Scribner's magazine . reach the top of thecave. The most commonimprovement is a loosestone-wall in front of the cave, as highas a mans breast, as a shelter against the wind. Tlie caves are rarely foundin inaccessible jjlaces, like some in theUnited States ; if they are ditiicult ofaccess, they are made accessible byone or two wooden ladders, or rathernotched trunks of trees. The caves arealways found apart, at a distance offrom one hundred yards to a mile ormore. I heard of one arroyo where sixcan be seen at the same time, onlyfrom thirty to fifty yards apart, butthis is a rare case. It is als
Scribner's magazine . reach the top of thecave. The most commonimprovement is a loosestone-wall in front of the cave, as highas a mans breast, as a shelter against the wind. Tlie caves are rarely foundin inaccessible jjlaces, like some in theUnited States ; if they are ditiicult ofaccess, they are made accessible byone or two wooden ladders, or rathernotched trunks of trees. The caves arealways found apart, at a distance offrom one hundred yards to a mile ormore. I heard of one arroyo where sixcan be seen at the same time, onlyfrom thirty to fifty yards apart, butthis is a rare case. It is also rare tofind more than one family living in thesame cave ; if so, the people are alwaysnear relatives. AVhen the caves are peimanently in-habited they are fitted up, as are theirhouses, wath the same utensils, the grind-ing-stones, baskets, and jars. The fire isin the middle of the cave, and the fiooris often cemented with adobe. I oncesaw a species of parapet built of stonegravel, terraced, on a level with the fioor. On the Highlands—Sierra Madre. of the cave, so as to extend the cave sarea. The storehouses, so necessary to 48 AMONG THE TARAHUMARIS the household life of the Tarahumarisfor storing corn and clothing, are nevermissing in the caves. They are built ofstone and adobe along the inner walls,and serve as big closets. The largestinhabited cave I have seen, was nearlyone hundred feet in width, and fromtwenty to forty feet in depth. If thecaves are very deep, the Indian livesnear the mouth. Never do they exca-vate caves or holes for habitation. Although the Tarahumari is not no-madic, his life is shifting. He removeshis domestic animals according to sea-son, and plants corn in different locali-ties, mo\ing accordingly. On the high-lands the Tarahumari is certainly morepermanent, and here the best woodenhouses are found. Here they may evenbe found living in ranches of from fiveto six families. One ranch had twenty-five families, but even here on the high-lands, a Tarahu
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1887
