Nautilus
The Paper, an eight-armed mollusk. It is allied to the cuttlefish and is related somewhat remotely to the chambered nautilus with which the poet Holmes confounded it. It is abundant in the Mediterranean. It is known to science as the Argonauta argo and is called commonly the argonaut. The male and the female differ widely. The body is an ovoid fibrous sack, the mouth of which terminates in eight tentacles armed with suckers. The body of the male is about an inch in length and is without a covering of shell. One of the tentacles of the male is developed into a long, whip-like organ. The body of the female is several inches long. Two of the tentacles of the female are broad and papery; they secrete a limy material by means of which the female nautilus builds a thin, papery shell or pouch about the lower part of her body in which to carry the young. These specialized tentacles not only provide the material, but serve as fingers to apply it in the making of the spiral, single-chambered shell. The sailors of the Mediterranean used to maintain that the paper nautilus hoisted these broad, thin, paper-making tentacles as sails and drifted before the wind. This fabled method of sailing and the confusion of common names led Holmes to write in his Chambered Nautilus:
Sails the unshadowed main,--
The venturous bark that flings
On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings
In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,
And coral reefs lie bare,
Where the cold sea maids rise to sun their streaming hair.
As a matter of fact, the two tentacles in question clasp the shell in navigation. The six others trail in the shelter, while the body, shell and all, is propelled backward by a jet of water driven out through the siphon tube. The shell or egg case has no organic connection with the body.
There can be no confusion between the beautiful shell of the cuttlefish called the paper Nautilus (Argonauta argo), and that of our type. For it is only the female Argonaut which bears a shell, it is not chambered, and is a shelter for the eggs--a cradle, not a house. It is usually stated to be formed by two of the arms, but it seems doubtful whether it is not in reality due to the activity of the mantle.--J. Arthur-Thompson.
If we are very fortunate we shall see the paper nautilus, the most beautiful of all the mollusks. . . . . We may also see the animal leave the shell and move about, flushing a pale red, now a vivid blue. This is the animal that is supposed to raise its sails and float on the seas, "a thing of beauty and a joy forever." It is sad to break up these delightful fables, but the sail merely clings to the shell, and the shell is merely the egg-case or float for the strange creature.--Chas. F. Holder.
Spread the thin oar, and catch the driving gale.
--Pope.
Navajo (na'va-ho) Indians, a tribe of natives closely related to the Apaches. They have dwelt for centuries in the arid country of northwestern Arizona. At various dates they have given trouble to the surrounding tribes and to the settlers, both Spanish and American. During the Civil War and soon afterward they were severely punished by Kit Carson, the Indian fighter. Efforts were made to remove them to the eastward, but they have been settled finally on a reservation of over 9,000,000 acres lying at the intersection of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. They now number about 16,000, but there is a large intermixture of Pueblo, Shoshonean, Yuman, and Spanish blood.
Crops are raised in the sandy soil along the streams. Horses, cattle, and flocks of sheep and goats are pastured on the uplands. An ancient art of weaving has been developed into an important village industry. The women weave the wool of the flocks on primitive hand looms, producing blankets, rugs, belts, garters, and saddle girths in a variety of bright colors and patterns. Red, black, white, yellow, and blue are favorite colors. Genuine navajo blankets are homespun, and are dyed with native plants and minerals--sumac, ochre, and pinon. They are woven so hard and tight as to be waterproof. Cotton warp, yarn, and aniline dyes are now sold to the weavers in quantity. Navajo blankets, in particular, are in demand for decorative purposes. Curio dealers ask from $1 to $100 for specimens of rugs and blankets. The industry brings in from $100,000 to $200,000 a year. Many of the men are skilled in hammering silver decorations.
The cultivated lands are chiefly garden patches devoted to the raising of corn, beans, melons, pumpkins, peaches and apricots, and a little wheat. The Navajo house is usually a sod hut supported on sticks. When a death occurs, the family moves out, the props are pulled away, and the earth drops in and buries the dead. Several government and mission schools are maintained and efforts are made to encourage habits of industry and thrift.