Note 3 — INTRODUCTION.

The San Juan River, a branch of the Colorado of the West, flows in a westerly direction through the northern portion of the Navaho Reservation, and forms in part its northern boundary. It is the most important river in the Navaho country. It has two names in the Navaho language: one is Sánbĭtoʻ (Water of Old Age, or Old Age River), said to be given because the stream is white with foam and looks like the hair of an old man; the other is Toʻbaká (Male Water), given because it is turbulent and strong in contrast to the placid Rio Grande, which the Navahoes call Toʻbaád, or Female Water. (See note 137.) Perhaps the river has other names.