150* THE SERI INDIANS [eth.ann.17 



lowed it, yelling and swinging his light lasso, until, after much doubling 

 and dodging and many nnsnccessful casts, he caught and dragged the 

 howling beast baclv to the open; and it was only after half a dozen 

 repetitions that enough dogs had escaped to spoil the sport. As the 

 boys lounged chattering back toward the rancheria their course lay 

 between two clumps of the usual desert shrubbery, so placed that when 

 the first was obliquely left and iO or 50 feet distant from them, the 

 other was obliquely right and 100 feet away. At this point a bevy of 

 small birds (perhaps blackbirds — at any rate corresponding to black- 

 birds in size and flight) fluttered suddenly out of the nearer clump 

 toward the more distant one, when, too instantaneously for the 

 untrained eye to catch exchange of signal or beginning of movement, 

 the boys lunged forward in a common ettbrt to seize the birds; and 

 though none were entirely successful, one exultantly displayed a tuft 

 of feathers clutched by his fingers as the bird darted into and through 

 the thorny harbor. When the distances were paced it was found that, 

 although the birds had the advantage of the start, the boys covered at 

 least 90 per cent of their distance in the same time ; while the spon- 

 taneity of the impulse demonstrated habitual chase of flying game 

 under fit conditi(ms. 



While obtaining the Seri vocabulary with Mashem's aid, advantage 

 was taken of every opportunity to secure collateral information con- 

 cerning the actual use of the terms, and thereby of gaining insight into 

 the tribal habits. Through his naive explanations, usually repeated 

 and corroborated by the elderwoman of the Turtle clan (Juana Maria) 

 and others of the tribe, it was learned that half-grown Seri boys are 

 fond of hunting hares (jack-rabbits); that they usually go out for this 

 purpose in threes or fours; that when a hare is started they scatter, 

 oije following it slowly while the others set off obliquely in such manner 

 as to head it off and keep it in a zigzag or doubling course until it 

 tires; and that they then close in and take the animal in their hands, 

 frequently bringing it in alive to show that it was fairly caught — for it is 

 deemed discreditable, if not actually wrong, to take game animals with- 

 out giving them opportunity for escape or defense by exercise of their 

 natural powers. Similarly, Mashem described the chase of the bura 

 and other deer as ordinarily conducted by five i)ersons (of whom one or 

 two may be youths), who scatter at sight of the (juarry, gradnally sur- 

 round it, bewilder it by confronting it at all points, and finally clo.se 

 in either to seize it with their hands, or perhaps to brain it with a stone 

 or short club; the former being held the proper way and the latter a 

 partial failure. This hunting custom, described as a commonplace by 

 Mashem, is established by the vaqueros who had frequently witnessed 

 it from a distance; and the same extra-tribal observers described still 

 more striking feats of individual Seri hunters: Don Manuel, son of 

 Senor Encinas, and Don Ygnacio Lozania were endeavoring to train to 

 work a robust Seri (one of a band sojourning temporarily at Costa 



