THE CHE MAW A AMERICAN
A PUEBLO VILLAGE.
(Continued from page 1.)
other trails, but they are for fcot purposes
only, and unless one has a clear head
and is a good climber, he doesn't want
to tackle either one of them, as the paths
are cut in solid rock, and in some places
are merely footholeg in the side of the
precipice,
"Long files of Indian girls are passing
up and down these trails all day long,
carrying water from the springs on the
plain below, There is no water on the
top of the mesa, except that which iseol
lected in the vast communal basin scoop
ed in the sandstone. In time of drought
this basin is as dry as a bone, and all
the water that is used by the Aeomans
is brought up from the plain below in
the gnyly decorated water jars that are
balanced on the heads of the Acoma
maidene,
"The town itself, when once you have
reached the top of the' mesa, i some
thing nevr to be forgotten, It is built
wfter the stvle of most pueblo villages,
all the houses being of adobe, Some of
them are three stories in height, the up.
per floors being reached by the ladders
which are always leaning against the
walls and which add such a picturesque
effect to every pueblo. There are three
long rowg of buildings, with 10 large
communal houses, The streets and al
ley are narrow and when looking down
thMU one always nets the wonderful ef
ft-ct of di-tanee - for the vision leaps
right off the edge of the mesa and out
on the plain, no matter which way you
look. Some of the houses are built
ight on the edge of the cliff, 'and as
nearly all the Aeomans sleep on the.
roof, especially during the summer
months, it is a wonder that some of them
do not roll off or step off when walking
in their sleep and dash themselves to
pieces 300 feet below. When the Strang-
pr walrps in thft mnrnincr ahpr Ma
. . ' . .. "an
on the roof of one of these dwellings and
finds himself on the verge of such ?
tremendous descent, he. is apt to plead
for sleeping quarters that are less airy
"If you are fortunate enough to be in"
the good .graces of the 'gobernador '
whose lightest word is law, you wij'j
have no trouble about accommodations
You will be taken into an Acoma family
and given a good meal of tortillas, meat
and syrup, and then everybody will Bit
around and smoke cigarettes and discuss
you in Spanish, which is the language
ued more than the native Queres tongue,
The Acomans are inveterate cigarette
smokers, and manufacture a peculiar
kind of smoe from tobacco and corn
husk available wherever you go, and
these are used by the community, In
fact, ad he Pueblo Indians, so-ealled
though they belong to varying tribes, are
communists, and the work of the indu
vidual goes to the general fund,
"At night the herds of burros, goats
and cowg are driven in by the boys who
art as herders, and the sight is some,
thing never to be forgotten, The bril
liant color-- of a New Mexico sunset light
up the pastorai scene like a huge paint
ing. In tact, morning, noon or night,
Acoma will prove a delight to the painter,
for theie is a wonderful picture no matter
which way you look. The burros and
cowg are brought to the summit of the
mega and turned into corrals, while the
goats are corraled at the foot of the cliffs,
where they will he afe from attack from
any wild beasts. The rude carts, plows
and other farm machinery are stored
among the hollows in the rock at the
bottom of the cliffs.
'There is an old church at Acoin.i
that has seen strenuous times. It i
situated on the southeast corner of the
mesa, apart from the town, and is 40
feet high and 150 feet long, and the aioHe
wail? that compose it are seven feet
thick. There is an' abandoned convent
near it. This church was built by th?
Spaniards, who conquered Acoma. in tin1
days of the Conquistadores. Coronal
stormed the mesa and captured the town
in 1541.