160 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BaU. 188 



at the ordnance depot. Eorick had removed most of the comiters and 

 shelves from the store and simply piled his merchandise on the floor 

 where his clients could pick it out for themselves where he recorded 

 their purchases. This operation might be said to be Shonto's only 

 experiment in self-service. Korick hauled all his own supplies, mak- 

 ing a weekly trip to Flagstaff and bringing back just enough mer- 

 chandise to last until his next trip. 



The present owners purchased Shonto Trading Post from Eorick 

 in 1945 for $45,000, inventory included. They immediately set about 

 bringing the business up to date. A railroad claims agency was se- 

 cured within a year, laying the foundations for the community's pres- 

 ent economy. Word was passed out that livestock would be bought 

 annually, and a weighing corral, and small livestock scales ( capacity 

 2,000 lbs.) were installed (fig. 1). A short box canyon immediately 

 behind the trading post was fenced off to serve as a holding pasture 

 for the animals purchased. The store building was remodeled and 

 a new set of counters, showcases, and shelves added (see fig. 3). A 

 fireproof pawn vault was added in compliance with postwar trading 

 post regulations issued by the Window Rock office. The original plank 

 flooring in the "bullpen" (customer area) was replaced with a con- 

 crete floor. 



In 1949 a contract was arranged between the trading post and 

 school under which the former was to supply electric power for both 

 institutions, at a charge of $30.00 a month to the school. For this 

 purpose a 24-hour, 15 kw. diesel generator was installed in the old 

 pumphouse (fig. 1, J). The installation allowed the addition of 

 electric refrigeration for the first time, and in late years Shonto Trad- 

 ing Post has been able to carry ice cream and various perishable foods 

 (see fig. 3). Acquisition of a 750-gallon butane tank (S) completed 

 the modernization of the plant. (A popular account of life in a 

 modem Navaho trading post is that of Hannum, 1946.) 



Under Shonto's present owners the postwar economy of the com- 

 munity rapidly took form. Railroad work had achieved its present 

 preeminent position by 1950, and welfare payments were added to the 

 economic base in 1948. Payroll accounts from the school and na- 

 tional monument were encouraged. Extensive credit against lambs 

 and wool, as well as against relief, unemployment, and payroll checks, 

 became an integral part of store operation. 



In spite of mounting profits and cash volume, later postwar years 

 in some ways were difficult for all traders. With one or two excep- 

 tions their stores had been built, without any kind of formal contract, 

 upon tribal land held in trust by the United States. Throughout 

 their long history the legal status of trading posts had never been 

 clearly defined. In 1949 the Navaho Tribe, through its attorneys, 

 sought to establish a right of accession upon the store buildings and 



