THE MEXICAN INDIANS. 83 



Some of ' their groups are still cave-dwellers, and numerous caverns are shown 

 which were formerly inhabited. According to many writers the old troglodytic 

 customs explain the legend of the Aztecs regarding their residence in the " Seven 

 Caves." The Tarahumaras who have settled in the towns of the whites now 

 speak the language of their rulers ; but the full-blood communities of the Sierra 

 Madre have preserved their old tongue. 



Discovered in their remote retreats by the Jesuit missionaries at the beginning 

 of the seventeenth century, the Tarahumaras have never offered any serious 

 opposition to the Mexican Government ; nevertheless they have always refused to 

 accept Spanish institutions. According to the traditional custom marriages are 

 contracted after a novitiate of the bride in her future husband's house and under 

 the surveillance of his parents. The land has been preserved from confiscation, 

 and is still held in common. Each group of villagers is collective proprietor, and, 

 as in the Russian mir, the arable land is parcelled out amongst the families 

 according to their numbers. One portion is reserved for the sick and aged, and 

 this is cultivated by all the members of the community in their turn. The maize, 

 wheat, haricot beans, potatoes, and other produce are then stored in a public 

 granarj^ under the eyes of the more honoured men and women of the village, and 

 the residents draw what they require from this common store. 



They call themselves " Christians" and erect a cross at the foot of their fields 

 at sowing time ; but the parish priest is not allowed to assist at the feast, which 

 concludes with the sacrifice of a sheep or a calf. Those of the southern districts 

 near the common frontier of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa, are said still to 

 practise the old religion. They keep entirely aloof from the Mexicans, and when 

 their villages are forcibly invaded, they refuse to answer the questions put to them 

 by the intruders. They decline all payment for the provisions they may be called 

 upon to supply, and even allow their cabins to be plundered without protest ; in 

 fact the only force they understand is that of passive resistance. 



They are said to be a gloomy, sullen people ; nevertheless when they fear no 

 disturbance to the national feasts they amuse themselves cheerfully, and " dance 

 with their gods." They are specially fond of tilting and racing, whence their 

 tribal name, which is said to mean "Runners," though the etymology is somewhat 

 doubtful. At times whole tribes spend days in contending for the prize, women 

 with pitchers of water being stationed at regular intervals along the course to 

 revive those overcome by fatigue. 



Some of the southern valleys of the Sierra Madre are inhabited by the remains 

 of another Indian nation, the Tepehuans, or " Lords of the Mountains," a name, 

 however, to which they are no longer entitled. After some conflicts with the 

 missionaries, they were almost exterminated by the Spaniards of Durango. These 

 natives, who are now Christians, and gradually merging with the populations of 

 the Sierra, have in some districts preserved their language, which by certain 

 authors is said to contain a large proportion of terms analogous to those of the 

 North Asiatic tongues. 



The full-blood Tepehuans have a dull yellow complexion, prominent cheek- 



