions could neither +pass nor turn back, which is not pleasant with a yawning chasm of a +couple of thousand feet so close at hand. + +I was anxious to secure men to go up again into the sierra and farther +south; but the people were afraid of the cold, and nobody seemed to +know anything about the country except the postmaster, and he only in +a vague way. Mazatlan is not much more than 100 miles off and Durango +125 miles. There are here a great many dykes of porphyry of different +ages, but neither slate nor granite in the immediate vicinity, though +there is some granite farther up the river. + +Among the mine-owners who lived in Ventanas I was surprised to find +a Swedish gentleman. They all received me hospitably, providing me +also with two men, whom I badly needed. We had to ascend on the other +side of the barranca as high as we had been north of this place, +and for a day we travelled through snow and rain. Corn does not grow +here. From one point the Pacific Ocean can be seen. We then descended +again a couple of thousand feet to the village of Chavaria, which +is the only Mexican village I have seen where the houses had gable +roofs covered with shingles. The walls of the houses were adobe, but +I was told that the earth at this place is not suitable for making +the usual flat roofs. + +While camping here I saw, on the 15th of February, a flock of six giant +woodpeckers pass by in the morning. Except in the pairing season these +birds are not seen in such numbers. The journey over a high part of +the Sierra Madre to the Mexican village of Pueblo Nuevo requires two +days. On the second day I obtained a magnificent view toward the east +and southeast. The high peak towering in the distance is Cerro Gordo, +very broad at the base and conical in shape. Patches of snow were +visible on it, and snow lay in the crevices wherever we travelled. + +I descended through magnificent groves of cedar-trees to Pueblo +Nuevo, making my camp on top of a hill, from which I overlooked +the little settlement and the valley in which it nestles. As every +house is surrounded by its little garden of orange-trees, aguacates, +and guayahas, the landscape presented a mass of verdure of different +shades, the ugly, often dilapidated houses being almost lost in the +green. Lemons grow wild, and therefore there is no sale for them. Lemon +juice mixed with milk is in many parts of Mexico considered a remedy +for dysentery. + +A young priest, who exercised a supreme but judicious authority in +this secluded spot, treated me with much consideration. He took an +honest pride in the development of his little village, and showed me +its sights, first the church, which he was embellishing in many ways, +and then the spring which supplied the place with water, and where +the women gathered to wash their clothes and gossip. We met many +graceful figures carrying jars on their shoulders, as in ancient times. + +In order to give me an opportunity to see the people, el Señor Cura +allowed them to come and dance on his veranda. His organist was a +musical genius, and a composer of no mean ability, and on the cabinet +organ the priest had brought from Durango on mule-back he played not +only hymns, but also excellent dance music. + +The climate here was delightful, the valley fragrant with the perfume +of oranges, and one felt reluctant to leave this restful camp. But +I was soon reminded that nothing in this world is perfect, as one +night a storm lifted my tent up and carried it several yards off, +leaving me to sleep as best I could till morning. The wind was so +powerful as to fell trees. + +The Pueblo Nuevo was once inhabited by Aztecs. The present inhabitants, +though amiable, are indolent and lazy, and there is a saying that +in Durango not even the donkeys work. I therefore had considerable +trouble in finding a guide, the difficulty being aggravated by the +fact that nobody seemed to know anything about the country toward +Lajas, the Tepehuane village I was making for. + +The sierra to the south where the Tepehuanes live is not frequented +by the people here, who maintain communication only toward the east, +principally with the city of Durango, where they market their garden +crops of chile and tomatoes. Nevertheless, some of the Tepehuane +pueblos belong to the Cura's parish, and he seemed to be the only +one Who could give definite information about the country southward. + +The track leading down to the San Diego River runs through an idyllic +valley where picturesque brooks trickle down the slopes between groves +of semi-tropical vegetation. In one of the limpid streams a couple of +pretty girls were bathing and washing their clothes, as is the custom +among the poorer classes of Mexico, who rarely possess more than the +clothing they wear. As we appeared on the scene, they gracefully +slipped into a deep pool, leaving nothing but their pretty faces, +like water-lilies, floating above the crystal-clear water, and thus +nodded a friendly greeting toward us. + +Not more than ten miles' travel brought us to the San Diego River. Its +source is said to be in the sierra, apparently toward the north, and +it flows in a southerly direction. It was not very difficult to cross, +but in flood-time it must be large. Its elevation at this point was +about 3,300 feet. + +Here began the ascent into the sierra again. Although the road on the +first day was very good, it required rather hard climbing to get to +the top. I was anxious to reach my destination that day, which was +Saturday, in order to be in time for the gathering of the Indians +in the pueblo on Sunday. I therefore travelled on after nightfall, +though the road was much longer than I expected, leading through +extensive pine forests, the monotony of which was interrupted only +once by the appearance of a couple of beautiful macaos. + +Just as the moon rose, we entered on the "spine of the coyote," as +the Tepehuanes call a narrow ridge, six to eight yards broad, with +yawning abysses on both sides. Then we came on grassy slopes covered +with trees. What a magnificent view there must be here, by daylight, +of this wild country! To the southeast could clearly be seen a sloping +table-land among hills; I even could distinguish some small houses +on it. That was Lajas. It appeared to be but a league off, but in +reality it was still three times as far away. + +We descended among oak-trees, when suddenly the track ran down +a precipitous volcanic rock, utterly impracticable for the mules +to follow. Evidently we had strayed on a side trail; and while we +guarded the mules, a man was sent back to look for the main track, +which luckily was found after a short time. The worst of it was +that the animals had to be led back one by one, along the side of a +dangerous precipice, and it was a wonder that none of them rolled down +the steep sides. I was glad when we could safely proceed on our way. + +It is disagreeable to travel with a pack-train after nightfall, even +on a moonlight night like this, but particularly when without a guide +and on an unfamiliar track. The journey seems interminable. The fear +of losing one's road, or having something happen to the animals, +or dropping some part of the pack; the uncertainty regarding what +camping-place one may find; and the anxiety lest the backs of the +animals may become sore, while the men are getting hungry and in as +bad a temper as one's self,--all tend to demonstrate the advisability +of going into camp when the sun is still well above the horizon. + +Another harassing consideration, which, however, does not apply to +this part of the country, is the possibility of arousing a suspicion +that pack-trains which travel at night carry treasures. + +After a continuous journey of ten hours and a half we arrived without +further mishaps at Lajas at 9.30 P.M., the middle of the night in +that part of the world. One of my men, who had a habit of singing +whenever we entered a village, had been ordered to keep silent, that +the people in this lonely place, susceptible as they are, might not +become alarmed at the sudden arrival of such a party. + +A few houses lay scattered about in the dim moonlight, and I with +my chief man rode ahead. "Ave Maria!" called out Catalino, knocking +at the door of a hut. "God give you a good night," he continued, +but there was no response. After having in this way tried several +huts, we at last succeeded in getting an answer, and learned where +Crescencio Ruiz lived, to whom the priest in Pueblo Nuevo had given +me a letter of introduction, and who was a kind of secretary to the +Indians. We now directed our steps toward his house, aroused him from +his slumbers, and after some parleying brought him to the door. He +was a small-statured, kindly-looking man, a half-caste, who displayed +a friendly manner and showed me where I could camp near his house. As +he was very talkative, it was late in the night before I could retire. + +The name of the village is San Francisco de Lajas, the word _laja_ +(flat stone) referring to stones which abound in the neighbourhood. The +Indian name, "Eityam," has the same meaning. The next day many Indians +came fearlessly and curiously up to see me. They wore the ordinary +dress of the working-class of Mexico, except that their flat straw hats +were trimmed with black and red woollen ribbons and some flowers. The +women had flowers and leaves in their hair, which they wore in Mexican +fashion, in two braids. Some of the men had their hair put up in one +braid and fastened at the end with a narrow hair-ribbon, but most of +them had it cut short. I was surprised to see many baldheaded men, +some not over thirty years old. Surely it must be more healthy for +the hair to be worn long. + +Fortunately for me the Indians had just come into the pueblo for a week +to repair the old adobe church, in which work Don Crescencio greatly +assisted them. This man, nine years ago, was sent to the place as a +teacher by the Mexican authorities in Durango. On his arrival he was +met at the old curato by 140 children, none of whom had ever seen +a Mexican before, and, of course, they did not understand a word of +Spanish. They soon went back to their homes, and five days afterward +the preceptor was left without a pupil. He induced the parents to make +the children return, and 48 came back. Out of these, five remained +with him for six months. At the close of that period they were able +to read and to write their names. Of late years, however, teaching +has been given up altogether. The fact is that the Indians do not +want schools, "because," as an intelligent Huichol afterward told me, +"our sons lose their native tongue and their ancient beliefs. When +they go to school, they do not want to worship the Sun and the Water +any more." The white teacher's aim should be to incite the desire for +instruction rather than to force his pupils to listen to his teachings; +not to destroy the Indian's mental world, but to clear it and raise +it into the sphere of civilisation. + +But Don Crescencio remained with the Indians as their "secretary" +(escribano), attending to whatever correspondence they had with the +authorities, and gradually becoming their factotum and adviser. As +he was an honourable and straightforward man, his influence was all +for their good. To swell his meagre income, he carries on a small +trade, going twice a year to Durango to replenish his stores; +and so invaluable has he become to the Indians that they send, +some men along with him to watch that he does not remain with the +"neighbours." He has learned the language tolerably well, and has +risen to such importance that the gobernador, as I saw myself, +visited him every morning, asking his advice in every movement. + +These Indians visited me all day long, accompanied by their wives +and children, undauntedly seating themselves in front or outside of +my tent. In response to my expressed desire to see and buy articles +made by them, they brought me, during my short stay here, girdles and +ribbons of wool or cotton, as well as a great variety of bags of all +sizes, knotted from twine of maguey fibre. + +The people here do business on a basis entirely different from +that of the "neighbours," inasmuch as they have a fixed price for +everything. There is no bargaining with them; when they have once told +the price of a thing (and it is always a high one), they adhere to it +firmly, and as money is no object to them, they make trading rather +difficult. On my tours among the people, I found them hospitable. They +always asked me to come in and sit down, and they have good manners. + +The one thing they strenuously objected to, and which they were deadly +afraid of, was the camera, and it took Don Crescencio's and my own +combined efforts for five days to induce them to pose. When at length +they consented, they looked like criminals about to be executed. They +believed that by photographing a person I should be enabled to carry +his soul off to eat it later, at my ease, if I chose. They would die +as soon as their pictures arrived in my country, or some other evil +would result, anyhow. The women disappeared like frightened quails, +when I was about to perform the dreadful operation on the men. However, +most of them returned to see how their spouses stood the painful +ordeal. When I then asked for some women to pose, they ran away, +in spite of the demonstrations of the men; only three sturdy ones +with "great souls" remained and were "taken" after having been duly +"shaken" with fears. + +The Tepehuanes feel at home only in their ranches. They clear land in +the numerous little valleys of which their rugged country consists, +and plant corn in places where no plough could ever be used. + +They always have sufficient corn for their wants. Their store-houses +are square upright cribs of bamboo sticks held in place with withes +on a framework of pine poles. Sometimes they stand at considerable +distances from the dwellings. The floor is raised about a foot above +the ground, and the entrance is made from the top. The ears of corn +can plainly be seen behind the bamboo sticks. In March they are taken +out and shelled, and the corn is put in home-made sacks and replaced +in the store-houses. + +The Tepehuanes make pulque, but not tesvino, and cotton is cultivated +on a very small scale. They gather the fibre of the maguey and other +plants, and make sacks and ropes of excellent quality, for their own +use as well as for sale in Durango, to which market they also take +any fruit not required for home consumption. + +Their only amusement is to drink mescal and pulque. No games are +in use, and to stake money or valuables in any of the "neighbours'" +games is forbidden. + +The commonest disease here, strange to say, is malaria, which +sometimes proves fatal. The first thing a Tepehuane does in the +morning is to wash his head, face, and hands with cold water, letting +it dry without wiping it off. He starts to do his work with the water +dripping from him. + +The Southern Tepehuanes perform a religious dance called by the +Mexicans _mitote_; it is also found among the Aztecs, the Coras, +and the Huichols. In the vicinity of Lajas is a circular plain set +pleasantly among the oak-trees. This is the dancing-place. At its +eastern side is a jacal, a gable-shaped straw-roof resting on four +poles, the narrow sides standing east and west. Inside of it is found +an altar, consisting simply of a matting of large, split bamboo sticks +(_tapexte_) resting on a framework of four horizontal poles, which +in turn are supported by two pairs of upright forked sticks. On this +altar the people put