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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed7fadd --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54682 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54682) diff --git a/old/54682-0.txt b/old/54682-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f2be6b7..0000000 --- a/old/54682-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14131 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Zuñi Folk Tales, by Frank Hamilton Cushing - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Zuñi Folk Tales - - -Author: Frank Hamilton Cushing - - - -Release Date: May 8, 2017 [eBook #54682] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZUÑI FOLK TALES*** - - -E-text prepared by Larry B. Harrison, Sam W., and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 54682-h.htm or 54682-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/54682/54682-h/54682-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/54682/54682-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/zuifolktales00cushrich - - - - - -ZUÑI FOLK TALES - -Recorded and Translated by - -FRANK HAMILTON CUSHING - -With an Introduction by J. W. Powell - - - [Illustration: TÉNATSALI] - - - - - - -New York and London -G. P. Putnam’S Sons -The Knickerbocker Press -1901 - -Copyright, 1901 -By -Emily T. M. Cushing - -The Knickerbocker Press, New York - - - - - [Illustration: {Photograph of Frank Hamilton Cushing}] - - - - -LIST OF TALES - - - PAGE - THE TRIAL OF LOVERS: OR THE MAIDEN OF MÁTSAKI AND THE - RED FEATHER 1 - - THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE 34 - - THE POOR TURKEY GIRL 54 - - HOW THE SUMMER BIRDS CAME 65 - - THE SERPENT OF THE SEA 93 - - THE MAIDEN OF THE YELLOW ROCKS 104 - - THE FOSTER-CHILD OF THE DEER 132 - - THE BOY HUNTER WHO NEVER SACRIFICED TO THE DEER HE HAD - SLAIN: OR THE ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF RATTLESNAKES 150 - - HOW ÁHAIYÚTA AND MÁTSAILÉMA STOLE THE THUNDER-STONE AND - THE LIGHTNING-SHAFT 175 - - THE WARRIOR SUITOR OF MOKI 185 - - HOW THE COYOTE JOINED THE DANCE OF THE BURROWING-OWLS 203 - - THE COYOTE WHO KILLED THE DEMON SÍUIUKI: OR WHY COYOTES - RUN THEIR NOSES INTO DEADFALLS 215 - - HOW THE COYOTES TRIED TO STEAL THE CHILDREN OF THE - SACRED DANCE 229 - - THE COYOTE AND THE BEETLE 235 - - HOW THE COYOTE DANCED WITH THE BLACKBIRDS 237 - - HOW THE TURTLE OUT HUNTING DUPED THE COYOTE 243 - - THE COYOTE AND THE LOCUST 255 - - THE COYOTE AND THE RAVENS WHO RACED THEIR EYES 262 - - THE PRAIRIE-DOGS AND THEIR PRIEST, THE BURROWING-OWL 269 - - HOW THE GOPHER RACED WITH THE RUNNERS OF K’IÁKIME 277 - - HOW THE RATTLESNAKES CAME TO BE WHAT THEY ARE 285 - - HOW THE CORN-PESTS WERE ENSNARED 288 - - JACK-RABBIT AND COTTONTAIL 296 - - THE RABBIT HUNTRESS AND HER ADVENTURES 297 - - THE UGLY WILD BOY WHO DROVE THE BEAR AWAY FROM SOUTHEASTERN - MESA 310 - - THE REVENGE OF THE TWO BROTHERS ON THE HÁWIKUHKWE, OR THE - TWO LITTLE ONES AND THEIR TURKEYS 317 - - THE YOUNG SWIFT-RUNNER WHO WAS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHING - BY THE AGED TARANTULA 345 - - ÁTAHSAIA, THE CANNIBAL DEMON 365 - - THE HERMIT MÍTSINA 385 - - HOW THE TWINS OF WAR AND CHANCE, ÁHAIYÚTA AND MÁTSAILÉMA, - FARED WITH THE UNBORN-MADE MEN OF THE UNDERWORLD 398 - - THE COCK AND THE MOUSE 411 - - THE GIANT CLOUD-SWALLOWER 423 - - THE MAIDEN THE SUN MADE LOVE TO, AND HER BOYS: OR THE - ORIGIN OF ANGER 429 - - - - -LIST OF PLATES - - - PAGE - PORTRAIT OF FRANK HAMILTON CUSHING _Frontispiece_ - - THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE 34 - - ZUÑI FROM THE SOUTH 64 - - WAÍHUSIWA 92 - - A BURRO TRAIN IN A ZUÑI STREET 132 - - THUNDER MOUNTAIN FROM ZUÑI 174 - - A HOPI (MOKI) MAIDEN 184 - - A DANCE OF THE KÂKÂ 228 - - ACROSS THE TERRACES OF ZUÑI 276 - - THE PINNACLES OF THUNDER MOUNTAIN 344 - - PÁLOWAHTIWA 388 - - ZUÑI WOMEN CARRYING WATER 428 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -It is instructive to compare superstition with science. Mythology is the -term used to designate the superstitions of the ancients. Folk-lore is -the term used to designate the superstitions of the ignorant of today. -Ancient mythology has been carefully studied by modern thinkers for -purposes of trope and simile in the embellishment of literature, and -especially of poetry; then it has been investigated for the purpose of -discovering its meaning in the hope that some occult significance might -be found, on the theory that the wisdom of the ancients was far superior -to that of modern men. Now, science has entered this field of study to -compare one mythology with another, and pre-eminently to compare -mythology with science itself, for the purpose of discovering stages of -human opinion. - -When the mythology of tribal men came to be studied, it was found that -their philosophy was also a mythology in which the mysteries of the -universe were explained in a collection of tales told by wise men, -prophets, and priests. This lore of the wise among savage men is of the -same origin and has the same significance as the lore of Hesiod and -Homer. It is thus a mythology in the early sense of that term. But the -mythology of tribal men is devoid of that glamour and witchery born of -poetry; hence it seems rude and savage in comparison, for example, with -the mythology of the _Odyssey_, and to rank no higher as philosophic -thought than the tales of the ignorant and superstitious which are -called folk-lore; and gradually such mythology has come to be called -folk-lore. Folk-lore is a discredited mythology--a mythology once held -as a philosophy. Nowadays the tales of savage men, not being credited by -civilized and enlightened men with that wisdom which is held to belong -to philosophy, are called folk-lore, or sometimes folk-tales. - -The folk-tales collected by Mr. Cushing constitute a charming exhibit of -the wisdom of the Zuñis as they believe, though it may be but a charming -exhibit of the follies of the Zuñis as we believe. - -The wisdom of one age is the folly of the next, and the opinions of -tribal men seem childish to civilized men. Then why should we seek to -discover their thoughts? Science, in seeking to know the truth about the -universe, does not expect to find it in mythology or folk-lore, does not -even consider it as a paramount end that it should be used as an -embellishment of literature, though it serves this purpose well. Modern -science now considers it of profound importance to know the course of -the evolution of the humanities; that is, the evolution of pleasures, -the evolution of industries, the evolution of institutions, the -evolution of languages, and, finally, the evolution of opinions. How -opinions grow seems to be one of the most instructive chapters in the -science of psychology. Psychologists do not go to the past to find valid -opinions, but to find stages of development in opinions; hence -mythology or folk-lore is of profound interest and supreme importance. - -Under the scriptorial wand of Cushing the folk-tales of the Zuñis are -destined to become a part of the living literature of the world, for he -is a poet although he does not write in verse. Cushing can think as -myth-makers think, he can speak as prophets speak, he can expound as -priests expound, and his tales have the verisimilitude of ancient lore; -but his sympathy with the mythology of tribal men does not veil the -realities of science from his mind. - -The gods of Zuñi, like those of all primitive people, are the ancients -of animals, but we must understand and heartily appreciate their simple -thought if we would do them justice. All entities are animals--men, -brutes, plants, stars, lands, waters, and rocks--and all have souls. The -souls are tenuous existences--mist entities, gaseous creatures -inhabiting firmer bodies of matter. They are ghosts that own bodies. -They can leave their bodies, or if they discover bodies that have been -vacated they can take possession of them. Force and mind belong to -souls; fixed form, firm existence belong to matter, while bodies and -souls constitute the world. The world is a universe of animals. The -stars are animals compelled to travel around the world by magic. The -plants are animals under a spell of enchantment, so that usually they -cannot travel. The waters are animals sometimes under the spell of -enchantment. Lakes writhe in waves, the sea travels in circles about -the earth, and the streams run over the lands. Mountains and hills -tremble in pain, but cannot wander about; but rocks and hills and -mountains sometimes travel about by night. - -These animals of the world come in a flood of generations, and the -first-born are gods and are usually called the ancients, or the first -ones; the later-born generations are descendants of the gods, but alas, -they are degenerate sons. - -The theatre of the world is the theatre of necromancy, and the gods are -the primeval wonder-workers; the gods still live, but their descendants -often die. Death itself is the result of necromancy practiced by bad men -or angry gods. - -In every Amerindian language there is a term to express this magical -power. Among the Iroquoian tribes it is called _orenda_; among the -Siouan tribe some manifestations of it are called _wakan_ or _wakanda_, -but the generic term in this language is _hube_. Among the Shoshonean -tribes it is called _pokunt_. Let us borrow one of these terms and call -it “orenda.” All unexplained phenomena are attributed to orenda. Thus -the venom of the serpent is orenda, and this orenda can pass from a -serpent to an arrow by another exercise of orenda, and hence the arrow -is charmed. The rattlesnake may be stretched beside the arrow, and an -invocation may be performed that will convey the orenda from the snake -to the arrow, or the serpent may be made into a witch’s stew and the -arrow dipped into the brew. - -No man has contributed more to our understanding of the doctrine of -orenda as believed and practised by the Amerindian tribes than Cushing -himself. In other publications he has elaborately discussed this -doctrine, and in his lectures he was wont to show how forms and -decorations of implements and utensils have orenda for their motive. - -When one of the ancients--that is, one of the gods--of the Iroquois was -planning the streams of earth by his orenda or magical power, he -determined to have them run up one side and down the other; if he had -done this men could float up or down at will, by passing from one side -to the other of the river, but his wicked brother interfered and made -them run down on both sides; so orenda may thwart orenda. - -The bird that sings is universally held by tribal men to be exercising -its orenda. And when human beings sing they also exercise orenda; hence -song is a universal accompaniment of Amerindian worship. All their -worship is thus fundamentally terpsichorean, for it is supposed that -they can be induced to grant favors by pleasing them. - -All diseases and ailments of mankind are attributed by tribal men to -orenda, and all mythology is a theory of magic. Yet many of the tribes, -perhaps all of them, teach in their tales of some method of introducing -death and disease into the world, but it is a method by which -supernatural agencies can cause sickness and death. - -The prophets, who are also priests, wonder-workers, and medicine-men, -are called shamans in scientific literature. In popular literature and -in frontier parlance they are usually called medicine-men. Shamans are -usually initiated into the guild, and frequently there are elaborate -tribal ceremonies for the purpose. Often individuals have revelations -and set up to prophesy, to expel diseases, and to teach as priests. If -they gain a following they may ultimately exert much influence and be -greatly revered, but if they fail they may gradually be looked upon as -wizards or witches, and they may be accused of black art, and in extreme -cases may be put to death. All Amerindians believe in shamancraft and -witchcraft. - -The myths of cosmology are usually called creation myths. Sometimes all -myths which account for things, even the most trivial, are called -creation myths. Every striking phenomenon observed by the Amerind has a -myth designed to account for its origin. The horn of the buffalo, the -tawny patch on the shoulders of the rabbit, the crest of the blue-jay, -the tail of the magpie, the sheen of the chameleon, the rattle of the -snake,--in fact, everything that challenges attention gives rise to a -myth. Thus the folk-tales of the Amerinds seem to be inexhaustible, for -in every language, and there are hundreds of them, a different set of -myths is found. - -In all of these languages a strange similarity in cosmology is observed, -in that it is a cosmology of regions or worlds. About the home world of -the tribe there is gathered a group of worlds, one above, another below, -and four more: one at every cardinal point; or we may describe it as a -central world, an upper world, a lower world, a northern world, a -southern world, an eastern world, and a western world. All of the -animals of the tribes, be they human animals, tree animals, star -animals, water animals (that is, bodies of water), or stone animals -(that is, mountains, hills, valleys, and rocks), have an appropriate -habitation in the zenith world, the nadir world, or in one of the -cardinal worlds, and their dwelling in the center world is accounted for -by some myth of travel to this world. All bodies and all attributes of -bodies have a home or proper place of habitation; even the colors of the -clouds and the rainbow and of all other objects on earth are assigned to -the six regions from which they come to the midworld. - -We may better understand this habit of thought by considering the -folk-lore of civilization. Here are but three regions: heaven, earth, -and hell. All good things come from heaven; and all bad things from -hell. It is true that this cosmology is not entertained by scholarly -people. An enlightened man thinks of moral good as a state of mind in -the individual, an attribute of his soul, and a moral evil as the -characteristic of an immoral man; but still it is practically universal -for even the most intelligent to affirm by a figure of speech that -heaven is the place of good, and hell the place of evil. Now, enlarge -this conception so as to assign a place as the proper region for all -bodies and attributes, and you will understand the cosmological concepts -of the Amerinds. - -The primitive religion of every Amerindian tribe is an organized system -of inducing the ancients to take part in the affairs of men, and the -worship of the gods is a system designed to please the gods, that they -may be induced to act for men, particularly the tribe of men who are the -worshipers. Time would fail me to tell of the multitude of activities in -tribal life designed for this purpose, but a few of them may be -mentioned. The first and most important of all are terpsichorean -ceremonies and festivals. Singing and dancing are universal, and -festivals are given at appointed times and places by every tribe. The -long nights of winter are devoted largely to worship, and a succession -of festival days are established, to be held at appropriate seasons for -the worship of the gods. Thus there are festival days for invoking rain, -there are festival days for thanksgiving--for harvest homes. In lands -where the grasshopper is an important food there are grasshopper -festivals. In lands where corn is an important food there are green-corn -festivals; where the buffalo constituted an important part of their -aliment there were buffalo dances. So there is a bear dance or festival, -and elk dance or festival, and a multitude of other festivals as we go -from tribe to tribe, all of which are fixed at times indicated by signs -of the zodiac. In the higher tribes elaborate calendars are devised from -which we unravel their picture-writings. - -The practice of medicine by the shamans is an invocation to the gods to -drive out evil spirits from the sick and to frighten them that they may -leave. By music and dancing they obtain the help of the ancients, and -by a great variety of methods they drive out the evil beings. Resort is -often had to scarifying and searing, especially when the sick man has -great local pains. All American tribes entertain a profound belief in -the doctrine of signatures,--_similia, similibus curantur_,--and they -use this belief in procuring charms as medicine to drive out the ghostly -diseases that plague their sick folk. - -Next in importance to terpsichorean worship is altar worship. The altar -is a space cleared upon the ground, or a platform raised from the ground -or floor of the kiva or assembly-house of the people. Around the altar -are gathered the priests and their acolytes, and here they make prayers -and perform ceremonies with the aid of altar-pieces of various kinds, -especially tablets of picture-writings on wood, bone, or the skins of -animals. The altar-pieces consist of representatives of the thing for -which supplication is made: ears of corn or vases of meal, ewers of -water, parts of animals designed for food, cakes of grasshoppers, basins -of honey, in fine any kind of food; then crystals or fragments of rock -to signify that they desire the corn to be hard, or of honeydew that -they desire the corn to be sweet, or of corn of different colors that -they desire the corn to be of a variety of colors. That which is of -great interest to students of ethnology is the system of picture-writing -exhibited on the altars. In this a great variety of things which they -desire and a great variety of the characteristics of these things are -represented in pictographs, or modeled in clay, or carved from wood and -bone. The graphic art, as painting and sculpture, has its origin with -tribal men in the development of altar-pieces. So also the drama is -derived from primeval worship, as the modern practice of medicine has -been evolved from necromancy. - -There is another method of worship found in savagery, but more highly -developed in barbarism,--the worship of sacrifice. The altar-pieces and -the dramatic supplications of the lower stage gradually develop into a -sacrificial stage in the higher culture. Then the objects are supposed -to supply the ancients themselves with food and drink and the pleasures -of life. This stage was most highly developed in Mexico, especially by -the Nahua or Aztec, where human beings were sacrificed. In general, -among the Amerinds, not only are sacrifices made on the altar, but they -are also made whenever food or drink is used. Thus the first portions of -objects designed for consumption are dedicated to the gods. There are in -America many examples of these pagan religions, to a greater or less -extent affiliated in doctrine and in worship with the religion of -Christian origin. - -In the early history of the association of white men with the Seneca of -New York and Pennsylvania, there was in the tribe a celebrated shaman -named Handsome Lake, as his Indian name is translated into English. -Handsome Lake had a nephew who was taken by the Spaniards to Europe and -educated as a priest. The nephew, on his return to America, told many -Bible stories to his uncle, for he speedily relapsed into paganism. The -uncle compounded some of these Bible stories with Seneca folk-tales, and -through his eloquence and great influence as a shaman succeeded in -establishing among the Seneca a new cult of doctrine and worship. The -Seneca are now divided into two very distinct bodies who live together -on the same reservation,--the one are “Christians,” the other are -“Pagans” who believe and teach the cult of Handsome Lake. - -Mr. Cushing has introduced a hybrid tale into his collection, entitled -“The Cock and the Mouse.” Such tales are found again and again among the -Amerinds. In a large majority of cases Bible stories are compounded with -native stories, so that unwary people have been led to believe that the -Amerinds are descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. - - J. W. Powell. - - Washington City, - November, 1901. - - - - -ZUÑI FOLK TALES - - - - -THE TRIAL OF LOVERS: - -OR THE MAIDEN OF MÁTSAKI AND THE RED FEATHER - - -(_Told the First Night_) - -In the days of the ancients, when Mátsaki was the home of the children -of men, there lived, in that town, which is called “Salt City,” because -the Goddess of Salt made a white lake there in the days of the New, a -beautiful maiden. She was passing beautiful, and the daughter of the -priest-chief, who owned more buckskins and blankets than he could hang -on his poles, and whose port-holes were covered with turquoises and -precious shells from the ocean--so many were the sacrifices he made to -the gods. His house was the largest in Mátsaki, and his ladder-poles -were tall and decorated with slabs of carved wood--which you know was a -great thing, for our grandfathers cut with the _tímush_ or flint knife, -and even tilled their corn-fields with wooden hoes sharpened with stone -and weighted with granite. That’s the reason why all the young men in -the towns round about were in love with the beautiful maiden of Salt -City. - -Now, there was one very fine young man who lived across the western -plains, in the Pueblo of the Winds. He was so filled with thoughts of -the maiden of Mátsaki that he labored long to gather presents for her, -and looked not with favor on any girl of his own pueblo. - -One morning he said to his fathers: “I have seen the maiden of Mátsaki; -what think ye?” - -“Be it well,” said the old ones. So toward night the young man made a -bundle of mantles and necklaces, which he rolled up in the best and -whitest buckskin he had. When the sun was setting he started toward -Mátsaki, and just as the old man’s children had gathered in to smoke and -talk he reached the house of the maiden’s father and climbed the ladder. -He lifted the corner of the mat door and shouted to the people -below--“_Shé!_” - -“_Hai!_” answered more than a pair of voices from below. - -“Pull me down,” cried the young man, at the same time showing his bundle -through the sky-hole. - -The maiden’s mother rose and helped the young man down the ladder, and -as he entered the fire-light he laid the bundle down. - -“My fathers and mothers, my sisters and friends, how be ye these many -days?” said he, very carefully, as though he were speaking to a council. - -“Happy! Happy!” they all responded, and they said also: “Sit down; sit -down on this stool,” which they placed for him in the fire-light. - -“My daughter,” remarked the old man, who was smoking his cigarette by -the opposite side of the hearth-place, “when a stranger enters the house -of a stranger, the girl should place before him food and cooked -things.” So the girl brought from the great vessel in the corner fresh -rolls of _héwe_, or bread of corn-flour, thin as papers, and placed them -in a tray before the young man, where the light would fall on them. - -“Eat!” said she, and he replied, “It is well.” Whereupon he sat up very -straight, and placing his left hand across his breast, very slowly took -a roll of the wafer bread with his right hand and ate ever so little; -for you know it is not well or polite to eat much when you go to see a -strange girl, especially if you want to ask her if she will let you live -in the same house with her. So the young man ate ever so little, and -said, “Thank you.” - -“Eat more,” said the old ones; but when he replied that he was “past the -naming of want,” they said, “Have eaten,” and the girl carried the tray -away and swept away the crumbs. - -“Well,” said the old man, after a short time, “when a stranger enters -the house of a stranger, it is not thinking of nothing that he enters.” - -“Why, that is quite true,” said the youth, and then he waited. - -“Then what may it be that thou hast come thinking of?” added the old -man. - -“I have heard,” said the young man, “of your daughter, and have seen -her, and it was with thoughts of her that I came.” - -Just then the grown-up sons of the old man, who had come to smoke and -chat, rose and said to one another: “Is it not about time we should be -going home? The stars must be all out.” Thus saying, they bade the old -ones to “wait happily until the morning,” and shook hands with the young -man who had come, and went to the homes of their wives’ mothers. - -“Listen, my child!” said the old man after they had gone away, turning -toward his daughter, who was sitting near the wall and looking down at -the beads on her belt fringe. “Listen! You have heard what the young man -has said. What think you?” - -“Why! I know not; but what should I say but ‘Be it well,’” said the -girl, “if thus think my old ones?” - -“As you may,” said the old man; and then he made a cigarette and smoked -with the young man. When he had thrown away his cigarette he said to the -mother: “Old one, is it not time to stretch out?” - -So when the old ones were asleep in the corner, the girl said to the -youth, but in a low voice: “Only possibly you love me. True, I have said -‘Be it well’; but before I take your bundle and say ‘thanks,’ I would -that you, to prove that you verily love me, should go down into my -corn-field, among the lands of the priest-chief, by the side of the -river, and hoe all the corn in a single morning. If you will do this, -then shall I know you love me; then shall I take of your presents, and -happy we will be together.” - -“Very well,” replied the young man; “I am willing.” - -Then the young girl lighted a bundle of cedar splints and showed him a -room which contained a bed of soft robes and blankets, and, placing her -father’s hoe near the door, bade the young man “wait happily unto the -morning.” - -So when she had gone he looked at the hoe and thought: “Ha! if that be -all, she shall see in the morning that I am a man.” - -At the peep of day over the eastern mesa he roused himself, and, -shouldering the wooden hoe, ran down to the corn-fields; and when, as -the sun was coming out, the young girl awoke and looked down from her -house-top, “Aha!” thought she, “he is doing well, but my children and I -shall see how he gets on somewhat later. I doubt if he loves me as much -as he thinks he does.” - -So she went into a closed room. Down in the corner stood a water jar, -beautifully painted and as bright as new. It looked like other water -jars, but it was not. It was wonderful, wonderful! for it was covered -with a stone lid which held down many may-flies and gnats and -mosquitoes. The maiden lifted the lid and began to speak to the little -animals as though she were praying. - -“Now, then, my children, this day fly ye forth all, and in the -corn-fields by the river there shall ye see a young man hoeing. So hard -is he working that he is stripped as for a race. Go forth and seek him.” - -“_Tsu-nu-nu-nu_,” said the flies, and “_Tsi-ni-ni-ni_,” sang the gnats -and mosquitoes; which meant “Yes,” you know. - -“And,” further said the girl, “when ye find him, bite him, his body all -over, and eat ye freely of his blood; spare not his armpits, neither his -neck nor his eyelids, and fill his ears with humming.” - -And again the flies said, “_Tsu-nu-nu-nu_,” and the mosquitoes and -gnats, “_Tsi-ni-ni-ni._” Then, _nu-u-u_, away they all flew like a cloud -of sand on a windy morning. - -“Blood!” exclaimed the young man. He wiped the sweat from his face and -said, “The gods be angry!” Then he dropped his hoe and rubbed his shins -with sand and slapped his sides. “_Atu!_” he yelled; “what matters--what -in the name of the Moon Mother matters with these little beasts that -cause thoughts?” Whereupon, crazed and restless as a spider on hot -ashes, he rolled in the dust, but to no purpose, for the flies and gnats -and mosquitoes sang “_hu-n-n_” and “_tsi-ni-ni_” about his ears until he -grabbed up his blanket and breakfast, and ran toward the home of his -fathers. - -“_Wa-ha ha! Ho o!_” laughed a young man in the Tented Pueblo to the -north, when he heard how the lover had fared. “_Shoom!_” he sneered. -“Much of a man he must have been to give up the maid of Mátsaki for -may-flies and gnats and mosquitoes!” So on the very next morning, he, -too, said to his old ones: “What a fool that little _boy_ must have -been. I will visit the maiden of Mátsaki. I’ll show the people of Pínawa -what a Hámpasawan man can do. Courage!”--and, as the old ones said “Be -it well,” he went as the other had gone; but, pshaw! he fared no better. - -After some time, a young man who lived in the River Town heard about it -and laughed as hard as the youth of the Tented Pueblo had. He called the -two others fools, and said that “girls were not in the habit of asking -much when one’s bundle was large.” And as he was a young man who had -everything, he made a bundle of presents as large as he could carry; but -it did him no good. He, too, ran away from the may-flies and gnats and -mosquitoes. - -Many days passed before any one else would try again to woo the maiden -of Mátsaki. They did not know, it is true, that she was a Passing Being; -but others had failed all on account of mosquitoes and may-flies and -little black gnats, and had been more satisfied with shame than a full -hungry man with food. “That is sick satisfaction,” they would say to one -another, the fear of which made them wait to see what others would do. - -Now, in the Ant Hill, which was named Hálonawan,[1] lived a handsome -young man, but he was poor, although the son of the priest-chief of -Hálonawan. He thought many days, and at last said to his grandmother, -who was very old and crafty, “_Hó-ta?_” - - [1] The ancient pueblo of Zuñi itself was called Hálonawan, or - the Ant Hill, the ruins of which, now buried beneath the sands, - lie opposite the modern town within the cast of a stone. Long - before Hálonawan was abandoned, the nucleus of the present - structure was begun around one of the now central plazas. It was - then, and still is, in the ancient songs and rituals of the - Zuñis, _Hálona-ítiwana_, or the “Middle Ant Hill of the World,” - and was often spoken of in connection with the older town as - simply the “Ant Hill.” - -“What sayest my _nána_?” said the old woman; for, like grandmothers -nowadays, she was very soft and gentle to her grandson. - -“I have seen the maiden of Mátsaki and my thoughts kill me with longing, -for she is passing beautiful and wisely slow. I do not wonder that she -asks hard tasks of her lovers; for it is not of their bundles that she -thinks, but of themselves. Now, I strengthen my thoughts with my -manliness. My heart is hard against weariness, and I would go and speak -to the beautiful maiden.” - -“_Yo á!_ my poor boy,” said the grandmother. “She is as wonderful as she -is wise and beautiful. She thinks not of men save as brothers and -friends; and she it is, I bethink me, who sends the may-flies and gnats -and mosquitoes, therefore, to drive them away. They are but disguised -beings, and beware, my grandson, you will only cover yourself with shame -as a man is covered with water who walks through a rain-storm! I would -not go, my poor grandchild. I would not go,” she added, shaking her head -and biting her lips till her chin touched her nose-tip. - -“Yes, but I must go, my grandmother. Why should I live only to breathe -hard with longing? Perhaps she will better her thoughts toward me.” - -“Ah, yes, but all the same, she will test thee. Well, go to the -mountains and scrape bitter bark from the finger-root; make a little -loaf of the bark and hide it in your belt, and when the maiden sends you -down to the corn-field, work hard at the hoeing until sunrise. Then, -when your body is covered with sweat-drops, rub every part with the -root-bark. The finger-root bark, it is bitter as bad salt mixed in with -bad water, and the ‘horn-wings’ and ‘long-beaks’ and ‘blue-backs’ fly -far from the salt that is bitter.” - -“Then, my gentle grandmother, I will try your words and thank you,”--for -he was as gentle and good as his grandmother was knowing and crafty. -Even that day he went to the mountains and gathered a ball of -finger-root. Then, toward evening, he took a little bundle and went up -the trail by the river-side to Mátsaki. When he climbed the ladder and -shouted down the mat door: “_Shé!_ Are ye within?” the people did not -answer at once, for the old ones were angry with their daughter that she -had sent off so many fine lovers. But when he shouted again they -answered: - -“_Hai_, and _Ée_, we are within. Be yourself within.” - -Then without help he went down the ladder, but he didn’t mind, for he -felt himself poor and his bundle was small. As he entered the fire-light -he greeted the people pleasantly and gravely, and with thanks took the -seat that was laid for him. - -Now, you see, the old man was angry with the girl, so he did not tell -her to place cooked things before him, but turned to his old wife. - -“Old one,” he began--but before he had finished the maiden arose and -brought rich venison stew and flaky _héwe_, which she placed before the -youth where the fire’s brightness would fall upon it, with meat broth -for drink; then she sat down opposite him and said, “Eat and drink!” -Whereupon the young man took a roll of the wafer-bread and, breaking it -in two, gave the girl the larger piece, which she bashfully accepted. - -The old man raised his eyebrows and upper lids, looked at his old wife, -spat in the fireplace, and smoked hard at his cigarette, joining the -girl in her invitation by saying, “Yes, have to eat well.” - -Soon the young man said, “Thanks,” and the maiden quickly responded, -“Eat more,” and “Have eaten.” - -After brushing the crumbs away the girl sat down by her mother, and the -father rolled a cigarette for the young man and talked longer with him -than he had with the others. - -After the old ones had stretched out in the corner and begun to “scrape -their nostrils with their breath,” the maiden turned to the young man -and said: “I have a corn-field in the lands of the priest-chief, down by -the river, and if you truly love me, I would that you should hoe the -whole in a single morning. Thus may you prove yourself a man, and to -love me truly; and if you will do this, happily, as day follows day, -will we live each with the other.” - -“_Hai-í!_” replied the young man, who smiled as he listened; and as the -young maiden looked at him, sitting in the fading fire-light with the -smile on his face, she thought: “Only possibly. But oh! how I wish his -heart might be strong, even though his bundle be not heavy nor large. - -“Come with me, young man, and I will show you where you are to await -the morning. Early take my father’s hoe, which stands by the doorway, -and go down to the corn-field long before the night shadows have run -away from Thunder Mountain”--with which she bade him pass a night of -contentment and sought her own place. - -When all was still, the young man climbed to the sky-hole and in the -starlight asked the gods of the woodlands and waters to give strength to -his hands and power to his prayer-medicine, and to meet and bless him -with the light of their favor; and he threw to the night-wind meal of -the seeds of earth and the waters of the world with which those who are -wise fail not to make smooth their trails of life. Then he slept till -the sky of the day-land grew yellow and the shadows of the night-land -grew gray, and then shouldered his hoe and went down to the corn-field. -His task was not great, for the others had hoed much. Where they left -off, there he fell to digging right and left with all his strength and -haste, till the hard soil mellowed and the earth flew before his strokes -as out of the burrows of the strongest-willed gophers and other digging -creatures. - -When the sun rose the maiden looked forth and saw that his task was -already half done. But still she waited. As the sun warmed the day and -the youth worked on, the dewdrops of flesh stood all over his body and -he cast away, one after the other, his blanket and sash and even his -leggings and moccasins. Then he stopped to look around. By the side of -the field grew tall yellow-tops. He ran into the thicket and rubbed -every part of his body, yea, even the hair of his head and his ear-tips -and nostrils, with the bark of the finger-root. Again he fell to work as -though he had only been resting, and wondered why the may-flies and -gnats and mosquitoes came not to cause him thoughts as they had the -others. Yet still the girl lingered; but at last she went slowly to the -room where the jar stood. - -“It is absurd,” thought she, “that I should hope it or even care for it; -it would indeed be great if it were well true that a young man should -love me so verily as to hold his face to the front through such a -testing.” Nevertheless, she drew the lid off and bade her strange -children to spare him no more than they had the others. - -All hasty to feast themselves on the “waters of life,” as our old -grandfathers would say for blood, again they rushed out and hummed along -over the corn-fields in such numbers that they looked more like a -wind-driven sandstorm than ever, and “_tsi-ni-ni-i, tso-no-o_,” they -hummed and buzzed about the ears of the young man when they came to him, -so noisily that the poor fellow, who kept at work all the while, thought -they were already biting him. But it was only fancy, for the first -may-fly that did bite him danced in the air with disgust and exclaimed -to his companions, “_Sho-o-o-m-m!_” and “_Us-á!_” which meant that he -had eaten something nasty, that tasted as badly as vile odors smell. So -not another may-fly in the throng would bite, although they all kept -singing their song about his ears. And to this day may-flies are -careful whom they bite, and dance a long time in the air before they do -it. - -Then a gnat tried it and gasped, “_Weh!_” which meant that his stomach -had turned over, and he had such a sick headache that he reeled round -and round in the air, and for that reason gnats always bite very -quickly, for fear their stomachs will turn over, and they will reel and -reel round and round in the air before doing it. - -Finally, long-beak himself tried it, and, as long-beak hangs on, you -know, longer than most other little beasts, he kept hold until his two -hindlegs were warped out of shape; but at last he had to let go, too, -and flew straight away, crying, “_Yá kotchi!_” which meant that -something bitter had burned his snout. Now, for these reasons mosquitoes -always have bent-up hindlegs, which they keep lifting up and down while -biting, as though they were standing on something hot, and they are apt -to sing and smell around very cautiously before spearing us, and they -fly straight away, you will notice, as soon as they are done. - -Now, when the rest of the gnats and mosquitoes heard the words of their -elder brothers, they did as the may-flies had done--did not venture, no, -not one of them, to bite the young lover. They all flew away and settled -down on the yellow-tops, where they had a council, and decided to go and -find some prairie-dogs to bite. Therefore you will almost always find -may-flies, gnats, and mosquitoes around prairie-dog holes in summer time -when the corn is growing. - -So the young man breathed easily as he hoed hard to finish his task ere -the noon-day, and when the maiden looked down and saw that he still -labored there, she said to herself: “Ah, indeed he must love me, for -still he is there! Well, it _may be_, for only a little longer and they -will leave him in peace.” Hastily she placed venison in the cooking-pot -and prepared fresh _héwe_ and sweetened bread, “for _maybe_,” she still -thought, “and then I will have it ready for him.” - -Now, alas! you do not know that this good and beautiful maiden had a -sister, alas!--a sister as beautiful as herself, but bad and -double-hearted; and you know when people have double hearts they are -wizards or witches, and have double tongues and paired thoughts--such a -sister elder had the maiden of Mátsaki, alas! - -When the sun had climbed almost to the middle of the sky, the maiden, -still doubtful, looked down once more. He was there, and was working -among the last hills of corn. - -“Ah, truly indeed he loves me,” she thought, and she hastened to put on -her necklaces and bracelets of shells, her earrings as long as your -fingers--of turquoises,--and her fine cotton mantles with borders of -stitched butterflies of summerland, and flowers of the autumn. Then she -took a new bowl from the stick-rack in the corner, and a large -many-colored tray that she had woven herself, and she filled the one -with meat broth, and the other with the _héwe_ and sweet-bread, and -placing the bowl of meat broth on her head, she took the tray of _héwe_ -in her hand, and started down toward the corn-field by the river-side to -meet her lover and to thank him. - -Witches are always jealous of the happiness and good fortune of others. -So was the sister of the beautiful maiden jealous when she saw the smile -on her _háni’s_ face as she tripped toward the river. - -“_Ho há!_” said the two-hearted sister. “_Tém-ithlokwa thlokwá! -Wananí!_” which are words of defiance and hatred, used so long ago by -demons and wizards that no one knows nowadays what they mean except the -last one, which plainly says, “Just wait a bit!” and she hastened to -dress herself, through her wicked knowledge, exactly as the beautiful -maiden was dressed. She even carried just such a bowl and tray; and as -she was beautiful, like her younger sister, nobody could have known the -one from the other, or the other from the one. Then she passed herself -through a hoop of magic yucca, which made her seem not to be where she -was, for no one could see her unless she willed it. - -Now, just as the sun was resting in the middle of the sky, the young man -finished the field and ran down to the river to wash. Before he was -done, he saw the maiden coming down the trail with the bowl on her head -and the tray in her hand; so he made haste, and ran back to dress -himself and to sit down to wait for her. As she approached, he said: -“Thou comest, and may it be happily,”--when lo! there appeared two -maidens exactly alike; so he quickly said, “Ye come.” - -“_E_,” said the maidens, so nearly together that it sounded like one -voice; but when they both placed the same food before him, the poor -young man looked from one to the other, and asked: - -“Alas! of which am I to eat?” - -Then it was that the maiden suddenly saw her sister, and became hot with -anger, for she knew her wicked plans. “Ah, thou foolish sister, why -didst thou come?” she said. But the other only replied: - -“Ah, thou foolish sister, why didst _thou_ come?” - -“Go back, for he is mine-to-be,” said the maiden, beginning to cry. - -“Go back, for he is mine-to-be,” said the bad one, pretending to cry. - -And thus they quarrelled until they had given one another smarting words -four times, when they fell to fighting--as women always fight, by -pulling each other’s hair, and scratching, and grappling until they -rolled over each other in the sand. - -The poor young man started forward to part them, but he knew not one -from the other, so thinking that the bad one must know how to fight -better than his beautiful maiden wife, he suddenly caught up his -stone-weighted hoe, and furiously struck the one that was uppermost on -the head, again and again, until she let go her hold, and fell back, -murmuring and moaning: “Alas! that thus it should be after all, after -all!” Then she forgot, and her eyes ceased to see. - -While yet the young man looked, lo! there was only the dying maiden -before him; but in the air above circled an ugly black Crow, that -laughed “_kawkaw, kawkaw, kawkaw!_” and flew away to its cave in Thunder -Mountain. - -Then the young man knew. He cried aloud and beat his breast; then he ran -to the river and brought water and bathed the blood away from the -maiden’s temples; but alas! she only smiled and talked with her lips, -then grew still and cold. - -Alone, as the sun travelled toward the land of evening, wept the young -man over the body of his beautiful wife. He knew naught but his sad -thoughts. He took her in his arms, and placed his face close to hers, -and again and again he called to her: “Alas, alas! my beautiful wife; I -loved thee, I love thee. Alas, alas! Ah, my beautiful wife, my beautiful -wife!” - -When the people returned from their fields in the evening, they missed -the beautiful maiden of Mátsaki; and they saw the young man, bending low -and alone over something down in the lands of the priest-chief by the -river, and when they told the old father, he shook his head and said: - -“It is not well with my beautiful child; but as They (the gods) say, -thus must all things be.” Then he smiled--for the heart of a -priest-chief never cries,--and told them to go and bring her to the -plaza of Mátsaki and bury her before the House of the Sun; for he knew -what had happened. - -So the people did as their father had told them. They went down at -sunset and took the beautiful maiden away, and wrapped her in mantles, -and buried her near the House of the Sun. - -But the poor young man knew naught but his sad thoughts. He followed -them; and when he had made her grave, he sat down by her earth bed and -would not leave her. No, not even when the sun set, but moaned and -called to her: “Alas, alas! my beautiful wife; I loved thee, I love -thee; even though I knew not thee and killed thee. Alas! Ah, my -beautiful wife!” - - * * * * * - -“_Shonetchi!_” (“There is left of my story.”) And what there is left, I -will tell you some other night. - - -(_Told the Second Night_) - -“_Sonahtchi!_” - -“_Sons shonetchi!_” (“There is left of my story”;) but I will tell you -not alone of the Maid of Mátsaki, because the young man killed her, for -he knew not his wife from the other. It is of the Red Feather, or the -Wife of Mátsaki that I will tell you this sitting. - -Even when the sun set, and the hills and houses grew black in the -shadows, still the young man sat by the grave-side, his hands rested -upon his knees and his face buried in them. And the people no longer -tried to steal his sad thoughts from him; but, instead, left him, as one -whose mind errs, to wail out with weeping: “Alas, alas! my beautiful -wife; I loved thee, I love thee; even though I knew not thee and killed -thee! Alas! Ah, my beautiful wife!” - -But when the moon set on the western hills, and the great snowdrift -streaked across the mid-sky, and the night was half gone, the sad -watcher saw a light in the grave-sands like the light of the embers that -die in the ashes. As he watched, his sad thoughts became bright -thoughts, for the light grew and brightened till it burned the dark -grave-sands as sunlight the shadows. Lo! the bride lay beneath. She tore -off her mantles and raised up in her grave-bed. Then she looked at the -eager lover so coldly and sadly that his bright thoughts all darkened, -for she mournfully told him: “Alas! Ah, my lover, my husband knew not me -from the other; loved me not, therefore killed me; even though I had -hoped for love, loved me not, therefore killed me!” - -Again the young man buried his face in his hands and shook his head -mournfully; and like one whose thoughts erred, again he wailed his -lament: “Alas, alas! my beautiful bride! I do love thee; I loved thee, -but I did not know thee and killed thee! Alas! Ah, my beautiful bride, -my beautiful bride!” - -At last, as the great star rose from the sky-land, the dead maiden spoke -softly to the mourning lover, yet her voice was sad and strange: “Young -man, mourn thou not, but go back to the home of thy fathers. Knowest -thou not that I am another being? When the sky of the day-land grows -yellow and the houses come out of the shadows, then will the light -whereby thou sawest me, fade away in the morn-light, as the blazes of -late councils pale their red in the sunlight.” Then her voice grew -sadder as she said: “I am only a spirit; for remember, alas! ah, my -lover, my husband knew not me from the other--loved me not, therefore -killed me; even though I had hoped for love, loved me not, therefore -killed me.” - -But the young man would not go until, in the gray of the morning, he saw -nothing where the light had appeared but the dark sand of the grave as -it had been. Then he arose and went away in sorrow. Nor would he all day -speak to men, but gazed only whither his feet stepped and shook his head -sadly like one whose thoughts wandered. And when again the houses and -hills grew black with the shadows, he sought anew the fresh grave and -sat down by its side, bowed his head and still murmured: “Alas, alas! my -beautiful wife, I loved thee, though I knew not thee, and killed thee. -Alas! Ah, my beautiful wife!” - -Even brighter glowed the light in the grave-sands when the night was -divided, and the maiden’s spirit arose and sat in her grave-bed, but she -only reproached him and bade him go. “For,” said she, “I am only a -spirit; remember, alas! ah, my lover, my husband knew not me from the -other; loved me not, therefore killed me; even though I had hoped for -love, loved me not, therefore killed me!” - -But he left only in the morning, and again when the dark came, returned -to the grave-side. - -When the light shone that night, the maiden, more beautiful than ever, -came out of the grave-bed and sat by her lover. Once more she urged him -to return to his fathers; but when she saw that he would not, she said: -“Thou hadst better, for I go a long journey. As light as the wind is, so -light will my feet be; as long as the day is, thou canst not my form -see. Know thou not that the spirits are seen but in darkness? for, alas! -ah, my lover, my husband knew not me from the other; loved me not, -therefore killed me; even though I had hoped for love, loved me not, -therefore killed me!” - -Then the young man ceased bemoaning his beautiful bride. He looked at -her sadly, and said: “I do love thee, my beautiful wife! I do love thee, -and whither thou goest let me therefore go with thee! I care not how -long is the journey, nor how hard is the way. If I can but see thee, -even only at night time, then will I be happy and cease to bemoan thee. -It was because I loved thee and would have saved thee; but alas, my -beautiful wife! I knew not thee, therefore killed thee!” - -“Alas! Ah, my lover; and Ah! how I loved thee; but I am a spirit, and -thou art unfinished. But if thou thus love me, go back when I leave thee -and plume many prayer-sticks. Choose a light, downy feather and dye it -with ocher. Wrap up in thy blanket a lunch for four daylights; bring -with thee much prayer-meal; come to me at midnight and sit by my -grave-side, and when in the eastward the day-land is lighting, tie over -my forehead the reddened light feather, and when with the morning I fade -from thy vision, follow only the feather until it is evening, and then -thou shalt see me and sit down beside me.” - -So at sunrise the young man went away and gathered feathers of the -summer birds, and cut many prayer-sticks, whereon he bound them with -cotton, as gifts to the Fathers. Then he found a beautiful downy feather -plucked from the eagle, and dyed it red with ocher, and tied to it a -string of cotton wherewith to fasten it over the forehead of the spirit -maiden. When night came, he took meal made from parched corn and burnt -sweet-bread, and once more went down to the plaza and sat by the -grave-side. - -When midnight came and the light glowed forth through the grave-sands, -lo! the maiden-spirit came out and stood by his side. She seemed no -longer sad, but happy, like one going home after long absence. Nor was -the young man sad or single-thoughted like one whose mind errs; so they -sat together and talked of their journey till the day-land grew yellow -and the black shadows gray, and the houses and hills came out of the -darkness. - -“Once more would I tell thee to go back,” said the maiden’s spirit to -the young man; “but I know why thou goest with me, and it is well. Only -watch me when the day comes, and thou wilt see me no more; but look -whither the plume goeth, and follow, for thou knowest that thou must tie -it to the hair above my forehead.” - -Then the young man took the bright red plume out from among the feathers -of sacrifice, and gently tied it above the maiden-spirit’s forehead. - -As the light waved up from behind the great mountain the red glow faded -out from the grave-sands and the youth looked in vain for the spirit of -the maiden; but before him, at the height of one’s hands when standing, -waved the light downy feather in the wind of the morning. Then the -plume, not the wife, rose before him, like the plumes on the head of a -dancer, and moved through the streets that led westward, and down -through the fields to the river. And out through the streets that led -westward, and down on the trail by the river, and on over the plains -always toward the land of evening, the young man followed close the red -feather; but at last he began to grow weary, for the plume glided -swiftly before him, until at last it left him far behind, and even now -and then lost him entirely. Then, as he hastened on, he called in -anguish: - -“My beautiful bride! My beautiful bride! Oh, where art thou?” - -But the plume, not the wife, stopped and waited. And thus the plume and -the young man journeyed until, toward evening, they came to the forests -of sweet-smelling piñons and cedars. As the night hid the hills in the -shadows, alas! the plume disappeared, but the young man pressed onward, -for he knew that the plume still journeyed westward. Yet at times he was -so weary that he almost lost the strength of his thoughts; for he ran -into trees by the trail-side and stumbled over dry roots and branches. -So again and again he would call out in anguish: “My beautiful wife! My -beautiful bride! Oh, where art thou?” - -At last, when the night was divided, to his joy he saw, far away on the -hill-top, a light that was red and grew brighter like the light of a -camp-fire’s red embers when fanned by the wind of the night-time. And -like a star that is rising or setting, the red light sat still on the -hill-top. So he ran hastily forward, until, as he neared the red light, -lo! there sat the spirit of the beautiful maiden; and as he neared her, -she said: - -“Comest thou?” and “How hast thou come to the evening?” - -As she spoke she smiled, and motioned him to sit down beside her. He was -so weary that he slept while he talked to her; but, remember, she was a -spirit, therefore she slept not. - -Just as the morning star came up from the day-land, the maiden rose to -journey on, and the young man, awaking, followed her. But as the hills -came out of the shadows, the form of the maiden before him grew fainter -and fainter, until it faded entirely, and only the red plume floated -before him, like the plume on the head of a dancer. Far ahead and fast -floated the plume, until it entered a plain of lava filled with sharp -crags; yet still it went on, for the maiden’s spirit moved over the -barriers as lightly as the down of dead flowers in autumn. But alas! the -young man had to seek his way, and the plume again left him far behind, -until he was forced to cry out: “Ah, my beautiful bride, do wait for me, -for I love thee, and will not turn from thee!” Then the plume stopped on -the other side of the crags and waited until the poor young man came -nearer, his feet and legs cut and bleeding, and his wind almost out. -Then the trail was more even, and led through wide plains; but even thus -the young man could scarce keep the red plume in sight. But at night the -maiden awaited him in a sheltered place, and they rested together -beneath the cedars until daylight. Then again she faded out in the -daylight, and the red plume led the way. - -For a long time the trail was pleasant, but toward evening they came to -a wide bed of cactus, and the plume passed over as swiftly as ever, but -the young man’s moccasins were soon torn and his feet and legs cruelly -lacerated with the cactus spines; yet still he pursued the red plume -until the pain seemed to sting his whole body, and he gasped and wailed: -“Ah, my beautiful wife, wait for me; do wait, for I love thee and will -not leave thee!” Then the plume stopped beyond the plain of cactus and -waited until he had passed through, but not longer, for ere he had -plucked all the needles of the cactus from his bleeding feet, it floated -on, and he lifted himself up and followed until at evening the maiden -again waited and bade him “Sit down and rest.” - -That night she seemed to pity him, and once more spoke to him: “_Yo á!_ -My lover, my husband, turn back, oh, turn back! for the way is long and -untrodden, and thy heart is but weak and is mortal. I go to the Council -of Dead Ones, and how can the living there enter?” - -But the youth only wept, and begged that she let him go with her. “For, -ah,” said he, “my beautiful wife, my beautiful bride, I love thee and -cannot turn from thee!” - -And she smiled only and shook her head sadly as she replied: “_Yo á!_ It -shall be as thou willest. It may be thy heart will not wither, for -tomorrow is one more day onward, and then down the trail to the waters -wherein stands the ladder of others, shall I lead thee to wait me -forever.” - -At mid-sun on the day after, the plume led the way straight to a deep -cañon, the walls of which were so steep that no man could pass them -alive. For a moment the red plume paused above the chasm, and the youth -pressed on and stretched his hand forth to detain it; but ere he had -gained the spot, it floated on straight over the dark cañon, as though -no ravine had been there at all; for to spirits the trails that once -have been, even though the waters have worn them away, still are. - -Wildly the young man rushed up and down the steep brink, and -despairingly he called across to the plume: “Alas! ah, my beautiful -wife! Wait, only wait for me, for I love thee and cannot turn from -thee!” Then, like one whose thoughts wandered, he threw himself over the -brink and hung by his hands as if to drop, when a jolly little striped -Squirrel, who was playing at the bottom of the cañon, happened to see -him, and called out: “_Tsithl! Tsithl!_” and much more, which meant “_Ah -hai! Wananí!_” “You crazy fool of a being! You have not the wings of a -falcon, nor the hands of a Squirrel, nor the feet of a spirit, and if -you drop you will be broken to pieces and the moles will eat up the -fragments! Wait! Hold hard, and I will help you, for, though I am but a -Squirrel, I know how to think!” - -Whereupon the little chit ran chattering away and called his mate out of -their house in a rock-nook: “Wife! Wife! Come quickly; run to our corn -room and bring me a hemlock, and hurry! hurry! Ask me no questions; for -a crazy fool of a man over here will break himself to pieces if we don’t -quickly make him a ladder.” - -So the little wife flirted her brush in his face and skipped over the -rocks to their store-house, where she chose a fat hemlock and hurried to -her husband who was digging a hole in the sand underneath where the -young man was hanging. Then they spat on the seed, and buried it in the -hole, and began to dance round it and sing,-- - - “_Kiäthlä tsilu, - Silokwe, silokwe, silokwe; - Ki′ai silu silu, - Tsithl! Tsithl!_” - -Which meant, as far as any one can tell now (for it was a long time ago, -and partly squirrel talk), - - “Hemlock of the - Tall kind, tall kind, tall kind, - Sprout up hemlock, hemlock, - Chit! Chit!” - -And every time they danced around and sang the song through, the ground -moved, until the fourth time they said “_Tsithl! Tsithl!_” the tree -sprouted forth and kept growing until the little Squirrel could jump -into it, and by grabbing the topmost bough and bracing himself against -the branches below, could stretch and pull it, so that in a short time -he made it grow as high as the young man’s feet, and he had all he could -do to keep the poor youth from jumping right into it before it was -strong enough to hold him. Presently he said “_Tsithl! Tsithl!_” and -whisked away before the young man had time to thank him. Then the sad -lover climbed down and quickly gained the other side, which was not so -steep; before he could rest from his climb, however, the plume floated -on, and he had to get up and follow it. - -Just as the sun went into the west, the plume hastened down into a -valley between the mountains, where lay a beautiful lake; and around the -borders of the lake a very ugly old man and woman, who were always -walking back and forth across the trails, came forward and laughed -loudly and greeted the beautiful maiden pleasantly. Then they told her -to enter; and she fearlessly walked into the water, and a ladder of -flags came up out of the middle of the lake to receive her, down which -she stepped without stopping until she passed under the waters. For a -little--and then all was over--a bright light shone out of the water, -and the sound of many glad voices and soft merry music came also from -beneath it; then the stars of the sky and the stars of the waters looked -the same at each other as they had done before. - -“Alas!” cried the young man as he ran to the lake-side. “Ah, my -beautiful wife, my beautiful wife, only wait, only wait, that I may go -with thee!” But only the smooth waters and the old man and woman were -before him; nor did the ladder come out or the old ones greet him. So he -sat down on the lake-side wringing his hands and weeping, and ever his -mind wandered back to his old lament: “Alas! alas! my beautiful bride, -my beautiful wife, I love thee; I loved thee, but I knew not thee and -killed thee!” - -Toward the middle of the night once more he heard strange, happy voices. -The doorway to the Land of Spirits opened, and the light shot up through -the dark green waters from many windows, like sparks from a chimney on a -dark, windless night. Then the ladder again ascended, and he saw the -forms of the dead pass out and in, and heard the sounds of the _Kâkâ_, -as it danced for the gods. The comers and goers were bright and -beautiful, but their garments were snow-white cotton, stitched with -many-colored threads, and their necklaces and bracelets were of dazzling -white shells and turquoises unnumbered. Once he ventured to gain the -bright entrance, but the water grew deep and chilled him till he -trembled with fear and cold. Yet he looked in at the entrances, and lo! -as he gazed he caught sight of his beautiful bride all covered with -garments and bright things. And there in the midst of the _Kâkâ_ she sat -at the head of the dancers. She seemed happy and smiled as she watched, -and youths as bright and as happy came around her, and she seemed to -forget her lone lover. - -Then with a cry of despair and anguish he crawled to the lake-shore and -buried his face in the sands and rank grasses. Suddenly he heard a low -screech, and then a hoarse voice seemed to call him. He looked, and a -great Owl flew over him, saying: “_Muhaí! Hu hu! Hu hu!_” - -“What wilt thou?” he cried, in vexed anguish. - -Then the Owl flew closer, and, lighting, asked: “Why weepest thou, my -child?” - -He turned and looked at the Owl and told it part of his trouble, when -the Owl suddenly twisted its head quite around--as owls do--to see if -anyone were near; then came closer and said: “I know all about it, young -man. Come with me to my house in the mountain, and if thou wilt but -follow my counsel, all will yet be well.” Then the Owl led the way to a -cave far above and bade him step in. As he placed his foot inside the -opening, behold! it widened into a bright room, and many Owl-men and -Owl-women around greeted him happily, and bade him sit down and eat. - -The old Owl who had brought him, changed himself in a twinkling, as he -entered the room, and hung his owl-coat on an antler. Then he went away, -but presently returned, bringing a little bag of medicine. “Before I -give thee this, let me tell thee what to do, and what thou must -promise,” said he of the owl-coat. - -The young man eagerly reached forth his hand for the magic medicine. - -“Fool!” cried the being; “were it not well, for that would I not help -thee. Thou art too eager, and I will not trust thee with my medicine of -sleep. Thou shalt sleep here, and when thou awakest thou shalt find the -morning star in the sky, and thy dead wife before thee on the trail -toward the Middle Ant Hill. With the rising sun she will wake and smile -on thee. Be not foolish, but journey preciously with her, and not until -ye reach the home of thy fathers shalt thou approach her or kiss her; -for if thou doest this, all will be as nothing again. But if thou doest -as I counsel thee, all will be well, and happily may ye live one with -the other.” - -He ceased, and, taking a tiny pinch of the medicine, blew it in the face -of the youth. Instantly the young man sank with sleep where he had been -sitting, and the beings, putting on their owl-coats, flew away with him -under some trees by the trail that led to Mátsaki and the Ant Hill of -the Middle. - -Then they flew over the lake, and threw the medicine of sleep in at the -windows, and taking the plumed prayer-sticks which the young man had -brought with him, they chose some red plumes for themselves, and with -the others entered the home of the _Kâkâ_. Softly they flew over the -sleeping fathers and their children (the gods of the _Kâkâ_ and the -spirits) and, laying the prayer-plumes before the great altar, caught up -the beautiful maiden and bore her over the waters and woodlands to where -the young man was still sleeping. Then they hooted and flew off to their -mountain. - -As the great star came out of the day-land, the young man awoke, and -lo! there before him lay his own beautiful wife. Then he turned his face -away that he might not be tempted, and waited with joy and longing for -the coming out of the sun. When at last the sun came out, with the first -ray that brightened the beautiful maiden’s face, she opened her eyes and -gazed wildly around at first, but seeing her lonely lover, smiled, and -said: “Truly, thou lovest me!” - -Then they arose and journeyed apart toward the home of their fathers, -and the young man forgot not the counsel of the Owl, but journeyed -wisely, till on the fourth day they came in sight of the Mountain of -Thunder and saw the river that flows by Salt City. - -As they began to go down into the valley, the maiden stopped and said: -“_Hahuá_, I am weary, for the journey is long and the day is warm.” Then -she sat down in the shadow of a cedar and said: “Watch, my husband, -while I sleep a little; only a little, and then we will journey together -again.” And he said: “Be it well.” - -Then she lay down and seemed to sleep. She smiled and looked so -beautiful to the longing lover that he softly rose and crept close to -her. Then, alas! he laid his hand upon her and kissed her. - -Quickly the beautiful maiden started. Her face was all covered with -sadness, and she said, hastily and angrily: “Ah, thou shameless fool! I -now know! Thou lovest me not! How vain that I should have hoped for thy -love!” - -With shame, indeed, and sorrow, he bent his head low and covered his -face with his hands. Then he started to speak, when an Owl flew up and -hooted mournfully at him from a tree-top. Then the Owl winged her way to -the westward, and ever after the young man’s mind wandered. - -Alas! alas! Thus it was in the days of the ancients. Maybe had the young -man not kissed her yonder toward the Lake of the Dead, we would never -have journeyed nor ever have mourned for others lost. But then it is -well! If men and women had never died, then the world long ago had -overflown with children, starvation, and warring. - -Thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {A young man and young woman}] - - - - -THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE - - -In forgotten times, in the days of our ancients, at the Middle Place, or -what is now Shíwina (Zuñi), there lived a youth who was well grown, or -perfect in manhood. He had a pet Eagle which he kept in a cage down on -the roof of the first terrace of the house of his family. He loved this -Eagle so dearly that he could not endure to be separated from it; not -only this, but he spent nearly all his time in caring for and fondling -his pet. Morning, noon, and evening, yea, and even between those times, -you would see him going down to the eagle-cage with meat and other kinds -of delicate food. Day after day there you would find him sitting beside -the Eagle, petting it and making affectionate speeches, to all of which -treatment the bird responded with a most satisfied air, and seemed -equally fond of his owner. - - [Illustration: THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE - Photo by Hillers] - -Whenever a storm came the youth would hasten out of the house, as though -the safety of the crops depended upon it, to protect the Eagle. So, -winter and summer, no other care occupied his attention. Corn-field and -melon-garden was this bird to this youth; so much so that his brothers, -elder and younger, and his male relatives generally, looked down upon -him as negligent of all manly duties, and wasteful of their substance, -which he helped not to earn in his excessive care of the bird. -Naturally, therefore, they looked with aversion upon the Eagle; and -one evening, after a hard day’s work, after oft-repeated remonstrances -with the youth for not joining in their labors, they returned home tired -and out of humor, and, climbing the ladder of the lower terrace, passed -the great cage on their way into the upper house. They stopped a moment -before entering, and one of the eldest of the party exclaimed: “We have -remonstrated in vain with the younger brother; we have represented his -duties to him in every possible light, yet without effect. What remains -to be done? What plans can we devise to alienate him from this miserable -Eagle?” - -“Why not kill the wretched bird?” asked one of them. “That, I should -say, would be the most simple means of curing him of his infatuation.” - -“That is an excellent plan,” exclaimed all of the brothers as they went -on into the house; “we must adopt it.” - -The Eagle, apparently so unconscious, heard all this, and pondered over -it. Presently came the youth with meat and other delicate food for his -beloved bird, and, opening the wicket of the gate, placed it within and -bade the Eagle eat. But the bird looked at him and at the food with no -apparent interest, and, lowering its head on its breast, sat moody and -silent. - -“Are you ill, my beloved Eagle?” asked the youth, “or why is it that you -do not eat?” - -“I do not care to eat,” said the Eagle, speaking for the first time. “I -am oppressed with much anxiety.” - -“Do eat, my beloved Eagle,” said the youth. “Why should you be sad? -Have I neglected you?” - -“No, indeed, you have not,” said the Eagle. “For this reason I love you -as you love me; for this reason I prize and cherish you as you cherish -me; and yet it is for this very reason that I am sad. Look you! Your -brothers and relatives have often remonstrated with you for your neglect -of their fields and your care for me. They have often been angered with -you for not bearing your part in the duties of the household. Therefore -it is that they look with reproach upon you and with aversion upon me, -so much so that they have at last determined to destroy me in order to -do away with your affection for me and to withdraw your attention. For -this reason I am sad,--not that they can harm me, for I need but spread -my wings when the wicket is opened, and what can they do? But I would -not part from you, for I love you. I would not that you should part with -me, for you love me. Therefore am I sad, for I must go tomorrow to my -home in the skies,” said the Eagle, again relapsing into moody silence. - -“Oh, my beloved bird! my own dear Eagle, how could I live without you? -How could I remain behind when you went forward, below when you went -upward?” exclaimed the youth, already beginning to weep. “No! Go, go, if -it need be, alas! but let me go with you,” said the youth. - -“My friend! my poor, poor youth!” said the Eagle, “you cannot go with -me. You have not wings to fly, nor have you knowledge to guide your -course through the high skies into other worlds that you know not of.” - -“Let me go with you,” cried the youth, falling on his knees by the side -of the cage. “I will comfort you, I will care for you, even as I have -done here; but live without you I cannot!” - -“Ah, my youth,” said the Eagle, “I would that you could go with me, but -the end would not be well. You know not how little you love me that you -wish to do this thing. Think for a moment! The foods that my people eat -are not the foods of your people; they are not ripened by fire for our -consumption, but whatever we capture abroad on our measureless hunts we -devour as it is, asking no fire to render it palatable or wholesome. You -could not exist thus.” - -“My Eagle! my Eagle!” cried the youth. “If I were to remain behind when -you went forward, or below when you went upward, food would be as -nothing to me; and were it not better that I should eat raw food, or no -food, than that I should stay here, excessively and sadly thinking of -you, and thus never eat at all, even of the food of my own people? No, -let me go with you!” - -“Once more I implore you, my youth,” said the Eagle, “not to go with me, -for to your own undoing and to my sadness will such a journey be -undertaken.” - -“Let me go, let me go! Only let me go!” implored the youth. - -“It is said,” replied the Eagle calmly. “Even as you wish, so be it. -Now go unto your own home for the last time; gather large quantities of -sustaining food, as for a long journey. Place this food in strong -pouches, and make them all into a package which you can sling upon your -shoulder or back. Then come to me tomorrow morning, after the people -have begun to descend to their fields.” - -The youth bade good-night to his Eagle and went into the house. He took -of parched flour a great quantity, of dried and pulverized wafer-bread a -large bag, and of other foods, such as hunters carry and on which they -sustain themselves long, he took a good supply, and made them all into a -firm package. Then, with high hopes and much thought of the morrow, he -laid himself to rest. He slept late into the morning, and it was not -until his brothers had departed for their fields of corn that he arose; -and, eating a hasty breakfast, slung the package of foods over his -shoulders and descended to the cage of the Eagle. The great bird was -waiting for him. With a smile in its eyes it came forth when he opened -the wicket, and, settling down on the ground, spread out its wings and -bade the youth mount. - -“Sit on my back, for it is strong, oh youth! Grasp the base of my wings, -and rest your feet above my thighs, that you may not fall off. Are you -ready? Ah, well. And have you all needful things in the way of food? -Good. Let us start on our journey.” - -Saying this, the Eagle rose slowly, circling wider and wider as it went -up, and higher and higher, until it had risen far above the town, going -slowly. Presently it said: “My youth, I will sing a farewell song to -your people for you and for me, that they may know of our final -departure.” Then, as with great sweeps of its wings it circled round and -round, going higher and higher, it sang this song: - - “Huli-i-i--Huli-i-i-- - Pa shish lakwa-a-a-- - U-u-u-u-- - U-u-u-u-a! - - Pa shish lakwa-a-a-- - - U-u-u-u-- - U-u-u-u-a!” - -As the song floated down from on high, “Save us! By our eyes!” exclaimed -the people. “The Eagle and the youth! They are escaping; they are -leaving us!” - -And so the word went from mouth to mouth, and from ear to ear, until the -whole town was gazing at the Eagle and the youth, and the song died away -in the distance, and the Eagle became smaller and smaller, winding its -way upward until it was a mere speck, and finally vanished in the very -zenith. - -The people shook their heads and resumed their work, but the Eagle and -the youth went on until at last they came to the great opening in the -zenith of the sky. In passing upward by its endless cliffs they came out -on the other side into the sky-world; and still upward soared the -Eagle, until it alighted with its beloved burden on the summit of the -Mountain of Turquoises, so blue that the light shining on it paints the -sky blue. - -“_Huhua!_” said the Eagle, with the weariness that comes at the end of a -long journey. “We have reached our journey’s end for a time. Let us rest -ourselves on this mountain height of my beloved world.” - -The youth descended and sat by the Eagle’s side, and the Eagle, raising -its wings until the tips touched above, lowered its head, and catching -hold of its crown, shook it from side to side, and then drew upon it, -and then gradually the eagle-coat parted, and while the youth looked and -wondered in love and joy, a beautiful maiden was uncovered before him, -in garments of dazzling whiteness, softness, and beauty. No more -beautiful maiden could be conceived than this one,--bright of face, -clear and clean, with eyes so dark and large and deep, and yet sharp, -that it was bewildering to look into them. Such eyes have never been -seen in this world. - -“Come with me, my youth--you who have loved me so well,” said she, -approaching him and reaching out her hand. “Let us wander for a while on -this mountain side and seek the home of my people.” - -They descended the mountain and wound round its foot until, looking up -in the clear light of the sky-world, they beheld a city such as no man -has ever seen. Lofty were its walls,--smooth, gleaming, clean, and -white; no ladders, no smoke, no filth in any part whatsoever. - -“Yonder is the home of my people,” said the maiden, and resuming her -eagle-dress she took the youth on her back again, and, circling upward, -hovered for a moment over this home of the Eagles, then, through one of -the wide entrances which were in the roof, slowly descended. No ladders -were there, inside or outside; no need of them with a people winged like -the Eagles, for a people they were, like ourselves--more a people, -indeed, than we, for in one guise or the other they might appear at -will. - -No sooner had the Eagle-maiden and the youth entered this great building -than those who were assembled there greeted them with welcome assurances -of joy at their coming. “Sit ye down and rest,” said they. - -The youth looked around. The great room into which they had descended -was high and broad and long, and lighted from many windows in its roof -and upon its walls, which were beautifully white and clean and finished, -as no walls in this world are, with many devices pleasing to the eye. -Starting out from these walls were many hooks or pegs, suspended from -which were the dresses of the Eagles who lived there, the forms of which -we know. - -“Yea, sit ye down and rest and be happy,” said an old man. Wonderfully -fine he was as he arose and approached the couple and said, spreading -abroad his wings: “Be ye always one to the other wife and husband. Shall -it be so?” - -And they both, smiling, said “Yes.” And so the youth married the -Eagle-maiden. - -After a few days of rest they found him an eagle-coat, fine as the -finest, with broad, strong wings, and beautiful plumage, and they taught -him how to conform himself to it and it to himself. And as Eagles would -teach a young Eagle here in this world of ours, so they taught the youth -gradually to fly. At first they would bid him poise himself in his -eagle-form on the floor of their great room, and, laying all over it -soft things, bid him open his wings and leap into the air. Anxious to -learn, he would spread his great wings and with a powerful effort send -himself high up toward the ceiling; but untaught to sustain himself -there, would fall with many a flap and tumble to the floor. Again and -again this was tried, but after a while he learned to sustain and guide -himself almost wholly round the room without once touching anything; and -his wife in her eagle-form would fly around him, watching and helping, -and whenever his flight wavered would fan a strong wind up against his -wings with her own that he might not falter, until he had at last -learned wholly to support himself in the air. Then she bade him one day -come out with her to the roof of the house, and from there they sailed -away, away, and away over the great valleys and plains below, ever -keeping to the northward and eastward; and whenever he faltered in his -flight she bore his wings up with her own wings, teaching him how, this -way and that, until, when they returned to the roof, those who watched -them said: “Now, indeed, is he learned in the ways of our people. How -good it is that this is so!” And they were very happy, the youth and -the Eagle-maiden and their people. - -One day the maiden took the youth out again into the surrounding -country, and as they flew along she said to him: “You may wonder that we -never fly toward the southward. Oh, my youth, my husband! never go -yonder, for over that low range of mountains is a fearful world, where -no mortal can venture. If you love me, oh, if you truly love me, never -venture yonder!” And he listened to her advice and promised that he -would not go there. Then they went home. - -One day there was a grand hunt, and he was invited to join in it. Over -the wide world flew this band of Eagle hunters to far-away plains. -Whatsoever they would hunt, behold! below them somewhere or other might -the game be seen, were it rabbit, mountain sheep, antelope, or deer, and -each according to his wish captured the kind of game he would, the youth -bringing home with the rest his quarry. Of all the game they captured he -could eat none, for in that great house of the Eagles, so beautiful, so -perfect, no fire ever burned, no cooking was ever done. And after many -days the food which the youth brought with him was diminished so that -his wife took him out to a high mountain one day, and said: “As I have -told you before, the region beyond those low mountains is fearful and -deadly; but yonder in the east are other kinds of people than those whom -you should dread. Not far away is the home of the Pelicans and Storks, -who, as you know, eat food that has been cooked, even as your people -do. When you grow hungry, my husband, go to them, and as they are your -grandparents they will feed you and give you of their abundance of food, -that you may bring it here, and thus we shall do well and be happy.” - -The youth assented, and, guided part of the way by his faithful, loving -wife, he went to the home of the Storks. No sooner had he appeared than -they greeted him with loud assurances of welcome and pleasure at his -coming, and bade him eat. And they set before him bean-bread, -bean-stews, beans which were baked, as it were, and mushes of beans with -meat intermixed, which seemed as well cooked as the foods of our own -people here on this mortal earth. And the youth ate part of them, and -with many thanks returned to his home among the Eagles. And thus, as his -wife had said before, it was all well, and they continued to live there -happily.[2] - - [2] This curious conception of the food of the storks and cranes - and pelicans, for of such birds the folk-tale tells, is - interesting. It is doubtless an attempt to explain what has been - observed with relation to the pelicans and the storks - especially: that they consume their food raw, and, as the Indian - believes, cook it, as it were, in their own bodies, and then - withdraw it, either for their young or for their final - consumption. As this semi-digested food of such birds resembles - very nearly the thick bean stews of the Zuñis, they have - evidently taken from it the suggestion for the special kinds of - food which were offered to the youth. - -Between the villages of the Eagles and the Storks the youth lived; so -that by-and-by the Storks became almost as fond of him as were the -Eagles, addressing him as their beloved grandchild. And in consequence -of this fondness, his old grandfather and grandmother among the Storks -especially called his attention to the fearful region lying beyond the -range of mountains to the south, and they implored him, as his wife had -done, not to go thither. “For the love of us, do not go there, oh, -grandchild!” said they one day, when he was about to leave. - -He seemed to agree with them, and spread his wings and flew away. But -when he had gone a long distance, he turned southward, with this -exclamation: “Why should I not see what this is? Who can harm me, -floating on these strong wings of mine? Who can harm an Eagle in the -sky?” So he flew over the edge of the mountains, and behold! rising up -on the plains beyond them was a great city, fine and perfect, with walls -of stone built as are the towns of our dead ancients. And the smoke was -wreathing forth from its chimneys, and in the hazy distance it seemed -teeming with life at the moment when the youth saw it, which was at -evening time. - -The inhabitants of that city saw him and sent messages forth to the town -of the Eagles that they would make a grand festival and dance, and -invited the Eagles to come with their friends to witness this dance. And -when the youth returned to the home of his Eagle people, behold! already -had this message been delivered there, and his wife in sorrow was -awaiting him at the doorway. - -“Alas! alas! my youth! my husband!” said she. “And so, regarding more -your own curiosity than the love of your wife, you have been into that -fearful country, and as might have been expected, you were observed. We -are now invited to visit the city you saw and to witness a dance of the -inhabitants thereof, which invitation we cannot refuse, and you must go -with us. It remains to be seen, oh my youth, whom I trusted, if your -love for me be so great that you may stand the test of this which you -have brought upon yourself, by heedlessness of my advice and that of -your grandparents, the Storks. Oh, my husband, I despair of you, and -thus despairing, I implore you to heed me once more, and all may be well -with you even yet. Go with us tonight to the city you saw, the most -fearful of all cities, for it is the city of the damned, and wonderful -things you will see; but do not laugh or even smile once. I will sit by -your side and look at you. Oh, think of me as I do of you, and thus -thinking you will not smile. If you truly love me, and would remain with -me always, and be happy as I would be happy, do this one thing for me.” - -The youth promised over and over, and when night came he went with the -Eagle people to that city. A beautiful place it was, large and fine, -with high walls of stone and many a little window out of which the red -fire-light was shining. The smoke was going up from its chimneys, the -sparks winding up through it, and, with beacon fires burning on the -roofs, it was a happy, bustling scene that met the gaze of the youth as -he approached the town. There were sounds and cries of life everywhere. -Lights shone and merriment echoed from every street and room, and they -were ushered into a great dance hall, or _kiwitsin_, where the audience -was already assembled. - -By-and-by the sounds of the coming dance were heard, and all was -expectation. The fires blazed up and the lights shone all round the -room, making it as bright as day. In came the dancers, maidens mostly, -beautiful, and clad in the richest of ancient garments; their eyes were -bright, their hair black and soft, their faces gleaming with merriment -and pleasure. And they came joking down the ladders into the room before -the place where the youth sat, and as they danced down the middle of the -floor they cried out in shrill, yet not unpleasant voices, as they -jostled each other, playing grotesque pranks and assuming the most -laughter-stirring attitudes: - -“_Hapa! hapa! is! is! is!_” (“Dead! dead! this! this! this!”)--pointing -at one another, and repeating this baleful expression, although so -beautiful, and full of life and joy and merriment. - -Now, the youth looked at them all through this long dance, and though he -thought it strange that they should exclaim thus one to another, so -lively and pretty and jolly they were, he was nevertheless filled with -amusement at their strange antics and wordless jokes. Still he never -smiled. - -Then they filed in again and there were more dancers, merrier than -before, and among them were two or three girls of surpassing beauty even -in that throng of lovely women, and one of them looked in a coquettish -manner constantly toward the youth, directing all her smiles and -merriment to him as she pointed round to her companions, exclaiming: -“_Hapa! hapa! is! is! is!_” - -The youth grew forgetful of everything else as he leaned forward, -absorbed in watching this girl with her bright eyes and merry smiles. -When, finally, in a more amusing manner than before, she jostled some -merry dancer, he laughed outright and the girl ran forward toward him, -with two others following, and reaching out, grasped his hands and -dragged him into the dance. The Eagle-maiden lifted her wings and with a -cry of woe flew away with her people. But ah, ah! the youth minded -nothing, he was so wild with merriment, like the beautiful maidens by -his side, and up and down the great lighted hall he danced with them, -joining in their uncouth postures and their exclamations, of which he -did not yet understand the true meaning--“_Hapa! hapa! is! is! is!_” - -By-and-by the fire began to burn low, and the maidens said to him: “Come -and pass the night with us all here. Why go back to your home? Are we -not merry companions? Ha! ha! ha! ha! _Hapa! hapa! is! is! is!_” They -began to laugh and jostle one another again. Thus they led the youth, -not unwillingly on his part, away into a far-off room, large and fine -like the others, and there on soft blankets he lay himself down, and -these maidens gathered round him, one pillowing his head on her arm, -another smiling down into his face, another sitting by his side, and -soon he fell asleep. All became silent, and the youth slept on. - -In the morning, when broad daylight had come, the youth opened his eyes -and started. It seemed as though there were more light than there should -be in the house. He looked up, and the room which had been so fine and -finished the night before was tottering over his head; the winds -shrieked through great crevices in the walls; the windows were broken -and wide open; sand sifted through on the wind and eddied down into the -old, barren room. The rafters, dried and warped with age, were bending -and breaking, and pieces of the roof fell now and then when the wind -blew more strongly. He raised himself, and clammy bones fell from around -him; and when he cast his eyes about him, there on the floor were strewn -bones and skulls. Here and there a face half buried in the sand, with -eyes sunken and dried and patches of skin clinging to it, seemed to -glare at him. Fingers and feet, as of mummies, were strewn about, and it -was as if the youth had entered a great cemetery, where the remains of -the dead of all ages were littered about. He lifted himself still -farther, and where the head of one maiden had lain or the arms of -another had entwined with his, bones were clinging to him. One by one he -picked them off stealthily and laid them down, until at last he freed -himself, and, rising, cautiously stepped between the bones which were -lying around, making no noise until he came to the broken-down doorway -of the place. There, as he passed out, his foot tripped against a -splinter of bone which was embedded in the debris of the ruin, and as a -sliver sings in the wind, so this sang out. The youth, startled and -terrorized, sprang forth and ran for his life in the direction of the -home of the Storks. Shrieking, howling, and singing like a slivered -stick in the wind, like creaking boughs in the forest, with groans and -howls and whistlings that seemed to freeze the youth as he ran, these -bones and fragments of the dead arose and, like a flock of vampires, -pursued him noisily. - -He ran and ran, and the great cloud of the dead were coming nearer and -nearer and pressing round him, when he beheld one of his grandparents, a -Badger, near its hole. The Badger, followed by others, was fast -approaching him, having heard this fearful clamor, and cried out: “Our -grandson! Let’s save him!” So they ran forward and, catching him up, -cast him down into one of their holes. Then, turning toward the uncanny -crowd and bristling up, with sudden emotion and mighty effort they cast -off that odor by which, as you know, they may defile the very winds. -_Thlitchiii!_ it met the crowd of ghosts. _Thliwooo!_ the whole host of -them turned with wails and howls and gnashings of teeth back toward the -City of the Dead, whence they had come. And the Badgers ran into the -hole where lay the youth, lifted him up, and scolded him most vigorously -for his folly. - -Then they said: “Sit up, you fool, for you are not yet saved! Hurry!” -said they, one to another. “Heat water!” And, the water being heated, -nauseating herbs and other medicines were mingled with it, and the youth -was directed to drink of that. He drank, not once, but four times. -_Ukch, usa!_--and after he had been thus treated the old Badgers asked -him if he felt relieved or well, and the youth said he was very well -compared with what he had been. - -Then they stood him up in their midst and said to him: “You fool and -faithless lout, why did you go and become enamored of Death, however -beautiful? It is only a wonder that with all our skill and power we have -saved you thus far. It will be a still greater wonder, O foolish one, if -she who loved you still loves you enough after this faithlessness to -save the life which you have forfeited. Who would dance and take joy in -Death? Go now to the home of your grandparents, the Storks, and there -live. Your plumage gone, your love given up, what remains? You can -neither descend to your own people below without wings, nor can you live -with the people of the Eagles without love. Go, therefore, to your -grandparents!” - -And the youth got up and dragged himself away to the home of the Storks; -but when he arrived there they looked at him with downcast faces and -reproached him over and over, saying: “There is small possibility of -your regaining what you have forfeited,--the love and affection of your -wife.” - -“But I will go to her and plead with her,” said the youth. “How should I -know what I was doing?” - -“We told you not to do it, and you heeded not our telling.” - -So the youth lagged away to the home of the Eagles, where, outside that -great house with high walls, he lingered, moping and moaning. The Eagles -came and went, or they gathered and talked on the house-top, but no word -of greeting did they offer him; and his wife, at last, with a shiver of -disgust, appeared above him and said: “Go back! go back to your -grandparents. Their love you may not have forfeited; mine you have. Go -back! for we never can receive you again amongst us. Oh, folly and -faithlessness, in you they have an example!” - -So the youth sadly returned to the home of the Storks. There he -lingered, returning ever and anon to the home of the Eagles; but it was -as though he were not there, until at last the elder Eagles, during one -of his absences, implored the Eagle-maid to take the youth back to his -own home. - -“Would you ask me, his wife, who loved him, now to touch him who has -been polluted by being enamored of Death?” asked she. - -But they implored, and she acquiesced. So, when the youth appeared again -at the home of the Eagles, she had found an old, old Eagle dress, many -of the feathers in it broken; ragged and disreputable it was, and the -wing-feathers were so thin that the wind whistled through them. -Descending with this, she bade him put it on, and when he had done so, -she said: “Come with me now, according to the knowledge in which we have -instructed you.” - -And they flew away to the summit of that blue mountain, and, after -resting there, they began to descend into the sky which we see, and from -that downward and downward in very narrow circles. - -Whenever the youth, with his worn-out wings, faltered, the wife bore him -up, until, growing weary in a moment of remembrance of his -faithlessness, she caught in her talons the Eagle dress which sustained -him and drew it off, bade him farewell forever, and sailed away out of -sight in the sky. And the youth, with one gasp and shriek, tumbled over -and over and over, fell into the very center of the town in which he had -lived when he loved his Eagle, and utterly perished. - - * * * * * - -Thus it was in the times of the ancients; and for this reason by no -means whatsoever may a mortal man, by any alliances under the sun, avoid -Death. But if one would live as long as possible, one should never, in -any manner whatsoever, remembering this youth’s experience, become -enamored of Death. - -Thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {Bird symbols}] - - - - -THE POOR TURKEY GIRL - - -Long, long ago, our ancients had neither sheep nor horses nor cattle; -yet they had domestic animals of various kinds--amongst them Turkeys. - -In Mátsaki, or the Salt City, there dwelt at this time many very wealthy -families, who possessed large flocks of these birds, which it was their -custom to have their slaves or the poor people of the town herd in the -plains round about Thunder Mountain, below which their town stood, and -on the mesas beyond. - -Now, in Mátsaki at this time there stood, away out near the border of -the town, a little tumble-down, single-room house, wherein there lived -alone a very poor girl,--so poor that her clothes were patched and -tattered and dirty, and her person, on account of long neglect and -ill-fare, shameful to look upon, though she herself was not ugly, but -had a winning face and bright eyes; that is, if the face had been more -oval and the eyes less oppressed with care. So poor was she that she -herded Turkeys for a living; and little was given to her except the food -she subsisted on from day to day, and perhaps now and then a piece of -old, worn-out clothing. - -Like the extremely poor everywhere and at all times, she was humble, and -by her longing for kindness, which she never received, she was made kind -even to the creatures that depended upon her, and lavished this -kindness upon the Turkeys she drove to and from the plains every day. -Thus, the Turkeys, appreciating this, were very obedient. They loved -their mistress so much that at her call they would unhesitatingly come, -or at her behest go whithersoever and whensoever she wished. - -One day this poor girl, driving her Turkeys down into the plains, passed -near Old Zuñi,--the Middle Ant Hill of the World, as our ancients have -taught us to call our home,--and as she went along, she heard the -herald-priest proclaiming from the house-top that the Dance of the -Sacred Bird (which is a very blessed and welcome festival to our people, -especially to the youths and maidens who are permitted to join in the -dance) would take place in four days. - -Now, this poor girl had never been permitted to join in or even to watch -the great festivities of our people or the people in the neighboring -towns, and naturally she longed very much to see this dance. But she put -aside her longing, because she reflected: “It is impossible that I -should watch, much less join in the Dance of the Sacred Bird, ugly and -ill-clad as I am.” And thus musing to herself, and talking to her -Turkeys, as was her custom, she drove them on, and at night returned -them to their cages round the edges and in the plazas of the town. - -Every day after that, until the day named for the dance, this poor girl, -as she drove her Turkeys out in the morning, saw the people busy in -cleaning and preparing their garments, cooking delicacies, and otherwise -making ready for the festival to which they had been duly invited by -the other villagers, and heard them talking and laughing merrily at the -prospect of the coming holiday. So, as she went about with her Turkeys -through the day, she would talk to them, though she never dreamed that -they understood a word of what she was saying. - -It seems that they did understand even more than she said to them, for -on the fourth day, after the people of Mátsaki had all departed toward -Zuñi and the girl was wandering around the plains alone with her -Turkeys, one of the big Gobblers strutted up to her, and making a fan of -his tail, and skirts, as it were, of his wings, blushed with pride and -puffed with importance, stretched out his neck and said: “Maiden mother, -we know what your thoughts are, and truly we pity you, and wish that, -like the other people of Mátsaki, you might enjoy this holiday in the -town below. We have said to ourselves at night, after you have placed us -safely and comfortably in our cages: ‘Truly our maiden mother is as -worthy to enjoy these things as any one in Mátsaki, or even Zuñi.’ Now, -listen well, for I speak the speech of all the elders of my people: If -you will drive us in early this afternoon, when the dance is most gay -and the people are most happy, we will help you to make yourself so -handsome and so prettily dressed that never a man, woman, or child -amongst all those who are assembled at the dance will know you; but -rather, especially the young men, will wonder whence you came, and long -to lay hold of your hand in the circle that forms round the altar to -dance. Maiden mother, would you like to go to see this dance, and even -to join in it, and be merry with the best of your people?” - -The poor girl was at first surprised. Then it seemed all so natural that -the Turkeys should talk to her as she did to them, that she sat down on -a little mound, and, leaning over, looked at them and said: “My beloved -Turkeys, how glad I am that we may speak together! But why should you -tell me of things that you full well know I so long to, but cannot by -any possible means, do?” - -“Trust in us,” said the old Gobbler, “for I speak the speech of my -people, and when we begin to call and call and gobble and gobble, and -turn toward our home in Mátsaki, do you follow us, and we will show you -what we can do for you. Only let me tell you one thing: No one knows how -much happiness and good fortune may come to you if you but enjoy -temperately the pleasures we enable you to participate in. But if, in -the excess of your enjoyment, you should forget us, who are your -friends, yet so much depend upon you, then we will think: ‘Behold, this -our maiden mother, though so humble and poor, deserves, forsooth, her -hard life, because, were she more prosperous, she would be unto others -as others now are unto her.’” - -“Never fear, O my Turkeys,” cried the maiden,--only half trusting that -they could do so much for her, yet longing to try,--“never fear. In -everything you direct me to do I will be obedient as you always have -been to me.” - -The sun had scarce begun to decline, when the Turkeys of their own -accord turned homeward, and the maiden followed them, light of heart. -They knew their places well, and immediately ran to them. When all had -entered, even their bare-legged children, the old Gobbler called to the -maiden, saying: “Enter our house.” She therefore went in. “Now, maiden, -sit down,” said he, “and give to me and my companions, one by one, your -articles of clothing. We will see if we cannot renew them.” - -The maiden obediently drew off the ragged old mantle that covered her -shoulders and cast it on the ground before the speaker. He seized it in -his beak, and spread it out, and picked and picked at it; then he trod -upon it, and lowering his wings, began to strut back and forth over it. -Then taking it up in his beak, and continuing to strut, he puffed and -puffed, and laid it down at the feet of the maiden, a beautiful white -embroidered cotton mantle. Then another Gobbler came forth, and she gave -him another article of dress, and then another and another, until each -garment the maiden had worn was new and as beautiful as any possessed by -her mistresses in Mátsaki. - -Before the maiden donned all these garments, the Turkeys circled about -her, singing and singing, and clucking and clucking, and brushing her -with their wings, until her person was as clean and her skin as smooth -and bright as that of the fairest maiden of the wealthiest home in -Mátsaki. Her hair was soft and wavy, instead of being an ugly, sun-burnt -shock; her cheeks were full and dimpled, and her eyes dancing with -smiles,--for she now saw how true had been the words of the Turkeys. - -Finally, one old Turkey came forward and said: “Only the rich ornaments -worn by those who have many possessions are lacking to thee, O maiden -mother. Wait a moment. We have keen eyes, and have gathered many -valuable things,--as such things, being small, though precious, are apt -to be lost from time to time by men and maidens.” - -Spreading his wings, he trod round and round upon the ground, throwing -his head back, and laying his wattled beard on his neck; and, presently -beginning to cough, he produced in his beak a beautiful necklace; -another Turkey brought forth earrings, and so on, until all the proper -ornaments appeared, befitting a well-clad maiden of the olden days, and -were laid at the feet of the poor Turkey girl. - -With these beautiful things she decorated herself, and, thanking the -Turkeys over and over, she started to go, and they called out: “O maiden -mother, leave open the wicket, for who knows whether you will remember -your Turkeys or not when your fortunes are changed, and if you will not -grow ashamed that you have been the maiden mother of Turkeys? But we -love you, and would bring you to good fortune. Therefore, remember our -words of advice, and do not tarry too long.” - -“I will surely remember, O my Turkeys!” answered the maiden. - -Hastily she sped away down the river path toward Zuñi. When she arrived -there, she went in at the western side of the town and through one of -the long covered ways that lead into the dance court. When she came just -inside of the court, behold, every one began to look at her, and many -murmurs ran through the crowd,--murmurs of astonishment at her beauty -and the richness of her dress,--and the people were all asking one -another, “Whence comes this beautiful maiden?” - -Not long did she stand there neglected. The chiefs of the dance, all -gorgeous in their holiday attire, hastily came to her, and, with -apologies for the incompleteness of their arrangements,--though these -arrangements were as complete as they possibly could be,--invited her to -join the youths and maidens dancing round the musicians and the altar in -the center of the plaza. - -With a blush and a smile and a toss of her hair over her eyes, the -maiden stepped into the circle, and the finest youths among the dancers -vied with one another for her hand. Her heart became light and her feet -merry, and the music sped her breath to rapid coming and going, and the -warmth swept over her face, and she danced and danced until the sun sank -low in the west. - -But, alas! in the excess of her enjoyment, she thought not of her -Turkeys, or, if she thought of them, she said to herself, “How is this, -that I should go away from the most precious consideration to my flock -of gobbling Turkeys? I will stay a while longer, and just before the sun -sets I will run back to them, that these people may not see who I am, -and that I may have the joy of hearing them talk day after day and -wonder who the girl was who joined in their dance.” - -So the time sped on, and another dance was called, and another, and -never a moment did the people let her rest; but they would have her in -every dance as they moved around the musicians and the altar in the -center of the plaza. - -At last the sun set, and the dance was well-nigh over, when, suddenly -breaking away, the girl ran out, and, being swift of foot,--more so than -most of the people of her village,--she sped up the river path before -any one could follow the course she had taken. - -Meantime, as it grew late, the Turkeys began to wonder and wonder that -their maiden mother did not return to them. At last a gray old Gobbler -mournfully exclaimed, “It is as we might have expected. She has -forgotten us; therefore is she not worthy of better things than those -she has been accustomed to. Let us go forth to the mountains and endure -no more of this irksome captivity, inasmuch as we may no longer think -our maiden mother as good and true as once we thought her.” - -So, calling and calling to one another in loud voices, they trooped out -of their cage and ran up toward the Cañon of the Cottonwoods, and then -round behind Thunder Mountain, through the Gateway of Zuñi, and so on up -the valley. - -All breathless, the maiden arrived at the open wicket and looked in. -Behold, not a Turkey was there! Trailing them, she ran and she ran up -the valley to overtake them; but they were far ahead, and it was only -after a long time that she came within the sound of their voices, and -then, redoubling her speed, well-nigh overtook them, when she heard them -singing this song: - - “_K‘yaanaa, to! to! - K‘yaanaa, to! to! - Ye ye! - K‘yaanaa, to! to! - K‘yaanaa, to! to! - Yee huli huli!_ - - “_Hon awen Tsita - Itiwanakwïn - Otakyaan aaa kyaa; - Lesna akyaaa - Shoya-k‘oskwi - Teyäthltokwïn - Hon aawani!_ - - “_Ye yee huli huli, - Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot, - Huli huli! - Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot, - Huli huli!_”[3] - - [3] This, like all the folk-songs, is difficult of translation; - and that which is given is only approximate. - - “Up the river, _to! to!