Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 39.djvu/553

Rh Upon every occasion where I was permitted to do so, careful examinations were made of the heads of these people, both living and dead, as well as the methods of strapping the infant Navajos in their cradles, and indeed all else that might tend to throw light upon the subject.

Of some two or three dozen children of all ages, from the infant upward, that I have thus examined, I have yet to find a case wherein the mother has not taken the special precaution to place a soft and ample pad in the cradle in such a manner as to fully protect the back of the child's head. Moreover, I have yet to see a case, except for a few days or more in the very youngest of babies, where the head is strapped at all. On the other hand, this part of the body is allowed all possible freedom, as may be seen in Fig. 3, illustrating the paper. This picture is from a photograph of the Navajo woman "Chuna," who lives near Fort Wingate, New Mexico, and it shows exactly the general method employed by the mothers of this tribe of Indians in strapping their babies in the cradle, and also their mode of carrying the cradle. It will at once be observed that the head of the child is perfectly free, and that it has been supplied by a thick and soft pillow at the back of it, whereas the body and limbs have been strapped up almost to the last degree.