ess as no more such garments will be made.

The only reasonable explanation why any people should select a location
like that of the Moquis is on the hypothesis of choice. There is much
of the animal in human nature that is influenced by instinct, and man,
like the brute, often unconsciously selects what is most congenial to
his nature. Thus instinct teaches the eagle to nest on the highest
crag and the mountain sheep to browse in pastures which only the
hardiest hunter dare approach. For no better reason, apparently, do
the Moquis occupy their barren mesas; they simply prefer to live there
above any other place.

Safety has been urged as a motive for their conduct but it alone is not
a sufficient reason for solving the problem. Their position is safe
enough from attack but in the event of a siege their safety would only
be temporary. With their scant water supply at a distance and
unprotected they could not hold out long in a siege, but would soon be
compelled either to fight, fly or famish.

Again, if safety was their only reason for staying, they could have
left long ago and had nothing to fear, as they have been for many years
at peace with their ancient enemy the predatory Navajo. But rather
than go they have chosen to remain in their old home where they have
always lived, and will continue to live so long as they are left free
to choose.

The modern iconoclast in his unreasonable devotion to realism has,
perhaps, stripped them of much old time romance, but even with all of
that gone, enough of fact remains to make them a remarkable people.
Instead of seeking to change them this last bit of harmless aboriginal
life should be spared and preserved, if possible, in all of its native
purity and simplicity.

[1] The American Race, by D. G. Brinton, 1891.

[2] The Gilded Man, by A. F. Bandelier, 1893.

CHAPTER XIV

A FINE CLIMATE

The climate of Arizona as described in the local vernacular is "sure
fine." The combination of elements which make the climate is unusual
and cannot be duplicated elsewhere upon the American continent. The
air is remarkably pure and dry. Siccity, indeed, is its distinguishing
feature. That the climate is due to geographical and meteorological
conditions cannot be doubted, but the effects are unexplainable by any
ordinary rules.

The region involved not only embraces Arizona, but also includes
portions of California and Mexico and is commonly known as the Colorado
D