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Show beautiful, and the fresh verdure soon fades to the neutral tints c! its accustomed hopeless aridity. A few words must be said about the fauna Tiburon island is so named because of the immense number of- sharks that swarm the sea surrounding it. Pearl oysters are found near the Punta Tepopa, but the warlike character of the Seri has prevented any fishery from being established there. There are many porpoises and immense im-mense numbers of green turtles), while sea-birds of all kinds abound. As regards mammals, there are said to be some sheep in the Serl mountains; but I very much doubt if they descend so far south, but there are one or two scattered bands of antelope and a few deer. To counterbalance this lack of big game, there are thousands of hiot-Vioii-od rattlesnakes. side- fresh water in one or two I f fWW ' I SSSSvM 4 sd from the rest of Sonora N n$ T sH'MF It VVPlf k ? Vj'i i H. ,ble desert, and containing Ifpfli WmXt interest or cupidity of the ffs-r ii:fii: t&MSWFM in, it has remained unex- iMfi ite$tp intil quite recent times. A: I IS pi; f : Sii0im'9SS0X$if- ounding country there are pllPI' WWttff mains nor any 'evidence to flllfpSitfM SftBSS&Kg-M W$M0 r race, markedly distinct Wi90 XWMW istoms from its present in- BW4v ''P'Sts- V J- Cc V" f , made their home there. llp ' m'mfS lmed that the Seri did not WmXi&i u tf ff-C vS? Vffll. x of the world,, but are indi- lliteSSWPP Phe Seri Indians are physi- 13 Vfft MA Vf 1 XX t I ir above the medium height, i-V " 6Pigi htly made They are very fAfu WOAft M7 fC OSSMW fa,C a hair, but when young are KiWL n'ixl ft-" winders, Gila monsters (Hilo-derma (Hilo-derma horridum), horned toads and ants. But in traveling trav-eling through the country there is little life to be seen except an occasional turkey buzzard or a coyote coy-ote slinking through the cactus. cac-tus. The whole country is desolate deso-late and forbidding. forbid-ding. Here and there are clusters of ruined huts, sadly reminding us that the Serl were once numerous numer-ous but are now fast dying out. Day by day the sun p a s s e B in blinding splendor over the plains and over these deserted homes, and evening by evening the afterglow after-glow lays its long fingers of rose and amethyst over the landscape, land-scape, transforming transform-ing the scene for I vra H'J Seri are a dis- J-:- I I tlnctive tribe in I ! ' I ( a b i t s, customs .."- - I y and language from ffftiiSgr J n m'M- a" other North r A; i vk sS'W American Indians, i&-S;S!gs i WfPyR and though they PjfggS - I '!&) have been known 'y if-i for a considerable VVt-Si s? i M time both to Mex- (rSftj' I t&rigj& leans and Amer- isS leans, they have re- VVftffe mained unconquer- 1 : edand uncivilized up to the pres- 1 . ent time. Tiburon island, which I i'0ii is their real home, lies close to , the coast of Sonora, Mexico, in 1 the Gulf of California, and is sep- WJ. arated from the mainland by a narrow strip of sea called El In- '!!: i riernillo, so named because of the sfe turbulent water and dangerous SS:Sj rapids that flow between. It is 'fcSHx' some thirty miles "liiSxy long from north to n '"" south and approxi- I " " mately twenty miles L across at the widest f tfi part. Due east li;C across the straits in Sonora is a limited tmS 7T strip of land, in "7 which are situated , ASi" the Seri mountains, kJryh fte and here also are W j ' j found a few scat- a aA-atgSSS-j tered families be- H j longing to the same f A . tribe. The whole of lmX0? their country is rug- I 11? J? 'ti&0 ged and desolate in the extreme, con- i sisting chiefly of 11' " desert sand and -"T naked mountain rock, with permanent fresh water in one or two places only. Separated from the rest of Sonora by an almost impassable desert, and containing nothing to excite the interest or cupidity of the prospector or Mexican, it has remained unexplored unex-plored and unvisited until quite recent times. Though in the surrounding country there are many traces of an ancient civilization, in Seriland itself there a a no remains nor any evidence to show that any other race, markedly distinct either In habits or customs from its present inhabitants, in-habitants, had ever made their home there. Hence it may be assumed that the Seri did not migrate to this part of the world, , but are indigenous indi-genous to the land. The Seri Indians are physically physi-cally a fine race, rather above the medium height, though somewhat slightly made. They are very dark, with long, coarse hair, but when young are by no means ugly. They have low, quiet voices, and their language is much more melodious than that of the Yuma or Papago Indians. Their clothing cloth-ing is somewhat unusual, for they wear a kind of robe of