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 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; ASSOCI6 
 
 ETRANGER DE LA SOCIETE DE L'ANTHROPOLOGIE DE 
 
 PARIS; AUTHOR OF "AMONG CANNIBALS," ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
 NEW YORK 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 1902
 
 COPVRKJHT, 1902, BY 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 Published, November, 1902 
 
 TROW DIRECTORY 
 
 PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPAN/ 
 
 NEW YORK
 
 
 MORRIS K. J KSUP, 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 
 
 1838456
 
 PREFACE 
 
 IN the course of my travels in Australia, and espe- 
 cially 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 cannibal- 
 istic 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 sav- 
 age 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, pos- 
 sibly, be descendants of the people yet in existence in 
 the northwestern part of Mexico hitherto so little 
 explored ?
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 1 made up my mind, then and there, that I would 
 answer this question and that I would undertake an ex- 
 pedition 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 re- 
 sponse ; 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, liow- 
 ever, furnished l)y a now deceased friend of mine, an 
 American gentleman whose name, in deference to his 
 wishes, I am bound to withhold. The American Mu- 
 seum of Natural History of New York and the Ameri- 
 can 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 })ower 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 Zufii, Navajo, and Moqui Indians, and then 
 proceeded to the Citv of Mexico in order to get the 
 necessary credentials from that Government. I was re- 
 ceived with the utmost courtesv by the President, Gen- 
 eral 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
 
 PREFACE ix 
 
 the scientific value of my i)roposition was truly gratify- 
 ing. With everything granted that I wanted for the 
 success of my e.\j)edition — free passage for mv 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 North- 
 ern Mexico who were in a ])osition to further my plans 
 — I hurried back to the United States to organise the 
 undertaking. My plan was to enter, at some conven- 
 ient 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 con- 
 tinuation 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 prac- 
 tically 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 do- 
 minion 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.
 
 X PREFACE 
 
 Inasmuch as my expedition was the first to take ad- 
 vantage 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 archaeol- 
 ogist, assisted by Mr. R. Abbott ; Messrs. C. V. Hart- 
 man and C. E. Lloyd were the botanists, Mr. F. Robin- 
 ette the zoological collector, and Mr. H. White the 
 mineralogist of the expedition. 
 
 All the scientific men were provided with riding ani- 
 mals, 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 allot- 
 ment 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 So- 
 nora, to Casas Grandes, in Chihuahua, we were to make 
 our own trail, which we did successfully. Ancient re- 
 mains were almost as rare as in the rest of the Sierra 
 Madre del Norte ; yet traces of ancient habitations 
 w^ere 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 groups, the builders of which, gener- 
 ally, rested in separate burial-caves. In the same local-
 
 PREFACE xi 
 
 ity, as well as in the adjacent j)lains of San Dicjro, Chi- 
 huahua, we found numerous mounds covering house 
 groups, similar in construction l<; those in the caves. 
 From underneath their lloors we unearthed ahout live 
 hundred heautifully decorated pieces of pottery. 
 
 Among the further results of the expedition may he 
 mentioned the gathering of large collections of plants, 
 among them twenty-seven species new to science ; tifty- 
 five mammals, among which the sucriis Apac/ic \\2k.s new 
 to science, and ahout 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 south- 
 ward 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 hnv, and in 
 April, 1 89 1, I had to return to the United States to ob- 
 tain 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 ex- 
 cavations 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 yVmerica, w^ent 
 down to the City of Mexico and came north again — a 
 journey of over 20,000 miles — seeing prominent jxM)i)le 
 and lecturing to arouse a public interest. ^ Finally, the 
 American Museum of Natural History of New York 
 decided to continue the explorations, the fumls being
 
 xii PREFACE 
 
 this time supplied mainl\- 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 photograjiher, 
 and Mr. A. E. Meade, mineralogist and zoological 
 collector. 
 
 This time we came upon Cave-Dwellers. The Tara- 
 humare 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 Ameri- 
 can Cave-Dwellers of to-day. 1 determined to study 
 these interesting people, especially the so-called gentiles '' 
 (pagans), and as this was not practical, even with the 
 present reduced size of the expedition, I gradually dis- 
 banded 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 col- 
 lections 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, sam- 
 ples of hair and osseous remains. 
 
 The great j)ossibilitics Mexico offers to ethnology 
 proved an irresistible incentive to new researches, and 
 seeing the results of my previous expeditions, the Amer- 
 
 * I have used once or twice tlie expression i^ciitilc Indians, referring to these 
 Tarahumares.
 
 PREFACE xiii 
 
 ican Museum of Natural History of New York again 
 sent me out on what was to be my thir'l and most ex- 
 tensive Mexiean expedition, whieh lasted from March, 
 1S94, 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 civil- 
 ised Indians, or even Indians in their aborip-inal 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, 1 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 Iluichols. At first the 
 natives persistently opposed me ; they are very dis- 
 trustful 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 na- 
 tive songs, and bv alwavs 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 ma- 
 terial from the Tarahumares, the Northern and the 
 Southern Tepehuanes, the Coras, the Huichols, and the
 
 xiv PREFACE 
 
 Tepccanos, all of which tribes except the last named 
 dwell within the Sierra Madre del Norte ; also from the 
 Nahuas on the western slopes of ihe sierra, as well as 
 from those in the States of Jalisco and ^Mexico ; and, 
 finallv, from the Tarascos in the State of Michoacan. 
 Of most of these tribes little more thnn their names 
 were known, and I brought back large collections illus- 
 trating their ethnical and anthropological status, besides 
 extensive information in regard to their customs, re- 
 ligion, traditions, and myths, I also comjileted mv col- 
 lection of vocabularies and aboriginal melodies. On 
 my journev through the Tierra Caliente of the Terri- 
 tory 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 un- 
 der the same auspices, staying there for four months. 
 On this trip I was accompanied by Dr. Ales Hrdlicka. 
 I revisited the Tarahumares and Iluichols 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 Ind- 
 ians in the southwest of the United States ; to give 
 an insight into the ethnical status of the Mexican Ind- 
 ians now and at the time of the conquest, and to 
 illuminate certain phases in the development of the 
 human race.
 
 PREFACE XV 
 
 So far the results of my expeditions to Mcxieo hav^e 
 been made public in the following literature : 
 
 Carl Lumholtz : " Explorations in Mexico," Bulletin of the 
 American Geographical Society, 1891. 
 
 Carl I.UMHOLTZ : Letters to the American Geographical Society 
 of New York, " Mr. Carl Lumholtz in Mexico," Bulletin of 
 the American Geographical Society, Vol. IIL, 1893. 
 
 J. A. Allen : " List of Mammals and Birds Collected in North- 
 eastern Sonora and Northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, on the 
 Lumholtz Archaeological 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 Archaeologi- 
 cal Expedition to Northwestern Mexico under the Direction 
 of Dr. Carl Lumholtz," Proceedings of the American Acad- 
 emy 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. IIL, 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 : " Ex- 
 plorations in the Sierra Madre," November, 1891 ; "Among 
 the Tarahumares, the American Cave-Dwellers," July, 1894 ; 
 "Tarahumare Life and Customs," September, 1894; " Tara- 
 humare Dances and Plant Worship," October, 1894. 
 
 C. V. Hartman : "The Indians of Northwestern Mexico," Con- 
 
 gres International des Americanistes, Dixieme Session, Stock- 
 holm, 1894. 
 
 Carl Lumholtz: "Blandt Sierra Madres huleboere," Norge, 
 Norsk Kalender, Kristiania, 1895. 
 
 Carl Lumholtz and Ales Hrdlicka : "Trephining in Mex- 
 ico," 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.
 
 xvi PREFACE 
 
 Carl Llmholiz 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, WA. X., 1898. 
 
 Ales Hrdlicka : " Description of an Ancient Anomalous Skeleton 
 from the Valley of Mexico, with Special Reference to Super- 
 numerary Bicipital Ribs in Man," Bulletin of the American 
 Museum of Natural History, \o\. XH., 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 His- 
 tory. 
 
 The j)resent volumes give a succinct account of my 
 travels and work among the remote j^eoples 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 1 tell here refers to a part of the Republic that 
 is never visited bv tourists and is foreign even to most 
 Mexicans. Primitive })eople 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 individualitv or been crushed 
 under the heels of civilisation, much light may be 
 thrown not onlv u|)on the early j)eopU' of this country 
 but uj)on the hrst chapters of the history of mankind. 
 
 In the present rapid development of Mexico it can- 
 not be ])revented that these jirimitive 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 moimtains will not much 
 longer remain the exclusive })roperty of my dusky
 
 PREFACE xvii 
 
 friends ; but I hope that I shiiU have rendered them a 
 service by settinjj^ them tliis 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 peo- 
 ple of the United States, to their impartiality and free- 
 dom 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 Ameri- 
 can Geographical Society of New York, and still more 
 especially to the American Museum of Natural His- 
 tory of New York, with whom I have had the hon- 
 our of being connected more or less closely for ten 
 years. To its public-spirited and whole-souled Presi- 
 dent, Mr. Morris K. Jesup, I am under profound obli- 
 gations. I also take pleasure in acknowledging my 
 indebtedness to Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who initiated 
 my Mexican ventures with a subscription of $i,ooo ; 
 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 Marie, 
 Mr. Henry G. Marquand, Mr. F. O. Matthiessen, Mr. 
 Victor Morawetz, Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, Mrs. Edwin 
 Parsons, Mr. Archibald Rogers, Mr. F. Augustus Scher- 
 merhorn, Mr. William C. Schermerhorn, Mr. Charles 
 Stewart Smith, Mr. James Speyer, Mr. George W. 
 \^anderbilt, Mr. William C. Whitney, of New York ; 
 to Mr. Frederick L. Ames, Mrs. John L. Gardner, 
 Mrs. E. Mason, Mr. Nathaniel Thayer, Mr. Samuel
 
 xviii PREFACE 
 
 D. Warren, Dr. Charles G. Weld, of Boston ; to Mr. 
 Allison D. Armour and Mr. Franklin Mae\^eagh, 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 re- 
 ceived 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 Phila- 
 delphia ; 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 Univer- 
 sity ; 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. 
 Bixhy for aid in transcribing the native music. Finally 
 I desire to express my appreciation of the untiring ser- 
 vices 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. ,., pages 145-146,
 
 PREFACE xix 
 
 is made from a photoo;raph acquired through the late 
 Dr. P. Laml)orn. The illustration in \'ol. II., pages 
 464-465, I owe to the courtesy of Mr. D. Gabriel 
 Castanos, of Guadalajara. 
 
 The coloured illustrations are represented as the ob- 
 jects 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 west- 
 ern part of Sonora he found pure Opata spoken west 
 of Rio de Sonora and north of Ures, e.o-,^ in Tuape. 
 
 Wherever dollars and cents are given Mexican cur- 
 rency 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 X.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Preparations for the Start — Our Dry Goods Relished by the Cattle — I Be- 
 come a " Compadre " — Beautiful Northern Sonora — Mexican Muleteers 
 Preferable in Their Own Country — Apache Stories — Signs of Ancient In- 
 habitants — Arrival at Upper Yaqui River — Opata Indians now Mexican- 
 ised — A Flourishing Medical Practice — Mexican Manners — Rock-carvings 
 — How Certain Cacti Propagate, Pages 1-16 
 
 CHAPTER n 
 
 A Remarkable Antique Piece— A New Species of Century Plant — Arrival 
 at Nacori, at the Foot of the Sierra Madre — Trincheras — A Mam- 
 moth Tusk Secured— Climbing the Sierra Madre — A New Squirrel Dis- 
 covered — Solitude — Apache Monuments — Arrival at Upper Bavispe 
 River, Pages 17-40 
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 
 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 Contirm 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 Su- 
 perb 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
 
 xxii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Fossils, and One Way of Utilising Them — Temosachic — The First Tarahu- 
 niares — Ploughs with Wooden Shares — Visit to the Southern Pimas — 
 Aboriginal Hat Factories — Pinos Altos — The Waterfall near Jesus Maria 
 — An Adventure with Ladrones, Pages 1 18-135 
 
 CHAPTER Vn 
 
 The Uncontaminated Tarahumares — A Tarahumare Court in Session — The 
 Power of the Stafi — 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 Dan- 
 cing Place — The Original Cross of America — Tarahumare Store- 
 houses,. ......... 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 — Plight 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 Tradi- 
 tions, the Cocoyomes, etc. — Guachochic — Don Aliguel and " The Post- 
 master " — 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 North- 
 westerly Direction — Arrival at the Pueblo of Norogachic, Pages 1 90-202 
 
 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 ibout Me, 
 and Regard Me as a Rain-god— What the Tarahumares Eat -A Pretty 
 Church in the Wilderness — I Kind at Last a Reliable Interpreter and 
 Proceed to Live k I'lndienne, Pages 218-234
 
 CONTENTS xxiii 
 
 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 (ireat National Drink of the Tribe — Other Alcoholic 
 Drinks, Pages 235-257 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Politeness, and the Demands of Etiquette — The Daily Life of the Tarahu- 
 mare — The Woman's Position is High — Standard of Beauty — Women 
 Do the Courting — Love's Young Dream — Marriage Ceremonies, Primi- 
 tive 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 Run- 
 ners in the World — Divinations for the Race — Mountains of Betting 
 Stakes — W^omen'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— Dis- 
 ease Caused by Looks and Thoughts — Everybody and Everything has to 
 be Cured — Nobody F"eels 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 31 1-329 
 
 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 Cireat Hikuli Expert^^:_ 
 The Age of Hikuli W^orship, ^ Pages 356-379
 
 xxiv CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 The Tarahumare's P'irm Belief in a Future Life — Causes of Death — The 
 Dead are Mischievous and Want Their F'amiHes 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 Ser- 
 mon, .......... 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 — Poi- 
 
 ■ soning the Water — A Blanket Seine, .... Pages 391-407 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Resumption of the Journey Southward — Piitus LiiDihoItzii — Cooking with 
 Snow — Terror-stricken Indians — A Gentlemanly Highwayman and His 
 " Shooting-box " — The Pernicious Effect of Civilisation Upon the Tara- 
 humares — A Fine Specimen of the Tribe — The Last of the Tarahu- 
 
 • mares, ....... ... 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, and Vice Versa — Profitable Liquor Traffic — Medicine 
 Lodges — Cucuduri, the Master of the Woods — Myth of the Plei- 
 ades Pages 422-436 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 On to Morelos — Wild and Broken Country — The Enormous Flower-spike 
 of the Amole — Subtropical Vegetation of Northwestern Mexico — De- 
 structive Ants — The Last of the Tubars— A Spectral Ride — Back to the 
 United States — An Awful Thunder-storm — Close Quarters — Zape — An- 
 tiquities — When an " Angel " Dies— Mementos of a Reign of Terror — 
 The Great Tepehuane Revolution of 1616— The Fertile Plains of Du- 
 rango Pages 437-450 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 Winter in the High Sierra — Mines — Pueblo Nuevo and Its Amiable Padre — 
 A Ball in My Honour — Sancta Siniplicitas—h. 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
 
 CONTENTS XXV 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 Pueblo Viejo — Three Lans;ua,tje.s Spoken I lere — The Aztecs — The Musical 
 IJovv — Theories of Its Origin — Dancint^ 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 Dejeuner k 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 — Scor- 
 pions, .......... 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 Froiiispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A Dasylirion, i 
 
 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, . . . . . . . • 1 5 
 
 The Church in Bacadehuachi, 17 
 
 Aztec Vase, Found in the Church of Bacadehuachi 18 
 
 Agave Hart7nani, 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, Senor! ........... 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 
 
 xxvii
 
 XXV 111 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Burial 
 
 Cave in Cave \"allev 
 
 Sandal Plaited from Yucca Leaves, 
 
 Heel of a Sandal, Showing Plaiting, 
 
 Piece of Wood Showing Drill Mark, 
 
 Pendant of Wood, .... 
 
 Implement for Throwing, . 
 
 Burial Caves in Cave \'alley, 
 
 A Mummified Body, .... 
 
 Rock Paintings in White on the Inside of a 
 
 A Trinchera in Cave Valley, 
 
 Ancient Cave-dwellings in Strawberry Valley, 
 
 Interior View of Cave-dwellings Shown on Page 75, 
 
 Exterior View of Cave-dwellings in Strawberry Valley, 
 
 Objects Found in Mounds at Upper Piedras Verdes River, . 
 
 Painting on Rock on Piedras Verdes River 
 
 Figures on Walls of a Cave-house on Piedras Verdes River, 
 Figure on Rock on Piedras \'erdes River, .... 
 
 Hunting Antelope in Disguise, ...... 
 
 Casas Grandes, ......... 
 
 Ceremonial Hatchet with Mountain Sheep's Head. I-'rom Casas Grandes 
 
 Broken, .......... 
 
 Earthenware Vessel in Shape of a Woman. From Casas Grandes, 
 Cerro de Montezuma and the Watch Tower Seen from the South, 
 Double Earthenware Vessel, from San Diego, with Hollow Connection 
 
 at Base, ..... 
 Extension of Designs on Plate I., a, 
 The Horned Toad Jar, Seen from Above and Below. 
 Extension of Designs on Plate I., c/. 
 Extension of Designs on Plate III., <',. . 
 Extension of Designs on Plate V., <•, 
 Black Ware, Highly Polished, 
 Extension of Design on Plate IV., u, . 
 Extension of Design on Plate I\\, />, 
 Extension of Designs on Plate IV., c, . 
 Extension of Designs on Plate IV.,/, . 
 Extension of Designs on Plate \'., c, , 
 Ancient Cave-dwelling at Garabato, 
 Part of Cave-dwellings at Garabato, 
 Design in Red on Second-story Wall, . 
 
 Plate 
 
 I.,^, 
 
 PAGE 
 67
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 XXIX 
 
 ma House 
 
 Piece of Matting from Garabato Cave, . 
 
 Ancient Cave-houses and Granaries near Aros River, 
 
 Tarahumare, ....... 
 
 Tarahumare Plough with Wooden Share, 
 Tarahumare Ploughshare Made of Oak, 
 Tarahumare Ploughshare of Stone, 
 Young Southern Pima, ..... 
 
 Middle-aged Southern Pima, .... 
 
 Southern Pimas Living in a Brushwood Inclosure, 
 Pine Cone Serving as a Comb, .... 
 
 Southern Pima Arrow Release, .... 
 
 Small Crosses Placed in a Log in Front of Southern Pi 
 
 The Waterfall of Basasiachic 
 
 Tarahumare Ploughman. ..... 
 
 Ancient Stone Hammer Seen in the Presidente's Yard, 
 Tarahumare Indians from Pino Gordo, 
 Tarahumare Court in Session at Cusarare, . 
 Barranca de L^rique, ...... 
 
 Our Tarahumare Carriers and the Gobernador, 
 Tarahumare Men, ...... 
 
 Tarahumare Woman, ...... 
 
 Necklace of Seeds of Coix Lac/ityiiia-Jodi, . 
 Tarahumare Ear-ornament; one seed Co/.v LacJiry)>ia-JolH at top 
 . Natural size, ....... 
 
 Tarahumare Ranch near Barranca de Cobre, showing 
 
 supported by stone walls, .... 
 
 Tarahumare House near Barranca de Cobre, 
 Tarahumare House in the Hot Country, 
 Cappe of Sandstone Pillar, showing effect of erosion 
 Tarahumare P^amily Camping under a Tree, . 
 Inhabited Cave, the Home of a Tarahumare Belle, 
 The Belle of the Cave, ...... 
 
 Side View of Cave on Page 165, Showing Store-houses and Inclosure, 
 Inhabited Cave, Showing .Store-houses, Inclosure, and Extended Floor 
 Cave with Wooden Ladder Leading to a Store-room, 
 Crosses Made from the Natural Growth of Pine-trees in Front of Tara 
 
 humare House, ...... 
 
 Crosses in Front of Tarahumare House, 
 
 ploughed 
 
 fields 
 
 PAGE 
 07 
 I I 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 124 
 
 ^5 
 
 28 
 28 
 29 
 133 
 134 
 137 
 140 
 
 '45 
 
 [48 
 [49 
 150 
 
 '51 
 51 
 
 :52 
 
 :57 
 .58 
 
 59 
 161 
 [62 
 '63 
 
 164 
 .65 
 .69 
 
 172 
 173
 
 XXX 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 IC. 
 
 Cross, ........ 
 
 Tarahumare Store-house of Stones and Mud, 
 Caves Used as Store-houses, 
 Tarahumare Store-houses Made of Logs, 
 Cactus Flowers, ..... 
 
 Making Larvas Ready for the Pot, 
 Gathering Pithaya, .... 
 
 In the Highlands of the Sierra, 
 
 Tarahumare Interpreters, 
 
 Indian Trail Cut in a Ridge of Tuff, 
 
 Pecking on Rock in the Neighbourhood of Norogachic 
 
 Tarahumare Girl from the Neighbourhood of Norogach 
 
 Pecking on Rock in the Neighbourhood of Norogachic 
 
 Winter Morning in the Sierra, .... 
 
 Dogs of Chihuahua 
 
 Tarahumare Girdles, ...... 
 
 Aspect of the Tarahumare Country in Humarisa, . 
 Taking My Baggage Down an Indian Trail in the Barranca de San 
 Carlos, ..... ... 
 
 Tarahumare Woman, ...... 
 
 Tarahumare Man, ...... 
 
 Usual Crouching Position of the Tarahumare, 
 Tarahumare Man, ...... 
 
 Tarahumares Sunning Themselves, 
 
 Tarahumare Girl. The Hair Worn in Mexican Fashio 
 
 Weaving a Girdle, ...... 
 
 Patterns of Tarahumare Belts, .... 
 
 Woman Pottery Maker and Some Results of Her Labo 
 
 Tarahumare Pottery from Panalachic, 
 
 Basket for Straining Tesvino, 
 
 Tarahumare IJianket, . 
 
 A Tarahumare Call, 
 
 Tarahumare Arrow Release, 
 
 Tarahumare Baskets, . 
 
 Tarahumare Girl Carrying Water 
 
 Tarahumare, Showing Mode of \\ 
 
 Tarahumare Blankets, . 
 
 Stone Disk for Playing, 
 
 earing Blanket, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 176 
 178 
 179 
 182 
 188 
 
 20I 
 202 
 203 
 
 205 
 207 
 209 
 216 
 219 
 227 
 
 236 
 
 237 
 238 
 
 240 
 242 
 249 
 249 
 250 
 252 
 254 
 259 
 260 
 262 
 263 
 265 
 268 
 274 
 277
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xxxi 
 
 PAGF. 
 
 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 Tarahuniare Rattling Belt, ....... 290 
 
 Tarahumare Foot-runners, Photographed after the Race, . . . 291 
 Tarahuniare Women Crossing a Stream in Their Race, . . . 293 
 
 Fork and Wooden Ball Used in Women's Game, .... 294 
 
 Stick and Ring Used in W^omen's Game, ...... 294 
 
 The Coyote, Cam's 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 
 MaDiinilaria 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
 
 XXXll 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The Widow Grinding Corn in Her Camp, 
 
 Bow and Throwing-stick for the Fish-spear, 
 
 The Amole, a Species of Agave, ..... 
 
 Tarahumares on the Rio Fuerte Fishing with Their Blankets 
 
 Pintis Luniholtzii, ....... 
 
 CiviHsed Tarahumare Boy, ...... 
 
 Juan Ignacio and His Son, Pagan Tarahumares, . 
 
 A Tepehuane Family, ....... 
 
 Old Log-houses near Nabogame, ..... 
 
 Tepehuanes from Nabogame, ..... 
 
 Tepehuane Medicine Lodge near Mesa de Milpillas, 
 
 A Well-known Tepehuane Shaman, .... 
 
 Salvia elcgatis, var. soiiorensis, ..... 
 
 The Flower-spike of the Amole, ..... 
 
 Cerens caspitosus, ....... 
 
 Tubar Man, ......... 
 
 Tubar Women, ........ 
 
 Beads of Burnt Clay, from Tubar Tombs, 
 
 Tepehuane Sling made from Maguey Fibre, , 
 
 Tepehuane l^ouch made from Maguey Fibre, 
 
 Tepehuane Store-house, near Lajas, .... 
 
 The Musical Bow of the Tepehuanes of the South, and of 
 
 Rattle for Ankle, made from Empty Pods of a Palm, 
 
 Cora Men and W^omen from Santa Teresa, . 
 
 Cora Pouch, of LInusual Shape, made of Wool. Patterns represent 
 Flying Birds and a row of Deer, .... 
 
 Cora Indians from Mesa del Nayarit, .... 
 
 The Sacred Dancing-place of the Coras, called Towta, the supposed 
 residence of the great Taquat of the East of the same name. Pho- 
 tographed after the Dancing was over, ...... 
 
 God's Eye, made by the Cora Tribe as a Prayer for My Health and Life, 
 
 the Azte';s 
 
 399 
 401 
 402 
 405 
 409 
 
 417 
 419 
 
 423 
 424 
 427 
 
 432 
 434 
 43« 
 439 
 440 
 442 
 443 
 444 
 458 
 
 459' 
 461 
 
 475 
 477 
 489 
 
 492 
 
 521 
 
 COLOURED PLATES 
 
 Plates L, II., IIL. IV. Pottery from San Diego . at end of volume 
 
 Plate V. Pottery from San Diego and Casas Grandes at end of voliiine 
 
 Plate VL A Tarahumare Beauty .... facing page 266
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR THE START — OUR DRY GOODS RELISHED liV THE 
 
 CATTLE 1 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 raihoads, interfered with my plans and somewhat 
 
 delayed my arriv^al at Bis- 
 bee, 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 main- 
 tains there well-supplied 
 stores, where the neces- 
 sary 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 jiacked. In the mean- 
 
 VOL. I. — I I 
 
 A Dasvlirion.
 
 2 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 time I was joined by the various scientific assistants 
 appointed to take part in the expedition. 
 
 The horses and mules were bought in the neighbour- 
 hood. 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 deliv- 
 ered 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 neces- 
 sary men. This was another hard task to accomplish. 
 There are always plenty of fellows, ready for adven- 
 tures, 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 compen- 
 sating 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 vis- 
 ited 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 wear- 
 ing' 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
 
 THE START 3 
 
 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 dol- 
 lars, 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 neighbour- 
 hood, but we made our start unmolested, on Septem- 
 ber 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 fast- 
 ened over the mules' backs. Through the courtesy of 
 the Mexican custom officials I also secured two excel- 
 lent and reliable Mexican packers, to take the place of 
 some Americans who had been fighting in the camp 
 and proved themselves unfit for my }jurpose. 
 
 As a mark of regard, one of the custom officers in- 
 vited me to act as godfather to his child. I had to sup- 
 port the baby's head during the ceremony, while an 
 elderly woman held the little body. According to cus- 
 tom, I gave twenty-five cents to every member of the 
 party, and to the child a more ade(iuate present. From 
 now on I was called compadre by most of the people 
 in the village, and that sacred relationship was estab- 
 lished between myself and the baby's family, which is 
 deemed of so much imj)ortance in the life of the Mexi-
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 "--^^MMJn^ 
 
 ■^;# 
 
 cans. During ten years of travel and ethnological activ- 
 ity I have never met the child again, but I hope that he 
 is getting on well. 
 
 How beautifully fresh the country looked as we trav- 
 elled 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 cotton wood 
 was especially noticeable. 
 There was also an abundance 
 of wild-grape vines. Every- 
 where 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 
 fneteloides, 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 eff"ect 
 of the poison is cumulative, and the Indians under its 
 influence, like the Malays, run amuck and trv 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. 
 
 Amono^ the birds, doves and flycatchers were most 
 
 Cottonwood.
 
 THE FRONTIER POPULATION 
 
 commonly seen, one species of the latter frequently 
 dazzling our eyes with its brilliant vermilion plumage. 
 
 The men 1 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 tiic 
 Mexicans, who were obedient, oblig- 
 ing, and less lawless than the rough, 
 mixed-white citizens of the Ameri- 
 can Southwest. As an illustration 
 of the moral status of the frontier 
 population, I may relate that when 
 about sixty miles south of the bor- 
 der, 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 offi- 
 cers, who seem to exist only to an- 
 noy 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 
 
 / 
 
 Ccreus Greggii. A small 
 cactus with enormous root.
 
 6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 village authorities or some prominent man in the neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 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 im- 
 portant place, numbering, it is said, some 2,000 inhabi- 
 tants. But the Apaches, by their incessant attacks, 
 made tiie life of the villagers so miserable that the place 
 became depopulated. Once it was even entirely aban- 
 doned. Many stories of the constant fights wnth these 
 savages are related by the survivors of those struggles. 
 Never was it safe in those days to venture outside of the 
 town limits. Vet 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 jxirt 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,
 
 APACHE STORIES 7 
 
 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 cap- 
 tured seven men ; most of the band, however, managed 
 to escape. Next da\- the j)risoners were taken to the 
 
 Fronteras. 
 
 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 1 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
 
 8 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 no difficulty in gaining mv 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 curiosi- 
 ties. I had already 
 observed isolated 
 fossil bones along 
 the creeks on sev- 
 eral occasions dur- 
 ing 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 through- 
 out the region we traversed following the road to the 
 south. Here they appear fre(}uenllv 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 al)o\^c 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 
 
 Remarkable Ant-hill.
 
 THE YAOUI RIVER 9 
 
 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 
 canon below we met the first palms. The rocks con- 
 tinued 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 in- 
 spiringly 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 sio-ht of it was soon lost ao-ain. 
 
 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 dis- 
 tricts. It was a treat to catch the first sight of the mag- 
 nificent 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 veeetation
 
 10 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 ioo° F. in the shade. The grass had become 
 
 
 Church Bells at Opoto. 
 
 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 fre- 
 quent intermarriages.
 
 A FLOURISHING MEDICAL PRACTICE ii 
 
 As we j)assc(i the hamlets, our larjrc 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, espcciall}' mornings and 
 evenings, as if an auction had been going on inside. 
 Some of them wanted to sell things that would come in 
 handv, 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 
 
 Also a Visitor. 
 
 worth more than twentv-five cents apiece ; but she 
 insisted that she w^anted a dollar, because she had prom- 
 ised that amount to the padre for reading a mass for a 
 man who had died in the time of Hidalgo at the begin- 
 ning of the century. 
 
 But most of the crowd flocked to my tent to con- 
 sult 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, carrving only wdiat I expected 
 to use for my own party. If I had given them all they 
 wanted, our little stock would have been exhausted on
 
 12 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the first day ; Init in order to soften my heart they 
 would send me molasses, suo:ar-cane, and similar del- 
 icacies. 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 don- 
 key was her sole pos- 
 session on earth. 
 
 They all were anx- 
 ious to have me feel 
 their pulse, whether 
 there was anything the 
 matter with them or 
 not. They firmly be- 
 lie\'ed that this mys- 
 terious touch enabled 
 me to tell whether they 
 were afflicted with any 
 kind of disease and 
 how long thev were 
 going to live, A wom- 
 an in delicate condi- 
 tion 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, crouj)s, and fevers and agues, and above all, their 
 indigestion, wiiich is the j)revailing trouble in that sec- 
 tion of the country. But I confess that I was nearly 
 tired out with these consultations. In consequence of 
 
 A Mexican from Opoto.
 
 THE PEOPLE HELPFUL 
 
 13 
 
 frequent intermarriages there are many deaf and dumb 
 persons among them, and epilepsy and insanity are by no 
 means rare. 
 
 On tlie other hand, I was assured that such a char- 
 acter as a thief was here unknown. However this 
 might be, it was certain that the Mexicans of Eastern 
 Sonora were a nice class of peojjle. They were pleas- 
 ant 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 friendlv and oblie^inor 
 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 person- 
 al letters of introduction I received many services when- 
 ever 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 note- 
 book 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 Mex- 
 ico, 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
 
 14 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 and conducts himself in accordance wiih 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 ofT — 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 
 properlv cared for from the beginning, the animals 
 will soon be ailing ; some grow unfit for service, and 
 much time is lost mornino-s and evenino-s curino^ 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 
 everyvv^here, 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 my 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
 
 ROCK-CARVINGS 
 
 15 
 
 had an extensive knowledi^e of ilie numberless native 
 medicinal j)lants (many of which, no doubt, are very 
 valuable), treated the patient, and in two days the poor 
 wretch seemed to be in a fair \va\' to be saved. 
 
 Rock-carvings near Granados. 
 
 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 fountl only two miles and a half to the north-
 
 i6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 west of the town, and were interestino-. The designs 
 were rudely peeked 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 fio-ures 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 l)y 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 j)]ant. 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 Cercus 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 TRIXCHERAS — A ^LAM.MOTH TUSR SECURED CLIMBING 
 
 THE SIERRA iMAURE A NEW SQUIRREL DISCOVERED SOLITUDE 
 
 APACHE MONUMENTS — ARRIVAL AT UPPER P.AVISPE RIVER. 
 
 FROjM Granados \vc took an easterly course, being 
 at last able to cross the Bavispe River, which, 
 owing to heavv rains in the sierra, had for some time 
 been overflowing. Starting from this point, the ground 
 
 The Church in Bacadehuachi. 
 
 gradually rising, we arrived at Bacadehuachi, a small 
 village remarkable for its church, a massive adobe struct- 
 ure, the grand style of which looked somewhat out of 
 proportion in these mountains. It had been built by 
 
 Vol. I.— 2 17
 
 i8 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the Franciscans more than loo 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 dis- 
 covered 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 debris of the 
 ancient temple when 
 the foundations for the 
 present building were 
 aid. 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 beni- 
 tier. Unfortunate- 
 Iv, it had been found 
 necessary to engrave on 
 the ancient carv^ing 
 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 mas- 
 terpiece 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 in- 
 
 Aztec Vase, found in the Church oi^ 
 Bacadehuachi. Height, 37 ctm.
 
 NACORI 
 
 19 
 
 fluence with the priest, and in due course I had the sat- 
 isfaction 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 mes- 
 quites, 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 ele- 
 
 Agave Hartmani, a new species ot century plant. 
 
 vation of 3,700 feet. Our camp, about two miles out- 
 side of the village, was permeated with a delicious odour 
 of acacia blossoms, and water in the neighbouring moun- 
 tains, though strongly impregnated with iron, was quite 
 palatable. 
 
 In this region Mr. Hartman found a new form of
 
 20 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 aga\e 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 green- 
 houses. It grows in large numbers in the crevices of 
 the rocks, the perpendicular walls of canons 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 num- 
 ber 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 ap- 
 pearance of tumble-down 
 walls, but the stones of 
 which they are construct- 
 ed were j^lainly used in 
 their natural state. Al- 
 . . ,. . I . k n thouoh many of the 
 
 Ancient pecking on a trachvte boulder ^ -' 
 
 one foot square.' bouldcrs are huge and 
 
 irregular in shape, they 
 were used just as thev 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
 
 TRINCHEKAS 21 
 
 dressing or cutting", hul in the mason work c()nsidcrai)lc 
 skill is evident, llie walls are not vertical, hut 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 twen- 
 ty feet. Earth taken from tlicm 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 })receding one, are neces- 
 sarily smaller. 
 
 In the mountains near Nacori, especially on their 
 eastern and southeastern sides, trincheras were en- 
 countered 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 thou- 
 sand 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 ter- 
 race gardens of the Moqui Indians, and have undoubt- 
 edly been used for agricultural purposes, just as they 
 are used by the Tarahumares to this day (page 152). It 
 is true that thev 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
 
 22 I NKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the same race. Some of the terraces were, no doubt, 
 erected as a protection of tlie crop against enemies and 
 wild animals ; but it is impossible to think that thev 
 were intended for irrigation dams, though we did see 
 water running through some, coming out of a marsli. 
 Still less likelv is it that thev had been used as mining 
 dams. 
 
 As soon as the plains of Northern Sonora were left 
 behind, and the country became hillv and broken, these 
 peculiar structures were conspicuous. At first thev ap- 
 peared 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 bv an extinct race once possess- 
 ing these regions." Mr. A. F. Bandelier, on his jour- 
 ney 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 North- 
 eastern Sonora ruins locally known as Las Tri7icJieras, 
 which he considered the most elaborate prehistoric work 
 known to exist in Northwestern Mexico. They com- 
 prise, he says, terraces, stone-walls, and inclosed fortifi- 
 cations, built of loose stones and nearly surrounding 
 two buttes. 
 
 I must not omit to mention that in a week's explo- 
 ration 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
 
 A MAMMOTH TUSK 23 
 
 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 trace- 
 able 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 orieat distance from their town there were several 
 deposits containing httcsos 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 exam- 
 ination 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 circum- 
 ference, 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 in- 
 formation to be gotten about it. What the Mexicans 
 know about that region may be brieflv summed up thus : 
 That it is a vast wilderness of mountains most difficult
 
 24 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 wood- 
 peckers, 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 
 
 111 ihc Hills oi Northeastern Suiiora. 
 
 soil, lived in towns and built monuments, and even 
 bridges over some of its caiions. 
 
 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
 
 THE APACHE SCOLKGE 25 
 
 wild Apache Indians. From ihcir mountain strong- 
 holds these marauders made raiding' expeditions into the 
 adjacent states, west and east, sweeping down upon the 
 farms, plundering the villages, (hixing 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 them- 
 selves 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 rob- 
 bing at other seasons. Often troops would follow them 
 far into the mountains, but the " braves " fought so skil- 
 fully, 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 Mex- 
 icans did not consider it a crime to shoot an Apache at 
 sight. 
 
 Such a scourg-e 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 re- 
 pealed, as the Mexicans, eager to get the reward, took 
 to killing the peaceful Tarahumares, w^hose 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 con- 
 stantly 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
 
 26 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 of bloodshed and icrror,* In the early part of our jour- 
 ney 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 de- 
 clined the courtesy, ])ref erring to depend rather upon my 
 own men. I am happy to say that I had no personal en- 
 counter 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 intelligi- 
 ble only to the Apaches. 
 
 The only precaution I had taken against possible at- 
 tacks 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 l)undle 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 "seiiora," 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. 
 
 * Several years after my expedition passed through those regions the Apaches on 
 more than one occasion attacked outlying Mormon ranches and killed several persons.
 
 CLIMBING THE SIEKKA MADRE 
 
 27 
 
 After having received some supplementary provis- 
 ions from Granados, I at last, on December 2, 1890, be- 
 gan 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 contin- 
 gencies. Everything looked promising. 
 
 As I left the town, following the pack-train after 
 having made the last settlements with the natives, I 
 
 Adios, Senor! 
 
 passed a little hut, the last homestead on this side of 
 the sierra. In front of it stood a voungf {jirl, 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 bag- 
 gage never before seen in those parts of the world. 
 With her fine dark eyes, her loose wavy hair and grace- 
 ful figure, she made a strikingly beautiful picture, and 
 as she called out in a sweet, melodious voice, ''Adios, 
 Sefior ! '' I took this kindly greeting from a pretty girl
 
 28 UNKNOWN xMEXICO 
 
 as a orood omen for my journey. On the spur of the 
 moment I dismounted and perpetuated the auspicious 
 scene bv means of a kodak wiiicli 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 grat- 
 itude 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 unsur- 
 mountable difficulties if the weather is fine ; in bad 
 weather, I admit, some parts of the trail w^e made would 
 be all but impracticable. 
 
 Having reached the second range called the Sierra 
 de Huehuerachi, near its northern terminus, and look- 
 ing 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 Na- 
 cori). It rises bold and majestic on the opposite side 
 of the valley, at the bottom of which runs the little river 
 of Iluehuerachi. 
 
 In this valley we camped for two days, being de-
 
 fl;ifffl':i:i3!a«S'"P«llillllW'(i^|«^ 
 
 ^S&"^
 
 A DIFFICl'LT IKAIL 
 
 31 
 
 laycd by rains. It was early in December, but we found 
 Heliaiithus ten to twelve feet high in bloom every- 
 where in the canons. A Salvia with a blue corolla, dot- 
 ted 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 Baiiilmsa 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 \vhich 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 com- 
 pany at bay. The surface soil we had lately been trav- 
 elling 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 threat- 
 eningly 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 Bacade- 
 huachi stretched out a vast mass of barren -looking 
 rocks and hills. The Mexicans call them agiia blanca, 
 a designation also applied to the small water course that 
 runs through them in a northerly and southerly direc- 
 tion, but which from our point of view could not be
 
 32 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 made out in the chaotic confusion. Away off toward 
 the north, at a distance of fiom fifteen to twenty miles, 
 could be seen a high chain of sharp peaks. 
 
 I may mention here that 1 found the water of many 
 streamlets and brooks throughout the western moun- 
 tains of Mexico to have a slightly whitish colour and a 
 dull, opalescent look, like a strong solution of quinine. 
 The Mexicans call it agua blauca, or agiia zarca, and 
 consider it the best water they have. Many places, es- 
 pecially ranches, are named after it. In the locality 
 where we now found ourselves the water had a slight- 
 ly 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-live 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 dis- 
 ease, 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 construct- 
 ed 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 dei)l()rable. 
 Before he left he gave me directions for finding a 
 rather large ancient pueblo, which he had come across 
 
 ,1^* 
 
 Our Principal Guide Leaving Us.
 
 DANGEROUS TRAVELLING 
 
 33 
 
 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 ex- 
 
 A Mule with its Pack of Crates. 
 
 pedition, to make a path. Occasionally they were 
 guided by Apache tracks, but for the most part we cut 
 our own w^ay through the wilderness. Instead of adopt- 
 ing the Mexican method of going uphill as straight as 
 practicable, I had the trail cut zigzag, and to this I at- 
 tribute 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 sensa- 
 tion ; but to travel over them is exhaustive to muscle 
 and patience. And the possibility of losing at any mo- 
 
 Vol. I.— 3
 
 34 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 ment perhaps the most Vciliuil)le part of your outfit is a 
 constant and severe strain on your mind. Nobody ex- 
 cept those who have travelled in the Mexican mountains 
 can understand and appreciate the difficulties and anxi- 
 eties attending such a journey. Not only the animals 
 themselves, but everything they carry is vital to the suc- 
 cess 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, wdien- 
 ever a mule runs acciden- 
 tally aofainst some proiec- 
 f'tw "tion, or its foot slips, the 
 poor beast invariably loses 
 •^j.t;:^^,-''-*-^^- ;5|:^,,:^^'?^ its balance, and over it 
 
 The Photographic Mule. 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 fol- 
 lowed 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 

 
 SURE-FOOTED MULETEERS 35 
 
 donkey and leading it uj) to the trail as eoolly 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, lunvever, being seriously hurt. 
 At first I was greatly shocked to see the animals thus 
 rolling over and over with their packs, down the moun- 
 tain 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 oc- 
 casions. They moved about as sure-footed and quick as 
 sailors on their ship, and always on the alert. When- 
 ever one of the poor beasts lost its foothold, the men 
 would instantly run after it, and as soon as some obsta- 
 cle stopped its downward career they would be by its 
 side and relieve it of its burden. Of course, some- 
 times the animal was badly bruised about the head, 
 and unable to carry a pack for a few days ; but, niira- 
 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 car- 
 ried 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. 
 
