Artisans of the South-West

Artisans of the South-West

BY WILLIAM EVANS, SUPERINTENDENT, Y. M. M. I. A., YOUNG STAKE

"And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of theland, and became exceeding rich in gold, and in silver, and in preciousthings."—Book of Mormon, Jarom 1:8.

When Cortez and his band of adventurers waded throughblood, in the conquest of Mexico, the one controlling thoughtwhich animated them to deeds of violence and cruelty was thedesire of securing the precious metals with which the rulers of

GOVERNOR ULYSSUS PESANO, AND FAMILY, OF LAGUNA, NEW MEXICO

Governor Pesano is an educated, highly intelligent full-bloodedLaguna Indian, and a silversmith of no mean ability. The productsof his native worshop are in great demand. To meet Mr. Pesano andfamily is to feel that you have met people of no ordinary intelligenceand ability.

the empire seemed to be fairly well supplied, and with which thetemples and palaces were more or less profusely decorated.

History records that this band of free-hooters, as well asthose who immediately succeeded them, were enabled to securelarge quantities of the precious metals in various forms throughmeans, which, even to this day, causes the blood of the reader toboil with righteous indignation, because of the monstrous deeds

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committed, and brings a deep sense of regret for the magnificentworks s<> ruthlessly destroyed.

The historians of that day give us faint glimpses of thebeauty of design and form of the various articles constructed ofthe precious metals by the artisans of the days of the Aztecempire. Various articles thus made are now found in themuseums of the two Americas, and are prized as the relics of arace past and gone, and, of course, as such create much interestand wonderment.

The evidence thus presented justifies the conclusion that theAztecs adopted and perpetuated, in their day, the art of workingin precious metals, which art existed among the people whom theAztecs supplanted—the Nephites. We may conclude, too, thatthe Gadianton robbers learned to prize the valuable articles ofgold and silver, and other precious metals, which they plunderedfrom their more civilized neighbors; and that in their leisure mo-

K^Si

SILVERWARE DISPLAY

The silverware here shown was made by a Navajo silversmith,"Nawtawny-Eltsoce-Batcilli" (The Little Slim Chief's YoungerI'.rother), and represents a whole year's work. The stuff was pur-chased by F. L. Noel, an Indian trader, and was arranged by the writerfor exhibition at the Shiprock Indian fair where it was given firstprize in competition with the work of other smiths. It was laterpurchased by the C. H. Algert Co., of Fruitland, New Mexico, andexhibited with other Indian products at the New Mexico State fair atAlbuquerque where it was again awarded first prize. The value ofthe collection was five hundred dollars. Nawtawny-Eltsoce-Batcillihas never atended school.

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ments learned to fashion ornaments, according to their own ideasof workmanship and beauty.

Through inspired men, we have been taught that the nomadictribes of the southwest are the descendants of the maraudingGadiantons; and, indeed, in our day, they have been known toexhibit some of the hereditary tendencies of their forefathers.Not only in the lawless incursions of the past are the tribal ten-dencies displayed, but today, in the more peaceful arts, these he-reditary warriors are displaying a great amount of genius andtalent.

For instance, the Navajo silversmith has established a repu-tation in the production of silver ornaments and articles of do-mestic use. This reputation is enhanced when the beauties of thearticles produced are studied, and the very crude means of pro-duction become fully known to the student.

Something of the semi-savage love of nature enters into thework, and though the product of the white brother may excelin the smoothness of finish, or intricacy of design, the nativearticle bears the stamp of originality; and a person at all familiarwith the native and his ways can almost trace the imprint of thenative song of nature which the artizan—shall we say artist?—often sings, and sometimes almost whispers, while fashioning theproduct of his little workshop.

Let us take a peep into the summer work of this genius ofthe desert. We enter the portal of a miniature bowery constructedof a few slender poles as a framework. Against the sides andover the top of this are laid cottonwood boughs with the leavesstill adhering to them. These are laid on sufficiently thick to forma windshield and to keep out the scorching rays of the sun. Theleaves dry quickly and rustle with the motion of every gentlezephyr, and permit just enough ventilation between the intersticesto mitigate, considerably, the hated desert air.

