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243 Background In his transcriptions of Bourke’s Southwestern experiences in New Mexico Historical Review, Lansing Bloom skips this section entirely, instead referring the reader to Snake-Dance of the Moquis. There is no question that many parts of the published book are verbatim from these entries, but here Bourke goes into substantially more detail about Hopi life, as well as his own opinions that do not appear in the book. For example, in the published work, he mentions smallpox in passing, but makes no reference at all to syphilis. A quarrel with their Hopi guide, Nahi-vaheni, which takes up more than three tightly written manuscript pages, is summed up in the book with one simple paragraph: Nahi left us this evening at our bivouac in the hills, some twenty miles south of Mushangnewy. We did not need his services, as the country was no longer strange, and we could not be more than forty miles from the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad.1 In the diary, he was less sure of their ability to continue, remarking on the barely distinguishable trail and the hostility of some of the local Indians. Bourke’s success was greatly facilitated by Thomas Varker Keam (1842–1904), the “Tom Keame” mentioned in the preceding chapter. 1. Bourke, Snake-Dance of the Moquis, 344. 244 the hopI Snake dance A native of Cornwall, Keam had come to the region in 1874, and operated a trading post in what became known as Keam’s Canyon at the entrance to Hopi country. As it was the only post within scores of miles, the adjacent Indians came to him, which not only was good for business, but also made him an influential figure among them, and gave him a substantial knowledge of their lives and customs. As his biographer Laura Graves noted, Keam was an astute businessman, who realized that even this influence and knowledge were marketable commodities. Beginning in 1879, he began outfitting scientific expeditions into the region, as well as passing on information essential to their success. As time passed, he served as an advocate and advisor on behalf of the Hopis and Navajoes with some of the senior members of the Indian Bureau.2 With similar personalities and interests, Keam and Bourke quickly formed a friendship that would last fifteen years until Bourke’s death. They both had a finely tuned sense of public relations , and a suspicion of the government’s administration of Indian affairs. Bourke advised Keam in the formal study of anthropology, which stood the latter in good stead in his dealings with subsequent expeditions. Another important member who joined the group at Keam’s Canyon was Alexander MacGregor Stephen (ca. 1845–94), whom Bourke continually called “Stevens.” A native of Edinburgh, Stephen graduated from the University of Edinburgh and immigrated to the United States, where he enlisted in the Union Army. He was mustered out in 1866, and spent most of the time until 1881 in Utah and Nevada. He arrived at Keam’s Canyon in 1881, and spent most of the remainder of his life there. Ultimately, his studies of the Hopi would equal that of his contemporaries, and his knowledge of them as a people excelled all the others. Unfortunately, little, if any work was published under Stephen’s name. After his death, his field work was largely coopted by others in their papers and publications.3 2. Most of the information here comes from Graves, Thomas Varker Keam. She also points out that Keam encouraged the Hopis to break away from Spanish and Zuni styles in their handicrafts and develop their own. This prompted them to improve their handicrafts which, prior to that time were ordinary and attracted no attention. He developed a market for Hopi goods that brought substantial income to the tribe and to himself. His own massive collection of Southwestern artifacts, dating from prehistoric times to the nineteenth century, was sold to anthropological expeditions, the Smithsonian, the Peabody Museum, the Field Museum and others. 3. Graves, Thomas Varker Keam, Chapter 7. ...