all the communal
work, such as the cleaning of the springs and the general care of the
village. Crimes are rare. This at first sight seems strange in view of
the fact that no penalty was inflicted for any crime except sorcery, but
under Hopi law all transgressions could be reduced to sorcery. One
of the most striking features of Hopi life was its rich religious
development. The Hopi recognized a large number of supernatural beings
and had a great store of most interesting and poetic mythological
tales. The home of the Hopi would seem at first sight as unfavorable to
progress as that of their Ute cousins, but the Hopi have the advantage
of being the most northwesterly representatives of the Indians who dwell
within the regions of summer rain. Fortunately for them, their country
is too desert and unforested for them to subsist to any great degree
by the chase. They are thus forced to devote all their energy to
agriculture, through which they have developed a relatively high
standard of living. They dwell far enough south to have their heaviest
rainfall in summer and not in winter, as is the case in Utah, so that
they are able to cultivate crops of corn and beans. Where such an
intensive system of agriculture prevails, the work of women is as
valuable as that of men. The position of woman is thus relatively high
among the Hopi, for she is useful not only for her assistance in the
labors of the field but also for her skill in preserving the crops,
grinding the flour, and otherwise preparing the comparatively varied
food which this tribe fortunately possesses.

From northern New Mexico and Arizona to Mexico City summer rains, dry
winters, and still drier springs, are the rule. Forests are few, and
much of the country is desert. The more abundant the rains, the
greater the number of people and the greater the opportunities for the
accumulation of wealth, and thus for that leisure which is necessary
to part of a community if civilization is to make progress. That is
one reason why the civilization of the summer rain people becomes more
highly developed as they go from north to south. The fact that the
altitude of the country increases from the United States border
southward also tends in the same direction, for it causes the climate to
be cooler and more bracing at Mexico City than at places farther north.

The importance of summer rains in stimulating growth and in facilitating
the early stages of agriculture is noteworthy.