120 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BnU. 188 



mitted limits is a source of resentment and lack of respect for the 

 committee's authority. 



The livestock committee's inability to enlist the support of Shonto 

 is seen not only in its lack of effective control over range capacities, 

 but also in the very low response to spraying and inoculation pro- 

 grams (see above) . Efforts to improve the breed of sheep have met 

 with equal failure (cf. Landgraf, 1954, p. 62). Until 1952 the Bu- 

 reau of Indian Affairs maintained two thoroughbred Rambouillet 

 bucks in the Shonto pastures, but the community made little use of 

 them. In 1954 Shonto turned down the Grazing Committee's offer of 

 another Rambouillet buck for community use. 



LIVESTOCK INCOME 



In 1955 Shonto derived $27,090, or one-sixth of its total income, 

 from native livestock. Slightly over half the total was accounted 

 for by home consumption of meat, hides, wool and the like; the re- 

 mainder resulted from sale of lambs and wool to the trading post 

 (table 21). 



Wool sales take place annually throughout the shearing period 

 from mid- April to mid-June. All sheep except very young lambs 

 and all Angora (white) goats are sheared. Five to ten fleeces (equal 

 to an average 10 percent of the total clip) are likely to be set aside 

 to meet the needs of future weaving, and the remainder are sold. Wool 

 is segregated as between standard fleeces, tags (short, dirty wool 

 from the animal's underside), black wool, and mohair, and it is 

 sacked accordingly. 



In 1955, 59 Shonto households in 36 residence groups sold a com- 

 bined total of 18,746 pounds of wool for an income of $6,171. The 

 average sale was 521 pounds per participating residence group and 

 318 pounds per household. Average earnings are shown in table 22. 

 Prices per pound at the trading post were 50 cents for mohair, 35 cents 

 for standard fleeces, and 15 cents for tags and black wool. Mohair 

 constituted about 5 percent of all sales, tags about 2 percent, and 

 black wool less than 1 percent; a high proportion of the last was 

 reserved for weaving. Average fleece weight was just under 5 pounds 

 for wool (see Hulsizer, 1940, pp. 151-152) and about 3 pounds for 

 mohair. 



Trading-post prices for wool were comparable to free market value 

 at the time. However, the ultimate price of Navaho wool in 1955 was 

 supported at 52 cents a pound by the U.S. Commodity Credit Corp. 

 Every Shonto family producing more than 100 pounds of wool was 

 thus entitled to an additional "incentive payment" of 17 cents for each 

 pound sold. This income, in the form of checks drawn directly upon 

 the U.S. Treasury, was not received in the community until late in 



