Today in History:

527 Series I Volume XLVIII-I Serial 101 - Powder River Expedition Part I

Page 527 Chapter LX. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. -UNION.

which when grown attains extraordinary dimensions, and will supply the want of buckets, pitchers, &c. A considerable number of acres will be devoted to the cultivation of beans and peas, which in this region are very productive, and are regarded as one of the prime articles of subsistence. The Cevolletano Navajoes, who are partially civilized, and who formerly lived near the Mexican village of Cevolletta, are at present engaged in the erection of houses built after the Mexican style. They are assisted in their construction by a few mechanics and workmen detailed from the troops of the garrison, and in a short time these Indians can be enjoying the comforts of village life. While the Navajoes possess the industrial habits, and are engaged in the pursuits enumerated, their more particular attention has in the past been turned to the propagation and raising of.

STOCK.

They have for a long time bestowed great care in the breeding of sheep, and were formerly owners of large flocks of this valuable animal, and the tables herewith show them as still owners of no inconsiderable numbers. Some of their sheep are of a large size and would be prized in an Eastern market for their flesh. The wood is usually coarse in texture, but of a quality best suited to native manufacture. A cross with the Movine would be productive of good results to sheep raisers in the States. The horses belonging to the tribe are of a small but well-formed breed, very hardy, and sometimes possessing great speed and power of endurance. Int heir forays upon the settlements the marauders were enabled to defy their pursuers owing to the good quality of their horses. They will average twelve hands in height, and require little or no grain, but obtain their support from the nutritious game grass that abounds in the neighborhood of the reservation. As there is a great proportion of mares among them, a few years will develop a large increase of this species of stock; and it is not going too far to predict that at no distant day our cavalry in this department may be entirely remounted on horses of the Navajo breed. This, when practicable, would greatly diminish the expense now incurred in transporting horses from the States, and their peculiar qualities and adaptation to the climate, locality, &c., would render them far more effective than the horses now in use.

MARRIAGE.

In this, as in most other things connected with their relations in life, these free sons of nature stand but little upon ceremony in solemnizing the marriage rite. A brave finding his fancy filled with he attractions of a dusky belle signifies his preference, when, both parties agreeing, he seeks the consent of her father, or rather opens negotiations to determine the price set by the parents upon the hand of their daughter. The bargain is usually closed by the payment, on the part of the would-be bridegroom, of a certain number of horses, if he be rich, or a lesser value if he be poor, and the bridge proceeds to and takes up her abode int he lodge of her future lord. For some of uncommon attractions and connections in the tribe, as many as twenty horses and demanded. Separation of man and wife is almost unknown with this people, arguing well for their happiness in that relation. They engage mutually in the labors of the household for their support and the accumulation of property.


Page 527 Chapter LX. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. -UNION.