USA > Arizona > The marvellous country : or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' home > Part 7
USA > New Mexico > The marvellous country : or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' home > Part 7
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Seeing that a crowd had gathered in the lower portion of the village, I walked towards it, and saw a number of
121
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.
the braves engaged in throwing a mule, which they had lassoed. Inquiry revealed the fact that they were about procuring the meat for their feast. After throwing the animal and securely tying his feet, two of these devils incarnate then advanced and commenced with knives to cut the meat from the thighs and fleshy parts of the animal in large chunks, while the poor creature uttered the most terrible cries. After cutting the meat clean to the bone, they proceeded to pierce the jugular vein, thus ending his misery, the squaws catching the blood in huge gourds.
I afterwards learned that this process was resorted to from the fact that the meat taken from a live animal was considered more tender.
The blood was fed to the children to make them brave, and was also considered an especial delicacy for seasoning their stews. After witnessing this scene, it may be super- fluous to say that I found myself too demoralized to require any further sustenance of that kind, and sought the retirement of my hut, convinced that fasting is often more conducive to health than feasting, and that the events of one day in an Apache village rivalled, in all that was thrill- ing and sensational, the every-day occurrences of a civilized city like the great metropolis of our land.
My meditations were somewhat unceremoniously dis- turbed by the entrance of Cochise, who came to say to me that Mangus Colorado desired my presence at the festival.
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122
HORRIBLE SIGHT.
Declaring my indisposition and utter inability to enjoy the ceremonies, and respectfully declining the invitation, I was informed by Cochise that it would give great offence should I fail to attend, though I was not expected to take any part in the festivities. Recognizing the force of his argument, I gave a reluctant consent, and prepared to accompany him, conscious all the while, however, that the wish nearest my heart was to be safe at home.
We soon came to a level spot in the lower part of the valley, where we found Mangus Colorado in all the glory of eagle feathers, vermilion, and grease. He was seated on a blanket spread upon the ground. Motioning me to a seat beside him, he extended a huge hand with finger-nails like eagle's claws, saying, in a tone of voice that was intended to be winning and soft, "Gim me bacca." To which request I responded by placing in his hand my last piece of navy plug, which he at once conveyed to his dirty mouth with 'a most expressive grunt of satisfaction.
Accepting the position assigned me, I prepared to wit- ness a scene which I was confident would fill me with aver- sion and disgust. Six braves now advanced, and with no small display of pride planted a lance near the camp-fire, which was burning in front of us, and over which hung a huge camp-kettle, steaming furiously, reminding me forci- bly of the witch-scene in Macbeth. From the lance hung several objects, which, in the dim, uncertain light, I took
123
AN UNEARTHLY DANCE.
to be tassels, but which proved to be trophies of the raid. Two of these scalps had attached to them long, flowing tresses, which clearly denominated the murdered ones to have been women. It was a horrid sight, and I wished myself well out of it.
By this time the moon was shining brightly, illuminating the valley around us and the bluffs beyond, giving to them a strange, phantom-like appearance, that was greatly en- hanced by the faint flicker of a hundred camp-fires, which cast a sort of lurid glare over the dusky forms flitting about.
Occasionally a bright flame shot high into the air, and brought into bold relief the line of bluffs on the opposite side of the stream, giving to them the semblance of being covered with an army of misshapen giants.
Some twenty squaws now made their appearance, dressed à la Apache, their coarse black hair hanging unkempt about them. Forming a circle around the fire and lance, they commenced swaying their bodies to the sound of two drums that were beaten by some of the men, while others uttered a low, monotonous chant, keeping time with a kind of rattle made of gourds, containing small stones, bits of bone, etc. As the drums were beaten faster and faster, the noise of the rattles became more furious, which, mingling with the sharp, shrill tones of the squaws, made the most infernal din imaginable. Suddenly one of the old hags snatched
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PANDEMONIUM LET LOOSE.
from the boiling kettle a piece of mule meat, and holding it all steaming in her skinny hands towards the scalps, as though in derision, seized it between her teeth, and again joined in the dance, keeping time to the music.
This disgusting pantomime was repeated by each one of the repulsive old creatures, who, by this time, were whirling about in the most frenzied manner, thus celebrating the prowess of their husbands and sons, who had so recently returned from their cruel and cowardly raid into Sonora.
