74 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 197 



The difference between these figures was attributed to "deatlis, not re- 

 ported, and the absence of those who are hunting or herding their 

 stock." ^^ 



The population of the fort appears to have remained fairly con- 

 stant during the remainder of the year, since the report of Felipe 

 Delgado, Superintendent of Indian Affairs at Santa Fe, reported that 

 the Navahos at Bosque Redondo (Fort Sumner) numbered 7,151 in 

 September 1865,-* However, further declines in their number are 

 indicated in the figures for the year following. The annual report of 

 1866 gave their number as 6,447, and included mention of an estimated 

 1,200 Navahos who were "still at large and hostile." In this report, 

 J. K. Graves placed the population of the Navaho in 1846 at 13,500, 

 and attributed their subsequent decline in numbers to the combined 

 effects of continuous warfare and the practice of capturing and en- 

 slaving Navaho women and children (Graves, 1867). 



In September 1866, M. Hillary, assistant surgeon of the U.S. Army 

 stationed at Fort Sumner, submitted an interesting report on the 

 health of the Navahos at the fort. He reported : ^^ 



On this reservation I cannot say I have seen a single case of constitutional 

 syphilis. But what does and will decrease the number of the tribe and finally 

 wipe them out of existence is the extensive system of abortion carried on by 

 the young women. You may remark how seldom it is a young woman has a child ; 

 in fact, none of the women, except they are thirty or forty, ever think of having 

 one, if they can help it, so that two or three children are considered a large 

 family. 



By the spring of 1867, conditions at the fort had deteriorated to the 

 point that even the enumerations that were carried out were subject 

 to considerable inaccuracy. Many Navahos were leaving the confines 

 of the Fort Sumner area in forays against Comanches and others in 

 the vicinity. The failure of two successive crops, together with the 

 inadequacy of supplies and the glaring inefficiency of their distribu- 

 tion had produced a general demoralization. The deterioration which 

 occurred at this time is reflected in the figures reported in that year. 



"3 Young, 1957, p. 219. The report quoted is from the deposition of H. B. Bristol, 

 Captain, 5th U.S. Infantry, stationed at Fort Sumner. Captain Bristol served as military 

 superintendent of the Navahos at the fort. In his deposition, he stated that the total 

 population of Navaho arrivals was composed of 2.325 men, 2,710 women, .3,164 children, 

 and 275 infants at the breast, or 8,474 in all. He further reported the number of "un- 

 known" deaths among this group as 216 from the time of their arrival until the date of 

 his report, June 27, 1865. This leaves a discrepancy of over 1,000 Navahos. It can 

 safely be presumed that some of these persons were in fact wandering away from the fort 

 in search of food or fuel, while others were among the number of "deaths not reported to 

 the authorities." 



^Delgado, 1865, p. 161. Although this figure is only 09 less than the number of 

 Navahos at or en route to Fort Sumner a year earlier, the actual mortality at the fort ma.v 

 have been much higher, since additional numbers of Navahos continued to arrive at the 

 fort in the interim. 



25 Hillary, 1867. Tlie Navahos might indeed have died off, had they been forced to 

 remain at the fort much longer. To the profound shock of social disorganization and 

 removal from accustomed surroundings was added the debilitating effects of inadequate 

 provisions and crop failures. See the excellent account in Underbill, 1956, pp. 127-140. 



