Navaho Houses, Part 2 | Page 4

merely drainage channels
and are dry during most of the year. The eastern slope of the mountain
range gives rise to no streams, and the foot of the range on that side is
as dry and waterless as the valley itself. One may travel for 20 miles
over this valley and not find a drop of water. Except at Sulphur springs,
warm volcanic springs about 30 miles south of the San Juan, the
ordinary traveler will not find sufficient water between the foot of the
mountains and the river, a distance of over 50 miles. Such is the
character of Chaco valley. But the Indians know of a few holes and
pockets in this region which yield a scanty supply of water during parts
of the year, and somewhere in the vicinity of these pockets will be
found a hogán or two.
Chaco wash or river, like most of the large drainage channels of this
country, has a permanent underflow, and by digging wells in the dry,
sandy bed it is often possible to obtain a limited supply of water. This
is well known to the Navaho, and 90 per cent of the houses of this
region are located within reach of the wash, whence the supply of water
which the Navaho deems essential is procured.
On the western slope of the mountains and in the canyons and cliffs of
the high table-lands which form the western part of the reservation, the
water supply, while still scanty, is abundant as compared with the
eastern part. In the mountains themselves there are numerous small
streams, some of which carry water nearly all the year; while here and

there throughout the region are many diminutive springs almost or
quite permanent in character. Most of the little streams rise near the
crest of the mountains and, flowing westward, are collected in a deep
canyon cut in the western slope, whence the water is discharged into
Chinlee valley, and traversing its length in the so-called Rio de Chelly,
finally reaches San Juan river. But while these little streams are fairly
permanent up in the mountains, their combined flow is seldom
sufficient, except in times of flood, to reach the mouth of Canyon
Chelly and Chinlee valley. However, here, as in the Chaco, there is an
underflow, which the Indians know how to utilize and from which they
can always obtain a sufficient supply of potable water.
The whole Navaho country lies within what the geologists term the
Plateau region, and its topography is dictated by the peculiar
characteristics of that area. The soft sandstone measures, which are its
most pronounced feature, appear to lie perfectly horizontal, but in fact
the strata have a slight, although persistent dip. From this peculiarity it
comes about that each stratum extends for miles with an unbroken
sameness which is extremely monotonous to the traveler; but finally its
dip carries it under the next succeeding stratum, whose edge appears as
an escarpment or cliff, and this in turn stretches out flat and
uninteresting to the horizon. To the eye it appears an ideal country for
traveling, but only a very slight experience is necessary to reveal its
deceptiveness. Everywhere the flat mesas are cut and seamed by gorges
and narrow canyons, sometimes impassable even to a horse. Except
along a few routes which have been established here and there, wagon
travel is extremely difficult and often impossible. It is not unusual for a
wagon to travel 50 or 60 miles between two points not 20 miles distant
from each other.
The high mountain districts are characterized by a heavy growth of
giant pines, with firs and spruce in the highest parts, and many groves
of scrub oak. The pines are abundant and make excellent lumber. Going
downward they merge into piñons, useful for firewood but valueless as
timber, and these in turn give place to junipers and cedars, which are
found everywhere throughout the foothills and on the high mesa lands.
The valleys proper, and the low mesas which bound them, are generally

destitute of trees; their vegetation consists only of sagebrush and
greasewood, with a scanty growth of grass in favorable spots.
To the traveler in the valley the country appears to consist of sandy
plains bounded in the distance by rocky cliffs. When he ascends to the
higher plateaus he views a wide landscape of undulating plain studded
with wooded hills, while from the mountain summits he looks down
upon a land which appears to be everywhere cut into a network of
jagged canyons--a confused tangle of cliffs and gorges without system.
For a few weeks in early summer the table-lands are seen in their most
attractive guise. The open stretches of the mesas are carpeted with
verdure almost hidden under a profusion of flowers. The gray and dusty