Continuing this demoniacal dance for more than an hour, their strength finally began to fail them. The warriors, by whose bravery these scalps had been taken, now advanced, and seating themselves in a circle around the camp-fire, began their share in the entertainment. The scalp-pole was handed round by the oldest of the squaws, and as it was presented to each brave, he signified his contempt for his enemies by spitting upon it, at the same time uttering a low grunt of satisfaction. Each was then helped to a bountiful supply of the boiling meat with which the kettle was filled.
During this time the music was kept up unceasingly, making an uproar that would have done credit to Pandemo- nium. Sick and tired, I signified to Cochise my desire to retire. He accompanied me back to my hut, where once again creeping into my blanket, I soon found repose from the exciting scenes of the day and evening. Need I say
THE SCALP DANCE.
ر
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SATISFIED CURIOSITY.
that upon reflection I became satisfied that Charles Sprague was entirely wrong when he said in his beautiful poem on "Curiosity," that "it came from Heaven." I didn't be- lieve it that night, and I doubt if I do now. Then, I should not have hesitated a moment to declare my conviction that it originated in a place supposed to be the antipodes of heaven.
The next morning, after partaking of a breakfast of pem- mican,* I strolled out into the village, hoping that the season of dances was over.
Had I then known that not two years before, this same band of Apaches, in this very ranchera, had sacrificed a young Mexican girl, it would in no way have served to quiet my apprehensions. She was offered as a sacrifice to propitiate the Great Spirit, whose wrath had manifested itself by visiting upon them the small-pox,
After fattening her for several months, keeping her very quiet, and in ignorance of her fate, they brought her, on the morning when the sacrifice was to be made, to the place of torture. Here, placing her between two trees, they suspended her by ropes tied around her wrists, so that her feet, which were firmly fastened together, were about three
* The flesh of buffalo or deer, dried until it becomes hard and brittle, and then pounded fine, and put into bags made of buffalo hide or deer-skin, the tallow being melted and poured over it, and the whole mass pressed together, when it soon becomes as hard as a stone. This is a favorite and convenient method of carrying meat where game is scarce in the Apache Country.
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TORTURE OF A MEXICAN GIRL.
feet from the ground. A fire was then kindled beneath her, and as the flames reached her flesh, scream after scream issued from the lips of the poor victim. One after another of these brave Apaches plucked a burning brand from the fire and applied it to the quivering flesh of the wretched girl, till finally death released her from her terrible suffer- ings. The body was then hacked to pieces with sharp stones, the pieces burned upon the fire, and the ashes scat- tered to the winds, in order to purify the air, and thus appease the wrath of the malign spirit.
I fully realized the truth of the old adage, "Where igno- rance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise," upon hearing a narra- tion of the above facts, from an old Arizonian, more than a year after my return from the Apache rancheria.
CHAPTER IX.
A Navajo T the time I left the Apache Pass, I had some idea that a trip into the Navajoe country, at least as far as the seven Moquis cities, might, possi- bly, be a desirable one; and that it might be successfully made from the Apache ran -. cheria, especially as Cochise had informed me that these Indians were at peace with the Apaches, and that he could easily act as guide through the country.
My visit to the rancheria, however, had completely extin- guished every desire for further explorations; and, like John Phoenix, in the San Francisco Female Convention, my only desire was to "go home."
Still, curiosity prompted me to question Cochise concern- ing the country and its people; and he informed me that
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128
A NOVEL OPERATION.
there were then residing at the rancheria two Navajoes, who could give me all the information I desired concerning them.
Requesting Cochise to bring them to me on the morrow, I composed myself to sleep, with as good a grace as possi- ble, after the events of the day.
The sun was several hours high when I repaired to my dressing-room the next morning. There was quite a crowd , of women and children present, who witnessed the spectacle of washing face and hands with great gusto. I was quite convinced that these children of nature were entirely unused to any such sight, as much from their own personal appear- ance, as from their looks of wonderment at seeing me per- form my ablutions.
Untutored children of the Darwinian theory! They could gaze at the marvels of nature spread around them with such unsparing prodigality; could see a white woman fiendishly tortured, and made to suffer the most horrible indignities, or a white man brutally murdered, without a sign of emo- tion upon their faces; but the sight of a man washing his face and hands almost convulsed them with laughter.