 Climbine, climbino:, climbinu:, 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.
 
 36 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Numerous springs oozed and iriekled 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 
 Missottriensis, 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 watercourses 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 near- 
 by, and two specimens of the gigantic woodpecker we 
 here observed for the first time. Here, too, Mr. Rob- 
 inette shot a new species of squirrel, Sciiirus Apache. 
 It was large, of a j)ale grayish-yellow color varied with 
 black, and having a long, full and bushy tail. 
 
 We had now arrived in the pine region of the si- 
 erra. The Mexican scouts reported that the country 
 ahead of us was still more difficult of access ; but the 
 track having been laid out well bv 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 crev- 
 ices were covered with slippery pine needles eight to 
 twelve inches long, while the pines rose up to a
 
 SOLITUDE 
 
 37 
 
 height of a hun- 
 dred feet or more. 
 The forest, never 
 touched by a wood- 
 man'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 rag^e over 
 these solitary re- 
 gions that received 
 us calmly enough. 
 Not until we had 
 reached the top did 
 we feel the wind 
 blowing pretty hard 
 from the east and 
 
 On the Crest of the Sierra. 
 
 encouragmg us m 
 
 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
 
 38 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 with small fragments. No nicety was shown in the 
 work, but the arrangement of the stones was not acci- 
 dental. It was, however, quite old, for in several places 
 the fragments were cemented together with a thick coat 
 of lichen. The ])urpose of the circle is a matter of con- 
 jecture. 
 
 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 ter- 
 minated. 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 be- 
 fore 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 an- 
 other, 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 !
 
 A PLEASANT SURPRISE 
 
 39 
 
 On the followincr day the pack train moved along 
 the path I had walked over. We were pleasantly sur- 
 prised to lind at this season, the middle of December, 
 and at this elevation, a species of violet in bloom, while 
 Lupinus and / 7- 
 cia were already 
 in seed. We made 
 our c a m p at a 
 place 7,400 feet 
 above sea level, 
 and here we no- 
 ticed trincheras 
 close by, with 
 water running 
 through them 
 from a marsh. 
 
 We also hap- 
 pened to come 
 upon some stone 
 piles made of 
 rough stones laid 
 on top of each 
 other to a height 
 
 of about three 
 feet. The Mexi- 
 cans 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 
 
 Apache Monument.
 
 40 UNKNOWN iMEXICO 
 
 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, drop- 
 ping nearly i,ooo feet. A little further northward we 
 came down another i,ooo 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 mead- 
 ow 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 MOR- 
 MON SETTLEMENTS OF PACHECO AND CAVE VALLEV. 
 
 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 mes- 
 sengers 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 de- 
 
 41
 
 42 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 pend on our guns for meat. Luckily, the forest was 
 alive with deer, and there were also wild turkeys. 
 Thus there was no difficulty about {)rovisions, 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 
 bv 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 de- 
 ceived 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 deli- 
 cacy 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 ap- 
 pearance. 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.
 
 ANCIENT CABINS 43 
 
 More than ever since we entered the Sierra de Na- 
 cori, \vc 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 monntains, the more common became these 
 hut-walls, which stood about three feet high, and were 
 possibly once surmounted by woodwork, or, j)erhaps, 
 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 in- 
 dications 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, consist- 
 ing of but one room about ten feet square, was built 
 of large blocks of lava. The largest of these were eigh- 
 teen 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 suffi- 
 cient 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.
 
 44 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 In the Sierra de Nacori, on the summit of a steep 
 knoll, antl at an elevation of about 6,500 feet, we found 
 two huts of such hid-up walls. The rough felsite 
 blocks of which they were composed were surprisingly 
 larsfe, 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 out- 
 side. 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 oi felsite and some shapeless- 
 flakes and several fragments of large metates.
 
 RUINS 45 
 
 In the vallev formed between the mountains on the 
 upper Bavnspe Ri\'er we met with very many such 
 houses. The clusters which we came across seemed to 
 have been composed of a larger number of houses. Par- 
 apets, also built of undressed stones and surrounding these 
 villag^es, 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 an- 
 cient 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 rectangu- 
 lar, 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 prin- 
 ciple. Evidently these walls were built for the protec- 
 tion 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 un- 
 dressed 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
 
 46 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 occujjancy, 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 bould- 
 ers 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 aver- 
 age, 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 pre- 
 served, 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 whit- 
 ening their houses. The stones themselves were felsite, 
 which abounds in the locality. The blocks have an aver- 
 age 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 makinir the walls vertical, and
 
 X 
 
 6 
 
 u
 
 DIFFICULTIES ON THE MARCH 49 
 
 the angles were faiii\- true. The walls were almost 
 twelve iiiehes thiek, and on the inner side they had evi- 
 dently never l)een plastered. 
 
 Being coated with some white plaster, these ruins 
 look white at a distance, and the Mexicans therefore 
 called them casas d/aucas. I heard of an extensive group 
 of such buildings near Sahuaripa, and there are also 
 some ruins of this categorv near Granados, and in the 
 hills east of Opoto. Undoubtedlv they belong to a 
 more recent period than the rude stone structures de- 
 scribed l)efore. Most of the ancient remains of the 
 Sierra are remnants of tribes that expanded here from 
 the lowdands, and only in comparatively recent times 
 have disappeared. I also perceived that they were built 
 b}' 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 
 imj)rove 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 evi- 
 dent that the sooner we proceeded on our journev, the 
 better. To save them as much as possible, w^e 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 bv us, and then went north and east through 
 broken foot-hills. We got into a series of cordon mesas, 
 
 Vol.. I.— 4
 
 so UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 but the breaks between them weie nul 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 w^hom 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 madrona or strawberry tree (^Arbutus Texand)
 
 A DESERTED CAMP 
 
 51 
 
 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 pinon 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, 
 
 1.-. t \(fp. f jr ; IJ^ 
 
 Bringing in Deer. 
 
 we arrived at an old Apache camping place, called by the 
 Mexicans " Rancheria de los Apaches." It was a shel- 
 tered 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 any- 
 one of our party, and we had met some short-horn cat- 
 tle that must have belonged to some settlers. 
 
 We halted on a bare conglomerate scalp near a little
 
 52 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 creek, which \vc called " Bonito," and which shurtlv 
 below our camp joins the Gabilan, an affluent of the 
 l^a\isj)c I'iiver which probably has its origin near Chu- 
 huichupa. 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 tirst ridge, at the foot of 
 which we camj)ed. rises here almost })erpendicularlv 
 about a thousand feet. The little stream alread\' men- 
 tioned originates in a deep caiion 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 Mor- 
 mon 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 evi- 
 dently come u{)on 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
 
 FISHING WITH DYNAMITE 
 
 53 
 
 camp-fire is. Before sundown we would gather the 
 fallen trees and such sorts of wood, and roarinsf fires 
 were built in front of each tent. The smoke, to be 
 sure, blackened our faces, but the lire 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 
 loth, 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 quan- 
 tities 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 re- 
 solved 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 provi- 
 sions in the camp will serve as my excuse to sportsmen 
 for the method I employed. We used a stick of dyna- 
 mite 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 anv j)lace 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
 
 54 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 northwesterly direction from the cam|>, 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, caiupcpJulns impcrialis, the largest woodpecker in 
 
 the world. This 
 i^ splendid member 
 
 of the feathered 
 tribe is two feet 
 long ; its j)lumage 
 is white and black, 
 and the male is or- 
 namented 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 
 
 The Largest Woodpecker in the World. '. , 
 
 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 San- 
 tiago. 1 frequently observed them also in the eastern 
 part of the range.
 
 MORMON SETTLERS 55 
 
 Here, too, a great many s|)ecimens of the rare Mexi- 
 can titmouse and some beautiful varieties of the duek 
 tribe were procured. 
 
 A few days after our arrival at the Raneheria de 
 los Apaches, Professor Libbey left our camp, return- 
 inii; to the United States bv wav 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 cross- 
 beaks. A large yellowish squirrel also attracted my atten- 
 tion. It was of the same kind as that recently found by 
 our expedition. The country was hilly and full of small 
 canons, 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
 
 56 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the mountains near bv ; 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 in- 
 teresting cave dwellings near the Mormon settlement on 
 the eastern edge of the sierra, which I decided to inves- 
 tigate. 
 
 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 evi- 
 dences 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 diffi- 
 cult 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 col- 
 lected in a few hours. The outcrop does not extend
 
 CAVE VALLEY ^■] 
 
 over a lar^c area, only about two lumdrcd yards on one 
 side of the bank. 
 
 On January 2 2d 1 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 eolony ealled Pacheeo, 
 and situated on the Piedras Verdes River. It con- 
 sists 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 in- 
 dustry. 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 physiogno- 
 mies, yet all looked healthy and sturdy, and were de- 
 mure 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 
 Pacheeo, 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 Mor- 
 mons had been speaking. The settlement (having an 
 elevation 6,850 feet) consisted of eight houses. Knock- 
 ing on the door of one of these I w^alked 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.
 
 58 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Mr. Nelson was quite a charming old man, more 
 tlian seventy years old, but liardy. In spite of the cold, 
 he walked out in his sliirt sleeves in the full moonlicrht 
 to select a camping phice for me. The animals, he sug- 
 e^ested, miofht be left in the field for the niijht ; he 
 would see about them in the morning, and he did not 
 
 think there would be 
 any difificulty 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" (pet- 
 roglyphs), that the 
 country was full of 
 mounds, and that 
 skeletons and mum- 
 mies had been found 
 but had been buried 
 again. From his 
 statement it was evi- 
 dent that we had a 
 rich field before us, 
 and the results of the following day more than came up 
 to our ex])ectations. 
 
 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 
 
 v^^^* 
 
 Distant View of Cupola-shaped Granary 
 in Cave.
 
 FIRST DISCOVERIES 59 
 
 an "infant industrv," 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 cavx^s were found to contain houses. 
 One of them especiallv^ made a great impression on us 
 on account of an extraordinary cupohi-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 in- 
 timated that the influential Mormons in Utah did not 
 want to have the skeletons and caves disturbed. I there- 
 fore 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 AGRICU:.- 
 
 TURISTS 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 de- 
 cided to remain here, returnino; 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 re- 
 main as long as they pleased and to make excavations 
 wherever they wanted. 
 
 Cave Valley is the widening of a long, low-walled 
 canon 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 iias a tine, 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, ])rimiti\c jocoplc. 
 
 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 dweUings of the dead.
 
 CA\ E HOUSES (u 
 
 Up tlic main stream, on the western wall of the 
 canon, and about a mile from our camp, is a large cave 
 containing- the curious cuj)ola-shaped structure already 
 mentioned. The cave is easy of approach up a sloping- 
 
 
 
 Single Wall in ClifF. 
 
 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 graduallv 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.
 
 62 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 
 
 Ground Plan of House Groups in Granary Cave. 
 
 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
 
 A SINGULAR STRUCTURE 63 
 
 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 doubt- 
 less put on after the walls were demolished, and their 
 general appearance denotes recentness. 
 
 Several of the cyelopean riffles lead from the cave 
 cliff to the stream. 
 
 The houses here, as well as in all other caves we ex- 
 amined, were built entirely of a powdery substance, the 
 decomposed material of the cave itself. Great quantities 
 of it were found on the tloors of caves which had not 
 been occupied by marr. 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 uni- 
 form 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. Occasion- 
 ally 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 an-
 
 6^ 
 
 UNKNOWxX MEXICO 
 
 other. 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 con- 
 structed, got thorouijhlv 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 after- 
 
 Cupola-shaped Granary in Cave. 
 
 ward. 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 ac-
 
 GRANARIES 
 
 '"'5 
 
 cess. It was without the sli,2:htest doubt a granary. 
 Similar structures, used for that purpose to the present 
 day, may be seen in the States of Vera Cruz and Tlax- 
 
 Granary in Tlaxcala. 
 
 cala. 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 
 
 
 ^it^'^^Ji^iiS 
 
 Ba,-'^.-' i/i Cjiawaii^:- .ii La.^. 
 
 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 
 
 Vol. I.— 5
 
 66 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 here were only two inches thick. The remains showed 
 that they had not been set up in any special arrange- 
 ment, nor were all five alike. Two of them were deeply 
 sunken into the floor of the cave, and inside of them we 
 
 Boof of Oave 11' above floor 
 in rear of Wall. 
 
 Door -2' 6" 
 
 ENTRANCE TO CAVE 
 
 Ground Plan of House Groups in Cave on East Side of the River. 
 
 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, al- 
 though we found no granaries in them. On this page
 
 ANCIKNT IMPLEMENTS 
 
 (V 
 
 is shown the ^iDuncl plan of a cave on the cast side of 
 the river, and attention is drawn to the sin_i>;ular concrete 
 seats or blocks against the wall in the house on the west 
 side of the cave. A tloor of concrete had been made 
 in this cave extendins^ inward and fairly level. 
 
 Evidence of two-storeyed groups of houses was clearly 
 noticeable in many caves; but our investi^^ations were 
 somewhat impeded by the destruction wrought by some 
 Mormon relic-hunter, who had carried off ahnost every- 
 thing removable. He had even taken aw^ay many of 
 
 
 
 Sandal Plaited from Yucca Leaves. Heel is Shown on Left. Length, 2 i ctm. 
 
 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 w^ork 
 very arduous, we searched diligently and succeeded in 
 bringing to light a number of objects which fairly well 
 illustrate the culture of the ancient people. Among
 
 68 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Heel of a Sandal, Showing Plaiting. 
 
 them were needles and awls of bone ; a complete fire 
 drill with a stick showing drilling, basketry work covered 
 
 with pinon 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 agri- 
 culturists is evident from the numerous corn- 
 cobs, 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 in- 
 vestigation here, I went to look after the sec- 
 ond section of my expedition, which had been 
 
 sent to San Diego. I covered the thirty-five 
 
 Piece of 
 
 Wood 
 
 Showing 
 
 miles with four jxack mules in one day. There 
 
 is a charming view from the brow of the sierra Drill Mark. 
 
 over the ))lains of San Die2:o, which are fullv ^^"g^'^' 
 
 •1-1 r i' 1- 1 ' 22. 5 ctm. 
 
 ten miles wide ; but after descendmg 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.
 
 EXCAVATIONS 
 
 69 
 
 .lit: 
 
 'V 
 
 I went to Casas Granclcs, a village of 1,200 souls, 
 six miles north of San Die<>o, and sueceeded in orettinsf 
 a draft cashed. On learning" that Mr. Moses Thatcher, 
 a prominent Mormon apostle from Utah, was 
 on a tour of ins})ection of the colonies, I pro- 
 ceeded to Colon ia Juarez, a prosperous Mor- 
 mon settlement on the Piedras Verdes River, 
 ten miles from Casas Grandes and six miles 
 from San Diego. It was onlv four years old, 
 but had already a number of well laid-out 
 broad streets, set on both sides with cotton- 
 wood trees, and all the houses were surrounded 
 by gardens. I explained to Mr. Thatcher that 
 I desired to make excava- 
 tions 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 Mexi- 
 can 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 implement 
 the camp, which remained for Throw 
 in San Dieijo for about nine months lonofer — 
 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, e/ camino del doctor. 
 
 w 
 
 Pendant ot Wood. 
 Length, 14 ctm. 
 
 ing. Length, 
 67 ctm.
 
 70 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Excavations in Cave X'^alley were continued, and the 
 burial caves gave even better results than the cave-dwell- 
 inijs. Thev were located in the eastern side of the 
 canon, which is rarely touched In- the sun's ravs. With 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Burial Caves in Cave Vallev. 
 
 one exce])tion 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 hre here could have 
 had no other purpose than a religious one, just as the 
 Tarahumares to this dav 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 thev had ever been 
 utilised by man ; but below the dust we came upon a 
 hard, concrete floor, and after digging through this to a
 
 MUMMIES 
 
 71 
 
 deptli of three feet, we fortunately struck a skull, and 
 then came upon the l)ody of a man. After this we disin- 
 terred that of a mother holding' a ehild in her arms, and 
 two other hodies, all hing" on their left sides, their knees 
 half diawn 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, 
 
 A Mummified Body. 
 
 merely shrunken, with the skin on most of the bodies 
 almost unbroken. The features, and even the expres- 
 sion of the countenance, were in many cases quite dis- 
 tinct. Some had retained their eyebrows and part of 
 their hair, and even their intestines had not all disap- 
 peared. 
 
 The hair of these people was very slightly wav}-, ami 
 softer than that of the modern Indian ; in fact, almost 
 silky. The statures were quite low, and in general ap- 
 pearance these ancients bear a curious resemblance to 
 the Moqui Indians, who have a tradition that their an- 
 cestors came from the south, and who, to this day, 
 speak of their "southern brethren"; but it would be
 
 72 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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. 
 
 Rock Paintings in White 
 on the Inside of a Burial 
 Cave in Cave Valley. 
 
 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 beauti- 
 fully 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 drink- 
 ing gourds placed at the head, though in one instance 
 the latter had been put on the breast of the dead. 
 Buried with the person w^e found a bundle of " devil's
 
 MORE TKIXCHEKAS 
 
 73 
 
 claws " i^Martynia). These arc used l)y 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 
 
 A Trinchera in Cave Valley. 
 
 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 val- 
 ley. In one place we observed eight trincheras within 
 150 feet of each other, all built of large stones in the
 
 74 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Cyclopean style of masonry. The l)locks 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 then" 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 w^ere erected for ag- 
 ricultural purposes. But the Indian's farming is, in pro- 
 portion 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, sel- 
 dom 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 wdiat is called the " Straw- 
 berry 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 woodw^ork 
 here w^as 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 dwellinijs were undoubtedlv of more recent oricrin. 
 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 demoli- 
 tion. In one of them the walls wxre composed of stones 
 and mud, and here we also saw the first circular-shaped 
 house in a cave.
 
 ANCIENT CAVK-DWELLINGS 
 
 75 
 
 H\ diiijriny below 
 tlic concictc llooi oi 
 one of the looms, w c 
 caiiu upon the skeU - 
 tons of h\e adult^ ' \ 
 This was a smirulai -^^ 
 fact, show in<>: that 
 these ancient cave- "> 
 (i\\ cllcis ohset ved tiie 
 custom of huixmo; 
 then dead undei the 
 floors of their houses 
 when conditions per- 
 mitted it. Cave- 
 dwellings comprising 
 twenty rooms were 
 also seen by the Mor- 
 mons at the head of 
 Bavispe River. 
 
 Mv relatit)ns with 
 
 Ancient Cave-Dwellings in Strawl-icrrx- 
 Vallev.
 
 76 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the Mormons continued to be friendly, and in my deal- 
 ings with them I found them honest and business-Hke. 
 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 
 
 Interior View ot Cave-Dwellings Shown on Page 75. 
 
 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
 
 
 a
 
 SACKED S'lOKIES 79 
 
 told mc that the book speaks of the arrival of three 
 races in America. The first landinj": was made at Guay- 
 mas in Sonora, the people hcinii^ 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 Val- 
 ley, 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 dow^n, I w^as 
 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 dis- 
 tance proved futile, as these cunning birds, who appar- 
 ently 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.
 
 8o UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Having thoroughly investigated the caves, we turned 
 our attention to the mounds, which are very numer- 
 ous in this part of the country. They are always cov- 
 ered with srrass, and sometimes even trees ijrow 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 supposi- 
 tion 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 dilu- 
 vial 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 
 imag^ine how the mounds were formed bv 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 consist- 
 ing 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 com- 
 partments, the walls were twenty, and in some places 
 e\'en thirty-three, inches thick. Here nothing could be 
 found, either in the rooms or l)v excavating below the 
 floor. The same conventional doorwavs 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 })lastered over, forming a stuccoed pali- 
 sade. At right angles with this was a wall of cobble-
 
 MOUNDS ON PIEDRAS VERDES 
 
 81 
 
 stones, and among the buried debris were fragments of 
 adobe bricks. In one room of this group, at a depth of 
 less than live feet, we struck a floor of trodden con- 
 crete. Breaking through we found a huddle of six or 
 seven skeletons, which, however, were not entire. 
 
 Objects Found in Mounds at Upper Piedras Verdes River. An Earthenware 
 Vessel in Shape of a Gourd is Seen in the Middle. Length of the Double 
 Grooved Axe, 16 ctm. 
 
 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 skele- 
 tons 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 
 
 Vol.. T.— 6
 
 82 
 
 UNKNOWN xMEXICO 
 
 impracticable for us to make eomplete excavations, the 
 number of rooms each mound contained cannot be 
 stated. There were in the immediate neio^hbourhood of 
 Cave \^alley 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 antiquitv. 
 On top of one low hill was a large group, and half a 
 
 Painting on Rock on Piedras Verdes River. The Colour is White Except 
 One Line in Red. Height of Lowest Figure, about 60 ctm. 
 
 mile north of this another, 160 paces long and contain- 
 inof two oblons: mounds. Some of the mounds were ten 
 or twelve feet high. 
 
 A verv trustworthy Mormon informed me that there 
 were no ruins, in caves or otherwise, along the river be- 
 tween this settlement and Colon ia Juarez ; nor were 
 there an}', he said, for a hundred miles south of Pacheco, 
 though mounds could be seen in several places. There- 
 fore 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
 
 SAN i)ii;go 
 
 83 
 
 road. The country along tlic river was afterward ex- 
 plored by members of my expedition. They came ujjon 
 several small caves high up on the side of the canon, 
 
 Figures on Walls of a Cave House, on Piedras \'erdes River. They are 
 painted red except those indicated hv white lines, that signify pecking. 
 Figure to right is about 60 ctm. high. 
 
 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 nth, and 
 arrived on the same day at Old Juarez, a few miles 
 from mv 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 wSan Diego used 
 to swarm with antelojjcs, and even 
 at the time of my visit herds of 
 them could be seen now and then. 
 One old hunter near C^asas 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 
 
 Figure on Rock on Piedras 
 Verdes River. White 
 lines indicate peck- 
 ing, the rest is coloured 
 red.
 
 84 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sw 1 'tJKfft 
 
 lirMiifti ' >-»-«*-^ "•««»*■■- /: »,<■*!> viii»iimn)r 
 
 
 -«* 
 
 ' ' . \^ 
 
 MM?"' '" 
 
 
 
 Hunting Antelope in Disguise. 
 
 in it a small basin of black ware. There were twelve or 
 fifteen other mounds, all containing house groups. The 
 largest among them was loo 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 numer- 
 ous stone heaps, some quite small, others large and 
 rectangular, inclosing a space thirty by ten feet.
 
 o
 
 CASAS GllANDKS 87 
 
 From an aiclucolooical point of view, the district \vc 
 now found ourselves in is exceedingly rich, and I de- 
 termined 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 carv- 
 ings and paintings in varit)us places. Some twenty miles 
 further south there are communal cave-dwellings, resem- 
 bling those in Cave \"allev, which were examined by mem- 
 bers 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 fa- 
 mous 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 de- 
 scription 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 pre- 
 served to give us an idea of the mode of building em- 
 ployed 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 prob- 
 ably once housed 3,000 or 4,000 people, resembles, in its
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 general characteristics, the pueblos in the Southwest, 
 and, for that matter, the houses we excavated from the 
 mounds. The onlv features that distinguish tliesc 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 enor- 
 mous 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 pres- 
 ent inhabitants of the valley, are decidedly the finest I 
 have ev^er 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. 
 
 Ceremonial Hatchet with 
 Mountain Sheep's Head. 
 From Casas Grandes. Broic- 
 en. Length, 12,16 ctm.
 
 AN ANCIENT WATCH TOWER 
 
 89 
 
 Some years ago a large meteorite was unearthed in 
 a small room on the first floor of one of the hicrhest 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 
 
 Earthenware V'essel in Shape ot a Woman. From Casas Grandes. 
 Height, 15.8 ctm. 
 
 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 north- 
 west. 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,
 
 90 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 plainlv visible on a mountain to the southwest, and 
 about live miles, in a straiiiht line, from the ruins. 
 Well-defined traeks 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 cul- 
 minates 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 sum- 
 mit 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. Towartl 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 contemj)late(l the vast stretches of land com-
 
 A FINE PROSPECT 
 
 91 
 
 mandcd from this point, I pondered for how many cen- 
 turies sentinels from this spot may have scanned the ho- 
 
 Cerro de Montezuma and the Watch Tower Seen from the South. 
 
 rizon 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.
 
 92 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 
 dehcious fragrance. But aside from the top, the moun- 
 tain 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 prop- 
 erly 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 As- 
 cension. 
 
 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, 
 
 Double Earthenware \ esscl, from San Diego, with Hollow Connection at 
 Base. Length, 24.8 ctm. 
 
 the Mormons transform waste land into scenes of pros- 
 perity, so much so that the Mexicans attribute the suc- 
 cess 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
 
 BURIED TREASURE 93 
 
 expedient to reduce my scientitic corps to three. My 
 camp at San Diego I left in charge of Mr. H. White, 
 who later on was relieved by Mr. C. W Hartman. 
 During my absence they conducted excavations of the 
 mounds alonsf the southern bank of the Piedras Verdes 
 River, near its junction with wSan 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. How- 
 ever, in either locality most of the mound houses were 
 onlv 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 w^ere 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
 
 94 UNKNOWN M?:XICO 
 
 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 live 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 Southwest- 
 ern 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 col- 
 ouring. 
 
 This kind of pottery is known onlv from excava- 
 tions 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 : 
 
 (i) 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 }^rcdominant 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., h to^, 
 and Plate W ., f. Both these groups include variations 
 in the decorative designs, as may be seen in the rest of 
 Plate IV.
 
 Extension of Designs on Plate I., a. 
 
 The Horned Toad Jar, Seen from Above and Below. Plate I., c. 
 
 Extension of Designs on Plate I., d. 
 
 Extension of Designs on Plate III., e.
 
 96 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 (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 ctm. ; /;, 15.2 ctm.; c, 16.2 ctm.; d, 
 18.8 ctm.; e, 11.3 ctm. ; /, 8.5 ctm. 
 
 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 ser- 
 pent 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 H 
 
 Height, 16.5 ctm. 
 
 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 con- 
 tinuation 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 adora- 
 tion of the great deity Quetzalcoatl.
 
 HANDSOME POTTEKY-WARE 
 
 97 
 
 PlATK III 
 
 Heights: a, 18.5 ctni.; d, 18 ctm.; f, i7ctm.; d, 11 
 ctm.; c, 14.5 ctm.; / 15.3 ctm.; g, 24.2 ctm. 
 
 r, a jar in the shape of a eonv^entionaHsed owl. 
 
 d, a jar in the shaj)e of a fish. 
 
 /" is a niueii conventionahscd representation of four 
 horned toads. Around its upper part it has two ser- 
 pents, apparently coral snakes, attached in high relief. 
 
 Plate IV 
 
 Heights: a, 14 ctm.; b, 16.8 ctm.; c, 18.6 ctm.; d, 
 12.2 ctm.; c\ 22 ctm.; y^ 18.5 ctm. 
 
 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 colourino: from the rest. 
 
 Plate V 
 Heights : (i, ^.J ctm.; b, 9,8 ctm.; c, 25.6 ctm.; d, ly 
 ctm.; e, 20.7 ctm.; f, 19.3 ctm.; g, 19.3 ctm. 
 
 Extension of Designs on Plate V., e. 
 
 This brown ware is very handsome, and its ornamen- 
 tation is strikingly artistic in its simplicity. See, for in- 
 stance, Plate v., e. D, f, and ^'' represent pottery from 
 Casas Grandes, distinguished by a certain solidity and a 
 higher polish. 
 
 Black Ware, Highly Polished. Heights, 12.5 ctm.; 14 ctm.; 7.8 ctm. 
 Vol. L— 7
 
 Extension of Design on Plate IV., a. 
 
 Extension ot Design on Plate 1V^, b. 
 
 Extension of Designs on Plate IV., c. 
 
 Extension of Designs on I'hite IV.,y. 
 
 Extension of Designs on Plate \'., c.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 SECOND EXPEDITION — RETURN TO THE SIERRA — PARROTS IN THE 
 SNOW — CAVE-DWELLINGS AT GARABATO, THE MOST BEAUTI- 
 FUL IN NORTHERN MEXICO — A SUPERB VIEW OF THE SIERRA 
 MADRE — THE DEVIL'S SPINE RIDGE — GUAYNOPA, THE FA- 
 MOUS OLD SILVER MINE — ARROS RIVER ON OLD TRAILS — AD- 
 VENTURES OF " EL CHINO " — CURE FOR POISON IVY. 
 
 WHEN in the middle of January, 1892, I resumed 
 mv explorations, my party was only about one- 
 third as large as it had been the year before. In pur- 
 suance 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 T 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 fcjrtnight 
 thev 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 mul- 
 titude of green parrots with pretty red and yellow heads, 
 chattering in the tree-tops and feasting on pine cones, 
 
 99
 
 100 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 
 Vallev, or " Los Montezumas," so named after the ex- 
 traordinary 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 re- 
 covered 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 ui)on that was of undoubted 
 Tarahumare origin, " chuhui " being the Spanish cor- 
 ruption of " Chu-i," which means " dead." The name 
 signifies " the place of the dead," possibly alluding to 
 burial caves.
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 u
 
 GARABATO 
 
 103 
 
 Here Mr. 'Favlof iiad discovered verv interestinof 
 cavc-dwellinos, liftccn miles soulhcast to east in a 
 straio;ht liiu- fiom the eanip, hut full\- t weiUy-live miles 
 by the track he had followed. 'Idle Mexicans called 
 the cave (iarahato. a Spanish word, which in Mexico 
 is used in the sense of " decorative designs," and refers 
 here to ancient j)aintino;s or scrawlings on the house 
 walls. The cave is situated in a gorge on the noith- 
 
 t'dii. ot La\c- Dwellings at Garahato. 
 
 ern slope of the Arroyo Garahato, 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 oi)enings, 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
 
 104 UNKNOWN .\JEXICO 
 
 weight of ages, but, on the whole, ihc ruins are in a 
 good state of preservation, and although 1 found cave- 
 dwellings as far south as Zapuri, Chihuahua, none 
 of them were nearly as well preserved nor on such 
 an extensive seale. 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 explana- 
 tions. 
 
 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 toj) 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 coat- 
 ings of plaster. The floors, where they could be ex- 
 amined, were smoothlv cemented and so hard as to ef- 
 fectively resist the spade. Hie 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
 
 CAVE HOUSES 
 
 lo; 
 
 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 diam- 
 eter, set up like a rude })illar. I^^esting on this and the 
 side walls (jf the rooms in a slight curve was a similar 
 pole, also rounded, and running parallel to the front 
 
 Design in Red on Second Story Wall. 
 
 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
 
 io6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 tiie 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 In- 
 dian the house, as everything else, is alive, and must have 
 openings through which it can draw breath, as other- 
 wise 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 be- 
 tween 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 diam- 
 eter, and ran in some six inches, slanting downward in 
 the interior. The east wall was found to contain up- 
 right 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 iiall, but in the upper story, was 
 found a house that was distinguished from the others by
 
 DON IKODOKO 
 
 107 
 
 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 leniith as the one described, but which must 
 have been at least one foot and a half higher. It is now 
 almost entirelv caved in. 
 
 No objects of interest were found that could throw 
 
 Piece of Matting from Garabato Cave. 
 
 any light on the culture of the builders of these dwell- 
 ings, 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
 
 io8 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 knowledge per sc 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 jiuigment 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 nic 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 Cande- 
 laria, which suddenlv loomed up in the southeast, while 
 the Arroyo de Guaynojia vawned on our left. We 
 slowlv ascended a beautiful cordon runninaf toward the 
 southwest. The track we followed, our guide assured 
 us, was el caniino de los antigiios, 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. i\ 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 be- 
 low 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 awav. The course of the rivers, as ihev flow deep 
 down between the mountains, was pointed out to us. 
 The j)rincii)al one is the Arros l^iver, which from the
 
 PUNTO MAGNIFICO 109 
 
 west embraces most of the mesas, and then, turning^ 
 south, receives its tributaries, the Tutuhuaca and the Mu- 
 latos, the latter just bcliind a i)innaele. West of the 
 Arros Riv^er stretches out the immense Mesa de los 
 Aj)aches, 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 Na- 
 cori 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 hog- 
 backs near Nacori, standing out ominously, like a per- 
 petuated 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 im- 
 possible 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 contin- 
 uous descent toward Guaynopa. While zigzagging our
 
 no INKXOWN MEXICO 
 
 way down, we caught sight of a huge cave with houses 
 and some white cone-shaped structures staring at us 
 across an arroyo midway up liir ()pj)osite side, which 
 was at least two thousand feet deej). Through my field 
 o'lasses I could make out vcr\- dislinctlv a 2;roup of 
 houses of the usual pattern ; and the large, white struct- 
 ures could without difficulty be recognised as granaries, 
 similar to those observed in Cave \\dle}-. It was my 
 intention to g-o back and examine this cave more closelv, 
 as soon as I had found a camping place ; but circum- 
 stances interfered. Several years later the cave was 
 visited bv Mr. G. P. Ramsev, to whom I owe the fob 
 lowing brief description. 
 
 The cave is situated about twenty-five miles in a 
 straight line south of the Mormon colon v of Chuhui- 
 chupa. 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 tifty-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 
 l)eyond the overhanging cliff, and contained groups of 
 two-storied houses. In the central })art of the cave were 
 a number of small structures, built of the same material 
 and in a similar manner as th(jse I described as grana- 
 ries in Cave X'alley. They were still in excellent con- 
 dition, 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 alto- 
 gether some 2,000 feet, at last found ourselves along- 
 side some lonely and unattractive old adobe houses. 
 They were built l)y tiie Spaniards and are reputed to 
 have once been the smelter of the now al)an(loned silver
 
 ON OLD TRAILS 113 
 
 mine of Guayiiopa. Only the naked walls remain 
 standinor on a decline, which was too steep to o;ive 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 hav^e 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 re- 
 cent 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 be- 
 ing situated in the roughest and most inaccessible part 
 of the Sierra Madre, they are still awaiting their redis- 
 covery, 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 diffi- 
 cult of access that it probably would require too great a 
 capital to work the mines. 
 
 There was now a plain track leading along the hill- 
 side 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 per- 
 pendicular 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 
 
 Vol. I.— 8
 
 114 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 its foothold, or if its pack slips. j\ll went well, how- 
 ever, until we reached a point where the track com- 
 menced to descend, when our villain of a i2:uide tried to 
 drive some burros back on the track, instead of leading 
 each one carefullv. The result was that one of the poor 
 beasts tumbled down, making immense bounds, a hun- 
 dred 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 se- 
 lected a camping place on a terrace 200 feet above it. 
 The stream, which is the one that passes the cave-dwell- 
 ings, 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 begin- 
 ning it was almost impossible to make out the track ; 
 where it did not lead over bare rocks, it was nearly ob- 
 literated 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 1 had until then ever 
 attempted. Following the slope of the mountain, the 
 track rose higher and higher in long zigzags, without any
 
 TOWARD RIO CHICO 115 
 
 chance for the animals to rest, for at least three-quarters 
 of a mile. It was necessary to push them on, as other- 
 wise the train would unavoidably have u])set, 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 can- 
 vas-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 mulew^as 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 vol- 
 canic ; then follows conglomerate, and on the high 
 points porphyry appears. 
 
 We camped on the crest of the eastern side of the
 
 ii6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Rio Chico Canon, 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 pano- 
 rama of the sierra. The two sides of the Rio Chico 
 X^alley 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 individ- 
 uals 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 af- 
 flicted 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 onlv 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 canon side, about 250 
 feet above the bottom of the gorge, and rather diffi- 
 cult of access. The house group occupied the entire 
 width of a cave, which was eight v feet across, and there 
 was a foundation wall made of stone and timber under- 
 neath the front j)art. The walls were made of stone, 
 with mortar of disiniegrated rock that lined parts of 
 the cave and were plasteied inside and out with the
 
 NAVERACHIC 117 
 
 same material. Lintels of wood were seen in the win- 
 dows, and rows of sticks standing in a perpendicular po- 
 sition were found in two of the walls inside of the plas- 
 tering. 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 w^e 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 Nav^erachic is of Tarahumare origin ; nave means 
 " move," and rachi 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.
 
 CIIAPTKR VI 
 
 FOSSILS, AND ONE WAV 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 thirtv miles from I he village of Temo- 
 sachic (in the Tarahumare tongue Remosachic 
 means Stone Heap) we entered the plain of Yepo- 
 mera, 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 inclos- 
 ure. We were told that teeth and bones were acciden- 
 tally 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 Temo- 
 sachic, 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 com- 
 mon people to make a concoction of these " giants' 
 bones" as a strengtheninir medicine; we heard of a
 
 THE FIRST TARAHUMARES 
 
 119 
 
 woman who, being weak after childbirth, used it as an 
 invigorating tonic. 
 
 Here in Temosachic we were joined by Mr. 1 1 art- 
 man, who had brouglit part of our baggage from San 
 Diego bv wagon in order to enable us to travel as un- 
 encumbered 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 Temo- 
 sachic. They were the main ^^ 
 tribe found in possession of 
 the vast countrv 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 con- 
 verted 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 
 
 Tarahumare.
 
 120 rXKXOWN MEXICO 
 
 of the descendants of the furmer sovereigns of the 
 reiUm have been reduced to earning a precarious living 
 bv 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 regime. 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 Tara- 
 humares 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 w^ith 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 ranch- 
 ers 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 \"erde we caught three kinds of fish : 
 suckers, catfish, and Gila trout, which grow froni 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
 
 WOODEN PLOUGHSHARES 
 
 121 
 
 "Where there is White," and alludes to a number of 
 white roeks or eliffs of solidified volcanic ash, which rise 
 to a height of some fifty feet and give to the little val- 
 ley 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 imita- 
 tion of the ordinary Mexican plough, 
 in other words, is simply a tree stem 
 
 Tarahumare Plough with Wooden Share. Length, i Metre. 
 
 with a branch as a handle. But, however primitive 
 in design and construction, the civilised man's imple- 
 ment 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
 
 122 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 iili 
 
 ''V '/!' 
 
 ii',1 
 
 Tarahumare 
 
 Ploughshare 
 
 Made of Oak. 
 
 Length, 20.5ctm. 
 
 naturally to be renewed quite frequently, 
 but it serves its purpose where the ground 
 is not stony. Later on, in Cusarare, Na- 
 raraehie and other places, 1 found j)louo:h- 
 shares of stone applied in the same man- 
 ner as were the wooden ones. 
 
 Here at an elevation of 7,600 feet, and 
 at the end of February, I saw the first 
 [lowers of the year, some very fresh-look- 
 ing yellow Raiiuncuhis. 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 Ramincitlus, as well 
 as various other tlowers, and as we passed 
 through a small but gorgeous canon, 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 ; 
 
 altogeth- 
 er the country present- 
 ed a new aspect with 
 its small volcanic hills, 
 many of them forming 
 cones. 
 
 A few Indian ham- 
 lets surrounded bv 
 peach trees in full 
 bloom were found here. 
 The Indians here are 
 
 Tarahumare Ploughshares of Stone. 
 Length, 9 and 10.5 ctm.
 
 SOUTHERN PIMA INDIANS 
 
 123 
 
 Pimas, who, in their irencral characteristics, resemble 
 the Tarahumare, altliough they impress you as being 
 less timid and suspicious, and more energetic, perhaps 
 also more intelligent, than the latter. We had no diffi- 
 
 A 
 
 ^.l 
 
 \ 
 
 Young Southern Pima. 
 
 culty 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 w^as 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
 
 1^4 
 
 UNKN(3WN MEXICO 
 
 to the ncar-hv villa<jc of Vepacliic, which I think 
 is also a Tarahumare name, yepa, meaning snow. 
 There are, liowever, more Mexicans than Pimas in the 
 village, and the presidente was a half-caste Tarahumare ; 
 
 Middle-aged Southern Pima. 
 
 he was once a shepherd, hut had made money by trad- 
 ing mescal to the natives — six bottles for a cow. 
 
 Although the Pimas whom I visited in the neigh- 
 bourhood, 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
 
 MINING INFLUENCES 127 
 
 tlian Ihc latter tribe. lu('r\ thing here betrays the 
 nearness of the mines, witli the eharacteristic accom- 
 l)animent of cheap clothes, cheap, tawdry jewelry, and 
 a slight influx of iron cooking utensils. The Pimas, 
 like the Tarahu mares, use pine 
 cones for combs ; and we 
 picked up several discarded 
 ones near their houses. 
 
 I went still fifteen miles 
 further northward, but found 
 
 ^,, ^ /•,, T !• j^t Pine Cone Serving as a Comb. 
 
 that most 01 the Indians there '^ 
 
 had gfone 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 mak- 
 insf straw hats. She was verv shv, 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 thev have a cellar-like dug-out outside 
 of the dwelling and covered with a conical roof of dry 
 grass. These cellars, in manv 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. 1 noticed two small caves that
 
 12^ 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 had been transformed into storehouses, by planting 
 poles along the edge and plastering these over with mud, 
 
 to make a solid wail, beliind 
 which corn was stored. 
 
 In Vcjiachic I estimated 
 there were about twenty 
 Pima families. 1 had some 
 diflicultv in inducing them 
 to ])ose 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 fam- 
 ilies within the State of Chihuahua, unless there arc 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 l)urial caves ; but they had 
 already been much disturbed by treasure seekers, and I 
 
 Southern Pima Arrow Release. 
 
 L__SS 
 
 Small Crosses Placed in a Log in Front ot Southern Pima House. 
 
 could secure onlv a c<)U])le of skulls. An interesting 
 feature of the landscaj)c near l\io Moris is a row of
 
 SIGHT-SEEING 
 
 129 
 
 lai'o^c reddish pinnacles, 
 wliich rise perpendicu- 
 larly from the river-bed 
 up along the hillside, 
 and form a truly im- 
 posing spectacle. An 
 excited imagination 
 may see in them so 
 many giants suddenly 
 petrified while walk- 
 ing up the mountain. 
 Around Pinos Altos 
 and Jesus Maria the 
 rock is of blue porphy- 
 ry, quite hard in places, 
 and speckled with little 
 white patches. It is 
 in this rock that the 
 gold- and silver-bear- 
 ing quartz occurs. 
 