_ - Up the river, _to! to!_ - Sing _ye ye!_ - Up the river, _to! to!_ - Up the river, _to! to!_ - Sing _yee huli huli!_ - - “Oh, our maiden mother - To the Middle Place - To dance went away; - Therefore as she lingers, - To the Cañon Mesa - And the plains above it - We all run away! - - “Sing _ye yee huli huli, - Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot, - Huli huli! - Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot, - Huli huli!_” - -Hearing this, the maiden called to her Turkeys; called and called in -vain. They only quickened their steps, spreading their wings to help -them along, singing the song over and over until, indeed, they came to -the base of the Cañon Mesa, at the borders of the Zuñi Mountains. Then -singing once more their song in full chorus, they spread wide their -wings, and _thlakwa-a-a, thlakwa-a-a_, they fluttered away over the -plains above. - -The poor Turkey girl threw her hands up and looked down at her dress. -With dust and sweat, behold! it was changed to what it had been, and she -was the same poor Turkey girl that she was before. Weary, grieving, and -despairing, she returned to Mátsaki. - - * * * * * - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients. Therefore, where you see the -rocks leading up to the top of Cañon Mesa (Shoya-k‘oskwi), there are -the tracks of turkeys and other figures to be seen. The latter are the -song that the Turkeys sang, graven in the rocks; and all over the plains -along the borders of Zuñi Mountains since that day turkeys have been -more abundant than in any other place. - -After all, the gods dispose of men according as men are fitted; and if -the poor be poor in heart and spirit as well as in appearance, how will -they be aught but poor to the end of their days? - -Thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {Pottery containers}] - - - [Illustration: ZUÑI FROM THE SOUTH - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - - - - -HOW THE SUMMER BIRDS CAME - - -In the days of the ancients, in the town under Thunder Mountain called -K’iákime, there lived a most beautiful maiden. But one thing which -struck the people who knew her was that she seldom came forth from her -room, or went out of her house; never seemed to care for the people -around her, never seemed to care to see the young men when they were -dancing. - -Now, this was the way of it. Through the roof of her room was a little -skylight, open, and when it rained, one of the Gods of the Rain -descended in the rain-drops and wooed this maiden, and married her all -unknown to her people; so that she was in his company every time it -rained, and when the dew fell at night, on his ladder of water -descending he came, and she was very happy, and cared not for the -society of men. By-and-by, behold! to the utter surprise of the people, -whose eyes could not see this god, her husband, there was a little boy -born to her. - -Now, he was the child of the gods, and, therefore, before he was many -days old, he had begun to run about and speak, and had wonderful -intelligence and wonderful strength and vivacity. He was only a month or -two old when he was like a child of five or six or eight years of age, -and he would climb to the house-top and run down into the plaza and out -around the village hunting birds or other small animals. With only his -fingers and little stones for weapons, he never failed to slay and bring -home these little creatures, and his mother’s house was supplied more -than any other house in the town with plumes for sacrifice, from the -birds which he captured in this way. - -Finally he observed that the older men of the tribe carried bows and -arrows, and that the arrows went more swiftly and straighter than the -stones he threw; and though he never failed to kill small animals, he -found he could not kill the larger ones in that way. So he said to his -mother one night: “Oh, mother, where does the wood grow that they make -bows of, and where do they get sticks for their arrows? I wish you would -tell me.” - -But the mother was quite silent; she didn’t like to tell him, for she -thought it would lead him away from the town and something would happen -to him. But he kept questioning her until at last, weary with his -importunities, she said: “Well, my little boy, if you go round the cliff -here to the eastern side, there is a great hollow in the rocks, and down -at the bottom of that hollow is a great cave. Now, around that shelter -in the rocks are growing the trees out of which bows are made, and there -also grow the bushes from which arrows are cut; they are so plentiful -that they could supply the whole town, and furnish all the hunters here -with bows and arrows; but they cannot get them, because in the cave -lives a great Bear, a very savage being, and no one dares go near there -to get timber for the bows or sticks for the arrows, because the Bear -would surely devour whoever ventured there. He has devoured many of our -people; therefore you must not go there to get these arrows.” - -“No, indeed,” said the boy. But at night he lay down with much in his -mind, and was so thoughtful that he hardly slept the whole night. He was -planning what he would do in the morning. - -The next morning his mother was busy about her work, and finally she -went down to the spring for some water, and the little boy slipped out -of the house, ran down the ladder, went to the river-side, stooped down, -and crawled along the bank of the river, until he could get around on -the side of the cliff where the little valley of the spring that flows -under Thunder Mountain lies. There he climbed up and up until he came to -the shelter in the rocks round on the eastern side of Thunder Mountain. -The mouth of this hollow was entirely closed with fine yellow-wood and -oak, the best timber we have for bows, and straight sprouts were growing -everywhere out of which arrows could be made. - -“Ah, this must be the place,” said the boy, as he looked at it. “I don’t -see any Bear. I think I will climb up and see if there is anything to be -afraid of, and try if I can cut a stick before the Bear comes out.” - -He started and climbed into the mouth of the cavern, and his father, one -of the Gods of the Rain, threw a tremendous shaft of lightning, and it -thundered, and the cave closed together. - -“Ha!” cried the boy. “What in the world is the meaning of this?” Then -he stood there a moment, and presently the clouds finished and the cave -opened, and all was quiet. He started to go in once more, and down came -the lightning again, to remind him that he should not go in there. - -“Ha!” cried the boy again. “What in the world does it mean?” And he -rubbed his eyes,--it had rather stunned him,--and so soon as it had -cleared away he tried again, and again for the fourth time. - -Finally the god said, “Ah! I have reminded him and he does not heed. He -must go his own way.” So the boy climbed into the cave. - -No sooner had he got in than it began to get dark, and _Wah!_ came the -Bear on his hind legs and grabbed the boy and began to squeeze him very -tight. - -“O my! O my!” cried he. “Don’t squeeze me so hard! It hurts; don’t -squeeze me so hard! My mother is one of the most beautiful women you -ever saw!” - -“Hollo!” exclaimed the Bear. “What is that you say?” - -“My mother is one of the most beautiful women you ever saw!” - -“Indeed!” said the Bear, as he relaxed his hold. “My son, sit down. What -did you come to my house for? I am sure you are very welcome.” - -“Why,” said the boy, “I came to get a piece of wood for a bow and sticks -for arrows.” - -Said the Bear, “I have looked out for this timber for a long time. -There is none better in the whole country. Let me tell you what I will -do. You don’t look very strong. You haven’t anything to cut the trees -down with. I will go myself and cut down a tree for you. I will pick out -a good one for a bow; not only that, but I will get fine sticks for -arrows, too.” - -So he stalked off into the forest, and crack, crack, he smashed the -trees down, and, picking out a good one, gnawed off the ends of it and -brought it to the boy, then gathered a lot of fine straight sticks for -arrow-shafts and brought them. - -“There,” said he, “take those home. Do you know how to make a bow, my -son?” - -“No, I don’t very well,” replied he. - -“Well,” said the Bear, “I have cut off the ends; make it about that -length. Now take it home, and shave down the inside until it is thin -enough to bend quickly at both ends, and lay it over the coals of fire -so it will get hard and dry. That is the way to make a good bow.” - -“All right,” said the boy; and as he took up the bundle of sticks and -the stave for the bow, he said: “Just come along toward night and I will -introduce you to my mother.” - -“All right,” said the old Bear; “I will be along just about sunset. Then -I can look at your bow and see whether you have made it well or not.” - -So the boy trudged home with his bundle of sticks and his bow stave, and -when he arrived there his mother happened to be climbing out, and saw -him coming. - -“You wretched boy,” she said, “I told you not to go out to the cave! I -warrant you have been there where the Bear stays!” - -“Oh, yes, my mother; just see what I have brought,” said the boy. “I -sold you to the Bear. He will be here to get you this evening. See what -I have brought!” and he laid out his bow-timber and arrow-shafts. - -“Oh,” said she, “you are the most wretched and foolish of little boys; -you pay no attention to what any one says to you; your mother’s word is -nothing but wind in your ears.” - -“Just see what I have brought home,” said he. He worked as hard as he -could to make his bow, stripped the arrow-shafts, smoothed and -straightened them before the fire, and made the points of obsidian--very -black it is; very hard and sharp were the points when he placed them on -the arrows. Now, after placing the feathers on the arrows, he stood them -up on the roof of the house against the parapet in the sunlight to dry; -and he had his bow on the other side of the house against the other -parapet to dry. He was still at work, toward sunset, when he happened to -look up and saw the Bear coming along, slowly, comfortably, rolling over -the sand. - -“Ah!” said he, “the old man is coming.” He paid no attention to him, -however. - -Presently the Bear came close to the ladder, and shook it to see if it -was strong enough to hold him. - -“Thou comest?” asked the boy. - -“Yes,” said the Bear. “How have you been all day?” - -“Happy,” said the boy. - -“How is your mother?” - -“Happy,” said the boy, “expecting you.” - -So the old Bear climbed up. “Ah, indeed,” said he, as he got over the -edge of the house, “have you made the bow?” - -“Yes, after a fashion.” - -So the Bear went over, raised himself on his hind feet, looked at the -bow, pulled it, and said, as he laid it down: “It is a splendid bow. -What is this black stuff on these arrows?” - -“Obsidian,” answered the boy. - -“These points are nothing but black coals,” said the Bear. - -“I tell you,” said the boy, “they are good, black, flint arrow-heads, -hard and sharp as any others.” - -“No,” said the other, “nothing but coals.” - -“Now, suppose you let me try one of those coals on you,” said the boy. - -“All right,” said the Bear. He walked over to the other side of the roof -and stood there, and the boy took one of the arrows, fitted it to the -bow, and let go. It went straight into the heart of the Bear, and even -passed through him entirely. - -“Wah!” uttered the Bear, as he gave a great snort and rolled over on the -house-top and died. - -“Ha, ha!” shouted the boy, “what you had intended to do unto me, thus -unto you! Oh, mother!” called he, as he ran to the sky-hole, “here is -your husband; come and see him. I have killed him; but, then, he would -have me make the experiment,” said the boy. - -“Oh, you foolish, foolish, disobedient boy!” said the mother. “What have -you been doing now? Are we safe?” - -“Oh, yes,” said he; “my step-father is as passive as if he were asleep.” -And he went on and skinned his once prospective step-father, and then -took out his heart and hung it to the cross-piece of the ladder as a -sign that the people could go and get all the bow-timber and arrows they -pleased. - -That night, after the evening meal was over, the boy sat down with his -mother, and he said: “By the way, mother, are there any monsters or -fearful creatures anywhere round about this country that kill people and -make trouble?” - -“No,” said the mother, “none whatever.” - -“I don’t know about that; I think there must be,” said the boy. - -“No, there are none whatever, I tell you,” answered the mother. - -The boy began to tumble on the floor, rolling about, playing with his -mother’s blankets, and throwing things around, and once in a while he -would ask her again the same question, until finally she got very cross -with him and said: “Yes, if you want to know, down there in the valley, -beyond the great plains of sagebrush, is a den of _Misho_ Lizards who -are fearful and deadly to every one who goes near them. Therefore you -had better be careful how you run round the valley.” - -“What makes them so fearful?” asked he. - -“Well,” said she, “they are venomous; they have a way of throwing from -their mouths or breath a sort of fluid which, whenever it strikes a -person, burns him, and whenever it strikes the eyes it blinds them. A -great many people have perished there. Whenever a man arrives at their -den they are very polite and greet him most courteously; they say: ‘Come -in; sit down right here in the middle of the floor before the fire.’ But -as soon as the person is seated in their house they gather round the -walls and throw this venom on him, and he dies almost immediately.” - -“Is it possible?” responded the little boy; and for some reason or other -he began to grow sleepy, and said: “Now, let us go to sleep, mother.” - -So he lay down and slept. Just as soon as it was light the next morning -he aroused himself, dressed, took his bow and arrows, and, placing them -in a corner near the ladder, said: “Oh, mother, give me my breakfast; I -want to go and shoot some little birds. I would like to have some -roasted birds for dinner.” - -She gave him his breakfast as quickly as she could, and he ran down the -ladder and went to shooting at the birds, until he happened to see that -his mother and others were out of sight; then he skulked into the -sagebrush and went as straight as he could for the den of the _Misho_ -Lizards. There happened to be two young ones sunning themselves outside, -and they said: - -“Ah, my fine little fellow, glad to see you this morning. Come in, come -in; the old ones will be very much pleased to entertain you. Come in!” - -“Thank you,” said the boy. He walked in, but he felt under his coat to -see if a huge lump of rock salt he had was still there. - -“Sit right down here,” said the old people. The whole den was filled -with these _Misho_ Lizards, and they were excessively polite, every one -of them. - -The boy sat down, and the old _Misho_ said to the young ones: “Hurry up, -now; be quick!” And they began to throw their venom at him, and -continued until he was all covered with it; but, knowing beforehand, and -being the child of the gods, he was prepared and protected, and it did -him no harm. - -“Thank you, thank you,” said the boy. “I will do the same thing.” Then -he pulled out the salt and pushed it down into the fire, where it -exploded and entirely used up the whole council of _Misho_ Lizards. - -“There!” cried the boy. “Thus would you have done unto me, thus unto -you.” - -He took two fine ones and cut out their hearts, then started for home. -When he arrived there, he climbed the ladder and suspended the two -hearts beside that of the Bear and went down into the house, saying, -“Well, mother, is dinner ready?” - -“There now,” said she, “I know it. I saw you hang those hearts up. You -have been down there.” - -“Yes,” said he, “they are all gone--every solitary one of them.” - -“Oh, you foolish, foolish, disobedient fellow! I am all alone in the -world, and if you should go to some of those fearful places some time -and not come back, who would hunt for me? What should I do?” said the -mother. - -“Don’t be troubled, mother, now,” said the boy. “I don’t think I will go -any more. There is nothing else of that kind around, is there, mother?” - -“No, there is not,” she replied; “not a thing. There may be somewhere in -the world, but there is not anywhere here.” - -In the evening, as he sat with his mother, the boy kept questioning and -teasing her to tell him of some other monsters--pulling on her skirts -and repeating his questions. - -“I tell you,” she said, “there are no such creatures.” - -“Oh, mother, I know there are,” said he, “and you must tell me about -them.” - -So he continued to bother her until her patience gave out, and she told -him of another monster. Said she: “If you follow that cañon down to the -southeast, there is a very, very, very high cliff there, and the trail -that goes over that cliff runs close by the side of a precipice. Now, -that has been for ages a terrible place, for there is a Giant living -there, who wears a hair-knot on his forehead. He lies there at length, -sunning himself at his ease. He is very good-natured and very polite. -His legs stretch across the trail on which men have to go who pass that -way, and there is no other way to get by. And whenever a man tries to go -by that trail, he says: ‘Pass right along, pass right along; I am glad -to see you. Here is a fresh trail; some one has just passed. Don’t -disturb me; I am sunning myself.’ Down below is the den where his -children live, and on the flesh of these people he feeds them.” - -“Mercy!” exclaimed the boy. “Fearful! I never shall go there, surely. -That is too terrible! Come, let us go to sleep; I don’t want to hear -anything more about it.” - -But the next morning, just as soon as daylight appeared, he got up, -dressed himself, and snatched a morsel of food. - -His mother said to him: “Where are you going? Are you thinking of that -place I told you about?” - -“No,” said he; “I am going to kill some prairie-dogs right here in -sight. I will take my war-club.” - -So he took his war-club, and thrust it into his belt in front, ran down -the hill on which the village stood, and straightway went off to the -place his mother had told him of. When he reached the top of the rocks -he looked down, and there, sure enough, lay the Giant with the forehead -knot. - -The Giant looked up and said: “Ah, my son, glad to see you this morning; -glad to see you coming so early. Some one just passed here a little -while ago; you can see his tracks there.” - -“Well,” said the boy, “make room for me.” - -“Oh, just step right over,” said the old man; “step right over me.” - -“I can’t step over your great legs,” said the boy; “draw them up.” - -“All right,” said the old Demon. So he drew his knees up. “There, now, -there is plenty of room; pass right along, my son.” - -Just as the boy got near the place, he thrust out his leg suddenly that -way, to kick him off the cliff; but the boy was too nimble for him, and -jumped aside. - -“Oh, dear me,” cried the Monster; “I had a stitch in my leg; I had to -stretch it out.” - -“Ah,” said the boy, “you tried to kick me off, did you?” - -“Oh, no,” said the old villain; “I had a terrible stitch in my -knee,”--and he began to knead his knee in the most vehement manner. -“Just pass right along; I trust it won’t happen again.” - -The boy again attempted to pass, and the same thing happened as before. - -“Oh, my knee! my knee!” exclaimed the Monster. - -“Yes, your knee, your knee!” said the boy, as he whipped out his -war-club and whacked the Giant on the head before he had time to recover -himself. “Thus unto me you would have done, thus unto you!” said the -boy. - -No sooner had the Giant fallen than the little Top-knots gathered round -him and began to eat; and they ate and ate and ate,--there were many of -them, and they were voracious--until they came to the top-knot on the -old fellow’s head, and then one of them cried; “Oh, dear, alas and alas! -this is our own father!” - -And while they were still crying, the boy cut out the Giant’s heart and -slung it over his shoulder; then he climbed down the cliff to where the -young Top-knots were, and slew them all except two,--a pair of them. -Then he took these two, who were still young, like little children, and -grasping one by the throat, wrung its neck and threw it into the air, -when it suddenly became a winged creature, and spread out its wings and -soared away, crying: “Peep, peep, peep,” just as the falcons of today -do. Then he took the other one by the neck, and swung it round and -round, and flung it into the air, and it flew away with a heavy motion, -and cried: “Boohoo, boohoo, boohoo!” and became an owl. - -“Ah,” said the boy, “born for evil, changed for good! Ye shall be the -means whereby our children in the future shall sacrifice to the gods -themselves.” - -Then he trudged along home with the Giant’s heart, and when he got -there, he hung it on the cross-piece of the ladder by the side of the -other hearts. It was almost night then. - -“There, now!” said his mother, as he entered the house; “I have been -troubled almost to death by your not coming home sooner. You went off to -the place I told you of; I know you did!” - -“Ha!” said he, “of course I did. I went up there, and the poor fellows -are all dead.” - -“Why will you not listen to me?” said she. - -“Oh, it is all right, mother,” said the boy. “It is all right.” She went -on scolding him in the usual fashion, but he paid no attention to her. - -As soon as she had sat down to her evening tasks, he asked: “Now, is -there any other of these terrible creatures?” - -“Well, I shall tell you of nothing more now,” said she. - -“Why, is there anything more?” asked the boy. - -“No, there is not,” replied she. - -“Ah, mother, I think there must be.” - -“No; there is nothing more, I tell you.” - -“Ah, mother, I think there must be.” - -And he kept bothering and teasing until she told him again (she knew she -would have to): “Yes, away down in the valley, some distance from here, -near the little Cold-making Hill, there lives a fearful creature, a -four-fold Elk or Bison, more enormous than any other living thing. -_Awiteli Wakashi_ he is called, and no one can go near him. He rushes -stamping and bellowing about the country, and people never pass through -that section from fear.” - -“Ah,” said the boy; “don’t tell me any more; he must be a fearful -creature, indeed.” - -“Yes; but you will be sure to go there,” said she. - -“Oh, no, no, mother; no, indeed!” - -But the next morning he went earlier than ever, carrying with him his -bows and arrows. He was so filled with dread, however, or pretended to -be, that as he went along the trail he began to cry and sniffle, and -walk very slowly, until he came near the hole of an old Gopher, his -grandfather. The old fellow was working away, digging another cellar, -throwing the dirt out, when he heard this crying. Said he: “That is my -grandson; I wonder what he is up to now.” So he ran and stuck his nose -out of the hole he was digging, and said: “Oh, my grandchild, where are -you going?” - -The boy stopped and began to look around. - -“Right here! right here!” cried the grandfather, calling his attention -to the hole. “Come, my boy.” - -The boy put his foot in, and the hole enlarged, and he went down into -it. - -“Now, dry your eyes, my grandchild, and tell me what is the matter.” - -“Well,” said the boy, “I was going to find the four-fold Bison. I wanted -to take a look at him, but I am frightened!” - -“Why, what is the matter? Why do you not go?” said the Gopher. - -“Well, to tell you the truth, I thought I would try to kill him,” he -answered. - -“Well, I will do what I can to help; you had better not try to do it -alone. Sit here comfortably; dry your eyes, and I will see what I can -do.” - -The old Gopher began to dig, dig, dig under the ground for a long way, -making a fine tunnel, and packed it hard on the top and sides so that it -would not fall in. He finally came to hear the “thud, thud, thud” of the -heart of this creature, where it was lying, and dug the hole up to that -spot. When he got there he saw the long layers of hair on its body, -where no arrow could penetrate, and he cut the hair off, so that the -skin showed white. Then he silently stole back to where the boy was and -said: “Now, my boy, take your bow and arrows and go along through this -hole until you get to where the tunnel turns upward, and then, if you -look well, you will see a light patch. That is the skin next the heart -of the four-fold Bison. He is sleeping there. You will hear the ‘thud, -thud, thud’ of his heart. Shoot him exactly in the middle of that place, -and then, mind you, turn around and run for your life, and the moment -you get to my hole, tumble in, headforemost or any way.” - -So the boy did as he was told--crawled through the tunnel until he came -to where it went upward, saw the light patch, and let fly an arrow with -all his might, then rushed and scrambled back as hard as he could. With -a roar that shook the earth the four-fold Bison fell over, then -struggled to his feet, snorted, bellowed, and stuck his great horn into -the tunnel, and like a flash of fire ripped it from end to end, just as -the boy came tumbling into the deeper hole of his grandfather. - -“Ah!” exclaimed the Gopher. - -“He almost got me,” said the boy. - -“Sit still a moment and rest, my grandson,” said the Gopher. “He didn’t -catch you. I will go and see whether he is dead.” - -So the Gopher stuck his nose out of the hole and saw there a great heap -of flesh lying. He went out, nosed around, and smelt, jumped back, and -went forward again until he came to the end of the creature, and then -he took one of his nails and scratched out an eye, and there was no sign -of life. So he ran back to the boy, and said: “Yes, he breathes no more; -you need not fear him longer.” - -“Oh, thank you, my grandfather!” said the boy. And he climbed out, and -laid himself to work to skin the beast. He took off its great thick -skin, and cut off a suitable piece of it, for the whole pelt was so -large and heavy that he could not carry it; then he took out the -animal’s great heart, and finally one of the large intestines and filled -it with blood, then started for home. He went slowly, because his load -was so heavy, and when he arrived he hung the heart on the ladder by the -side of the others, and dragged the pelt to the sky-hole, and nearly -scared the wits out of his mother by dropping it into the room. - -“Oh, my child, now, here you are! Where have you been?” cried she. “I -warned you of the place where the four-fold Bison was; I wonder that you -ever came home.” - -“Ah, the poor creature!” said the boy; “he is dead. Just look at this. -He isn’t handsome any more; he isn’t strong and large any more.” - -“Oh, you wretched, wretched boy! You will be the death of me, as well as -of yourself, some time,” said the mother. - -“No, mother,” said the boy; “that is all nonsense.” - -That evening the boy said to his mother: “Now, mother, is there anything -else of this kind left? If there is, I want to know it. Now, don’t -disappoint me by refusing to tell.” - -“Oh, my dear son,” said she, “I wish you wouldn’t ask me; but indeed -there is. There are terrible birds, great Eagles, fearful Eagles, living -over on Shuntekia. In the very middle of an enormous cliff is a hollow -place in the rocks where is built their nest, and there are their young -ones. Day after day, far and near, they catch up children and young men -and women, and carry them away, never more to be seen. These birds are -more terrible than all the rest, because how can one get near to slay -them? My son, I do hope and trust that you will not go this time,--but, -you foolish little boy, I see that you will go.” - -“Well, mother, let us go to sleep, and never mind anything about it,” -said the boy. - -But after his mother had gone to sleep, he took the piece of rawhide he -had skinned from the four-fold Bison, and, cutting it out, made himself -a suit--a green rawhide suit, skin-tight almost, so that it was -perfectly smooth. Then he scraped the hair off, greased it all over, and -put it away inside a blanket so that it would not dry. In the morning, -quite early, he took his weapons, and taking also his rawhide suit, and -the section of the four-fold Bison’s intestine which he had filled with -blood, he ran into the inlet, and across it, and climbed the mesa near -the Shuntekia cliff. When he came within a short distance of the nest of -the Eagles, he stopped and slipped on his rawhide suit, and tied the -intestine of blood round his neck, like a sausage. - -Then he began to cry and shake his head, and he cried louder than there -was any need of his doing in reality; for presently the old father of -the Eagles, who was away up in the sky, just a mere speck, heard and saw -him and came swishing down in a great circle, winding round and round -the boy, and the boy looked up and began to cry louder still, as if -frightened out of his wits, and finally rolled himself up like a -porcupine, and threw himself down into the trail, crying and howling -with apparent fear. The Eagle swooped down on him, and tried to grasp -him in his talons, and, _kopo kopooo_, his claws simply slipped off the -rawhide coat. Then the Eagle made a fiercer grab at him and grew angry, -but his claws would continually slip off, until he tore a rent in the -intestine about the boy’s neck, and the blood began to stream over the -boy’s coat, making it more slippery than ever. When the Eagle smelt the -blood, he thought he had got him, and it made him fiercer than ever; and -finally, during his struggling, he got one talon through a stitch in the -coat, and he spread out his wings, and flew up, and circled round and -round over the point where the young Eagles nest was, when he let go and -shook the boy free, and the boy rolled over and over and came down into -the nest; but he struck on a great heap of brush, which broke his fall. -He lay there quite still, and the old Eagle swooped down and poised -himself on a great crag of rock near by, which was his usual perching -place. - -“There, my children, my little ones,” said he, “I have brought you food. -Feast yourselves! Feast yourselves! For that reason I brought it.” - -So the little Eagles, who were very awkward, long-legged and -short-winged, limped up to the boy and reached out their claws and -opened their beaks, ready to strike him in the face. He lay there quite -still until they got very near, and then said to them: “_Shhsht!_” And -they tumbled back, being awkward little fellows, and stretched up their -necks and looked at him, as Eagles will. - -Then the old Eagle said: “Why don’t you eat him? Feast yourselves, my -children, feast yourselves!” - -So they advanced again, more cautiously this time, and a little more -determinedly too; and they reached out their beaks to tear him, and he -said: “_Shhsht!_” and, under his breath, “Don’t eat me!” And they jumped -back again. - -“What in the world is the matter with you little fools?” said the old -Eagle. “Eat him! I can’t stay here any longer; I have to go away and -hunt to feed you; but you don’t seem to appreciate my efforts much.” And -he lifted his wings, rose into the air, and sailed off to the northward. - -Then the two young Eagles began to walk around the boy, and to examine -him at all points. Finally they approached his feet and hands. - -“Be careful, be careful, don’t eat me! Tell me about what time your -mother comes home,” said he, sitting up. “What time does she usually -come?” - -“Well,” said the little Eagles, “she comes home when the clouds begin to -gather and throw their shadow over our nest.” (Really, it was the -shadow of the mother Eagle herself that was thrown over the nest.) - -“Very well,” said the boy; “what time does your father come home?” - -“When the fine rain begins to fall,” said they, meaning the dew. - -“Oh,” said the boy. So he sat there, and by-and-by, sure enough, away -off in the sky, carrying something dangling from her feet, came the old -mother Eagle. She soared round and round until she was over the nest, -when she dropped her burden, and over and over it fell and tumbled into -the nest, a poor, dead, beautiful maiden. The young boy looked at her, -and his heart grew very hot, and when the old Eagle came and perched, in -a moment he let fly an arrow, and struck her down and dashed her brains -out. - -“Ha, ha!” exclaimed the boy. “What you have done to many, thus unto -you.” - -Then he took his station again, and by-and-by the old father Eagle came, -bearing a youth, fair to look upon, and dropped him into the nest. The -young boy shut his teeth, and he said: “Thus unto many you have done, -and thus unto me you would have done; so unto you.” And he drew an arrow -and shot him. Then he turned to the two young Eagles and killed them, -and plucked out all the beautiful colored feathers about their necks, -until he had a large bundle of fine plumes with which he thought to wing -his arrows or to waft his prayers. - -Then he looked down the cliff and saw there was no way to climb down, -and there was no way to climb up. Then he began to cry, and sat on the -edge of the cliff, and cried so loud that the old Bat Woman, who was -gathering cactus-berries below, or thought she was, overheard the boy. - -Said she: “Now, just listen to that. I warrant it is my fool of a -grandson, who is always trying to get himself into a scrape. I am sure -it must be so. Phoo! phoo!” - -She spilled out all the berries she had found from the basket she had on -her back, and then labored up to where she could look over the edge of -the shelf. - -“Yes, there you are,” said she; “you simpleton! you wretched boy! What -are you doing here?” - -“Oh, my grandmother,” said he, “I have got into a place and I cannot get -out.” - -“Yes,” said she; “if you were anything else but such a fool of a -grandson and such a hard-hearted wretch of a boy, I would help you get -down; but you never do as your mother and grandmother or grandfathers -tell you.” - -“Ah, my grandmother, I will do just as you tell me this time,” said the -boy. - -“Now, will you?” said she. “Now, can you be certain?--will you promise -me that you will keep your eyes shut, and join me, at least in your -heart, in the prayer which I sing when I fly down? _Yan lehalliah -kiana._ Never open your eyes; if you do, the gods will teach you a -lesson, and your poor old grandmother, too.” - -“I will do just as you tell me,” said he, as he reached over and took up -his plumes and held them ready. - -“Not so fast, my child,” said she; “you must promise me.” - -“Oh, my grandmother, I will do just as you tell me,” said he. - -“Well, step into my basket, very carefully now. As I go down I shall go -very prayerfully, depending on the gods to carry so much more than I -usually carry. Do you not wink once, my grandson.” - -“All right; I will keep my eyes shut this time,” said he. So he sat down -and squeezed his eyes together, and held his plumes tight, and then the -old grandmother launched herself forth on her skin wings. After she had -struggled a little, she began to sing: - - “Ha ash tchaa ni,--Ha ash tchaa ni: - Tche pa naa,--thlen-thle. - Thlen! Thlen! Thlen!” - -“Now, just listen to that,” said the boy; “my old grandmother is singing -one of those tedious prayers; it will take us forever to go down.” - -Then presently the old Bat Woman, perfectly unconscious of his state of -mind, began to sing again: - - “Thlen thla kia yai na kia.” - -“There she goes again,” said he to himself; “I declare, I must look up; -it will drive me wild to sit here all this time and hear my old -grandmother try to sing.” - -Then, after a little while, she commenced again: - - “Ha ash tchaa ni,--Ha ash tchaa ni: - Tche pa naa,--thlen-thle. - Thlen! Thlen! Thlen!” - -The boy stretched himself up, and said: “Look here, grandmother! I have -heard your ‘_Thlen! Thlen! Thlen!_’ enough this time. I am going to open -my eyes.” - -“Oh, my grandchild, never think of such a thing.” Then she began again -to sing: - - “Ha ash tchaa ni,--Ha ash tchaa ni: - Tche pa naa,--thlen-thle. - Thlen! Thlen! Thlen!” - -She was not near the ground when she finished it the fourth time, and -the boy would not stand it any more. Lo! he opened his eyes, and the old -grandmother knew it in a moment. Over and over, boy over bat, bat over -boy, and the basket between them, they went whirling and pitching down, -the old grandmother tugging at her basket and scolding the boy. - -“Now, you foolish, disobedient one! I told you what would happen! You -see what you have done!” and so on until they fell to the ground. It -fairly knocked the breath out of the boy, and when he got up again he -yelled lustily. - -The old grandmother picked herself up, stretched herself, and cried out -anew: “You wretched, foolish, hard-hearted boy; I never will do anything -for you again--never, never, never!” - -“I know, my grandmother,” said the boy, “but you kept up that ‘_Thlen! -Thlen! Thlen!_’ so much. What in the world did you want to spend so much -time _thlening, thlening_, and buzzing round in that way for?” - -“Ah, me!” said she, “he never did know anything--never will be taught -to know anything.” - -“Now,” said she to him, “you might as well come and eat with me. I have -been gathering cactus-fruit, and you can eat and then go home.” She took -him to the place where she had poured out the contents of the basket, -but there was scarcely a cactus-berry. There were cedar-berries, cones, -sticks, little balls of dirt, coyote-berries, and everything else -uneatable. - -“Sit down, my grandson, and eat; strengthen yourself after your various -adventures and exertions. I feel very weary myself,” said she. And she -took a nip of one of them; but the boy couldn’t exactly bring himself to -eat. The truth is, the old woman’s eyes were bad, in the same way that -bats’ eyes are usually bad, and she couldn’t tell a cactus-berry from -anything else round and rough. - -“Well, inasmuch as you won’t eat, my grandson,” said she, “why, I can’t -conceive, for these are very good, it seems to me. You had better run -along home now, or your mother will be killing herself thinking of you. -Now, I have only one direction to give you. You don’t deserve any, but I -will give you one. See that you pay attention to it. If not, the worst -is your own. You have gathered a beautiful store of feathers. Now, be -very careful. Those creatures who bore those feathers have gained their -lives from the lives of living beings, and therefore their feathers -differ from other feathers. Heed what I say, my grandson. When you come -to any place where flowers are blooming,--where the sunflowers make the -field yellow,--walk round those flowers if you want to get home with -these feathers. And when you come to more flowers, walk round them. If -you do not do that, just as you came you will go back to your home.” - -“All right, my grandmother,” said the boy. So, after bidding her -good-by, he trudged away with his bundle of feathers; and when he came -to a great plain of sunflowers and other flowers he walked round them; -and when he came to another large patch he walked round them, and then -another, and so on; but finally he stopped, for it seemed to him that -there were nothing but fields of flowers all the way home. He thought he -had never seen so many before. - -“I declare,” said he, “I will not walk round those flowers any more. I -will hang on to these feathers, though.” - -So he took a good hold of them and walked in amongst the flowers. But no -sooner had he entered the field than flutter, flutter, flutter, little -wings began to fly out from the bundle of feathers, and the bundle began -to grow smaller and smaller, until it wholly disappeared. These wings -which flew out were the wings of the Sacred Birds of Summerland, made -living by the lives that had supported the birds which bore those -feathers, and by coming into the environment which they had so loved, -the atmosphere which flowers always bring of summer. - -Thus it was, my children, in the days of the ancients, and for that -reason we have little jay-birds, little sparrows, little finches, little -willow-birds, and all the beautiful little birds that bring the summer, -and they always hover over flowers. - -“My friends” [said the story-teller], “that is the way we live. I am -very glad, otherwise I would not have told the story, for it is not -exactly right that I should,--I am very glad to demonstrate to you that -we also have books; only they are not books with marks in them, but -words in our hearts, which have been placed there by our ancients long -ago, even so long ago as when the world was new and young, like unripe -fruit. And I like you to know these things, because people say that the -Zuñis are dark people.”[4] - - [4] That is, people in the dark--having no knowledge. - -Thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {Bird symbols}] - - - [Illustration: WAÍHUSIWA - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - - - - -THE SERPENT OF THE SEA - - -NOTE.--The priest of the K’iáklu or epic-ritual of Zuñi is never allowed -to initiate the telling of short folk-stories. If he make such a -beginning, he must complete the whole cycle before he ceases his recital -or his listeners relax their attention. The following tale was told by -an attendant Indian (not a priest), whose name is Waíhusiwa. - -“_Son ah tehi!_” he exclaimed, which may be interpreted: “Let us abide -with the ancients tonight.” - -The listeners reply: “_É-so_,” or “_Tea-tu_.” (“Certainly,” or “Be it -well.”) - - -In the times of our forefathers, under Thunder Mountain was a village -called K’iákime (“Home of the Eagles”). It is now in ruins; the roofs -are gone, the ladders have decayed, the hearths grown cold. But when it -was all still perfect, and, as it were, new, there lived in this village -a maiden, the daughter of the priest-chief. She was beautiful, but -possessed of this peculiarity of character: There was a sacred spring of -water at the foot of the terrace whereon stood the town. We now call it -the Pool of the Apaches; but then it was sacred to Kólowissi (the -Serpent of the Sea). Now, at this spring the girl displayed her -peculiarity, which was that of a passion for neatness and cleanliness of -person and clothing. She could not endure the slightest speck or -particle of dust or dirt upon her clothes or person, and so she spent -most of her time in washing all the things she used and in bathing -herself in the waters of this spring. - -Now, these waters, being sacred to the Serpent of the Sea, should not -have been defiled in this way. As might have been expected, Kólowissi -became troubled and angry at the sacrilege committed in the sacred -waters by the maiden, and he said: “Why does this maiden defile the -sacred waters of my spring with the dirt of her apparel and the dun of -her person? I must see to this.” So he devised a plan by which to -prevent the sacrilege and to punish its author. - -When the maiden came again to the spring, what should she behold but a -beautiful little child seated amidst the waters, splashing them, cooing -and smiling. It was the Sea Serpent, wearing the semblance of a -child,--for a god may assume any form at its pleasure, you know. There -sat the child, laughing and playing in the water. The girl looked around -in all directions--north, south, east, and west--but could see no one, -nor any traces of persons who might have brought hither the beautiful -little child. She said to herself: “I wonder whose child this may be! It -would seem to be that of some unkind and cruel mother, who has deserted -it and left it here to perish. And the poor little child does not yet -know that it is left all alone. Poor little thing! I will take it in my -arms and care for it.” - -The maiden then talked softly to the young child, and took it in her -arms, and hastened with it up the hill to her house, and, climbing up -the ladder, carried the child in her arms into the room where she slept. - -Her peculiarity of character, her dislike of all dirt or dust, led her -to dwell apart from the rest of her family, in a room by herself above -all of the other apartments. - -She was so pleased with the child that when she had got him into her -room she sat down on the floor and played with him, laughing at his -pranks and smiling into his face; and he answered her in baby fashion -with cooings and smiles of his own, so that her heart became very happy -and loving. So it happened that thus was she engaged for a long while -and utterly unmindful of the lapse of time. - -Meanwhile, the younger sisters had prepared the meal, and were awaiting -the return of the elder sister. - -“Where, I wonder, can she be?” one of them asked. - -“She is probably down at the spring,” said the old father; “she is -bathing and washing her clothes, as usual, of course! Run down and call -her.” - -But the younger sister, on going, could find no trace of her at the -spring. So she climbed the ladder to the private room of this elder -sister, and there found her, as has been told, playing with the little -child. She hastened back to inform her father of what she had seen. But -the old man sat silent and thoughtful. He knew that the waters of the -spring were sacred. When the rest of the family were excited, and ran to -behold the pretty prodigy, he cried out, therefore: “Come back! come -back! Why do you make fools of yourselves? Do you suppose any mother -would leave her own child in the waters of this or any other spring? -There is something more of meaning than seems in all this.” - -When they again went and called the maiden to come down to the meal -spread for her, she could not be induced to leave the child. - -“See! it is as you might expect,” said the father. “A woman will not -leave a child on any inducement; how much less her own.” - -The child at length grew sleepy. The maiden placed it on a bed, and, -growing sleepy herself, at length lay by its side and fell asleep. Her -sleep was genuine, but the sleep of the child was feigned. The child -became elongated by degrees, as it were, fulfilling some horrible dream, -and soon appeared as an enormous Serpent that coiled itself round and -round the room until it was full of scaly, gleaming circles. Then, -placing its head near the head of the maiden, the great Serpent -surrounded her with its coils, taking finally its own tail in its mouth. - -The night passed, and in the morning when the breakfast was prepared, -and yet the maiden did not descend, and the younger sisters became -impatient at the delay, the old man said: “Now that she has the child to -play with, she will care little for aught else. That is enough to occupy -the entire attention of any woman.” - -But the little sister ran up to the room and called. Receiving no -answer, she tried to open the door; she could not move it, because the -Serpent’s coils filled the room and pressed against it. She pushed the -door with all her might, but it could not be moved. She again and again -called her sister’s name, but no response came. Beginning now to be -frightened, she ran to the sky-hole over the room in which she had left -the others and cried out for help. They hastily joined her,--all save -the old father,--and together were able to press the door sufficiently -to get a glimpse of the great scales and folds of the Serpent. Then the -women all ran screaming to the old father. The old man, priest and sage -as he was, quieted them with these words: “I expected as much as this -from the first report which you gave me. It was impossible, as I then -said, that a woman should be so foolish as to leave her child playing -even near the waters of the spring. But it is not impossible, it seems, -that one should be so foolish as to take into her arms a child found as -this one was.” - -Thereupon he walked out of the house, deliberately and thoughtful, angry -in his mind against his eldest daughter. Ascending to her room, he -pushed against the door and called to the Serpent of the Sea: “Oh, -Kólowissi! It is I, who speak to thee, O Serpent of the Sea; I, thy -priest. Let, I pray thee, let my child come to me again, and I will make -atonement for her errors. Release her, though she has been so foolish, -for she is thine, absolutely thine. But let her return once more to us -that we may make atonement to thee more amply.” So prayed the priest to -the Serpent of the Sea. - -When he had done this the great Serpent loosened his coils, and as he -did so the whole building shook violently, and all the villagers became -aware of the event, and trembled with fear. - -The maiden at once awoke and cried piteously to her father for help. - -“Come and release me, oh, my father! Come and release me!” she cried. - -As the coils loosened she found herself able to rise. No sooner had she -done this than the great Serpent bent the folds of his large coils -nearest the doorway upward so that they formed an arch. Under this, -filled with terror, the girl passed. She was almost stunned with the -dread din of the monster’s scales rasping past one another with a noise -like the sound of flints trodden under the feet of a rapid runner, and -once away from the writhing mass of coils, the poor maiden ran like a -frightened deer out of the doorway, down the ladder and into the room -below, casting herself on the breast of her mother. - -But the priest still remained praying to the Serpent; and he ended his -prayer as he had begun it, saying: “It shall be even as I have said; she -shall be thine!” - -He then went away and called the two warrior priest-chiefs of the town, -and these called together all the other priests in sacred council. Then -they performed the solemn ceremonies of the sacred rites--preparing -plumes, prayer-wands, and offerings of treasure. - -After four days of labor, these things they arranged and consecrated to -the Serpent of the Sea. On that morning the old priest called his -daughter and told her she must make ready to take these sacrifices and -yield them up, even with herself,--most precious of them all,--to the -great Serpent of the Sea; that she must yield up also all thoughts of -her people and home forever, and go hence to the house of the great -Serpent of the Sea, even in the Waters of the World. “For it seems,” -said he, “to have been your desire to do thus, as manifested by your -actions. You used even the sacred water for profane purposes; now this -that I have told you is inevitable. Come; the time when you must prepare -yourself to depart is near at hand.” - -She went forth from the home of her childhood with sad cries, clinging -to the neck of her mother and shivering with terror. In the plaza, -amidst the lamentations of all the people, they dressed her in her -sacred cotton robes of ceremonial, embroidered elaborately, and adorned -her with earrings, bracelets, beads,--many beautiful, precious things. -They painted her cheeks with red spots as if for a dance; they made a -road of sacred meal toward the Door of the Serpent of the Sea--a distant -spring in our land known to this day as the Doorway to the Serpent of -the Sea--four steps toward this spring did they mark in sacred terraces -on the ground at the western way of the plaza. And when they had -finished the sacred road, the old priest, who never shed one tear, -although all the villagers wept sore,--for the maiden was very -beautiful,--instructed his daughter to go forth on the terraced road, -and, standing there, call the Serpent to come to her. - -Then the door opened, and the Serpent descended from the high room where -he was coiled, and, without using ladders, let his head and breast down -to the ground in great undulations. He placed his head on the shoulder -of the maiden, and the word was given--the word: “It is time”--and the -maiden slowly started toward the west, cowering beneath her burden; but -whenever she staggered with fear and weariness and was like to wander -from the way, the Serpent gently pushed her onward and straightened her -course. - -Thus they went toward the river trail and in it, on and over the -Mountain of the Red Paint; yet still the Serpent was not all uncoiled -from the maiden’s room in the house, but continued to crawl forth until -they were past the mountain--when the last of his length came forth. -Here he began to draw himself together again and to assume a new shape. -So that ere long his serpent form contracted, until, lifting his head -from the maiden’s shoulder, he stood up, in form a beautiful youth in -sacred gala attire! He placed the scales of his serpent form, now small, -under his flowing mantle, and called out to the maiden in a hoarse, -hissing voice: “Let us speak one to the other. Are you tired, girl?” Yet -she never moved her head, but plodded on with her eyes cast down. - -“Are you weary, poor maiden?”--then he said in a gentler voice, as he -arose erect and fell a little behind her, and wrapped his scales more -closely in his blanket--and he was now such a splendid and brave hero, -so magnificently dressed! And he repeated, in a still softer voice: “Are -you still weary, poor maiden?” - -At first she dared not look around, though the voice, so changed, -sounded so far behind her and thrilled her wonderfully with its -kindness. Yet she still felt the weight on her shoulder, the weight of -that dreaded Serpent’s head; for you know after one has carried a heavy -burden on his shoulder or back, if it be removed he does not at once -know that it is taken away; it seems still to oppress and pain him. So -it was with her; but at length she turned around a little and saw a -young man--a brave and handsome young man. - -“May I walk by your side?” said he, catching her eye. “Why do you not -speak with me?” - -“I am filled with fear and sadness and shame,” said she. - -“Why?” asked he. “What do you fear?” - -“Because I came with a fearful creature forth from my home, and he -rested his head upon my shoulder, and even now I feel his presence -there,” said she, lifting her hand to the place where his head had -rested, even still fearing that it might be there. - -“But I came all the way with you,” said he, “and I saw no such creature -as you describe.” - -Upon this she stopped and turned back and looked again at him, and said: -“You came all the way? I wonder where this fearful being has gone!” - -He smiled, and replied: “I know where he has gone.” - -“Ah, youth and friend, will he now leave me in peace,” said she, “and -let me return to the home of my people?” - -“No,” replied he, “because he thinks very much of you.” - -“Why not? Where is he?” - -“He is here,” said the youth, smiling, and laying his hand on his own -heart. “I am he.” - -“You are he?” cried the maiden. Then she looked at him again, and would -not believe him. - -“Yea, my maiden, I am he!” said he. And he drew forth from under his -flowing mantle the shrivelled serpent scales, and showed them as proofs -of his word. It was wonderful and beautiful to the maiden to see that he -was thus, a gentle being; and she looked at him long. - -Then he said: “Yes, I am he. I love you, my maiden! Will you not haply -come forth and dwell with me? Yes, you will go with me, and dwell with -me, and I will dwell with you, and I will love you. I dwell not now, but -ever, in all the Waters of the World, and in each particular water. In -all and each you will dwell with me forever, and we will love each -other.” - -Behold! As they journeyed on, the maiden quite forgot that she had been -sad; she forgot her old home, and followed and descended with him into -the Doorway of the Serpent of the Sea and dwelt with him ever after. - - * * * * * - -It was thus in the days of the ancients. Therefore the ancients, no less -than ourselves, avoided using springs, except for the drinking of their -water; for to this day we hold the flowing springs the most precious -things on earth, and therefore use them not for any profane purposes -whatsoever. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE MAIDEN OF THE YELLOW ROCKS - - -In the days of the ancients, when our ancestors lived in the Village of -the Yellow Rocks,[5] also in the Salt City,[6] also in the Village of -the Winds,[7] and also in the Village of the White Flowering Herbs, and -also in the Village of Odd Waters, where they come forth, when in fact -all these broken-down villages were inhabited by our ancients, there -lived in the Village of the Yellow Rocks a very beautiful maiden, the -daughter of the high priest. - - [5] Situated about seven miles east of Zuñi. - - [6] Mátsaki, now a ruin about three miles east of Zuñi. - - [7] Pínawa, an ancient ruin about a mile and a half west of - Zuñi. - -Although a woman, she was wonderfully endowed by birth with the magic -knowledge of the hunt and with the knowledge of all the animals who -contribute to the sustenance of man,--game animals. And, although a -woman, she was also somewhat bad in her disposition, and selfish, in -that, possessing this knowledge above all other men and women, she -concluded she would have all these animals--the deer, antelope, -rabbits--to herself. So, through her wonderful knowledge of their habits -and language, she communicated with them and charmed them, and on the -top of the mountain--where you will see to this day the ancient figures -of the deer cut in the rock--she built a huge corral, and gathered one -after another all the deer and antelope and other wild animals of that -great country. And the hunters of these villages hunted in vain; they -trailed the deer and the antelope, but they lost their trails and always -came home with nothing save the weapons they took with them. But this -maiden, whenever she wished for deer, would go to her corral and kill -whatever animal she wanted; so she and her family always had plenty of -meat, while others were without it; always had plenty of buckskins with -which to make moccasins and apparel, while others were every day wearing -out their old supply and never able to replenish it. - -Now, this girl was surpassingly beautiful, and was looked upon by many a -young man as the flower of his heart and the one on whom he would -ultimately concentrate his thoughts for life. Amongst these young men, -the first to manifest his feelings was a youth from the Village of the -Winds. - -One day he said to his old people: “I am going courting.” And they -observed that he made up a bundle of various precious things for women’s -dress and ornamentation--necklaces, snow-white buckskin moccasins and -leggings, and embroidered skirts and mantles--and, taking his bundle on -his shoulders, he started off for the Village of the Yellow Rocks. - -When he reached the village he knew the home of the maiden by the beauty -of the house. Among other houses it was alone of its kind. Attached to -the ladder was the cross-piece carved as it is in these days, but -depending from it was a fringe of black hair (not scalp-locks) with -which they still ornament certain houses when they have sacred -ceremonies; and among this fringe were hung hollow stalactites from a -sacred cave on the Colorado Chiquito, which sounded, when the wind blew -them together, like little bells. This fringe was full of them, so that -when a stranger came to this important chief-priest’s house he no sooner -touched the ladder-rung at the foot than the bells tinkled, and they -knew some one was coming. - -As he placed his foot on the lowermost rung of the ladder, _chi-la-li_ -sang the bells at the top. - -Said the people within: “Some one is coming.” - -Step after step he went up, and still the bells made music at the top, -and as he stepped over on the roof, _thud_, _thud_, his footsteps -sounded as he walked along; and when he reached the door, those within -said: “Thou comest?” And he replied: “I come. Draw me in”; by which -expression he meant that he had brought with him a present to the -family. Whenever a man has a bundle to hand down, it is the place of the -woman to take it; and that is called “drawing a man in,” though she only -takes his bundle and he follows. In this case he said “Draw me in,” and -the maiden came to the top of the ladder and took the bundle and dropped -it on the floor. They knew by the appearance of the bundle what the -object of the visit was. - -The old man was sitting by the fireplace,--it was night-time,--and as -the stranger entered, said, “Thou hast come?” - -The young man answered: “Yes.” - -Said the old man: “It is not customary for a stranger to visit the -house of a stranger without saying something of what may be in his -thoughts.” - -“It is quite true,” said the youth; “I come thinking of this maiden, -your daughter. It has occurred to me that I might happily and without -fear rest my thoughts and hopes on her; therefore I come.” - -The daughter brought forth food for the young man and bade him eat. He -reached forth his hand and partook of the food. She sat down and took a -mouthful or two, whereby they knew she was favorably disposed. She was -favorably disposed to all appearance, but not in reality. When he had -finished eating, she said: “As you like, my father. You are my father.” -She answered to her own thoughts: “Yes, you have often reproached me for -not treating with more gentleness those who come courting me.” - -Finally said the father: “I give ye my blessing and sacred speech, my -children. I will adopt thee as my child.”[8] - - [8] This, it may be explained, is all that the marriage ceremony - consists of. - -“My children,” said the father, after a while, when he had smoked a -little, “the stranger, now a son, has come a long distance and must be -weary.” - -So the maiden led him to an upper chamber, and said: “Rest here; you are -not yet my husband. I would try you in the morning. Get up early, when -the deer are most plentiful, and go forth and slay me a fine one, and -then indeed shall we rest our hopes and thoughts on each other for -life.” - -“It is well,” said the youth; and he retired to sleep, and in the -morning arose early. The maiden gave into his hands the food for the -day; he caught up his bows and arrows and went forth into the forests -and mountains, seeking for the deer. He found a superb track and -followed it until it suddenly disappeared, and though he worked hard and -followed it over and over again, he could find nothing. While the young -man was out hunting and following the tracks for nothing, the young girl -went out, so as to be quite sure that none of her deer should get out; -and what did she do? She went into the river and followed it against the -current, through the water beyond the village and where the marked rocks -stand, up the cañon to the place where her deer were gathered. They were -all there, peaceful and contented. But there were no tracks of the girl; -no one could follow where she went. - -The young man hunted and hunted, and at night-time, all tired out and -hungry, took his way back to the home of the maiden. She was there. - -“Ha!” said she, “what good fortune today?” - -And the young man with his face dragged down and his eyes not bright, -answered: “I found no game today.” - -“Well,” said the girl, “it is too bad; but under the circumstances we -cannot rest our thoughts and hopes on each other for life.” - -“No, I suppose not,” said the young man. - -“Here is your bundle,” said the girl. She raised it very carefully and -handed it to him. He took it over his shoulder, and after all his weary -work went on his way home. - -The very next day a young man named Hálona, when he heard of this, -said: “Ha! ha! What a fool he was! He didn’t take her enough presents; -he didn’t please her. I am said to be a very pleasant fellow” (he was a -very conceited young man); “I will take her a bundle that will make -things all right.” - -So he put into a bundle everything that a woman could reasonably -want,--for he was a wealthy young man, and his bundle was very -heavy,--put on his best dress, and with fine paint on his face started -for the home of the maiden. Finally, his foot touched the lowermost rung -of the ladder; the stalactites went jingling above as he mounted, and -_thud_ went his bundle as he dropped it on the roof. - -“Somebody has come,” said the people below. “Listen to that!” - -The maiden shrugged her shoulders and said: “Thou comest?” - -“Yes,” answered the young man; “draw me in.” - -So she reached up and pulled the huge bundle down into the room, placing -it on the floor, and the young man followed it down. - -Said the old man, who was sitting by the fire, for it was night: “Thou -comest. Not thinking of nothing doth one stranger come to the house of -another. What may be thy thoughts?” - -The young man looked at the maiden and said to himself: “What a -magnificent creature she is! She will be my wife, no fear that she will -not.” Then said he aloud: “I came, thinking of your daughter. I would -rest my hopes and thoughts on her.” - -“It is well,” said the old man. “It is the custom of our people and of -all people, that they may possess dignity, that they may be the heads of -households; therefore, young men and maidens marry and establish -themselves in certain houses. I have no objection. What dost thou think, -my daughter?” - -“I have no objection,” said the daughter. - -“Ah, what did I tell you?” said the youth to himself, and ate with a -great deal of satisfaction the meal placed before him. - -The father laid out the corn-husks and tobacco, and they had a smoke; -then he said to his daughter: “The stranger who is now my son has come a -long way, and should not be kept sitting up so long.” - -As the daughter led him to another room, he thought: “What a gentle -creature she is! How softly she steps up the ladder.” - -When the door was reached, she said: “Here we will say good-night.” - -“What is the matter?” he asked. - -Said she: “I would like to know of my husband this much, that he is a -good hunter; that I may have plenty of food all my days, and plenty of -buckskins for my clothing. Therefore I must ask that in the morning you -go forth and hunt the deer, or bring home an antelope for me.” - -The young man quickly recovered himself, and said: “It is well,” and lay -himself down to rest. - -So the next morning he went out, and there was the maiden at the top of -the house watching him. He couldn’t wait for daylight; he wanted the -Sun, his father, to rise before his time, and when the Sun did rise he -jumped out of bed, tied his quiver to his belt, took his bow in his -hand, and, with a little luncheon the maiden had prepared for him, -started off. - -As he went down the river he saw the maiden was watching him from the -top of the house; so he started forward and ran until he was out of -sight, to show how fine a runner he was and how good a hunter; because -he was reputed to be a very strong and active young man. He hunted and -hunted, but did not find any deer, nor even any tracks. - -Meanwhile, the maiden went up the stream as before and kept watch of the -corral; and he fared as the other young man had fared. At night he came -home, not quite so downcast as the other had been, because he was a -young man of more self-reliance. - -She asked, as she met him: “Haven’t you got any deer today?” - -He answered: “No.” - -She said: “I am sorry, but under the circumstances I don’t see how we -can become husband and wife.” - -So he carried his bundle home. - -The next day there was a young man in the City of Salt who heard of -this,--not all of it, but he heard that day after day young men were -going to the home of this maiden to court her, and she turned them all -away. He said: “I dare say they didn’t take enough with them.” So he -made up two bundles and went to the home of the maiden, and he said to -himself: “This time it will be all right.” - -When he arrived, much the same conversation was gone through as before -with the other young men, and the girl said, when she lighted him to the -door of his room: “My young friend, if you will find a deer for me -tomorrow I will become your wife and rest my hope only on you.” - -“Mercy on me!” thought the young man to himself, “I have always been -called a poor hunter. What shall I do?” - -The next morning he tried, but with the same results. - -Now, this girl was keeping the deer and antelope and other animals so -long closed up in the corral that the people in all the villages round -about were ready to die of hunger for meat. Still, for her own -gratification she would keep these animals shut up. - -The young man came back at evening, and she asked him if he had found a -deer for her. - -“No,” said he, “I could not even find the trail of one.” - -“Well,” she said, “I am sorry, for your bundles are heavy.” - -He took them up and went home with them. - -Finally, this matter became so much talked about that the two small gods -on the top of Thunder Mountain, who lived with their grandmother where -our sacrificial altar now stands, said: “There is something wrong here; -we will go and court this maiden.” Now, these gods were extremely ugly -in appearance when they chose to be--mere pigmies who never grew to -man’s stature. They were always boys in appearance, and their -grandmother was always crusty with them; but they concluded one night -that they would go the next day to woo this maiden. - -Said one to the other: “Suppose we go and try our luck with her.” Said -he: “When I look at you, you are very handsome.” - -Said the other to him: “When I look at you, you are extremely handsome.” - -They were the ugliest beings in human form, but in reality were among -the most magnificent of men, having power to take any form they chose. - -Said the elder one: “Grandmother, you know how much talk there is about -this maiden in the Village of the Yellow Rocks. We have decided to go -and court her.” - -“You miserable, dirty, ugly little wretches! The idea of your going to -court this maiden when she has refused the finest young men in the -land!” - -“Well, we will go,” said he. - -“I don’t want you to go,” replied she. “Your names will be in the mouths -of everybody; you will be laughed and jeered at.” - -“We will go,” said they. And, without paying the slightest attention to -their grandmother, they made up their bundle--a very miserable bundle it -was; the younger brother put in little rocks and sticks and bits of -buckskins and all sorts of worthless things--and they started off. - -“What are you carrying this bundle for?” asked Áhaiyúta, the elder -brother. - -“I am taking it as a present to the maiden,” said Mátsailéma, the -younger one. - -“She doesn’t want any such trash as that,” said the other. “They have -taken very valuable presents to her before; we have nothing to take -equal to what has been carried to her by others.” - -They decided to throw the bundle away altogether, and started out with -absolutely nothing but their bows and arrows. - -As they proceeded they began to kill wood-rats, and continued until they -had slaughtered a large number and had a long string of them held up by -their tails. - -“There!” exclaimed the younger brother. “There is a fine present for the -girl.” They knew perfectly well how things were, and were looking out -for the interests of their children in the villages round about. - -“Oh, my younger brother!” said the elder. “These will not be acceptable -to the girl at all; she would not have them in the house!” - -“Oh, yes, she would,” said the younger; “we will take them along as a -present to her.” - -So they went on, and it was hardly noon when they arrived with their -strings of rats at the white cliffs on the southern side of the cañon -opposite the village where the maiden lived. - -“Here, let us sit down in the shade of this cliff,” said the elder -brother, “for it is not proper to go courting until evening.” - -“Oh, no,” said the younger, “let us go along now. I am in a hurry! I am -in a hurry!” - -“You are a fool!” said the elder brother; “you should not think of going -courting before evening. Stay here patiently.” - -So they sat down in the shade of the cliff. But the younger kept jumping -up and running out to see how the sun was all the afternoon, and he -would go and smooth out his string of rats from time to time, and then -go and look at the sun again. Finally, when the sun was almost set, he -called out: “Now, come on!” - -“Wait until it is wholly dark,” said the other. “You never did have any -patience, sense, or dignity about you.” - -“Why not go now?” asked the younger. - -So they kept quarrelling, but the elder brother’s wish prevailed until -it was nearly dark, when they went on. - -The elder brother began to get very bashful as they approached the -village. “I wonder which house it is,” said he. - -“The one with the tallest ladder in front of it, of course,” said the -other. - -Then the elder brother said in a low voice: “Now, do behave yourself; be -dignified.” - -“All right!” replied the younger. - -When they got to the ladder, the elder one said in a whisper: “I don’t -want to go up here; I don’t want to go courting; let’s go back.” - -“Go along up,” said the younger. - -“Keep still; be quiet!” said the elder one; “be dignified!” - -They went up the ladder very carefully, so that there was not a tinkle -from the bells. The elder brother hesitated, while the younger one went -on to the top, and over the edge of the house. - -“Now!” cried he. - -“Keep still!” whispered the other; and he gave the ladder a little shake -as he went, and the bells tinkled at the top. - -The people downstairs said: “Who in the world is coming now?” - -When they were both on the roof, the elder brother said: “You go down -first.” - -“I will do nothing of the kind,” said the other, “you are the elder.” - -The people downstairs called out: “Who comes there?” - -“See what you have done, you simpleton!” said the elder brother. Then -with a great deal of dignity he walked down the ladder. The younger one -came tumbling down, carrying his string of rats. - -“Throw it out, you fool; they don’t want rats!” said the elder one. - -“Yes, they do,” replied the other. “The girl will want these; maybe she -will marry us on account of them!” - -The elder brother was terribly disturbed, but the other brought his rats -in and laid them in the middle of the floor. - -The father looked up, and said: “You come?” - -“Yes,” answered the two odd ones. - -“Sit down,” said the old man. So they sat down, and food was placed -before them. - -“It seems,” said the father, “that ye have met with luck today in -hunting,” as he cast his eyes on the string of rats. - -“Yes,” said the Two. - -So the old priest went and got some prayer-meal, and, turning the faces -of the rats toward the east, said a short prayer. - -“What did I tell you?” said the younger brother; “they like the presents -we have brought. Just see!” - -Presently the old man said: “It is not customary for strangers to come -to a house without something in mind.” - -“Quite so,” said the younger brother. - -“Yes, my father,” said the elder one; “we have come thinking of your -daughter. We understand that she has been wooed by various young men, -and it has occurred to us that they did not bring the right kind of -presents.” - -“So we brought these,” said the younger brother. - -“It is well,” said the old man. “It is the custom for maidens and youths -to marry. It rests with my daughter.” - -So he referred the matter to his daughter, and she said: “As you think, -my father. Which one?” - -“Oh, take us both!” said the younger brother. - -This was rather embarrassing to the maiden, but she knew she had a safe -retreat. So when the father admonished her that it was time to lead the -two young men up into the room where the others had been placed, she -told them the same story. - -They said, “It is well.” - -They lay down, but instead of sleeping spent most of the night in -speculating as to the future. - -“What a magnificent wife we will have,” said one to the other. - -“Don’t talk so loud; every one will hear you; you will be covered with -shame!” - -After a while they went to sleep; but were awake early the next morning. -The younger brother began to talk to the elder one, who said: “Keep -quiet; the people are not awake; don’t disturb them!” - -The younger one said: “The sun is rising.” - -“Keep quiet,” said the other, “and when they are awake they will give us -some luncheon to take with us.” - -But the younger one jumped up and went rushing about the house, calling -out: “The sun is rising; Get up!” - -The luncheon was provided, and when they started off the maiden went out -on the house-top and asked them which direction they would take. - -Said they: “We will go over to the south and will get a deer before -long, although we are very small and may not meet with very good luck.” - -So they descended the ladder, and the maiden said to herself: “Ugly, -miserable little wretches; I will teach them to come courting me in this -way!” - -The brothers went off to the cliffs, and, while pretending to be -hunting, they ran back through the thickets near the house and waited to -see what the maiden would do. - -Pretty soon she came out. They watched her and saw that she went down -the valley and presently ran into the river, leaving no trail behind, -and took her course up the stream. They ran on ahead, and long before -she had ascended the river found the path leading out of it up the -mountain. Following this path, they came to the corral, and, looking -over it, they saw thousands of deer, mountain-sheep, antelope, and other -animals wandering around in the enclosure. - -“Ha! here is the place!” the younger brother exclaimed. “Let us go at -them now!” - -“Keep quiet! Be patient! Wait till the maiden comes,” said the elder -one. “If we should happen to kill one of these deer before she comes, -perhaps she has some magic power or knowledge by which she would deprive -us of the fruits of our efforts.” - -“No, let us kill one now,” said the other. But the elder one kept him -curbed until the maiden was climbing the cliff, when he could restrain -him no longer, and the youth pulled out his bow and let fly an arrow at -the largest deer. One arrow, and the deer fell to the ground, and when -the maiden appeared on the spot the deer was lying dead not far away. - -The brothers said: “You come, do you? And here we are!” - -She looked at them, and her heart went down and became as heavy as a -stone, and she did not answer. - -“I say, you come!” said the younger brother. “You come, do you?” - -She said, “Yes.” Then said she to herself: “Well, I suppose I shall have -to submit, as I made the arrangement myself.” Then she looked up and -said: “I see you have killed a deer.” - -“Yes, we killed one; didn’t have any difficulty at all,” said the -younger brother. “Come, and help us skin him; we are so little and -hungry and tired we can’t do it. Come on.” - -So the girl went slowly forward, and in a dejected way helped them skin -the deer. Then they began to shoot more deer, and attempted to drag them -out; but the men were so small they could not do it, and the girl had to -help them. Then they cut up the meat and made it into bundles. She made -a large one for herself, and they made two little ones for themselves. - -“Now,” said they, wiping their brows, “we have done a good day’s work, -haven’t we?” and they looked at the maiden with twinkling eyes. - -“Yes,” said she; “you are great hunters.” - -“Shall we go toward home?” asked the younger brother of the maiden. “It -would be a shame for you to take such a bundle as that. I will take it -for you.” - -“You little conceited wretch!” cried the elder brother. “Haven’t I tried -to restrain you?--and now you are going to bury yourself under a bundle -of meat!” - -“No,” said the younger brother, “I can carry it.” - -So they propped the great bundle of meat against a tree. The elder -brother called on the maiden to help him; the younger one stooped down -and received it on his back. They had no sooner let go of it than it -fell on the ground and completely flattened the little man out. - -“Mercy! mercy! I am dying; help me out of here!” cried he. - -So they managed to roll the thing off, and he got up and rubbed his -back, complaining bitterly (he was only making believe), and said: “I -shall have to take my little bundle.” - -So he shouldered his little bundle, and the maiden took the large one; -but before she started she turned to the animals and said, “Oh, my -children! these many days, throwing the warm light of your favor upon -me, you have rested contented to remain away from the sight of men. Now, -hereafter you shall go forth whithersoever you will, that the earth may -be covered with your offspring, and men may once more have of your flesh -to eat and of your pelts to wear.” And away went the antelope, the deer, -the mountain-sheep, the elk, and the buffalo over all the land. - -Then the young Gods of War turned to the maiden and said: “Now, shall we -go home?” - -“Yes,” said she. - -“Well, I will take the lead,” said the younger brother. - -“Get behind where you belong,” said the other; “I will precede the -party.” So the elder brother went first, the maiden came next, and the -younger brother followed behind, with his little bag of meat. - -So they went home, and the maiden placed the meat to dry in the upper -rooms of the house. - -While she was doing this, it was yet early in the day. The two brothers -were sitting together, and whispering: “And what will she say for -herself now?” - -“I don’t see what she can say for herself.” - -“Of course, nothing can she say for herself.” - -And when the meat was all packed away in the house and the sun had set, -they sat by themselves talking this over: “What can she say for -herself?” - -“Nothing whatever; nothing remains to be done.” - -“That is quite so,” said they, as they went in to the evening meal and -sat with the family to eat it. - -Finally the maiden said: “With all your hunting and the labors of the -day, you must be very weary. Where you slept last night you will find a -resting-place. Go and rest yourselves. I cannot consent to marry you, -because you have not yet shown yourselves capable of taking care of and -dressing the buckskins, as well as of killing deer and antelope and such -animals. For a long time buckskins have been accumulating in the upper -room. I have no brothers to soften and scrape them; therefore, if you -Two will take the hair off from all my buckskins tomorrow before sunset, -and scrape the underside so that they will be thin and soft, I will -consent to be the wife of one of you, or both.” - -And they said: “Oh mercy, it is too bad!” - -“We can never do it,” said the younger brother. - -“I don’t suppose we can; but we can try,” said the elder. - -So they lay down. - -“Let us take things in time,” said the elder one, after he had thought -of it. And they jumped up and called to the maiden: “Where are those -buckskins?” - -“They are in the upper room,” said she. - -She showed them the way to the upper room. It was packed to the rafters -with buckskins. They began to make big bales of these and then took them -down to the river. When they got them all down there they said: “How in -the world can we scrape so many skins? There are more here than we can -clean in a year.” - -“I will tell you what,” said the younger brother; “we will stow away -some in the crevices of the rocks, and get rid of them in that way.” - -“Always hasty, always hasty,” said the elder. “Do you suppose that woman -put those skins away without counting every one of them? We can’t do -that.” - -They spread them out in the water that they might soak all night, and -built a little dam so they would not float away. While they were thus -engaged they heard some one talking, so they pricked up their ears to -listen. - -Now, the hill that stands by the side across from the Village of the -Yellow Rocks was, and still is, a favorite home of the Field-mice. They -are very prolific, and have to provide great bundles of wool for their -families. But in the days of the ancients they were terrible gamblers -and were all the time betting away their nests, and the young Mice being -perfectly bare, with no wool on them at all, died of cold. And still -they kept on betting, making little figures of nests and betting these -away against the time when they should have more. It was these Mice -which the two gods overheard. - -Said the younger brother: “Listen to that! Who is talking?” - -“Some one is betting. Let us go nearer.” - -They went across the river and listened, and heard the tiny little -voices calling out and shouting. - -“Let us go in,” said the younger brother. And he placed his foot in the -hole and descended, followed by the other. They found there an enormous -village of Field-mice in human form, their clothes, in the shape of -Mice, hanging over the sides of the house. Some had their clothing all -off down to their waists, and were betting as hard as they could and -talking with one another. - -As soon as the two brothers entered, they said: “Who comes?” - -The Two answered: “We come.” - -“Come in, come in,” cried the Mice,--they were not very polite. “Sit -down and have a game. We have not anything to bet just now, but if you -trust us we will bet with you.” - -“What had you in mind in coming?” said an old Field-mouse with a broken -tail. - -They answered that they had come because they heard voices. Then they -told their story. - -“What is this you have to do?” asked the Mice. - -“To clean all the hair off those pelts tomorrow.” - -The Mice looked around at one another; their eyes fairly sparkled and -burned. - -“Now, then, we will help you if you will promise us something,” said -they; “but we want your solemn promise.” - -“What is that?” asked the brothers. - -“That you will give us all the hair.” - -“Oh, yes,” said the brothers; “we will be glad to get rid of it.” - -“All right,” said they; “where are the skins?” Then they all began to -pour out of the place, and they were so numerous that it was like water, -when the rain is falling hard, running over a rock. - -When they had all run out the two War-gods drew the skins on the bank, -and the Field-mice went to nibbling the hair and cleaning off the -underside. They made up little bundles of the flesh from the skins for -their food, and great parcels of the hair. Finally they said: “May we -have them all?” - -“No,” said the brothers, “we must have eight reserved, four for each, so -that we will be hard at work all day tomorrow.” - -“Well,” said the Mice, “we can’t consent to leaving even so many, unless -you promise that you will gather up all the hair and put it somewhere so -that we can get it.” - -The Two promised that, and said: “Be sure to leave eight skins, will -you? and we will go to bed and rest ourselves.” - -“All right, all right!” responded the Field-mice. - -So the brothers climbed up the hill to the town, and up the ladder, and -slept in their room. - -The next morning the girl said: “Now, remember, you will have to clean -every skin and make it soft and white.” - -So they went down to the river and started to work. The girl had said to -them that at midday she would go down and see how they were getting -along. They were at work nearly all the forenoon on the skins. While the -elder brother shaved the hair off, the younger one scraped them thin and -softened them. - -When the maiden came at noon, she said: “How are you getting along?” - -“We have finished four and are at work on the fifth.” - -“Remember,” said she, “you must finish all of them today or I shall have -to send you home.” - -So they worked away until a little before the sun set, when she appeared -again. They had just finished the last. The Field-mice had carefully -dressed all the others (they did it better than the men), and there they -lay spread out on the sands like a great field of something growing, -only white. - -When the maiden came down she was perfectly overcome; she looked and -looked and counted and recounted. She found them all there. Then she -got a long pole and fished in the water, but there were none. - -Said she: “Yes, you shall be my husbands; I shall have to submit.” - -She went home with them, and for a long time they all lived together, -the woman with her two husbands. They managed to get along very -comfortably, and the two brothers didn’t quarrel any more than they had -done before. - -Finally, there were born little twin boys, exactly like their fathers, -who were also twins, although one was called the elder and the other the -younger. - -After a time the younger brother said: “Now, let us go home to our -grandmother. People always go home to their own houses and take their -families with them.” - -“No,” said the elder one, “you must remember that we have been only -pretending to be human beings. It would not do to take the maiden home -with us.” - -“Yes,” said the other; “I want her to go with us. Our grandmother kept -making fun of us; called us little, miserable, wretched creatures. I -want to show her that we amount to something!” - -The elder brother could not get the younger one to leave the wife -behind, and like a dutiful wife she said: “I will go with you.” They -made up their bundles and started out. It was a very hot day, and when -they had climbed nearly to the top of Thunder Mountain, the younger -brother said: “Ahem! I am tired. Let us sit down and rest.” - -“It will not do,” said the elder brother. “You know very well it will -not do to sit down; our father, the Sun, has forbidden that we should be -among mortals. It will not do.” - -“Oh, yes, it will; we must sit down here,” said the younger brother; and -again his wish prevailed and they sat down. - -At midday the Sun stood still in the sky, and looked down and saw this -beautiful woman, and by the power of his withdrawing rays quickly -snatched her from them while they were sitting there talking, she -carrying her little children. - -The brothers looked around and said: “Where is our wife?” - -“Ah, there she is,” cried the younger; “I will shoot her.” - -“Shoot your wife!” cried the elder brother. “No, let her go! Serves you -right!” - -“No,” said the younger, “I will shoot her!” He looked up and drew his -arrow, and as his aim was absolutely unerring, _swish_ went the arrow -directly to her, and she was killed. The power of life by which the Sun -was drawing her up was gone, the thread was cut, and she fell over and -over and struck the earth. - -The two little children were so very small, and their bones so soft, -that the fall did not hurt them much. They fell on the soft bank, and -rolled and rolled down the hill, and the younger brother ran forward and -caught them up in his arms, crying: “Oh, my little children!” and -brought them to the elder brother, who said: “Now, what can be done -with these little babies, with no mother, no food?” - -“We will take them home to grandmother,” said the younger brother. - -“Your grandmother cannot take care of these babies,” said the elder -brother. - -“Yes, she can, of course,” said the younger brother. “Come on, come on! -I didn’t want to lose my wife and children, too; I thought I must still -have the children; that is the reason why I shot her.” - -So one of them took one of the children, and the other one took the -other, and they carried them up to the top of Thunder Mountain. - -“Now, then,” said the elder brother, “we went off to marry; we come home -with no wife and two little children and with nothing to feed them.” - -“Oh, grandmother!” called out the younger brother. - -The old woman hadn’t heard them for many a day, for many a month, even -for years. She looked out and said: “My grandchildren are coming,” and -she called to them: “I am so glad you have come!” - -“Here, see what we have,” said the younger brother. “Here are your -grandchildren. Come and take them!” - -“Oh, you miserable boy, you are always doing something foolish; where is -your wife?” asked the grandmother. - -“Oh, I shot her!” was the response. - -“Why did you do that?” - -“I didn’t want my father, the Sun, to take them away with my wife. I -knew you would not care anything about my wife, but I knew you would be -very fond of the grandchildren. Here they are.” - -But she wouldn’t look at all. So the younger brother drew his face down, -and taking the poor little children in his arms said: “You unnatural -grandmother, you! Here are two nice little grandchildren for you!” - -She said: “How shall I feed them? or what shall I do with them?” - -He replied: “Oh, take care of them, take care of them!” - -She took a good look at them, and became a true grandmother. She ran and -clasped the little ones, crying out: “Let me take you away from these -miserable children of mine!” She made some beds of sand for them, as -Zuñi mothers do today, got some soft skins for them to lie on, and fed -them with a kind of milk made of corn toasted and ground and mixed with -water; so that they gradually enlarged and grew up to be nice children. - - * * * * * - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients, and has been told to us in -these days, that even the most cruel and heartless of the gods do these -things. Even they took these helpless children to their grandmother, and -she succored them and brought them up to the time of reason. Therefore -it is the duty of those who find helpless babies or children, inasmuch -as they are not so cruel and terrible as were the Gods of War,--not -nearly,--surely it is their duty to take those children and succor and -bring them up to the time of reason, when they can care for themselves. -That is why our people, when children have been abandoned, provide and -care for them as if they were their own. - -Thus long is my story. - - - - -THE FOSTER-CHILD OF THE DEER - - -Once, long, long ago, at Háwikuh, there lived a maiden most beautiful. -In her earlier years her father, who was a great priest, had devoted her -to sacred things, and therefore he kept her always in the house secure -from the gaze of all men, and thus she grew. - -She was so beautiful that when the Sun looked down along one of the -straight beams of his own light, if one of those beams chanced to pass -through a chink in the roof, the sky-hole, or the windows of the upper -part of the maiden’s room, he beheld her and wondered at her rare -beauty, unable to compare it with anything he saw in his great journeys -round about the worlds. Thus, as the maiden grew apace and became a -young woman, the Sun loved her exceedingly, and as time went on he -became so enamored of her that he descended to earth and entered on one -of his own beams of light into her apartment, so that suddenly, while -she was sitting one noon-day weaving pretty baskets, there stood before -her a glorious youth, gloriously dressed. It was the Sun-father. He -looked upon her gently and lovingly; she looked upon him not fearfully: -and so it came about that she loved him and he loved her, and he won her -to be his wife. And many were the days in which he visited her and dwelt -with her for a space at noon-time; but as she was alone mostly, or as -she kept sitting weaving her trays when any one of the family entered -her apartment, no one suspected this. - - [Illustration: A BURRO TRAIN IN A ZUÑI STREET - Photo by Hillers] - -Now, as she knew that she had been devoted to sacred things, and that if -she explained how it was that she was a mother she would not be -believed, she was greatly exercised in mind and heart. She therefore -decided that when her child was born she would put it away from her. - -When the time came, the child one night was born. She carefully wrapped -the little baby boy in some soft cotton-wool, and in the middle of the -night stole out softly over the roof-tops, and, silently descending, -laid the child on the sheltered side of a heap of refuse near the little -stream that flows by Háwikuh, in the valley below. Then, mourning as a -mother will mourn for her offspring, she returned to her room and lay -herself down, poor thing, to rest. - -As daylight was breaking in the east, and the hills and the valleys were -coming forth one after another from the shadows of night, a Deer with -her two little brightly-speckled fawns descended from the hills to the -south across the valley, with ears and eyes alert, and stopped at the -stream to drink. While drinking they were startled by an infant’s cry, -and, looking up, they saw dust and cotton-wool and other things flying -about in the air, almost as if a little whirlwind were blowing on the -site of the refuse-heap where the child had been laid. It was the child, -who, waking and finding itself alone, hungry, and cold, was crying and -throwing its little hands about. - -“Bless my delight!” cried the Deer to her fawns. “I have this day found -a waif, a child, and though it be human it shall be mine; for, see, my -children, I love you so much that surely I could love another.” - -Thereupon she approached the little infant, and breathed her warm breath -upon it and caressed it until it became quiet, and then after wrapping -about it the cotton-wool, she gently lifted it on her broad horns, and, -turning, carried it steadily away toward the south, followed on either -side by her children, who kept crying out “Neh! neh!” in their delight. - -The home of this old Deer and her little ones, where all her children -had been born for years, was south of Háwikuh, in the valley that turns -off among the ledges of rocks near the little spring called Póshaan. -There, in the shelter of a clump of piñon and cedar trees, was a soft -and warm retreat, winter and summer, and this was the lair of the Deer -and her young. - -The Deer was no less delighted than surprised next morning to find that -the infant had grown apace, for she had suckled it with her own milk, -and that before the declining of the sun it was already creeping about. -And greater was her surprise and delight, as day succeeded day, to find -that the child grew even more swiftly than grow the children of the -Deer. Behold! on the evening of the fourth day it was running about and -playing with its foster brother and sister. Nor was it slow of foot, -even as compared with those little Deer. Behold! yet greater cause for -wonder, on the eighth day it was a youth fair to look upon--looking upon -itself and seeing that it had no clothing, and wondering why it was not -clothed, like its brother and sister, in soft warm hair with pretty -spots upon it. - -As time went on, this little foster-child of the Deer (it must always be -remembered that it was the offspring of the Sun-father himself), in -playing with his brother and sister, and in his runnings about, grew -wondrously strong, and even swifter of foot than the Deer themselves, -and learned the language of the Deer and all their ways. - -When he had become perfected in all that a Deer should know, the -Deer-mother led him forth into the wilds and made him acquainted with -the great herd to which she belonged. They were exceedingly happy with -this addition to their number; much they loved him, and so sagacious was -the youth that he soon became the leader of the Deer of the Háwikuh -country. - -When these Deer and the Antelopes were out on the mesas ranging to and -fro, there at their head ran the swift youth. The soles of his feet -became as hard as the hoofs of the Deer, the skin of his person strong -and dark, the hair of his head long and waving and as soft as the hair -on the sides of the Deer themselves. - -It chanced one morning, late that summer, that the uncle of the maiden -who had cast away her child went out hunting, and he took his way -southward past Póshaan, the lair of the Deer-mother and her -foster-child. As he traversed the borders of the great mesas that lie -beyond, he saw a vast herd of Deer gathered, as people gather in -council. They were quiet and seemed to be listening intently to some one -in their midst. The hunter stole along carefully on hands and knees, -twisting himself among the bushes until he came nearer; and what was his -wonder when he beheld, in the midst of the Deer, a splendid youth, broad -of shoulder, tall and strong of limb, sitting nude and graceful on the -ground, and the old Deer and the young seemed to be paying attention to -what he was saying. The hunter rubbed his eyes and looked again; and -again he looked, shading his eyes with his hands. Then he elevated -himself to peer yet more closely, and the sharp eyes of the youth -discovered him. With a shout he lifted himself to his feet and sped away -like the wind, followed by the whole herd, their hoofs thundering, and -soon they were all out of sight. - -The hunter dropped his bow and stood there musing; then picking it up, -he turned himself about and ran toward Háwikuh as fast as he could. When -he arrived he related to the father of the girl what he had seen. The -old priest summoned his hunters and warriors and bade the uncle repeat -the story. Many there were who said: “You have seen an apparition, and -of evil omen to your family, alas! alas!” - -“No,” said he, “I looked, and again I looked, and yet again, and again, -and I avow to you that what I saw was as plain and as mortal as the Deer -themselves.” - -Convinced at last, the council decided to form a grand hunt, and word -was given from the house-tops that on the fourth day from that day a -hunt should be undertaken--that the southern mesa should be surrounded, -and that the people should gather in from all sides and encompass the -herd there, in order that this wonderful youth should not escape being -seen, or possibly captured. - -Now, when the Deer had gone to a safe distance they slackened their pace -and called to their leader not to fear. And the old foster-mother of the -youth for the first time related to him, as she had related to them long -ago, that he was the child of mortals, telling how she had found him. - -The youth sat with his head bowed, thinking of these things. Then he -raised his head proudly, and said: “What though I be the child of -mortals, they have not loved me: they have cast me from their midst, -therefore will I be faithful to thee alone.” - -But the old Deer-mother said to him: “Hush, my child! Thou art but a -mortal, and though thou might’st live on the roots of the trees and the -bushes and plants that mature in autumn, yet surely in the winter time -thou could’st not live, for my supply of milk will be withholden, and -the fruits and the nuts will all be gone.” - -And the older members of that large herd gathered round and repeated -what she had been saying. And they said: “We are aware that we shall be -hunted now, as is the invariable custom when our herd has been -discovered, on the fourth day from the day on which we were first seen. -Amongst the people who come there will be, no doubt, those who will seek -you; and you must not endeavor to escape. Even we ourselves are -accustomed to give up our lives to the brave hunters among this people, -for many of them are sacred of thought, sacred of heart, and make due -sacrifices unto us, that our lives in other form may be spared -unceasingly.” - -A splendid Deer rose from the midst of the herd, and, coming forward, -laid his cheek on the cheek of the boy, and said: “Yet we love you, but -we must now part from you. And, in order that you may be like unto other -mortals, only exceeding them, accompany me to the Land of the Souls of -Men, where sit in council the Gods of the Sacred Dance and Drama, the -Gods of the Spirit World.” - -To all this the youth, being convinced, agreed. And on that same day the -Deer who had spoken set forward, the swift youth running by his side, -toward the Lake of the Dead. On and on they sped, and as night was -falling they came to the borders of that lake, and the lights were -shining over its middle and the Gardens of the Sacred Dance. And the old -Drama-woman and the old Drama-man were walking on its shores, back and -forth, calling across to each other. - -As the Deer neared the shore of the lake, he turned and said to his -companion: “Step in boldly with me. Ladders of rushes will rise to -receive you, and down underneath the waters into the great Halls of the -Dead and of the Sacred Dance we will be borne gently and swiftly.” - -Then they stepped into the lake. Brighter and lighter it grew. Great -ladders of rushes and flags lifted themselves from the water, and upon -them the Deer and his companion were borne downward into halls of -splendor, lighted by many lights and fires. And in the largest chamber -the gods were sitting in council silently. Páutiwa, the Sun-priest of -the Sacred Drama (_Kâkâ_), Shúlawitsi (the God of Fire), with his torch -of ever-living flame, and many others were there; and when the strangers -arrived they greeted and were greeted, and were given a place in the -light of the central fire. And in through the doors of the west and the -north and the east and the south filed long rows of sacred dancers, -those who had passed through the Lake of the Dead, clad in cotton -mantles, white as the daylight, finely embroidered, decked with many a -treasure shell and turquoise stone. These performed their sacred rites, -to the delight of the gods and the wonder of the Deer and his -foster-brother. - -And when the dancers had retired, Páutiwa, the Sun-priest of the Sacred -Dance, arose, and said: “What would’st thou?”--though he knew full well -beforehand. “What would’st thou, oh, Deer of the forest mesas, with thy -companion, thy foster-brother; for not thinking of nothing would one -visit the home of the _Kâkâ_.” - -Then the Deer lifted his head and told his story. - -“It is well,” said the gods. - -“Appear, my faithful one,” said Páutiwa to Shúlawitsi. And Shúlawitsi -appeared and waved his flame around the youth, so that he became -convinced of his mortal origin and of his dependence upon food prepared -by fire. Then the gods who speak the speech of men gathered around and -breathed upon the youth, and touched to his lips moisture from their own -mouths, and touched the portals of his ears with oil from their own -ears, and thus was the youth made acquainted with both the speech and -the understanding of the speech of mortal man. Then the gods called out, -and there were brought before them fine garments of white cotton -embroidered in many colors, rare necklaces of sacred shell with many -turquoises and coral-like stones and shells strung in their midst, and -all that the most beautifully clad of our ancients could have glorified -their appearance with. Such things they brought forth, and, making them -into a bundle, laid them at the feet of the youth. Then they said: “Oh, -youth, oh, brother and father, since thou art the child of the Sun, who -is the father of us all, go forth with thy foster-brother to thy last -meeting-place with him and with his people; and when on the day after -the morrow hunters shall gather from around thy country, some of ye, oh, -Deer,” said he, turning to the Deer, “yield thyselves up that ye may die -as must thy kind ever continue to die, for the sake of this thy -brother.” - -“I will lead them,” simply replied the Deer. “Thanks.” - -And Páutiwa continued: “Here full soon wilt thou be gathered in our -midst, or with the winds and the mists of the air at night-time wilt -sport, ever-living. Go ye forth, then, carrying this bundle, and, as ye -best know how, prepare this our father and child for his reception among -men. And, O son and father,” continued the priest-god, turning to the -youth, “Fear not! Happy wilt thou be in the days to come, and treasured -among men. Hence thy birth. Return with the Deer and do as thou art told -to do. Thy uncle, leading his priest-youths, will be foremost in the -hunt. He will pursue thee and thy foster-mother. Lead him far away; and -when thou hast so led him, cease running and turn and wait, and -peacefully go home whither he guides thee.” - -The sounds of the Sacred Dance came in from the outer apartments, and -the youth and the Deer, taking their bundle, departed. More quickly than -they had come they sped away; and on the morning when the hunters of -Háwikuh were setting forth, the Deer gathered themselves in a vast herd -on the southern mesa, and they circled about the youth and instructed -him how to unloose the bundle he had brought. Then closer and closer -came the Deer to the youth and bade him stand in his nakedness, and they -ran swiftly about him, breathing fierce, moist breaths until hot steam -enveloped him and bathed him from head to foot, so that he was purified, -and his skin was softened, and his hair hung down in a smooth yet waving -mass at the back of his head. Then the youth put on the costume, one -article after another, he having seen them worn by the Gods of the -Sacred Dance, and by the dancers; and into his hair at the back, under -the band which he placed round his temples, he thrust the glowing -feathers of the macaw which had been given him. Then, seeing that there -was still one article left,--a little string of conical shells,--he -asked what that was for; and the Deer told him to tie it about his knee. - -The Deer gathered around him once more, and the old chief said: “Who -among ye are willing to die?” And, as if it were a festive occasion to -which they were going, many a fine Deer bounded forth, striving for the -place of those who were to die, until a large number were gathered, -fearless and ready. Then the Deer began to move. - -Soon there was an alarm. In the north and the west and the south and the -east there was cause for alarm. And the Deer began to scatter, and then -to assemble and scatter again. At last the hunters with drawn bows came -running in, and soon their arrows were flying in the midst of those who -were devoted, and Deer after Deer fell, pierced to the heart or other -vital part. - -At last but few were left,--amongst them the kind old Deer-mother and -her two children; and, taking the lead, the glorious youth, although -encumbered by his new dress, sped forth with them. They ran and ran, the -fleetest of the tribe of Háwikuh pursuing them; but all save the uncle -and his brave sons were soon left far behind. The youth’s foster-brother -was soon slain, and the youth, growing angry, turned about; then -bethinking himself of the words of the gods, he sped away again. So his -foster-sister, too, was killed; but he kept on, his old mother alone -running behind him. At last the uncle and his sons overtook the old -mother, and they merely caught her and turned her away, saying: -“Faithful to the last she has been to this youth.” Then they renewed the -chase for the youth; and he at last, pretending weariness, faced about -and stood like a stag at bay. As soon as they approached, he dropped his -arms and lowered his head. Then he said: “Oh, my uncle” (for the gods -had told who would find him)--“Oh, my uncle, what wouldst thou? Thou -hast killed my brothers and sisters; what wouldst thou with me?” - -The old man stopped and gazed at the youth in wonder and admiration of -his fine appearance and beautiful apparel. Then he said: “Why dost thou -call me uncle?” - -“Because, verily,” replied the youth, “thou art my uncle, and thy niece, -my maiden-mother, gave birth to me and cast me away upon a dust-heap; -and then my noble Deer found me and nourished me and cherished me.” - -The uncle and his sons gazed still with wonder. Then they thought they -saw in the youth’s clear eyes and his soft, oval face a likeness to the -mother, and they said: “Verily, this which he says is true.” Then they -turned about and took him by the hands gently and led him toward -Háwikuh, while one of them sped forward to test the truth of his -utterances. - -When the messenger arrived at Háwikuh he took his way straight to the -house of the priest, and told him what he had heard. The priest in anger -summoned the maiden. - -“Oh, my child,” said he, “hast thou done this thing which we are told -thou hast done?” And he related what he had been told. - -“Nay, no such thing have I done,” said she. - -“Yea, but thou hast, oh, unnatural mother! And who was the father?” -demanded the old priest with great severity. - -Then the maiden, thinking of her Sun-lover, bowed her head in her lap -and rocked herself to and fro, and cried sorely. And then she said: -“Yea, it is true; so true that I feared thy wrath, oh, my father! I -feared thy shame, oh, my mother! and what could I do?” Then she told of -her lover, the Sun,--with tears she told it, and she cried out: “Bring -back my child that I may nurse him and love but him alone, and see him -the father of children!” - -By this time the hunters arrived, some bringing game, but others -bringing in their midst this wondrous youth, on whom each man and maiden -in Háwikuh gazed with delight and admiration. - -They took him to the home of his priest-grandfather; and as though he -knew the way he entered the apartment of his mother, and she, rising and -opening wide her arms, threw herself on his breast and cried and cried. -And he laid his hand on her head, and said: “Oh, mother, weep not, for I -have come to thee, and I will cherish thee.” - -So was the foster-child of the Deer restored to his mother and his -people. - -Wondrously wise in the ways of the Deer and their language was he--so -much so that, seeing them, he understood them. This youth made little -ado of hunting, for he knew that he could pay those rites and attentions -to the Deer that were most acceptable, and made them glad of death at -the hand of the hunter. And ere long, so great was his knowledge and -success, and his preciousness in the eyes of the Master of Life, that by -his will and his arm alone the tribe of Háwikuh was fed and was clad in -buckskins. - -A rare and beautiful maiden he married, and most happy was he with her. - -It was his custom to go forth early in the morning, when the Deer came -down to drink or stretch themselves and walk abroad and crop the grass; -and, taking his bow and quiver of arrows, he would go to a distant mesa, -and, calling the Deer around him, and following them as swiftly as they -ran, he would strike them down in great numbers, and, returning, say to -his people: “Go and bring in my game, giving me only parts of what I -have slain and taking the rest yourselves.” - -So you can readily see how he and his people became the greatest people -of Háwikuh. Nor is it marvellous that the sorcerers of that tribe should -have grown envious of his prosperity, and sought to diminish it in many -ways, wherein they failed. - -At last one night the Master of Sorcerers in secret places raised his -voice and cried: “_Weh-h-h-h! Weh-h-h-h-h-h!