After eating my breakfast, I spread my blanket beneath the shade of a pine-tree that grew near by, and, lighting my pipe, proposed to enjoy myself as well as possible under the circumstances.
Cochise soon made his appearance, bringing with him an
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A NAVAJOE VISITOR.
old man fully sixty years of age, and saying, abruptly, "Here's a Navajoe," turned away.
The old man squatted himself upon the grass, and draw- ing his knees almost up to his chin, seemed to await my pleasure.
Finding him able to speak Spanish pretty well, and posted on all matters pertaining to his people, I gleaned from him much interesting and valuable information, of which I will give the reader the benefit, hoping it may amuse and in- struct him as much as it did me; for but little is known concerning this once formidable, but now nearly extinct, race of Indians.
He said that the Navajoe country extended from the Rio Grande to the Colorado of the West, and was about one hundred and twenty-five miles northwest of the Apache village. That the Moquis lived in the Navajoe country, and their houses were built of stone, and situated upon the tops of high mesas, but that the Navajoes knew little about them.
The Navajoes have no fixed residence, but wander at will over the country, stopping wherever night overtakes them. They number about twelve thousand souls, and of late years have not been much inclined to the war-path, as they are growing very rich.
They have large herds of cattle, also many fine horses and mules; but their sheep are by far the most valuable
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130
LEGENDS OF HIS TRIBE.
portion of their possessions. From the wool of these they manufacture a very superior blanket, which is famous on the frontier. So closely is it woven, that one may carry water in it all day with no fear of its leaking through. It takes a woman a year to weave one.
They dye their wool red, black, purple, brown, blue, yellow, and green, the dyes being made from flowers, roots, and the bark of trees. The red dye is made from the flower of the sumach, with a small root that grows near it. Yel- low is made by boiling together certain flowers, and blue in the same way. Black is obtained from the bark of the maple and butternut trees. They get a kind of yellowish- brown color from the oxide of iron, which abounds in the mountains.
When in their wanderings they come across a fine range for pasturing their animals, they build little huts, and re- main for months in the same location. Here they plant corn, beans, and sometimes wheat and pumpkins, of which latter they are very fond. A kind of wild potato grows all over the country. Many of the Indians have herds of five or six hundred horses, worth from sixty to eighty dollars apiece. They are expert horsemen, and spend much of their time on horseback.
The country is well-supplied with grass. Bears, black- tailed deer, antelope, wolves, prairie-dogs, wild-cats, and squirrels are very plentiful.
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NEW VERSION OF THE CREATION.
Horse-racing and gambling are the only amusements of the people.
They have a religion peculiar to themselves-worshipping the Great Spirit, who, according to their belief, made the Navajoes the first occupants of the earth; and in moving their camp from place to place, they always carry with them a brand of fire, which singular custom the old man explained in this wise: In the beginning, the Great Spirit created twelve Navajoes-six men and six women. They were confined in the middle of a great mountain, with all the animals created. They emerged from the earth in the fol- lowing manner :-
The locust and the badger aided them in boring through the ground. The locust bored the first hole, but finding it too small, called to his assistance the badger; and by their united efforts, they soon had an aperture sufficiently large for the Navajoes to come forth. The badger preceded them, and, springing out, he lighted upon the bottom of a lake in the Montezuma Valley, and his fore legs sinking into the mire, were covered with black mud, and remained black to this day.
No sooner were the Navajoes and all the animals out of the mountain, than fire and smoke began to issue from the hole whence they had emerged. This so frightened them that they went down into the valleys; but shortly after they discovered that they needed fire, and the coyote,
132
FIRE-WORSHIPPERS.
or wolf, the bat, and the squirrel were sent out to procure it. They proceeded to the mountain, from which they had so recently issued, and the wolf, fastening some slivers of gummy wood to his tail, held it over the crater until the wood became ignited. The bat fanned the fire into a flame by darting hither and thither, and then the squirrel conveyed it to the Navajoes.
To this day not one of the Navajoes can be persuaded to taste the flesh of either wolf or squirrel, or to move their camp without taking with them a brand of fire.
