The Hualpai

BY FRANCES B. SANITA, ARIZONA WRITERS PROJECT, W. P. A.

A AREA OF 972,949 acres, lying close to the northwestern corner of Arizona, constitutes the Hualpai Indian Reservation. In the eastern section of the reservation there are wide spreading mesas about 5,000 feet above sea level, buttressed on the north by a line of buttes, giant steps up to the rim of the Grand Canyon. To the south and west are ranges of sharp barren mountains characteristic of the desert south of the Colorado Plateau. This country lies at the junction line of plateau and desert and has features of both. As far as is known, the Hualpai have always occupied the pine clad mountains for about a hundred miles along the southern side of the Grand Canyon. It is from the pines they take the name Hualpai (Xawalapaiy, Pine tree folk).

The Hualpai are a small tribe, numbering less than 500, and some of them live off the reservation. The men are of medium height and build, and wear the usual cowboy garb of levis, jumper, ten gallon hat, boots and a bright silk neckerchief. The women are also of medium height but generally inclined to stoutness, and wear loose flowing dresses of the brightest cotton cloth obtainable. A large colored handkerchief silk for dress occasion and cotton for every day is worn tied loosely about the shoulders and over all a plaid shawl is worn in cold weather. Both sexes are of pleasant personality and usually talk freely with strangers.

The present Hualpai are descendants of a somewhat larger tribe which roamed the northwestern corner of Arizona from the Bill Williams River to the Grand Canyon and from the Colorado River eastward for a hundred miles. Though never numerous, they needed this entire region because they developed very little agriculture and subsisted almost entirely on products of desert and forest. Hence the invasion of the white man was a threat to their existence and they resisted violently. Subdued by superior governmental force, they were subjected to the same treatment meted out to certain other tribes. Transported in 1874 two hundred miles from their mountain home to La Paz in the arid Colorado Valley. they remained there for a year as military prison ers and almost half of them sickened and died. They fled from the reservation in the spring of 1875 and returned to the mountain regions where they had formerly roamed. In 1883 the present reservation, including but a small part of their traditional land, was established by presidential proclamation.

Much of litigation followed which has continued to the present day.

The Hualpai claim they have occupied and used the lands and waters lying within the present boundaries of their reservation from a time so far in the past that it antedates the records of the white man. Evidence of their undisputed occupancy, use, and ownership of this territory is contained in their family and tribal records, traditions and legends which are unwritten but have been faithfully transmitted from parent and leader to offspring and follower, from a stock that lived in the distant past to the present generation. The primary material basis of Hualpai life lies in their herds of range cattle supplemented by corn, beans, squash, melons and a few peaches. In former times meat was obtained by hunting and there was a great variety of game on their range.

In the decade before the establishment of the reservation, white cattlemen had acquired Peach Springs through rights of occupancy. They sold to the railroad, then the Atlantic and Pacific, the water supply for what was already the chief settlement of the new reservation. The Indians resisted this and a period The economic unit is the family, consisting of parents, married daughters and their husbands, unmarried sons and daughters. Formerly all these people lived together in one house and all contributed their labor to support the group. Now the first residence of a couple is with the girl's parents. This continues sometimes only a few months or until after the birth of the first baby but in some cases it continues for several years.

Personal property is owned by the sex with which it is associated. The men own horses, saddles, buckskin, and weapons, while the women own baskets, utensils and blankets. Both sexes now own cattle.

DRAWINGS FOR ARIZONA HIGHWAYS BY ROSS SANTEE

Before the advent of the white man this tribe subsisted entirely on the gifts of nature -the products of desert and forest-discovering and utilizing them with ingenuity and per-sistence. But they accepted nature; they never achieved even the rudimentary control of na-tural forces represented by the primitive dry farming of the Hopi.The occupation of their land by white men left the Hualpai without resources and the remnant that returned from exile in 1875 soon drifted into construction camps of the railroad that was nosing its way across their ancient homeland. For fifty years they subsisted meagerly by working for the mines and the rail-roads. Indian authorities early in the century made an effort to relieve the poverty of the Hualpai by developing grazing. In 1915 the government issued ten head of cattle to every fifteen families on a reimbursement plan. The plan has been continued since that time and the interest of the Indian has been slowly aroused. Now there are over a hundred own-ers and nearly six thousand head of cattle.