 Through the cour- 
 tesy of the bullion- 
 convoy I was enabled 
 to dispatch some of my 
 collections via Chihua- 
 hua 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 
 
 Vol. I. — 9 
 
 The Waterfall of Basasiachic.
 
 130 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 beautiful walerfall 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 rush- 
 ing 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 perpendic- 
 ularly into the deep straight-walled canon 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 inces- 
 sant roar. When the river is full, during the wet season, 
 the cascade must present a splendid sight. 
 
 I wanted to sec 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. Tiie entire 
 scenery, the wild, precipitous rocks, the stony, crooked
 
 NIGHT GUARD 131 
 
 path, the roaring stream below — everythinor reminded 
 me of mountains in Norway, where I had run along 
 many a sdter 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 strati- 
 fication. 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 ac- 
 cordingly. 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,
 
 132 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 even with a large herd, as, long as they have with them 
 a leader of tlie mules, a mare, preferably a white one. 
 She mav be taken along solely for this ])urj)ose, as she 
 is often too old for any other work. The mules not in- 
 frequently show something like a fanatie attachment for 
 their yegua, and follow blindly where they hear the tink- 
 ling 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 im- 
 portant 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 indis- 
 pensable to the train. 
 
 But in spite of the vigilance of the sabana and the 
 advantage of a good yegua, it may happen, under favour- 
 able 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 miss- 
 ing. 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 Mexi- 
 cans 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 tiiis part of tlie Tarahumare country. I had
 
 A FAMOUS HIGHWAYMAN 
 
 133 
 
 no further experience witli him, hut hiter heard much of 
 this man, who was one of a ty{)e now rapidly disappear- 
 ing in Mexico. He did not confine his exploits to the 
 Mexicans, i)ut victimised also the Indians whenev^er he 
 got an opportunity, and there are many stories in circu- 
 lation about him. 
 
 On one occasion he masqueraded as a })adre, a black 
 mackintosh serving as his priestly garb. Thus attired 
 he went to the unsophisticated Tarahu- 
 mares in the more remote valleys and 
 made them send out messengers to ad- 
 vise^ 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 respect- 
 able 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 un- 
 fortunately some of his Mexican con- 
 freres heard of his plight and came to 
 his rescue. However, a few years later, 
 this notorious highwayman, who had 
 several murders to answ^er 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 
 {hiiaca/cs) with apples, which they were taking to mar- 
 ket. The price per tray was $2, and the apples were 
 delicious. 
 
 At night it was very cold, the thermometer falling to 
 
 Tarahumare Ploughman.
 
 '34 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 1 3° below the freezing' point. I was sorry to learn from m v 
 men that the prospeets of grass further south were small. 
 At the village of Boeoyna (elevation 7,100 feet) 
 we were 400 miles from San Diego by the track we had 
 made. Boeoyna is a corruption of the Tarahumare 
 Ocoina (oc6=pine ; ina-drips ; meaning Dripping Pine, 
 or Turpentine). Here I had to stop for two days, be- 
 
 Ancient Stone Hammer Seen in the Presiciente's Yard. Length, 44.5 ctm. 
 
 cause no less than six of us, including myself, were suf- 
 fering 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 everv wav. especially by 
 selling us what provisions we needed and not to over- 
 charge us, he, by way of obeying the orders of his 
 superior, immediately ordered that not more than $6 
 should be charired for a faneg^a of corn. He also had at
 
 INDIAN RANCHP:S 13^ 
 
 once four nice, fat hens killed and sold them to us at 
 the market price. 
 
 7\fter 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 home- 
 steads lying close together, and as many as four yokes 
 of oxen were ploughing, each attended by a Tarahu- 
 mare, 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 Vn 
 
 THE UNCONTAMINATED TAR A HUM ARES — A TARAHUMARE COURT 
 
 IN SESSION THE POWER OF THE STAFF JUSTICE HAS ITS 
 
 COURSE BARRANCAS EXCURSION TO THE GENTILES TARA- 
 HUMARE 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 
 corrui)tion of Usarare, usaka = eagle), an Indian village 
 situated in a rather rough country full of weathered por- 
 phyry rocks. We made camp a few miles outside of 
 the village and sent the guide to prepare the peoj^le for 
 our coming. There had recently been considerable talk 
 among the Mexicans of the wild i)eople in the deep 
 gorges, called barrancas, and it was with no little antici- 
 pation that I approached the countrv now immediately 
 before us. There were no Mexicans living in Cusarare, 
 nor in the country ahead of us ; in fact, with the excep- 
 tion of tlie small mining camj) 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 aban- 
 doned for the greater part of the year. I refer, of 
 course, only to those which have not yet become Mexi- 
 can settlements. The first thing the missionaries in the 
 early times had to do was to force tin- Indians to leave 
 their scattered ranches and form a ]uicblo. To make a 
 place a pueblo they had to build a church. The Indians 
 
 136
 
 MISSIONARY EFFORTS 
 
 J 37 
 
 were pressed into serviee to erect the building, and kept 
 at work, if necessary, by a troop of soldiers who often 
 
 Tarahumare Indians truiu I'liio GoiUu. 
 
 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 ])urpose of having the 
 Indians remain in the villages has not been accomplished
 
 138 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 to this dav. Only the native-chosen authorities, who are 
 obHged to reside there durin<j^ I heir icrm of office, form 
 something" hke a j)ernianent po})uhui()n in the pueblos. 
 The natives come together only on the occasion of 
 feasts, and on Sundavs, to worship in tiie way they un- 
 derstand it. Someone who knows the short prayer, 
 generally the gobernador, mumbles it, while the congre- 
 tration 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 pur- 
 pose that brings them to the village, namely, the trans- 
 action 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 mis- 
 sionaries' 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 missiona- 
 ries to wean the Indians from their native feasts by offer- 
 ing 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 wrapj:>ed around him, In- 
 dian fashion, up to his chin — a fine, almost noble per- 
 sonality, with a benign expression on his eagle face. 
 
 The Indian never allows anything to interfere with
 
 A TARAHUMARP: court 139 
 
 whatever business he may liave on liand, l)e it public or 
 private. Presently all rose, and eiij^ht men, the author- 
 ities 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 dilapi- 
 dated 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 proce- 
 dure carried out so minutely as to suggest early mission- 
 ary times, I am happy to record the affair here in full. 
 
 The gobernador and four of the judges seated them- 
 selves, white man's fashion, on a bench erected for the 
 purpose, where they looked more grand than comfort- 
 able. Two of them held in their right hands canes of 
 red Brazil wood, the symbol of then- 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 em- 
 blems of authority, which to this day are used bv 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 jiassed. 11ie small canes
 
 140 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 are not carried in the luuul, hut stuck in the girdle on 
 the left side. Nobody summoned before the judges by 
 a messenjrer carrvin^: a staff of red Biazil 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 
 
 Tarahumare Court in Session at Cusarare. 
 
 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 solem- 
 nity 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 bayo- 
 net points had been fastened. These lances they
 
 THE POWER OF THE STAFF 141 
 
 planted in the ground and seated tliemselv^es. Pres- 
 ently the two culprits, a man and a woman, came for- 
 ward, 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 
 daupfhter, but there w^as no other exhibition of senti- 
 ment. The judges did most of the talking, addressing 
 questions to the defendants, who made a few short an- 
 swers ; 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 delib- 
 erately 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 cul- 
 prit 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
 
 142 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 garment, and dealt lour lashes over the shoulders of the 
 prisoner, who was then released, and stolidly walked 
 baek 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 accusa- 
 tion to be dealt with, the one relating to the marital 
 complications. The man asked permission to leave 
 his tirst 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 re- 
 plied 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 mar- 
 ried. How was this for rapid transit to matrimonial 
 bliss?
 
 BARRANCAS 
 
 H3 
 
 The next day the guide took us uj) along some high- 
 er ridges, and after ten or twelve miles of slow ascent, 
 we arrived at the summit of Barranca de Cobre, where 
 we made a comfortahle camp about half a mile back of 
 the point at which the track descends into the canon. 
 Here we had an inspiring view; deep gorges and ra- 
 vines, the result of {)rolonged 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 coun- 
 try of the Tarahumare, that is to say, the State of Chi- 
 huahua, there are three very large barrancas. They are 
 designated as Barranca de Cobre, Barranca de Batopi- 
 las, 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 en- 
 tered 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 abrupt- 
 ly, 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
 
 144 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 traveller in the higiilands and necessitate a course tow- 
 ard the east, there are innumerable smaller ones, espe- 
 cialh' 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 fiows in the barrancas be- 
 tween narrow banks, which occasionally disappear al- 
 altogether, leaving the water to rush between abruptly 
 ascending mountain sides. 
 
 As far as the first of the large barrancas was con- 
 cerned, near the top of which we were standing, we 
 could for some little distance follow its windings tow- 
 ard 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 load- 
 ed, but it is a task hard upon flesh and blood. 
 
 It was in these barrancas, that I was to find the gen- 
 tile (pagan) Indians I was so anxious to meet. From 
 where I stood looking at it the country seemed forgot- 
 ten, 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 suf- 
 ficient earth on the mountain and the sides of the ra- 
 vines ; but, on the whole, the country looked rather 
 barren and lifeless. 
 
 Still, it (lid not take us lono- to find traces of human
 
 03
 
 INDIAN HOSPITAMTIES 147 
 
 bein^i^s. Our tents were pitehed on an old trlnchera. 
 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 u})on the ruins of a modern 
 Tarahumare house. It seems as if the Indians must ex- 
 tract 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 tirst 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 ex- 
 cursion I contemplated making through the region. In 
 a couple of days a party was made up, consisting, be- 
 sides myself, of Mr. Taylor, the guide, two Mexicans, 
 and five Tarahumares with their gobernador. Bundles 
 weighing from forty to seventy-five pounds w^ere 
 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 sev- 
 eral days' duration. Owing to the presence of the go- 
 bernador 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 j)ot 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 of-
 
 148 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 fered the flavouring, coarse salt and some small chile 
 (Spanish peppers), which vegetable is cultixated 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 
 
 Our Tarahumare Carriers and the Gobernador. 
 
 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 mav be of a greenish color, but it is alwavs 
 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. T 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 Q-reat heiMit without much
 
 TARAHIMARE COSTUME 
 
 149 
 
 effort. /\ftcr this 1 always fuuiul iskiatc a friend in 
 need, so streno;tlieninj(T and refreshing- that I may al- 
 most elaini it as a diseovery, interesting" to mountain 
 climbers and others exposed to great physical exertions. 
 The preparation does not, howev^er, agree with a seden- 
 tary 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 
 
 Tarahumare Men. 
 
 may see the Indians in the mining camps, and even in 
 the streets of the city of Chiiiuahua, walking about 
 naked, except for a breech-cloth of coarse, home-spun 
 woollen material, held up around the waist with a girdle
 
 1 ;o 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 woven in characteristic desifjns. 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 pro- 
 vided 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 
 uj)right 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 
 
 Tarahumare Woman.
 
 USES OF ORNAMENTS 
 
 151 
 
 ornaments, and it is a j)cculiar 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, 
 wdiile 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 offici- 
 ating at a feast. The 
 
 seed is believed to Tarahumare 
 
 possess many medici- Ear-Ornament: 
 , ... , ^ one seed Coix 
 
 nal qualities, and for Uchryma-Jobi 
 this reason children, at top. Natural 
 too, often wear it. 
 
 Peasant women in Italy and 
 Spain use the same seed as a pro- 
 tection against evil, and even Amer- 
 ican 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 
 
 Necklace of Seeds of 
 Coix Lachryma-jfobi.
 
 152 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 in the barrancas, in tliis part of the country, use some- 
 thing like trincheras for tlie cultivation of their little 
 crops. To obtain arable land on the mountain slopes 
 the stones are cleared from a convenient spot and uti- 
 lised 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 
 
 Tarahumare Ranch near Barranca de Cohre, showing ploughed fields 
 supported by stone walls. 
 
 catches what may come from above, and in this way 
 secures sufficient ground to yield a small croj). Fields 
 thus made can even be ploughed. On the slopes of one 
 arroyo I counted six such terraces, and in the moun- 
 tainous country on the Rio Fuerte, toward the State of 
 Sinaloa, chile, beans, s(]uashes, Coix Lachryina-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
 
 u 
 
 CQ
 
 IKRKACES 155 
 
 farther north as ancient ruins, to such an extent that 
 one might suj)pose tliat the Tarahumares have made use 
 of the rehcs of antiquity. Mr. llartman in one long 
 arroyo thereabouts observed four at some distance from 
 one another. Thev 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 TARA- 
 
 HUMARE — THE PATIO OR DANCING PLACE — THE ORIGINAL 
 CROSS OF AMERICA TARAHUMARE STORE-HOUSES. 
 
 THE houses we saw on this excursion were of re- 
 markable uniformity, and as the people have had 
 very little, if any, contact with the whites, it is reason- 
 able to infer that these structures are original with them. 
 On a sloping mesa six families were living in such build- 
 insfs not far from one another. 
 
 These houses have a frame of four forked poles, 
 planted firmly into the ground, to form a square or rect- 
 angle. 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 flat 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 
 l)oards 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 pro- 
 tected 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 Tarahumarc country, there are 
 
 •5^>
 
 TAKAHLMARE DWELLINGS 
 
 »57 
 
 many variations. Generally attempts are made to eon- 
 struct a more solid wall, bt)ards or poles being" laid 
 lengthwise, one on top of the other, and kept in plaee 
 t)\' sliding the ends between double uprights at the 
 eorners. 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 coun- 
 
 Tarahumare House near Barranca de Cobre. 
 
 try, 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 onlv 
 two upright poles connected with a horizontal beam, 
 against which boards are leaning from both sides, mak- 
 ing the house look like a gable roof set on the ground. 
 There are, however, always one or more logs laid hori- 
 zontally and overhung by the low eaves of the roof,
 
 158 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 while the front and vcav avc carelessly filled in with 
 boards or 1op:s, either horizontally or standino; on ends. 
 In the hot country this style of house may be seen 
 thatched with palm-leaves, or with grass. 
 
 The dwelling ma\- also consist only of a roof resting 
 on four uprights {jaia/) ; or it may be a mere shed. 
 
 Tarahumare House in the Hot Countrv. 
 
 There are also regular log-cabins encountered with 
 locked corners, especially among the southern Taraliu- 
 mares. 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 exactlv alike, although the main 
 idea is always easily recognised. The dwellings, though 
 very airy, afford sufficient protection to i)eople who are
 
 CAVE DWELLINGS OE TO-DAY 
 
 159 
 
 by no means sensitiv^c 
 to drafts and climatic 
 changes. The Tarahu- 
 mares do not expect 
 their houses to be dry 
 during the wet season, 
 but are content when 
 there is some dry sj^ot 
 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 in- 
 vestigated in subse- 
 quent researches, ex- 
 tending over a year 
 and a half, and cover- 
 ing the entire width 
 and breadth of the 
 Tarahumare country. 
 
 In this land of 
 weather-worn porphv- 
 ry and inter-stratified 
 sandstone, natural 
 caves are met with 
 everywhere, in which 
 the people find a con- 
 venient and safe shel- 
 ter. Although it may 
 be said that houses are 
 their main habitations, 
 
 Cappe ot Sandstone Pillar, showing effect 
 of erosion.
 
 i6o UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 still the Taraliumarcs 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 the\' are found in 
 certain geological formations in all parts of the globe. 
 Human imagination always peopled the deep, dark cav- 
 erns 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 ani- 
 mals 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 ex- 
 isted 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 
 im])lements, he deserted the caves and preferred to live 
 in houses of his own buildins^. But a lono- 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 thou- 
 sand 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 shel-
 
 CHANGES OF ABODE 
 
 161 
 
 teis for rickety abodes of their own making. Padre 
 Juan Fonte, the pioneer missionary t(j tlie Tarahumares, 
 who penetrated into their country eighteen leagues from 
 San Pal)lo, toward Guachochic, speaks of the numerous 
 caves in that country and relates that many of them 
 were divided into small houses. Other records, too, 
 
 Tarahumare Family Camping under a Tree. 
 
 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. 
 
 Vol. I.— II
 
 l62 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 While most of the Tarahumares live permanently on 
 the highlands, a great many of them move for the win- 
 ter 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 con- 
 tent themselves with a rock shelter, or even a spreading 
 tree. This would suit them well enouoh were it not 
 
 Inhabited Cave, the Home of a Tarahumare Belle. 
 
 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,.
 
 NOMADIC HABITS 
 
 163 
 
 and aflcr having" hai vested at l)otli 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 re- 
 tain their nomadic 
 instincts, and even 
 those living perma- 
 nently on the high- 
 lands change their 
 domicile very fie- 
 quently. One reason 
 is that they follow 
 their cattle; another 
 that they impr(jve 
 the land by living on 
 it for a while ; but 
 there are still other 
 reasons for moving 
 s o m u c h about, 
 which are known 
 only to themselves. 
 In summer many 
 people leave their 
 caves on account ot 
 the scorpions, tar- 
 antulas, and other 
 pests that infest 
 them. 
 
 In front of the entrance to the cave there is gener- 
 ally 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 
 
 The Belle of the Cave.
 
 164 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 ofround is levelled and made smooth for the familv 
 
 I i^"" 
 
 
 Side View of Cave on Page 165, Showing Store-Houses and Inclosure. 
 
 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.
 
 Inhabited Cave, Sho\ving Store-Houses, Inclosure, and Extended Floor.
 
 CAVE COMFORTS 167 
 
 Generally there arc one or two store-houses in tlie caves, 
 and these constitute the chief improvement. Of course, 
 there are a good many caves where there are no store- 
 houses ; still they are the striking feature of the cave. 
 A few times 1 found walls of stone and mud erected in- 
 side 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 in- 
 habited 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 
 preferrmg 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 south- 
 western 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 dwellinor. 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
 
 i68 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 found in the arrovos in tiic iiiuiilands, as well as in the 
 barrancas. If I were to desic^nate a region where they 
 are more plentifid than cl sew Ik- re, 1 should mention the 
 countrv from Carichic towards Urique, and also to the 
 north and west of Norogachic. Many caves have with- 
 in 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 wdiites. 
 
 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 ex- 
 tremely interesting, but this alone does not prove any 
 connection between them and the ancient cliiT-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 capabili- 
 ties. 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 imprinl in this world when they 
 die." Tarahumare pottery is exceedingly crude as com- 
 pared with the work found in the old cliff-dwellings, and 
 its decoration is infantile as contrasted with the clifT- 
 dwellers' work. The cliff-dwellers brought the art of 
 decoration to a com])aratively high state, as shown in
 
 CAVE-DWELLEKS' CUSTOMS 171 
 
 the relics found in their dweUings. 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 trog- 
 lodytes. 
 
 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 de- 
 stroyed, or the cave permanently abandoned ; and many 
 other superstitious apprehensions of one kind or an- 
 other 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 habita- 
 tion, 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
 
 172 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 together in the form of the Latin cross 
 
 yards in every direction, one, two, or three crosses are 
 planted, as the central object of all ceremonies (except 
 those in the cidt of the sacred cactus hikuli*). 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 
 
 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 ci"OSS. Omitting here 
 the cross of Palenque, the 
 svmbol of a tree, the tree 
 of life, it is safe to sav 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 re- 
 ligious moment, as indicating the four corners of the 
 world ; but a word for cross, or anything corresponding 
 tf) it, docs not occur in the language of anv 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 corre- 
 sponding strokes with medicine over the patient's body. 
 
 *See page 356. 
 
 Crosses Made from the Natural 
 Growth of Pine-trees in Front of 
 Tarahumare House.
 
 TARAHUMARE CROSSES 
 
 173 
 
 With the Tarahuniarc the eross is the pivot around 
 Avhich all his ceremonies and festivals move. He al- 
 ways dances to the eross, and on certain occasions he 
 attaches strings of beads, ears of corn, and other offer- 
 ings 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' utter- 
 ances I incline to think 
 that their cross represents 
 a human figure with arms 
 outstretched, and is an em- 
 bodiment 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 princi- 
 pal dance, the rutuburi, 
 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 onlv one foot lona^, 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 sav that the cross /s Tata 
 Dies, the Christianised Indian's usual designation of God. 
 
 S#^.. 
 
 Crosses in Front ot Tarahumare House.
 
 174 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 The impression that the cross represents a luinian 
 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 dancino- place "to seethe 
 
 Front View. Rear View. 
 
 Cross. Height, 65 ctm.; width, 27.^ ctm. 
 
 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 
 evidentlv an exaggerated imitation of a Catholic cross
 
 INDIAN SYMBOLISM 
 
 /3 
 
 or crucifix. I came upon it in the mountainous country 
 east of Morelos, and the Tarahumares near the Ranch of 
 Colorados present- . 
 ed it to me. It \ 
 had apparentlv^ not 
 been made long 
 ago, and was paint- 
 ed 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 Morn, 
 ing Star, the dots 
 being his compan- 
 ions, the other stars. 
 But it is significant 
 that this constella- 
 tion 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 
 
 Tarahumare Store-house ot Stones and Mud.
 
 ,76 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 evidently arising" from Catholic intlucnce. The human 
 figures painted on the cross are intended to emphasise 
 
 its meaninii;. The 
 most important of 
 these human-like 
 contours are those 
 directh' below the 
 junction of the 
 arms with the ver- 
 tical stem. They 
 arc evidently repe- 
 titions of the main 
 cross, the arms be- 
 ing" expressed in 
 the crude carvings. 
 What the various 
 pairs of curved 
 side lines 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 domi- 
 cile. 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 ma\ be noted the fact that husband 
 and wife, aftei having been awa)- on a joiuney for several 
 
 Caves Uicd as Siorc-houscs.
 
 STORE-HOUSES 
 
 // 
 
 (lavs or lonjrcr, do not on the fust ni<jlit 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, 
 thou<»;h many of them are not large enough to accom- 
 modate 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 in- 
 geniously 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 store- 
 house securelv, and to break open a store-house sealed 
 up in the manner described is considered the most hei- 
 nous crime known to the tribe. Mexicans have com- 
 mitted 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. 
 Thev, 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 
 chimnevs. 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
 
 178 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 soil, they soon become careful of the little property 
 thev have, in marked distinction to the savagrc and no- 
 madic tribes, who are always lavish and improvident. 
 I have seen as manv as ten store-houses of the kind de- 
 
 
 
 
 Tarahumare Store-houses Made of Logs. 
 
 scribed, and once even fourteen near one dwelling, but 
 generally one or two only are found near by. 
 
 vSmall caves, especially when diflicult 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 rei^^ular loo^-houses are used.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 ARRIVAL AT BATOPILAS ASCENT FROM ISATOPILAS TO THE HIGH- 
 LANDS 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 DIFFI- 
 CULT 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 Bar- 
 ranca 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 canon and made camp a few miles 
 
 179 
 
 Cactus Flowers.
 
 i8o UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 this side of the town of Bat<)i)ilas. The silver mines 
 here, which are ohl and famous, were tliseovered in the 
 seventeenth century. 1 was cordially received 1)\- Mr. A. 
 R. Shei)herd. the well-known mining expert, whose 
 courtesv antl kindness were much apj)reciated by the 
 members of the expedition. 
 
 Mv recent experience had convinced me that the 
 onlv way to study the natives properlx' 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 uj) m\- 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 gratefuUv after the enervating heat in the bot- 
 tom of the canon. 
 
 Thus we arrived at the village of Voquibo (yoki = 
 bluebird ; lvo = mesa : bluebird on the mesa). Here I 
 had to stoj) 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) 
 alwavs burn the grass, and the entire country is wrapped 
 in smoke. This, thev think, is necessary to produce 
 rain ; smoke-clouds and rain-clouds, in their opinion, 
 briniriner about the same ultimate result. But it is ex- 
 ceedingly trying for travellers, man and beast. (3nly 
 by accident is some little spot of grass spared here
 
 A TRAVELLED INDIAN 181 
 
 and there, and procuress becomes almost an impossi- 
 l)ility. 
 
 Immediately upon our arrival 1 went to sec 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 orcttinor 
 wives, because the Tarahumare belles have a decided 
 preference for young men. 15ut the wifeless Indian 
 feels very unhappy, as it means that he has to do all the 
 woman's housework, which is very laborious, and there- 
 fore thoroughly distasteful to him. Bv way of fascinating 
 this young girl, the gobernador had to exert himself to 
 the extent of teachinor her how to make oriidles and 
 wearing apparel. 
 
 The next day this gentleman returned my call, carry- 
 ing 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 trav- 
 eller 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 remem- 
 bered these, l)ut the big water near which those people 
 dwelt. lie 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
 
 l82 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 verv 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. \Ve saw a woman with twins ; 
 
 Making Larva? Readv tor the Pot. 
 
 one of them a miserable-looking s{)ccimen, suffering 
 from lack of food. 
 
 There were also some cave-dwellings near Voquibo, 
 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
 
 ADVENirKERS 183 
 
 attention to me. They were too busily engaged in 
 making ready for the pot a certain kind of larva.', 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 Voquibo I met one of those Mexican ad- 
 venturers 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 Ind- 
 ians 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 
 sellino^ 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 govern- 
 ment authorities. He was something of a hypochon- 
 driac, and among other ailments he thought he had an 
 animal in his stomach, wiiich 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 imagi- 
 nary, 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 : " Dcspiies dc Dios, mi rifle ! " 
 .(" Next to God, my rifle ! ")
 
 184 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 After considerable lookino- about, I at last found an 
 Indian willins: to act as o-uidc for the next sta2:e of our 
 journev. lie was an elderly man, and at dusk he was 
 (luictlv sitting near the cam}) fire, eating his supi)er, 
 when the tall figure of jNIr. 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 ap- 
 pearance 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 al- 
 ready on the lire, 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 sav 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 safetv. 
 
 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 ])hot()grai)iiing, had already been 
 reported and made the Indians uneasy. The terrible 
 experience of our runaway guide seemed to confirm 
 their wildest a]:)prehensions, and the alarm spread like 
 wildlirc, growing in terror, like an avalanche, the farther
 
 TROUBLESOME STORIES 185 
 
 it went. Wc fouiul the ranches deserted on every hand, 
 women and ehilchen hiding and screaming whenever 
 they caught a gHmpse 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 tlie Ind- 
 ians 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 jour- 
 ney 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
 
 i86 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 over cordons and sierras, and through a wide barranca 
 surrounded by magnificent towering mountains, we 
 arri\ed, late in tlie afternoon, at Zapuri. The superin- 
 tendent of the mine, to whom I brought a letter of in- 
 troduction from the owner of the property, received us 
 with cordial hospitality. Here the climate was splen- 
 did ; tlie nights were jusL i)leasanlly cool, the mornings 
 delieiouslv calm ; thev were all the more enjoyed after 
 the windy weather of tlie 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, Tay- 
 lor 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 m\self and made an ex- 
 cursion 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 verv rich. Knowing Mexican 
 exaggeration in this regard, I computed that the 
 twelve bushels of pesos she was supposed to have hid- 
 den might amount, perhaps, to $50 or $100 Mexican 
 money. Whatever her wealth was, she showed it onlv 
 in a lavish displa\' of glass beads around her scrawny 
 neck ; they must have weiglied at least six or eight 
 pounds. But then, her homestead was composed 
 mainlv of four or five substantial circular store-houses. 
 
 'f he wealth of the Tarahumare consists in his cattle. 
 He is well off when he lias three or four head of cattle 
 and a dozen sheej) and goats. There is one instance 
 w'here 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 Sj)aniards {^GacJiupincs). Pork,
 
 TAKAHLMAKE RICHES 187 
 
 though sometimes eaten, is never sacrificed. No tame 
 turkeys are kept, but occasionally the people have some 
 hens, antl 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 mv 
 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 bar- 
 ranca called Ohuivo (Ovi = 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 goberna- 
 dor ran away from the terrible ordeal. 
 
 During the several days I remained in this valley the
 
 i88 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 heat never varied from loo", day and night, which was 
 rather trying and made doing anything an exertion. 
 The countr\' looked scorched, except for the evergreen 
 cacti, the most prominent of which was the towering 
 pithava. Its dark-green branches stand immovable to 
 
 Gathering l^ithava. 
 
 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
 
 PITHAYA FRUIT 189 
 
 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 day- 
 break, 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 ab- 
 scond at that time, in order to get the fruit. The beau- 
 tiful 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 lati- 
 tudes 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 ! * 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 ! " 
 
 * With which the fruit is brought down.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 NICE-LOOKING NATIVES — ALBINOS — ANCIENT REMAINS IN OHUIVO 
 
 — LOCAL TRADITIONS, THK 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 PRO- 
 LONGED DROUGHT A START IN A NORTH-WESTERLY DIREC- 
 TION ARRIVAL AT THE PTF-liLO OF NOROGACHIC. 
 
 1 FOLLOWED the riv^er 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 mov^ements were full of action and 
 energy. Their skins showed a tinge of delicate yel- 
 low, 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 evi- 
 dent that in those inaccessible parts the Indians had still 
 something for the white man to take away. 
 
 The natives of this valle\- 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 onl\- two survived, smallpox having made 
 havoc among tlicm. Tiieir skin was so delicate that 
 
 I.JO
 
 ALBINOS 191 
 
 even the contact with tlicir clothinu^ irritated it. Mr. 
 Ilartman visited one of them, an old woman who Hved 
 in a cave with her husband, a small, dark-skinned fel- 
 low, 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 dis- 
 figured 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 tra- 
 dition says that there the Tubares had once established 
 themselves. The cave is nothing but a nearly horizontal 
 crack in the rock, situated on tiie 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. En- 
 tering the cave at the southernmost end I found twelve 
 low-walled rooms, standing singly, but closely side by 
 side. They w^ere 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 grouj), a few yards higher up 
 in the cave, were two small houses. The floor of the
 
 \L)2 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 cave was getting: higher and higher. 1 had to crawl on 
 my stomach for about ten yards and came suddenly to 
 the edge of a preci})ice ; 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. 
 The}^ 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 w^alls 
 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 con- 
 ventional 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 vis- 
 ited 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 ene- 
 mies, bv 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, espe- 
 cially a small agave called tshawi. They were also can- 
 nibals, 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
 
 THE MYSTERIOUS COCOYOMES 193 
 
 burn the grass in the arruyus 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, as^ree that it means " fio^ht " or "contest" 
 (Spanish, dcsafid). 
 
 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 Huera- 
 chic 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. 
 
 Vol. I. — 13
 
 194 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Once havino- again ascended to the highlands, I 
 found ratlier level country as far as Guachochic, some 
 forty-five miles off hv the track I followed. The name 
 of the i)lace signifies "blue herons," and the Wnv water- 
 
 Jii ilic lli^hlandb c;t the Sierra. 
 
 course, which originates in the manv 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 fainil\-. There is an oUl 
 church, but at present no indej)endent Indians live in 
 Guachochic ; the aborigines found about the place are 
 servants of the Mexicans. 
 
 Guachochic lies at an ele\alion of 7,775 feet and at 
 the southern end of a mesa, the largest one in the
 
 DON MIGUEL, OF GUACHOCHIC 195 
 
 Sierra Madrc del NorLc, being' twelve miles lon<^ and 
 three miles wide. ILxeejJt on the southern end this 
 plateau is bordered with statelv pine forests. Many Ind- 
 ians live on the mesa and in the numerous valleys ad- 
 joininij it, but they are all "eivilised"; that is, contam- 
 inated with many Me.xieo-Christian notions, and have 
 lost their j)ristine simj)lieity. 
 
 I had a letter of introduction to the principal person- 
 age 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 considera- 
 ble 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. Rob- 
 bers 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 author- 
 ity 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 w^ent 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
 
 !(/) UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 of corn, and some silver money. This struck the simple 
 and patient Indians as rather excessive, for what woidd 
 then be left to divide between themselves ? So they 
 took their grievance to Don Miguel to be settled. I tlo 
 not know of anv white man in those parts who would 
 have taken the tiuuble, as he did, to protect the poor 
 Indians' rio^hts 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 creden- 
 tials, which he evidently always carried in his jiocket. 
 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. \Ve soon 
 entered into a conversation about postal matters, which 
 naturally interested me greatly, as I was anxious to com- 
 municate as often as possible with the outside world. In 
 s})ite 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 neigh- 
 bours, he had no compunction about opening the few 
 letters they got ; not that he destroyed them after read- 
 ing them — he very coolly handed them over opened. 
 The people did not like this, and considered it rather 
 high-handed on his i)art ; 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 comprehensivelv all useful knowl- 
 edge in the world. Looking at me for a moment, this 
 healthy, ruddv-cheeked man suddenly, without saying a 
 word, took hold of mv hand and pressed it against his
 
 CURIOUS CURES 
 
 197 
 
 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 hcdiondo, 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
 
 198 rXKXOWX MEXICO 
 
 (juantity of water is mixed with it, then pressed out 
 throug-h a piece of cloth and taken internally. 
 
 7. Perspiration from a black horse. A saddlecloth, 
 after having" been used on the iiorse, is juit 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 merelv post hoc is a mat- 
 ter of conjecture. 
 
 Guachochic served admirably as a central point from 
 which excursions in various directions could be made, as 
 it lies in the very mitlst of the Tarahumarc 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 oood 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 moun- 
 tains, pine-covered plateaus and well-watered arr()\'os 
 around the pueblos of Norogachic, Pamachic and Xara- 
 rachic, and here are found the most independent Taia- 
 humares that are left, who still defv the whites to take 
 their land away from them. Thev are more valiant 
 than the rest and not easil\- intimidated. 
 
 The first thing- for me to do. after establishing camp 
 near Guachochic, was to secure strong mules and the 
 necessary men to l)ring up the outfit that had been left 
 behind in Tasajisa, and after a week's absence they re- 
 turned with all the animals and <>;oods intact.
 
 IGNORANCE OF THE NATIVES 199 
 
 Guachocliic is an uninteresting^ place at its best, and 
 at this season it seemed especially dreary, on account of 
 the crop failure from wiiich the sierra had heen suffer- 
 ing 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 inter- 
 viewed 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 minmg town Guadalupe 
 y Calvo, waiting to be recovered. Thus it was exceed- 
 ingly 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 cer-
 
 200 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 tain district and has a monopoly of the trade with the 
 Indians within its confines, the temjHation to cheat the 
 unsophisticated natives out of their Utile property is 
 naturallv 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 inlluence with the Ind- 
 ians, and to go with a man of that stamp would have 
 been disastrous to my purpose. The duty of the Icn- 
 giiaraz, as the interpreter is called, is to smooth the 
 traveller's way among the distrustful Indians with skil- 
 ful words, to get provisions, make bargains, and exj^lain 
 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 ques- 
 tions which are made to get at the Indian's real mean- 
 ing. Thus it may be understood how one is com])letely 
 at the mercy of one's lenguaraz, and how important it 
 is for the success of an expedition to tind 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 l)e de- 
 pressed, poor, and hungry. Most of their animals had 
 died from lack of food, and the few tliat had not suc- 
 cumbed to starvation liad to be sold in exchange for 
 corn. A couj)le of Indians wiio were on their wa\- to 
 Parral to buy wheat died of starvation before they 
 reached their destination. The Indians ascribcMl the 
 hard times to the presence of the whites, who had de- 
 prived tiiem 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, es])eciallv in ]w\\\ a false truffle is 
 found on the highlands of (iuachochic, which seiwes as 
 a food to the Indians. It grows abundantly a couple
 
 FALSE TRUFFLES 
 
 201 
 
 of inches below the ground, ntisini;- the earth a little ;; 
 and is found also under the limb cjf a fallen tree. The 
 dogs help in linding 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 Melaiiogaster varicgatits, which he 
 calls Mexica7ius. It tastes 
 like an over-ripe pear, with a 
 flavour of onion when one 
 first bites into it. The ordi- 
 nary Mclaiiogaster variega- 
 tus 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 ani- 
 mals. But I made up my 
 mind to start under any cir- 
 cumstances on an excursion 
 toward the north-east, know- 
 ing 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 dav I had the imposing 
 spectacle of three thunder-storms coming up from dif- 
 
 Tarahumare Interpreters
 
 202 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 fercnt directions. The one in the soiitii sent flashes of 
 
 hghtning out of its mass of dark clouds over the clear 
 
 sky ; but after all, not much rain resulted. 
 
 There was no difficulty in fmdino- one's way from 
 
 Guachochic to Norogachic. At one j^lace I noticed an 
 
 Indian trail leading 
 up a ridge appar- 
 ent Iv consisting of 
 \olcanic tuff. To fa- 
 cilitate the ascent, 
 steps, now worn 
 and old, had been 
 cut for a distance of 
 a couple of hun- 
 dred feet. I made 
 my way among the 
 Indian ranches to 
 Norogachic, the 
 residence of the 
 onl\- jiriest living 
 at present in I lie 
 Tarahumare coun- 
 trv. The name of 
 the place contains 
 an allusion to a cer- 
 tain rock in the 
 vicinity. There is 
 another priest who 
 pavs some atten- 
 tion to the Tara- 
 hu mares, 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. 
 
 Indian Trail Cut in a Ridge of Tuff.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A PRIEST A\n HIS FAMILY MAKE THE WILDERNESS COMFORTAHLE 
 FOR US — ANCIENT REMAINS SIMILAR TO THOSE SEEN IN SO- 
 
 NORA — THE CLIMATE OF THE SIERRA FLORA AND FAUNA 
 
 TARAHUMARE AGRICULTURE CEREMONIES CONNECTED WITH 
 
 THE PLANTING OF CORN — DETERIORATION OF DOMESTIC ANI- 
 MALS — NATIVE DOGS OF MEXICO. 
 
 I CALLED on tlie 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 w^ay 
 of forcing them. 
 Nearly all of them 
 he considered hea- 
 thens, and only 
 about a thousand 
 came to the feasts. 
 Thev arrive in the 
 village on the even- 
 ing before, and hear 
 vespers. Then they 
 give themselves up 
 to drinking, and on 
 the feast dav prop- 
 er are not in a con- 
 dition to go to 
 church. 
 
 He thinks there are some great men among the 
 Tarahumares, but that, their mental faculties being en- 
 
 203 
 
 Pecking on Rock in the Neighbourhood of 
 Norogachic.
 
 204 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 tirely uncultivated, they are, as it were, rough diamonds. 
 In the padre's opinion not only all the Indians, but alsa 
 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 
 missionarv times. The ceilino- however, was infested 
 with myriads of bats, the smell of which was quite sick- 
 ening, 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 photograi)hcd. He 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 ai)i)ropriate, and straightway
 
 A PKIESr AND HIS FAMILY 
 
 20 i 
 
 ordered one of liis turkeys to he eau<i^ht and deprived of 
 some of its tail feathers. The only way in which I 
 could show my appreciation of the disinterested kind- 
 ness of the family was hy 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 prop- 
 erly. 
 
 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 decided- 
 ly 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 in- 
 telligent Mexican I made a rough calculation of the 
 number of Indians belonging to Tonachic and Guacho- 
 chic, next neighbours of Norogachic, and estimated in 
 the former 350, and in the latter 250 families. Counting 
 
 Tarahumare Girl from the Neigh- 
 bourhood of Norogachic.
 
 2o6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 each family as consistintj^ of eight iiieiiilx'is, tiiis would 
 give us a population of 4,800. Thus the most populous 
 part of the Tarahumare countr\-. inckulino- the three 
 municipalities of Noroo^achic, 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 generallv attributed to powerful sorcerers, 
 and this was perhaps more a point in his favour than 
 otherwise wdth 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 ujion in So- 
 nora, but these were larger and more primitive. Alto- 
 gether 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 simi- 
 lar small circle, and some little distance off still another. 
 On a small mesa I found a Hint arrow-jioint. 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, tlie rainy, and the winter. The fnst lasts from 
 March till June, and is very warm and windy. Through- 
 out July and August one can generally count on thun- 
 der-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 an- 
 noying to the agricultural inhabitants, who often see
 
 CLIMATE OF THE SIEKKA 207 
 
 dark clouds rolling up, apparcntlv full of moisture, yet 
 resulting- in nothing hut gusts of wind. A ridge may 
 change the course of the clouds. Sometimes one valley 
 may he 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 
 
 >T^>% 
 
 Pecking on Rock in the Neighbourhood oi Norogachic. 
 
 on north-eastern winds l)ring rain. In winter there are 
 constant winds from the south-east to the north, some- 
 what 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 salubri- 
 ous, 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
 
 2o8 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 thcv are distressing!}' healthy. Despite a complete de- 
 fiance of every sanitary arrangement, with the grave- 
 yards, 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 hath in Mexican fashion, and re- 
 covered." 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 wom- 
 an, 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 delight- 
 ful balmy air made me soon feel well again. At times 
 a mild zej^hyr 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 iiim that he is in the southern 
 latitudes, except an occasional glimpse of an agave

 
 FLORA AND FAUNA 211 
 
 hetwcen rocks and the fantastic cacti, which, although 
 so characteristic of Mexican vegetation, are compara- 
 tively scarce in the iiigii sierra. The nopal cactus, 
 whose juicy fruit, called tuna, and Hat 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 EcJiiiiocactus 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, Euonyuius with brilliant red 
 capsules, willows, etc. Conspicuous in the landscape 
 was still the madrona, with its pretty, strawberry-like, 
 edible berries. 
 
 Flowers on the whole are not abundant in the sierra. 
 The modest yellow Miuiithis along the water-courses is 
 the first to come and the last to go. Various forms of 
 columbine {Aqiiilegia) and meadow rue {Thalictrinji) 
 should also be remembered. In August and Septem- 
 ber I have seen the sloping hills of the sierra n-orth-west 
 of the pueblo of Panalachic (Banalachic ; banala = face, 
 i. e., the outline of a prominent rock near by), covered 
 with large crimson flowers, and also certain yellow ones, 
 called bagiiis, 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 nanies for all these plants. 
 
 Before all, however, should be mentioned the car- 
 mine-red Amaryllis. Like the crocus and the snow- 
 drops of northern climates it aj)pears 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
 
 212 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 appreciated only by the humming-birds. Edible plants, 
 species of Mentha, Chcnopodiiiui, Cirsimn, for instance, 
 and the common water-cress, are, at a certain lime of 
 the year, numerous ; but fruits and berries are rare, 
 blackberries being the most common ones. 
 
