--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Anderson, Joseph F. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 17 number: 11 published: 1914-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Anderson, Joseph F., "Discoveries on the Colorado", *Improvement Era* 17, no. 11 (September 1914): 1048–1055.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera17011unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera17011unse start_page: 1048 end_page: 1055 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1914-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera17011unse publication_year: 1914 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1914, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Discoveries on the Colorado Discoveries on the Colorado BY JOSEPH F. ANDERSON, OF THE UTAH ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDI- TION, 1913 IX. — Life and Customs of the Zuni Indians In a little isolated world of its own, separated by many miles from any of the other pueblos of the Southwest, is the quaint little pueblo village of the Zuni Indians. The Zuni community was the first of the New World pueblo communities to be seen by Old — World eyes and those eyes, as related in a previous article, were the eyesa negro. of Since that time (1539), in spite of constant contact with Spaniards, Mexicans and Americans, the history of the people of Zuni has been marked by the strictest conser- vatism. Living alternately on the mesa top and on the bank cf the Zuni river below, about fifty miles west of Arizona's petrified forest, these queer people have adhered tenacious- ly to their old religion and so- cial customs against all inva- sions of new ideas from with- out. The descriptions written by the early Spanish intruders EL CAPITAN of.the industrial life and social A lofty igneous mountain of northern and religious customs of the Arizona. Colonel Roosevelt speaks of it in The Outlook as "the land mark for the Zuni differ in but few details whole country." Its summit has never been reached. from the up-to-date accounts published by the United States — Bureau of Ethnology so successful have the Zunis been in preserving their individuality as a type of the Americans of yesterday. Although the Zunis compose a distinct linguistic group, they strongly resemble the Hopi physically and are not widely different in many phases of their social, religious and industrial life. Like the Hopi, they have always, so far as known, supported themselves by agriculture and hunting. In this they are also like the pueblos along the Rio Grande. DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 1049 While the Zunis are wards of the government, they are prac- and are gradually increasing in numbers, as tically self-supporting - recent counts show. Their population grew from 1,574, in 1906, to 1,640, in 1910. They have their own tribal government which is closely interwoven with their religious and social organization, and which is said to suit them far better than the "Washington way." They are quiet, good-tempered, and industrious, but less peace-loving than the Hopi. They are friendly toward Americans but distrust Mexicans, and are bitter enemies to the Navajo. Men in all lands and in all ages have been seekers for happiness ; the quest is universal. In their quest, the Zunis have devel- TIIE BURRO "PIZZAXO" AND HIS FRIENDS PIzzano was the bell burro for the Utah expedition and is admired for his rare intelligence Pizzano is patient and devoted to his friends, but will bite and kick at The burro is invaluable to the Zunis as their beast of transporthose who abuse him. tation. oped a philosophy influenced profoundly by the things about them. They are noted for their wonderful system of mythology and folklore, for they live in a world of mysticism and symbolism. To them the world is a universe of animals. Plants are animals under a spell of enchantment and cannot travel. The stars are animals compelled by magic to travel around the world, and the sun-god is the most potent of their many deities. To the Zuni, every object spiritual life. The waters writhe in waves of anger possesses a distress, and the earth-mother the hills and mountains tremble in nourishes all. m .... Living in a land of little rain, where they must obtain their meager living from the soil, and where drouth frequently means 1050 IMPROVEMENT ERA famine, it is not strange that many of their rites and ceremonies are supplications for rain. One of their beliefs is that their dead go to the underworld, where their gods also dwell, and there become rain-makers for the upper world. These rain-makers ascend at times to the upper world and soar back and forth over the earth, shielded by the cloud-masks from the view of the people below. It is not the clouds which fall in rain the rain-makers pour the ; water through the cloud masks from large ollas which they carry. Every Zuni child must have its ears pierced at birth, otherwise it is believed that they cannot become rain-makers in the nether world. According to Zuni philosophy, the members of their bowpriesthood become lightning makers after death. Thunder is pro- "THE MITTENS" A peak or erosion in the Painted Desert. Notice by the "thumbs" of the "mittens that they are mates. These giant monoliths are of bright vermillion sandstone, and tower several miles apart, and belong to a group of nine pinnacles to be seen from the same point and rising from five hundred to eight hundred feet above the plain. duced by the rain-makers gaming with stones, the players rolling stones back and forth to one