Untitled - Smithsonian Institution

40 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 44
guistic affinities. The intimate relations of the Laguneros with the
Zacatecos, however, lead to the suggestion that these two groups were
probably linguistically related.
Zacateco
The Zacateco inhabited the state of Zacatecas and part of Durango,
more especially those portions in the drainage area of Nazas river.
Orozco y Berra on his map bounds their area on the north by that
of the Irritila, on the west by that of the Tepehuane, and on the
east by that of the Guachichile. On the south they are brought
into relation with the Cora and some small tribes (1 :285, 319).
It would perhaps be appropriate to allude here to that undefined
group designated by the name Chichimeca, as the tribe now referred
to was certainly included therein, but what is to be said on that
subject will be given under a separate heading after a discussion of
the Guachichile.
That there was a distinct tribe known under the name Zacateco,
and that this tribe spoke its own appropriate idiom, are facts too
well established to admit of doubt. Ribas (676), quoting from a
letter of Padre Juan Agustin, one of the first missionaries to that
section, says they gave religious instruction to the Indians in the
Zacateco language, which they had acquired. Mota Padilla (194)
connects the Cazcan with the Zacateco as speaking the same
language. On the other hand, Hervas (311) maintains that the language
was Mexican. He says their name, the names of their "pobla-
ciones," and of their rivers, are Mexican. Orozco y Berra (1 :285)
agrees with Hervas on the point mentioned, as he says the Zacateco
have their proper idiom, which is here classified as a Mexican dialect.
If it be true, as stated by this author (2:644), that an "Arte y
Vocabulario" of the Zacatec language was written by Father Pedro
Espinareda, there is in this fact quite conclusive evidence that the
missionaries recognized the language spoken by the Zacateco as at
least idiomatically distinct from the other known tongues and as
sufficiently varied to require a special acquaintance therewith to give
religious instruction to the natives speaking it.
Unless the Cazcan and Teule Chichimeca were connected with
them, there are no recognized subtribes of the Zacateco.
Guachichile
{Synonym: Cuachichiles)
This tribe, or group, says Orozco y Berra, occupied an immense
area, embracing parts of the present states of Zacatecas, San Luis
Potosi, Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila. According to his map, they connected
on the north with the Irritila (Laguneros), on the west with