the food used at the dances, and many ceremonial +objects are placed here or hung under the roof of the jacal. + +In regard to their native religion, they are as reticent as their +northern brethren, if not more so. "I would rather be hanged than +tell anything," said one shaman to me. Still, all things come to +him who waits. This very man, who was so tragic, became my friend, +and when we parted he asked me to write my name on a piece of paper, +that he might salute me every morning. A name is a sacred thing, +and they never tell their real native names. + +Nowhere else in Mexico have the institutions founded by the +missionaries of early times remained intact as in Lajas. Not only so, +but the regulations are carried even further than was originally +intended, and this in spite of the fact that the Indians have not +given up their own ancient religion. No priest is now living among +them; and only at rare intervals does the Cura come from Pueblo Nuevo +to baptise and malry. + +The native chosen civil authorities are composed of fourteen, +the ecclesiastical of seven members. The gobernador has supreme +authority with both bodies, and when important matters are at issue +the people are brought together and consulted. The decisions or +orders are given to the so-called captain, who sees that they are +carried into effect. The officers are elected every year, and meet +in sessions almost every day, to settle the affairs of the people, +and to inflict punishment even on the shamans when necessary. They +have recently renovated the prison, and put in a new set of stocks; +and the whipping-post is still in constant use, to supplement the laws +of the Mexican Government, which are considered altogether too mild. + +The punishments which these people inflict are severe and barbarous. I +have heard that Mexican criminals, who have been caught and punished +by them, on complaining of their harsh treatment to the government +authorities, did not receive any sympathy, the latter no doubt +considering it meritorious rather than otherwise, on the part of +the Indians, to maintain order so effectually without the aid of +soldiers. The captain in Lajas is on duty day and night, watching +that nothing untoward may happen to man, beast, or property. But +few strangers come to this remote pueblo, and no one can pass +it unnoticed. The only trail that runs through the place is swept +every afternoon with branches of trees, and the next morning it is +examined by the captain to ascertain if anyone has gone by. White +men are wisely prohibited from settling here; and when a "neighbour" +comes, his business is at once inquired into, and sufficient time, +perhaps a night and a day, is given him to attend to it, after which +he is escorted out of the village. + +Safety to life and property is thus insured among these Indians. "I +guarantee you that none of your animals will be stolen here," +Crescencio said to me the first night, and a very short experience +convinced me that he was right. Theft is practically unknown here, +unless some "neighbour" tempts an Indian with a promise of a part of +the booty. + +Murder is committed only by intoxicated individuals, and then the +culprit is chained in the stocks for three or four weeks, and gets a +whipping at regular intervals. Afterward he is sent to the Mexican +authorities in the city of Durango to be dealt with according to +the law. + +There is no capital punishment for murder in Mexico, and when criminals +have served their terms and return to their native village the Indians +may even send them back to Durango, saying that they are better off +without them. Suicide is unknown. When murder or theft has been +perpetrated, they do not at once try to apprehend the suspected +person, but first call the shaman to ascertain by divination who +the culprit may be, by placing ceremonial arrows, smoking tobacco, +and waving plumes. + +I was told that three years ago two travelling Mexican peddlers +arrived here, and after having done a little trading went away +without informing the authorities of their departure. This aroused +the suspicion of the Indians, who began to look around to see what +was missing. Two cows, it seemed, had disappeared, and in two days +the peddlers were overtaken, brought back, put in the stocks, and +held in prison for eight days, and three times a day they received +a thrashing. They had very little food. They were finally taken +to Durango. + +Once two cows and an ox were stolen from Crescencio, and the Indians +followed the tracks of the thieves, their leader frequently touching +the earth with his hands to assure himself by the smell that they +were going in the right direction. After a while two Tepehuanes and +their accomplice, the "neighbour" who had put them up to the crime, +were caught. The "neighbour," as soon as he arrived in the village, +was given twenty-five lashes, and for two hours was subjected to the +agonizing torture of having his head and his feet in the stocks at +the same time. Next day he was given ten lashes, and the following +day five, and eight days later they took him to Durango. His two +Indian associates, father and son, were also put in the stocks, and +for two weeks each of them got daily four lashes and very little food; +besides which their blankets were taken away from them. + +Although the Tepehuanes keep up their ancient rites and beliefs along +with the new religion, they strictly comply with the external form +of Christianity, paying due attention to all the Christian feasts and +observances. Every day the bells of the old church are rung, and the +saints "are put to bed," as the Indians express it. When Crescencio +first came here he found the people on Sundays in the church, the men +sitting on benches and the women on the floor. They had gathered there +from habit, though nobody knew how to pray, and they sat around talking +and laughing all the time. It was their Christian worship. Crescencio +has now taught them to say prayers. + +The teachings of Christianity, however, are for the most part +forgotten. No trace of the religion of charity remains among them, but +the severity of the early missionaries survives, and their mediæval +system of punishment. Evidently the tribe always entertained extreme +views regarding the relation of the two sexes toward each other, +or else the spirit of the new law would never have been imbibed so +eagerly. "The slightest want of modesty or exhibition of frivolity is +sufficient reason for a husband to leave his wife, and for young women +never to marry," says Padre Juan Fonte, of the Tepehuane Indians. There +is no sign of relaxation in their strictness, or of any inclination +to adopt more modern views on marital misdemeanour. + +In the greater number of cases husband and wife live happily together +"till death doth them part." If either should prove unfaithful, they +immediately separate, the wife leaving the children with the husband +and going to her parents. Then the guilty one and the correspondent +are punished by being put in the stocks and given a public whipping +daily for one or two weeks. Neither of the parties thus separated is +permitted to marry again. + +If a girl or widow has loved "not wisely, but too well," she is not +interfered with until her child is born. A day or two after that she +and the baby are put into prison for eight or ten days, and she is +compelled to divulge the name of her partner. The man is then arrested +and not only put into prison, but in the stocks besides. There are no +stocks for women, only two horizontal bars to which their hands are +tied, if they refuse to betray their lovers. The two culprits are kept +separate, and their families bring them food. Twice a day messengers +are sent through the village to announce that the punishment is about +to be executed, and many people come to witness it. The judges and the +parents of the delinquents reprimand the unfortunate couple, then from +two to four lashes are on each occasion inflicted, first upon the man +and then upon the woman. These are applied to an unmentionable part +of the back, which is bared, the poor wretches standing with their +hands tied to the pole. The executioner is given mescal that he may +be in proper spirit to strike hard. The woman has to look on while +the man is being punished, just as he afterward has to witness his +sweetheart's chastisement. She opens her eyes "like a cow," as my +informant expressed it, while the man generally looks down. + +Many times the judges are ashamed to go through this performance, +the character of which is below the standard of propriety of most +primitive tribes; but, strange to say, the parents themselves compel +them to let the law have its course. Afterward the girl is handed over +to her lover in order that they may become officially married by the +Church the next time the priest arrives. This may not happen for two +or three years, but the two are meanwhile allowed to live together, +the girl going to her lover's home. To avert all the misery in store +for her, an unfortunate woman may try to doctor herself by secretly +taking a decoction of the leaves of the chalate, a kind of fig-tree. + +Sometimes punishment is dealt out to young people for being +found talking together. Outside of her home a woman is absolutely +forbidden to speak to any man who does not belong to her own immediate +family. When fetching water, or out on any other errand, she must under +no circumstances dally for a chat with a "gentleman friend." Even +at the dancing-place it is against the law for her to step aside +to exchange a few words with any young man. If discovered in such a +compromising position, both offenders are immediately arrested, and +their least punishment is two days' imprisonment. If their examination +by the judges proves that their conversation was on the forbidden +topic of love, they get a whipping and may be compelled to marry. + +Some of the boys and girls who have been punished for talking together +in this manner, are so frightened that they never want to marry +in Lajas, but the more defiant ones deliberately allow themselves +to be caught, in order to hasten their union and steal a march on +their parents. For these Indians are by no means beyond the darts +of Cupid, and both men and women are known to have arranged with a +shaman to influence the objects of their tender thoughts, and have +paid him for such service. A woman may give a shaman a wad of cotton, +which he manages to put into the hand of the young man for whom it +is intended. Afterward the shaman keeps the cotton in his house, +the affection having been transmitted by it. + +On the other hand, men and women, to subdue their natural instincts, +go into the fields and grasp the branches of certain sensitive +plants. As the plant closes its leaves, the girls pray that they +may be able to shut themselves up in themselves. There are two kinds +of sensitive plants growing in the neighbourhood of Lajas (_Mimosa +florribunda_, var. _albida_, and _Mimosa invisa_), and recourse +may be had to either of them. Many men emigrate to other pueblos, +though they may in time return. Others remain bachelors all their +lives, and the judges in vain offer them wives. "Why should we take +them?" they say. "You have thrashed us once, and it is not possible +to endure it again." The legitimate way of contracting marriage is to +let the parents make the match. When the old folks have settled the +matter between themselves, they ask the judges to arrest the boy and +girl in question, whereupon the young people are put into prison for +three days. The final arrangements are made before the authorities, +and then the girl goes to the home of the boy to await the arrival +of the priest. + +When the Señor Cura is expected in Lajas, all the couples thus united, +as well as all persons suspected of harbouring unsafe tendencies, are +arrested. On the priest's arrival, he finds most of the young people of +the place in prison, waiting for him to marry them. For each ceremony +the Indians have to pay $5, and from now on every married couple +has to pay $1.50 per year as subsidy for the priest. No marriage +in Lajas is contracted outside of the prison. Crescencio himself, +when about to marry a Tepehuane woman, barely escaped arrest. Only +by threatening to leave them did he avoid punishment; but his bride +had to submit to the custom of her tribe. + +Contrary to what one might expect, unhappy unions are rare. Probably +the young people are glad to rest in the safe harbour of matrimony, +after experiencing how much the way in and out of it is beset with +indignities and leads through the prison gates. However, imprisonment +for love-making does not appear so absurd to the aboriginal mind as it +does to us, and the tribe has accommodated itself to it. I learned that +some of the boys and girls after a whipping go to their homes laughing. + +The obligation to denounce young people whom one has found talking +together, under penalty of being punished one's self for the omission, +does not create the animosity that might be expected. Besides, the +law on this point is none too strictly obeyed or enforced. + +According to Crescencio, the census taken in 1894 enumerated 900 +souls belonging to Lajas, and there may probably be altogether 3,000 +Tepehuanes here in the South. As far as I was able to ascertain, +the following Tepehuane pueblos are still in existence: + +1. San Francisco de Lajas. + +2. Tasquaringa, about fifteen leagues from the city of Durango. The +people here are little affected by civilisation, though a few Mexicans +live among them. + +3. Santiago Teneraca, situated in a deep gorge. The inhabitants are +as non-communicative as at Lajas, and no Mexicans are allowed to +settle within their precinct. This, as well as the preceding village, +belongs to Mezquital, and the padre from there visits them. + +4. Milpillas Chico, where the Indians are much mixed with Mexicans. + +5. Milpillas Grande. Here the population is composed of Tepehuanes, +Aztecs, and Mexicans. + +6. Santa Maria Ocotan, and + +7. San Francisco, both little affected by civilisation. + +8. Quiviquinta, about fifteen leagues southwest of Lajas. + +The latter three villages belong to the State of Jalisco. + +On the road from Durango to Mazatlan, passing Ventanas, there are no +Tepehuane pueblos. + + + + + +Chapter XXVI + + Pueblo Viejo--Three Languages Spoken Here--The Aztecs--The + Musical Bow--Theories of Its Origin--Dancing Mitote--Fasting + and Abstinence--Helping President Diaz--The Importance of Tribal + Restrictions--Principles of Monogamy--Disposition of the Dead. + + +There are two days journey over rough country to Pueblo Viejo, my next +objective point. Again I had great difficulty in finding a guide, +as the two villages were at loggerheads about some lands. The guide +furnished me by the authorities hid himself when we were about to +start. All the other Indians had gone back to their ranches, except +one, whom I finally persuaded to show me the way at least as far as +the ranch of the shaman with whom I had made friends, where I hoped +that through him I might get another guide. On our way, we passed Los +Retablos ("Pictures drawn on a Board"), the rather fantastic name of a +magnificent declivity of reddish rock, across which the track led. At +this place, tradition says, the Tepehuanes of Lajas, in the war of +independence, vanquished 300 Spanish soldiers, who were trying to reach +the city of Durango from Acaponeta. The Indians had hidden themselves +all around and above the steep slope, and from their ambuscades rolled +stones down on the Spaniards, every