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27 chapters
I NOLENS VOLENS
I NOLENS VOLENS
They were good fellows, cordial, modest, although somewhat shy in manner, the sort that would have been more at home perhaps among fewer men. They came out of the West, at infrequent intervals, to visit the Chief, who in those days did not keep them waiting. The course of business, filtering down through the red-taped labyrinth, brought some of them to my desk and within my survey. I wonder now what they thought of me, especially as I am about to relate how I viewed them. Imbued as I was then wi
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II ACROSS THE PLAINS
II ACROSS THE PLAINS
There is one point in Arizona where, between the Santa Fe Railway and central Utah, three hundred miles as the crow flies and a weary five hundred by the trails, there is nothing of civilization other than a few isolated trading-posts and a solitary Indian Agency, set in a terraced cañon, eighty miles from a telegraph key. As my train passed this point in 1910, I did not dream that for more than eight years I should direct that Indian Agency and its chain of scattered desert stations, supplying
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III INTO “INDIAN COUNTRY”
III INTO “INDIAN COUNTRY”
“Well—” he hummed, doubtfully, “that’s a longish trip, that is. I’ve made it—” giving me the impression that it had been an unusual effort, fraught with courage. “I went out there once, but it was two days’ hard travel, ’cause yeh have to rest the horses over night, returnin’ next day. That spoils two good days for me, and I have to charge yeh accordin’. It’ll be thirty dollars. When do yeh want to start?” “Never, at that rate!” I declared very promptly. So I went back to the hotel and sent a te
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IV OLD TRAILS AND DESERT FARE
IV OLD TRAILS AND DESERT FARE
When I crossed the border of the Enchanted Empire, in the dusk of that entry to the Agency, I re-lived fancies caught out of Nicholas Nickleby , his winter journey into Yorkshire, coaching in company with the incomparable Squeers; his arrival at the bleak and cheerless Dotheboys Hall, and the atmosphere of that strange institution; and while there was something forlorn about them, there was also enough of their humor to keep me alive. Considering what I have written concerning “the Boss,” who wo
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V DESERT LIFE AND LITERATURE
V DESERT LIFE AND LITERATURE
The New England States, all of them, could be gently eased into Arizona, and there would remain room for Pennsylvania and little Delaware without crowding. The one reservation that I had charge of from 1911 to 1919 embraced 3863 square miles, a trifle smaller than Connecticut, and it was a postage stamp on the broad yellow face of Arizona, which is in area one twenty-seventh of the entire United States. One hundred thousand persons, or [ 47 ] one fourth of the state’s estimated population, live
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VI A NORTHERN WONDERLAND
VI A NORTHERN WONDERLAND
Northward we wended all day, one rugged mesa slope [ 57 ] and huge flat succeeding another, always rising. After passing Lone Cottonwood Spring, where the water was an excellent imitation of thick gray pea-soup that the horses disdained, we lunched at a delightful place known as Coyote Springs, one of the ten thousand Southwest waterholes so named. In the naming of springs and precious water it would seem that the vocabulary of the pioneers was decidedly limited. But it would have been the same
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VII THE FIRST BALL OF THE SEASON
VII THE FIRST BALL OF THE SEASON
Among employees of the Desert Indian Service, the Marylander is a rarity. Back in Maryland the Indian Service is unknown, all readers of the Sun -paper believing that Indians were originally designed by Buffalo Bill. So when a lad seated himself on my porch one night, and announced: “Why, Ah’m from Maheland too; yes, indeed!” it rather struck me where I ought to have lived. I was eating at the mess then. He was out with an irrigation crew, surveying levels, and in a few months had become obsesse
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VIII OLD ORAIBI
VIII OLD ORAIBI
One day, when it was quiet in the office, the Chief became reminiscent. He spoke of his coming to this station; how he had pitched his tent under the old cottonwoods at the present well; of the length of time it had taken to interest Pesh-la-kai Etsetti, the silversmith, and Beck-a-shay Thlani, the man of many cattle, in his plans; and of the winter when a posse of whites, led by a county sheriff who is now a Senator of the United States, drove the Indians through the snow, packing their few bel
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IX THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF CHIEFS
IX THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF CHIEFS
As for the Indians to be affected by this change, they were inarticulate and did not count. Someone would be appointed to the vacancy, someone just as good—well, anyway, good enough for Indians. Then came an experience such as a complacent court must suffer when an old monarch dies. It happens, no doubt, when there is a change of chiefs anywhere; but it is the more personal and grinding when one has to live next door to the chief, breakfast with him, lunch with him, dine with him, face him acros
