ZU^l. 



165 



pro'bably "by Indians farther south ; but now they obtain 

 what stuffs they require from the Mexicans in exchange for 

 farm produce. They do not raise their crops by irrigation, 

 but depend entirely upon the rain-fall ; hence all their tradi- 

 tions relate more or less to the production of water. 



Not far from the town is a sacred spring, about eight feet 

 m diameter, walled round with stones, of which neither cattle 

 nor man may drink. The animals sacred to water — frogs, 

 tortoises, and snakes — alone must enter the pool. Once a 

 year the cacique and his attendants perform certain religious 

 rites at the spring ; it is thoroughly cleared out ; water-pots 

 are brought as an offering to the Spirit of Montezuma, and 

 are placed bottom upwards on tlie top of tlie wall of stones. 

 Many of these haye been removed, but some still remain, 

 while the ground around is strewn with fragments of vases 

 which have crumbled into decay from age. 



Not far from the present pueblo is a lofty mesa, which rises 

 about 1,000 feet perpendicularly from the plain; upon this 

 are many ruins of houses and a sacred altar, constituting all 

 that remains of old Zuni. 



The following tradition is related about this place : — Long 

 before the first annearance of the white man, a dreadful flood 



the land. Waters gushed forth from 



drownin 



Id Apaches and Coj 



Then 



inany of the people of Zuni rushed to the lofty mesa, but 

 niany more perished in the waters. Kight came, and yet the 

 waters rose higher and higher, until they reached the water- 

 niark still distinctly visible high up on the cliff wall. The 

 great Spirit was very wroth with his people, and must be 

 appeased by a fitting sacrifice. So the son of the cacique 

 and the most beautiful maiden in the tribe were bound and 



