CANYONS OF THE COLORADO.
AN ANCIENT CIRCULAR DOORWAY OR "STONE CLOSE" IN KIN-TIEL.
left until cool, when they are taken out, thoroughly dried, and ground into meal. Grasshopper gruel or grasshopper cake is a great treat.
Their lore consists of a mass of traditions, or mythology. It is very difficult to induce them to tell it to white men; but the old Spanish priests, in the days of the conquest of New Mexico, spread among the Indians of this country many Bible stories, which the Indians are usually willing to tell. It is not always easy to recognize them; the Indian mind is a strange receptacle for such stories and they are apt to sprout new limbs. Maybe much of their added quaint-ness is due to the way in which they were told by the "fathers." But in a confidential way, while alone, or when admitted to their camp fire on a winter night, one may hear the stories of their mythology. I believe that the greatest mark of friendship or confidence that an Indian can give is to tell you his religion. After one has so talked with me I should ever trust him; and I feel on very good terms with these Indians since our experience of the other night.
A knowledge of the watering places and of the trails and passes is considered of great importance and is necessary to give standing to a chief.
This evening, the Shi'vwits, for whom we have sent, come in, and after supper we hold a long council. A blazing fire is built, and around this we sit--the Indians living here, the Shi'vwits, Jacob Hamblin, and myself.
This man, Hamblin, speaks their language well and has a great influence over all the Indians in the region round about. He is a silent, reserved man, and when he speaks it is in a slow, quiet way that inspires great awe. His talk is so low that they must listen attentively to hear, and they sit around him in deathlike silence. When he finishes a
