The marvellous country, or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico.: Containing an authentic history of this wonderful country and its ancient civilization ... together with a full and complete history of the Apache tribe of Indians .../ By Samuel Woodworth Cozzens. Illustrated by more than one hundred engravings.

INTERESTING RITES.
always contained a kind of altar, or stone table, fiat upon
the top, upon which it is supposed was kept burning the
sacred flame.
The walls of many of them were ornamented with rude
paintings or representations of different animals or birds;
such figures as the deer, the dog, the wolf, the fox, the
eagle, and the turkey; in addition to which, rude representations of the sun, the moon, the clouds, and the lightning
were found painted in colors.
These estufas, the old cacique informed me, were the
temples of Montezuma, and that the cacique and their
council, at the planting and before the harvesting each
spring and fall, visit them and perform certain religious
rites, consisting of songs and chants, which are supposed to make the offerings there given more acceptable
to Montezuma, who in return therefor bestows upon his
children many blessings, sending them rain and abundant
crops.
I ventured to hint to the cacique that I possessed a very
strong desire to visit the estufa at Zuni before I left; but the
intimation was unheeded, nor was the subject again referred
to by either of us.
The cacique had scarcely left ere Jimmy made his appearance, and seated himself beside me with such an air of importance that I was at once aware that he was about to make
some communication of import. Inflating his lungs to their
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