352 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



The home of the Moquis is on a rocky island, separated from the 

 rest of the world by an ocean of sand, and is one of the strongest 

 natural fortifications ; indeed, as a stronghold against invasion, it may 

 justly be termed the Gibraltar of the West. Neither the Navajos nor 

 the Aj)aches, whose tribes have ever numbered some of the most cele- 

 brated of Indian warriors, have as yet met with even temporary suc- 

 cess in their attacks on the Moquis. Although for several years past 

 these tribes have been on peaceable terms, there is, nevertheless, no 

 special liking the one for the other, and ever and anon bitter recollec- 

 tions of by-gone strifes are openly manifested, and the younger bucks 

 strip for the war-path. 



The Moquis number about 2,500 souls, and occupy seven villages, 

 or, speaking accurately, six, one being inhabited by a branch of the 

 Tehuas. These villages are built on the tops of four sandstone mesas^ 

 which are separate from each other about eight miles. On the first 

 are three of the villages, fifty yards apart. They are named respec- 

 tively, Tehua, Tsi-tsumo-vi, and Obiki, the last commonly but erro- 

 neously called Hualpy. The villages on the second mesa are Mush- 

 angene-vi and Shebaula-vi. On mesa number three is Shongoba-vi, 

 and on number four Orai-vi. These villages occupy the entire width 

 of the mesas, and, standing immediately before the houses, one may 

 look vertically down a frightful depth of three hundred feet ! In 

 many places the sides of the mesas are terraced, the terraces being 

 used as sheep-corrals. On the rims of these high and rocky walls 

 children may be seen at play, unconscious of danger, while the mother 

 performs the duties of the household apparently thoughtless of the 

 gulf that yawns within stepping-distance of her innocent brood. 

 Below, on the sheep-terraces, other children are delightfully engaged 

 in sucking goat's milk from its natural fountain. 



As stated, these villages occuj)y the entire width of the mesas. 

 The houses are built in a row, side by side, and are principally of two 

 (although not a few are of four) stories. They are constructed in a 

 terrace style, the upper stories being removed a few feet back from 

 the lower ones. The mode of entry is by means of ladders or steps 

 cut in the side-walls. These habitations are not built of adobe, of 

 which material the larger number of Indian and Mexican huts are 

 formed, but of stones firmly held in place by a cement of clay and 

 sand. The several stories are, respectively, about seven feet high, and 

 are divided into a number of rooms, each of which is provided with an 

 open fireplace. For windows the walls are pierced in many places, 

 the holes being cut square, and about a foot either way. In severe 

 winters the inhabitants of these houses shelter themselves in cellars 

 or caves in the rocks near by. 



In appearance the Moquis resembles the Caucasian rather than the 

 Mongolian race. The facial features are a cross between pleasant and 

 ^ Mem^ table, a flat surface on the top of hills or mountains. 



