Qo INDIANS OF THE GILA, 
dividing line between them ; nor is there any distin- 
-guishihg character in their villages. I consider that 
the arts of spinning and weaving, and of making pottery, 
now practised by both tribes, and in which they are | 
equally expert, originated with the Pimos, who inher- 
ited this knowledge from their ancestors; and that from 
the earliest period, doubtless for centuries, they have 
occupied portions of the same valley where we now 
find them. In leaving their villages, I noticed on the 
edge of the plateau traces of former habitations, which 
had been abandoned for a great length of time. 
: The Coco-Maricopas took up their abode in the 
valley immediately adjoining the Pimos about thirty 
years since, from a point lower down the Gila, where 
they were exposed to the constant attacks of the Yumas 
and Apaches, which tribes, in consequence of their 
greater numbers, had nearly annihilated them. They 
came hither for protection, and formed an alliance, 
offensive and defensive, with the Pimos. They found 
the latter possessing the arts of weaving, of. building 
more comfortable dwellings, of making better pottery, 
enjoying a more peaceful mode of life, than that to 
which they had been accustomed. These arts and 
habits the Maricopas gradually adopted. Their lan- 
guages are totally different, so much so that I was . 
enabled to distinguish them when spoken. The 
former is soft and melodious, the latter harsh and 
guttural. The Pimos bury their dead, while the Coco 
Maricopas burn theirs. These peculiarities stamp them 
as distinct nations. ao aes 
_ I have not cited the agriculture of these tribes as 
superior to that of all other Indians; although I may 
