22 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 197 



whereby any council of chiefs or elders could control the activities 

 of the many clans and scattered grazing communities. The difference 

 in time-orientation between Navahos and members of a European cul- 

 ture was a further source of profound misunderstanding. Navahos 

 did not recognize present actions as implying future commitments to 

 nearly the same degree as did Europeans, among whom the idea of 

 contractual obligations was well established. It is partly because of 

 cultural differences of this kind that the relations between the Navaho 

 and the Spanish, and, later, American authorities tended to deteriorate 

 rapidly following an initial period of friendly contact. 



The earliest American descriptions of the Navaho express great 

 respect for their wealth and industry, as well as their warlike char- 

 acter. Thus, Captain Reid, serving with Col. Alexander Doniphan's 

 First Missouri Volunteers in New Mexico in 1846, compared the 

 Navaho to the ancient Tartars, while Colonel Doniphan himself saw 

 in the Navaho reflections of the Scottish Highlanders (Hughes, 1847, 

 pp. 66 and 76). With the arrival of larger numbers of American 

 settlers in the region, however, these early complimentary accounts 

 tended to be replaced by references to the hostile Navaho raiding par- 

 ties which periodically made their appearance in violation of what- 

 ever peace treaty happened to be in force at the time.^" In response 

 to these raids, punitive expeditions began to replace the earlier peace- 

 ful missions. These expeditions only increased the hostility of the 

 Navaho without succeeding in engaging their warriors in decisive 

 combat. However, they did greatly weaken the Navaho tribe by 

 destroying crops and other property, and permitting the traditional 

 enemies of the Navaho to carry out extensive raids into Navaho ter- 

 ritory (Graves, 1867). 



The American Civil War necessitated a weakening of the military 

 forces m the New Mexico Territory, which led in turn to Indian raids 

 of increased severity. Eecognizing their inability to engage the 

 Navaho in decisive action, the American authorities finally embarked 

 on a campaign aimed at destroying their food supplies. In June 1863, 

 Col. Kit Carson commenced a series of extensive forays through Nav- 

 aho country, acting under specific instructions to destroy all crops, 

 fruit trees, and livestock that could be found. This tactic succeeded 

 beyond all expectations. By the following spring, the entire tribe had 

 been brought to the verge of starvation, Carson sent his first prisoners 

 back to their people to spread the word that those who surrendered 

 would not be killed. Soon thereafter, the Navaho began to appear 



2^ Many of the raids in this area were the work of Ute, Comanche, Apache, and 

 other non-Navaho groups. The Navaho probably took more than their share of the 

 blame because their greater number and the mystery surrounding their hidden "for- 

 tresses" gave them a reputation for great power. One report during this period referred 

 to "competent" authorities as estimating the Navaho to number as many as 25,000 to 

 30,000 warriors — at a time when their total population could scarcely have amounted to 

 half this number. (Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1863, p. 509.) 



