Page 217 - TheHopiIndians

MESA FOLK OF HOPILAXD 209
t
scored with a series of lines cut in a smooth sandstone
face.
The explorations in the buried towns of a section
of the ancient Hopi which extend in a line from the
Gila River to their present mesa homes show that for
all these centuries they have been unwarlike people.
There is the greatest scarcity of weapons, such as ar
rowheads and spearheads, and there are few war axes
to be found among the numerous relics of peaceful pur
suits, though wooden clubs were no doubt used. This
accords with the situation of the towns on high, easily
defended positions and the building of houses in clus
ters, the outer walls forming a fortification which de
fied assailants.
Only once during their history did the Hopi light
the fires of war, and this was a religious conflict car
ried on in true Indian fashion. About the beginning
of the seventeenth century the Spanish priests had
gained a foothold in the town of Awatobi, situated on
a high mesa south of Walpi. The Awatobi Hopi had
prospered, and their valley, presenting to the south a
marvelous panorama of the lava buttes, produced
abundant food besides cotton for woven fabrics. Awa
tobi was a large town of Hopiland ; the walls of
the mission church still stand high enough to be a
landmark miles away. The houses were four stories
high and they were sufficient to accommodate 1.000
souls.
Perhaps this prosperity caused envy; perhaps the