 Animal life is not j^articularly plentiful in the sierra. 
 Still, deer, bears, and mountain lions are fairlv common, 
 and there are many kinds of squirrels and rats. The 
 jaguar {fclis onza) is found now and then on the sum- 
 mits of the barrancas. Eagles, hawks, turkeys, black- 
 birds, and crows are the most noticeable birds. The 
 turkey is called by the Tarahumares, tshlvi ; by the 
 Mexicans of the sierra of QX-xxX^wd^^w-A, guajolotc ; while 
 farther south he is designated cocoiio. Now and then 
 the luilliant green trogon is met with. 
 
 There are many species of woodpeckers, all familiar 
 to and named by the Tarahumares. The giant wood- 
 pecker 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 tiie 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 be- 
 cause they annovetl him. 
 
 Corn is the most important agricultural product of 
 the Tarahumares. The average cro]) of a familv mav be 
 estimated at six or twelve fanegas. One exceptionally 
 rich 'i\\rahumare, now dead, is said to have raised as 
 mucii as foui" hundred fanegas a year, but this was a fact
 
 TARAHUMAKE AGKICl LTURE 213 
 
 uniciut' in the liistoiy of the tribe. The peo[)le also raise 
 beans, s(juashes, chile, and tobacco, all on an exceed- 
 ingly small scale. On the highlands, the primitive 
 plough already described (page 121) is still used some- 
 times, though it is rapidly being superseded by ploughs 
 of Mexican pattern. In the arroyos and barrancas, 
 where the condition of the land makes ploughing im- 
 possible, the Indians use the ancient mode of agricul- 
 ture, still in vogue among remote natives of Mexico 
 and called coaniillar. They cut down the trees, clear a 
 piece of land from brushwood, and leave it in this con- 
 dition 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 num- 
 ber 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 hoeins:, 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 sea- 
 sons. On the other hand, down in the barrancas, a field 
 cannot be used more than two years in succession, be- 
 cause 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 be- 
 ginning of December. 
 
 Communal principles prevail in clearing the fields, in 
 ploughing — each furrow in a field is ploughed by a dif-
 
 214 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 ferent man — in corn planting, in hoeing, weeding, harvest- 
 ing, 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 tcsvino. 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 blan- 
 kets, 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 land- 
 lord 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 tlicir j)laces each at the end of 
 his row. As they pass each other ahead and in the rear 
 of the columns they beat their mouths with the hollovv^ 
 of their hands and veil. As soon as thev reacli their 
 places at the foot, the next pair in front of the columns 
 starts off, running in the same wa\', and thus pair after 
 pair performs the tour, the procession all the time ad- 
 vancing toward the house. 
 
 A short distance in fionl of it they come to a halt,
 
 TESVINO RITES 215 
 
 and are met bv two young men who carry red handker- 
 chiefs tied to sticks like (lags. 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 " Kwireva ! " Now they all go 
 into the house, and the man makes a short speech thank- 
 ing 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 go- 
 ing 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 carrv 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 se- 
 lected 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 kuvala. y(_ 
 
 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 en-
 
 2l6 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 closures or caves. The shepherd follows his flock 
 wherever the animals choose to find their food, and 
 there are no better herdsmen than the Tarahumarcs, 
 who wisely trust to the natural instinct of the beasts. 
 They do not pride themselves on breeds. It is as- 
 tonishing 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 tiiat it makes them stupid, 
 and they are watchful to prevent their children from 
 drinking it. Dogs are not much liked except for hunt- 
 ing. A great number of them hang around the houses, 
 but thev have to make their own living as best they 
 can. They are of the same mongrel class found every- 
 where among the Indians of to-day. They are gen- 
 erally of a brownish color and not large, but some of 
 
 them are yellow and with 
 ears erect. 
 
 The so-called dogs of 
 Chihuahua, which com- 
 mand quite a price among 
 dog-fanciers, are found 
 onlv in the capital of the 
 state. They are small pet 
 dogs and vcrv timid, with 
 large ears and prominent 
 eyes. 1 undeistantl that 
 the yellowish-brown are considered I lie puiest bieed, but 
 they are found in many different coUms, from snow-white 
 and black-and-white t(j dark-brown. They are said to 
 have a small cavity on the top of the head, though ac- 
 
 Dogs of Chihuahua.
 
 DOGS OF CHIHUAHUA 217 
 
 cording to some authorities this is not an unfaiHng mark 
 of the breed, whieh seems to be indigenous. The ilHter- 
 ate Mexican, in his tendency to connect everything good 
 with Montezuma, thinks that the pure dogs of Chihua- 
 hua are descendants of those which were left behind by 
 that regent near Casas Grandes at the time wiien he 
 started south, which afterward became wild and degen- 
 erated 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 TARAHU- 
 MARES — MODE OF BURIAL IN ANCIENT CAVES VISIT TO NO- 
 
 NOAVA THE INDIANS CHANGE THEIR MINDS ABOUT ME, AND 
 
 REGARD ME AS A RAIN-GOD WHAT THE TARAHUMARES EAT 
 
 A PRETTY CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS 1 FIND AT LAST 
 
 A RELIABLE INTERPRETER AND PROCEED TO LIVE A l'iN- 
 DIENNE. 
 
 A 
 
 S I travelled along I found the natives unobliging 
 and afraid of me. One man who had hid hini- 
 self, 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 notori- 
 ouslv 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 na- 
 tives, who were especially suspicious about my writing in 
 mv note-book, taking it as a j)roof of my design to take 
 their land away from them. Still, I accomplished a 
 good deal and made interesting observations, though 
 the difhculties under which I had to labour were quite 
 exiisjjerating. 
 
 It was a positive relief, whtMi in the beginning of 
 August, six weeks after my start from Guachochic, I 
 arrived at Guajochic (guajo = sancudo, a small mos- 
 (]uito), one of the stations where the bullion trains stop 
 on their travels between Batopilas and Carichic. The 
 man then in ciiarge of this rather lonelv looking j)lace.
 
 DON ANDRES TO THE RESCUE 
 
 219 
 
 Andres Madrid, turned out to be very interesting. Born 
 of Tarahumare parents, in the town of Carichic, he had 
 received quite a lil)cral Mexican education and was virt- 
 ually 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 accom- 
 panied on his travels. 
 He was intelligent, 
 lively and imagina- 
 tive, of a strong hu- 
 mourous 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 ad- 
 vantage of his ac- 
 complishments. As 
 he was honest, and 
 helpful to the In- 
 dians, and besides was a representative of the Mexican 
 authorities, the Indians had unlimited respect, nay, ado- 
 ration, for him. 
 
 Tarahumare Girdles.
 
 220 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Knowing all that happens in the sierra, he had 
 alreadv heard of me some lime ago, and laughed at the 
 cannil)alistie propensities attributed to me. He imme- 
 diately sent a messenger to el eapitan at Nararachic, 
 to advise him of my arrival, and to request him to 
 tell the Indians to present themselves to be photo- 
 graphed by a man who eame from Porhrio Diaz, a name 
 to conjure with in Mexico, who wanted to know all 
 ai)out 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 fiijhtino- with four real rob- 
 bers, wdio 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 blan- 
 kets 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. I^nally Don Andres, who 
 had been sent for, arri\'ed 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 ^rarahumares are when
 
 MODE OF CAVE-BURIAL 221 
 
 few in number, thc}' do not know fear when many of 
 them are toiiether. They are harmless when not inter- 
 fered with, but neither fori^et nor forgive an injury. 
 On several oeeasions 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 Cu- 
 sihuiriachic (" where upriglit 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 consid- 
 erable 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 awav some
 
 222 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 thirty well-preserved skulls and a few eomplete skeletons^ 
 the bodies having dried up in the saltpetre. Some elothing 
 with feathers woven in, and some hits of obsidian and 
 of blue thread were found, but no weapons or utensils, 
 Aeeording to the miner, who appeared to be trust- 
 worthy, 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 under- 
 neath these. With many of them he found ear orna- 
 ments 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 exam- 
 ined 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 1 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 every- 
 where to be seen. Still I could see that the corj)ses 
 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 im- 
 mediately over the bodv, 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 
 sj)read a layer of pine bark about an inch thick, which 
 in turn was covered with earth and rul)bish 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
 
 VISIT lO N()XOA\ A 223 
 
 thick. The edge of the basin was slightly raised, thus 
 making the disk a little higher than the level of the 
 fioor. 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 exca- 
 vated 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 Tarahu- 
 mares. The Indians of to-day consider the dead in the 
 ancient burial-caves their brethren, and call them Ana- 
 yauli, the ancients. 
 
 From Guajochic I went to Nonoava (in Tarahumare : 
 Nonoa, nono = 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 Cari- 
 chic, Cusarare, and Bocovna. 
 
 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 Ind- 
 ian. His big stomach and short arms and legs be- 
 trayed his real race, and contrasted strangely with the
 
 224 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 slender limbs and graceful movements of the Taiahu- 
 mares. 
 
 Near Nonoava I photograj)hed a magnificent fig-iree 
 of the kind called bcyoia, the fruit of which is appreciated 
 even by the Mexicans. It was ii6 feet across, and the 
 leaves, as in other trees of the species, were ver)^ 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 awav, 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 gen- 
 erous 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. Tiie Indian, how- 
 ever, before he knows you, always wants to see vou eat 
 first. 
 
 I interviewed many of the shamans, and began to 
 gain some little knowledge of their songs, which helped 
 to l)ring me nearer to them. Shortly after my first ar- 
 rival here it haj)pened that rain fell, and precij)ilati()ns 
 
 Vol.. I.— 15
 
 I PASS AS A RAIN GOD 225 
 
 continued quite frcMjUcntly during my stay. The Ind- 
 ians, who are intensely interested in rain, to obtain 
 whieh they make so many exertions and sacrifices, evi- 
 dently began to connect my presence with it. Before 
 my departure they confided to Don .Vndres that " It 
 was no good that that man went away ; it might iiappen 
 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 photo- 
 graphed. 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 wnthout knowing it, I es- 
 tablished friendly relations wnth 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 re- 
 stored, 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 interpel- 
 lated 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 rea- 
 son which apparently perfectly satisfied the Indians. 
 
 I travelled in a southeasterly direction, making my 
 Avay back to Guachochic, over the highlands of Huma- 
 risa (humashi = to run). This locality is of consider-
 
 226 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 able 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 (juite common 
 here, and the Indians have difficulty in guarding their 
 ^elds 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 wdiich 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 flow^ers of the ash-tree are 
 cooked and eaten, and the flowers of the pine-tree. They 
 never sufl"er from hunger wdien living near a river, udiere 
 they can fish, but in the highlands they have been known 
 to die of starvation. 
 
 These natives are fonder of corn than of anv other 
 food, and wdien working for the wdiites would leave with- 
 out a w^ord if no more corn or flour were forthcoming. 
 They like, too, to have meat every day, though they can- 
 not 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 sueii 
 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 meal, however, is deer, mice, and skunks. 
 
 Ciiunks of meal are simplv laid ui)on the coals to
 
 E 
 
 D 
 
 X 
 
 .s 
 
 o 
 
 h
 
 WHAT THE TAKAHIMAKES EAT 229 
 
 roast, or turned before tlie lire 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 Ind- 
 ians often eat their meat ahnost raw, nor have they any 
 reputjnance 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 win- 
 ter. Many herbs are very palatable, as, for instance, the 
 makvasari (of the Criicifcrcc). 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 knowl- 
 edge of the poisonous ones. Salt and chile are used as 
 relishes. 
 
 A peculiar delicacy is ari, the secretion of a scale 
 insect, carteria nicxicana. 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. K small portion is 
 boiled in water and eaten as a sauce with the corn por- 
 ridge. Its taste is sweetish acid, not particularly pleas- 
 ant 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 buv 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 mis- 
 sionary 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.
 
 230 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 In the sacristy I saw lying about tiircc empty cases, but 
 tiie silver crucifixes and chalices they once contained 
 had been carried off by Mexican thieves. The man in 
 charijc of the building showed me three immense draw- 
 ers full of gold- and silver-embroidered silken robes of 
 exquisite fineness and great variety. There were at least 
 several dozens of tiiem. 
 
 The altar-piece was arranged and painted verv taste- 
 fully in red and gold. Several oil paintings were hang- 
 ing in the church, but so darkened by the hand of time 
 that it was impossible to make out whether they were 
 of anv artistic merit. Wonderful men those early mis- 
 sionaries, who brought such valuables into this wilder- 
 ness, 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 ceil- 
 ing. 
 
 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 wraj)ped up and was com- 
 pletelv unnerved, and many peo])le came to svmpathise 
 with him in his affliction. AVhen I told him that I 
 liked the 1 "aiahuinares, he answered, " Well, take 
 them with vou, e\ei\' one of them." All he cared for 
 was their land, and he had alread\- accpiired a consider- 
 able portion of it. Ilis wife was the onlv person in the 
 village who knew how to recite the ])ra\'ers in the 
 church. This made the husband feel pioud of her, and 
 he evidentlv considered her piet\' great enough to suffice 
 for the famil\-. 
 
 On m\- return to Giiaehochic I discharged the Mexi- 
 cans who had been with me since mv travels throuirh
 
 Taking m)- baggage down an Indian Trail m the Barranca de San Carlos.
 
 CAKKYIXG PROVISIONS 233 
 
 Sonora ; they were here of little use to mc, as lliey did 
 not know the country. I also disposed of the !2;reater 
 number of mv mules, keeping- onh' ahout half a dozen. 
 
 With the kind permission of Don Miguel I installed 
 most of my bago^age in one of his houses, and consid- 
 ered his ranch a kind of headquarters from which I 
 made several lono; excursions in various directions. 
 Thanks to mv {)ack 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 car- 
 riers. Of course, whenever I went down into the bar- 
 rancas, 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 ker- 
 nels 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 mo- 
 lars. Vou will ask why I did not carrv provisions along 
 with me. Simply because preserved food is, as a rule, 
 heavy to carry, to say nothing of its being" next to im- 
 possible to secure more when the supply is exhausted. 
 Some chocolate and condensed milk which I ordered
 
 234 UNKNOWN MP:XR() 
 
 from Chihuahua did not reach mc 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 vear I thus continued to travel around 
 among the Tarahumares, visiting them on their ranches 
 and in their caves, on the highlands and in the barran- 
 cas. There are few valleys into which I did not go in 
 this central part of the Tarahumare countrv, liiat is, 
 from the Barranca de Batopilas and Carichic in the 
 north toward the regions of the mining place Guada- 
 lupe y Calvo in the south. By and hv I also found a 
 suitable lenguaraz, Don Nabor, who lived a day's jour- 
 ney from Guachochic. He was a tall, lank, healthy- 
 looking fellow, some fifty years old, very poor and 
 blessed with a large familv 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 anxthing with- 
 out 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 TAKAHUMARE PHYSIQUE BODILY MOVEMENTS NOT AS SENSI- 
 TIVE TO PAIN AS WHITE MEN THEIR PHENOMENAL ENDUR- 
 ANCE 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 x'\merican 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 bar- 
 rancas 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 al- 
 titudes 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 orrowine he 
 kej)t 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 
 
 235
 
 236 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 yv^ 
 
 out. Their devil is alwavs represented with a beard, 
 and thev eall the Alexieans derisively sliahotshi, "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 an- 
 gered, for instance 
 by jealousy, the 
 wife may be able to 
 beat her husband. 
 Hands and feet are 
 small. Manv of 
 the women have 
 surprisingly small and well-shaped bones, while the men 
 are more powerfully built. The coiner teeth differ from 
 the front teeth in that they are thicker, and, in sj)ite 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 corpu- 
 lency. 
 
 Eight people with hair-lip, seven hunchbacks, six 
 men and four women with six toes to their feet, and one 
 or two cases of s(juint-eyes came under my notice. One 
 
 l^arahumare Woman.
 
 TARAHUMARE PHYSIQUE 
 
 237 
 
 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 in- 
 sanity among these Indians. 
 
 Pediculi (lice) from the heads and clothino; of the 
 
 Tarahumare Man. 
 
 Side View. 
 
 Tarahumare are blackish in colour, but the claw is not 
 different from that of the w^hite 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
 
 238 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 gait is energetic. He swings his arm and plants his 
 foot firmlv, with the toes generallv in, ^Hding along 
 smoothly with cjuick 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 ac- 
 cordingly not em- 
 bracing the tree as 
 much as is the case 
 with us. In swim- 
 ming 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 Mex- 
 icans they beckon with their hands by making down- 
 ward mov^ements with their lingers. 
 
 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 exj)ression 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 ex])ression 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 exti-nds down the neck and is 
 visible in spite (jf his dusk\' skin. Laughter is never im- 
 
 Usual Crouching Position ot the Tarahumare.
 
 INDIAN ENDURANCE 
 
 239 
 
 moderate cnoiioh to brini!, tears to the eyes. The head 
 is nodded vertieally in aflirniation and shaken laterally 
 in negation only by the eivilised Tarahumares. 
 
 There is a slight though undefinable odour about 
 the Tarahumare. He is not aware of it ; yet he will tell 
 
 Front View. 
 
 Side View. 
 
 Tarah 
 
 aranumare Man. 
 
 Mi 
 
 you that the Mexican smells like a pig, and the Ameri- 
 can like cofifee, 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 un- 
 flinchingly. 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 anv well-endowed white man. To 
 test eyesight, Sir Francis Galton directs us to cut out a
 
 240 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Tarahumares Sunning Themselves. 
 In the foreground is seen an implement 
 for carrving burdens on the back. 
 
 square piece of whiti' pajx'i- one and a half inches a 
 side, paste it on a large piece of hlack paper, and mark 
 
 how far a person can dis- 
 tinguish whether tlie 
 square is held straight or 
 diagonally. None of the 
 Indians could distinguish 
 the different positions un- 
 til they were within seven 
 hundred and ten feet. On 
 another occasion, however, 
 when I tested six individ- 
 uals, four men could tell 
 the {position of the square 
 at a distance of nine hun- 
 dred and live 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 particularlv distinguishing feature among the races of 
 men, not onl\' in regard to its colour, but also as to its 
 texture. In fact, the human race is b}' some classified 
 accordinor to the character of the hair of the head. 
 Compared under the microsco|)e a section of the hair of 
 a Chinaman or an American Indian is found to be cir- 
 cular, that of a Kur()})ean 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 sec- 
 tion 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. Hiev were willing enough to let 
 me have all the sam|)lcs 1 wanted for a material consid- 
 eration, of course, but tin- indifferent manner in which 
 they pulled the haii from their heads, just as we should
 
 TARAHIMARE STRENGTH 241 
 
 tear out hairs from the tail of a horse, convinced nie 
 that inferior races feel pain to a less extent than civil- 
 ised man. I once j)ulled 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 2 26f pounds 
 (102 kilograms). I was able to lift this myself. The 
 same five lifted 2 88f pounds (130 kilograms), as also did 
 two strong Mexicans present, aged respectively eighteen 
 and thirty years. In order to test their carrying capac- 
 ity, I had them walk for a distance of 500 feet on a 
 pretty even track. One very poor and starved-looking 
 Tarahumare carried 2 26|- 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 no 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 com- 
 bined with the electrifying effect of being close to nat- 
 ure'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. 
 
 Vol. I. — 16
 
 24^ 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 They suffer sometimes from liuuinatism, but the 
 most common disease is pleuiis\- ((/o/or dc costado), 
 which oenerallv proves fatal. SyphiHs 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 witiiout special treatment, 
 sometimes within a vear. Children of svj)hilitic parents 
 
 Half Side View, I'runt View. Side View. 
 
 Tarahumare Girl. The Hair Worn in Mexican Fashion. 
 
 show tlie symptoms soon aftiT birth. Small-j)ox, too, 
 plays havoc among the poi)ulation. I have seen some 
 people suffering with cataract in the eyes, and some 
 foot-runners complained that their sight sometimes be- 
 came impaired during or after a race. The Taralui- 
 mares have not any cases of tai)c-\vorm, although their 
 sheep have it ; probably the large quantities of tesvino 
 drunk during the winter may have something to do with 
 this. 
 
 Medicine takes remarkablv strong hold of the Ind- 
 ians. One man suffered foi two weeks from fever and 
 ague, lost his appetite, and seemed a general wreck ; 
 but after a two-grain (|uinine pill became at once him- 
 self again, and a few (la\s later was able to take a mes-
 
 SUICIDE 243 
 
 sage 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 soke. 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 ; w^omen do not usually take this precaution. 
 
 A Tarahumare does not commit homicide unless he 
 is drunk. There are only isolated exceptions. ^ 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 Tepe- 
 huanes 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 Tara- 
 humare ever killed himself. 
 
 As a rule, the Tarahumare is not a thief. Only 
 when he thinks himself entirely unobserved, he may ap-
 
 244 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 propriate some trilic that particularly strikes his fancy, 
 but the indications are that lie learned the art from the 
 Mexicans. Once on our travels we passed a man who 
 was weeding; his field. \Ve tried to induce him to ^ive 
 us some information, but he was too busy to talk, and 
 we went on. Soon he noticed that we had accidentally 
 dropped our laro:e axe, and immediately he interrupted 
 his j)ressing 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 lonor as he is in his native state, a Tarahumare 
 never cheats at bargains. He does not like to sell any- 
 thing that is in any way defective. He always draws at- 
 tention to the flaw, and if a jar has any imperfection, it 
 requires much persuasion to make him part with it. He 
 shows honestv also in other ways. Often I trusted Ind- 
 ians 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 fa- 
 vour to part with any of his l)eK)ngings 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 
 monev, because they have been cheated with wrappers 
 from cigarette boxes, and besides, they have no means 
 of keeping such monev safe and sound from mice, moist-
 
 MENTAL Ol ALITIES 245 
 
 lire, etc. Amon<r tliemselves 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 pro- 
 duced 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 mechan- 
 ics. 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 ver\' clever in follow- 
 ing tracks, and even recognise the hoof-prints of partic- 
 ular 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 wiien 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. Thev 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-eves also 
 afford them much amusement. They are smart, atten- 
 tive and patient. Thev 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 wavs in establishinir friendlv relations with
 
 i 
 
 246 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 his people, whicli otherwise would liave been very diffi- 
 cult to bring about. 
 
 Children are l)riLiht, and wlien sent to sehool learn 
 Si)anish quiekly. They also master reading- and writing 
 without difficulty. They are diligent, eager to learn, 
 and very religious, docile, and easily converted to Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 There is a story about a j)adre who asked a Tarahu- 
 mare 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 bov 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 mv Tarahu- 
 mare attendant remarked, " No, he is now afraid to 
 come, because people have too many ritles." 
 
 When they learn something their ambition runs high, 
 and the boys always want to become generals and presi- 
 dents of the republic. 
 
 The Tarahumares are careful observers of the celes- 
 tial l)odies, and know the Pleiades, the Belt of Orion, 
 and the Morning and the Evening Star. The Great Dip- 
 per is of no special interest to them. Near Guachochic 
 the Tarahumares plant corn in accordance with the posi- 
 tions 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 wdien the stars last long the \ear will be good. 
 In 1891, the sun "travelled slowly," and the stars "trav- 
 elled quickly," and in June they had already "disap- 
 peared," Therefore the Tarahumares })redicted that 
 their crops would be below the average, which came 
 true. On June ;'^(.\ 1 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
 
 HUNTING AND SHOOTING 247 
 
 Mexicans, who fiecjuently consult them upon the pros- 
 pects 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 (Span- 
 ish, inacand) 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 tak- 
 ing 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 biij-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
 
 248 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 and s(jueczcd until no water remains in it. Two per- 
 sons are required for the operation, which is always per- 
 formed in a place on which the sun beats strongly, while 
 at the same time it is sheltered from the wind hy sur- 
 rounding rocks. 
 
 Deer are cau":ht in snares fastened to a bent tree, so 
 that the animal's foot is held, while the tree when re- 
 leased 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. Tiiere 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 
 strinof, the snare is released, and he is cau<2,"ht 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 lie can bag his 
 game, not a very substantial reward for a whole day's 
 work.
 
 HOME INDl STRIES 
 
 249 
 
 The women make girdles ami i)lankets on primitive 
 looms, insertino- characteristie designs in llie wcavinof. 
 
 ' r^ i~> C) 
 
 Weaving a Girdle. 
 
 It takes four days of constant work to make a girdle, 
 but no woman weaves more than one blanket in a year, 
 
 Patterns ot Tarahumare Belts. 
 
 and it is almost an event when it is finished. The 
 weaving frame consists simply of four sticks — placed on
 
 2s-0 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the oriound tied too-ethcr in a rectanuie ur trianjjle, and 
 pieces of reed on which the thread is wound, one for 
 each colour, are used as shuttles. Textiles from Pama- 
 chic are especially highly valued. The blankets from 
 that locality are sold all over the Tarahumare countrv and 
 are the finest made hv the tribe. 
 
 The Tarahumares are not far advanced in the art of 
 making potterv. 'I heir work is crude and not very sub- 
 
 Woman Pottery Maker and Some Results of Her Labour. 
 
 stantial. The industry is practised onl\- 1)\' the women, 
 and the degree of ability varies considerable The art 
 is often hereditary. The nicest potterv T found in the 
 neighbourhood of l^analachic, where it is decorated with 
 certain designs in red and white. Our woman in a 
 western barranca cultixatcd a spteialtx of makine larsfe 
 jars for holding tesvino. The laigesl jar shown in the 
 illustration was nearh' eight feet in circumference. 
 
 Women when making jiottery taste a little of the 
 clay before commeneiiig work, ascertaining whether it
 
 TAR AHL MARE POITERY 251 
 
 is the rio;ht 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 pol- 
 ished outside and a little way inside below the brim. 
 Finally they painted decorations with ochre, and pol- 
 ished again for a long time, but only the outside. Now 
 the jars were again ])ut 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 mav be made outside the
 
 Tarahumare Pottery from Panalachic. Decorations in red ochre and white 
 
 jaz'oiiiillo.
 
 THE MAKING OF TESVINO 253 
 
 house ; but usually it is built inside on the ordinary fire- 
 plaee. Eaeh vessel, one at a time, is turned upside down 
 over ehareoal, and pieees of pine bark are built uj) all 
 around and over it like a S(|uare little hut, then ignited. 
 Care is taken that no pieee of bark comes so near to 
 the jar as to toueh 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 bfe of the Tarahumare, namely, the mak- 
 ing of native beer. 
 
 Nothing is so close to the heart of the Tarahumare 
 as this licjuor, 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 fer- 
 ment. 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 Tarahu- x 
 mare 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 exter- 
 nally 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, be- 
 cause beer is the only remuneration his assistants re- 
 ceive. Drinkinc: tesvino at the feast marks the turning-
 
 254 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 point in a person's life. A \)()y begins to drink tesvino 
 because now he feels binisclf a man ; and when a girl is 
 seen at feasts, it is a sign tiiat she is looking for a hus- 
 band. No marriage is legitimate without a liberal con- 
 sumption of tesvino by all })arties present at the wedding. 
 Hunting and fishing ex})editions are accompanied by 
 
 beer-drinking to insure luck. 
 No matter how manv 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 
 surxivors, if a (|uan- 
 tity of tesvino were 
 not set aside for 
 them. In fact, 
 there is absolutely 
 no act of import- 
 ance that is not, in 
 one way or anotii- 
 er, connected witii 
 the drinking of this 
 beer. Never is a jar commenced unless some of the 
 lifjuor is sacrificed before the cross, for the gods are be- 
 lieved 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, espe- 
 cially during tiie winter time, when regular symposiums 
 are held, generaliv inside of the iiouse ; but the people 
 
 Basket for Straining Tesvino. Height, exclu- 
 sive of handle, 14 ctm.
 
 A SYMPOSIUM 255 
 
 never drink tesvino unless lliere is some purpose to be 
 attained, he il luek in some undertaking, or good crops, 
 or the health of the family,- or some similar benefit. 
 They may dance yiimari for a little while at any of these 
 functions. 
 
 It is the custom to appoint one man to distribute 
 the licjuor 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, al- 
 though from politeness hesitating between each gourd- 
 ful, are only too delighted to comply with this inviola- 
 ble 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 estal)lislfes himself close to 
 the big jar, and being immensely popular with every- 
 body he is never left alone. The geniality of the Tara- 
 humares, 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 imme- 
 diately held out to him. Though he again refuses, he 
 generally allows himself to be persuaded to drink it, 
 and this mock refusing and urcrino; s^oes on as lono- as 
 they have their wits together. 
 
 To my knowledge, this beer is not known outside 
 of the Tarahumare tribe and their immediate neigh- 
 bours, the northern Tepehuanes, the Tubars, and some
 
 256 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Mexicans in Ciiihuahiia who have also adopted it. It 
 must not be confounded with tiie well-known Mexican 
 drink, jnilque, to which it is superior in tlaxour. It is 
 verv nourishino-, and the Indians as well as the Mexi- 
 cans are in the habit of abstaining from food before par- 
 taking; 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 thev 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 liearts 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 hol- 
 lows or pockets in rocks, without any covering. The 
 root of a certain plant called frijolillo is added as a fer- 
 ment, and after two days the juice is wrung out with 
 a blanket. 
 
 An intoxicating drink is also made from another 
 agave, called tshawi. which, though common on the 
 higher sloj)es of the barrancas, has only recently be- 
 come known to science. According to tradition it is 
 the tirst plant (rod created, and the li(jUor made from it 
 is considered by the pagan Tarahumares as indispensa- 
 ble to certain ceremonies. The Tepehuanes, too, put 
 much importance on this brew, and say that the })lant is
 
 INDIAN BEVERAGES 257 
 
 so sensitive that if one passes a jar in which it is being 
 boiled the liquitl will not ferment. 
 
 Finally it should be mentioned that an intoxicating, 
 though extremely distasteful drink is made from the 
 stalk of the maize plant {canci), 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 pre- 
 pared in the same way as the maguey wine. 
 
 Vol. I.— 17
 
 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 CIV- 
 ILISED CHILDBIRTH CHILDHOOD. 
 
 FOR a barbarian, the Tarahumare is a very polite 
 personage. In his languaije he even has a word 
 " reko " which is the equivalent of the English " please," 
 and which he uses constantly. When passing a stran- 
 ger, or leaving a person, he draws attention to his action 
 by saying, " I am going." As he grows civilised, how- 
 ever, 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 stoj) sometimes as 
 far as twenty or thirty yards off. If he is on more inti- 
 mate 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 ab- 
 sent the visitor may thus sit for a couj)lc of hours ; 
 then he will rise and go slowly away again. Ikit under 
 no circumstances will he enter the home, unless for- 
 
 25S
 
 DOMESTIC MANNERS 
 
 259 
 
 mally invited, " because," lie 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 al)sencc, 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 any- 
 thing without due 
 deliberation ; there- 
 fore he may, for a 
 quarter of an hour, 
 discuss with his 
 wife the possible 
 purport of the visit, 
 before he goes out 
 to see the man. 
 They peep through M 
 the cracks in the ^ 
 wall at him, and if J| 
 they happen to be S. 
 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. xA.fter 
 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 curiositv as to where the 
 
 Tarahumare Blanket.
 
 26o 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 man came from, what he is doiiio- and where lie is iroinof 
 to, is satisfied, the former ma\ go back to the house and 
 fetch some })inole and meat for the traveller. The object 
 of the visit not infrequently is an invitation to lake part 
 
 A Taraluimarc Cal
 
 TARAHUMARE HOSPITALITY 261 
 
 in some game or foot-race ; and as the men are sure to 
 remain undisturbed, they generally reach some under- 
 standing. A friend of the family is, of course, finally 
 invited to enter the house, and the customary salutation 
 is " Assaga ! " ("Sit down!") In this connection it 
 may be noted that the Tarahumares in conversation look 
 sidevvise, 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 l)ack the skin on which he was seated. 
 Should occasion require, the host will say : " It is get- 
 ting late, and you cannot return to your home to-night. 
 Where are you going to sleep ? There is a good cave 
 over vonder." 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 tempestu- 
 ous will he invite an outsider to sleep in the house. 
 
 When at home the Tarahumare keeps regular hours, 
 rising and retiring wnth the sun. Having slept on a 
 skin on the fioor, rolled up in his blanket, without any- 
 thing 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 comb- 
 ing 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 husl)and looks on. Generally
 
 262 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the Tarahumares have a number of traps set to eateh 
 mice. They are so fond of this "game " that, when civ- 
 ilised, they have been known to ask permission from 
 Mexican acquaintances to go through their houses to 
 
 Tarahumare Arrow Release. 
 
 hunt for them. The mice are skinned and threaded on 
 a thin stick, which is stuck tbrougli their necks and 
 serves as a spit. 
 
 Having enjoyed tiie daintv morsel thus set before 
 him, the husband now tells his wife what he is groino- 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-lime he may go to the field. The wife 
 also tells of iier plans for the dav. The work that en- 
 gages most of the lime of the housewives in Mexico is
 
 TARAHUMAKES AT HOME 
 
 263 
 
 the grinding of tiic corn, on the metate, for corn-cakes ; 
 and if she has any lime 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 squir- 
 rel 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 larpfe 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 
 
 Height, 18.5 ctm. 
 
 Tarahumare Baskets. 
 
 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
 
 264 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 Span- 
 iards 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 con- 
 struction, 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 toler- 
 ably 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 mid- 
 dle 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
 
 MAKING A BARGAIN 
 
 265 
 
 saying among the people that one man is as good as 
 five women. Her prayers are not of as much v^alue 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 bar- 
 gain is ever concluded until the hus- 
 band 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 nothinor 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 in- 
 curred 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 ap- 
 preciated even among barbarians is proven by the fact 
 that once a woman was made grobernador, or chief, be- 
 cause " 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 
 
 Tarahumare Girl 
 Carrying Water.
 
 266 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 some occasions I have seen lovers sitting closely to- 
 gether, she holding on to his forefinger. The women 
 are of a jealous disposition. 
 
 The Tarahumare standard of beauty is not in ac- 
 cordance 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 be- 
 stowed upon anyone's personal appearance. Thcv 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 ad- 
 mired 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 coun- 
 tries a woman mav look out for a good />a7'//. 
 
 But wealth does not make the possessor more at- 
 tractive 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, a^^ainst whom they are always 
 warned. They are told that they become sick from 
 contact with such men. Never are they forced to con- 
 tract what would turn out to be a loxt-less 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
 
 PLATE V[
 
 TARAHUMARE MARRIAGES 267 
 
 Avhole handful of silver dollars. Her brother, who was 
 half civilised, and therefore more corrupt than the ordi- 
 nary Indian, also tried to j)ersuade her to accept the 
 rich suitor. But she tossed ujj her head and exclaimed, 
 " Tshine awlama gatsha negale " which, freely trans- 
 lated, means: " I do not like that fellow; love goes where 
 it chooses." 
 
 'ilie 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 has 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 - ru Se-(se)-ma- te re - hoy i - v4 
 Beau-ti-fiil man to be sure, Beau-li-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 davs, perhaps, thev do not speak to 
 each other, but finally she playfully begins to throw 
 pebbles at him. If he does not return them, she under- 
 stands 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.
 
 268 UNKNOWN iMEXICO 
 
 Sometimes the boy, when he Hkes a girl very much, 
 mav make the first advances, but even then he has to 
 wait until she throws the first pebbles and drops the 
 blanket, for. amonsj;' the Indians, it is the woman who 
 seeks the man, and the fair who deserve the brave. 
 
 IVont View Side View. 
 
 Tarahumarc, Shouii.g Mode of Wearing Blanket. 
 
 Next dav thev comv honn' together, ;uid after this 
 they do not hide themselves anv more. The parents of 
 the (rn\ are advised to make tesvino. as tiie young couple 
 should not i)e separated any more, and word is sent out 
 to a few friends and relatives to come to the wedding.
 
 A BRIDAL PAIR 269 
 
 The ii;uests arrive in the afternoon and most of tlie 
 peoj)le remain outside o( the house (hniuii tlie cere- 
 mony, but the brideoroom and his i)arents go inside, 
 where they seat themselves on skms sj:)read out on the 
 Hoor. 1 lie mothei of the girl has j:)laced 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 |)lace, 
 the host offers him three gourds full of the drink and re- 
 quests 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 uji and his mother sits 
 down, while the girl's father sits down and her mother 
 stands uj). The boy's father now makes a speech, tell- 
 ing the bridal couple that thev must remain together, 
 and never separate nor light. 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,
 
 270 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 in her way, with the j)louo-hin,ii- and sowing, so that he 
 may raise plenty of eorn to make tesvino that others 
 may help liini. 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 mat- 
 ter how many brothers the bride has, they all get this 
 present. It is considered an exchange for the girl. The 
 shamans avail themselves oi jtis primcE 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 wdien he was small, 
 and now his father gives him a piece of land. 
 
 Among the Christian Tarahumares the fiscal is ad- 
 vised of any contemplated maniage. 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 uj) all the matrimoniallv inclined. On account
 
 PADRE'S SERVICES 271 
 
 of their innate ardour to comj)ly with all religious re- 
 quirements 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 bap- 
 tising. 
 
 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 por- 
 tentous question, they cry, " Kake, ka,'ke " (" No, no"), 
 and run away. 
 
 In my time there was a padre (now removed) who 
 emulated the example of the shamans and was fre- 
 quently 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 pock- 
 eting 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, wdiile the hus- 
 band 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
 
 272 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 strani^er has arrived the husband may l)ring her a jar with 
 warm water from whieh she occasionally drinks. He also 
 digs a hole, in which, after he has gone, she buries the pla- 
 centa, 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 jMece 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 fol- 
 lowing 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 assist- 
 ance 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 suc- 
 cessful in life, that is, in raising corn. Then the sha- 
 man 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 um- 
 bilical 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.
 
 "CURING" A CHILD 273 
 
 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 l'\ither 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 agricult- 
 ural 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 succes- 
 
 VOL. I. — iS
 
 274 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 sion. for there is no one to carry them for her. Women 
 cannot eat the tenderloin until they are verv old, because 
 if they did thev could have no children. For the same 
 reason they must not eat the pancreas. The women 
 
 Tarahumarc Blankets 
 
 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 mat- 
 ter how old they get, and even after they are married 
 and have families of their own, never help themselves to 
 anything in the })arents' house. The mother lias to giv^e 
 all the food, etc., and she gives as long as she has any- 
 thing. 
 
 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
 
 CHILD DISCIPLINE 275 
 
 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 Ind- 
 ians 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 demor- 
 alised, in spite of their depression and poverty this pas- 
 sion of theirs still clings to them. While it is true that 
 there is always something of value, however insignifi- 
 cant, 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 ciiatro 
 or (jiiiiizc, 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 lo 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 IccJnigitiUa. 
 In Tarahumare the game is called chogirali. and the 
 target-arrow chogiia. The arrow coming nearest the 
 chogira counts one j)oint ; and if it comes within four 
 fingers' width of the aim, it counts four. The game 
 
 276
 
 MANY KINDS OF GAMES 277 
 
 is for twelve points. The distance is not measured from 
 the points of tiie 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 chogfira, and 
 the other two sticks are thrown toward it, and count 
 in a similar w^ay 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. Hat on one side and convex on the 
 other. It is called rixiwatali __— -r-r- 
 
 (rixiwala=disk), and two and / ^^4^- 
 
 tw^o play against each other. / "^ " ^r5\ 
 
 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 ^^°"' ^''^ ^"°'' ^'^^'"8" 
 
 * -^ . Diameter, 9.5 ctm. 
 
 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, thev break off small 
 sticks. Lookers-on may stand around and bet which of 
 the players will win.
 
 278 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Another game is called takwari, " to beat the ball " ; 
 in Spanish, /c?/?'//^. It is played only by women. Two 
 play at a time. One knocks a small 
 wooden ball toward one 2:oal, while 
 her opponent tries to get it to another. 
 This game is also played by the north- 
 ern Tepehuane women, who some- 
 times use two short sticks tied tofjether ^'^, ^^ , , ^ 
 
 . . , r 1 ' 1 11 Sticks Used by Tepe- 
 
 m the middle, instead 01 the ball, huanes for Plaving. 
 
 The sticks are thrown ahead from their Length of Sticks about 
 
 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 kee})s count. He makes 
 two rings in the sand, and 
 jnits his twelve grains in one 
 ring, and as the game pro- 
 gresses he transfers them 
 into the second ring until 
 the game is out. 
 
 Their greatest gambling 
 game, at which they may 
 plav even when tipsy, is 
 (juinze ; in Tarahiimare, ro- 
 mavda. It is played with 
 
 four sticks of ccpial length, called romalaka and inscribed 
 
 with certain marks to indicate their value. Practically 
 
 Value of the Different Sides 
 of a Knuckle-bone.
 
 60
 
 BETTING AND GAMBLING 281 
 
 they serve the same puiposc as diee, but they are thrown 
 in a different way. The phiyer 2;rasps them in his left 
 iiand, 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 o})}K)- 
 nent. 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 scrupu- 
 lously 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 rebound- 
 ing, 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 rala hipa (" with the 
 foot throw "), the word alluding to a ball used at the race.
 
 282 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 No doubt tlic Tamhumarcs are the greatest runners 
 in the world, not in regard to speed, but endurance. A 
 Taraliumare will easily run 170 miles without stopping. 
 When an Indian is sent out as a messenger, he goes 
 along at a slow trol. 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 short- 
 cuts, which he, no doubt, knew, it was quite a feat of 
 endurance ; for he must have lived, as the Indians al- 
 ways 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 ]:)inole, 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 cor- 
 nered and easily shot with arrows, or until it is over- 
 taken utterly jaded and its hoofs dropping off. 
 
 1 his propensity for iiuining is so great that the name 
 of the tribe alludes to it. Tarahumare is a Spanish 
 corruption of ralamari, the meaning of which, though 
 somewhat obscure, may doubtless best be given as 
 "foot-runners," because raid certainlv means "foot." 
 
 The race is alwavs between two localities, each side 
 being represented by from four to twent\' runners. The 
 two i)arties 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 |)eculiar feature is that the men toss along a small 
 ball as they run, each j)artv having one of their own. 
 These balls are about two and a half inches in diameter 
 and carved fiom the loot of the oak. The foremost
 
 I'OOT-RACES 
 
 283 
 
 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 l)ehin(l him follow in the same trot as be- 
 fore. The first man reachino- it as^ain kicks it onward. 
 It must nev^er be touched by the hand, unless it hap- 
 dens 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 al- 
 ways used as race-courses. The run- 
 ners 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 ar- 
 range 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 ex- 
 tent, and when the circuits are short as many as twenty 
 may be agreed upon. At one race-course near Cari- 
 cliic, 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 man- 
 agers 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 
 
 Cross Marking the Track of 
 the Foot-runners.
 