The depression of 1930-35 worked havoc with the Hualpai's precarious economy. The price of cattle fell, mines closed, and the railroad laid off men. Out of this situation came the government's constructive plans to increase theherd, develop possibilities for dry farming, encourage the building of new and better houses at more desirable spots, and teach the Hual pai the resources of his present territory.

The stock is run in two herds, the new tribal herd on the western range and the older one individually owned, but communally managed, on the east. The life of a cowboy is as nearly fitting to the Hualpai's temperament as any modern life could be. The management of the range is in the hands of an association, but marketing is not co-operative.

In the western section of the reservation is beautiful Meriwitica Canyon, a spectacular gash into the earth in the depths of which lie a few acres of garden land used from time immemorial by these ancient people. Here they took refuge from the invading white man; from it he eventually had to starve them out. With governmental assistance a trail has been built down the thousand feet of the canyon's wall, and a five acre peach orchard has been planted for the use of the tribe.

In the eastern section a forest of yellow pine, thirty-one thousand acres in extent, clothes the highest land of the reservation. This constitutes a substantial part of the wealth of the tribe whose million acres are rich in beauty, but whose resources demanded a development beyond the powers of its primitive people. Here again the federal government, tardily recog-nizing the need, is making the resources avail-able. It has improved the trail into the forest and erected a saw mill to provide lumber to build Indian homes.

Land with sufficient water for cultivation is very scant in the Hualpai country. There are a few springs, such as Bourne, Clay, and Dolan, that furnish enough water for small gardens. In the early days families occasionally lived by a spring or summer streams and cultivated small plots in various parts of the area over which they roamed. But the acreage was so small that the amount of food raised was of little economic importance to the tribe as a whole. A few families still farm regularly, others now and then, but the majority not at all.

The few farm products are prepared in very much the same way as the wild food. Corn is parched and ground on the grinding slab (me-tate) and either eaten dry, made into a mush, or cooked as soup usually with meat. Corn kernels are removed from the cob and boiled with beans and meat. A bread is made by mixing corn meal with water and baking as a loaf on heated stones. Corn is also roasted in the green husks and eaten on the cob. Beans are boiled with or without meat. When meat is not used, a few spoonfuls of lard are added as seasoning for the beans. Squash and pump-kins are eaten fresh or sliced in long strips and dried in the sun.

In addition to the cultivated plants the Hual-pai Hual-pai gather juniper and squawberries, grapes, mesquite beans, walnuts and acorns. The piñon nut is a staple crop, many hundred pounds be-ing gathered each season. Important vegetable food staples are derived from the cactus family. The saguaro, the barrel, tuna, and cholla are used both fresh and dried. The young agave or mescal is harvested and prepared for storage by careful steaming and drying.

Cooking is done over an open fireplace or on small wood stoves. Most of the cooking is done outdoors during the summer months, indoors in winter. Some families own tables, but most of them sit on boxes or on the floor and hold their plates on the lap. The food is served from the cooking pots on the fire. Women and chil-dren eat with the men. If a visitor comes from a distance, whether man or woman, the wife is supposed to prepare a meal immediately. When the visitor leaves, the woman is expect-ed to prepare a lunch for him to take along.

Cooking utensils and dishes are metal ware obtained from the trader's stores. Some char-acteristic Indian utensils are still in use, baskets and trays and the grinding stone (metate) for grinding corn and pinon nuts. Stone mortars and pestles are also used for pounding dried meat, corn and acorns.

Formerly the Hualpai dwellings were dome shaped or single slant brush shelters built on a four post foundation, filled out with a frame work of small poles and branches, and covered with cedar boughs, juniper bark, or other brush according to locality. Most houses had the open shade common in the south and there called the ramada. The ramada is a frame-work supported by four posts, with a roof of small branches and earth. Only a few of these houses survive. The present day dwellings are cabins of lumber, tin, cardboard, and canvas. The housing is poor both as to health and comfort, and a vital part of the new federal pro-gram is to make it possible for the people to build from their own lumber. Some houses already have been built.