Day and night were brought about by a difference in opin- ion among the animals. Those which preferred day are still permitted to wander by daylight, while those which chose "darkness rather than light," travel by night.
This account of the creation is fully believe l by all the Navajoes. At this period in the old man's narration, Co- chise came to inquire when I desired to return to the Pass.
I replied, without a moment's hesitation, "In the moin- ing, of course."
His "esta buenno" was a most welcome sound to my ears, I can assure you; and requesting him to bring the animals for my inspection before we started, I wandered up to a spot near by, where a number of squaws were engaged in dressing deer-skins; as the Apaches are reputed to have the best method of tanning skins known among the Indians, I watched the process with no little curiosity.
HEAD-WATERS OF THE GILA.
133
SKILL IN TANNING.
The flesh was first carefully removed from the hide with a sharpened bone, and the hair shaved off with a sharp knife. It was then hung up to dry for a few hours, and afterwards thoroughly washed with ashes and water, to re- move the grease, and then dipped in water containing the brains of a deer. Next it was boiled, and then stretched on poles to dry, after which it was again wet and scraped, and finally dried slowly by a fire.
This process is repeated three times, when, if the skin should prove hard, it is drawn swiftly over a piece of small rope, the squaw pulling it as hard as she can, which softens it nicely. It is then smoked for a couple of hours over a fire built of decayed wood, which is placed in a hole dug in the ground. Then it is ready for use.
It is not an uncommon occurrence for the Apaches to have the skins which are brought in in the morning, made into moccasins before night, and very good ones too.
Cochise now brought up the animals, and I was gratified to find them in as fine condition as could be desired. The trip had evidently been a beneficial one, to them at least.
Requesting Cochise to notify Mangus Colorado that I should leave in the morning, he at once dispatched an Indian with the message, which had the effect of bringing Mangus himself to visit me, arrayed, as usual, in all the glory of ochre, vermilion, and eagle feathers.
After a shake of the hand, and the usual request for
134
A MODEST REQUEST.
"bacca," he seated himself on a blanket, and began to plead his poverty in such a pathetic manner that I soon saw I should be obliged to submit to a forced loan. He shortly preferred the request that I should present him with my riding mule, as a token of the great esteem he entertained for me.
This honor I emphatically declined, assuring him that I could ride no other, and should fail to reach home should I accede to his request. Recognizing the force of my argu- ment, he now proposed to compromise, by taking another of my animals.
I remonstrated, telling him I needed them all, and must have them, but that I would send him by Cochise, when he returned, red blankets, brass wire, and tobacco, with which promise he seemed so well satisfied that I began to think . I had such a persuasive way with me, that my services would be invaluable to the government as a treaty-maker with the Indians, - a fact, however, that the government has not as yet seemed to appreciate.
After a few complimentary shakes of the hand, Mangus assured me that Cochise would see me to the Pass in safety, and that he would send five braves with him as a guard, an honor that I at once declined.
Reminding me not to forget the "big presents," Mangus bade me farewell, much to my delight and gratification, and I at once extended congratulations to a certain party
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MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.
on his success as a diplomat. Cochise departed with Man- gus, and after an absence of a couple of hours, returned, saying, that he could have the animals on hand early in the morning, and advising me to retire very soon, so as to "sleep much," which advice I followed. Quieted by the thought of a speedy return to the Pass, I soon sank into a profound slumber, such as I had not experienced before since my advent into Apachedom.
I was aroused early by Cochise, with the pleasant in- formation that one of my mules had mysteriously disap- peared, nor could "hide or hair" of him be found any- where.
I knew it was useless to attempt to recover him, and mentally promising myself, that if I once got safely away, Mangus should never receive the presents I had promised him, I determined to set out at once with my four remain- ing animals.
Declining firmly all offers of trade, I made a hasty break- fast, and fully an hour before sunrise found me toiling up one of the steep paths worn into the face of the bluff that environs the Apache rancheria.
Our journey lay over the same parched alkali country, the same arid desert waste, unrelieved by the sight of a green thing, which I had crossed when going to the village.
About the middle of the afternoon we reached the only camping-ground before we came to the cañon we were to
136
MAGNIFICENT SUNRISE.
cross. After a hearty supper of pemmican and atole, and watering the mules from the contents of one of the leathern bottles, I wrapped myself in my blanket, and enjoyed a com- fortable night's rest.