_” And round about him -presently gathered all the sorcerers of the place, and they entered into -a deep cavern, large and lighted by green, glowing fires, and there, -staring at each other, they devised means to destroy this splendid -youth, the child of the Sun. - -One of their number stood forth and said: “I will destroy him in his own -vocation. He is a hunter, and the Coyote loves well to follow the -hunter.” His words were received with acclamation, and the youth who had -offered himself sped forth in the night to prepare, by incantation and -with his infernal appliances, a disguise for himself. - -On the next morning, when the youth went forth to hunt, an old Coyote -sneaked behind him after he reached the mesas, and, following -stealthily, waited his throwing down of the Deer; and when the youth had -called and killed a number of Deer and sat down to rest on a fallen -tree, the Coyote sneaked into sight. The youth, looking at him, merely -thought: “He seeks the blood of my slain Deer,” and he went on with his -prayers and sacrifices to the dead of the Deer. But soon, stiffening his -limbs, the Coyote swiftly scudded across the open, and, with a puff from -his mouth and nostrils like a sneeze toward the youth, threw himself -against him and arose a man,--the same man who had offered his services -in the council of the wizards--while the poor youth, falling over, ran -away, a human being still in heart and mind, but in form a coyote. - -Off to the southward he wandered, his tail dragging in the dust; and -growing hungry he had naught to eat; and cold on the sides of the mesas -he passed the night, and on the following morning wandered still, until -at last, very hungry, he was fain even to nip the blades of grass and -eat the berries of the juniper. Thus he became ill and worn; and one -night as he was seeking a warm place to lay him down and die, he saw a -little red light glowing from the top of a hillock. Toward this light he -took his way, and when he came near he saw that it was shining up -through the sky-hole of someone’s house. He peered over the edge and saw -an old Badger with his grizzly wife, sitting before a fire, not in the -form of a badger but in the form of a little man, his badger-skin -hanging beside him. - -Then the youth said to himself: “I will cast myself down into their -house, thus showing them my miserable condition.” And as he tried to -step down the ladder, he fell, _teng_, on the floor before them. - -The Badgers were disgusted. They grabbed the Coyote, and hauling him up -the ladder, threw him into the plain, where, _toonoo_, he fell far away -and swooned from loss of breath. When he recovered his thoughts he again -turned toward the glowing sky-hole, and, crawling feebly back, threw -himself down into the room again. Again he was thrown out, but this time -the Badger said: “It is marvellously strange that this Coyote, the -miserable fellow, should insist on coming back, and coming back.” - -“I have heard,” said the little old Badger-woman, “that our glorious -beloved youth of Háwikuh was changed some time ago into a Coyote. It may -be he. Let us see when he comes again if it be he. For the love of -mercy, let us see!” - -Ere long the youth again tried to clamber down the ladder, and fell with -a thud on the floor before them. A long time he lay there senseless, but -at last opened his eyes and looked about. The Badgers eagerly asked if -he were the same who had been changed into a Coyote, or condemned to -inhabit the form of one. The youth could only move his head in -acquiescence. - -Then the Badgers hastily gathered an emetic and set it to boil, and when -ready they poured the fluid down the throat of the seeming Coyote, and -tenderly held him and pitied him. Then they laid him before the fire to -warm him. Then the old Badger, looking about in some of his burrows, -found a sacred rock crystal, and heating it to glowing heat in the fire, -he seared the palms of the youth’s hands, the soles of his feet, and the -crown of his head, repeating incantations as he performed this last -operation, whereupon the skin burst and fell off, and the youth, haggard -and lean, lay before them. They nourished him as best they could, and, -when well recovered, sent him home to join his people again and render -them happy. Clad in his own fine garments, happy of countenance and -handsome as before, and, according to his regular custom, bearing a Deer -on his back, returned the youth to his people, and there he lived most -happily. - - * * * * * - -As I have said, this was in the days of the ancients, and it is because -this youth lived so long with the Deer and became acquainted with their -every way and their every word, and taught all that he knew to his -children and to others whom he took into his friendship, that we have -today a class of men--the Sacred Hunters of our tribe,--who surpassingly -understand the ways and the language of the Deer. - -Thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {Carvings}] - - - - -THE BOY HUNTER WHO NEVER SACRIFICED TO THE DEER HE HAD SLAIN: - -OR THE ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF RATTLESNAKES - - -In very ancient times, there lived at Tâ′ia,[9] below the Zuñi -Mountains, an old _shíwani_ or priest-chief, who had a young son named -Héasailuhtiwa (“Metal-hand”), famed throughout the land of the Zuñis for -his success in hunting. - - [9] The native name of the Zuñi town of Las Nutrias. - -When very young, this lad had said to his parents: “My old ones, let me -go away from the home of my fathers and dwell by myself.” - -“Why do you, a young boy, wish to go and dwell by yourself, my son? Know -you not that you would fare but badly, for you are careless and -forgetful? No, no! remain with us, that we may care for you.” - -But the boy answered: “Why should I fare badly? Can I not hunt my own -game and roast the meat over the fire? It is because you never care to -have me go forth alone that I wish to live by myself, for I long to -travel far and hunt deer in the mountains of many countries: yet -whenever I start forth you call me back, and it is painful to my longing -thoughts thus to be held back when I would go forward.” - -It was not until the lad had spoken thus again and again, and once -more, that the parents sadly yielded to his wish. They insisted, -however, much to the boy’s displeasure, that his younger sister, -Waíasialuhtitsa, should go with him, only to look after his house, and -to remind him here and there, at times, of his forgetfulness. So the -brother and sister chose the lofty rooms of a high house in the upper -part of the pueblo and lived there. - -The boy each day went out hunting and failed not each time to bring in -slain animals, while the sister cooked for him and looked after the -house. Yet, although the boy was a great hunter, he never sacrificed to -the Deer he had slain, nor to the Gods of Prey who delight in aiding the -hunter who renews them; for the lad was forgetful and careless of all -things. - -One day he went forth over the mountain toward the north, until he came -to the Waters of the Bear.[10] There he started up a huge Buck, and, -finding the trail, followed it far toward the northward. Yet, although -swift of foot, the youth could not overtake the running Deer, and thus -it happened that he went on and on, past mesas, valleys, and mountains, -until he came to the brink of a great river which flows westwardly from -the north.[11] On the banks of this great river grew forests of -cottonwood, and into the thickets of these forests led the trail, -straight toward the river bank. Just as the young man was about to -follow the track to the bank, he thought he saw under a large tree in -the midst of the thickets the form of the Deer, so, bending very low, he -ran around close to the bank, and came up between the river and the -thicket. - - [10] Aínshik’yanakwin, or Bear Spring, where Fort Wingate now - stands. - - [11] Probably Green River, or some important tributary of the - Colorado Grande. - -As he guardedly approached the tree, his eyes now following the track, -now glancing up, he discovered a richly dressed, handsome young man, who -called out to him: “How art thou these days, and whither art thou -going?” - -The young man straightened up, and quickly drawing his breath, replied: -“I am hunting a Deer whose tracks I have followed all the way from the -Waters of the Bear.” - -“Indeed!” exclaimed the stranger, “and where has thy Deer gone?” - -“I know not,” replied the youth, “for here are his tracks.” Then he -observed that they led to the place where the stranger was sitting, and -the latter at the same time remarked: - -“I am the Deer, and it was as I would have it that I enticed thee -hither.” - -“_Hai-í!_” exclaimed the young man. - -“Aye,” continued the stranger. “Alas! alas! thou forgetful one! Thou -hast day after day chased my children over the plains and slain them; -thou hast made thyself happy of their flesh, and of their flesh added -unto thine own meat and that of thy kindred; but, alas! thou hast been -forgetful and careless, and not once hast thou given unto their souls -the comfort of that which they yearn for and need. Yet hast thou had -good fortune in the chase. At last the Sun-father has listened to the -supplications of my children and commanded that I bring thee here, and -here have I brought thee. Listen! The Sun-father commands that thou -shalt visit him in his house at the western end of the world, and these -are his instructions.” - -“Indeed! Well, I suppose it must be, and it is well!” exclaimed the -young man. - -“And,” continued the Deer-being, “thou must hasten home and call thy -father. Tell him to summon his _Pithlan Shíwani_ (Priest of the Bow, or -Warrior) and command him that he shall instruct his children to repair -to the rooms of sacred things and prepare plumed prayer-sticks for the -Sun-father, the Moon-mother, and the Great Ocean, and red plumes of -sacrifice for the Beings of Prey; that fully they must prepare -everything, for thou, their child and father, shalt visit the home of -the Sun-father, and in payment for thy forgetfulness and carelessness -shalt render him, and the Moon-mother, and the Beings of the Great -Ocean, plumes of sacrifice. Hasten home, and tell thy father these -things. Then tell thy sister to prepare sweetened meal of parched corn -to serve as the food of thy journey, and pollen of the flowers of corn; -and ask thy mother to prepare great quantities of new cotton, and, -making all these things into bundles, thou must summon some of thy -relatives, and come to this tree on the fourth day from this day. Make -haste, for thou art swift of foot, and tell all these things to thy -father; he will understand thee, for is he not a priest-chief? Hast -thou knives of flint?” - -“Yes,” said the young man, “my father has many.” - -“Select from them two,” said the Deer-being--“a large one and a smaller -one; and when thou hast returned to this place, cut down with the larger -knife yonder great tree, and with the smaller knife hollow it out. Leave -the large end entire, and for the smaller end thou must make a round -door, and around the inside of the smaller end cut a notch that shall be -like a terrace toward the outside, but shall slope from within that thou -mayest close it from the inside with the round door; then pad the inside -with cotton, and make in the bottom a padding thicker than the rest; but -leave space that thou mayest lie thy length, or sit up and eat. And in -the top cut a hole larger inside than out, that thou mayest close it -from the inside with a plug of wood. Then when thou hast placed the -sweetened meal of parched corn inside, and the plumed prayer-sticks and -the sacred pollen of corn-flowers, then enter thyself and close the door -in the end and the hole in the top that thy people may roll thee into -the river. Thou wilt meet strange beings on thy way. Choose from amongst -them whom thou shalt have as a companion, and proceed, as thy companion -shall direct, to the great mountain where the Sun enters. Haste and tell -thy father these things.” And ere the youth could say, “Be it well,” -and, “I will,” the Deer-being had vanished, and he lifted up his face -and started swiftly for the home of his fathers. - -At sunset the sister looked forth from her high house-top, but nowhere -could she see her brother coming. She turned at last to enter, thinking -and saying to her breast: “Alas! what did we not think and guess of his -carelessness.” But just as the country was growing dim in the darkness, -the young man ran breathlessly in, and, greeting his sister, sat down in -the doorway. - -The sister wondered that he had no deer or other game, but placed a meal -before him, and, when he had done, herself ate. But the young man -remained silent until she had finished, then he said: “Younger sister, I -am weary and would sit here; do you go and call father, for I would -speak to him of many things.” - -So the sister cleared away the food and ran to summon the father. Soon -she returned with the old man, who, sighing, “_Ha hua!_” from the effort -of climbing, greeted his son and sat down, looking all about the room -for the fresh deer-meat; but, seeing none, he asked: “What and wherefore -hast thou summoned me, my son?” - -“It is this,” replied the son, and he related all that had been told him -by the Deer-being, describing the magnificent dress, the turquoise and -shell earrings, necklaces, and wristlets of the handsome stranger. - -“Certainly,” replied the father. “It is well; for as the Sun-father hath -directed the Deer-being, thus must it be done.” - -Then he forthwith went away and commanded his Priest of the Bow, who, -mounting to the topmost house, directed the elders and priests of the -tribe, saying: - - “Ye, our children, listen! - Ye I will this day inform, - Our child, our father, - He of the strong hand, - He who so hunts the Deer, - Goes unto the Sunset world, - Goes, our Sun-father to greet; - Gather at the sacred houses, - Bring thy prayer-sticks, twines, and feathers, - And prepare for him,-- - For the Sun-father, - For the Moon-mother, - For the Great Ocean, - For the Prey-beings, plumes and treasures. - Hasten, hasten, ye our children, in the morning!” - -So the people gathered in the _kiwetsiwe_ and sacred houses next morning -and began to make prayer-plumes, while the sister of the young man and -her relatives made sweet parched corn-meal and gathered pollen. Toward -evening all was completed. The young man summoned his relatives, and -chose his four uncles to accompany him. Then he spread enough -cotton-wool out to cover the floor, and, gathering it up, made it into a -small bundle. The sweet meal filled a large sack of buckskin, and he -took also a little sack of sacred red paint and the black warrior paint -with little shining particles in it. Then he bade farewell to his -lamenting people and rested for the evening journey. - -Next morning, escorted by priests, the young man, arrayed in garments -of embroidered white cotton and carrying his plumes in his arms, started -out of the town, and, accompanied only by his four uncles, set out over -the mountains. On the third day they reached the forest on the bank of -the great river and encamped. - -Then the young man left the camp of his uncles and went alone into the -forest, and, choosing the greatest tree he could find, hacked midway -through it with his great flint knife. The next day he cut the other -half and felled it, when he found it partly hollow. So with his little -knife he began to cut it as he had been directed, and made the round -door for it and the hole through the top. With his bundle of cotton he -padded it everywhere inside until it was thickly coated and soft, and he -made a bed on the bottom as thick as himself. - -When all was ready and he had placed his food and plumes inside, he -called his uncles and showed them the hollow log. “In this,” said he, “I -am to journey to the western home of our Sun-father. When I have entered -and closed the round door tightly and put the plug into the upper hole -securely, do ye, never thinking of me, roll the log over and over to the -high brink of the river, and, never regarding consequences, push it into -the water.” - -Then it was that the uncles all lamented and tried to dissuade him; but -he persisted, and they bade him “Go,” as forever, “for,” said they, -“could one think of journeying even to the end of the earth and across -the waters that embrace the world without perishing?” - -Then, hastily embracing each of them, the young man entered his log, -and, securely fastening the door from the inside, and the plug, called -out (they heard but faintly), “_Kesi!_” which means “All is ready.” - -Sorrowfully and gently they rolled the log over and over to the high -river bank, and, hesitating a moment, pushed it off with anxious eyes -and closed mouths into the river. Eagerly they watched it as it tumbled -end-over-end and down into the water with a great splash, and -disappeared under the waves, which rolled one after another across to -the opposite banks of the river. But for a long time they saw nothing of -it. After a while, far off, speeding on toward the Western Waters of the -World, they saw the log rocking along on the rushing waters until it -passed out of sight, and they sadly turned toward their homes under the -Mountains of the South. - -When the log had ceased rocking and plunging, the young man cautiously -drew out the plug, and, finding that no water flowed in, peered out. A -ray of sunlight slanted in, and by that he knew it was not yet midday, -and he could see a round piece of sky and clouds through the hole. -By-and-by the ray of sunlight came straight down, and then after a while -slanted the other way, and finally toward evening it ceased to shine in, -and then the youth took out some of his meal and ate his supper. When -after a while he could see the stars, and later the Hanging Lines [the -sword-belt of Orion], he knew it was time to rest, so he lay down to -sleep. - -Thus, day after day, he travelled until he knew he was out on the Great -Waters of the World, for no longer did his log strike against anything -or whirl around, nor could he see, through the chink, leaves of -overhanging trees, nor rocks and banks of earth. On the tenth morning, -when he looked up through the hole, he saw that the clouds did not move, -and wondering at this, kicked at his log, but it would not move. Then he -peered out as far as he could and saw rocks and trees. When he tried to -rock his log, it remained firm, so he determined to open the door at the -end. - -Now, in reality, his log had been cast high up on the shore of a great -mountain that rose out of the waters; and this mountain was the home of -the Rattlesnakes. A Rattlesnake maiden was roaming along the shore just -as the young man was about to open the door of his log. She espied the -curious vessel, and said to herself in thought: “What may this be? Ah, -yes, and who? Ah, yes, the mortal who was to come; it must be he!” -Whereupon she hastened to the shore and tapped on the log. - -“Art thou come?” she asked. - -“Aye,” replied the youth. “Who may you be, and where am I?” - -“You are landed on the Island of the Rattlesnakes, and I am one of them. -The other side of the mountain here is where our village is. Come out -and go with me, for my old ones have expected you long.” - -“Is it dry, surely?” asked the young man. - -“Why, yes! Here you are high above the waters.” - -Thereupon the young man opened from the inside his door, and peered out. -Surely enough, there he was high among the rocks and sands. Then he -looked at the Rattlesnake maiden, and scarcely believed she was what she -called herself, for she was a most beautiful young woman, and like a -daughter of men. Yet around her waist--she was dressed in cotton -mantles--was girt a rattlesnake-skin which was open at the breast and on -the crown of the head. - -“Come with me,” said the maiden; and she led the way over the mountain -and across to a deep valley, where terrible Serpents writhed and gleamed -in the sunlight so thickly that they seemed, with their hissing and -rattling, like a dry mat shaken by the wind. The youth drew back in -horror, but the maiden said: “Fear not; they will neither harm you nor -frighten you more, for they are my people.” Whereupon she commanded them -to fall back and make a pathway for the young man and herself; and they -tamely obeyed her commands. Through the opening thus made they passed -down to a cavern, on entering which they found a great room. There were -great numbers of Rattlesnake people, old and young, gathered in council, -for they knew of the coming of the young man. Around the walls of their -houses were many pegs and racks with serpent skins hanging on -them--skins like the one the young girl wore as a girdle. The elders -arose and greeted the youth, saying: “Our child and our father, comest -thou, comest thou happily these many days?” - -“Aye, happily,” replied the youth. - -And after a feast of strange food had been placed before the young man, -and he had eaten a little, the elders said to him: “Knowest thou whither -thou goest, that the way is long and fearful, and to mortals unknown, -and that it will be but to meet with poverty that thou journeyest alone? -Therefore have we assembled to await thy coming and in order that thou -shouldst journey preciously, we have decided to ask thee to choose from -amongst us whom thou shalt have for a companion.” - -“It is well, my fathers,” said the young man, and, casting his eyes -about the council to find which face should be kindest to him, he chose -the maiden, and said: “Let it be this one, for she found me and loved me -in that she gently and without fear brought me into your presence.” - -And the girl said: “It is well, and I will go.” - -Instantly the grave and dignified elders, the happy-faced youths and -maidens, the kind-eyed matrons, all reached up for their serpent skins, -and, passing them over their persons,--lo! in the time of the telling of -it, the whole place was filled with writhing and hissing Serpents and -the din of their rattles. In horror the young man stood against the wall -like a hollow stalk, and the Serpent maiden, going to each of the -members of the council, extracted from each a single fang, which she -wrapped together in a piece of fabric, until she had a great bundle. -Then she passed her hand over her person, and lo! she became a beautiful -human maiden again, holding in her hand a rattlesnake skin. Then taking -up the bundle of fangs, she said to the young man: “Come, for I know the -way and will guide you!”--and the young man followed her to the shore -where his log lay. - -“Now,” said she, “wait while I fix this log anew, that it may be well,” -and she bored many little holes all over the log, and into these holes -she inserted the crooked fangs, so that they all stood slanting toward -the rear, like the spines on the back of a porcupine. - -When she had done this, she said: “First I will enter, for there may not -be room for two, and in order that I may make myself like the space I -enter, I will lay on my dress again. Do you, when I have entered, enter -also, and with your feet kick the log down to the shore waters, when you -must quickly close the door and the waters will take us abroad upon -themselves.” - -In an instant she had passed into her serpent form again and crawled -into the log. The young man did as he was bidden, and as he closed the -door a wave bore them gently out upon the waters. Then, as the young man -turned to look upon his companion coiled so near him, he drew back in -horror. - -“Why do you fear?” asked the Rattlesnake. - -“I know not, but I fear you; perhaps, though you speak gently, you will, -when I sleep, bite me and devour my flesh, and it is with thoughts of -this that I have fear.” - -“Ah, no!” replied the maiden, “but, that you may not fear, I will -change myself.” And so saying, she took off her skin, and, opening the -upper part of the door, hung the skin on the fangs outside. - -Finally, toward noon-time, the youth prepared his meal food, and placing -some before the maiden, asked her to eat. - -“Ah, no! alas, I know not the food of mortals. Have you not with you the -yellow dust of the corn-flower?” - -“Aye, that I have,” said the young man, and producing a bag, opened it -and asked the girl: “How shall I feed it to you?” - -“Scatter it upon the cotton, and by my knowledge I will gather it.” - -Then the young man scattered a great quantity on the cotton, wondering -how the girl would gather it up. But the maiden opened the door, and -taking down the skin changed herself to a serpent, and passing to and -fro over the pollen, received it all within her scales. Then she resumed -her human form again and hung the skin up as before. - -Thus they floated until they came to the great forks of the Mighty -Waters of the World, and their floating log was guided into the southern -branch. And on they floated toward the westward for four months from the -time when the uncles had thrown him into the river. - -One day the maiden said to the youth: “We are nearing our journey’s end, -and, as I know the way, I will guide you. Hold yourself hard and ready, -for the waters will cast our house high upon the shores of the mountain -wherein the Sun enters, and these shores are inaccessible because so -smooth.” - -Then the log was cast high above the slippery bank, and when the waters -receded there it remained, for the fangs grappled it fast. - -Then said the maiden: “Let us now go out. Fear not for your craft, for -the fangs will hold it fast; it matters little how high the waves may -roll, or how steep and slippery the bank.” - -Then, taking in his arms the sacred plumes which his people had prepared -for him, he followed the girl far up to the doorway in the Mountain of -the Sea. Out of it grew a great ladder of giant rushes, by the side of -which stood an enormous basket-tray. Very fast approached the Sun, and -soon the Sun-father descended the ladder, and the two voyagers followed -down. They were gently greeted by a kind old woman, the grandmother of -the Sun, and were given seats at one side of a great and wonderfully -beautiful room. - -Then the Sun-father approached some pegs in the wall and from them -suspended his bow and quiver, and his bright sun-shield, and his -wonderful travelling dress. Behold! there stood, kindly smiling before -the youth and maiden, the most magnificent and gentle of beings in the -world--the Sun-father. - -Then the Sun-father greeted them, and, turning to a great package which -he had brought in, opened it and disclosed thousands of shell beads, red -and white, and thousands more of brilliant turquoises. These he poured -into the great tray at the door-side, and gave them to the grandmother, -who forthwith began to sort them with great rapidity. But, ere she had -done, the Sun-father took them from her; part of them he took out with -unerring judgment and cast them abroad into the great waters as we cast -sacred prayer-meal. The others he brought below and gave them to the -grandmother for safe-keeping. - -Then he turned once more to the youth and the maiden, and said to the -former: “So thou hast come, my child, even as I commanded. It is well, -and I am thankful.” Then, in a stern and louder voice, which yet sounded -like the voice of a father, he asked: “Hast thou brought with thee that -whereby we are made happy with our children?” - -And the young man said: “Aye, I have.” - -“It is well; and if it be well, then shalt thou precious be; for knowest -thou not that I recognize the really good from the evil,--even of the -thoughts of men,--and that I know the prayer and sacrifice that is -meant, from the words and treasures of those who do but lie in -addressing them to me, and speak and act as children in a joke? Behold -the treasure which I brought with me from the cities of mankind today! -Some of them I cherished preciously, for they are the gifts to me of -good hearts and I treasure them that I may return them in good fortune -and blessing to those who gave them. But some thou sawest I cast abroad -into the great waters that they may again be gathered up and presented -to me; for they were the gifts of double and foolish hearts, and as such -cannot be treasured by me nor returned unto those who gave them. Bring -forth, my child, the plumes and gifts thou hast brought. Thy mother -dwelleth in the next room, and when she appeareth in this, thou shalt -with thine own hand present to her thy sacrifice.” - -So the youth, bowing his head, unwrapped his bundle and laid before the -Sun-father the plumes he had brought. And the Sun-father took them and -breathed upon them and upon the youth, and said: “Thanks, this day. Thou -hast straightened thy crooked thoughts.” - -And when the beautiful Mother of Men, the Moon-mother--the wife of the -Sun-father--appeared, the boy placed before her the plumes he had -brought, and she, too, breathed upon them, and said: “Thanks, this day,” -even as the Sun-father had. - -Then the Sun-father turned to the youth and said: “Thou shalt join me in -my journey round the world, that thou mayest see the towns and nations -of mankind--my children; that thou mayest realize how many are my -children. Four days shalt thou join me in my journeyings, and then shalt -thou return to the home of thy fathers.” - -And the young man said: “It is well!” but he turned his eyes to the -maiden. - -“Fear not, my child,” added the Father, “she shall sit preciously in my -house until we have returned.” - -And after they had feasted, the Sun-father again enrobed himself, and -the youth he dressed in appearance as he himself was dressed. Then, -taking the sun-dress from the wall, he led the way down through the four -great apartments of the world, and came out into the Lower Country of -the Earth. - -Behold! as they entered that great world, it was filled with snow and -cold below, and the tracks of men led out over great white plains, and -as they passed the cities of these nether countries people strange to -see were clearing away the snow from their house-tops and doorways. - -And so they journeyed to the other House of the Sun, and, passing up -through the four great rooms, entered the home of the aunts of the -Sun-father; and here, too, the young man presented plumes of prayer and -sacrifice to the inmates, and received their thanks and blessings. - -Again they started together on their journey; and behold! as they came -out into the World of Daylight, the skies below them were filled with -the rain of summer-time. - -Across the great world they journeyed, and they saw city after city of -men, and many tribes of strange peoples. Here they were engaged in wars -and in wasting the lives of one another; there they were dying of famine -and disease; and more of misery and poverty than of happiness saw the -young man among the nations of men. “For,” said the Sun-father, “these -be, alas! my children, who waste their lives in foolishness, or slay one -another in useless anger; yet they are brothers to one another, and I am -the father of all.” - -Thus journeyed they four days; and each evening when they returned to -the home where the Sun-father enters, he gave to his grandmother the -great package of treasure which his children among men had sacrificed to -him, and each day he cast the treasures of the bad and double-hearted -into the great waters. - -On the fourth day, when they had entered the western home of the -Sun-father, said the latter to the youth: “Thy task is meted out and -finished; thou shalt now return unto the home of thy fathers--my -children below the mountains of Shíwina. How many days, thinkest thou, -shalt thou journey?” - -“Many days more than ten,” replied the youth with a sigh. - -“Ah! no, my child,” said the Sun-father. “Listen; thou shalt in one day -reach the banks of the river whence thou camest. Listen! Thou shalt take -this, my shaft of strong lightning; thou shalt grasp its neck with firm -hands, and as thou extendest it, it will stretch out far to thy front -and draw thee more swiftly than the arrow’s flight through the water. -Take with thee this quiver of unerring arrows, and this strong bow, that -by their will thou mayest seek life; but forget not thy sacrifices nor -that they are to be made with true word and a faithful heart. Take also -with thee thy guide and companion, the Rattlesnake maiden. When thou -hast arrived at the shore of the country of her people, let go the -lightning, and it will land thee high. On the morrow I will journey -slowly, that ere I be done rising thou mayest reach the home of the -maiden. There thou must stop but briefly, for thy fathers, the -Rattle-tailed Serpents, will instruct thee, and to their counsel thou -must pay strict heed, for thus only will it be well. Thou shalt present -to them the plumes of the Prey-beings thou bringest, and when thou hast -presented these, thou must continue thy journey. Rest thou until the -morrow, and early as the light speed hence toward the home of thy -fathers. May all days find ye, children, happy.” With this, the -Sun-father, scarce listening to the prayers and thanks of the youth and -maiden, vanished below. - -Thus, when morning approached, the youth and the maiden entered the -hollow house and closed it. Scarce did the youth grasp the lightning -when, drawn by the bright shaft, the log shot far out into the great -waters and was skimming, too fast to be seen, toward the home of the -Rattle-tailed Serpents. - -And the Sun had but just climbed above the mountains of this world of -daylight when the little tube was thrown high above the banks of the -great island whither they were journeying. - -Then the youth and the maiden again entered the council of the -Rattlesnakes, and when they saw the shining black paint on his face they -asked that they too might paint their faces like his own; but they -painted their cheeks awkwardly, as to this day may be seen; for all -rattlesnakes are painted unevenly in the face. Then the young man -presented to each the plumes he had brought, and told the elders that he -would return with their maiden to the home of his father. - -“Be it well, that it may be well,” they replied; and they thanked him -with delight for the treasure-plumes he had bestowed upon them. - -“Go ye happily all days,” said the elders. “Listen, child, and father, -to our words of advice. But a little while, and thou wilt reach the bank -whence thou started. Let go the shaft of lightning, and, behold, the -tube thou hast journeyed with will plunge far down into the river. Then -shalt thou journey with this our maiden three days. Care not to embrace -her, for if thou doest this, it will not be well. Journey ye preciously, -our children, and may ye be happy one with the other.” - -So again they entered their hollow log, and, before entering, the maiden -placed her rattlesnake skin as before on the fangs. With incredible -swiftness the lightning drew them up the great surging river to the -banks where the cottonwood forests grow, and when the lad pressed the -shaft it landed them high among the forest trees above the steep bank. -Then the youth pressed the lightning-shaft with all his might, and the -log was dashed into the great river. While yet he gazed at the bounding -log, behold! the fangs which the maiden had fixed into it turned to -living serpents; hence today, throughout the whole great world, from the -Land of Summer to the Waters of Sunset, are found the Rattlesnakes and -their children. - -Then the young man journeyed with the maiden southward; and on the way, -with the bow and arrows the Sun-father had given him, he killed game, -that they might have meat to eat. Nor did he forget the commandments of -his Sun-father. At night he built a fire in a forest of piñons, and made -a bower for the maiden near to it; but she could not sit there, for she -feared the fire, and its light pained her eyes. Nor could she eat at -first of the food he cooked for her, but only tasted a few mouthfuls of -it. Then the young man made a bed for her under the trees, and told her -to rest peacefully, for he would guard her through the night. - -And thus they journeyed and rested until the fourth day, when at evening -they entered the town under the mountains of Shíwina and were happily -welcomed by the father, sister, and relatives of the young man. Blessed -by the old priest-chief, the youth and the maiden dwelt with the younger -sister Waíasialuhtitsa, in the high house of the upper part of the town. -And the boy was as before a mighty hunter, and the maiden at last grew -used to the food and ways of mortals. - -After they had thus lived together for a long time, there were born of -the maiden two children, twins. - -Wonderful to relate, these children grew to the power of wandering, in a -single day and night; and hence, when they appeared suddenly on the -house-tops and in the plazas, people said to one another: - -“Who are these strange people, and whence came they?”--and talked much -after the manner of our foolish people. And the other little children in -the town beat them and quarrelled with them, as strange children are -apt to do with strange children. And when the twins ran in to their -mother, crying and complaining, the poor young woman was saddened; so -she said to the father when he returned from hunting in the evening: - -“Ah! ‘their father,’ it is not well that we remain longer here. No, -alas! I must return to the country of my fathers, and take with me these -little ones,” and, although the father prayed her not, she said only: -“It must be,” and he was forced to consent. - -Then for four days the Rattlesnake woman instructed him in the prayers -and chants of her people, and she took him forth and showed him the -medicines whereby the bite of her fathers might be assuaged, and how to -prepare them. Again and again the young man urged her not to leave him, -saying: “The way is long and filled with dangers. How, alas! will you -reach it in safety?” - -“Fear not,” said she; “go with me only to the shore of the great river, -and my fathers will come to meet me and take me home.” - -Sadly, on the last morning, the father accompanied his wife and children -to the forests of the great river. There she said he must not follow; -but as he embraced them he cried out: - -“Ah, alas! my beautiful wife, my beloved children, flesh of my flesh, -how shall I not follow ye?” - -Then his wife answered: “Fear not, nor trouble thyself with sad -thoughts. Whither we go thou canst not follow, for thou eatest cooked -food--(thou art a mortal); but soon thy fathers and mine will come for -thee, and thou wilt follow us, never to return.” Then she turned from -him with the little children and was seen no more, and the young man -silently returned to his home below the mountains of Shíwina. - -It happened here and there in time that young men of his tribe were -bitten by rattlesnakes; but the young man had only to suck their wounds, -and apply his medicines, and sing his incantations and prayers, to cure -them. Whenever this happened, he breathed the sacred breath upon them, -and enjoined them to secrecy of the rituals and chants he taught them, -save only to such as they should choose and teach the practice of their -prayers. - -Thus he had cured and taught eight, when one day he ascended the -mountains for wood. There, alone in the forest, he was met and bitten by -his fathers. Although he slowly and painfully crawled home, long ere he -reached his town he was so swollen that the eight whom he had instructed -tried in vain to cure him, and, bidding them cherish as a precious gift -the knowledge of his beloved wife, he died. - -Immediately his fathers met his breath and being and took them to the -home of the Maiden of the Rattlesnakes and of his lost children. Need we -ask why he was not cured by his disciples? - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients, and hence today we have fathers -amongst us to whom the dread bite of the rattlesnake need cause no sad -thoughts,--the _Tchi Kialikwe_ (Society of the Rattlesnakes). - -Thus much and thus shortened is my story. - - [Illustration: {Masks}] - - - [Illustration: THUNDER MOUNTAIN FROM ZUÑI - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - - - - -HOW ÁHAIYÚTA AND MÁTSAILÉMA STOLE THE THUNDER-STONE AND THE -LIGHTNING-SHAFT - - -Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma, with their grandmother, lived where now stands -the ancient Middle Place of Sacrifice on Thunder Mountain. - -One day they went out hunting prairie-dogs, and while they were running -about from one prairie-dog village to another, it began to rain, which -made the trail slippery and the ground muddy, so that the boys became a -little wrathful. Then they sat down and cursed the rain for a brief -space. Off in the south it thundered until the earth trembled, and the -lightning-shafts flew about the red-bordered clouds until the two -brothers were nearly blinded with the beholding of it. Presently the -younger brother smoothed his brow, and jumped up with an exclamation -somewhat profane, and cried out: “Elder brother, let us go to the Land -of Everlasting Summer and steal from the gods in council their thunder -and lightning. I think it would be fine fun to do that sort of thing we -have just been looking at and listening to.” - -The elder brother was somewhat more cautious; still, on the whole, he -liked the idea. So he said: “Let us take our prairie-dogs home to the -grandmother, that she shall have something to eat meanwhile, and we will -think about going tomorrow morning.” - -The next morning, bright and early, they started out. In vain the old -grandmother called rather crossly after them: “Where are you going now?” -She could get no satisfaction, for she knew they lied when they called -back: “Oh, we are only going to hunt more prairie-dogs.” It is true that -they skulked round in the plains about Thunder Mountain a little while, -as if looking for prairie-dogs. Then, picking up their wondrously swift -heels, they sped away toward that beautiful country of the corals, the -Land of Everlasting Summer. - -At last,--it may be in the mountains of that country, which are said to -glow like shells of the sea or the clouds of the sunset,--they came to -the House of the Beloved Gods themselves. And that red house was a -wondrous terrace, rising wall after wall, and step after step, like a -high mountain, grand and stately; and the walls were so smooth and high -that the skill and power of the little War-gods availed them nothing; -they could not get in. - -“What shall we do?” asked the younger brother. - -“Go home,” said the elder, “and mind our own affairs.” - -“Oh, no,” urged the younger; “I have it, elder brother. Let us hunt up -our grandfather, the Centipede.” - -“Good!” replied the elder. “A happy thought is that of yours, my brother -younger.” - -Forthwith they laid down their bows and quivers of mountain-lion skin, -their shields, and other things, and set about turning over all the flat -stones they could find. Presently, lifting one with their united -strength, they found under it the very old fellow they sought. He -doubled himself, and covered his eyes from the sharpness of the -daylight. He did not much like being thus disturbed, even by his -grandchildren, the War-gods, in the middle of his noon-day nap, and was -by no means polite to them. But they prodded him a little in the side, -and said: “Now, grandfather, look here! We are in difficulty, and there -is no one in the wide world who can help us out as you will.” - -The old Centipede was naturally flattered. He unrolled himself and -viewed them with a look which he intended to be extremely reproachful -and belittling. “Ah, my grandchildren,” said he, “what are you up to -now? Are you trying to get yourselves into trouble, as usual? No doubt -of it! I will help you all I can; but the consequences be on your own -heads!” - -“That’s right, grandfather, that’s right! No one in the world could help -us as you can,” said one of them. “The fact is, we want to get hold of -the thunder-stone and the lightning-shaft which the Rain-gods up there -in the tremendous house keep and guard so carefully, we understand. Now, -in the first place, we cannot get up the wall; in the second place, if -we did, we would probably have a fuss with them in trying to steal these -things. Therefore, we want you to help us, if you will.” - -“With all my heart, my boys! But I should advise you to run along home -to your grandmother, and let these things alone.” - -“Oh, pshaw, nonsense! We are only going to play a little while with the -thunder and lightning.” - -“All right,” replied the old Worm; “sit here and wait for me.” He -wriggled himself and stirred about, and his countless legs were more -countless than ever with rapid motions as he ran toward the walls of -that stately terrace. A vine could not have run up more closely, nor a -bird more rapidly; for if one foot slipped, another held on; so the old -Centipede wriggled himself up the sides and over the roof, down into the -great sky-hole; and, scorning the ladder, which he feared might creak, -he went along, head-downward, on the ceiling to the end of the room over -the altar, ran down the side, and approached that most forbidden of -places, the altar of the gods themselves. The beloved gods, in silent -majesty, were sitting there with their heads bowed in meditation so deep -that they heard not the faint scuffle of the Centipede’s feet as he -wound himself down into the altar and stole the thunder-stone. He took -it in his mouth--which was larger than the mouths of Centipedes are -now--and carried it silently, weighty as it was, up the way he had come, -over the roof, down the wall, and back to the flat stone where he made -his home, and where, hardly able to contain themselves with impatience, -the two youthful gods were awaiting him. - -“Here he comes!” cried the younger brother, “and he’s got it! By my -war-bonnet, he’s got it!” - -The old grandfather threw the stone down. It began to sound, but -Áhaiyúta grabbed it, and, as it were, throttled its world-stirring -speech. “Good! good!” he cried to the grandfather; “thank you, old -grandfather, thank you!” - -“Hold on!” cried the younger brother; “you didn’t bring both. What can -we do with the one without the other?” - -“Shut up!” cried the old Worm. “I know what I am about!” And before they -could say any more he was off again. Ere long he returned, carrying the -shaft of lightning, with its blue, shimmering point, in his mouth. - -“Good!” cried the War-gods. And the younger brother caught up the -lightning, and almost forgot his weapons, which, however, he did stop to -take up, and started on a full run for Thunder Mountain, followed by his -more deliberate, but equally interested elder brother, who brought along -the thunder-stone, which he found a somewhat heavier burden than he had -supposed. - -It was not long, you may well imagine, so powerful were these Gods of -War, ere they reached the home of their grandmother on the top of -Thunder Mountain. They had carefully concealed the thunder-stone and the -shaft of lightning meanwhile, and had taken care to provide themselves -with a few prairie-dogs by way of deception. - -Still, in majestic revery, unmoved, and apparently unwitting of what had -taken place, sat the Rain-gods in their home in the mountains of -Summerland. - -Not long after they arrived, the young gods began to grow curious and -anxious to try their new playthings. They poked one another -considerably, and whispered a great deal, so that their grandmother -began to suspect they were about to play some rash joke or other, and -presently she espied the point of lightning gleaming under Mátsailéma’s -dirty jacket. - -“Demons and corpses!” she cried. “By the moon! You have stolen the -thunder-stone and lightning-shaft from the Gods of Rain themselves! Go -this instant and return them, and never do such a thing again!” she -cried, with the utmost severity; and, making a quick step for the -fireplace, she picked up a poker with which to belabor their backs, when -they whisked out of the room and into another. They slammed the door in -their grandmother’s face and braced it, and, clearing away a lot of -rubbish that was lying around the rear room, they established themselves -in one end, and, nodding and winking at one another, cried out: “Now, -then!” The younger let go the lightning-shaft; the elder rolled the -thunder-stone. The lightning hissed through the air, and far out into -the sky, and returned. The thunder-stone rolled and rumbled until it -shook the foundations of the mountain. “Glorious fun!” cried the boys, -rubbing their thighs in ecstasy of delight. “Do it again!” And again -they sent forth the lightning and rolled the thunder-stone. - -And now the gods in Summerland arose in their majesty and breathed upon -the skies; and the winds rose, and the rains fell like rivers from the -clouds, centering their violence upon the roof of the poor old -grandmother’s house. Heedlessly those reckless wretches kept on playing -the thunder-stone and lightning-shaft without the slightest regard to -the tremendous commotion they were raising all through the skies and all -over Thunder Mountain; but nowhere else as above the house where their -poor old grandmother lived fell the torrent of the rain, and there -alone, of course, burst the lightning and rolled the thunder. - -Soon the water poured through the roof of the house; but, move the -things as the old grandmother would, she could not keep them dry; scold -the boys as she would, she could not make them desist. No, they would -only go on with their play more violently than ever, exclaiming: “What -has she to say, anyway? It won’t hurt her to get a good ducking, and -this is fun!” By-and-by the waters rose so high that they extinguished -the fire. Soon they rose still higher, so that the War-gods had to -paddle around half submerged. Still they kept rolling the thunder-stone -and shooting the lightning. The old grandmother scolded harder and -harder, but after awhile desisted and climbed to the top of the -fireplace, whence, after recovering from her exertion, she began again. -But the boys heeded her not, only saying: “Let her yell! Let her scold! -This is fun!” At last they began to take the old grandmother’s scolding -as a matter of course, and allowed nothing but the water to interrupt -their pastime. It rose so high, finally, that they were near drowning. -Then they climbed to the roof, but still they kept on. - -“By the bones of the dead! why did we not think to come here before? -’Tis ten times as fine up here. See him shoot!” cried one to the other, -as the lightning sped through the sky, ever returning. - -“Hear it mutter and roll!” cried the other, as the thunder bellowed and -grumbled. - -But no sooner had the Two begun their sport on the roof, than the rain -fell in one vast sheet all about them; and it was not long ere the house -was so full that the old grandmother--locked in as she was--bobbed her -poor pate on the rafters in trying to keep it above the water. She -gulped water, and gasped, coughed, strangled, and shrieked to no -purpose. - -“What a fuss our old grandmother is making, to be sure!” cried the boys. -And they kept on, until, forsooth, the water had completely filled the -room, and the grandmother’s cries gurgled away and ceased. Finally, the -thunder-stone grew so terrific, and the lightning so hot and -unmanageable, that the boys, drawing a long breath and thinking with -immense satisfaction of the fun they had had, possibly also influenced -as to the safety of the house, which was beginning to totter, flung the -thunder-stone and the lightning-shaft into the sky, where, rattling and -flashing away, they finally disappeared over the mountains in the south. - -Then the clouds rolled away and the sun shone out, and the boys, wet to -the skin, tired in good earnest, and hungry as well, looked around. -“Goodness! the water is running out of the windows of our house! This -is a pretty mess we are in! Grandmother! Grandmother!” they shouted. -“Open the door, and let us in!” But the old grandmother had piped her -last, and never a sound came except that of flowing water. They sat -themselves down on the roof, and waited for the water to get lower. Then -they climbed down, and pounded open the door, and the water came out -with a rush, and out with a rush, too, their poor old grandmother,--her -eyes staring, her hair all mopped and muddied, and her fingers and legs -as stiff as cedar sticks. - -“Oh, ye gods! ye gods!” the two boys exclaimed; “we have killed our own -grandmother--poor old grandmother, who scolded us so hard and loved us -so much! Let us bury her here in front of the door, as soon as the water -has run away.” - -So, as soon as it became dry enough, there they buried her; and in less -than four days a strange plant grew up on that spot, and on its little -branches, amid its bright green leaves, hung long, pointed pods of -fruit, as red as the fire on the breast of the red-bird. - -“It is well,” said the boys, as they stood one day looking at this -plant. “Let us scatter the seeds abroad, that men may find and plant -them. It seems it was not without good cause that in the abandonment to -our sport we killed our old grandmother, for out of her heart there -sprung a plant into the fruits of which, as it were, has flowed the -color as well as the fire of her scolding tongue; and, if we have lost -our grandmother, whom we loved much, but who loved us more, men have -gained a new food, which, though it burn them, shall please them more -than did the heat of her discourse please us. Poor old grandmother! Men -will little dream when they eat peppers that the seed of them first -arose from the fiery heart of the grandmother of Áhaiyúta and -Mátsailéma.” - -Thereupon the two seized the pods and crushed them between their hands, -with an exclamation of pleasure at the brisk odor they gave forth. They -cast the seeds abroad, which seeds here and there took root; and the -plants which sprang from them being found by men, were esteemed good and -were cultivated, as they are to this day in the pepper gardens of Zuñi. - -Ever since this time you hear that mountain wherein lived the gods with -their grandmother called Thunder Mountain; and often, indeed, to this -day, the lightning flashes and the thunder plays over its brows and the -rain falls there most frequently. - -It is said by some that the two boys, when asked how they stole the -lightning-shaft and the thunder-stone, told on their poor old -grandfather, the Centipede. The beloved Gods of the Rain gave him the -lightning-shaft to handle in another way, and it so burned and -shrivelled him that he became small, as you can see by looking at any of -his numerous descendants, who are not only small but appear like a -well-toasted bit of buckskin, fringed at the edges. - -So shortens my story. - - - [Illustration: A HOPI (MOKI) MAIDEN - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - - - - -THE WARRIOR SUITOR OF MOKI - - - [Illustration: {A young Moki woman}] - -We take up a story. Of the times of the ancients, a story. Listen, ye -young ones and youths, and from what I say draw inference. For behold! -the youth of our nation in these recent generations have become less -sturdy than of old; else what I relate had not happened. - -To our shame be it told that not many generations ago there -lived in Moki a poor, ill-favored outcast of a young man, a -not-to-be-thought-of-as-hero youth, yet nevertheless the hero of my -story; for this youth, the last-mentioned in the numbering of the -men of Moki in those days, alone brought great grief on the nation -of Zuñi. - -And it happened that in Walpi, on the first mesa of the Mokis, there -lived an amiable, charming, and surpassingly beautiful girl, whose face -was shining, eyes bright, cheeks red like the frost-bite on the -datila[12]; whose hair was abundant and soft, black and waving, and done -up in large whorls above her ears,--larger than those of the other -maidens of her town or nation,--and whose beautiful possessions were as -many as were the charms of her person. - - [12] Fruit of the yucca, or soap-weed plant. - -What wonder, then, that the youths of the Moki towns should be enamored -of her, and seek constantly, with much urgent bespeaking, for the favor -of her affections? Yet she would none of them. She would shake her head -with a saucy smile, and reply to every one, as well as to every -recommendation of one from her elders: “A hero for me or no one! Any one -of these young men may win my affections if he will, for who knows until -the time comes whether a man be a hero or not?” - -So she made a proposition. She said to all the youths who came suing for -her hand: “Behold! our nation is at enmity with the Zuñis, far off to -the eastward, over the mountains. If any of you be so stout of limb and -strong of heart and brave of will, let him go to Zuñi, slay the men of -that nation, our enemies, and bring home, not only as proofs of his -valor, but as presentations to the warrior societies of our people, -scalps in goodly number. Him will I admire to the tips of my eyelashes; -him will I cherish to the extent of my powers; him will I make my -husband, and in such a husband will I glory!” - -But most of the young and handsome suitors who worried her with their -importunities would depart forthwith, crestfallen, loving the girl as -they did, forsooth, much less than they feared the warriors of Zuñi,--so -degenerate they had become, for shame! Months passed by. Not one of -those who went to the maiden’s house full of love came away from it with -as much love as want of valor. - -At last this outcast youth I have mentioned--who was spoken to by none, -who lived not even in the houses of his people, but, all filth and rags, -made himself comfortable as best he could with the dogs and eagles and -other creatures captive of the people, eating like them the castaway and -unwholesome scraps of ordinary meals--heard these jilted lovers -conversing from time to time, exclaiming one to another: “A valuable -maiden, indeed, for whom one would risk one’s life single handed against -a nation whose ancients ever prevailed over all men! No! though she be -the loveliest of women, I care not for her on those conditions.” “Nor -I!” “Nor I!” others would exclaim. - -Overhearing this talk, the youth formed a most presumptuous -resolution--no other, in fact, than this: that he himself would woo the -maiden. - -All dirty and ragged as he was, with hair unkempt, finger-nails long, -and person calloused by much exposure, lean and wiry like an abused but -hardened cur, he took himself one night to the home of the maiden’s -father. - -“_She-e!_” he exclaimed at the entrance of the house, on the top. - -And the people within called out: “_Kwátchi!_” - -“Are ye in?” inquired the youth, in such an affable and finished tone -and manner of speaking that the people expected to see some magnificent -youth enter, and to listen to his proposal of marriage with their -maiden. - -When they called out “Come in!” and he came stepping down the ladder -into the lighted room, they were, therefore, greatly surprised to see -this vagabond in the place of what they expected; nevertheless, the old -father greeted him pleasantly and politely and showed him a seat before -the fireplace, and bade the women set food before him. And the youth, -although he had not for many a day tasted good food or consumed a full -meal even, ate quite sparingly; and, having finished, joined, by the old -man’s invitation, in the smoking and conversation of the evening. - -At last the old man asked him what he came thinking of; and the youth -stated that, although it might seem presumptuous, he had heard of the -conditions which the maiden of this house had made for those who would -win her, and it had occurred to him that he would be glad to try,--so -little were his merits, yet so great his love. - -The old man listened, with an inward smile; and the maiden, though she -conceived no dislike for the youth (there was something about him, -strange to say, now that his voice had been heard, which changed her -opinion of him), nevertheless was quite merry, all to herself, over this -unheard-of proposal. So, when she was asked what she thought of the -matter, merely to test the seriousness of the young vagabond’s motives, -she made the conditions for him even harder than she had for the others, -saying: “Look you, stranger! If you will slay single-handed some of the -warriors of the valiant Zuñis and bring back to our town, to the joy of -our warriors and people, a goodly number of their scalps, I will indeed -wed you, as I have said I would the others.” - -This satisfied the youth, and, bidding them all pass a happy night, he -went forth into the dark. - -Not quite so poor and helpless as he seemed, was this youth; but one of -those wonderful beings of this earth in reality, for, behold! as he had -lived all his days since childhood with the dogs and eagles and other -captive animals of the towns of Moki-land, so, from long association -with them, he had learned their ways and language and had gained their -friendship and allegiance as no other mortal ever did. No family had he; -no one to advise him, save this great family of dogs and other animals -with which he lived. - -What do you suppose he did? He went to each hole, sheltered nook, and -oven in the town and called on the Dogs to join him in council, not long -before morning of that same night. Every Dog in the town answered the -summons; and, below the mesa on which Walpi stands, on one of those -sloping banks lighted by the moon, they gathered and made a tremendous -clamor with their yelpings and barkings and other noises such as you are -accustomed to hear from Dogs at night-time. The proposition which the -youth made to this council of Dogs was as follows: - -“My friends and brothers, I am about to go forth on the path of war to -the cities of the Zuñis toward the sunrise. If I succeed, my reward will -be great. Now, as I well know from having lived amongst you and been one -of you so long, there are two things which are more prized in a Dog’s -life than anything else. An occasional good feast is one of them; being -let alone is another. I think I can bring about both of these rewards -for you all if you will, four days hence, after I have prepared a -sufficiency of food for the party, join me in my warlike expedition -against the Zuñis.” - -The Dogs greeted this proposition with vociferous acclamation, and the -council dispersed. - -On the following day, toward evening, the youth again presented himself -at the home of the maiden. “My friends,” said he to the family; “I am, -as you know, or can easily perceive, extremely poor. I have no home nor -source of food; yet, as I anticipate that I shall be long on this -journey, and as I neither possess nor know how to use a bow and arrow, I -come to humbly beseech your assistance. I will undertake this thing -which has been proposed to me; but, in order that I may be enabled the -more easily to do so, I desire that you will present to me a sufficiency -of food for my journey; or, if you will lend it to me, I shall be -satisfied.” - -Now, the maiden’s people were among the first in the nation, and -well-to-do in all ways. They most willingly consented to give the young -man not only a sufficiency of food for days, but for months; and when he -went away that night he had all that he could carry of meal, coarse and -fine, _piki_ or Moki wafer-rolls, tortillas, and abundant grease-cakes, -which he well knew would be most tempting to Dogs. - -On the fourth day thereafter,--for he had been making his weapons: some -flint knives and a good hard war-club,--at evening, he again called at -each of the holes and places the Dogs of the town inhabited, and he said -to all of them: “I shall leave forthwith on my journey, having provided -myself with a sufficiency of food for much feasting on the way. Like -yourselves, I have become inured to hardship and am swift of foot, and -by midnight I shall be half-way to Zuñi. As soon as the people are -asleep, that they may not pelt you with stones and drive you back, -follow on the trail to Zuñi as fast as you can. I will await you by the -side of the Black Mountains, near the Spring of the Night-hawks, and -there I will cook the provisions, that we may have a jolly feast and the -more strongly proceed on our journey the day following.” - -The Dogs gave him repeated assurances of their willingness to follow; -and, heavily laden with his provisions, the youth, just at dusk, climbed -unobserved down the nether side of the mesa and set out through the -plains of sagebrush, over the hills far east of Moki, and so on along -the plateaus and valleys leading to this our town of Zuñi. At the place -he had appointed as a rendezvous he arrived not long before midnight, -lighted a fire, unstrapped his provisions, and began to cook mush in -great quantities. - -Now, after the lights in the windows of Moki began to go out--shutting -up their red eyes, as it were, as the maidens of Moki shut up their -bright eyes--there was tremendous activity observed among the Dogs. But -they made not much noise about it until every last Dog in town--as -motley a crowd of curs and mongrels as ever were seen, unless one might -see all the Dogs of Moki today--descended the mesa, and one by one -gathered in a great pack, and started, baying, barking, and howling -louder and louder as they went along over the eastern hills on the trail -which the youth had taken. - -By-and-by he heard them coming; _te-ne-e-e-e_ they sounded as they ran; -_wo-wo-o-o-o_ they came, baying and barking in all sorts of voices, -nearer and nearer. So the youth prepared his provisions, and as the -nearest of them came into the light of the fire, cried out: “Ho, my -friends, ye come! I am glad to see ye come! Sit ye round my camp-fire. -Let us feast and be merry and lighten the load of my provisions. -Methinks we will all carry some of them when we start out tomorrow.” - -Thereupon he liberally distributed mush, tortillas, and paper -bread,--inviting the hot, tired Dogs to drink their fill from the spring -and eat their fill from the feast. The Dogs, being very hungry, as Dogs -always are--and the more so from the memory of many a long fast--fell to -with avidity (and you know what that means with Dogs); and the -Short-legs and Beagles would not have fared very well had the youth not -considered them and held back a good supply of provisions against their -tardy appearance. - -Finally, when all were assembled and had eaten, if not to their -satisfaction--that was impossible--yet to their temporary gratification, -a merry, noisy, much-wriggling crowd they became. Some lay down and -rested, others were impatient for the journey; so that even before -daylight the youth, making up his bundle of provisions, again set forth -at a swift trot, followed by this pack of Dogs which ran along either -side of him and strung out on the trail the length of a race-course -behind him. - -Before night, see this valiant youth quietly hiding himself away in one -of the deep arroyos around the western end of Grand Mountain, and the -foot-hills of Twin Mountain, near which, as you know, the trail from -Moki leads to our town. He is giving directions to the Dogs in a quiet -manner, and feeding them again, rather more sparingly than at first that -they may be anxious for their work. - -He says to them: “My friends and brothers, lay yourselves about here, -each one according to his color in places most suited for -concealment,--some near the gray sage-bushes; and you fellows with fine -marks on your backs keep out of sight, pray, in these deep holes, and -come in as our reserve force when we want you. Now, lie here patiently, -for you will have enough work to do, and can afford to rest. Tomorrow -morning, not long after sunrise, I shall doubtless come, with more -precipitation than willingness, toward your ambuscade, with a pack of -Dogs less worthy the name than yourselves at my heels. Be ready to help -me; they are well-nurtured Dogs, and doubtless, if you like, you will be -wise enough to make much of this fact.” - -The Dogs were well pleased with his proposition, and, in louder voices -than was prudent, attested their readiness to follow his suggestion, -going so far as to assure him that he need have no fear whatsoever, that -they alone would vanquish the Zuñi nation--which, they had heard from -other Dogs, was becoming rather lazy and indifferent in manly matters, -Dogs and all. - -The night wore on; the youth had refreshed himself with sleep, and -somewhat after the herald-stars of the morning-star had appeared, he -stealthily picked his way across our broad plain, toward the hill of -Zuñi; and out west there, only a short space from the sunset front of -our town, he crouched down on a little terrace to wait. - -Not long after the morning-star had risen, a fine old Zuñi came out of -his house, shook his blanket, wrapped it round him, and came stealing -down in the daylight to the river side. After he had presented his -morning sacrifice toward the rising sun, he returned and sat down a -moment. He had no sooner seated himself than the wily, sinewy youth with -a quick motion sprang up, pulled the poor man over, and with his -war-club knocked his brains out, after which he leisurely took off the -scalp of the one he had slain. He had barely finished this operation -when he heard a ladder creak in one of the upper terraces of the town. -He quickly tucked the scalp in his belt, pulled himself together, and -thrusting the body of the dead man into the bottom of a hole, which was -very near, crouched over it and waited. The footsteps of the man who was -coming sounded nearer and nearer. Presently he also came to this place; -but no sooner had he reached the terrace than the Moki youth leaped up -and dealt him such a blow on the head that, without uttering a sound, he -instantly expired. This one he likewise scalped, and then another and -another he served in the same way, until, there being four slain men in -the pit, he had to drag some out of the way and throw them behind the -dust-heap. Just as he returned another man sauntered down to the place. -The youth murdered him like the rest, and was busy skinning his scalp, -when another who had followed him somewhat closely appeared at the hole, -and discovering what was going on, ran toward the town for his weapons, -shouting the war-cry of alarm as he went. Picking up the scalps and -snatching from the bodies of the slain their ornaments of greatest -value, the Moki youth sped off over the plain. - -In less time than it takes to tell it, the people of Zuñi were in arms; -dogs barked, children cried, women screamed,--for no one knew how many -the enemy might be,--and the Priests of the Bow, in half-secured armor -of buckskin, and with weapons in hand, came thundering down the hill and -across the plains in pursuit of the fleeing youth and in readiness to -oppose his band. Long before this crowd of warriors, now fully awake and -wild with rage, had reached the spot, the youth plunged into the arroyo -and called out to his Dogs: “Now for it, my friends! They will be here -in a minute! Do you hear them coming?” - -“Oh, ho!” softly barked the Dogs; and they stiffened their claws and -crouched themselves to spring when the time should come. - -Presently on came the crowd of warriors, now feeling that they had but a -small force, if indeed more than one man to oppose. And they came with -such precipitation that they took the gray and dun and yellow-shaded -Dogs for so many rocks and heaps of sand, and were fairly in the midst -of those brutes before they became aware of them at all. Death and -ashes! what a time there was of it! The youth fell in with his war-club, -the Dogs around, behind, and in front of them howling, snarling, biting, -tearing, and shaking the Zuñis on every hand, until every one of the -band was torn to pieces or so mangled that a few taps of the club of the -youth dispatched them. Those who had followed behind, not knowing what -to think of it all, frantically ran back to their people,--the -shame-begrimed cowards!--while the youth, with abundant leisure, went on -skinning scalps, until, perceiving much activity in the distant town, -concluded it would be wise to abandon some few he had not finished. So, -catching up his pack of provisions and his bloody string of scalps -(which was so long and thick he could hardly carry it, and which dragged -on the ground behind him), he trotted over the hills, followed by some -of the Dogs--the others remaining behind, feeling more secure of -swiftness--to take advantage of the ample feast spread before them. - -When the youth and the Dogs who followed him, or afterward joined him, -had again reached the great spring by the Black Mountains, leaving those -who pursued far behind, they stopped; and, building a fire of brush and -pine-knots, the youth cooked all the provisions he had. “Thanks this -day, my friends and brothers!” he cried to the Dogs. “Ye have nobly -served me. I will feast ye of the best.” Whereupon he produced the -grease-cakes and the more delicate articles of food which he had -reserved as a reward for the Dogs. They ate and ate, and loud were their -demonstrations of satisfaction. Then the youth, taking up the string of -scalps again, attached them to a long pole, which, to keep the lower -ones from dragging on the ground, he elevated over his shoulder, and, -striking up a song of victory, he wound his way along the trail toward -Moki. - -The Dogs, crazy with victory and much glutted, could not contain -themselves, but they bow-wowed with delight and yelped and scurried -about, cutting circles dusty and wide around their father, the -conquering youth. They hurried on so fast that by-and-by it was -noticeable that the Beagle Dogs fell in the rear. “By the music of -marrowbones!” exclaimed some of the swifter of foot; “we will have to -slacken our pace, father.” Said they, addressing the youth: “Our poor -brothers, the Short-legs, are evidently getting tired; they are falling -far in the rear, and it is not valorous, however great your victory and -however strong your desire to proclaim it at home, to leave a worn-out -brother lagging behind. The enemy might come unawares and cut off his -return and his daylight.” Most reluctantly, therefore, they slackened -their pace, and with shouts and yelps encouraged as much as possible the -stump-legged Dogs following behind. - -Now, on that day in Moki there had been much surprise expressed at the -absence of the Dogs, except those which were so young or so old that -they could not travel; and the people began to think that some devil or -all the wizards in Mokidom had been conjuring their Dogs away from them, -when toward evening they heard a distant sound, which was the -approaching victors’ demonstration of rejoicing, and clear above all was -the song of victory shouted by the lusty youth as he came bringing his -scalps along. “Woo, woo, woo!” the Dogs sounded as they came across the -valley and approached the foot of the mesa; and when the people looked -down and saw the blood and dirt with which every Dog was covered, they -knew not what to make of it,--whether their Dogs had been enticed away -and foully beaten, or whether they had taken after a herd of antelope, -perhaps, and vanquished them. But presently they espied in the midst of -the motley crowd of Curs the tall lank form of the vagabond youth and -heard his lusty song. The youths who had been jilted by the maiden at -once had their own ideas. Some of them sneaked away; others ground their -teeth and covered their eyes, filled with rage and shame; while the -elder-men of the nation, seeing what feats of valor this neglected youth -had accomplished, glorified him with answering songs of victory and -gathered in solemn council, as if for a most honored and precious guest, -to receive him. - -So, victorious and successful in all ways, the outcast dog of a youth -who went to Zuñi and returned the hero of the Moki nation right -willingly was accepted by this beauteous maiden as her husband after -the ceremonies of initiation and purification had been performed over -him. - -Ah, well! that was very fine; but all this praise of one who had been -despised and abused by themselves, and, more than all, the possession of -such a beautiful wife, wrought fierce jealousy in the breasts of the -many jilted lovers; making those who had looked askance at one another -before, true friends and firm brothers in a single cause--the undoing of -this lucky vagabond youth. Nor were they alone in this desire, for -behold! copying their lucky sister, all the pretty maidens in Moki -declared that they would marry no one who did not show himself at least -in some degree heroic, like the youth of the dog-holes who had married -their pretty sister. It therefore came about that the whole tribe of -Moki, so far as the young men were concerned, became a company of jilted -lovers, and all the maidens became confirmed in their resolutions of -virgin maidenhood. - -The jilted lovers got together one night in a cautious sort of way (for -they were all afraid of this hero) and held a council. But the fools -didn’t think of the Dogs lying around outside, who heard what they said. -They concluded the best way to get even with this youth was to kill him; -but how to kill him was the problem, for they were cowards. “We will get -up a hunt,” said one; “and make friends with him and ask him to go, -paying him all sorts of attention, and ask him to instruct us in the -arts of war, the wretch! He will readily join us in our hunting -excursion, and some of us will sling a throwing-stick at him and finish -the conceited fellow’s days!” - -Now, the Dogs scrambled off immediately and informed their friend and -brother what was going on. - -He said: “All right! I will accept their advances and go with them on -the hunt.” - -He went off that night to a cave, where he had often sought shelter from -the wind when driven out of the town of Walpi, and thus had made -acquaintance with those most unerring travellers in crooked places--the -Cave-swallows. He went to one of them, an elderly, wise bird, and, -addressing him as “Grandfather,” told him what was going on. - -“Very well,” said the old bird; “I will help you.” And he made a -boomerang for the youth which had the power to fly around bushes and -down into gullies; and if well thrown, of course, it could not be dodged -by any rabbit, however swift of foot or sly in hiding. Having finished -this boomerang, he told the youth to take it and use it freely in -hunting. The youth thanked him, and returning to his town passed a -peaceful night. - -When he appeared the next morning, the others greeted him -pleasantly--those who happened to see him--to which greetings he replied -with equal cordiality. They were so importunate with the priest-chiefs -to be allowed to undertake a grand rabbit-hunt that these fathers of the -people, always desirous of contributing to the happiness of their -children, ordered a grand hunt for the very next day. So everybody was -busy forthwith in making throwing-sticks and boomerangs. - -The next day all the able-bodied youth of the town, selecting the hero -of whom we have told as their leader, took their way to the great plain -south of Moki, and there, spreading out into an enormous circle, they -drove hundreds of rabbits closer and closer together among the sagebrush -in the center of the valley. Some of them succeeded in striking down -one--some of them three or four--but ere long every one observed that -each time the youth threw his stick he struck a rabbit and secured it, -until he had so many that he was forced to call some boys who had -followed along to carry them for him. - -Already inflamed by their jealousies to great anger, what was the -chagrin of this crowd of dandies, now that this youth whom they so -heartily despised actually surpassed them even in hunting rabbits! They -gnashed their teeth with rage, and one of them in a moment of -excitement, when two or three rabbits were trying to escape, took -deliberate aim at the youth and threw his boomerang at him. The youth, -who was wily, sprang into the air so high, pretending meanwhile to throw -his boomerang, that the missile missed his vital parts, but struck his -leg and apparently broke it, so that he fell down senseless in the midst -of the crowd; and the people set up a great shout--some of lamentation, -some of exultation. - -“Let him lie there and rot!” said the angry suitors, catching up their -own rabbits and making off for the pueblo. But some of the old men, who -deplored this seeming accident of the youth, ran as fast as they could -toward the town--fearing to raise him lest they should make his hurt -worse--for medicine. - -When the youth had been left alone, he opened his eyes and smiled. Then, -taking from his pouch a medicine unfailing in its effects, applied it to -the bruised spot and quickly became relieved of pain, if not even of -injury. Rising, he looked about and found the rabbits where, -panic-stricken, the boys had dropped them and fled away. He made up a -huge bundle, and not long before sunset, behold! singing merrily, he -came marching, though limping somewhat, through the plain before the -foot-hills of Moki, bearing an enormous burden of rabbits. He climbed -the mesa, greeted every one pleasantly as though nothing had occurred, -took his way to his home, and became admired of all the women of Moki, -young and old, as a paragon of valor and manhood. - -It became absolutely necessary after that, of course,--for these -faint-hearted dandies tried no more tricks with the youth,--for anyone -who would marry a Moki maiden to show himself a man in some way or -other; and, as the ugliest and most neglected of children generally turn -out sharpest because they have to look out for themselves, so it happens -that to this day the husbands of Moki are generally very ugly; but one -thing is certain--they are men. - -Reflect on these things, ye young ones and youths. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -HOW THE COYOTE JOINED THE DANCE OF THE BURROWING-OWLS - - -You may know the country that lies south of the valley in which our town -stands. You travel along the trail which winds round the hill our -ancients called _Ishana-tak’yapon_,--which means the Hill of Grease, for -the rocks sometimes shine in the light of the sun at evening, and it is -said that strange things occurred there in the days of the ancients, -which makes them thus to shine, while rocks of the kind in other places -do not,--you travel on up this trail, crossing over the arroyos and -foot-hills of the great mesa called Middle Mountain, until you come to -the foot of the cliffs. Then you climb up back and forth, winding round -and round, until you reach the top of the mountain, which is as flat as -the floor of a house, merely being here and there traversed by small -valleys covered with piñon and cedar, and threaded by trails made not -only by the feet of our people but by deer and other animals. And so you -go on and on, until, hardly knowing it, you have descended from the top -of Middle Mountain, and found yourself in a wide plain covered with -grass, and here and there clumps of trees. Beyond this valley is an -elevated sandy plain, rather sunken in the middle, so that when it rains -the water filters down into the soil of the depressed portion (which is -wide enough to be a country in itself) and nourishes the grasses there; -so that most of the year they grow green and sweet. - -Now, a long, long time ago, in this valley or basin there lived a -village of Prairie-dogs, on fairly peaceable terms with Rattlesnakes, -Adders, Chameleons, Horned-toads, and Burrowing-owls. With the Owls they -were especially friendly, looking at them as creatures of great gravity -and sanctity. For this reason these Prairie-dogs and their companions -never disturbed the councils or ceremonies of the Burrowing-owls, but -treated them most respectfully, keeping at a distance from them when -their dances were going on. - -It chanced one day that the Burrowing-owls were having a great dance all -to themselves, rather early in the morning. The dance they were engaged -in was one peculiarly prized by them, requiring no little dexterity in -its execution. Each dancer, young man or maiden, carried upon his or her -head a bowl of foam, and though their legs were crooked and their -motions disjointed, they danced to the whistling of some and the -clapping beaks of others, in perfect unison, and with such dexterity -that they never spilled a speck of the foam on their sleek mantles of -dun-black feather-work. - -It chanced this morning of the Foam-dance that a Coyote was nosing about -for Grasshoppers and Prairie-dogs. So quite naturally he was prowling -around the by-streets in the borders of the Prairie-dog town. His house -where he lived with his old grandmother stood back to the westward, just -over the elevations that bounded Sunken Country, among the rocks. He -heard the click-clack of the musicians and their shrill, funny little -song: - - “I yami hota utchu tchapikya, - Tokos! tokos! tokos! tokos!” - -So he pricked up his ears, and lifting his tail, trotted forward toward -the level place between the hillocks and doorways of the village, where -the Owls were dancing in a row. He looked at them with great curiosity, -squatting on his haunches, the more composedly to observe them. Indeed, -he became so much interested and amused by their shambling motions and -clever evolutions, that he could no longer contain his curiosity. So he -stepped forward, with a smirk and a nod toward the old master of -ceremonies, and said: “My father, how are you and your children these -many days?” - -“Contented and happy,” replied the old Owl, turning his attention to the -dancing again. - -“Yes, but I observe you are dancing,” said the Coyote. “A very fine -dance, upon my word! Charming! Charming! And why should you be dancing -if you were not contented and happy, to be sure?” - -“We are dancing,” responded the Owl, “both for our pleasure and for the -good of the town.” - -“True, true,” replied the Coyote; “but what’s that which looks like foam -these dancers are carrying on their heads, and why do they dance in so -limping a fashion?” - -“You see, my friend,” said the Owl, turning toward the Coyote, “we hold -this to be a very sacred performance--very sacred indeed. Being such, -these my children are initiated and so trained in the mysteries of the -sacred society of which this is a custom that they can do very strange -things in the observance of our ceremonies. You ask what it is that -looks like foam they are balancing on their heads. Look more closely, -friend. Do you not observe that it is their own grandmothers’ heads they -have on, the feathers turned white with age?” - -“By my eyes!” exclaimed the Coyote, blinking and twitching his whiskers; -“it seems so.” - -“And you ask also why they limp as they dance,” said the Owl. “Now, this -limp is essential to the proper performance of our dance--so essential, -in fact, that in order to attain to it these my children go through the -pain of having their legs broken. Instead of losing by this, they gain -in a great many ways. Good luck always follows them. They are quite as -spry as they were before, and enjoy, moreover, the distinction of -performing a dance which no other people or creatures in the world are -capable of!” - -“Dust and devils!” ejaculated the Coyote. “This is passing strange. A -most admirable dance, upon my word! Why, every bristle on my body keeps -time to the music and their steps! Look here, my friend, don’t you think -that I could learn that dance?” - -“Well,” replied the old Owl; “it is rather hard to learn, and you -haven’t been initiated, you know; but, still, if you are determined that -you would like to join the dance--by the way, have you a grandmother?” - -“Yes, and a fine old woman she is,” said he, twitching his mouth in the -direction of his house. “She lives there with me. I dare say she is -looking after my breakfast now.” - -“Very well,” continued the old Owl, “if you care to join in our dance, -fulfill the conditions, and I think we can receive you into our order.” -And he added, aside: “The silly fool; the sneaking, impertinent wretch! -I will teach him to be sticking that sharp nose of his into other -people’s affairs!” - -“All right! All right!” cried the Coyote, excitedly. “Will it last -long?” - -“Until the sun is so bright that it hurts our eyes,” said the Owl; “a -long time yet.” - -“All right! All right! I’ll be back in a little while,” said the Coyote; -and, switching his tail into the air, away he ran toward his home. When -he came to the house, he saw his old grandmother on the roof, which was -a rock beside his hole, gathering fur from some skins which he had -brought home, to make up a bed for the Coyote’s family. - -“Ha, my blessed grandmother!” said the Coyote, “by means of your aid, -what a fine thing I shall be able to do!” - -The old woman was singing to herself when the Coyote dashed up to the -roof where she was sitting, and, catching up a convenient leg-bone, -whacked her over the pate and sawed her head off with the teeth of a -deer. All bloody and soft as it was, he clapped it on his own head and -raised himself on his hindlegs, bracing his tail against the ground, -and letting his paws drop with the toes outspread, to imitate as nearly -as possible the drooping wings of the dancing Owls. He found that it -worked very well; so, descending with the head in one paw and a stone in -the other, he found a convenient sharp-edged rock, and, laying his legs -across it, hit them a tremendous crack with the stone, which broke them, -to be sure, into splinters. - -“Beloved Powers! Oh!” howled the Coyote. “Oh-o-o-o-o! the dance may be a -fine thing, but the initiation is anything else!” - -However, with his faith unabated, he shook himself together and got up -to walk. But he could walk only with his paws; his hindlegs dragged -helplessly behind him. Nevertheless, with great pain, and getting weaker -and weaker every step of the way, he made what haste he could back to -the Prairie-dog town, his poor old grandmother’s head slung over his -shoulders. - -When he approached the dancers,--for they were still dancing,--they -pretended to be greatly delighted with their proselyte, and greeted him, -notwithstanding his rueful countenance, with many congratulatory -epithets, mingled with very proper and warm expressions of welcome. The -Coyote looked sick and groaned occasionally and kept looking around at -his feet, as though he would like to lick them. But the old Owl extended -his wing and cautioned him not to interfere with the working power of -faith in this essential observance, and invited him (with a _hem_ that -very much resembled a suppressed giggle), to join in their dance. The -Coyote smirked and bowed and tried to stand up gracefully on his stumps, -but fell over, his grandmother’s head rolling around in the dirt. He -picked up the grisly head, clapped it on his crown again and raised -himself, and with many a howl, which he tried in vain to check, began to -prance around; but ere long tumbled over again. The Burrowing-owls were -filled with such merriment at his discomfiture that they laughed until -they spilled the foam all down their backs and bosoms; and, with a -parting fling at the Coyote which gave him to understand that he had -made a fine fool of himself, and would know better than to pry into -other people’s business next time, skipped away to a safe distance from -him. - -Then, seeing how he had been tricked, the Coyote fell to howling and -clapping his thighs; and, catching sight of his poor grandmother’s head, -all bloody and begrimed with dirt, he cried out in grief and anger: -“Alas! alas! that it should have come to this! You little devils! I’ll -be even with you! I’ll smoke you out of your holes.” - -“What will you smoke us out with?” tauntingly asked the Burrowing-owls. - -“Ha! you’ll find out. With yucca!” - -“O! O! ha! ha!” laughed the Owls. “That is our succotash!” - -“Ah, well! I’ll smoke you out!” yelled the Coyote, stung by their -taunts. - -“What with?” cried the Owls. - -“Grease-weed.” - -“He, ha! ho, ho! We make our mush-stew of that!” - -“Ha! but I’ll smoke you out, nevertheless, you little beasts!” - -“What with? What with?” shouted the Owls. - -“Yellow-top weeds,” said he. - -“Ha, ha! All right; smoke away! We make our sweet gruel with that, you -fool!” - -“I’ll fix you! I’ll smoke you out! I’ll suffocate the very last one of -you!” - -“What with? What with?” shouted the Owls, skipping around on their -crooked feet. - -“Pitch-pine,” snarled the Coyote. - -This frightened the Owls, for pitch-pine, even to this day, is sickening -to them. Away they plunged into their holes, pell-mell. - -Then the Coyote looked at his poor old grandmother’s begrimed and bloody -head, and cried out--just as Coyotes do now at sunset, I suppose--“Oh, -my poor, poor grandmother! So this is what they have caused me to do to -you!” And, tormented both by his grief and his pain, he took up the head -of his grandmother and crawled back as best he could to his house. - -When he arrived there he managed to climb up to the roof, where her body -lay stiff. He chafed her legs and sides, and washed the blood and dirt -from her head, and got a bit of sinew, and sewed her head to her body as -carefully as he could and as hastily. Then he opened her mouth, and, -putting his muzzle to it, blew into her throat, in the hope of -resuscitating her; but the wind only leaked out from the holes in her -neck, and she gave no signs of animation. Then the Coyote mixed some pap -of fine toasted meal and water and poured it down her throat, addressing -her with vehement expressions of regret at what he had done, and apology -and solicitation that she should not mind, as he didn’t mean it, and -imploring her to revive. But the pap only trickled out between the -stitches in her neck, and she grew colder and stiffer all the while; so -that at last the Coyote gave it up, and, moaning, he betook himself to a -near clump of piñon trees, intent upon vengeance and designing to gather -pitch with which to smoke the Owls to death. But, weakened by his -injuries, and filled with grief and shame and mortification, when he got -there he could only lie down. - -He was so engrossed in howling and thinking of his woes and pains that a -Horned-toad, who saw him, and who hated him because of the insults he -had frequently suffered from him and his kind, crawled into the throat -of the beast without his noticing it. Presently the little creature -struck up a song: - - “Tsakina muuu-ki - Iyami Kushina tsoiyakya - Aisiwaiki muki, muki, - Muuu ka!” - -“Ah-a-a-a-a-a,” the Coyote was groaning. But when he heard this song, -apparently far off, and yet so near, he felt very strangely inside, so -he thought and no doubt wondered if it were the song of some musician. -At any rate, he lifted his head and looked all around, but hearing -nothing, lay down again and bemoaned his fate. - -Then the Horned-toad sang again. This time the Coyote called out -immediately, and the Horned-toad answered: “Here I am.” But look as he -would, the Coyote could not find the Toad. So he listened for the song -again, and heard it, and asked who it was that was singing. The -Horned-toad replied that it was he. But still the Coyote could not find -him. A fourth time the Horned-toad sang, and the Coyote began to suspect -that it was under him. So he lifted himself to see; and one of the -spines on the Horned-toad’s neck pricked him, and at the same time the -little fellow called out: “Here I am, you idiot, inside of you! I came -upon you here, and being a medicine-man of some prominence, I thought I -would explore your vitals and see what was the matter.” - -“By the souls of my ancestors!” exclaimed the Coyote, “be careful what -you do in there!” - -The Horned-toad replied by laying his hand on the Coyote’s liver, and -exclaiming: “What is this I feel?” - -“Where?” said the Coyote. - -“Down here.” - -“Merciful daylight! it is my liver, without which no one can have -solidity of any kind, or a proper vitality. Be very careful not to -injure that; if you do, I shall die at once, and what will become of my -poor wife and children?” - -Then the Horned-toad climbed up to the stomach of the Coyote. “What is -this, my friend?” said he, feeling the sides of the Coyote’s food-bag. - -“What is it like?” asked the Coyote. - -“Wrinkled,” said the Horned-toad, “and filled with a fearful mess of -stuff!” - -“Oh! mercy! mercy! good daylight! My precious friend, be very careful! -That is the very source of my being--my stomach itself!” - -“Very well,” said the Horned-toad. Then he moved on somewhat farther and -touched the heart of the Coyote, which startled him fearfully. “What is -this?” cried the Horned-toad. - -“Mercy, mercy! what are you doing?” exclaimed the Coyote. - -“Nothing--feeling of your vitals,” was the reply. “What is it?” - -“Oh, what is it like?” said the Coyote. - -“Shaped like a pine-nut,” said the Horned-toad, “as nearly as I can make -out; it keeps leaping so.” - -“Leaping, is it?” howled the Coyote. “Mercy! my friend, get away from -there! That is the very heart of my being, the thread that ties my -existence, the home of my emotions, and my knowledge of daylight. Go -away from there, do, I pray you! If you should scratch it ever so -little, it would be the death of me, and what would my wife and children -do?” - -“Hey!” said the Horned-toad, “you wouldn’t be apt to insult me and my -people any more if I touched you up there a little, would you?” And he -hooked one of his horns into the Coyote’s heart. The Coyote gave one -gasp, straightened out his limbs, and expired. - -“Ha, ha! you villain! Thus would you have done to me, had you found the -chance; thus unto you”--saying which he found his way out and sought the -nearest water-pocket he could find. - - * * * * * - -So you see from this, which took place in the days of the ancients, it -may be inferred that the instinct of meddling with everything that did -not concern him, and making a universal nuisance of himself, and -desiring to imitate everything that he sees, ready to jump into any trap -that is laid for him, is a confirmed instinct with the Coyote, for those -are precisely his characteristics today. - -Furthermore, Coyotes never insult Horned-toads nowadays, and they keep -clear of Burrowing-owls. And ever since then the Burrowing-owls have -been speckled with gray and white all over their backs and bosoms, -because their ancestors spilled foam over themselves in laughing at the -silliness of the Coyote. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE COYOTE WHO KILLED THE DEMON SÍUIUKI: - -OR WHY COYOTES RUN THEIR NOSES INTO DEADFALLS - - -It was very long ago, in the days of the ancients. There stood a village -in the cañon south of Thunder Mountain where the Gods of Prey all lived -with their sisters and mothers: the Mountain Lion, the great Black Bear, -the Wildcat, the Gray Wolf, the Eagle, and even the Mole--all the Gods -of Prey lived there together with their mothers and sisters. Day after -day they went out hunting, for hunting was their business of life, and -they were great hunters. - -Now, right up on the edge of Thunder Mountain there lived a spotted -Demon, named Síuiuki, and whenever the people of the towns round about -went hunting, he lay in wait for them and ate them up. - -After a long while the Gods of Prey grew discontented, and they said to -one another: “What in the world can we do? None of the children of men -ever make sacrifices to us, for, whenever our children among men go out -hunting, this Demon who lives on the top of Thunder Mountain destroys -them and eats them up. What in the world can be done?” - -“It would be a good thing if we could kill him,” said some of them. - -Now, just down below the house of the Demon, in Wolf Cañon, lived a -Coyote, and he had found out where the Gods of Prey lived, and whenever -he wanted a feast of sinew and gristle, he went below their houses and -gnawed at the bones that they had thrown away, and thus it happened that -when the gods were talking together in this way he was near their -doorway gnawing a bone, and he heard all they said. - -“Yes,” said one or two of the others, “and if anybody will go and kill -Síuiuki, we will give him our sister to marry.” - -“Aha!” said the Coyote to himself. “Ha, ha!”--and he dropped the bone he -was gnawing and cut off for home as fast as ever he could. - -Next morning, bright and early, he began to dig into the side of the -cañon below the Demon’s home, and after he had dug a great hollow in the -side of the arroyo, he rolled a heavy stone into it, and found another, -which he placed beside it. Then he brought a great many leg-bones of -deer and antelope. Then he found a large bowl and put a lot of yellow -medicine-fluid in it, and placed it beside the rock. He then sat down -and began to crack the leg-bones with the two stones he had brought -there. - -The old Demon was not in the habit of rising very early, but when he -arose that morning he came out and sat down on the edge of the cliff; -there the Coyote was, battering away at the bones and pretending to -bathe his own lips with the medicine-fluid. - -“I wonder what in the world that little sneak is doing down there,” -said the old Demon. So he put on his war-badge and took his bow and -arrows, as though he were going out to hunt, and started down to where -the Coyote was. - -“Hello!” said the Coyote, “how did you pass the night?” - -“What in the world are you doing here?” asked the Demon. - -“Why, don’t you know?” replied the Coyote. “This is the way I train -myself for running, so as to catch the deer; I can run faster than any -deer in the country. With my medicine, here, I take the swiftness out of -these bones.” - -“Is it possible?” said the old Demon. - -“Of course it is,” said the Coyote. “There is no deer that can run away -from me.” - -“Will you show me?” said the Demon, eagerly. - -“Why, yes, of course I will; and then we will go hunting together.” - -“Good, good!” said the old Demon. “I have a hard time catching deer and -antelope.” - -“Well, now, you sit down right over there and watch me,” said the -Coyote, “and I will show you all about it.” - -So he laid his left leg over the rock, and then slily took an antelope -bone and laid it by the side of it. Then he picked up a large stone and -struck it as hard as ever he could against the bone. Whack! went the -stone, and it split the bone into splinters; and the Coyote pretended -that it was the bone of his own leg. - -“Aye! Ah! Oh!” exclaimed he. “But then it will get well!” Still crying -“Oh! Ah!” he splashed the leg with the medicine-water and rubbed it. -“Didn’t I tell you?” said he, “it is all right now.” And then away he -went and ran like lightning round and round on the plain below, and -rushed back again. “Didn’t I tell you so?” said he. - -“Fury! what a runner it makes out of you,” said the old Demon, and his -eyes stuck out more than ever. “Let me try it now.” - -“Hold on, hold on,” said the Coyote; “I have not half finished yet.” - -So he repeated the experiment with his other leg, and made great ado, as -if it hurt him more than ever. But, pretending to cure himself with the -medicine-water, he ran round and round on the plain below so fast that -he fairly left a streak of dust behind him. - -“Why, indeed, you are one of the fastest runners I ever saw!” said the -Demon, rubbing his eyes. - -Then the Coyote repeated the experiment first with his left paw and then -with his right; and the last time he ran more swiftly than before. - -“Why, do you mean to say that if I do that I can run as fast as you do?” -said the Demon. - -“Certainly,” replied the Coyote. “But it will hurt you.” - -“Ho! who cares for a little hurt?” said the Demon. - -“Oh! but it hurts terribly,” said the Coyote, “and I am afraid you won’t -have the pluck to go through with it.” - -“Do you think I am a baby?” said the old Demon, getting up,--“or a -woman, that I should be afraid to pound my legs and arms?” - -“Well, I only thought I’d tell you how much it hurts,” said the Coyote; -“but if you want to try it yourself, why, go ahead. There’s one thing -certain: when you make yourself as swift as I am, there’s no deer in all -the country that can get away from us two.” - -“What shall I do?” said the Demon. - -“You just sit right down there, and I’ll show you how,” said the Coyote. -So the Demon sat down by the rock. - -“There, now, you just lay your leg right over that stone and take the -other rock and strike your leg just as hard as you can; and as soon as -you have done, bathe it in the medicine-water. Then do just the same way -to the other.” - -“All right,” said the Demon. So he laid his leg over the rock, and -picking up the other stone, brought it down with might and main across -his thigh--so hard, indeed, that he crushed the bone into splinters. - -“Oh, my! Oh, my! what shall I do?” shouted the Demon. - -“Be patient, be patient; it will get well,” said the Coyote, and he -splashed it with the medicine-fluid. - -Then, picking up the stone again, the Demon hit the other thigh even -harder, from pain. - -“It will get well, my friend; it will get well,” shouted the Coyote; and -he splashed more of the medicine-water on the two wounded legs. - -Then the Demon picked up the stone once more, and, laying his left arm -across the other stone, pounded that also until it was broken. - -“Hold on; let me bathe it for you,” said the Coyote. “Does it hurt? Oh, -well, it will get well. Just wait until you have doctored the other arm, -and then in a few minutes you will be all right.” - -“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” groaned the Demon. “How in the world can I doctor -the other arm, for my left arm is broken?” - -“Lay it across the rock, my friend,” said the Coyote, “and I’ll doctor -it for you.” - -So the Demon did as he was bidden, and the Coyote brought the stone down -with might and main against his arm. “Have patience, my friend, have -patience,” said he, as he bathed the injured limb with more of the -medicine-water. But the Demon only groaned and howled, and rolled over -and over in the dust with pain. - -“Ha, ha!” laughed the Coyote, as he keeled a somersault over the rocks -and ran off over the plain. “How do you feel now, old man?” - -“But it hurts! It hurts!” cried the Demon. “I shall never get well; it -will kill me!” - -“Of course it will,” laughed the Coyote. “That’s just what I wanted it -to do, you old fool!” - -So the old Demon lay down and died from sheer pain. - -Then the Coyote took the Demon’s knife from him, and, cutting open his -breast, tore out his heart, wind-pipe, and all. Then, stealing the -war-badge that the Demon had worn, he cut away as fast as ever he could -for the home of the Prey-gods. Before noon he neared their house, and, -just as he ran up into the plaza in front of it, the youngest sister of -the Prey-gods came out to hang up some meat to dry. Now, her brothers -had all gone hunting; not one of them was at home. - -“I say, wife,” said the Coyote. “Wife! Wife!” - -“Humph!” said the girl. “Impertinent scoundrel! I wonder where he is and -who he is that has the impudence to call me his wife, when he knows that -I have never been married!” - -“Wife! Wife!” shouted the Coyote again. - -“Away with you, you shameless rascal!” cried the girl, in indignation. -Then she looked around and spied the Coyote sitting there on the -ash-heap, with his nose in the air, as though he were the biggest fellow -in the world. - -“Clear out, you wretch!” cried the girl. - -“Softly, softly,” replied the Coyote. “Do you remember what your -brothers said last night?” - -“What was that?” said the girl. - -“Why, whoever would kill the speckled Demon, they declared, should have -you for his wife.” - -“Well, what of that?” said the girl. - -“Oh, nothing,” replied the Coyote, “only I’ve killed him!” And, holding -up the Demon’s heart and war-badge, he stuck his nose in the air again. - -So the poor girl said not a word, but sat there until the Coyote called -out: “I say, wife, come down and take me up; I can’t climb the ladders.” - -So the poor girl went down the ladder, took her foul-smelling husband -in her arms, and climbed up with him. - -“Now, take me in with you,” said the Coyote. So she did as she was -bidden. Then she was about to mix some dough, but the Coyote kept -getting in her way. - -“Get out of the way a minute, won’t you?” said the girl, “until I cook -something for you.” - -“I want you to come and sit down with me,” said the Coyote, “and let me -kiss you, for you know you are my wife, now.” So the poor girl had to -submit to the ill-smelling creature’s embraces. - -Presently along came her brother, the Gray Wolf, but he was a very -good-natured sort of fellow; so he received the Coyote pleasantly. Then -along came the Bear, with a big antelope over his shoulder; but he -didn’t say anything, for he was a lazy, good-natured fellow. Then -presently the other brothers came in, one by one; but the Mountain Lion -was so late in returning that they began to look anxiously out for him. -When they saw him coming from the north with more meat and more game -than all the others together had brought, he was evidently not in good -humor, for as he approached the house he exclaimed, with a howl: -“_Hu-hu-ya!