pelican skins over a short kilt or skirt. These pelican rugs are beautifully made of between be-tween four and eight skins sewn together with sinews or deerskin, and are used as bedding at night. Their belts are of woven human hair or vegetable fiber, though snake and lizard skins are also used for the same purpose. The arms, bust, legs and feet are usually bare. When it is remembered that these people own no domestic animals of any kind, except dogs that are really coyotes, and do not cultivate or till the land at all, it will be seen that they have to depend entirely en-tirely on hunting to supply them with dress and food. Pelicans are found literally by the thousand, thou-sand, especially round the little Isla Tassne, and provide the Indians with amply sufficient material mate-rial to make all the clothing and blankets they are likely to need in that hot and almost rainless climate. As regards food, they subsist chiefly on turtles, fish, molluscs and water-fowl, which are eaten raw and during the proper seasons they feed on the fruits of the various cacti and mes-quite mes-quite beans which grow fairly plentifully in the Seri mountains. Scattered over the greater portion por-tion of the island are charred oyster shells, which . show that they are very partial to this form of food, and that they use fire to open shell-fish of all kinds, as they do not possess any knives. They catch the turtles by harpooning them with a very primitive kind of spear; the latter is made in two parts connected by a fiber rope, to the front one of which a rough point of hardened wood, stone, or, if possible, iron, is attached. As soon as they see a turtle they approach noiselessly noise-lessly from behind and thrust the spear through the shell. The front portion of the spear remains in the animal, but the turtle cannot escape because be-cause of the rope, and it is soon towed to the shore and there broken open, when it is roasted or eaten raw. Fish, which abound in these waters, wa-ters, are caught by means of a fiber line and primitive hook, the latter being very often made from a thorn or piece of bone, though sometimes the larger kinds of fish are killed with a bow and arrow, a weapon much in use among the Seri Their huts are of the most primitive description, being made merely of dried brushwood and roofed with turtle shells and sponges. They afford some slight shelter from the sun, which is their main purpose, for the heat is always intense the year round, and I suppose that there are few hotter places on earth. The foregoing facts are sufficient to mark the Seri as very distinct from other North American Indians; but there are many, other curious and peculiar customs .which they do not share with any other tribes. Their religion is exceedingly interesting, though somewhat obscure, and the local character of their gods is a convincing proof of their long residence in that locality. Their chief deity, for instance, is the "Ancient of Pelicans," Peli-cans," a mythical bird of marvelous wisdom and melodious song, and their lesser gods are supernatural super-natural beings in similar familiar ferns. Every yar, before starting out on their annual expeditions expedi-tions to gather fruit of the cacti, they hold their one important religious festival, at which they make many ceremonial offerings in order that. the supply may be plentiful. Their dead are buried in their most elaborate garments, with their weapons beside them under a mound of stones. ThPFe graves are to be seen all over the Serl country, and bear eloquent, if silent, testimony ro the valiant defense they have made against 'heir enemies; for of the several thousand Seri Indians that were known to exist some thirty pfirs ago. there are but three hundred and sev-"nty-five left now, of which not more than seven-'v-tv.o are adult males. The country is no less unusual than its Inhabitants, In-habitants, for it contains many re-narkable trees nd Dlants. It would be natural to suppose that, r r I Pfwtv in a land where there 13 jx JMetJtij practically no rain, vegeta-&jer vegeta-&jer tion would be very scarce, and the term "desert" generally gen-erally conveys the idea of large sand plains devoid of all plant growth to those who have not seen them. But this is quite a wrong impression, for there is hardly a square mile anywhere in Seriland where some kind of tree or cactus cannot be found, though there may not be any water for miles around. This fact makes the botany of this region a most interesting study, for if the vegetation were not provided with special spe-cial means of obtaining and storing water, it could not survive. All the trees and plants are perennials and have enormously long roots. The mesquite tree (Prosopis juliflora) and the palo-verde palo-verde (Parkinsonia torreyana)' are the most common, com-mon, and the former bears a kind of fruit or bean, which the Indians grind into corn. I remember re-member once when traveling in the "Malpais" of Sonora I was obliged to rely for a whole month on these mesquite beans alone to feed my horses and pack animals, for grass is practically absent on these plains except for a very coarse variety called "galleta" by the natives, which is sometimes some-times found in small patches. It says much for the nutritive value of the mesquite bean that I lost none of my animals, and only one mule seemed to be suffering towards the end of the time. Most of the low-lying country is covered with the Sonoran grease-wood (Larrea triden-tata), triden-tata), a small green bush of no value at all; but it is ubiquitous throughout Sonora, except in the mountains. But the really characteristic plant in Seriland is the cactus, which abounds in a variety of forms. They all have very long roots, some of which descend thirty feet to fifty feet to reach water. The stem itself is formed of pulp, that grows round a wooden core, and this . serves as storehouse for the water they obtain, while they are covered with a kind of glazed epidermis to prevent evaporation, and are furnished fur-nished with thorns, which effectually prevent animals from feeding on them. The "saguarro" or giant castus (Cereus giganteus) is the most imposing, rising often to a height of fifty or sixty feet. It may be seen in vast numbers over the plains and on the lower part of the mountain slopes, and it assumes an endless variety of shapes, ranging from the single straight stem to when they are in flower, for at the end of each those containing fifteen or twenty arms To those who see them for the first time they certainly cer-tainly present a remarkable sight, especially when they are in flower, for at the end of each branch , they bear a wreath or crown of fragrant yellows-rose yellows-rose or purple flowers. No less unusual are theje organ-pige cactus, or "pithahaya" (Cereus shotim til. They grow in chimps of eighteen or twent; w stems, and reach a height of fifteen feet t-$4 twenty feet. A rarer cactus is the bisnaga. .$1 smaller form of the saguarro; but it has one penis culiar quality, which makes it very valuable bot to the Indians and to travelers in the countrre for it is the only plant from which water fit ! on drink may be obtained. The best way is to -os' off the top and to crush the pulp within nit Pf c piece of wood or stone. Two to four pint'0 6' water can then be scooped out with a cur' " ' J amount depending on the size of the plan eijgif cept for a rather sickly taste, the waterQjant unpleasant. were J There is another unusual plant also this region the "ocotiilo" (Fouquie-- J dens). This remarkable shrub, which tVife Grl attains a height of fifteen feet, is cor- Mrs. l a number of lg, thin branches, cov-t, the I thorns, and bears the most brilliant decre 1 flowers. , here l Once each year, just after the short;rantel i rains, the country wakes from its long1; i to a belated spring. Gay-colored flow', gchrar among the rocks, and the cactus blossomi 1 the otherwise somber landscape. But this18' in the face of the country is as translent6 w' l heodonl i from . tus ot I ! I a moment into evanescent beauty till night wraps it softly in a pall of velvet black oblivion. HE SAVED THREE STATES. Result of a Stormy Meeting In Oregon Territory in 1843. y A few words of hurried conversation between two French settlers had an important part in deciding the question whether the far northwest- Jr era territory, from which the states of Washing- ton, Oregon and Idaho were formed, should be- 1 long to Great Britain or the United States. .A f monument at Champoeg, on the Willamette ri" now marks the spot where this interesting sode took place. Theodore T. Geer, fecy governor of Oregon, tells about it in hisiy "Fifty Years in -egon," and quotes fr-ers7 story of F. X. Matthieu, who saved th' the United States, says the Youth's C Jr On a cloudy May day in 1843 102 n'ly Hudson Bay trappers, coming frc far, crowded into a log building at Shi' held a stormy meeting. The Arrnosp an organized government and XmVf territory by the United States.is by men stood as firmly opposed.' she was taken it was hard to U ret since a good many on both ae S J about the doors, unable to Vcc A division was called f possible the men rushe,.' acre field in front of f body began gestics"' J sing the situation cJ "All in favortj, shouted Joe MjrmerJr striding to onist f .e mtf was disclosed tr Meek and !' . men, betwJt and engjhe "J One of fork y lieve th?hile erty if, sets The ter ojf wouhjp co' fwh'veteiy or??ie ny i to kg Be .- reliev "Smok' iers ajj two lance f as 2f 10.83 47,572 isio I |