At night thin mattresses, blankets and quilts are spread on the floor to provide beds. In the morning, the bedding is piled against one wall or rolled up and carried outside. The heads of sleepers point east because other directions bring bad luck. Now some families own modern beds, but the floor is generally used.

Personal ornamentation seems formerly to have been chiefly according to individual taste and was never extensively developed. Like the decoration of pottery, it was slight and simple. For festive occasions, such as scalp dances or on war raids, men smeared their bodies with black paint and painted their faces half red and half black. Occasionally they streaked them with lines of red, black, and white. This was the customary design for the women, for they, too, indulged themselves in ornamentation.

Necklaces, ear and nose pendants were made of shell obtained in trade from the Mohave. Men of importance wore one or two beads or a snail shell tied through the septum of the nose. This gave them a fierce appearance.

The ears of babies were usually pierced when they were about a year old. The sharp point of a yucca leaf, a basket needle of deer horn, or a steel needle was used to make the holes. Small pieces of rawhide were left in the holes; this was said to keep the baby from crying. When the perforation was healed, beads of bone, claws, or shells were strung on the raw-hide. The ears of all female babies are still pierced but earrings of gold or silver are put in the ears as soon as the perforation heals. In olden times the ears of small boys were sometimes pierced as a form of punishment.

The Hualpai had turquoise mines in theirterritory, but they made no attempt to take out the gems. The Navajo, who prize the stones very highly, came and worked them. They made silver jewelry set with turquoise and traded it to the Hualpai for horses, buckskin and slabs of mescal. The turquoise worn by the Hualpai today is usually bought from the Navajo.

The women wear necklaces of small colored or gold beads similar to those worn by the tribes on the lower Colorado. This necklace is made of a dozen or more strands of beads of graduated lengths. All the strands are held together with a strip of buckskin which is wound around them on each side of the fasten-er at the back of the neck. The colored beads are often arranged in a very artistic manner.

Tattooing was and still is practiced to some extent, more generally on women than men. Men tattoo the wrist or forearm, while women tattoo designs on the chin or forehead and sometimes on the cheeks and backs of the hands. Most of the older women have tattoo lines that run from the lower lip down the chin, one in the middle and from two to six diagonal lines descending outward from the lower lip.

Tattoo designs are put on with a sharp stick which has been dipped in ground charcoal dampened with water. A person usually does his own tattooing. The design is pricked over with a cactus needle, washed off when it bleeds, and another coating of the liquid applied and allowed to dry for two or three days.

Basketry made by the Hualpai women is distinctive though not of the highest order. In fairly recent times the industry has been somewhat modified by tourist demands. Two tech-niques are employed, twining and coiling.

The coiling technique has been most altered by contact with the white race. In former times coiled work was principally cups and bowls made of mulberry twigs. The weaving was very close to make them water tight. The usual modern coiled basketry takes the form of either trays or bowls, simply decorated in geometric or realistic designs. Formerly the bulk of Hual-pai basketry was twined in the diagonal weave.

Flat trays used in former times for plates and for winnowing and parching, are circular in shape and diagonally twined. They range in size from sixteen by two and one half to six-teen by ten and one half inches, are now used as bread trays. Some are decorated in concentric raised bands in three strand twining and some are plain.

In olden times the only colored decoration for basketry was from the split pods of devil's claw or martynia. Colors now in use are obtained from dyes-red from Spanish bayonet root, brown from burnt mescal, and yellow from boiled sumac root.

Some pottery was made by the Hualpai, but the art never highly developed. The articles made were those most commonly used, such as cooking pots, water jars, bowls, cups and spoons. The decoration of pottery was extremely simple, consisting of straight lines and geometric patterns in red paint.

The tribal life of this very primitive people, all of whose energy was absorbed in the capture of a livelihood, was always rudimentary and little of it remains.

