Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 December 1893 — HOW NAVAJOS KILL. [ARTICLE]

HOW NAVAJOS KILL.

Slaughter in Which the Animals Have No Chance. Few people in the West, and scarcely any in the East, have any idea of the unique manner in which the Navajo Indians have from time immemorial caught antelopes. Thousands of the beautiful creatures still abound upon the vast table lands of New Mexico. In the country just south of the Navajo reservation, and between it and the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, one frequently comes upon long, straight rows of tho trunks of trees and the branches of cedar and pine, stretching for miles across these treeless plains. In many places they are nearly rotten away, and only the larger limbs and trunks now mark these lines, These are the ruins of ancient antelope corrals or pens. The large bands of antelopes have long since been destroyed in this part of the country, and only small herds of from five to ten can be seen. These are mostly hunted upon the American or white man’s plan. However, directly south of Winslow, about fifty miles distant, large bands of these graceful creatures still roam, and there is in existence there a new corral that is in running order at the present time. It is here that the old men of the tribe, who believe in the ancient manner of catching game, enjoy their annual hunt. This corral was built in 1890 by the order of the old chief, Gano Mumcho, and his son, Many Horses. As the workings o! the order had nearly died out, it was necessary to first hold a season of song to teach the lesser chiefs their several duties, for, like the fraternities of to-day, they require their Grand Master, ViceGrand Master, Conductors, Guards, &o. After these had been instructed thoroughly, a party of nearly two hundred men and boys on horseback started to locate this spot for the revival of their old sport. A place was|selected where a slight hill was found upon the border of a wide prairie. Not even a sage bush could be seen, and trees for the corral had to be brought from the cedar-covered hills nearly ten miles away. These were cut and dragged to the place by the men and boys on horseback. A close pen, circular in form and about 100 feet across, was first built against the steep side of the hill so that the tops of the posts used could not be seen from the opposite side. Two lines of trees were then dragged and laid loosely upon the ground, but close enough to appear like a brush fence. These lines at the pen are about twenty yards apart, sand run almost parallel for 100 yards or so and then spread apart at an angle of about thirty degrees and extend for four and a half or five miles. When the party reaches the corral for the annual hunt the chief first selects the officers, four to watch each point of the compass around the pen. For each a pit is dug deep enough to put him out of sight. The less space acquired the more the occupant is esteemed and considered worthy of protection later on. The chief and his assistant then take their places at the right tide of the entrance to the pen, standing in a hole dug for the purpose and just deep enough to hide all except their heads. From five to eight Indians on the fleetest horses are sent out at daybreak to surround a band of antelopes and head them toward the corral. An antelope, when startled, keeps as far as possible away from any Elace where an enemy might be hiding, ence they keep as far away from the wings of the corral, which are on either side of as they can. After being closed in upon they cannot turn back, as the drivers are in hot pursuit, and they make a dash for the top of the hill, which, to them, appears to be the only opening between the horrid lines of brush fence. But, alas for them, they find themselves enclosed in a stout pen, around which they run in a circle, never trying to jump over. The shouts and yells of the Indians at length so completely terrify the poor animals that they stand trembling and apparently unconscious of the Indians, who now approach and kill them with clubs, hatchets, stones, or anything at hand. As many as 250 have been caught at one time in this manner, and for wholesale destruction of game it surpasses any process in vogue, and should be stopped entirely.—GlobeDemocrat.