_” - -“There he goes again,” said the brothers and sisters, all in a chorus. -“Always out of temper with something.” - -“_Hu-hu-ya!_” exclaimed the Mountain Lion again, louder than before. -And, as he mounted the ladder, he exclaimed for a third time: -“_Hu-hu-ya!_” and, throwing his meat down, entered swearing and -growling until his brothers were ashamed of him, and told him he had -better behave himself. - -“Come and eat,” said the sister, as she brought a bowl of meat and put -it on the floor. - -“_Hu-hu-ya!_” again exclaimed the Mountain Lion, as he came nearer and -sat down to eat. “What in the world is the matter with you, sister? You -smell just like a Coyote. _Hu-hu-ya!_” - -“Have you no more decency than to come home and scold your sister in -that way?” exclaimed the Wolf. “I’m disgusted with you.” - -“_Hu-hu-ya!_” reiterated the Mountain Lion. - -Now, when the Coyote had heard the Mountain Lion coming, he had sneaked -off into a corner; but he stuck his sharp nose out, and the Mountain -Lion espied it. “_Hu-hu-ya!_” said he. “Sling that bad-smelling beast -out of the house! Kick him out!” cried the old man, with a growl. So the -sister, fearing that her brother would eat her husband up, took the -Coyote in her arms and carried him into another room. - -“Now, stay there and keep still, for brother is very cross; but then he -is always cross if things don’t go right,” she said. - -So when evening came her brothers began to discuss where they would go -hunting the next day; and the Coyote, who was listening at the door, -heard them. So he called out: “Wife! Wife!” - -“_Shom-me!_” remarked old Long Tail. “Shut up, you dirty whelp.” And as -the sister arose to go to see what her husband wanted, the Mountain -Lion remarked: “You had better sling that foul-smelling cub of yours -over the roof.” - -No sooner had the girl entered than the Coyote began to brag what a -runner he was, and to cut around at a great rate. - -“_Shom-me!_” exclaimed the Mountain Lion again. “A Coyote always will -make a Coyote of himself, foul-smelling wretch! _Hu-hu-ya!_” - -“Shut up, and behave yourself!” cried the Wolf. “Don’t you know any -better than to talk about your brother-in-law in that way?” But neither -the Coyote nor the girl could sleep that night for the growlings and -roarings of their big brother, the Long Tail. - -When the brothers began to prepare for the hunt the next morning, out -came the Coyote all ready to accompany them. “You, you?” said the -Mountain Lion. “You going to hunt with us? You conceited sneak!” - -“Let him go if he wants to,” said the Wolf. - -“_Hu-hu-ya!_ Fine company!” remarked the Mountain Lion. “If you fellows -want to walk with him, you may. There’s one thing certain, I’ll not be -seen in his company,” and away strode the old fellow, lashing his tail -and growling as he went. So the Coyote, taking a luncheon of dried meat -that his wife put up for him, sneaked along behind with his tail -dragging in the dust. Finally they all reached the mountain where they -intended to hunt, and soon the Mountain Lion and the Bear started out to -drive in a herd of antelope that they had scented in the distance. -Presently along rushed the leaders of the herd. - -“Now, then, I’ll show your cross old brother whether I can hunt or -not,” cried the Coyote, and away he rushed right into the herd of -antelope and deer before anyone could restrain him. Of course he made a -Coyote of himself, and away went the deer in all directions. -Nevertheless, the brothers, who were great hunters, succeeded in -catching a few of them; and, just as they sat down to lunch, the -Mountain Lion returned with a big elk on his shoulders. - -“Where is our sweet-scented brother-in-law?” he asked. - -“Nobody knows,” replied they. “He rushed off after the deer and -antelope, and that was the last of him.” - -“Of course the beast will make a Coyote of himself. But he can go till -he can go no longer, for all I care,” added the Mountain Lion, as he sat -down to eat. - -Presently along came the Coyote. - -“Where’s your game, my fine hunter?” asked the Mountain Lion. - -“They all got away from me,” whined the Coyote. - -“Of course they did, you fool!” sneered the Mountain Lion. “The best -thing that you can do is to go home and see your wife. Here, take this -meat to sister,” said he, slinging him a haunch of venison. - -“Where’s the road?” asked the Coyote. - -“Well,” said the Wolf, “follow that path right over there until you come -to where it forks; then be sure to take the right-hand trail, for if -you follow the left-hand trail it will lead you away from home and into -trouble.” - -“Which trail did you say?” cried the Coyote. - -“_Shom-me!_” again exclaimed the Mountain Lion. - -“Oh, yes,” hastily added the Coyote; “the right-hand trail. No, the -left-hand trail.” - -“Just what you might expect,” growled the Mountain Lion. “Already the -fool has forgotten what you told him. Well, as for me, he can go on the -left-hand trail if he wants to, and the farther he goes the better.” - -“Now, be sure and take the right-hand trail,” called the Wolf, as the -Coyote started. - -“I know, I know,” cried the Coyote; and away he went with his heavy -haunch of venison slung over his shoulder. After a while he came to the -fork in the trail. “Let me see,” said he, “it’s the left-hand trail, it -seems to me. No, the right-hand trail. Well, I declare, I’ve forgotten! -Perhaps it is the right-hand trail, and maybe it is the left-hand trail. -Yes, it is the left-hand trail. Now I’m certain.” And, picking up his -haunch of venison, away he trotted along the left-hand trail. Presently -he came to a steep cliff and began to climb it. But he had no sooner -reached the middle than a lot of Chimney-swallows began to fly around -his head and pick at his eyes, and slap him on the nose with their -wings. - -“Oh, dear! oh, dear!” exclaimed the Coyote. “Aye! aye!” and he bobbed -his head from side to side to dodge the Swallows, until he missed his -footing, and down he tumbled, heels over head,--meat, Coyote, and -all,--until he struck a great pile of rocks below, and was dashed to -pieces. - -That was the end of the Coyote; but not of my story. - -Now, the brothers went on hunting again. Then, one by one, they returned -home. As before, the Mountain Lion came in last of all. He smelt all -about the room. “Whew!” exclaimed he. “It still smells here as if twenty -Coyotes had been around. But it seems to me that our fine brother-in-law -isn’t anywhere about.” - -“No,” responded the rest, with troubled looks on their faces. “Nobody -has seen anything of him yet.” - -“_Shom--m-m!_” remarked the Mountain Lion again. “Didn’t I tell you, -brothers, that he was a fool and would forget your directions? I say I -told you that before he started. Well, for my part, I hope the beast has -gone so far that he will never return,” and with that he ate his supper. - -When supper was over, the sister said: “Come, brothers, let’s go and -hunt for my husband.” - -At first the Mountain Lion growled and swore a great deal; but at last -he consented to go. When they came to where the trails forked, there -were the tracks of the Coyote on the left-hand trail. - -“The idiot!” exclaimed the Mountain Lion. “I hope he has fallen off the -cliff and broken every bone in his body!” - -When at last the party reached the mountain, sure enough, there lay the -body of the Coyote, with not a whole bone in him except his head. - -“Good enough for you,” growled the Mountain Lion, as he picked up a -great stone and, _tu-um!_ threw it down with all his strength upon the -head of the Coyote. - -That’s what happened a great while ago. And for that reason whenever a -Coyote sees a bait of meat inside of a stone deadfall he is sure to -stick his nose in and get his head mashed for his pains. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - [Illustration: A DANCE OF THE KÂKÂ - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - - - - -HOW THE COYOTES TRIED TO STEAL THE CHILDREN OF THE SACRED DANCE - - -In the times of the ancients, when our people lived in various places -about the valley of Zuñi where ruins now stand, it is said that an old -Coyote lived in Cedar Cañon with his family, which included a fine -litter of pups. It is also said that at this time there lived on the -crest of Thunder Mountain, back of the broad rock column or pinnacle -which guards its western portion, one of the gods of the Sacred Drama -Dance (_Kâkâ_)[13], named K’yámakwe, with his children, many in number -and altogether like himself. - - [13] The _Kâkâ_, or Sacred Drama Dance, is represented by a - great variety of masks and costumes worn by Zuñi dancers during - the performance of this remarkable dramatic ceremony. - Undoubtedly many of the traditional characters of the Sacred - Drama thus represented are conventionalizations of the mythic - conceptions or personifications of animal attributes. Therefore - many of these characters partake at once of the characteristics, - in appearance as well as in other ways, of animals and men. The - example in point is a good illustration of this. The K’yámakwe - are supposed to have been a most wonderful and powerful tribe of - demi-gods, inhabiting a great valley and range of mesas some - forty miles south of Zuñi. Their powers over the atmospheric - phenomena of nature and over all the herbivorous animals are - supposed to have been absolute. Their attitude toward man was at - times inimical, at times friendly or beneficent. Such a - relationship, controlled simply by either laudatory or - propitiatory worship, was supposed to hold spiritually, still, - between these and other beings represented in the Sacred Drama - and men. It is believed that through the power of breath - communicated by these ancient gods to men, from one man to - another man, and thus from generation to generation, an actual - connection has been kept up between initiated members of the - _Kâkâ_ drama and these original demi-god characters which it - represents; so that when a member is properly dressed in the - costume of any one of these characters, a ceremony (the - description of which is too long for insertion here) - accompanying the putting on of the mask is supposed not only to - place him _en rapport_ spiritually with the character he - represents, but even to possess him with the spirit of that - character or demi-god. He is, therefore, so long as he remains - disguised as one of these demi-gods, treated as if he were - actually that being which he personates. One of the K’yámakwe is - represented by means of a mask, round and smooth-headed, with - little black eyes turned up at the corners so as to represent a - segment of a diminishing spiral; the color of the face is green, - and it is separated from the rest of the head by a line composed - of alternate blocks of black and yellow; the crown and back of - the head are snow-white; and the ears are pendent and conical in - shape, being composed of husks or other paper-like material; the - mouth is round, and furnished with a four-pointed beak of husks, - which extends two or three inches outward and spreads at the end - like the petals of a half-closed lily; round the neck is a - collar of fox fur, and covering the body are flowing robes of - sacred embroidered mantles, which (notwithstanding the gay - ornaments and other appurtenances of the costume) have, in - connection with the expression of the mask, a spectral effect; - the feet are encased in brilliantly painted moccasins, of - archaic form, and the wrists laden with shell bracelets and - bow-guards. When the long file of these strange figures making - up the K’yámakwe Drama Dance comes in from the southward to the - dance plazas of the pueblo, each member of it bears on his back - freshly slain deer, antelope, rabbits, and other game animals or - portions of them in abundance, made up in packages, highly - decorated with tufts of evergreen, and painted toys for - presentation to the children. In one hand are carried bows and - arrows, and in the other a peculiar rattle or clanger made of - the shoulder-blades of deer. The wonder expressed by the coyote - as the story goes on, and his excessive admiration of the - children of the K’yámakwe may therefore be understood. - -One day the old Coyote of Cedar Cañon went out hunting, and as he was -prowling around among the sage-bushes below Thunder Mountain, he heard -the clang and rattle and the shrill cries of the K’yámakwe. He pricked -up his ears, stuck his nose into the air, sniffed about and looked all -around, and presently discovered the K’yámakwe children running rapidly -back and forth on the very edge of the mountain. - -“Delight of my senses, what pretty creatures they are! Good for me!” he -piped, in a jovial voice. “I am the finder of children. I must capture -the little fellows tomorrow, and bring them up as Coyotes ought to be -brought up. Aren’t they handsome, though?” - -All this he said to himself, in a fit of conceit, with his nose in the -air (presumptuous cur!), planning to steal the children of a god! He -hunted no more that day, but ran home as fast as he could, and, arriving -there, he said: “Wife! Wife! O wife! I have discovered a number of the -prettiest waifs one ever saw. They are children of the _Kâkâ_, but what -matters that? They are there, running back and forth and clanging their -rattles along the very edge of Thunder Mountain. I mean to steal them -tomorrow, every one of them, and bring them here!” - -“Mercy on us!” exclaimed the old Coyote’s wife. “There are children -enough and to spare already. What in the world can we do with all of -them, you fool?” - -“But they are pretty,” said the Coyote. “Immensely fine! Every Coyote in -the country would envy us the possession of them!” - -“But you say they are many,” continued the wife. - -“Well, yes, a good many,” said the Coyote. - -“Well, why not divide them among our associated clans?” suggested the -old woman. “You never can capture them alone; it is rare enough that you -capture _anything_ alone, leave out the children of the K’yámakwe. Get -your relatives to help you, and divide the children amongst them.” - -“Well, now, come to think of it, it is a good plan,” said the Coyote, -with his nose on his neck. “If I get up this expedition I’ll be a big -chief, won’t I? Hurrah! Here’s for it!” he shouted; and, switching his -tail in the face of his wife, he shot out of the hole and ran away to a -high rock, where, squatting down with a most important air and his nose -lifted high, he cried out: - - “_Au hii lâ-â-â-â! - Su Homaya-kwe! - Su Kemaya-kwe! - Su Ayalla-kwe! - Su Kutsuku-kwe!_ - - [Listen ye all! - Coyotes of the Cedar-cañon tribe! - Coyotes of the Sunflower-stalk-plain tribe! - Coyotes of the Lifted-stone-mountain tribe! - Coyotes of the Place-of-rock-gullies tribe!] - -I have instructions for you this day. I have found waif children -many--of the K’yámakwe, the young. I would steal the waif-children many, -of the K’yámakwe, the young. I would steal them tomorrow, that they may -be adopted of us. I would have your aid in the stealing of the K’yámakwe -young. Listen ye all, and tomorrow gather in council. Thus much I -instruct ye: - - “Coyotes of the Cedar-cañon tribe! - Coyotes of the Sunflower-stalk-plain tribe! - Coyotes of the Lifted-stone-mountain tribe! - Coyotes of the Place-of-rock-gullies tribe!” - -It was growing dark, and immediately from all quarters, in dark places -under the cañons and arroyos, issued answering howls and howls. You -should have seen that crowd of Coyotes the next morning, large and -small, old and young,--all four tribes gathered together in the plain -below Thunder Mountain! - -When they had all assembled, the Coyote who had made the discovery -mounted an ant-hill, sat down, and, lifting his paw, was about to give -directions with the air of a chief when an ant bit him. He lost his -dignity, but resumed it again on the top of a neighboring rock. Again he -stuck his nose into the air and his paw out, and with ridiculous -assumption informed the Coyotes that he was chief of them all and that -they would do well to pay attention to his directions. He then showed -himself much more skilful than you might have expected. As you know, the -cliff of Thunder Mountain is very steep, especially that part back of -the two standing rocks. Well, this was the direction of the Coyote: - -“One of you shall place himself at the base of the mountain; another -shall climb over him, and the first one shall grasp his tail; and -another over them, and his tail shall be grasped by the second, and so -on until the top is reached. Hang tight, my friends, every one of you, -and every one fall in line. Eructate thoroughly before you do so. If you -do not, we may be in a pretty mess; for, supposing that any one along -the line should hiccough, he would lose his hold, and down we would all -fall!” - -So the Coyotes all at once began to curve their necks and swell -themselves up and strain and wriggle and belch wind as much as -possible. Then all fell into a line and grabbed each other’s tails, and -thus they extended themselves in a long string up the very face of -Thunder Mountain. A ridiculous little pup was at one end and a good, -strong, grizzled old fellow--no other than the chief of the party--at -the other. - -“Souls of my ancestors! Hang tight, my friends! Hang tight! Hang tight!” -said he, when, suddenly, one near the top, in the agitation of the -moment, began to sneeze, lost his hold, and down the whole string, -hundreds of them, fell, and were completely flattened out among the -rocks. - -The warrior of the _Kâkâ_--he of the Long Horn, with frightful, staring -eyes, and visage blue with rage,--bow and war-club in hand, was -hastening from the sacred lake in the west to rescue the children of the -K’yámakwe. When he arrived they had been rescued already, so, after -storming around a little and mauling such of the Coyotes as were not -quite dead, he set to skin them all. - -And ever since then you will observe that the dancers of the Long Horn -have blue faces, and whenever they arrive in our pueblo wear collars of -coyote-skin about their necks. That is the way they got them. Before -that they had no collars. It is presumable that that is the reason why -they bellow so and have such hoarse voices, having previously taken -cold, every one of them, for the want of fur collars. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE COYOTE AND THE BEETLE - - -In remote times, after our ancients were settled at Middle Ant Hill, a -little thing occurred which will explain a great deal. - -My children, you have doubtless seen Tip-beetles. They run around on -smooth, hard patches of ground in spring time and early summer, kicking -their heels into the air and thrusting their heads into any crack or -hole they find. - -Well, in ancient times, on the pathway leading around to Fat Mountain, -there was one of these Beetles running about in all directions in the -sunshine, when a Coyote came trotting along. He pricked up his ears, -lowered his nose, arched his neck, and stuck out his paw toward the -Beetle. “Ha!” said he, “I shall bite you!” - -The Beetle immediately stuck his head down close to the ground, and, -lifting one of his antennæ deprecatingly, exclaimed: “Hold on! Hold on, -friend! Wait a bit, for the love of mercy! I hear something very strange -down below here!” - -“Humph!” replied the Coyote. “What do you hear?” - -“Hush! hush!” cried the Beetle, with his head still to the ground. -“Listen!” - -So the Coyote drew back and listened most attentively. By-and-by the -Beetle lifted himself with a long sigh of relief. - -“_Okwe!_” exclaimed the Coyote. “What was going on?” - -“The Good Soul save us!” exclaimed the Beetle, with a shake of his head. -“I heard them saying down there that tomorrow they would chase away and -thoroughly chastise everybody who defiled the public trails of this -country, and they are making ready as fast as they can!” - -“Souls of my ancestors!” cried the Coyote. “I have been loitering along -this trail this very morning, and have defiled it repeatedly. I’ll cut!” -And away he ran as fast as he could go. - -The Beetle, in pure exuberance of spirits, turned somersaults and stuck -his head in the sand until it was quite turned. - -Thus did the Beetle in the days of the ancients save himself from being -bitten. Consequently the Tip-beetle has that strange habit of kicking -his heels into the air and sticking his head in the sand. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -HOW THE COYOTE DANCED WITH THE BLACKBIRDS - - -One late autumn day in the times of the ancients, a large council of -Blackbirds were gathered, fluttering and chattering, on the smooth, -rocky slopes of Gorge Mountain, northwest of Zuñi. Like ourselves, these -birds, as you are well aware, congregate together in autumn time, when -the harvests are ripe, to indulge in their festivities before going into -winter quarters; only we do not move away, while they, on strong wings -and swift, retreat for a time to the Land of Everlasting Summer. - -Well, on this particular morning they were making a great noise and -having a grand dance, and this was the way of it: They would gather in -one vast flock, somewhat orderly in its disposition, on the sloping face -of Gorge Mountain,--the older birds in front, the younger ones -behind,-and down the slope, chirping and fluttering, they would hop, -hop, hop, singing: - - “_Ketchu, Ketchu, oñtilã, oñtilã, - Ketchu, Ketchu, oñtilã, oñtilã! - Âshokta a yá-à-laa Ke-e-tchu, - Oñtilã, - Oñtilã!_”-- - - Blackbirds, Blackbirds, dance away, O, dance away, O! - Blackbirds, Blackbirds, dance away, O, dance away, O! - Down the Mountain of the Gorges, Blackbirds, - Dance away, O! - Dance away, O!-- - -and, spreading their wings, with many a flutter, flurry, and scurry, -_keh keh,--keh keh,--keh keh,--keh keh_,--they would fly away into the -air, swirling off in a dense, black flock, circling far upward and -onward; then, wheeling about and darting down, they would dip themselves -in the broad spring which flows out at the foot of the mountain, and -return to their dancing place on the rocky slopes. - -A Coyote was out hunting (as if he could catch anything, the beast!) and -saw them, and was enraptured. - -“You beautiful creatures!” he exclaimed. “You graceful dancers! Delight -of my senses! How do you do that, anyway? Couldn’t I join in your -dance--the first part of it, at least?” - -“Why, certainly; yes,” said the Blackbirds. “We are quite willing,” the -masters of the ceremony said. - -“Well,” said the Coyote, “I can get on the slope of the rocks and I can -sing the song with you; but I suppose that when you leap off into the -air I shall have to sit there patting the rock with my paw and my tail -and singing while you have the fun of it.” - -“It may be,” said an old Blackbird, “that we can fit you out so that you -can fly with us.” - -“Is it possible!” cried the Coyote, “Then by all means do so. By the -Blessed Immortals! Now, if I am only able to circle off into the air -like you fellows, I’ll be the biggest Coyote in the world!” - -“I think it will be easy,” resumed the old Blackbird. “My children,” -said he, “you are many, and many are your wing-feathers. Contribute each -one of you a feather to our friend.” Thereupon the Blackbirds, each one -of them, plucked a feather from his wing. Unfortunately they all plucked -feathers from the wings on the same side. - -“Are you sure, my friend,” continued the old Blackbird, “that you are -willing to go through the operation of having these feathers planted in -your skin? If so, I think we can fit you out.” - -“Willing?--why, of course I am willing.” And the Coyote held up one of -his arms, and, sitting down, steadied himself with his tail. Then the -Blackbirds thrust in the feathers all along the rear of his forelegs and -down the sides of his back, where wings ought to be. It hurt, and the -Coyote twitched his mustache considerably; but he said nothing. When it -was done, he asked: “Am I ready now?” - -“Yes,” said the Blackbirds; “we think you’ll do.” - -So they formed themselves again on the upper part of the slope, sang -their songs, and hopped along down with many a flutter, flurry, and -scurry,--_Keh keh, keh keh, keh keh_,--and away they flew off into the -air. - -The Coyote, somewhat startled, got out of time, but followed bravely, -making heavy flops; but, as I have said before, the wings he was -supplied with were composed of feathers all plucked from one side, and -therefore he flew slanting and spirally and brought up with a whack, -which nearly knocked the breath out of him, against the side of the -mountain. He picked himself up, and shook himself, and cried out: “Hold! -Hold! Hold on, hold on, there!” to the fast-disappearing Blackbirds. -“You’ve left me behind!” - -When the birds returned they explained: “Your wings are not quite thick -enough, friend; and, besides, even a young Blackbird, when he is first -learning to fly, does just this sort of thing that you have been -doing--makes bad work of it.” - -“Sit down again,” said the old Blackbird. And he called out to the rest: -“Get feathers from your other sides also, and be careful to select a few -strong feathers from the tips of the wings, for by means of these we -cleave the air, guide our movements, and sustain our flight.” - -So the Blackbirds all did as they were bidden, and after the new -feathers were planted, each one plucked out a tail-feather, and the most -skilful of the Blackbirds inserted these feathers into the tip of the -Coyote’s tail. It made him wince and “yip” occasionally; but he stood it -bravely and reared his head proudly, thinking all the while: “What a -splendid Coyote I shall be! Did ever anyone hear of a Coyote flying?” - -The procession formed again. Down the slope they went, hopity-hop, -hopity-hop, singing their song, and away they flew into the air, the -Coyote in their midst. Far off and high they circled and circled, the -Coyote cutting more eager pranks than any of the rest. Finally they -returned, dipped themselves again into the spring, and settled on the -slopes of the rocks. - -“There, now,” cried out the Coyote, with a flutter of his feathery -tail, “I can fly as well as the rest of you.” - -“Indeed, you do well!” exclaimed the Blackbirds. “Shall we try it -again?” - -“Oh, yes! Oh, yes! I’m a little winded,” cried the Coyote, “but this is -the best fun I ever had.” - -The Blackbirds, however, were not satisfied with their companion. They -found him less sedate than a dancer ought to be, and, moreover, his -irregular cuttings-up in the air were not to their taste. So the old -ones whispered to one another: “This fellow is a fool, and we must pluck -him when he gets into the air. We’ll fly so far this time that he will -get a little tired out and cry to us for assistance.” - -The procession formed, and hopity-hop, hopity-hop, down the mountain -slope they went, and with many a flutter and flurry flew off into the -air. The Coyote, unable to restrain himself, even took the lead. On and -on and on they flew, the Blackbirds and the Coyote, and up and up and -up, and they circled round and round, until the Coyote found himself -missing a wing stroke occasionally and falling out of line; and he cried -out: “Help! help, friends, help!” - -“All right!” cried the Blackbirds. “Catch hold of his wings; hold him -up!” cried the old ones. And the Blackbirds flew at him; and every time -they caught hold of him (the old fool all the time thinking they were -helping) they plucked out a feather, until at last the feathers had -become so thin that he began to fall, and he fell and fell and -fell,--flop, flop, flop, he went through the air,--the few feathers left -in his forelegs and sides and the tip of his tail just saving him from -being utterly crushed as he fell with a thud to the ground. He lost his -senses completely, and lay there as if dead for a long time. When he -awoke, he shook his head sadly, and, with a crestfallen countenance and -tail dragging between his legs, betook himself to his home over the -mountains. - -The agony of that fall had been so great and the heat of his exertions -so excessive, that the feathers left in his forelegs and tail-tip were -all shrivelled up into little ugly black fringes of hair. His -descendants were many. - -Therefore you will often meet coyotes to this day who have little black -fringes along the rear of their forelegs, and the tips of their tails -are often black. Thus it was in the days of the ancients. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -HOW THE TURTLE OUT HUNTING DUPED THE COYOTE - - -In the times of the ancients, long, long ago, near the Highflowing River -on the Zuñi Mountains, there lived an old Turtle. He went out hunting, -one day, and by means of his ingenuity killed a large, fine deer. When -he had thrown the deer to the ground, he had no means of skinning it. He -sat down and reflected, scratching the lid of his eye with the nail of -his hind foot. He concluded he would have to go hunting for a -flint-knife; therefore he set forth. He came after a while to a place -where old buildings had stood. Then he began to hum an old magic song, -such as, it is said, the ancients sung when they hunted for the flint of -which to make knives. He sang in this way: - - “_Apatsinan tse wash, - Apatsinan tse wash, - Tsepa! Tsepa!_” - -which may be translated, not perhaps correctly, but well enough: - - Fire-striking flint-stone, oh, make yourself known! - Fire-striking flint-stone, oh, make yourself known! - Magically! Magically! - -As he was thus crawling about and singing, a Coyote running through the -woods overheard him. He exclaimed: “Uh! I wonder who is singing and what -he is saying. Ah, he is hunting for a flint-knife, is he?--evidently -somebody who has killed a deer!” He turned back, and ran over to where -the old Turtle was. As he neared him, he cried out: “Halloo, friend! -Didn’t I hear you singing?” - -“Yes,” was the reply of the Turtle. - -“What were you singing?” - -“Nothing in particular.” - -“Yes, you were, too. What were you saying?” - -“Nothing in particular, I tell you; at least, nothing that concerns -you.” - -“Yes, you were saying something, and this is what you said.” And so the -Coyote, who could not sing the song, deliberately repeated the words he -had heard. - -“Well, suppose I did say so; what of that?” said the Turtle. - -“Why, you were hunting for a flint-knife; that is why you said what you -did,” replied the Coyote. - -“Well, what of that?” - -“What did you want the flint-knife for?” - -“Nothing in particular,” replied the Turtle. - -“Yes, you did; you wanted it for something. What was it?” - -“Nothing in particular, I say,” replied the Turtle. “At least, nothing -that concerns you.” - -“Yes, you did want it for something,” said the Coyote, “and I know what -it was, too.” - -“Well, what?” asked the Turtle, who was waxing rather angry. - -“You wanted it to skin a deer with; that’s what you wanted it for. Where -is the deer now, come? You have killed a deer and I know it. Tell, -where is it.” - -“Well, it lies over yonder,” replied the Turtle. - -“Where? Come, let us go; I’ll help you skin it.” - -“I can get along very well without you,” replied the Turtle. - -“What if I do help you a little? I am very hungry this morning, and -would like to lap up the blood.” - -“Well, then, come along, torment!” replied the Turtle. So, finding a -knife, they proceeded to where the deer was lying. - -“Let me hold him for you,” cried the Coyote. Whereupon he jumped over -the deer, spread out its hind legs, and placed a paw on each of them, -holding the body open; and thus they began to skin the deer. When they -had finished this work, the Coyote turned to the Turtle and asked: “How -much of him are you going to give me?” - -“The usual parts that fall to anyone who comes along when the hunter is -skinning a deer,” replied the Turtle. - -“What parts?” eagerly asked the Coyote. - -“Stomach and liver,” replied the Turtle, briefly. - -“I won’t take that,” whined the Coyote. “I want you to give me half of -the deer.” - -“I’ll do no such thing,” replied the Turtle. “I killed the deer; you -only helped to skin him, and you ought to be satisfied with my -liberality in giving you the stomach and liver alone. I’ll throw in a -little fat, to be sure, and some of the intestines; but I’ll give you no -more.” - -“Yes, you will, too,” snarled the Coyote, showing his teeth. - -“Oh, will I?” replied the Turtle, deliberately, hauling in one or two of -his flippers. - -“Yes, you will; or I’ll simply murder you, that’s all.” - -The Turtle immediately pulled his feet, head, and tail in, and cried: “I -tell you, I’ll give you nothing but the stomach and liver and some of -the intestines of this deer!” - -“Well, then, I will forthwith kill you!” snapped the Coyote, and he made -a grab for the Turtle. _Kopo!_ sounded his teeth as they struck on the -hard shell of the Turtle; and, bite as he would, the Turtle simply -slipped out of his mouth every time he grabbed him. He rolled the Turtle -over and over to find a good place for biting, and held him between his -paws as if he were a bone, and gnawed at him; but, do his best, _kopo, -kopo!_ his teeth kept slipping off the Turtle’s hard shell. At last he -exclaimed, rather hotly: “There’s more than one way of killing a beast -like you!” So he set the Turtle up on end, and, catching up a quantity -of sand, stuffed it into the hole where the Turtle’s head had -disappeared and tapped it well down with a stick until he had completely -filled the crevice. “There, now,” he exclaimed, with a snicker of -delight. “I think I have fixed you now, old Hardshell, and served you -right, too, you old stingy-box!”--whereupon he whisked away to the meat. - -The Turtle considered it best to die, as it were; but he listened -intently to what was going on. The Coyote cut up the deer and made a -package of him in his own skin. Then he washed the stomach in a -neighboring brook and filled it with choppings of the liver and kidneys, -and fat stripped from the intestines, and clots of blood, dashing in a -few sprigs of herbs here and there. Then, according to the custom of -hunters in all times, he dug an oven in the ground and buried the -stomach, in order to make a baked blood-pudding of it while he was -summoning his family and friends to help him take the meat home. - -The Turtle clawed a little of the sand away from his neck and peered out -just a trifle. He heard the Coyote grunting as he tried to lift the meat -in order to hang it on a branch of a neighboring pine tree. He was just -exclaiming: “What a lucky fellow I am to come on that lame, helpless old -wretch and get all this meat from him without the trouble of hunting for -it, to be sure! Ah, my dear children, my fine old wife, what a feast we -will have this day!”--for you know the Coyote had a large family over -the way,--he was just exclaiming this, I say, when the Turtle cried out, -faintly: “_Natipa!_” - -“You hard-coated old scoundrel! You ugly, crooked-legged beast! You -stingy-box!” snarled the Coyote. “So you are alive, are you?” Dropping -the meat, he leaped back to where the Turtle was lying, his head hauled -in again, and, jamming every crevice full of sand, made it hard and -firm. Then, hitting the Turtle a clip with the tip of his nose, he sent -him rolling over and over like a flat, round stone down the slope. - -“This is fine treatment to receive from the hands of such a sneaking cur -as that,” thought the Turtle. “I think I will keep quiet this time and -let him do as he pleases. But through my ingenuity I killed the deer, -and it may be that through ingenuity I can keep the deer.” - -So the Turtle kept perfectly dead, to all appearances, and the Coyote, -leaving the meat hanging on a low branch of a tree and building a fire -over the oven he had excavated, whisked away with his tail in the air to -his house just the other side of the mountain. - -When he arrived there he cried out: “Wife, wife! Children, children! -Come, quick! Great news! Killed an enormous deer today. I have made a -blood-pudding in his stomach and buried it. Let us go and have a feast; -then you must help me bring the meat home.” - -Those Coyotes were perfectly wild. The cubs, half-grown, with their -tails more like sticks than brushes, trembled from the ends of their -toe-nails to the tips of their stick-like tails; and they all set -off--the old ones ahead, the young ones following single file--as fast -as they could toward the place where the blood-pudding was buried. - -Now, as soon as the old Turtle was satisfied that the Coyote had left, -he dug the sand out of his collar with his tough claws, and, proceeding -to the place where the meat hung, first hauled it up, piece by piece, to -the very top of the tree; for Turtles have claws, you know, and can -climb, especially if the trunk of the tree leans over, as that one did. -Having hauled the meat to the very topmost branches of the tree, and -tied it there securely, he descended and went over to where the -blood-pudding was buried. He raked the embers away from it and pulled it -out; then he dragged it off to a neighboring ant-hill where the red -fire-ants were congregated in great numbers. Immediately they began to -rush out, smelling the cooked meat, and the Turtle, untying the end of -the stomach, chucked as many of the ants as he could into it. Then he -dragged the pudding back to the fire and replaced it in the oven, taking -care that the coals should not get near it. - -He had barely climbed the tree again and nestled himself on his bundle -of meat, when along came those eager Coyotes. Everything stuck up all -over them with anxiety for the feast--their hair, the tips of their -ears, and the points of their tails; and as they neared the place and -smelt the blood and the cooked meat, they began to sing and dance as -they came along, and this was what they sang: - - “_Na-ti tsa, na-ti tsa! - Tui-ya si-si na-ti tsa! - Tui-ya si-si na-ti tsa! - Tui-ya si-si! Tui-ya si-si!_” - -We will have to translate this--which is so old that who can remember -exactly what it means?--thus: - - Meat of the deer, meat of the deer! - Luscious fruit-like meat of the deer! - Luscious fruit-like meat of the deer! - Luscious fruit-like! Luscious fruit-like! - -No sooner had they neared the spot where they smelt the meat than, -without looking around at all, they made a bound for it. But the old -Coyote grabbed the hindmost of the young ones by the ear until he -yelped, shook him, and called out to all the rest: “Look you here! Eat -in a decent manner or you will burn your chops off! I stuffed the -pudding full of grease, and the moment you puncture it, the grease, -being hot, will fly out and burn you. Be careful and dignified, -children. There is plenty of time, and you shall be satisfied. Don’t -gorge at the first helping!” - -But the moment the little Coyotes were freed, they made a grand bounce -for the tempting stomach, tearing it open, and grabbing huge mouthfuls. -It may be surmised that the fire-ants were not comfortable. They ran all -over the lips and cheeks of the voracious little gormands and bit them -until they cried out, shaking their heads and rubbing them in the sand: -“_Atu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu!_” - -“There, now, didn’t I tell you, little fools, to be careful? It was the -grease that burnt you. Now I hope you know enough to eat a little more -moderately. There’s plenty of time to satisfy yourselves, I say,” cried -the old Coyote, sitting down on his haunches. - -Then the little cubs and the old woman attacked the delicacy again. -“_Atu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu!_” they exclaimed, shaking their heads and -flapping their ears; and presently they all went away and sat down, -observing this wonderful hot pudding.[14] - - [14] It may be well to explain here that there is no more - intensely painful or fiery bite known than the bite of the - fire-ant or red ant of the Southwest and the tropics, named, in - Zuñi, _halo_. Large pimples and blisters are raised by the bite, - which is so venomous, moreover, that for the time being it - poisons the blood and fills every vein of the body with burning - sensations. - -Then the Coyote looked around and observed that the meat was gone, and, -following the grease and blood spots up the tree with his eye, saw in -the top the pack of meat with the Turtle calmly reclining upon it and -resting, his head stretched far out on his hand. The Turtle lifted his -head and exclaimed: “_Pe-sa-las-ta-i-i-i-i!_” - -“You tough-hided old beast!” yelled the Coyote, in an ecstasy of rage -and disappointment. “Throw down some of that meat, now, will you? I -killed that deer; you only helped me skin him; and here you have stolen -all the meat. Wife! Children! Didn’t I kill the deer?” he cried, turning -to the rest. - -“Certainly you did, and he’s a sneaking old wretch to steal it from -you!” they exclaimed in chorus, looking longingly at the pack of meat in -the top of the tree. - -“Who said I stole the meat from you?” cried out the Turtle. “I only -hauled it up here to keep it from being stolen, you villain! Scatter -yourselves out to catch some of it. I will throw as fine a pair of ribs -down to you as ever you saw. There, now, spread yourselves out and get -close together. Ready?” he called, as the Coyotes lay down on their -backs side by side and stretched their paws as high as they could -eagerly and tremblingly toward the meat. - -“Yes, yes!” cried the Coyotes, in one voice. “We are all ready! Now, -then!” - -The old Turtle took up the pair of ribs, and, catching them in his beak, -crawled out to the end of the branch immediately over the Coyotes, and, -giving them a good fling, dropped them as hard as he could. Over and -over they fell, and then came down like a pair of stones across the -bodies of the Coyotes, crushing the wind out of them, so that they had -no breath left with which to cry out, and most of them were instantly -killed. But the two little cubs at either side escaped with only a hurt -or two, and, after yelling fearfully, one of them took his tail between -his legs and ran away. The other one, still very hungry, ran off with -his tail lowered and his nose to the ground, sidewise, until he had got -to a safe distance, and then he sat down and looked up. Presently he -thought he would return and eat some of the meat from the ribs. - -“Wait!” cried the old Turtle, “don’t go near that meat; leave it alone -for your parents and brothers and sisters. Really, I am so old and stiff -that it took me a long time to get out to the end of that limb, and I am -afraid they went to sleep while I was getting there, for see how still -they lie.” - -“By my ancestors!” exclaimed the Coyote, looking at them; “that is so.” - -“Why don’t you come up here and have a feast with me,” said the Turtle, -“and leave that meat alone for your brothers and sisters and your old -ones?” - -“How can I get up there?” whined the Coyote, crawling nearer to the -tree. - -“Simply reach up until you get your paw over one of the branches, and -then haul yourself up,” replied the Turtle. - -The little Coyote stretched and jumped, and, though he sometimes -succeeded in getting his paw over the branch, he fell back, _flop!_ -every time. And then he would yelp and sing out as though every bone in -his body was broken. - -“Never mind! never mind!” cried the Turtle. “I’ll come down and help -you.” So he crawled down the tree, and, reaching over, grabbed the -little Coyote by the top-knot, and by much struggling he was able to -climb up. When they got to the top of the tree the Turtle said: “There, -now, help yourself.” - -The little Coyote fell to and filled himself so full that he was as -round as a plum and elastic as a cranberry. Then he looked about and -licked his chops and tried to breathe, but couldn’t more than half, and -said: “Oh, my! if I don’t get some water I’ll choke!” - -“My friend,” said the Turtle, “do you see that drop of water gleaming in -the sun at the end of that branch of this pine tree?” (It was really -pitch.) “Now, I have lived in the tops of trees so much that I know -where to go. Trees have springs. Look at that.” - -The Coyote looked and was convinced. - -“Walk out, now, to the end of the branch, or until you come to one of -those drops of water, then take it in your mouth and suck, and all the -water you want will flow out.” - -The little Coyote started. He trembled and was unsteady on his legs, but -managed to get half way. “Is it here?” he called, turning round and -looking back. - -“No, a little farther,” said the Turtle. - -So he cautiously stepped a little farther. The branch was swaying -dreadfully. He turned his head, and just as he was saying, “Is it here?” -he lost his balance and fell plump to the ground, striking so hard on -the tough earth that he was instantly killed. - -“There, you wretched beast!” said the old Turtle with a sigh of relief -and satisfaction. “Ingenuity enabled me to kill a deer. Ingenuity -enabled me to retain the deer.” - -It must not be forgotten that one of the little Coyotes ran away. He had -numerous descendants, and ever since that time they have been -characterized by pimples all over their faces where the mustaches grow -out, and little blotches inside of their lips, such as you see inside -the lips of dogs. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE COYOTE AND THE LOCUST - - -In the days of the ancients, there lived south of Zuñi, beyond the -headland of rocks, at a place called Suski-ashokton (“Rock Hollow of the -Coyotes”), an old Coyote. And this side of the headland of rocks, in the -bank of a steep arroyo, lived an old Locust, near where stood a piñon -tree, crooked and so bereft of needles that it was sunny. - -One day the Coyote went out hunting, leaving his large family of -children and his old wife at home. It was a fine day and the sun was -shining brightly, and the old Locust crawled out of his home in the loam -of the arroyo and ascended to one of the bare branches of the piñon -tree, where, hooking his feet firmly into the bark, he began to sing and -play his flute. The Coyote in his wanderings came along just as he began -to sing these words: - - “_Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya, - Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya! - Yaamii heeshoo taatani tchupatchinte, - Shohkoya, - Shohkoya!_” - - Locust, locust, playing a flute, - Locust, locust, playing a flute! - Away up above on the pine-tree bough, closely clinging, - Playing a flute, - Playing a flute! - -“Delight of my senses!” called out the Coyote, squatting down on his -haunches, and looking up, with his ears pricked and his mouth grinning; -“Delight of my senses, how finely you play your flute!” - -“Do you think so?” said the Locust, continuing his song. - -“Goodness, yes!” cried the Coyote, shifting nearer. “What a song it is! -Pray, teach it to me, so that I can take it home and dance my children -to it. I have a large family at home.” - -“All right,” said the Locust. “Listen, then.” And he sang his song -again: - - “_Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya, - Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya! - Yaamii heeshoo taatani tchupatchinte, - Shohkoya, - Shohkoya!_” - -“Delightful!” cried the Coyote. “Now, shall I try?” - -“Yes, try.” - -Then in a very hoarse voice the Coyote half growled and half sang -(making a mistake here and there, to be sure) what the Locust had sung, -though there was very little music in his repetition of the performance. - - “_Tchu u-mali, tchumali--shohshoh koya, - Tchu tchu mali, tchumali shohkoya, - Yaa mami he he shoo ta ta tante tchup patchin te, - Shohkoya, - Shohkoya!_” - -“Ha!” laughed he, as he finished; “I have got it, haven’t I?” - -“Well, yes,” said the Locust, “fairly well.” - -“Now, then, let us sing it over together.” - -And while the Locust piped shrilly the Coyote sang gruffly, though much -better than at first, the song. - -“There, now,” exclaimed he, with a whisk of his tail; “didn’t I tell -you?” and without waiting to say another word he whisked away toward his -home beyond the headland of rocks. As he was running along the plain he -kept repeating the song to himself, so that he would not forget it, -casting his eyes into the air, after the manner of men in trying to -remember or to say particularly fine things, so that he did not notice -an old Gopher peering at him somewhat ahead on the trail; and the old -Gopher laid a trap for him in his hole. - -The Coyote came trotting along, singing: “_Shohkoya, shohkoya_,” when -suddenly he tumbled heels over head into the Gopher’s hole. He sneezed, -began to cough, and to rub the sand out of his eyes; and then jumping -out, cursed the Gopher heartily, and tried to recall his song, but found -that he had utterly forgotten it, so startled had he been. - -“The lubber-cheeked old Gopher! I wish the pests were all in the Land of -Demons!” cried he. “They dig their holes, and nobody can go anywhere in -safety. And now I have forgotten my song. Well, I will run back and get -the old Locust to sing it over again. If he can sit there singing to -himself, why can’t he sing it to me? No doubt in the world he is still -out there on that piñon branch singing away.” Saying which, he ran back -as fast as he could. When he arrived at the piñon tree, sure enough, -there was the old Locust still sitting and singing. - -“Now, how lucky this is, my friend!” cried the Coyote, long before he -had reached the place. “The lubber-cheeked, fat-sided old Gopher dug a -hole right in my path; and I went along singing your delightful song and -was so busy with it that I fell headlong into the trap he had set for -me, and I was so startled that, on my word, I forgot all about the song, -and I have come back to ask you to sing it for me again.” - -“Very well,” said the Locust. “Be more careful this time.” So he sang -the song over. - -“Good! Surely I’ll not forget it this time,” cried the Coyote; so he -whisked about, and away he sped toward his home beyond the headland of -rocks. “Goodness!” said he to himself, as he went along; “what a fine -thing this will be for my children! How they will be quieted by it when -I dance them as I sing it! Let’s see how it runs. Oh, yes! - - “_Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya, - Tchumali, tchumali, shohko_--” - -_Thli-i-i-i-i-p, piu-piu, piu-piu!_ fluttered a flock of Pigeons out of -the bushes at his very feet, with such a whizzing and whistling that the -Coyote nearly tumbled over with fright, and, recovering himself, cursed -the Doves heartily, calling them “gray-backed, useless sage-vermin”; -and, between his fright and his anger, was so much shaken up that he -again forgot his song. - -Now, the Locust wisely concluded that this would be the case, and as he -did not like the Coyote very well, having been told that sometimes -members of his tribe were by no means friendly to Locusts and other -insects, he concluded to play him a trick and teach him a lesson in the -minding of his own affairs. So, catching tight hold of the bark, he -swelled himself up and strained until his back split open; then he -skinned himself out of his old skin, and, crawling down the tree, found -a suitable quartz stone, which, being light-colored and clear, would not -make his skin look unlike himself. He took the stone up the tree and -carefully placed it in the empty skin. Then he cemented the back -together with a little pitch and left his exact counterfeit sticking to -the bark, after which he flew away to a neighboring tree. - -No sooner had the Coyote recovered his equanimity to some extent than, -discovering the loss of his song and again exclaiming “No doubt he is -still there piping away; I’ll go and get him to sing it over,”--he ran -back as fast as he could. - -“Ah wha!” he exclaimed, as he neared the tree. “I am quite fatigued with -all this extra running about. But, no matter; I see you are still there, -my friend. A lot of miserable, gray-backed Ground-pigeons flew up right -from under me as I was going along singing my song, and they startled me -so that I forgot it; but I tell you, I cursed them heartily! Now, my -friend, will you not be good enough to sing once more for me?” - -He paused for a reply. None came. - -“Why, what’s the matter? Don’t you hear me?” yelled the Coyote, running -nearer, looking closely, and scrutinizing the Locust. “I say, I have -lost my song, and want you to sing for me again. Will you, or will you -not?” Then he paused. - -“Look here, are you going to sing for me or not?” continued the Coyote, -getting angry. - -No reply. - -The Coyote stretched out his nose, wrinkled up his lips, and snarled: -“Look here, do you see my teeth? Well, I’ll ask you just four times more -to sing for me, and if you don’t sing then, I’ll snap you up in a hurry, -I tell you. Will--you--sing--for me? Once. Will you sing--for me? Twice. -Two more times! Look out! Will you sing for me? Are you a fool? Do you -see my teeth? Only once more! Will--you--sing--for me?” - -No reply. - -“Well, you are a fool!” yelled the Coyote, unable to restrain himself -longer, and making a quick jump, he snapped the Locust skin off of the -bough, and bit it so hard that it crushed and broke the teeth in the -middle of his jaw, driving some of them so far down in his gums that you -could hardly see them, and crowding the others out so that they were -regular tusks. The Coyote dropped the stone, rolled in the sand, and -howled and snarled and wriggled with pain. Then he got up and shook his -head, and ran away with his tail between his legs. So excessive was his -pain that at the first brook he came to he stooped down to lap up water -in order to alleviate it, and he there beheld what you and I see in the -mouths of every Coyote we ever catch,--that the teeth back of the -canines are all driven down, so that you can see only the points of -them, and look very much broken up. - -In the days of the ancients the Coyote minded not his own business and -restrained not his anger. So he bit a Locust that was only the skin of -one with a stone inside. And all his descendants have inherited his -broken teeth. And so also to this day, when Locusts venture out on a -sunny morning to sing a song, it is not infrequently their custom to -protect themselves from the consequences of attracting too much -attention by skinning themselves and leaving their counterparts on the -trees. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE COYOTE AND THE RAVENS WHO RACED THEIR EYES - - -Long, long ago, in the days of the ancients, there lived in Hómaiakwin, -or the Cañon of the Cedars, a Coyote,--doubtless the same one I have -told you of as having made friends with the Woodpounder bird. As you -know, this cañon in which he lived is below the high eastern cliff of -Face Mountain. - -This Coyote was out walking one day. On leaving his house he had said -that he was going hunting; but,--miserable fellow!--who ever knew a -Coyote to catch anything, unless it were a prairie-dog or a wood-rat or -a locust or something of the kind? So you may depend upon it he was out -walking; that is, wandering around to see what he could see. - -He crossed over the valley northward, with his tail dragging along in an -indifferent sort of a way, until he came to the place on Thunder -Mountain called Shoton-pia (“Where the Shell Breastplate Hangs”). He -climbed up the foot-hills, and along the terraces at the base of the -cliff, and thus happened to get toward the southeastern corner of the -mountain. There is a little column of rock with a round top to it -standing there, as you know, to this day. - -Now, on the top of this standing rock sat two old Ravens, racing their -eyes. One of them would settle himself down on the rock and point with -his beak straight off across the valley to some pinnacle in the cliffs -of the opposite mesa. Then he would say to his companion, without -turning his head at all: “You see that rock yonder? Well, ahem! Standing -rock yonder, round you, go ye my eyes and come back.” Then he would -lower his head, stiffen his neck, squeeze his eyelids, and “_Pop!_” he -would say as his eyes flew out of their sockets, and sailed away toward -the rock like two streaks of lightning, reaching which they would go -round it, and come back toward the Raven; and as they were coming back, -he would swell up his throat and say “_Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u_,”--whereupon his -eyes would slide with a _k’othlo!_ into their sockets again. Then he -would turn toward his companion, and swelling up his throat still more, -and ducking his head just as if he were trying to vomit his own neck, he -would laugh inordinately; and the other would laugh with him, bristling -up all the feathers on his body. - -Then the other one would settle himself, and say: “Ah, I’ll better you! -You see that rock away yonder?” Then he would begin to squeeze his -eyelids, and _thlut!_ his eyes would fly out of their sockets and away -across the mesa and round the rock he had named; and as they flew back, -he would lower himself, and say “_Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u_,” when _k’othlo!_ the -eyes would slide into their sockets again. Then, as much amused as ever, -the Ravens would laugh at one another again. - -Now, the Coyote heard the Ravens humming their eyes back into their -sockets; and the sound they made, as well as the way they laughed so -heartily, exceedingly pleased him, so that he stuck his tail up very -straight and laughed merely from seeing them laugh. Presently he could -contain himself no longer. “Friends,” he cried, in a shrieky little -voice, “I say, friends, how do you do, and what are you doing?” - -The Ravens looked down, and when they saw the Coyote they laughed and -punched one another with their wings and cried out to him: “Bless you! -Glad to see you come!” - -“What is it you are doing?” asked he. “By the daylight of the gods, it -is funny, whatever it is!” And he whisked his tail and laughed, as he -said this, drawing nearer to the Ravens. - -“Why, we are racing our eyes,” said the older of the two Ravens. “Didn’t -you ever see anyone race his eyes before?” - -“Good demons, no!” exclaimed the Coyote. “Race your eyes! How in the -world do you race your eyes?” - -“Why, this way,” said one of the Ravens. And he settled himself down. -“Do you see that tall rock yonder? Ahem! Well, tall rock, yonder,--ye my -eyes go round it and return to me!” _K’othlo! k’othlo!_ the eyes slipped -out of their sockets, and the Raven, holding his head perfectly still, -waited, with his upper lids hanging wrinkled on his lower, for the -return of the eyes; and as they neared him, he crouched down, swelled up -his neck, and exclaimed “_Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u_.” _Tsoko!_ the eyes flew -into their sockets again. Then the Raven turned around and showed his -two black bright eyes as good as ever. “There, now! what did I tell -you?” - -“By the moon!” squeaked the Coyote, and came up nearer still. “How in -the world do you do that? It is one of the most wonderful and funny -things I ever saw!” - -“Well, here, come up close to me,” said the Raven, “and I will show you -how it is done.” Then the other Raven settled himself down; and _pop!_ -went his eyes out of their sockets, round a rock still farther away. And -as they returned, he exclaimed “_Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u_,” when _tsoko!_ in -again they came. And he turned around laughing at the Coyote. “There, -now!” said he, “didn’t I tell you?” - -“By the daylight of the gods! I wish I could do that,” said the Coyote. -“Suppose I try my eyes?” - -“Why, yes, if you like, to be sure!” said the Ravens. “Well, now, do you -want to try?” - -“Humph! I should say I did,” replied the Coyote. - -“Well, then, settle down right here on this rock,” said the Ravens, -making way for him, “and hold your head out toward that rock and say: -‘Yonder rock, these my eyes go round it and return to me.’” - -“I know! I know! I know!” yelled the Coyote. And he settled himself -down, and squeezed and groaned to force his eyes out of his sockets, but -they would not go. “Goodness!” said the Coyote, “how can I get my eyes -to go out of their sockets?” - -“Why, don’t you know how?” said the Ravens. “Well, just keep still, and -we’ll help you; we’ll take them out for you.” - -“All right! all right!” cried the Coyote, unable to repress his -impatience. “Quick! quick! here I am, all ready!” And crouching down, he -laid his tail straight out, swelled up his neck, and strained with every -muscle to force his eyes out of his head. The Ravens picked them out -with a dexterous twist of their beaks in no time, and sent them flying -off over the valley. The Coyote yelped a little when they came out, but -stood his ground manfully, and cringed down his neck and waited for his -eyes to come back. - -“Let the fool of a beast go without his eyes,” said the Ravens. “He was -so very anxious to get rid of them, and do something he had no business -with; let him go without them!” Whereupon they flew off across the -valley, and caught up his eyes and ate them, and flew on, laughing at -the predicament in which they had left the Coyote. - -Now, thus the Coyote sat there the proper length of time; then he opened -his mouth, and said “_Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u!_” But he waited in vain for his -eyes to come back. And “_Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u!_” he said again. No use. -“Mercy!” exclaimed he, “what can have become of my eyes? Why don’t they -come back?” After he had waited and “_whu-u-u-u-u-d_” until he was -tired, he concluded that his eyes had got lost, and laid his head on his -breast, wofully thinking of his misfortune. “How in the world shall I -hunt up my eyes?” he groaned, as he lifted himself cautiously (for it -must be remembered that he stood on a narrow rock), and tried to look -all around; but he couldn’t see. Then he began to feel with his paws, -one after another, to find the way down; and he slipped and fell, so -that nearly all the breath was knocked out of his body. When he had -recovered, he picked himself up, and felt and felt along, slowly -descending, until he got into the valley. - -Now, it happened as he felt his way along with his toes that he came to -a wet place in the valley, not far below where the spring of Shuntakaiya -flows out from the cliffs above. In feeling his way, his foot happened -to strike a yellow cranberry, ripe and soft, but very cold, of course. -“Ha!” said he, “lucky fellow, I! Here is one of my eyes.” So he picked -it up and clapped it into one of his empty sockets; then he peered up to -the sky, and the light struck through it. “Didn’t I tell you so, old -fellow? It is one of your eyes, by the souls of your ancestors!” Then he -felt around until he found another cranberry. “Ha!” said he, “and this -proves it! Here is the other!” And he clapped that into the other empty -socket. He didn’t seem to see quite as well as he had seen before, but -still the cranberries answered the purpose of eyes exceedingly well, and -the poor wretch of a Coyote never knew the difference; only it was -observed when he returned to his companions in the Cañon of the Cedars -that he had yellow eyes instead of black ones, which everybody knows -Coyotes and all other creatures had at first. - - * * * * * - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients, and hence to this day coyotes -have yellow eyes, and are not always quick to see things. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE PRAIRIE-DOGS AND THEIR PRIEST, THE BURROWING-OWL - - -Once, long, long ago, there stood in Prairie-dog Land a large -Prairie-dog village. Prairie-dog Land is south of Zuñi, beyond Grease -Mountain; and in the middle of that country, which is one of our smaller -meadows, stands a mountain, which is a little mound. All round about the -base of this mountain were the sky-holes and door-mounds and pathways of -the grandfathers of the Prairie-dogs. In the very top of the mount was -the house of an old Burrowing-owl and his wife. - -One summer it rained and it rained and it rained, so that the fine -fields of _mitäliko_ (wild portulaca) were kept constantly fresh, and -the Prairie-dogs had unfailing supplies of this, their favorite food. -They became fat and happy, and gloried in the rain-storms that had -produced such an abundant harvest for them. But still it kept raining, -until by-and-by, when they descended to their fields of _mitäliko_, they -found their feet were wet, which they did not like any more than -Prairie-dogs like it today. - -Now, you know that in some parts of the meadow of Prairie-dog Land are -little hollows, in which the water collects when it rains hard. Just in -these places were the fields of _mitäliko_. And still it rained and -rained, until finally only the tops of the plants appeared above the -waters. - -Then the Prairie-dogs began to curse the rain and to fall off in flesh, -for they could no longer go to the fields to collect food, and the -stores in their granaries were running low. At last they grew very -hungry and lean and could hardly get about, for it rained and rained day -after day, so that they dare not go away from their holes, and their -stores were all gone. - -The old ones among the Prairie-dogs, the grandfathers, called a great -council; three or four of them came out of their houses, stood up on the -mounds in front of their sky-holes, and called out “_Wek wek,--wek -wek,--wek wek,--wek wek!_” in shrill, squeaky voices, so that the women -and children in the holes round about exclaimed: “Goodness, gracious! -the old ones are calling a council!” And everybody trooped to the -council, which was gathered round the base of the Burrowing-owl’s -mountain. - -“Now,” said the chief spokesman or counsellor, “you see those wretched -rainers keep dropping water until our fields of _mitäliko_ are flooded. -They ought to know that we are short of leg, and that we can’t go into -the lakes to gather food, and here we are starving. Our women are dying, -our children are crying, and we can scarcely go from door to door. Now, -what is to be done? How can we stop the rain?--that is the question.” - -They talked and talked; they devised many plans, which were considered -futile, most of them having been tried already. At last a wise old -gray-cheeked fellow suggested that it would be well to apply to their -grandfather, the Burrowing-owl, who lived in the top of the mountain. - -“Hear! hear!” cried the council in one voice,--whereupon the old man who -had spoken was chosen as messenger to the Burrowing-owl. - -He climbed to the top of the mountain, with many a rest, and at last got -near the doorway, and sitting down at a respectful distance, raised -himself on his haunches, folded his hands across his breast, then cried -out: “_Wek wek,--wek wek!_” - -The old grandfather Burrowing-owl, not in very good humor, stepped out, -blinking his eyes and asked what was the matter. He said: “It isn’t your -custom to come up to my house and make such a racket, though true enough -it is that I hear your rackets down below. It cannot be for nothing that -you come; therefore, what is your message?” - -“My grandfather,” said the Prairie-dog, “in council we have considered -how to stop the irrepressible rainers; but all of our efforts and -devices are quite futile, so that we are forced to apply to you.” - -“Ah, indeed,” said the old Owl, scratching the corner of his eye with -his claw. “Go down home, and I will see what I can do tomorrow morning. -As you all know very well, I am a priest. I will set aside four days for -fasting and meditation and sacred labors. Please await the result.” - -The old Prairie-dog humbly bade him farewell and departed for his -village below. - -Next morning the Burrowing-owl said to his wife: “Put on a large -quantity of beans, my old one, and cook them well,--small beans, of the -kind that smell not pleasantly.” He then bade her “Good morning,” and -left. He went about for a long time, hunting at the roots of bushes. At -last he found one of those ill-smelling Beetles, with its head stuck way -down in the midst of the roots. He grabbed him up, notwithstanding the -poor creature’s remonstrances, and took him home. - -When he arrived there, said he: “My friend, it seems to me you are -making a great fuss about this thing, but I am not going to hurt you, -except in one way,--by the presentation to you of all the food you can -eat.” - -“Bless me!” said the Tip-beetle, bobbing his head down into the ground -and rearing himself into the air. Then he sat down quite relieved and -contented. - -“Old woman,” said the Burrowing-owl, “lay out a dish of the beans on the -floor.” The wife complied. “My friend,” said the Burrowing-owl to the -Tip-beetle, “fall to and satisfy yourself.” - -The Tip-beetle, with another tip, sat down before the bowl of beans. He -ate, and swallowed, and gulped until he had entirely emptied the dish, -and began to grow rather full of girth. - -“Not yet satisfied?” asked the Owl. “Old woman, lay out another bowl.” - -Another large bowl of the bean soup was placed before the Tip-beetle, -who likewise gulped and gulped at this, and at last diminished it to -nothing. Now, the Tip-beetle by this time looked like a well-blown-up -paunch. Still, when the old Owl remarked “Is there left of your -capacity?” he replied: “Somewhat; by the favor of a little more, I think -I shall be satisfied.” - -“Old woman,” said the Owl, “a little more.” - -The old woman placed another bowl before the Tip-beetle; and he ate and -ate, and swallowed and swallowed, and gulped and sputtered; but with all -the standing up and wiggling of his head that he could do he could not -finish the bowl; and at last, wiping the perspiration from his brow, he -exclaimed: “Thanks, thanks, I am satisfied.” - -“Ha, indeed!” said the Owl. Both the old woman and the Tip-beetle had -noticed, while the feast was going on, that the Owl had cut out a -good-sized round piece of buckskin, and he was running a thread round -about the edge of it, leaving two strings at either side, like the -strings with which one draws together a pouch. Just as the Tip-beetle -returned his thanks the old Owl had finished his work. - -“My friend,” said he, turning to the Tip-beetle, “you have feasted to -satisfaction, and it appears to me by your motions that you are -exceedingly uncomfortable, being larger of girth than is safe and well -for a Tip-beetle. Perhaps you are not aware that one who eats freely of -bean soup is likely to grow still larger. I would advise you, therefore, -when I lay this pouch on the floor, with the mouth of it toward you, to -run your head into it and exhale as much wind as possible; and to -facilitate this I will squeeze you slightly.” - -The Tip-beetle was not very well pleased with the proposition; still he -by no means refused to comply. - -“You see,” continued the Owl, “you are at once to be relieved of the -serious consequences of your gluttony, while at the same time paying for -your food.” - -“Now, this is an excellent idea, upon my word,” replied the Tip-beetle, -and forthwith he thrust himself into the bag. The old Owl embraced the -Tip-beetle and gently squeezed him, increasing the pressure as time went -on, until a large amount of his girth had been diminished; but behold! -the girth of the bag was swelled until it was so full with struggling -wind that it could hardly be tied up! Outside, the rain was rattling, -rattling. - -Said the old Owl to the Tip-beetle: “My friend, if you do not mind the -rain, which I dare say you do not, you may now return to your home. Many -thanks for your assistance.” - -The Tip-beetle, likewise with expression of thanks, took his departure. - -When the morning of the fourth day came, and the rain still continued, -in fact increased, the old Owl took the bag of wind out to the mount -before his doorway. - -Now, you know that if one goes near a Tip-beetle and disturbs him, that -Tip-beetle will rear himself on his hands and head and disgorge breath -of so pungent a nature that nobody can withstand it. Woe to the nose of -that man who is in the neighborhood! It will be so seared with this -over-powering odor that it cannot sneeze, though desiring never so much -to do so. You know, also, if you touch a Tip-beetle who is angry, all -the good water in Zuñi River will not remove from your fingers the -memory of that Beetle, whenever you chance to smell of them. And you -know, also, how small stewed beans with thick skins affect one. -Conceive, then, the power of the medicine contained in that little bag. - -The old Owl, taking up a stick, hit the bag one whack. The clouds, -before so thick, glaring with lightning, trembling and swirling with -thunder, now began to thin out in the zenith and depart, and the -sunlight sifted through. The Owl hit the bag another stroke,--behold, -afar off scudded the clouds as before a fierce blast. Again the old Owl -hit the bag. The clouds were resting on the far away mountain-tops -before he had lowered his stick. Then, with one mighty effort, he gave -the bag a final whack, wholly emptying it of its contents, and the sky -was as clear as it is on a summer’s day in the noon-time of a drought. -So potent was this all-penetrating and irresistible odor, that even the -Rain-gods themselves could not withstand it, and withdrew their forces -and retired before it. - -Out from their holes trooped the Prairie-dogs, and sitting up on their -haunches all round about the mountain, they shouted at the tops of their -shrill voices, “_Wek wek,--wek wek,--wek wek!_” in praise of their great -priest, the Grandfather Burrowing-owl. - - * * * * * - -Behold, thus it was in the days of the ancients. And for that reason -prairie-dogs and burrowing-owls have always been great friends. And the -burrowing-owls consider no place in the world quite so appropriate for -the bringing forth, hatching, and rearing of their children as the holes -of the prairie-dogs. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - [Illustration: ACROSS THE TERRACES OF ZUÑI - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - - - - -HOW THE GOPHER RACED WITH THE RUNNERS OF K’IÁKIME - - -There was a time in the days of the ancients when the runners of -K’iákime were famed above those of all other cities in the Valley of -Shíwina for their strength, endurance, and swiftness of foot. In running -the _tikwa_, or kicked-stick race, they overcame, one after another, the -runners of Shíwina or Zuñi, of Mátsaki or the Salt City, of Pínawa or -the Town of the Winds, and in fact all who dared to challenge them or to -accept their challenges. - -The people of Shíwina and Mátsaki did not give up easily. They ran again -and again, only to be beaten and to lose the vast piles of goods and -precious things which they had staked or bet; and at last they were -wholly disheartened and bereft of everything which without shame a man -might exhibit for betting. - -So the people of the two towns called a council, and the old men and -runners gathered and discussed what could be done that the runners of -K’iákime might be overcome. They thought of all the wise men and wise -beings they knew of; one after another of them was mentioned, and at -last a few prevailed in contending that for both wisdom and cunning or -craft the Gopher took precedence over all those who had been mentioned. -Forthwith a young man was dispatched to find an old Gopher who lived on -the side of the hill near which the race-course began. - -He was out sunning himself, and finishing a cellar, when the young man -approached him, and he called out: “Ha, grandson! Don’t bother me this -morning; I am busy digging my cellars.” - -The young man insisted that he came with an important message from his -people. So the old Gopher ceased his work, and listened attentively -while the young man related to him the difficulties they were in. - -Said he: “Go back, my grandson, and tell your people to challenge the -runners of K’iákime to run the race of the kicked stick with a runner -whom they have chosen, a single one, the fourth day from this day; and -tell your people, moreover, that I will run the race for them, providing -only that the runners of K’iákime will permit me to go my own way, on my -own road, which as you know runs underground.” - -The youth thanked the old Gopher and was about to retire when the -fat-sided, heavy-cheeked old fellow called to him to hold on a little. -“Mind you,” said he. “Tell your people also that they shall bet for me -only two things--red paint and sacred yellow pollen. These shall, as it -were, be the payment for my exertions, if I win, as I prize this sort of -possession above all else.” - -The young man returned and reported what the Gopher had said. Thereupon -the people of Shíwina and Mátsaki sent a challenge to the people of -K’iákime for a race, saying: “We bet all that we have against what you -have won from us from time to time that our runner, the Gopher, who -lives beside the beginning of our race-course, will beat you in the -race, which we propose shall be the fourth day from this day. The only -condition we name is, that the Gopher shall be permitted to run in his -own way, on his own road, which is underground.” - -Right glad were the runners of K’iákime to run against anyone proposed -by those whom they had so often beaten. They hesitated not a moment in -replying that they would run against the Gopher or any other friend of -the people of Mátsaki and Shíwina, stipulating only that the Gopher, if -he ran underground, should appear at the surface occasionally, that they -might know where he was. So it was arranged, and the acceptance of the -challenge was reported to the Gopher, and the stipulation also which was -named by the runners of K’iákime. - -That night the old Gopher went to his younger brother, old like himself, -heavy-cheeked, gray-and-brown-coated, and dusty with diggings of his -cellars. “My younger brother,” said the old Gopher, “the fourth day from -this day I am to run a race. I shall start at the beginning of the -race-course of the people of K’iákime over here, which is near my home, -as you know. There I shall dig two holes; one at the beginning of the -race-course, the other a little farther on. Now, here at your home, near -the Place of the Scratching Bushes, do you dig a hole, down below where -the race-course passes your place, off to one side of it, and another -hole a little beyond the first. The means by which I shall be -distinguished as a racer will be a red plume tied to my head. Do you -also procure a red plume and tie it to your head. When you hear the -thundering of the feet of the racers, run out and show yourself for a -minute, and rush into the other hole as fast as you can.” - -“I understand what you would have of me, and right gladly will I do it. -It would please me exceedingly to take down the pride of those haughty -runners of K’iákime, or at least to help in doing it,” replied the -younger brother. - -The old Gopher went on to the Sitting Space of the Red Shell, where -dwelt another of his younger brothers precisely like himself and the one -he had already spoken to, near whose home the race-course also ran. To -him he communicated the same information, and gave the same directions. -Then he went on still farther to the place called K’ópak’yan, where -dwelt another of his younger brothers. To him also he gave the same -directions; and to still another younger brother, who dwelt beneath the -base of the two broad pillars of Thunder Mountain, at the last -turning-point of the race-course; and to another brother, who dwelt at -the Place of the Burnt Log; and lastly to another brother quite as -cunning and inventive as himself, who dwelt just below K’iákime where -the race-course turned toward its end. When all these arrangements had -been made, the old Gopher went back and settled himself comfortably in -his nest. - -Bright and early on the fourth day preparations were made for the race. -The runners of K’iákime had been fasting and training in the sacred -houses, and they came forth stripped and begirt for the racing, carrying -their stick. Then came the people of Mátsaki and Shíwina, who gathered -on the plain, and there they waited. But they waited not long, for soon -the old Gopher appeared close in their midst, popping out of the ground, -and on his head was a little red plume. He placed the stick which had -been prepared for him, on the ground, where he could grab it with his -teeth easily, saying: “Of course, you will excuse me if I do not kick my -stick, since my feet are so short that I could not do so. On the other -hand,” he said to the runners, “you do not have to dig your way as I do. -Therefore, we are evenly matched.” - -The runners of K’iákime, contemptuously laughing, asked him why he did -not ask for some privilege instead of talking about things which meant -nothing to them. - -At last the word was given. With a yell and a spring, off dashed the -racers of K’iákime, gaily kicking their stick before them. Grabbing his -stick in his teeth, into the ground plunged the old Gopher. Fearful lest -their runner should be beaten, the people of Shíwina and Mátsaki ran to -a neighboring hill, watching breathlessly for him to appear somewhere in -the course of the race above the plain. Away over the plain in a cloud -of dust swept the runners of K’iákime. They were already far off, when -suddenly, some distance before them, out of the ground in the midst of -the race-course, popped the old Gopher, to all appearance, the red plume -dusty, but waving proudly on his forehead. After looking round at the -runners, into the ground he plunged again. The people of Shíwina and -Mátsaki yelled their applause. The runners of K’iákime, astounded that -the Gopher should be ahead of them, redoubled their efforts. When they -came near the Place of the Red Shell, behold! somewhat muddy round the -eyes and nose, out popped the old Gopher again, to all appearance. Of -course it was his brother, the red plume somewhat heavy with dirt, but -still waving on his forehead. - -On rushed the runners, and they had no sooner neared K’ópak’yan than -again they saw the Gopher in advance of them, now apparently covered -with sweat,--for this cunning brother had provided himself with a little -water which he rubbed over his fur and made it all muddy, as though he -were perspiring and had already begun to grow tired. He came out of his -hole and popped into the other less quickly than the others had done; -and the runners, who were not far behind him, raised a great shout and -pushed ahead. When they thought they had gained on him, behold! in their -pathway, all bedraggled with mud, apparently the same old Gopher -appeared, moving with some difficulty, and then disappeared under the -ground again. And so on, the runners kept seeing the Gopher at -intervals, each time a little worse off than before, until they came to -the last turning-place; and just as they reached it, almost in their -midst appeared the most bedraggled and worn out of all the Gophers. -They, seeing the red plume on his crest, almost obscured by mud and all -flattened out, regarded him as surely the same old Gopher. - -Finally, the original old Gopher, who had been quietly sleeping -meanwhile, roused himself, and besoaking himself from the tip of his -nose to the end of his short tail, wallowed about in the dirt until he -was well plastered with mud, half closing his eyes, and crawled out -before the astonished multitude at the end of the goal, a sorry-looking -object indeed, far ahead of the runners, who were rapidly approaching. A -great shout was raised by those who were present, and the runners of -K’iákime for the first time lost all of their winnings, and had the -swiftness, or at least all their confidence, taken out of them, as doth -the wind lose its swiftness when its legs are broken. - - * * * * * - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients. By the skill and cunning of the -Gopher--who, by digging his many holes and pitfalls, is the opponent of -all runners, great and small--was the race won against the swiftest -runners among the youth of our ancients. Therefore, to this day the -young runners of Zuñi, on going forth to prepare for a race, take with -them the sacred yellow pollen and red paint; and they make for the -gophers, round about the race-course in the country, beautiful little -plumes, and they speak to them speeches in prayer, saying: “Behold, O ye -Gophers of the plains and the trails, we race! And that we may have thy -aid, we give ye these things, which are unto ye and your kind most -precious, that ye will cause to fall into your holes and crannies and be -hidden away in the dark and the dirt the sticks that are kicked by our -opponents.” - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -HOW THE RATTLESNAKES CAME TO BE WHAT THEY ARE - - -Know you that long, long ago there lived at Yathlpew’nan, as live there -now, many Rattlesnakes; but then they were men and women, only of a -Rattlesnake kind. - -One day the little children of one of the houses there wished to go out -to play at sliding down the sand-banks south of the Bitter Pond on the -other side of our river. So they cried out to their parents: “Let us go, -O mother, grandmother, father! and take our little sister to play on the -sunny side of the sand-banks.” - -“My children,” said the mother, “go if you wish, but be very careful of -your little sister; for she is young. Carry her gently on your -shoulders, and place her where she will be safe, for she is very small -and helpless.” - -“Oh, yes!” cried the children. “We love our little sister, don’t we, -little one?” said they, turning to the baby girl. Then they took her up -in their mantles, and carried her on their shoulders out to the sunny -side of the sand-banks; and there they began to play at sliding one -after another. - -The little girl, immensely delighted with their sport, toddled out from -the place where they had set her down, just as one of the girls was -speeding down the side of the sand-hill. The little creature ran, -clapping her hands and laughing, to catch her sister as she came; and -the elder one, trying in vain to stop herself, called out to her to -beware; but she was a little thing, and knew not the meaning of her -sister’s warning; and, alas! the elder one slid down upon her, knocked -her over and rolled her in the sand, crushing her so that she died, and -rolling her out very small. - -The children all gathered around their little sister, and cried and -cried. Finally they took her up tenderly, and, placing her on their -shoulders, sang as they went slowly toward home: - - “_Tchi-tola tsaaana! - Tchi-tola tsaaana! - Tchi-tola tsaaana!_ - - _Ama ma hama seta! - Ama ma hama seta!_” - - Rattlesnake little-little! - Rattlesnake little-little! - Rattlesnake little-little! - - Alas, we bear her! - Alas, we bear her! - -As they approached the village of the Rattlesnakes, the mother of the -little one looked out and saw them coming and heard their song. - -“O, my children! my children!” she cried. “Ye foolish little ones, did I -not tell ye to beware and to be careful, O, my children?” Then she -exclaimed--rocking herself to and fro, and wriggling from side to side -at the same time, casting her hands into the air, and sobbing wildly-- - - “_Ayaa mash toki! - Ayaa mash toki! - Hai! i i i i!_”[15] - -and fell in a swoon, still wriggling, to the ground. - - [15] It is impossible to translate this exclamation, as it is - probably archaic, and it is certainly the intention that its - meaning shall not be plain. Judging from its etymology, I should - think that its meaning might be: - - “Oh, alas! our little maiden! - Oh, alas! our little maiden! - Ala-a-a-a-a-s!” - -When the old grandmother saw them coming, she too said: - - “_Ayaa mash toki! - Ayaa mash toki! - Hai! i i i i!_” - -And as one after another in that village saw the little child, so -beloved, brought home thus mutilated and dead, each cried out as the -others had cried: - - “_Ayaa mash toki! - Ayaa mash toki! - Hai! i i i i!_” - -and all swooned away; and the children also who were bringing the little -one joined in the cry of woe, and swooned away. And when they all -returned to life, behold, they could not arise, but went wriggling along -the ground, faintly crying, as Rattlesnakes wriggle and cry to this day. - -So you see that once--as was the case with many, if not all, of the -animals--the Rattlesnakes were a people, and a splendid people too. -Therefore we kill them not needlessly, nor waste the lives even of other -animals without cause. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -HOW THE CORN-PESTS WERE ENSNARED - - -In the days of the ancients, long, long ago, there lived in our town, -which was then called the Middle Ant Hill of the World, a proud maiden, -very pretty and very attractive, the daughter of one of the richest men -among our people. She had every possession a Zuñi maiden could wish -for,--blankets and mantles, embroidered dresses and sashes, buckskins -and moccasins, turquoise earrings and shell necklaces, bracelets so many -you could not count them. She had her father and mother, brothers and -sisters, all of whom she loved very much. Why, therefore, should she -care for anything else? - -There was only one thing to trouble her. Behold! it came of much -possession, for she had large corn-fields, so large and so many that -those who planted and worked them for her could not look after them -properly, and no sooner had the corn ears become full and sweet with the -milk of their being than all sorts of animals broke into those fields -and pulled down the corn-stalks and ate up the sweet ears of corn. Now, -how to remove this difficulty the poor girl did not know. - -Yes, now that I think of it, there was another thing that troubled her -very much, fully as much as did the corn-pests,--pests of another kind, -however, for there wasn’t an unmarried young man in all the valley of -our ancients who was not running mad over the charms of this girl. -Besides all that, not a few of them had an eye on so many possessions, -and thought her home wouldn’t be an uncomfortable place to live in. So -they never gave the poor girl any peace, but hung round her house, and -came to visit her father so constantly that at last she determined to -put the two pests together and call them one, and thereby get rid, if -possible, of one or the other. So, when these young men were very -importunate, she would say to them, “Look you! if any one of you will go -to my corn-fields, and destroy or scare away, so that they will never -come back again, the pests that eat up my corn, him I will marry and -cherish, for I shall respect his ability and ingenuity.” - -The young men tried and tried, but it was of no use. Before long, -everybody knew of this singular proposition. - -There was a young fellow who lived in one of the outer towns, the -poorest of the poor among our people; and not only that, but he was so -ugly that no woman would ever look at him without laughing. - -Now, there are two kinds of laugh with women. One of them is a very good -sort of thing, and makes young men feel happy and conceited. The other -kind is somewhat heartier, but makes young men feel depressed and very -humble. It need not be asked which kind was laughed by the women when -they saw this ugly, ragged, miserable-looking young man. He had bright -twinkling eyes, however, and that means more than all else sometimes. - -Now, this young man came to hear of what was going on. He had no -present to offer the girl, but he admired her as much as--yes, a good -deal more than--if he had been the handsomest young man of his time. So -just in the way that he was he went to the house of this girl one -evening. He was received politely, and it was noticeable to the old -folks that the girl seemed rather to like him,--just as it is noticeable -to you and me today that what people have they prize less than what they -have not. The girl placed a tray of bread before the young man and bade -him eat; and after he had done, he looked around with his twinkling -little eyes. And the old man said, “Let us smoke together.” And so they -smoked. - -By-and-by the old man asked if he were not thinking of something in -coming to the house of a stranger. And the young man replied, it was -very true; he had thoughts, though he felt ashamed to say it, but he -even wished to be accepted as a suitor for his daughter. - -The father referred the matter to the girl, and she said she would be -very well satisfied; then she took the young man aside and spoke a few -words to him,--in fact, told him what were the conditions of his -becoming her accepted husband. He smiled, and said he would certainly -try to the best of his ability, but this was a very hard thing she -asked. - -“I know it is,” said the girl; “that is why I ask it.” - -Now, the young man left the house forthwith. The next day he very -quietly went down into the corn-fields belonging to the girl, and over -toward the northern mesa, for that is where her corn-fields were--lucky -being! He dug a great deep pit with a sharp stick and a bone shovel. -Now, when he had dug it--very smooth at the sides and top it was--he -went to the mountain and got some poles, placing them across the hole, -and over these poles he spread earth, and set up corn-stalks just as -though no hole had been dug there; then he put some exceedingly tempting -bait, plenty of it, over the center of these poles, which were so weak -that nobody, however light of foot, could walk over them without -breaking through. - -Night came on, and you could hear the Coyotes begin to sing; and the -whole army of pests--Bears, Badgers, Gophers, all sorts of creatures, as -they came down slowly, each one in his own way, from the mountain. The -Coyotes first came into the field, being swift of foot; and one of them, -nosing around and keeping a sharp lookout for watchers, happened to espy -those wonderfully tempting morsels that lay over the hole. - -“Ha!” said he (Coyotes don’t think much what they are doing), and he -gave a leap, when in he went--sticks, dirt, bait, and all--to the bottom -of the hole. He picked himself up and rubbed the sand out of his eyes, -then began to jump and jump, trying to get out; but it was of no use, -and he set up a most doleful howl. - -He had just stopped for breath, when a Bear came along. “What in the -name of all the devils and witches are you howling so for?” said he. -“Where are you?” - -The Coyote swallowed his whimpers immediately, set himself up in a -careless attitude, and cried out: “Broadfoot, lucky, lucky, lucky -fellow! Did you hear me singing? I am the happiest creature on the face -of the earth, or rather under it.” - -“What about? I shouldn’t think you were happy, to judge from your -howling.” - -“Why! Mercy on me!” cried the Coyote, “I was singing for joy.” - -“How’s that?” asked the Bear. - -“Why,” said the Coyote, “I came along here this evening and by the -merest accident fell into this hole. And what do you suppose I found -down here? Green-corn, meat, sweet-stuff, and everything a corn-eater -could wish for. The only thing I lacked to complete my happiness was -someone to enjoy the meal with me. Jump in!--it isn’t very deep--and -fall to, friend. We’ll have a jolly good night of it.” - -So the old Bear looked down, drew back a minute, hesitated, and then -jumped in. When the Bear got down there, the Coyote laid himself back, -slapped his thighs, and laughed and laughed and laughed. “Now, get out -if you can,” said he to the Bear. “You and I are in a pretty mess. I -fell in here by accident, it is true, but I would give my teeth and eyes -if I could get out again!” - -The Bear came very near eating him up, but the Coyote whispered -something in his ear. “Good!” yelled the Bear. “Ha! ha! ha! Excellent -idea! Let us sing together. Let them come!” - -So they laughed and sang and feasted until they attracted almost every -corn-pest in the fields to the spot to see what they were doing. “Keep -away, my friends,” cried out the Coyote. “No such luck for you. We got -here first. Our spoils!” - -“Can’t I come?” “Can’t I come?” cried out one after another. - -“Well, yes,--no,--there may not be enough for you all.” “Come on, -though; come on! who cares?”--cried out the old Bear. And they rushed in -so fast that very soon the pit-hole was almost full of them, scrambling -to get ahead of one another, and before they knew their predicament they -were already in it. The Coyote laughed, shuffled around, and screamed at -the top of his voice; he climbed up over his grandfather the Bear, -scrambled through the others, which were snarling and biting each other, -and, knowing what he was about, skipped over their backs, out of the -hole, and ran away laughing as hard as he could. - -Now, the next morning down to the corn-field came the young man. Drawing -near to the pit he heard a tremendous racket, and going to the edge and -peering in he saw that it was half filled with the pests which had been -destroying the corn of the maiden,--every kind of creature that had ever -meddled with the corn-fields of man, there they were in that deep pit; -some of them all tired out, waiting for “the end of their daylight,” -others still jumping and crawling and falling in their efforts to get -out. - -“Good! good! my friends,” cried the young man. “You must be cold; I’ll -warm you up a little.” So he gathered a quantity of dry wood and threw -it into the pit. “Be patient! be patient!” said he. “I hope I don’t hurt -any of you. It will be all over in a few minutes.” Then he lighted the -wood and burned the rascals all up. But he noticed the Coyote was not -there. “What does it matter?” said he. “One kind of pest a man can -fight, but not many.” - -So he went back to the house of the girl and reported to her what he had -done. She was so pleased she hardly knew how to express her gratitude, -but said to the young man with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her -eye, “Are you quite sure they were all there?” - -“Why, they were all there except the Coyote,” said the young man; “but I -must tell you the truth, and somehow he got out or didn’t get in.” - -“Who cares for a Coyote!” said the girl. “I would much rather marry a -man with some ingenuity about him than have all the Coyotes in the world -to kill.” Whereupon she accepted this very ugly but ingenious young man; -and it is notable that ever since then pretty girls care very little how -their husbands look, being pretty enough themselves for both. But they -like to have them able to think and guess at a way of getting along -occasionally. Furthermore, what does a rich girl care for a rich young -man? Ever since then, even to this day, as you know, rich girls almost -invariably pick out poor young men for their husbands, and rich young -men are sure to take a fancy to poor girls. - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients. The Coyote got out of the trap -that was set for him by the ugly young man. That is the reason why -coyotes are so much more abundant than any other corn-pests in the land -of Zuñi, and do what you will, they are sure to get away with some of -your corn, anyhow. - -Thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {Frog and tadpoles}] - - - - -JACK-RABBIT AND COTTONTAIL - - -Anciently the Jack-rabbit lived in a sage plain, and the Cottontail -rabbit lived in a cliff hard by. They saw the clouds gather, so they -went out to sing. The long-legged Jack-rabbit sang for snow, thus: - - “_U pi na wi sho, U pi na wi sho, - U kuk uku u kuk!_” - -But the short-legged Cottontail sang for rain, like this: - - “_Hatchi ethla ho na an saia._” - -That’s what they sung--one asking for snow, the other for rain; hence to -this day the Pók’ia (Jack-rabbit) runs when it snows, the Â′kshiko -(Cottontail) when it rains. - -Thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {Two rabbits}] - - - - -THE RABBIT HUNTRESS AND HER ADVENTURES - - -It was long ago, in the days of the ancients, that a poor maiden lived -at K’yawana Tehua-tsana (“Little Gateway of Zuñi River”). You know there -are black stone walls of houses standing there on the tops of the cliffs -of lava, above the narrow place through which the river runs, to this -day. - -In one of these houses there lived this poor maiden alone with her -feeble old father and her aged mother. She was unmarried, and her -brothers had all been killed in wars, or had died gently; so the family -lived there helplessly, so far as many things were concerned, from the -lack of men in their house. - -It is true that in making the gardens--the little plantings of beans, -pumpkins, squashes, melons, and corn--the maiden was able to do very -well; and thus mainly on the products of these things the family were -supported. But, as in those days of our ancients we had neither sheep -nor cattle, the hunt was depended upon to supply the meat; or sometimes -it was procured by barter of the products of the fields to those who -hunted mostly. Of these things this little family had barely enough for -their own subsistence; hence, they could not procure their supplies of -meat in this way. - -Long before, it had been a great house, for many were the brave and -strong young men who had lived in it; but the rooms were now empty, or -at best contained only the leavings of those who had lived there, much -used and worn out. - -One autumn day, near winter-time, snow fell, and it became very cold. -The maiden had gathered brush and firewood in abundance, and it was -piled along the roof of the house and down underneath the ladder which -descended from the top. She saw the young men issue forth the next -morning in great numbers, their feet protected by long stockings of -deerskin, the fur turned inward, and they carried on their shoulders and -stuck in their belts stone axes and rabbit-sticks. As she gazed at them -from the roof, she said to herself: “O that I were a man and could go -forth, as do these young men, hunting rabbits! Then my poor old mother -and father would not lack for flesh with which to duly season their food -and nourish their lean bodies.” Thus ran her thoughts, and before night, -as she saw these same young men coming in, one after another, some of -them bringing long strings of rabbits, others short ones, but none of -them empty-handed, she decided that, woman though she was, she would set -forth on the morrow to try what luck she might find in the killing of -rabbits herself. - -It may seem strange that, although this maiden was beautiful and young, -the youths did not give her some of their rabbits. But their feelings -were not friendly, for no one of them would she accept as a husband, -although one after another of them had offered himself for marriage. - -Fully resolved, the girl that evening sat down by the fireplace, and -turning toward her aged parents, said: “O my mother and father, I see -that the snow has fallen, whereby easily rabbits are tracked, and the -young men who went out this morning returned long before evening heavily -laden with strings of this game. Behold, in the other rooms of our house -are many rabbit-sticks, and there hang on the walls stone axes, and with -these I might perchance strike down a rabbit on his trail, or, if he run -into a log, split the log and dig him out. So I have thought during the -day, and have decided to go tomorrow and try my fortunes in the hunt, -woman though I be.” - -“_Naiya_, my daughter,” quavered the feeble old mother; “you would -surely be very cold, or you would lose your way, or grow so tired that -you could not return before night, and you must not go out to hunt -rabbits, woman as you are.” - -“Why, certainly not,” insisted the old man, rubbing his lean knees and -shaking his head over the days that were gone. “No, no; let us live in -poverty rather than that you should run such risks as these, O my -daughter.” - -But, say what they would, the girl was determined. And the old man said -at last: “Very well! You will not be turned from your course. Therefore, -O daughter, I will help you as best I may.” He hobbled into another -room, and found there some old deerskins covered thickly with fur; and -drawing them out, he moistened and carefully softened them, and cut out -for the maiden long stockings, which he sewed up with sinew and the -fiber of the yucca leaf. Then he selected for her from among the old -possessions of his brothers and sons, who had been killed or perished -otherwise, a number of rabbit-sticks and a fine, heavy stone axe. -Meanwhile, the old woman busied herself in preparing a lunch for the -girl, which was composed of little cakes of corn-meal, spiced with -pepper and wild onions, pierced through the middle, and baked in the -ashes. When she had made a long string of these by threading them like -beads on a rope of yucca fiber, she laid them down not far from the -ladder on a little bench, with the rabbit-sticks, the stone axe, and the -deerskin stockings. - -That night the maiden planned and planned, and early on the following -morning, even before the young men had gone out from the town, she had -put on a warm, short-skirted dress, knotted a mantle over her shoulder -and thrown another and larger one over her back, drawn on the deerskin -stockings, had thrown the string of corn-cakes over her shoulder, stuck -the rabbit-sticks in her belt, and carrying the stone axe in her hand -sallied forth eastward through the Gateway of Zuñi and into the plain of -the valley beyond, called the Plain of the Burnt River, on account of -the black, roasted-looking rocks along some parts of its sides. -Dazzlingly white the snow stretched out before her,--not deep, but -unbroken,--and when she came near the cliffs with many little cañons in -them, along the northern side of the valley, she saw many a trail of -rabbits running out and in among the rocks and between the bushes. - -Warm and excited by her unwonted exercise, she did not heed a coming -snow-storm, but ran about from one place to another, following the -trails of the rabbits, sometimes up into the cañons, where the forests -of piñon and cedar stood, and where here and there she had the good -fortune sometimes to run two, three, or four rabbits into a single -hollow log. It was little work to split these logs, for they were small, -as you know, and to dig out the rabbits and slay them by a blow of the -hand on the nape of the neck, back of the ears; and as she killed each -rabbit she raised it reverently to her lips, and breathed from its -nostrils its expiring breath, and, tying its legs together, placed it on -the string, which after a while began to grow heavy on her shoulders. -Still she kept on, little heeding the snow which was falling fast; nor -did she notice that it was growing darker and darker, so intent was she -on the hunt, and so glad was she to capture so many rabbits. Indeed, she -followed the trails until they were no longer visible, as the snow fell -all around her, thinking all the while: “How happy will be my poor old -father and mother that they shall now have flesh to eat! How strong will -they grow! And when this meat is gone, that which is dried and preserved -of it also, lo! another snow-storm will no doubt come, and I can go out -hunting again.” - -At last the twilight came, and, looking around, she found that the snow -had fallen deeply, there was no trail, and that she had lost her way. -True, she turned about and started in the direction of her home, as she -supposed, walking as fast as she could through the soft, deep snow. Yet -she reckoned not rightly, for instead of going eastward along the -valley, she went southward across it, and entering the mouth of the -Descending Plain of the Pines, she went on and on, thinking she was -going homeward, until at last it grew dark and she knew not which way to -turn. - -“What harm,” thought she, “if I find a sheltered place among the rocks? -What harm if I remain all night, and go home in the morning when the -snow has ceased falling, and by the light I shall know my way?” - -So she turned about to some rocks which appeared, black and dim, a short -distance away. Fortunately, among these rocks is the cave which is known -as Taiuma’s Cave. This she came to, and peering into that black hole, -she saw in it, back some distance, a little glowing light. “Ha, ha!” -thought she; “perhaps some rabbit-hunters like myself, belated -yesterday, passed the night here and left the fire burning. If so, this -is greater good fortune than I could have looked for.” So, lowering the -string of rabbits which she carried on her shoulder, and throwing off -her mantle, she crawled in, peering well into the darkness, for fear of -wild beasts; then, returning, she drew in the string of rabbits and the -mantle. - -Behold! there was a bed of hot coals buried in the ashes in the very -middle of the cave, and piled up on one side were fragments of broken -wood. The girl, happy in her good fortune, issued forth and gathered -more sticks from the cliff-side, where dead piñons are found in great -numbers, and bringing them in little armfuls one after another, she -finally succeeded in gathering a store sufficient to keep the fire -burning brightly all the night through. Then she drew off her -snow-covered stockings of deerskin and the bedraggled mantles, and, -building a fire, hung them up to dry and sat down to rest herself. The -fire burned up and glowed brightly, so that the whole cave was as light -as a room at night when a dance is being celebrated. By-and-by, after -her clothing had dried, she spread a mantle on the floor of the cave by -the side of the fire, and, sitting down, dressed one of her rabbits and -roasted it, and, untying the string of corn-cakes her mother had made -for her, feasted on the roasted meat and cakes. - -She had just finished her evening meal, and was about to recline and -watch the fire for awhile, when she heard away off in the distance a -long, low cry of distress--“_Ho-o-o-o thlaia-a!