The Seri Indians. (1898 N 17 / 1895-1896 (pages 1-344*))McGee, W J
History
The Seri Indians. (1898 N 17 / 1895-1896 (pages 1-344*))
McGee, W J
Seri Indians; Seri language; Yuman languages
[12] Both the routes were traversed by the expedition of 1895, the
former from the headwaters of Rio Bacuache to the upper portion of its
alluvial fan, and then from the abandoned Rancho Libertad on the lower
portion of the fan across Desierto Encinas by way of Barranca Salina.
In the northern crossing a light vehicle (the first to traverse this
portion of the desert), drawn by four horses and aided by several
horsemen, was taken from Rancho Libertad across the northern portion of
Playa Noriega and thence up Arroyo Mitchell to a point midway between
Barranca Salina and Johnson peak, and was brought back over the same
route. The Encinas trail from Rancho San Francisco de Costa Rica was
traversed four times each way by the same outfit, and once each way by
the running gear of a heavy wagon carrying the rude craft (about 1,000
pounds in weight) in which the Seri waters were navigated, this vehicle
being drawn by 8 to 12 horses, frequently changed. Typical aspects of
both routes are shown in plate III, the upper figure representing the
Encinas trail and the lower a distant view of Sierra Seri, taken from
Playa Noriega, in the depths of Desierto Encinas.
Desierto Encinas is an impossible human habitat in any proper sense; it
is merely a broad and hardly passable boundary between habitats. The
hardy stock of the frontier ranchos, pasturing partly on the thorny
fruit of the cholla, push far out on the plains, and are sometimes
watered for short periods, under strong guards of heavily armed
vaqueros, at Barranca Salina; yet the greater part of the expanse is
trodden only by the Seri. Two or three ruined frames of Seri jacales
and a few graves crown the low knoll near Pozo Escalante, and there
are one or two house remnants near Barranca Salina; these are notable
not only as the easternmost remaining outposts of Seri occupancy, but
because they represent the only known instances in all Seriland of the
erection of even temporary houses adjacent to water. Distinct paths,
trodden deep by bare Seri feet, radiate from both waters toward the
Seriland interior, but no traceable trails extend eastward.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account