The Eagle Sacrifice
True West|August 2018

Why did Hopis capture eagles?

Les Freeman

Upper Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand

Marshall Trimble
The Eagle Sacrifice

Why did Hopis capture eagles?

Les Freeman

Upper Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand

The Hopis sacrificed eagles as part of an important tribal ceremony. In the spring, Hopi youth climbed up to the nest and captured eaglets. They took the eaglets home and treated them as they would a child, gifted with baby presents and tenderly nourished. Tethered on the rooftop, the eaglets were fed rabbits until the Niman, or Home Dance, in mid-July.

At the end of the ceremony, the Katsinas (spirit messengers) left the villages and went to the San Francisco Peaks to remain there until early winter. The Hopis then gently suffocated the now-grown eagles. Their spirits carried a final prayer for rain as clouds to the Katsinas.

The Hopis then took the eagle bodies to kivas, where they plucked the feathers and arranged them according to religious tradition. Then they buried the eagles in a special cemetery.

For the Hopi tribe, the eagle embodies the spirit of their ancestors.

How did slim-hipped Westerners keep their gunbelts in place?

Robert Vaillancourt Mason,

New Hampshire

A gunslinger had some options: a shoulder holster, a suspender rig and even pockets and waistbands, preferred by town-based shootists, including the Earp brothers who went that route at the O.K. Corral battle.

Wyatt Earp did experience an embarrassing moment with his gun rig.

Denne historien er fra August 2018-utgaven av True West.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 2018-utgaven av True West.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA TRUE WESTSe alt
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
True West

Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.

Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.

time-read
2 mins  |
July - August 2024
Hero of Horsepower -  Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
True West

Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.

Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.

time-read
7 mins  |
July - August 2024
From the Basin to the Plains
True West

From the Basin to the Plains

Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.

time-read
4 mins  |
July - August 2024
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
True West

COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS

Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.

time-read
3 mins  |
July - August 2024
Spencer's West
True West

Spencer's West

After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.

time-read
4 mins  |
July - August 2024
Firearms With a Storied Past
True West

Firearms With a Storied Past

Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.

time-read
2 mins  |
July - August 2024
She Means Business!
True West

She Means Business!

An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.

time-read
2 mins  |
July - August 2024
Ride that Train!
True West

Ride that Train!

HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

time-read
5 mins  |
July - August 2024
Saddle Up with a Western
True West

Saddle Up with a Western

Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.

time-read
7 mins  |
July - August 2024
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
True West

RENEGADES OF THE RAILS

RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.

time-read
6 mins  |
July - August 2024