_” - -“Ah!” thought the girl, “someone, more belated than myself, is lost; -doubtless one of the rabbit-hunters.” She got up, and went nearer to the -entrance of the cavern. - -“_Ho-o-o-o thlaia-a!_” sounded the cry, nearer this time. She ran out, -and, as it was repeated again, she placed her hand to her mouth, and -cried, woman though she was, as loudly as possible: “_Li-i thlaia-a!_” -(“Here!”) - -The cry was repeated near at hand, and presently the maiden, listening -first, and then shouting, and listening again, heard the clatter of an -enormous rattle. In dismay and terror she threw her hands into the air, -and, crouching down, rushed into the cave and retreated to its farthest -limits, where she sat shuddering with fear, for she knew that one of the -Cannibal Demons of those days, perhaps the renowned Átahsaia of the -east, had seen the light of her fire through the cave entrance, with his -terrible staring eyes, and assuming it to be a lost wanderer, had cried -out, and so led her to guide him to her place of concealment. - -On came the Demon, snapping the twigs under his feet and shouting in a -hoarse, loud voice: “_Ho lithlsh tâ ime!_” (“Ho, there! So you are in -here, are you?”) _Kothl!_ clanged his rattle, while, almost fainting -with terror, closer to the rock crouched the maiden. - -The old Demon came to the entrance of the cave and bawled out: “I am -cold, I am hungry! Let me in!” Without further ado, he stooped and tried -to get in; but, behold! the entrance was too small for his giant -shoulders to pass. Then he pretended to be wonderfully civil, and said: -“Come out, and bring me something to eat.” - -“I have nothing for you,” cried the maiden. “I have eaten my food.” - -“Have you no rabbits?” - -“Yes.” - -“Come out and bring me some of them.” - -But the maiden was so terrified that she dared not move toward the -entrance. - -“Throw me a rabbit!” shouted the old Demon. - -The maiden threw him one of her precious rabbits at last, when she -could rise and go to it. He clutched it with his long, horny hand, gave -one gulp and swallowed it. Then he cried out: “Throw me another!” She -threw him another, which he also immediately swallowed; and so on until -the poor maiden had thrown all the rabbits to the voracious old monster. -Every one she threw him he caught in his huge, yellow-tusked mouth, and -swallowed, hair and all, at one gulp. - -“Throw me another!” cried he, when the last had already been thrown to -him. - -So the poor maiden was forced to say: “I have no more.” - -“Throw me your overshoes!” cried he. - -She threw the overshoes of deerskin, and these like the rabbits he -speedily devoured. Then he called for her moccasins, and she threw them; -for her belt, and she threw it; and finally, wonderful to tell, she -threw even her mantle, and blanket, and her overdress, until, behold, -she had nothing left! - -Now, with all he had eaten, the old Demon was swollen hugely at the -stomach, and, though he tried and tried to squeeze himself through the -mouth of the cave, he could not by any means succeed. Finally, lifting -his great flint axe, he began to shatter the rock about the entrance to -the cave, and slowly but surely he enlarged the hole and the maiden now -knew that as soon as he could get in he would devour her also, and she -almost fainted at the sickening thought. Pound, pound, pound, pound, -went the great axe of the Demon as he struck the rocks. - -In the distance the two War-gods were sitting in their home at -Thla-uthla (the Shrine amid the Bushes) beyond Thunder Mountain, and -though far off, they heard thus in the middle of the night the pounding -of the Demon’s hammer-axe against the rocks. And of course they knew at -once that a poor maiden, for the sake of her father and mother, had been -out hunting,--that she had lost her way and, finding a cave where there -was a little fire, entered it, rebuilt the fire, and rested herself; -that, attracted by the light of her fire, the Cannibal Demon had come -and besieged her retreat, and only a little time hence would he so -enlarge the entrance to the cave that he could squeeze even his great -over-filled paunch through it and come at the maiden to destroy her. So, -catching up their wonderful weapons, these two War-gods flew away into -the darkness and in no time they were approaching the Descending Plain -of the Pines. - -Just as the Demon was about to enter the cavern, and the maiden had -fainted at seeing his huge face and gray shock of hair and staring eyes, -his yellow, protruding tusks, and his horny, taloned hand, they came -upon the old beast, and, each one hitting him a welt with his war-club, -they “ended his daylight,” and then hauled him forth into the open -space. They opened his huge paunch and withdrew from it the maiden’s -garments, and even the rabbits which had been slain. The rabbits they -cast away amongst the soap-weed plants that grew on the slope at the -foot of the cliff. The garments they spread out on the snow, and by -their knowledge cleansed and made them perfect, even more perfect than -they had been before. Then, flinging the huge body of the giant Demon -down into the depths of the cañon, they turned them about and, calling -out gentle words to the maiden, entered and restored her; and she, -seeing in them not their usual ugly persons, but handsome youths (as -like to one another as are two deer born of the same mother), was -greatly comforted; and bending low, and breathing upon their hands, -thanked them over and over for the rescue they had brought her. But she -crouched herself low with shame that her garments were but few, when, -behold! the youths went out and brought in to her the garments they had -cleaned by their knowledge, restoring them to her. - -Then, spreading their mantles by the door of the cave, they slept there -that night, in order to protect the maiden, and on the morrow wakened -her. They told her many things, and showed her many things which she had -not known before, and counselled her thus: “It is not fearful that a -maiden should marry; therefore, O maiden, return unto thy people in the -Village of the Gateway of the River of Zuñi. This morning we will slay -rabbits unnumbered for you, and start you on your way, guarding you down -the snow-covered valley, and when you are in sight of your home we will -leave you, telling you our names.” - -So, early in the morning the two gods went forth; and flinging their -sticks among the soap-weed plants, behold! as though the soap-weed -plants were rabbits, so many lay killed on the snow before these mighty -hunters. And they gathered together great numbers of these rabbits, a -string for each one of the party; and when the Sun had risen clearer in -the sky, and his light sparkled on the snow around them, they took the -rabbits to the maiden and presented them, saying: “We will carry each -one of us a string of these rabbits.” Then taking her hand, they led her -out of the cave and down the valley, until, beyond on the high black -mesas at the Gateway of the River of Zuñi, she saw the smoke rise from -the houses of her village. Then turned the two War-gods to her, and they -told her their names. And again she bent low, and breathed on their -hands. Then, dropping the strings of rabbits which they had carried -close beside the maiden, they swiftly disappeared. - -Thinking much of all she had learned, she continued her way to the home -of her father and mother; and as she went into the town, staggering -under her load of rabbits, the young men and the old men and women and -children beheld her with wonder; and no hunter in that town thought of -comparing himself with the Maiden Huntress of K’yawana Tehua-tsana. The -old man and the old woman, who had mourned the night through and sat up -anxiously watching, were overcome with happiness when they saw their -daughter returning; and as she laid the rabbits at their feet, she said: -“Behold! my father and my mother, foolish have I been, and much danger -have I passed through, because I forgot the ways of a woman and assumed -the ways of a man. But two wondrous youths have taught me that a woman -may be a huntress and yet never leave her own fireside. Behold! I will -marry, when some good youth comes to me, and he will hunt rabbits and -deer for me, for my parents and my children.” - -So, one day, when one of those youths who had seen her come in laden -with rabbits, and who had admired her time out of mind, presented -himself with a bundle at the maiden’s fireside, behold! she smilingly -and delightedly accepted him. And from that day to this, when women -would hunt rabbits or deer, they marry, and behold, the rabbits and deer -are hunted. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE UGLY WILD BOY WHO DROVE THE BEAR AWAY FROM SOUTHEASTERN MESA - - -In the days of the ancients there lived with his old grandmother, not -far from K’iákime, east, where the sweet wafer-bread is pictured on the -rocks, a frightfully ugly boy. The color of his body and face was blue. -He had a twisted nose, crooked scars of various colors ran down each -side of his face, and he had a bunch of red things like peppers on his -head; in fact, in all ways he resembled the _Héhea_, or the wild men of -the Sacred Dance who serve as runners to the priest-clowns. - -Now, one season it had rained so much that the piñon trees were laden -with nuts, and the datilas were heavy with fruit, and the gray grass and -red-top were so heavy with seeds that even when the wind did not blow -they bent as if in a breeze. - -In vain the people of K’iákime went to the Southeastern Mesa, where the -nut trees and datilas and grass grew. They could not gather the nuts and -the fruit and the seeds, because of the ugly old Bear who claimed the -country and its products for his own, and waxed fat thereon. Some of the -people were killed by him, others were maimed, and all the rest were -driven away. - -One day the ugly little boy said to his grandmother: “O grandmother, I -am going out to gather datilas and piñon nuts on the Southeastern Mesa.” - -“Child, child!” cried the grandmother, “do not go; do not, by any -means, go! You know very well there is an ugly Bear there who will -either kill you or maim you frightfully.” - -“I don’t care for all that!” cried the boy; “I am going!” Whereupon he -went. - -He followed the trail called the Road of the Pending Meal-sack, and he -climbed the crooked path up Shoyakoskwe (Southeastern Mesa), and -advanced over the wide plateau. No sooner had he begun to pluck the -sweet datila fruit and eat of it, and had cracked between his teeth an -occasional piñon nut, than “_Wha-a-a-a!_” snarled the old Bear; and he -came rushing out of the nearest thicket toward the boy. - -“_U shoma kutchi kihe!_” shouted the boy. “Friend, friend, don’t bite -me! It’ll hurt! Don’t bite me! I came to make a bargain with you.” - -“I’d like to know why I shouldn’t bite you!” growled the Bear. “I’ll -tear you to pieces. What have you come to my country for, stealing my -fruit and nuts and grass-seed?” - -“I came to get something to eat,” replied the boy. “You have plenty.” - -“Indeed, I have not. I will let you pick nothing. I will tear you to -pieces!” said the Bear. - -“Don’t, don’t, and I will make a bargain with you,” said the boy. - -“Who should talk of bargains to me?” yelled the Bear, cracking a small -pine-tree to pieces with his paws and teeth, so great was his rage. - -“These things are no more yours than mine,” said the boy, “and I’ll -prove it.” - -“How?” asked the Bear. - -“They are mine; they are not yours!” cried the boy. - -“They are mine, I tell you! They are not yours!” replied the Bear. - -“They are mine!” retorted the boy. - -And so they might have wrangled till sunset, or torn one another into -pieces, had it not been for a suggestion that the boy made. - -“Look here! I’ll make a proposition to you,” said he. - -“What’s that?” asked the Bear. - -“Whoever is certain of his rights on this plateau and the things that -grow on it must prove it by not being scared by anything that the other -does,” said the boy. - -“Ha, ha!” laughed the Bear, in his big, coarse voice. “That is a good -plan, indeed. I am perfectly willing to stand the test.” - -“Well, now, one of us must run away and hide,” said the boy, “and then -the other must come on him unaware in some way and frighten him, if he -can.” - -“All right,” said the Bear. “Who first?” - -“Just as you say,” said the boy. - -“Well, then, I will try you first,” said the Bear, “for this place -belongs to me.” Whereupon he turned and fled into the thicket. And the -boy went around picking datilas and eating them, and throwing the skins -away. Presently the Bear came rushing out of the thicket, snapping the -trees and twigs, and throwing them about at such a rate that you would -have thought there was a sandstorm raging through the forest. - - “_Ku hai yaau! - Ku pekwia nu! - Ha! ha! ha! haaaa!_” - -he exclaimed, rushing at the boy from the rear. - -The boy stirred never so much as a leaf, only kept on champing his -datilas. - -Again the Bear retired, and again he came rushing forth and snarling -out: “_Ha! ha! ha! hu! hu! hu!_” in a terrific voice, and grabbed the -boy; but never so much as the boy’s heart stirred. - -“By my senses!” exclaimed the Bear; “you are a man, and I must give it -up. Now, suppose you try me. I can stand as much frightening as you, -and, unless you can frighten me, I tell you you must keep away from my -datila and piñon patch.” - -Then the boy turned on his heel and fled away toward his grandmother’s -house, singing as he went: - - “_Kuyaina itoshlakyanaa! - Kuyaina itoshlakyanaa!_” - - He of the piñon patch frightened shall be! - He of the piñon patch frightened shall be! - -“Oh! shall he?” cried his grandmother. “I declare, I am surprised to see -you come back alive and well.” - -“Hurry up, grandmother,” said the boy, “and paint me as frightfully as -you can.” - -“All right, my son; I will help you!” So she blackened the right side -of his face with soot, and painted the left side with ashes, until he -looked like a veritable demon. Then she gave him a stone axe of ancient -time and magic power, and she said: “Take this, my son, and see what you -can do with it.” - -The boy ran back to the mountain. The Bear was wandering around eating -datilas. The boy suddenly ran toward him, and exclaimed: - - “_Ai yaaaa! - He! he! he! he! he! he! he! tooh!_”-- - -and he whacked the side of a hollow piñon tree with his axe. The tree -was shivered with a thundering noise, the earth shook, and the Bear -jumped as if he had been struck by one of the flying splinters. Then, -recovering himself and catching sight of the boy, he exclaimed: “What a -fool I am, to be scared by that little wretch of a boy!” But presently, -seeing the boy’s face, he was startled again, and exclaimed: “By my -eyes, the Death Demon is after me, surely!” - -Again the boy, as he came near, whacked with his magic axe the body of -another tree, calling out in a still louder voice. The earth shook so -much and the noise was so thunderous that the Bear sneezed with -agitation. And again, as the boy came still nearer, once more he struck -a tree a tremendous blow, and again the earth thundered and trembled -more violently than ever, and the Bear almost lost his senses with -fright and thought surely the Corpse Demon was coming this time. When, -for the fourth time, the boy struck a tree, close to the Bear, the old -fellow was thrown violently to the ground with the heaving of the earth -and the bellowing of the sounds that issued forth. Picking himself up as -fast as he could, never stopping to see whether it was a boy or a devil, -he fled to the eastward as fast as his legs would carry him, and, as he -heard the boy following him, he never stopped until he reached the Zuñi -Mountains. - -“There!” said the boy; “I’ll chase the old rogue no farther. He’s been -living all these years on the mountain where more fruit and nuts and -grass-seed grow than a thousand Bears could eat, and yet he’s never let -so much as a single soul of the town of K’iákime gather a bit.” - -Then the boy returned to his grandmother, and related to her what had -taken place. - -“Go,” said she, “and tell the people of K’iákime, from the top of yonder -high rock, that those who wish to go out to gather grass-seed and -datilas and piñon nuts need fear no longer.” - -So the boy went out, and, mounting the high rock, informed and directed -the people as follows: - -“Ye of the Home of the Eagles! Ye do I now inform, whomsoever of ye -would gather datilas, whomsoever of ye would gather piñon nuts, -whomsoever of ye would gather grass-seed, that bread may be made, hie ye -over the mountains, and gather them to your hearts’ content, for I have -driven the Bear away!” - -A few believed in what the boy said; and some, because he was ugly, -would not believe it and would not go; and thus were as much hindered -from gathering grass-seed and nuts for daily food as if the Bear had -been really there. You know people nowadays are often frightened by such -a kind of Bear as this. - - * * * * * - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients. And therefore the Zuñi -Mountains to this day are filled with bears; but they rarely descend to -the mesas in the southwest, being fully convinced from the experience of -their ancestor that the Corpse Demon is near and continues to lie in -wait for them. And our people go over the mountains as they will, even -women and children, and gather datila fruit, piñon nuts, and grass-seed -without hindrance. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE REVENGE OF THE TWO BROTHERS ON THE HÁWIKUHKWE, OR THE TWO LITTLE -ONES[16] AND THEIR TURKEYS - -(THE ORIGIN OF THE PRIESTS AND CHIEFS OF THE DANCE OF VICTORY) - - [16] This term refers to the two Gods of War, Áhaiyúta and - Mátsailéma, who, as has been seen in previous tales, were - accounted immortal twin youths of small size. - - -Long, long ago, there lived on Twin Mountain, Áhaiyúta and his younger -brother, with their grandmother. They had a large flock of Turkeys of -which they were very fond, but were not so attentive to them as they -should have been. Said the grandmother to the boys, late one morning: -“Let your poor Turkeys out, for they will starve, poor birds, if you do -not let them out oftener.” - -“But they will run away, grandmother,” said the two boys, who did not -fancy herding them much of the time. - -“Why should they run away?” asked the vexed grandmother, who had a sorry -enough time managing the two heedless boys. “Rest assured they will come -back when roosting-time comes, for such is their custom.” - -So the Twain ran down and reluctantly let their Turkeys go. The Turkeys -were many--dirty old hens, piping, long-legged youngsters, and noisy -old cocks; but they were all more noisy when they were let out, and not -long was it before they were straying far beyond the border of woods and -toward Háwikuh. - -Not long after noon the flock of Turkeys strolled, gobbling and -chirping, into the valley north of Háwikuh[17] where many of the people -of that pueblo had corn-fields. Some young men who were resting from -their hoeing heard the calls of the Turkeys, and, starting up, saw -across the valley a larger flock than they had ever been wont to find. -Of course they were crazy. They started up and ran as fast as they could -toward the pueblo, calling out as they went what they had discovered, so -that all the people in the fields began to gather in. As soon as they -came within the pueblo, they sought out the Priests of the Bow and told -them what they had discovered. - - [17] Háwikuh, or Aguico of the Spaniards, a pueblo now in ruins - across the valley northwestward from Ojo Caliente, the - southwestern farming town of the Zuñis. - -Very quickly ran the priests to the tops of the houses, and they began -to call out to their people: “Ye we would this day make wise, for our -sons tell us of many Turkeys in the valley over the hill; so hasten ye -to gather together good bows and arrows, boomerangs, and strings, that -ye may be made happy and add unto your flocks and make more plentiful -the plumes in your feather boxes.” - -In a very short time the people were rushing out of their doorways all -prepared for the chase, and they ran after the young men and leaders as -though in a race of the kicked stick. - -Now, the sage-bushes and grasses grow tall to this day in the valley -north of Háwikuh, and so they grew in the days long, long ago that I -tell of. It thus happened that the poor Turkeys who were racing after -grasshoppers, and peeping, and calling, and gobbling, did not know that -the Háwikuh people were after them until they heard some old hens -calling out in alarm from behind. Even then they were unable to get -away, for the people were around them shouting and hurling crooked -sticks, and shooting sharp arrows at them in all directions. Soon they -began to fall on every side, especially the long-legged young ones, who -so tangled their legs in the grasses that they could not keep up with -their mothers, and were easily overtaken by the hunters of Háwikuh; and -the old hens who stayed behind to look after the young ones were no -better, and the cocks who stayed back to look after the old hens were -even worse off, for the people sought them most because their feathers -were so much brighter. - -So it happened in a very short time that more than half the flock were -killed and others were falling when a half-grown Long-leg started as -fast as he could alone toward Twin Mountain. - -It was growing late, and Áhaiyúta and his younger brother and their old -grandmother were on top of their house shading their eyes and watching -for the return of the Turkeys, when they saw the solitary young Long-leg -coming, all out of breath and his wings dragging, over the hill below -Master Cañon. - -“Ha!” said the younger brother; “look! there comes a Long-legs,--and -what is he shouting?--Jump up, brother, jump up! Do you hear that?” - -“_I-wo-loh-kia-a--a--a!_” called the Turkey, so that they could just -hear him; and as that means “Murder! Murder!” you may think to yourself -how much they were excited; but they were not so much alarmed as the old -grandmother, “for,” said they, one to the other, “it is nothing but a -youngster, anyway, and they are always more scared than the old ones.” - -Nevertheless, they hastened down to meet him, and as they approached -they saw that he was terribly frightened, so they anxiously waited until -he breathed more easily and would stand still; then they asked: “What is -it? Where is it? Why do you come alone, crying ‘Murder, Murder!’” - -“Alas! my fathers,” exclaimed the Turkey. “Alas! I, alone, am left to -tell of it; ere I left they were thrown down all around me.” - -“Who did this?” angrily demanded the boys. - -“The people of Háwikuh,” exclaimed the Turkey, glancing apprehensively -around. - -“Ha! we shall yet win back our loss,” ejaculated the boys to one -another; and then they turned to the Turkey. “Are they all murdered and -gone?” they asked. - -“Yes, alas! yes; I alone am left,” moaned the young Turkey. - -“Oh, no!” broke in the elder brother, “there will yet many return, for -this is but a Long-leg, and surely when he could save himself others and -older ones could.” Even then they heard some of the Turkeys calling to -one another, out of breath over the low hills. “_U-kwa-tchi!_” (“Didn’t -I tell you!”) exclaimed Áhaiyúta, and they started toward the mountain. - -One by one, or in little bunches, the Turkeys came fleeing in, scared, -weary, and bedraggled; and the boys knew by this, and that only a few -after all returned, that the Long-leg had not been for nothing taught to -fear. They betook themselves to their house. There they sat down to eat -with their grandmother, and after the eating was finished, they poked -little sticks into the blazing fire on the hearth, and cried out to -their grandmother: “Tomorrow, grandmother, we will gather fagots.” - -“Foolish, foolish boys!” crooned the old grandmother. - -“Aye, tomorrow we will gather sprouts. Where do they grow thickest and -straightest, grandmother?” - -“Now, you boys had better let sprouts and war alone,” retorted the -grandmother. - -“But we must win back our losing,” cried the boys, with so much -vehemence that the grandmother only shook her head and exclaimed: -“_A-ti-ki!_ (“Blood!”) Strange creatures, my grandchildren, both!” -whereupon the two boys poked one the other and laughed. - -“Well,” added the grandmother, “I have warned you; now act your own -thoughts”;--and the boys looked at her as earnestly as though they knew -nothing of what she would say. “Fine warriors, indeed, who do not know -where to look for arrow-sticks! But if you will go sprouting, why, over -there in the Rain-pond Basin are plenty of sprouts, and then north on -Scale Ridge grow more, and over in Oak Cañon are fine oak-sprouts, more -than ten boys like you could carry, and above here around Great Mountain -are other kinds, and everywhere grow sprouts enough, if people weren’t -beasts passing understanding; and, what’s more, I could tell you boys -something to your advantage if you would ever listen to your old -grandmother, but--” - -“What is it? What is it?” interrupted the boys excitedly, just as if -they knew nothing of what she would say. - -“Why, over there by the Rain-pond Basin lives your grandfather--” - -“Who’s that? Who’s that?” interrupted the boys again. - -“I’ve a mind not to tell you, you shameless little beasts, another -word,” jerked out the old grandmother, sucking her lips as if they were -marrowbones, and digging into the pudding she was stirring as though it -were alive enough to be killed,--“just as though I were not telling you -as fast as I could; and, besides, anything but little beasts would know -their grandfather--why, the Rainbow-worm, of course!”[18] - - [18] One of the “measuring-worms” which is named the rainbow, on - account of his streaked back and habit of bending double when - travelling. - -“The Rainbow-worm our grandfather, indeed!” persisted the boys; and -they would have said more had not their grandmother, getting cross, -raised the pudding-stick at them, and bid them “shut up!” So they -subsided, and the old woman continued: “Yes, your grandfather, and for -shame!--You may sit there and giggle all you please, but your -grandfather the Rainbow-worm is a great warrior, I can tell you, and if -you boys will go sprouting, why, I can tell you, you will fare but with -poverty the day after, if you do not get him to help you, that’s all!” - -“Indeed,” replied the boys, quite respectfully. - -“Yes, that I tell you; and, moresoever, over there beyond at the wood -border, in a pond, is your other grandfather, and he is a great warrior, -too.” - -“Indeed!” exclaimed the boys, as though they did not know that already, -also. - -“Yes, and you must go to see him, too; for you can’t get along without -him any more than without the other. Now, you boys go to sleep, for you -will want to get up very early in the morning, and you must go down the -path and straight over the little hills to where your grandfathers live, -and not up into the Master Cañon to gather your sticks, for if you do -you will forget all I’ve told you. You are creatures who pass -comprehension, you two grandchildren of mine.” - -So the two boys lay down in the corner together under one robe, like a -man and his wife, for they did not sleep apart like our boys. But, do -you know, those two mischievous boys giggled and kicked one another, -and kept turning about, just as though they never dreamed of the -morning. Then they fell to quarrelling about who could turn over the -quicker. - -“I can,” said the elder brother. - -“You can’t!” - -“I can!” - -“No, you can’t!” - -“Yes, I can, and I’ll show you”; and he was about to brace himself for -the trial when the old grandmother strode over with her pudding-stick, -lifting it in the air, with her usual expression of “Blood! my -grandchildren both,” when they quieted down and pretended to sleep; but -still they kept giggling and trying to pull the cover off each other. - -“Stop that gaping and fooling, will you? And go to sleep, you nasty -little cubs!” cried the irritated old woman; and laughing outright at -their poor old grandmother, they put their arms around each other and -fell asleep. - -Next morning the sun rose, till he shone straight over the mountain, but -still the two boys were asleep. The old grandmother had gone out to -water her garden, and now she was sitting on the house-top shading her -eyes and looking down the trail she had told the boys to follow, to see -them come out of the shadow. - -After she had strained her poor old eyes till they watered, she grew -impatient: “Did I ever see such boys! Now they’ve gone and played me -another trick. They’ll rue their pranks some day.” Then she thought she -would go down and get some mush for breakfast. As she climbed down the -ladder, she heard a tremendous snoring. “Ho, ho!” exclaimed the old -grandmother; and striding across the room she shook the boys soundly. -“Get up, get up! you lazy creatures; fine sprouters, you!” - -The boys rolled over, rubbed their eyes, and began to stretch. - -“Get up, get up! the day is warmed long ago; fine warriors, you!” -reiterated the old woman, giving them another shaking. - -The boys sat up, stretched, gaped, rubbed their eyes, and scratched -their heads--the dirtiest little fellows ever seen--but they were only -making believe. Their arms were crusty with dirt, and their hair stood -out like down on a wild milkweed after a rain-storm, and yet these boys -were the handsomest children that ever lived--only they were fooling -their old grandmother, you see. - -“You’d better be down at the spring washing your eyes at sunrise, -instead of scratching your heads here with the sun shining already down -the sky-hole”; croaked the old woman. - -“What! is the sun out?” cried the boys in mock surprise; but they knew -what time it was as well as the old crone did. - -“Out! I should say it was! You boys might as well go to sleep again. A -fine bundle of sticks you could get today, with the sun done climbing up -already.” - -So the boys pretended to be in a great hurry and, grabbing up their -bows and quivers, never stopped to half dress nor heeded the old woman’s -offer of food, but were jumping down the crags like mountain goats -before the old woman was up the ladder. - -“_Atiki!_” exclaimed the grandmother; “these beasts that cause -meditation!” Then she climbed the terrace and watched and watched and -watched; but the boys liked nothing better than to worry their old -grandmother, so they ran up Master Cañon and into the woods and so -across to Rain-pond Basin, leaving the old woman to look as she would. - -“_Uhh!_” groaned the old woman; “they are down among the rocks playing. -Fine warriors, they!” and with this she went back to her cooking. - -By-and-by the boys came to the edge of the basin where the pod plant -grew. Sure enough, there was the Rainbow-worm, eating leaves as though -he were dying of hunger--a great fat fellow, as big as the boys -themselves; for long, long ago, in the days I tell you of, the -Rainbow-worm was much bigger than he is now. - -“Hold on,” said the younger brother. “Let’s frighten the old fellow.” - -So they sneaked up until they were close to the grandfather, and then -they began to tickle him with a stalk. Amiwili--that was his -name--twitched his skin and bit away faster and faster at the leaves, -until Áhaiyúta shouted at the top of his voice, “_Ha-u-thla!_” which -made the old man jump and turn back so quickly that he would have -broken his back had he a back-bone. - -“_Shoma!_” he exclaimed. “It’s my grandchildren, is it? I am old and a -little deaf, and you frightened me, my boys.” - -“Did we frighten you, grandfather? That’s too bad. Well, never mind; -we’ve come to you for advice.” - -“What’s that, my grandchildren?” looking out of his yellow eyes as -though he were very wise, and standing up on his head and tail as though -they had been two feet. - -“Why, you see,” said the boys, “we had a big drove of Turkeys, and we -let them out to feed yesterday, but the fools got too near Háwikuh and -the people there killed many, many of them; so we have decided to get -back our winnings and even the game with them, the shameless beasts!” - -“Ah ha!” exclaimed old Amiwili. “Very well!” and he lay down on his -belly and lifted his head into the air like a man resting on his elbows. -“Ah ha!” said he, with a wag of his head and a squint of his goggle. “Ah -ha! Very well! I’ll show them that they are not to treat my -grandchildren like that. I’m a warrior, every direction of me--and there -are a great many directions when I get angry, now, I can tell you! I’m -just made to use up life,” said he, with another swagger of his head. - -“Listen to that!” said Mátsailéma to his brother. - -“To use up life, that’s what I’m for,” added the old man, with -emphasis; “I’ll show the Háwikuhkwe!” - -“Will you come to the council?” asked the two boys. - -“_Shuathla_,” swaggered the old man--which is a very old-fashioned word -that our grandfathers used when they said: “Go ye but before me.” - -So the boys skipped over to the pool at the wood border. There was their -old grandfather, the Turtle, with his eyes squinted up, paddling round -in the scum, and stretching his long neck up to bite off the heads of -the water-rushes. - -“Let’s have some fun with the old Shield-back,” said the boys to one -another. “Just you hold a moment, brother elder,” said Mátsailéma as he -fitted an arrow to the string and drew it clean to the point. _Tsi-i-i-i -thle-e-e!_ sang the arrow as it struck the back of the old Turtle; and -although he was as big as the Turtles in the big Waters of the World now -are, the force and fright ducked him under the scum like a chip, and he -came up with his eyes slimy and his mouth full of spittle, and his legs -flying round too fast to be counted. When he spied the two boys, he -cursed them harder than their grandmother did, but they hardly heard -him, for their arrow glanced upward from his back and came down so -straight that they had to run for their lives. “_Atiki!_ troublesome -little beasts, who never knew what shame nor dignity was!” exclaimed the -old fellow. - -“Don’t be angry with us, grandpa,” said the boys. “You must be deaf, for -we called and called to you, but you only paddled round and ate rushes; -so we thought we would fire an arrow at you, for you know we couldn’t -get at you.” - -“Oh, that’s it! Well, what may my grandchildren be thinking of, in thus -coming to see me? It cannot be for nothing,” reflected the old man, as -he twisted his head up toward them and pushed the scum with his tail. - -“Quite true, grandfather; we’ve started out sprouting, and had to come -to our grandfather for advice.” - -“Why, what is it then?” queried the old Shield-back. - -“You see, we have a flock of Turkeys--” - -“Yes, I know,” interrupted the old man, “for they came down here to -drink yesterday and broke my morning nap with their ‘_quit quit -quittings!_’” - -“Well,” resumed the boys, “they went toward the Háwikuhkwe, and the -shameless beasts, that they are, turned out and killed very nearly all -of them, and we’re going to even matters with them; that’s why we are -out sprouting.” - -“Ah ha!” cried the old man, paddling up nearer to the bank. “Good! Well, -that’s right, my grandchildren; you show that you are the wise boys that -you are to come to me. I’m a great warrior, I am, for though I have -neither bow nor arrow, yet the more my enemies have, the worse for -themselves, that’s all. You two just wait until tomorrow,” and he -stretched his head out until it looked as though he kept a snake in his -shell. - -“Will you help us?” asked the boys. (They knew very well he would like -nothing better.) - -“Of course, my grandchildren.” - -“Will you come to the council?” - -“Of course, my grandchildren two. How many will be there?” called the -old fellow. - -“The house shall be as full as a full stomach,” retorted the boys, -jousting each other. - -“_Thluathlá!_” gruffly said Etawa, for that was the Turtle’s name. - -So the boys started for Oak-wood Cañon, and, arrived there, soon had a -large bundle of branches cut down with their big flint knives, and four -stout, dry oak-sticks. They shouldered their “sprouts” and started home, -and, although they had bundles big enough to almost hide them, they -trotted along as though they had nothing. On their way they picked up a -lot of obsidian, and went fast enough until they were near their home, -and then they were “very tired”--so tired that the old grandmother, when -she caught sight of them, pitied them, and hurried down to stir some -mush for them. She buried some corn-cakes in the ashes, too, and roasted -some prairie-dogs in the same way; so that when those two lying little -rascals came up and seemed so worn-out, she hurried so fast to get their -food ready that it made her sinews twitch. - -When the boys had eaten all they could and cracked a few prairie-dog -bones, they fell to breaking the sprouts. They worked with their stone -chips very fast, and soon had barked all they wanted. These they -straightened by passing them through their horns[19] and placed them -before the fire. While the shafts were drying, they broke up the -obsidian, and laying chips of it on a stone covered with buckskin, -quickly fashioned them into sharp arrow-heads with the points of other -stones, and these they fastened to the ends of the shafts, placing -feathers of the eagle on the other ends, until they had made enough for -four big bundles. Then they made a bow of each of the four oak-sticks, -and stood them up to dry against the wall. - - [19] Fragments of mountain-sheep horn are used to this day by - the Zuñis for the same purpose. They are flattened by heat and - perforated with holes of varying size. By introducing the shaft - to be straightened, and rubbing with a twisting motion the inner - sides of the crooked portions, they are gradually straightened - out, afterward to be straightened by hand from time to time as - they dry before the fire. - -As it grew dark they heard something like a dry leaf in a little wind. - -“Ah!” said one to the other, “our grandfather comes”; and sure enough -presently Amiwili poked his yellow eyes in at the door, but quickly drew -back again. - -“_Kutchi!_” said he, “your fire is fearful; it scares me!” - -“The grandfather cometh!” exclaimed the boys. “Come in; sit down.” - -“Very well. Ah! you are stretching shafts, are you?” said the old Worm, -crawling around behind the boys and into the darkest corner he could -find. - -“Yes,” replied they. “Why do you not come out into the light, grandpa?” - -“_Kutchi!_ I fear the fire; it hurts my eyes, and makes me feel as the -sun does after a rain-storm and I have no leaves to crawl into.” - -“Very well,” said the boys. “Grandmother, spread a robe for him in the -corner.” Then they busied themselves straightening some of the arrows -and trying their bows. Just as they were pulling one toward the entrance -way, they heard old Etawa thumping along, and immediately the old fellow -called out: “Hold on; don’t thump me against one of those sticks of -yours; they jar a fellow so!” - -“Oh, it’s you, is it, grandfather? Well, we’re only trying our new bows; -come in and sit down.” So the old fellow bumped along in and took his -place by the fire, for he did not care whether it was hot or cold. - -“Are the councillors here?” asked he, wagging his head around. - -“Why, certainly,” said the two boys; “and now our council is so full we -had better proceed to discuss what we had better do.” - -When the old Turtle discovered that the boys had been playing him a -joke, he was vexed, but he didn’t show it. “Amiwili here?” asked he. -“_Tchukwe!_ We four will teach those Háwikuhkwe!” - -“Yes, indeed!” croaked the Rainbow-worm. - -“Well,” said the boys, “at daybreak tomorrow morning, before it is -light, we shall start for Háwikuh-town.” - -“Very well,” responded Amiwili. “Come to my place first, and let me know -when you start.” - -“And,” added Etawa, “come to my place next and let me know. When you -boys get to Háwikuh and alarm the people, if they get too thick for you, -come back to my house as fast as you can, and you, Mátsailéma, take me -up on your back. Then you two run toward your other grandfather’s house. -I’ll show these Háwikuhkwe that I can waste life as much as anybody, -even if I have no arrows to shoot at them.” - -“Yes,” added the Rainbow-worm, “and when you come up to my house, just -run past me and I’ll take care of the rest of them. I’m made to use up -life, I am,” swaggered he. - -“And I,” boasted the old Turtle. “Come, brother, let us be going, for we -have a long way to travel, and our legs are short.” So, after feasting, -the two started away. - -As soon as they had gone, the two boys went to their corner and lay down -to rest, first filling their quivers with arrows, and laying their -water-shield[20] out on the floor. They were presently quiet, and then -began to snore; so their old grandmother went into another room and -brought out a new bowl which she filled with water. Then she retired -into the room again, and when she came out she was dressed in beautiful -embroidered mantles and skirts and decorated with precious ornaments of -shell and turquoise. - - [20] The _kia-al-lan_, or water-shield, is represented in modern - times by a beautiful netting of white cotton threads strung on a - round hoop, with a downy plume suspended from the center. This, - with the dealings of Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma with arrows of - lightning, and the simile of their father the Sun, leaves little - doubt that they are, in common with mystic creations of the - Aryans, representatives of natural phenomena or their agents. - This is even more closely suggested by the sequel. - -The noise she made awoke Áhaiyúta, who punched his younger brother, and -said: “Wake up, wake up! Here’s grandmother dressed as though she were -going to a dance!” - -Then the younger brother raised his voice to a sharp whisper (they knew -perfectly well what the old grandmother was intending to do): “What -for?” - -“Here!” said the old woman, turning toward the bed. “Go to sleep! What -are you never-weary little beasts doing now? For shame! You pretend you -are going out to war tomorrow!” - -“Why are you dressed so, grandmother?” ventured the younger. - -“What _should_ I be dressed for but to make medicine for you two? Now, -mind, you must not watch me. I shall make the medicine and place it in -these two cane tubes, and you must shoot them into the middle of the -plaza of Háwikuh as soon as you get there. That will make the people -like women; for the canes will break and make the medicine fly about -like mist, and whomsoever gets his skin wet by it, will become no more -of a warrior than a woman. Go to sleep, I say, you pests!” - -But the boys had no intention of sleeping. To be sure, they stretched -themselves out and slyly laid their arms across their eyes. The old -grandmother did not notice this at first. She began to wash her arms in -the bowl of water. Then she rubbed them so hard that the _yepna_ -(“substance of flesh”) was rolled off in little lumps and fell into the -water. This she began to mix carefully with the water, when Áhaiyúta -whispered to the other: “Brother younger, just look! Old grandmother’s -arms look as bright as a young girl’s. Look, look!” said he, still -louder, for the other had already begun to giggle; but when the old -woman turned to talk sharply at them, they turned over, the rascals, as -dutifully as though they had never joked with their poor old -grandmother. Soon they were indeed sleeping. - -Then the grandmother proceeded to fill the canes with the fluid, and -then she fastened these to the ends of two good arrows. “There!” she -exclaimed, with a sigh; and after she had chanted an incantation over -the canes, she laid some food near the boys and softly left the room, to -sleep. - -The boys never minded the things they had to do in the morning, but -slept soundly until the coming of day, when they arose, took their bows -and quivers, knives, war-clubs, arrows, and water-shield, and quietly -stole away. - -It was not long ere they approached the house of Amiwili. He was fairly -gorging the leaves of all the lizard plants he could lay hold of, and -already looked so full that he must have felt like a ball. But he -munched away so busily that he wouldn’t have looked at the boys had it -been light enough. - -“How did our grandfather come unto the morning?” asked they. - -“_Thluathlá!_” (“Get out!”) was all the old Worm vouchsafed them -between his cuds; and they sped on. - -Soon they reached the home of the old Turtle. This old grandfather was -more leisurely. “You will return at the height of the sun,” said he. -“Now mind what I told you last night. I’ll wait right here on the bank -for you.” - -“Very well,” laughed the boys, for little they cared that they were on -the war-path. - -By-and-by they neared the town of Háwikuh. It was twilight, for the -morning star was high. The boys sat down a moment and sang an -incantation,--the same our fathers and children, the _Ápithlan Shíwani_, -sing now. Then the younger brother ran round the pueblo to scout. Two or -three people were getting up, as he could see, for nearly everybody -slept on the roofs, it was so warm. - -“_Iwolohkia-a-a!_” cried he, at the top of his voice; and as the people -were rousing he drew one of the cane arrows full length in his bow, and -so straight and high did he shoot, that it fell _thl-i-i-i-i!_ into the -middle of the plaza, splitting and scattering medicine-water in every -direction, so that the people all exclaimed, as they rubbed their eyes: -“Ho! it is raining, and yet the sky is clear! And didn’t some one cry -‘Murder, murder!’” - -When Áhaiyúta’s arrow struck, it scattered more medicine-water upon -them, until they thought they must be dreaming of rain; but just then -Mátsailéma shouted, “_Ho-o-o!_ Murder!” again, and everybody started to -hunt bows and arrows. Then the boy ran to the hiding-place of his -brother in the grass on the trail toward the wood border, and just as he -got there, some of the people who were shouting and gabbling to one -another ran out to see him. - -“Ha!” they shouted, “there they are, on the northern trail.” - -So the Háwikuhkwe all poured down toward them, but when they arrived -there they found no enemy. While the people were looking and running -about, _tsok tsok_, and _tsok tsok_, and _tsok tsok_, the arrows of -Áhaiyúta, and Mátsailéma struck the nearest ones, for they had crawled -along the trail and were waiting in the grass. They never missed. Every -man they struck fell, but many, many came on, and when these saw that -there were only two, their faces were all the more to the front with -haste. Still the two boys shot, shot, shot at them until many were -killed or wounded before the remainder decided to flee. - -“Come, brother, my arrows are gone,” said the younger brother. “Quick! -put on the water-shield, and let us be off!” Now, the people were -gaining on them faster and faster, but Áhaiyúta threw water like thick -rain from his shield strapped over his back, so that the enemies’ -bow-strings loosened, and they had to stop to tighten them again and -again. - -Whenever the Háwikuhkwe pressed them too closely, the water-shield -sprinkled them so thoroughly that when they nocked an arrow the sinew -bow-string stretched like gum, and all they could do was to stop and -tighten their bow-strings again. Thus the boys were able to near the -home of their grandfather, the big Turtle, now and then shooting at the -leaders with their warring arrows and rarely missing their marks. - -But as they came near, the people were gathering more and more thickly -in their rear, so that Mátsailéma barely had time to take his -grandfather--who was waiting on the bank of the pond--upon his back. - -“Now, run you along in front and we’ll follow behind,” said old Etawa, -as he put one paw over the left shoulder and the other under the right -arm, and clasped his legs tightly around the loins of Mátsailéma so as -to hug close to his back. - -“Grandfather, _kutchi!_ You are as heavy as a rock and as hard as one, -too,” said the younger brother. “How can I dodge those stinging beasts?” - -“That’s all the better for you,” said the old Turtle, loosening his grip -a little; “take it easy.” - -“They’re coming! They’re coming!” shouted Áhaiyúta from ahead. “Hurry, -hurry, brother younger; hurry!” But Mátsailéma couldn’t get along any -faster than he could. - -Presently the old Turtle glanced around and saw that the people were -gaining on them and already drawing their bows. “Duck your head down and -never mind them. Now, you’ll see what I can do!” said he, pulling into -his shell. - -_Thle-e-e, thle-thle-thle-e-e_, rattled the arrows against -old Etawa’s shell, and the warriors were already shouting, -“_Ho-o-o-awiyeishikia!_”--which was their cry of victory,--when -they began to cry out in other tones, for _tsuiya!_ their arrows -glanced from old Turtle’s shell and struck themselves, so that they -dropped in every direction. “Terror and blood! but those beings can -shoot fast and hard!” shouted they to one another, but they kept -pelting away harder and faster, only to hit one another with the -glancing arrows. - -“Hold!” cried one in advance of the others. “Head them off! Head them -off! We’re only shooting ourselves against that black shield of theirs, -and the other loosens our bow-strings.” - -But just then Áhaiyúta reached the home of his other grandfather, -Amiwili. Behold! he was all swollen up with food and could hardly -move--only wag his head back and forth. - -“Are you coming?” groaned the old fellow. “Quick, get out of the way, -all of you! Quick, quick!” - -Áhaiyúta jumped out of the way just as Mátsailéma cried out: “_Ha hua!_ -I can run no farther; I must drop you, grandfather,”--but he saw -Áhaiyúta jump to one side, so he followed, too. - -Old Amiwili reared himself and, opening his mouth, _waah! weeh!_ right -and left he threw the lizard leaves he had been eating, until the -Háwikuhkwe were blinded and suffocated by them, and, dropping their bows -and weapons, began to clutch their eyes from blindness and pain. And old -Amiwili coughed and coughed till he had blown nearly all his substance -away, and there was nothing left of him but a worm no bigger than your -middle finger. - -“Drop me and make your winnings,” cried the old Turtle. “I guess I can -take care of myself,” he chuckled from the inside of his shell; and it -was short work for the boys to cast down all their enemies whom Amiwili -had blown upon, and the others fled terrified toward Háwikuh. - -“Ha, ha!” laughed the two boys as they began to take off the scalps of -the Háwikuhkwe. “These caps are better than half a flock of Turkeys.” - -“Who’ll proclaim our victory to our people?” said they, suddenly -stopping; and one would have thought they belonged to a big village and -a great tribe instead of to a lone house on top of Twin Mountain, with a -single old granny in it; but then that was their way, you know. - -“I will! I will!” cried the old Turtle, as he waddled off toward Twin -Mountain and left the boys to skin scalps. - -When he came to the top of the low hill south of Master Cañon, he stuck -a stick up in the air and shouted. - -“_Hoo-o! Hawanawi-i-i-i!_” which is the shout of victory; and, not -seeing the old woman, he cried out two or three times. - -“_Hoo-o! Iwolohkia-a-a!_” which, as you know, means “Murder! Murder!” -The old woman heard it and was frightened. She threw an old robe over -her shoulders, and, grabbing up the fire-poker, started down as fast as -her limping old limbs would let her, and nearly tumbled over when she -heard old Etawa shout again, “_Iwolohkia!_” - -“Ha!” said she; “I’ll teach the shameless Turkey killers, if I am an old -woman;” and she shook her fire-poker in the air until she came up to -where the old Turtle was waiting. - -Here, just as she came near, the old Turtle pretended not to see her, -but stood up on his legs, and, holding his pole with one hand, cried -out, “_Hoo-o! Hawanawi-i-i-i!_” which was the shout of victory, as I -told you before. - -“What is it?” cried the old woman, as she limped along up and said: -“_Ah! ahi!_” (“My poor old legs!”) - -“Victory!” said the proud Turtle, scarcely deigning to look at her.[21] - - [21] The ridiculousness of the dialogue which follows may - readily be understood when it is explained that each office in - the celebration of victory has to be performed by a distinct - individual of specified clans according to the function. - -“Who has this day renewed himself?” she inquired. - -“Thy grandchildren,” answered the old Turtle. - -“Have they won?” asked the old woman, as she said: “Thanks this day!” - -“Many caps,” replied the Turtle. - -“Will they celebrate?” - -“Yes.” - -“Who will purify and pass them?” asked the granny. - -“Why, you will.” - -“Who will bathe the scalps?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“Who will swing the scalps round the pueblo?” - -“Why, you will.” - -“Who will adopt them?” - -“Why, you will.” - -“Who will bring out the feast?” - -“Why, you will.” - -“Who will be the priest of initiation?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“Who will be the song-master?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“Who will be the dancers?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“Who will draw the arrows and sacrifice them?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“Who will strive for the sacrificed arrows?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“Who will lead the dance of victory?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“Who will be the dancers?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“Who will go to get the women to join the dance?” - -“Why, I will.” - -“What women will dance?” - -“Why, you will.” - -“Who will take them to preside at the feast of their relatives-in-law?” - -“Why, you will.” - -“Who will be their relatives-in-law?” - -“Why, you will.” - -“Who will be the priests of their Father Society?” - -“Why, I will.” - -And they might have talked that way till sunset had not the voices of -the two boys, singing the song of victory, been heard coming over the -hill. There they were, coming with two great strings of scalps as big as -a bunch of buckskins. - -“Oh! poor me! How shall I swing all those scalps round the pueblo?” -groaned the poor old woman as she limped off to dress for the ceremony. - -“Why, swing them,” answered the old Turtle, as he stretched himself up -with the importance of being master of ceremonies. - -So the boys brought the scalps up and the old Turtle strung them thickly -on a long pole. - -So day after day they danced and sang, to add strands to the width of -the boys’ badges. And the old Turtle was master-priest of ceremonies and -people, low priest, song-master, and dancers; sacrificer of arrows and -striver after the arrows. He would beat the drum and sing a little, then -run and dance out the measure; but it was very hard work. - -And the old woman was mother of the children and sisters, and their -clan, and somebody’s else clan, matron of ceremonials, and maidens of -ceremonials--all at the same time;--but it was very hard work, -consequently they didn’t get along very well. - -That’s the reason why today we have so many song-masters and singers, -dance leaders and dancers, priests and common people, father clans and -mother clans, in the great Ceremony of Victory. - -Thus it happened with Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma and their old -grandmother, and their grandfathers the Rainbow-worm and the old Turtle. -That is the reason why rainbow-worms are no bigger than your finger now, -because their great grandfather blew all his substance away at the -Háwikuhkwe. That’s the reason why the great Turtles in the far-away -Waters of the World are so much bigger than their brothers and sisters -here, and have so many marks on their shells, where the arrows glanced -across the shield of their great grandfather. For old Etawa was so proud -after he had been the great master of ceremonies that he despised his -old pond, and went off to seek a new home in the Western Waters of the -World, and his grandchildren never grew any bigger after he went away, -and their descendants are just as small as they were. - -And thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {Masks}] - - - [Illustration: THE PINNACLES OF THUNDER MOUNTAIN - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - - - - -THE YOUNG SWIFT-RUNNER WHO WAS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHING BY THE AGED -TARANTULA - - -A long, long time ago, in K’iákime, there lived a young man, the son of -the priest-chief of the town. It was this young man’s custom to dress -himself as for a dance and run entirely around Thunder Mountain each -morning before the sun rose, before making his prayers. He was a -handsome young man, and his costume was beautiful to behold. - -Now, below the two broad columns of rock which stand at the southeastern -end of Thunder Mountain, and which are called Ak’yapaatch-ella,--below -these, in the base of the mountain, an old, old Tarantula had his den. -Of a morning, as the young man in his beautiful dress sped by, the old -Tarantula heard the horn-bells which were attached to his belt and saw -him as he passed, this young Swift-runner, and he thought to himself: -“Ah, ha! Now if I could only get his fine apparel away from him, what -luck it would be for me! I will wait for him the next time.” - -Early the next morning, just as the sun peeped over the lid of the -world, sure enough the old Tarantula heard the horn-bells, and, -thrusting his head out of his den, waited. As the young man approached, -he called out to him: “Hold, my young friend; come here!” - -“What for?” replied the youth. “I am in a great hurry.” - -“Never mind that; come here,” said the old Tarantula. - -“What is it? Why do you detain me?” rejoined the youth. - -“It is for this reason,” said the old Tarantula. “Wouldn’t you like to -look at yourself today?--for if you would, I can show you how.” - -“How?” asked the young man. “Make haste, for I am in a hurry.” - -“Well, in this way,” was the reply. “Take off your clothing, all of it; -then I will take off mine. You place yours in a heap before me; I will -place mine in a heap before you. Then I will put on your apparel as you -wear it, and then you will see what a handsome fellow you are.” - -The young man thought about it and concluded that it would be a very -good thing to do. So he began drawing off his clothing--his beautiful -painted moccasins, red and green; his fine white leggings, knitted with -cunning stitches and fringed down the front, like the leggings worn by -the Master of the Dances at New Year; his delicately-embroidered skirt, -and mantle, and coat, all of white cotton and marked with figures in -many colors; his heavy anklets of sacred white shell; his blue turquoise -earrings, like the sky in blueness, and so long that they swept his -shoulders; his plaited headband of many-colored fibers, and his bunch of -blue, red, and yellow macaw feathers, which he wore in his hair-knot at -the back of his head,--all these things, one after another, he took off -and laid before the ugly old Tarantula. - -Then that woolly, hairy, clammy creature hauled off his -clothing--gray-blue, ugly, and coarse;--gray-blue leggings, gray-blue -skirt and breech-cloth, gray-blue coat and mantle, nothing but -gray-blue, woolly and hairy, ugly and dirty. When the old Tarantula had -done this, he began to put on the handsome garments that the young man -had placed before him, and, after he had dressed himself in these, he -perched himself up on his crooked hindlegs, and said: “Look at me, now. -How do I look?” - -“Well, so far as the clothing is concerned, handsome,” said the young -man. - -“Just wait till I get a little farther off,” said the old Tarantula, and -he straightened himself up and walked backward toward the door of his -den. Presently he stopped and stood still, and said: “How do I look -now?” - -“Handsomer,” said the young man. - -“Just wait till I get a little farther”; and again he walked backward, -which is a way Tarantulas have, and stood up straight, and said: “How do -I look now?” - -“Handsomer still,” said the young man. - -“Ah, ha! Just wait till I get a little farther”;--and now he backed to -the very door of his den, and stood upon the lip of the entrance, and -said: “Now, then, how do I look?” - -“Perfectly handsome,” said the young man. - -“Ah, ha!” chuckled the old Tarantula, and he turned himself around and -plunged headforemost into his hole. - -“Out upon him!” cried the young man, as he stood there with his head -bowed, and thinking. “Out upon the old rascal! That is the trick he -serves me, is it? Fearful!” said he. “What shall I do now? I can’t go -home naked, or half naked. Well, but I suppose I will have to,” said he -to himself. And, bending down, he reached for the hairy gray-blue -breech-cloth that had been left there by the old Tarantula, and the -skirt, and put them on, and took his way swiftly homeward. - -When he reached home the sun was high, which never had happened before, -so that the old people had been thinking, “Surely, something must have -happened to our young man that he comes not as early as usual.” And when -he came, they said: “What has happened that has detained you so?” - -“Ha!” replied the youth; “the old Tarantula that lives under the -Ak’yapaatch-ella has stripped me of my garments, and with them has run -away into his hole.” - -“We thought something of the kind must have happened,” said his old -father. - -“Send for your warrior priest,” said the other old ones. “Let us see -what he thinks about this, and what shall be done.” - -So the priest-chief sent for his warrior priest, and when the latter had -come, he asked: “Why is it that you have sent for me?” - -“True, we have sent for you,” said the father, “because Old Tarantula -has stripped my son of his handsome apparel, which is sacred and -precious, and we therefore hold it a great loss to him and us. How do -you think we can recover what has been stolen?” - -The warrior priest thought a moment, and said: “I should think we would -have to dig him out, for it isn’t likely he will show himself far from -his den again.” - -So the warrior priest went out on the tops of the houses, and called to -his people: - -“I instruct ye this day, oh, my people and children! Listen to my -instruction! Our child, in running to and from his prayers this very -morning was intercepted by Old Tarantula, who, through his skill and -cunning, succeeded in stripping our child of his handsome apparel. -Therefore, I instruct ye, make haste! Gather together digging-sticks and -hoes; let us all go and dig out the old villain; let the whole town turn -out, women as well as men and children. My daughters, ye women of this -town, take with ye basket-bowls and baskets and other things wherewith -ye gather material for plaster, with which to convey away the sand and -earth that is dug up by the men. Thus much I instruct ye! Make haste -all!” Whereupon he descended, and, after eating, led the way toward the -den of Old Tarantula. - -When the people had also eaten and followed, they began to work swiftly -at tunnelling into the hole of the Tarantula; and thus they worked and -worked from morning till night, but did not overtake him, until at last -they reached the solid rock foundations of the mountain. They had filled -their baskets and basket-bowls with the sand, and cast it behind them, -and others had cast it behind them, and so on until a large hillock of -earth and sand had been raised, but still they had not overtaken Old -Tarantula. Now, when they had reached the solid rock foundations of the -mountain, they saw that the hole yawned like a cave before them, and -that it was needless to follow farther. They gave up in despair, saying: -“What more can we do? Let us go home. Let us give it up, since we must.” -And they took their ways homeward. - -Now, in the evening the old ones of the town were very thoughtful, and -they gathered together and talked the matter over, and finally it was -suggested by someone in answer to the query, “What can we do to recover -our son’s lost garments?” “Suppose that we send for the Great -Kingfisher? He is wise, crafty, swift of flight; he dashes himself from -on high, even into the water, and takes him therefrom whatsoever he -will, swift though it be, without fail. Suppose we send for him, our -grandfather?” - -“Ah, ha! that’s it,” replied others. “Send for him straightway.” - -So the master warrior priest called to Young Swift-runner, and sent him -to the Hill of the Great Kingfisher. - -“What is it?” asked Kingfisher, when he heard someone at the entrance of -his house. - -“Come quickly! In council the old ones of our town await you,” said the -young man. - -So Great Kingfisher followed, and, arriving at the council, greeted them -and asked: “What is it you would have of me?” - -Said they: “Old Tarantula has stripped our young man, Swift-runner, of -his beautiful garments, and how to recover them we know not. We have dug -away the den, even to the foundation of the mountain, but beyond this it -extends. What to do we know not. So we have sent for you, knowing your -power and ability to quickly snatch even from under the waters -whatsoever you will.” - -“Ah, ha! I will take a step toward this thing,” said Great Kingfisher, -“but it is a difficult task you place before me. Old Tarantula is -exceedingly cunning and very keen of sight, moreover. I will, however, -take a step, and if I have good luck will be able to bring back to you -something of what he has stolen.” He then made his adieu, and went back -to his house at the Hill of the Kingfisher. - -Very early the next morning he took his swift way to the -Ak’yapaatch-ella, and there where the columns of rock fork he lay -himself down between them, like a little finger between two other -fingers, merely thrusting his beak over the edge, and looking at the -opening of Old Tarantula’s hole. - -The plumes of sunlight were but barely gleaming on the farther edge of -the world when Old Tarantula cast his eyes just out of the edge of his -hole, and looked all around. Eyes like many eyes had he, wonderfully -sharp and clear. With these he looked all around, as might have been -expected. He discovered Great Kingfisher, little-so-ever of him showing, -and called out: “_Heee! Wóloi weee!_” (“Ho, ho! skulker skulking. Ho, -ho! skulker skulking!”) Instantly Great Kingfisher shook out his wings, -and _thluooo_, descended like a breath of strong wind; and -_thlu-u-u-kwa_, finished his flight like a loosed arrow; but he merely -brushed the tips of the plumes in Old Tarantula’s head-knot, and the -creature doubled himself up and headforemost plunged into his hole. Once -in, “Ha, ha!” said he. “Good for him! Good! Good! Let’s have a dance, -and sing,” said he, talking to himself; and thereupon he pranced up, -jigged about his dark, deep room, singing this song: - - “_Ohatchik’ya ti Tákwà, - Ai yaa Tákwà! - Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà, - Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà! - Ai yaa Tákwà! - Ai yaa Tákwà! - Tákwà, Tákwà!_” - -Thus singing, he danced,--surely a song that nobody but he could dance -to, if it be a song, but he danced to it. And when he had finished -jigging about, he looked at his fluttering garments, and said: “Ha, ha! -Just look at my fine dress! Now am I not handsome? I tell you I am -handsome! Now, let’s have another dance!” And again he sang at the top -of his wheezing voice, and pranced round on his crooked hind legs, with -his fine garments fluttering. - -But Great Kingfisher, with wings drooping and beak gaped down at the -corners,--as though being hungry he had tried to catch a fish and hadn’t -caught him,--took his way back to the council; and he said to the people -there: “No use! I failed utterly. As I said before, he is a crafty, -keen-sighted old fellow. What more have I to say?” He made his adieus, -and took his way back to the Hill of the Kingfisher. - -Again the people talked with one another and considered; and at last -said some: “Inasmuch as he has failed, let us send for our grandfather, -Great Eagle. He, of all living creatures with wings, is swiftest and -keenest of sight, strong of grasp, hooked of beak, whatever getting -holding, and getting whatever he will.” - -They sent for the Eagle. He came, and when made acquainted with their -wishes turned quickly, and said, in bidding them adieu: “I think that -possibly I can succeed, though surely, as my brother has said, Old -Tarantula is a crafty, keen-sighted creature. I will do my best.” - -Early the next morning he took his way, before sunrise, to the peak of -the Mountain of the Badgers, a long distance away from Ak’yapaatch-ella, -but still as no distance to the Eagle. There he stood, with his head -raised to the winds, turning first one eye, then the other, on the -entrance of Old Tarantula’s den, until Old Tarantula again thrust out -his woolly nose, as might have been expected. He discovered the Eagle, -and was just shouting “Ho, skulker, skulking!” when the Eagle swept like -a singing stone loosed from the sling straight at the head of Old -Tarantula. But his wings hissed and buzzed past the hole harmlessly, and -his crooked talons reached down into the dark, clutching nothing save -one of the plumes in Old Tarantula’s head-dress. Even this he failed to -bring away. - -The Old Tarantula tumbled headlong into his lower room, and exclaimed: -“Ha, ha! Goodness save us! What a startling he gave me! But he didn’t -get me! No, he didn’t get me! Let’s have a dance! Jig it down! What a -fine fellow I am!” And he began to prance about, and jig and sing as he -had sung before: - - “_Ohatchik’ya ti Tákwà, - Ai yaa Tákwà! - Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà, - Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà! - Ai yaa Tákwà! - Ai yaa Tákwà! - Tákwà, Tákwà!_” - -As soon as he paused for breath, he glanced askance at his fluttering -bright garments and cried out: “Ho! what a handsome fellow I am! How -finely dressed I am! Let’s have another dance!” And again he danced and -sang, all by himself, admiring himself, answering his own questions, and -watching his own movements. But Great Eagle, crestfallen and -shame-smitten, took his way to the place of the council, reported his -failure, and made his adieu. - -Then again the people considered, and the old ones decided to send for -Hatchutsanona (the Lesser Falcon), whose plumage is hard and smooth and -speckled, gray and brown, like the rocks and sagebrush, and who, being -swift as the Kingfisher, and strong as the Eagle, and small, is not only -able to fly where other birds fly, but can penetrate the closest thicket -when seeking his prey, for trimmed he is like a well-feathered arrow. -They sent for him; he came and, being made acquainted with the facts of -the case, said he could but try, though he modestly affirmed that when -his elder brothers, Great Kingfisher and Great Eagle, had made such -efforts, it were well-nigh needless for him to try, and repeated what -they had said of the cunning and keenness of sight of Old Tarantula. - -But he went early the next morning, and placed himself on the very edge -of the high cliff overhanging the columns of rock and looking into the -den of Old Tarantula. There, when the sun rose, you could scarcely have -seen him, even though near you might have been, for his coat of gray and -brown was like the rocks and dry grass around him, and he lay very close -to the ground, like an autumn leaf beaten down by the rain. By-and-by -Old Tarantula thrust out his rugged face, and turned his eyes in every -direction, up and down; then twisted his head from side to side. He saw -nothing. He had even poked his head entirely out of his hole, and his -shoulders were just visible, when Lesser Falcon bestirred himself, and -Old Tarantula, alas! saw him; not in time to wholly save himself, -however, for Lesser Falcon, with a sweep of his wings like the swirl of -a snowdrift, shot into the mouth of Old Tarantula’s den, grasped at his -head, and brought away with him the macaw plumes of the youth’s -head-dress. - -Down into his den tumbled Old Tarantula, and he sat down and bent -himself double with fright and chagrin. He wagged his head to and fro, -and sighed: “Alas! alas! my beautiful head-dress; the skulking wretch! -My beautiful head-dress; he has taken it from me. What is the use of -bothering about a miserable bunch of macaw feathers, anyway? They get -dirty, they get bent and broken, moths eat them, they change their -color; what is the use of troubling myself about a worthless thing like -that? Haven’t I still the finest costume in the valley?--handsome -leggings and embroidered skirt and mantle, sleeves as pretty as flowers -in summer, necklaces worth fifty head-plumes, and earrings worth a -handful of such necklaces? Ha, ha! let him away with the old -head-plumes! Let’s have a dance, and dance her down, old fellow!” said -he, talking to himself. And again he skipped about, and sang his -tuneless song: - - “_Ohatchik’ya ti Tákwà, - Ai yaa Tákwà! - Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà, - Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà! - Ai yaa Tákwà, - Ai yaa Tákwà. - Tákwà, Tákwà!_” - -He admired himself as much as before. “Forsooth,” said he; “I could not -have seen the head-plume for I would have worn it in the back of my -head.” - -The Lesser Falcon, cursing at his half-luck, took his way back to the -council, and, casting the head-plume at the feet of the old men, said: -“Alas! my fathers; this is the best I could do, for before I had fairly -taken my flight, Old Tarantula discovered me and made into his den. But -this I got, and I bring it to you. May others succeed better!” - -“Thou hast succeeded exceeding well, for most precious are these plumes -from Summerland,” said the old priest. “Thanks be to you, this day, my -grandfather!” And the Lesser Falcon took his way to the thickets and -hillsides. - -Then the people said to one another: “What more is there to be done? We -must even have recourse to the Gods, it seems.” And they called -Swift-runner and said to him: “Of the feathered creatures we have chosen -the wisest and swiftest and strongest to aid us; yet they have failed -mainly. Therefore, we would even send you to the Gods, for your -performance of duty to them has been faithful from morning to morning.” -So they instructed him to climb to the top of Thunder Mountain and visit -the home of the two War-gods, Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma, for in those days -they still dwelt on the top of Thunder Mountain with their old -grandmother, at the Middle Place of Sacrifice. - -The priests in the town prepared sacrificial plumes and divided their -treasures for the Gods, and again calling the young man, presented them -to him as their messenger, bidding him bear to the Gods their greetings. - -On the morning following, he climbed the steep path and soon neared the -dwelling of the Gods and their grandmother. She was on the roof of the -house, while the two bad boys--always out of the way when wanted, and -never ceasing to play their pranks, as was their little way, you -know--were down in the lower rooms. The old grandmother bade the youth -to enter, and called out to her grandchildren, the two Gods: “My -children, come up, both of you, quickly. A young man has arrived to see -you, bringing greetings.” So they cast off their playful behavior, and -with great gravity came into the room, and looking up to the tall youth, -said: “Thou hast come. May it be happily. Sit down. What is it that thou -wouldst have? because for nothing no stranger comes to the house of -another.” - -“It is true, this which you say,” said the youth reverently, breathing -on his hands. “O ye, my fathers! I bring greetings from the fathers of -my town below the mountain, and offerings from them.” - -“It is well thus, my child,” replied the Gods. - -“And I bring also my burden of trouble, that I may listen to your -counsel, and perchance implore your aid,” said the youth. - -“What is it?” said the Two; and they listened. - -Then the youth related his misfortune, telling how he had been stripped -of his clothing by Old Tarantula; how the old ones, gathered in council, -had sought the aid, one after another, of the wisest and swiftest of -feathered beings, but with little success; how they had at last -counselled his coming to them, the fathers of the people in times of -difficulty and strife. - -“Grandmother!” shouted the younger brother War-god. “Make haste! Make -haste, grandmother! Bestir yourself! Grind flour for us. Let it be rock -flour!” - -The old grandmother gathered some white calcareous sandstone called -_kétchïpawe_. She broke those rocks into fragments and ground them into -meal; then reduced them on a finer stone to soft, impalpable powder. She -made dough of this with water, and the two Gods, with wonderful skill, -molded this dough, as it hardened, into figures of elk-kind,--two deer -and two antelope images they made. When they had finished these, they -placed them before the youth, and said: “Take these and stand them on -the sacrificial rock-shelf or terrace on the southern side of our -mountain, with prayer to the gods over them. Return to your home, and -tell the old ones what we have directed you to do. Tell them also where -we said you should place these beings, for such they will become upon -the rock-shelf; and you should go to greet them in the morning and guide -them with you toward the den of Old Tarantula,--Old Tarantula is very -fond of hunting; nothing is so pleasing to him as to kill -anything,--that thereby he may be tempted forth from his hiding-place in -his den.” - -The youth did as he was directed, and when he had placed the figures of -the deer and the antelope in a row on the shelf, and reached home, he -informed the old ones of the word that had been sent to them. - -His father, the old priest-chief, called the warrior priest, and said to -him: “It may be possible that Old Tarantula will be tempted forth from -his den tomorrow. Would it not be well for us to take the war-path -against him?” - -“It would, indeed, be well,” said the warrior priest. And the -priest-chief went to the house-top and called to the people, saying: - -“O, ye, my people and children, I instruct ye today! Let the young men -and the warriors gather and prepare as for war. By means of the sacred -images which have been made by the Two Beloved for our son, -Swift-runner, it may be that we shall succeed in tempting Old Tarantula -forth from his den tomorrow. Let us be prepared to capture him. Make -haste! Make ready! Thus much I instruct ye.” - -In great haste, as if under the influence of joyful tidings indeed, the -people prepared for war, gathered together in great numbers, testing the -strength of their bows, and with much racket issued forth from the town -under Thunder Mountain, spreading over all the foot-hills. And toward -daylight the youth alone took his way toward the sacrificial rock-shelf -on the side of the mountain. When he arrived there, behold! the two -Antelopes and the two Deer were tamely walking about, cropping the grass -and tender leaves, and as he approached, they said: “So, here you are.” - -“Now, this day, behold, my children!” said he in his prayer. “Even for -the reason that we have made ye beings, follow my instructions, oh, do! -Most wickedly and shamefully has Old Tarantula, living below -Ak’yapaatch-ella, robbed me of my sacred fine apparel. I therefore call -ye to aid me. Go ye now toward his home, that he may be tempted forth by -the sight of ye.” - -Obediently the Deer and Antelope took their way down the sloping sides -of the foot-hills toward Old Tarantula’s den. As they neared the den the -youth called out from one of the valleys below, “_Hu-u-u-u-u-u!_ Hasten! -There go some deer and antelope! Whoever may be near them, understand, -there go some deer and antelope!” - -Old Tarantula was talking to himself, as usual, down in his inner room. -He heard the faint sound. “Ha!” cried he, “what is this humming? -Somebody calling, no doubt.” He skipped out toward the doorway just as -the young man called the second time. “Ah, ha!” said he. “He says deer -are coming, doesn’t he? Let us see.” And presently, when the young man -called the third time, he exclaimed: “That’s it! that is what he is -calling out. Now for a hunt! I might as well get them as anyone else.” - -He caught up his bow, slipped the noose over the head of it, twanged -the string, and started. But just as he was going out of his hole, he -said to himself: “Good daylight! this never will do; they will be after -me if I go out. Oh, pshaw! Nonsense! they will do nothing of the kind. -What does it matter? Haven’t I bow and arrows with me?” He leaped out of -his hole and started off toward the Deer. As he gained an eminence, he -cried: “Ah, ha! sure enough, there they come!” Indeed, he was telling -the truth. The Deer still approached, and when the first one came near -he drew an arrow strongly and let fly. One of them dropped at once. “Ah, -ha!” cried he, “who says I am not a good hunter?” He whipped out another -arrow, and fired at the second Deer, which dropped where it had stood. -With more exclamations of delight, he shot at the Antelope following, -which fell; and then at the last one, which fell as the others had. - -“Now,” said he, “I suppose I might as well take my meat home. Fine game -I have bagged today.” He untied the strap which he had brought along and -tied together the legs of the first deer he had shot. He stooped down, -raised the deer, knelt on the ground and drew the strap over his -forehead, and was just about to rise with his burden and make off for -his den when, _klo-o-o-o-o!_ he fell down almost crushed under a mass of -white rock. “Goodness! what’s this? Mercy, but this is startling!” He -looked around, but he saw nothing of his game save a shapeless mass of -white rock. “Well, I will try this other one,” said he to himself. He -had no sooner placed the other on his back than down it bore him, -another mass of white rock! “What can be the matter? The devil must be -to pay!” said he. Then he tried the next, with no better success. “Well, -there is one left, anyway,” said he. He tied the feet of the last one -together, and was about to place the strap over his forehead, when he -heard a mighty and thundering tread and great shouting and a terrible -noise altogether, for the people were already gathering about his den. -He made for the mouth of it with all possible speed, but the people were -there before him; they closed in upon him, they clutched at his stolen -garments, they pulled his earrings out of his ears, slitting his ears in -doing so, until he put up his hands and cried: “Death and ashes! Mercy! -Mercy! You hurt! You hurt! Don’t treat me so! I’ll be good hereafter. -I’ll take the clothing off and give it back to you without making the -slightest trouble, if you will let me alone.” But the people closed in -still more angrily, and pulled him about, buffeted him, tore his -clothing from him, until he was left nude and bruised and so maimed that -he could hardly move. - -Then the old priests gathered around, and said one of them: “It will not -be well if we let this beast go as he is; he is too large, too powerful, -and too crafty. He has but to think of destruction; forsooth, he -destroys. He has but to think of over-reaching; it is accomplished. It -will not be well that he should go abroad thus. He must be roasted; and -thus only can we rid the world of him as he is.” - -So the people assembled and heaped up great quantities of dry firewood; -and they drilled fire from a stick, and lighted the mass. Then they cast -the struggling Tarantula amid the flames, and he squeaked and sizzled -and hissed, and swelled and swelled and swelled, until, with a terrific -noise, he burst, and the fragments of his carcass were cast to the -uttermost parts of the earth. These parts again took shape as beings not -unlike Old Tarantula himself. - - * * * * * - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients. And therefore today, though -crooked are the legs of the tarantula, and his habit of progress -backward, still he is distributed throughout the great world. Only he is -very, very much smaller than was the Great Tarantula who lived below the -two rocky columns of Thunder Mountain. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -ÁTAHSAIA, THE CANNIBAL DEMON - - -In the days of the ancients, when the children of our forefathers lived -in Héshokta (“Town of the Cliffs”), there also lived two beautiful -maidens, elder and younger, sisters one to the other, daughters of a -master-chief. - -One bright morning in summer-time, the elder sister called to the -younger, “_Háni!_” - -“What sayest thou?” said the _háni_. - -“The day is bright and the water is warm. Let us go down to the pool and -wash our clothes, that we may wear them as if new at the dance to come.” - -“Ah, yes, sister elder,” said the _háni_; “but these are days when they -say the shadows of the rocks and even the sage-bushes lodge unthinkable -things, and cause those who walk alone to breathe hard with fear.” - -“_Shtchu!_” exclaimed the elder sister derisively. “Younger sisters -always are as timid as younger brothers are bad-tempered.” - -“Ah, well, then; as you will, sister elder. I will not quarrel with your -wish, but I fear to go.” - -“_Yaush!_ Come along, then,” said the elder sister; whereupon they -gathered their cotton mantles and other garments into bundles, and, -taking along a bag of yucca-root, or soap-weed, started together down -the steep, crooked path to where the pool lay at the foot of the great -mesa. - -Now, far above the Town of the Cliffs, among the rocks of red-gray and -yellow--red in the form of a bowlder-like mountain that looks like a -frozen sand-bank--there is a deep cave. You have never seen it? Well! to -this day it is called the “Cave of Átahsaia,” and there, in the times I -tell of, lived Átahsaia himself. Uhh! what an ugly demon he was! His -body was as big as the biggest elk’s, and his breast was shaggy with -hair as stiff as porcupine-quills. His legs and arms were long and -brawny,--all covered with speckled scales of black and white. His hair -was coarse and snarly as a buffalo’s mane, and his eyes were so big and -glaring that they popped out of his head like skinned onions. His mouth -stretched from one cheek to the other and was filled with crooked fangs -as yellow as thrown-away deer-bones. His lips were as red and puffy as -peppers, and his face as wrinkled and rough as a piece of burnt -buckskin. That was Átahsaia, who in the days of the ancients devoured -men and women for his meat, and the children of men for his sweet-bread. -His weapons were terrible, too. His finger-nails were as long as the -claws of a bear, and in his left hand he carried a bow made of the -sapling of a mountain-oak, with two arrows ready drawn for use. And he -was never seen without his great flint knife, as broad as a man’s thigh -and twice as long, which he brandished with his right hand and poked his -hair back with, so that his grizzly fore-locks were covered with the -blood of those he had slaughtered. He wore over his shoulders whole -skins of the mountain lion and bear clasped with buttons of wood. - -Now, although Átahsaia was ugly and could not speak without chattering -his teeth, or laugh without barking like a wolf, he was a very polite -demon. But, like many ugly and polite people nowadays, he was a great -liar. - -Átahsaia that morning woke up and stuck his head out of his hole just as -the two maidens went down to the spring. He caught sight of them while -his eyes travelled below, and he chuckled. Then he muttered, as he gazed -at them and saw how young and fine they were: “_Ahhali! Yaa-tchi!_” -(“Good lunch! Two for a munch!”) and howled his war-cry, -“_Ho-o-o-thlai-a!_” till Teshaminkia, the Echo-god, shouted it to the -maidens. - -“Oh!” exclaimed the _háni_, clutching the arm of her elder sister; -“listen!” - -“_Ho-o-o-thlai-a!_” again roared the demon, and again Teshaminkia. - -“Oh, oh! sister elder, what did I tell you! Why did we come out today!” -and both ran away; then stopped to listen. When they heard nothing more, -they returned to the spring and went to washing their clothes on some -flat stones. - -But Átahsaia grabbed up his weapons and began to clamber down the -mountain, muttering and chuckling to himself as he went: “_Ahhali! -Yaa-tchi!_” (“Good lunch! Two for a munch!”). - -Around the corner of Great Mesa, on the high shelves of which stands the -Town of the Cliffs, are two towering buttes called Kwilli-yallon (Twin -Mountain). Far up on the top of this mountain there dwelt Áhaiyúta and -Mátsailéma. - -You don’t know who Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma were? Well, I will tell you. -They were the twin children of the Sun-father and the Mother Waters of -the World. Before men were born to the light, the Sun made love to the -Waters of the World, and under his warm, bright glances, there were -hatched out of a foam-cup on the face of the Great Ocean, which then -covered the earth, two wonderful boys, whom men afterward named _Ua nam -Atch Píahk’oa_ (“The Beloved Two who Fell”). The Sun dried away the -waters from the high-lands of earth and these Two then delivered men -forth from the bowels of our Earth-mother, and guided them eastward -toward the home of their father, the Sun. The time came, alas! when war -and many strange beings arose to destroy the children of earth, and then -the eight Stern Beings changed the hearts of the twins to _sawanikia_, -or the medicine of war. Thenceforth they were known as Áhaiyúta and -Mátsailéma (“Our Beloved,” the “Terrible Two,” “Boy-gods of War”). - -Even though changed, they still guarded our ancients and guided them to -the Middle of the World, where we now live. Gifted with hearts of the -medicine of war, and with wisdom almost as great as the Sun-father’s -own, they became the invincible guardians of the Corn-people of Earth, -and, with the rainbow for their weapon and thunderbolts for their -arrows,--swift lightning-shafts pointed with turquoise,--were the -greatest warriors of all in the days of the new. When at last they had -conquered most of the enemies of men, they taught to a chosen few of -their followers the songs, prayers, and orders of a society of warriors -who should be called their children, the Priests[22] of the Bow, and -selecting from among them the two wisest, breathed into their nostrils -(as they have since breathed into those of their successors) the -_sawanikia_. Since then we make anew the semblance of their being and -place them each year at mid-sun on the top of the Mountain of Thunder, -and on the top of the Mountain of the Beloved, that they may know we -remember them and that they may guard (as it was said in the days of the -ancients they would guard) the Land of Zuñi from sunrise to sunset and -cut off the pathways of the enemy. - - [22] Here and hereafter I use this term _priest_ reluctantly, in - lack of a better word, but in accordance with Webster’s second - definition.--F. H. C. - -Well, Áhaiyúta, who is called the elder brother, and Mátsailéma, who is -called the younger, were living on the top of Twin Mountain with their -old grandmother. - -Said the elder to the younger on this same morning: “Brother, let us go -out and hunt. It is a fine day. What say you?” - -“My face is in front of me,” said the younger, “and under a roof is no -place for men,” he added, as he put on his helmet of elk-hide and took a -quiver of mountain-lion skin from an antler near the ladder. - -“Where are you two boys going now?” shrieked the grandmother through a -trap-door from below. “Don’t you ever intend to stop worrying me by -going abroad when even the spaces breed fear like thick war?” - -“O grandmother,” they laughed, as they tightened their bows and -straightened their arrows before the fire, “never mind us; we are only -going out for a hunt,” and before the old woman could climb up to stop -them they were gaily skipping down the rocks toward the cliffs below. - -Suddenly the younger brother stopped. “Ahh!” said he, “listen, brother! -It is the cry of Átahsaia, and the old wretch is surely abroad to cause -tears!” - -“Yes,” replied the elder. “It is Átahsaia, and we must stop him! Come -on, come on; quick!” - -“Hold, brother, hold! Stiffen your feet right here with patience. He is -after the two maidens of Héshokta! I saw them going to the spring as I -came down. This day he must die. Is your face to the front?” - -“It is; come on,” said the elder brother, starting forward. - -“Stiffen your feet with patience, I say,” again exclaimed the younger -brother. “Know you that the old demon comes up the pathway below here? -He will not hurt them until he gets them home. You know he is a great -liar, and a great flatterer; that is the way the old beast catches -people. Now, if we wait here we will surely see them when they come up.” - -So, after quarrelling a little, the elder brother consented to sit down -on a rock which overlooked the pathway and was within bow-shot of the -old demon’s cave. - -Now, while the girls were washing, Átahsaia ran as fast as his old -joints would let him until the two girls heard his mutterings and -rattling weapons. - -“Something is coming, sister!” cried the younger, and both ran toward -the rocks to hide again, but they were too late. The old demon strode -around by another way and suddenly, at a turn, came face to face with -them, glaring with his bloodshot eyes and waving his great jagged flint -knife. But as he neared them he lowered the knife and smiled, -straightening himself up and approaching the frightened ones as gently -as would a young man. - -The poor younger sister clung to the elder one, and sank moaning by her -side, for the smile of Átahsaia was as fearful as the scowl of a -triumphant enemy, or the laugh of a rattlesnake when he hears any old -man tell a lie and thinks he will poison him for it. - -“Why do you run, and why do you weep so?” asked the old demon. “I know -you. I am ugly and old, my pretty maidens, but I am your grandfather and -mean you no harm at all. I frightened you only because I felt certain -you would run away from me if you could.” - -“Ah!” faltered the elder sister, immediately getting over her fright. -“We did not know you and therefore we were frightened by you. Come, -sister, come,” said she to the younger. “Brighten your eyes and -thoughts, for our grandfather will not hurt us. Don’t you see?” - -But the younger sister only shook her head and sobbed. Then the demon -got angry. “What are you blubbering about?” he roared, raising his -knife and sweeping it wildly through the air. “Do you see this knife? -This day I will cut off the light of your life with it if you do not -swallow your whimpers!” - -“Get up, oh, do get up, _háni_!” whispered the elder sister, now again -frightened herself. “Surely he will not cut us off just now, if we obey -him; and is it not well that even for a little time the light of life -shine--though it shine through fear and sadness--than be cut off -altogether? For who knows where the trails tend that lead through the -darkness of the night of death?” - -You know, in the speech of the rulers of the world and of our -ancients,[23] a man’s light was cut off when his life was taken, and -when he died he came to the dividing-place of life. - - [23] One of the figures of speech meaning the gods. - -The _háni_ tried to rally herself and rose to her feet, but she still -trembled. - -“Now, my pretty maidens, my own granddaughters, even,” said the old -demon once more, as gently as at first, “I am most glad I found you. How -good are the gods! for I am a poor, lone old man. All my people are -gone.” (Here he sighed like the hiss of a wild-cat.) “Yonder above is my -home” (pointing over his shoulder), “and as I am a great hunter, plenty -of venison is baking in my rear room and more sweet-bread than I can -eat. Lo! it makes me homesick to eat alone, and when I saw you and saw -how pretty and gentle you were, I thought that it might be you would -throw the light of your favor on me, and go up to my house to share of -my abundance and drink from my vessels. Besides, I am so old that only -now and then can I get a full jar of water up to my house. So I came as -fast as I could to ask you to return and eat with me.” - -Reassured by his kind speech, the elder sister hastened to say: “Of -course, we will go with our grandfather, and if that is all he may want -of us, we can soon fill his water-jars, can’t we, _háni_?” - -“You are a good girl,” said the old demon to the one who had spoken; -then, glaring at the younger sister: “Bring that fool along with you and -come up; she will not come by herself; she has more bashfulness than -sense, and less sense than my knife, because that makes the world more -wise by killing off fools.” - -He led the way and the elder sister followed, dragging along the -shrinking _háni_. - -The old demon kept talking in a loud voice as they went up the pathway, -telling all sorts of entertaining stories, until, as they neared the -rocks where Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma were waiting, the Two heard him and -said to one another: “Ahh, they come!” - -Then the elder brother jumped up and began to tighten his bow, but the -younger brother muttered: “Sit down, won’t you, you fool! Átahsaia’s -ears are like bat-ears, only bigger. Wait now, till I say ready. You -know he will not hurt the girls until he gets them out from his house. -Look over there in front of his hole. Do you see the flat place that -leads along to that deep chasm beyond?” - -“Yes,” replied the elder brother. “But what of that?” - -“What but that there he cuts the throats of his captives and casts their -bones and heads into the depths of the chasm! Do you see the notch in -the stone? That’s where he lets their blood flow down, and for that -reason no one ever discovers his tracks. Now, stiffen your feet with -patience, I say, and we will see what to do when the time comes.” - -Again they sat and waited. As the old demon and the girls passed along -below, the elder brother again started and would have shot had not -Mátsailéma held him back. “You fool of a brother elder, but not wiser. -No! Do you not know that your arrow is lightning and will kill the -maidens as well as the monster?” - -Finally, the demon reached the entrance to his cave, and, going in, -asked the girls to follow him, laying out two slabs for them to sit on. -“Now, sit down, my pretty girls, and I will soon get something for you -to eat. You must be hungry.” Going to the rear of the cave, he broke -open a stone oven, and the steam which arose was certainly delicious and -meaty. Soon he brought out two great bowls, big enough to feed a whole -dance. One contained meat, the other a mess resembling sweet-bread -pudding. “Now, let us eat,” said the demon, seating himself opposite, -and at once diving his horny fingers and scaly hand half up to the -wrist in the meat-broth. The elder sister began to take bits of the food -to eat it, when the younger made a motion to her, and showed her with -horror the bones of a little hand. The sweet-bread was the flesh and -bones of little children. Then the two girls only pretended to eat, -taking the food out and throwing it down by the side of the bowls. - -“Why don’t you eat?” demanded the demon, cramming at the same time a -huge mouthful of the meat, bones and all, into his wide throat. - -“We are eating,” said one of the girls. - -“Then why do you throw my food away?” - -“We are throwing away only the bones.” - -“Well, the bones are the better part,” retorted the demon, taking -another huge mouthful, by way of example, big enough to make a grown -man’s meal. “Oh, yes!” he added; “I forgot that you had baby teeth.” - -After the meal was finished, the old demon said: “Let us go out and sit -down in the sun on my terrace. Perhaps, my pretty maidens, you will comb -an old man’s hair, for I have no one left to help me now,” he sighed, -pretending to be very sad. So, showing the girls where to sit down, -without waiting for their assent he settled himself in front of them and -leaned his head back to have it combed. The two maidens dared not -disobey; and now and then they pulled at a long, coarse hair, and then -snapped their fingers close to his scalp, which so deceived the old -demon that he grunted with satisfaction every time. At last their knees -were so tired by his weight upon them that they said they were done, -and Átahsaia, rising, pretended to be greatly pleased, and thanked them -over and over. Then he told them to sit down in front of him, and he -would comb their hair as they had combed his, but not to mind if he hurt -a little for his fingers were old and stiff. The two girls again dared -not disobey, and sat down as he had directed. Uhh! how the old beast -grinned and glared and breathed softly between his teeth. - -The two brothers had carefully watched everything, the elder one -starting up now and then, the younger remaining quiet. Suddenly -Mátsailéma sprang up. He caught the shield the Sun-father had given -him,--the shield which, though made only of nets and knotted cords, -would ward off alike the weapons of the warrior or the magic of the -wizard. Holding it aloft, he cried to Áhaiyúta: “Stand ready; the time -is come! If I miss him, pierce him with your arrow. Now, then--” - -He hurled the shield through the air. Swiftly as a hawk and noiselessly -as an owl, it sailed straight over the heads of the maidens and settled -between them and the demon’s face. The shield was invisible, and the old -demon knew not it was there. He leaned over as if to examine the -maidens’ heads. He opened his great mouth, and, bending yet nearer, made -a vicious bite at the elder one. - -“Ai, ai! my poor little sister, alas!” with which both fell to sobbing -and moaning, and crouched, expecting instantly to be destroyed. - -But the demon’s teeth caught in the meshes of the invisible shield, -and, howling with vexation, he began struggling to free himself of the -encumbrance. Áhaiyúta drew a shaft to the point and let fly. With a -thundering noise that rent the rocks, and a rush of strong wind, the -shaft blazed through the air and buried itself in the demon’s shoulders, -piercing him through ere the thunder had half done pealing. Swift as -mountain sheep were the leaps and light steps of the brothers, who, -bounding to the shelf of rock, drew their war-clubs and soon softened -the hard skull of the old demon with them. The younger sister was -unharmed save by fright; but the elder sister lay where she had sat, -insensible. - -“Hold!” cried Mátsailéma, “she was to blame, but then--” Lifting the -swooning maiden in his strong little arms, he laid her apart from the -others, and, breathing into her nostrils, soon revived her eyes to -wisdom. - -“_This day have we, through the power of sawanikia, seen[24] for our -father an enemy of our children men. A beast that caused unto fatherless -children, unto menless women, unto womenless men (who thus became -through his evil will), tears and sad thoughts, has this day been looked -upon by the Sun and laid low. May the favors of the gods thus meet us -ever._” - - [24] To “see” an enemy signifies, in Zuñi mythology, to take his - life. - -Thus said the two brothers, as they stood over the gasping, still -struggling but dying demon; and as they closed their little prayer, the -maidens, who now first saw whom they had to thank for their -deliverance, were overwhelmed with gladness, yet shame. They exclaimed, -in response to the prayer: “_May they, indeed, thus meet you and -ourselves!