RtssKi.1.] SOt'IAL ORGANIZATION 195 



of sucli food." When a luisliaiul was so fortunate as to possess two 

 blankets, liis widow sometimes kept one of tiiem. The name of the 

 deceased was not mentioned thereafter, and all things possible were 

 done to obliterate his memory from the minds of the survivors except 

 that the rites of mourning were practised for st)me time. 



The death of a pauper who had nothing to leave at the grave 

 released a vexed soul to wander about until some one in charity placed 

 an offering on the grave. Sometimes the paraphernalia of a medicine- 

 man, when it was not handed down to a successor in the famil}-, was 

 concealed in an olla in the hills instead of being destroyed. More 

 rarely these caches were nuide of the property of ordinarj- men. Fig- 

 ure 101 shows such a cache, wliich was found in a rugged granite iiill 

 about 4 miles south of Casa Blanca. The olla was covered with a 

 bowl, and as neither was broken it was perfectly water-tight. Among 

 the contents of the cache (pi. xl) were a number of crystals and 

 concretions, a neatty carved stone rattlesnake, three seashells for use 

 in medicine, and a war club. The last was too large to be placed 

 in the olla, and, being exposed outside, it was somewhat gnawed by 

 rodents. 



MOURNING 



In mourning for near relatives the men cut their hair so that it 

 does not fall below the middle of the back. The women cut theirs 

 to the level of the ear lobes for husband, child, etc., and an aged 

 widow cropped her hair close to the head " because she felt the worst." 

 In all cases the cut hair was buried in the sand of the river bed; if 

 it were burned it woidd cause headache and death. Aiid yet when 

 blankets were destroyed at the death of their owner they were 

 burned. 



Very few widows mourned for the full period of four years. 

 During that time they were compelled to remain at home, to refrain 

 from wasliing their hair, and to cry aloud the name of the deceased 

 every morning at daybreak. Thej^ were allowed to bring their blank- 

 ets up around luider the armpits, but not over the shoulders, even in 

 the coldest weather. When the chemise was adopted, as the blankets 

 went out of use, it was customary to revert to the blankets duruig 

 the period of mourning. 



Social Organization 



officers 



The Pimas are governed by a head chief and by a chief for each 

 village. These men are assisted by village coimcils, which do not, 

 the author believes, appoint any representatives to the tribal coun- 



oCompare Bourke, " When a Mohave <lie.s, there Is a feast made o( some of his horses and other 

 edibles; but none of his clansmen will eat of It." .rournal of American F()lk-Lore . u. 184. 