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X THE PROVINCES OF THE “MOHOCE OR MOHOQUI”
X THE PROVINCES OF THE “MOHOCE OR MOHOQUI”
When the great Pueblo rebellion occurred in 1680, the mission at Awatobi was destroyed by the Hopi, and its friar, Fray José de Figueroa, was killed. 1 When came De Vargas, bent on reconquering the Pueblo people, he halted before Awatobi on November 19, 1692. The friars [ 104 ] planned a return to their duties among the Hopi, and it would appear that the Awatobans, or a part of them, received these advances. Because of this the pueblo of Awatobi was suddenly destroyed in the latter part of 1700
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XI THE LAW OF THE REALM
XI THE LAW OF THE REALM
What are the duties and responsibilities of an Indian Agent? On a closed reservation, where the Indians are non-citizen wards: Have you had enough? If these are not sufficient in number to be convincing, [ 117 ] there are a few others in the two thousand amendments issued since 1904. A white citizen of no responsibility toward others beyond his obeying the signals of the traffic officer,—the sort who used to quarrel with belated street-cars,—and who aims to be humorous, might say, “This is not t
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XII COMMENTS AND COMPLAINTS
XII COMMENTS AND COMPLAINTS
“Think of it, Nahtahni,” he said to me, very shortly after our first meeting, “I have never had a wagon. Here I am, an influential man among my people, and all the others have been favored. When the children first went to school, the Agents used to give each father a wagon; but that was years ago, and my children are men, and I never had a wagon.” Now this was hard lines, for a Navajo who did not possess a wagon was prevented from hauling freight, at that time a most lucrative occupation, and th
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XIII A DESERT VENDÉE
XIII A DESERT VENDÉE
We sat on a baking sand-hill and surveyed the place. It was simply a dirtier duplicate of the other pueblos I have described, without their picturesque setting. And if there is a place in America where aroma reaches its highest magnitude, then that distinction must be granted Hotevilla on a July afternoon. The sun broils down on the heated sand and rock ledges, on the fetid houses and the litter and the garbage, and all that accumulates from unclean people and their animals. Multitudes of burros
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XIV SOLDIERS, INDIANS, AND SCHOOLS
XIV SOLDIERS, INDIANS, AND SCHOOLS
I remained silent. “I will go alone,” he said. I said nothing. “You do not think they will receive me unpleasantly?” “Oh, no!” I hastened to make up for lost time. “They [ 160 ] are peaceful enough, so long as they are permitted to have their own way. Very likely they will receive you with much of courtesy and even hospitality.” “That is as I thought,” said the Colonel, who has always gone alone into hostile camps—a method of conciliation that would give most people pause. “I will reason with th
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XV AN ECHO OF THE DAWN-MEN
XV AN ECHO OF THE DAWN-MEN
A year passed without incident. When the pupils were not returned in vacation time, the parents filed regular complaints. They very truthfully admitted that, were their requests granted, they had no intention of permitting the children to return, so it seemed best to deny them. And now the other children of the village were growing up. At the time of the first gathering, only those above [ 183 ] ten years of age were taken; and given a few years among the Hopi, without epidemic, children spring
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XVI FIDDLES AND DRUMS
XVI FIDDLES AND DRUMS
But I am not one whit more ignorant than any other white man. Despite reams of theories, no one has learned anything of Hopi lore that the Hopi did not want him to know. “Make up your own story, and you won’t forget it.” When certain Christianized worthies of the tribe have pretended to expose their knowledge, I have paid little attention, since I knew the mental calibre of such fellows before conversion, and the depth of their gray matter was never impressive. The last who gave evidence proceed
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XVII SERVICE TRADITION
XVII SERVICE TRADITION
Of those who had the early work, there were two who exerted a strong personal influence: Mr. Ralph Collins, who was twice appointed a sub-Agent, and Mr. Charles E. Burton, who was the first Indian Agent. Collins had not complete authority, and his efforts were not always supported, but much of suspicion among the Hopi could have been avoided if he had been listened to. Burton, having carried out certain fool orders, was hounded by sentimentalists during most of his service. But both these men ac
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XVIII BUTTONS AND BONDS
XVIII BUTTONS AND BONDS
The Great War opened, and later “Washington” was involved. War is a lost art in the Desert, but old warriors like to think of battles. The far-removed Indians were interested in more ways than one. The registration of them, a silly proceeding, caused not a little panic among the unknowing. While Agents who knew law advised that the non-competent and non-English-speaking ward would not and could not be drafted, this made no difference to those who drew up the schedule. It caused more than annoyan
