 were easily defended against warlike neighboring tribes, but the section is called arid because it's all seldom rains. Long ago the Indians learned that they must water their fields themselves if good crops were to grow. They built rock dams in creeks to direct the water into their canals. Down the ditches, sometimes under the face of a protective cliff, they carried the water to their fields. Simple yet effective and irrigation took the place of abundant rain. It has been many years since the people lived in cliff dwellings. Modern villages like this one at Laguna are built near the stream which irrigates their fields. The streams also furnish water for domestic needs. A flat rock at the water's edge makes a handy washboard. Life of a Pueblo child is a happy one. Soap costs 25 cents in a drugstore, but these children know where to get it for nothing. It is simply the root of the yucca plant that grows on the mesa right near their home. With a tub of water the root makes rich suds for beautiful shiny hair. For many years Pueblo women have used round adobe ovens for their family baking. Even the smallest children help for the sharing of responsibility is an important part of Indian childhood. Ovens are much like a fireless cooker. A fire is built inside and the whole oven is thoroughly heated. When the proper temperature is reached the ashes and coals are swept out and the bread is placed inside. But the gentle oven heat bakes a delicious loaf of bread. White men first came to the southwest in 1540 but it was not until the railroad was completed 340 years later that there was any great settlement of the section. Towns and cities sprang up bringing many changes to the old Indian way of life were stores with new articles. Articles which only cash would buy into cash. Pottery once made only for their own use is built up from a mixture of clay, water and white powdered rock. A piece of gourd is almost the only tool used. After the base has been made coals are formed to build up the sides. With a smooth pebble or stone simply polished the vessels are ready for firing. Firing hardens the clay and makes the vessels more durable. Close the skilled potter to control the color of the finished pieces. Cedar bark will help get the fire started. It's created in these fires often reaching 1200 to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. Early seen now will them to sell. Metal and wooden pegs driven into the floor help the weaver set up his loom. When the loom has been prepared a brace for the feet and they felt around the waist allow the weaver to vary the tension on the yarn. Includes a guide service for all the visitors in the car. In the spring when the village food supply is low all the people gather round and the governor distributes the grain, orphanages or homes for the agent in a Pueblo. Relatives take care of their own. The more dependence a man has the more grain he receives. In this manner the whole community helps the people take care of their dependence is charged by a Pueblo. When there is community work to be done the governor calls out the volunteers. This time the roof of the church must be repaired. The Indian equivalent of a bucket brigade gets the brakes to the top of the roof. Everybody eats and when there is work everybody works. There are more volunteers than can be used and it doesn't take long to get the job done. To the simple life of the Indians is the complex development of cities which have sprung up nearby. There are thousands of new inhabitants in the Southwest. Naturally these people must have food. New fields are necessary to furnish food for these new people and these two followed the Indians way of irrigating. Soon there were many new farms and fields in the midst of the relatively barren range. Fields demanded more and more water for irrigation. Tricks dwindled to a mere trickle. There just wasn't water enough to go around. Corn was their food and there was no water for it. Pueblo people are represented by their council and this governing body takes up the serious problem of water shortage. In Washington John Collier Commissioner of Indian Affairs discusses the Indians problem with them. You can't increase the amount of water in the creeks but you can use the available water more efficiently. When government funds are available concrete dams are built to replace the less efficient rock dams. Reservoirs store spring rains until the water is needed in the drier summer months. The flumes which carry the water across the gullies and the royals were once followed out of logs. Many of them leak rather badly. Some of them have been replaced with timber and steel ones from which not a drop of water is lost. Sometimes much water is lost in ditches. Lining a section of the ditch with concrete will save this water. But even with government help the actual work is still up to the Indian. The school system of the Indian service keeps the small children close to home. From the first grade to the sixth they attend the Indian equivalent of the little red school house. Built right in their village at home. Those which decorate the walls even the studies are related to real experiences and work in the fields. For the Pueblo children like their fathers before them will grow up to be farmers. There's a little fun on the side. New clothes. Many of the Pueblo children are too poor to buy these. By chopping wood helping the janitor and doing other chores it is possible to earn some of these clothes. And with 25 cents an hour for their work and when a new pair of shoes has been earned they usually know it. Indian assistants employed at the school keep the record and issue the supplies. Children adults are welcome to use the shop and tools when classes are not in session. Thus the schools take their place in the Indian community. The boys help in the fields and they must get out early to feed the horses practice in these high schools and classroom lectures thoroughly prepare the students for experience in the school gardens and the fields. Schoolwork rounds out their education should be done. See how let's see you do it. Of course mighty important. Small boys have a horse of their own almost as soon as they can ride. They're reward for working the fields and with the cattle. The first four wheel breaks. Mother nature leads the way well is trying to lead any way close religious contact with his land and expressed in the corn dance. A prayer for abundant crops and rain. I'm with the dream of what the future holds.