one of whom was killed. + +Having gotten my mules safely over this dangerous track, where they +could never have been rescued if they had lost their footing, I arrived +after a while at the home of the shaman, near which I camped. When I +went up to the house, I found it empty, and was barely in time to see +a woman making her escape with a child as best she could. I realised +that if the shaman did not return that evening or early next day, +I should have to return to Lajas. The plaintive trumpet sound of a +giant woodpecker about sunset--as far as we could make out, the only +living being in the vicinity--did not detract from the gloominess of +the prospect. + +Luckily, however, my shaman friend came to my tent at daybreak next +morning, and thus relieved my anxiety. Though exceedingly busy cutting +down trees and shrubs to clear his field, he spared one of his helpers +to show me the way to Hormigas (ants), charging only three reales for +the accommodation, and one real extra (twelve cents in Mexican money) +to be paid to the man in case I should want him to go farther and show +me the way to Aguacates. I also improved the opportunity to get from +him some ethnological information and a short Tepehuane vocabulary. + +Thus with lightened heart I started off through a country that, while +it did not present any remarkably steep ascents and descents, was +very rough and hard to travel. The main sierra is here very narrow, +and the large mountainous mass broken up into irregular ridges and +steep valleys. The next day, much of the time we followed a high, +rocky ridge, the highest point of which is called Mojoneras. Here, +ten miles north of Pueblo Viejo, the boundary line of the territory of +Tepic is said to run. For several miles on the road, and particularly +from the last-mentioned ridge, magnificent views of the wild country +northward present themselves, over the steep descent into the cañons +and gorges of the western part of the Sierra Madre. Only three +Tepehuane ranches were observed. + +I arrived without any mishap at Pueblo Viejo, which is inhabited +mainly by Aztecs. Of late years they have become much mixed with the +Tepehuanes, who have here taken refuge from drought and the advancing +"neighbours." Indian settlers who thus come from other pueblos are +called poblanos. They receive land from the community in return +for the services they render, and the two tribes freely intermarry, +although "neighbours" are never allowed to settle within the confines +of the village. Still the people, who have considerable intercourse +with Acaponeta, and who also go some distance to work in the mines +of Sinaloa, speak Spanish quite well. Indeed, of the three languages +spoken here, Spanish is the one most generally heard. Several Nahuatlan +words have been forgotten, and in making out my list of collections I +had great difficulty in getting designations for some of the objects, +for instance the word for "quiver," and for the curious rattling +anklets used by dancers. Only elderly people speak Nahuatl correctly, +and the Tepehuane influence is strong here, even in the ancient +religion of the people. It was curious to note that many people here, +as in Lajas, eat neither hens nor sheep, while they freely partake +of beef. + +People here are more intelligent and much less reticent than in +Lajas. Women when addressed will answer you, while in Lajas the +inhabitants are guarded, and suspicious even of other Indians, +not to speak of "neighbours." Another difference is that very few +drink mescal. + +At a meeting I had with the Indians, I remarked, in my desire to please +them, that the Mexican Government was interested to know whether +they were getting on well or whether they were coming to an end. To +this the principal speaker at once laughingly rejoined. "Of course, +they want to know how soon they can 'finish' us!" + +The Indians here have the usual trouble from "neighbours" trying to +encroach upon their territory. Once a delegation from this and the +neighbouring pueblos undertook a journey to the City of Mexico in order +to settle the troubles about their land. They stopped eleven days in +the capital and were well received by the Ministerio del Fomento; +but their money gave out before they finished their business, and +they had to walk all the way back without having accomplished anything. + +I found these Indians law-abiding and obliging, and I had no great +difficulty in securing permission to be present at a mitote, which +was to be given at a ranch in the neighbourhood. On March 24th, +a little before sunset, we started out on a ride of an hour and a +half, ascending some 3,000 feet on a winding Indian trail up to a high +mesa. It was a starlit, beautiful night, but the magnificent view which +this mesa commanded could only be surmised. There are a few ranches +here owned by people from the pueblo below, a man sometimes living in +his ranch here during the wet season, while for the remainder of the +year he occupies one in the pueblo. As we entered on the plain we could +distinctly hear the beating of the tawitól, the musical instrument +of the Tepehuanes. At this distance it sounded like a big drum. + +We passed the ranch which was giving the mitote, and a hundred yards +farther on we came upon a picturesque scene. Here on a meadow the +Indians were grouped around the many fires whose lights flickered +among the trees. There was just a pause in the dancing, which had +begun soon after sunset. I could at once discern a little plain set +apart for the dancing. On its eastern side was an altar of the usual +description, fenced on two sides with felled trees, on which were hung +the paraphernalia of the dancers, their bows, quivers, etc. In the +centre of the dancing-place was a large fire, and to the west of it +the shaman was seated on a stool. Behind him, similar though smaller +stools were set for the owner of the ranch and the principal men. + +Strange to say, the shaman was a Tepehuane. I learned later that the +Aztecs consider the shamans of that tribe better than their own. In +front of the shaman was the musical instrument on which he had been +playing. This was a large, round gourd, on top of which a bow of +unusual size was placed with its back down. The shaman's right foot +rested on a board which holds the bow in place on the gourd. The +bow being made taut, the shaman beats the string with two sticks, +in a short, rhythmical measure of one long and two short beats. When +heard near by, the sonorousness of the sound reminds one of the cello. + +This is the musical bow of America, which is here met with for the +first time. It is intimately connected with the religious rites of +this tribe, as well as with those of the Coras and the Huichols, +the latter playing it with two arrows. The assertion has been made +that the musical bow is not indigenous to the Western Hemisphere, +but was introduced by African slaves. Without placing undue +importance on the fact that negroes are very rarely, if at all, +found in the north-western part of Mexico, it seems entirely beyond +the range of possibility that a foreign implement could have become +of such paramount importance in the religious system of several +tribes. Moreover, this opinion is confirmed by Mr. R. B. Dixon's +discovery, in 1900, of a musical bow among the Maidu Indians on the +western slope of the Sierra Nevada, northeast of San Francisco, +California. In the religion of that tribe also this bow plays an +important part, and much secrecy is connected with it. + +The shaman's song sounded very different from the songs I had heard +among the Tarahumares. As his seat was high, he had to maintain a +stooping position all the time he played. The dancers, men and women, +made much noise by stamping their fiat soles vigorously on the ground, +as they moved in double column around the fire and the shaman, in a +kind of two-step-walk forward. They danced in a direction against the +apparent movement of the sun, the men leading, the women following. I +noticed that the step of the women was slightly different from that +of the men, inasmuch as they lifted themselves on their toes at each +step. At times the columns would suddenly stop and make the same +kind of movements backward for a little while, with the same small +jumps or skips as when walking forward. After a few seconds they +would again go forward. These movements are directed by the leader, +the man who dances first. + +Both men and women wore flowers, the former fastening them to their +straw hats, the latter in their hair with the stem behind the ear. The +flowers were apparently selected according to individual taste, but +the kind I saw most frequently was a white blossom called _corpus_, +the delicious fragrance of which I noticed every time the women +danced by. Two boys had a peculiar kind of white flower fastened with +a handkerchief tied around their heads. It is called _clavillinos_, +and looks like thick, white hair. The shaman wore a narrow hair-ribbon, +but no flower. Around their ankles the men had wound strings of dried +empty pods of a certain palm, which made a rattling noise during the +dancing. Five times during the night, ears of corn and plumes were +brought from the altar, and then the men always removed their hats. The +women wore veils (_rebosos_), but it is considered improper for them +to use sandals on such occasions; these are worn only by the men. + +There were five pauses made in the course of the night, and, to +prepare the people for them, the shaman each time began to strike +more slowly. The dancers continued until they arrived in front of the +altar, where they commenced to jump up and down on the same spot, +but with increasing rapidity, until the music stopped, when they +separated and lay down. + +Those who did not take any part in the dancing were lying around the +various fires, the number of the dancers changing with the different +songs, according to the degree of enthusiasm among the people. Many +went to sleep for a while, but this is not deemed very polite to the +owner of the ranch, as the effect of the dancing is much greater upon +the gods when everybody takes part. I was told that to keep the people +awake a man sometimes goes around spurting cold water over the drowsy +and nodding heads. + +The function had been opened by the owner of the ranch making alone +five circuits around the fire, carrying the musical instrument +and the two playing-sticks and doing reverence to the sun every +time he passed the altar. Just before sunrise the mitote concluded +with the dramatisation of the killing of the deer. Deer-skins were +brought from the bower of the altar, and the men put on their bows +and quivers, each of which contained twenty-five arrows and had two +slings attached to it. The men held the deer-skins in their hands and +danced five circuits. Two light-footed boys next appeared on the scene +to play the part of the deer. They had deer-skins on their backs, +and in their hands held deer-heads with antlers. These they showed +five times, alternately to the shaman who furnished the music, and +to the altar. Then they began to run, followed by the dancers, who +shouted and shot arrows, also trying to catch the deer by throwing +lassos that had been kept in the bower. Often they had to flee from +the deer, who chased them off the dancing-place. But they returned, +and at sunrise the deer were captured on a matting spread before the +altar, where the dancers now took positions. Starting from here they +next made five circuits around the dancing-place in the direction of +the apparent movement of the sun, then five circuits in the opposite +way. The shaman's beating slowed down, once more all the dancers +jumped up quickly, the music stopped, and the dancing was finished. + +Now the feasting began. The food, that had been placed on the altar, +pinole and toasted corn, was brought forward, and the host and his +wife ate first. After they had thus broken fast, all sat down, and +to each one the following dishes were served on little earthenware +platters or bowls: A small slice of deer-meat that had been cooked +between hot stones in an earth mound, and a handful of toasted corn; +a ball made of pinole mixed with unbroken beans; four tamales, and +one ball of deer-meat and ground corn boiled together. The last-named +course is simply called chueena (deer). The boys who served it had +on their backs three bun-dies, each containing three tamales, which +the boys afterward ate. + +The host always asks his guests to submit for four days longer to +the restrictions that are necessary to insure the efficiency of the +dancing. These refer mainly to abstinence from mescal and women, +and are conscientiously observed for five days before and five days +after the occasion, by the family who arranges the dance. The shaman, +on whom the obligation to observe these formalities is greater than +on anyone else, may have to officiate at another mitote before the +time limit for the first has expired, therefore much of his time is +spent in privations. + +After the feast, the tapexte, that is to say, the matting, which +constituted the top of the altar, is hung up in a tree to be used +again the next year. The trees that have formed the bower near the +altar are left undisturbed. The ceremonial objects are placed in +the trees for four or five days, and then put into a basket which is +hung in some cave. At Pueblo Viejo no more tribal mitotes are given, +and it seems that no family anywhere makes more than one a year. + +When a newly married couple wish to give their first mitote, they +go away from the house for a month. Both of them bathe and wash +their clothes, and impose restrictions upon themselves, sleeping +most of the time. When awake they talk little to each other, and +think constantly of the gods. Only the most necessary work is done; +he brings wood and she prepares the food, consisting of tortillas, +which must not be toasted so long that they lose their white colour. A +thin white gruel, called atole, made from ground corn, is also eaten, +but no deer-meat, nor fish with the exception of a small kind called +mítshe. Neither salt nor beans are allowed. The blankets they wear +must also be white. During all this time they must not cut flowers or +bathe or smoke; they must not get angry at each other, and at night +they must sleep on different sides of the fire. + +Fasting and abstinence form an integral part of the religion of these +people. A man who desires to become a shaman must keep strictly to +a diet of white tortillas and atole for five years. His drink is +water, and that only once a day, in the afternoon. The people here +once fasted for two months, in order to aid General Porfirio Diaz +to become President of Mexico; and they told me that they were soon +going to subject themselves to similar privations in order to help +another official whom they wanted to remain in his position. + +Fasting also plays an important part in the curing of diseases. The +patient, with his doctor, may go out and live in the woods and fast +for many days, the shaman smoking tobacco all the time. An omen as +to whether the patient will live or die is taken from the colour of +the tobacco smoke. If it is yellow the omen is bad. Or if the smoke +remains dense the patient will live; but if it disperses he will die. + +A very interesting ceremony is performed over a child when it is one +year old. The parents go with the shaman into the field and fast for +five days before the anniversary and for five days afterward. An +hour or two after sunset a big fire is made and four arrows and +the ceremonial