It would have been an utter impossibility for thousands of Indians to have lived off the corn, beans, squash and pumpkins raised in the Valley of the Frijoles. But the several hundred who did live here had to eat and in order to eat they had to work. The Indians of Tyuonyi were farmers and were largely dependent upon the products of the soil. Only a small part of their sustenance was from animals and birds. Of course, there was game of all kinds. There were deer, perhaps elk and mountain sheep, bears, turkeys, rabbits, and fish in the creek. But even though this was wild country, several hundred Indians living in the locality would soon have depleted the stock with their communal hunts. In the fall of the year there were grouse in the high mountains and ducks along the Rio Grande. But imagine how difficult it would have been to kill a grouse or a duck with a crude bow and arrow. The deer might have been the prize of the Indians at Frijoles. They ate the meat and used the hides for buckskin. They knew the rabbit and the mouse and knew that the woodrat gathered the edible piñon nuts to store away in its hiding place. The robber, since there was a large crop of the nuts only once every few years! They ate the squirrel. Skunk skins were probably used for ceremonial purposes. The raccoon, however scarce, likely formed part of the diet of the cliff dweller. And although Indians knew the birds of the forest, they probably did not digest the meat of hawks very well. As a matter of fact, most birds were too fast for the ever-seeking valley dweller with his crude weapons. Few Indian ruins are excavated in which the remains of corn are not found. The ancient inhabitants raised corn—much corn. It was the most important item in their diet. The fields in the lower end of the Canyon were fertile. The valley was a paradise for primitive people. During corn planting time tiny kernels were sown in the rich fertile ground which had been broken with digging sticks and crude hoes. There were likely no large continuous fields in this valley but only small patches where individuals might have had separate fields. Adolph Bandelier suggested that the ancient people irrigated in the Valley of the Frijoles. How lucky they were if this were true. It is more likely that they depended on the waters from the heavens. When it was extremely dry the Indian women transported water from the little river in urns on the tops of their heads. And so heavy were the jars filled with water that they were obliged to use soft pot-rests of grass. Corn was planted in April and was likely sown under a waxing moon so that it would grow with the moon. The Tewas believed that when corn was sown under a waning moon, the seeds quit growing. With careful nursing and watering from April until September, the pigmy ears grew. In the early fall the corn was gathered by the men. [Illustration: Cultivating corn] [Illustration: Carrying water]