When the unlucky
bird is all dismembered, and the racers smeared from head to heels with
blood, and it seems impossible to divide the pieces any smaller, then, and
not till then, the conflict ceases.
Two Thousand Horsemen. But for superb riding watch nearly two thousand of
these sons of the desert as they train their young men and boys in daring
control of their horses. The greatest chief of the Navahos is a good friend
of mine, and it was by his kind invitation that I was privileged to see
this never-to-be-forgotten sight. He commanded the "regiment" - shall I call
it? - riding alongside at times, and again standing where he could signal
his demands and note the result.
An Exhibition of Riding. Let us stand with him. These riders are about to
dash past. Just before they reach us, a signal is given, and every rider,
in an instant, disappears over the side of his mount, while the horses
continue running under perfect control. Simultaneously, every Indian
reappears upon his saddle, sits about as long as one might count three, and
then slides over to our side of his horse, fully in our sight, holding on
by stirrup and mane, but completely hidden from one who might be looking
from the other side.
Wonderful Agility. The chief was delighted, in his dignified quiet way, as
I burst into warm encomiums, and told me I should soon see "some more"
riding. Again the horsemen dashed past. This time I watched for their
disappearance and saw where and how they went, but I was scarcely prepared
to see many of them peeping at me from under the bellies of their animals.
This was done several times; then Pacoda gave me another treat. The riders
came toward us. At a sign, every man sprang from his horse to the ground,
to our left, gave three or four wild jumps, sprang completely over the
saddle to the other side of his horse, where he gave more jumps, and then,
with a yell of joyful triumph, landed into his saddle, the horse,
meanwhile, keeping up his speed.
An Impressive Spectacle. But to see the whole party ride furiously away
from us, nothing but black hair, sturdy backs, horses' tails and
hindquarters with galloping feet presented, and then, in the twinkle of an
eye it almost seemed, to have the same party dashing towards you, was a
feat in horsemanship which impressed me most profoundly.
Horsemen almost from Birth. It is not to be wondered at that the Navaho is
an expert horseman. He is as nearly born on horseback, literally, as he can
be, for on several occasions I have ridden with Navaho friends, among whom
was an expectant mother, have stopped half an hour for the birth, and then,
with the new-born babe strapped on the mother's back, have resumed the
trip, completing, perhaps, forty or fifty miles in a day. Children born
under such conditions could not fail to be skilful horsemen.
CHAPTER XXII. From El Tovar To The Havasupai Indians And Their Wonderful
Cataract Canyon Homes
Havasu Canyon. The Grand Canyon has two important tributary canyons. The
most important of these is the Havasu Chic-i-mi-mi (canyon of the blue
water). This is where the Havasupai Indians live.
First White Visitor. The first white man to visit the Havasu, as far as we
know, was Padre Francisco Garces, of whom I have written in another
chapter. Four times he made long journeys into the interior, visiting a
large number of Indian tribes. Among these were the Wallapais and the
Havasupais.
Garces' Diary. Dr. Elliott Coues, who visited the Havasupais in 1881 with a
governmental party, has translated Garces' diary, and it was published a
short time ago by Francis P. Harper, of New York. In this translation, he
describes the descent of his (Coues's) party into the Canyon, and his
description is so vivid that it is well worth repetition here.
Dr. Coues' Description of Trail to Havasu Canyon. "On the 10th, a march of
ten miles in the same direction brought us abruptly to the brink of the
precipice - a sharp-edged jump-off of perhaps a thousand feet. There was no
side canyon here for gradual descent; the firm level ground gave no hint of
the break before us until we were actually upon the verge, and when the
soldiers lined up to look down an involuntary murmur of astonishment ran
through the ranks. Dismounting and going in single file, each man leading
his horse, we took the dizzy trail - a narrow footpath, in many parts of
which a misstep would have been destruction to man or beast. The way
zigzagged at first for some distance, on the 'switchback' principle by
which railroads sometimes make grades otherwise impracticable; the face of
the precipice was so steep that, as we filed along, those of us at the head
of the procession looked up to see the other sections of the train almost
overhead; certainly a fall of any man there would have been right on top
of us. Then the trail took a long lurch to the left with little descent,
hugging the face of the cliff, and we looked like a row of ants on a wall.
This brought us at length to the head of a great talus, down which the
trail zigzagged - the incline was too steep for straight descent, probably
at an angle of forty-five degrees. This fetched us into the bed of
Cataract Canyon, perfectly dry. The trail was nearly a mile long, and it
took us an hour to make our creepy way down. The Havasupai chief, who had
been advised of our coming, was there to meet us with some of his men, all
mounted; and he took us up the canyon about five miles to a place where
there was a scanty aguage, not sufficing for the wants of the whole party.
Next morning we retraced our steps down the canyon and kept on in its bed
until we reached the wonderful blue spring above described and the
wonderful rancheria of the Indians, a distance from last night's camp of
about twenty-five miles, as we had struck the canyon some twenty miles
above the living water."
Other Trails to the Canyon.
