290 THE ZUNI INDIANS [eth. ann. -'S 



of any member of his staff. The governor and his staff' attend to 

 such secular affairs as do not require the judgment of the first body 

 of rain priests or of the Bow priests. Capital punishment comes 

 within the jurisdiction of the latter body. 



A case came to the notice of the writer in 1891, when a conference 

 was held between the Kia'kwe'mosi (rain priest of the North) and 

 an associate rain priest, who was, however, not connected with the 

 first body of rain priests. It was interesting to note the determination 

 of the young associate priest in his attempt to convince the rain priest 

 of the North that the governor was unworthy to fill the position, and 

 he succeeded so far as to receive directions to inform the other mem- 

 bers of the first body of rain priests that a meeting to discuss the situ- 

 ation would be held on the following night in the house of the Priestess 

 of fecundity. Seven days after this meeting a hundred or more men, 

 most of them past middle life, gathered in the large plaza. The elder 

 brother Bow priest sat upon a ledge extending across a house on the 

 north side of the plaza, with the governor's assistants on either side, 

 the governor sitting opposite the elder brother Bow priest. A Mexi- 

 can who had been captured by the Zunis when a child and afterward 

 adopted into the tribe accused the governor of having stolen Zuni 

 horses and traded them to Mexicans for sheep. Tlie governor with 

 great dignity resented the charge and made a rather lengthy speech, 

 in which he exhibited independence and determination. The elder 

 brother Bow priest spoke next. His voice was low, but every word 

 was distinct, and he was listened to with profound interest as he set 

 forth the reason why the governor should be dismissed. During his 

 speech one of the younger men ventured to address a word to a neigh- 

 bor, upon which the elder brother Bow priest stopped and without 

 uttering a word stared at the offender. The fellow ceased suddenly, 

 as tliough struck dumb, and the elder brother Bow priest continued 

 his speech without further interruption. Both sides were earnest in 

 their arguments for and against the governor, but the whole affair was 

 conducted with great dignity, and when the judges, the first bodv of 

 rain priests, announced that the g'overnor was deposed, he, with his 

 friends, left the plaza without speaking a word, the others following 

 in silence. 



Pkopekty 



The Zunis are an agricultural and pastoral people. The fields are 

 not owned by clans, and the Zuiiis claim that they never were so 

 owned. A man may cultivate anv strip of land, provided it has not 

 already- been appropriated, and once in his possession, he has the right 

 to transfer it to whomsoever he pleases within the tribe. Land is 

 obtained from the owner by trade, and houses are disposed of in the 

 same manner. The sale of a house came under the observation of the 



