BUNZELj ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL LIFE 475 



of the reservation. The wealthiest herders even rent land in sur- 

 rounding townships. Rabbits are still hunted, primarily for sport, 

 but the deer and antelope, once important items in Zuiii economy, 

 have vanished from the mountains. Sheep, furthermore, are the 

 chief source of negotiable wealth. The sale of wool in June and of 

 lambs in October provides the herders with a considerable cash 

 income for the piu'chase of luxuries of white manufacture. They 

 have, also, horses derived from the same source and a few cattle, 

 but the land is not suitable for cattle breeding. Cattle are not 

 millved and are used for zneat only. Some women have a few pigs 

 and cMckens. The labor of agriculture and herding is done entu'ely 

 by the men. 



Herding, of course, is an all-year-round occupation, at which men 

 take turns, groups of brothers herding then- sheep together and taking 

 turns in watching them. A man with his own herd usually goes 

 three times a year, for a month at a time, unless he is wealthy enough 

 to pay some one to do tliis for him. All men who own sheep spend 

 lambing time with their herds to see that all lambs are properly 

 earmarked. At this time the sheep are herded at permanent camps, 

 and the women also go out there. Lambing occurs in April and is 

 followed immediately by shearing. Sheep dipping takes a few weeks 

 for everyone in midsummer. 



The first agricultural work of the season is early plowing and the 

 planting of wheat in February or March. In March the irrigation 

 ditches are cleaned. Corn must not be planted until after certain 

 ceremonies held about the time of the vernal equinox, and frequently 

 it is delayed until after wool-sell. The cornfields are plowed over, 

 but the actual planting is done with the digging stick. The early 

 summer, after the retui-n from sheep camp and after the summer 

 solstice ceremonies, is spent hoeing and irrigating. There is an 

 alfalfa crop in June and another in August. There may be another 

 in November, but this is not usually harvested. The horses are 

 turned into the unharvested field for winter pasture. The wheat 

 harvest begins in August and continues until all is in, which may 

 not be until November. The wheat is cut with a sickle, threshed 

 by horses, and winnowed by hand on primitive outdoor threshing 

 floors. 



Peaches, squash, and melons ripen in August and must be har- 

 vested before the frosts, which may occur at this altitude any time 

 after the end of August. There is a spell of heavy rain in September 

 which interrupts outdoor work. The first green corn is ready for 

 eating in August, but the general corn harvest does not take place 

 until November. This is the last agricultural work, except for a 

 few people who do a httle fall plowing. The months from November 