object called god's eye are placed east of it. The +parents and those present look east all the time. The shaman first +makes four ceremonial circuits, then puffs tobacco-smoke on the god's +eye and on the child. He sings incantations and again makes four +ceremonial circuits, and smokes as before. Next he places his mouth +to the child's forehead, and draws out something that is called the +cochiste, the sleep or dreams, spitting it out in his hand. He makes +a motion with his plumes as if he lifted something up with them from +his hand, and holds the plumes over the god's eye for a while. The +people now see that two small, white balls are attached to the plumes, +and he shows them to all present, to prove that he does not deceive +them. Then he crushes the balls in his left hand with a sound as +if an egg was cracked, and throws them away. In the morning salt is +offered to the rasters. + +The cochiste is taken away from boys twice and four times from girls. A +boy cannot get married until the cochiste is taken away. A girl at the +age of puberty is pledged to a year of chastity, and the same ceremony +is performed on her as in babyhood, to be repeated in the following +year. Should she transgress during that time the belief is that she +or her parents or her lover will die. The principle of monogamy is +strictly enforced, and if a woman deviates from it she has to be cured +by the shaman, or an accident will befall her--a jaguar or a snake +will bite her, or lightning strike her, or a scorpion sting her, etc. + +She gives the shaman a wad of white cotton, which he places on +the god's eye. When he smokes tobacco and talks to the god's eye, +information is given to him through the cotton, which reveals to +him whether she has more than one husband, and even the name of the +unlawful one. He admonishes her to confess, explaining to her how much +better the result will be, as he then can cure her with much greater +strength. Even if she confesses, she is only half through with her +trouble, because the shaman exacts heavy payment for the cure, from +$10 to $20. If she cannot pay now, she has to come back in a month, +and continue coming until she can settle her account. By rights, the +man should pay for her, but often he runs away and leaves her in the +lurch. Since the Indians have come in contact with the Mexicans this +happens quite often. When at length the money is paid and she has +confessed everything, there is nothing more for the shaman to do but +to give an account of it to the god's eye, and she goes to her home +absolved. One year afterward she has to come back and report, and, +should she in the meantime have made another slip, she has to pay +more. From all the cotton wads the shaman gets he may have girdles +and hair-ribbons made, which he eventually sells. + +The custom related above is of interest as showing the forces employed +by ancient society to maintain the family intact. Fear of accidents, +illness or death, more even than the fine or anything else, keeps +the people from yielding too freely to the impulses of their senses. + +The treatment accorded to the dead by these people, and their notions +regarding them, are, in the main, the same as those obtaining with the +tribes which I visited before them, but there are some new features +that are of interest. Here, for instance, near the head of the dead, +who lies stretched out on the ground in the house, the shaman places +a god's eye and three arrows; and at his feet another arrow. He sings +an incantation and smokes tobacco, though not on the dead, while the +widow makes yarn from some cotton, which she has first handed to the +shaman. When she has finished the yarn, she gives it to the shaman, +who tears it into two pieces of equal length, which he ties to the +arrow standing at the right-hand side of the man. One piece he rubs +over with charcoal; this is for the dead, and is tied lower down on +the arrow. He winds it in a ball, except the length which reaches from +the arrow to the middle of the body, where the ball is placed under +the dead man's clothes. The other thread the shaman holds in his left +hand, together with his pipe and plumes. After due incantations he +divides the white thread into pieces of equal length, as many as there +are members of the family, and gives one piece to each. They tie them +around their necks and wear them for one year. Afterward they are mixed +with Some other material and from them a ribbon or girdle is made. + +On the fifth day the dead is despatched from this world. In the +small hours of the morning the shaman, with his plumes and pipe, +and a jar of water into which some medicinal herbs have been thrown, +leads the procession toward the west, while the people, including +women and children, carry branches of the zapote-tree. They stop, +while it is still dark, and the shaman steps forward and despatches +the deceased. He returns very soon, and sprinkles water on the people +and toward the west, where the dead has gone. + + + + + +Chapter XXVII + + Inexperienced Help--How to Acquire Riches from the + Mountains--Sierra del Nayarit--The Coras--Their Aversion to + "Papers"--Their Part in Mexican Politics--A Déjeuner à la + Fourchette--La Danza. + + +It is practically impossible to travel from tribe to tribe in Mexico +without changing muleteers, not only because the men generally +object to going so far from their homes, but also because it is not +advantageous to employ men who do not know the country through which +they are passing. Whenever the Indians understood something about +packing mules, I preferred them to the Mexicans, because I could learn +much from them on the way. The latter part of my travels I employed +none but Indians. + +The unwillingness of desirable men to leave their homes makes a +frequent change very embarrassing. My next destination from Pueblo +Viejo was Santa Teresa, the most northern of the Cora pueblos, and +everybody thought it was too far away. I had finally to take whatever +I could get in the way of carriers. For instance, I had only one man +on whom I could depend, a civilised Tepehuane, who was bright and +knew his business well, but he was hampered by an injured arm. Then +I obtained another man, somewhat elderly. He, too, became suddenly +aware that his right arm was crooked and not strong enough to lift +heavy burdens, while the two remaining carriers had never loaded a +mule in their lives. The first two directed the other pair how to +proceed, and thus I was treated to the ludicrous spectacle of four +men engaged in packing one mule. Naturally it took all day to load my +ten animals, and when this was accomplished, it was too late to start, +so that the day's work turned out to be nothing but a dress-rehearsal +in the noble art of packing mules. The result was that I had to take +a hand myself in putting the aparejos on the animals, shoeing them +and curing the sore backs, which, as a matter of course, developed +from the inexperience of some of the men. + +On the second day, by a stupendous effort, we started, but could go +only eight miles to a beautiful llano surrounded by oaks and pines. A +few ranches are all that remains of the village that once existed +here. On one of them lived a rich Cora who had married a Tepehuane +woman. All Coras get rich, the Indians here assert, because they know +better how to appease the gods. They submit to fasting and restrictions +for a month, or even a year, and then go "to the richest mountain the +ancient people knew." The master of the mountain comes out and the +two make a bargain, the Cora agreeing to pay for the cattle, deer, +corn, and other possessions, with men that he kills. The belief that +the mountains are the masters of all riches--of money, cattle, mules, +sheep, and shepherds--is common among the tribes of the Sierra Madre. + +When it devolves upon a Cora to make good his agreement and kill a man, +he makes from burnt clay, strips of cloth, etc., a small figure of +the victim and then with incantations puts thorns through the head +or stomach, to make the original suffer. He may even represent the +victim on horseback, and place the figure upside down to give him +pain. Sometimes a Cora makes a figure of the animal he wants, forming +it of wax or burned clay, or carving it from tuff, and deposits it +in a cave in the mountain. For every cow, deer, dog, or hen wanted, +he has to sacrifice a corresponding figure. + +The next day we followed for some time the camino real, which leads +from Acaponeta to the towns of Mezquital and Durango. We then descended +without difficulty some 3,000 feet into the cañon of Civacora, through +which flows a river of the same name, said to originate in the State +of Zacatecas. It passes near the cities of Durango and Sombrerete, +this side of Cerro Gordo. In this valley, which runs in a northerly +and southerly direction, we found some Tepehuanes from the pueblo of +San Francisco. + +The Indians here were defiant and disagreeable, and would not even +give us any information about the track we were to follow. They had the +reputation of stealing mules and killing travellers for the sake of the +corn the latter are likely to carry. I therefore put two men on guard +and allowed them to fire off a rifle shot as a warning, something they +always like to do. The sound reverberated through the still night with +enough force to frighten a whole army of robbers. The next morning I +sent for the most important Tepehuane, told him the object of my visit, +and asked him about the track. He gave me what information he could, +but he was unable to procure a guide for a longer time than that +day. We were then left to ourselves, with the odds against us. Twice +we lost our way, the first time passing a mitote dancing-place, and +coming to a halt before a steep mountain wall, passable only for agile +Indians. The second time we landed at the edge of a deep barranca, +and there was nothing to do but to turn back to a ranch we had passed +some time before. Luckily we met there a Tepehuane and his wife, +who assured us that we were at last on the right track. However, we +did not advance farther than the confluence of two arroyos, which the +man had pointed out to us deep down in the shrubbery. Before leaving +us he promised to be at our camp in the morning to show us the road +to Las Botijas, a small aggregation of ranches at the summit. In a +straight line we had not gone that day more than three miles. + +When passing one of our guide's ranches--and he had three within +sight--I noticed near the track a small jacal about 100 yards +off. The man told me that he was a shaman and that here he kept his +musical outfit, ceremonial arrows, etc.; though he appeared to be an +open-hearted young man, I could not induce him to show me this private +chapel of his, and we had to go on. He parted from us on the summit, +but described the road so well that we encountered no difficulty +during the remaining two days of our journey. + +I was glad to be once more up on the highlands, the more so that we +succeeded in finding there arroyos with water and grass. On reaching +the top of the cordon we had been following, we came upon a camino +real running between the villages of San Francisco and Santa Teresa, +and now we were in the Sierra del Nayarit. I was rather surprised +to find another barranca close by, parallel with the one we had just +left. As far as I could make out, this new gorge begins near the pueblo +of Santa Maria Ocotan, high up in the Sierra; at least my old Mexican +informed me that the river which waters it rises at that place and +passes the Cora pueblos of Guasamota and Jesus Maria. We travelled +along the western edge of this barranca, within which there are some +Aztec, but mainly Cora villages. There is still another barranca to +the east of and parallel to this, and in this the Huichols live. + +What is called Sierra del Nayarit is in the beginning a rather level +and often narrow cordon, and the track south leads near the edge of +the Barranca de Jesus Maria for ten or twelve miles. Along this ridge +hardly any other kind of tree is to be seen than _Pinus Lumholtzii_. A +variety of pine which resembles this very much, but is much larger, +and which I think may also be a new species, was observed after +leaving Pueblo Nuevo. + +The cordon gradually widens, and open, grass-covered places appear +among the pines, which now are of the usual kinds, and throughout +the Sierra del Nayarit are high, but never large. A few Coras passed +us leading mules loaded with panoche, to be exchanged in Santa Maria +Ocotan for mescal. + +The most conspicuous things in the Cora's travelling outfit are +his rifle and one or two home-made pouches which he slings over his +shoulder. There is an air of manliness and independence about these +Indians, and this first impression is confirmed by the entire history +of the tribe. + +We passed a few ranches on the road, and at last reached the little +llano on which Santa Teresa is situated. It is always disagreeable to +approach a strange Indian pueblo, where you have to make your camp, +knowing how little the people like to see you, and here I was among +a tribe who had never heard of me, and who looked upon me with much +suspicion as I made my entry. + +There were many people in town preparing for the Easter festival, +practising their parts in certain entertainments in vogue at that +season. At last I met a man willing to show me where I could find +water. He led me outside of the village to some deep and narrow clefts +in the red earth, from which a rivulet was issuing. I selected my +camping-place near by, at the foot of some low pine-covered hills, +and then returned to the pueblo. + +"Amigo!" shouted a man as he came running toward me from his house. It +was the alcalde, a tall, slender Indian with a slight beard and +a very sympathetic voice. I told him that we were entirely out of +corn, to which he replied that we could not get any in the pueblo, +only on the ranches in the neighbourhood. I asked him if he wanted +us to die from starvation, and then another man offered me half a +fanega. I inquired of the judge whether he did not want to see my +papers. "We do not understand papers," he replied. Still it was agreed +that the Indians should meet me next morning, and that my chief man, +the Tepehuane, should read my letters from the Government, because +the preceptor of the village was away in the city of Tepic, and no +one else was able to read. + +Santa Teresa is called in Cora Quemalúsi, after the principal one +of the five mythical men who in ancient times lived in the Sierra +del Nayarit. Reports say an idol now hidden was once found here. A +few miles east of Santa Teresa is a deep volcanic lake, the only +remnant of the large flood, the Coras say. It is called "Mother," or +"Brother," the last name containing a reference to their great god, +the Morning Star, Chulavéte. There are no fish in it, but turtles and +ducks. The water is believed to cure the sick and strengthen the well, +and there is no ceremony, in the Cora religion for which this water +is not required. It is not necessary to use it pure; it is generally +mixed with ordinary spring water, and in this way sprinkled over the +people with a red orchid, or a deer-tail stretched over a stick. + +Early next morning a good-looking young Indian on horseback rode up +to the tent to pay me a visit. He spoke Spanish very well. I treated +him with consideration and proffered him some biscuits I happened to +have. In the course of the conversation he offered to sell me a fowl, +if I would send a man to his ranch for it, which