"It is scarcely to be doubted, that the Pimos are the Indians described by Father Garcias and Pedro Font, as living on the south bank of the Gila, in the vicinity of the Casas Grandes. They lived in two villages, called Utuicut and Sutaquisau, and are described by these explorers to have been peaceable and industrious cultivators of the soil. When Father Font tried to persuade them of the advantages which would result from the establishment of Christian missions, where an Indian alcalde would govern with strict justice, a chief answered that this was not necessary for them. 'For,' said he, 'we do not steal, we rarely quarrel; why should we want an alcalde?'"[149]
This is enough for a characteristic; to which it should be added that the area of the Casas Grandes, and that of the agricultural (or semi-agricultural) industry of the Pimos and other tribes coincide.
So little, however, are these parts known, that our evidence comes almost exclusively from two quarters—the early Spanish explorers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the very recent American surveyors, the circumnavigators (to use an expression of Gallatin's) of the Californian Desert of the last decennium.
Some of the most western of the tribes that have any (though not all) of the elements which make the Pimos the representatives of a provisional ethnological division, are:—
1. The Yumas.—These are placed near the junction of the rivers Gila and Colorado, and although at enmity with, are stated to speak the same language as, the—
2. Coco-maricopas.—Except that the Coco-maricopas are the taller, that their noses are more aquiline, that their intelligence is, perhaps, superior, and that their language is different, they agree in all respects with—
3. The Pimos.—Both the Pimos[150] and the Coco-maricopas are on the south bank of the River Gila, bounded on the south by Apaches. The former are considered as aboriginal to their present locality. Not so, however, the Coco-maricopas, whose immigrations are said to be recent, and whose language is akin to the Californian of San Diego.
| ENGLISH. | COCO-MARICOPAS.[151] | SAN DIEGO. |
|---|---|---|
| Horse | quactish | —— |
| Man | apache | epatch |
| Woman | seniact | seen |
| Child | comerse | jacuel |
| Corn | tarichte | ——— |
| Water | ha-ache | kha. |
| Fire | house | ——— |
| Foot | ametche | ——— |
| Hand | issalis | eshall. |
| Eyes | adoche | ——— |
| One | sandek | siha. |
| Two | haveka | khahuac. |
| Three | hamoka | khamoc. |
| Four | champapa | tchapap. |
| Five | sarap | khetlacai. |
| Six | mohok | khentchapai. |
| Seven | pakek | ——— |
| Eight | sapok | tchapap-tchapap. |
| Nine | humcamoke | sinhtchahoi. |
| Ten | shahoke | namat. |
4. The Moqui.—The peculiarities of the Moqui have had full prominence given to them; being, though not the best authenticated, some of the first described. No living writer seems to have seen them; whilst the evidence of Mr. Gregg, and Lieutenant Emory, which in both cases is especially stated to be founded on the communications of others, simply places them in the same category with the tribes which have preceded them. By more sanguine writers, however, they have had attributed to them white skins, long beards, towns containing from 2000 to 3000 inhabitants, public squares, parallel streets, and stone houses.
5. Zuni.—East of the Moqui, in numbers from 1,000 to 1,500 souls, and about 150 miles west of the Rio del Norte. Evidence modern. "They profess the Catholic faith, cultivate the soil, have manufactures, and possess considerable quantities of stock."—Gregg. "The Soones build houses in the solid rock. Many of them are Albinos, the probable origin of the report of a race of white Indians in this quarter. They resemble the Pimos in habits."—Lieut. Emory, from the communication of a Coco-maricopas Indian.