The Pimas have a tradition relating the circumstances of the coming of the band of Sobaipuris,[1] whom they call Rsaʼrsavinâ, Spotted, from the San Pedro. They are said to have drunk naʼvait or cactus liquor together with a village of Pimas of forgotten name, on the north side of the Gila, near the present Blackwater and the Picacho village of Akûtcĭny, before the time when the Apaches forced them to leave their homes on the San Pedro.
Since the settlement of the Gila and Salt river valleys by the whites and the establishment of peace with the Apaches, the Pimas have again manifested a disposition to extend their settlements, principally owing, however, to the scarcity of water on the Gila River reservation. The present villages are as follows:
| Os Kuk, Tree Standing, known as Blackwater. |
| Weʼtcu(r)t, Opposite, North Blackwater. |
| Haʼrsanykuk, Saguaro Standing, Sacaton Flats. |
| Sʽaʼopuk, Many Trees, The Cottonwoods. |
| Tatʼsĭtûkʽ, Place of Fright, the settlement about Cruz's store. |
| Kuʼ-u Ki, Big House, Sacaton. |
| Ʌoʼpohiûm, (?), Santan. |
| Huʼtcĭlttcĭk, Round Clearing, village below Santan on north bank of river. |
| Vaʼ-aki, Ruin or Ancient House, Casa Blanca. |
| Stâʼtânnyĭk, Many Ants, a village between the two last preceding, on south bank of Gila. |
| Pe-epʼtcĭltʽkʽ, Concave (from a family with noses of that shape), northeast of Casa Blanca. |
| Rsoʼtûkʽ, Water Standing, northwest of Casa Blanca. |
| Skâʼkâĭk, Many Rattlesnakes, on north side of Gila, opposite Rsoʼtûkʽ. |
| Rsâʼnûk, Beginning, about a mile east of Sacaton station on Maricopa and Phoenix railroad. |
| Kaʼwoltûkʽ Wutca, Hill Below, west of railroad. |
| Hiʼatam, Sea Sand Place, from Hiʼakatcĭk, where the people of this village formerly lived. Hiʼatam was just north of Maricopa station. |
| Kâʼmatûk Wuʼtcâ, Kâʼmatûk Below, Gila Crossing. Kâʼmatûk is the Pima name of the Sierra Estrella. |
| Hermʼho, Once, or Âʼmu Âʼkimûlt, Salt River, known by last name. This is the settlement on the north side of the river, 3 miles from Mesa. |
Prehistoric Ruins
The Pimas have long since grown accustomed to being interrogated concerning the builders of the great stone and adobe pueblos that now lie in ruins on the mesas of the Gila and Salt river valleys. However ready they may have been in the past to claim relationship
- ↑ "The most warlike among all the Pimas are those we call the Sobiarpuris, for they are born and reared on the border of the Apaches; but they have become tired of living in constant warfare, and have, during the present year of 1762, abandoned their beautiful and fertile valley, retiring, some to Santa Maria Soanca, and some to San Xavier del Bac and to Tucson, thus leaving to the enemies a free entrance to the high region of the Pimas." Rudo Ensayo, translated by Eusebio Guitéras, Records of the American Catholic Historical Society, v, 192.
