292 TENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF 



superiority of the offspring to depend entirely upon tlie excellence of 

 the former. Tlie horses are small, a few handsome, and a very few 

 fleet. They are frequently ridden fast and a long distance in a day; 

 but they are usually often changed, and after having been ridden 

 hard, are turned into the herd and not used again for many days. 

 The saddle is not peculiar, but generally resembles that used by the 

 Mexicans. They ride with a very " short stirrup," which is placed 

 farther to the front than on a Mexican saddle. The bit of the bridle 

 has a ring attached to it, through which the lower jaw is partly 

 thrust, and a powerful pressure is exerted by this means when the 

 reins are tightened. Hanging down beneath the lips are small pieces 

 of steel attached to the bit, which jingle as they ride. The side and 

 front parts generally consist of strings ; sometimes made of leather, 

 and not unfrequently ornamented with plates of pure silver, of the 

 purity of which, by the way, these people are excellent judges. The 

 chief merit of these horses consists in their being very sure-footed. 

 It is not a little astonishing that the published accounts of them 

 should be so far wide of the mark; such as "that they are equal to 

 the finest horses of the United States^ in appearance and value." We 

 have seen great numbers of these horses, and instead of being "equal 

 to the finest horses of the United States," we can say, without the 

 slightest hesitation, that they have been vastly over-estimated, and 

 are far inferior in appearance, usefulness, and value to the American 

 horse. A few are comparatively fleet and handsome, but there are 

 numbers of army horses in the Territory fleeter, better looking, and 

 much more valuable. Two or three comparatively fine horses can 

 occasionally be found in a herd of a hundred, but to give as a general 

 character of these animals such as has been given in the above quota- 

 tion is a great mistake. The usual price is thirty dollars. 



It cannot, with truth, be said of these Indians that "they encourage 

 industry by general consent," for the word "industry" cannot with 

 propriety be applied to them. They plant wheat and maize, and 

 rear horses and sheep, but are not, in any proper sense of the term, 

 an industrious people. Like all Indians, they will not work more than 

 is necessary for subsistence; and, were the word "laziness" substi- 

 tuted for "industry" in the quotation just given, the statement would 

 be much more nearly correct. They are, however, industrious beggars. 



They do not "make butter and cheese." These are rare articles 

 in a Mexican household; and when we are aware that nearly all their 

 knowledge of the arts of civilized life is derived from their inter- 

 course with Mexicans, and that they have very few cattle, the error of 

 attributing the manufacture of these articles to these people is ap- 

 parent. Some who own cattle make from the curd of soured milk 

 small masses, which some have called cheese ; but to give this name 

 and no description of the article, would certainly leave an erroneous 

 impression. It bears little resemblance to the substance denomi- 

 nated cheese in the United States. 



For ages these Indians have been a terror to the inhabitants of New 

 Mexico. AVherever they have gone among the inhabitants of the 

 valley of the Rio Grande^ they have spread consternation and dismay ; 



