Suddenly It All Changes!

Little Iberian horses were kept in the pueblos for the benefit of the Spanish masters (caballero or horsemen).  Following the Spanish defeat at the hands of the Pueblos, these horses were either stolen or released to the wild by the Pueblo who had little use for them. The effect was revolutionary!

Of those of the Southwest who mastered the horse, the Apache, Navajo and Comanche - the Comanche did it the best.  It was said of Native Americans with horses "to have possessed a liberty and power which made them a terror to sedentary Indians like the Pueblo, to the northern Spaniards and to the Americans coming west."

The first horse masters were the Apache and Navajo who used their horses for lightning raids and quick escape.  They seldom fought on horseback, never bred them and often used them for food.  Raiding for new horses became as much as part of their lives as hunting. 

The Apache and Navajo spoke similar languages.  Both tribes were loosely organized in small family bands.  Both were skilled with the bow and lance.  Neither tribe had complex ceremonies or artifacts.  They came to the Southwest shortly before the Spanish arrived.  Rich mythology and long lists of taboos characterized both tribes. One taboo was a belief that a man must never speak or even look at his mother-in-law. 

 A horror for witches and the dead were shared by both tribes.  Ghosts were thought to have malign power.  Both tribes buried their dead along with their possessions as quickly as possible to ward off evil. 

The Apache and Navajo so closely resembled each other that the Spaniards first called them "Apache de Navajo". 

Next time...Fear the Comanche!
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Today in Pioneer History: On June 27, 1880, Helen Keller was born.  Keller was born blind and deaf but by the teachings of Anne Sullivan broke through her isolation to learn to communicate.  She was the first blind and deaf person to earn a Bachelor's Degree.