[46]To him, more than to any other man, is ascribed the credit of saving the Navajo blanket industry from being hopelessly vulgarized by ignorant and unscrupulous dealers.
[47]“Navaho Legends,” by Dr. Washington Matthews.
[48]Automobiles must be left at Chin Lee, where horses for exploring the cañon may be had, if arranged for in advance.
[49]Botanically, Phragmites communis, common throughout the United States in damp places. It was through the hollow stem of one of this species divinely enlarged, that the Navajos and Pueblos came up in company from the underworld into this present world of light. So at least runs the Navajo Origin legend.
[50]The origin of the Navajo blanket is picturesque. At the time of the Spanish conquest, the tribe was too insignificant to be mentioned. It grew, however, rather rapidly, and in raids upon the Pueblos took many of the latter prisoners. From these (the Pueblos had long been weavers of native cotton) they picked up the textile art; and then stealing sheep from the Spaniards, they inaugurated the weaving of the woolen blanket. Only the women of the tribe are weavers, and Doctor Matthews states that in his time, some 30 years ago, they did it largely as an artistic recreation, just as the ladies of civilization do embroidery or tatting.
[51]The place of emergence is fancied to have been in an island in a small lake in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
[52]Dr. W. Matthews, “Navaho Legends.”
[53]The nearest railway station is McCarty’s, from which it lies 12 miles to the northeast.
[54]The classic work on Navajo customs and myths is “Navaho Legends,” by Dr. Washington Matthews—a U. S. army surgeon who resided on their Reservation for years. To a sympathetic attitude towards the race, he added the practical qualification of a thorough knowledge of the language.
[55]Other routes from railroad points are from Winslow, Ariz., 80 miles to the First Mesa or 75 miles to the Second Mesa; from Cañon Diablo, Ariz., 75 miles to the Third Mesa; from Holbrook, Ariz., 90 miles to the First Mesa. The routes from Gallup and Holbrook possess the advantage of avoiding the crossing of the Little Colorado River, which becomes at times impassable from high water.