_” Then they breathed upon their hands. - -The two brothers now turned toward the girls. “Look ye upon the last -enemy of men,” said they, “whom this day we have had the power of -_sawanikia_ given us to destroy; whom this day the father of all, our -father the Sun, has looked upon, whose light of life this day our -weapons have cut off; whose path of life this day our father has -divided. Not ourselves, but our father has done this deed, through us. -Haste to your home in Héshokta and tell your father these things; and -tell him, pray, that he must assemble his priests and teach them these -our words, for we divide our paths of life henceforth from one another -and from the paths of men, no more to mingle save in spirit with the -children of men. But we shall depart for our everlasting home in the -mountains--the one to the Mountain of Thunder, the other to the Mount of -the Beloved--to guard from sunrise to sunset the land of the -Corn-priests of Earth, that the foolish among men break not into the -Middle Country of Earth and lay it waste. Yet we shall require of our -children the plumes wherewith we dress our thoughts, and the forms of -our being wherewith men may renew us each year at mid-sun. Henceforth -two stars at morning and evening will be seen, the one going before, the -other following, the Sun-father--the one Áhaiyúta, his herald; the -other Mátsailéma, his guardian; warriors both, and fathers of men. May -the trail of life be finished ere divided! Go ye happily hence.” - -The maidens breathed from the hands of the Twain, and with bowed heads -and a prayer of thanks started down the pathway toward the Town of the -Cliffs. When they came to their home, the old father asked whence they -came. They told the story of their adventure and repeated the words of -the Beloved. - -The old man bowed his head, and said: “It was Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma!” -Then he made a prayer of thanks, and cast abroad on the winds white meal -of the seeds of earth and shells from the Great Waters of the World, the -pollen of beautiful flowers, and the paints of war. - -“It is well!” he said. “Four days hence I will assemble my warriors, and -we will cut the plume-sticks, paint and feather them, and place them on -high mountains, that through their knowledge and power of medicine our -Beloved Two Warriors may take them unto themselves.” - -Now, when the maidens disappeared among the rocks below, the brothers -looked each at the other and laughed. Then they shouted, and Áhaiyúta -kicked Átahsaia’s ugly carcass till it gurgled, at which the two boys -shouted again most hilariously and laughed. “That’s what we proposed to -do with you, old beast!” they cried out. - -“But, brother younger,” said Áhaiyúta, “what shall be done with him -now?” - -“Let’s skin him,” said Mátsailéma. - -So they set to work and skinned the body from foot to head, as one -skins a fawn when one wishes to make a seed-bag. Then they put sticks -into the legs and arms, and tied strings to them, and stuffed the body -with dry grass and moss; and where they set the thing up against the -cliff it looked verily like the living Átahsaia. - -“Uhh! what an ugly beast he was!” said Mátsailéma. Then he shouted: -“_Wahaha, hihiho!_” and almost doubled up with laughter. “Won’t we have -fun with old grandmother, though. Hurry up; let’s take care of the rest -of him!” - -They cut off the head, and Áhaiyúta said to it: “_Thou hast been a liar, -and told a falsehood for every life thou hast taken in the world; -therefore shall thou become a lying star, and each night thy guilt shall -be seen of all men throughout the wide world._” He twirled the bloody -head around once or twice, and cast it with all might into the air. _Wa -muu!_ it sped through the spaces into the middle of the sky like a spirt -of blood, and now it is a great red star. It rises in summer-time and -tells of the coming morning when it is only midnight; hence it is called -_Mokwanosana_ (Great Lying Star). - -Then Mátsailéma seized the great knife and ripped open the abdomen with -one stroke. Grasping the intestines, he tore them out and exclaimed: -“_Ye have devoured and digested the flesh of men over the whole wide -world; therefore ye shall be stretched from one end of the earth to the -other, and the children of those ye have wasted will look upon ye every -night and will say to one another: ‘Ah, the entrails of him who caused -sad thoughts to our grandfathers shine well tonight!’ and they will -laugh and sneer at ye._” Whereupon he slung the whole mass aloft, and -_tsolo!_ it stretched from one end of the world to the other, and became -the Great Snow-drift of the Skies (Milky Way). Lifting the rest of the -carcass, they threw it down into the chasm whither the old demon had -thrown so many of his victims, and the rattlesnakes came out and ate of -the flesh day after day till their fangs grew yellow with putrid meat, -and even now their children’s fangs are yellow and poisonous. - - * * * * * - -“Now, then, for some fun!” shouted Mátsailéma. “Do you catch the old bag -up and prance around with it a little; and I will run off to see how it -looks.” - -Áhaiyúta caught up the effigy, and, hiding himself behind, pulled at the -strings till it looked, of all things thinkable, like the living -Átahsaia himself starting out for a hunt, for they threw the lion skins -over it and tied the bow in its hand. - -“Excellent! Excellent!” exclaimed the boys, and they clapped their hands -and _wa-ha-ha-ed_ and _ho-ho-ho-ed_ till they were sore. Then, dragging -the skin along, they ran as fast as they could, down to the plain below -Twin Mountain. - -The Sun was climbing down the western ladder, and their old grandmother -had been looking all over the mountains and valleys below to see if the -two boys were coming. She had just climbed the ladder and was gazing and -fretting and saying: “Oh! those two boys! terrible pests and as -hard-hearted and as long-winded in having their own way as a turtle is -in having his! Now, something has happened to them; I knew it would,” -when suddenly a frightened scream came up from below. - -“_Ho-o-o-ta! Ho-o-o-ta!_ Come quick! Help! Help!” the voice cried, as if -in anguish. - -“Uhh!” exclaimed the old woman, and she went so fast in her excitement -that she tumbled through the trap-door, and then jumped up, scolding and -groaning. - -She grabbed a poker of piñon, and rushed out of the house. Sure enough, -there was poor Mátsailéma running hard and calling again and again for -her to hurry down. The old woman hobbled along over the rough path as -fast as she could, and until her wind was blowing shorter and shorter, -when, suddenly turning around the crags, she caught sight of Áhaiyúta -struggling to get away from Átahsaia. - -“_O ai o!_ I knew it! I knew it!” cried the old woman; and she ran -faster than ever until she came near enough to see that her poor -grandson was almost tired out, and that Mátsailéma had lost even his -war-club. “Stiffen your feet,--my boys,--wait--a bit,” puffed the old -woman, and, flying into a passion, she rushed at the effigy and began to -pound it with her poker, till the dust fairly smoked out of the dry -grass, and the skin doubled up as if it were in pain. - -Mátsailéma rolled and kicked in the grass, and Áhaiyúta soon had to let -the stuffed demon fall down for sheer laughing. But the old woman never -ceased. She belabored the demon and cursed his cannibal heart and told -him that was what he got for chasing her grandsons, and that, and this, -and that, whack! whack! without stopping, until she thought the monster -surely must be dead. Then she was about to rest when suddenly the boys -pulled the strings, and the demon sprang up before her, seemingly as -well as ever. Again the old woman fell to, but her strokes kept getting -feebler and feebler, her breath shorter and shorter, until her wind went -out and she fell to the ground. - -How the boys did laugh and roll on the ground when the old grandmother -moaned: “Alas! alas! This day--my day--light is--cut off--and my wind of -life--fast going.” - -The old woman covered her head with her tattered mantle; but when she -found that Átahsaia did not move, she raised her eyes and looked through -a rent. There were her two grandsons rolling and kicking on the grass -and holding their mouths with both hands, their eyes swollen and faces -red with laughter. Then she suddenly looked for the demon. There lay the -skin, all torn and battered out of shape. - -“So ho! you pesky wretches; that’s the way you treat me, is it? Well! -never again will I help you, never!” she snapped, “nor shall you ever -live with me more!” Whereupon the old woman jumped up and hobbled away. - -But little did the brothers care. They laughed till she was far away, -and then said one to the other: “It is done!” - - * * * * * - -Since that time, the grandmother has gone, no one knows where. But -Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma are the bright stars of the morning and evening, -just in front of and behind the Sun-father himself. Yet their spirits -hover over their shrines on Thunder Mountain and the Mount of the -Beloved, they say, or linger over the Middle of the World, forever to -guide the games and to guard the warriors of the Land of Zuñi. Thus it -was in the days of the ancients. - -Thus shortens my story. - - [Illustration: {Carvings}] - - - - -THE HERMIT MÍTSINA - - -When all was new, and the gods dwelt in the ancient places, long, long -before the time of our ancients, many were the gods--some destined for -good and some for evil or for the doing of things beneath understanding. -And those of evil intent, so painfully bad were they to become that not -in the company and council of the precious beloved of the _Kâkâ_ (the -Order of the Sacred Drama) could they be retained. - -Thus it happened, in the times of our ancients, long, long ago, that -there dwelt all alone in the Cañon of the Pines, southeast of Zuñi, -Mítsina the Hermit. Of evil understanding he; therefore it had been said -to him (by the gods): “Alone shalt thou dwell, being unwise and evil in -thy ways, until thou hast, through much happening, even become worthy to -dwell amongst us.” Thus it was that Mítsina lived alone in his house in -the Cañon of the Pines. - -Sometimes when a young man, dressed in very fine apparel (wearing his -collars of shell, and turquoise earrings, and other precious things -which were plentiful in the days of our ancients), would be out hunting, -and chanced to go through the Cañon of the Pines and near to the house -of Mítsina, he would hear the sounds of gaming from within; for, being -alone, the hermit whiled away his time in playing at the game of sacred -arrows (or cane-cards). - -Forever from the ceiling of his house there hung suspended his -basket-drum, made of a large wicker bowl, over the mouth of which was -stretched tightly a soft buckskin, even like the basket-drums which we -use in the playing of cane-cards today, and which you know are suspended -with the skin-side downward from the ceilings of the gaming rooms in the -topmost houses of our town. Though the one he had was no better than -those we have today, save that it was larger and handsomer perhaps, yet -he delighted to call it his cloud canopy, bethinking himself of the -drum-basket of his former associates, the gods, which is even the -rounded sky itself, with the clouds stretched across it. Forever upon -the floor of his house there lay spread a great buffalo robe, the skin -upward dressed soft and smooth, as white as corn-flour, and painted with -the many-colored symbols and counting marks of the game, even as our -own. But he delighted to call it his sacred terraced plain,[25] -bethinking himself of the robe-spread of the gods, which is even the -outspread earth itself, bordered by terraced horizons, and diversified -by mountains, valleys, and bright places, which are the symbols and -game marks whereby the gods themselves count up the score of their game. - - [25] The words “terrace,” “sacred terrace,” “terraced plain” - (_awithluiane_, _awithluian-pewine_), and the like, wherever - they occur, refer to the figurative expression for the earth in - the Zuñi rituals addressed to the gods, where they are used as - more nearly conforming to the usage of the gods. The symbol of - the earth on the sacred altars is a terraced or zigzag figure or - decoration, and the same figure appears in their carvings and - other ornamental work. The disgraced god Mítsina applied the - term to the robe spread out as the bed for his game. It may be - stated in further explanation that the country in which the - Zuñis have wandered and lived for unnumbered generations, and - where they still dwell, is made up largely of mesas, or flat-top - mountains or elevations, rising one above another and showing as - terraces on the horizon. Beheld at great distances, or in the - evening, these mountain terraces are mere silhouettes and serve - to exaggerate the zigzag spaces of light between them. As the - conventional sacred emblem for the earth is a terrace, outspread - or upreaching, as the case may be, so the conventional sacred - emblem for the sky is an inverted terrace. - - To the gods the whole earth is represented as having seemed so - small that they invariably spoke of it as the terraced plain, - and in their playing of this game they are supposed to have used - it as the bed for the game, as the Zuñi people used the - outspread buffalo robe for the purpose. - -Hearing these sounds of the game in passing, the young man would -naturally draw near and listen. Though all alone, every time he made a -good throw Mítsina would exclaim “_Her-r-r-r!_” and as the canes struck -the skin of the drum-basket above, _tcha-le-le, tcha-le-le_, it would -sound; and _ke-le-le_ they would rattle as they fell on the robe below. -“Ha! ha!” old Mítsina would exclaim, as if triumphantly to some opponent -in the game,--“_Kohakwa iyathtokyai!_” as much as to say: “Good for you, -old fellow! The white-corn symbol fell uppermost!” - -“Oh!” the young man would exclaim as he listened. “Oh!”--and, wishing to -learn more about the matter, he would stealthily climb up the ladder and -peer down through the sky-hole. Old Mítsina would catch sight of him, be -sure of that, and greet him most cordially, calling to him: “Come in, -come in, my fine young fellow, come in; let’s have a game!” - -Now, he had practised so long that he had acquired more skill than -anyone else throughout the world--at least among mortals; so that when -any of the young men chanced to play with him, he invariably lost, poor -fellow! Hanging on the pole along the north side of Mítsina’s house were -the necklaces, embroidered mantles, and turquoises, and all sorts of -treasures which he had won in this way; and as many on the western side, -on the southern side as many, and on the eastern side also. - -When the young man came in, Mítsina would continue: “My good friend, sit -right down over there. Have you your canes today?” If the young man said -“Yes,” he would say: “Ha! very well.” Or, if he said “No,” “Never mind,” -Mítsina would say; “here are some,” producing a very fine set of -polished canes. The young man, being thus pressed, would stake perhaps -his necklace or his earrings, and the game would begin. Losing them, he -would stake his clothing, his bows and arrows--in fact, everything he -had about him. You know how it is with gamesters when they have lost a -great deal and wish to get it back again? Well, so it was then. When the -young man had lost everything, he would bow his head on his hand, and -sit thinking. Then old Mítsina, with a jolly, devil-may-care manner, -would say: “Bet your left thigh. I’ll put all you have lost and more, -too, on that.” The young man would say to himself, with a sigh of -relief: “What an old fool you are!” and reply: “All right! I will take -your bet.” Alas! the one thigh he bet is lost; then the other goes -the same way; then one of his sides and arms; losing which, he bet the -other, and so on, until he had bet away his whole body, including his -head. Then in utter despair he would exclaim: “Do with me as thou wilt. -I am thy slave.” And old Mítsina with the same devil-may-care manner -would catch him up, take him out to the back of his house and wring his -neck that he might not go back and report his losses to his people. - - [Illustration: PÁLOWAHTIWA - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - -Again, some other well-equipped young man would be passing that way, and -hearing the sound made by the solitary player, and being attracted -thereby, would be drawn in the same way into the game, would lose -everything, and old Mítsina would wring his neck and keep his treasures. - -Thus it was in the days of the ancients. Great were the losses of the -young men, and many of them perished. - -Well, one day little Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma--the War-gods of peace -times--who dwelt, as you know, where their shrine now stands on Face -Mountain, with their old grandmother,--went out hunting rabbits and -prairie-dogs. It chanced that in following the rabbits along the cliffs -of a side cañon they came into the Cañon of the Pines, near where the -house of Mítsina stood. Presently they heard the sounds of his game. -“Hu, hu!” the old fellow would exclaim as he cast his canes into the -air. _Ke-le-le-le_ they would rattle as they fell on the skin. - -“Uh!” exclaimed Áhaiyúta, the elder. “Brother younger, listen.” - -The younger listened. “By my eyes!” exclaimed he, “it is someone -playing at cane-cards. Let’s go and have a peep at him.” So they climbed -the ladder and peered in through the sky-hole. - -Presently, old Mítsina espied them, and called out: “Ha! my little -fellows; glad to see you today! How are you? Come in, come in! I am -dying for a game; I was playing here all by myself.” - -The two little War-gods clambered down the ladder, and old Mítsina -placed blankets for them, invited them most cordially to sit down, and -asked if they would like to play a game. Nothing loth they, seeing all -the fine things hanging round his room; so out from their girdles they -drew their cane-cards, for those, as you know, they always carried with -them. - -Perhaps I have not told you that even the basket-drum old Mítsina played -with was fringed with the handsome long turquoise earrings which he had -won, and even under the robe on which he played there were piled one -over another, in a great flat heap, the finest of the necklaces gathered -from those whom he had defeated in playing and then slain. - -“What would you like to put up?” asked the old fellow, pointing around -his room--particularly to the basket-drum fringed with turquoises--and -lifting the robe and showing just enough of the necklaces underneath it -to whet the appetites of the little War-gods. - -“We’ve nothing fine enough to bet for these things,” said they -ruefully. - -“O ho!” cried Mítsina. “No matter, no matter at all, my boys. Bet your -bows and arrows and clothing; if you like, bet everything you have on, -and I’ll put up that poleful there on the north side of my room.” - -“Good! good! tell him all right,” whispered the younger brother to the -elder. - -So the elder agreed, chuckling to himself, for it was rarely that a man -was found who could beat the little War-gods in a game. And they began -their playing. How the turquoises rattled as they threw their canes! How -the canes jingled and thumped as they fell on the robe! - -The game was merry and long, and well played on both sides; but the poor -little War-gods lost. Their countenances fell; but old Mítsina, with a -merry twinkle in his eyes, exclaimed: “Oh pshaw! never mind, never -mind!” - -“Yes,” said the two War-gods, “but how in the world are we ever going -back to our grandmother in this plight?”--glancing down over their bare -bodies, for they had bet even the clothing off their backs. “What else -can we bet? How can we win back what we have lost?” - -“Bet your left thighs,” said the old hermit. - -They thought a moment, and concluded they would do so. So the game was -staked again and begun and the canes rattled merrily; but they lost -again. Then old Mítsina suggested that they bet their other thighs. They -did so and again lost. Then he suggested they should bet their left -sides, hoping forthwith to get hold of their hearts, but the young -War-gods were crafty. The elder one exclaimed: “All right!” but the -younger one said: “Goodness! as for you, you can bet your left side if -you want to, but I’ll bet my right, for my heart is on my left side, and -who ever heard of a man betting away his heart!” - -“Just as you like,” said Mítsina, “but if you’ll bet your bodies up to -your necks I will stake all you have lost and all I have besides,” said -he, looking around on his fine possessions. - -“Done!” cried the War-gods. And again they played and again lost. Then -they had nothing left but their heads and ears and eyes to bet. Finally -they concluded to bet these also, for said they to one another: “What -good will our heads do us, even though they be the crown-pieces of our -being, without the rest?” - -They played again, but the poor fellows lost their heads also. “Alas! -alas! do as thou wilt with us,” exclaimed the little War-gods, with -rueful countenances. - -Old Mítsina, locking them up in a small recess of his house, went out -and gathered before his front door a great quantity of dry wood. Then he -tied the little fellows hand and foot, and laid them near by,--not near -enough to burn them up, but near enough so that they would scorch,--and -lighted the fire, to have the pleasure of roasting them. When they began -to brown and sizzle a little they writhed and howled with pain, but -they were tough and quite bad, as you know, and this did not kill them. - -Who can hide a thing from the eyes of the gods? The elder brothers of -these two foolish little War-gods, Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma, those who -dwelt on Thunder Mountain, became aware of what was going on. “Come, -brother younger,” said the elder, strapping on his quiver and taking his -bow in hand, “come, let us off to old Mítsina’s house and teach him a -lesson!” So, in a twinkling they were climbing down the mountain, -speeding across the wide valley, and threading their way through the -Cañon of the Pines. - -Mítsina had grown tired of watching the poor little War-gods and had -gone in to have another little game, and there he was pitching his -cane-cards and talking to himself, as usual. The two gods hauled their -unfortunate brothers away from the fire, and, climbing the ladder, -peered in. Mítsina espied them, and as usual invited them in to a game. -With as jolly an air as his own they accepted his challenge and sat -down. Mítsina offered to bet all his fine things hanging on the north -side of the house. “What will you put up, my little fellows?” asked he. - -“If you will include those ugly little devils that we saw sizzling -before the fire when we came in, we will bet you everything we have with -us,” said they. - -“Good! good! haul them in!” shouted Mítsina. - -The War-gods scrambled out of the house, and, by no means gently, -dragged their wretched little brothers in by the heels and dumped them -down on the floor to show their indifference, sat down, and began to -play. They bet their weapons, holding up the knife of war which they -carried, the point of lightning itself fatal in power,--splitter of -mountains and overcomer of demons and men alike. - -Old Mítsina, when told of the power of the weapons, became doubtful as -to his company, but presently fell to and played with a will. He lost. -Then he put up all the rest of his goods hanging on the other side of -the room. Again he lost, and again, even the turquoises hanging from the -basket-drum, the necklaces under his robe, and the things he played -with, and getting wild with excitement, sure that his luck would return, -followed out the plan he had so often suggested to others, and bet away -his thighs, then his sides and arms, then his head and ears, excepting -his eyes, and last of all his very eyes themselves. Each time the young -War-gods won. The old gambler let his hands fall by his sides, and -dropped his head on his breast, sick with humiliation and chagrin. - -“Now, my brother,” said the elder to the younger, “what shall we do with -this beast?” - -“I don’t know,” said the other. “We can’t kill him; yet, if we leave him -to go his own way, he will gamble and gamble without ceasing, and make -no end of trouble. Suppose we make a good man of him.” - -“How?” asked the other. - -“Pluck out his eyes.” - -“Capital!” exclaimed the first. So, while one of them held the old -fellow down, the other gouged out his eyes, and with pain and horror he -utterly forgot in unconsciousness (swooned away). - -The two elder War-gods set their younger brothers on their feet, and all -four of them joined in clearing out the treasures and magnificent -possessions which Mítsina through all these years had won from his -victims; and these they took away with them that by their sacred -knowledge they might change them into blessings for the faithful of -their children among men, and thus return, as it were, what had been -lost. Then away they went, leaving old Mítsina still as witless as a -dead man, to his fate. - -By-and-by the old man came to his senses, and raising himself up, tried -to look around, but, forsooth, he could not see. - -“What in the world has happened? What a fearful pain I have in my -temples!” said he. “What is the matter? Is it night?” - -Then gradually his situation came to him. He uttered a groan of pain and -sorrow, and, putting out his hand, felt the wall and raised himself by -it. Then he crept along, feeling his way to the window, not yet quite -certain whether he had been dreaming all this and it was still night, or -whether he had really lost everything and been bereft of his eyes by -those midgets. When he put his hand into the window, however, he felt -the warm sunlight streaming in, and knew that it was still day, and that -it was all true. - -In feeling there he chanced to touch a little package of pitch which -had been laid in the window. He felt it all over with both hands, but -could not quite tell what it was. Then he put it against his cheek, but -was still uncertain; then he rubbed it, and smelt of it. “Pitch! pitch! -as I live!” said he. “I have often lighted this when it was dark, and -been able to see. Now, maybe, if I light it this time, I shall be able -to see again.” He felt his way all round the room to the fireplace, and -after burning his fingers two or three times in feeling for coals, he -found a sliver and held it in the coals and ashes until he heard it -begin to sputter and crackle. Then he lighted the pitch with it. Eyeless -though he was, the fumes from this medicine of the woodlands restored to -him a kind of vision. “Good!” cried the old fellow, “I see again!” But -when he looked around, he saw nothing as it had been formerly; and his -thoughts reverted to the great City of the Gods (_Kothluellakwin_); and, -as it were, he could see the way thither. So he turned toward his door, -and with a sigh gave up his old place of abode, relinquished all thought -of his possessions, gave up his former bad inclinations, and turned -westward toward the City of the Gods and Souls. - -As he went along holding his light before him and following it, he sang -a mournful song. The Birds, hearing this song, flocked around him, and -as he went on singing, exclaimed to one another: “Ha! ha! the old -wretch; he has lost his eyes! Served him right! Let’s put out his light -for him.” - -Now, before that time, strange as it may seem, the Eagles and even the -Crows were as white as the foam on warring waters. The Eagles were so -strong that they thrust the other birds away, and began to pounce down -at Mítsina’s light, trying to blow it out with their wings. _Thluh! -thluh!_ they would flap into the light; but still it would not go out; -and they only singed their feathers and blackened their wings and tails -with smoke. In looking at one another they saw what a sad plight they -were in. “Good gracious, brothers!” exclaimed some of them to the -others, “we have made a fine mess of our white plumage!” And they gave -it up. - -Then the Crows rushed in and flapped against the light, but they could -not put it out; and although they grew blacker and blacker, they would -not give it up. So they became as black as crows are now; and ever since -then eagles have been speckled with brown and black, and crows have been -black, even to the tips of their beaks. And whenever in the Sacred Drama -Dance of our people old Mítsina appears, he sings the doleful song and -carries the light of pitch pine. He goes naked, with the exception of a -wretched old cloth at his loins; and he wears a mask with deep holes for -eyes, blood streaming from them. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -HOW THE TWINS OF WAR AND CHANCE, ÁHAIYÚTA AND MÁTSAILÉMA, FARED WITH -THE UNBORN-MADE MEN OF THE UNDERWORLD[26] - - [26] Reprinted from the _Journal of American Folk-Lore_, vol. - v., No. 16, pp. 49-56. - - -TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION - -Heretofore I have withheld from publication such single examples of Zuñi -folk-lore as the following, in order that the completer series might be -brought forth in the form of an unbroken collection, with ample -introductory as well as supplementary chapters, essential to the proper -understanding by ourselves of the many distinctively Zuñi meanings and -conceptions involved in the various allusions with which any one of them -teems. Yet, to avoid encumbering the present example with any but the -briefest of notes, I must ask leave to refer the reader to the more -general yet detailed chapters I have already written in the main, and -with which, I have reason to hope, I will ere long be able to present -the tales in question. Meanwhile, I would refer likewise to the essay I -have recently prepared for the Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of -American Ethnology, on _Zuñi Creation Myths_ in their relation to -primitive dance and other dramaturgic ceremonies. - -Ever one of my chief story-tellers was Waíhusiwa,--of the priestly kin -of Zuñi. He had already told me somewhat more than fifty of the folk -tales, long and short, of his people, when one night I asked him for -“only one more story of the grandfathers.” Wishing to evade me, he -replied with more show than sincerity: - -“There is a North, and of it I have told you _té-la-p’-na-we_.[27] -There is a West; of it also I have told you _té-la-p’-na-we_. There are -the South and East; of them likewise have I told you _té-la-p’-na-we_. -Even of the Above have I not but lately told you of the youth who made -love to his eagle and dwelt apace in the Sky-world? And of the great -World-embracing Waters? You have been told of the hunter who married the -Serpent-maiden and journeyed to the Mountain of Sunset. Now, therefore, -my word-pouch is as empty as the food-pack of a lost hunter, and--” - - [27] From _té-na-la-a_, “time or times of,” and _pé-na-we_, - words or speeches (tales): “tales of time.” - -“Feel in the bottom of it, then,” interposed old Pálowahtiwa, who was -sitting near, “and tell him of the Underworld.” - -“_Hi-ta!_ [Listen!] brother younger,” said Waíhusiwa, nonplussed but -ever ready. “Did you ever hear tell of the people who could not digest, -having, forsooth, no proper insides wherewithal to do so? Did you ever -hear of them, brother younger?” - -“Nay, never; not even from my own grandfathers,” said I. “_Sons éso_ to -your story; short be it or long.”[28] - - [28] The invariable formula for beginning a folk tale is, by the - raconteur: “_Són ah-tchi!_” (“Let us take up”)--_té-la-p’-ne_, - or “a folk tale,” being understood. To this the auditors or - listeners respond: “_É-so!_” (“Yea, verily.”) Again, by the - raconteur: “_Sons i-nó-o-to-na! Tem_,” etc. (“Let us (tell of) - the times of creation! When,” etc.) Again, by the listeners: - “_Sons éso! Te-ä-tú!_” (“Yea, let us, verily! Be it so.”) - -“_Sons éso tse-ná!_” (“Cool your ‘_sons éso!_’ and wait till _I_ -begin.”)--F. H. C. - - -ZUÑI INTRODUCTION - -It seems--so the words of the grandfathers say--that in the Underworld -were many strange things and beings, even villages of men, long ago. -But the people of those villages were unborn-made,--more like the ghosts -of the dead than ourselves, yet more like ourselves than are the ghosts -of the dead, for as the dead are more finished of being than we are, -they were less so, as smoke, being hazy, is less fine than mist, which -is filmy; or as green corn, though raw, is soft like cooked corn which -is done (like the dead), and as both are softer than ripe corn which, -though raw, is hardened by age (as we are of meat). - -And also, these people were, you see, dead in a way, in that they had -not yet begun to live, that is, as we live, in the daylight fashion. - -And so, it would seem, partly like ourselves, they had bodies, and -partly like the dead they had no bodies, for being unfinished they were -unfixed. And whereas the dead are like the wind, and take form from -within of their own wills (_yän′te-tseman_), these people were really -like the smoke,[29] taking form from without of the outward touching of -things, even as growing and unripe grains and fruits do. - - [29] The Zuñi classification of states of growth or being is as - elaborate as that of relative space in their mythology--both - extremely detailed and systematic, yet, when understood, purely - primitive and simple. The universe is supposed to have been - generated from haze (_shí-wai-a_) produced by light (of the - All-container, Sun-father) out of darkness. The observed analogy - of this in nature is the appearance of haze (both heat and - steam) preceding growth in springtime; the appearance of the - world, of growing and living things, through mist seemingly - rising out of the darkness each morning. In harmony with this - conception of the universe is the correlative one that every - being (as to soul, at least) passes through many successive - states of becoming, always beginning as a _shí-u-na hâ-i_ (haze - being), and passing through the raw or soft (_k’ya-pi-na_), the - formative (_k’yaí-yu-na_), variable (_thlím-ni-na_), fixed or - done (_ak-na_), and finished or dead (_ä-shï-k’ya_) states; - whilst the condition of the surpassing beings (gods) may be any - of these at will (_i-thlim-na_, or _thlim-nah-na_, etc.). There - are many analogies of this observed by the Zuñi, likening, as he - does, the generation of being to that of fire with the - fire-drill and stick. The most obvious of these is the - appearance, in volumes, of “smoke-steam” or haze just previously - to ignition, and its immediate disappearance with ignition. - Further, the succession of beings in the becoming of a complete - being may be regarded as an orderly personification of growth - phenomena as observed in plants and seeds; for example, in corn, - which is characterized by no fewer than thirteen mystic names, - according to its stages of growth. This whole subject is much - more fully and conclusively set forth in the writings to which I - have already referred. - -Well, in consequence, it was passing strange what a state they were in! -Bethink ye! Their persons were much the reverse of our own, for wherein -we are hard, they were soft--pliable. Wherein we are most completed, -they were most unfinished; for not having even the organs of digestion, -whereby we fare lustily, food in its solidity was to them destructive, -whereas to us it is sustaining. When, therefore, they would eat, they -dreaded most the food itself, taking thought not to touch it, and merely -absorbing the mist thereof. As fishes fare chiefly on water, and birds -on air, so these people ate by gulping down the steam and savor of their -cooked things whilst cooking or still hot; then they threw the real food -away, forsooth! - - -THE TALE - -Now, the Twain Little-ones, Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma,[30] were ever -seeking scenes of contention; for what was deathly and dreadful to -others was lively and delightful to them; so that cries of distress were -ever their calls of invitation, as to a feast or dance is the call of a -priest to us. - - [30] For the mythic origin of these two chief gods under the - Sun, as his right- and left-hand being, their relation to - chance, war, games, etc., I again refer the reader to the _Zuñi - Creation Myths_. - -On a day when the world was quiet, they were sitting by the side of a -deep pool. They heard curious sounds coming up through the waters, as -though the bubbles were made by moans of the waters affrighted. - -“Uh!” cried the elder. “What is that?” - -The younger brother turned his ear to the ground and listened. - -“There is trouble down there, dire trouble, for the people of the -Underworld are shrieking war-cries like daft warriors and wailing like -murder-mourners. What can be the matter? Let us descend and see!” - -“Just so!” said Áhaiyúta. - -Then they covered their heads with their cord-shields[31]--turned upside -down--and shut their eyes and stepped into the deep pool. - - [31] _Pi-a-la-we_ (cord or cotton shields), evidently an ancient - style of shield still surviving in the form of sacrificial - net-shields of the Priesthood of the Bow. But the shields of - these two gods were supposed to have been spun from the clouds - which, supporting the sky-ocean, that in turn supported the - sky-world (as this world is believed to be supported by - under-waters and clouds), were hence possessed of the power of - floating--upward when turned up, downward when reversed. - -“Now we are in the dark,” said they, “like the dark down there. Well, -then, by means of the dark let us go down”--for they had wondrous power, -had those Twain; the magic of in-knowing-how thought had they. - -Down, like light through dark places, they went; dry through the -waters; straight toward that village in the Underworld. - -“Whew! the poor wretches are already dead,” cried they, “and -rotting”--for their noses were sooner accustomed to the dark than their -eyes, which they now opened. - -“We might as well have spared ourselves the coming, and stayed above,” -said Áhaiyúta. - -“Nay, not so,” said Mátsailéma. “Let us go on and see how they lived, -even if they are dead.” - -“Very well,” said the elder; and as they fared toward the village they -could see quite plainly now, for they had made it dark (to themselves) -by shutting their eyes in the daylight above, so now they made it light -(to themselves) by opening their eyes in the darkness below and simply -looking,--it was their way, you know. - -“Well, well!” said Mátsailéma, as they came nearer and the stench -doubled. “Look at the village; it is full of people; the more they smell -of carrion the more they seem alive!” - -“Yes, by the chut of an arrow!” exclaimed Áhaiyúta. “But look here! It -is food we smell--cooked food, all thrown away, as we throw away bones -and corn-cobs because they are too hard to eat and profitless withal. -What, now, can be the meaning of this?” - -“What, indeed! Who can know save by knowing,” replied the younger -brother. “Come, let us lie low and watch.” - -So they went very quietly close to the village, crouched down, and -peered in. Some people inside were about to eat. They took fine food -steaming hot from the cooking-pots and placed it low down in wide -trenchers; then they gathered around and sipped in the steam and savor -with every appearance of satisfaction; but they were as chary of -touching the food or of letting the food touch them as though it were -the vilest of refuse. - -“Did you see that?” queried the younger brother. “By the delight of -death,[32] but--” - - [32] _Hé-lu-ha-pa_; from _hé-lu_, or _é-lu_, “hurrah,” or “how - delightful!”--and _há-pa_, a corpse-demon, death. - -“Hist!” cried the elder. “If they are people of that sort, feeding upon -the savor of food, then they will hear the suggestions of sounds better -than the sounds themselves, and the very demon fathers would not know -how to fare with such people, or to fight them, either!” - -Hah! But already the people had heard! They set up a clamor of war, -swarming out to seek the enemy, as well they might, for who would think -favorably of a sneaking stranger under the shade of a house-wall -watching the food of another? Why, dogs growl even at their own -offspring for the like of that! - -“Where? Who? What is it?” cried the people, rushing hither and thither -like ants in a shower. “Hah! There they are! There! Quick!” cried they, -pointing to the Twain, who were cutting away to the nearest hillock. And -immediately they fell to singing their war-cry. - - “_Ha-a! Sús-ki! - Ó-ma-ta - Há-wi-mo-o! - Ó-ma-ta, - Ó-ma-ta Há-wi-mo!_”[33] - -sang they as they ran headlong toward the Two, and then they began -shouting: - -“Tread them both into the ground! Smite them both! Fan them out! _Ho-o! -Ha-a! Há-wi-mo-o ó-ma-ta!_” - - [33] This, like so many of the folk-tale songs, can only be - translated etymologically or by extended paraphrasing. Such - songs are always jargonistic, either archaic, imitative, or - adapted from other languages of tribes who possibly supplied - incidents to the myths themselves; but they are, like the - latter, strictly harmonized with the native forms of expression - and phases of belief. - -But the Twain laughed and quickly drew their arrows and loosed them -amongst the crowd. _P’it! tsok!_ sang the arrows through and through the -people, but never a one fell. - -“Why, how now is this?” cried the elder brother. - -“We’ll club them, then!” said Mátsailéma, and he whiffed out his -war-club and sprang to meet the foremost whom he pummelled well and -sorely over the head and shoulders. Yet the man was only confused (he -was too soft and unstable to be hurt); but another, rushing in at one -side, was hit by one of the shield-feathers and fell to the ground like -smoke driven down under a hawk’s wing. - -“Hold, brother, I have it! Hold!” cried Áhaiyúta. Then he snatched up a -bunch of dry plume-grass and leaped forward. _Swish!_ Two ways he swept -the faces and breasts of the pursuers. Lo! right and left they fell -like bees in a rain-storm, and quickly sued for mercy, screeching and -running at the mere sight of the grass-straws. - -“You fools!” cried the brothers. “Why, then, did ye set upon us? We came -for to help you and were merely looking ahead as becomes strangers in -strange places, when, lo! you come running out like a mess of mad flies -with your ‘_Ha-a sús-ki ó-ma-ta!_’ Call us coyote-sneaks, do you? But -there! Rest fearless! We hunger; give us to eat.” - -So they led the Twain into the court within the town and quickly brought -steaming food for them. - -They sat down and began to blow the food to cool it, whereupon the -people cried out in dismay: “Hold! Hold, ye heedless strangers; do not -waste precious food like that! For shame!” - -“Waste food? Ha! This is the way _we_ eat!” said they, and clutching up -huge morsels they crammed their mouths full and bolted them almost -whole. - -The people were so horrified and sickened at sight of this, that some of -them sweated furiously,--which was their way of spewing--whilst others, -stouter of thought, cried: “Hold! hold! Ye will die; ye will surely -sicken and die if the stuff do but touch ye!” - -“Ho! ho!” cried the Twain, eating more lustily than ever. “Eat thus and -harden yourselves, you poor, soft things, you!” - -Just then there was a great commotion. Everyone rushed to the shelter of -the walls and houses, shouting to them to leave off and follow quickly. - -“What is it?” asked they, looking up and all around. - -“Woe, woe! The gods are angry with us this day, and blowing arrows at -us. They will kill you both! Hurry!” A big puff of wind was blowing -over, scattering slivers and straws before it; that was all! - -“Brother,” said the elder, “this will not do. These people must be -hardened and be taught to eat. But let us take a little sleep first, -then we will look to this.” - -They propped themselves up against a wall, set their shields in front of -them, and fell asleep. Not long after they awakened suddenly. Those -strange people were trying to drag them out to bury them, but were -afraid to touch them now, for they thought them dead stuff, more dead -than alive. - -The younger brother punched the elder with his elbow, and both pretended -to gasp, then kept very still. The people succeeded at last in rolling -them out of the court like spoiling bodies, and were about to mingle -them with the refuse when they suddenly let go and set up a great wail, -shouting “War! Murder!” - -“How now?” cried the Twain, jumping up. Whereupon the people stared and -chattered in greater fright than ever at seeing the dead seemingly come -to life! - -“What’s the matter, you fool people?” - -“_Akaa kaa_,” cried a flock of jays. - -“Hear that!” said the villagers. “Hear that, and ask what’s the matter! -The jays are coming; whoever they light on dies--run you two! _Aii!_ -Murder!” And they left off their standing as though chased by demons. On -one or two of the hindmost some jays alighted. They fell dead as though -struck by lightning! - -“Why, see that!” cried the elder brother--“these people die if only -birds alight on them!” - -“Hold on, there!” said the younger brother. “Look here, you fearsome -things!” So they pulled hairs from some scalp-locks they had, and made -snares of them, and whenever the jays flew at them they caught them with -the nooses until they had caught every one. Then they pinched them dead -and took them into the town and roasted them. “This is the way,” said -they, as they ate the jays by morsels. - -And the people crowded around and shouted: “Look! look! why, they eat -the very enemy--say nothing of refuse!” And although they dreaded the -couple, they became very conciliatory and gave them a fit place to bide -in. - -The very next day there was another alarm. The Two ran out to learn what -was the matter. For a long time they could see nothing, but at last they -met some people fleeing into the town. Chasing after them was a -cooking-pot with earrings of onions.[34] It was boiling furiously and -belching forth hot wind and steam and spluttering mush in every -direction. If ever so little of the mush hit the people they fell over -and died. - - [34] The onion here referred to is the dried, southwestern - leek-clove, which is so strong and indigestible that, when eaten - raw and in quantity, gives rise to great distress, or actually - proves fatal to any but mature and vigorous persons. This, of - course, explains why it was chosen for its value as a symbol of - the vigor (or “daylight perfection” and invincibility) of the - Twin gods. - -“_He!_” cried the Twain; - - “_Té-k’ya-thla-k’ya - Í-ta-wa-k’ya - Äsh′-she-shu-kwa!_ - ---As if food-stuff were made to make people afraid!” Whereupon they -twitched the earrings off the pot and ate them up with all the mush that -was in the pot, which they forthwith kicked to pieces vigorously. - -Then the people crowded still closer around them, wondering to one -another that they could vanquish all enemies by eating them with such -impunity, and they begged the Twain to teach them how to do it. So they -gathered a great council of the villagers, and when they found that -these poor people were only half finished, ... they cut vents in them -(such as were not afraid to let them), ... and made them eat solid food, -by means of which they were hardened and became men of meat then and -there, instead of having to get killed after the manner of the fearful, -and others of their kind beforetime, in order to ascend to the daylight -and take their places in men born of men. - -And for this reason, behold! a new-born child may eat only of wind-stuff -until his cord of viewless sustenance has been severed, and then only by -sucking milk or soft food first and with much distress. - -Behold! And we may now see why, like new-born children are the very -aged; childish withal--_á-ya-vwi_[35];--not only toothless, too, but -also sure to die of diarrhœa if they eat ever so little save the soft -parts and broths of cooked food. For are not the babes new-come from the -_Shi-u-na_[36] world; and are not the aged about to enter the -_Shi-po-lo-a_[37] world, where cooked food unconsumed is never heeded by -the fully dead? - - [35] Dangerously susceptible, tender, delicate. - - [36] Hazy, steam-growing. - - [37] Mist-enshrouded. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE COCK AND THE MOUSE - - -NOTE.--While on their pilgrimage to the “Ocean of Sunrise” in the -summer of 1886, three Zuñis--Pálowahtiwa, Waíhusiwa, and Héluta--with -Mr. Cushing, were entertaining their assembled friends at -Manchester-by-the-Sea with folk tales, those related by the Indians -being interpreted by Mr. Cushing as they were uttered. When Mr. -Cushing’s turn came for a story he responded by relating the Italian -tale of “The Cock and the Mouse” which appears in Thomas Frederick -Crane’s _Italian Popular Tales_. About a year later, at Zuñi, but -under somewhat similar circumstances, Waíhusiwa’s time came to -entertain the gathering, and great was Mr. Cushing’s surprise when he -presented a Zuñi version of the Italian tale. Mr. Cushing translated -the story as literally as possible, and it is here reproduced, -together with Mr. Crane’s translation from the Italian, in order that -the reader may not only see what transformation the original underwent -in such a brief period, and how well it has been adapted to Zuñi -environment and mode of thought, but also to give a glimpse of the -Indian method of folk-tale making.--_Editor._ - - -ITALIAN VERSION - -Once upon a time there were a cock and a mouse. One day the mouse said -to the cock: “Friend Cock, shall we go and eat some nuts on yonder -tree?” “As you like.” So they both went under the tree and the mouse -climbed up at once and began to eat. The poor cock began to fly, and -flew and flew, but could not come where the mouse was. When it saw that -there was no hope of getting there, it said: “Friend Mouse, do you know -what I want you to do? Throw me a nut.” The mouse went and threw one and -hit the cock on the head. The poor cock, with its head all broken and -covered with blood, went away to an old woman. “Old aunt, give me some -rags to cure my head.” “If you will give me two hairs I will give you -the rags.” The cock went away to a dog. “Dog, give me two hairs; the -hairs I will give the old woman; the old woman will give me rags to cure -my head.” “If you will give me a little bread,” said the dog, “I will -give you the hairs.” The cock went away to a baker. “Baker, give me -bread; I will give bread to the dog; the dog will give hairs; the hairs -I will carry to the old woman; the old woman will give me rags to cure -my head.” The baker answered: “I will not give you bread unless you give -me some wood.” The cock went away to the forest. “Forest, give me some -wood; the wood I will carry to the baker; the baker will give me some -bread; the bread I will give to the dog; the dog will give me hairs; the -hairs I will carry to the old woman; the old woman will give me rags to -cure my head.” The forest answered: “If you will bring me a little -water, I will give you some wood.” The cock went away to a fountain. -“Fountain, give me water; water I will carry to the forest; forest will -give wood; wood I will carry to the baker; baker will give bread; bread -I will give dog; dog will give hairs; hairs I will give old woman; old -woman will give rags to cure my head.” The fountain gave him water; the -water he carried to the forest; the forest gave him wood; the wood he -carried to the baker; the baker gave him bread; the bread he gave to the -dog; the dog gave him the hairs; the hairs he carried to the old woman; -the old woman gave him the rags; and the cock cured his head. - - -ZUÑI VERSION - -Thus it was in the Town of the Floods Abounding,[38] long ago. There -lived there an old woman, so they say, of the _Italia-kwe_,[39] who, in -the land of their nativity, are the parental brothers of the Mexicans, -it is said. Now, after the manner of that people, this old woman had a -_Tâkâkâ_ Cock which she kept alone so that he would not fight the -others. He was very large, like a turkey, with a fine sleek head and a -bristle-brush on his breast like a turkey-cock’s too, for the -_Tâkâkâ_-kind were at first the younger brothers of the Turkeys, so it -would seem. - - [38] Venice. - - [39] “Italy-people.” - -Well, the old woman kept her Cock in a little corral of tall close-set -stakes, sharp at the top and wattled together with rawhide thongs, like -an eagle-cage against a wall, only it had a little wicket also fastened -with thongs. Now, try as he would, the old _Tâkâkâ_ Cock could not fly -out, for he had no chance to run and make a start as turkeys do in the -wilds, yet he was ever trying and trying, because he was -meat-hungry--always anxious for worms;--for, although the people of that -village had abundant food, this old woman was poor and lived mainly on -grain-foods, wherefore, perforce, she fed the old _Tâkâkâ_ Cock with the -refuse of her own eatings. In the morning the old woman would come and -throw this refuse food into the corral cage. - -Under the wall near by there lived a Mouse. He had no old grandmother to -feed him, and he was particularly fond of grain food. When, having -eaten his fill, the old Cock would settle down, stiff of neck and not -looking this side nor that, but sitting in the sun _kâ-tâ-kâ-tok-ing_ to -himself, the little Mouse would dodge out, steal a bit of tortilla or a -crumb, and whisk into his hole again. Being sleepy, the _Tâkâkâ_ Cock -never saw him, and so, day after day the Mouse fared sumptuously and -grew over-bold. But one day, when corn was ripe and the Cock had been -well fed and was settling down to his sitting nap, the Mouse came out -and stole a particularly large piece of bread, so that in trying to push -it into his hole he made some noise and, moreover, had to stop and -tunnel his doorway larger. - -The Cock turned his head and looked just as the Mouse was working his -way slowly in, and espied the long, naked tail lying there on the ground -and wriggling as the Mouse moved to and fro at his digging. - -“Hah! By the Grandmother of Substance, it is a worm!” cackled the Cock, -and he made one peck at the Mouse’s tail and bit it so hard that he cut -it entirely off and swallowed it at one gulp. - -The Mouse, squeaking “Murder!” scurried down into his sleeping-place, -and fell to licking his tail until his chops were all pink and his mouth -was drawn down like a crying woman’s; for he loved his long tail as a -young dancer loves the glory of his long hair, and he cried continually: -“_Weh tsu tsu, weh tsu tse, yam hok ti-i-i!_” and thought: “Oh, that -shameless great beast! By the Demon of Slave-creatures, I’ll have my -payment of him! For he is worse than an owl or a night-hawk. They eat -us all up, but he has taken away the very mark of my mousehood and left -me to mourn it. I’ll take vengeance on him, will I!” - -So, from that time the Mouse thought how he might compass it, and this -plan seemed best: He would creep out some day, all maimed of tail as he -was, and implore pity, and thus, perchance, make friends for a while -with the _Tâkâkâ_ Cock. So he took seed-down, and made a plaster of it -with nut-resin, and applied it to the stump of his tail. Then, on a -morning, holding his tail up as a dog does his foot when maimed by a -cactus, he crawled to the edge of his hole and cried in a weak voice to -the _Tâkâkâ_: - - “_Ani, yoa yoa! Itâ-ak’ya Mosa, - Motcho wak’ya, - Oshe wak’ya, - Ethl hâ asha ni ha. Ha na, yoa, ha na!_” - - Look you, pity, pity! Master of Food Substance, - Of my maiming, - Of my hunger, - I am all but dying. Ah me, pity, ah me! - -Whereupon he held up his tail, which was a safe thing to do, you see, -for it no longer looked like a worm or any other eatable. - -Now, the _Tâkâkâ_ was flattered to be called a master of plenty, so he -said, quite haughtily (for he had eaten and could not bend his neck, and -felt proud, withal), “Come in, you poor little thing, and eat all you -want. As if I cared for what the like of you could eat!” So the Mouse -went in and ate very little, as became a polite stranger, and thanking -the Cock, bade him good-day and went back to his hole. - -By-and-by he came again, and this time he brought part of a nutshell -containing fine white meat. When he had shouted warning of his coming -and entered the corral cage, he said: “Comrade father, let us eat -together. Of this food I have plenty, gathered from yonder high nut-tree -which I climb every autumn when the corn is ripe and cut the nuts -therefrom. But of all food yours I most relish, since I cannot store -such in my cellar. Now, it may be you will equally relish mine; so let -us eat, then, together.” - -“It is well, comrade child,” replied the Cock; so they began to eat. - -But the Cock had no sooner tasted the nut than he fairly chuckled for -joy, and having speedily made an end of the kernel, fell to lamenting -his hard lot. “Alas, ah me!” he said. “My grandmother brings me, on rare -days, something like to this, but picked all too clean. There is nought -eatable so nice. Comrade little one, do you have plenty of this kind, -did you say?” - -“Oh, yes,” replied the Mouse; “but, you see, the season is near to an -end now, and when I want more nuts I must go and gather them from the -tree. Look, now! Why do you not go there also? That is the tree, close -by.” - -“Ah me, I cannot escape, woe to me! Look at my wings,” said the Cock, -“they are worn to bristles--and as to the beard on my breast, my chief -ornament, alas! it is all crumpled and uneven, so much have I tried to -fly out and so hard have I pushed against the bars. As for the door, my -grandmother claps that shut and fastens it tightly with thongs, be you -sure, as soon as ever she finishes the feeding of me!” - -“Ha! ha!” exclaimed the Mouse. “If that’s all, there’s nothing easier -than to open that. Look at my teeth; I even crack the hard nuts with -these scrapers of mine! Wait!” He ran nimbly up the wicket and soon -gnawed through the holding-string. “There! comrade father; push open the -door, you are bigger than I, and we will go nutting.” - -“Thanks this day,” cried the Cock, and shoving the wicket open, he ran -forth cackling and crowing for gladness. - -Then the Mouse led the way to the tree. Up the trunk he ran, and climbed -and climbed until he came to the topmost boughs. “Ha! the nuts are fine -and ripe up here,” he shouted. - -But the _Tâkâkâ_ fluttered and flew all in vain; his wings were so worn -he could not win even to the lowermost branches. “Oh! have pity on me, -comrade child! Cut off some of the nuts and throw them down to me, do! -My wings are so worn I cannot fly any better than the grandmother’s old -dog, who is my neighbor over there.” - -“Be patient, be patient, father!” exclaimed the Mouse. “I am cracking a -big one for you as fast as I can. There, catch it!” and he threw a fat -nut close to the Cock, who gleefully devoured the kernel and, without so -much as thanks, called for more. - -“Wait, father,” said the Mouse. “There! Stand right under me, so. Now, -catch it; this is a big one!” Saying which the Mouse crawled out until -he was straight over the Cock. “Now, then,” said he, “watch in front!” -and he let fall the nut. It hit the Cock on the head so hard that it -bruised the skin off and stunned the old _Tâkâkâ_ so that he fell over -and died for a short time, utterly forgetting. - -“_Té mi thlo kô thlo kwa!_” shouted the Mouse, as he hurried down the -tree. “A little waiting, and lo! What my foe would do to me, I to him -do, indeed!” Whereupon he ran across, before ever the Cock had opened an -eye, and gnawed his bristles off so short that they never could grow -again. “There, now!” said the Mouse. “Lo! thus healed is my heart, and -my enemy is even as he made me, bereft of distinction!” Then he ran back -to his cellar, satisfied. - -Finally the Cock opened his eyes. “Ah me, my head!” he exclaimed. Then, -moaning, he staggered to his feet, and in doing so he espied the nut. It -was smooth and round, like a brown egg. When the Cock saw it he fell to -lamenting more loudly than ever: “Oh, my head! _Tâ-kâ-kâ-kâ-â-â!_” But -the top of his head kept bleeding and swelling until it was all covered -over with welts of gore, and it grew so heavy, withal, that the _Tâkâkâ_ -thought he would surely die. So off to his grandmother he went, -lamenting all the way. - -Hearing him, the grandmother opened the door, and cried: “What now?” - -“Oh, my grandmother, ah me! I am murdered!” he answered. “A great, -round, hard seed was dropped on my head by a little creature with a -short, one-feathered tail, who came and told me that it was good to eat -and--oh! my head is all bleeding and swollen! By the light of your -favor, bind my wound for me lest, alas, I die!” - -“Served you right! Why did you leave your place, knowing better?” cried -the old woman. “I will not bind your head unless you give me your very -bristles of manhood, that you may remember your lesson!” - -“Oh! take them, grandmother!” cried the Cock; but when he looked down, -alas! the beard of his breast, the glory of his kind, was all gone. “Ah -me! ah me! What shall I do?” he again cried. But the old woman told him -that unless he brought her at least four bristles she would not cure -him, and forthwith she shut the door. - -So the poor Cock slowly staggered back toward his corral, hoping to find -some of the hairs that had been gnawed off. As he passed the little -lodge of his neighbor, the Dog, he caught sight of old _Wahtsita’s_ fine -muzzle-beard. “Ha!” thought he. Then he told the Dog his tale, and -begged of him four hairs--“only four!” - -“You great, pampered noise-maker, give me some bread, then, fine bread, -and I will give you the hairs.” Whereupon the Cock thought, and went to -the house of a Trader of Foodstuffs; and he told him also the tale. - -“Well, then, bring me some wood with which I may heat the oven to bake -the bread,” said the Trader of Foodstuffs. - -The Cock went to some Woods near by. “Oh, ye Beloved of the Trees, drop -me dry branches!” And with this he told the Trees his tale; but the -Trees shook their leaves and said: “No rain has fallen, and all our -branches will soon be dry. Beseech the Waters that they give us drink, -then we will gladly give you wood.” - -Then the Cock went to a Spring near by,--and when he saw in it how his -head was swollen and he found that it was growing harder, he again began -to lament. - -“What matters?” murmured the Beloved of the Waters. - -Then he told them the tale also. - -“Listen!” said the Beings of Water. “Long have men neglected their -duties, and the Beloved of the Clouds need payment of due no less than -ourselves, the Trees, the Food-maker, the Dog, and the Old Woman. -Behold! no plumes are set about our border! Now, therefore, pay to them -of thy feathers--four floating plumes from under thy wings--and set them -close over us, that, seen in our depths from the sky, they will lure the -Beloved of the Clouds with their rain-laden breaths. Thus will our -stream-way be replenished and the Trees watered, and their Winds in the -Trees will drop thee dead branches wherewith thou mayest make payment -and all will be well.” - -Forthwith the _Tâkâkâ_ plucked four of his best plumes and set them, one -on the northern, one on the western, one on the southern, and one on the -eastern border of the Pool. Then the Winds of the Four Quarters began to -breathe upon the four plumes, and with those Breaths of the Beloved came -Clouds, and from the Clouds fell Rain, and the Trees threw down dry -branches, and the Wind placed among them Red-top Grass, which is light -and therefore lightens the load it is among. And when the Cock returned -and gathered a little bundle of fagots, lo! the Red-top made it so light -that he easily carried it to the Food-maker, who gave him bread, for -which the Dog gave him four bristles, and these he took to the old -Grandmother. - -“Ha!” exclaimed she. “Now, child, I will cure thee, but thou hast been -so long that thy head will always be welted and covered with -proud-flesh, even though healed. Still, it must ever be so. Doing right -keeps right; doing wrong makes wrong, which, to make right, one must -even pay as the sick pay those who cure them. Go now, and bide whither I -bid thee.” - -When, after a time, the Cock became well, lo! there were great, flabby, -blood-red welts on his head and blue marks on his temples where they -were bruised so sore. Now, listen: - -It is for this reason that ever since that time the medicine masters of -that people never give cure without pay; never, for there is no virtue -in medicine of no value. Ever since then cocks have had no bristles on -their breasts--only little humps where they ought to be;--and they -always have blood-red crests of meat on their heads. And even when a hen -lays an egg and a _tâkâkâ_ cock sees it, he begins to _tâ-kâ-kâ-â_ as -the ancient of them all did when he saw the brown nut. And sometimes -they even pick at and eat these seeds of their own children, especially -when they are cracked. - -As for mice, we know how they went into the meal-bags in olden times and -came out something else, and, getting smoked, became _tsothliko-ahâi_, -with long, bare tails. But that was before the Cock cut the tail of the -_tsothliko_ Mouse off. Ever since he cried in agony: “_Weh tsu yii weh -tsu!_” like a child with a burnt finger, his children have been called -_Wehtsutsukwe_, and wander wild in the fields; hence field-mice to this -day have short tails, brown-stained and hairy; and their chops are all -pink, and when you look them in the face they seem always to be crying. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - - -THE GIANT CLOUD-SWALLOWER - -A TALE OF CAÑON DE CHELLY - - -TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION - -Deep down in cañons of the Southwest, especially where they are joined -by other cañons, the traveller may see standing forth from or hugging -the angles of the cliffs, great towering needles of stone--weird, -rugged, fantastic, oftentimes single, as often--like gigantic -wind-stripped trees with lesser trees standing beside them--double or -treble. Seen suddenly at a turn in the cañon these giant stones startle -the gazer with their monstrous and human proportions, like giants, -indeed, at bay against the sheer rock walls, protecting their young, who -appear anon to crouch at the knees of their fathers or cling to their -sides. - -Few white men behold these statuesque stones in the moonlight, or in the -gray light and white mists of the morning. At midday they seem dead or -asleep while standing; but when the moon is shining above them and the -wanderer below looks up to them, lo! the moon stands still and these -mighty crags start forth, advancing noiselessly. His back is frozen, and -even in the yielding sand his feet are held fast by terror--a delicious, -ghostly terror, withal! Still he gazes fascinated, and as the shadow of -the moonlight falls toward him over the topmost crest, lo, again! its -crown is illumined and circled as if by a halo of snow-light, and back -and forth from this luminous fillet over that high stony brow, black -hair seems to tumble and gather. - -Again, beheld in the dawn-light, when the mists are rising slowly and -are waving to and fro around the giddy columns, hiding the cliffs -behind them, these vast pinnacles seem to nod and to waver or to sway -themselves backward and forward, all as silently as before. Soon, when -the sun is risen and the mists from below fade away, the wind blows more -mist from the mesa; you see clouds of it pour from the cliff edge, just -behind and above these great towers, and shimmer against the bright sky; -but as soon as these clouds pass the crag-nests they are lost in the -sunlight around them--lost so fast, as yet others come on, that the -stone giants seem to drink them. - -Of such rocks, according to their variety and local surroundings, the -Zuñis relate many tales which are so ingenious and befitting that if we -believed, as the Zuñis do, that in the time of creation when all things -were young and soft and were therefore easily fashioned by whatever -chanced to befall them--into this thing or that thing, into this plant -or that plant, this animal or that, and so on endlessly through a -dramatic story longer than Shakespeare or the Bible--we would fain -believe also as he does in the quaint incidents of these stories of the -time when all things were new and the world was becoming as we see it -now. - -One of these tales, a variant of others pertaining to particular -standing rocks in the west, south, or east, is told of that wonder to -all beholders, “El Capitan,” of the Cañon de Chelly in the north. No one -who has seen this stupendous rock column can fail to be interested in -the following legend, or will fail to realize how, as this introduction -endeavors to make plainer, the Zuñi poet and philosopher of olden times -built up a story which he verily believed quite sufficient to account -for the great shaft of sandstone and its many details and -surroundings.--F. H. C. - - -Häki Suto, or Foretop Knot, he whose hair was done up over his forehead -like a quail’s crest, lived among the great cliffs of the north long -ago, when the world was new. He was a giant, so tall that men called -him _Lo Ikwithltchunona_, or the Cloud-swallower. A devourer of men was -he,--men were his meat--yea, and a drinker of their very substance was -he, for the cloud-breaths of the beloved gods, and souls of the dead, -whence descend rains, even these were his drink. Wherefore the People of -the Cliffs sought to slay him, and hero after hero perished thuswise. -Wherefore, too, snow ceased in the north and the west; rain ceased in -the south and the east; the mists of the mountains above were drunk up; -the waters of the valleys below were dried up; corn withered in the -fields; men hungered and died in the cliffs. - -Then came the Twin Gods of War, Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma, who in play -staked the lives of foes and fierce creatures. “Lo! it is not well with -our children, men,” said they. “Let us destroy this Häki Suto, the -swallower of clouds,” said they. - -They were walking along the trail which leads southward to the -Smooth-rocks-descending. - -“O, grandchildren, where be ye wending?” said a little, little quavering -voice. They looked,--the younger, then the elder. There on the tip of a -grass-stalk, waving her banner of down-stuff, stood their grandmother, -Spinner of Meshes. - -“The Spider! Our Grandmother Spider!” cried one of the gods to the -other. “Ho! grandmother, was that you calling?” shouted they to her. - -“Yea, children; where wend ye this noon-day?” - -“A-warring we are going,” said they. “Look now! - - “No beads for to broider your awning - Have fallen this many a morning.” - -“Aha, wait ye! Whom ye seek, verily I know him well,” said the -Spider-woman. - - “Like a tree fallen down from the mountain - He lies by the side of the cliff-trail - And feigns to sleep there, yet is wary. - I will sew up his eyes with my down-cords. - Then come ye and smite him, grandchildren.” - -She ran ahead. There lay Häki Suto, his legs over the trail where men -journeyed. Great, like the trunks and branches of pine trees cast down -by a wind-storm, were his legs arching over the pathway, and when some -one chanced to come by, the giant would call out: “Good morning!” and -bid him “pass right along under.” “I am old and rheumatic,” he would -continue, oh, so politely! “Do not mind my rudeness, therefore; run -right along under; never fear, run right along under!” But when the -hunter tried to pass, _kúutsu!_ Häki Suto would snatch him up and cast -him over the cliff to be eaten by the young Forehead-cresters. - -The Spider stepped never so lightly, and climbed up behind his great -ear, and then busily wove at her web, to and fro, up and down, and in -and out of his eyelashes she busily plied at her web. - -“Pesk the birds and buzz creatures!” growled the giant, twitching this -way and that his eyebrows, which tickled; but he would not stir,--for he -heard the War-gods coming, and thought them fat hunters and needs must -feign sleepy. - -And these? Ha! ha! They begin to sing, as was their fearless wont -sometimes. Häki Suto never looked, but yawned and drawled as they came -near, and nearer. “Never mind, my children, pass right along under, pass -right along under; I am lame and tired this morning,” said he. - -Áhaiyúta ran to the left. Mátsailéma ran to the right. Häki Suto sprang -up to catch them, but his eyes were so blinded with cobwebs that he -missed them and feigned to fall, crying: “Ouch! my poor back! my poor -back! Pass right along under, my children, it was only a crick in my -back. Ouch! Oh, my poor back!” But they whacked him over the head and -stomach till he stiffened and died. Then shouting “_So ho!_” they shoved -him over the cliff. - -The Navahos say that the grandmother tied him there by the hair--by his -top-knot--where you see the white streaks on the pillar, so _they_ say; -but it’s the birds that streak the pillar, and _this_ is the way. When -Häki Suto fell, his feet drave far into the sands, and the Storm-gods -rushed in to the aid of their children, the War-gods, and drifted his -blood-bedrenched carcass all over with sand, whence he dried and -hardened to stone. When the young ones saw him falling, they forthwith -flocked up to devour him, making loud clamor. But the Twain, seeing -this, made after them too and twisted the necks of all save only the -tallest (who was caught in the sands with his father) and flung them -aloft to the winds, whereby one became instantly the Owl, who twists her -head wholly around whensoever she pleases, and stares as though -frightened and strangled; and another the Falcon became, who perches -and nests to this day on the crest of his sand-covered father, the Giant -Cloud-drinker. And the Falcons cry ever and ever “’Tis father; O -father!” (“_Tí-tätchu ya-tätchu._”) - -But, fearing that never again would the waters refreshen their cañons, -our ancients who dwelt in the cliffs fled away to the southward and -eastward--all save those who had perished aforetime; they are dead in -their homes in the cliff-towns, dried, like their corn-stalks that died -when the rain stopped long, long ago, when all things were new. - -Thus shortens my story. - - - [Illustration: ZUÑI WOMEN CARRYING WATER - Photo by A. C. Vroman] - - - - -THE MAIDEN THE SUN MADE LOVE TO, AND HER BOYS - -OR, THE ORIGIN OF ANGER - - -Let it be about a person who lived in the Home of the Eagles (K’iákime), -under the Mountain of Thunder, that I tell you today. So let it be. It -was in the ancient, long-forgotten times. It was in the very ancient -times beyond one’s guessing. There lived then, in this town, the -daughter of a great priest-chief, but she had never, never, never since -she was a little child, come forth from the doorway of the house in -which she dwelt. No one there in that town had ever seen her; even her -own townspeople had never seen her. - -Now, day after day at noon-time, when the Sun stood in the mid-heavens, -he would look down from the sky through a little window in the roof of -her house. And he it was who instant was her lover, and who, descending -upon the luminously yellow trail his own rays created, would talk to -her. And he was her only companion, for she knew not her own -townspeople, neither had she seen them since she was a child. None save -only her parents ever saw her. - -“Wonder what the cacique’s child looks like,” the people would say to -one another. “She never comes out; no one has seen her since she was a -little child.” And so at last they schemed to get a look at her. One -said: “I have it! Let us have a dance for her. Then it may be she will -deign to come forth.” - -The young man who spoke was chief of the dances, and why should he not -suggest such a thing? So, his friends and followers agreeing, they began -to make plumes of macaw feathers--beautiful plumes they were--for the -Plume dance. They set a day, and on that day, in the morning, they -danced, with music and song, in the plaza before the house of the great -priest-chief where the girl lived. They looked along the top of the -house in vain; the girl was not there; only her old parents sat on the -roof. - -“Oh! I’m so thirsty!” cried the chief of the dance, for he it was who -wanted to see the girl. - -“Run right in and get a drink,” said the girl’s old ones. So the young -man climbed the ladder and went into the first room. There was no water -there; then he went into the second room, but there was no water there; -then into the third room, but still he found no water. He looked all -around, but saw nothing of the priest-chief’s daughter. All the same, -she was back in the fourth room, sitting there just as if no dance were -going on in the plaza, weaving away at her beautiful trays of colored -splints. - -Well, the young man went back; they finished their dance, but no one saw -anything of the priest-chief’s daughter; and when the dancers all -returned to their ceremonial chamber they said to one another: “Alas! -although we danced for her, she came not out to see us!” - -Now, in reality, the Sun, who was her lover, and came down each day on a -ray of his own light to visit her, loved her so much he would not that -she should come forth from her house and be seen of men. Therefore he -set an Eagle upon the house-top in a great cage to watch her. He was a -very wise old Eagle. He could understand every word that the people -said. And he it was that she fed and watered from day to day. Now, the -dancers in the ceremonial chamber asked: “What shall we do?” - -“Why, let us dance again,” said the chief of the dances, “and if we do -not succeed, yet again.” They did as he said, but with no better success -than before; so at last the two Warrior Priests of the Bow grew angry, -and although they were the girl’s father’s own warriors, they ordered -the Warrior festival, or _Óinahe_ dance. “Surely,” said they, “she will -come forth, and if not, let her perish, for how can she refuse the -delight of the great _Óinahe_, where each young man dances and masks -himself according to his fancy?” - -So, one night the two warriors went out and called to the people to make -ready and be happy, for in four days they should dance the _Óinahe_. -When they had done calling, they descended, and the people said to one -another: “Surely she will come out when we dance the _Óinahe_, for she -will be delighted with it, and we shall yet see her. She was very -beautiful when she was a little girl.” Then both of the warriors -climbed to the top of Thunder Mountain, where Áhaiyúta and his brother, -Mátsailéma, the Gods of War, and their grandmother lived in the middle -of the summit. As they approached the presence of the two gods, they -exclaimed: “_She-e!_” - -“_Hai!_” the gods replied. - -“Our fathers, how is it that ye are, these many days?” they asked, and -the Twain replied: “We are happy. Come in; sit down”; and they placed a -couple of stools for the warriors. “What is it that ye would of us?” -they continued; “for it would be strange if ye came up to our house for -nothing.” - -“True it is,” replied the warriors. “It is in our hearts as your two -chosen children--as the war-priests of our nation--that our people -should be made happy as the days of the year go by; and we therefore -think over all the beautiful dances, and now and then command that the -most fitting of them shall appear. Now, our children, the people of the -Home of the Eagles, are anxious to see our child, the daughter of the -priest-chief, who has not come forth from her house, and whom we have -never seen since she was a little girl. We have thought to order your -dance of the _Óinahe_, and we would that without fail our daughter -should be made to come forth or else die; therefore, our fathers, we -have come to consult ye and to ask your advice.” - -“Aha!” cried the Twain. “Then ye are anxious that this should be, are -ye?” - -“Yes,” they replied. - -“Well, it shall come to pass as ye wish it, and the girl must die if she -come not forth at the bidding of the _Óinahe_!” - -“Aha!” ejaculated they both. “Thanks!” - -“Yea, it shall be as ye wish. Make our days for us--name the times for -preparation, and we shall be with ye to lead the _Óinahe_. The first -time our dance will come forth, and the second time our dance will come -forth, and the third time our dance will come forth, but the fourth time -our dance comes forth, it will happen as ye wish it. It will certainly -be finished as ye wish it.” - -“Well! Thanks; we go!” (good-by). - -“Go ye,” said the gods to their children; and they went. - -The Eagle was very unhappy with all this. He knew it all, for he -understood everything that was said. Next morning he hung his head at -the window with great sadness; so the girl, after she had eaten her -morning meal, took some dainty bits to the window and said: “Why are you -so unhappy? See, I have brought you some food. Eat!” - -“I will not eat; I cannot eat,” replied the Eagle. - -“Why not?” asked she. “I will not harm you; I am happy; I love you just -as much as ever.” - -“Alas, alas! my mother,” said the Eagle. “It is not with thoughts of -myself that I am unhappy, but your father’s two war-priests are anxious -that their children shall be made happy, and their children, the people -of our town under the mountain, are longing to see you. They have said -to one another that you never come forth; they have never seen you. -Therefore they have ordered the _Óinahe_, that you may be tempted out. -They went up to the home of Áhaiyúta and his younger brother, where they -live with their grandmother, on the top of Thunder Mountain, and the two -gods have said to them: ‘It shall come to pass as ye wish it.’ Therefore -they will dance, and on the fourth day of their dancing it shall come to -pass as they wish it. Indeed, it shall happen, my poor mother, that you -shall be no more. Alas! I can do nothing; you can do nothing; why should -I tarry longer with you? You must loosen my bonds and let me free.” - -“As you like,” said the girl. “I suppose it must be as you say.” Then -she loosened the Eagle’s bonds, and, straight as the pathway of an -arrow, away he flew upward into the sky--even toward the zenith where -the Sun rested at noon-time, and whither he soon arrived himself. - -“Thou comest,” said the Sun. - -“I do, my father. How art thou these many days?” said the Eagle to the -Sun. - -“Happy. Here, sit down.” There was a blanket already placed for him, and -thereupon he sat; but he never looked to the right nor to the left, nor -yet about the Sun-father’s splendid home. He said not a word. He only -drooped his head, so sad was he. - -“What is it, my child?” asked the Sun. “I suppose thou hast some -errand, else why shouldst thou come? Surely it is not for nothing that -thou wouldst come so far to see me.” - -“Quite true,” answered the Eagle. “Alas! my child; alas, my mother! Day -after day down in the home under the mountain the people dance that they -may tempt her forth; yet she has never appeared. So her father’s -war-priests are angry and have at last been to see the Twain in their -home on Thunder Mountain, and the Twain have commanded that soon it -shall come to pass as the people wish or that our beautiful maiden shall -perish. Even tomorrow it shall be; so have the Twain said; and when the -fourth dance comes out it shall come to pass, and our beautiful maiden -shall be no more; thus have the Twain said. I cannot enrich my mother, -the daughter of the priest-chief, thy beautiful child, with words of -advice, with aid of mine own will; hence come I unto thee. What shall I -do?” - -“What shalt thou do?” repeated the Sun. “I know it is all as thou hast -said. Know I not all these things? The Twain, whose powers are surpassed -only by mine own, have they not commanded that it shall be? What shalt -thou do but descend at once? Tell her to bathe herself and put on her -finest garments tomorrow morning. Then, when the time comes, mount her -upon thy shoulders and bear her up to me. Only possibly thou wilt have -the great good fortune to reach my house with her. Possibly in thy -journey hither it shall come to be, alas! as the Twain have said; for -have not they said it should be, and are they not above all things else -powerful?” - -“Well, we’ll try to come.” - -“But I will watch thee when thou art about to reach the mid-heavens.” - -“Well, I go,” said the Eagle, rising. - -“Very well,” responded the Sun; “happily mayest thou journey.” And the -Eagle began to descend. - -Meanwhile the daughter of the priest-chief opened the sky-hole and -placed a sacred medicine-bowl half full of water on the floor where the -sunlight would shine into it, and where it would reflect the sky, and -there she sat looking intently down into the water. By-and-by the Eagle -came in sight, and she saw his shadow in the water. - -Just then the Sun drew his shield from his face. Oh! how hot it was down -there on the earth. The sky was ablaze with light, and no one dared to -look at it; and the sands grew so hot that they burned the moccasins of -those who walked upon them. Everybody ran into the houses, and the Eagle -spread his wings and gently descended, for he too was hot. And when he -came near to the house, the girl let him in and welcomed him. - -“Thou comest, father,” said she. - -He only drooped his head and flapped his wings, unable even to speak, so -hot was he. - -She saw that he was near to fainting. Therefore she fanned him--made -cool wind for him with the basket tray and her mantle--and sprinkled -cold water upon his head. - -“Thou hast been to the home of our father?” she asked, when he had -recovered. - -“Yes,” replied the Eagle. - -“What has he advised that we should do?” asked she. - -“This,” said the Eagle; “tomorrow morning at the dawn of day thou wilt -arise and bathe thyself. Then at sunrise thou shalt put on thy finest -garments. The dance will come forth; and then it will come forth the -second time, and the third time, and again it will come the fourth time. -Then I will mount thee upon my shoulders and bear thee away toward the -Sun, who will be waiting for us. It may be that we shall have the good -fortune to reach his home; and it may be that we shall get only a little -way when everything shall come to pass unhappily and thou wilt be no -more.” That is what he said to her. - -It grew night. The girl collected all the basket-trays that she had made -for her father’s sacred plumes; these by the fire-light she spread out, -and then began to divide them into different heaps. - -Now, her parents, who were sitting in the next room, heard her until it -was late at night, and they said to each other: “Wonder what it is that -keeps our daughter up?” So the old priest-chief arose and entered her -room. - -“My child, art thou not at rest yet?” asked he. - -“No,” replied she. “I am dividing the trays I have made for thee. -These,” said she, pointing to a heap of yellow ones, “shall pertain to -the north-land; these, the blue, to the west-land; the red to the land -of the south, the white to the east, the variegated to the upper -regions, and the black to the regions below. For tomorrow, beloved -father, thou shalt see me no more.” - -“It is well,” said the father, for he was a great priest and knew the -will of the gods, and to this he always said: “It is well. What, -therefore, should I say?” So the old man left her. - -Then as morning approached she bathed herself. And the Eagle, looking -down, said: “My child, my mother, lie down and rest thyself, for we are -about to undertake a long journey. Never fear; I will wake thee at the -right time.” So she lay down and slept. The Eagle perched himself above -her and watched for the dawn. - -By-and-by the great star arose. Then he knew that the Sun would soon -follow it, and he said: “Mother, arise! dress thyself, for the time is -near at hand.” - -Outside on the house-tops called the two war-priests to their children: - - “Hasten, hasten! Prepare for the dance! - Hasten, hasten! Eat for the dance! - Hasten, hasten, our children all!” - -Then the girl went into another room and brought forth her finest -dresses, and these, garment after garment, she put on--not one dress, -but many. Upon her shoulders she placed four mantles of snow-white -embroidered cotton. Then she said to the Eagle: “Wait a moment; I have -yet to think of our children in the Home of the Eagles.” Therefore she -brought forth her basket-bowls of fine meal with which she had been -accustomed to powder her face. There was meal of the yellow corn, the -blue corn-meal, the red corn-meal, the white corn-meal, the speckled -corn-meal, and the black corn-meal. “See,” said she, as she regarded the -various vessels of meal; “my children, by means of these shall ye -beautify flesh; by means of these be precious against evil; by means of -these shall ye finish preciously your roads of life. I am to be no more. -Far off and to an unknown region go I. Possibly I may reach it, and -live; probably not reach it, and die. These do I leave as your -inheritance. My children, good-by.”[40] - - [40] The maiden here addresses mankind generally. - -Then the Eagle descended. The drum began to sound outside; the dance was -coming--for the first time, mind you, not the fourth. Then said the -Eagle, as he lowered himself: “Place thyself upon my back; grasp me by -the shoulders.” And the girl did as she was bidden. She reclined herself -lengthwise on the back of the Eagle, and grasped with her left hand his -shoulders. “Now, place one foot on one of my thighs and the other on the -other.” She placed one foot on one of his thighs and the other on the -other; and the Eagle spread his tail and raised it that she might not -fall off. “All ready?” asked he, as the drum of the coming dance sounded -outside. - -“Yes,” said the girl; and they arose. - -“Open the wicket!” and _shoa!_ the Eagle spread his wings and away off -up into the sky he sprang with the maiden. Round and round, round and -round, they circled in the sky, but those below saw nothing as they -danced in the shadows of the great houses. The dancers retired. Then -they came forth again. Again they retired and came forth. Then the girl -said: “Father, slower. Let me sing a farewell song to my people, my -children of Earth, that they may know I am going.” - -The Eagle spread his wings and sailed gently through the air as the -maiden sang. Then the people in the plaza below heard the song, and -said: “Alas, alas! ye Twain!” said they to the two gods who led the -dance. “Our mother, our child, away off through the skies goes she! Ye -are fools that ye have let her escape and deceive us!” - -Some listened to the song and learned it. Others did not. For the third -time the dancers came forth. “Once more have we to dance,” said the two -gods. “Where are they now?” - -“In the mid-heavens,” said the people. - -“Take it easily, my child,” said the Eagle. “Once more are they to come -forth. Possibly we will yet have the great good fortune to reach the -home of our father.” And they sped along through the air, nearer and -nearer to the home of the Sun-father, while the dancers below danced -harder and harder--many so joyful that they listened not to the -complainings of the people around, but danced only more vigorously. - -Then the dancers retired and came out for the fourth and last time. In -the van danced the two gods, their faces blackened with the paint of -war, their hands bearing bows and arrows with which to destroy the -daughter of the priest-chief. - -Yes, they were almost there. Now, the Eagle’s heart was high with hope. -When the two gods below reached the center of the plaza they turned to -the people and asked: “Where are they? Where have they gone?” - -“There they are in the skies--almost there,” replied the people. - -“Humph!” responded the gods. “Suppose they _are_ almost there; they -shall never reach the home of our father!” - -“Now, then, hurry, brother younger!” exclaimed the elder; “with which -hand wilt thou draw the arrow?” - -“With thy hand, my right,” said the younger. - -“Very well; with thy hand, my left,” said the elder.[41] - - [41] The twin children of the Sun were, in the days of creation, - the benignant guardians of men; but when the world became filled - with envy and war, they were changed by the eight gods of the - storms into warriors more powerful than all monsters, gods, or - men. The elder one was right-handed, the younger, left-handed; - hence the form of expression here used. - -So they drew their medicine-pointed arrows to the heads. _Tsi-ni-i-i!_ -sang the arrows as they shot through the air. Soon they reached the home -of the Sun, crossed one another over his face, and shot downward more -swiftly than ever toward the coming Eagle and the maiden. “Alas! my -mother, my child,” said the Sun as the arrows flew past him and from -him, “thou art no more.” And the arrows shot downward on their course. - -_Tsook!_ sang the arrow of the elder god as it pierced the back of the -girl and entered her heart. _Tso-ko!_ sang the arrow of the younger as -it struck in the middle of her back. - -“Alas! my mother, my mother,” cried the Eagle, “it is over, alas, alas!” -said he, as she released her hold, and, fainting, he left her to fall -through the air. Over and over, this way and that, fell the beautiful -maiden; and as the people strained their eyes, nearer and nearer to the -town neath the mountain she fell. Soon, over and over, this way and -that, she came falling even with the top of the mountain. - -Then the people rushed past one another out of the plaza toward the -place where they thought she would strike. And just over there below the -Home of the Eagles, where the Waters of the Coyote gush forth from the -cliff-base, fell the beautiful maiden. - -Then there were born twin children--two wee infants who rolled off into -the rubbish and were concealed under sticks and stones. - -Down rushed the people, and an Acoma spectator seized her body. “Mine!” -cried he, triumphantly, as he raised the body above him. - -“Thine!” cried the people, for they had lost the beautiful maiden. - -“Ours!” cried the Acomas, one to another, who had come to witness the -dances. “Great good fortune this day has smiled on us.” And they bore -her body away to their pueblo in the east. - -Now, under the other end of Thunder Mountain was the home of the -Badgers, and an old Badger who lived there was out hunting. After the -people had again gathered in the city, he passed near the Waters of the -Coyote and heard the voices of the infants crying among the rubbish. - -“Ah!” said he, “I hear the cry of children. My little boys, my little -girls,” cried he, “whichever ye may be”; and he hastily searched and -found them where they were rolling about and crying among the refuse. -“Twins!” cried he. “Boys! Somebody has left them here. Soon he will come -back to reclaim them. Let me walk away for a few moments.” - -So he walked all around, but found no traces of the parents, only the -tracks of many men who had gathered near. - -“Mine!” said he, as he trotted back; and with soft grass he rubbed them -till they were free from the mud and refuse. “Thanks, thanks! Splendid! -Children have I, and boys at that, and when I am older grown they will -take from me the cares of the chase. Goodness! Thanks! Nothing but boys -shall be my children!” So he rubbed them dry and clean with more soft -grass, and they stopped crying. Then he took some dry grass and made a -bundle and put them in it, and started off for his home in the Red -Hills. - -The old Badger-woman was up on top of their house looking around, -running back and forth and jumping in and out of her doorway. “Hai!” -said she; “thou comest?” - -“Yes, hurry!” said the old Badger. “Come down and meet me.” - -“What have you?” asked the Badger-woman, as she ran down to meet him. - -“What have I,” said the old Badger, “but a couple of wee little -children! Here, take them and carry them up to the house.” - -So the old woman took the bundle of grass and opened it and began to -fondle the children. “O my poor little children; poor little babes!” -said she. - -“Ah! stop playing with them and hurry along!” commanded the old Badger. - -So the old woman hurried up to their doorway as fast as possible and ran -in. The old Badger followed, and she said to him: “Where in the world -did you get these little children?” - -“Why,” replied he, “I had the greatest luck in the world. I was out -hunting, you know, and found these two little fellows down in Coyote -Cañon, just this side of those men’s houses. They’re boys, both of them. -When they grow up, old wife, perhaps they can hunt for us, and then I -shall rest myself from the labors of the hunt, with plenty of meat for -you and me every day of the year. What are you standing there for?” said -he. “Why don’t you go and get them something to eat and make them a -bed?” - -“Oh, yes!” responded the old woman. “My poor little children!” So she -made a little nest at the bottom of the hole and laid them on it. Then -she ran and fetched some green-corn ears and, picking the kernels off, -made some gruel of them, and fed the little fellows. So the boy babies -ate till they kicked their heels with satisfaction, and that night the -old Badger-mother took one in her arms and slept with it, and the old -Badger-father slept with the other. - -Now, every day they grew as much as the children of men do in a year, so -that in eight days they were as large and knew as much as children -usually do in eight years. There was no little animal that they could -not kill unfailingly, for they were the children of the Sun, you know. -But, alas! they grew weary of killing birds around their doorway, and -their old father kept telling them every morning never to go out of -sight of their house; and the old woman kept watching them always for -fear that they would run off and get lost, or somebody would find and -claim them. Yes, they grew impatient of this. They wanted to kill -prairie-dogs and cottontails, but they could not get near enough to -them. So one night when the old Badger came home they said to him: -“Father, come now; do make us some bows and arrows so that we can hunt -rabbits, and you and mother can have all that you want to eat.” - -“All right,” replied the old man. And the next day he went off to the -Cañon of the Woods, and somehow he managed to cut down a small oak and -get a lot of branches for arrows. He brought these home, and that night -with a piece of flint, little by little he managed to make each of the -boys a bow and some arrows. But when he tried to put feathers on the -arrows he was very awkward (for you know badgers don’t have fingers like -men), so he had to take a single feather for each arrow and split it -and twist it around the butt of the shaft. That very night, do you know, -it snowed; yes, a great deal of snow fell, and the little fellows looked -out and said to each other and to the old Badgers: “Now then, tomorrow -we will go rabbit-hunting.” - -“O mother, make a lunch for us!” they exclaimed. - -“Where are you going?” asked the old woman. - -“We are going out among the hills and down on the plains where the trees -grow, to hunt rabbits.” - -“O my poor little boys! What will you do?--you will freeze to death, for -you have no clothes and no wool grows on your backs.” - -“Well, mother, we’re tough. We will get up tomorrow and wait until the -sun shines warm--then we can go hunting.” - -“How in the world will you carry your food? You have no blanket to wrap -it in.” - -“Oh, you just make some corn-cakes,” answered the boys, “and string them -on a little stick, and we can take hold of the middle of the stick and -carry them just as well as not.” - -“_Hi-ta!_” cried the old woman. “Listen, father.” So she made the -corn-cakes and strung them on little sticks, and the two boys went to -bed. But they couldn’t sleep very well, being so impatient to go hunting -rabbits, and they kept waking each other and peeping out to see how long -it would be before daylight. - -In the morning the old Badger got up early and collected a lot of bark -which he rubbed until it was soft, and then he wove the boys each a -curious pair of moccasins that would come half-way up to the knees. So -the elder brother put on his moccasins and ran out into the snow. -“_U-kwatchi!_” exclaimed he. “First rate!” So the other little boy put -on his bark moccasins, and they took their strings of corn-cakes and -bows and arrows, and started off as fast as they could. Well, they went -off among the hills at the foot of Thunder Mountain. It was only a -little while ere they struck a rabbit trail, and the first arrow they -shot killed the rabbit. So they kept on hunting until they had a large -number of rabbits and began to get tired. Although there was snow on the -ground, the sun was very warm, so they soon forgot all about it until -they began to grow hungry, and then they looked up and saw that it was -noon-time, because the sun was resting in the mid-heavens. So they went -up on top of a high hill, and carried their rabbits there one by one, to -find a place where the snow was shallow. Here they brushed a space clear -of the snow, and, depositing the rabbits, sat down to eat their -corn-cakes, which they laid on a bundle of grass. While they sat there -eating, the Sun looked down and pitied his two poor little children. -“Wait a bit,” said he to himself, “I’ll go down and talk to the little -fellows, and help them.” So by his will alone he descended, and lo! he -stood there on the earth just a little way from the two boys,--grand, -beautiful, sublime. Upon his body were garments of embroidered cotton; -fringed leggings covered his knees, and he was girt with many-colored -girdles; buckskins of bright leather protected his feet; bracelets and -strings of wampum ornamented his neck and arms; turquoise earrings hung -from his ears; beautiful plumes waved over his head; his long, glossy -hair was held with cords of many colors, into which great plumes of -macaw feathers were stuck. Fearful, wonderful, beautiful, he stood. -Suddenly one of the boys looked up and saw the Sun-father standing -there. - -“Blood!” cried he to the other. “_Ati!_ Somebody’s coming!” - -“Where?” asked the other. “Where?” - -“Right over there!” - -“_Ati!_” he exclaimed. - -Then the Sun, with stately step, approached them, dazzling their eyes -with his beauty and his magnificent dress. So the poor little fellows -huddled together and crouched their knees close to their bodies (for -they had no clothes on), and watched him, trembling, until he came near. -Then one of them said faintly: “Comest thou?” as though he just -remembered it. - -“Yea, I do, my children,” said the Sun. “How are ye these many days?” - -“Happy,” responded they; but they were almost frightened out of their -wits, and kept looking first at the Sun-father and then at each other. - -“My children,” said the Sun-father tenderly, “ye are my own children; I -gave ye both life.” But they only gazed at him, not believing what he -said. - -“Ye are both mine own children,” he repeated. - -“Is that so?” replied they. - -“Yea, that is true; and I saw ye here, and pitied ye; so I came to speak -with ye and to help ye.” - -“_Hai!_” exclaimed they. But they still looked at each other and at the -Sun-father, and did not believe him. - -“Yea, ye are verily my children,” continued the Sun. “I am your own -father. Around Thunder Mountain there is a city of men. It is called the -Home of the Eagles, and there once lived a beautiful maiden who never -left her home, but was always shut in her room. Day after day at midday, -just at this time, I came down and visited her in my own sunlight. And a -great Eagle always stood and watched her. Now, the townspeople grew -anxious to see her, so they danced day after day their most beautiful -dances, hoping to entice her to come forth; but she never looked out. So -her father’s warriors went to the home of Áhaiyúta and his younger -brother, Mátsailéma, where they lived with their grandmother, on the -middle of Thunder Mountain, and the Twain said that they would go with -them and compel her to come forth. Therefore, one day they went and led -the dance of the Óinahe. Yet, although they danced four times, she would -not come forth, but tried to escape to my home in the heavens on the -back of her Eagle; so the two gods shot her, and she fell down the -cañon. Then it was that ye two, my children, were born and rolled among -the bushes. Now, the people ran down from the village to strive for -your mother’s body, and an Acoma got her and carried her away to the -home of his people. An old Badger found ye and brought ye home to his -wife, and that is the way ye came to live in the home of the Badgers.” - -Still the little ones did not believe him. - -“Look!” said the Sun-father. “See what I have brought ye!” Then he -continued: “Wait; in eight days, in the Home of the Eagles, where your -aunts live in the house of your mother’s father, there will be a great -dance. Go ye thither. Ye will climb up a crooked path and enter the town -through a road under the houses. Do not go out at once into the plaza, -but wait until the dancers come out. Then step forth, and over to the -left of the plaza ye will see your grandfather’s house. It is the -greatest house in the city, and the longest ladder leads up to it, and -fringes of hair ornament its poles. On the roof ye will see, if the day -be warm, two noisy macaws, and there ye will see your mother’s -sisters--your own aunts. When ye go into the plaza the people will rush -up to ye and say: ‘Whither do ye come, friends? Will ye not join in the -dance?’ And ye must say ye will, and then your aunts will come down and -dance for the first time, because they are the most beautiful maidens in -the pueblo, and very proud. But they will take hold of your hands and -dance with ye, and when they have done will ask ye to come into their -house; and ye must go. - -“Now, the one who sits over in the northern corner is the first sister -of your mother, therefore your mother; and the one who sits next to her -is your next mother, and so on. There will be eight of them, and the -youngest will be like a sister unto ye. They will place stools for ye, -and ye must sit down and call them aunts. They will say: ‘Certainly, we -are the aunts of all good boys in the cities of men who are not our -enemies.’ And then ye must tell them that they are your real aunts, that -this is your house, that your mother used to live there--was the maiden -who never went out, but always sat making beautiful basket-trays of -many-colored splints. Then ye must lead them into the next room, and the -next, and then into the next one, and point to the beautiful -basket-trays on the walls. There on the northern wall will hang a yellow -tray, on the west wall will hang a blue one, and on the south wall, a -red tray, then on the east wall will hang a white tray, and fastened to -the ceiling will be a tray of many colors, while a black one will stand -under the floor. And then ye must point to the trays and say: ‘These our -mother made.’ Then they will believe and embrace ye and will not want to -let ye go; but after ye have sat and eaten with them, ye must come back -to the home of the Badgers. And the next day ye must go to Acoma to get -your mother. Just before ye arrive at the town of Acoma ye will meet an -old, wrinkled hag carrying a big bundle of wood on her back. Ye must -call her ‘grandmother’ and greet her pleasantly. She will tell ye she is -the dance-priestess of Acoma. Then ye must ask her why she, a woman, -comes out to gather wood, and she will reply that she gets the wood to -make a light. Then ask her why she wishes a light, and she will say to -ye that day after day she lights a fire in her ceremonial chamber and -that when she reaches home with her wood the young men of her clan come -together and give her food, and that at night she takes the wood to the -ceremonial chamber and then sits on a stone seat by the side of the -fireplace and builds a fire; that the young men gather in the chamber -and prepare for a dance. And when they are ready she takes the bones of -your mother from a niche in the west end of the chamber and distributes -them among the young men, who carry them in the dance. She gives the -skull to the first one, the breast-bone to the next, the ribs to -another, and so on until they all have bones to carry in the dance. When -the dance is over, she goes around and takes all the bones back again -and replaces them in the niche. Then the young men depart for their -homes, but some of them sleep there in the chamber, and then she lies -down to sleep and to keep guard over the bones. - -“Now, when she has told ye these things, ye must ask her if that is all. -If she says ‘Yes,’ kill her; then skin her, and the younger brother must -wave his hands over her skin and put it on, and he will look just like -the old woman. And he must climb up to the town of the Acomas and enter -and do just as the old woman said that she did. - -“Now, after the dance is over and he has taken back all of the bones -and replaced them in the niche, he must lie down and pretend to sleep, -and some of the young men will go home; others will sleep there. When -they all begin to snore, he must gather all the bones, and the two dried -eyes, and the heart of his mother, and bring them away as fast as ever -he can to where his brother waits. And when he gets there,--lo! she will -come to life again and be just as she was before she was killed by the -Twain. Now, mind, ye must not leave a single bone nor any part, for if -ye do, your mother will lack that when she comes to life again.” - -“Very well,” replied the boys, “we will do as you have told us; -certainly we will.” - -“Now, I have given ye with your birth the power to slay all game; but -mind that not a single rabbit, nor deer, nor antelope, nor mountain -sheep, nor elk--though he be the finest ye have ever seen--shall ye -slay, for in that case ye shall perish with your mother.” - -So the two boys promised they would not. “Of course we will not,” said -the younger brother. “When one’s father commands him, can he disobey?” - -“Come hither,” said the Sun-father to the younger brother. “Stand here.” -So the little boy did as he was bidden. - -“Lift up thy foot.” Then the Sun-father drew off the moccasin of bark -and put beautiful fringed leggings upon it, and replaced the bark -moccasins with buskins like his own, and tied up the leggings with -many-colored garters, and dressed him as he was dressed, and placed a -beautiful quiver upon his back. But the poor little boys were -dark-colored, and their hair was tangled and matted over their heads. -Then the Sun-father turned himself about as if to summon some unseen -messenger, and created a great warm cloud of mist, with which he -cleansed the boys, and lo! their skins became smooth and clear, and -their hair fell down their backs in wavy masses. Then the Sun-father -arranged the younger brother’s hair and placed a plume therein like his -own, and beautiful plumes on his head. - -“There,” said he to the elder; “look at thy younger brother.” But the -poor little fellow was covered with shame, and dared only steal glances -at his brother and the Sun-father. Then the Sun-father dressed the other -like the first. - -“_Ti!