 284 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 need trainino; in running-, for that comes to them as nat-' 
 urally as swimming to the eluck ; hut only that they 
 practise kicking the hall and tr\' the ground. 
 
 Much more important are the magical devices by 
 means of which thev endeavt)ur to secure their own suc- 
 cess and to defeat their opponents. A daring manager 
 may go to a burial cave, taking two balls with him. He 
 digs out a hone, preferably the tibia from the right leg, 
 and sets it on the floor of the cave m 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 pavment to the 
 dead that he may help to win the race by weakening 
 the adversaries. 
 
 ■As human bones are supposed to induce fatigue, some 
 mav 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 Angers, 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. Cer- 
 tain herbs are thrown into the air or shaken before 
 the runners to enervate them. Some enterprising 
 Mexican may bring a white powder or similar sub- 
 stance, declaring that it is very efficacious, and get a 
 Tarahumare to pay a high price for it. But whatever 
 means arc employed, one way or the other, there is al- 
 ways a counter-remed\' to offset its effect. Specially 
 potent is the blood of the turtle and the bat, stirred to- 
 gether, dried, and mixed with a little tobacco, which is 
 then rolled into a ciirar and smoked. Ilikuli and the
 
 SHAMANS AS 1 KAINKRS 287 
 
 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 run- 
 ners 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 thev have some old man, for 
 old men see even when they sleep, and watch against 
 sorcery. 
 
 After the ceremonv 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, po- 
 tatoes, eggs, and anything sweet are prohibited, because 
 all these things make the men heavy ; but rabbits, deer,
 
 288 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 throuirh the 
 water over the tray. The party whose ball first reaches 
 
 Making W'agers at a Foot-race. 
 
 the otiier end will sureh' win. This test is orone throuafh 
 as many times as there are to be circuits in the race. 
 
 A race is nev^er won by natural means. The losers 
 always say that they hav^e 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, thmking that I had made their contestants strong
 
 BUSY STAKEHOLDERS 289 
 
 to win the race. Often one of the principal runners be- 
 comes disheartened, and may simulate illness and declare 
 that their rivals have bewitched him. Then the whole 
 affair may come to nothin^: 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 
 tliat everything goes on in a proper, formal way. Tipsy 
 persons are not admitted, and women in a delicate con- 
 dition 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 mak- 
 ing 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 ar- 
 rows, etc. At big races the wagers may amount to con- 
 siderable 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 writ- 
 ten record of them. The total value of the wagers may 
 reach a thousand dollars, and what to the Indians are fort- 
 unes 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 
 Vol. I. — 19
 
 290 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 called in Tarahumarc " 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 com- 
 pleted one stone is taken away. In this way the count 
 is kept. The runners walk about wra[)pcd 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 bv 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 cer- 
 tainly 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, 
 
 p r e V i o u s 1 V 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 rat- 
 tles of deer-hoofs and 
 .^bits of reeds tietl to- 
 gether on a strij) 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 run- 
 ning, so they say ; besides, the deer-hoofs lend them the 
 swiftness of the stag. Some runners adorn themselves 
 
 Part of 'I'arahumarc Rattling Belt.
 
 LONG-DISTANCE RUNNING 
 
 291 
 
 with feathers from various birds, preferably the macaw 
 and the peacock, tying^ them to short sticks. The few 
 Tarahumares wlio have ever seen a j)eacock think a 
 o["Ood (leal of this bird, because it is considered lioht- 
 
 Tarahumare foot-runners, Photographed After the Race. 
 
 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 eiu:ht hours. At one race,
 
 292 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 torch- 
 bearers, 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 princi- 
 pal motive being to shout encouraging words to the 
 runners and urge them to exert themselves to the ut- 
 most. 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 run- 
 ner, now dead, could run from mid-day until sunrise. 
 There is no prize for the winner himself, except the
 
 WOMEN'S SPOKIS 
 
 293 
 
 golden opinions he earns amono- the women ; and his 
 father may aceept presents from luek\- bettors. A man 
 who wins a cow is expected to give two pesos to the 
 
 J 
 
 Tarahumare Women Crossing a Stream in Their Race. 
 
 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 an- 
 other 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
 
 294 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the betting and excitement that prevail on 
 sions 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 })rongs, to pitch it 
 forward. Sometimes they 
 have a ring of twisted strips 
 of vucca 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 rowe- 
 mala (rowe signifies a ring), 
 must be very ancient, for 
 rings of this kind have some- 
 times been found in ancient 
 cliff-dwellings. It is certain- 
 ly 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 a la Diane and m 
 work of the crossing. 
 
 these occa- 
 
 Fork and Wood- 
 en Ball Used in 
 Women's Game. 
 Length of Fork, 
 69 ctm.; diameter 
 of Ball, 6.5 ctm. 
 
 Stick and 
 Ring Used 
 in Women's 
 Game. Length 
 of Stick, 85 
 ctm. ; diameter 
 of Ring, 1 1 
 ctm. 
 
 aking short
 
 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 (Nonoriigami) and Mother Moon 
 (Verugami). The Sun guards the men in the day- 
 time ; therefore the Tarahumares do not transact busi- 
 ness 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 Tarahu- 
 mares. The Stars advise their brothers on earth when 
 thieves are entering their houses. When the Tarahu- 
 mares affirm anything solemnly, they say, " By those 
 above ! " meaning the Sun, Moon, and the Stars. 
 
 But the greater part of the Tarahumares are nomi- 
 nally Christians, though all that they know of Christian- 
 ity are the words Seiior Saji Jose and Maria Santis- 
 sima. 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 pleas- 
 ure and as elaborately as their own native ceremonies. 
 
 295
 
 296 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Next in importance is the Devil, whom they fear 
 even more than their own sorcerers. He is always rep- 
 resented with a big heard, 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 heaxen, and the 
 shamans have to work hard to keeji him from doing so. 
 There is also a female devil, his wife, who bears many 
 children, always twins, who are the original Mexi- 
 cans. 
 
 Their paradise consists in big ranches, where they 
 will oret all the animals which in this life thev sacrificed 
 to Tata 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. 
 
 CRKATION IMVTIIS 
 
 In the begmning there were many worlds before 
 this, but one after the other came to an end. Just be- 
 fore the world was destroyed for the last time, all the 
 rivers flowed toward the place where the sun rises. But
 
 SUN AND MOON MYTHS 297 
 
 now the waters also flow toward the other side, where 
 the sun sets.* 
 
 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 V 
 around Guachochic ; but the land was put in order, 
 when the people came and began to dance yumari. 
 
 The rocks were at first soft and small ; l)ut 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. Hut 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 ham- 
 pered by the darkness. They could not do their work, 
 and they had to hold each other's hands, and they were 
 
 * The Rio Fuerte, the only large water-course in the Tarahumare country, 
 empties into the Pacific Ocean.
 
 298 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 stumbling all the time. Then they cured the Sun and 
 the Moon by dipping small crosses into t»esvino, 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 LECIEXD 
 
 A man lived with three women. He was making 
 arrows while they went to look for squirrels and wood- 
 chucks, and when they could hnd 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 uj) on a mountain, called La- 
 vachi (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 Hood, 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 Tarahuma- 
 res are descended from them. 
 
 The Tarahumares were fighting among themselves, 
 and Tata Dios sent much rain, and all the people per- 
 ished. After the flood he sent three men and three 
 women to j)e()ple the earth. They planted corn at once.
 
 lATA DIOS AND THE DE\ IL 299 
 
 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, be- 
 cause 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 Na- 
 rarachic 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 DIGS AND THE DEVIL THE SHEEP AND THE 
 
 DEER — WnV THE COCKS CROW IN THE MORNING * 
 
 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, 
 
 * As related by an old "Christian " Tarahumare woman in Huerachic, on the 
 npper Rio Fuerte.
 
 300 
 
 UNKNOWN iMEXICO 
 
 and they gave him the jar and the drinking-gourd, and 
 he sat down to drink ; hut he did not get intoxieated 
 because there was not enougli 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 lhe\' la\- 
 down on the ground com|)letely 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 Tata 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 re- 
 mained there, and Tata Dios went home. 
 
 One day at dawn the people saw the lands full with 
 sheep everywhere. On a Hat 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 ))laced 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 thev hear the cocks in heaven crow.
 
 MYTHICAL GIANTS 301 
 
 After Tata Dios had gone to heaven he never came 
 back. He is angry with the Tarahumares, and he wants 
 to destroy the world, hut the Virgin says : " Let the 
 peo})le alone; I pity the family we left behind." This 
 is the reason whv the world stands. 
 
 When Tata 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 Tara- 
 humares, and the cross in the west is for the Tarahu- 
 mares 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 y 
 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 Goli, 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. Tiie 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
 
 302 UNKNOWN xMEXlCO 
 
 away, and while they were ll\in<j; the Crow said, " I am 
 SToinii to the mountain to look for mv wife and mv son. 
 Thev went awav and have been lost for six days." 
 
 tup: deer, the toad, and the crow 
 
 The Crow set out for the mountain, where the Deer 
 and tiie Toad were making a bet. " Let us trv," they 
 said, "who can see the sun hrst in the morning." The 
 stakes were twenty-five Gadllies, and they asked the 
 Crow to be a witness to the contest. In the morning 
 thev 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 \n\t them up 
 on a bet, therefore they were very wUling to sting the 
 Deer, and thev have been stinging him ever since. 
 
 STOKV OE THE CO VOTE 
 
 The Coyote asked permission from Tata Dios to 
 come into the world, and Tata Dios asked him what he
 
 ANIMAL MYTHS 
 
 303 
 
 would do there. The Coyote replied that he would steal 
 the animals and the corn from the Tarahu mares. Then 
 
 The Covote, CV 
 
 latr 
 
 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 eon- 
 test, 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 thev met again
 
 304 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the Lion said to the Coyote, " Well, how did you get 
 on?" The Coyote replied: " \"'ery well; I killed a 
 mare." Hut tlie mare had been dead so long that she 
 was smelling. Therefore tlie Lion said to the Coyote, 
 " Don't be a liar," and he chased him off, and the Coyote 
 was ashamed of liimself. 
 
 The Coyote next met the Grey Fox. and told him to 
 QO and challeno^e the Lion. The Grev 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 wheth- 
 er 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 \ou can catch him." The Grey 
 Fox just saw the ral)bit's tail disapj)earing 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 I'^ox, " 1 will go; but, as vou 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 Grev Fox came out 
 again he was bunud, and his feet were sore from the fire. 
 That is why the Grev bOx alwavs walks so lightly.
 
 THE GREY FOX 305 
 
 And he reproached tlic Lion, savins: ihat he was very- 
 bad, and bci^.i^ed hini to lei liim gt) and not to kill him. 
 He cried and went to hide himself in a cave, because he 
 was afraid of the Lion. Then the liumming-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 IIKNS, THE OKEV 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 lien 
 was singing. While the dance was going on, the Coy- 
 ote 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 Covote, " 1 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 an- 
 gry. Brother Coyote : 1 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 tesvmo, 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 
 
 Vol. I. — 20
 
 3o6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Cricket married Mister Locust ; therefore the Butterfly 
 is playino; on the guitar, and tlie Cock dances with de- 
 light, and tlie Hen is singing." iUit the Coyote said : 
 "I don't want the lien to sing; I want to eat her." 
 Then the Grey Fox took the Coyote into the arroyo and 
 told him to remain tiiere, while he went to fetch the 
 Hen. But instead of the Hen lie got two very fierce 
 dogs and i)Ut 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, vou cursed 
 old Grey Fox!" 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 1 let them out one 
 by one, or do you want them all at once?" The Coy- 
 ote replied, " Let them out all at once, that 1 may haye 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. 
 
 TME MOUXTAIX LION AXD IIIK I'.KAK 
 
 The Mountain Lion killed a deer, and the Bear 
 wanted to take it away from him. The\' fought, and the 
 Lion won, and the Bear asked his pardon, because the 
 Lion is more powerful than the Bear. 
 
 TM1-: FROG AXD TIIK COVOTE 
 
 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 start- 
 ing-point. The Coyote lost, because the Frog jumped
 
 BEAKS AS SOKCEKEKS 307 
 
 directly over to the finishinfr-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," umuli, 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, as- 
 sumed 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 dis- 
 tinction, 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 Nara- 
 rachic 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.
 
 3o8 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 
 hear or the covote approach a man, he roars to warn 
 the man ; and if the man i:>ays 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, tliat man will die." My inform- 
 ant 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 follow- 
 ing morning a man came and asked the Indian to iielp 
 him to i)urv the neighbour who had died during the 
 night. They went to the house of tlie dead man, and 
 "then," the narrator concluded, "1 knew that the grey 
 fox had said tiie truth, for tiie grev fox never tells a 
 lie." 
 -^ The grey fox and the rabbit in ancient times danced 
 
 rutuburi. 
 
 The horned toad holds the world. It says: " Don't 
 tread on me I 1 am the colour of the earth and 1 hold
 
 SWIFTS AS WITCHES 309 
 
 the world ; therefore walk earefully, that you do not 
 tread on me." 
 
 The master of the deer lives inside of the moun- 
 tains, 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 (chipawiki), which lives 
 among rocks and seldom ascends trees, is thought to be- 
 come a serpent. This belief is also current among cer- 
 tain classes of Mexicans. A Mexican told me that a 
 man once smashed the head of a chipawiki 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 ser- 
 pent. 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 Tara- 
 humare'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 (olamaka) 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. Odte a woman was sitting in a corn-field watch- 
 ing it by the side of a fire, and making yarn, when a 
 swift settled on her skirt. She told a girl to bring a
 
 310 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 large basket, with whicli she covered tlie bird up, caug-ht 
 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 abaci smell, and the woman 
 found it on her retuin 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 tiie 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 i)e()ple 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 BV LOOKS AND THOUGHTS 
 
 EVERYBODY AND EVERYTHING HAS TO BE CURED NOBODY 
 
 FEELS WELL WITHOUT HIS " DOCTOR " SORCERY THE POW- 
 ERS 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. Bv this 
 means, and by instructing the people what to do to 
 make it rain and secure other benefits, he maintains srood 
 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 i8o 
 
 311
 
 312 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 households, twenty-hve shamans are living, each of 
 whom takes care of about twenty souls, though only 
 about ten of them enjoy great reputation in tiie com- 
 munity. 
 
 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 con- 
 scientiously fast and pray, complying with the demands 
 of the gods, which impose restrictions and abstinence, and 
 they are therefore called "righteous men" (owiriiami). 
 They are the wise men of the tribe ; and as rainmakers, 
 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 tiiey generally get all 
 the tesvino they can hold. In winter time, when numer- 
 ous feasts are being held, the shamans are nearly all the 
 time under the influence of their native stimulants. Yet 
 this does not Sfcm to harm them, nor does it in the esti-
 
 HEALERS AND PRIESTS 
 
 3'3 
 
 mation 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 
 
 Tarahumare Shaman's Rattles. Length of longest, 31.5 ctm. 
 
 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 lat- 
 ter 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.
 
 314 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 When curing, tlic shamans may sometimes use 
 rational means. There is in existence around Noro- 
 gachic for instance, a kind of sweating-bath, made In- 
 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 uj) 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 exten- 
 sively in every family. There are many other highly 
 valued herbs and trees, some of which have a wonder- 
 fully refreshing and invigorating aromatic scent. Head- 
 ache is cured by a green herb called pachoco, of which 
 they smell until thev begin to sneeze. To cure consti- 
 pation they boil ari with a grain of salt, or thev heat 
 stones and pour water over them and sit over the steam. 
 
 Both the sacred little cactus called hikuli 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 tcsvino is absolutely magical, and this is the remedy to 
 which recourse is most commonly had. In administer- 
 ing it the shaman makes his customary })asses, and ex- 
 hales over the patient to blow away the disease. lie 
 also dips a small cross into the liquor, and with the 
 wetted end tai)s the sick man on the head, neck, shoul- 
 ders, and back, and draws crosses over his arms. Fi- 
 nall\ tlic j)atient is given three spoonfuls of the liquor, 
 while all the members of the family stand around and 
 murmur apjorovinglv, "Thank you, thank you." Occa- 
 sionalh' 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 pro-
 
 CAUSES OF DISEASE 315 
 
 vokc illness as well as cure it, hut he cannot cure the 
 person he made ill. 
 
 When a shanian is asked to cure a person of anv 
 complaint, real or imaginary, his lirst move is to find 
 the cause of the trouble. According- to his opinion ill- 
 ness is brought on either by the wind or by sorcery. 
 From the former kind of disease nobody dies, althou2:h 
 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, larvce, 
 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. Ill- 
 ness 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 aper- 
 ture. 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 lia- 
 ble 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 fall- 
 ing 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
 
 316 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 give food, and the sick one and his wife go from house 
 to house asking the people : " Was it you whom I re- 
 fused food ? Someone has made mc ill, and I want him 
 to make me well again." If he can tind the person 
 
 Rubio, the Shaman. 
 
 whom he had offended, and airange matters with him, he 
 will recover. 
 
 The doctor mav 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 gen- 
 erally the skill of the shaman is taxed more severely 
 and he resorts to the more direct and powerful meth- 
 ods of mairie. A ccjinmoii occurrence is that of illness
 
 THE SIC KING-TUBE 317 
 
 caused by majj^o^ots, which the shaman has to extract 
 from the patient l)v means of a suckino;-tube, a short 
 piece of reed al)()Ul three inclies long', cut from a kind 
 of reed different from that of the arrow-shaft. Fie 
 pkices it on the afflicted spot, and after sucking vigor- 
 ously 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 embodi- 
 ment of the disease, and all the people hrmly 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 tow- 
 ard 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
 
 3i8 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 himself with four ; and for treating a man in this way 
 he receives four ahiiuds 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 simikir 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 l)lanket 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 unen durably 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 mv left ear with the same 
 result. "More pain?" he asked. "Yes," I said, "in 
 my right hand." He immediatelv grabbed that member 
 in his mouth, biting almost through the skin over the 
 pulse, and after having sucked for a little while, de- 
 posited contents, of a similar nature, into the cup from 
 his mouth. It was afterward found that the blood was 
 mixed with a considerable numl)cr 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
 
 CURED OF GRASS SEEDS 
 
 3'9 
 
 nio:ht, 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 an\' 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 
 feelinir that they needed more streno"th asfainst cotninor 
 
 Rubio, the Shaman, and his WW'e at Home in their Cave. 
 
 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 whv 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
 
 320 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 about any more like fools 
 and do not get wet again." 
 And they were eontent. 
 
 There is a shaman near 
 Baqueachic (baka = liam- 
 boo reed) who has a 
 great reputation for cur- 
 ing cattle, or rather for 
 keeping them in health. 
 Every year he makes a 
 tour of the different ranch- 
 es, and the Indians hung; 
 their animals to him to be 
 treated. A large hole is 
 duo- in the ground and a 
 lire kindled in it. Then 
 some green branches of 
 the mountain cedar and 
 some copal are thrown in 
 and burned, and the ani- 
 mals driven one by one 
 through the smoke. Since 
 the veterinary gets one 
 animal for each ceremony, 
 he becomes quite rich. 
 
 The shamans also un- 
 dertake to cure the sun 
 and the moon, because 
 these, too, are often ill 
 and have to be righted. 
 Not a feast is held in 
 
 Shaman Rubio's Cave, Seen troin the wllicll SOlllC Spooufuls 
 
 Outside. from the jars containing 
 
 the remedies are not thrown up for the benefit of the 
 sun and the moon. Occasionally, however, special
 
 EVERYTHING TO BE CURED 321 
 
 ceremonies have to be performed lo eure the celestial 
 bodies, particularly the moon, because from her all the 
 stars receive their liiiht. 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 assem- 
 ble to consult about her ailment and the means of 
 curing her. An ox may be killed and tesvino made. 
 In killiuLj: 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 be- 
 fore, and in this he places the heart and burns it without 
 adding fat or anything else. The ashes he rubs be- 
 tween his fingers until reduced to a fine dust, which he 
 mixes with water and some medicinal herbs. The sha- 
 mans 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 medi- 
 cine, 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 as- 
 sistant holds in one hand a bowl containing water mixed 
 with the crushed leaves of the maguey, and in the other 
 
 Vol. I. — 21 
 
 >^
 
 322 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 some fresh maguey leaves. The tesvino, as well as the 
 green water, is liberally thrown ui)on the walls and the 
 floor of the church to lay the perturbed spirits. 
 
 Mow 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 accom- 
 plished 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. 
 
 Hiirh as the shamans stand in the estimation of the 
 people, they are by no means exempt from the instabil- 
 ity of mundane conditions, and the higher a man rises 
 the less secure is his position. The power to see every- 
 thing, 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 sha- 
 mans are as bright as the sun. But all this supjM:)sed 
 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 wa\s 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 inno- 
 cent persons have on this account been cruelly perse- 
 cuted. Such a fate is all the more liable to befall them
 
 POWERS OF GOOD AND EVIL 323 
 
 on account of the recognised ability of a shaman to i)oth 
 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 them- 
 selves up to, gradually giv^es to these men, who fre- 
 quently are richly endowed with animal magnetism, a 
 supernatural appearance. Adv^ancing 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 minis- 
 ters, 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 bet- 
 ter a shaman he was before, the more terrible a sorcerer 
 he is now supposed to have become. Soon every acci- 
 dent 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 vener- 
 ated animal and powerful rainmaker, as the toad, which
 
 324 
 
 UNKNOWN xMEXICO 
 
 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 puchote wool. To 
 the Tarahumares the brilliant little bird, often ineniioned 
 in their songs, is a good and mighty hero-god, but the 
 
 Ruhio, the Shaman, Examining a man accused of Sorcerv. 
 
 sorcerer perverts his great power to his own evil pur- 
 poses. The sorcerer is feared by all ; pregnant women, 
 especially, go out of his wav, as he may hinder them 
 from giving birth to their children. When Tarahumares 
 see a shooting star thev think it is a dead sorcerer com- 
 ing to kill a man who did iiim harm in life, and thev
 
 SOKCEKY 
 
 vs 
 
 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 j)owcrful 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 fall- 
 ing, and therefore the people were once mueli pleased 
 when they saw me photographing a sorcerer. The 
 camera was considered a pow^erful rain-maker, and was 
 thought to make the bad man clean. The people mav 
 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 ex- 
 treme 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 thev meet a bear, the sorcerer may say : " Don't 
 kill him ; it is I ; don't do him anv 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 awav and come back ; they look like fire, but 
 thev are not ; thev 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. Uncannv, 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
 
 326 UxNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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, hut 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 sha- 
 mans is extremely limited. Their rational materia 
 vicdica is confined to the hikuli cactus and a few roots 
 and plants. Aside from this they have a cure for snake- 
 bites which is really remarkable. The injured man kills 
 the reptile, cuts out its liver and gall, and smears the lat- 
 ter 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 es- 
 caped. 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 hydro- 
 phobia to eat the liver of the dog that bites one ; and in 
 the Apocrypha we read that Tobias was cured of blind- 
 ness by the gall of a fish. 
 
 Most surprising of all is the fact that this tribe, which 
 to-day shows but verv slight knowledge of surgery, 
 should in former times iiave {practised trejxmning. 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 1 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 Taraiiumare country
 
 AN INTERESTING FIND 327 
 
 by the deep Barranca de San Carlos, and there are no 
 Mexicans livino: 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, liian 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 cov- 
 ered 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 look- 
 ing 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:
 
 3^-8 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Can it be possible that this barl)aric tribe, not paiticu- 
 larlv advanced in the arts, was ca})able of trepanning? 
 The remoteness of the place entirelv negatives the sug- 
 gestion 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 fiftv vears of age. The age 
 of the specimen itself is impossible to arrive at, on ac- 
 count of the peculiar circumstances in which it was pre- 
 served. 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 j)iece of j^ine-bark, which was lying 
 
 Seen from above. Seen from one side. 
 
 Trepanned Tarahumare Skull, Female. 
 
 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, j)Ossil)le that the skeleton may be j)re-Colum- 
 bian. 
 
 The skull does not present aiiv deformities or fract- 
 ures, and the singular aperture is almost exactly round, 
 measuring two centimetres in diameter. A careful ex- 
 amination shows that the cut was made a long time, sev-
 
 TREPANNING 329 
 
 eral years in fact, before death. The reo;Lilaritv of the 
 hole indicates beyond doubt that it is artihcial. 
 
 Another skull taken from a burial-cave near Narara- 
 chic is also that of a female, and the opening' here, too, 
 is in the parietal bone, and in almost the same place as 
 the openino;" 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 distinctlv beveled, thev show that the op- 
 eration 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 con- 
 clusively that in this instance the surgeon did not em- 
 ploy 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-dav in 
 trepanning by the Berbers in L'Aures, 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 tre- 
 panning have been found in Mexico.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 RELATION OF MAN TO NATURE — DANCING AS A FORM OF WOR- 
 SHIP LEARNED FROM THE ANIMALS — TARAHUMAKE SACRI- 
 FICES — THE RUTUBURI DANCE TAUGHT UV 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 con- 
 cerned 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 es- 
 pecially 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. 
 Cenerally, however, their relations with the gods, as with 
 men, are based on the business i)rinci|>lc 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 il rain. Tlie favour of the 
 gods may be won by what for want of a belter term may 
 
 330
 
 DANCING A FORM OF WORSHIP 331 
 
 "be called dancing, but what in reality is a series of mo- 
 notonous movements, a kind of rhythmical exercise, kept 
 up sometimes for two nights. By dint of such hard 
 work they think to prevail ui)on the gods to grant their 
 prayers. The dancing is accompanied by the song of 
 the sliaman, 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 creat- 
 ures; 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 ? V 
 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 ex- 
 pressed 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 
 Avaltz and polka of civilised people. The very word
 
 332 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 for dancino;'. " nolavoa," means literally " to work."' 
 The wise oUl man may reproach lag<:;ard, inexperienced 
 younger ones, saying, " Whv^ do \-oii 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 Tara- 
 humares 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 e^od to forijive 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 onlv 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 mav 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. Tata Dios is not angrv with us ; whv 
 should he be ? Onlv when people do bad things does 
 he get angry. We make much beer and dance much, 
 in order that he mav 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 cro))s. The |)eople may 
 dance also in case too much rain is falling, or for luck in 
 held work, hunting, despatching the dead, etc.; and in 
 tills way they also give thanks for the harvest. By 
 dancing and with tesvino thev express all their wants to 
 the gods, or, as a Tarahumare told me, " We pray by 
 dancin<r and the irourd."
 
 SACRIFICES 333 
 
 With the dances is always connected the sacrifice of - 
 an animal ; the greater portion of the meat is eaten hv 
 the people themselves, who. beside, hrino; forth all kinds 
 of nice food, the best they have. Such dancing festi- 
 vals, as a matter of course, are given either by indi- 
 viduals or by the community. It is thought that Tata 
 Dios himself comes down each time to make his de- 
 mands on the Tarahumares for dancing and sacrihcing. 
 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 manv people always come together. Dur- 
 ing all these months hardly a day passes without a mes- 
 senger 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. Some- 
 times 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 peoj:>le 
 do not dance soon, all the corn will be burned up, and thev 
 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 tremendouslv. Occasionallv 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, Tata Dios mav have to content himself 
 with iskiate and tortillas. The people mav continue to 
 make feasts and to dance, and vet get no other results 
 but fresh messages, ordering still more sacrifices. Then
 
 334 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the Indians begin to argue with Tata Uius that he must 
 not be so greedy ; he has filled himself uj:) 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 
 w^anted one of them to be killed ? 
 
 Among the reasons given by the Christian Tarahu- 
 mares for continued dry weather are the following : The 
 Devil has made Tata Dios sick and has tied him up ; or 
 the Moon (Virgin Mary) is sick ; or the people have not 
 given Tata Dios enough food and he is very hungry ; or 
 the railroad engines of the Americans are making so 
 much smoke that Tata Dios is angry ; or, finally, some- 
 one 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 l)y 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 w^hich 
 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 mav do- 
 nate 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 sacri- 
 fice, they W'ill ol)tain only poor results. 
 
 The dances are always held in the open air, that 
 Father Sun and Mother Moon may look ui)on the 
 efforts of their children to please them. They dance on 
 the level space in front of the d welling, j)referal)ly
 
 THE RUTUBUKI DANCE 
 
 335 
 
 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 accommo- 
 date more people and dances near his house. 
 
 To my knowledge there are six different dances, hut 
 of these I will describe only two, the rutuburi and the 
 
 The Beginning of the Rutuburi and the Yumari Dance. 
 
 yumari, as these are the most important and the two 
 almost exclusively used in the central part of the coun- 
 try. 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
 
 336 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 house and his son, or sonic i rusted friend, may ofhciate. 
 When tlie dancing- is ahout to begin, these men lai<:e a 
 position in a Hue before the crosses, facing east, and 
 shake their rattles continuously for two or three minutes 
 from side to side, holding the instruments high uj) in the 
 air, as tlie rattling is meant to attract the attention of the 
 gods. Tiien, with the singing and shaking of the rat- 
 
 \ ties — now down and up — they move forward in a man- 
 ner similar to tluit of a schoolgirl skipping over a rope, 
 passing the crosses to a point as far east as the starting- 
 ]K)int was to the west, altogether about eighteen yards. 
 They then turn around and move back to the starting- 
 point. In this wav they keep on dancing forward and 
 
 - back three times, alwavs in an easterly and westerly direc- 
 tion, swinging their rattles down and up. while passing 
 from one point to the other, and from side to side when- 
 ever they reach it. The down-and-u|) 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 : 
 
 Introduction to Rutuburi 
 
 
 Ru - tu - l)u - ri vX- - \e - iia Rii - tu- In'i - ri va: - ye - na 
 
 Rutuburi, from one side lo the otlicr moving! RLituburi, from one side to, etc. 
 
 < > - ma wie - ka xa - ru - si. ( ) - ma \v:v - ka .\a - ru - si. 
 
 All ! many ! Arms erossed ! All 1 many I Arms crossed ! 
 
 This is the intKxkiction and j)relude to the whole 
 dance. Aftc-r this formal opening the men take their 
 places in line to the right of the shamans, and the 
 women to the left. Tl)e\' stand foi" a few minutes while 
 the shamans sing and swing tlicii' rattles, tlu' men 
 silenth' holding their arms folded o\'cr their l)rea.sts, as
 
 THE SHAMAN 337 
 
 described in the sono;. This crossing of the arms I take 
 to mean a salutation to the gods. While the Taraim- 
 mares of to-day never salute each other by shaking 
 iiands, 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 
 oi)ening 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 rous- 
 ing 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 Tarahu- 
 
 Vol. I. — 22
 
 T^T^H UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 humare, as a rule, has a harsh and not very powerful 
 singing voice, still there are some noteworthy excep- 
 tions, and the airs of the rutuburi songs are quite pleas- 
 ing to the ear. These, as all their dancing-songs, are of 
 great antiquity and strangely enchanting. 
 
 Rutuburi Dance 
 
 ^::t 
 
 _S-^--5_ 
 
 
 V4-sa-ma du - lu(- hu - ru) - si 
 In flowers (is) jaltomate,* 
 
 Sae- va-gd wi - 15 
 in flow-ers stands up. 
 
 i 
 
 t^^? 
 
 $;t 
 
 •- • 
 
 
 -#- -9- 
 
 -•- nr 
 
 •- -#- 
 
 Sae - va 
 
 • ga 
 
 wi - li 
 
 wu - ka 
 
 wii - ka. 
 
 In flowers 
 
 
 stands up 
 
 getting ripe, 
 
 getting ripe 
 
 Rutuburi Danxe 
 
 -A-- 
 
 .0. -#- 
 
 Ra - ya - bo va - mi va - mi - (ru) ra - ya - bo 
 
 (On the) ridge yon - der, yon - der (On the) ridge 
 
 m 
 
 :1: 
 
 be - mo - ko 
 fog 
 
 ra - ya - bo 
 (on the) ridge 
 
 be - mo - ko. 
 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 tlirough the evening air ; 
 
 The rains are close at hand. 
 
 When the Swift is darting through the air he makes his whizzing, 
 
 humming noise. 
 The lilue 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. 
 
 * A kind <>f tomato.
 
 THE YUMARI DANCE 339 
 
 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. Accord- 
 ing 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 move- 
 ment of the sun. The women dance in a similar way, 
 in a course of their own behind the men ; but they fre- 
 quently 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. 
 
 Yumari dance 
 
 -ft ' M -i^-FF — ^ — ^- Fi — ^— ^-Fi — p — #-HT ^=d3 
 
 Yumari variant 
 
 ^=fi. 
 
 zSifct 
 
 azrt— 1 
 
 ^-^=F^^Ht-E *n^_ E^=:^=b^=££3JJ
 
 340 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 i^2=^I^E 
 
 =se= 
 
 Yumari variant 
 > > 
 
 Nr- 
 
 finzzcz^ 
 
 :a 
 
 'Ihe yumari songs tell that the Cricket wants to 
 dance ; the I^og- wants to dance and jumj) ; 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. 
 X Unlike the rutubiiri, the vumari soon becomes tire- 
 
 some, in spite of its greater animation, ^'et the spec- 
 tacle has something weird in it, especiall)' when seen by 
 the fitful flicker of the lire, which throws a fantastic 
 light upon the grotesque figures, like goblins moving 
 about on the same space. Many mothers carry their 
 slee])ing infants on their backs. Sometimes, the blanket 
 which supports the babv loosens, and the little thing 
 hano-s half out of it, followingr every movement of the 
 ])arent. 
 
 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 praver that the shaman 
 may have strength to cure. In \-umaii, all sing And ilance, 
 and very frequenth' all the ])eifornu is 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 ; \umari, to desj^atch them. 
 Therefore, the usual dancing-feasts commence with rutu- 
 buri. W'hen the function is about to l)e concluded, an
 
 CEREMONY OF THE SACRIFICE 343 
 
 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. Rutu- 
 buri 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 com- 
 mences 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 in- 
 dicated that the stars have some connection with the 
 dancing. 
 
 At the break of dawn busy hands begin to get every- 
 thing 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 boihng (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 wom- 
 en 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 tes- 
 vino ; 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 
 
 "V
 
 344 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 put in their proper places, hchiiul the rest of the food. 
 The hitter vessels contain niedicines 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 undimin- 
 ished force. Nearly every night during the dry season, 
 for nobod}' knows how many centuries, the Morning 
 Star has been looking down upon his sons, the Tarahu- 
 mares, as they dance in the heart of the sierra, casting 
 his last rays u})on the weird scene around their dying 
 fires before he llees from the approaching keeper of the 
 dav. Just before the first beam of the rosy light an- 
 nounces 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 sha- 
 man greets him with the words, " Behold, Nonoru- 
 gami 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 tes- 
 vino, and, holding it in his left hand, throws a small dip- 
 perful of the liquor with his right hand into the air, 
 three times to each cardinal point, making the ceremo> 
 nial circuit. Then the meat and the tortillas are sac- 
 rificed 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 "Koa!" (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 car- 
 dinal points. The two assistants of the shaman follow^ 
 their [)rincijial in every act he performs. 
 
 The solemnity of the scene is l)y no means impaired
 
 Sacrificing Tesvino aUcr a Vuniari Dance. The L ru.-s \n a.-, on tl 
 with a Coloured Handkerchief.
 
 NONORUGAMI 347 
 
 by the numerous dogs, whieh are gathering to see what 
 they can snatch up. Of course, the people drive them 
 away, but in the end ihey always get Nonorugami's share 
 of the food, while the god is supposed to eat only the 
 nourishing substance. 
 
 Wliat 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 : 
 "Matetrava! Matetrava ! Kalahupo ! " (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
 
 348 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 hands thcni to the shaman, wht) puts them l)ack on the 
 blanket underneath the eross. Meanwhile the incense- 
 burners have been filled with hot coals, on which tiie 
 shaman now throws some copal, the smoke of which he 
 waves over all the people. Ele, as well as the other 
 men, open their blankets a little to j^et the smoke on 
 their bodies. This finishes the curino; act, and now a 
 speech is made. At private festivals the shaman is the 
 orator of the occasion, but at communal or tribal fes- 
 tivals the orobernador is expected to, and ijenerally does, 
 perform this part of the proceedino;s. 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 gobernatior at 
 the end of one of the feasts I witnessed : 
 
 Listen to me ! Stand up in a row and listen to 
 what 1 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 Tata Dios, and he 
 has given you life to dance ; and now he is giving you 
 life for another year. All of you will hav^e 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. Vou all are inexperienced, all of \()U 
 who are standing here in a row around. Be quiet, and 
 do all your business quietly. Drink quietly, talk (piiet- 
 ly, sing '^quietly. And do not fight, because if in the 
 fight you kill somebody, what will xou 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. \'ou 
 know it all, and the One Above knows that this is the 
 truth that I am telling you. Don't fight, don't pull
 
 TAKAHLMAKE OKATOKY 
 
 349 
 
 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 
 tesyino 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 \yith anyone. 
 
 All the time the speech is punctuated with expres- 
 sions of approval, and at the end they all say : " Mate- 
 
 Ready to Begin Eating and Drinking after a Night's Dancing ot Rutuburi. 
 
 traya ! Matetraya ! Kalahupo ! " (Thank you! Thank 
 you ! 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 eyerywhere, so that the gods will get 
 plenty to eat and grant the prayers of the Tarahumares.
 
 3^o UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 He strongly admonishes thcni to keep away from 
 women, as otherwise the value of the feast would be 
 lost. This day belongs to Tata Dios, and nothing else 
 is to be thought of. If anyone transgresses this com- 
 mand, he will have to give an ox or a sheep and tes- 
 vino, to make the feast all over again. 
 
 While the dancing and singing, sacrificing and 
 speechmaking, are going on, the people behave with de- 
 corous solemnity and formality. The ceremonies are 
 never interrupted by unseemly conduct ; everybody de- 
 ports 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 bring- 
 ing 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 in- 
 toxication." They all like to get drunk. An India i 
 explained to me that the drunken people weep with 
 delight, because they are so j)erfectly 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 1 imcs. 
 
 P>ut unfortunately this blissfid stage of their intoxi-
 
 THE FLOWING BOWL 351 
 
 cation docs not last long, and thcMi the animal nature in 
 them manifests itself. Under the iniluence of the liq- 
 uor, men and women rapidly lose that bashfulness and 
 modesty which in ordinary life arc 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 out- 
 break 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 blan- 
 kets and into the fire. Children may frequently be 
 seen with bruises and scars which they carry as memen- 
 toes 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 en- 
 forces 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 de- 
 bauches of this kind, which, if viewed from their stand- 
 point, are pro bono publico ; and we ourselves need go 
 back only to our grandfathers' and great-grandfathers'
 
 352 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 time to fintl that inebriety was nut at all inconsistent 
 with good morals and high standing. Moreover, no 
 matter how often the Taiahumares indulge in such sat- 
 urnalia, as soon as they recover their senses they are as 
 decorous and solemn as ever. Their native stimulant 
 does not seem to affect eitlier their physical or their 
 mental faculties, and, all scientific theories to the con- 
 trary, their children are strong, health v, 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 pro- 
 longed and careful research into this interesting psycho- 
 logical i)roblem, I do not hesitate to slate that in the 
 ordinary course of his existence the uncivilised Tara- 
 humare is too bashful and modest to enforce his matri- 
 monial rights and privileges ; and that by means of tes- 
 vino chietiy 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 agri- 
 cultural 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 api)arently deserted dwelling. The 
 lonely worshipper is doing his share of the general work 
 by l)ringing down the fructifying rain and by warding 
 off disaster, wiiile 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.
 
 VARIOUS DANCES 353 
 
 Solitary worshij) is also obsci\Ld by men who go 
 out hunting deer or squirrels for a communal feast. 
 Every one of them dances yumari alone in front of liis 
 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 valixiwami 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 cuvali, 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 multi- 
 plv. This is the only dance known to the Tepehuanes. 
 
 In the winter they dance for snow, a dance called 
 yohe ; and finally there is a dance called ayena, 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 
 vumari and rutuburi were once men who taught the 
 Tarahumares to dance and sing. They live with Father 
 Sun. Valixiwami and cuvali w^ere also men and com- 
 panions 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 : 
 "Sua" (rise) " vami" (yonder) " repa " (upward). This 
 
 Vol. I. — 2-;
 
 3^-4 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 is repeated three times. 1 he master of the house and 
 his wife do the same. The ceremony is performed 
 in order to helj) tiie moon to mai-ce clouds. Now all 
 present may smoke. Vhv Tarahumare never smokes in 
 the middle of the dav ; he would offend the sun by 
 so doino-. He indulire'S in the " weed" mostlv at feasts 
 when drunk. When an Indian offers another man to- 
 bacco and a drv corndeaf to loll his cigarette it is a sign 
 that everything is well between them. 
 
 Every year between March and Ma\ a large perform- 
 ''^ ance takes place on a special patio in the woods. Its 
 ]:)urj)ose is to cure or jirevent 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 Fa- 
 ther Sun, and the cross is his wife, the Moon. Some- 
 times a stuffed recamiichi (cacomistle, bassari'scKs) 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 'rarahinnares keep 
 it in the sacristy of their church. 
 
 The latter also celebrate Christmas, and on this oc- 
 casion some of them, the so-called Diaiacliincs^ paint 
 their faces and carry on tiieir backs stuffed animals, such 
 as the grey fox, squirrel, oi- opossum, while dancing to 
 the music of the violin. Thev jokmglv call the skins 
 then- DiHchachitos, and hold them as women carrv th(Mr 
 babies. At present the onlv object is to make tlu' be- 
 holder laugh ; but of course the |)lav is a renmant of 
 some ancient custom, the meaning of which is now for- 
 gotten through the new associations with which the mis- 
 sionaries of old imbued the ceremonies and rites found 
 among t he pagans. 
 
