Canyons of the Colorado | Page 4

on the west and to the highlands where the Gila heads on
the east, is one of singular characteristics. The plains and valleys are
low, arid, hot, and naked, and the volcanic mountains scattered here
and there are lone and desolate. During the long months the sun pours
its heat upon the rocks and sands, untempered by clouds above or forest
shades beneath. The springs are so few in number that their names are
household words in every Indian rancheria and every settler's home;
and there are no brooks, no creeks, and no rivers but the trunk of the
Colorado and the trunk of the Gila. The few plants are strangers to the
dwellers in the temperate zone. On the mountains a few junipers and
pinons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants
with bayonets and thorns. The landscape of vegetal life is weird--no
forests, no meadows, no green hills, no foliage, but clublike stems of
plants armed with stilettos. Many of the plants bear gorgeous flowers.
The birds are few, but often of rich plumage. Hooded rattlesnakes,
horned toads, and lizards crawl in the dust and among the rocks. One of
these lizards, the "Gila monster," is poisonous. Rarely antelopes are
seen, but wolves, rabbits, and sundry ground squirrels abound.
The desert valley of the Colorado, which has been described as distinct
from the plateau region above, is the home of many Indian tribes.
Away up at the sources of the Gila, where the pines and cedars stand
and where creeks and valleys are found, is a part of the Apache land.
These tribes extend far south into the republic of Mexico. The Apaches
are intruders in this country, having at some time, perhaps many
centuries ago, migrated from British America. They speak an
Athapascan language. The Apaches and Navajos are the American
Bedouins. On their way from the far North they left several colonies in
Washington, Oregon, and California. They came to the country on foot,

but since the Spanish invasion they have become skilled horsemen.
They are wily warriors and implacable enemies, feared by all other
tribes. They are hunters, warriors, and priests, these professions not yet
being differentiated. The cliffs of the region have many caves, in which
these people perform their religious rites. The Sierra Madre formerly
supported abundant game, and the little Sonora deer was common.
Bears and mountain lions were once found in great numbers, and they
put the courage and prowess of the Apaches to a severe test. Huge
rattlesnakes are common, and the rattlesnake god is one of the deities of
the tribes.
In the valley of the Gila and on its tributaries from the northeast are the
Pimas, Maricopas, and Papagos. They are skilled agriculturists,
cultivating lands by irrigation. In the same region many ruined villages
are found. The dwellings of these towns in the valley were built chiefly
of grout, and the fragments of the ancient pueblos still remaining have
stood through centuries of storm. Other pueblos near the cliffs on the
northeast were built of stone. The people who occupied them cultivated
the soil by irrigation, and their hydraulic works were on an extensive
scale. They built canals scores of miles in length and built reservoirs to
store water. They were skilled workers in pottery. From the fibers of
some of the desert plants they made fabrics with which to clothe
themselves, and they cultivated cotton. They were deft artists in
picture-writings, which they etched on the rocks. Many interesting
vestiges of their ancient art remain, testifying to their skill as savage
artisans. It seems probable that the Pimas, Maricopas, and Papagos are
the same people who built the pueblos and constructed the irrigation
works; so their traditions state. It is also handed down that the pueblos
were destroyed in wars with the Apaches. In these groves of the flood
plain of the Colorado the Mojave and Yuma Indians once had their
homes. They caught fish from the river and snared a few rabbits in the
desert, but lived mainly on mesquite beans, the hearts of yucca plants,
and the fruits of the cactus. They also gathered a harvest from the river
reeds. To some slight extent they cultivated the soil by rude irrigation
and raised corn and squashes. They lived almost naked, for the climate
is warm and dry. Sometimes a year passes without a drop of rain. Still
farther to the north the Chemehuevas lived, partly along the river and
partly in the mountains to the west, where a few springs are found.

They belong to the great Shoshonian family. On the Rio Virgen and in
the mountains round about, a confederacy of tribes speaking the Ute
language and belonging to the Shoshonian family have their homes.
These people built their sheltering homes of boughs