PAPAGUERIA 355 



gave them name; and gradually a system of barter grew up 

 under^which the Spaniards acquired the means and arts of life 

 in a desert region, the Papago meantime forgetting their arts of 

 weaving, hand-culture of the soil, and other operations rendered 

 needless by their new acquisitions. Here the commerce ended ; 

 the Papago refused, save in exceptional cases, to attach them- 

 selves to the Spaniards' households, refused to surrender their 

 tribal autonomy, refused to intermarry with the whites, refused 

 to countenance relations in which they would be subject to bond- 

 age or prevented from coming" and going freely as the migratory 

 bird ; and, save for a partial and rather superficial assimilation 

 of ceremonies and concepts, they clove unto and still retain their 

 primitive philosophy. 



Whether it be ascribed to peculiar environmental conditions 

 or not, the fact remains that the Papago tribe is characterized 

 by exceptional force and stability of character. For over three 

 centuries they have been known among white men (albeit a few 

 only) as peaceful yet brave, hospitable yet independent, amia- 

 ble yet dignified ; and they have equally been noted as indus- 

 trious and virtuous. When attacked, or in reprisal, they have 

 always gone forth to meet the Apache, even in greatly superior 

 numbers, and have protected their fatherland against all ma- 

 rauders. They scorned control by alien races, and are today 

 known in Mexico for their constant and consistent avoidance of 

 peonage, under which neighboring tribes were ground. They 

 have engaged in mining in desultory fashion at various times, 

 but have never been coaxed or coerced by alien capital ; and 

 almost without exception they have maintained the purity of 

 their blood, despite the pressure of frontier life and conditions. 

 Neighboring peoples, including most of the kin-tribes, have been 

 assimilated or modified ; but the greater proportion of these 

 people of the desert are still known as " wild Papago " or " roam- 

 ing Papago," and their habits and modes of thought are little 

 changed since the white man came." 



While the Papago Indians have been notably stable during 

 three centuries of contact with alien races, there is "reason for con- 

 sidering them descendants from a people of superior aboriginal 

 culture. Throughout much of Papagueria, especially in Mexico, 

 there are abundant relics of a prehistoric population and agri- 

 culture. The ruins, like the first settlements, are found in the 

 moister localities, in the foothill gorges and in the broader val- 

 leys, their distribution indicating that the prehistoric people 



