Pueblos

Pueblos (Span. pueblo, 'village'), a semi-civilised family of American Indians in New Mexico and Arizona, dwelling in large single habitations, which are sometimes capacious enough to contain a whole tribe. These edifices—which are often five or six stories high, and from 130 to 433 yards long, with many rooms (53 to 124) on each floor—are commonly constructed of adobe or sun-dried brick; the ground-floor is invariably without doors or windows, entrance being effected by a ladder leading to the second story; and indoors ladders take the place of staircases everywhere. A somewhat pyramidal aspect is given to the whole building by each successive story receding a few feet from the line of that below it. Each family of the tribe has a separate apartment, and there are also large rooms for general council-chambers and for tribal dances. In New Mexico there are nineteen such villages, with over 8000 occupants, who are skilful agriculturists, employing irrigation ditches extensively, and rear horses, cattle, and sheep. Spinning and weaving and the manufacture of pottery also are carried on. The Moquis of Arizona are a related tribe, numbering some 1800, in seven villages built on the summit of isolated hills. The Pueblos are under Roman Catholic missionaries, and are making steady progress in civilisation and education, although on their Christianity they have grafted many of their old pagan beliefs and customs, to which they obstinately cling. They were first visited by the Spaniards about 1530, at which period their habits and their habitations were very much the same as to-day. It is evident, however, from the wide area over which the ruins of old pueblos and remains of ancient pottery have been found, that they were at one time very much more numerous than they are now.