

136 INDIANS OK THE SOUTHWEST. 



earth is j)iled on to a depth of several inches. Such 

 a house leaks only after a long hard rain. A doorway 

 is made on the east side and between the doorw^ay and 

 the apex a large hole is left to admit light and air and 

 through which the smoke may escape. Six-sided 

 houses are also built of logs placed horizontally. By 

 drawing them in gradually after the walls have been 

 carried to a proper height, the roof is formed. A 

 smoke hole is left at the apex. During the sunrmier the 

 Navajo generally camp wath only a shelter of brush or a 

 stone w^all to protect them from the prevailing winds. 



Food Supply. 



The nomadic tribes had a large territory at their dis- 

 posal. There w^ere fertile and fairly well watered river 

 valleys w^here corn and beans could be raised and vast 

 tracts of upland covered, if sparsely, with a varied 

 vegetation. Judging from the number of cattle and 

 sheep which that region now supports, before their 

 introduction there must have been sufficient food for 

 many deer, antelope, and elk. A few^ days' travel east 

 from the Rio Grande were the buffalo plains wdth a 

 supply of meat limited onl}^ by the means of trans- 

 porting it. 



Corn w^as planted by all the tribes; but the Eastern 

 Apache, the Jicarilla and Mescalero, depended but 

 little upon agriculture. That the Navajo formerly 

 had large fields was stated ])y Benavides who gave that 