of course I was glad +to do. + +As he was taking leave, I expressed my admiration for the handsome +native-made halter on his horse. "Do you like it?" he asked, and he +immediately removed it from the horse and presented it to me. I wanted +to pay for it, but he said, "We are friends now," and rode off. The +fowl he sent was the biggest he had in his yard, an old rooster, +very strong and tough, Could there be food less palatable than a +lean old rooster of Indian breeding? The broth is worse than that +made from a billy-goat. + +I went to the meeting, and all listened silently while my letters +from the Government were read. Anything coming from Mexico impresses +these people deeply. Yet with the suspicion innate in their nature, +the Indians could not hear the documents read over often enough. We +had meeting after meeting, as the arrival in the pueblo of every man +of any importance was a signal that my papers would have to be read +over again. + +The alcalde introduced me to the teacher's wife, a Mexican, who +apparently took her lot very contentedly among "these people whom +no one ever knows," as she expressed it. She liked the climate, and +the security of life and property. Her husband had been working here +for four years. The children, of course, have first to learn Spanish, +and there is no school from June till September. The youngsters seemed +bright and well-behaved, but the Coras told me that they had not yet +learned to read. + +Most of the Cora Indians are slightly bearded, especially on the +chin. In this respect, however, there was no uniformity, some being +absolutely beardless, while others looked rather Mexican. They all +insisted, nevertheless, that there is among them no intermixture +with Mexicans, or, for that matter, with the Tepehuanes, and the Cora +women have very strong objections to unions with "neighbours." On the +other hand, it should be remembered that during the latter half of the +last century the tribe was subjected to a great deal of disturbance, +incidental to the revolution of Manuel Lozada, a civilised Aztec +from the neighbourhood of Tepic, who, about the time of the French +intervention, established an independent State comprising the present +territory of Tepic and the Cora country. He had great military talent, +and it was said that whenever he liked he could gather thousands of +soldiers without cost. He was able to maintain his government for a +number of years, thanks chiefly to the Coras, who were his principal +supporters. At one time they had to leave their country, and to live +for five years in an inaccessible part of the Sierra Madre above +San Buena. + +Among themselves, the Coras use their own language, but all the +men and most of the women speak and understand Spanish to some +extent. Though the people now dress like the "neighbours," they +are still thoroughly Indian, and proud of it. There are about 2,500 +pure-bred among them. They call themselves Nayariti or Nayari, and in +speech, religion, and customs they are akin to the Huichol Indians, +who, however, do not care very much for their relatives, whom they +call Hashi (crocodiles). Yet some intercourse is maintained between +the two tribes, the Coras bringing to the Huichols red face-paint, +wax, and the tail-feathers of the bluejay, while the services of +the Huichol curing shamans are highly appreciated by the Coras. An +interesting home industry is the weaving of bags or pouches of cotton +and wool, in many beautiful designs. + +The Coras are not good runners; they have neither speed nor endurance, +and they run heavily. It is astonishing how small the bones of their +limbs are, especially among the females, though this, by the way, is +the case with all the Indians I have visited. A Cora woman made for +me a shirt as an ethnological specimen, which I thought she must have +made too small at the wrist-bands, as they measured about 4 3/4 inches +(barely twelve centimetres); but she showed me how well they fitted +her. Still they always have well-developed hips and better figures +than the Mexican women. The teeth of the Coras are not always perfect; +I have seen several individuals whose front teeth were missing. + +Strange to say, in spite of the high elevation, there is fever and +ague here; the alcalde told me that he had an attack every second day. + +As Easter was at hand, there was quite a concourse of people, nearly +300 Indians assembling. Oxen were killed, and general eating and +feasting went on. I attended the communal feast, and dishes of food +were brought to me. In accordance with the Indian custom not to eat +much on the spot, I had my men carry some of the food to the camp, +as a welcome addition to our monotonous diet and scanty stores; and +we found that, aside from the usual Indian dishes, they comprised +bananas, salted fish, honey, and squashes. + +The authorities newly elected for the ensuing year gave a similar +entertainment to their predecessors in office. At the home of the +"Centurion," the principal official of the Easter festival, a rustic +table and benches had been erected outside of the house. I was invited +to sit down among the men of quality, and it was phenomenal to be +present at an Indian banquet served on a table, the only occasion of +the kind in my experience. As the table was small, the diners were +served in turns, one set after another. Each guest had a man to wait on +him, but there was neither table-cloth nor knife, fork nor spoon. It +was, if you like, a _déjeuner à la fourchette_, except that you were +supposed to handle the solid food with pieces of tortilla, that were +broken off, folded over, and used as a fork, or rather, spoon, and +were eaten with the meat. After the meat had all been fished out, +you drank the soup from your bowl or plate. If you could not manage +with the tortilla, you were excused for using your fingers. When +a bowl or plate was set before an Indian guest, the latter took it +up and immediately handed it to his wife, standing behind him, who +emptied it into the jars she had brought for that purpose. There was +meat with its broth; meat ground on the metate, boiled, and mixed with +chile; and atole to drink with it, all fresh and excellent. As I was +hungry, I pitched in, although at first I was the only one who ate, +which was rather embarrassing. But by and by the others, too, began +to eat, perhaps out of politeness. They were pleased, however, that +I enjoyed their food, and I did enjoy it, after the poorly assorted +diet we had been obliged to maintain. Although the variety of dishes +of primitive man is exceedingly limited, such of them as they have are +well prepared. The dinner was the best I ever had among Indians. The +party was pleasant and animated, and the banquet-hall extended to +the pines and mountains around and the azure sky above. + +During the night there was dancing on the tarima, a broad plank resting +on stumps. Dancing on the plank is said to be customary throughout +the Tierra Caliente of the northwest. One man and one woman dance +simultaneously, facing though not touching each other. The dancing +consists in a rhythmical jumping up and down on the same spot, and is +known to all the so-called Christian Indians wherever the violin is +played, although nowhere but among the Coras have I seen it executed +on the plank. It is called _la danza_, and is distinct from the +aboriginal sacred dances, although it may have been a native dance +somewhere in Mexico. _La danza_ is merely a ventilation of merriment, +indulged in when the Indians are in high spirits after church feasts, +and may sometimes be executed even in church. + +Gradually the people submitted to being photographed, even the +women. One evening when I changed plates under two wagon-covers in an +old empty house, a curious crowd gathered outside and knocked at the +door, wanting to know what was going on and to see the secret rites +I was performing. + +After a few days of deliberation the Indians consented to show me +their dancing-place, or, as they expressed it, their tunamóti (the +musical bow). + + + + + +Chapter XXVIII + + A Glimpse of the Pacific from the High Sierra--A Visionary + Idyl--The Coras Do Not Know Fear--An Un-Indian Indian--Pueblo of + Jesus Maria--A Nice Old Cora Shaman--A Padre Denounces Me as a + Protestant Missionary--Trouble Ensuing from His Mistake--Scorpions. + + +After a fortnight's stay I said good-bye to Santa Teresa. The alcalde, +who had become quite friendly, accompanied me over the llano on +which his pueblo lies, extending, interspersed with pine forests, +for about three miles west. He begged me not to forget the Coras +when I came to the Governor of the Territory of Tepic, and to ask +the Mexican Government to let them keep their old customs, which +he had heard they were going to prohibit. This fear, I think, was +unfounded. He also wanted me to use my influence toward preventing +the whites from settling in the vicinity, since they were eager to +get at the big forests. + +I had found a friend in a Cora called Nuberto, a kind-hearted and +frank fellow, sixty years old, who became our guide. The trail leads +along the western side of the Sierra Madre, sometimes only a few yards +from where the mountains suddenly give way to the deep and low-lying +valleys and foot-hills. As we approached the end of the day's journey, +a perfectly open view presented itself of the Tierra Caliente below, +as far as the Pacific Ocean, which by mules is a week's journey +distant. The wide expanse before us unfolded a panorama of hills that +sank lower and lower toward the west, where the salt lagoons of the +coast could be clearly discerned as silver streaks in the reddish-grey +mist of the evening. Acaponeta was right in line with the setting +sun. Here, 8,000 feet above the level of the sea, everything was calm +and mild; not a breath of air was stirring. A _prunus_ was in flower, +and oak-trees were growing on the brink of the ridge toward the sea. In +every other direction were to be seen the immense silent pine forests +that shelter the Coras, but no trace of human life. Everything seemed +undisturbed, peaceful, quieting, nerve-resting. + +Would it not be delightful to settle down here! Life would be so +easy! The Indians would help me to make a hut. I would marry one of +those beautiful Cora girls, who would be sure to have a cow or two to +supply me the civilised drink of milk. None of the strife and turmoil +of the outer world could penetrate into my retreat. One day would +pass as peacefully as its predecessor; never would she disturb the +tranquillity of my life, for she is like the lagoon, without ever a +ripple on its surface. Once in a while the spirit of the feasts might +inspire her to utter an angry word, but she would not mean much by +it, and would soon resume her usual placid rôle, moving along in the +even tenor of her daily life. What a splendid chance for studying the +people, for knowing them thoroughly, and for familiarising myself with +all their ancient beliefs and thoughts! Perhaps I might solve some +of the mysteries that shroud the workings of the human mind. But--I +should have to buy my fame at the price of living on tortillas and +pinole and beans! + + + + "We may live without poetry, music, and art; + We may live without conscience and live without heart; + We may live without friends, we may live without books, + But civilised man cannot live without cooks." + + + +Concluding that the eminent authority cited was right, I came back +to realities and continued my journey. + +By and by I arrived at a fertile little slope partly covered with corn +stubble. At the farther end of it was a large Cora ranch called La +Cienega, and in front of it grew two or three magnificent oak-trees +with light-green stems and equally light-coloured leaves. The people +here were well disposed and sold me some necessary supplies, so I +stopped with them for a day. + +While descending to the famous pueblo Mesa del Nayarit, one gets a +magnificent view of the high mountains which form the western border +of the Huichol country and stretch themselves out on the opposite +side of the cañon of Jesus Maria like a towering wall of a hazy +blue colour. The pueblo lies on a plain less than a mile in extent +in either direction, on the slope of the sierra, with an open view +only toward the east. There is an idol of the setting sun standing on +the mesa above the village, "looking toward Mexico," as the Indians +express it. This mesa is the one called Tonati by the chroniclers, +while by the Coras it is called Nayariti, and the whole sierra derived +its name from it. The same name is given to a cave in that locality, +where the Coras, as well as the Huichols, deposit ceremonial objects +and other offerings. The setting-sun god is worshipped equally by the +two tribes. The Indians jealously guard this cave, which is never +shown to outsiders. This is practically the terminus of the Sierra +del Nayarit. The sierra from now on is lower and gradually falls down +to Rio de Alica, or Rio Grande de Santiago, where Sierra Madre del +Norte ends. + +The people here, though friendly, were less sympathetic and much +more reserved than those of Santa Teresa, and I could find no one +who would divulge tribal secrets. They had received a message from +their sister pueblo telling them they had nothing to fear from me, +but the Coras are not easily scared, anyhow. A stranger may enter +a house without any further ceremony than the customary salutation, +"Axú!" One day when I approached a dwelling, a nice-looking little +girl, scarcely three years of age, came running out with a big knife +in her little fist, her mother following after her to catch her. The +small children curiously approach you, rather than run away. My two +dogs intruded into a house and met in the doorway a little girl, +about four years old, who was just coming out. The family dog was +inside and began at once to bark at the new-comers, ready to fight, +but the little one continued her walk without in the least changing +the quiet expression of her face. + +Although the Coras here maintain their traditions and customs more +completely than in other places, I did not see any of the adults +wearing the national dress, buckskin trousers and a very short tunic +reaching only below the breast and made of home-woven woollen material +dyed with native indigo-blue. Only one of the boys was seen with this +costume, and his father was said to have it also. Yet the Coras do +not want to be confounded with the "neighbours." When the principal +men submitted to be photographed, I wanted a picture to show their +physique, and therefore asked them to take off their shirts, which +they refused to do. But when I remarked, "You will then look like +neighbours," the shirts came off like a flash. + +The gobernador here was an original and peculiar character. First he +wanted me to camp in La Comunidad, to which I objected; but he was +bent upon having me as closely under his supervision as possible, +and I had to agree to establish my camp only half the distance that +I had intended from the village. As soon as my tent had been put up, +he came, accompanied by one of his friends. He had a passion for +talking, which he indulged in for two hours, interrupting himself +about every twenty seconds to spit. His companion wrapped himself in +his blanket and began to nod, and whenever the gobernador stopped +for expectoration, the other one would utter an assenting "hay" +("yes"). The Cora language is guttural, but quite musical, and when +I heard it at a distance it reminded me in its cadence of one of the +dialects of central