BDLL. SO] 



NAVAHO 



43 



family, and a vocabulary of their lan- 

 guage shows that the majority of their 

 words have counterparts in dialect-^ of 

 Alaska, Britit^h America, and California. 

 The grammatical structure is lii^e that of 

 Athapascan tongues in general, 1 )ut many 

 words have been inherited from other 

 sources. The grammar isintricate and the 

 vocabulary copious, abounding especi- 

 allv in local names. 



Pueblos. Their faces are a little more 

 hirsute than those of Indians farther e. 

 Many have occiputs so flattened that the 

 skulls are brachycephalic or hyper- 

 l)rachycephalic, a feature resulting from 

 the hard cradle-board on which the head 

 rests in infancv. According to Hrdlicka 

 (Am. Anthrop., ii, 339, 1900) they ap- 

 proach the I'ueblos physically nuich more 

 closely than the Apache, notwithstanding 

 their linguistic connection with the hitter. 

 In general their faces are intelligent and 

 ]ilc:i,^iim-. lliiLihc^; ( Dimii'liaii's I'^xyu'd., 



NAVAHO (cAYATANITa) 



The appearance of the Navaho strength- 

 ens the traditional evidence of their very 

 composite origin. It is impossible to de- 

 scribe a prevailing type; they vary in size 

 from stalwart men of 6 ft or more to some 

 who are diminutive in stature. In fea- 

 ture they vary from the strong faces with 

 aquiline noses and prominent chins com- 

 mon with the Dakota and other northern 

 tribes to the subdued features of the 



1846) says of them: "They are celebrated 

 for intelligence and good order . . . the 

 noblest of American aborigines." There 

 is nothing somber or stoic in their charac- 

 ter. Among themselves they are merry 

 and jovial, much given to jest and banter. 

 They are very indu.strious, and the ])roud- 

 est among them scorn no remunerative 

 labor. They do nut bear ])ain with the 

 fortitude displayed among the militant 

 tribes of the N., nor do they inflict upon 

 themselves equal tortures. They are, on 

 the whole, a progressive people. 



The tribe is divided into a number of 