In one corner is a rude but quaint forge, rising no more thansix or eight inches above the smooth dirt floor of the interior. Thisis constructed of small, thin pieces of rock, gathered from anadjacent rocky bluff, and which are laid together with an inter-mixture of sand and clay mortar. Connected with this forge isan equally interesting home-made bellows, the top and bottomconstructed of pieces of goods-boxes, procured at a neighboringtrading post, and the sides are of tanned goat-skin, the latter, bythe way, being a very good substitute for buckskin. The nozzle ismade from a section of tomato can, and is not inserted in theforge, but the bellows is used to fan the charcoal fire to the properheat, much as our grandparents puffed the glowing embers in theold home fireplace. The principal use of this forge is to melt thesilver—usually coins—which is placed in a little melting pot madeof a certain clay and baked sufficiently hard to fulfil this purpose.

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\ hen the metal has become molten, il is poured into a groovewhich has been furrowed oul in a rock, and thus becomes a smallbar from which it is hammered into the desired shape.

Near the forge, the silversmith is seated, squatting, tailor-fashion, upon a sheepskin. Near at haul, upon another sheepskinv Inch is laid with the skin up, are reposing the few tools used inthe work. A hammer, a file or two, and a Tew- steel dies orstamps with which the engraving is done, and which are the hau Iiwork of the smith himself, for each silversmith prides himselfupon the originality of his design—constitute the paraphernaliaof this interesting workshop. The anvil, upon which the hammerwork is done, may he a piece of railroad iron, or it may be a smallanvil which a trader had procured for him, and which is suit-able for his particular work.

When the small ingot has been hammered into the desiredshape it is filed and sandpapered to give it the requisite finish, andthen the dies or stamps are used to complete the decorative work.Thus the worker sits, hour after hour, melting and hammering,filing and sandpapering, engraving and polishing.

The entrance to this leafy bower, a large and ample open-ing, is always to the east—as are the entrances to all "hogans,"—and as, through force of habit and the demand of circumstanceswhich require the gathering of wood for the morning fire, theNavajo is an early riser, the smith is at his forge when the red-dening sky heralds the coming of the fiery king of the heavens.And as the slanting rays of the rising sun pierce the primitiveworkshop, the toiler hums or sings his morning invocation to thegreat light- and life-giver. As the sun mounts into the heavensand the shimmering heat waves rise from the desert sands, nowand then, he lifts his eyes, and his gaze goes out through theopening to the eastern horizon, which is notched and terrace 1by the outlines of the distant hills, and ever the song of naturerises in his heart, and its impress is embodied in the work of hishands.

The winter workshop is arranged much the same as the sum-mer one, but is constructed of substantial posts and covered withbark and earth.

The art of the Navajo silversmith undoubtedly had its originin the realms of antiquity, but, perhaps, not practiced so ex-tensively as now, for the supply of the "white iron" was never soplentiful with them as at present. Previous to the Conquest theonly source of the precious metals was through plundering theAztecs and the cultured peoples who preceded them; for the rov-ing robber bands knew nothing of mining, the latter, too, ofcourse, being too laborious a method for securing that whichcould be obtained through marauding and robbing. Subsequentto the conquest, a limited quantity may have been procured

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through a gradually increasing intercourse with the Spanish con-querors and their descendants.

An interesting feature of the art is the similarity betweenmany of the engravings produced and the sculptured figures of theAztecs. This similarity can be partially explained by the co-incidental workings of native minds; but one must not lose sightof the facts of heredity; and the outcroppings of racial character-istics give an unfailing clue in tracing the fountain source. Andin the case of the Aztecs, (Lamanites) and the Gadiantons, (thenomadic tribes such as the Navajos and others) all descendantsof the Lehitic family, the following of clues, such as racialcharacteristics, is an interesting occupation.

FRUITLAND, N .M.

Procrastination

(Free translation from Norwegian by Enoch Jorgensen.)

It is not the work that we finished,

But the duty we left undoneThat strikes a snag in our conscience

At the setting of the sun.The kind word often forgotten,

The letter we didn't write,The flowers—neglected love tokens,

Reminders of friendship's blight.

The stone which we could have removct

From a neighbor's path we let lie;The counsel he so wished for in vain,

While we brushed thoughtlessly by.The hand-shake, the hearty greeting

That we didn't take time to lend,Are unpardonable sins of omission

That'll mock us, time without end.

The comfort we might have given

To a brother in dismay.Thus becoming his guardian angel

As angels guide our way:This opportune moment, neglected,

Robs us of peace in the night,Weakens our hope, faith, assurance,

That God will direct us aright.

Remember, Life is too short, friend,

Too serious—be it fortune or fate—To be wasted, or friendships neglected,

Until it's too late, too late.It is not the work that we finish.

But the duties we leave undoneThat will cause regret and heartache

At the setting of life's sun.

S \NDY, UTAH