_” exclaimed they, as they looked at each other and at the -Sun-father. - -“You are just like Him,” they said to each other. But still they did not -call him father. Then they fell to conversing. - -“Why; he must be our father!” said they to each other. “Mother’s face -has a black streak right down the middle of it, and father’s face is -just like it, except that his chin is grizzly.” Then they knew that the -Sun was their father, and they thanked him for his goodness. - -Then said the Sun-father to them: “Mind what I have told ye, my -children. I must go to my home in the heavens. Happy may ye always be. -Ye are my children; I love ye, and therefore I came to help ye. Run -home, now, for your father and mother who reared ye--the Badgers--are -awaiting your coming. They will not know ye, so ye must roll up your -bark moccasins and take along your strings of corn-cakes together with -the rabbits ye have slain.” - -“How can we carry them?” asked they; “for they are heavy.” - -Then the Sun-father turned about and passed his hands gently over the -heap of dead rabbits. “Lift them now,” said he to the children; and when -they tried to lift them, lo! they were as light as dry grass-stalks. So -they bade their father farewell and started home. When they had gone a -little way they stopped to look around, but their father was nowhere to -be seen. - -Sure enough, when they neared home there were the two old Badgers -running around their hole, and the old Badger-father was just getting -ready to go out and search, for fear that they had perished from cold. -He had just gone down to get some rabbit-skins and other things with -which to wrap them, when the old woman, who was up above, shouted down: -“Hurry, come out! Somebody is coming!” - -“Look!” said one of the children to the other. “There’s our poor mother -waiting for us. Hurry up! Let’s run, or else our father will come out -searching for us.” - -As they approached they called out: “Poor mother, here you are in the -cold waiting for us.” But she did not recognize them, and only hid her -face in her paws from shame, for they were too beautiful to look -upon--just like the Sun-father. - -“Don’t you know us, mother?” asked the Two to the old woman just as the -old Badger came out. - -“No!” answered she. - -“Why, we are your children!” - -“Ah! my children did not look like you!” - -“We are they! Look here!” said they, and they showed the bark moccasins -and the strings of corn-cakes. - -“Our poor children!” - -“Yes, our father is no other than the Sun-father, and he came down to -speak to us today, and he dressed us as you see, just like himself, and -he said that our mother used to live over in the Home of the Eagles, -that our aunts still live there, and our grandfather, and that our -mother used to live there, but the Twain killed her as she was trying to -escape on the back of an Eagle. And when she fell into the Cañon of the -Coyote we were born, and father here found us and you both reared us.” - -“Yes, that is very true,” said the old Badger. “I know it all; and I -know, too, that there will be a dance at the Home of the Eagles in eight -days. Tomorrow there will be only seven left, and when the eighth day -comes you will both go there to see it. Come up and come down,” said he. - -So the two entered, but they were ill at ease in their clothes, which -they were not used to. And when the old mother had placed soft -rabbit-skins on the floor, they doffed their clothing and carefully -laid it away. Then the whole family ate their evening meal. - -“Keep count for us, father, and when the time comes, let us know,” said -the boys. - -So the days passed by until the day before the dance, and that morning -the old Badger said to the Two: “Tomorrow the dance will come.” - -“Very well,” replied they; “let us go out and hunt today, that you and -mother may have something to eat.” So they went forth, and in the -evening came back with great numbers of rabbits; and the old mother -skinned the rabbits and put some of them to cook over night, so that her -children might eat before starting for the town under Thunder Mountain. - -At sunrise next morning both dressed themselves carefully, put on their -plumes, and started on the pathway that leads around the mountain. They -passed the village of K’yátik’ia on their way, and the people marvelled -greatly at their beauty and their magnificent dress. And so they -followed the road through the Cañon of the Coyotes, thence by the -crooked pathway and the covered road under the house into the court of -K’iákime. Just as the Sun-father had told them, they found everything -there. There was the great house with the tall ladder and the two -macaws, and there were the young maidens, their aunts, sitting on the -house-top. - -And as the dancers came into the court they stepped forward, and then it -was that the people first saw and hailed them. The chief of the dance -came forward and asked them whither they came and if they would not join -in the dance. So they assented and came forward to the center of the -plaza, and as they began to dance, the young girls arose and the dance -chiefs went and escorted them to the dance plaza. - -Although they told them, “Dance here,” they did not obey. They ran right -over to where the two young men were dancing, and took hold of their -hands just as the Sun-father had told them it would come to pass. And, -in fact, everything happened just as he had said. Yes, they all ran down -and grasped the two boys’ hands, and when the dance was over and they -let go, they said to the two handsome young strangers: “Come up; come -in.” - -“It is well,” said the two young men. So they all went up into the house -and sat down. Now, all these girls were young, and they were very much -pleased with the young men. In fact the two youngest were in love with -them already; so they smiled and made themselves very pleasant. Then the -first brother arose and went over to the eldest one, and said: -“Mother-aunt.” - -“What is it?” she replied, “for of course throughout the cities of men -we, as the daughters of a great priest, are the mothers of -children,”--and so on until they came to the last and youngest one, whom -they called “little mother-aunt,” and she also replied that, however -young they might be, still they might be counted the mothers of the -children of men. - -“No, verily, ye are our parents,” replied the Twain. “Beyond this room -is another, and beyond that another, and beyond that yet another where -lived our mother, who never went forth from her house, but sat day after -day making sacred trays. And there even now, according to the colors of -the parts of the world hang her trays on the wall.” - -And so, as the Sun had told them, they finished their story. Then the -people were convinced, and sent for the grandfather, the great -priest-chief, and when he came they all embraced their new children, -admiring greatly their straight, smooth limbs and abundant hair. Then -the grandfather dressed them in some of the beautiful ornaments their -mother used to wear, and when evening approached they feasted them. And -after the meal was over, as the Sun was setting, the two boys arose and -said, “We must go.” - -“Stay with us, stay with us,” the young girls and the grandfather said. -“Why should you go away from your home? This is your own home.” - -“No; we said to our mother and father, the Badgers, that we would return -to them; therefore we must go,” urged the boys. So at last they -consented and wished them a happy journey. - -“Fear not,” said the Two as they started, “for we shall yet go and get -our mother. Even tomorrow we shall go to Acoma where the people dance -day after day in her memory.” Then they departed and returned to the -place of the Badgers. - -When they arrived at home, sure enough, there were their Badger-mother -and Badger-father awaiting them outside their holes. - -“Oh, here you are!” they cried. - -“Yes; how did you come unto the evening?” - -“Happily!” replied the old ones. “Come in, come in!” So they entered. - -When they had finished eating, the elder brother said: “Mother, father, -look ye! Tomorrow we must go after our mother to Acoma. Make us a -luncheon, and we will start early in the morning. We are swift runners -and shall get there in one day; and the next day we will start back; and -the next day, quite early, we will come home again with our mother.” - -“Very well,” replied the Badger-father; “it is well.” But the -Badger-mother said, “Oh! my poor children, my poor boys!” - -So, early next morning, the Badger-mother rolled up some sweet -corn-cakes in a blanket, for she did not have to string them now, and -together the Twain started up the eastern trail. Their father, the Sun, -thought to help them; therefore he lengthened the day and took two steps -only at a time, until the two boys had arrived at the Springs of the -Elks, almost on the borders of the Acoma country. Then, with his usual -speed journeyed the Sun-father toward the Land of Night; and the two -boys continued until they arrived within sight of the town of the -Acomas--away out there on top of a mountain. Sure enough, there was an -old hag struggling along under a load of wood, and as the two brothers -came up to her they said: “Ha, grandmother, how are you these many -days?” - -“Happy,” replied the old woman. - -“Why is it that you, a woman, and an old woman, have to carry wood?” - -“Why, I am the priestess of the dance!” answered the old woman. - -“Priestess of the dance?” - -“Yes.” - -“What dance?” - -“Why, there once lived a maiden in the Town of the Eagles, and the two -Gods of War shot her one day from the back of an Eagle who was trying to -run away with her, and she fell; and one of my young men was the first -to grasp her, therefore we dance with her bones every night.” - -“Well, why do you get this wood?” they asked. - -“I light the ceremonial chamber with it.” - -“What do you do when you get home?” - -“Why, the maidens of my clan come and baptize me and feast me; then when -the evening comes I go and light a fire with this wood in the chamber -and wait until the young men gather; and when everything is ready I go -to a niche in the wall and get the maiden’s bones and distribute them; -and when they have finished the dance I tell them to stop, and they -replace the bones.” - -“What do they do then?” asked the two boys. - -“Why, some of them go home, and some sleep right there, and I lie down -and sleep there, too.” - -“Is that all?” inquired the two boys. - -“Why, yes, what more should there be?” - -“Nothing more, except that I think we had better kill you now.” -Thereupon they struck her to the earth and killed her. Then they skinned -her like a bag, and the elder brother dressed the younger in the skin, -as the Sun-father had directed, and he shouldered the bundle of wood. - -“How do I look?” asked he. - -“Just like her, for all the world!” responded the other. - -“All right,” said he; “wait for me here.” - -“Go ahead,” said the elder brother, and away the younger went. He ran -with all his might till he came near to the town, and then he began to -limp along and labor up the pathway just as the old woman was wont to -do, so that everybody thought that he was the old woman, indeed. And -sure enough it all happened just as the Sun-father had said it would. -When the dance was over, some of the young men went away and others -slept right there. There were so many of them, though, that they almost -covered the floor. When they all began to snore, the young man arose, -threw off his disguise, and stepped carefully between the sleepers till -he reached the niche in the wall. Then he put his mother’s bones, one by -one, into his blanket, felt all around to see that he left nothing, and -started for the ladder. He reached it all right and took one, two, three -steps; but when his foot touched the fourth rung it creaked, and the -sleeping dancers awoke and started. - -“Somebody is going up the ladder!” they exclaimed to one another. Then -the young man ran up as fast as ever he could, but alas! he dropped one -of his mother’s eyes out of the blanket. He kept on running until he -reached the foot of the hill upon which the town stood; and when he came -to the spring down on the plains he stopped to drink, and lo! his mother -had come to life! - -“_Ahwa!_” uttered the mother, “I’m tired and I don’t know what is the -matter with my eyes, for things don’t look straight.” - -Then the young man looked at his mother. She was more beautiful than all -the other girls had been, but one of her eyes was shrunken in. “Alas! my -mother,” said he, “I have dropped one of your eyes; but never mind, you -can comb your hair down over it and no one will ever know the -difference.” - -As soon as they were rested they started again, and soon came to where -the elder brother stood awaiting them. When he looked at his mother, he -saw that one of her eyes had been left. - -“Didn’t I tell you beforehand to be careful?” said he. “Poor mother; you -have lost one of her eyes!” - -“Well, it can’t be helped; never mind, she can comb her hair down over -the eye that is dry and no one will ever know the difference.” - -“That’s so; it can’t be helped. Now let’s go,” said the elder brother, -and they all started. - -When they arrived at the Waters of the Elks, the younger brother said: -“Let’s camp here.” - -“No, let’s run home,” returned the elder brother. - -“No, let’s camp. Our poor mother will get tired, and, besides, she can -see nothing of the country we are going through.” - -And although the elder brother urged that they should go on, the younger -insisted that they should stay; therefore they camped. The next day they -continued their journey until they came near to the City of the Heights, -not far from their own home; and as they journeyed, the deer, the -antelope, the elks, and the mountain sheep were everywhere. - -“Just look at that buck!” exclaimed the younger brother, clutching his -bow. “Let’s shoot him.” - -“No, no!” said the other; “Do you not remember that our father forbade -us?” So they went on until they came to some trees, and as it was -noon-day they sat down to eat. Now, the fine game animals circled all -around and even came up near enough to smell them, and stood gazing or -cropping the grass within a few steps of them. - -“Just look at that splendid antelope!” cried the younger brother, and he -nocked an arrow quicker than thought. - -“No, no, no!” cried the elder, “you must not shoot it.” - -“Why not? Here our poor mother has nothing but corn-cakes to eat, with -all this meat around us.” And before his brother could speak another -word, he drew his arrow to the head, and _tsi!_ it pierced the heart of -the great antelope and it fell dead. - -Now, all the great animals round about grew angry when they saw this, -and _tene!_ they came thundering after the little party. So the two -fools, forgetting all about their poor mother, jumped up and ran away -as fast as they could and climbed a big tree to the very top. When they -straddled a big branch and looked down, the great deer had trampled -their poor mother to death. Then they gathered around the foot of the -tree to batter its trunk with their sharp horns, but they could not stir -it. Presently some big-horn bucks came running along. _Thle-ee-ta-a-a!_ -they banged their horns against the butt of the tree until it began to -split and tremble, and presently bang! went the tree, and the boys fell -to the ground. Then the mountain sheep and the great bucks trampled and -tore and speared them with their sharp horns, and tossed them from one -to another and lacerated them with their hoofs until they were like -worn-out clothing--all torn to pieces except the head of the elder -brother which none of them would touch. And there the head lay all -through the winter; and the next spring there was nothing but a skull -left of the two brothers. - -Now, off in the valley that led to Thunder Mountain, just where it turns -to go south, stood the village of K’yátik’ia, and down in the bottom of -the valley the great priest-chief of K’yátik’ia had his fields of corn -and melons and squashes. Summer came, and the squashes were all in -bloom, when the rain poured down all over the country; and thus, little -by little, the skull was washed until it fell into a stream and went -bumping along on the waters even till it came to the fields of corn and -pumpkins and melons in the planting of the priest-chief of K’yátik’ia. - -Now, when the pumpkin and squash vines were in bloom, the -priest-chief’s daughter, who was as beautiful as you could look upon, -went down every morning just at daylight to gather squash-flowers with -which to sweeten the feast bread. The morning after the rain had passed -over, very early, she said to her younger sister: “Stay here and grind -meal while I run down to the squash patch to pick a lot of flowers.” So -she took her mantle with her and started for the fields. She had not -been picking flowers long when a voice rose from the middle of the -vines: - - “_Ä-te-ya-ye, - Ä-te-ya-ye. - E-lu-ya._” - - Here are more flowers, - Here are more flowers. - Beautiful ones. - -“Ah!” said the girl, “I wonder what that is!” So she put her blanket of -flowers down as soon as possible and started to hunt. As she approached -the vine where the skull had been wont to lie, lo! there was a handsome -young man! - -“What are you doing?” asked the young man. - -“Gathering flowers,” said she. - -“If you will promise to take me home with you, I will help you,” said -the young man. - -“Very well,” replied the girl. - -“Will you surely do it?” inquired the young man. - -“Yes,” said she, and lo! the young man reached out his hand and there -was a great heap of flowers already plucked before him! And while they -were yet talking, the Sun rose; and as its first rays touched him he -began to sink, until there before the girl was nothing but a hideous old -skull. - -“Oh, dear!” cried she; “but I promised to take it, and I suppose I -must.” So she took the skull up with the tips of her fingers and put it -into the blanket among the flowers, and started for home. Then she -entered an inner room of the house, and taking the skull carefully out -of the blanket, placed some cotton in a large new water-jar, and laid -the skull upon it. Then she covered the jar with a flat stone and went -to work grinding meal. - -When the Sun was setting, a voice came from the jar. - -“Take me down, quick!” And the girl took the skull down and placed it on -the floor, and as it grew dark there stood the same handsome young man -as before, magnificently clothed, with precious stones and shells all -about him, just as the Sun-father had dressed him. And the girl was very -happy, and told him she would marry him. - -Next morning, just as the Sun rose, the young man vanished, and nothing -but the old white skull lay on the floor. So the girl placed it in the -jar again, and taking up another water-jar went out toward the spring. -Now, her younger sister went into the room and espied the jar. “I wonder -what sister has covered this jar up so carefully for,” said she to -herself; and she stepped up to the jar and took the lid off. - -“_Ati!_” cried she. “O dear! O dear!” she screamed. For when she looked -down into the jar there was a great rattlesnake coiled up over the -smooth white skull. - -So she ran and called her father and told him in great fright what she -had seen. - -“Ah!” said the father, for he was a very wise priest-chief, “thou -shouldst not meddle with things. Thou shouldst keep quiet,” said he. He -then arose and went into the room. Then he approached the jar, and, -looking down into it, said: “Have mercy upon us, my child, my father. -Become as thou art. Disguise not thyself in hideous forms, but as thou -hast been, be thou.” And the skull rattled against the sides of the jar -in assent. - -“It is well that thou shouldst marry my daughter. And we will close this -room that thou shalt never come forth”; and again the skull clattered -and nodded in glad assent. - -So when the young girl returned, the voice came forth from the jar -again, and said: “Close all the windows and doors, and bring me raw -cotton if thy father have it, for he has consented that I marry you and -throw off my disguise.” - -Then the girl gladly assented, and ran to get the cotton, and brought a -great quantity in the room. Then when the night came the voice called -once more: “Take me down!” The girl did as she was bidden, and the young -man again stood before her, more handsome than ever. So he married the -girl and both were very happy. - -And the next morning when the Sun rose the young man did not again -change his form, but remained as he was, and began to spin cotton -marvellously fine and to weave blankets and mantles of the most -beautiful texture, for in nothing could he fail, being a child of the -Sun-father and a god himself. - -So the days and weeks passed by, and the Sun-father looked down through -the windows in sorrow and said: “Alas! my son; I have delivered thee and -yet thou comest not to speak with thy father. But thou shalt yet come; -yea, verily, thou shalt yet come.” - -So in time the beautiful daughter of the priest-chief gave birth to two -boys, like the children of the deer. As day succeeded day, they grew -larger and wiser and their limbs strengthened until they could run -about, and thus it happened that one day in their play they climbed up -and played upon the house-top and on the ground below. Thus it was that -the people of K’yátik’ia saw for the first time the two little children; -and when they saw them they wondered greatly. Of course they wondered -greatly. Our grandfathers were fools. - -“Who in the world has married the priest-chief’s daughter?” everybody -asked of one another. Nobody knew; so they called a council and made all -the young men go to it, and they asked each one if he had secretly -married the priest-chief’s daughter; and every one of them said “No,” -and looked at every other one in great wonder. - -“Who in the world can it be? It may be that some stranger has come and -married her, and it may be that he stays there.” So the council decided -that it would be well for him and the girl and their two little ones to -die, because they had deceived their people. Forthwith two war-priests -mounted the house-tops and commanded the people to make haste and to -prepare their weapons. “Straighten your arrows, strengthen the backs of -your bows, put new points on your lances, harden your shields, and get -ready for battle, for in four days the daughter and grandchildren of the -priest-chief and the unknown husband must die!” - -And when the priest-chief’s daughter heard the voices of the heralds, -she asked her younger sister, who had been listening, what they said. -And the younger sister exclaimed: “Alas! you must all die!” and then she -told her what she had heard. - -Now, the young man called the old priest and told him that he knew what -would happen, and the old priest said: “It is well; let the will of the -gods be done. My people know not the way of good fortune, but are fools -and must have their way.” - -Therefore for two days the people labored at their weapons, and on the -morning of the third day they began to prepare for a feast of victory. -Then said the young man to his wife: “My little mother, dearly beloved, -on the morrow I must go forth to meet my father”; for he suddenly -remembered that he had neglected his father. - -When the Sun had nearly reached the mid-heavens, the young man said to -his wife: “Go up and open the sky-hole. Farewell!” said he, and he -suddenly became a cloud of mist which whirled round and round and shot -up like a whirlwind in the rays of sunlight. - -When he neared the Sun, the Sun-father said nothing, and the young man -waited outside in shame. Then said the Sun-father in pretended anger: -“Come hither and sit down. Thou hast been a fool. Did I not command thee -and thy brother?” And the young man only bent his head and said: “It is -too true.” - -Then the Sun-father smiled gently, and said: “Think not, neither be sad, -my child. I know wherefore thou comest, and I remember how thou didst -try to prevail upon thy younger brother to obey my commandments; and -that it might be well I caused thee to forget me, and to come unto the -past that thou hast come unto. Thou shalt be a god, and shalt sit at my -left hand. Forever and ever shalt thou be a living good unto men, who -will see thee and worship thee in the evening. And through thy will -shall rain fall upon their lands. True, I had designed, had my children -been wiser, that thou shouldst remain with them and enrich them with thy -precious shells and stones, with thy great knowledge and good fortune. -But those are men very unwise and ungrateful, therefore shalt thou and -thy children, and even thy wife, be won from thy earth-life and sit by -my left hand. Descend. Make four sacred hoops and entwine them with -cotton. Make four sacred wands, such as are used in the races. Hast thou -an unembroidered cotton mantle?” - -“I have,” replied the young man. - -“It is well. This evening spread it out and place at each of its four -corners one of the sacred hoops and wands. Place all thereon that thou -valuest. Leave not a precious stone nor yet a shell to serve as -parentage for others, but place all thereon. The people will gather -around thy father’s house and storm it, and then retire and storm it -again. Now, when the people approach the house, sit ye down, one at each -of the four corners; grasp them and lift them upward, and gradually ye -will be raised. Then when the people approach nearer, lift them upward -once more, and ye will be raised yet farther. And when they begin to -mount the ladders, lift ye again, and yet again, and ye shall come unto -my country.” - -So the young man descended. No change was visible in the old -priest-chief’s countenance. He had caused gay preparations to go forward -for the festival, for a priest knows that all things are well, and he -makes no change in his mind or actions. And when he asked the young man -what the Sun-father had said to him, the only reply was: “It shall be -well. Tomorrow we go to dwell forever at the home of the Sun-father.” - -Early in the morning the two Priests of War mounted to the house-tops -and called out: “Hasten, hasten! For the time has come and the people -must gather, each carrying his weapons, for today the children of our -priest-chief must die!” - -So, after the morning meal, all gathered at the council, chambers of the -warriors, and a great company they were. The Sun had risen high. -Brightly painted shields glittered in his light. Long lances stood black -with paint like the charred trunks of a burned forest; and the people -raised their war-clubs and struck them against one another until the -din was like thunder. - -“_Ho-o-o!_” sounded the clash of weapons and the war-cries of the -people, and in the home of the priest-chief they knew they were coming. -All night long they had been preparing; the young man had placed all -their belongings upon the blanket, and now one by one they sat down. The -wife and the husband grasped two corners, the children grasping the two -others. They lifted them and slowly arose toward the ceiling. Once more, -as the people came nearer, they lifted the corners and neared the -sky-hole. When again they lifted the corners, they passed above the -roof, and the people saw their shadows cast upon the ground. - -“Quick, quick!” shouted the young men. “See the shadow; they are -escaping!” - -Already the arrows began to whistle past them, but the Sun cast his -shield beneath them, and the arrows only glanced away or flew past. Once -more they drew the corners of the mantle upward, and as they rose higher -and higher, the people, old and young, began to quarrel and fell to -beating one another, and to fighting among themselves. The old ones -called the young ones fools for attempting the life of a god, and the -young ones in turn called the old ones fools for counselling them to -attempt the life of a god. - -“Thus shall ye ever be,” cried the young man, “for ye are fools! Your -father, the Sun, had intended all things for your good, but ye were -fools; therefore with me and mine will pass away your peace and your -treasures.” - -My children, at sunset have you not seen the little blue twinkling -stars that sit at the left hand of the Sun as he sinks into night? Thus -did it come to pass in the days of the ancients, and thus it is that -only in the east and the west where the Sun rises and sets, even on the -borders of the great oceans, may we find the jewels whereby we decorate -our persons. And ever since then, my children, the world has been filled -with anger, and even brothers agree, then disagree, strike one another, -and spill their own blood in foolish anger. - -Perhaps had men been more grateful and wiser, the Sun-father had smiled -and dropped everywhere the treasures we long for, and not hidden them -deep in the earth and buried them in the shores of the sea. And perhaps, -moreover, all men would have smiled upon one another and never enlarged -their voices nor strengthened their arms in anger toward one another. - -Thus short is my story; and may the corn-stalks grow as long as my -stretches, and may the will of the Holder of the Roads of Life shelter -me from dangers as he sheltered his children in the days of the ancients -with the shield of his sunlight. - -It is all finished. (_Tenk’ia._) - - [Illustration: {Zuñi symbols}] - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Illustration captions in {brackets} have been added by the transcriber -for the convenience of the reader. - -Archaic and variant spelling is preserved as printed. - -Minor punctuation errors have been corrected. - -Hyphen and accent usage has been made consistent. - -There was one instance in which a double quotation mark was unpaired. - -On page 99, there is the following: - - “... they dressed her in her sacred cotton robes of ceremonial, - embroidered elaborately, and adorned her ...” - -There may be a word missing following ‘ceremonial’ but as there is -no way to determine what it might be, it is preserved as printed. - -The following amendments have been made: - - Page 42--comform amended to conform--... and they taught him how - to conform himself to it, ... - - Page 107, footnote 8--explaned amended to explained--This, it - may be explained, ... - - Page 321--croned amended to crooned--“Foolish, foolish boys!” - crooned the old grandmother. - - Page 456--they amended to he--“... Come up and come down,” said - he. - -The frontispiece has been moved to follow the title page. Other -illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in -the middle of a paragraph. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZUÑI FOLK TALES*** - - -******* This file should be named 54682-0.txt or 54682-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/4/6/8/54682 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Zui Folk Tales</p> -<p>Author: Frank Hamilton Cushing</p> -<p>Release Date: May 8, 2017 [eBook #54682]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZUI FOLK TALES***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Larry B. Harrison, Sam W.,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/zuifolktales00cushrich"> - https://archive.org/details/zuifolktales00cushrich</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<div class="covernote"> -<p><b>Transcriber’s Note</b></p> - -<p>The cover image was created by the transcriber for the convenience of the reader, -and it is placed in the public domain.</p> -<p> </p> -</div> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> - -<div class="titlep"> -<h1>ZUÑI FOLK TALES</h1> - - -<p class="author"><span class="smlfont">RECORDED AND TRANSLATED BY</span><br /> -<span class="vlrgfontred">FRANK HAMILTON CUSHING</span></p> - - -<p class="author"><span class="smcap">With an Introduction by</span><br /> -<span class="lrgfont">J. W. POWELL</span></p> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 73px;"> -<img src="images/zft01.jpg" width="73" height="139" -alt="Zuni symbol" /> -<p class="caption">TÉNATSALI</p> -</div> - - -<p class="publisher">NEW YORK AND LONDON<br /> -<span class="lrgfontred">G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS</span><br /> -The Knickerbocker Press<br /> -1901</p> -</div> - - -<div class="fmatter"> -<p class="copyright"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1901<br /> -by</span><br /> -EMILY T. M. CUSHING</p> - - -<p class="press">The Knickerbocker Press, New York</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 513px;"> -<a name="plate01" id="plate01"></a> -<img src="images/zft02.jpg" width="513" height="700" -alt="Portrait of Frank Hamilton Cushing" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>iii]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="contents" id="contents"></a>LIST OF TALES</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="centered"> -<table border="0" summary="Table of contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc"> </td> - <td class="tdrb"><small>PAGE</small></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Trial of Lovers: or the Maiden of Mátsaki and the Red Feather</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap01">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Youth and his Eagle</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap02">34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Poor Turkey Girl</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap03">54</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Summer Birds Came</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap04">65</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Serpent of the Sea</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap05">93</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap06">104</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Foster-child of the Deer</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap07">132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Boy Hunter who never sacrificed to the Deer he had slain: or the origin of the Society of Rattlesnakes</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap08">150</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma stole the Thunder-stone and the Lightning-shaft</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap09">175</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Warrior Suitor of Moki</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap10">185</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Coyote joined the dance of the Burrowing-owls</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap11">203</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Coyote who killed the Demon Síuiuki: or why Coyotes run their noses into deadfalls</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap12">215</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Coyotes tried to steal the Children of the Sacred Dance</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap13">229</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Coyote and the Beetle</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap14">235</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Coyote danced with the Blackbirds</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap15">237</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Turtle out hunting duped the Coyote</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap16">243</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Coyote and the Locust</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap17">255</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Coyote and the Ravens who raced their eyes</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap18">262</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Prairie-dogs and their priest, the Burrowing-owl</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap19">269</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Gopher raced with the runners of K’iákime</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap20">277</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Rattlesnakes came to be what they are</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap21">285</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Corn-pests were ensnared</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap22">288</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Jack-rabbit and Cottontail</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap23">296</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Rabbit Huntress and her adventures</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap24">297</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>iv]</a></span>The Ugly Wild Boy who drove the Bear away from Southeastern Mesa</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap25">310</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Revenge of the Two Brothers on the Háwikuhkwe, or the Two Little Ones and their Turkeys</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap26">317</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Young Swift-runner who was stripped of his Clothing by the Aged Tarantula</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap27">345</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Átahsaia, the Cannibal Demon</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap28">365</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Hermit Mítsina</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap29">385</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">How the Twins of War and Chance, Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma, fared with the Unborn-made Men of the Underworld</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap30">398</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Cock and the Mouse</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap31">411</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Giant Cloud-swallower</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap32">423</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Maiden the Sun made love to, and her Boys: or the origin of anger</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#chap33">429</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>v]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="illustrations" id="illustrations"></a>LIST OF PLATES</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="centered"> -<table border="0" summary="Table of contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc"> </td> - <td class="tdrb"><small>PAGE</small></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Portrait of Frank Hamilton Cushing</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate01"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The Youth and his Eagle</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate02">34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Zuñi from the South</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate03">64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Waíhusiwa</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate04">92</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">A burro train in a Zuñi street</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate05">132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Thunder Mountain from Zuñi</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate06">174</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">A Hopi (Moki) maiden</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate07">184</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">A dance of the Kâkâ</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate08">228</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Across the terraces of Zuñi</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate09">276</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">The pinnacles of Thunder Mountain</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate10">344</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Pálowahtiwa</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate11">388</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlsc">Zuñi Women carrying water</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#plate12">428</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi"><!-- blank page in original --></a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>vii]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="introduction" id="introduction"></a>INTRODUCTION</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>T is instructive to compare superstition with -science. Mythology is the term used to designate -the superstitions of the ancients. Folk-lore is -the term used to designate the superstitions of the -ignorant of today. Ancient mythology has been -carefully studied by modern thinkers for purposes -of trope and simile in the embellishment of literature, -and especially of poetry; then it has been -investigated for the purpose of discovering its -meaning in the hope that some occult significance -might be found, on the theory that the wisdom of -the ancients was far superior to that of modern -men. Now, science has entered this field of study -to compare one mythology with another, and pre-eminently -to compare mythology with science -itself, for the purpose of discovering stages of human -opinion.</p> - -<p>When the mythology of tribal men came to be -studied, it was found that their philosophy was also -a mythology in which the mysteries of the universe -were explained in a collection of tales told by wise -men, prophets, and priests. This lore of the wise -among savage men is of the same origin and has -the same significance as the lore of Hesiod and -Homer. It is thus a mythology in the early sense -of that term. But the mythology of tribal men is -devoid of that glamour and witchery born of poetry; -hence it seems rude and savage in comparison, for -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>viii]</a></span> -example, with the mythology of the <i>Odyssey</i>, and -to rank no higher as philosophic thought than the -tales of the ignorant and superstitious which are -called folk-lore; and gradually such mythology has -come to be called folk-lore. Folk-lore is a discredited -mythology—a mythology once held as a -philosophy. Nowadays the tales of savage men, -not being credited by civilized and enlightened men -with that wisdom which is held to belong to philosophy, -are called folk-lore, or sometimes folk-tales.</p> - -<p>The folk-tales collected by Mr. Cushing constitute -a charming exhibit of the wisdom of the Zuñis as -they believe, though it may be but a charming exhibit -of the follies of the Zuñis as we believe.</p> - -<p>The wisdom of one age is the folly of the next, -and the opinions of tribal men seem childish to -civilized men. Then why should we seek to discover -their thoughts? Science, in seeking to know -the truth about the universe, does not expect to -find it in mythology or folk-lore, does not even -consider it as a paramount end that it should be -used as an embellishment of literature, though it -serves this purpose well. Modern science now -considers it of profound importance to know the -course of the evolution of the humanities; that is, -the evolution of pleasures, the evolution of industries, -the evolution of institutions, the evolution of -languages, and, finally, the evolution of opinions. -How opinions grow seems to be one of the most -instructive chapters in the science of psychology. -Psychologists do not go to the past to find valid -opinions, but to find stages of development in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>ix]</a></span> -opinions; hence mythology or folk-lore is of profound -interest and supreme importance.</p> - -<p>Under the scriptorial wand of Cushing the folk-tales -of the Zuñis are destined to become a part of -the living literature of the world, for he is a poet -although he does not write in verse. Cushing can -think as myth-makers think, he can speak as prophets -speak, he can expound as priests expound, -and his tales have the verisimilitude of ancient -lore; but his sympathy with the mythology of tribal -men does not veil the realities of science from his -mind.</p> - -<p>The gods of Zuñi, like those of all primitive -people, are the ancients of animals, but we must -understand and heartily appreciate their simple -thought if we would do them justice. All entities -are animals—men, brutes, plants, stars, lands, -waters, and rocks—and all have souls. The souls -are tenuous existences—mist entities, gaseous creatures -inhabiting firmer bodies of matter. They -are ghosts that own bodies. They can leave their -bodies, or if they discover bodies that have been -vacated they can take possession of them. Force -and mind belong to souls; fixed form, firm existence -belong to matter, while bodies and souls -constitute the world. The world is a universe -of animals. The stars are animals compelled to -travel around the world by magic. The plants are -animals under a spell of enchantment, so that usually -they cannot travel. The waters are animals -sometimes under the spell of enchantment. Lakes -writhe in waves, the sea travels in circles about the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>x]</a></span> -earth, and the streams run over the lands. Mountains -and hills tremble in pain, but cannot wander -about; but rocks and hills and mountains sometimes -travel about by night.</p> - -<p>These animals of the world come in a flood of -generations, and the first-born are gods and are -usually called the ancients, or the first ones; the -later-born generations are descendants of the gods, -but alas, they are degenerate sons.</p> - -<p>The theatre of the world is the theatre of necromancy, -and the gods are the primeval wonder-workers; -the gods still live, but their descendants -often die. Death itself is the result of necromancy -practiced by bad men or angry gods.</p> - -<p>In every Amerindian language there is a term -to express this magical power. Among the Iroquoian -tribes it is called <i lang="iro" xml:lang="iro">orenda</i>; among the Siouan -tribe some manifestations of it are called <i lang="sio" xml:lang="sio">wakan</i> or -<i lang="sio" xml:lang="sio">wakanda</i>, but the generic term in this language is -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">hube</i>. Among the Shoshonean tribes it is called -<i lang="shh" xml:lang="shh">pokunt</i>. Let us borrow one of these terms and -call it “orenda.” All unexplained phenomena are -attributed to orenda. Thus the venom of the serpent -is orenda, and this orenda can pass from a -serpent to an arrow by another exercise of orenda, -and hence the arrow is charmed. The rattlesnake -may be stretched beside the arrow, and an invocation -may be performed that will convey the orenda -from the snake to the arrow, or the serpent may -be made into a witch’s stew and the arrow dipped -into the brew.</p> - -<p>No man has contributed more to our -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>xi]</a></span> -understanding of the doctrine of orenda as believed and -practised by the Amerindian tribes than Cushing -himself. In other publications he has elaborately -discussed this doctrine, and in his lectures he was -wont to show how forms and decorations of implements -and utensils have orenda for their motive.</p> - -<p>When one of the ancients—that is, one of the -gods—of the Iroquois was planning the streams of -earth by his orenda or magical power, he determined -to have them run up one side and down the -other; if he had done this men could float up or -down at will, by passing from one side to the other -of the river, but his wicked brother interfered and -made them run down on both sides; so orenda may -thwart orenda.</p> - -<p>The bird that sings is universally held by tribal -men to be exercising its orenda. And when -human beings sing they also exercise orenda; hence -song is a universal accompaniment of Amerindian -worship. All their worship is thus fundamentally -terpsichorean, for it is supposed that they can be -induced to grant favors by pleasing them.</p> - -<p>All diseases and ailments of mankind are attributed -by tribal men to orenda, and all mythology -is a theory of magic. Yet many of the tribes, perhaps -all of them, teach in their tales of some method -of introducing death and disease into the world, but -it is a method by which supernatural agencies can -cause sickness and death.</p> - -<p>The prophets, who are also priests, wonder-workers, -and medicine-men, are called shamans in -scientific literature. In popular literature and in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>xii]</a></span> -frontier parlance they are usually called medicine-men. -Shamans are usually initiated into the guild, -and frequently there are elaborate tribal ceremonies -for the purpose. Often individuals have -revelations and set up to prophesy, to expel diseases, -and to teach as priests. If they gain a following -they may ultimately exert much influence -and be greatly revered, but if they fail they may -gradually be looked upon as wizards or witches, -and they may be accused of black art, and in extreme -cases may be put to death. All Amerindians -believe in shamancraft and witchcraft.</p> - -<p>The myths of cosmology are usually called creation -myths. Sometimes all myths which account -for things, even the most trivial, are called creation -myths. Every striking phenomenon observed by -the Amerind has a myth designed to account for -its origin. The horn of the buffalo, the tawny -patch on the shoulders of the rabbit, the crest of -the blue-jay, the tail of the magpie, the sheen of -the chameleon, the rattle of the snake,—in fact, -everything that challenges attention gives rise to a -myth. Thus the folk-tales of the Amerinds seem -to be inexhaustible, for in every language, and -there are hundreds of them, a different set of myths -is found.</p> - -<p>In all of these languages a strange similarity -in cosmology is observed, in that it is a cosmology -of regions or worlds. About the home world of -the tribe there is gathered a group of worlds, one -above, another below, and four more: one at every -cardinal point; or we may describe it as a central -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>xiii]</a></span> -world, an upper world, a lower world, a northern -world, a southern world, an eastern world, and a -western world. All of the animals of the tribes, be -they human animals, tree animals, star animals, -water animals (that is, bodies of water), or stone animals -(that is, mountains, hills, valleys, and rocks), -have an appropriate habitation in the zenith world, -the nadir world, or in one of the cardinal worlds, and -their dwelling in the center world is accounted for -by some myth of travel to this world. All bodies -and all attributes of bodies have a home or proper -place of habitation; even the colors of the clouds -and the rainbow and of all other objects on earth -are assigned to the six regions from which they -come to the midworld.</p> - -<p>We may better understand this habit of thought -by considering the folk-lore of civilization. Here -are but three regions: heaven, earth, and hell. -All good things come from heaven; and all bad -things from hell. It is true that this cosmology is -not entertained by scholarly people. An enlightened -man thinks of moral good as a state of mind -in the individual, an attribute of his soul, and a -moral evil as the characteristic of an immoral man; -but still it is practically universal for even the most -intelligent to affirm by a figure of speech that -heaven is the place of good, and hell the place of -evil. Now, enlarge this conception so as to assign -a place as the proper region for all bodies and -attributes, and you will understand the cosmological -concepts of the Amerinds.</p> - -<p>The primitive religion of every Amerindian -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>xiv]</a></span> -tribe is an organized system of inducing the -ancients to take part in the affairs of men, and the -worship of the gods is a system designed to please -the gods, that they may be induced to act for men, -particularly the tribe of men who are the worshipers. -Time would fail me to tell of the multitude -of activities in tribal life designed for this -purpose, but a few of them may be mentioned. -The first and most important of all are terpsichorean -ceremonies and festivals. Singing and dancing -are universal, and festivals are given at appointed -times and places by every tribe. The long nights -of winter are devoted largely to worship, and a -succession of festival days are established, to be -held at appropriate seasons for the worship of the -gods. Thus there are festival days for invoking -rain, there are festival days for thanksgiving—for -harvest homes. In lands where the grasshopper is -an important food there are grasshopper festivals. -In lands where corn is an important food there are -green-corn festivals; where the buffalo constituted -an important part of their aliment there were -buffalo dances. So there is a bear dance or festival, -and elk dance or festival, and a multitude of -other festivals as we go from tribe to tribe, all of -which are fixed at times indicated by signs of the -zodiac. In the higher tribes elaborate calendars -are devised from which we unravel their picture-writings.</p> - -<p>The practice of medicine by the shamans is an -invocation to the gods to drive out evil spirits from -the sick and to frighten them that they may leave. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>xv]</a></span> -By music and dancing they obtain the help of the -ancients, and by a great variety of methods -they drive out the evil beings. Resort is often -had to scarifying and searing, especially when the -sick man has great local pains. All American -tribes entertain a profound belief in the doctrine -of signatures,—<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">similia, similibus curantur</i>,—and -they use this belief in procuring charms as medicine -to drive out the ghostly diseases that plague -their sick folk.</p> - -<p>Next in importance to terpsichorean worship is -altar worship. The altar is a space cleared upon -the ground, or a platform raised from the ground -or floor of the kiva or assembly-house of the -people. Around the altar are gathered the priests -and their acolytes, and here they make prayers and -perform ceremonies with the aid of altar-pieces of -various kinds, especially tablets of picture-writings -on wood, bone, or the skins of animals. The altar-pieces -consist of representatives of the thing for -which supplication is made: ears of corn or vases -of meal, ewers of water, parts of animals designed -for food, cakes of grasshoppers, basins of honey, -in fine any kind of food; then crystals or fragments -of rock to signify that they desire the corn -to be hard, or of honeydew that they desire the -corn to be sweet, or of corn of different colors that -they desire the corn to be of a variety of colors. -That which is of great interest to students of ethnology -is the system of picture-writing exhibited -on the altars. In this a great variety of things -which they desire and a great variety of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>xvi]</a></span> -characteristics of these things are represented in -pictographs, or modeled in clay, or carved from -wood and bone. The graphic art, as painting and -sculpture, has its origin with tribal men in the development -of altar-pieces. So also the drama is -derived from primeval worship, as the modern -practice of medicine has been evolved from -necromancy.</p> - -<p>There is another method of worship found in -savagery, but more highly developed in barbarism,—the -worship of sacrifice. The altar-pieces and -the dramatic supplications of the lower stage -gradually develop into a sacrificial stage in the -higher culture. Then the objects are supposed to -supply the ancients themselves with food and drink -and the pleasures of life. This stage was most -highly developed in Mexico, especially by the -Nahua or Aztec, where human beings were sacrificed. -In general, among the Amerinds, not only -are sacrifices made on the altar, but they are also -made whenever food or drink is used. Thus the -first portions of objects designed for consumption -are dedicated to the gods. There are in America -many examples of these pagan religions, to a greater -or less extent affiliated in doctrine and in worship -with the religion of Christian origin.</p> - -<p>In the early history of the association of white -men with the Seneca of New York and Pennsylvania, -there was in the tribe a celebrated shaman -named Handsome Lake, as his Indian name is -translated into English. Handsome Lake had a -nephew who was taken by the Spaniards to Europe -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>xvii]</a></span> -and educated as a priest. The nephew, on his return -to America, told many Bible stories to his -uncle, for he speedily relapsed into paganism. The -uncle compounded some of these Bible stories with -Seneca folk-tales, and through his eloquence and -great influence as a shaman succeeded in establishing -among the Seneca a new cult of doctrine and -worship. The Seneca are now divided into two very -distinct bodies who live together on the same reservation,—the -one are “Christians,” the other are -“Pagans” who believe and teach the cult of Handsome -Lake.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cushing has introduced a hybrid tale into -his collection, entitled “The Cock and the Mouse.” -Such tales are found again and again among the -Amerinds. In a large majority of cases Bible -stories are compounded with native stories, so that -unwary people have been led to believe that the -Amerinds are descendants of the lost tribes of -Israel.</p> - -<p class="sig">J. W. Powell.</p> - -<p class="address"><span class="smcap">Washington City</span>,<br /> -November, 1901.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii"><!-- blank page in original --></a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="reptitle">ZUÑI FOLK TALES</p> - - - - -<h2 class="nobreak"><a name="chap01" id="chap01"></a>THE TRIAL OF LOVERS:<br /> - -<span class="vsmlfont">OR THE MAIDEN OF MÁTSAKI AND THE RED FEATHER</span></h2> - -<h3>(<i>Told the First Night</i>)</h3> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the days of the ancients, when Mátsaki was the -home of the children of men, there lived, in that -town, which is called “Salt City,” because the Goddess -of Salt made a white lake there in the days -of the New, a beautiful maiden. She was passing -beautiful, and the daughter of the priest-chief, who -owned more buckskins and blankets than he could -hang on his poles, and whose port-holes were covered -with turquoises and precious shells from the -ocean—so many were the sacrifices he made to the -gods. His house was the largest in Mátsaki, and -his ladder-poles were tall and decorated with slabs of -carved wood—which you know was a great thing, -for our grandfathers cut with the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">tímush</i> or flint -knife, and even tilled their corn-fields with wooden -hoes sharpened with stone and weighted with -granite. That’s the reason why all the young men -in the towns round about were in love with the -beautiful maiden of Salt City.</p> - -<p>Now, there was one very fine young man who -lived across the western plains, in the Pueblo of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>2]</a></span> -Winds. He was so filled with thoughts of the -maiden of Mátsaki that he labored long to gather -presents for her, and looked not with favor on any -girl of his own pueblo.</p> - -<p>One morning he said to his fathers: “I have -seen the maiden of Mátsaki; what think ye?”</p> - -<p>“Be it well,” said the old ones. So toward night -the young man made a bundle of mantles and necklaces, -which he rolled up in the best and whitest -buckskin he had. When the sun was setting he -started toward Mátsaki, and just as the old man’s -children had gathered in to smoke and talk he -reached the house of the maiden’s father and -climbed the ladder. He lifted the corner of the -mat door and shouted to the people below—“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shé!</i>”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hai!</i>” answered more than a pair of voices -from below.</p> - -<p>“Pull me down,” cried the young man, at the -same time showing his bundle through the sky-hole.</p> - -<p>The maiden’s mother rose and helped the young -man down the ladder, and as he entered the fire-light -he laid the bundle down.</p> - -<p>“My fathers and mothers, my sisters and friends, -how be ye these many days?” said he, very carefully, -as though he were speaking to a council.</p> - -<p>“Happy! Happy!” they all responded, and they -said also: “Sit down; sit down on this stool,” -which they placed for him in the fire-light.</p> - -<p>“My daughter,” remarked the old man, who was -smoking his cigarette by the opposite side of the -hearth-place, “when a stranger enters the house of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>3]</a></span> -a stranger, the girl should place before him food -and cooked things.” So the girl brought from the -great vessel in the corner fresh rolls of <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">héwe</i>, or -bread of corn-flour, thin as papers, and placed them -in a tray before the young man, where the light -would fall on them.</p> - -<p>“Eat!” said she, and he replied, “It is well.” -Whereupon he sat up very straight, and placing his -left hand across his breast, very slowly took a roll -of the wafer bread with his right hand and ate ever -so little; for you know it is not well or polite to eat -much when you go to see a strange girl, especially -if you want to ask her if she will let you live in the -same house with her. So the young man ate ever -so little, and said, “Thank you.”</p> - -<p>“Eat more,” said the old ones; but when he replied -that he was “past the naming of want,” they -said, “Have eaten,” and the girl carried the tray -away and swept away the crumbs.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the old man, after a short time, -“when a stranger enters the house of a stranger, it -is not thinking of nothing that he enters.”</p> - -<p>“Why, that is quite true,” said the youth, and -then he waited.</p> - -<p>“Then what may it be that thou hast come -thinking of?” added the old man.</p> - -<p>“I have heard,” said the young man, “of your -daughter, and have seen her, and it was with -thoughts of her that I came.”</p> - -<p>Just then the grown-up sons of the old man, -who had come to smoke and chat, rose and said to -one another: “Is it not about time we should be -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>4]</a></span> -going home? The stars must be all out.” Thus -saying, they bade the old ones to “wait happily -until the morning,” and shook hands with the young -man who had come, and went to the homes of their -wives’ mothers.</p> - -<p>“Listen, my child!” said the old man after they -had gone away, turning toward his daughter, who -was sitting near the wall and looking down at the -beads on her belt fringe. “Listen! You have -heard what the young man has said. What think -you?”</p> - -<p>“Why! I know not; but what should I say but -‘Be it well,’” said the girl, “if thus think my old -ones?”</p> - -<p>“As you may,” said the old man; and then he -made a cigarette and smoked with the young man. -When he had thrown away his cigarette he said to -the mother: “Old one, is it not time to stretch out?”</p> - -<p>So when the old ones were asleep in the corner, -the girl said to the youth, but in a low voice: “Only -possibly you love me. True, I have said ‘Be it -well’; but before I take your bundle and say -‘thanks,’ I would that you, to prove that you -verily love me, should go down into my corn-field, -among the lands of the priest-chief, by the side of -the river, and hoe all the corn in a single morning. -If you will do this, then shall I know you love me; -then shall I take of your presents, and happy we -will be together.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” replied the young man; “I am -willing.”</p> - -<p>Then the young girl lighted a bundle of cedar -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>5]</a></span> -splints and showed him a room which contained a -bed of soft robes and blankets, and, placing her -father’s hoe near the door, bade the young man -“wait happily unto the morning.”</p> - -<p>So when she had gone he looked at the hoe and -thought: “Ha! if that be all, she shall see in the -morning that I am a man.”</p> - -<p>At the peep of day over the eastern mesa he -roused himself, and, shouldering the wooden hoe, -ran down to the corn-fields; and when, as the sun -was coming out, the young girl awoke and looked -down from her house-top, “Aha!” thought she, -“he is doing well, but my children and I shall see -how he gets on somewhat later. I doubt if he -loves me as much as he thinks he does.”</p> - -<p>So she went into a closed room. Down in the -corner stood a water jar, beautifully painted and -as bright as new. It looked like other water jars, -but it was not. It was wonderful, wonderful! for -it was covered with a stone lid which held down -many may-flies and gnats and mosquitoes. The -maiden lifted the lid and began to speak to the -little animals as though she were praying.</p> - -<p>“Now, then, my children, this day fly ye forth -all, and in the corn-fields by the river there shall ye -see a young man hoeing. So hard is he working -that he is stripped as for a race. Go forth and -seek him.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Tsu-nu-nu-nu</i>,” said the flies, and “<i>Tsi-ni-ni-ni</i>,” -sang the gnats and mosquitoes; which meant -“Yes,” you know.</p> - -<p>“And,” further said the girl, “when ye find him, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>6]</a></span> -bite him, his body all over, and eat ye freely of his -blood; spare not his armpits, neither his neck nor -his eyelids, and fill his ears with humming.”</p> - -<p>And again the flies said, “<i>Tsu-nu-nu-nu</i>,” and -the mosquitoes and gnats, “<i>Tsi-ni-ni-ni.</i>” Then, -<i>nu-u-u</i>, away they all flew like a cloud of sand on -a windy morning.</p> - -<p>“Blood!” exclaimed the young man. He wiped -the sweat from his face and said, “The gods be -angry!” Then he dropped his hoe and rubbed -his shins with sand and slapped his sides. “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Atu!</i>” -he yelled; “what matters—what in the name -of the Moon Mother matters with these little -beasts that cause thoughts?” Whereupon, crazed -and restless as a spider on hot ashes, he rolled -in the dust, but to no purpose, for the flies and -gnats and mosquitoes sang “<i>hu-n-n</i>” and “<i>tsi-ni-ni</i>” -about his ears until he grabbed up his -blanket and breakfast, and ran toward the home of -his fathers.</p> - -<p>“<i>Wa-ha ha! Ho o!</i>” laughed a young man -in the Tented Pueblo to the north, when he heard -how the lover had fared. “<i>Shoom!</i>” he sneered. -“Much of a man he must have been to give up -the maid of Mátsaki for may-flies and gnats and -mosquitoes!” So on the very next morning, he, -too, said to his old ones: “What a fool that little -<em>boy</em> must have been. I will visit the maiden -of Mátsaki. I’ll show the people of Pínawa what -a Hámpasawan man can do. Courage!”—and, -as the old ones said “Be it well,” he went as the -other had gone; but, pshaw! he fared no better.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>7]</a></span> -After some time, a young man who lived in the -River Town heard about it and laughed as hard -as the youth of the Tented Pueblo had. He -called the two others fools, and said that “girls -were not in the habit of asking much when one’s -bundle was large.” And as he was a young man -who had everything, he made a bundle of presents -as large as he could carry; but it did him no good. -He, too, ran away from the may-flies and gnats -and mosquitoes.</p> - -<p>Many days passed before any one else would -try again to woo the maiden of Mátsaki. They -did not know, it is true, that she was a Passing -Being; but others had failed all on account of -mosquitoes and may-flies and little black gnats, -and had been more satisfied with shame than a -full hungry man with food. “That is sick satisfaction,” -they would say to one another, the fear -of which made them wait to see what others would -do.</p> - -<p>Now, in the Ant Hill, which was named Hálonawan,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> -lived a handsome young man, but he was -poor, although the son of the priest-chief of -Hálonawan. He thought many days, and at last -said to his grandmother, who was very old and -crafty, “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hó-ta?</i>”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_1_1">[1]</a></span> -The ancient pueblo of Zuñi itself was called Hálonawan, or the Ant -Hill, the ruins of which, now buried beneath the sands, lie opposite the -modern town within the cast of a stone. Long before Hálonawan was -abandoned, the nucleus of the present structure was begun around one -of the now central plazas. It was then, and still is, in the ancient songs -and rituals of the Zuñis, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hálona-ítiwana</i>, or the “Middle Ant Hill of -the World,” and was often spoken of in connection with the older town as -simply the “Ant Hill.” <a href="#FNanchor_1_1">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>8]</a></span> -“What sayest my <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">nána</i>?” said the old woman; -for, like grandmothers nowadays, she was very -soft and gentle to her grandson.</p> - -<p>“I have seen the maiden of Mátsaki and my -thoughts kill me with longing, for she is passing -beautiful and wisely slow. I do not wonder that -she asks hard tasks of her lovers; for it is not -of their bundles that she thinks, but of themselves. -Now, I strengthen my thoughts with my manliness. -My heart is hard against weariness, and I -would go and speak to the beautiful maiden.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Yo á!</i> my poor boy,” said the grandmother. -“She is as wonderful as she is wise and beautiful. -She thinks not of men save as brothers and -friends; and she it is, I bethink me, who sends -the may-flies and gnats and mosquitoes, therefore, -to drive them away. They are but disguised -beings, and beware, my grandson, you will only -cover yourself with shame as a man is covered -with water who walks through a rain-storm! I -would not go, my poor grandchild. I would not -go,” she added, shaking her head and biting her -lips till her chin touched her nose-tip.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I must go, my grandmother. Why -should I live only to breathe hard with longing? -Perhaps she will better her thoughts toward me.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes, but all the same, she will test thee. -Well, go to the mountains and scrape bitter bark -from the finger-root; make a little loaf of the -bark and hide it in your belt, and when the maiden -sends you down to the corn-field, work hard at the -hoeing until sunrise. Then, when your body is -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>9]</a></span> -covered with sweat-drops, rub every part with the -root-bark. The finger-root bark, it is bitter as bad -salt mixed in with bad water, and the ‘horn-wings’ -and ‘long-beaks’ and ‘blue-backs’ fly far -from the salt that is bitter.”</p> - -<p>“Then, my gentle grandmother, I will try your -words and thank you,”—for he was as gentle and -good as his grandmother was knowing and crafty. -Even that day he went to the mountains and -gathered a ball of finger-root. Then, toward evening, -he took a little bundle and went up the trail -by the river-side to Mátsaki. When he climbed -the ladder and shouted down the mat door: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shé!</i> -Are ye within?” the people did not answer at once, -for the old ones were angry with their daughter -that she had sent off so many fine lovers. But -when he shouted again they answered:</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hai</i>, and <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ée</i>, we are within. Be yourself -within.”</p> - -<p>Then without help he went down the ladder, -but he didn’t mind, for he felt himself poor and -his bundle was small. As he entered the fire-light -he greeted the people pleasantly and gravely, and -with thanks took the seat that was laid for him.</p> - -<p>Now, you see, the old man was angry with the -girl, so he did not tell her to place cooked things -before him, but turned to his old wife.</p> - -<p>“Old one,” he began—but before he had finished -the maiden arose and brought rich venison -stew and flaky <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">héwe</i>, which she placed before the -youth where the fire’s brightness would fall upon -it, with meat broth for drink; then she sat down -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>10]</a></span> -opposite him and said, “Eat and drink!” Whereupon -the young man took a roll of the wafer-bread -and, breaking it in two, gave the girl the larger -piece, which she bashfully accepted.</p> - -<p>The old man raised his eyebrows and upper lids, -looked at his old wife, spat in the fireplace, and -smoked hard at his cigarette, joining the girl in -her invitation by saying, “Yes, have to eat well.”</p> - -<p>Soon the young man said, “Thanks,” and the -maiden quickly responded, “Eat more,” and “Have -eaten.”</p> - -<p>After brushing the crumbs away the girl sat -down by her mother, and the father rolled a cigarette -for the young man and talked longer with him -than he had with the others.</p> - -<p>After the old ones had stretched out in the -corner and begun to “scrape their nostrils with -their breath,” the maiden turned to the young -man and said: “I have a corn-field in the lands -of the priest-chief, down by the river, and if -you truly love me, I would that you should hoe -the whole in a single morning. Thus may you -prove yourself a man, and to love me truly; and if -you will do this, happily, as day follows day, will -we live each with the other.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hai-í!</i>” replied the young man, who smiled -as he listened; and as the young maiden looked -at him, sitting in the fading fire-light with the -smile on his face, she thought: “Only possibly. -But oh! how I wish his heart might be strong, -even though his bundle be not heavy nor large.</p> - -<p>“Come with me, young man, and I will show you -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>11]</a></span> -where you are to await the morning. Early take -my father’s hoe, which stands by the doorway, and -go down to the corn-field long before the night -shadows have run away from Thunder Mountain”—with -which she bade him pass a night of contentment -and sought her own place.</p> - -<p>When all was still, the young man climbed to -the sky-hole and in the starlight asked the gods of -the woodlands and waters to give strength to his -hands and power to his prayer-medicine, and to -meet and bless him with the light of their favor; -and he threw to the night-wind meal of the seeds -of earth and the waters of the world with which -those who are wise fail not to make smooth their -trails of life. Then he slept till the sky of the -day-land grew yellow and the shadows of the -night-land grew gray, and then shouldered his hoe -and went down to the corn-field. His task was -not great, for the others had hoed much. Where -they left off, there he fell to digging right and left -with all his strength and haste, till the hard soil -mellowed and the earth flew before his strokes as -out of the burrows of the strongest-willed gophers -and other digging creatures.</p> - -<p>When the sun rose the maiden looked forth and -saw that his task was already half done. But still -she waited. As the sun warmed the day and the -youth worked on, the dewdrops of flesh stood all -over his body and he cast away, one after the -other, his blanket and sash and even his leggings -and moccasins. Then he stopped to look around. -By the side of the field grew tall yellow-tops. He -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>12]</a></span> -ran into the thicket and rubbed every part of his -body, yea, even the hair of his head and his ear-tips -and nostrils, with the bark of the finger-root. -Again he fell to work as though he had only been -resting, and wondered why the may-flies and gnats -and mosquitoes came not to cause him thoughts as -they had the others. Yet still the girl lingered; -but at last she went slowly to the room where the -jar stood.</p> - -<p>“It is absurd,” thought she, “that I should hope -it or even care for it; it would indeed be great if it -were well true that a young man should love me so -verily as to hold his face to the front through such -a testing.” Nevertheless, she drew the lid off and -bade her strange children to spare him no more -than they had the others.</p> - -<p>All hasty to feast themselves on the “waters of -life,” as our old grandfathers would say for blood, -again they rushed out and hummed along over the -corn-fields in such numbers that they looked more -like a wind-driven sandstorm than ever, and “<i>tsi-ni-ni-i, -tso-no-o</i>,” they hummed and buzzed about -the ears of the young man when they came to him, -so noisily that the poor fellow, who kept at work -all the while, thought they were already biting him. -But it was only fancy, for the first may-fly that did -bite him danced in the air with disgust and exclaimed -to his companions, “<i>Sho-o-o-m-m!</i>” and “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Us-á!</i>” -which meant that he had eaten something nasty, -that tasted as badly as vile odors smell. So not -another may-fly in the throng would bite, although -they all kept singing their song about his ears. And -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>13]</a></span> -to this day may-flies are careful whom they bite, -and dance a long time in the air before they do it.</p> - -<p>Then a gnat tried it and gasped, “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Weh!</i>” which -meant that his stomach had turned over, and he -had such a sick headache that he reeled round and -round in the air, and for that reason gnats always -bite very quickly, for fear their stomachs will turn -over, and they will reel and reel round and round -in the air before doing it.</p> - -<p>Finally, long-beak himself tried it, and, as long-beak -hangs on, you know, longer than most other -little beasts, he kept hold until his two hindlegs -were warped out of shape; but at last he had to let -go, too, and flew straight away, crying, “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Yá kotchi!</i>” -which meant that something bitter had burned his -snout. Now, for these reasons mosquitoes always -have bent-up hindlegs, which they keep lifting up -and down while biting, as though they were standing -on something hot, and they are apt to sing and -smell around very cautiously before spearing us, -and they fly straight away, you will notice, as soon -as they are done.</p> - -<p>Now, when the rest of the gnats and mosquitoes -heard the words of their elder brothers, they did as -the may-flies had done—did not venture, no, not -one of them, to bite the young lover. They all flew -away and settled down on the yellow-tops, where -they had a council, and decided to go and find -some prairie-dogs to bite. Therefore you will almost -always find may-flies, gnats, and mosquitoes -around prairie-dog holes in summer time when the -corn is growing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>14]</a></span> -So the young man breathed easily as he hoed -hard to finish his task ere the noon-day, and when -the maiden looked down and saw that he still -labored there, she said to herself: “Ah, indeed he -must love me, for still he is there! Well, it <em>may be</em>, -for only a little longer and they will leave him in -peace.” Hastily she placed venison in the cooking-pot -and prepared fresh <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">héwe</i> and sweetened bread, -“for <em>maybe</em>,” she still thought, “and then I will -have it ready for him.”</p> - -<p>Now, alas! you do not know that this good and -beautiful maiden had a sister, alas!—a sister as -beautiful as herself, but bad and double-hearted; -and you know when people have double hearts -they are wizards or witches, and have double -tongues and paired thoughts—such a sister elder -had the maiden of Mátsaki, alas!</p> - -<p>When the sun had climbed almost to the middle -of the sky, the maiden, still doubtful, looked down -once more. He was there, and was working -among the last hills of corn.</p> - -<p>“Ah, truly indeed he loves me,” she thought, -and she hastened to put on her necklaces and -bracelets of shells, her earrings as long as your -fingers—of turquoises,—and her fine cotton mantles -with borders of stitched butterflies of summerland, -and flowers of the autumn. Then she took -a new bowl from the stick-rack in the corner, and a -large many-colored tray that she had woven herself, -and she filled the one with meat broth, and -the other with the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">héwe</i> and sweet-bread, and -placing the bowl of meat broth on her head, she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>15]</a></span> -took the tray of <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">héwe</i> in her hand, and started -down toward the corn-field by the river-side to meet -her lover and to thank him.</p> - -<p>Witches are always jealous of the happiness and -good fortune of others. So was the sister of the -beautiful maiden jealous when she saw the smile -on her <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">háni’s</i> face as she tripped toward the river.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ho há!</i>” said the two-hearted sister. “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tém-ithlokwa -thlokwá! Wananí!</i>” which are words -of defiance and hatred, used so long ago by demons -and wizards that no one knows nowadays -what they mean except the last one, which plainly -says, “Just wait a bit!” and she hastened to dress -herself, through her wicked knowledge, exactly -as the beautiful maiden was dressed. She even -carried just such a bowl and tray; and as she was -beautiful, like her younger sister, nobody could -have known the one from the other, or the other -from the one. Then she passed herself through -a hoop of magic yucca, which made her seem not -to be where she was, for no one could see her unless -she willed it.</p> - -<p>Now, just as the sun was resting in the middle -of the sky, the young man finished the field and -ran down to the river to wash. Before he was -done, he saw the maiden coming down the trail -with the bowl on her head and the tray in her -hand; so he made haste, and ran back to dress -himself and to sit down to wait for her. As she -approached, he said: “Thou comest, and may it be -happily,”—when lo! there appeared two maidens -exactly alike; so he quickly said, “Ye come.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>16]</a></span> -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">E</i>,” said the maidens, so nearly together that -it sounded like one voice; but when they both -placed the same food before him, the poor young -man looked from one to the other, and asked:</p> - -<p>“Alas! of which am I to eat?”</p> - -<p>Then it was that the maiden suddenly saw her -sister, and became hot with anger, for she knew -her wicked plans. “Ah, thou foolish sister, why -didst thou come?” she said. But the other only -replied:</p> - -<p>“Ah, thou foolish sister, why didst <em>thou</em> come?”</p> - -<p>“Go back, for he is mine-to-be,” said the maiden, -beginning to cry.</p> - -<p>“Go back, for he is mine-to-be,” said the bad -one, pretending to cry.</p> - -<p>And thus they quarrelled until they had given -one another smarting words four times, when they -fell to fighting—as women always fight, by pulling -each other’s hair, and scratching, and grappling -until they rolled over each other in the sand.</p> - -<p>The poor young man started forward to part -them, but he knew not one from the other, so -thinking that the bad one must know how to fight -better than his beautiful maiden wife, he suddenly -caught up his stone-weighted hoe, and furiously -struck the one that was uppermost on the head, -again and again, until she let go her hold, and fell -back, murmuring and moaning: “Alas! that thus -it should be after all, after all!” Then she forgot, -and her eyes ceased to see.</p> - -<p>While yet the young man looked, lo! there was -only the dying maiden before him; but in the air -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>17]</a></span> -above circled an ugly black Crow, that laughed -“<i>kawkaw, kawkaw, kawkaw!</i>” and flew away to -its cave in Thunder Mountain.</p> - -<p>Then the young man knew. He cried aloud -and beat his breast; then he ran to the river and -brought water and bathed the blood away from -the maiden’s temples; but alas! she only smiled -and talked with her lips, then grew still and cold.</p> - -<p>Alone, as the sun travelled toward the land of -evening, wept the young man over the body of his -beautiful wife. He knew naught but his sad -thoughts. He took her in his arms, and placed -his face close to hers, and again and again he -called to her: “Alas, alas! my beautiful wife; I -loved thee, I love thee. Alas, alas! Ah, my -beautiful wife, my beautiful wife!”</p> - -<p>When the people returned from their fields in -the evening, they missed the beautiful maiden of -Mátsaki; and they saw the young man, bending -low and alone over something down in the lands -of the priest-chief by the river, and when they -told the old father, he shook his head and said:</p> - -<p>“It is not well with my beautiful child; but as -They (the gods) say, thus must all things be.” -Then he smiled—for the heart of a priest-chief -never cries,—and told them to go and bring her -to the plaza of Mátsaki and bury her before the -House of the Sun; for he knew what had happened.</p> - -<p>So the people did as their father had told them. -They went down at sunset and took the beautiful -maiden away, and wrapped her in mantles, and -buried her near the House of the Sun.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>18]</a></span> -But the poor young man knew naught but his -sad thoughts. He followed them; and when he -had made her grave, he sat down by her earth -bed and would not leave her. No, not even when -the sun set, but moaned and called to her: “Alas, -alas! my beautiful wife; I loved thee, I love thee; -even though I knew not thee and killed thee. -Alas! Ah, my beautiful wife!”</p> - - - -<p class="break">“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shonetchi!</i>” (“There is left of my story.”) -And what there is left, I will tell you some other -night.</p> - - -<h3>(<i>Told the Second Night</i>)</h3> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Sonahtchi!</i>”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Sons shonetchi!</i>” (“There is left of my story”;) -but I will tell you not alone of the Maid of Mátsaki, -because the young man killed her, for he knew not -his wife from the other. It is of the Red Feather, -or the Wife of Mátsaki that I will tell you this -sitting.</p> - -<p>Even when the sun set, and the hills and houses -grew black in the shadows, still the young man sat -by the grave-side, his hands rested upon his knees -and his face buried in them. And the people no -longer tried to steal his sad thoughts from him; -but, instead, left him, as one whose mind errs, to -wail out with weeping: “Alas, alas! my beautiful -wife; I loved thee, I love thee; even though I -knew not thee and killed thee! Alas! Ah, my -beautiful wife!”</p> - -<p>But when the moon set on the western hills, and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>19]</a></span> -the great snowdrift streaked across the mid-sky, -and the night was half gone, the sad watcher saw -a light in the grave-sands like the light of the -embers that die in the ashes. As he watched, his -sad thoughts became bright thoughts, for the light -grew and brightened till it burned the dark grave-sands -as sunlight the shadows. Lo! the bride lay -beneath. She tore off her mantles and raised up -in her grave-bed. Then she looked at the eager -lover so coldly and sadly that his bright thoughts -all darkened, for she mournfully told him: “Alas! -Ah, my lover, my husband knew not me from the -other; loved me not, therefore killed me; even -though I had hoped for love, loved me not, therefore -killed me!”</p> - -<p>Again the young man buried his face in his -hands and shook his head mournfully; and like one -whose thoughts erred, again he wailed his lament: -“Alas, alas! my beautiful bride! I do love thee; -I loved thee, but I did not know thee and killed -thee! Alas! Ah, my beautiful bride, my beautiful -bride!”</p> - -<p>At last, as the great star rose from the sky-land, -the dead maiden spoke softly to the mourning -lover, yet her voice was sad and strange: “Young -man, mourn thou not, but go back to the home of -thy fathers. Knowest thou not that I am another -being? When the sky of the day-land grows -yellow and the houses come out of the shadows, -then will the light whereby thou sawest me, fade -away in the morn-light, as the blazes of late councils -pale their red in the sunlight.” Then her voice -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>20]</a></span> -grew sadder as she said: “I am only a spirit; for -remember, alas! ah, my lover, my husband knew -not me from the other—loved me not, therefore -killed me; even though I had hoped for love, -loved me not, therefore killed me.”</p> - -<p>But the young man would not go until, in the -gray of the morning, he saw nothing where the -light had appeared but the dark sand of the grave -as it had been. Then he arose and went away in -sorrow. Nor would he all day speak to men, but -gazed only whither his feet stepped and shook his -head sadly like one whose thoughts wandered. -And when again the houses and hills grew black -with the shadows, he sought anew the fresh grave -and sat down by its side, bowed his head and still -murmured: “Alas, alas! my beautiful wife, I -loved thee, though I knew not thee, and killed -thee. Alas! Ah, my beautiful wife!”</p> - -<p>Even brighter glowed the light in the grave-sands -when the night was divided, and the maiden’s -spirit arose and sat in her grave-bed, but she -only reproached him and bade him go. “For,” said -she, “I am only a spirit; remember, alas! ah, my -lover, my husband knew not me from the other; -loved me not, therefore killed me; even though I -had hoped for love, loved me not, therefore killed -me!”</p> - -<p>But he left only in the morning, and again when -the dark came, returned to the grave-side.</p> - -<p>When the light shone that night, the maiden, -more beautiful than ever, came out of the grave-bed -and sat by her lover. Once more she urged -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>21]</a></span> -him to return to his fathers; but when she saw -that he would not, she said: “Thou hadst better, -for I go a long journey. As light as the wind is, -so light will my feet be; as long as the day is, thou -canst not my form see. Know thou not that the -spirits are seen but in darkness? for, alas! ah, my -lover, my husband knew not me from the other; -loved me not, therefore killed me; even though I had -hoped for love, loved me not, therefore killed me!”</p> - -<p>Then the young man ceased bemoaning his -beautiful bride. He looked at her sadly, and said: -“I do love thee, my beautiful wife! I do love -thee, and whither thou goest let me therefore go -with thee! I care not how long is the journey, -nor how hard is the way. If I can but see thee, -even only at night time, then will I be happy and -cease to bemoan thee. It was because I loved thee -and would have saved thee; but alas, my beautiful -wife! I knew not thee, therefore killed thee!”</p> - -<p>“Alas! Ah, my lover; and Ah! how I loved -thee; but I am a spirit, and thou art unfinished. -But if thou thus love me, go back when I leave -thee and plume many prayer-sticks. Choose a -light, downy feather and dye it with ocher. Wrap -up in thy blanket a lunch for four daylights; -bring with thee much prayer-meal; come to me at -midnight and sit by my grave-side, and when in the -eastward the day-land is lighting, tie over my forehead -the reddened light feather, and when with -the morning I fade from thy vision, follow only the -feather until it is evening, and then thou shalt see -me and sit down beside me.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>22]</a></span> -So at sunrise the young man went away and -gathered feathers of the summer birds, and cut -many prayer-sticks, whereon he bound them with -cotton, as gifts to the Fathers. Then he found a -beautiful downy feather plucked from the eagle, -and dyed it red with ocher, and tied to it a string -of cotton wherewith to fasten it over the forehead -of the spirit maiden. When night came, he took -meal made from parched corn and burnt sweet-bread, -and once more went down to the plaza and -sat by the grave-side.</p> - -<p>When midnight came and the light glowed forth -through the grave-sands, lo! the maiden-spirit came -out and stood by his side. She seemed no longer -sad, but happy, like one going home after long absence. -Nor was the young man sad or single-thoughted -like one whose mind errs; so they sat -together and talked of their journey till the day-land -grew yellow and the black shadows gray, and -the houses and hills came out of the darkness.</p> - -<p>“Once more would I tell thee to go back,” said -the maiden’s spirit to the young man; “but I -know why thou goest with me, and it is well. Only -watch me when the day comes, and thou wilt see me -no more; but look whither the plume goeth, and -follow, for thou knowest that thou must tie it to -the hair above my forehead.”</p> - -<p>Then the young man took the bright red plume -out from among the feathers of sacrifice, and gently -tied it above the maiden-spirit’s forehead.</p> - -<p>As the light waved up from behind the great -mountain the red glow faded out from the grave-sands -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>23]</a></span> -and the youth looked in vain for the spirit of -the maiden; but before him, at the height of one’s -hands when standing, waved the light downy -feather in the wind of the morning. Then the -plume, not the wife, rose before him, like the -plumes on the head of a dancer, and moved through -the streets that led westward, and down through -the fields to the river. And out through the streets -that led westward, and down on the trail by -the river, and on over the plains always toward -the land of evening, the young man followed -close the red feather; but at last he began -to grow weary, for the plume glided swiftly before -him, until at last it left him far behind, and even -now and then lost him entirely. Then, as he -hastened on, he called in anguish:</p> - -<p>“My beautiful bride! My beautiful bride! -Oh, where art thou?”</p> - -<p>But the plume, not the wife, stopped and waited. -And thus the plume and the young man journeyed -until, toward evening, they came to the forests of -sweet-smelling piñons and cedars. As the night -hid the hills in the shadows, alas! the plume disappeared, -but the young man pressed onward, for -he knew that the plume still journeyed westward. -Yet at times he was so weary that he almost lost -the strength of his thoughts; for he ran into trees -by the trail-side and stumbled over dry roots and -branches. So again and again he would call out -in anguish: “My beautiful wife! My beautiful -bride! Oh, where art thou?”</p> - -<p>At last, when the night was divided, to his joy -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>24]</a></span> -he saw, far away on the hill-top, a light that was -red and grew brighter like the light of a camp-fire’s -red embers when fanned by the wind of the night-time. -And like a star that is rising or setting, the -red light sat still on the hill-top. So he ran -hastily forward, until, as he neared the red light, -lo! there sat the spirit of the beautiful maiden; -and as he neared her, she said:</p> - -<p>“Comest thou?” and “How hast thou come -to the evening?”</p> - -<p>As she spoke she smiled, and motioned him to -sit down beside her. He was so weary that he -slept while he talked to her; but, remember, she -was a spirit, therefore she slept not.</p> - -<p>Just as the morning star came up from the day-land, -the maiden rose to journey on, and the -young man, awaking, followed her. But as the -hills came out of the shadows, the form of -the maiden before him grew fainter and fainter, -until it faded entirely, and only the red plume -floated before him, like the plume on the head of -a dancer. Far ahead and fast floated the plume, -until it entered a plain of lava filled with sharp -crags; yet still it went on, for the maiden’s spirit -moved over the barriers as lightly as the down of -dead flowers in autumn. But alas! the young -man had to seek his way, and the plume again left -him far behind, until he was forced to cry out: -“Ah, my beautiful bride, do wait for me, for I -love thee, and will not turn from thee!” Then -the plume stopped on the other side of the crags -and waited until the poor young man came nearer, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>25]</a></span> -his feet and legs cut and bleeding, and his wind -almost out. Then the trail was more even, and -led through wide plains; but even thus the young -man could scarce keep the red plume in sight. -But at night the maiden awaited him in a sheltered -place, and they rested together beneath the cedars -until daylight. Then again she faded out in the -daylight, and the red plume led the way.</p> - -<p>For a long time the trail was pleasant, but toward -evening they came to a wide bed of cactus, -and the plume passed over as swiftly as ever, but -the young man’s moccasins were soon torn and -his feet and legs cruelly lacerated with the cactus -spines; yet still he pursued the red plume until the -pain seemed to sting his whole body, and he -gasped and wailed: “Ah, my beautiful wife, wait -for me; do wait, for I love thee and will not leave -thee!” Then the plume stopped beyond the -plain of cactus and waited until he had passed -through, but not longer, for ere he had plucked all -the needles of the cactus from his bleeding feet, it -floated on, and he lifted himself up and followed -until at evening the maiden again waited and bade -him “Sit down and rest.”</p> - -<p>That night she seemed to pity him, and once -more spoke to him: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Yo á!</i> My lover, my husband, -turn back, oh, turn back! for the way is -long and untrodden, and thy heart is but weak and -is mortal. I go to the Council of Dead Ones, and -how can the living there enter?”</p> - -<p>But the youth only wept, and begged that she -let him go with her. “For, ah,” said he, “my -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>26]</a></span> -beautiful wife, my beautiful bride, I love thee and -cannot turn from thee!”</p> - -<p>And she smiled only and shook her head sadly -as she replied: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Yo á!</i> It shall be as thou -willest. It may be thy heart will not wither, for -tomorrow is one more day onward, and then -down the trail to the waters wherein stands the -ladder of others, shall I lead thee to wait me forever.”</p> - -<p>At mid-sun on the day after, the plume led the -way straight to a deep cañon, the walls of which -were so steep that no man could pass them alive. -For a moment the red plume paused above the -chasm, and the youth pressed on and stretched -his hand forth to detain it; but ere he had gained -the spot, it floated on straight over the dark cañon, -as though no ravine had been there at all; for to -spirits the trails that once have been, even though -the waters have worn them away, still are.</p> - -<p>Wildly the young man rushed up and down the -steep brink, and despairingly he called across to -the plume: “Alas! ah, my beautiful wife! Wait, -only wait for me, for I love thee and cannot turn -from thee!” Then, like one whose thoughts wandered, -he threw himself over the brink and hung -by his hands as if to drop, when a jolly little striped -Squirrel, who was playing at the bottom of the -cañon, happened to see him, and called out: -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tsithl! Tsithl!</i>” and much more, which meant -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ah hai! Wananí!</i>” “You crazy fool of a being! -You have not the wings of a falcon, nor the -hands of a Squirrel, nor the feet of a spirit, and if -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>27]</a></span> -you drop you will be broken to pieces and the -moles will eat up the fragments! Wait! Hold -hard, and I will help you, for, though I am but a -Squirrel, I know how to think!”</p> - -<p>Whereupon the little chit ran chattering away -and called his mate out of their house in a rock-nook: -“Wife! Wife! Come quickly; run to our -corn room and bring me a hemlock, and hurry! -hurry! Ask me no questions; for a crazy fool of -a man over here will break himself to pieces if we -don’t quickly make him a ladder.”</p> - -<p>So the little wife flirted her brush in his face and -skipped over the rocks to their store-house, where -she chose a fat hemlock and hurried to her husband -who was digging a hole in the sand underneath -where the young man was hanging. Then -they spat on the seed, and buried it in the hole, -and began to dance round it and sing,—</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Kiäthlä tsilu,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Silokwe, silokwe, silokwe;</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ki′ai silu silu,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i5"><i>Tsithl! Tsithl!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Which meant, as far as any one can tell now (for -it was a long time ago, and partly squirrel talk),</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Hemlock of the<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Tall kind, tall kind, tall kind,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Sprout up hemlock, hemlock,<br /></div> -<div class="i5">Chit! Chit!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>And every time they danced around and sang the -song through, the ground moved, until the fourth -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>28]</a></span> -time they said “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tsithl! Tsithl!</i>” the tree sprouted -forth and kept growing until the little Squirrel -could jump into it, and by grabbing the topmost -bough and bracing himself against the branches -below, could stretch and pull it, so that in a short -time he made it grow as high as the young man’s -feet, and he had all he could do to keep the poor -youth from jumping right into it before it was -strong enough to hold him. Presently he said -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tsithl! Tsithl!</i>” and whisked away before the -young man had time to thank him. Then the sad -lover climbed down and quickly gained the other -side, which was not so steep; before he could rest -from his climb, however, the plume floated on, and -he had to get up and follow it.</p> - -<p>Just as the sun went into the west, the plume -hastened down into a valley between the mountains, -where lay a beautiful lake; and around the -borders of the lake a very ugly old man and woman, -who were always walking back and forth -across the trails, came forward and laughed loudly -and greeted the beautiful maiden pleasantly. Then -they told her to enter; and she fearlessly walked -into the water, and a ladder of flags came up out -of the middle of the lake to receive her, down -which she stepped without stopping until she -passed under the waters. For a little—and then -all was over—a bright light shone out of the -water, and the sound of many glad voices and soft -merry music came also from beneath it; then the -stars of the sky and the stars of the waters looked -the same at each other as they had done before.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>29]</a></span> -“Alas!” cried the young man as he ran to the -lake-side. “Ah, my beautiful wife, my beautiful -wife, only wait, only wait, that I may go with -thee!” But only the smooth waters and the old -man and woman were before him; nor did the -ladder come out or the old ones greet him. So he -sat down on the lake-side wringing his hands and -weeping, and ever his mind wandered back to his -old lament: “Alas! alas! my beautiful bride, my -beautiful wife, I love thee; I loved thee, but I knew -not thee and killed thee!”</p> - -<p>Toward the middle of the night once more he -heard strange, happy voices. The doorway to the -Land of Spirits opened, and the light shot up -through the dark green waters from many windows, -like sparks from a chimney on a dark, windless -night. Then the ladder again ascended, and -he saw the forms of the dead pass out and in, and -heard the sounds of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i>, as it danced for the -gods. The comers and goers were bright and -beautiful, but their garments were snow-white cotton, -stitched with many-colored threads, and their -necklaces and bracelets were of dazzling white -shells and turquoises unnumbered. Once he ventured -to gain the bright entrance, but the water -grew deep and chilled him till he trembled with -fear and cold. Yet he looked in at the entrances, -and lo! as he gazed he caught sight of his beautiful -bride all covered with garments and bright -things. And there in the midst of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i> she -sat at the head of the dancers. She seemed happy -and smiled as she watched, and youths as bright -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>30]</a></span> -and as happy came around her, and she seemed to -forget her lone lover.</p> - -<p>Then with a cry of despair and anguish he -crawled to the lake-shore and buried his face in -the sands and rank grasses. Suddenly he heard a -low screech, and then a hoarse voice seemed to call -him. He looked, and a great Owl flew over him, -saying: “<i>Muhaí! Hu hu! Hu hu!</i>”</p> - -<p>“What wilt thou?” he cried, in vexed anguish.</p> - -<p>Then the Owl flew closer, and, lighting, asked: -“Why weepest thou, my child?”</p> - -<p>He turned and looked at the Owl and told it -part of his trouble, when the Owl suddenly twisted -its head quite around—as owls do—to see if anyone -were near; then came closer and said: “I know -all about it, young man. Come with me to my -house in the mountain, and if thou wilt but follow -my counsel, all will yet be well.” Then the Owl -led the way to a cave far above and bade him step -in. As he placed his foot inside the opening, behold! -it widened into a bright room, and many -Owl-men and Owl-women around greeted him happily, -and bade him sit down and eat.</p> - -<p>The old Owl who had brought him, changed himself -in a twinkling, as he entered the room, and -hung his owl-coat on an antler. Then he went -away, but presently returned, bringing a little bag -of medicine. “Before I give thee this, let me tell -thee what to do, and what thou must promise,” -said he of the owl-coat.</p> - -<p>The young man eagerly reached forth his hand -for the magic medicine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>31]</a></span> -“Fool!” cried the being; “were it not well, for -that would I not help thee. Thou art too eager, -and I will not trust thee with my medicine of -sleep. Thou shalt sleep here, and when thou -awakest thou shalt find the morning star in the -sky, and thy dead wife before thee on the trail -toward the Middle Ant Hill. With the rising sun -she will wake and smile on thee. Be not foolish, -but journey preciously with her, and not until ye -reach the home of thy fathers shalt thou approach -her or kiss her; for if thou doest this, all will be -as nothing again. But if thou doest as I counsel -thee, all will be well, and happily may ye live one -with the other.”</p> - -<p>He ceased, and, taking a tiny pinch of the medicine, -blew it in the face of the youth. Instantly -the young man sank with sleep where he had been -sitting, and the beings, putting on their owl-coats, -flew away with him under some trees by the trail -that led to Mátsaki and the Ant Hill of the Middle.