ether except
under a certain condition medical in character. The _co'tce_ is built
usually in some secluded spot, and frequently large parties of men go
together to spend the better part of a day in the enjoyment of the
luxury of a sweat bath and a scour with sand. On another day the women
of the neighborhood get together and do the same, and the men regard
their privacy strictly.

EFFECT OF MODERN CONDITIONS

Up to a comparatively recent period the Navaho have been what is usually
termed a "wild tribe;" that is, they have existed principally by war and
plunder. Since the conquest of the country by General Kearny and the
"Army of the West," in 1846, they have given us but little trouble, but
prior to that time they preyed extensively on the Pueblo Indians and the
Mexican settlements along the Rio Grande. Practically all their wealth
today, and they are a wealthy tribe, consists of thousands of sheep
and goats and hundreds of horses, all descended from flocks and herds
originally stolen. When the country came into the possession of the
United States marauding expeditions became much less frequent, and
almost insensibly the tribe changed from a predatory to a pastoral
people. But aside from the infrequency or absence of armed expeditions
the life of the people remained much the same under the changed
conditions. When the Atlantic and Pacific railroad entered the country
some sixteen or seventeen years ago traders came with it, although there
were a few in the country before, and numerous trading posts were
established in the reservation and about its borders. The effect of
this was to fix the pastoral habits of the people. Wool and pelts were
exchanged for flour, sugar, and coffee, and for calico prints and dyes,
and gradually a demand for these articles was established.

The men looked after their herds of horses and took very good care of
the few cattle that drifted into the reservation; the women attended
to their domestic duties and, with the aid of the children, took care
of the sheep and goats, which, according to long-established custom,
belonged exclusively to them. Agriculture was practically unknown. But
with the removal of the duty on wool a new era opened for the Navaho.
The price of wool fell to about one-half of the former figure, and a
flock of sheep no longer furnished the means for procuring the articles
which had grown to be necessities. The people were gradually but surely
forced to horticulture to