gravel and are mounted on a handle. Gourds are never used as forms over which to mold pottery.
At least five varieties of beans are now cultivated. The first known, the tatcoa pavfi, "white bean," is said to have been brought in some forgotten time from the valley of the great "Red river," the Colorado. Considerable quantities are raised and the thrashing is done by horses driven in a circle on the same hard floor that is prepared for the wheat thrashing.
Not with the withering drought alone has the Gileño planter to contend, but also with the myriads of crows that are extravagantly fond of a corn diet, and with the numerous squirrels and gophers that thrive apace where protected in a measure from the coyotes, which are themselves a menace to the fields. From the birds and predatory animals the fields are guarded during the day by the boys, who amuse themselves meanwhile by a dozen games that develop skill in running, and shooting with the bows and arrows which scarcely leave their hands during their waking hours. Scarecrows, "men artificial," are used, but a fluttering rag was never as effective as a feathered shaft hurtling from a well-drawn bow. Night marauders were in olden times kept at a distance by the rings of the terrible cholla cactus, Opuntia bigelovii Engelm., that were laid up around the individual plants. Plate XII illustrates this cactus as it grows on the hills about Sacaton. It is recognized as the most effectually armed of the many cacti and is the symbol in Pima lore of impenetrability.
Trade
STANDARDS OF VALUE
For purposes of trade or in gambling the following values were recognized: A gourd was equivalent to a basket; a metate, a small shell necklace, or the combination of a basket and a blanket and a strand of blue glass beads was equivalent to a horse; a string of blue glass beads 4 yards long was equivalent to a bag of paint; and a basket full of beans or corn to a cooking pot.
MEASURES
The principal linear measurement was the humakâ os, "one stick," equal to the distance from the center of the breast to the finger tips. The writer is inclined to regard this as a primitive Pima measurement, notwithstanding its resemblance to the yard of the invading race. This corresponds with the Aztec cenyollotli, the Cakchiquel ru vach qux, and the Maya betan.[1] It was the basis of a sort of decimal system, as follows: Ten "sticks" made one "cut" of calico, equivalent to a "load" of wheat, or about 150 pounds. Ten cuts or loads were equivalent to
- ↑ D.G. Brinton, The Lineal Measures of the Semi-civilized Nations of Mexico and Central America.