The tribe fell into seven sub-tribes or divisions based on location, and on resources in water, game and plant food. These had individual names and each had a chief or head man. One of these divisions was called Hualpai, Pine tree folk, and this eventually became the name of the whole tribe. The head man was chosen for special achievements and popularity, plus a marked ability in public speaking, and might or might not pass on the office to his heirs.

Once established, chieftainship was roughly hereditary and there seemed to be a feeling that the position should be kept in the family. Usually the office went from father to son, but when the son was too young or lacked qualities necessary for a chief, a brother or an uncle might assume the position. The organization was too loose to survive changes brought by the white man.

The modern tribe has accepted the Indian Reorganization Act known as the Wheeler-Howard Act, passed by congress in 1934, which empowers Indian tribes, although wards of the government, to organize, adopt a constitution, and assume a large measure of self-government. A council consisting of six representatives has been established and a constitution adopted. Judicial problems are handled by a native, a volunteer prosecuting attorney, and, if the plaintiff requests, a jury.

The Hualpai's daily life leads him far and wide, alone or in small parties. There was nothing on which to build large group ceremonies. After the coming of the white man they adopted ceremonials, the long Salt Song series from the Chemehuevi, the Ghost Dance from the Paiute, and the Mourning Ceremony from the Mohave. Of these the only one that has persisted is the Mourning Ceremony a meeting of the whole tribe to mourn for those who have died during the year. It has become of later years a social event as well; games and horse racing are usually a part of the day's activities. The Hualpai have adopted one peculiar phase of the Mohave ceremony, known by the Hualpai as the "we runners," but its significance as a conventionalized representation of warfare has been lost.

When the time and place has been decided, the local chief consults with the other chiefs and the one in whose district the ceremony is held is in charge. He appoints some man to act as master of ceremonies. The chief collects funds from the tribe and secures a petition from the county court house to solicit funds and contributions of food from the whites. Two brush shades (ramadas) are erected, a small one where the food is cooked, and a large one where the ceremonies are held. The large one is approximately sixty feet in length and is made by setting up three rows of eight posts each just far enough apart so that railroad ties can be supported between each two posts. It is decorated in bunting, Navajo rugs, silk handkerchiefs, cedar limbs, and American flags.

Around nine o'clock in the morning those whose relatives have died within the twelve months preceding, collect in a group and opposite them a little distance are the visitors and non-relatives. The chief stands between the two groups and makes a speech saying this is an occasion for the remembrance of those who have died the past year and for all those who have gathered to see their relatives and mourn with them. Following the speech both groups start wailing for the dead and slowly walk toward each other. They gather near the big shade and continue to wail, while for an hour or two another chief addresses the crowd, speaking with strong feeling which is as strongly reflected in the faces of his listeners. Then some other man of importance takes the stand and makes a speech which is largely a repetition of the others. About eleven-thirty the women begin to prepare lunch. They cook great pots of coffee, vegetables, and roast meat over huge fires. All formal ceremonies are given up until afternoon when the chiefs make more speeches and the people say prayers.

The woman's costume for mourning is a long black dress with full skirt and long sleeves. Lace and bright colored ribbons are sewed around the bottom of the skirt to a depth of about twelve or fourteen inches. The shoulders, cuffs and belt are trimmed in the same manner. This was copied from the Mohave dress.

Around six o'clock the "we runners" are assembled by a war cry of some old man. Eight young men of good physique are selected for the races so there will be no stumbling in the dance. Stumbling in a dance is presumed to cause sickness and bad luck. The runners carry four-foot willow rods, painted white with red spiral bands, and decorated with feathers sharpened on one end. The man who assembles them by a war cry leads the dance. Each man stands a couple of feet in front of one of the eight poles on the east side of the large shade and together they run at a slow trot about fifty yards to the east, pause a few seconds with rods resting with the pointed ends on the ground, and then run back to their posts. The rods are carried on their shoulders when running. The running which is only a part of the Mourning Ceremony seems to have lost its original significance, but is always given because nothing is omitted from previous celebrations. There is no musical accompaniment for the "we runners." There is also horse racing to a stake and back.

