Interior of a Pueblo House (Isleta), 1893

Antique illustration of an Isleta Pueblo house interior, and Pueblo woman in traditional dress holding a bowl.

This illustration of a Pueblo Indian home comes from The Land of Poco Tiempo (New Mexico) by Charles F. Lummis, published in 1893. It shows the interior of an adobe house at the Pueblo of Isleta. The wall benches are covered with blankets, and a cradle is suspended from the ceiling vigas. A Pueblo woman in traditional dress holds a bowl. Lummis lived at Isleta Pueblo from 1888 to 1893.

Charles Fletcher Lummis (1859-1928) was a journalist from Massachusetts who became an activist for Indian rights and historic preservation. In 1888 he left his job as Editor of the Los Angeles Times and moved to San Mateo, New Mexico, to recover from a stroke that had left him partially paralyzed. While in New Mexico Lummis published numerous books and articles about the Southwest, New Mexican culture, and the Pueblo Indian tribes. He moved to the Pueblo of Isleta after an exposé article about corrupt political bosses responsible for murders in San Mateo led to death threats. A hitman sent after him managed to shoot him full of buckshot, but luckily it was not fatal.

Image Source: Charles F. Lummis, The Land of Poco Tiempo (New Mexico) ... Illustrated (London: Sampson Low & Co., 1893), p. 51; digital images, "The British Library's collections," British Library, British Library Flickr Commons (https://www.flickr.com/photos/britishlibrary/11302974103); crediting "British Library General Reference Collection 10412.dd.18, System number 002284303."