ly by that mode of
life.

Every family is possessed of a flock of sheep and goats, sometimes
numbering many thousands, and a band of horses, generally several
hundreds, in a few instances several thousands. In recent times many
possess small herds of cattle, the progeny of those which strayed into
the reservation from the numerous large herds in its vicinity, or were
picked up about the borders by some Navaho whose thrift was more highly
developed than his honesty. The condition of the tribe, as a whole, is
not only far removed from hardship, but may even be said to be one of
comparative affluence.

Owing to the scarcity of grass over most of the country, and the
difficulty of procuring a sufficient supply of water, the flocks must be
moved from place to place at quite frequent intervals. This condition
more than any other has worked against the erection of permanent houses.
Yet the Navaho are by no means nomads, and the region within which a
given family moves back and forth is extremely circumscribed.

In a general way the movements of a family are regulated by the
condition of the grass and the supply of water. In a dry season many
of the small springs cease to flow at an early date in the summer.
Moreover, if a flock is kept too long in one locality, the grass is
almost destroyed by close cropping, forcing the abandonment of that
particular place for two or three years. When this occurs, the place
will recover and the grass become good again if left entirely
undisturbed for several years.

The usual practice is to take the flocks up into the mountains or on
the high plateaus during the summer, quartering them near some spring or
small stream, and when the snow comes they are moved down to the lower
foothills or out into the valleys. In the winter both shepherds and
sheep depend on the snow for their water supply, and by this means an
immense tract of country, which otherwise would be a perfect waste,
is utilized. As the snow disappears from the valleys the flocks are
gradually driven back again into the mountains.

The heavy fall of snow in the mountains and its slow melting in spring
makes that region far more fertile and grassy than the valleys, and were
it possible to remain there throughout the year doubtless many families
would do so. As it is, however, the feed is covered too deeply for the
sheep to reach it, and during several months heavy snowdrifts make
communication very difficult and at times imposs