Norway. However, the gobernador's monologue soon +became very tiresome, and finally I made my bed and lay down. After +a while they retired, but every evening as long as I stayed in the +place, his Honour came to bore me with his talk. I generally took +him out to my men, who entertained him as long as they were able +to keep awake. He wanted to hear about other countries, about the +bears we had met, and the great war, because he thought there must +always be war somewhere. When everybody was asleep after midnight, +he would retire. He was a widower, and he was the most un-Indian +Indian I ever met. + +About five miles east of Mesa del Nayarit the descent toward the +pueblo of Jesus Maria begins. The valley appears broad and hilly, +and the vegetation assumes the aspect of the Hot Country. Specially +noticeable were the usual thickets of thorny, dry, and scraggy trees, +seen even on the edge of the mesa. They are called _guisachi_, +and in the vernacular of the common man the word has been utilised +to designate a sharper. A man who "hooks on," as, for instance, a +tricky lawyer, is called a _guisachero_. It is the counterpart of the +"lawyer palm" among the shrubs of tropical Australia. + +Jesus Maria looks at a distance quite a town, on a little plain above +the river-bank. A fine, grand-looking old church, in Moorish style, a +large churchyard surrounding it, and the usual big buildings connected +with the churches of Spanish times, make all extraordinary impression +among the pithaya-covered hills. The rest of the houses look humble +enough. I went a little beyond the pueblo to the junction of arroyo +Fraile with the river of Jesus Maria. As a violent wind, caused by the +cooling off of the hot air of the barranca, blows every afternoon, +I did not put up my tent, but had my men build an open shed. The +wind lasts until midnight, and the mornings are delightfully calm +and cool. The Coras consider this wind beneficial to the growth of +the corn, and sacrifice a tamal of ashes, two feet long, to keep it +in the valley. + +The Cora of the cañon, and probably of the entire Tierra Caliente, +is of a milder disposition than his brother of the sierra, but he +looks after his own advantage as closely as the rest of them. + +The houses of the village are built of stone with thatched roofs, +and, having no means of ventilation, become dreadfully overheated. I +frequently noticed people lying on the floor in these hovels, suffering +from colds. In the summer there is also prevalent in the valley a +disease of the eyes which makes them red and swollen. Although the +country is malarial, the Indians attain to remarkable longevity, +and their women are wonderfully well preserved. All Indian women +age very late in life, a trait many of their white sisters might be +pardonably envious of. + +There are twenty Mexicans living here, counting the children; they +are poor, and have no house or lands of their own, but live in the +Convento and rent lands from the Indians. The Coras, of course, +are all nominally Christians, and the padre from San Juan Peyotan +attends to their religious needs. I was told that as recently as forty +years ago they had to be driven to church with scourges. Some families +still put their dead away in caves difficult of access, closing up the +entrance, without interring the bodies, and they still dance mitote, +although more or less secretly. + +The Indians catch crayfish, and other small fish, with a kind of +hand-net of cotton thread, which they hold wide open with their elbows +while crawling in the water between the stones. Where the river is +deep they will even dive with the net held in this way. + +The day after my arrival I was requested to come to. La Comunidad, +that the people might hear my letters read. This over, I explained +that I wanted them to sell me some corn and beans, a blue tunic of +native make, and other objects of interest to me, that I also wanted +them to furnish me two reliable men to go to the city of Tepic for +mail and money; that I wished to photograph them and to be shown +their burial-caves, and to have a real, good old shaman visit me, +and some men to interpret. The messengers were duly appointed, but it +took them two days to prepare the tortillas they had to take along as +provisions. My desire to see the burial-caves was looked upon with +ill-favour. The old shaman, however, was promptly sent for. He soon +arrived at the council-house, and without having seen me he told the +Indian authorities that "it was all right to tell this man about their +ancient beliefs, that the Government might know everything." When he +came to see me he took my hand to kiss, as if I were a padre, and I +had a most interesting interview with the truthful, dear old man, who +told me much about the Cora myths, traditions, and history. I gathered +from what he said that he could not be far from a hundred years old, +and he had not a grey hair in his head. His faculties were intact, +except his hearing, and while I was interviewing him he was making +a fish-net. + +I had him with me one day and a part of the next, but by that time +he was a good deal fatigued mentally, and I had to let him go. + +There was an Indian here, Canuto, who could read and write, and, +as he took a great interest in church affairs, he acted as a kind of +padre. I was told that he ascended the pulpit and delivered sermons +in Cora, and that he aspired even to bless water, but this the padre +had forbidden him. He was very suspicious and intolerant and quite +an ardent Catholic, the first Indian I had met who had entirely +relinquished his native belief. He actually did not like mitote +dancing, and the other Indians did not take kindly to him. All the +time I was here he worked against me, because the priest of San Juan +Peyotan, as I learned, had denounced me before the people. + +Two traders from that town, who had been visiting Santa Teresa while +I was there, had reported to the padre the presence of a mysterious +gringo (American), who had a fine outfit of boxes and pack-mules, +and who gave the Coras "precious jewellery" to buy their souls, +and visited their dances. The padre, without having ever seen me, +concluded that I was a travelling Protestant missionary, and one +day after mass he warned the people against the bad Protestant who +was on his way to corrupt their hearts and to disturb this valley in +which there had always been peace. "Do not accept anything from him, +not even his money; do not allow him to enter the church, and do not +give him anything, not even a glass of water," he said. This padre, +so I was told by reliable authority, made the judges at San Juan and +at San Lucas punish men and women for offences that did not come under +their jurisdiction. The men were put into prison, while the women had +fastened to their ankles a heavy round board, which they had to drag +wherever they went for a week or two. It caused them great difficulty +in walking, and they could not kneel down at the metate with it. + +His speeches about me made a deep impression upon the illiterate +Mexicans in that remote part of the world, who in consequence of it +looked upon me with suspicion and shunned me. Not knowing anything +better, they invented all kinds of wild charges against me: I was +surveying the lands for Porfirio Diaz, who wanted to sell the Cora +country to the Americans; I appealed only to the Indians because +they were more confiding and could be more easily led astray, my +alleged aim being to make Freemasons out of them. A Freemason is +the one thing of which these people have a superstitious dread and +horror. Even my letters of recommendation were doubted and considered +spurious. However, one old man, whose wife I had cured, told me that +Protestants are also Christians, and in his opinion I was even better +than a Protestant. Fortunately, the Indians were less impressionable, +and as their brethren in the sierra had not reported to them anything +bad about me, they could see no harm in a man who did not cheat anyone +and took an interest in their ancient customs and beliefs, while the +padres had always made short work of their sacred ceremonial things, +breaking and burning them. + +When at last my messengers returned, after an absence of twelve days, I +was surprised to note that they were accompanied by two gendarmes. The +Commandant-General of the Territory of Tepic had not only been kind +enough to cash my check for about $200, but had deemed it wise to +send me the money under the protection of an escort, a precaution +which I duly appreciated. As the return of the men was the only thing +I had been waiting for, I now prepared to move up the river to the +near-by pueblo of San Francisco, where the population is freer from +Mexican influence. + +When my hut was broken up, I found among my effects ten scorpions. The +cañon is noted for its multitude of scorpions, and I was told that a +piece of land above San Juan Peyotan had to be abandoned on account +of these creatures. The scorpion's sting is the most common complaint +hereabout, and children frequently die from it, though not all kinds +of scorpions are dangerous. The consensus of opinion is that the +small whitish-yellow variety is the one most to be dreaded. The Cura +of Santa Magdalena, State of Jalisco, assured me that he had known +the sting of such scorpions to cause the death of full-grown people +within two hours. + +The scorpions of Mexico seem to have an unaccountable preference for +certain localities, where they may be found in great numbers. In +the city of Durango the hotels advertise, as an attraction, that +there are no scorpions ill them. For a number of years, according +to the municipal records, something like 60,000 scorpions have been +annually killed, the city paying one centavo for each. Some persons +earn a dollar a night by this means. Yet some forty victims, mostly +children, die every year there from scorpion-stings. + +The cura quoted above thinks that there is a zone of scorpions +extending from the mining-place of Bramador, near Talpa, Territory +of Tepic, as far north as the city of Durango, though he could not +outline its lateral extent. At Santa Magdalena the scorpions are not +very dangerous. + + + + + +Chapter XXIX + + A Cordial Reception at San Francisco--Mexicans in the Employ + of Indians --The Morning Star, the Great God of the Coras--The + Beginning of the World--How the Rain-clouds were First Secured--The + Rabbit and the Deer--Aphorisms of a Cora Shaman--An Eventful + Night--Hunting for Skulls--My Progress Impeded by Padre's + Ban--Final Start for the Huichol Country--A Threatened Desertion. + + +At the pueblo of San Francisco, prettily situated at the bend of +a river, I was made very welcome. The Casa Real, another name for +the building generally designated as La Comunidad, had been swept +and looked clean and cool, and I accepted the invitation to lodge +there. It was furnished with the unheard-of luxury of a bedstead, +or rather the framework of one, made of a network of strong strips +of hide. As the room was dark, I moved this contrivance out on the +veranda, where I also stored my baggage, while my aparejos and saddles +were put into the prison next door. Two Indians were appointed to +sleep near by to guard me. When I objected to this I was informed +that two fellows from Jesus Maria had been talking of killing me as +the easiest way of carrying out the padre's orders. I felt quite at +home among these friendly, well-meaning people, and paid off my men, +who returned to their homes. I thought that whenever I decided to +start out again, I could get men here to help me to reach the country +of the Huichols. A shaman who knew more than all others was deputed +to give me the information I wanted about the ancient beliefs and +traditions of the Coras. + +The people also agreed to let me see their mitote, which at this +time of the year is given every Wednesday for five consecutive weeks +in order to bring about the rainy season. The fourth of this year's +series was to be on May 22d. As to burial-caves, they at first denied +that there were any skulls in the neighbourhood, but finally consented +to show me some. Later on, how-ever, an important shaman objected to +this, strongly advising the people not to do so, because the dead +helped to make the rain they were praying for, at least they could +be induced not to interfere with the clouds. + +A few Coras here were married to "neighbours," and some Cora women +had taken "neighbours" for husbands. For the first time, and also +the last, in all my travels, I had here the gratification of seeing +impecunious Mexicans from other parts of the country at work in the +fields for the Coras, who paid them the customary Mexican wages of +twenty-five centavos a day. The real owners of the land for once +maintained their proper position. + +I saw hikuli cultivated near some of the houses in San Francisco. They +were in blossom, producing beautiful large, white flowers. The plant +is used at the mitotes, but not generally. + +On both sides of the steep arroyo near San Francisco were a great +number of ancient walls of loose stones, one above the other, a kind +of fortification. In other localities, sometimes in places where one +would least expect them, I found a number of circular figures formed +by upright stones firmly embedded in the ground, in the same way as +those described earlier in this narrative. + +The pueblo, _mirabile dictu_, had a Huichol teacher, whom the +authorities considered, and justly so, to be better than the ordinary +Mexican teacher. He was one of nine boys whom the Bishop of Zacatecas, +in 1879, while on a missionary tour in the Huichol country, had picked +out to educate for the priesthood. After an adventurous career, which +drove him out of his own country, he managed now to maintain himself +here. Although his word could not be implicitly trusted, he helped +me to get on with the Coras, and I am under some obligation to him. + +A prominent feature in the elaborate ceremonies of the tribe, connected +with the coming of age of boys and girls, is the drinking of home-made +mescal. The lifting of the cochiste, as described among the Aztecs, +is also practised, at least among the Coras of the sierra, and is +always performed at full moon. + +The people begin to marry when they are fifteen years old, and +they may live to be a hundred. The arrangement of marriages by the +parents of the boy without consulting him is a custom still largely +followed. On five occasions, every eighth day, they go to ask for +the bride they have selected. If she consents to marry the man, then +all is right. One man of my acquaintance did not know his "affinity" +when his parents informed him that they had a bride for him. Three +weeks later they were married, and, as in the fairy-tale, lived +happily ever afterward. His parents and grandparents fasted before +the wedding. In San Francisco I saw men and women who were married, +or engaged to be married, bathing together in the river. + +Fasting is also a notable feature in the religion of the Coras, and is +considered essential for producing rain and good crops. Abstinence from +drinking water for two days during droughts is sometimes observed. The +principal men on such occasions may undertake to do the fasting for +the rest of the people. They then shut themselves up in La Comunidad, +sit down, smoke, and keep their eyes on the ground. + + + +The Coras of the cañon are not always in summer in accord with Father +Sun, because he is fierce, producing sickness and killing men and +animals. Chulavete, the Morning Star, who is the protecting