lOfi THE SERI INDIANS [f.th.ann.17 



Naturiilly the surveyors came into contact witli the Seri tiiliesnicii. 

 Of them ('oinmaiider Dewey wrote: 



During the greater part of tbe year Tiburou Island is resorted to liy tlie Seris (or 

 Ceres) tribe of Indians, who inhabit the adjacent mainland, and their huts and 

 encampments may be seen in many places along the shore, principally on the east- 

 ern side of the island. They are reputed to be exceedingly hostile and to use 

 poisoned arrows in opposing the landing of strangers on what they consider their 

 domain, but during the stay of the Xurrai/anselt in the vicinity they were very 

 friendly. At first they were shy and made threatening gestures, but soon finding 

 that our intentions were peaceable, became frieudlj' and retuined our visits to the 

 shore by frequent and lengthy calls on board ship. They are very exi)ert in hunt- 

 ing with the bow and arrow and in catching fish and turtles, which abound in the 

 surrounding waters. The canoes of these Indians deserve especial mention. They 

 are made of long reeds, which are bound together with strings after the manner of 

 fascines, three of which Avhen fastened together . . . have sutticient buoyancy 

 to support one or two persons. They kneel in these canoes when paddling, the 

 water being at the same level in the canoe as outside of it.' 



Illnstratioiis of the "Tiburon canoe" (or balsa), drawn by H. Von 

 Baj'er, were also introduced.- In addition Mr Von Bayer succeeded 

 iu obtaining two photograph.s of 8eri Indians, taken on shipboard; one 

 of these is of special interest in that it illustrates the peculiar attitude 

 of the Seri archer in the act of using his weapon. ' 



Unfortunately the surveys were confined to the coast, and the 

 interior remained unmeasured and unmapped save on the basis of tra- 

 dition and travelers' tales, suj)plemented by a few vague itineraries 

 and traverses. Except along the international boundary and the rail- 

 way (Ferrocarril de Sonora), the locations of pueblos and ranchos 

 remained guesses, the delineation of mountains remained a work of 

 imagination, and even the best cartograpliei s continued to run in rivers 

 at random or iu such wise as to attbrd artistic effect.' 



In 1879 M Alphonse L. Pinart traveled extensively iu northern 

 Mexico and southwestern United States, and made considerable lin 

 guistic collections among various tribes. Desiring to obtain a Seri 

 vocabulary, he planned a visit to the tribal territory; but on reaching 

 Caborca in March he was met by the information that the Seri were 

 on the warpath, and had recently devastated a hacienda on their fron- 

 tier and slain more than a dozen white settlers.^ Thence he repaired 



'PublicationNo. 56, U. S. Hydrographic Office, Bureau of Navigation. The West Coast of Mexico, 

 from the Boundary Line between the United States and Mexico to Cape Corrieutes, including the 

 Gulf of California (revised edStion), 1880, p. 145. 



-Ibid., pi. XV, p. 136 (one of these illustrations is reproduced in figure 28). 



sThe negatives of these pictures were retained by Mr A^'ou Bayer, and have been kindly turned 

 over to the liureau of Auiericau Ethnology. Unfortunately the archery negative had been shattered, 

 but enough of the fragments were preserved to show all essential details and to aflbrd a basis for 

 the drawing reproduced in plate XXIX. 



'The imposing ofBeial map of 1890, titled Carta General de la Kepublica Mexicana, formada on 

 el Ministerio de Fomento con los dates mas recientes. por disposicion del Secretario del Ramo, General 

 Carlos Pacheco, engraved and i)rinted by Erhard Hermanos, Paris, on a scale of about 32 miles to 

 the inch, represents Rio Bacuache as about the right length and with its center in about the right 

 location, but as running at almost exactly right angles to its actual course; and it contains divers 

 other equally startling errors. 



'Recorded by Gatschet, Zeitscbrift fiir Ethnologie, Berlin, Baud xv, 1883, p. 130. The location 

 of the hacienda was not specified, but there are local traditions of Seri raids about that time, both at 

 Hacienda Serna (between Caborca and Libertad anchorage) and at Bacuachito. 