 A similar suggestion of antiiiuitv is unmistakably
 
 ANTIQUITY Ob DANCES ^^$ 
 
 embodied in the deer masks, as well as in the heads with 
 antlers attaehed, whieh 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 
 
 PLAXT-WORSHIP — IIIKLI.I INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EFFECTS 
 
 llIKLLl BOTH NL\N AND GOD HOW THE TARAHUMARES OB- 
 TAIN THE PLANT, AND WHERE THEV KEEP IT THE TARAHU- 
 
 MARE HIKULI FEAST MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS — HIK.ULI LIKES 
 
 NOISE THE DANCE HIKULl's DEPARTURE IN THE MORNING 
 
 OTHER KINDS OF CACTI WORSHIPPED " DOCTOR " RUBIO, 
 
 THE GREAT HIKULI EXPERT THE AGE OF HIKULI WORSHIP. 
 
 TO the Indian, c\ciything in nature is alive. Plants, 
 like human beinijs, have souls, otherwise they could 
 not live and orow. Manv are supposed to talk and sing 
 and to feel jov and pain. For instance, when in winter 
 the pine-trees are stiff with cold, thev weep and pray to 
 the sun to shine and make them warm. When anoered 
 or insulted, the plants take their revenge. Those that 
 are supposed to possess curative ])owers arc venerated. 
 This fact, however, does not save them from being cut 
 into pieces and steej^ed in water, which the people af- 
 terward drink or use in washing themselves. The mere 
 fragrance of liic lil\- is supposed to cure sickness and to 
 drive off sorcery. In invoking the lilv's helj) the sha- 
 man utters a pra\ir like this : 
 
 " Suinati okilivca saiva rako cheeneserovd 
 
 " IJcautitul lliis morning in l)l()()in lily thou guard me! 
 
 waminamela ke usugiti'ianii clieeolsh^loaya 
 
 drive them away (those who) make sorcery ! thou make me 
 
 grow old ! 
 
 cheeHveva tesola chapimehiva otsheloa 
 
 thou give me walking-stick (to) take up (in) old age 
 
 rimivelava Matetrava Sevaxoa 
 
 (that 1 may) Ihul ! thanks exiiale fragrance 
 
 wiln^ova ! 
 standintr ! " 
 
 356
 
 HIKULI CULTS 
 
 397 
 
 Echinocactus. 
 
 ("Beautiful lily, in blooui this inornini;, 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 aserihcd especially to all 
 species of Maniuiilaria and Echinocactus, small cacti, 
 for which a regular cult is in- 
 stituted. The Tarahumares des- 
 ignate several varieties as hikuli, 
 though the name belongs prop- 
 erly only to the kind most com- 
 monly used by them. These 
 plants live for months after 
 they have been rooted up, and 
 the eatino- of them causes a 
 state of ecstas}^ They are there- 
 fore considered dcmi-gods, who 
 have to be treated with great 
 reverence, and to w^hom sacrifices have to be offered. 
 
 The principal kinds thus distinguished are known to 
 science as Lophophoi-a William siidiVi^ LophopJwra IVil- 
 liamsii, var. Lcwinii. In the United States they are called 
 mescal buttons, and in Mexico /n'<?/^. The Tarahumares 
 speak of them as the superior hikuli (hikuli waname), 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 resem- 
 blance, 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
 
 3^8 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 in llu' illiistralion, while tin- Taraluiinarcs have several. 
 Major I. H. l^>n(i, of New N'oik. informs nic that 
 in Texas, during tlie Civil War, the so-called Texas 
 Rangers, when taken {prisoners and de{)rived of all other 
 
 /:>^^f^R #?^'|; :i^^ 
 
 Lophophora Williamsii, var. Lewinii. LophopJiora Williamsii. 
 
 Hikuli or Peyote, the principal sacred cacti. Nearly natural size. 
 
 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 svs- 
 tem, 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 wonderfidlv refreshing when 
 one has been exposed to great fatigue. Not onlv does 
 it do awa\ with all exhaustion, but one feels aetuallv 
 ])ushed on, as 1 can testif\' from j)ersonal exj^erience. 
 In this respect it resembles the Peruvian coca; but un- 
 like the latter, it leaves a certain dei)ression, as well as a 
 headache. Although an Indian feels as if drunk after 
 eating a quantitv of hikuli. and the trees dance before
 
 EFFECTS OF HIKULI 
 
 359 
 
 his eyes, he maintains the balance of liis hod}' even het- 
 ter than under normal conditions, and he will walk 
 alon<^ the edi^e of {)i"ieij)iees without becoming- dizzy. 
 i\t 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 
 
 Dry Hikuli. 
 
 health and long life and to purify body and soul. The 
 little cacti, either fresh or dried, are ground on the nic- 
 tate, while being mixed with water ; and this liquor is the 
 usual form in wdiich 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
 
 360 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 thcU it can resist illness, and is thcrcfoR' much used in 
 wardinii" off sickness. Thouiiii not ^iven to the dead, 
 since the dead are no Ioniser in need of remedies, hikuli 
 is always partaken of at the feasts of the dead. 
 
 Moreover, hikuli is a powerful protector of its peo- 
 l)le under all circumstances, and it gives luck. If a man 
 carries soim- hikuli in his belt, the hear cannot hite 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 iiring off their guns 
 at him. It gives luck in foot-races and all kinds of 
 games, in climbing trees, etc. Hikuli is the great safe- 
 guard against witchcraft. It sees even better than the 
 shamans, and it watches that nothing bad is put into 
 the food. The Christian Taraluunares, when they partake 
 of hikuli, think that the devil runs out of their stomachs. 
 Hikuli })urifies 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 suj^posed to make the cus- 
 tomary responses to the saliuations. Ilikuli is not as 
 great as Father Sun, but sits next to him. It is the 
 brother of Tata Dios ; and the greatest hikidi is his twin 
 brother, and is therefore called uncle. 
 
 Sometimes these plants are dressed up in j)icces of 
 blankets, and cigarettes are ])laced before them. Hoys 
 must not touch hikidi, and women onlv wlu'n thev act 
 as the shaman's assistants and have to grind it. As a 
 matter of fact, onlv shamans can handle it jiroperlv. and 
 even thev wash \\\v\y hands carefidlw and sometimes 
 elect not to touch it at all, making use of little sticks 
 mstead of their lingers. Certain shamans washed their
 
 CARE OF THE PLANT sfn 
 
 hands and rinsed tiicir moulhs ininicdialcly 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 
 extremelv virtuous, and mic'ht 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 him- 
 self 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. Ac- 
 cording 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 inditrenous to the Tarahumare country
 
 362 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 of to-dav. T(j ul)lain il Ioiil:, and uiuil rccrnily j)cril()us 
 journeys have to he undertaken every year to the phiteaus 
 of eastern Cliihuahua, in the Sierra del Aimolow near the 
 raihoad station of Ximenez, and to the Sierra de Margoso, 
 beyond Santa Rosaha de Camarga, crossincr the tracks 
 of the Mexican Central Railroad. From two or three 
 to a do7X'n men start out to get the plants, tirst i)urif\- 
 ing themselves with copal incense. It takes a week 
 or ten days to get to the Sierra de Margoso, where the 
 plants are chieflv found, and about a month is con- 
 sumed on the entire journew lentil ihev reach the 
 hikuli countr\-, the Tarahumares may eat anything ; 
 but once there, they must abstain from ever\ thing ex- 
 cept pinole. Upon arriving at the spot, the pilgrims 
 erect a cross, and near it thev })laee the first plants 
 taken uj), that these mav 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, thev lie down in silence and sleep. The fol- 
 lowing dav, when perfectly sober again, thev begin early 
 in the morning to collect the plants, taking them uj) 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 ])laced in a separate bag, because, if thev 
 were mixed together, they would fight. The bags are 
 carefully carried on the backs of the men, as the Tarahu- 
 mares generally have no horses. 
 
 In the field in which it grows, it sings beaut ifullv, 
 that the Taraliumare ma\' lind it. It savs, " I want to 
 go to your countr\', that you mav 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 ])il- 
 low, could not sleej), he said, because the j)lants made 
 so much noise.
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR FEASTS 363 
 
 When the liikuli-seckcrs arrive at tlieir homes, the 
 people turn out to weleome the plants with music, and 
 a festival at wliich a shecj) or a g'oat is sacrificed is held 
 in their honour. On this occasion the shaman wears 
 necklaces made of the seeds of Coix Lacliryuia-yobi. In 
 due time he takes them off, and places them in a bowl 
 containing water in which the heart of the mag'uey has 
 been soaked, and after a while everyone j)resent gets a 
 spoonful of this water. The shaman, too, takes some, 
 and afterward wears the necklaces again. Both plants, 
 the Coix Lacliryina-yobi 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 LacJirynia-Jobi, as 
 big as a mountain. 
 
 The night is passed in dancing hikuli and vumari. 
 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 vear, feasts may be held espcciallv in 
 honour of hikuli, but generally the hikuli dance is per- 
 formed simultaneously with, though apart from, the ru- 
 tuburi or other dances. On such occasions some sha- 
 mans devote themselves exclusively to the hikuli cult, 
 in order that the health of the dancers may be pre- 
 served, and that they mav 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
 
 364 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 special palio. For the occasion a level i)iece 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 <j:^o into the woods to ijather 
 fuel for the larp^e fire which will be needed. The hre is 
 an important feature of the hikuli-feast, a fact indicated 
 bv the name, which is na{)itsi)i nawliruga, literally, "mov- 
 ino- (i.e. tlancing) around (nawliruga) the fire (na})itshi )." 
 There seems to be a preference for fallen trees, i)ines 
 or oaks, but this may be because thev are found in 
 plenty everywhere, are drier and l)urn 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 west- 
 erly direction ; but not imlil after sunset is the tire 
 lighted. 
 
 The master of the house in wliich the feast is to be 
 held gives some plants to two or three women ap- 
 pointed to the office of shaman's assistants. At an 
 ordinary gathering, a dozen or two of the ])lants suffice. 
 The women are called rokon'), which means the stamen 
 of the rtower, 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 hantls 
 most carefully before touching them ; and while they 
 are grinding a man stands by with a gourd, to catch anv 
 stray drop of li(|uor that may drip from the metate, and 
 to watch that nothing of the precious lluid is lost. Not 
 one dro|) must Ix,' spilled, anil e\'en the water with which 
 the metate is afterward washed, is added to the li(]uid. 
 The drink thus j^roduced is slightly thick and of a dirty 
 brown colour. 
 
 The shaman (sometimes there are two) takt'S his 
 seat on llic ground to the west of tlie lire, about two
 
 HIKULI LIKES NOISE 365 
 
 yards off, i)n the opposite side of tlie dancii\<i^-plaee, 
 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 tire. On one occa- 
 sion 1 observed that the men grouj)ed themselves on 
 one side of the shaman, tiie women on the other. Close 
 i)y the shaman's seat a hole is du^", into which he or his 
 assistants may spit, after havin^j; drunk or eaten hikuli, 
 so that nothing may be lost. After this improvised cus- 
 pidor has been used, it is always carefully cov^ered with 
 a leaf. 
 
 As soon as the shaman has seated himself, he takes 
 a round drinking-gourd, and by pressing its rim firmlv 
 into the soil and turning the vessel round, makes a cir- 
 cular 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 
 mav 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 re- 
 placed by a wooden vessel of similar shape; but in any 
 case it is firmlv planted in the ground to serve as a res- 
 onator 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 m the house to 
 die. The noise produced bv 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.
 
 366 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Shaman's 
 Notched 
 
 Stick. 
 Length, 
 75 ctm. 
 
 VT: 
 
 -4 
 
 The nuLclicd slick, as well as the rasping-stick, 
 is made from the heav\ . hard Brazil-wood, brought 
 from the viciiiil\- of San Ignaeio. the hikuli coun- 
 try. The shaman holds, the notched stick in his 
 left hand, a little awav from himself, so that it 
 touches the vessel at a j)oint 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 illus- 
 tration, from a Tarahumare burial-cave, are appar- 
 ently of considerable age. The Ind- 
 ians to whom I showed them did not [ 
 know them, but they all affumcd that 
 they were rasping-sticks. On two 
 sides of one of them are slanting lines, 
 wdiich symbolize the road of Tata 
 Dios ; on the intervening sides are 
 transverse lines which represent fall- 
 ing rain. As the implements were 
 found near Baborigame, they may 
 ])ossibly have belonged to the Tepe- 
 huanes, 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 ([uite at [ 
 the point, and runs his rasping-stick 
 quickly and evenly, about lwentv-si.\ 
 times, toward himself, and awav 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 rei)eated three times, 
 
 X 
 
 
 I.eriKth, 
 
 46 Ctlll. 
 
 LenRth, 
 40 ctm. 
 
 Ancient 
 
 Notched 
 
 Sticks.
 
 THE HIKULI DANCE 367 
 
 and is the prelude to the ceremony. Now he Ijegins to 
 sing, accompanying himself with even strokes on the 
 notched stick, playing regularly, one stroke as long and 
 as fast as the other, always lirst toward himself, then 
 down again. His songs are short, lasting onlv al)Out five 
 minutes. 
 
 Presently the shaman's assistants, men and women, 
 rise. They carry censers filled with burning charcoals 
 and copal, and emitting a heav^y smoke, and proceed 
 toward the cross, to which they ofTer the smoking in- 
 cense, kneeling down, facing east, and crossing them- 
 selves. This feature, if not wholly due to Catholic influ- 
 ence, 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 pre- 
 vious places. The men receive from the shaman rattles 
 (soiiajas) 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 com- 
 mence. 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 per- 
 formed by the shaman's assistants, and consists of a pe- 
 culiar, (juick, jumping march, with short steps, the dan- 
 cers 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. Af- 
 ter six or eight rounds, thev 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
 
 368 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 around once, tlicn, danciniLi,' as hctoic, moves on to the 
 dancin_o;-j>lacc j^ropcr. Now and then ihc dancers ii'ivc 
 vent to wliat is supi)Osed to l)e an iniitation of tlie 
 hikiili's talk, which reminded me of the crowino; of a 
 cock. Heating- tlieir mouths quickly three times with 
 the hollow of their hands, thev shout in a shrill, falsetto 
 voice, "Ilikuli vava ! " which means, "llikuli over 
 yonder ! " 
 
 The women take their turns sej)arate from the men, 
 though sometimes thev dance simultaneously with them. 
 Thev 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 
 w^ear 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, interru})ted only once or twice, when 
 he sees fit. He })olitelv 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 
 notihes Ilikuli by striking the notched stick several 
 times (juickh' with the rasping-stick, and linishing off 
 with three slow beats. 
 
 His songs describe how Ilikuli walks with his rat- 
 tles and with his staff of authoritv ; he comes to cure 
 and to guard the |)eoi)le and to grant a "beautiful" in- 
 toxication. '!() bring about the latter lesult, the brown- 
 ish li(|uo)" is dispensed from a jar standing under the 
 cross. A man serves it in small {|uantities from a gourd, 
 which he first carries around the lii'e on a rapid iim, 
 making three circuits for the shaman, and one for the 
 rest of the assemblage. The spirits of the feastcrs rise
 
 
 CJ
 
 HIKILIS DKPAIMIKE 371 
 
 in proportion to their potations. Sometimes only the 
 shaman and his assistants inchilije in the drinlvinij ; on 
 other oecasions all the people partake of the liquor. 
 
 SoNc. TO rill. IIiKriJ 
 
 \wf% — ^~~^'^~i^~"r;^~i:rF>~"^ — ^^^^f '^"1'^~" ^ ^ "^T ^ '"^"^~^^~^1 
 
 tj " • • '^-0~~^- ^ • Ht- -0- ~0- ~ ■J~~^~'^- 
 
 Hi -ku - li o - kii - li - va- va Ta - mi - s;e- li - va re - ga 
 Hikuli, uncle! Our authority thus! 
 
 ±4E±ES ^^" 
 
 
 A - go - na wi-li si - rife Na-na-ja re-gd we -14 
 
 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 suc- 
 cumbs 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 return- 
 ing to duty. Toward morning all the assistants are 
 struggling hard to overcome somnolence, while the sha- 
 man sings and rasps as conscientiously and enthusiasti- 
 cally 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
 
 372 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 front of each one, he solemnlv dips the point of the 
 rasping-stick into the water, and after touching the 
 notched stick lightl\- with the wetted end. hrst in tiie 
 middle, then on the lower c-nd. and tinalK' on the toj). 
 he daubs tiie head of the person three times with it. 
 Then he rests the end of the notched stick against the 
 man's head and rasi)s three long strokes from end to 
 end, throwing out his hand far into the air after each 
 stroke. The dust produced by the rasping, infinitesi- 
 mal though it be, is powerful in giving health and life. 
 Now he turns toward the rising Sun, holding out his im- 
 plements 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. Bv- this act, three times 
 performed, he waves Hikuli home. In the early morn- 
 ing, Ilikuli had come from San Ignacio and from Sata- 
 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 Ilikuli should not come to the 
 feasts, there would always be on the Tarahumares the 
 breath or stain of sorcery. 
 
 Having bestowed his blessings, Fiikuli forms himself 
 into a ball, and flies home to his countrv, accom|)anied 
 by the owl, who also liies to its shelter at that hour. 
 
 The dust ])roduce(l by the rasping of the shaman in 
 the course of the night is carefuUv gathered up and 
 kept in a buckskin bag as a powerful remed\' for future 
 use. 
 
 After the feast evervbody has to wash his face and 
 hands, a duty esteemed most important. 
 
 Besides hikuli waname ordinarily used, the Tarahu- 
 mares know and worship the following varieties :
 
 OTHER CACTI WORSHIPPED 
 
 373 
 
 1. Mulato (^Manimilaria niicromeris). — This is be- 
 lieved to make the eves lar<j:e and clear to see sorcerers, 
 to prolong life and to give speed to the runners. 
 
 2. Rosapara. — This is only a more advanced vegeta- 
 tive stage of the preceding species — though it looks (]uite 
 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 preci- 
 pices. It is therefore very 
 effective in frightening off 
 bad people, especially rob- 
 bers and Apaches. 
 
 3. Sun ami {Manirni- 
 lai'ia Jissiirata). — It is 
 rare, but it is believed to 
 be even more powerful 
 than waname 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 waliila sailiami. — 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 orrowinsf in clusters of from eio-ht to twelve inches 
 in diameter, resembling waname with many young ones 
 around it. All the other hikuli are his servants. The 
 
 Manunilaria fissuruta.
 
 374 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 reason why so few of these plants are brought to tlie 
 Tarahumare eountrv is that lie is very greedy, re- 
 (liiiiiiig oxen for food, not being satisfied with sheep, 
 goats, or anything else. Therefore hut few Tarahu- 
 mares can afford to entertain him in their eountr\'. 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 Tarahu- 
 mare land, and he is alway full of thoughts of how he 
 may cure his sons, the Tarahumares. He never dies. 
 When a person is verv ill, and there is no such hikuh 
 in the country, the shaman in his thoughts tiies 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 ex- 
 pressed 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 
 jjeople. l)Ut 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 m\' wa\' with a cane, my Indian 
 attendant inmiediateiN- warned me, " Leave it alone, 
 or it will make you fall down precipices." 
 
 At one of the feasts whieii 1 witnessed I wished to 
 taste hikuli. as it was new to mc. A li\el\' discussion 
 arose between the shamans, and I was fmallv told that I
 
 TASTE OF HIKl LI 375 
 
 mio;ht sit with liiciii, as it was known that I liad some 
 of the sacred plants in m\' possession. The condition 
 was made, however, that 1 should take off my sombrero. 
 It iiaj)pened to i)e a cold and windy December night, 
 but 1 obeyed and put my handkerchief over my head, to 
 which no objection was raised. The man who carried 
 the oc)urd, fnst danced in front of the shaman, then 
 around the fire, and finally brought it to me. The liquid 
 tasted somewhat bitter, but not exactlv 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 thev 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 bv 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 
 raj)idly ran around me in one ceremonious circuit, and 
 said in a scarcelv audible voice: "Thank vou for the
 
 37^> 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 time voLi have been with me ; ncnv go with him ; I 
 will give V(;ii food before vou go." The smoke of copal 
 w^as blown over the })lants in the basket, that thev might 
 eat; and 1 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 
 $io for them, 1 contented myself with three. 
 
 On my way back to civilisation, 1 spent some time 
 at Guajochic, near which j)lace the great hikuli expert. 
 
 Shaman Ruhio and His L'umpanv at a Hikuli Feast. Photographed after a 
 Night's Singing and Dancing. Rubio is Seen to the Right. 
 
 Shaman Rubio, lives. He is a truly pious man, well- 
 meaning and kind-hearted, living up to his principles, 
 in which Christianity and I^aganism are hainioniously 
 blended. He is highly esteemed by all his countrvmen, 
 who consider him the greatest hikuli shaman in that 
 part of the Tarahumare country. His profession brings 
 him a verv comfortable living, as his services are con- 
 stantly in demand, and are j)ai(l for l)^' line pieces of 
 the animals sacrificed, l^'or curing the people he even 
 gets monev ; <ind what with ])raying and singing, drink- 
 ing" tesvino and hikuli, fasting and curing the sick, he 
 passes his (la\s in the happy conx'iction that he keeps 
 the world going. From him 1 ol)tained si)ecimens of
 
 DR. RUBIO 377 
 
 tlie various kinds of cacti which ihc Tarahumares wor- 
 sliip, — a hctraval of tlic secrets of the tribe, for which 
 the other shamans punislied him by forbidciin_(^ 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, feehng 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 1 know 
 about this plant-worshij), 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 l)rought some copal tied up in a cotton 
 cloth, and after heating the incense on a piece of crock- 
 ery 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 Chihua- 
 hua 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 recentlv the people of Guachochic also went 
 to fetch plants, and a few may yet undertake the jour- 
 ney. One old man showed me some hikuli which he 
 had gathered thirty-five vears ago. At Nararachic they 
 use hikuli all the year round, that is, as long as they 
 have corn, because " hikuli wants tesvino." The |)eo]ile
 
 378 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 in the l)arrancas are too timid to <iO on the exj)eclitions, 
 and thev buy the plants at tlie j)riee of a sheep a})iece. 
 The purchaser holds a feast, not onlv when he brings 
 the demi-god to his home, but also a \ ear after the event. 
 In the eastern section of the country, and in the foot- 
 hills around Rio Fuerte, hikuli is not used at all. It is 
 very rarely planted by the Tarahumares ; the onh' in- 
 stance I saw of it was in Tierras A^erdes. 
 
 A significant light is thrown on the antiquitv of the 
 cult, as well as on the age of the tribe itself, bv a cer- 
 tain 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 
 Gushing, 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 closelv allied, for ex- 
 ample, 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 : 
 
 
 Tarahumare Medicine Figure 
 Mexico. 
 
 Ancient Ritualistic I^etrograjih, 
 Arizona. 
 
 Others which 1 have recorded are even more strikingly 
 similar, I have ahvays supposed that these figures were 
 desiirncd for "medicine" ecivmonials. but thou<rht of
 
 ANTIOUITY OF THE CUl/l 379 
 
 them ml her iis i)crLainini;" to the medicines of the ele- 
 ments, wind, min, 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 1)\- hndinu; in connection with 
 some of them little cup-shaped concavities pecked into 
 the anu;les of the fiorures (as a, a, a). Vou will observe 
 that a line is drawn from the middle and straight por- 
 tion of mv lii^ure 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-ani- 
 mal god, one only of a number of semi-human mvstic 
 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 cu}) of the 
 "good" medicine, and in his right hand the cu}) of 
 " bad " [i.e., strong) medicine. If in the light of this 
 you re-examine vcmr figure, vou 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 al- 
 ways 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 sav), the other med- 
 icines. I throw this out as a suggestion, yet with much 
 confidence in its at least approximate correctness as indi- 
 cated by my comparative studies. Probablv a consul- 
 tation of your notes and the remembrance of variations 
 of the ceremonv vou have seen, will signifv to you 
 whether I am right or not. Remember that if these 
 people have this ceremonial in connection with the 
 treatment of disease, thev will also have it in the treat- 
 ment of the weather, etc., when " diseased," so to sav. 
 You have opened uj) a new significance of many out- 
 lines among the older lava-remains, and if mv record of 
 these in turn has hel|:)ed to explain VH)ur diagram, etc., 
 you can judge of my pleasure and appreciation."
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE TARAHUMARF.'S FIRM BELIEF IN A FUTURE LIFE CAUSES OF 
 
 DEATH THE DEAL:) ARE MISCHIEVOUS AND WANT THEIR FAM- 
 ILIES 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 onlv a 
 change of form. They certainly believe in a future life, 
 but they are afraid of the dead, and think that they 
 
 .--^v^ 
 
 CH1«. R-KplOMT- 
 
 Mourning. 
 
 want to harm the survivors. This fear is caused by 
 the supposition that the dead are lonelv, and long for 
 the com pan V of their relatives. The dead also make 
 people ill. that they too ]na\- die and join the (l('i)arted. 
 When a man dies in spite of ail efforts of the shamans 
 to save his life, the people say that th(jse who ha^'e gone 
 
 380
 
 JEALOUSY OF THE DEAD 381 
 
 before have called him or carried him off. The de- 
 ceased are also supposed to retain their love for the 
 good things they left behind in this world, and to he 
 trving" everv wav lo get at ihcm. So strong is the feel- 
 ing that the departed still owns whatever proj)erty 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, l)ut makes them sit u}) i)\' 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 sev- 
 eral 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 peo- 
 ple, to make them ill, and })ossibly cause their death. 
 Sometimes the dead are viewed as spirits, and the sha- 
 man sees them Hying 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 sup)~)osed to be about at night; there- 
 fore the Tarahumares do not like to travel after dark, 
 for fear of meeting the dead, who whistle when thev 
 pass the living. Only shamans can travel at night, al- 
 though sometimes even they have to fight with the
 
 382 INKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 dead, who come runnini:; oul of the caves on all fours. 
 In the daytime the Tarahumares are not afraid of the 
 dead, tlu)UP:h even then \hc\ do not dare to visit burial- 
 places, modern or ancient, i found it diflicult to get 
 Indians to carrv bones of skeletons excavated from 
 ancient burial-caves, and even the Mexicans would not 
 allow their animals to carr\' burdens of that kind, for 
 fear that the mules would get tired, that is to sav, plav 
 out and die. 
 
 When a person dies, his eyes are closed, his hands 
 crossed over his breast, and the relatives talk to hi.m 
 one bv one, and bid him good-bve. The weeping 
 widow tells her husband that, now that he has gone and 
 does not want to stav with her any longer, he must not 
 come back to fri":hten her or his sons or daughters or 
 anyone else. She implores him not to carry any af 
 them off, or do anv mischief, but to leave them nil 
 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. 1 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 liberallv 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 (ox or coyt)te, ])oleeat or rat, is sure to 
 be attracted bv the smell of the food; but the j)eople 
 believe that it was the departc-d who returned in the form 
 of the animal to iret his food. A shaman, without even
 
 DISPOSING OF THE DEAD 383 
 
 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 })oles and carried by two men. Women never 
 go with them to the funeral. As soon as the under- 
 takers hav^e accomplished their task, they immediately 
 wash their j)ersons well. Uj)on 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 accord- 
 ance with the formation of the tioor 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 l)odies of grown per- 
 sons are stretched out to their full length, but with chil- 
 dren the knees are generally drawn up. 
 
 This is one wav 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 
 l)its of charcoal, which was explained by the fact that 
 during the first night the mourners keep a fire near the 
 grave, which to-dav 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
 
 384 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the Icfl of his hciul, as well as a small jar of tesvino. 
 Another small jar of tesvino is i)laeed near his feet, as 
 well as his how and arrows, the stone with whieh the 
 arrows are stretched, reeds and sinews, his steel for strik- 
 ins; fire, the small stick with which paint is put on the 
 arrows, his suckinc^-tuhes when the deceased has been a 
 shaman, in fact all his lii2,ht-wei^iu i)elongings, besides 
 balls of gum from the pine-tree, necklaces of Coix Lach- 
 ryma-Jobi, and a hikuli i)lant. Mxerything heavy, such 
 as his axe, machete, beads, and mone\', 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 })lace 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 
 burv 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 ver\- ugl\' dog might l)e born 
 of them. The house is always destroyed, and the nic- 
 tate 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. (Jne or two slice}) 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 readv the feast conies off, 
 although comi)aiativelv 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
 
 THREE FEASTS AND A CHASE 385 
 
 the age of tlie i)crson. For adults the ordinary tortiUa 
 is used ; to youiiir 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 every- 
 thing 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 fiower. 
 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 fiower. 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 ani- 
 mal 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 
 
 Vol. I. — 2^
 
 386 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 of it, iij)siilc clown. The shaman heals this Qourd with 
 a corn-cob fastened to the end of a little stick. His as- 
 sistants help him, one by swinging the rattle, the other 
 bv singing. After a while the shaman lifts the bowl 
 up and after carrving it about in three ceremonial 
 circuits throws it into the air. It falls to the ground 
 and breaks into many pieces, and the j)e()ple dance and 
 trample on the shreds and on the drinking-gourd. 
 
 The voung people conclude the function by running 
 a race of some hundred yards. The men ha\e their ball, 
 and as thev run they scatter ashes to the four cardinal 
 points to cover the tracks of the dead. They return re- 
 joicing, 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 bv. A 
 fire was lighted, and one man had to watch here. On 
 another j)atio one cross was raised, and a branch from a 
 pine-tree placed next to it. Here, too, a jar with tes- 
 vino and a basket with uncooked meat were deposited, 
 and one man and two women kept watch, but no cere- 
 monies were performed. A third patio was for the hi- 
 kuli cult, where the shaman rasped and sang. On the 
 fourth i)atio, vumari was danced, and one large cross 
 and two smaller ones had been erected. T^inally, on the 
 fifth patio four torches of resinous pinewood, each a yard 
 high, were j)laced at the four cartlinal points. A peculiar 
 feature was that one man alone danced here between 
 these four torches, ciUting with his knife three times 
 through each tlame as he danced. This he did in reprises.
 
 BURIAL CUSTOMS 387 
 
 According to the nanus which the Tarahumarcs 
 apply to the three functions for the dead, the main idea 
 of the tirst is to give food ; of the second, to replenish 
 the first supi)ly ; and of the third to give drink. The 
 three feasts are on an increasing scale of elaborateness, 
 the first being comparatively insignificant. Mach gen- 
 erallv lasts one (la\' and one night, and begins at the 
 hour at which I he dead bieathed his last. There is 
 always a special i)atio prepared for the dead, and an- 
 other one for the hikuli cult, besides the ordinary dan- 
 cing-place, and much howling and singing goes on, es- 
 pecially at the last. 
 
 At the feasts, the shaman steeps herbs in water and 
 sprinkles this medicine over the people. Hikuli dan- 
 cing 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 man, 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, an^•one 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 projierty 
 out of which he considered himself cheated. He hr.d 
 chano^ed into a lion. Two men and two women carried 
 food and tesvino ; the wife did not go with them, as
 
 388 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the deceased had died alone, and she was afraid of being 
 carried off hv him. I lis father-in-law led the proces- 
 sion, 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 per- 
 sonality, powerfull)- built, and a shaman of great repu- 
 tation, who in his entire bearing showed his determi- 
 nation to keep the dead at bay. He seemed to exercise 
 a reassuring intfuence 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 af- 
 fected almost to tears. The speech was a kind of dia- 
 logue with the dead, the speaker supplying the re- 
 sponses himself, and this is the gist of it : 
 
 Why are you there ? — Because I am dead. — Why 
 are you dead P^Because I died. — Whv did you die ? — 
 Because I chose to. — That is not right. Vou have no 
 shame. Did vour mother, who gave vou birth, tell vou 
 to do this ? Vou are bad. Tell me, whv did you kill 
 yourself ? — Because I chose to do it. — Now what did
 
 KEEPING AWAY THE DEAD 389 
 
 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 fan- 
 tastic 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 de- 
 ceased 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 incanta- 
 tions and much tesvino to get his head up, and as much 
 more to redeem his body. Sometimes the head falls
 
 390 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 prop- 
 erly despatched from this world. Where a body had 
 been buried, the bones that were not taken away had to 
 be covered up again. One Taiahumare sold me the 
 skeleton of his mother-in-law for one dollar. 

 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THREE WEEKS ON FOOT THROUGH THE BARRAN'CA — RIO FUERTE 
 — I GET. MY CAMERA WET ANCIENT CAVE-DWELLINGS AS- 
 CRIBED TO THE TUBAR INDIANS THE EFFECT OF A COMPLI- 
 MENT — 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. Eveiithing 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 1 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 re- 
 cently 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 bv the river Fuerte, which, with its many trib- 
 utaries, waters as many barrancas. The main one, 
 
 391
 
 392 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 descend- 
 ed into the barran- 
 ca, which now felt 
 almost uncomfort- 
 ably warm, after 
 the piercing winds 
 of the highlands, I 
 iirst visited the pla- 
 teaus on the south- 
 rvn side, where the 
 Indians have still 
 kept themselves 
 tolerably free from 
 the white man's 
 evil inrtuence and 
 are very jealous of their land. One night, while 
 camping in a deep arroyo with very steep sides frown- 
 ing down on us, one of the Indian carriers woke us 
 
 View from the North across Barranca de San 
 Carlos, near Guachochic.
 
 Kio fuektp: 393 
 
 with the startlino; 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. lie lost his breath, Init 
 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 through- 
 out. Sometimes its two sides rise almost perpendicu- 
 larly, 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 wav. But gen- 
 erally 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 Mexi- 
 cans, who had stomach-aches and lost their appetites 
 after eating them. The Indians made the same com- 
 plaints, 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 grey- 
 ish 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
 
 394 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 let it dip into the water. The prospect of being pre- 
 vented, perhaps for a long time to come, from photo- 
 graphing, was very annoying. Six plate-holders were 
 so wet that I could not even draw the shutters out, but 
 luckily 1 had more elsewhere. 
 
 We came upon several ancient cave-dwellings, all of 
 which were rather small, and attributed by the Tara- 
 humares to the Tubar Indians. One of them was sit- 
 uated 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, l)ut the building widened out very much, follow- 
 ing 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 1 secured the skull and some 
 typical bones. 
 
 Not far from this, and situated in verv rough coun- 
 try, 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 fairlv 
 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 cham- 
 bers, which were miserabb' small. The floor was plas-
 
 dc San Lar'.o,-,, in u.-> Upper Part.
 
 CAVE CHAMBERS 
 
 397 
 
 tered, and in some 
 rooms 1 noticed circu- 
 lar holes sunk into the 
 ground in the way that 
 I had aheady observed 
 in Zapuri. There were 
 also small square holes, 
 the sides being six 
 inches long in the 
 front wall. 
 
 Twenty miles from 
 here, and just north of 
 the pueblo of Cav^o- 
 rachic, was a third cave 
 which contained thir- 
 teen 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 round- 
 ed at the corners. Pe- 
 culiar 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 fami- 
 
 One of my Companions in Barranca de 
 San Carlos.
 
 398 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 lies were encountered, airl two of those lived here onlv 
 temi)orariiv. 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 somebodv now 
 and then, although, unfortunatelv, no one had anything 
 to sell, exxept a few small fish, the people being them- 
 selves as hard u}) 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 sat- 
 isf\' our wants. One item in our menu, new to me, but 
 common throughout northern Mexico, was really excel- 
 lent when we could procure the very simple material 
 from which it was made, namely squash-seeds. These 
 were ground verv fine and boiled in a saucepan. This 
 dish, which is of Tarahumare origin, is called ])ipian, 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 corncakes 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 ani- 
 mals, and as he did not return after a reasonable lapse 
 of time, and as we were all hungr\-, 1 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 lit- 
 tle attention to either of us, but her personal attractive- 
 ness at once imj)ressed me. She was still in her best
 
 EFFFXT OF A COMPLIMENT 
 
 399 
 
 years and luul hue l)iioht eyes. A ril)l)on d\'ed with 
 the native vellow d\e from liehens ran throuirh the 
 l)raids of her hair, and was marvellously beeomin^i; 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 
 an\lhinii-, and I have been struggling hard." " Of course, 
 she will sell," said I, " handsom^^ as she is I " at which 
 
 The Widow Grinding Corn in her Camp. 
 
 remark of mine I noticed she smiled. Though I judged 
 from the way in which she wore her hair, in tw^o 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 interpre- 
 ter, who brought the glad tidings that she had made 
 up her mind to sell, and that I might send for the ani- 
 mal whenever I wanted it. The price was one Mex- 
 ican 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
 
 400 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 that mv felicitous compliment brought about this happy 
 result. 
 
 Durins: our travels alono: the river, everv dav we 
 came upon traps for catching fish. The Tarahumares 
 have various modes of fishing. Sometimes they man- 
 aofe to catcii iish 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 (yPtcris aqiiilina). When the fish at- 
 tempt 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 wel- 
 come. 
 
 In the central part of the country they use a spear 
 made of a thin reed and tipped with thorns of the no- 
 pal. Sometimes it is shot from a diminutive how, like 
 an arrow. But a more interesting wav is to hurl it bv 
 means of a primitive throwing-stick, which is nothing 
 but a freshly cut twig from a willow i^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 ihc left hand, the stick in the right. Tiie flat*part 
 of tlie latter is j^laced against tlie end of the spear, 
 wliicli is slio-htlv flattened on two sides, while the end
 
 CATCHING FISH 
 
 401 
 
 is squarely cut off. By i)rcssing one against the other, 
 the throwing-stick is hcnt, and sufficient force is pro- 
 duced 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 pa- 
 tiently for a fish to come, and as 
 soon as he has hit it throwing him- 
 self into the water to grab it. 
 
 But a more profitable way of 
 catching fish is by poisoning tlie 
 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 some- 
 what 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, Bow and Throwing-stick 
 one for each side of the river. It for the Fish-spear. A 
 
 , . , , , . modern Fish -spear with 
 
 is then- duty to see that everythmg -^^^ ^^-^^^^ ,„d thrown 
 
 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 
 
 Vol. I.— 26 
 
 bv hand is seen to the 
 left.
 
 402 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the fish that drift along, irrespective of anv private traps 
 that mav be found on the phice. Fish caught in the 
 
 latter belong to those who put up 
 the traps. While constructing these 
 corrals, tiic 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 })ound 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 (Walula), which 
 makes an ugly noise. Every river, 
 water-hole, and spring has its ser- 
 pent that causes the water to come 
 up out of the earth. 
 They are all easily of- 
 fended ; and therefore 
 the Tarahumares place 
 their houses some little 
 distance from the water, 
 and when thev travel 
 avoid sleeping near it. 
 Whenever the Tarahumares make pinole while away 
 from home, thev sacrifice the first ]:>art to the water- 
 serpents, drop])ing it with the little stick with which the 
 pinole is stirred. Thev sjirinkle 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 
 
 The Amolc, a Species of Agave.
 
 POISONING THE WATER 403 
 
 to their own UukI. 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, tread- 
 ing 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
 
 404 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 clay (luantities 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 bv dancing vumari and drinking maguey wine. 
 On one occasion as much was caught as ten men could 
 carry. Expeditions of this kind mav be repeated two 
 or three times a year ; but when food is plentiful a 
 whole year mav pass without one being undertaken. 
 
 Palo de la llecha, 1(K), 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 hu- 
 man skin, makes it smart like a burn. The water is poi- 
 soned 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 precau- 
 tion got some juice in his eves and was blinded for three 
 days, though an aj)])lication of salt water finally cured 
 him. 
 
 Although a single man may poison fish in a small 
 way even in winter, he is hardlv likeh' 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 efifect of the poison. 
 
 In summer-time tiu- Indians mav also improvise a 
 net with the help of their blankets, and drag the river 
 at suitable |)laces. Parther down on the Rio r\ierte, I 
 once saw them make a large and serviceable net by fas- 
 tening sixteen blankets together lengthwise with a dou- 
 ble row of wooden pins. Along the upper edge of this
 
 A BLANKET SEINE 407 
 
 net they made a liem three inelies deep, and through this 
 they passed vines securely joined to,<retiier hv means of 
 the fibres of the inaLiuc'\' to do dul\- as rojjcs. The op- 
 posite edge of the net had a hem four ineiies deej) and 
 this was filled with sand to sink it as it was drairired 
 in. The hoys and girls were told to go aiiead 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 hea\'y. 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 
 
 PESUMPTION OF THE JOURNEV SOUTHWARD — PINUS LUMHOLTZII 
 
 COOKING WITH SNOW TERROR-STRICKEN INDIANS — A GEN- 
 TLEMANLY HIGHWAYMAN AND HIS " SHOOTING-BOX " THE 
 
 PERNICIOUS EFFECT OF CIYILISATION UPON THE TARAHU- 
 
 MARES A FINE SPECIMEN OF THE TRIBE THE LAST OF THE 
 
 TARAHUMARES. 
 
 FROM this trij) I returned to San Carlos, mainly 
 over the highlands south of the barranca, and 
 shortlv afterward was able to continue m\' journey 
 toward the southwest. The cordons here, generally 
 speakinij, have a southerly direction, runnings parallel to 
 each other. 
 
 Reaching at one i)lace an elevation of 8,800 feet, I 
 had a fine view of the entire central part of the Tarahu- 
 mare country, seeing as far as Cerro Grande, at the 
 northern end of the llano of Guachochic, in which direc- 
 tion the country, as a matter of course, looked ([uite flat. 
 Nearest to us were wild-looking arrovos and cordons, 
 covered in the lower })ortions with oak-trees, and higher 
 up with pines. We were in the midst of vast i)ine for- 
 ests, and even the country north of us looked like one 
 uninterrupted forest of pines. 
 
 The Tarahumares have names foi- six kinds of j)ines. 
 One species, first met with near Tutuhuaca. was new to 
 science. Though not a large tree, it is verv ornate, ow- 
 ing to its slcndci-, whip-like brandies, and its hanging 
 needles, from eight to ten inches long. It grows here 
 and tlieie in grcnip;- at iiiiih altitudes, on decomposed 
 
 40b
 
 PINUS LUMHOLTZII 
 
 409- 
 
 volcanic tuff. The needles arc IkmIccI by ihc Indians 
 and the Mexicans, and the decoction used as a remedy 
 for stomach troubles. It is not disagreeable to take, the 
 
 Piiius LumhoItz.il. 
 
 taste resemblincr that of anise-seed. The Tarahumares 
 prefer the wood of this variety of pines for the makmg 
 of their violins. I found this species as far south as the 
 sierra above Pueblo Nuevo, in the State of Durango.
 
 410 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Tlic vc2:ctation of ihc Siena Madic is incomparably 
 stronger and more luxurious than that of the cold North. 
 The pine-trees in higher altitudes, for instance in Nor- 
 way, appear miserably puny and almost stunted when 
 comixired with the giants of the South. Trees of loo to 
 150 feet high and 10 to 15 feet in girth are fre(]uent. 
 We noticed some species of })ines the needles of which 
 were over a foot long. 
 
