Chalchihuitl is their favorite gem
and to own a turquoise stone is regarded as an omen of good
fortune to the happy possessor.
Just how the Spaniards got the notion that the Moquis loved gold
and possessed vast stores of that precious metal is not apparent
unless it be, as Bandelier suggests, that it originated in the
myth of the El Dorado, or Gilded Man.[9] The story started at
Lake Guatanita in Bogota, and traveled north to Quivera, but the
wealth that the Spaniards sought they never found. Their journey
led them over deserts that gave them but little food and only a
meager supply of water, and ended in disaster.
[9] The Gilded Man, by A. F. Bandelier, 1893.
The mesas are all rock and utterly barren, and their supplies are
all brought from a distance over difficult trails. The water is
carried in ollas by the women from springs at the foot of the
mesa; wood is packed on burros from distant forests; and corn,
melons and peaches are brought home by the men when they return
from their work in the fields. A less active and industrious
people, under similar circumstances, would soon starve to death,
but the Moquis are self-supporting and have never asked nor
received any help from Uncle Sam.
In the early morning the public crier proclaims in stentorian
tones from the housetop the program for the day, which sends
everyone to his daily task. They are inured to labor and do not
count work as a hardship. It is only by incessant toil that they
succeed at all in earning a living with the scanty resources at
their command, and the only surprise is that they succeed so
well. There is scarcely an hour during the day or night that men
and women are not either coming or going on some errand to
provision the home.
The men travel many miles every day going to and from their work
in the fields. If a man owns a burro he sometimes rides, but
usually prefers to walk. What the burro does not pack, the man
carries on his back. He often sings at his work, just as the
white man does in any farming community, and his song sounds
good.
The burro is the common carrier and, because of his sterling
qualities, is a prime favorite in all of the pueblos. If he has
any faults they are all condoned except one, that of theft. If
he is caught eating in a corn field he is punished as a thief by
having one of his ears cut off; and if the offense is repeated he
loses his other ear in the same manner.
The area of tillable land is limited and is found only in small
patches, which cause the farms to be widely scattered.