genius of +the Coras, has constantly to watch the Sun lest he should harm the +people. In ancient times, when the Sun first appeared, the Morning +Star, who is cool and disliked heat, shot him in the middle of the +breast, just as he had journeyed nearly half across the sky. The +Sun fell down on earth, but an old man brought him to life again, +so that he could tramp back and make a fresh start. + +The Morning Star is the principal great god of the Coras. In the +small hours of the morning they frequently go to some spring and wash +themselves by his light. He is their brother, a young Indian with bow +and arrow, who intercedes with the other gods to help the people in +their troubles. At their dances they first call him to be present, +and tell their wants to him, that he may report them to the Sun and +the Moon and the rest of the gods. + +A pathetic story of the modern adventures of this their great hero-god +graphically sets forth the Indian's conception of the condition in +which he finds himself after the arrival of the white man. Chulavete +was poor, and the rich people did not like him. But afterward they took +to him, because they found that he was a nice man, and they asked him +to come and eat with them. He went to their houses dressed like the +"neighbours." But once when they invited him he came like an Indian +boy, almost naked. He stopped outside of the house, and the host came +out with a torch of pinewood to see who it was. He did not recognise +Chulavete, and called out to him: "Get away, you Indian pig! What are +you doing here?" And with his torch he burned stripes down the arms and +legs of the shrinking Chulavete. Next day Chulavete received another +invitation to eat with the "neighbours." This time he made himself +into a big bearded fellow, with the complexion of a man half white, +and he put on the clothes in which they knew him. He came on a good +horse, had a nice blanket over his shoulder, wore a sombrero and a +good sabre. They met him at the door and led him into the house. + +"Here I am at your service, to see what I can do for you," he said +to them. + +"Oh, no!" they said. "We invited you because we like you, not because +we want anything of you. Sit down and eat." + +He sat down to the table, which was loaded with all the good things +rich people eat. He put a roll of bread on his plate, and then began +to make stripes with it on his arms and legs. + +"Why do you do that?" they asked him. "We invited you to eat what +we eat." + +Chulavete replied: "You do not wish that my heart may eat, but my +dress. Look here! Last night it was I who was outside of your door. The +man who came to see me burned me with his pine torch, and said to me, +'You Indian pig, what do you want here?' " + +"Was that you?" they asked. + +"Yes, gentlemen, it was I who came then. As you did not give me +anything yesterday, I see that you do not want to give the food to me, +but to my clothes. Therefore, I had better give it to them." He took +the chocolate and the coffee and poured it over himself as if it were +water, and he broke the bread into pieces and rubbed it all over his +dress. The sweetened rice, and boiled hen with rice, sweet atole, +minced meat with chile, rice pudding, and beef soup, all this he +poured over himself. The rich people were frightened and said that +they had not recognised him. + +"You burned me yesterday because I was an Indian," he said. "God put +me in the world as an Indian. But you do not care for the Indians, +because they are naked and ugly." He took the rest of the food, +and smeared it over his saddle and his horse, and went away. + +The Coras say they originated in the east, and were big people with +broad and handsome faces and long hair. They then spoke another +language, and there were no "neighbours." According to another +tradition, the men came from the east and the women from the west. + +In the beginning the earth was fiat and full of water, and therefore +the corn rotted. The ancient people had to think and work and fast +much to get the world in shape. The birds came together to see what +they could do to bring about order in the world, so that it would be +possible to plant corn. First they asked the red-headed vulture, the +principal of all the birds, to set things right, but he said he could +not. They sent for all the birds in the world, one after another, +to induce them to perform the deed, but none would undertake it. At +last came the bat, very old and much wrinkled. His hair and his beard +were white with age, and there was plenty of dirt on his face, as he +never bathes. He was supporting himself with a stick, because he was +so old he could hardly walk. He also said that he was not equal to +the task, but at last he agreed to try what he could do. That same +night he darted violently through the air, cutting outlets for the +waters; but he made the valleys so deep that it was impossible to +walk about, and the principal men reproached him for this. "Then I +will put everything back as it was before," he said. + +"No, no!" they all said. "What we want is to make the slopes of a +lower incline, and to leave some level land, and do not make all the +country mountains." + +This the bat did, and the principal men thanked him for it. Thus the +world has remained up to this day. + +No rain was falling, and the five principal men despatched the +humming-bird to the place in the east where the rain-clouds are living, +to ask them to come over here. The clouds came very fast and killed +the humming-bird, and then returned to their home. After a while +the humming-bird came to life, and told the principal men that the +clouds had gone back. The people then sent out the frog with his five +sons. As he proceeded toward the east he left one of his sons on each +mountain. He called the clouds to come, and they followed and overtook +him on the road. But he hid himself under a stone, and they passed +over him. Then the fifth son called them on, and when they overtook +him he, too, hid himself under a stone. Then the fourth son called +the clouds and hid, then the third son called, and then the second, +and finally the first, who had been placed on a mountain from which +the sea can be seen to the west of the sierra. When the storm-clouds +went away again, the frogs began to sing merrily, which they do to +this day after rain, and they still hide under stones when rain is +coming to the Cora country. + +The rabbit in olden times had hoofs like the deer, and the deer had +claws. They met on the road and saluted each other as friends. Said the +deer: "Listen, friend, lend me your sandals, to see how they feel. Only +for a moment." The rabbit, who was afraid the deer would steal them, +refused at first, but at last he agreed, and the deer, putting them on, +rose and began to dance. "Oh, how beautifully it sounds!" he said. He +danced five circuits, and began to dance mitote and sing. The rabbit +sat looking on, and was in a dejected mood, fearing that the deer +might not give him back his sandals. The deer then asked permission +to run five big circuits over the mountains. The rabbit said no, but +the deer went away, promising to come back directly. He returned four +times, but on the fifth round he ran away. The rabbit climbed up on a +mountain and saw the deer already far off. He wanted to follow him, but +he could not, because his feet were bare. The deer never returned the +hoofs to the rabbit, and hoofless the rabbit has remained to this day. + +I had many interesting interviews with the old shaman whom the +authorities had appointed to serve me. He confided to me that for +many years he had faithfully fulfilled his office as the principal +singing shaman of the community, but that the people had once suddenly +accused him of practising sorcery and wanted to punish him. Being +very intelligent and upright, he was of great assistance to me, +and the more eager to do all he could for the grudge he bore his +compatriots for accusing him of sorcery. No doubt he was glad of +my coming, as it gave him a chance to rehabilitate himself, since, +for the first time in three years, he had been engaged to sing at the +dance. Be this as it may, I obtained much valuable information from +him. He could elucidate the trend of Indian thought better than any +shaman I had hitherto met, and his talk was full of aphorisms and +opinions with reference to Indian views of life. + +Referring to the many regulations and observances the Indians have +to comply with in order to insure food, health, and life, he said: +"A man has to do a good deal to live. Every tortilla we eat is the +result of our work. If we do not work, it does not rain." That the +"work" consists in fasting, praying, and dancing does not detract +from its hardship. + +Other sayings I picked up are as follows: + +We do not know how many gods there are. + +The Moon is man and woman combined; men see in her a woman, women +see a man. + +It is better to give a wife to your son before he opens his eyes very +much; if not, he will not know whom he wants. + +Illness is like a person; it hears. + +Everything is alive; there is nothing dead in the world. The people +say the dead are dead; but they are very much alive. + +My friend went with me in the afternoon to the place where the mitote +was to be given. As the preparations of the principal men consume +two days, and I was bent on seeing everything, I went to the place +the day before the dance was to come off. It was a few miles away +in a remote locality, on top of a hill the upper part of which was +composed mainly of huge stones, some of them as regular in shape as if +they had been chiselled. Here and there in the few open spaces some +shrubbery grew. An opening in the midst of the great mass of stones +had been prepared to serve as a dancing-place. The big stones looked +dead enough, but to the Indians they are alive. They are what the +Coras call Táquats or ancient people. Once upon a time they went to a +mitote, just as we were doing now, when the morning star arose before +they arrived at their destination, and all were changed into stone, +and ever since have appeared like stones. My companion pointed out +the various figures of men, women, and children, with their bundles +and baskets, girdles, etc., and in the waning light of day it was not +difficult to understand how the Indians had come to this conception +of the fantastic forms standing all around the place. Even a mountain +may be a Taquat, and all the Taquats are gods to whom the Coras pray +and sacrifice food; but it is bad to talk about them. + +It had often been a puzzle to me why primitive people should make +for themselves stone idols to whom they might sacrifice and pray; +but what is to us a rock or stone may be to the Indian a man or a +god of ancient times, now turned into stone. By carving out features, +head, body, or limbs, they only bring before their physical eyes what +is in their mind's eye. This peculiar kind of pantheism can never be +eradicated from the Indian's heart unless he is from infancy estranged +from his tribal life. + +In the centre of the dancing-place stood a magnificent tree not yet +in leaf, called _chócote_, and there was some shrubbery growing about +and around the place, which is very old. Only a few yards higher +up among the rocks is a similar spot, with traces of still greater +antiquity. The Indians had promised me that on this occasion one of +their shamans would make a god's eye for me, and I was shown the stone +on which he would sit while making it. It was near the tree; and back +of it, arranged in a circle around the fire, were six similar stones, +in place of the stools I had seen in Pueblo Viejo. The principal men +had swept the place in the morning, and since then had been smoking +pipes and talking to the gods. + +There were also present a female principal, an old woman, with her +little granddaughter who represented the moon. These too, it seemed, +had to attend to certain religious duties which they perform for five +years, the child beginning at the innocent age of three. During her +term she lives with the old woman, whether she is related to her or +not. The old lady has charge of the large sacred bowl of the community, +an office vested only in a woman of undoubted chastity. This bowl is +called "Mother," and is prayed to. It consists of half of a large round +gourd, adorned inside and outside with strings of beads of various +colours. It is filled with wads of cotton, under which lie carved stone +figures of great antiquity. None but the chief religious authority is +allowed to lift up the cotton, the symbol of health and life. The bowl +rests also on cotton wads. On festive occasions the woman in charge +brings the bowl to the dancing-place and deposits it at the middle of +the altar. Parrot feathers are stood up along the inner edge, and each +person as he arrives places a flower on top of the cotton inside of +the bowl. This vessel is really the patron saint of the community. It +is like a mother of the tribe, and understands, so the Indians say, +no language but Cora. The Christian saints understand Cora, Spanish, +and French; but the Virgin Mary at Guadalupe, the native saint of +the Mexican Indians, understands all Indian languages. + +Leaving the principales to prepare themselves further for the +dance, my friend and I early next morning went to see a sacred cave +where the Huichols go to worship. It was situated in the same hill, +outside of the country of that tribe. There were a great many caves +and cavities between the stones over which we made our way, jumping +from one to another. Near the lower edge of this accumulation of +stones I noticed, down in the dark, deep recesses, ceremonial arrows +which the pious pilgrims from beyond the eastern border of the Cora +land had left. Soon after passing this point We came to a cave, +the approach of which led downward and was rather narrow. With the +aid of a pole or a rope it can easily be entered. I found myself +at one of the ancient places of worship of the Huichol Indians, +the cave of their Goddess of the Western Clouds. It was not large, +but the many singular ceremonial objects, of all shapes and colours, +accumulated within it, made a strange impression upon me. There were +great numbers of ceremonial arrows, many with diminutive deer-snares +attached, to pray for luck in hunting; as well as votive bowls, gods' +eyes, and many other articles by which prayers are expressed. In one +corner was a heap of deer-heads, brought for the same purpose. As my +companion entered, a rat disappeared in the twilight of the cave. + +I wanted to take some samples of the articles, but he begged me not +to do it, as the poor fellows who had sacrificed the things might +be cheated out of the benefits they had expected from them. He had, +however, no objection to nay taking a small rectangular piece of +textile fabric, with beautifully colored figures on it. "This is +a back shield," he said, "and the Huichols do not do right by those +things. They place them in the trails leading out of their country, to +prevent the rain from coming to us. Lions and other ferocious animals +are often represented on them, and they frighten the rain back." + +On our return to the dancing-place I found the man who had been +deputed to make the god's eye lying in a small cave in quite an +exhausted condition, having fasted for many days. The ceremonial +object had already been made, under incantations. It was very pretty, +white and blue, and had a wad of cotton attached to each corner. Its +efficacy was, however, lost as far as I was concerned, as I had not +been