 The region through which we were ])assing 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 willi- 
 out 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 
 wav 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 allaving their fears, 
 they answered our (juestions readily. It appeared that 
 two men from this j)lace had recently been hanged by 
 some people from Cicncga Prieta, the ranch for wiiich 
 we were making. C)ne of the victims had been re- 
 vived, but the other had died. My Indian boy Patricio 
 knew about the outrage, too, 
 
 I had at the outset been warned airainst robbers
 
 A GENTLEMANLY HIGHWAYMAN 411 
 
 south of (iiiacliochic, and advised never to sleep in 
 houses — a thing- I rarely did, anyway, for other reasons. 
 One man especially, Teodoro Palnia, had an unsavoury 
 reputation as a "gentlemanly highwayman." In the des- 
 olate region where his residence lies, his father had main- 
 tained a band of valiant men, who made regular plun- 
 dering- expeditions, driving cattle away, etc. It was a 
 common tale that travellers wIkj 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 sufih- 
 ciently 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 ; be- 
 sides, 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 re- 
 turn the next day. In the mean time the superintend- 
 ent 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 establish- 
 ment, 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 scoldinc^ the superintend
 
 412 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 ent, but on perceiving me he stepped forward to receive 
 me. This modern Fra Diavolo was about thirty years 
 old, rather short of statuie, but unusually well built. He 
 wore an embroidered brown jacket and a blue waist- 
 coat, and around his neck was thrown a man}'-coloured 
 scarf. On one side of his sombrero was a scarlet rosette. 
 Under it gleamed brown, i)iercing eyes. His hair was 
 cut short. Altogether he was quite good-looking, ex- 
 cept for a cruel, sensual expression of the features. His 
 entire manner, erect carriage, and quick, decisive move- 
 ments 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 Govern- 
 ment, and explained what I was doing in the sierra. Af- 
 ter 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 1 was molested I should apply to 
 him for assistance, since he w^as 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 pro- 
 visions, saving he did not accept pavmcnt from his 
 guests. This was rather embarrassing, but there was no 
 way out of it, and I had to accept it. 1 afterward sent 
 him a copy of his photograph to even up matters. 
 
 The guide with whom Don Teodoro had provided 
 me j)ointed out to us a place wheie his master last year 
 killed and robbed a man. " He is a i)oor 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 aboiu him 
 are true, he certainly deserved his fate. He ne\er dared
 
 PERNICIOUS CIVILISATION 413 
 
 to go down to the lowiimds, because " he owed so many 
 dead," as the savins; goes. A few years before my 
 visit, an American iiad been killed and robbed in the 
 vicinity, and his countrymen in Ciiihualuia offered a re- 
 ward 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 re- 
 ward he invited him to his house and shot him down in 
 cold blood. 
 
 I arrived safely in Guadalupe y Calvo, a once flour- 
 ishing 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 col- 
 umns of the temple of his religion. The Mexican Cen- 
 tral 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 Ind- 
 ians 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 Tata Dios, and thus preventing him 
 from guarding them. In the engine itself they see the 
 Devil with a long tongue and a big beard.
 
 414 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Worse than that, the foot of civihsation destroys his 
 liomc ; for the whites draw the houndary Hne of his 
 country closer and cIosit. The l)ctter chiss of Mex- 
 icans keep to theniseh'es, and seldom, if ever, bother 
 about the IncUans at their doors, whose mode of liviu": 
 and way of thinking are so different from their own. 
 The class of whites on the borderland of such civilisa- 
 tion as the Tarahumare comes in contact with is not the 
 kind that will or can improve him, being ignorant and 
 unscrupulous. The Indian civilised l)y them is a very 
 unpleasant person to deal with. lie has learned to 
 cheat and to steal, and he no longer carries out his con- 
 tracts and agreements. Having learned the value of 
 money, his greed is awakened, and he begins to look 
 out only for his own proht. 
 
 The first white men with whom the Indian gets ac- 
 quainted are the traders who speak his language, and 
 whose sole aim is to enrich themselves at his expense 
 and compel him to deal wdth 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 nionew 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 wa\' of getting lid of the 
 unwelcome and obtrusive white than bv vielding to his 
 demand. The agreement is made that he must return 
 the so-called loan on a certain date, two or three monllis 
 hence; the Indian, of course, hax'ing no almanac, easih' 
 makes a mistake in his calculation, and the date passes. 
 The dealer has gained his point. Me saddles his horse, 
 looks uj) the Indian, and makes a great to-do about all 
 the trouble he is put to in collecting the del)t, charging 
 not only enormous interest for overtime, but adding
 
 CREDULITY OF NATIVES 415 
 
 exorbitant travcUino; expenses and fees. He succeeds 
 bv threats and intiniidaticjn in o;ettin<2i; his dama<res ad- 
 justed in such a way that, in return for tiie paltry sum 
 he lent the Indian, he now drives off two or three oxen. 
 
 The Indians, being honourable in their dealings, do 
 not at fust 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 pav two cows for each ox, but not having 
 any cows with him he left his horse and saddle as se- 
 curity. The Indian is still waiting for the cows. When 
 I expressed my surprise at the ease with which he al- 
 lowed hmiself to be swindled, he replied that the Mexi- 
 can "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
 
 4i6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 authorities, insisting upon his paying for all the require- 
 ments for another feast, as he has spoiled tlie value of 
 the one on whieh he intiuded. In the eential })art of 
 the country, near Norogachic, they may even kill such a 
 transgressor. 
 
 It is generallv through mescal that the Indians be- 
 come peons. When the Indian has once developed a 
 taste for mescal, he will pav an\thing to get it, lirst 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, w^ho deal out miserable wages to the 
 descendants of the owners of the land on which the 
 usurpers groW' rich. Before the occupancy of the coun- 
 try by the new masters, the Tarahumares never knew 
 wdiat poverty was. No wonder that the Christian 
 Tarahumares believe that hell is peopled so thicklv with 
 Mexicans that there is not room for all. Some 
 have been crowded out, and have come to the Tara- 
 humares to trouble them. The Indians in some dis- 
 tricts have been cheated so much that thev 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 (heir 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
 
 TARAHLMAKE SOLDIERS 
 
 417 
 
 every way superior to any Mexican servant I ever liad. 
 When not busv with her kitchen work, she was mend- 
 ing lier own or her two children's clothes. While very 
 distrustful, she was o;ood-teni|)cred and honourable, and 
 si)oke Sj)anish fairly well, and 
 her eyes indicated unusual in- 
 telliirence. A white man had 
 deserted her to marry a Mex- 
 ican woman, and she grieved 
 much, but in time she be- 
 came reconciled to her fate, 
 though she declared she would 
 never marry again, as all men 
 were bad. 
 
 The Tarahumares have 
 made excellent soldiers in 
 fio^hting- for the Government, 
 In one of the civil wars, their 
 leader, Jesus Larrea, from 
 Nonoava, a pure-bred Tara- 
 humare, distinguished himself, 
 not only by braverv and deter- 
 mination, 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 Tara- 
 humare country, they are of pure breed. Here the 
 women object to unions with outsiders, and until very 
 recently light-coloured children were not liked. Moth- 
 ers 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 
 
 Vol.. I.— 27 
 
 Civilised Tarahumare Boy.
 
 4)8 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 perish, and such chiUh-cn arc often ^iveii awav to he 
 adopted hy the Mexicans. Jn the hordcT districts, how- 
 ever, the Inchans have heconie nuich Mexicanised and 
 interniarr\' freelv with the whites. 
 
 Be it said to the credit of those high in autiioritv in 
 Mexico, they do all in their power to j")rotect the Ind- 
 ians. But the Government is practicallv j)owerless to 
 control the scattered population in the remote districts. 
 Besides, the Indians most preyed upon hv the siiari)ers 
 cannot make themselves understood in the ofhcial lan- 
 guage, and therefore consider it hopeless to approach 
 the authorities. ^ In accordance with the liberal consti- 
 tution of Mexico, all natives are citizens, l)ut the Ind- 
 ians do not know how to take advantage of their 
 rights, although sometimes large bodies have banded to- 
 gether and travelled down to Chihuahua to make their 
 comjdaints, and have always been helj)ed out — for the 
 time being. The efforts of the Government to en- 
 lighten the Indians by establishing schools are baffled 
 by the difficultv in finding honest and intelligent teach- 
 ers 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 trust- 
 worthy. Profit is no inducement to them, as they be- 
 lieve that their gods would be angi\' with them for 
 charging an undue j)rice. As a matter of fact, they sell 
 corn all the vear round, whether it be scarce or plentiful, 
 at the same p^rice, though the Mexicans charge them 
 very different prices. The almighty dollar has no 
 devotees among these Indians. They ha\e no need of 
 aught that moncN' can buv, and are swayed bv j persua- 
 sion 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 thev have to buy some necessity of life.
 
 A 1 INK SPECIMEN 
 
 419 
 
 Among the pagans in Pino Ciordo I met the finest 
 specimen of the Tarahumare tribe, a shaman, called 
 Juan Ignacio. Altiiough he had never been as far as 
 Guadalupe y Calvo, and only twice in his life to Babori- 
 
 |uan fgnacio and his Son, Pagan Tarahumares. 
 
 game, and had thus spent all his life in the mountains 
 among his own peo})le, he showed a courtesy and tact 
 that would have graced a gentleman. He took splen- 
 did care, not only of myself, but of mv 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 tem- 
 per, and was truthful, a rare quality among Tarahu- 
 mares, as well as square in his dealings. His upright- 
 ness and urbanity commanded respect even from the
 
 420 I'NKXOWX MEXICO 
 
 Icnguarazes, antl thcv did not rob him as much as the 
 other In(hans of the district ; consc(|Uciulv he was quite 
 well-to-do. 
 
 While liviiiu' amons^- the heathen, of whom there are 
 yet some thi'ee thousand left, I had no fear of bein^' 
 robbed of anv part of my outfit. The Indians them- 
 selves would not touch anything;, and there were no 
 stiange Mexicans about. If they had come, the Tara- 
 humares would have immediately warned me. Every- 
 thing- was perfectly safe as long as I had an honest 
 interpreter. The Tarahumare in his native condition is 
 many times better off, morally, menlallv, and econom- 
 ically, than his civilised brother ; but the white man will 
 not let him alone as long; as he has anvthing worth 
 taking away. Only those who bv 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 storv over again, in America, as 
 in Africa, and Asia, and everywhere. The simple- 
 minded native is made the victim of the progressive 
 white, who, bv fair means or foul, deprives him of his 
 countrv. Luckilv, 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 
 lirst crushed, before he can be assimilated by the new 
 condition of things? 
 
 Future generations will not find any other record 
 of the Tarahumare;. than what scientists of the present 
 age can elicit from the lips of the jieople and from 
 the study of their imi)lements and customs. They
 
 MAKERS OF HISTORY 421 
 
 stiind out to-day as an interest i no- relic of a time lon<? 
 gone by ; as a reinesentative of one of the most im- 
 portant staii^es 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 
 
 CKRKO DE MUINORA, THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN' IN CHIHUAHUA 
 
 THE NORTHERN TEPEHUANES TROUIiLES CROPPING OUT OF 
 
 THE CAMERA SINISTER DESIGNS ON MEXICO ATTRIBUTED TO 
 
 THE AUTHOR MAIZILLO FOOT-RACES AMONG THE TEPE- 
 HUANES INFLUENCE OF THE MEXICANS UPON THE TEPE- 
 HUANES, 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 meas- 
 uring Cerro de Candelaria. Approached from the north 
 it looked like a lonsf-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 Hock 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 1 had ever seen before in ])ine forests. 
 Blackbirds, the brown creepers {ccrthici), and red cross- 
 bills were seen on the very top. 
 
 422
 
 THE NORTHERN TEPEHl ANES 423 
 
 From Cjuadalujic v Calvo I continuctl m\- journey to 
 the norllnvesl in ordci- to visit the Tej)ehuanes, about 
 fifteen hundred of wiioni still exist here in the northern- 
 most outpost of the tribe's former domain. Only seven- 
 
 A Tepehuane Family. 
 
 teen miles north of Guadalupe y Calvo is the Tepe- 
 huane village Nabogame (in Tepehuane, Navdgeri, 
 " where nopals [navo] 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 ap- 
 propriated a considerable portion of the country, though 
 the Tepehuanes are largely in possession of their land,
 
 4^4 
 
 rXKNOWX MEXiCO 
 
 because thev arc more valiant than the Tarahumarcs, 
 antl can only he dcjirived of their |)i()|)('rt\- throuLih the 
 aij;ency of mescal, for wiiich tlK'\' have an unfortunate 
 weakness. 
 
 The Tepchuanes are less phlcLiniatic and more im- 
 pressionable and impulsive than the Taraiumiares. One 
 woman lauo;hed so much tliat she could not be jihoto- 
 
 Old Log-Houses near Nahogame. 
 
 graphed. 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 Tarahumarcs, but retain their ])roud and inde- 
 pendent manners. 'I4ie\' behave almost like men of the 
 world in comj)arison with the unsoj)histicatcd 'I arahu- 
 mares. In the eyes of some of the Tepehuane women 
 1 noticed a fire as bright as in those of Italians, 
 
 These Indians li\e in commodious log-cabins, with 
 interlocked corners. The loofs are gablc-d antl often
 
 RESEMBLANCES AND DIFFERENCES 425 
 
 supported by piles of wood. I'licy arc covered with 
 shingles, over which arc jilaccd rows of stones to keep 
 them in j)lace. The doors are furnished with jambs. 
 
 Tile Tepeiiuanes call themselves Odami, the mean- 
 in_<j of which 1 could not lind out. I3y the Tarahu- 
 niares they are called Socio ("walking-stick" insects 
 {phasniid(c), in Mexican-Spanish canipaiuochc). 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. 
 
 S(1XGS OF THF, 'rE?KHUAXE TklBE 
 
 Last Soxg Sung at the Feast when the Morning Star 
 
 Appears 
 
 ^v=::jv=::zi:: 
 
 i • *— ^ 
 
 i 
 
 So - (so-) da - gi u - ki - (j'l-) ru tu - va - 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 cere- 
 monies, 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 pubertv, none of which have been 
 found amon<r the Tarahumares.
 
 426 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Ignorant Mexicans, who liavc hut a faint idea as 
 to who is })resident of their country, more than once 
 have attributed land-2:ral)bino; intentions to my expedi- 
 tion. With mv three or four Mexicans and Indians and a 
 dozen ])aek mules, I have been credited with designs of 
 concjueiing Mexico for the .Americans. Even here in Na- 
 bogame 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 earrv 
 off all of them, and it would be better to kill him." I 
 was to meet the people on a Sunday, and in the morn- 
 ing I received this discouraging letter written by a Mex- 
 ican 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 ue Nabogame, January 29, 1S93. 
 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 con- 
 cerned, I do not give permission. Therefore, you will please decide 
 not to pass this day in this pueblo photographing. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 JosK H. Arroyos, 
 
 General. 
 To Mr. I'uturemakkr. 
 
 Taking my Mexican attendant with me, I walked 
 over to the ]:)lace where some twenty Indians and sev- 
 eral Mexicans had assembled. The scheming instigator 
 of the trouble had brought his rille with him, to give 
 weight to his words ; but the Mexican judge was on my 
 side, and after he had read mv letters from the Govern- 
 ment, he made a speech in which he convinced the peo- 
 ple that thev must obev the authorities. The Tepe- 
 huanes soon saw the force of his argument, and the 
 defeated agitator slunk away. The outcome of the dis-
 
 h
 
 A SPECIES OF WILD CORN 429 
 
 pute was that the Indians expressed their rcg^ret that 
 there were nut more of them })resent for me to photo- 
 graph ; if I desired, tiiey would send for more of their 
 tribe to eome and pose before the eamcra. 
 
 Around Xaboirame grows a ])lant called viaizillo, 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 onlv ; 
 others mix it with the ordinary corn. I was told that 
 people from the Hot Country come to gather it, each 
 taking awav 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 mv informant there stated that the 
 plant is triennial. In that locality it is called uiaiz dc 
 pajaro, and it is cultivated as a substitute for the ordi- 
 nary 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 countrv is now 
 almost open, yet magnificent })ines 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 cam}) of San Jose, I arrived
 
 430 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 in Baborigaiiic (Fcpchuanc, \'a\vulilc =" where there 
 is a laro:e tio-tree"). The pueblo is finely situated on a 
 llano one mile and a half in diameter, and surrounded 
 1)V prettv hills. I took up m\- abode in a Tej)ehuane 
 shant\- in the neiiihi)ourhood of the village. The owner 
 asked for the rent in advanee, and for the amount of 
 fifty eentavos Air. llartmanand I seeured the riuht of 
 oeeui)ane\.', without time limit. I sta\'ed there from 
 March 31st to iVpril 30th. There are a couple of Mexi- 
 can stores at Baborigame, and the village is more Mexi- 
 can 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. 
 
 1 was told that native travelling merchants from 
 southern Mexico, called Aztecs and Otornies, pass 
 thiough 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 a la Tarahumare were arranged as part of the 
 general festivities of the season. Two hundred and 
 ninety people assembled, among them a few Tarahu- 
 mares. There were several races, the runners being: 
 divided into different groups, men and women (married 
 and unmarried), and childien. As among the Tarahu- 
 mares, two parties opj)osed each other in each race, and 
 the men ran with balls, the women with rings. The 
 married women, although fat and hea\'\', made better 
 time than the young girls. 
 
 The runners who dist inguislu'd themseh'cs most were 
 the married men, ranging in age from eighteen to thirty 
 years, the best of whom made thirteen ciicuits in three
 
 Sl^ORTS AND OTHER CUSTOMS 431 
 
 hours and one minute and a half. I measured the cir- 
 cuit, and found it to he 9,223 feet lon^' ; therefore the 
 total distance run was nearly twenty-three miles. The 
 two men who came in lirst, one a Tcpehuane, the othei' 
 a Tarahumare, showed no sij^ns of fatiij^ue. Bv 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 carrv 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 vears, but 
 rarely get it back, for the "neighbours" have a powerful 
 agent in mescal. The enormous proht 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
 
 432 
 
 rXKXOWX MEXICO 
 
 quaiuiu- he realises elsewhere at least $5. In other 
 words, on an outlay of, sa}', $50, he earns a c^ross $1,200 ; 
 deduetino" expenses for transportation of the corn, etc., 
 leaves still a net profit of at least $1,100. 
 
 The Tepehuanes have medicine lodo;cs in remote 
 places, where they secretly gather once a month, or 
 
 \ 
 
 Tepehuane Medicine Lodge near Mesa de Milpillas. 
 
 every other month. The name of the lodue is \\lkir 
 Nuidadu (vakir = the inside of the house; nuidadu = 
 where there is singin<^ ; /.^■.,"the house where there is 
 sinixinji; inside "). Here they sino- to call down their i^od 
 Tiini, wiiom tiiev also call their brother-in-law ((lunosi). 
 He instructs the siiaman how t(j })roceed to pret rain, 
 and to a\'ert evil, 1)\- makinLT tes\'ino and 1)V dancing.
 
 RELKHOUS CEREMONIES 433 
 
 The (ratlicrino; at the inedieine \()d<xc begins at dusk, 
 three shamans being present. A eross is raised and 
 many kinds of flowers from tlie 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" (\^ol. II, Chap. XI), called in 
 Tepehuane, yagete. 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 un- 
 til nearly midnight, when a noise is heard on the 
 roof, as if somebody were walking there. The Indians 
 sins: on, and the walk ins; on the roof is heard three 
 times. At last the roof opens, and behold sorriebody 
 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 bor- 
 ders 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, " Vaigase ! " 
 and the assemblage responds in the same w^ay. 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 simplv stretches out his arm, saying nothing, 
 and a full drinking-gourd is placed in his hand. When 
 
 Vol. I.— 28
 
 434 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 pe()j)le 
 
 make tesvino for 
 him. He vanishes 
 like a breath, noise- 
 lessly. 
 
 Immediately after 
 he has gone, a fe- 
 male deity comes, 
 whom they call San- 
 ta Maria Djada 
 (mother ; that is, the 
 moon). The same 
 salutations are ex- 
 changed, and the 
 women ask her to 
 sing. She, too, re- 
 ceives tesvino, and makes a speech, the trend of which 
 is that thev 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 wav. 
 
 (^ucuduri 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 
 eo to a wrestlincr-contest with Cucuduri in the forest. 
 He throws an arrow on the ground, and the little man 
 appears and agrees to ])ut 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. 
 
 A Well-known Tepehuane Shaman.
 
 BELIEFS OF THE TEPEHUANES 435 
 
 The fisherman hears in the ripple of the tlowing wa- 
 ter the weeping of Cueuduri, and throws three small fish 
 to him. If he should not do this, he would catch noth- 
 ing. Cueuduri 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 
 delaved 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, be-
 
 436 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 cause 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 larv?e on the 
 madrona-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 tight 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 Jiving 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-leav^ed oak-tree. 
 He told the women it was deer-blood, and thus he sus- 
 tained 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 BKOKKN COUNTRY — THE ENORMOUS 
 
 FLOWER-SPIKE OF THE AMOLE SUBTROPICAL VEGETATION OF 
 
 NORTHWESTERN MEXICO DESTRUCTIVE ANTS THE LAST OF 
 
 THE TUBARS A SPECTRAL RIDE P.ACK 'i'O 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, in- 
 habited ahnost 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 mtolcrably hot, and it was a relief to get up now 
 and then on the strips of highland that intersperse the 
 countrv and look as fine as i)arks. At the hiorher al- 
 titudes I noticed a great number of eagle ferns, and 
 the Indians here plant corn in the small patches be- 
 tween the ferns, merely putting the grains into the 
 gravelly red ground without tilling the soil at all. 
 
 Lower down were g-roves 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 bnrrancas, and on the slopes 
 over which we descended into the valleys, an astonishing 
 number of parasites and epiphytes was observed, espe- 
 
 437
 
 438 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Salvia elcgans, var. 
 soriorensis. 
 
 ciall\- on tlu' j)incs and oaks. The round vcilow clusters 
 growing on the branches of the oaks sometimes oi\e 
 
 tlie entire forest a vel low- 
 hue. In the foot-hills I 
 saw a kind of })arasite, 
 whose straight, limher 
 branches of a fresh, dark 
 green colour hang down 
 in bunches over twenty 
 feet in lengtii. Some 
 epiphytes, which most of 
 the year look to the casual 
 observer like so many 
 tufts of hav on the 
 branches, jjroduce at cer- 
 tain seasons extremelv 
 pretty flowers. 
 
 In the vallevs of the 
 western inclines of the sierra there is nothing 
 suggestive of tropical luxuriance or romance 
 in the landscape, which impresses one chieflv with its 
 towering mountains and vast slopes. Grass is plenti- 
 ful enough among the stones and rocks, and grouj)s 
 of fresh green trees indicate where ground is moist and 
 water to be found. The country is dr\', and fiom Jan- 
 uary to June there is no rain. Vet an aloe, which 
 smells like ham, is so full of juice that it dri})s when a 
 leaf is broken. This, too, is the home of the agaves, or 
 centur\'-j)lants, and I know of nothing so astonishing as 
 the gigantic tlowxM--spike that shoots upward from the 
 comparatively small plant called amole. One line dav 
 in May 1 came uj:)()n one, which 1 measured. It was bv 
 no means the largest one to be found, but the spike 
 itself, witliout the stalk, was 15 feet 8 inches in height, 
 and 31 inches in circumference at its thickest j)art. It
 
 A GIGANTIC FLOWER-SPIKE 
 
 439 
 
 seemed a pity to cut down such a nia<;nilicent si)ecimen, 
 1)LU, as I wanted to count the llowers, I had one of niv 
 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 laro;e as a tulij). It re(]uired two men 
 to carry the spike, and as they walked they were followed 
 by a multitude of humming-birds, which remained fear- 
 
 The Flowcr-Spike of the Amole. 
 
 lessly 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 verv palatable, sweet, and tender. 
 
 Below the Indian village of Coloradas stands an iso- 
 lated peak 400 to 500 feet high, in regard to which the 
 Tarahumares have the following legend : A Tepehu- 
 ane once cut bamboo reeds and tobacco, down on the 
 river, and being followed uj) bv the Tubars changed 
 himself into this stone. The man's girdle can still be 
 made out.
 
 440 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 ^ 
 
 At the villai^c mv intcrpictcr asked mc for the cover 
 of a eoj)V of London 7V/////, and ft)r the \vrapi)er on 
 my photograj)hic fihns, that with these pictures lie 
 might adorn the altar of the old adobe church. 
 
 The country is but thinly populated east and north of 
 Moielos. and the steepness of tlie valle\s through winch 
 the Indians are scattered, makes it difhcult to reach 
 them. At the time of mv visit these Indians had abso- 
 lutely nothing to sell us but the sweet mescal stalks. 
 
 In the end of May I reached 
 Alorelos, an old mining place, 
 about 1, 800 feet above sea-level. 
 The surrounding hills and 
 mountains were covered with the 
 tvpical Mexican vegetation of the 
 warm regions. The many odd- 
 shaped cacti form a strong con- 
 trast to the light and j)innate 
 leaves of the numerous legumi- 
 nous shrubs, acacia, sophronia, 
 etc. The chilicote, or coral-tree 
 (^/'l'///;'<z^^?), with scarlet flowers, is 
 seen everywhere; also palo bianco, 
 wilh a white stem, looking like 
 an apple-tree. The year 1893 ^^''^^ ^^^ exceedingly dry 
 one throughout northern Mexico. My mules, oliliged 
 t(j 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 thi- vegetation. The 
 trees and plants did not seem affected by rain or no rain. 
 The onlv exception I noticed was that tlie flat, leaf-like 
 joints of the nopal cactus shrivelled up a little on the 
 surface, i)Ut the fleshy inside seemed as juicv as ever. 
 Even during the dryest season the trees and shrubs here 
 blossom and bear fruit, and monimgs and evenings the 
 
 Cere us ccespitosus.
 
 INSFXT PESTS 441 
 
 air is filled with the j)crfunic of acacia?, cacti, and other 
 plants. One is at a loss to understand how the cattle 
 can sLihsist on these shrubs, but they have adapted them- 
 selves 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 frui>;al Indian is the only one who does not reject 
 it, but manaoes to burn off the biggest spikes while 
 toasting the tripe on cinders. 
 
 Near Alorelos are ancient house ruins, some round 
 and some square, and also traces of circular fortifica- 
 tions 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 lati- 
 tudes anvthing may be easily cultivated is often proved 
 bv 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 mul- 
 titude 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 Mo- 
 relos to be measured and photographed. The few repre- 
 sentatives of the tribe I saw had ofood ficfurcs and small
 
 4+2 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 hands and feet. They seemed to be shy, but rather 
 kind-hearted, jolly peoj)le, resemblinii: the Tarahumares 
 in appearance. They are found from the villaire of San 
 ^Vndres, three miles from Morelos, as far as the village of 
 
 Frunt \'iew. 
 
 Tubar Man. 
 
 Tubares. According; to tradition their domain extentled 
 in former times much higher up on both sides of the river, 
 to where Baborigame is now. But thev were graduallv 
 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
 
 A VANISHING TRIBE 
 
 443 
 
 arc now not more than a coujjIc of dozen puie-hrcd Tu- 
 bars left, and onh^ li\e or six of these know their own 
 lano:ua_<^e, which is related to the Nahuatl. The name 
 of the tribe as pronounced by themselves is Tuvalim. 
 
 'i'ubar Women. 
 
 Most of the Tubars are found in the pueblo of San 
 Miguel, seventeen miles from Morelos, down the riven 
 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 marrv 
 Mexicans. The customs of the Tubars evidently re- 
 sembled much those of their neighbours, the Tarahu-
 
 444 UNKNOWN .MEXICO 
 
 mares, who until recent years invited them to their 
 dances. The Tubars danced yohe, and the dancers ac- 
 companied their sintjino^ bv beating" two Hat sticks, like 
 two machetes. Thev did not use hikuii. In the sacristy 
 of the church in the old Tubar villag-e of San Andres, I 
 found a complete tesvino oiittit, jars, sj)o()ns, etc., the 
 vessels turned bottom uj:), ready for use. The saints, 
 too, must have tesvino, because thev are ijreedv and ex- 
 acting, and have to be propitiated. The Tubars are 
 said to have worn white girdles. 
 
 Mr. Martman, whom 1 left in San Mio^uel to con- 
 clude some investigations, returned a few weeks later to 
 the United States. On the small ])lateaus near San 
 Miguel, two lumdred feet or more above the river, he 
 found interesting old tomb^. which were well known to 
 the inhabitants under the name of dorcc^as. The pres- 
 ence 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 si.K feet. They consisted of small chambers excavated 
 in the clayey soil, and were well jireserved, though thev 
 contained no masonry work; still at one place a voke 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 clav. 
 
 Beads of Burnt Clay, from Vv,,u\c of the distriel reported, 
 
 Tubar Tombs. Natural Size. ■ i • 
 
 however, thai small )ars of 
 
 earthenware had been found in the l>ori'(/iiis. No doubt 
 
 the absence of skeletons was due sold}- to the length
 
 TRAVELLING BY NIGHT 44^ 
 
 of time that liad elapsed, for even in tiie cemetery of the 
 church Mr. liartman found similar tombs that contained 
 several skeletons. These tombs were indicated by the 
 same kind of stone circuits as the rest, but were only 
 a!)Out tiiree 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 moon- 
 light, 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 blowintr, makino- 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 al- 
 most perpendicular rock, four to six hundred feet high, 
 where I counted twenty nests. 
 
 In travelling down to Tierra Caliente there is one
 
 44^ UNKNOWN Mr:xico 
 
 place at whicli oik' must leave the river and ascend to 
 the pine region. This is below the village of Tuhares. 
 The river narrows here and forms rapids, and it has been 
 calculated that the water in Hood-time rises sixty-five feet. 
 Alligators do not go above these rapids. In two days' 
 journey from Alorelos one may reach the undulating 
 country of Sinaloa, hx casta, which is warmer even than 
 the barrancas. 
 
 At San Ignacio I left the river, and turned in a 
 nortlicasterly direction to Batopilas. After five days' 
 pleasant sojourn at Mr. Shepherd's hospitable home 
 there, 1 again ascended the sierra, and, after visiting the 
 Indians of Santa Ana and its neighbourhood, arrived 
 at Guachochic. Leaving m\- 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 tne Indian ranches, and finally 
 arriving at Carichic (in l\irahumare Garichi, " where 
 there are houses," probably ancient) on July 31st. At 
 less than an hour's distance from the place I was over- 
 taken 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 raj^idly 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.
 
 ON A MOUNTAIN ROAD 447 
 
 One year later I was ai^ain in (Jarichic, and from 
 there I made my way to Guaehoehic. One night 1 had 
 to spend in the house of a civihsed 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 
 wav^ 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 
 Guaehoehic, 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 Guaehoehic, and pursued my way through regions 
 inhabited by Tarahumares and Tepehuanes. A stammer- 
 ing 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 w^inter 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 at- 
 tacked 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,
 
 448 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 is the common Indian belief. My Tepchiiane servant 
 took an intense interest in the arguments. His face be- 
 came suddenlv animated with fear, and the thouo:ht 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 re- 
 assuring- in regard to robbers at night, and from that 
 time on he was really a valuable man, active and alert. 
 
 There is a small colon\' of Tarahumares living a few 
 miles north of Guanazevi, near San Pedro. Here I ex- 
 cavated some corpses that had been buried several years 
 before on a little plain, llie graves were about four feet 
 deep. In Guanazevi a silver "bonanza" was in lull 
 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 ex- 
 plored 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 Coco- 
 yomes. 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 bv treasure-seekers. As a 
 curiosity, I mav 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 gav little procession of men and 
 women passed my camp, some on horseback, others 
 walking. One of the riders played the violin, another
 
 FUNERAL CEREMONIES 449 
 
 one heat a drum. An old wunian who just then stepped 
 up to sell something; ex{)lained to me that " an angel " 
 was heing huried. This is the designation a])plied to 
 small ehildren in Mexico, and I could see an elahorate 
 white hundle on a hoard carried aloft hy a woman. My 
 informant told me that when a child dies the parents 
 always give it joyfully to heaven, set off iireworks and 
 dance and are jolly. They do not weep when an infant 
 dies, as the little one would not enter Paradise, hut 
 would have to come hack and gather all the tears. 
 
 The way southward led through undulating coun- 
 try 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 me- 
 mentos 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 Ital- 
 ians, 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 qiiicro"' ("I want peace"), al- 
 luding to the terrible defeat of the Indians by the Span- 
 iards in the seventeenth century. There is reason to be- 
 lieve 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 vari- 
 ous parts of the valley. They held their own success- 
 fully against the Tepehuanes until 1616. when these, to- 
 
 Voi.. I. — ?9
 
 4)0 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 gethcr with the Taraluiinaivs and other tribes, rebelled 
 ag^ainst them. All the natives rose sinuiltaneouslv, 
 killed the missionaries, burned the ehiirehes, and drove 
 the Spaniards away. A force of Indians estimated at 
 25,000 marched ao;ainst the city of Durango, carrying- 
 fear everywhere, and threatening to exterminate the 
 Spanish ; i)ut the governor of the province gathered to- 
 gether the whites to the number of 600, " determined 
 to maintain in peace the province which his Catho- 
 lic 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 cen- 
 turies, 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 madronas.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 WINTER IN THE HIGH SIERRA — MINES — PUEBLO NUEVO AND ITS 
 
 AMIABLE PADRE A BALL IN MY HONOUR SANCTA SIMPLI- 
 
 CITAS 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 MIS- 
 SIONARY TIMES STRANGERS CAREFULLY EXCLUDED EVERY- 
 BODY 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 per- 
 manently. The now extinct tribes, to whose territory 
 this region belonged, dwelt, no doubt, in the valleys be- 
 low. 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 lonclv, cold, 
 and silent woods, now and then interspersed with a 
 slumbering snow-field, it was a real pleasure to come sud- 
 denly, 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» 
 
 451
 
 4)2 UNKNOWN iMEXICO 
 
 The air was filled with perfume, and it was lovely to be 
 on these hic^h, sunny tops. Foliaii^e trees, espeeially 
 aiders, began to ai)pear anionic the })ines, basking- in 
 the dazzling" sunshine. I also notieed soint' tine ferns 
 spreading out their graeeful fronds. 
 
 A few miles farther and mueh lower I made eamj) 
 above the Indian pueblo of San Pedro, as far as I eould 
 make out tiie most eastern extension of the northern 
 Aztecs (Mexicanos or Mexicaneros, as they are ealled 
 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 forma- 
 tion of a rock) for the greater part of the distance ; but 
 at tlie outset the way, at two places, is so narrow that 
 jiarties coming from opposite directions could neither 
 pass nor turn back, which is not pleasant with a yawn- 
 ing 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 anvthing about 
 the country except the postmaster, and he onl\- in a 
 vague way. Mazatlan is not much more than loo mi Us 
 off and Durango 125 miles. There are here a great manv 
 dvkes of j)ori)hvrv of different ages, but neither slale nor 
 irranite in the immediate vicinit\', though there is some 
 granite farther up the river. 
 
 Among the mine-owners who lived in \'c-ntanas I 
 was surprised to lind a Swt'dish gentleman. Tlie\- all 
 received me hospitably, proxiding me also with two men, 
 whom I badlv needed. We had to ascend on tiic other 
 side of th(; bairanca as high as we had been north of this 
 place, and for a da\' we travelled thiough snow and 
 rain. Corn does not glow here. I^om one point the
 
 PUEBLO NUEVO 453 
 
 Pacific Ocean can be seen. We then descended again 
 a couple of thousand feet to the vilhige of Chavaria, 
 which is the onh' Mexican viUage I liave seen where the 
 houses had gable roofs covered with shingles. The 
 walls of the houses were adobe, but 1 was told that the 
 earth at this place is not suitable for making the usual 
 Hat 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 numl)ers. 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 wher- 
 ever 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 guavabas, 
 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 judi- 
 cious 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 j:)lace
 
 454 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 with water, and where the women i^^athered to wash their 
 clothes and gossip. We met many graceful tiourcs carry- 
 ing jars on their shoulders, as in ancient times. 
 
 In order to give me an ()})|)ortunity to see the peo- 
 ])le, el Seiior 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 nuile- 
 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 camj). But I was soon reminded that 
 nothing in this world is jjcrfect, as one night a storm 
 lifted my tent up and carried it several yards off, leav- 
 ing me to sleep as best I could till morning. The wiiul 
 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 consider- 
 able trouble in finding a guide, the dilTicullv being aggra- 
 vated by the fact that nobody seemed to know anything 
 about the countrv toward Lajas, the Tepehuane villngv: 
 I was making for. 
 
 The sierra to the south where the Tej)ehuanes live is 
 not frequented by the people here, who mainlain com- 
 munication only toward the east, j)rincipall\' with the 
 cit\' of Durango, where they market their garden crops 
 of chile and tomatoes. Nevertheless, some of the Tepe- 
 huane pueblos belong to the Cura's j)arish, and he 
 seemed to be the only one who could give definite in- 
 formation about the country southward. 
 
 The track leading down to the San Diego River runs 
 through an idyllic valley where pictures(|uc brooks
 
 ANOTHER ASCENT 455 
 
 trickle down the slopes between groves of semi-tropi- 
 cal 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 jk:)o1, 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. Al- 
 though the road on the first day was very good, it re- 
 quired rather hard climbing to get to the top. I was 
 anxious to reach my destination that day, which was 
 Saturdav, in order to be in time for the p^atherino- 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 wdiich 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 countrv ! 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 awav.
 
 4)6 UNKNOWN iMEXICO 
 
 W'c descended aiiionii" oak-trees, when suddenlv tlie 
 track ran down a i)recij)itous volcanic rock, utterly im- 
 practicable for the mides to follow. Evidenth' we had 
 strayed on a side trail ; and while we ijuarded 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 ])ar- 
 ticularly when without a guide and on an unfamiliar 
 track. The journey seems interminable. The fear of 
 losing one's road, or haxing something hajipen to the 
 animals, or dropping some part of the pack ; the uncer- 
 tainty regarding what camping-place one may find ; and 
 the anxiety lest the backs of the animals may become 
 sore, while the men are getting hungr\- and in as bad a 
 temper as one's self, — all tend to demonstrate the advis- 
 ability of going into camj) when the sun is still well 
 above the horizon. 
 
 Another harassing consideration, which, however, 
 does not aj)pl\- to this part of the country, is the i)os- 
 sibility of arousing a susj)icion that ])ack-trains which 
 travel at night carry treasures. 
 
 After a continuous journev of ten houis and a half 
 we arrived without further mishaps at F.ajas at 9.30 
 P.M., the middle of the night in that i)art 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 lonelv place, susceptible as they 
 are, might not become alaiiiie(l at the sudden aiiix'al of 
 such a j)artv.
 
 SAN FRANCISCO DE LA J AS 457 
 
 A few houses lay scattered about in the dim nioon- 
 li<rht, and 1 with mv chief man rode ahead. " Ave 
 Maria ! " called out Catalino, knocking' at the doov of a 
 hut. " God give you a good night," he continued, hut 
 there was no response. After having in this way tried 
 several huts, we at last succeeded in getting an answer, 
 and learned where Crescendo Ruiz lived, to whom the 
 priest in Pueblo Nuevo had given me a letter of intro- 
 duction, 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-look- 
 ing 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 /aja (Hat stone) referring to stones wdiich 
 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 bald- 
 headed 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 j)uel)lo for a week to repair the old adobe church, 
 in which work Don Crescendo greatly assisted them. 
 This man, nine years ago, was sent to the place as a
 
 4,-8 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Tepehuane Sling 
 made from Maguey 
 Fibre. Width, lo 
 ctm. 
 
 teaclicr by ilic Mexican auLhorities in 
 Durango. On his arrival he was met at 
 the old curato by 140 cliildren, 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 after- 
 ward the i)rccc})tor was left without a 
 pu])il. He induced the parents to make 
 the children return, and 48 came back. 
 Out of these, five remained witii 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 lluichol afterward 
 told me, "our sons lose their native tongue and iheir 
 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 {)upils to listen 
 to his teachings ; not to destroy the Indian's mental 
 world, but to clear it and raise it into the sphere of civil- 
 isation. 
 
 But Don Crescendo remained with tlie Indians as 
 their "secretary" (escribano), attending to whatevei- cor- 
 respondence they had with the authorities, and gratlually 
 becoming their factotum and adviser. .As he was an 
 honourable and straightforward man, his inlhience was 
 all for their ofood. To swell his meagre income, he car- 
 vies on a small trade, going twice a year to Durango 
 to replenish his stores ; and so invaluable h;is he be- 
 come to the Indians that they send some men along 
 with him to watch that he does not remain with the 
 ' neigid)ours." lie has leained the lanouage toleiably
 
 INDIAN ARTICLES OF TRADE 
 
 459 
 
 well, and has risen to such imi)oi-tance that the (^ohcr- 
 nador, as I saw myself, visited him every morning, ask- 
 insT his advice in everv movement. 
 
 These Indians visited me all day long, accompanied 
 by their wives and children, undauntedly seating them- 
 selves in front or out- 
 side of my tent. In re- 
 sponse to my expressed 
 desire to see and buy 
 articles made by them, 
 they brought me, during 
 my short stay here, gir- 
 dles 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 en- 
 tirely different from that 
 of the " neighbours," 
 inasmuch as they have 
 a fixed price for every- 
 thing". 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 
 
 Tepehuane Pouch made from Maguey 
 Fibre. Width about i6 ctm.
 
 460 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 which they were dcadl}' afiaitl of, was the camera, and 
 it took Don Crescencio's and mv own combined efforts 
 for five days to induce them to ])()se. \Vhen at length 
 they consented, they looked like criminals about to be 
 executed. They believed that by j)hotoo-raphing a per- 
 son I should be enabled to carr\' his soul off to eat it 
 later, at my ease, if I chose. Thcv would die as soon as 
 tlu'ir ])ietures 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 pain- 
 ful 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 onlv in their ranches. 
 They clear land in the numerous little vallevs 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 fl(Jor is raised about a foot 
 above the ground, and the entrance is made from the 
 top. The ears of corn can i)lainl\' be seen behiutl the 
 bamboo sticks. In March they are taken out and 
 shelled, and the corn is j)ut in home-made sacks and 
 replaced in the store-houses. 
 
