| Show THE PASTORAL NAVAJOS habits of this tribe of indians and their homes in the southwest the navajos are a pastoral paerl archal semi nomadic whole culture and development centers in their flocks their reservation ol 01 12 square miles Is desert broken with mountain and mesa on the mesa and low mountains there are consider able areas of amon and cedar and on the higher mountains a limited area of beautiful pine forests writes E b curtis in s over this reelon the navajos drive their flocks at the season when the slight gives even a scant pasturage on he desert plains the flocks are pastured there As the pasturage on the lower levels is both burned with the hot scorching sun and exhausted with pasturing the flocks are taken up into the higher mountains where there Is more moist ure again as the deep winter snows come on the sheep must be taken down out of the mountains to escape them during this time they are kept on the wooded mesa where there Is less snow and a plentiful supply of wood of which there Is none on the plains below year in and year ou the nav ajo flocks are driven back and forth from plain to mountain top nesa ind foothills while the s life is i wander ing one he Is not what coull be called a true nomad his zone of wander ang is limited on the same grounds his father and fathers father have kept their flocks the average nava jo could not guide you a disnie to exceed 50 miles last season the writer had with him two navajo men of middle age who had lived their lives within a day s ride of the mouth of canyon de chelly and this was the first time they had traveled me en tire length of the canyon this seems strange from the fact that it is a most remarkable scenic spot and the larger part of the great wealth of navajo legendary lore centers in this can on the navajo family usually has three homes the location of which is determined by the necessities of their life one Is the summer home where they grow their small crop of corn and vegetables the farming they do in the narrow sandy washes where by planting to a great depth they get sufficient moisture to mature the crops in a few limited areas havo ir righted farms in canyon de shelly which may be termed the irden of the reservation there are tiny arri gated farms and splendid peach ards |
