Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/161

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156
THE PIMA INDIANS
[ETH. ANN. 26

the greater part of the year. The roof furnishes a convenient place for drying squashes, melons, fruit, and, in the old days, cotton, where the dogs and poultry can not disturb them. Under its shade the olla of drinking water is set in a crotched post or is suspended from above by a maguey fiber net. Here two parallel ropes may be hung and a cloth folded back and forth upon itself across them, thus forming an impromptu hammock in which to swing the baby. Here the metate and mortar are usually seen, and here the women sit and weave baskets or perform such other labor as may be done at home. It is the living room throughout the day the year around, and now that the fear of Apaches has gone it is becoming the sleeping place as well. From a hygienic point of view it is a great pity that the Pimas are learning to build adobes, for the tendency is for them to live indoors and to abandon the healthful arbors, every inch of whose floors is purified by a burning sun that throws its sterilizing rays well under the arbor during the morning and afternoon. Tuberculosis is present in nearly every family, and it is difficult, if not impossible, for the agency physician to induce those stricken with it to remain out of doors; they invariably confine themselves within the bacilli-laden dwellings. The arbor is kept well swept and clean, as is the entire yard about the house, so that a more healthful habitation could not be devised. Occasionally one or mere sides of it may be inclosed with arrowwood through which the cool breezes readily find their way.

Beside each dwelling will be found a rectangular storehouse built with a framework of about the same shape and size as the arbor, but with walls of upright okatilla trunks or cactus ribs. The large bush, Baccharis glutenosa, is often used for this purpose. It is seen in its natural state in plate XXI, b; also surrounding the unit figure in plate XXXVI and forming the walls of the storehouse in plate XXXV, f. Plate IX, b, illustrates the okatilla, Fouquiera splendens, as it grows on the mesas within 2 miles of Sacaton. Each stem is crowned with a brilliant spray of scarlet flowers. Plate XXXV, d, shows the framework of a storehouse at the right and the finished wall of arrow bush in the center. Plate XXXV, e, is a complete storehouse with arrowwood bins for mesquite beans on the roof. Sometimes mud or adobe is added to the walls, which renders the structure equivalent to the Mexican jacal. The most noticeable feature is the door, made by piling up a great heap of unwieldy logs before the opening.

While not to be dignified by the name of house or dwelling, the Pima kitchen is an extremely practical affair, as will be realized by anyone who attempts to cook on an open fire exposed to storms. Plates VI, b, and XXXVI show the manner of arranging these windbreaks, for they are nothing more. In exposed situations the sand