122 SADDLE AND CAMP 



lowest and meanest of all in the scale of human 

 creation, the white man. They are inveterate 

 gamblers, and at the same time very fond of 

 sports and games that call for physical prowess. 

 Their runners are famous for endurance and 

 the rapidity with which they can cover long 

 distances, and, possessing many ponies, both 

 sexes ride from earliest childhood. 



They are an industrious, progressive people, 

 ever ready for employment that will yield 

 them remuneration. The women hold a high 

 social position in the tribe and are treated with 

 great consideration. Descent is on the mother's 

 side, and a son belongs to his mother's, not his 

 father's, clan. When he marries he must 

 choose a wife from another clan than his own. 



Recent investigations prove the Navajo a 

 deeply religious people. They possess a wealth 

 of myths and legends. Their religious ritual 

 embraces a vast number of prayers. Their 

 musical compositions bear a strong resemblance 

 to our own. The many divinities of the Navajo 

 are principally animal and nature gods, of 

 whom the chief is the Goddess Estsanatlehi 

 (woman who changes). This goddess doubt- 

 less represents Nature, blooming forth in 

 beauty in spring, fading in autumn, withering 

 in winter, to burst forth with new life and 



