412 ETHNOLOGY. 



the latter of witchcraft. Antonio was tried and declared not guilty, 

 and since then has been generally recognized as head-chief. Still the 

 followers of Arispa, who are the worst Indians on the reservation, refuse 

 to be guided by Antonio, and the latter evidently believes his position 

 to be insecure, and therefore temporizes with the bad men of the tribe 

 rather than run the risk of a revolution and possible loss of his rank 

 by compelling them to behave themselves. Of course the Indians know 

 him thoroughly, and take advantage of his weakness. 



Since Antonio Azul has become the head-chief of the tribe the over- 

 land road from Texas to California, which passes through the Pima 

 land, has been established, and in consequence thereof these Indians 

 have been thrown in contact with the Americans. In 1859 a reserva- 

 tion, containing one hundred square miles, was set aside for tbem by 

 act of Congress, and upon and near it they have resided ever since. 

 Eight years ago the small-pox raged among them to an alarming extent, 

 and many, particularly children, died of this disease. 



It is a lamentable fact that the Pimas have retrograded since the 

 advent of the white men among them, both morally and physically. 

 Fifteen years ago, when Butterfield's mail-coaches first passed through 

 their land, the Pimas were a healthy race, the men brave and honest, 

 the women chaste. To-day foul diseases prevail to an alarming extent, 

 many of the women are public prostitutes, and all will pilfer whenever 

 opportunity offers. 



Religion. — The Pimas believe in the existence of a Supreme Being 

 or Creator, whom they call " Prophet of the Earth," and also in an evil 

 spirit, (che-4-vurl.) They believe that, generally, their spirits will pass 

 to another world when they die, and that there they will meet those 

 who have gone before them. They say that whenever any one dies an owl 

 carries the soul of the departed away, and hence they fear owls, (which 

 they never kill,) and they consider the hooting of this bird a sure omen 

 that some one is about to die. They give a confused account of some 

 priests, (p4r-le,) who, they state, visited their country years ago and 

 attempted to convert them to Christianity. These priests were French, 

 and to this day the Pimas call the French " p4r-le-sick ; " plural, " p4-par- 

 le-sick." It does not appear that these missionaries met with success. 

 The Pimas have no form of worship whatever, and have neither idols nor 

 images. They know that the Mexicans baptize their childreu, and some- 

 times imitate this ceremony. This baptism is applied, however, only 

 as a charm, and in cases of extreme sickness of the child. When the 

 ceremonies and charms of the native physicians (ma-ke) fail to produce 

 a cure, then the sick infant is taken to some American or Mexican, and 

 even Papago when he is known to have embraced the Christian faith. 

 Generally Mexican women perform the ceremony. If the child recovers 

 it receives a Spanish name, by which it is known ever after ; but these 

 names are so much changed in pronunciation that strangers would hardly 

 recognize them. Pedro, for instance, becomes Pi-va-lo ; Emanuel, M^ 



