Show indian antipathy to aleh at a meriting in baltimore of abo american folklore society dr washington matthews of washington read a paper on which he described as an antipathy to fish this aversion is especially strong in tho navajo apache and other indian tribes of the far southwest who will not cat elsh or have anything to do with made in tho shape of fish this taboo with the navajos extends to all things connected with water A probable reason why no more children of these tribes are sent east to be educated dr matthews thought was a tear that they required to overcome this cherished taboo superstition which is as firmly rooted as any religion A legend to account for this fish taboo was given there was a time food was scarce and the mountain indians had a big powwow with tho river indians the result was that the river indians agreed to bill no deer but live entirely on fish and the mountain indians agreed to eat no fish but live entirely upon deer this made food plenty for both in the discussion of the paper it was elated that the zuni indians will not eat fish because tribes in desert lands regard water as sacred because of its scarcity and this reverence extends to animal life in water several members thought perhaps this idea corf voyed ho true reason for the fish taboo baltimore sun |