THE HO PI INDIANS OF ARIZONA. 749 



a height of a few inches there is always the possibility of its 

 being blown flat by the wind or overwhelmed in a sand storm. 

 To provide against this the Hopi incloses the exposed parts of his 

 little field with wind-breakers, made by planting in the earth thick 

 rows of stout branches of brush. These hedges even are often 

 overwhelmed by the sand and completely covered up. 



And the crows, and the stray horses, and the cattle! Surely 

 the poor Indian must fight very hard for his corn. For nearly two 

 months he never leaves it unguarded, and that he may be comfort- 

 able he makes a shelter behind which he can escape the burning 

 rays of the July and August sun. The shelters are occasionally 

 rather pretentious affairs, at times consisting of a thick brush roof, 

 supported by stout rafters which rest on upright posts. More 

 often, however, they simply consist of a row of cottonwood poles, 

 five or six feet high, set upright at a slight angle in the earth. 



Although corn is by far the most important vegetable food, the 

 rich though sun-parched soil yields large crops of beans and melons 

 of all kinds. 



Peach orchards also thrive in the sheltered valleys near the 

 mesa, and in the fall great patches of peaches may be seen spread 

 out to dry on the rocks of the mesa to the north of the village. Of 

 both beans and peaches the Hopis generally have large quantities 

 for the outside market, which they take over to the railroad on the 

 backs of burros or ponies. 



Before leaving the subject of the daily life of the male portion 

 of Oraibi I have still to mention a curious weapon of which they 

 make occasional use. This is the throwing-stick, or so-called boom- 

 erang, which differs only slightly from that used by the aborigines 

 of Australia; the Hopi stick, however is better made, and is orna- 

 mented by short red and black lines. This is the weapon of the 

 young men, and with it they work havoc with the rabbits which in- 

 fest the valleys. But although they have good control over it, as 

 can often be seen on their return from a hunt, they are not able to 

 cause its return as can the Australians. At first thought it seems 

 rather strange that the boomerang should have been evolved by 

 two groups of mankind dwelling in parts of the world so remote, 

 but we must look for the explanation of this phenomenon in the 

 fact that the natural conditions of the two countries have much in 

 common — a generally level, sandy country, with here and there 

 patches of brush, a peculiar condition which would readily yield 

 itself to the development of an equally peculiar and specialized 

 weapon. 



For fire the Hopi depends almost entirely on the rank growth 

 of brush which is found along the ravines. This suffices to supply 