another in their sports. So the Zuni have their own explanation for every phenomenon about them. They revel in a wealth of folk-lore which is said to rival the mythology of the ancient Greeks. The belief in witchcraft, and in the force of the taboo, is still general among the tribes of the Southwest. A common taboo is that which forbids the use for food of fish, ducks or any aquatic DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORAlx I 1051 animal. The natives seem to be influenced strongly by the advice of their priests and medicine-men. The common difficulty in securing photographs of the natives is explained by the fact that they have been told that the camera is "bad medicine." It is believed that the strange machine discharges evil spirits into the person whose photograph is being taken, and that each "exposure" weakens him by taking from him the strength, or part of himself, which goes to compose the picture. When members of the Utah Expedition innocently made prepara- tions to photograph a camp of Utes in southern Utah, the burly braves threat- ened to demolish their cameras. Whites who live near the Zunis have reported that execution of sup- posed witches is still sometimes re- sorted to. Mrs. James Stevenson, of the Bureau of American Ethnology, states that she saved a Zuni medicine- man from being hanged for supposed witchcraft. According to these in- formants, when persistent bad fortune or disease visits the tribe, or even an individual, suspicion arises that it is due to witchcraft, and every effort is made to discover the offender. As in old Massachusetts days, the blame is likely to fall upon the old, ec- Photo b" Frazier, centric and friendless, but is said to Utah Arch. Exped. fall sometimes upon the young as well. THE SENTINEL ASLEEP. If the supposed offender confesses, he is merely exiled. Failing to confess Growing tired of excavating in the ruined homes of the ancients, he may be more severely dealt with, this member of the Utah expedi- tion lay down to pleasant(?) but it is not probable that killing is dreams. As the camera caught often, if ever, resorted to now-a-days, him he may have been dreaming of the court-martial by the cliff- thanks to the good influence of the dwellers for having slept at his post and allowed the enemy to whites. invade the stronghold. The old practice of the Zunis in offering human sacrifice to appease the anger of their gods, has also been slightly modified, until today their elaborate ceremonials and religious practices contain much of beauty and uplift and hardly a touch of barbarism. The Zunis tell of a notable case of human sacrifice in connection with their old deserted village on the mesa, where they lived at the time of the coming of the Spanish conquistadors. According to the story, they were driven to the mesa top from their pueblo on the plain, by a great flood which filled the whole plain below and reached almost to the top of the mesa. To appease the aggres- 1052 IMPROVEMENT ERA sive elements, a human sacrifice was deemed necessary. A youth and maiden, son and daughter of two priests, were thrown into the angry, turbid flood. Two great pinnacles, carved by weathering influences from the mesa, are looked upon by the Zunis as the actual youth and maiden turned to stone, and are regarded with much reverence. They have many superstitions and legends associated with this mesa, upon whose summit are spread the extensive ruins of their long-ago deserted village. There are thirteen secret orders in Zuni, to many of which women and children belong. All boys belong to the order of Koko, but if a girl joins she must take a vow never to marry. Membership of girls in this order is therefore small. Those well acquainted with the Zuni religion assert that it makes for truth-telling, industry, fair- dealing, faithfulness to promises, hon- esty, hospitality to strangers, respect for the aged, obedience to parents, ten- derness to children, and cheerfulness of heart. The government of Zuni is hier- archical, the four fundamental relig- ions orders being concerned. The civic governor and his assistants are nom- inated by the Ashizvanni (Rain Priest- hood). When the governor is notified publicly of his election he is handed the governor's cane, a gift to the tribe from President Lincoln. Formerly a native staff was used. The tenure of office is one year. The dominant au- rhoto by Stockman, Utah Arch. Exped. thority, however, is said to be the Ashiwanni. STRENUOUS CLIMBING. The Zunis are an agricultural and Members of the Utah expedition making their way over the pastoral people, and farm under a comcliffs by means of ropes. Many plex system of land tenure. The an ancient cliff-dweller, losing his hold, must have tumbled down, daughters inherit the landed property and down, never stopping until life had left his body. after the death of the parents, and the sons must "stake out" new tracts or buy old ones. If there are no girls in the family, the sons are the next heirs. At the death of the owner, the cattle, sheep, burros, horses and blankets, are divided among the boys and girls of the family. The jewelry of the mother goes to her daughters; that of the father, to the eldest son. The houses of the Zuni are built in terraces so that the roof of the lower story serves as the front yard for the story above The houses are built usually of adobe and contain from two to eight rooms. The upper stories are reached by means of ladders DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 1053 on the outside. The wealthier people reside in the lower rooms and the poor people