Yesterdays in the Land of the San Carlos Apaches

ANOTHER SPRING

Simply another spring. Nothing in that To marvel about. Unfailing cosmic plan Always provides another spring for man And bird and blossom. Thing to wonder at Would be the season's failure to appear In its due place. Then would we raise a cry Of desperation! All our trust in the sky Would be lost in the overturning of our year.Yet over and over lifts in us the same Astonishment at this expected spring. Surely the waking season never came Upon the earth with such sweet gifts to bring! And though we know we've had all this before, Each year we think: this time there's something more.

SPRING

Today the earth Is all astir With trill and peep, Hum and chirr: Swarms of blossoms, Bees, and things With gossamer And giddy wings.

DESERT RAIN

How fragrant is the desert when it rains! When creosote puts on a satin sheen! When not a trace of summer dust remains, And sage and chapparal are fresh and clean! The ground is firm and solid underfoot; No longer subject to the slightest wind; And there is moisture for each stem and root That has so long, been harshly disciplined. The air itself, is velvet to the skin Of those accustomed to the hot and dryAnd half the joys of heaven are akin To water falling from a desert sky. Such gladness fills the heart, that it could burst When rain has quenched the desert's constant thirst!

NO HURRY-NO WORRY

The burro, of the donkey clan, Seems much more sensible than man. He jogs through life, a placid carrier Who never breaks the sonic barrier.

A BLACKBIRD BATHES

This strutting, sable bird defies All old wive's fables: he denies That black is meant for mourning. See With what exquisite ecstasy He savors life: the whole of bliss To fluff his feathers and dismiss The dust of earth, beneath this spray. He dips and ducks and struts away, To give his wings a furtive flip And cock his head to watch them drip. His somberness is but a guise. Perhaps if we were just as wise As one small blackbird, we could rift Our darkness too, and find the gift From which his satisfaction springs: The joy that lurks in simple things.

HOMEWORK

Go! dust off the snow, Shake out the trees, Wake the daffodils, Stir up the bees Whistle a redbirdA bluebird or twoSweet Mistress Springtime, You've homework to do.

HIGHWAYS IN FLIGHT:

I happened, quite by chance, to pick up a copy of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS January issue on a TWA flight from St. Louis to New York. It gave me so much pleasure, both because of its quite outstanding quality, and because it was so unexpected, that I thought I would write and let you know.

Please accept my congratulations on the beautifully got up production, on the breathtakingly beautiful photographs, and on the over-all presentation. I particularly enjoyed your own presentation of the photograph of the rainbow over the desert on the inside of the front cover. I also enjoyed some of the pieces of poetry.

TRAVELING ABOUT:

You might be interested in comments from a letter I received from friends thanking me for a second Christmas subscription to ARIZONA HIGHWAYS. The recipients, who live in Michigan, share the magazine with two or three families and then send it to relatives in Poland. There it is sent from one family to another, and finally is taken by one of the members of a family to her office where it is shared with fellow employees.

It is gratifying to know that a gift is so well received and, as a long-time subscriber, I know of no better representative of our United States in a foreign country than your beautiful magazine.

GOD'S DOG:

It is interesting to find that others have learned the role of the coyote in maintaining a balance of nature. Hunted ruthlessly, he still manages to outwit his foes, doing the chores Mother Nature has set forth and, of course, killing some of the things that man does not want killed at that time. But which is man's worst foe: an animal maintaining nature's balance or man himself? As Lila Lofberg put it in Sierra Outpost, "Nature kills from necessity; in man, the killing motive persists." Man goes out on his seasonal deer hunts, then kills everything in sight including his fellow man.

The term "predator" is a nasty term to hang on an animal. Personally, I like Mrs. Lofberg's statement in the above mentioned book, "coyotes, hawks, owls, skunks-the predators, a term without distinction unless it includes worm-eating chickens and chicken-eating men."

Mrs. Lofberg's book, released in the 30's, tells of seven years in the High Sierras of California, when she and her husband Ted became intimately acquainted with a number of coyotes. A must for those studying this amazing animal.

PHOENIX BIRD:

Thanks for Paul Coze's splendid article in your March issue on the Phoenix bird. A wonderful job of art and research.

OPPOSITE PAGE PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHARLES W. HERBERT

These photographs show various phases in an Apache Puberty Ceremonial. On the first day, while the medicine men are getting ready by taking sweat baths and cleansing themselves, the sponsors of the ceremony have a special ceremony of bringing food to the medicine men. Photo made during Apache Puberty Rite Ceremony held at Beaver Springs in San Carlos River Valley about one quarter mile south of U.S. 70. Ceremony held for Virgilene Victor. It lasted three days and provided entertainment for as many Apaches as could conveniently attend. It is the Apaches' coming-out party for their daughters. But only those who can afford one have them today. It can cost a couple of thousand dollars.

On the first day of the ceremony the maiden, with her companion, stands in a prepared spot during a long series of teachings by her elders. She holds the traditional staff given to her by the medicine man and keeps time to the almost constant chant and drum beats. An eagle feather brings her good luck.