The Mohave who are invited to attend start singing and dancing on the west side of the big shade. The Hualpai join the two lines they form, but leave the Mohave in the center of each. One line is composed of women and the other men. Several other groups start singing and dancing and keep it up all night. The singing is the only form of music for the dance which is done in a sort of side step.

Before dawn the singing and dancing ends and every one leaves the shade. All is made ready to burn; the shade is torn down; the rubbish picked up; and the people's costumes thrown on the pile. Part of the people burn all the clothing, others burn the outer garments. The runners give a great cry and the fire is lit. Four or more men are chosen as lighters. The runners circle twice around the fire, break their rods and toss both rods and costumes in the fire. If five men light the fire, five others remain with it until the flames die out. The spirits of the dead are supposed to return and watch the fire with them.

When everybody leaves the shade they wash themselves as well as such clothing that is not thrown into the fire with suds of dried yucca root, to protect themselves from sickness.

Chinee Boy

(Continued from Page Nine) Charlie Wann any more. No longer is he the inconsequential Chinaman who crept to a Christian church on Christmas and praised the Lord in his pidgin English. He's known as Jan Con Sang, the Powerful, in Hongkong. Six great retail stores, valued at $5,000,000, are managed by his elder sons. A great Christian hospital operates in the shadow of his luxurious palace, maintained by him. His river boats transport his goods and his own railroads carry his merchandise. The largest building in Hongkong is too small for an assemblage of his employees. They are going to hold their Christmas services in relays.' In his native China Mr. Jan Con Sang has been a great force for good and has given unstintingly of his means, his time, his influence, his prayers, and his counsel to Christian enterprises. He is quietly proud of his successful sons, one the manager of the Shanghai store of the Sincere Co., and the other son a doctor of medicine. Of his four T. W. Otis, Prescott pioneer, was "uncle" to the young Chinese of the town. He conducted a Bible class for the Chinese youths and helped and counseled them in many ways.

Of daughters, too, he is equally proud. A Christian family father, mother, and six children carrying forward Christian work in China.

Mr. Jan has established several chapels in Kwaungtung Province where religious services are held regularly. In his own home in Kowloon Tong, Hongkong, Sunday School is conducted by his daughter with assistants for fifty neighborhood children and a chapel service is held every Sunday evening. He has built a "Parents' Memorial Hall" in memory of his parents in Christian cemetery in Hongkong where, in 1939, 250 poor refugees were sheltered.

He has served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mei Wa Middle School to which he has given generously. He was one of the founders of the Kee Kwang hospital at Shek Kee and in 1928 he revisited the United States and raised $20,000 for it. When the American Board withdrew its support in South China, Mr. Jan led in the formation of "The Home Missionary Society of the Chinese Congregational Church in South China" and, in company with the Reverend Yung Ting Shong on the visit to the United States, raised $100,000, for the support of this work.

Mr. Jan has been a great influence for the Christian cause in China. Someone has said his services have been worth that of fifty foreign missionaries. Thus Arizona has made a vital contribution to China and the Christian enterprise of the Orient.(Continued from Page Twenty-Nine)

The Saga of Queho

Colorado River, and unable to obtain food and water, died there a painful death of starvation. There was little doubt but that Queho paid a full share for the death and suffering he caused other people during his lifetime.

The body and articles discovered in the cave were removed to Boulder City where they were placed on exhibition for several days, and then were taken to Las Vegas. Queho had been a resourceful outdoorsman; the primitive fire-making board and drill found among his possessions proved that. At his last camp, though he had no matches, his ingenuity and Indian background had taught him to make fire without them. Neither was he dependent on the Whites for his ammunition; Queho had with him a complete set of bullet molds and reloading tools. Other objects taken from the cave were a bunch of keys and a watchman's badge supposedly taken from the body of a mill operator at the Gold Bug mine whom Queho had murdered, a large collection of empty shotgun shells and 30-.30 cartriges, lead, gunpowder, money, scraps of buckskin, fishline, and an assortment of small tools, cooking utensils and canteens.

Queho's reign of terror is over, and thanks to the curiosity of two men searching for gold one of the most baffling mysteries of the Boulder Dam area has been solved.