above— the poorer the higher. The Zunis' old time division of labor still persists. The men plant and harvest the field crops; the women grind the corn and make bread. The men tend the sheep and cattle, and hunt; the women cook the meat. The men are the silversmiths and do the knitting and most of the sewing; the women are the potterymakers and blanket-weavers. The men build the walls of the houses the women plaster them. The children help with all the ; work and everybody cares for the babies. When necessary the Photo by Brooks, Utah Arch. Exped. "THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE" The last struggling conifers on the edge of a southern Utah forest. Some of our best forests are in the southwest. Billions of feet of good lumber lie awaiting the railroad. Navajo mountain is seen in the distance. women help gather the field crops which are carried to the pueblo by crude wooden carts or on the backs of burros. Corn is the chief crop and is produced in a dozen or more different colors. Squash, beans, melons and peaches, are also common products of the Zuni field. The peach trees are of the dwarf variety, imported by the early Spanish settlers. These trees are found growing wild in some of the canyons of the Navajo country. The marriage ceremony of the Zuni is not so elaborate as among some of the southwestern tribes. The advances are initi- 1054 IMPROVEMENT ERA ated by the man. When a youth is sufficiently pleased with a girl he manages to meet her on the road or at the well. He tells her of his admiration and asks permission to go to her house. If she favors him she asks that he wait until she obtain the consent of her parents. He meets her another day, and if her parents are willing he goes with her to her home. The father of the girl gives the young man some advice, urging that when he is married he be industrious. The mother asks him to be good and kind to his wife. He then works for the girl's parents several days, after which he goes to his own parents and asks their consent to the union. If they are willing, the marriage is consummated. Divorce is obtained by the Zuni in the same way as by the Navajo and is said to be common. The husband may at any time , y y-w- •-" • m Photo by Brooks, Utah Arch. Exped. THE EXPEDITION AT CAMP IN AN ARIZONA FOREST The Painted Desert is not a barren waste. There are many spots most inviting for their coolness, beautiful verdure and mountain scenery. leave his wife, or the wife may discharge her husband at will. The Zunis are strongly virtuous in sentiment, and immorality is said to be very rare. They have withstood, to a remarkable degree, the vices with which contact with other people has made them acquainted. Their religion and whole life's teachings guard them against many of the evils that cling to civilization. This mere glimpse of the little world of Zuni shows a people DISCOVERIES ON THE COLORADO 1055 from whom many a lesson of thrift, honesty, hopefulness and kind-heartedness may be learned. They have for centuries solved their own problems in their own way. The virility of their life is kept up by the daily assembly of the family circle at twilight, where, bound by the ties of strong family affection, they listen with undying interest to the often-told stories and legendary lore which have developed a community of sturdy characters. Slander fFound witten on the last yellowed leaf of an old diary.] "The tiny worm a pinch of salt might choke Will eat the heart out of the sturdy oak; The drop of water falling day by day In time will wear a continent away; So the pure life of reputation dies Strangled in gossimer threads of thin white lies." No! Why endure it twice, to live it then to write it, To blazon on your page the wound that seared the soul. Just yesterday I braced myself and faced about to meet it, Today must not betray the cause for silent self-control. The arrow quivered deep where careless hand had shot it, Spent in the heart the dart in hidden chambers bled; Nor friend nor foe shall know the woe its venom brought it, Nor curious alien eye shall see the bitter barb it sped. Fearless the fawn will gaze upon the man as other cattle Till shot, then leaps away to die in hidden leafy bed; The veteran soldier shows old scars received in honored battle, But shrinks from probing grievous wounds when they are raw and red. And so the Inner-Self must hide, and bide time's gracious healing, And wiser grown alone the Great Physician trust; No line upon your page must trace — nor yet erase one feeling, Nor quiver of an eyelash prove that I am bowed in dust. And yet my grief and my regret for self has smallest part, The fact that you so wrong yourself lies heaviest on my heart. O, fool, and blind, the thistle-seed your malice scatters free Sows years of locust-years for you, and dragon's-teeth for me. No, no! the raven must not nest where doves were wont to hover, Nor noxious weeds choke up the path where flowers were wont to dwell. Slander, nor scoring comments throng my dove of Peace to smother — The hand, the hour, that gained the power to maim thou shalt not tell! My welcoming smile may be more sad, will not be less tender; it My stricken heart more full of pain will not be less the true, My willing hand more palsied be its services to render, But holds in fee love's ministry as lilies hold their dew. The love, the trust, I freely gave with all I had to give! My love endures, but turns and weeps because faith could not live. Some part of me lies buried in the grave I hid that day Till Faith arise with Love again and roll the stone away. Sarah E. Hawley Pearson