136 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[Bull. 197 



underwent a gradual transformation from nomadic hunters and 

 gatherers to the more prosperous status of herders and agricultur- 

 alists. The period from 1800 to the Fort Sumner captivity was evi- 

 dently a time of more rapid growth, with the Navaho increasing to 

 perhaps 12,000 by 1860. This undoubtedly made them the most pow- 

 erful Indian group in this region at this time. 



Table 27. — Reported totals for the Navaho population — 1626-1961 * 



Date 



Population 



Source 



1626... 

 1626-30 

 1680... 

 1680-90 

 1743... 

 1776... 



1805-07. 



1831-38 

 1838... 

 1846... 



1849... 



1849-50 



1850-51 



1854. _. 

 1854-55 

 1855... 



1856. . . 



1857. 



1859. 

 1860. 

 1861. 

 1863. 

 1864. 



1864-65. 

 1865... . 

 1866.... 



1867. 

 1868. 



1871- 

 1872. 

 1874- 

 1875. 



"Over 200,000" 



4,000 or less 



8,000 



4,000 or more 



2-4,000 or more 



700 (amilies; 3,500 popula- 

 tion. 



2,000 warriors 



6,500 



10,000 _... 



2,000 



1,000 families; 7,000 popula- 

 tion. 



13,500 



5,000 



8-10,000 



12,000 



12,000 



2-3,000 warriors; 7-10,000 



population. 

 1-2,000 families; 7-14,000 



population. 

 1,500 "lodges"; 10,000 popu- 

 lation. 



8,000 



10,000 



1,500 warriors; 7,500 popu- 

 lation. 

 7-14,000 



2-3,000 warriors; 9-12,000 



population. 



12-15,000 



15,000 



9,000 



15,000 



7,220 at or en route to Fort 



Sumner. 



8,354 at Fort Sumner 



7,151 at Fort Sumner 



12,000 



7,647... 

 7-8,500. 



7,500 at Fort Sumner. 



10,000 



over 12,000 



8,000 



9,000 



12,000 



12-13,400- 



14,000 



8,181 



9,000 



9,790-. .- 



15,000 



8,234 



9,114 



9,068 "plus". 

 11,768 



Benavides, 1945, pp. 85 and 89. 



Benavides, 1916, pp. 44 and 59. 



Mooney, 1928, pp. 21-22. 



Krzywicki, 1934. 



Worcester, MS., p. 18. 



Van Valkenburgh and McPhee, 1938, p. 5. 



Pike, 1811, 337. 



Schermerhom, 1814, vol. 2, p. 29. 

 Gregg, 1855, pp. 285-287. 

 Parker, 1844, p. 32. 

 Bent, 1848, p. 11. 



Graves, 1867, p. 135. 



Calhoun, 1850, p. 63. 



Simpson, 1852, p. 79. 



Bell, 1869, vol. 1, p. 179. 



Hale and Morlce, quoted in Krzywicki, 1934. 



United States Congress, 1850, vol. 1, pp. 104-115. This 



estimate is also given in Bender, 1934. 

 Kluckhohn and Spencer, 1940. (Data given not found In 



original source cited.) 

 United States Congress, 1851, pp. 11-12, 16. 



Graves, 1855, p. 172. 



Whipple, Ewbank, and Turner, 1855-60, vol. 3, pt. 3. 



Bureau of Indian Aflalrs, 1856, p. 188. 



Robert W. Young, personal correspondence, Dec. 15, 1955. 

 The lower figure was given by Chester Faris, a former 

 Navaho superintendent. The higher figure is estimated 

 on the assumption that the Navaho could muster between 

 2,500 and 3,000 warriors (Letherman, 1856, pp. 283-297). 



Collins, 1858, p. 276. 



Baker, 1860, p. 350. 

 Domenech, 1860, vol. 2, p. 7. 

 Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1862, p. 210 ff. 

 Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1864, p. 509. 

 Carleton, 1864. 



Keleher, 1952, p. 502. 



Delgado, 1865, p. 161. 



Coolidge and Coolidge, 1930, p. 26. This estimate is not 

 supported in any of the available official reports from 

 Fort Sumner (cf. Luomala, 1938, pp. 11-12). 



Graves, 1867, p. 135. This number was said to Include 

 1,200 Navahos "still at large and hostile." 



Paquette, MS., p. 7. He estimated the total Navaho 

 population as "not over 8,500." 



Dodd, 1868, p. 203. 



Van Valkenburgh and McPhee, 1938, chart following p. 53. 



Luomala, 1938, pp. 11-12. 



Dodd, 1868, p. 162. 



Yoimg, 1955, p. 172. He points out that this number is 

 probably insufficient to account for those Navahos who 

 did not go to Fort Sunjner, and who failed to turn up for 

 rations after the conclusion of the Treaty of 1868. 



Thompson, 1951, p. 30, footnote 6. 



Vandever, 1889. Reprinted in Lipps, 1909, pp. 128-136. 



Duncan, MS. 



Clinton, 1870. 



Matthews, 1893. Cf. Young, 1958, p. 319. 



Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1870, Doc. 124. This purportedly 

 included 2,000 Navahos "roaming with other tribes." 



Browne, 1869, p. 291. 



Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1871, p. 608. 



Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1872, pp. 52 and 394. 



Amy, 1874, p. 307. 



Bureau of Indian Aflalrs, 1876, p. 114. 



See footnote at end of table. 



