Suicide is never committed unless a person is drunk and angered by some slight or by jealousy.  At one time there was a veritable epidemic of suicides among the Indians near Guachochic, the men hanging themselves with their girdles; one of them even suspended himself by the feet.  But it is doubtful whether a pagan Tarahumare ever killed himself.

As a rule, the Tarahumare is not a thief.  Only when he thinks himself entirely unobserved, he may appropriate some trifle that particularly strikes his fancy, but the indications are that he learned the art from the Mexicans.  Once on our travels we passed a man who was weeding his field.  We tried to induce him to give us some information, but he was too busy to talk, and we went on.  Soon he noticed that we had accidentally dropped our large axe, and immediately he interrupted his pressing work and came running after us with it.  I wanted to compensate him for the trouble he had put himself to, but he would not accept the money I offered, saying that he had not had to go far, and, anyway, he did not bring the axe to get payment for it.

As long as he is in his native state, a Tarahumare never cheats at bargains.  He does not like to sell anything that is in any way defective.  He always draws attention to the flaw, and if a jar has any imperfection, it requires much persuasion to make him part with it.  He shows honesty also in other ways.  Often I trusted Indians with a silver dollar or two for corn to be delivered a few days later, and never was I disappointed by them.  On the other hand, they are chary of selling anything to a stranger.  When a Mexican wants to buy a sheep, or some corn, or a girdle, the Tarahumare will first deny that he has anything to sell.  What little he has he likes to keep for himself, and he considers it a favour to part with any of his belongings for money.  A purchase, however, establishes a kind of brotherhood between the two negotiants, who afterward call each other “naragua,” and a confidence is established between them almost of the same character as that which exists between compadres among the Mexicans.

From outsiders they accept silver coins, but not paper money, because they have been cheated with wrappers from cigarette boxes, and besides, they have no means of keeping such money safe and sound from mice, moisture, etc.  Among themselves a little trading goes on, the highlands obtaining from the barrancas in the west copal, chile, ari, ear ornaments made from shells, and goats, in exchange for corn and beans.  The Indians from Nararachic go to Rio Concho for the shells from which they make their ear pendants.  The powder produced in working the shells is saved and mixed with salt to be used as a remedy for eye troubles.