over the flat country, lasting sometimes several weeks. Advantage is
taken of the opportunity thus afforded and the flocks are driven out on
the plains and grazed in the vicinity of the water so long as the supply
holds out, but as this is seldom prolonged more than a few weeks it is
not surprising that the house erected by the head of the family should
be of a very temporary nature. In fact the most finished house
structures of these people must be temporary rather than permanent so
long as the conditions sketched above prevail; in other words, so long
as they depend principally on their sheep.

Another result of these conditions is that each family lives by itself
and, as it were, on its own ground. Large communities are impossible,
and while there are instances where eight or ten families occupy some
place of exceptionally favorable location, these are rare. In fact to
see even three or four hogáns together is remarkable. There are perhaps
more hogáns in Canyon Chelly than in any other one locality, but the
people who live here are regarded by the other Navaho as poor, because
they own but few sheep and horses and depend principally on horticulture
for their subsistence. Incidentally it may be stated that horses are
well esteemed by the Navaho as an article of food, and that the large
herds which some of them own are not so wholly useless as they appear
to the casual traveler.

Canyon Chelly, which the Navaho call Tségi, contains several small
streams and numerous patches of arable land on the bottoms. The
conditions here are exceptionally favorable for horticulture; indeed,
the numerous remains of cliff dwellings which are found in the canyon
would show this if other evidence were lacking. It has long been famous
among the Navaho as the horticultural center of the tribe, and for its
peach crops, derived from thousands of trees planted in sheltered nooks.