The Jicarilla Apache, at the time of the American occupation of New Mexico and Arizona, were living in two bands. One of these, generally called the Llanero, made their homes in the mountains between the Rio Grande and the Plains. The second band, known as the Ollero, lived along the Chama River, west of the Rio Grande. For several decades the first-mentioned band was cared for by Indian agents at Cimarron and Taos, while the Ollero received rations at Abiquiu. In 1880 both bands were taken to Tierra Amarilla but in 1884 were removed to the Mescalero Reservation. In 1887 they were finally placed where they are now living on a reservation in northern New Mexico on the headwaters of the San Juan River. They now number 776.
They have been politically associated with the Southern Ute to whom they appear to be very closely related in matters of material culture. The relation of the Jicarilla with the inhabitants of Taos seems not to have been so intimate. They occupied the territory surrounding the pueblo of Taos, either with or without the consent of its inhabitants, but were not allowed to remain in the pueblo over night or to witness important ceremonies. Their relations with the Indians of the Plains seem to have been perpetually hostile. They grouped them under the name of Inda and seemed not to have known them by their usual tribal names. At least in recent times, they have looked upon the Navajo as their enemies. The Navajo were obliged to pass through the territory of the Ute and Jicarilla in order to reach the buffalo upon the Plains. Such journeys were accomplished at night according to the usual custom in passing through the territory of an enemy.
The method of life of the Jicarilla seems to have been very similar to that of the Plains Indians. They used skin tipis and depended mostly upon buffalo and smaller game for their food supply. They seem to have planted corn only to a limited extent.
In language, they belong to the southern division of the Athapascan stock. Taken as a whole, the languages of the southern division have a definite unity as compared with the Athapascan languages on the Pacific Coast and in the Far North. This unity is marked by a considerable proportion of words, even of stems, peculiar to the southern division, and also by certain phonetic shifts. While there is considerable diversity
within the southern division, the speaker of any one dialect seems to be understood by speakers of all the others. The greatest difficulty probably would be in the case of a Navajo speaking with a Lipan. The most definite sub-group in this division is occasioned by the regular shift of the strongly aspirated t, to an equally aspirated k. This shift has taken place in the Lipan, Jicarilla, and Kiowa-Apache. It is expected that the material here presented in the form of texts will form the basis for a grammatical study of the Jicarilla. When similar material has been published for the Kiowa-Apache, Mescalero and San Carlos Apache a comparative grammar of the southern division will be possible.
The Southern Athapascan peoples, except the Kiowa-Apache, seem to share in a common mythology. It is chiefly characterized by a divine woman who becomes the mother or grandmother of one or two culture heroes. One of these is thought to be the son of the sun and the other one, the descendant of the water. They make a visit to the sun to secure supernatural power and efficient weapons with which they rid the world of most of its evils. The accounts from the different peoples of this area agree rather closely in the incidents and details related and in the names of the characters. Those of the Jicarilla alone, show any definite, close connection with similar culture heroes believed in by the Blackfoot, Shoshone, and other peoples of the north. The Southern Athapascan also have a common belief in gods thought to inhabit the numerous ruins or to live in the interior of mountains. With these gods are connected many of their ceremonies. There is throughout the area considerable agreement as to the personal names of these gods.
The narratives of the second group here presented are mostly coyote stories many of which are not peculiar to the Southwest but are found to the north among the Shoshone of the Plateaus and the Blackfoot of the Plains. A considerable number of traditional narratives and personal experiences has been presented because many of these illustrate customs and methods prevailing in war and the chase. Descriptions of ceremonies and of processes employed in preparing food, etc., have also been given in the form of texts.
The larger number of texts was secured from Casa Maria, a Jicarilla now about seventy years of age and nearly blind. He knows an unusual number and variety of tales and myths, has an excellent memory, and unusual patience. His enunciation was unusually distinct. A few texts, indicated in footnotes, were obtained from Juan Pesita. These were the first recorded and are much less perfect in form, due partly to the lack of familiarity with the language on the part of the recorder. These texts, however, were phonetically verified by means of the Rousselot phonetic
apparatus. This was of particular aid in distinguishing the three series of stops and the occurrence of glottal stops and catches. Probably the most serious phonetic defect in the texts is that of the nasalized vowels. To the natural difficulty in hearing by one whose attention has not been trained by the use of a language where nasalization is associated with a difference in meaning is to be added the effect of habit, soon acquired, of writing each syllable or word in one manner, regardless of minor variations.
Reuben Springer, a Jicarilla, served as interpreter it the time the texts were recorded. Thanks are due Edward Ladd for assistance both with the text of the Jicarilla and the interlinear translations while the paper was in proof.
The Jicarilla first received the attention of Mr. James Mooney in 1897 resulting in a publication, The Jicarilla Genesis, in the 11th volume of the American Anthropologist old series. Dr. Frank Russell collected a number of myths and tales published under the title of "Myths of the Jicarilla Apache," in the 11th volume of the Journal of American Folk-Lore. The material here presented was obtained during the months of August, September, and October, 1909, under the direction of the Appointive Committee on the Southwest of which Mr. Archer M. Huntington is the chairman.