 The Tepehuanes make pulque, but not tesvino, and 
 cotton is cultivated on a verv small scale. The\' gather 
 the fibre of the maguey and other ])lants, and make sacks 
 and roj)es of excellent (pialitv, for their own use as well
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 461 
 
 as foi' sale in Duranii'o, to which market they also lake 
 any liiiit not required lor lioiiK' eonsuiiij)tion. 
 
 Their onlv ainusenieiit is to drink mescal and pukjiie. 
 No games aie in use, and to stake money or valuables 
 in anv of the " neigiibours' " games is forbidden. 
 
 The commonest disease here, strange to sav, is ma- 
 laria, which sometimes proves fatal. The first thing a 
 
 I'cpchuane Store-house, near I>ajas. 
 
 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 luitotc : it is also found among 
 the Aztecs, the Coras, and the Huichols. In the vicin- 
 ity of Lajas is a circular plain set pleasantly among 
 the oak-trees. This is the dancing-place. At its east- 
 ern side is a jacal, a gable-shaped straw-roof resting on
 
 462 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 four poles, the narrow sides standino; cast and west. In- 
 side of it is found an altar, eonsistinaj siniplv of a mal- 
 ting of large, split hamhoo sticks {iapcxtc) resting on a 
 framework of four horizontal poles, which in turn arc 
 sup])orted by two pairs of uj)right 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 
 verv 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 in- 
 tact as in Lajas. Not only so, but the regulations ai"e 
 cairied 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 l)a{)tise ami mairy. 
 
 The native chosen civil authorities are composed 
 of fourteen, the ecclesiastical of seven members. The 
 gobernador has supreme authority with both bodies, and 
 when im|)()rtant matters are at issue tlu' i)e()])le are 
 brought together and considted. The decisions or orders 
 are given to the so-called captain, who sees that thev are 
 carried into effect. The officers are elected evei\' year, 
 and meet in sessions almost ever\' day, to settle the 
 affairs of the ])e()ple, and to iiilliet punishment even on 
 the shamans when necessaiy. Tliey have recently reno-
 
 SEVERE PUNISHMENTS 463 
 
 vatcd the prison, and j)Ut in a new set of stoeks; and the 
 \vhipj)ing-j)ost is still in eonstant use, to supplement the 
 laws of the Mexiean Government, whieh are eonsidered 
 altogether too mild. 
 
 The punishments which these people inflict are se- 
 vere and barharous. I have heard that Mexican crimi- 
 nals, who have been caught and punished by them, on 
 complaining of their harsh treatment to the government 
 authorities, did not receiv^e any sympathy, the latter no 
 doubt considering it meritorious rather than otherwise, 
 on the part of the Indians, to maintain order so effect- 
 ually without the aid of soldiers. The captain in Lajas 
 is on duty day and night, watching that nothing unto- 
 ward 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 vour ani- 
 mals will be stolen here," Crescendo said to me the first 
 night, and a very short experience convinced me that 
 he was right. Theft is practically unknow^n here, unless 
 some "neighbour" tempts an Indian with a promise of 
 a ])art of the l)Ooty. 
 
 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.
 
 4^4 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 There is no eapilal i)unishnieiU for inurder in Me.xico, 
 and wiien criminals liave served tlieir terms and leturn 
 to their native village the Indians may even send them 
 back to Durango, saying that they arc better off with- 
 out them. Suicide is unknown. When murder or 
 theft has been perpetrated, they do not at once trv to 
 apprehend the suspected person, but first call the shaman 
 to ascertain by divination who the culprit may be, bv 
 placing ceremonial arrows, smoking tobacco, and wav- 
 ing plumes. 
 
 I was told that three years ago two travelling Mexi- 
 can 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 Ind- 
 ians, who began to look around to see what was miss- 
 ing. 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 fmallv taken to Durango. 
 
 Once two cows and an ox were stolen from Cres- 
 cendo, and the Indians followed the tracks of the 
 thieves, their leader frequently touching the earth with 
 his hands to assure himself by the smell thai tiie\- were 
 going in the right direction. After a while two Tepe- 
 huanes and their accomplice, the " neighbour" who had 
 put them up to the crime, were caught. The "neigh- 
 bour," as soon as he arrived in the village, was given 
 twentv-five lashes, and for two hours was subjected to 
 the agonizing torture of hax'ing his head and his feet in 
 the stocks at the same time. Next day he was given ten 
 lashes, and the following dav five, and eight days later 
 thev took him to Durango. llis two Indian associates, 
 father and son, were also put in the stocks, and for two 
 weeks each of them Jiot dailv four lashes and verv little
 
 FAITHS— OLD AND NEW 465 
 
 food ; besides which their l)hinkets were taken away from 
 them. 
 
 Although the Tepeluianes keej) up their ancient rites 
 and lieliefs alon<i^ with the new reli!L2:i()n, they strictly 
 comply with the external form of Christianity, paying 
 due attention to all the Christian feasts and observ'ances. 
 Every dav 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 tioor. Thev had ""athered 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 pra3^ers. 
 
 The teachings of Christianity, however, are for the 
 most part forgotten. No trace of the religion of charitv 
 remains among them, but the severity of the early mis- 
 sionaries survives, and their mediaev^al system of punish- 
 ment. 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 
 hav^e been imbibed so eagerly. " The slightest want of 
 modesty or exhibition of frivolity is sufficient reason for 
 a husband to leav^e 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 strict- 
 ness, 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 sepa- 
 rate, the wife leaving the children with the husband and 
 going to her parents. Then the guilty one and the co- 
 respondent are jHuiished by being {)ut in the stocks and 
 
 Vol. I. — 30
 
 466 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 given a public whipping daily for one or two weeks. 
 Neither of the parties thus separated is permitted to 
 marrv again. 
 
 If a girl or widow has loved "not wiselv. 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 })artner. The man is tiien ar- 
 rested and not only ])ut into prison, but in the stocks 
 besides. There are no stocks for women, onlv two hori- 
 zontal bars to which their hands are tied, if they refuse to 
 betray their lovers. The two culprits are kept sepa- 
 rate, and their families bring them food. Twice a day 
 messenofers are sent throuQ-h the villa2:e to announce 
 that the punishment is about to be executed, and many 
 people come to witness it. The judges and the parents 
 of the dclin(iuents reprimand the unfortunate couple, 
 then from two to four lashes are on each occasion in- 
 flicted, 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 mes- 
 cal 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 in- 
 formant expressed it, while the man generalh- looks 
 down. 
 
 Many times the judges are ashamed to go through 
 this performance, the character of which is below the 
 standard of j)roprietv of most i)iiinilive 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 thev may become 
 officially married b\- the (Munch tiie next time the priest
 
 COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE 467 
 
 arrives. This may not ha})pcn 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 doc- 
 tor 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 v/ith a 
 "gentleman friend." Even at the dancing-place it is 
 against the law for her to step aside to exchange a few 
 words with anv vouno- 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 com- 
 pelled 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, 
 m 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 affectiop 
 having been transmitted by it.
 
 468 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 On the other hand, men and women, to subdue their 
 natural instincts, go into the fields and grasp the 
 branches of certain sensitive plants. iVs the plant closes 
 its leaves, the girls i^ay that they may be able to shut 
 lliemselves up in themselves. There are two kinds of 
 sensitive plants growing in the neighbourhood of Lajas 
 {^Mimosa fioribiuida, van albida, and Jllwiosa z'/ii'/sa), 
 and recourse may be had to either of them. Many men 
 emigrate to other pueblos, though they may in time re- 
 turn. Others remain bachelors all their lives, and the 
 judges in vain offer them wives. " Whv should we 
 take them ?" they say. " Vou have thrashed us once, 
 and it is not possible to endure it again." The legiti- 
 mate 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 Senor Cura is expected in Lajas. all the 
 couj)les thus united, as well as all persons sus])ected of 
 harbouringr unsafe tendencies, are arrested. On the 
 priest's arrival, he finds most of the young people of 
 the place in prison, w^aiting for him to marry them. 
 For each ceremony the Indians have to jiav $5, and 
 from now on every married couple has to ])a\' $1.50 i)er 
 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 es- 
 caped 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
 
 A GENERAL SURVEY 469 
 
 arc rare. Pr()t)al)l\' the voung" pcoj)lc are glad to rest in 
 the safe harl)()iir of matrimony, after experiencing how 
 much the \va\' in and out of it is beset with indignities 
 and leads through the prison gates. However, im])rison- 
 ment for love-making does not aj:»pear so al)surd to the 
 al)original 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 whi})ping go to their homes laugh- 
 ing. 
 
 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 Crescendo, 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 1 was able to ascertain, the follow- 
 ing 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 afifected 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 bv civilisation.
 
 4/0 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 8. Ouiviquinta, 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 MI- 
 TOTE 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 vil- 
 lages 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 1 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 
 
 471
 
 472 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 home of the shaman, near which 1 camped. When I 
 went up to the house, I found it em{)ty, and was 
 bareh' in time to see a woman making' her escape witli 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 trum})et 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 dav, much of the time 
 we followed a high, rocky ridge, the highest point of 
 which is called Mojoneras. Here, ten miles north 
 of Pueblo \"iej{), the boundary line of the territory of 
 Tepic is said to run. For sex'cral miles on the road, 
 and j)ai ticularh- from the last-mentioned ridge, magnifi- 
 cent views of the wild country northward jiresent them- 
 selves, over the steep descent into the canons and gorges 
 of the western part of the Sierra Madre. Only three 
 Tepehuane ranches were observed.
 
 AT 1^1 EBLO VIEJO 473 
 
 I arrived without any mishap at I^uchlo A'icjo, whicli 
 is inhahiU'd mainly by .Vztccs. Of late years they 
 have become much mixed with the Tepehuanes, wiio 
 have here taken refuge from drought and the advancing 
 " neighbours." Indian settlers who thus come from 
 other }nieblos are called })oblanos. 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 
 confmes of the village. Still the people, who have con- 
 siderable 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 Hst of collections I had great difficulty 
 in getting designations for some of the objects, for in- 
 stance the word for "quiver," and for the curious rat- 
 tling 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 par- 
 take 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, 
 m my desire to please them, that the Mexican Govern- 
 ment was interested to know whether they were get- 
 ting on well or whether thev were coming to an end. 
 To this the principal speaker at once laughingly re-
 
 474 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 joined : "Of course, they want to know how soon they 
 can ' fmish ' us ! " 
 
 The Indians here have the usual trouble from 
 "neighbours" trying to encroach upon their territory. 
 Once a delefration from this and the nei^-hbourinti; 
 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 re- 
 ceived 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 ac- 
 complished 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 onlv 
 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 tawitol, 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 j)ict- 
 uresque scene. Here on a meadow the Indians were 
 grouped around the many fires whose lights fiiekered 
 among the trees. There was just a pause in the dan- 
 cing, which liad begun soon after sunset. I could at 
 once discern a little plain set apart for the dancing.
 
 THE MUSICAL BOW OF AMERICA 475 
 
 On ils eastern side was an altar of the usual deseri})- 
 tion, feneed on two sides with felled trees, on which 
 were hun^- the paiaphernalia of the dancers, their bows, 
 quivers, etc. In the centre of the dancincr-place was a 
 laro-e 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 sha- 
 man was the musical instrument on which he had been 
 
 The Musical Bow of the Tepehuanes of the South, and of the Aztecs. 
 Length of Bow, i m. 36.5 ctm. 
 
 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
 
 476 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the musical l)o\v is not indi^rnous to tlic Western 
 Hemisj)here, l)ut was introduced hv .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 entirelv bevond 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 con- 
 firmed 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 
 sono;-s I had heard amono; 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 flat soles vigorously on the ground, as 
 they moved in dcjuble column around the fire and the 
 shaman, in a kind of two-step-walk forw^ard. They 
 danced in a direction against the ap})arent movement of 
 the sun, the men leading, the women following. I no- 
 ticed that the step of the women was slightly different 
 from that of the men, inasmuch as they lifted themseh^es 
 on their toes at each step. At times the columns would 
 suddenly stop and tnake the same kind of movements 
 backward for a little while, with the same small jumps 
 or skii)s as when walking forward. .Vfter a few seconds 
 they would again go forward. These movements are 
 directed bv the leader, the man who dances first. 
 
 l)Olh men and wouilmi wore flowers, the former fas- 
 tening them to tiieir straw hats, the latter in their hair 
 with the stem behind the ear. The flowers were ap-
 
 AN INDIAN DANCE 
 
 477 
 
 parently selected accurdin<^ to individual taste, but tlie 
 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 
 claviliiftos, 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 
 {rcbosos), but it is considered improper 
 for them to use sandals on such oc- 
 casions ; these are worn only by the 
 men. 
 
 There were five pauses made in 
 the course of the night, and, to pre- 
 pare the people for them, the shaman 
 each time began to strike more slow- 
 ly. The dancers continued until they 
 arrived in front of the altar, where from Empty Pods of a 
 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 
 
 Rattle for Ankle, made
 
 478 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 ])eople awake a 
 man sometimes goes around spurting cokl 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, carry-' 
 ing 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, alternatelv 
 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 move- 
 ment of the sun, then five circuits in the opposite way. 
 The shaman's beating slowed down, once more all the 
 dancers jum})ed up quickly, the music stopped, and the 
 dancing was finished.
 
 THE IKAST AND AFTKll 479 
 
 Now the feast iny- l)eoan. The food, that had been 
 placed on tlie 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- 
 dles, each containing three tamales, which the boys after- 
 ward 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 conscien- 
 tiously 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 for- 
 malities is greater than on anyone else, may have to offi- 
 ciate 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 mat- 
 ting, 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 undis- 
 turbed. 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
 
 480 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 mitshe. 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 be- 
 come 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 Gen- 
 eral Porfirio Diaz to become President of Mexico ; and 
 they told me that they were soon going to subject them- 
 selves to similar privations in order to help another offi- 
 cial whom they wanted to remain in his j)()sition. 
 
 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 sha- 
 man smoking tobacco all the time. i\n omen as to 
 whether tiie jxiticnt 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 i)atient will 
 live ; but if it disperses he will die. 
 
 A very interesting ceremony is performed over a 
 child when it is one vear old. The j)arents go with
 
 AN INTERESTING CEREMONY 481 
 
 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 bio; fire is made and four arrows and 
 the ceremonial object called o;od'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 ceremo- 
 nial 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 at- 
 tached 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 v/ith a sound as if an 
 egg was cracked, and throws them away. In the morn- 
 ing salt is offered to the fasters. 
 
 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 pu- 
 berty is pledged to a year of chastity, and the same cere- 
 mony is performed on her as in babyhood, to be re- 
 peated in the following year. Should she transgress dur- 
 ing 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 eve. When he smokes tobacco 
 and talks to the god's eye, information is given to him 
 
 Vol.. I.— 31.
 
 482 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 thioLifrh 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, ex- 
 plaining; 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 con- 
 tact with the Mexicans this happens quite often. 
 When at length the money is paid and she has con- 
 fessed 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 peo- 
 ple, 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. 1 k re, 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 in- 
 cantation and smokes tobacco, though not on the dead,
 
 THE DESPATCH OF THE DEAD 483 
 
 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 pro- 
 cession 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 MOUN- 
 TAINS — SIERRA DEE NAYARIT THE CORAS-^THEIR AVERSION 
 
 TO " PAPERS " THEIR PART IN MEXICAN POLITICS A 
 
 DEJEUNER A LA FOURCHETTE — LA DANZA. 
 
 IT is practically impossible to travel from tribe to 
 tribe in Mexico without changino- muleteers, not 
 only because the men generally object to going so far 
 from their homes, but also because it is not advan- 
 tageous to employ men who do not know the countrv 
 through which thev are passing. Whenever the Indians 
 understood something about packing mules, I })referred 
 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 linallv to take 
 whatever I could get in the way of carriers. Vor 
 instance, I had only one man on whom I could de- 
 pend, a civilised Tepehuane, who was bright and knew 
 his business well, but he was hampered bv an in- 
 jured aim. Then I obtained another man, somewhat 
 elderlv. lie, too, became suddenly aware that his right 
 arm was crooked and not strong enough to lift heavv 
 burdens, while the two remaining carriers had never 
 loaded a mule in their lives. The first two directed 
 
 484
 
 RICHES OF THE CORAS 485 
 
 the otluT pair how to j)roccc(l, and thus 1 was treated to 
 the UidieroLis speetaele of four men en^aoed in paekinjLj^ 
 one mule. Naturally it took all day to load my ten 
 animals, and when this was aeeomplished, 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 paekino; mules. 
 The result was that I had to take a hand mvself in 
 putting the aparejos on the animals, shoeing them and 
 euring the sore baeks, whieh, as a matter of eourse, 
 developed from the inexperience of some of the men. 
 
 On the second day, by a stUj:)endous 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 Tepchuane woman. All Coras get rich, the 
 Indians here assert, because they know better how to 
 appease the gods. They submit to fasting and restric- 
 tions 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 bai"gain, 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 clav, 
 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 ])ain. 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
 
 486 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 ca- 
 mino real, which leads from Acaponcta to the towns of 
 Mczquital and Durango. We then descended without 
 difficulty some 3,000 feet into the caiion 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, wc 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 warn- 
 ing, something they always like to do. The sound re- 
 verberated through the still night with cnougii 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 chiy. 
 We were then left to ourselves, with the odds against 
 us. Twice we lost our way, the first time i)assing a mi- 
 tote dancing-place, and coming to a iialt 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 iiis wife, who assured us 
 that we were at last on the right track. However, we
 
 ON THE HIGHLANDS AGAIN 487 
 
 did not advance farther than the conlluence of two 
 arroyos, which the man had pointed out to us deep 
 down in tiie shrubbery. Before leaving us he promised 
 to be at our camp in the morninor ^q 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 de- 
 scribed the road so well that we encountered no diffi- 
 culty during the remaining two days of our journey. 
 
 1 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 cor- 
 don 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 Naya- 
 rit. 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
 
 488 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 a rallicr level and oflen narrow cordon, and the track 
 south Uads near the edge of the Barranca de Jesus Maria 
 for ten or twelve miles. Along this ridge hardly any 
 other kintl of tree is to he seen than Pinus L2imJioltzii. 
 A variety of })ine which resembles this very much, but 
 is mucii larger, and wliich 1 tiiink may also be a new 
 species, was observed after leaving Pueblo Nuevo. 
 
 The cordon gradually widens, and open, grass-cov- 
 ered places appear among the pines, which now arc of 
 the usual kinds, and throughout the Sierra del Nayarit 
 are high, but never large. A few Coras passed us lead- 
 ing 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 ritle 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 j)eople 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 peoj^le in town jirei)aring for the 
 Easter festival, practising their i)arts in certain entertain- 
 ments 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 led earth, fnjm which a rivulet was issuing: I 
 selected my camj)ing-i)lace near by, at the foot of some 
 low pine-covered hills, and then returned to the pueblo.
 
 A SUSPICIOUS ALCALDE 
 
 489 
 
 " Aiiii^o ! " shouted a man as he came runniiiLi- toward 
 me from his house. It was the alcalde, a tall, slender 
 liuliau with a slight heard and a very sympathetic voice. 
 1 told him that we were entirely out of corn, to which 
 he replied that we could not get any in the pueblo, onl\' 
 on tlu' ranches in the neighbourhood. I asked him if 
 he wanted us to die from starvation, and then another 
 
 Cora Men and Women from Santa Teresa. 
 
 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 Ouemalusi, after the
 
 490 UiNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 j)rinciixil one of ihe five m)-thical men who in aneient 
 times lived in the Sierra del Nayarit. Reports sav an 
 idol now hidden was once found here. A few miles east 
 of Santa Teresa is a deep volcanic lake, the only rem- 
 nant 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, Chula- 
 v^te. 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 con- 
 sideration 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 orlad to do. 
 
 As he was taking leave, I expressed mv 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 billv-goat. 
 
 I went to the meeting, and all listened silently while 
 mv letters from the Government were read. Anything 
 coming from Mexico impresses these ])eople deeply.
 
 CORA CHARACTERISTICS 491 
 
 Yet with the suspicion innate in their nature, the Indians 
 could not hear the documents read over often enough. 
 We had nieetinij after meetin"', 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, espe- 
 cially on the chin. In this respect, however, there was 
 no uniformity, some being absolutely beardless, while 
 others looked rather Mexican. They all insisted, never- 
 theless, 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 dis- 
 turbance, incidental to the revolution of Manuel Lozada, 
 a civilised Aztec from the neighbourhood of Tepic, 
 who, about the time of the French intervention, estab- 
 lished an independent State comprising the present ter- 
 ritory 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 prin- 
 cipal supporters. At one time they had to leave their
 
 +9^ 
 
 rXKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 countrv, and to live for five years in an inaccessible i)art 
 of the Sierra Madre above San Huena. 
 
 Among- themselves, the Coras use their own lan- 
 guage, 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 jiroud of it. 
 There are about 2,500 ])ure-bred 
 among them. They call them- 
 selves 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). Vet some 
 intercourse is maintained between 
 the two tribes, the Coras bringing 
 to the Huichols red face-paint, 
 wax, and the tail-feathers of the 
 Cora Pouch, of Unusual blucjay, whilc the scrviccs of the 
 
 Shape, made ot Wool. Huichol Curing shamans are high- 
 Patterns represent Flving • i i i /--i \ 
 
 Birds and a row of Deer, h' appreciated by the Coras. An 
 Length about 25 ctm. 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 as- 
 tonishing how small the bones of their limbs are, espe- 
 cially among the females, though this, by the wav, 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^ inches (barely twelve 
 centimetres) ; but she showed me how well thev lilted 
 her. Still they alwa\s have well-developed hips and
 
 EASIER FESTI\'ALS 493 
 
 better fissures than the Mexiean women. The teeth of 
 the Coras are not always perfect ; I have seen several 
 indivitluals whose front teeth were missin_o;. 
 
 Strange to say, in spite of the iiigh elevation, there 
 is fe\'er and ague here ; the alcalde told nie that he had 
 an attack every second day. 
 
 As Easter was at hand, there was (|uite 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 cus- 
 tom 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, honev, and squashes. 
 
 The authorities newlv 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 phenom- 
 enal 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 dcjeiuier a la foitrcJictte, 
 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 eouUl 
 not manage with the tortilla, you were excused for using 
 your fingers. When a bowl or plate was set before an
 
 494 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Intlian ouest, the latter took it up and immediately 
 handed it to his wife, standing behind him, who em})tied 
 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 ehile ; 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, facinor thouG^h 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 j)layed, 
 although nowhere but among the Coras have I seen 
 it executed on the ])lank. 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 daiiza is merely a ventilation of mcniment, indulged 
 in when the In(Uaiis are in higli spiiits aflei- church 
 feasts, and may sometimes be executed even in church. 
 
 Cradually the j)eoi)lc submitted to being j)hoto- 
 graj)hed, even the women. One evening when I 
 changed plates under two wagon-covers in an old
 
 INDIAN CURIOSITY 495 
 
 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 dehberation the Indians con- 
 sented to show me their dancing-place, or, as they 
 expressed it, their tunamoti (the musical bow).
 
 CHAPTER XX\TII 
 
 A GLIMPSE OF THE PACIFIC FROM THE HIGH SIERRA — A VISIONARY 
 
 lUYL 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 — TROU- 
 BLE 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 a!)out three miles west. He begged me not to for- 
 get the Coras when I came to the Governor of the Ter- 
 ritory 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 vicin- 
 ity, 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 be- 
 came 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 pre- 
 sented itself of the Ticrra Caliente below, as far as the 
 Pacific Ocean, which l)y mules is a week's journey dis- 
 tanl. The wide expanse before us unfolded a ])anorama 
 of hills that sank lower and lower toward the west, where 
 
 496
 
 IMAGININGS 497 
 
 the salt lagoons of the coast could be clearly discerned 
 as sih^er 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 
 priiniis 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 for- 
 ests that shelter the Coras, but no trace of human 
 life. Evervthing seemed undisturbed, peaceful, quiet- 
 ing, 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 sup- 
 ply 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 prede- 
 cessor ; 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 role, 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 — 
 1 should have to buy my fame at the price of living on 
 tortillas and pinole and beans ! 
 
 "We may live without pf)etry, 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." 
 Vol. I. — 32
 
 498 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 Concludino; that the eminent authority cited was 
 right, 1 came back to realities and continued my 
 journey. 
 
 By and hv 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 g"rew two or three mai^nificent oak-trees with linht- 
 green stems and equally light-coloured leaves. The 
 people here were well disposed and sold me some neces- 
 sary 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 moun- 
 tains which form the western border of the Fluichol 
 country and stretch themselves out on the opposite side 
 of the canon 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 Naya- 
 riti, 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 sympa- 
 thetic and much more reserved than those of Santa 
 Teresa, and I could find no one who would divulge
 
 TRAITS AND CUSTOMS 499 
 
 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 cere- 
 mony than the customary salutation, " Axii!" One day 
 when I approached a dwelling, a nice-looking little girl, 
 scarcely tliree 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. 
 
 Althouirh 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 ma- 
 terial 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 princi- 
 pal 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 Comuni- 
 dad, 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
 
 500 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 that I had intended from the viUaj^e. As soon as my 
 tent had been put up, he came, accompanied bv one of 
 his friends. He had a passion for talking-, which he 
 indulged in for two hours, interrujJtinLi liimsclf about 
 everv twenty seconds to sj)it. His c()nipani;)n wrai)ped 
 himself in his blanket and began to nod, and whenever 
 the gobernador stopped for expectoration, the other one 
 would utter an assenting " ha}^ " ("yes"). The Cora lan- 
 guage 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 Norwav. Flowever, the go- 
 bernador's monologue soon became very tiresome, and 
 finally I made my bed and lav 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 evervbody 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 de- 
 scent toward the pueblo of Jesus Maria begins. The 
 valley appears broad and hillv, and the vegetation 
 assumes the aspect of the Hot Country. Siiecially 
 noticeable were the usual lliickets of thornv. di"v, and 
 scraggy trees, seen even on the edge of the mesa. They 
 are caWcd o?n'sac//z, and in the vernacular of the common 
 man the word has been utilised to designate a shari)er. 
 A man who " hooks on," as, for instance, a tiickv law\'er, 
 is called a i^iiisacJicro. It is the counterj)art of the 
 "lawyer palm" among the shrubs of troi)ical Aus- 
 tralia. 
 
 Jesus Maria looks at a distance quite a town, on a
 
 CORA HABITATIONS 503 
 
 little j)lain above the river-bank. A fine, grand-looking 
 old chureh, in Moorish style, a large churehyard sur- 
 rounding it, and tiie usual big buildings eonneeted with 
 the churehes of Spanish times, make an extraordinary 
 impression among the pithaya-covered hills. The rest 
 of the houses look humble enough. 1 went a little 
 beyond the pueblo to the junetion of arroyo Fraile with 
 the river of Jesus Maria. As a violent wind, eaused by 
 the eooling 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 mid- 
 night, 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 vallev. 
 
 The Cora of the canon, and probably of the entire 
 Tierra Caliente, is of a milder disposition than his 
 brother of the sierra, but he looks after his own advan- 
 tage 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 prev^alent 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 nomi- 
 nally Christians, and the padre from San Juan Peyotan
 
 5^4 
 
 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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, whicli 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 dav after mv 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 otiier 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 photo- 
 graph 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, l)ut it 
 took them two days to prepare the tortillas they had to 
 take along as provisions. Mv desire to see the burial- 
 caves was looked upon with ill-favour. The old shaman, 
 however, was prompllv sent for. lie 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 Govern- 
 ment migiit know everything." When he came to see 
 me betook m\Mian(l to kiss, as if I were a padrt-, and I 
 had a most interesting interview with the truthful, dear 
 old man, who told me much about the (^ora m\ths, tia- 
 ditions, and history. I gathered from what he said that 
 he could not l)e far from a hundred vears old, and he 
 had not a grey hair in his head. Tlis faculties were in-
 
 RELIGIOUS HOSTILITY 505 
 
 tact, except his hearing, and while 1 was interviewing 
 him he was making a fish-net. 
 
 I had him with me one day and a part of the next, 
 hut hv tluit time he was a good deal fatigued mentally, 
 and 1 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 })adre. I was told that he ascended 
 the pulpit and delivered sermons in Cora, and that he as- 
 pired even to bless water, but this the padre had forbid- 
 den 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 pa- 
 dre 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 Protes- 
 tant 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 anvthing 
 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
 
 5o6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 were put into prison, while the women had fastened 
 to their ankles a heavy round l)oard, which they had 
 to drag wherever they went fur 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 decj) im})ressi()n upon 
 the illiterate Mexicans in that remote pari of the world, 
 who in consequence of it looked upon me with sus- 
 picion 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 supersti- 
 tious dread and horror. Even my letters of recommen- 
 dation were doubted and considered spurious. How- 
 ever, one old man, whose \y\ic I had cured, told me that 
 Protestants are also Christians, and in his opinion I was 
 even better than a Protestant. Fortunately, the Indians 
 U'Cre 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 anv- 
 one 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 ab- 
 sence of twelve days, I was surprised to note that they 
 were accompanied by two gendarmes. The Comman- 
 dant-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 ap-
 
 SCORPIONS 907 
 
 preciated. As the return of the men was the only thin^ 
 I had been waitini^ for, I now prepared to move up the 
 river to the near-by pueblo of San Franciseo, where 
 tiie population is freer from Mexican influence. 
 
 When my hut was broken up, I found among my 
 effects ten scorpions. The canon is noted for its multi- 
 tude of scorpions, and I was told that a piece of land 
 above San Juan Peyotan had to be abandoned on ac- 
 count of these creatures. The scorpion's sting is the 
 most common complaint hereabout, and children fre- 
 quently 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 unac- 
 countable preference for certain localities, where they 
 maybe found in great numbers. In the city of Durango 
 the hotels advertise, as an attraction, that there are no 
 scorpions in 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 Brama- 
 dor, 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 EM- 
 PLOY 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 HUNT- 
 ING FOR SKULLS MY PROGRESS IMPEDED BY THE 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 acce{)ted the invdtation to lodge 
 there. It was furnislicd 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. ^Vhcn 
 I objected to this I was informed that two fellows from 
 Jesus Maria had been talking of killing me as the easiest 
 way of cari\ing out the pndrc's orders. I felt <}uite at 
 iiome among these friendU'. well-incaiiing jieojile, and 
 paid off in\' 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 lluichols. A shaman who knew more than all 
 others was deputed to give me the information I wanted 
 about the ancient beliefs and tiadilions of the Coras. 
 
 508
 
 SKULLS IN BURIAL-CAVES 509 
 
 The people also agreed to let me see their mitote, 
 whieh 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 2 2d. As to Ijurial-caves, they at first denied 
 that there were any skidls 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 impe- 
 cunious Mexicans from other parts of the country at 
 work in the fields for the Coras, who paid them the cus- 
 tomary 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 beau- 
 tiful large, white flowers. The plant is used at the mi- 
 totes, 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 locali- 
 ties, 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,
 
 510 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 while on a missionary tour in the Huichol country, had 
 picked out to educate for the priesthood. After an ad- 
 venturous career, whicii drove him out u( his own coun- 
 tr\', he manasred now to maintain himself here. Al- 
 thoui^h 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 fiv^e occasions, every eighth day, they go to ask for 
 the bride tiiey have selected. If she consents to marry 
 the man, then all is right. One man of my acquaint- 
 ance did not know his " affinity " when his parents in- 
 formed 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 crojis. 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 j^eople. They then 
 shut themselves up in La Comunidad, sit down, smoke, 
 and keep their eyes on the ground.
 
 SIOKY OF THE iMORNING STAR 511 
 
 The Coras of the canon are not always in summer in 
 accord with Father Sun, because he is lierce, j)roducing 
 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 fre- 
 quently 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
 
 512 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 down the arms and legs of the shrinkino; Chulavete. 
 Next day Chulavete received another invitation to eat 
 with the " neighbours." This time he made himself 
 int(^ a big bearded fellow, with the c()mj)le.\ion 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 30U. 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 slrij)es with it on 
 his arms and legs. 
 
 " Why do you do that ?" they asked him. " We in- 
 vited you to eat what we eat." 
 
 Chulavete replied : " Vou 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 mv clothes. 
 Therefore, I had better give it to them." lie took the 
 chocolate and the coffee and poured it over himself as if 
 it were water, and he broke tlie bread into pieces and 
 rubbed it all over his dress. The sweetened rice, and 
 boiled hen with rice, sweet atolc, minced meat witli 
 chile, rice pudding, and beef soup, all this he poured
 
 COKA TRADITIONS 513 
 
 over himself. The rich people were frightened and said 
 that thev had not recognised him. 
 
 "You burned me vestcrdav 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 
 " neiQ:hbours." According- to another tradition, the men 
 came from the east and the women from the west. 
 
 In the beirinninof the earth was flat 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 per- 
 form 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 support- 
 ing 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, cut- 
 ting outlets for the waters ; but he made the valleys so 
 deep that it was impossible to walk about, and the princi- 
 pal men reproached him for this. "Then I will put 
 everything back as it was before," he said. 
 
 " No, no!" thev all said. "What we want is to make
 
 514 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 the slopes of a lower incline, and lo leave some level 
 land, and do not make all the country mountains." 
 
 This the bat did, and the princij)al men thanked him 
 for it. Thus the world has remained up to tliis day. 
 
 No rain was falling, and the five principal men de- 
 spatched the humming-bird lo 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 hum- 
 ming-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 thev ov^er- 
 took 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 finallv the first, who had 
 been placed on a mountain from which the sea can be 
 seen to the w^est 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 sa- 
 luted each other as friends. Said tlic deer : " Listen, 
 friend, lend \uc vour sandals, to see how thev feel. Onlv 
 for a mcjment." The rabbit, who was afraid the deer 
 would steal them, refused at lirst, but at last he afri'eed, 
 and the deer, putting them on, rose and began to dance. 
 "Oh, how bcautifudv it sounds!" lie said, lie danced 
 five circuits, and began to dance mitote and smg. The
 
 AN INTELLIGENT SHAMAN 515 
 
 rabbit sat looking on, and was in a dejected mood, fear- 
 ing that the deer migiit not give him back his sandals. 
 The deer then asked permission to run five big circuits 
 over tiie mountains. The rabbit said no, but the deer 
 went away, promising to come back directly. He re- 
 turned 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 re- 
 turned the hoofs to the rabbit, and hoofless the rabbit 
 has remained to this day. 
 
 I had many interesting interviews with the old sha- 
 man 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 ac- 
 cused 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 manv 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"
 
 5i6 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 consists in fasting, praying, and dancing does not de- 
 tract from its hardshij). 
 
 Other sayings i picked up are as follows : 
 
 We do not know liow manv 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 vour son before he 
 opens his eyes very much ; if not, he will not know 
 whom he wants. 
 
 Illness is like a person ; it hears. 
 
 Ev^erything 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 prepa- 
 rations 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 0})en 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 arc what the Coras 
 call Tdquats 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 destina- 
 tion, and all were changed into stone, and ever since 
 have appeared like stones. My companion j)ointed out 
 the various figures of men, women, and children, with 
 their bundles and baskets, girdles, etc., and in the wan- 
 ing light of day it was not difficult to understand how
 
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 CL,
 
 INDIAN IDOLATRY 519 
 
 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 sacriiice 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 physi- 
 cal 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 magnifi- 
 cent tree not yet in leaf, called cJiocotc, 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 Pue- 
 blo 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 cer- 
 tain religious duties which they perform for five years, 
 the child beg-inninof at the innocent aije of three. Dur- 
 ing her term she lives with the old woman, whether she
 
 520 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 svmbol 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 sav, 
 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 cavi- 
 ties 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 piL 
 grims from beyond the eastern border of the Cora land 
 had left. Soon after passing this point v/e 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
 
 CEREMONIAL OBJECTS 
 
 :2i 
 
 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 cere- 
 monial 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 -disap- 
 peared 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 thino-s might be cheated 
 out of the benefits they had expected 
 from them. He had, however, no 
 objection to my taking a small rect- 
 angular 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 pre- 
 vent 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 
 
 God's Eve, made hy 
 the Cora Tribe as a 
 Prayer for my Health 
 and Life. Length, 
 80 ctm.
 
 522 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 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 iiad 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 commu- 
 nity, 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 
 immediatclv 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 dis- 
 satisfied 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, talkiiig to the 
 gods for half an hour. The newly made god's eye had 
 been stuck into the ground in front of him. On liis 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 the\' woke up peo- 
 ple who fell asleep during the night while the dance 
 was going on. 
 
 The shaman prayed to the Morning Star, presented 
 to iiim 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 I lie grains, since all the corn
 
 SINGING AND DANCING 523 
 
 belongs to them. " And as for this man," he added, 
 speaking of me, "you all knew him before he started 
 from his own eountrv. To us he seems to be good, but 
 you alone know his heart. Vou give him the god's eye 
 he asked for." 
 
 A little after dark the singer for the oeeasion began 
 to plav a i)relude on the musical bow, which tiie Coras 
 alwavs glue to the gourd, uniting the two parts to form 
 one instrument. The gourd was placed over a small ex- 
 
 CoRA MiToTE Song, from Santa Teresa. 
 
 ten. fen. 
 
 K.-r,— 
 
 cavation 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 i)lumes, 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 prin- 
 cipal 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
 
 524 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 head. In the middle of the ni^ht slie danced live cir- 
 cuits, caiTving- a good-sized drinking-g-ourd containing 
 water from a near-by brook, which originates in tlie 
 sacred lagoon. 
 
 The shaman sang well, but the dancing lacked ani- 
 mation, and but few took part in it. When the little 
 girl began to dance with her grandmoliier, I serrted 
 myself on a small ledge not far from the musician. 
 Immediatelv the shaman stopped }ilaving and the dan- 
 cing 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 awav from 
 the ledge, and offered me a much better seat on one of 
 the stones placed for the principal men. I had inad- 
 vertently sat on a Taquat ! This sacred rock of the 
 dancing-place had a natural hollow, which the Intlians 
 think is his votive bowl, and into which they put 
 pinole and other food. " Never," my friend told me 
 next day, " had anvone sat there before." 
 
 Later in the evening, when there was a pause in the 
 performance, I noticed that all the men, with the sing- 
 ing shaman, gathered in a corner of the dancing-place, 
 seating themselves on the ground. They were discuss- 
 ing what they should do in regard to the skulls I had 
 asked for. One of the principal men told them that 
 a dream lasc night had advised him not to den\' the 
 " Seiior " anything he asked for, as he had to have a 
 "head" and would not iio without one. " N'ou are 
 daft, and he comes here knowing" a good ileal," the 
 (licam had said. 
 
 They all became alarmed, especially the man who 
 had steadily opposed their cotnplying with my request, 
 and the)' agreed that it was better to give the white man 
 what he wanted. The gobernador even raised the ques- 
 tion whether it would not be best to let me have the
 
 END OF THE FEAST 52^ 
 
 skulls early next morn i 1112;, together with the other 
 things 1 was to get; or, if not then, at what other 
 time? My shaman friend diplomatieally proposed that 
 . should set the time for this. 
 
 Next morning I got the god's eye as well as a splen- 
 did speeimen of a musical bow with the gourd attached, 
 the plaving-sticks, etc., all of which were taken out of a 
 cav^e 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 w^ay. 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 {cJii- 
 cJiarra) 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 dancinor 
 itself. 
 
 It is evident that the religious customs of the canon 
 of Jesus Maria are on the wane, mainlv because the 
 singing shamans are dying out, though curing shamans 
 will remain for centuries vet. As the Indians now
 
 526 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 have to perform iheir dances secietl\-, the growincr gen- 
 eration has less inclination and little opj)ortunity to 
 learn them, and the tribe's ritual and comprehensive 
 sonijs will o^raduallv 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 tliere- 
 fore these shamans cannot accomplish anything with 
 " los senores." It was like sending a badly written let- 
 ter : " 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 anthropologi- 
 cal specimens were more laborious than successful, be- 
 cause 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 arrano;^ements 
 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 inhab- 
 ited. In fact, I passed three deserted ranches, and near 
 one of them I killed a Gila monster that was just mak- 
 ing 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 (juite an extensive 
 fortification ; T also noticed a nuinl)er 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 bv 200 feet in extent, was a natural fortress difficult 
 of access, exce})t at one ])oint where a little cordon.
 
 UNABLE TO TRAVEL 527 
 
 like an isthmus, led to it. Here, however, 1 foutul no 
 vestiii^e 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 parti- 
 tions, in the shape of upright stones, between the skele- 
 tons. 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 re- 
 freshed 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 wnth 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, how- 
 ever, 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 repu- 
 tation 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 Tcpic, and lay the case before
 
 528 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 him. I stated that the padre, witliout having seen me, 
 had placed me in a had hght hefore tiic 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 stav 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, to- 
 gether 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 ac- 
 quired 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 alarm^ 
 ing. Immediately after I left San Francisco yesterday, 
 the Mexican authority at Jesus Maria had come over 
 to tell me that the Iluichols were on the warpath 
 and determined not to allow me to enter their pueblos. 
 The messenger impressed uj)on mv men the necessity 
 of turning back and implored them not to run any risk 
 by accompanying me. Tlie chief packer came hastilv
 
 A CRISIS 529 
 
 to mc with this news, wliich 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 studv of wiiich 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. "Can- 
 not 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: ''VdmoSy 
 vdmos!" (" 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 es- 
 cribano (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 gov- 
 
 Vul.. I.— 34
 
 530 UNKNOWN MEXICO 
 
 cninuMil aiit h.oiiiies iIrtc and to enter the Iluichul 
 countrv from the east by way of Santa Catarina. 
 Asrainst this i)lan, howex'er, niv men uro-ed that tliev^ 
 cotUd not be baek in their country before the wet season 
 set in, to attend to their fields. Finally, I decided to 
 risk i]^oino to San Andres. If Don Zeferino was not 
 there, I woidd come baek and then try Mezqu tic. 
 "Fwo days later, after a laborious ascent, I sent my chief 
 packer ahead to San Andres, which was still about eic^ht 
 miles off. What a mountainous countrv 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, ev^en more than the arrows 
 of its warlike inhabitants, took away the courage of thi; 
 conquerors, because not only did the ridges and valleys 
 appear inaccessible, but the extended range of towering 
 mountain peaks confused even the eye." 
 
 Mv 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.
 
 PLATE I
 
 PLATE n
 
 PLATE III
 
 PLATE IV.
 
 PLATE V.
 
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