322 THE PUEBLOS AND 



himself before Montezuma as though he would have him sit upon his back. 

 At last Montezuma did so, when the eagle flew without rest to Mexico, 

 where Montezuma founded a great people. He is to return again, and at 

 sunrise.* The eagle is regarded with peculiar veneration by them in con- 

 sequence, and upon the roofs of the houses may be seen huge cages made 

 of logs of wood and covered, containing eagles ; and their feathers are used 

 in the dances. I saw at Ojo Caliente an eagle so tame as to be loose about 

 the house. 



Hosta said, when telling of Montezuma, "the old people still believe 

 all this, but the young people do not care." 



I could not discover any method of recording events, and their history 

 finally assumes the form of tradition. As a people they do not make many 

 inscriptions, although I saw quite a number on the lava rocks near Santa Fe. 



Their trails are remarkable, extending as they do in a straight line 

 from one pueblo to another, and even traced from ruin to ruin. These 

 deeply- worn paths, even on the rocks, passing without swerving to right or 

 left, over valley, plain, or ascent of mesa — as though the trail teas older than 

 the mesas, or before the canons, gnawed into the plateaus by erosion, had 

 reached their pathway — speak more powerfully than all else of how old a 

 people they are. 



The character of the country and the habits of the people brought 

 Scriptural stories continual^ to mind. The Mormons regard them as the 

 lost tribe of Israel, and have, in their religious zeal, attempted their conver- 

 sion. Tuba, an Oraibe, is a convert, and Jacob Hamlin, " Mormon Jacob," 

 is regarded with great respect and affection. Mr. Gibbons told me that 

 it was once understood that the Moqui language contained Welsh words, 

 and when he went out to their towns Brigham Young sent J a Welshman 

 along to see if it were so. The Welshman gave a humorous report of his 

 success, which I cannot recall. 



* As a, general account of the Pueblo people would not be complete without a reference to the 

 ' ' Montezuma legend " in some one of its many forms, the above rendering of tbe myth is here retained, 

 although the legend itself probably refers simply to one or more great leaders of the Pueblo tribes at 

 periods preceding the Spanish conquest. The name of the composite hero, and his final journey to 

 Mexico, are so evidently due to early Spanish interpretations and additions to the original legend, that 

 until the legend is known as it existed at the time of Spanish contact, its consideration is not of the least 

 ethnological importance. — F. W. P. 