sitting beside the man while he made it, praying for what I +wanted. This is a necessary condition if the Morning Star is to be +made to understand clearly what the supplicant needs. + +On the altar, beside the sacred bowl of the community, had been +placed food and many ceremonial objects, not omitting the five ears of +seed-corn to be used in raising the corn required for the feasts. In +the ground immediately in front of the altar were four bunches of +the beautiful tail-feathers of the bluejay. + +Opposite to this, on the west side of the place, was another altar, +a smaller one, on which had been put some boiled pinole in potsherds, +with tortillas and a basket of cherries. This was for the dead, who if +dissatisfied might disturb the feast. Afterward the pinole is thrown +on the ground, while the people eat the rest of the food. + +The fasting shaman came forth on our arrival and took his position +opposite the main altar, talking to the gods for half an hour. The +newly made god's eye had been stuck into the ground in front of him. On +his left side stood the little girl, and behind her the old woman, +her guardian, and a man, who was smoking tobacco. Two young men, one +at the right, the other at the left, held in their hands sticks with +which they woke up people who fell asleep during the night while the +dance was going on. + +The shaman prayed to the Morning Star, presented to him the ears of +corn that were to be used as seed, and asked him to make them useful +for planting. The gods know best how to fructify the grains, since all +the corn belongs to them. "And as for this man," he added, speaking +of me, "you all knew him before he started from his own country. To +us he seems to be good, but you alone know his heart. You give him +the god's eye he asked for." + +A little after dark the singer for the occasion began to play a +prelude on the musical bow, which the Coras always glue to the gourd, +uniting the two parts to form one instrument. The gourd was placed +over a small excavation in the ground to increase its resonance. The +singer invoked the Morning Star to come with his brothers, the other +stars, to bring with them their pipes and plumes, and arrive dancing +with the rain-clouds that emanate from their pipes as they smoke. The +Morning Star was also asked to invite the seven principal Taquats to +come with their plumes and pipes. + +The Coras-dance like the Tepehuanes and the Aztecs, but with quicker +steps, and every time they pass the altar the dancers turn twice +sharply toward it. At regular intervals the old woman and the little +girl danced, the former smoking a pipe. The little girl had parrot +feathers tied to her forehead and a bunch of plumes from the bluejay +stood up from the back of her head. In the middle of the night she +danced five circuits, carrying a good-sized drinking-gourd containing +water from a near-by brook, which originates in the sacred lagoon. + +The shaman sang well, but the dancing lacked animation, and but +few took part in it. When the little girl began to dance with her +grandmother, I seated myself on a small ledge not far from the +musician. Immediately the shaman stopped playing and the dancing +ceased. In an almost harsh voice, and greatly excited, he called to +me, "Come and sit here, sir!" He was evidently very anxious to get +me away from the ledge, and offered me a much better seat on one of +the stones placed for the principal men. I had inadvertently sat +on a Taquat! This sacred rock of the dancing-place had a natural +hollow, which the Indians think is his votive bowl, and into which +they put pinole and other food. "Never," my friend told me next day, +"had anyone sat there before." + +Later in the evening, when there was a pause in the performance, +I noticed that all the men, with the singing shaman, gathered in a +corner of the dancing-place, seating themselves on the ground. They +were discussing what they should do in regard to the skulls I had +asked for. One of the principal men told them that a dream last night +had advised him not to deny the "Señor" anything he asked for, as +he had to have a "head" and would not go without one. "You are daft, +and he comes here knowing a good deal," the dream had said. + +They all became alarmed, especially the man who had steadily opposed +their complying with my request, and they agreed that it was better +to give the white man what he wanted. The gobernador even raised the +question whether it would not be best to let me have the skulls early +next morning, together with the other things I was to get; or, if not +then, at what other time? My shaman friend diplomatically proposed +that I should set the time for this. + +Next morning I got the god's eye as well as a splendid specimen of +a musical bow with the gourd attached, the playing-sticks, etc., all +of which were taken out of a cave near the dancing-place. There was +another cave near by, into which the principal men are accustomed to +go to ask permission from the sun and moon and all the other Taquats +to make their feasts. + +The morning saw the feast concluded in about the usual way. Tobacco was +smoked over the seed-corn on the altar, and sacred water was sprinkled +from a red orchid over everything on the altar, including the sacred +bowl and the flowers on top of it, as well as over the heads of all +the people present, to insure health and luck. This is done on behalf +of the Morning Star, because he throws blessed water Over the whole +earth, and on the corn and the fruit the Coras eat. The flowers are +afterward taken home, even by the children, and put in cracks in the +house walls, where they remain until removed by the hand of time. + +The people of Santa Teresa and San Francisco, at certain rain-making +feasts, fashion a large locust (_chicharra_) out of a paste made of +ground corn and beans, and place it on the altar. In the morning, +after the dancing of the mitote, it is divided among the participants +of the feast, each eating his share. This is considered more efficient +even than the dancing itself. + +It is evident that the religious customs of the cañon of Jesus Maria +are on the wane, mainly because the singing shamans are dying out, +though curing shamans will remain for centuries yet. As the Indians +now have to perform their dances secretly, the growing generation +has less inclination and little opportunity to learn them, and the +tribe's ritual and comprehensive songs will gradually become lost. + +My shaman friend in San Francisco complained to me that the other +shamans did not know the words of the songs well enough. Tayop (Father +Sun) and the other gods do not understand them, he said, and therefore +these shamans cannot accomplish anything with "los señores." It was +like sending a badly written letter: "the gentlemen" pass it from +one to another, none of them being able to make out its meaning. + +In the mean time my efforts to obtain anthropological specimens were +more laborious than successful, because it was very difficult to get +anyone to show me where they could be found. To make things worse, +suddenly another man dreamed that I had enough "heads," and so I was +not permitted to search for them any more. But I did not intend to +content myself with the few I had secured. I had made arrangements with +a Cora some time before to show me some skulls he knew of, and after +much procrastination on his part I at last got him to accompany me. + +We rode for fifteen miles in the direction of Santa Teresa. The +country was rough and but sparsely inhabited. In fact, I passed three +deserted ranches, and near one of them I killed a Gila monster that +was just making its burrow. There lay an air of antiquity over the +whole landscape. About half a league before reaching the caves we +sought, I came upon quite an extensive fortification; I also noticed +a number of trincheras in one arroyo; and above it on a mesa, running +along the edge, we found a wall built of loose stones. The mesa, 300 +by 200 feet in extent, was a natural fortress difficult of access, +except at one point where a little cordon, like an isthmus, led to +it. Here, however, I found no vestige of ancient inhabitants. + +There were two shallow caves close to each other in the remote valley +into which the guide had led me. In the larger one, which was eight +feet deep and twelve feet broad, nine skulls were found. In the other +were only a few bones, and I noticed indications of partitions, in the +shape of upright stones, between the skeletons. The bodies must have +been partly buried, with the heads protruding, in spaces a foot square. + +It was nearing dusk and I had to get back to my camp that evening. On +the road my mule gave out, and for the last part of the way I had +to walk. I refreshed myself with some zapotes, which were just in +season. This native fruit of Mexico has the flavour of the pear and +the strawberry, and is delicious when picked fresh from the tree; +but as soon as it falls to the ground it is infested with insects. + +Contrary to expectation, when I was ready to leave the village, +I found it exceedingly difficult to get men. As the Coras here do +not understand the mule business, I had to resort to the Mexicans in +the valley, who, however, acting under instructions from the padre, +would have nothing to do with me. They even shunned those who were +seen in my company. One man who used to carry on some trading with +the Huichols was more daring than the rest. He declared that he would +serve the devil himself if he got paid for it, and tried to make up a +party for me, but failed. He was ruining his reputation for my sake, +he told me; even his compadre (his child's godfather), on account +of his association with me, ran away when he saw him coming. The +situation finally became so exasperating that I was compelled to write +to the Bishop in Tepic, and lay the case before him. I stated that the +padre, without having seen me, had placed me in a bad light before the +people, and had then left the country, making it impossible for me to +convince him of his error of judgment; that if it were not for the +strong recommendations I had from the Government and the Commanding +General of the Territory, it would be impossible for me to stay here, +except at great personal risk. + +To await an answer, however, would have involved too great a loss +of time. Luckily I found three dare-devil fellows, but recently come +into the valley for a living, who were willing to go with me. These, +together with the man already mentioned and one Cora Indian, enabled +me to make a start. Thus I parted from pretty San Francisco, and the +nice Indians there, who had believed in me in spite of the wickedness +the Mexicans had attributed to me. The Coras are the only primitive +race I have met who seem to have acquired the good qualities of the +white man and none of his bad ones. + +On an oppressively hot June morning, when I finally got away, the +alcalde rode along with me for a couple of miles. We soon began to +ascend the slope of the mountains that form the western barrier +of the Huichol country, which, among the Mexicans, is reputed to +be accessible only at four points. Next morning, while packing the +mules, the father of one of my Mexicans ran up to us with a message +that seemed quite alarming. Immediately after I left San Francisco +yesterday, the Mexican authority at Jesus Maria had come over to tell +me that the Huichols were on the warpath and determined not to allow +me to enter their pueblos. The messenger impressed upon my men the +necessity of turning back and implored them not to run any risk by +accompanying me. The chief packer came hastily to me with this news, +which I at once declared to be false. But the men, nevertheless, +stopped packing, and proposed to go back. They declared that the +Huichols were bad, that they were assassins, that there were many of +them, and that they would kill us all. + +Now, what was I to do? To turn back from the tribe the study of which +had been from the outset my principal aim was not to be thought of; +even to delay the trip would be impossible, as the wet season was fast +approaching, in which one cannot travel for months. I tried to reason +with them and to ease their minds by pointing out the great experience +I had had with Indians in general. I also appealed to their manly +pride and courage. "Have we not five rifles?" I said. "Cannot each one +of you fight fifty Indians?" Still they wavered, and it looked as if +they were going to desert me, when the cook courageously exclaimed: +_"Vámos, vámos!"_ ("Let us go on!") They again began to pack, and I +managed to keep my troupe together. + +The real danger for me lay in the evil rumours the Mexicans had spread, +and in. the fact that the whites were afraid of me. The Indians do +not follow the "neighbours" in their reasoning; they only think that +a white man of whom even the Mexicans are afraid must certainly be +terrible. The reason why I had chosen this route was that a friend of +mine in far-away Guadalajara had given me a letter of recommendation +to an acquaintance of his, a half-caste, who acted as escribano +(secretary) to the pueblo of San Andres, or, to give its name in full, +San Andres Coamiata. I had been told that this man was temporarily +absent, in which case I should be at the mercy of the strange Indians. + +The immediate prospect looked dark enough to make me consider the +advisability of the long detour to the town of Mezquitic, to get +assistance from the government authorities there and to enter the +Huichol country from the east by way of Santa Catarina. Against +this plan, however, my men urged that they could not be back in +their country before the wet season set in, to attend to their +fields. Finally, I decided to risk going to San Andres. If Don +Zeferino was not there, I would come back and then try Mezquitic. Two +days later, after a laborious ascent, I sent my chief packer ahead to +San Andres, which was still about eight miles off. What a mountainous +country all around us! The Jesuit father Ortega was right when he said +of the Sierra del Nayarit: "It is so wild and frightful to behold that +its ruggedness, even more than the arrows of its warlike inhabitants, +took away the courage of the conquerors, because not only did the +ridges and valleys appear inaccessible, but the extended range of +towering mountain peaks confused even the eye." + +My messenger returned after two days, saying that Don Zeferino was +at home and would be at my disposal. In the meantime it had begun to +rain; my men were anxious to return home to the valley, and I started +for San Andres. + +END OF VOL. I. + + + + +NOTES + +[1] I have used once or twice the expression _gentile_ Indians, +referring to these Tarahumares. + +[2] Several years after my expedition passed through those regions +the Apaches on more than one occasion attacked outlying Mormon ranches +and killed several persons. + +[3] See page 356. + +[4] With which the fruit is brought down. + +[5] The Rio Fuerte, the only large water-course in the Tarahumare +country, empties into the Pacific Ocean. + +[6] As related by an old "Christian" Tarahumare woman in Huerachic, +on the upper Rio Fuerte. + +[7] A kind of tomato. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2), by Carl Lumholtz + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNKNOWN MEXICO, VOLUME 1 (OF 2) *** + +***** This file should be named 16426-8.txt or 16426-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/4/2/16426/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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