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XIX OUR FRIENDS, THE TOURISTS
XIX OUR FRIENDS, THE TOURISTS
“I would rather deal directly with the natives.” “May I advise you not to? The trader is regulated, the Indian is not. Many persons have lost their eyeteeth in a rug-deal with the Navajo. Besides, you have no guaranty from them. That blanket is guaranteed.” “And by whom?” “By me, as Agent.” “But the Hopi,—or is it Moqui?—they are different. One of them offered to sell me a ceremonial altar at Oraibi.” “Sorry, sir; but you could not purchase it.” “Who would object?” “I would, as Agent.” “And this
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XX THE GREAT SNAKE-CEREMONY
XX THE GREAT SNAKE-CEREMONY
Early in the day the crowd of sightseers has gathered on the mesa-top, and in late afternoon it begins massing at the Walpi plaza. There is the usual wrangle over prominent places, and the inevitable bickering as to who [ 263 ] engaged them first. Soon the roofs and terraces and balconies are hidden by the people. The odd stairways and other points of vantage cause the crowd to group as if arranged by a stage director. A dozen or more crown the Snake Rock itself. They wait patiently, expectantly
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XXI DESERT BELASCOS
XXI DESERT BELASCOS
“When—to-morrow?” thinking of those monotonous [ 277 ] open-air drills, having various names but scarcely to be distinguished one from the other. “No. To-night, in the kiva.” This interested me. I could see that the interpreter longed to remain overnight among his people, and to take in this show. “Well,” I said, “is it worth climbing that mesa in the dark?” “I think you would like it,” he answered; “it is a funny little dance, and the children go to see it.” So I did not order up the team. Afte
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XXII ON THE HEELS OF ADVENTURE
XXII ON THE HEELS OF ADVENTURE
“Can you stand an all-night hike?” he asked, solicitously. “Sing out if you can’t. There’s a good bed here, and—” “I’m game for it, if you are,” I said, but without enthusiasm. The engine of his emaciated Ford clucked, and the snow crunched under its wheels. For the first hour a brisk conversation kept us illuminated and fairly warm. Then it grew deadly cold, with that relentless, piercing cold to be experienced only at night in those cruelly bleak, windswept, desert wastes. I bit down on my pip
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XXIII THE RED BOOTLEGGERS
XXIII THE RED BOOTLEGGERS
This statement is enough to show the absurdity of any expectation that the superintendent can keep order. The superintendent is powerless to maintain the dignity of his office, with the result that the authority and dignity of the Indian Office and of the United States are made a mock over a large section of Arizona. You see, my successor was having his troubles too with the gentle feudists, and the Hopi were petitioning as usual. So the Office changed the name of the Reservation. In addition to
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XXIV HELD FOR RANSOM
XXIV HELD FOR RANSOM
— Songs from English History For seven long years I lived in a two-penny house at the Agency, the rooms of which were nine by twelve, and the floors not level. I decided to increase the size of it, so that three or four visitors might arrange themselves in one room without compelling their host to step outside. This necessitated removing several walls, and for months I slept in a draughty place, surrounded by broken plaster, piles of lumber, mortar-boards and paint-pots. If one wished to call, h
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XXV WANTED AT COURT
XXV WANTED AT COURT
In Keams Cañon, the Moqui—now the Hopi—Agency is built on terraces. The highroad to anywhere and everywhere passes through this cañon on the lowest level, and all the visiting world and its wife must pass in review before the Agent’s office and his home. The grounds were once barren of trees and shrubbery, and there had been a time, in the season of swift midsummer rains, when several shallow arroyos would flood the place. Off the main cañon are bays or alcoves, and a quite large one immediately
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XXVI HOPI ANNALS
XXVI HOPI ANNALS
We find in their desert cairns of rock something different from an ordinary monument to mark land or to point a road, having in them special gifts of feathers or painted sticks. That certain clans may never be without the feathers of the eagle, these birds are captured young and reared in cages or at the ends of chains on the housetops. A curious sight to see: a captive eagle, baleful of eye, morose, sullen, posed at the edge of a roof, a brooding, vicious prisoner with beak and talons like razo
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L’Envoi
L’Envoi
I have had something more to say of my Navajo friends, their ways and ceremonies; of the curious, shy, and altogether lovable Indian children and their schools; of that strange medley from the Civil Service grab-bag, the employees; of quarantines, and wars against disease; of the curse of the medicine-men; of the baronial traders and their frontier systems; of Indian art and industry; and too, something more of the Desert itself, its great cañons and monster monuments, the mammoth jewels of the
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