In the morning, as I watched the rising sun gild the grand and lofty summits of the mountain ranges all around, I could not but wish that some one was near who could ap- preciate with me the. soul-inspiring sight that met my gaze whichever way I turned.
I never before saw anything so truly grand and wonderful ! It scarcely seemed possible that the magnificent old castles, looking so proudly down upon us, with their towers and spires and battlements lighted up with such splendid effect by the morning sun, were but a bleak and barren mass of rock, over which the foot of civilized man had never passed since its creation, or that the only notes breathed forth from the gigantic pipes of that mighty organ were those that woke in thunder-peals the solitude of the vast desert around us, responsive only to the touch of God's own hand upon its massive key-board.
I tried to imagine the convulsive throes of old Mother Earth at the creation of these stupendous marvels; and wondered how many centuries would elapse before the hand of man, and the providence of God combined, would cause "the desert to blossom as the rose,"- when my dreams were disturbed by two short words, calculated to force
JIMMY CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS.
137
BEHOLD! A CAMP?
me to leave the solution of these questions to old Time himself.
Cochise speaking, said, "Injun comin'."
I immediately sprang to my feet, and looking in the direction designated by him, discovered a camp some five miles away, apparently on the verge of the cañon we were to cross, and on our immediate course.
Cochise offered to reconnoitre, and I made not the slight- est objection to his proposition.
He returned shortly after, with the information that there were four Indians and two white men in camp there.
This convinced me that it must be Dr. Parker, who had returned, and, finding me gone on the expedition, had in- duced Jimmy to join him, and the two had followed on my trail.
We immediately started on, and soon proved the truth of my surmises. It was Dr. Parker and Jimmy, accom- panied by four friendly Apaches, who had started out to find me. We were delighted to meet, and I was especially pleased as soon as I ascertained that the doctor's larder was much better stocked with "creature comforts" than was mine.
Nothing could exceed Jimmy's joy at finding me. He capered and danced like the wild Irishman that he was, upsetting the coffee-pot in his enthusiastic demonstrations, and nearly putting out the fire, which he had been "a wake
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138
RELATING THEIR ADVENTURES.
gatherin' the metherials for!" a statement that was not verified by the strength of the coffee.
While at breakfast, the doctor entertained me with an account of Jimmy's journey through the cañon, and a most amusing one it was, too, especially as his narrative was frequently interrupted by remarks from Jimmy, in explana- tion of some scene, which it would take the pencil of a Nast to properly portray.
The doctor said that Jimmy had protested most earnestly against "interin' that crack," as he termed the cañon, main- taining most stoutly that " 'twas jist a crack in the airth, and thet by walkin' a little way down he could aisy find a place where he could git acrost."
After much persuasion, however, Jimmy was induced to follow the guide.
Proceeding some distance down the trail, Jimmy noticed the increasing darkness, and chancing to cast his eyes up- wards, the narrow band of light far above him, relieved only by the ragged edges of the cañon, gave him such a singular feeling, that he yelled loudly to the doctor, who was some distance in advance of him.
Of course the sides of the cañon echoed the cry, and as he heard the echo repeating "Docther, Docther," as it was carried from side to side, from point to point, from crag to crag, with a distinctness and fidelity that was truly won- derful, his excited imagination led him to suppose it to be
139
POOR JIMMY'S FRIGHT.
the despairing wail of human souls, who, during some ter- rible convulsion of nature, had, like "proud Knorak's troop," mentioned in the old New England primer, been -
swallowed up, while he believed himself approaching a similar fate.
Rushing headlong towards the doctor, he besought him, in the most agonizing tones, to "presarve him from bein' carried among thim poor divils that was scraachin' at him so"; nor could anything the doctor said reassure him.
The constantly-increasing gloom, together with the ter- rific reverberations, but added to Jimmy's fear and confu- sion, and he started back, swearing that "all the divils in hell shouldn't carry him a stip further." The doctor's calls only accelerated Jimmy's footsteps, and finding that he was really determined upon returning, he was obliged to send two of the Indians after him, with instructions to bring him back at all hazards, while he proceeded, with the others, to the foot of the canon, where, seating himself upon a huge granite boulder, he waited Jimmy's appearance.
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