</p> - -<p>Then they flew over the lake, and threw the -medicine of sleep in at the windows, and taking -the plumed prayer-sticks which the young man had -brought with him, they chose some red plumes for -themselves, and with the others entered the home -of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i>. Softly they flew over the sleeping -fathers and their children (the gods of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i> -and the spirits) and, laying the prayer-plumes before -the great altar, caught up the beautiful maiden -and bore her over the waters and woodlands to -where the young man was still sleeping. Then -they hooted and flew off to their mountain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>32]</a></span> -As the great star came out of the day-land, the -young man awoke, and lo! there before him lay -his own beautiful wife. Then he turned his face -away that he might not be tempted, and waited -with joy and longing for the coming out of the -sun. When at last the sun came out, with the -first ray that brightened the beautiful maiden’s -face, she opened her eyes and gazed wildly around -at first, but seeing her lonely lover, smiled, and -said: “Truly, thou lovest me!”</p> - -<p>Then they arose and journeyed apart toward the -home of their fathers, and the young man forgot -not the counsel of the Owl, but journeyed wisely, -till on the fourth day they came in sight of the -Mountain of Thunder and saw the river that flows -by Salt City.</p> - -<p>As they began to go down into the valley, the -maiden stopped and said: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hahuá</i>, I am weary, -for the journey is long and the day is warm.” -Then she sat down in the shadow of a cedar and -said: “Watch, my husband, while I sleep a little; -only a little, and then we will journey together -again.” And he said: “Be it well.”</p> - -<p>Then she lay down and seemed to sleep. She -smiled and looked so beautiful to the longing lover -that he softly rose and crept close to her. Then, -alas! he laid his hand upon her and kissed her.</p> - -<p>Quickly the beautiful maiden started. Her face -was all covered with sadness, and she said, hastily -and angrily: “Ah, thou shameless fool! I now -know! Thou lovest me not! How vain that I -should have hoped for thy love!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>33]</a></span> -With shame, indeed, and sorrow, he bent his -head low and covered his face with his hands. -Then he started to speak, when an Owl flew up -and hooted mournfully at him from a tree-top. -Then the Owl winged her way to the westward, -and ever after the young man’s mind wandered.</p> - -<p>Alas! alas! Thus it was in the days of the -ancients. Maybe had the young man not kissed -her yonder toward the Lake of the Dead, we -would never have journeyed nor ever have -mourned for others lost. But then it is well! If -men and women had never died, then the world -long ago had overflown with children, starvation, -and warring.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 480px;"> -<img src="images/zft03.png" width="480" height="321" -alt="A young man and young woman" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>34]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap02" id="chap02"></a>THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N forgotten times, in the days of our ancients, at -the Middle Place, or what is now Shíwina -(Zuñi), there lived a youth who was well grown, or -perfect in manhood. He had a pet Eagle which -he kept in a cage down on the roof of the first -terrace of the house of his family. He loved this -Eagle so dearly that he could not endure to be -separated from it; not only this, but he spent -nearly all his time in caring for and fondling his -pet. Morning, noon, and evening, yea, and even -between those times, you would see him going -down to the eagle-cage with meat and other kinds -of delicate food. Day after day there you would -find him sitting beside the Eagle, petting it and -making affectionate speeches, to all of which treatment -the bird responded with a most satisfied air, -and seemed equally fond of his owner.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"> -<a name="plate02" id="plate02"></a> -<img src="images/zft04.jpg" width="700" height="489" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by Hillers</p> -<p class="caption">THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE</p> -</div> - -<p>Whenever a storm came the youth would hasten -out of the house, as though the safety of the crops -depended upon it, to protect the Eagle. So, winter -and summer, no other care occupied his attention. -Corn-field and melon-garden was this bird -to this youth; so much so that his brothers, elder -and younger, and his male relatives generally, -looked down upon him as negligent of all manly -duties, and wasteful of their substance, which he -helped not to earn in his excessive care of the -bird. Naturally, therefore, they looked with aversion -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>35]</a></span> -upon the Eagle; and one evening, after a -hard day’s work, after oft-repeated remonstrances -with the youth for not joining in their labors, they -returned home tired and out of humor, and, climbing -the ladder of the lower terrace, passed the -great cage on their way into the upper house. -They stopped a moment before entering, and one -of the eldest of the party exclaimed: “We have -remonstrated in vain with the younger brother; -we have represented his duties to him in every -possible light, yet without effect. What remains -to be done? What plans can we devise to alienate -him from this miserable Eagle?”</p> - -<p>“Why not kill the wretched bird?” asked one -of them. “That, I should say, would be the most -simple means of curing him of his infatuation.”</p> - -<p>“That is an excellent plan,” exclaimed all of the -brothers as they went on into the house; “we -must adopt it.”</p> - -<p>The Eagle, apparently so unconscious, heard all -this, and pondered over it. Presently came the -youth with meat and other delicate food for his -beloved bird, and, opening the wicket of the gate, -placed it within and bade the Eagle eat. But the -bird looked at him and at the food with no apparent -interest, and, lowering its head on its breast, sat -moody and silent.</p> - -<p>“Are you ill, my beloved Eagle?” asked the -youth, “or why is it that you do not eat?”</p> - -<p>“I do not care to eat,” said the Eagle, speaking -for the first time. “I am oppressed with much -anxiety.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>36]</a></span> -“Do eat, my beloved Eagle,” said the youth. -“Why should you be sad? Have I neglected -you?”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed, you have not,” said the Eagle. -“For this reason I love you as you love me; for -this reason I prize and cherish you as you cherish -me; and yet it is for this very reason that I am -sad. Look you! Your brothers and relatives have -often remonstrated with you for your neglect of -their fields and your care for me. They have often -been angered with you for not bearing your part in -the duties of the household. Therefore it is that -they look with reproach upon you and with aversion -upon me, so much so that they have at last determined -to destroy me in order to do away with your -affection for me and to withdraw your attention. -For this reason I am sad,—not that they can harm -me, for I need but spread my wings when the wicket -is opened, and what can they do? But I would not -part from you, for I love you. I would not that -you should part with me, for you love me. Therefore -am I sad, for I must go tomorrow to my home -in the skies,” said the Eagle, again relapsing into -moody silence.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my beloved bird! my own dear Eagle, -how could I live without you? How could I remain -behind when you went forward, below when -you went upward?” exclaimed the youth, already -beginning to weep. “No! Go, go, if it need be, -alas! but let me go with you,” said the youth.</p> - -<p>“My friend! my poor, poor youth!” said the -Eagle, “you cannot go with me. You have not -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>37]</a></span> -wings to fly, nor have you knowledge to guide your -course through the high skies into other worlds -that you know not of.”</p> - -<p>“Let me go with you,” cried the youth, falling -on his knees by the side of the cage. “I will -comfort you, I will care for you, even as I have -done here; but live without you I cannot!”</p> - -<p>“Ah, my youth,” said the Eagle, “I would that -you could go with me, but the end would not be -well. You know not how little you love me that -you wish to do this thing. Think for a moment! -The foods that my people eat are not the foods of -your people; they are not ripened by fire for our -consumption, but whatever we capture abroad on -our measureless hunts we devour as it is, asking no -fire to render it palatable or wholesome. You -could not exist thus.”</p> - -<p>“My Eagle! my Eagle!” cried the youth. “If -I were to remain behind when you went forward, -or below when you went upward, food would be as -nothing to me; and were it not better that I should -eat raw food, or no food, than that I should stay -here, excessively and sadly thinking of you, and -thus never eat at all, even of the food of my own -people? No, let me go with you!”</p> - -<p>“Once more I implore you, my youth,” said the -Eagle, “not to go with me, for to your own undoing -and to my sadness will such a journey be -undertaken.”</p> - -<p>“Let me go, let me go! Only let me go!” implored -the youth.</p> - -<p>“It is said,” replied the Eagle calmly. “Even -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>38]</a></span> -as you wish, so be it. Now go unto your own -home for the last time; gather large quantities of -sustaining food, as for a long journey. Place this -food in strong pouches, and make them all into a -package which you can sling upon your shoulder -or back. Then come to me tomorrow morning, -after the people have begun to descend to their -fields.”</p> - -<p>The youth bade good-night to his Eagle and -went into the house. He took of parched flour a -great quantity, of dried and pulverized wafer-bread -a large bag, and of other foods, such as hunters -carry and on which they sustain themselves -long, he took a good supply, and made them all -into a firm package. Then, with high hopes and -much thought of the morrow, he laid himself to -rest. He slept late into the morning, and it was -not until his brothers had departed for their fields -of corn that he arose; and, eating a hasty breakfast, -slung the package of foods over his shoulders and -descended to the cage of the Eagle. The great -bird was waiting for him. With a smile in its eyes -it came forth when he opened the wicket, and, -settling down on the ground, spread out its wings -and bade the youth mount.</p> - -<p>“Sit on my back, for it is strong, oh youth! -Grasp the base of my wings, and rest your feet -above my thighs, that you may not fall off. Are -you ready? Ah, well. And have you all needful -things in the way of food? Good. Let us start -on our journey.”</p> - -<p>Saying this, the Eagle rose slowly, circling wider -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>39]</a></span> -and wider as it went up, and higher and higher, until -it had risen far above the town, going slowly. -Presently it said: “My youth, I will sing a farewell -song to your people for you and for me, that they -may know of our final departure.” Then, as with -great sweeps of its wings it circled round and -round, going higher and higher, it sang this song:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Huli-i-i—Huli-i-i—<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Pa shish lakwa-a-a—<br /></div> -<div class="i5">U-u-u-u—<br /></div> -<div class="i5">U-u-u-u-a!<br /></div> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i2">Pa shish lakwa-a-a—<br /></div> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i5">U-u-u-u—<br /></div> -<div class="i5">U-u-u-u-a!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>As the song floated down from on high, “Save -us! By our eyes!” exclaimed the people. “The -Eagle and the youth! They are escaping; they -are leaving us!”</p> - -<p>And so the word went from mouth to mouth, -and from ear to ear, until the whole town was -gazing at the Eagle and the youth, and the song -died away in the distance, and the Eagle became -smaller and smaller, winding its way upward until -it was a mere speck, and finally vanished in the -very zenith.</p> - -<p>The people shook their heads and resumed their -work, but the Eagle and the youth went on until -at last they came to the great opening in the -zenith of the sky. In passing upward by its endless -cliffs they came out on the other side into -the sky-world; and still upward soared the Eagle, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>40]</a></span> -until it alighted with its beloved burden on the -summit of the Mountain of Turquoises, so blue -that the light shining on it paints the sky blue.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Huhua!</i>” said the Eagle, with the weariness -that comes at the end of a long journey. “We -have reached our journey’s end for a time. Let -us rest ourselves on this mountain height of my -beloved world.”</p> - -<p>The youth descended and sat by the Eagle’s -side, and the Eagle, raising its wings until the -tips touched above, lowered its head, and catching -hold of its crown, shook it from side to side, and -then drew upon it, and then gradually the eagle-coat -parted, and while the youth looked and wondered -in love and joy, a beautiful maiden was -uncovered before him, in garments of dazzling -whiteness, softness, and beauty. No more beautiful -maiden could be conceived than this one,—bright -of face, clear and clean, with eyes so dark -and large and deep, and yet sharp, that it was bewildering -to look into them. Such eyes have -never been seen in this world.</p> - -<p>“Come with me, my youth—you who have loved -me so well,” said she, approaching him and reaching -out her hand. “Let us wander for a while on this -mountain side and seek the home of my people.”</p> - -<p>They descended the mountain and wound round -its foot until, looking up in the clear light of the -sky-world, they beheld a city such as no man has -ever seen. Lofty were its walls,—smooth, gleaming, -clean, and white; no ladders, no smoke, no -filth in any part whatsoever.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>41]</a></span> -“Yonder is the home of my people,” said the -maiden, and resuming her eagle-dress she took the -youth on her back again, and, circling upward, -hovered for a moment over this home of the -Eagles, then, through one of the wide entrances -which were in the roof, slowly descended. No ladders -were there, inside or outside; no need of them -with a people winged like the Eagles, for a people -they were, like ourselves—more a people, indeed, -than we, for in one guise or the other they might -appear at will.</p> - -<p>No sooner had the Eagle-maiden and the youth -entered this great building than those who were -assembled there greeted them with welcome assurances -of joy at their coming. “Sit ye down and -rest,” said they.</p> - -<p>The youth looked around. The great room into -which they had descended was high and broad and -long, and lighted from many windows in its roof -and upon its walls, which were beautifully white -and clean and finished, as no walls in this world -are, with many devices pleasing to the eye. Starting -out from these walls were many hooks or pegs, -suspended from which were the dresses of the Eagles -who lived there, the forms of which we know.</p> - -<p>“Yea, sit ye down and rest and be happy,” said an -old man. Wonderfully fine he was as he arose -and approached the couple and said, spreading -abroad his wings: “Be ye always one to the other -wife and husband. Shall it be so?”</p> - -<p>And they both, smiling, said “Yes.” And so the -youth married the Eagle-maiden.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>42]</a></span> -After a few days of rest they found him an eagle-coat, -fine as the finest, with broad, strong wings, -and beautiful plumage, and they taught him how -to conform himself to it and it to himself. And as -Eagles would teach a young Eagle here in this -world of ours, so they taught the youth gradually -to fly. At first they would bid him poise himself -in his eagle-form on the floor of their great room, -and, laying all over it soft things, bid him open his -wings and leap into the air. Anxious to learn, he -would spread his great wings and with a powerful -effort send himself high up toward the ceiling; but -untaught to sustain himself there, would fall with -many a flap and tumble to the floor. Again and -again this was tried, but after a while he learned to -sustain and guide himself almost wholly round the -room without once touching anything; and his -wife in her eagle-form would fly around him, watching -and helping, and whenever his flight wavered -would fan a strong wind up against his wings with -her own that he might not falter, until he had at -last learned wholly to support himself in the air. -Then she bade him one day come out with her to -the roof of the house, and from there they sailed -away, away, and away over the great valleys and -plains below, ever keeping to the northward and -eastward; and whenever he faltered in his flight -she bore his wings up with her own wings, teaching -him how, this way and that, until, when they returned -to the roof, those who watched them said: “Now, -indeed, is he learned in the ways of our people. -How good it is that this is so!” And they were -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>43]</a></span> -very happy, the youth and the Eagle-maiden and -their people.</p> - -<p>One day the maiden took the youth out again -into the surrounding country, and as they flew -along she said to him: “You may wonder that we -never fly toward the southward. Oh, my youth, -my husband! never go yonder, for over that low -range of mountains is a fearful world, where no -mortal can venture. If you love me, oh, if you -truly love me, never venture yonder!” And he -listened to her advice and promised that he would -not go there. Then they went home.</p> - -<p>One day there was a grand hunt, and he was -invited to join in it. Over the wide world flew -this band of Eagle hunters to far-away plains. -Whatsoever they would hunt, behold! below them -somewhere or other might the game be seen, were -it rabbit, mountain sheep, antelope, or deer, and -each according to his wish captured the kind of -game he would, the youth bringing home with -the rest his quarry. Of all the game they captured -he could eat none, for in that great house of -the Eagles, so beautiful, so perfect, no fire ever -burned, no cooking was ever done. And after -many days the food which the youth brought with -him was diminished so that his wife took him out -to a high mountain one day, and said: “As I have -told you before, the region beyond those low -mountains is fearful and deadly; but yonder in -the east are other kinds of people than those -whom you should dread. Not far away is the -home of the Pelicans and Storks, who, as you -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>44]</a></span> -know, eat food that has been cooked, even as your -people do. When you grow hungry, my husband, -go to them, and as they are your grandparents -they will feed you and give you of their abundance -of food, that you may bring it here, and thus we -shall do well and be happy.”</p> - -<p>The youth assented, and, guided part of the -way by his faithful, loving wife, he went to the -home of the Storks. No sooner had he appeared -than they greeted him with loud assurances of -welcome and pleasure at his coming, and bade him -eat. And they set before him bean-bread, bean-stews, -beans which were baked, as it were, and -mushes of beans with meat intermixed, which -seemed as well cooked as the foods of our own -people here on this mortal earth. And the youth -ate part of them, and with many thanks returned -to his home among the Eagles. And thus, as his -wife had said before, it was all well, and they continued -to live there happily.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_2_2">[2]</a></span> -This curious conception of the food of the storks and cranes and pelicans, -for of such birds the folk-tale tells, is interesting. It is doubtless an -attempt to explain what has been observed with relation to the pelicans -and the storks especially: that they consume their food raw, and, as the -Indian believes, cook it, as it were, in their own bodies, and then withdraw -it, either for their young or for their final consumption. As this -semi-digested food of such birds resembles very nearly the thick bean -stews of the Zuñis, they have evidently taken from it the suggestion for -the special kinds of food which were offered to the youth. <a href="#FNanchor_2_2">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Between the villages of the Eagles and the -Storks the youth lived; so that by-and-by the -Storks became almost as fond of him as were -the Eagles, addressing him as their beloved grandchild. -And in consequence of this fondness, his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>45]</a></span> -old grandfather and grandmother among the -Storks especially called his attention to the fearful -region lying beyond the range of mountains to the -south, and they implored him, as his wife had done, -not to go thither. “For the love of us, do not go -there, oh, grandchild!” said they one day, when -he was about to leave.</p> - -<p>He seemed to agree with them, and spread his -wings and flew away. But when he had gone a -long distance, he turned southward, with this exclamation: -“Why should I not see what this is? -Who can harm me, floating on these strong wings -of mine? Who can harm an Eagle in the sky?” -So he flew over the edge of the mountains, and -behold! rising up on the plains beyond them was -a great city, fine and perfect, with walls of stone -built as are the towns of our dead ancients. And -the smoke was wreathing forth from its chimneys, -and in the hazy distance it seemed teeming with -life at the moment when the youth saw it, which -was at evening time.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants of that city saw him and sent -messages forth to the town of the Eagles that they -would make a grand festival and dance, and -invited the Eagles to come with their friends to -witness this dance. And when the youth returned -to the home of his Eagle people, behold! already -had this message been delivered there, and his -wife in sorrow was awaiting him at the doorway.</p> - -<p>“Alas! alas! my youth! my husband!” said -she. “And so, regarding more your own curiosity -than the love of your wife, you have been into that -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>46]</a></span> -fearful country, and as might have been expected, -you were observed. We are now invited to visit -the city you saw and to witness a dance of the inhabitants -thereof, which invitation we cannot refuse, -and you must go with us. It remains to be -seen, oh my youth, whom I trusted, if your love for -me be so great that you may stand the test of this -which you have brought upon yourself, by heedlessness -of my advice and that of your grandparents, -the Storks. Oh, my husband, I despair of -you, and thus despairing, I implore you to heed me -once more, and all may be well with you even yet. -Go with us tonight to the city you saw, the most -fearful of all cities, for it is the city of the damned, -and wonderful things you will see; but do not -laugh or even smile once. I will sit by your side -and look at you. Oh, think of me as I do of you, -and thus thinking you will not smile. If you truly -love me, and would remain with me always, and -be happy as I would be happy, do this one thing -for me.”</p> - -<p>The youth promised over and over, and when -night came he went with the Eagle people to that -city. A beautiful place it was, large and fine, with -high walls of stone and many a little window out -of which the red fire-light was shining. The smoke -was going up from its chimneys, the sparks winding -up through it, and, with beacon fires burning on the -roofs, it was a happy, bustling scene that met the -gaze of the youth as he approached the town. -There were sounds and cries of life everywhere. -Lights shone and merriment echoed from every -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>47]</a></span> -street and room, and they were ushered into a -great dance hall, or <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">kiwitsin</i>, where the audience -was already assembled.</p> - -<p>By-and-by the sounds of the coming dance were -heard, and all was expectation. The fires blazed up -and the lights shone all round the room, making it -as bright as day. In came the dancers, maidens -mostly, beautiful, and clad in the richest of ancient -garments; their eyes were bright, their hair black -and soft, their faces gleaming with merriment and -pleasure. And they came joking down the ladders -into the room before the place where the youth sat, -and as they danced down the middle of the floor -they cried out in shrill, yet not unpleasant voices, -as they jostled each other, playing grotesque -pranks and assuming the most laughter-stirring -attitudes:</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hapa! hapa! is! is! is!</i>” (“Dead! dead! -this! this! this!”)—pointing at one another, and -repeating this baleful expression, although so beautiful, -and full of life and joy and merriment.</p> - -<p>Now, the youth looked at them all through this -long dance, and though he thought it strange that -they should exclaim thus one to another, so lively -and pretty and jolly they were, he was nevertheless -filled with amusement at their strange antics and -wordless jokes. Still he never smiled.</p> - -<p>Then they filed in again and there were more -dancers, merrier than before, and among them were -two or three girls of surpassing beauty even in that -throng of lovely women, and one of them looked in -a coquettish manner constantly toward the youth, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>48]</a></span> -directing all her smiles and merriment to him as -she pointed round to her companions, exclaiming: -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hapa! hapa! is! is! is!</i>”</p> - -<p>The youth grew forgetful of everything else as -he leaned forward, absorbed in watching this girl -with her bright eyes and merry smiles. When, -finally, in a more amusing manner than before, she -jostled some merry dancer, he laughed outright -and the girl ran forward toward him, with two -others following, and reaching out, grasped his -hands and dragged him into the dance. The Eagle-maiden -lifted her wings and with a cry of woe flew -away with her people. But ah, ah! the youth -minded nothing, he was so wild with merriment, like -the beautiful maidens by his side, and up and down -the great lighted hall he danced with them, joining -in their uncouth postures and their exclamations, of -which he did not yet understand the true meaning—“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hapa! -hapa! is! is! is!</i>”</p> - -<p>By-and-by the fire began to burn low, and the -maidens said to him: “Come and pass the night -with us all here. Why go back to your home? Are -we not merry companions? Ha! ha! ha! ha! -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hapa! hapa! is! is! is!</i>” They began to laugh -and jostle one another again. Thus they led the -youth, not unwillingly on his part, away into a -far-off room, large and fine like the others, and -there on soft blankets he lay himself down, and -these maidens gathered round him, one pillowing -his head on her arm, another smiling down into his -face, another sitting by his side, and soon he fell -asleep. All became silent, and the youth slept on.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>49]</a></span> -In the morning, when broad daylight had come, -the youth opened his eyes and started. It seemed -as though there were more light than there should -be in the house. He looked up, and the room -which had been so fine and finished the night before -was tottering over his head; the winds shrieked -through great crevices in the walls; the windows -were broken and wide open; sand sifted through on -the wind and eddied down into the old, barren room. -The rafters, dried and warped with age, were bending -and breaking, and pieces of the roof fell now and -then when the wind blew more strongly. He raised -himself, and clammy bones fell from around him; -and when he cast his eyes about him, there on the -floor were strewn bones and skulls. Here and -there a face half buried in the sand, with eyes -sunken and dried and patches of skin clinging to -it, seemed to glare at him. Fingers and feet, as of -mummies, were strewn about, and it was as if the -youth had entered a great cemetery, where the remains -of the dead of all ages were littered about. -He lifted himself still farther, and where the head -of one maiden had lain or the arms of another had -entwined with his, bones were clinging to him. -One by one he picked them off stealthily and laid -them down, until at last he freed himself, and, rising, -cautiously stepped between the bones which -were lying around, making no noise until he came -to the broken-down doorway of the place. There, -as he passed out, his foot tripped against a splinter -of bone which was embedded in the debris of the -ruin, and as a sliver sings in the wind, so this sang -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>50]</a></span> -out. The youth, startled and terrorized, sprang -forth and ran for his life in the direction of the -home of the Storks. Shrieking, howling, and -singing like a slivered stick in the wind, like creaking -boughs in the forest, with groans and howls -and whistlings that seemed to freeze the youth as -he ran, these bones and fragments of the dead -arose and, like a flock of vampires, pursued him -noisily.</p> - -<p>He ran and ran, and the great cloud of the dead -were coming nearer and nearer and pressing round -him, when he beheld one of his grandparents, a -Badger, near its hole. The Badger, followed by -others, was fast approaching him, having heard this -fearful clamor, and cried out: “Our grandson! -Let’s save him!” So they ran forward and, catching -him up, cast him down into one of their -holes. Then, turning toward the uncanny crowd and -bristling up, with sudden emotion and mighty effort -they cast off that odor by which, as you know, they -may defile the very winds. <i>Thlitchiii!</i> it met -the crowd of ghosts. <i>Thliwooo!</i> the whole host -of them turned with wails and howls and gnashings -of teeth back toward the City of the Dead, whence -they had come. And the Badgers ran into the -hole where lay the youth, lifted him up, and -scolded him most vigorously for his folly.</p> - -<p>Then they said: “Sit up, you fool, for you are -not yet saved! Hurry!” said they, one to another. -“Heat water!” And, the water being heated, nauseating -herbs and other medicines were mingled -with it, and the youth was directed to drink of that. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>51]</a></span> -He drank, not once, but four times. <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ukch, usa!</i>—and -after he had been thus treated the old Badgers -asked him if he felt relieved or well, and the youth -said he was very well compared with what he had -been.</p> - -<p>Then they stood him up in their midst and said -to him: “You fool and faithless lout, why did -you go and become enamored of Death, however -beautiful? It is only a wonder that with all our -skill and power we have saved you thus far. It -will be a still greater wonder, O foolish one, if she -who loved you still loves you enough after this -faithlessness to save the life which you have forfeited. -Who would dance and take joy in Death? -Go now to the home of your grandparents, the -Storks, and there live. Your plumage gone, your -love given up, what remains? You can neither descend -to your own people below without wings, -nor can you live with the people of the Eagles -without love. Go, therefore, to your grandparents!”</p> - -<p>And the youth got up and dragged himself away -to the home of the Storks; but when he arrived -there they looked at him with downcast faces and -reproached him over and over, saying: “There is -small possibility of your regaining what you have -forfeited,—the love and affection of your wife.”</p> - -<p>“But I will go to her and plead with her,” said -the youth. “How should I know what I was -doing?”</p> - -<p>“We told you not to do it, and you heeded not -our telling.”</p> - -<p>So the youth lagged away to the home of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>52]</a></span> -Eagles, where, outside that great house with high -walls, he lingered, moping and moaning. The -Eagles came and went, or they gathered and talked -on the house-top, but no word of greeting did they -offer him; and his wife, at last, with a shiver of -disgust, appeared above him and said: “Go back! -go back to your grandparents. Their love you -may not have forfeited; mine you have. Go back! -for we never can receive you again amongst us. -Oh, folly and faithlessness, in you they have an -example!”</p> - -<p>So the youth sadly returned to the home of the -Storks. There he lingered, returning ever and -anon to the home of the Eagles; but it was as -though he were not there, until at last the elder -Eagles, during one of his absences, implored the -Eagle-maid to take the youth back to his own -home.</p> - -<p>“Would you ask me, his wife, who loved him, -now to touch him who has been polluted by being -enamored of Death?” asked she.</p> - -<p>But they implored, and she acquiesced. So, -when the youth appeared again at the home of the -Eagles, she had found an old, old Eagle dress, many -of the feathers in it broken; ragged and disreputable -it was, and the wing-feathers were so thin -that the wind whistled through them. Descending -with this, she bade him put it on, and when he had -done so, she said: “Come with me now, according -to the knowledge in which we have instructed -you.”</p> - -<p>And they flew away to the summit of that blue -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>53]</a></span> -mountain, and, after resting there, they began -to descend into the sky which we see, and from -that downward and downward in very narrow -circles.</p> - -<p>Whenever the youth, with his worn-out wings, -faltered, the wife bore him up, until, growing weary -in a moment of remembrance of his faithlessness, -she caught in her talons the Eagle dress which sustained -him and drew it off, bade him farewell forever, -and sailed away out of sight in the sky. And -the youth, with one gasp and shriek, tumbled over -and over and over, fell into the very center of the -town in which he had lived when he loved his -Eagle, and utterly perished.</p> - - - -<p class="break">Thus it was in the times of the ancients; and for -this reason by no means whatsoever may a mortal -man, by any alliances under the sun, avoid Death. -But if one would live as long as possible, one -should never, in any manner whatsoever, remembering -this youth’s experience, become enamored -of Death.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 475px;"> -<img src="images/zft05.png" width="475" height="98" -alt="Bird symbols" /> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>54]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap03" id="chap03"></a>THE POOR TURKEY GIRL</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">L</span>ONG, long ago, our ancients had neither sheep -nor horses nor cattle; yet they had domestic -animals of various kinds—amongst them Turkeys.</p> - -<p>In Mátsaki, or the Salt City, there dwelt at this -time many very wealthy families, who possessed -large flocks of these birds, which it was their custom -to have their slaves or the poor people of the -town herd in the plains round about Thunder -Mountain, below which their town stood, and on -the mesas beyond.</p> - -<p>Now, in Mátsaki at this time there stood, away -out near the border of the town, a little tumble-down, -single-room house, wherein there lived alone -a very poor girl,—so poor that her clothes were -patched and tattered and dirty, and her person, on -account of long neglect and ill-fare, shameful to -look upon, though she herself was not ugly, but had -a winning face and bright eyes; that is, if the face -had been more oval and the eyes less oppressed -with care. So poor was she that she herded Turkeys -for a living; and little was given to her except -the food she subsisted on from day to day, and -perhaps now and then a piece of old, worn-out -clothing.</p> - -<p>Like the extremely poor everywhere and at all -times, she was humble, and by her longing for kindness, -which she never received, she was made -kind even to the creatures that depended upon her, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>55]</a></span> -and lavished this kindness upon the Turkeys she -drove to and from the plains every day. Thus, -the Turkeys, appreciating this, were very obedient. -They loved their mistress so much that at her call -they would unhesitatingly come, or at her behest go -whithersoever and whensoever she wished.</p> - -<p>One day this poor girl, driving her Turkeys down -into the plains, passed near Old Zuñi,—the Middle -Ant Hill of the World, as our ancients have taught -us to call our home,—and as she went along, -she heard the herald-priest proclaiming from the -house-top that the Dance of the Sacred Bird -(which is a very blessed and welcome festival to -our people, especially to the youths and maidens -who are permitted to join in the dance) would take -place in four days.</p> - -<p>Now, this poor girl had never been permitted to -join in or even to watch the great festivities of our -people or the people in the neighboring towns, and -naturally she longed very much to see this dance. -But she put aside her longing, because she reflected: -“It is impossible that I should watch, much -less join in the Dance of the Sacred Bird, ugly and -ill-clad as I am.” And thus musing to herself, and -talking to her Turkeys, as was her custom, she drove -them on, and at night returned them to their cages -round the edges and in the plazas of the town.</p> - -<p>Every day after that, until the day named for -the dance, this poor girl, as she drove her Turkeys -out in the morning, saw the people busy in cleaning -and preparing their garments, cooking delicacies, -and otherwise making ready for the festival to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>56]</a></span> -which they had been duly invited by the other villagers, -and heard them talking and laughing merrily -at the prospect of the coming holiday. So, as -she went about with her Turkeys through the day, -she would talk to them, though she never dreamed -that they understood a word of what she was -saying.</p> - -<p>It seems that they did understand even more -than she said to them, for on the fourth day, after -the people of Mátsaki had all departed toward -Zuñi and the girl was wandering around the -plains alone with her Turkeys, one of the big Gobblers -strutted up to her, and making a fan of his -tail, and skirts, as it were, of his wings, blushed with -pride and puffed with importance, stretched out -his neck and said: “Maiden mother, we know -what your thoughts are, and truly we pity you, and -wish that, like the other people of Mátsaki, you -might enjoy this holiday in the town below. We -have said to ourselves at night, after you have -placed us safely and comfortably in our cages: -‘Truly our maiden mother is as worthy to enjoy -these things as any one in Mátsaki, or even Zuñi.’ -Now, listen well, for I speak the speech of all the -elders of my people: If you will drive us in early -this afternoon, when the dance is most gay and -the people are most happy, we will help you to -make yourself so handsome and so prettily dressed -that never a man, woman, or child amongst all -those who are assembled at the dance will know -you; but rather, especially the young men, will -wonder whence you came, and long to lay hold of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>57]</a></span> -your hand in the circle that forms round the altar -to dance. Maiden mother, would you like to go -to see this dance, and even to join in it, and -be merry with the best of your people?”</p> - -<p>The poor girl was at first surprised. Then it -seemed all so natural that the Turkeys should talk -to her as she did to them, that she sat down on a -little mound, and, leaning over, looked at them and -said: “My beloved Turkeys, how glad I am that we -may speak together! But why should you tell me -of things that you full well know I so long to, but -cannot by any possible means, do?”</p> - -<p>“Trust in us,” said the old Gobbler, “for I speak -the speech of my people, and when we begin to call -and call and gobble and gobble, and turn toward -our home in Mátsaki, do you follow us, and we will -show you what we can do for you. Only let me -tell you one thing: No one knows how much happiness -and good fortune may come to you if you -but enjoy temperately the pleasures we enable you -to participate in. But if, in the excess of your enjoyment, -you should forget us, who are your friends, -yet so much depend upon you, then we will think: -‘Behold, this our maiden mother, though so humble -and poor, deserves, forsooth, her hard life, -because, were she more prosperous, she would be -unto others as others now are unto her.’”</p> - -<p>“Never fear, O my Turkeys,” cried the maiden,—only -half trusting that they could do so much for -her, yet longing to try,—“never fear. In everything -you direct me to do I will be obedient as you -always have been to me.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>58]</a></span> -The sun had scarce begun to decline, when the -Turkeys of their own accord turned homeward, and -the maiden followed them, light of heart. They -knew their places well, and immediately ran to -them. When all had entered, even their bare-legged -children, the old Gobbler called to the maiden, -saying: “Enter our house.” She therefore went -in. “Now, maiden, sit down,” said he, “and give -to me and my companions, one by one, your articles -of clothing. We will see if we cannot renew them.”</p> - -<p>The maiden obediently drew off the ragged old -mantle that covered her shoulders and cast it on -the ground before the speaker. He seized it in his -beak, and spread it out, and picked and picked at -it; then he trod upon it, and lowering his wings, -began to strut back and forth over it. Then taking -it up in his beak, and continuing to strut, he -puffed and puffed, and laid it down at the feet -of the maiden, a beautiful white embroidered cotton -mantle. Then another Gobbler came forth, -and she gave him another article of dress, and then -another and another, until each garment the maiden -had worn was new and as beautiful as any possessed -by her mistresses in Mátsaki.</p> - -<p>Before the maiden donned all these garments, -the Turkeys circled about her, singing and singing, -and clucking and clucking, and brushing her with -their wings, until her person was as clean and her -skin as smooth and bright as that of the fairest -maiden of the wealthiest home in Mátsaki. Her -hair was soft and wavy, instead of being an ugly, -sun-burnt shock; her cheeks were full and dimpled, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>59]</a></span> -and her eyes dancing with smiles,—for she now -saw how true had been the words of the Turkeys.</p> - -<p>Finally, one old Turkey came forward and said: -“Only the rich ornaments worn by those who have -many possessions are lacking to thee, O maiden -mother. Wait a moment. We have keen eyes, -and have gathered many valuable things,—as such -things, being small, though precious, are apt to be -lost from time to time by men and maidens.”</p> - -<p>Spreading his wings, he trod round and round -upon the ground, throwing his head back, and laying -his wattled beard on his neck; and, presently -beginning to cough, he produced in his beak a -beautiful necklace; another Turkey brought forth -earrings, and so on, until all the proper ornaments -appeared, befitting a well-clad maiden of the olden -days, and were laid at the feet of the poor Turkey -girl.</p> - -<p>With these beautiful things she decorated herself, -and, thanking the Turkeys over and over, she -started to go, and they called out: “O maiden -mother, leave open the wicket, for who knows -whether you will remember your Turkeys or not -when your fortunes are changed, and if you will -not grow ashamed that you have been the maiden -mother of Turkeys? But we love you, and would -bring you to good fortune. Therefore, remember -our words of advice, and do not tarry too long.”</p> - -<p>“I will surely remember, O my Turkeys!” answered -the maiden.</p> - -<p>Hastily she sped away down the river path toward -Zuñi. When she arrived there, she went in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>60]</a></span> -at the western side of the town and through one -of the long covered ways that lead into the dance -court. When she came just inside of the court, -behold, every one began to look at her, and many -murmurs ran through the crowd,—murmurs of -astonishment at her beauty and the richness of her -dress,—and the people were all asking one another, -“Whence comes this beautiful maiden?”</p> - -<p>Not long did she stand there neglected. The -chiefs of the dance, all gorgeous in their holiday attire, -hastily came to her, and, with apologies for -the incompleteness of their arrangements,—though -these arrangements were as complete as they -possibly could be,—invited her to join the youths -and maidens dancing round the musicians and the -altar in the center of the plaza.</p> - -<p>With a blush and a smile and a toss of her hair -over her eyes, the maiden stepped into the circle, -and the finest youths among the dancers vied with -one another for her hand. Her heart became -light and her feet merry, and the music sped her -breath to rapid coming and going, and the warmth -swept over her face, and she danced and danced -until the sun sank low in the west.</p> - -<p>But, alas! in the excess of her enjoyment, she -thought not of her Turkeys, or, if she thought of -them, she said to herself, “How is this, that I -should go away from the most precious consideration -to my flock of gobbling Turkeys? I will stay -a while longer, and just before the sun sets I will -run back to them, that these people may not see -who I am, and that I may have the joy of hearing -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>61]</a></span> -them talk day after day and wonder who the girl -was who joined in their dance.”</p> - -<p>So the time sped on, and another dance was -called, and another, and never a moment did the -people let her rest; but they would have her in -every dance as they moved around the musicians -and the altar in the center of the plaza.</p> - -<p>At last the sun set, and the dance was well-nigh -over, when, suddenly breaking away, the girl ran -out, and, being swift of foot,—more so than most -of the people of her village,—she sped up the -river path before any one could follow the course -she had taken.</p> - -<p>Meantime, as it grew late, the Turkeys began to -wonder and wonder that their maiden mother did -not return to them. At last a gray old Gobbler -mournfully exclaimed, “It is as we might have expected. -She has forgotten us; therefore is she -not worthy of better things than those she has -been accustomed to. Let us go forth to the -mountains and endure no more of this irksome -captivity, inasmuch as we may no longer think our -maiden mother as good and true as once we -thought her.”</p> - -<p>So, calling and calling to one another in loud -voices, they trooped out of their cage and ran up -toward the Cañon of the Cottonwoods, and then -round behind Thunder Mountain, through the -Gateway of Zuñi, and so on up the valley.</p> - -<p>All breathless, the maiden arrived at the open -wicket and looked in. Behold, not a Turkey was -there! Trailing them, she ran and she ran up the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>62]</a></span> -valley to overtake them; but they were far ahead, -and it was only after a long time that she came -within the sound of their voices, and then, redoubling -her speed, well-nigh overtook them, when -she heard them singing this song:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="i0">“<i>K‘yaanaa, to! to!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>K‘yaanaa, to! to!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Ye ye!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>K‘yaanaa, to! to!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>K‘yaanaa, to! to!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Yee huli huli!</i><br /></div> -</div> - -<div class="stanza" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Hon awen Tsita</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Itiwanakwïn</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Otakyaan aaa kyaa;</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Lesna akyaaa</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Shoya-k‘oskwi</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Teyäthltokwïn</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Hon aawani!</i><br /></div> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i2">“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ye yee huli huli,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i4"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Huli huli!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i4"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Huli huli!</i>”<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a><br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_3_3">[3]</a></span> -This, like all the folk-songs, is difficult of translation; and that which is -given is only approximate. <a href="#FNanchor_3_3">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Up the river, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">to! to!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0">Up the river, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">to! to!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2">Sing <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">ye ye!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0">Up the river, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">to! to!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0">Up the river, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">to! to!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2">Sing <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">yee huli huli!</i><br /></div> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Oh, our maiden mother<br /></div> -<div class="i0">To the Middle Place<br /></div> -<div class="i2">To dance went away;<br /></div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>63]</a></span> -<div class="i0">Therefore as she lingers,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">To the Cañon Mesa<br /></div> -<div class="i0">And the plains above it<br /></div> -<div class="i2">We all run away!<br /></div> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i2">“Sing <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">ye yee huli huli,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i4"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Huli huli!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i4"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Huli huli!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Hearing this, the maiden called to her Turkeys; -called and called in vain. They only quickened -their steps, spreading their wings to help them -along, singing the song over and over until, -indeed, they came to the base of the Cañon Mesa, -at the borders of the Zuñi Mountains. Then -singing once more their song in full chorus, they -spread wide their wings, and <i>thlakwa-a-a, thlakwa-a-a</i>, -they fluttered away over the plains above.</p> - -<p>The poor Turkey girl threw her hands up and -looked down at her dress. With dust and sweat, -behold! it was changed to what it had been, and -she was the same poor Turkey girl that she was before. -Weary, grieving, and despairing, she returned -to Mátsaki.</p> - - - -<p class="break">Thus it was in the days of the ancients. Therefore, -where you see the rocks leading up to the -top of Cañon Mesa (Shoya-k‘oskwi), there are the -tracks of turkeys and other figures to be seen. -The latter are the song that the Turkeys sang, -graven in the rocks; and all over the plains along -the borders of Zuñi Mountains since that day turkeys -have been more abundant than in any other place.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>64]</a></span> -After all, the gods dispose of men according as -men are fitted; and if the poor be poor in heart -and spirit as well as in appearance, how will they -be aught but poor to the end of their days?</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 470px;"> -<img src="images/zft06.png" width="470" height="118" -alt="Pottery containers" /> -</div> - - - -<div class="imgbreak"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"> -<a name="plate03" id="plate03"></a> -<img src="images/zft07.jpg" width="700" height="412" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">ZUÑI FROM THE SOUTH</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>65]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap04" id="chap04"></a>HOW THE SUMMER BIRDS CAME</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the days of the ancients, in the town under -Thunder Mountain called K’iákime, there lived -a most beautiful maiden. But one thing which -struck the people who knew her was that she -seldom came forth from her room, or went out -of her house; never seemed to care for the people -around her, never seemed to care to see the young -men when they were dancing.</p> - -<p>Now, this was the way of it. Through the roof -of her room was a little skylight, open, and when -it rained, one of the Gods of the Rain descended in -the rain-drops and wooed this maiden, and married -her all unknown to her people; so that she was in -his company every time it rained, and when the -dew fell at night, on his ladder of water descending -he came, and she was very happy, and cared -not for the society of men. By-and-by, behold! -to the utter surprise of the people, whose eyes -could not see this god, her husband, there was a -little boy born to her.</p> - -<p>Now, he was the child of the gods, and, therefore, -before he was many days old, he had begun to -run about and speak, and had wonderful intelligence -and wonderful strength and vivacity. He -was only a month or two old when he was like -a child of five or six or eight years of age, and he -would climb to the house-top and run down into -the plaza and out around the village hunting birds -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>66]</a></span> -or other small animals. With only his fingers and -little stones for weapons, he never failed to slay -and bring home these little creatures, and his -mother’s house was supplied more than any other -house in the town with plumes for sacrifice, from -the birds which he captured in this way.</p> - -<p>Finally he observed that the older men of the -tribe carried bows and arrows, and that the arrows -went more swiftly and straighter than the stones -he threw; and though he never failed to kill small -animals, he found he could not kill the larger ones -in that way. So he said to his mother one night: -“Oh, mother, where does the wood grow that they -make bows of, and where do they get sticks for -their arrows? I wish you would tell me.”</p> - -<p>But the mother was quite silent; she didn’t like -to tell him, for she thought it would lead him away -from the town and something would happen to -him. But he kept questioning her until at last, -weary with his importunities, she said: “Well, my -little boy, if you go round the cliff here to the -eastern side, there is a great hollow in the rocks, -and down at the bottom of that hollow is a great -cave. Now, around that shelter in the rocks are -growing the trees out of which bows are made, and -there also grow the bushes from which arrows are -cut; they are so plentiful that they could supply -the whole town, and furnish all the hunters here -with bows and arrows; but they cannot get them, -because in the cave lives a great Bear, a very savage -being, and no one dares go near there to get -timber for the bows or sticks for the arrows, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>67]</a></span> -because the Bear would surely devour whoever ventured -there. He has devoured many of our people; -therefore you must not go there to get these -arrows.”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed,” said the boy. But at night he lay -down with much in his mind, and was so thoughtful -that he hardly slept the whole night. He was -planning what he would do in the morning.</p> - -<p>The next morning his mother was busy about -her work, and finally she went down to the spring -for some water, and the little boy slipped out of -the house, ran down the ladder, went to the river-side, -stooped down, and crawled along the bank of -the river, until he could get around on the side of -the cliff where the little valley of the spring that -flows under Thunder Mountain lies. There he -climbed up and up until he came to the shelter -in the rocks round on the eastern side of Thunder -Mountain. The mouth of this hollow was entirely -closed with fine yellow-wood and oak, the best -timber we have for bows, and straight sprouts -were growing everywhere out of which arrows -could be made.</p> - -<p>“Ah, this must be the place,” said the boy, -as he looked at it. “I don’t see any Bear. I -think I will climb up and see if there is anything -to be afraid of, and try if I can cut a stick before -the Bear comes out.”</p> - -<p>He started and climbed into the mouth of the -cavern, and his father, one of the Gods of the -Rain, threw a tremendous shaft of lightning, and it -thundered, and the cave closed together.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>68]</a></span> -“Ha!” cried the boy. “What in the world is -the meaning of this?” Then he stood there a -moment, and presently the clouds finished and the -cave opened, and all was quiet. He started to go -in once more, and down came the lightning again, -to remind him that he should not go in there.</p> - -<p>“Ha!” cried the boy again. “What in the -world does it mean?” And he rubbed his eyes,—it -had rather stunned him,—and so soon as it had -cleared away he tried again, and again for the -fourth time.</p> - -<p>Finally the god said, “Ah! I have reminded -him and he does not heed. He must go his own -way.” So the boy climbed into the cave.</p> - -<p>No sooner had he got in than it began to get -dark, and <em>Wah!</em> came the Bear on his hind legs -and grabbed the boy and began to squeeze him -very tight.</p> - -<p>“O my! O my!” cried he. “Don’t squeeze -me so hard! It hurts; don’t squeeze me so hard! -My mother is one of the most beautiful women -you ever saw!”</p> - -<p>“Hollo!” exclaimed the Bear. “What is that -you say?”</p> - -<p>“My mother is one of the most beautiful women -you ever saw!”</p> - -<p>“Indeed!” said the Bear, as he relaxed his hold. -“My son, sit down. What did you come to my -house for? I am sure you are very welcome.”</p> - -<p>“Why,” said the boy, “I came to get a piece -of wood for a bow and sticks for arrows.”</p> - -<p>Said the Bear, “I have looked out for this timber -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>69]</a></span> -for a long time. There is none better in the -whole country. Let me tell you what I will do. -You don’t look very strong. You haven’t anything -to cut the trees down with. I will go myself -and cut down a tree for you. I will pick out a -good one for a bow; not only that, but I will get -fine sticks for arrows, too.”</p> - -<p>So he stalked off into the forest, and crack, -crack, he smashed the trees down, and, picking -out a good one, gnawed off the ends of it and -brought it to the boy, then gathered a lot of fine -straight sticks for arrow-shafts and brought them.</p> - -<p>“There,” said he, “take those home. Do you -know how to make a bow, my son?”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t very well,” replied he.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the Bear, “I have cut off the ends; -make it about that length. Now take it home, and -shave down the inside until it is thin enough to bend -quickly at both ends, and lay it over the coals of -fire so it will get hard and dry. That is the way to -make a good bow.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said the boy; and as he took up the -bundle of sticks and the stave for the bow, he said: -“Just come along toward night and I will introduce -you to my mother.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said the old Bear; “I will be along -just about sunset. Then I can look at your bow -and see whether you have made it well or not.”</p> - -<p>So the boy trudged home with his bundle of sticks -and his bow stave, and when he arrived there his -mother happened to be climbing out, and saw him -coming.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>70]</a></span> -“You wretched boy,” she said, “I told you not -to go out to the cave! I warrant you have been -there where the Bear stays!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, my mother; just see what I have -brought,” said the boy. “I sold you to the Bear. -He will be here to get you this evening. See what -I have brought!” and he laid out his bow-timber -and arrow-shafts.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said she, “you are the most wretched and -foolish of little boys; you pay no attention to what -any one says to you; your mother’s word is nothing -but wind in your ears.”</p> - -<p>“Just see what I have brought home,” said he. -He worked as hard as he could to make his bow, -stripped the arrow-shafts, smoothed and straightened -them before the fire, and made the points of -obsidian—very black it is; very hard and sharp -were the points when he placed them on the arrows. -Now, after placing the feathers on the arrows, he -stood them up on the roof of the house against the -parapet in the sunlight to dry; and he had his bow -on the other side of the house against the other -parapet to dry. He was still at work, toward sunset, -when he happened to look up and saw the Bear -coming along, slowly, comfortably, rolling over the -sand.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said he, “the old man is coming.” He -paid no attention to him, however.</p> - -<p>Presently the Bear came close to the ladder, and -shook it to see if it was strong enough to hold -him.</p> - -<p>“Thou comest?” asked the boy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>71]</a></span> -“Yes,” said the Bear. “How have you been all -day?”</p> - -<p>“Happy,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“How is your mother?”</p> - -<p>“Happy,” said the boy, “expecting you.”</p> - -<p>So the old Bear climbed up. “Ah, indeed,” said -he, as he got over the edge of the house, “have -you made the bow?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, after a fashion.”</p> - -<p>So the Bear went over, raised himself on his hind -feet, looked at the bow, pulled it, and said, as he -laid it down: “It is a splendid bow. What is this -black stuff on these arrows?”</p> - -<p>“Obsidian,” answered the boy.</p> - -<p>“These points are nothing but black coals,” said -the Bear.</p> - -<p>“I tell you,” said the boy, “they are good, black, -flint arrow-heads, hard and sharp as any others.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the other, “nothing but coals.”</p> - -<p>“Now, suppose you let me try one of those coals -on you,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“All right,” said the Bear. He walked over to -the other side of the roof and stood there, and the -boy took one of the arrows, fitted it to the bow, and -let go. It went straight into the heart of the Bear, -and even passed through him entirely.</p> - -<p>“Wah!” uttered the Bear, as he gave a great snort -and rolled over on the house-top and died.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” shouted the boy, “what you had intended -to do unto me, thus unto you! Oh, mother!” -called he, as he ran to the sky-hole, “here is your -husband; come and see him. I have killed him; -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>72]</a></span> -but, then, he would have me make the experiment,” -said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you foolish, foolish, disobedient boy!” said -the mother. “What have you been doing now? -Are we safe?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” said he; “my step-father is as passive -as if he were asleep.” And he went on and skinned -his once prospective step-father, and then took out -his heart and hung it to the cross-piece of the ladder -as a sign that the people could go and get all the -bow-timber and arrows they pleased.</p> - -<p>That night, after the evening meal was over, the -boy sat down with his mother, and he said: “By -the way, mother, are there any monsters or fearful -creatures anywhere round about this country that -kill people and make trouble?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the mother, “none whatever.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know about that; I think there must -be,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“No, there are none whatever, I tell you,” answered -the mother.</p> - -<p>The boy began to tumble on the floor, rolling -about, playing with his mother’s blankets, and -throwing things around, and once in a while he -would ask her again the same question, until finally -she got very cross with him and said: “Yes, if you -want to know, down there in the valley, beyond -the great plains of sagebrush, is a den of <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Misho</i> -Lizards who are fearful and deadly to every one who -goes near them. Therefore you had better be -careful how you run round the valley.”</p> - -<p>“What makes them so fearful?” asked he.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>73]</a></span> -“Well,” said she, “they are venomous; they -have a way of throwing from their mouths or -breath a sort of fluid which, whenever it strikes a -person, burns him, and whenever it strikes the eyes -it blinds them. A great many people have perished -there. Whenever a man arrives at their den -they are very polite and greet him most courteously; -they say: ‘Come in; sit down right here in the -middle of the floor before the fire.’ But as soon -as the person is seated in their house they gather -round the walls and throw this venom on him, and -he dies almost immediately.”</p> - -<p>“Is it possible?” responded the little boy; and -for some reason or other he began to grow sleepy, -and said: “Now, let us go to sleep, mother.”</p> - -<p>So he lay down and slept. Just as soon as it -was light the next morning he aroused himself, -dressed, took his bow and arrows, and, placing -them in a corner near the ladder, said: “Oh, -mother, give me my breakfast; I want to go and -shoot some little birds. I would like to have some -roasted birds for dinner.”</p> - -<p>She gave him his breakfast as quickly as she -could, and he ran down the ladder and went to -shooting at the birds, until he happened to see that -his mother and others were out of sight; then he -skulked into the sagebrush and went as straight as -he could for the den of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Misho</i> Lizards. There -happened to be two young ones sunning themselves -outside, and they said:</p> - -<p>“Ah, my fine little fellow, glad to see you this -morning. Come in, come in; the old ones will -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>74]</a></span> -be very much pleased to entertain you. Come -in!”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said the boy. He walked in, but -he felt under his coat to see if a huge lump of rock -salt he had was still there.</p> - -<p>“Sit right down here,” said the old people. The -whole den was filled with these <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Misho</i> Lizards, and -they were excessively polite, every one of them.</p> - -<p>The boy sat down, and the old <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Misho</i> said to the -young ones: “Hurry up, now; be quick!” And -they began to throw their venom at him, and continued -until he was all covered with it; but, knowing -beforehand, and being the child of the gods, he -was prepared and protected, and it did him no -harm.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, thank you,” said the boy. “I will -do the same thing.” Then he pulled out the salt -and pushed it down into the fire, where it exploded -and entirely used up the whole council of <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Misho</i> -Lizards.</p> - -<p>“There!” cried the boy. “Thus would you have -done unto me, thus unto you.”</p> - -<p>He took two fine ones and cut out their hearts, -then started for home. When he arrived there, he -climbed the ladder and suspended the two hearts -beside that of the Bear and went down into the -house, saying, “Well, mother, is dinner ready?”</p> - -<p>“There now,” said she, “I know it. I saw you -hang those hearts up. You have been down there.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said he, “they are all gone—every solitary -one of them.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you foolish, foolish, disobedient fellow! I -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>75]</a></span> -am all alone in the world, and if you should go to -some of those fearful places some time and not -come back, who would hunt for me? What should -I do?” said the mother.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be troubled, mother, now,” said the boy. -“I don’t think I will go any more. There is -nothing else of that kind around, is there, mother?”</p> - -<p>“No, there is not,” she replied; “not a thing. -There may be somewhere in the world, but there -is not anywhere here.”</p> - -<p>In the evening, as he sat with his mother, the -boy kept questioning and teasing her to tell him -of some other monsters—pulling on her skirts and -repeating his questions.</p> - -<p>“I tell you,” she said, “there are no such creatures.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, mother, I know there are,” said he, “and -you must tell me about them.”</p> - -<p>So he continued to bother her until her patience -gave out, and she told him of another monster. -Said she: “If you follow that cañon down to the -southeast, there is a very, very, very high cliff -there, and the trail that goes over that cliff runs -close by the side of a precipice. Now, that has -been for ages a terrible place, for there is a Giant -living there, who wears a hair-knot on his forehead. -He lies there at length, sunning himself at his -ease. He is very good-natured and very polite. -His legs stretch across the trail on which men -have to go who pass that way, and there is no -other way to get by. And whenever a man tries -to go by that trail, he says: ‘Pass right along, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>76]</a></span> -pass right along; I am glad to see you. Here is -a fresh trail; some one has just passed. Don’t -disturb me; I am sunning myself.’ Down below -is the den where his children live, and on the flesh -of these people he feeds them.”</p> - -<p>“Mercy!” exclaimed the boy. “Fearful! I never -shall go there, surely. That is too terrible! -Come, let us go to sleep; I don’t want to hear -anything more about it.”</p> - -<p>But the next morning, just as soon as daylight -appeared, he got up, dressed himself, and snatched -a morsel of food.</p> - -<p>His mother said to him: “Where are you going? -Are you thinking of that place I told you -about?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said he; “I am going to kill some prairie-dogs -right here in sight. I will take my war-club.”</p> - -<p>So he took his war-club, and thrust it into his -belt in front, ran down the hill on which the village -stood, and straightway went off to the place -his mother had told him of. When he reached -the top of the rocks he looked down, and there, -sure enough, lay the Giant with the forehead knot.</p> - -<p>The Giant looked up and said: “Ah, my son, -glad to see you this morning; glad to see you -coming so early. Some one just passed here a -little while ago; you can see his tracks there.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the boy, “make room for me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, just step right over,” said the old man; -“step right over me.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t step over your great legs,” said the -boy; “draw them up.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>77]</a></span> -“All right,” said the old Demon. So he drew -his knees up. “There, now, there is plenty of -room; pass right along, my son.”</p> - -<p>Just as the boy got near the place, he thrust -out his leg suddenly that way, to kick him off the -cliff; but the boy was too nimble for him, and -jumped aside.</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear me,” cried the Monster; “I had a -stitch in my leg; I had to stretch it out.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said the boy, “you tried to kick me off, -did you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” said the old villain; “I had a terrible -stitch in my knee,”—and he began to knead his -knee in the most vehement manner. “Just pass -right along; I trust it won’t happen again.”</p> - -<p>The boy again attempted to pass, and the same -thing happened as before.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my knee! my knee!” exclaimed the -Monster.</p> - -<p>“Yes, your knee, your knee!” said the boy, -as he whipped out his war-club and whacked the -Giant on the head before he had time to recover -himself. “Thus unto me you would have done, -thus unto you!” said the boy.</p> - -<p>No sooner had the Giant fallen than the little -Top-knots gathered round him and began to eat; -and they ate and ate and ate,—there were many -of them, and they were voracious—until they -came to the top-knot on the old fellow’s head, -and then one of them cried; “Oh, dear, alas and -alas! this is our own father!”</p> - -<p>And while they were still crying, the boy cut -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>78]</a></span> -out the Giant’s heart and slung it over his -shoulder; then he climbed down the cliff to where -the young Top-knots were, and slew them all except -two,—a pair of them. Then he took these two, -who were still young, like little children, and grasping -one by the throat, wrung its neck and threw -it into the air, when it suddenly became a winged -creature, and spread out its wings and soared -away, crying: “Peep, peep, peep,” just as the falcons -of today do. Then he took the other one -by the neck, and swung it round and round, and -flung it into the air, and it flew away with a heavy -motion, and cried: “Boohoo, boohoo, boohoo!” -and became an owl.</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said the boy, “born for evil, changed for -good! Ye shall be the means whereby our children -in the future shall sacrifice to the gods -themselves.”</p> - -<p>Then he trudged along home with the Giant’s -heart, and when he got there, he hung it on the -cross-piece of the ladder by the side of the other -hearts. It was almost night then.</p> - -<p>“There, now!” said his mother, as he entered -the house; “I have been troubled almost to death -by your not coming home sooner. You went off -to the place I told you of; I know you did!”</p> - -<p>“Ha!” said he, “of course I did. I went up -there, and the poor fellows are all dead.”</p> - -<p>“Why will you not listen to me?” said she.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is all right, mother,” said the boy. “It -is all right.” She went on scolding him in the -usual fashion, but he paid no attention to her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>79]</a></span> -As soon as she had sat down to her evening -tasks, he asked: “Now, is there any other of these -terrible creatures?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I shall tell you of nothing more now,” -said she.</p> - -<p>“Why, is there anything more?” asked the boy.</p> - -<p>“No, there is not,” replied she.</p> - -<p>“Ah, mother, I think there must be.”</p> - -<p>“No; there is nothing more, I tell you.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, mother, I think there must be.”</p> - -<p>And he kept bothering and teasing until she -told him again (she knew she would have to): -“Yes, away down in the valley, some distance from -here, near the little Cold-making Hill, there lives a -fearful creature, a four-fold Elk or Bison, more -enormous than any other living thing. <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Awiteli -Wakashi</i> he is called, and no one can go near him. -He rushes stamping and bellowing about the country, -and people never pass through that section -from fear.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said the boy; “don’t tell me any more; -he must be a fearful creature, indeed.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but you will be sure to go there,” -said she.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, no, mother; no, indeed!”</p> - -<p>But the next morning he went earlier than ever, -carrying with him his bows and arrows. He was -so filled with dread, however, or pretended to be, -that as he went along the trail he began to cry -and sniffle, and walk very slowly, until he came -near the hole of an old Gopher, his grandfather. -The old fellow was working away, digging another -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>80]</a></span> -cellar, throwing the dirt out, when he heard this -crying. Said he: “That is my grandson; I wonder -what he is up to now.” So he ran and stuck his -nose out of the hole he was digging, and said: -“Oh, my grandchild, where are you going?”</p> - -<p>The boy stopped and began to look around.</p> - -<p>“Right here! right here!” cried the grandfather, -calling his attention to the hole. “Come, -my boy.”</p> - -<p>The boy put his foot in, and the hole enlarged, -and he went down into it.</p> - -<p>“Now, dry your eyes, my grandchild, and tell me -what is the matter.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the boy, “I was going to find the -four-fold Bison. I wanted to take a look at him, -but I am frightened!”</p> - -<p>“Why, what is the matter? Why do you not -go?” said the Gopher.</p> - -<p>“Well, to tell you the truth, I thought I would -try to kill him,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“Well, I will do what I can to help; you had -better not try to do it alone. Sit here comfortably; -dry your eyes, and I will see what I -can do.”</p> - -<p>The old Gopher began to dig, dig, dig under -the ground for a long way, making a fine tunnel, -and packed it hard on the top and sides so that it -would not fall in. He finally came to hear the -“thud, thud, thud” of the heart of this creature, -where it was lying, and dug the hole up to that -spot. When he got there he saw the long layers -of hair on its body, where no arrow could -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>81]</a></span> -penetrate, and he cut the hair off, so that the skin -showed white. Then he silently stole back to -where the boy was and said: “Now, my boy, take -your bow and arrows and go along through this -hole until you get to where the tunnel turns upward, -and then, if you look well, you will see a -light patch. That is the skin next the heart of -the four-fold Bison. He is sleeping there. You -will hear the ‘thud, thud, thud’ of his heart. -Shoot him exactly in the middle of that place, and -then, mind you, turn around and run for your life, -and the moment you get to my hole, tumble in, -headforemost or any way.”</p> - -<p>So the boy did as he was told—crawled through -the tunnel until he came to where it went upward, -saw the light patch, and let fly an arrow with all -his might, then rushed and scrambled back as hard -as he could. With a roar that shook the earth the -four-fold Bison fell over, then struggled to his feet, -snorted, bellowed, and stuck his great horn into -the tunnel, and like a flash of fire ripped it from -end to end, just as the boy came tumbling into the -deeper hole of his grandfather.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” exclaimed the Gopher.</p> - -<p>“He almost got me,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Sit still a moment and rest, my grandson,” said -the Gopher. “He didn’t catch you. I will go -and see whether he is dead.”</p> - -<p>So the Gopher stuck his nose out of the hole -and saw there a great heap of flesh lying. He -went out, nosed around, and smelt, jumped back, -and went forward again until he came to the end -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>82]</a></span> -of the creature, and then he took one of his nails -and scratched out an eye, and there was no sign of -life. So he ran back to the boy, and said: “Yes, -he breathes no more; you need not fear him longer.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you, my grandfather!” said the boy. -And he climbed out, and laid himself to work to -skin the beast. He took off its great thick skin, -and cut off a suitable piece of it, for the whole pelt -was so large and heavy that he could not carry it; -then he took out the animal’s great heart, and -finally one of the large intestines and filled it with -blood, then started for home. He went slowly, -because his load was so heavy, and when he arrived -he hung the heart on the ladder by the side of the -others, and dragged the pelt to the sky-hole, and -nearly scared the wits out of his mother by dropping -it into the room.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my child, now, here you are! Where have -you been?” cried she. “I warned you of the -place where the four-fold Bison was; I wonder -that you ever came home.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, the poor creature!” said the boy; “he is -dead. Just look at this. He isn’t handsome any -more; he isn’t strong and large any more.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you wretched, wretched boy! You will -be the death of me, as well as of yourself, some -time,” said the mother.</p> - -<p>“No, mother,” said the boy; “that is all nonsense.”</p> - -<p>That evening the boy said to his mother: “Now, -mother, is there anything else of this kind left? -If there is, I want to know it. Now, don’t disappoint -me by refusing to tell.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>83]</a></span> -“Oh, my dear son,” said she, “I wish you -wouldn’t ask me; but indeed there is. There are -terrible birds, great Eagles, fearful Eagles, living -over on Shuntekia. In the very middle of an enormous -cliff is a hollow place in the rocks where is -built their nest, and there are their young ones. -Day after day, far and near, they catch up children -and young men and women, and carry them away, -never more to be seen. These birds are more -terrible than all the rest, because how can one get -near to slay them? My son, I do hope and trust -that you will not go this time,—but, you foolish -little boy, I see that you will go.”</p> - -<p>“Well, mother, let us go to sleep, and never -mind anything about it,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>But after his mother had gone to sleep, he took -the piece of rawhide he had skinned from the four-fold -Bison, and, cutting it out, made himself a suit—a -green rawhide suit, skin-tight almost, so that it -was perfectly smooth. Then he scraped the hair -off, greased it all over, and put it away inside a -blanket so that it would not dry. In the morning, -quite early, he took his weapons, and taking also -his rawhide suit, and the section of the four-fold -Bison’s intestine which he had filled with blood, -he ran into the inlet, and across it, and climbed -the mesa near the Shuntekia cliff. When he came -within a short distance of the nest of the Eagles, -he stopped and slipped on his rawhide suit, and tied -the intestine of blood round his neck, like a sausage.</p> - -<p>Then he began to cry and shake his head, and -he cried louder than there was any need of his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>84]</a></span> -doing in reality; for presently the old father of -the Eagles, who was away up in the sky, just a -mere speck, heard and saw him and came swishing -down in a great circle, winding round and round -the boy, and the boy looked up and began to cry -louder still, as if frightened out of his wits, and -finally rolled himself up like a porcupine, and threw -himself down into the trail, crying and howling -with apparent fear. The Eagle swooped down on -him, and tried to grasp him in his talons, and, <i>kopo -kopooo</i>, his claws simply slipped off the rawhide -coat. Then the Eagle made a fiercer grab at him -and grew angry, but his claws would continually -slip off, until he tore a rent in the intestine about -the boy’s neck, and the blood began to stream -over the boy’s coat, making it more slippery than -ever. When the Eagle smelt the blood, he thought -he had got him, and it made him fiercer than ever; -and finally, during his struggling, he got one talon -through a stitch in the coat, and he spread out his -wings, and flew up, and circled round and round -over the point where the young Eagles nest was, -when he let go and shook the boy free, and the -boy rolled over and over and came down into -the nest; but he struck on a great heap of brush, -which broke his fall. He lay there quite still, and -the old Eagle swooped down and poised himself -on a great crag of rock near by, which was his -usual perching place.</p> - -<p>“There, my children, my little ones,” said he, -“I have brought you food. Feast yourselves! Feast -yourselves! For that reason I brought it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>85]</a></span> -So the little Eagles, who were very awkward, -long-legged and short-winged, limped up to the -boy and reached out their claws and opened their -beaks, ready to strike him in the face. He lay -there quite still until they got very near, and then -said to them: “<i>Shhsht!</i>” And they tumbled back, -being awkward little fellows, and stretched up their -necks and looked at him, as Eagles will.</p> - -<p>Then the old Eagle said: “Why don’t you -eat him? Feast yourselves, my children, feast -yourselves!”</p> - -<p>So they advanced again, more cautiously this -time, and a little more determinedly too; and they -reached out their beaks to tear him, and he said: -“<i>Shhsht!</i>” and, under his breath, “Don’t eat me!” -And they jumped back again.</p> - -<p>“What in the world is the matter with you little -fools?” said the old Eagle. “Eat him! I can’t stay -here any longer; I have to go away and hunt to -feed you; but you don’t seem to appreciate my -efforts much.” And he lifted his wings, rose into -the air, and sailed off to the northward.</p> - -<p>Then the two young Eagles began to walk around -the boy, and to examine him at all points. Finally -they approached his feet and hands.</p> - -<p>“Be careful, be careful, don’t eat me! Tell -me about what time your mother comes home,” -said he, sitting up. “What time does she usually -come?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the little Eagles, “she comes home -when the clouds begin to gather and throw their -shadow over our nest.” (Really, it was the shadow -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>86]</a></span> -of the mother Eagle herself that was thrown over -the nest.)</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said the boy; “what time does your -father come home?”</p> - -<p>“When the fine rain begins to fall,” said they, -meaning the dew.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said the boy. So he sat there, and by-and-by, -sure enough, away off in the sky, carrying something -dangling from her feet, came the old mother -Eagle. She soared round and round until she was -over the nest, when she dropped her burden, and -over and over it fell and tumbled into the nest, a -poor, dead, beautiful maiden. The young boy looked -at her, and his heart grew very hot, and when the -old Eagle came and perched, in a moment he let fly -an arrow, and struck her down and dashed her -brains out.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” exclaimed the boy. “What you have -done to many, thus unto you.”</p> - -<p>Then he took his station again, and by-and-by -the old father Eagle came, bearing a youth, fair to -look upon, and dropped him into the nest. The -young boy shut his teeth, and he said: “Thus unto -many you have done, and thus unto me you would -have done; so unto you.” And he drew an arrow -and shot him. Then he turned to the two young -Eagles and killed them, and plucked out all the -beautiful colored feathers about their necks, until he -had a large bundle of fine plumes with which he -thought to wing his arrows or to waft his prayers.</p> - -<p>Then he looked down the cliff and saw there was -no way to climb down, and there was no way to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>87]</a></span> -climb up. Then he began to cry, and sat on the -edge of the cliff, and cried so loud that the old Bat -Woman, who was gathering cactus-berries below, or -thought she was, overheard the boy.</p> - -<p>Said she: “Now, just listen to that. I warrant it -is my fool of a grandson, who is always trying to -get himself into a scrape. I am sure it must be so. -Phoo! phoo!”</p> - -<p>She spilled out all the berries she had found from -the basket she had on her back, and then labored up -to where she could look over the edge of the shelf.</p> - -<p>“Yes, there you are,” said she; “you simpleton! -you wretched boy! What are you doing here?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my grandmother,” said he, “I have got into -a place and I cannot get out.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said she; “if you were anything else but -such a fool of a grandson and such a hard-hearted -wretch of a boy, I would help you get down; but -you never do as your mother and grandmother or -grandfathers tell you.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, my grandmother, I will do just as you tell -me this time,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Now, will you?” said she. “Now, can you be -certain?—will you promise me that you will keep -your eyes shut, and join me, at least in your heart, -in the prayer which I sing when I fly down? <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Yan -lehalliah kiana.</i> Never open your eyes; if you do, -the gods will teach you a lesson, and your poor old -grandmother, too.”</p> - -<p>“I will do just as you tell me,” said he, as he -reached over and took up his plumes and held them -ready.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>88]</a></span> -“Not so fast, my child,” said she; “you must -promise me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my grandmother, I will do just as you tell -me,” said he.</p> - -<p>“Well, step into my basket, very carefully now. -As I go down I shall go very prayerfully, depending -on the gods to carry so much more than I usually -carry. Do you not wink once, my grandson.”</p> - -<p>“All right; I will keep my eyes shut this time,” -said he. So he sat down and squeezed his eyes -together, and held his plumes tight, and then the -old grandmother launched herself forth on her -skin wings. After she had struggled a little, she -began to sing:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Ha ash tchaa ni,—Ha ash tchaa ni:<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Tche pa naa,—thlen-thle.<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Thlen! Thlen! Thlen!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Now, just listen to that,” said the boy; “my -old grandmother is singing one of those tedious -prayers; it will take us forever to go down.”</p> - -<p>Then presently the old Bat Woman, perfectly -unconscious of his state of mind, began to sing -again:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Thlen thla kia yai na kia.”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“There she goes again,” said he to himself; “I -declare, I must look up; it will drive me wild to -sit here all this time and hear my old grandmother -try to sing.”</p> - -<p>Then, after a little while, she commenced again:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Ha ash tchaa ni,—Ha ash tchaa ni:<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Tche pa naa,—thlen-thle.<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Thlen! Thlen! Thlen!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>89]</a></span> -The boy stretched himself up, and said: “Look -here, grandmother! I have heard your ‘<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Thlen! -Thlen! Thlen!</i>’ enough this time. I am going to -open my eyes.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my grandchild, never think of such a -thing.” Then she began again to sing:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Ha ash tchaa ni,—Ha ash tchaa ni:<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Tche pa naa,—thlen-thle.<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Thlen! Thlen! Thlen!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>She was not near the ground when she finished -it the fourth time, and the boy would not stand -it any more. Lo! he opened his eyes, and the old -grandmother knew it in a moment. Over and -over, boy over bat, bat over boy, and the basket -between them, they went whirling and pitching -down, the old grandmother tugging at her basket -and scolding the boy.</p> - -<p>“Now, you foolish, disobedient one! I told you -what would happen! You see what you have -done!” and so on until they fell to the ground. -It fairly knocked the breath out of the boy, and -when he got up again he yelled lustily.</p> - -<p>The old grandmother picked herself up, stretched -herself, and cried out anew: “You wretched, foolish, -hard-hearted boy; I never will do anything -for you again—never, never, never!”</p> - -<p>“I know, my grandmother,” said the boy, “but -you kept up that ‘<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Thlen! Thlen! Thlen!</i>’ so -much. What in the world did you want to spend -so much time <i>thlening, thlening</i>, and buzzing round -in that way for?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>90]</a></span> -“Ah, me!” said she, “he never did know anything—never -will be taught to know anything.”</p> - -<p>“Now,” said she to him, “you might as well -come and eat with me. I have been gathering cactus-fruit, -and you can eat and then go home.” She -took him to the place where she had poured out -the contents of the basket, but there was scarcely a -cactus-berry. There were cedar-berries, cones, -sticks, little balls of dirt, coyote-berries, and everything -else uneatable.</p> - -<p>“Sit down, my grandson, and eat; strengthen -yourself after your various adventures and exertions. -I feel very weary myself,” said she. -And she took a nip of one of them; but the boy -couldn’t exactly bring himself to eat. The truth -is, the old woman’s eyes were bad, in the same -way that bats’ eyes are usually bad, and she -couldn’t tell a cactus-berry from anything else -round and rough.</p> - -<p>“Well, inasmuch as you won’t eat, my grandson,” -said she, “why, I can’t conceive, for these are -very good, it seems to me. You had better run -along home now, or your mother will be killing -herself thinking of you. Now, I have only one -direction to give you. You don’t deserve any, but -I will give you one. See that you pay attention to -it. If not, the worst is your own. You have -gathered a beautiful store of feathers. Now, be -very careful. Those creatures who bore those -feathers have gained their lives from the lives of -living beings, and therefore their feathers differ -from other feathers. Heed what I say, my grandson. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>91]</a></span> -When you come to any place where flowers -are blooming,—where the sunflowers make the -field yellow,—walk round those flowers if you want -to get home with these feathers. And when you -come to more flowers, walk round them. If you -do not do that, just as you came you will go back -to your home.”</p> - -<p>“All right, my grandmother,” said the boy. So, -after bidding her good-by, he trudged away -with his bundle of feathers; and when he came to -a great plain of sunflowers and other flowers he -walked round them; and when he came to another -large patch he walked round them, and then -another, and so on; but finally he stopped, for it -seemed to him that there were nothing but fields -of flowers all the way home. He thought he had -never seen so many before.</p> - -<p>“I declare,” said he, “I will not walk round -those flowers any more. I will hang on to these -feathers, though.”</p> - -<p>So he took a good hold of them and walked in -amongst the flowers. But no sooner had he entered -the field than flutter, flutter, flutter, little -wings began to fly out from the bundle of feathers, -and the bundle began to grow smaller and smaller, -until it wholly disappeared. These wings which -flew out were the wings of the Sacred Birds of -Summerland, made living by the lives that had -supported the birds which bore those feathers, and -by coming into the environment which they had so -loved, the atmosphere which flowers always bring -of summer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>92]</a></span> -Thus it was, my children, in the days of the ancients, -and for that reason we have little jay-birds, -little sparrows, little finches, little willow-birds, and -all the beautiful little birds that bring the summer, -and they always hover over flowers.</p> - -<p>“My friends” [said the story-teller], “that is the -way we live. I am very glad, otherwise I would -not have told the story, for it is not exactly right -that I should,—I am very glad to demonstrate to -you that we also have books; only they are not -books with marks in them, but words in our -hearts, which have been placed there by our -ancients long ago, even so long ago as when the -world was new and young, like unripe fruit. And -I like you to know these things, because people -say that the Zuñis are dark people.”<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_4_4">[4]</a></span> -That is, people in the dark—having no knowledge. <a href="#FNanchor_4_4">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 135px;"> -<img src="images/zft08.png" width="135" height="124" -alt="Bird symbols" /> -</div> - - - -<div class="imgbreak"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 514px;"> -<a name="plate04" id="plate04"></a> -<img src="images/zft09.jpg" width="514" height="700" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">WAÍHUSIWA</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>93]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap05" id="chap05"></a>THE SERPENT OF THE SEA</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="note"> -<p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—The priest of the K’iáklu or epic-ritual of Zuñi is never allowed -to initiate the telling of short folk-stories. If he make such a beginning, -he must complete the whole cycle before he ceases his recital or his listeners -relax their attention. The following tale was told by an attendant Indian -(not a priest), whose name is Waíhusiwa.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Son ah tehi!</i>” he exclaimed, which may be interpreted: “Let us abide -with the ancients tonight.”</p> - -<p>The listeners reply: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">É-so</i>,” or “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tea-tu</i>.” (“Certainly,” or “Be it -well.”)</p> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the times of our forefathers, under Thunder -Mountain was a village called K’iákime (“Home -of the Eagles”). It is now in ruins; the roofs -are gone, the ladders have decayed, the hearths -grown cold. But when it was all still perfect, and, -as it were, new, there lived in this village a maiden, -the daughter of the priest-chief. She was beautiful, -but possessed of this peculiarity of character: -There was a sacred spring of water at the foot of -the terrace whereon stood the town. We now call -it the Pool of the Apaches; but then it was sacred -to Kólowissi (the Serpent of the Sea). Now, at -this spring the girl displayed her peculiarity, which -was that of a passion for neatness and cleanliness -of person and clothing. She could not endure the -slightest speck or particle of dust or dirt upon her -clothes or person, and so she spent most of her -time in washing all the things she used and in -bathing herself in the waters of this spring.</p> - -<p>Now, these waters, being sacred to the Serpent -of the Sea, should not have been defiled in this -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>94]</a></span> -way. As might have been expected, Kólowissi became -troubled and angry at the sacrilege committed -in the sacred waters by the maiden, and he said: -“Why does this maiden defile the sacred waters of -my spring with the dirt of her apparel and the dun -of her person? I must see to this.” So he devised -a plan by which to prevent the sacrilege and to -punish its author.</p> - -<p>When the maiden came again to the spring, -what should she behold but a beautiful little child -seated amidst the waters, splashing them, cooing -and smiling. It was the Sea Serpent, wearing the -semblance of a child,—for a god may assume any -form at its pleasure, you know. There sat the child, -laughing and playing in the water. The girl -looked around in all directions—north, south, east, -and west—but could see no one, nor any traces of -persons who might have brought hither the beautiful -little child. She said to herself: “I wonder -whose child this may be! It would seem to be -that of some unkind and cruel mother, who has deserted -it and left it here to perish. And the poor -little child does not yet know that it is left all alone. -Poor little thing! I will take it in my arms and -care for it.”</p> - -<p>The maiden then talked softly to the young -child, and took it in her arms, and hastened with it -up the hill to her house, and, climbing up the -ladder, carried the child in her arms into the room -where she slept.</p> - -<p>Her peculiarity of character, her dislike of all -dirt or dust, led her to dwell apart from the rest -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>95]</a></span> -of her family, in a room by herself above all of the -other apartments.</p> - -<p>She was so pleased with the child that when she -had got him into her room she sat down on the -floor and played with him, laughing at his pranks -and smiling into his face; and he answered her in -baby fashion with cooings and smiles of his own, -so that her heart became very happy and loving. -So it happened that thus was she engaged for a -long while and utterly unmindful of the lapse -of time.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the younger sisters had prepared the -meal, and were awaiting the return of the elder -sister.</p> - -<p>“Where, I wonder, can she be?” one of them -asked.</p> - -<p>“She is probably down at the spring,” said the -old father; “she is bathing and washing her -clothes, as usual, of course! Run down and call -her.”</p> - -<p>But the younger sister, on going, could find no -trace of her at the spring. So she climbed the -ladder to the private room of this elder sister, and -there found her, as has been told, playing with the -little child. She hastened back to inform her -father of what she had seen. But the old man sat -silent and thoughtful. He knew that the waters -of the spring were sacred. When the rest of the -family were excited, and ran to behold the pretty -prodigy, he cried out, therefore: “Come back! -come back! Why do you make fools of yourselves? -Do you suppose any mother would leave -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>96]</a></span> -her own child in the waters of this or any other -spring? There is something more of meaning -than seems in all this.”</p> - -<p>When they again went and called the maiden to -come down to the meal spread for her, she could -not be induced to leave the child.</p> - -<p>“See! it is as you might expect,” said the father. -“A woman will not leave a child on any inducement; -how much less her own.”</p> - -<p>The child at length grew sleepy. The maiden -placed it on a bed, and, growing sleepy herself, -at length lay by its side and fell asleep. Her sleep -was genuine, but the sleep of the child was feigned. -The child became elongated by degrees, as it were, -fulfilling some horrible dream, and soon appeared -as an enormous Serpent that coiled itself round -and round the room until it was full of scaly, gleaming -circles. Then, placing its head near the head -of the maiden, the great Serpent surrounded her -with its coils, taking finally its own tail in its -mouth.</p> - -<p>The night passed, and in the morning when the -breakfast was prepared, and yet the maiden did -not descend, and the younger sisters became impatient -at the delay, the old man said: “Now -that she has the child to play with, she will care -little for aught else. That is enough to occupy the -entire attention of any woman.”</p> - -<p>But the little sister ran up to the room and -called. Receiving no answer, she tried to open the -door; she could not move it, because the Serpent’s -coils filled the room and pressed against it. She -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>97]</a></span> -pushed the door with all her might, but it could -not be moved. She again and again called her -sister’s name, but no response came. Beginning -now to be frightened, she ran to the sky-hole over -the room in which she had left the others and -cried out for help. They hastily joined her,—all -save the old father,—and together were able to -press the door sufficiently to get a glimpse of the -great scales and folds of the Serpent. Then -the women all ran screaming to the old father. -The old man, priest and sage as he was, quieted -them with these words: “I expected as much as -this from the first report which you gave me. It -was impossible, as I then said, that a woman should -be so foolish as to leave her child playing even -near the waters of the spring. But it is not impossible, -it seems, that one should be so foolish -as to take into her arms a child found as this -one was.”</p> - -<p>Thereupon he walked out of the house, deliberately -and thoughtful, angry in his mind against -his eldest daughter. Ascending to her room, he -pushed against the door and called to the Serpent -of the Sea: “Oh, Kólowissi! It is I, who speak -to thee, O Serpent of the Sea; I, thy priest. Let, -I pray thee, let my child come to me again, and I -will make atonement for her errors. Release her, -though she has been so foolish, for she is thine, -absolutely thine. But let her return once more to us -that we may make atonement to thee more amply.” -So prayed the priest to the Serpent of the Sea.</p> - -<p>When he had done this the great Serpent -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>98]</a></span> -loosened his coils, and as he did so the whole -building shook violently, and all the villagers -became aware of the event, and trembled with -fear.</p> - -<p>The maiden at once awoke and cried piteously -to her father for help.</p> - -<p>“Come and release me, oh, my father! Come and -release me!” she cried.</p> - -<p>As the coils loosened she found herself able to -rise. No sooner had she done this than the great -Serpent bent the folds of his large coils nearest -the doorway upward so that they formed an arch. -Under this, filled with terror, the girl passed. She -was almost stunned with the dread din of the -monster’s scales rasping past one another with a -noise like the sound of flints trodden under the -feet of a rapid runner, and once away from the -writhing mass of coils, the poor maiden ran like -a frightened deer out of the doorway, down the -ladder and into the room below, casting herself on -the breast of her mother.</p> - -<p>But the priest still remained praying to the -Serpent; and he ended his prayer as he had -begun it, saying: “It shall be even as I have -said; she shall be thine!”</p> - -<p>He then went away and called the two warrior -priest-chiefs of the town, and these called together -all the other priests in sacred council. Then they -performed the solemn ceremonies of the sacred -rites—preparing plumes, prayer-wands, and offerings -of treasure.</p> - -<p>After four days of labor, these things they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>99]</a></span> -arranged and consecrated to the Serpent of the Sea. -On that morning the old priest called his daughter -and told her she must make ready to take these -sacrifices and yield them up, even with herself,—most -precious of them all,—to the great Serpent -of the Sea; that she must yield up also all thoughts -of her people and home forever, and go hence to the -house of the great Serpent of the Sea, even in the -Waters of the World. “For it seems,” said he, -“to have been your desire to do thus, as manifested -by your actions. You used even the sacred -water for profane purposes; now this that I have -told you is inevitable. Come; the time when you -must prepare yourself to depart is near at hand.”</p> - -<p>She went forth from the home of her childhood -with sad cries, clinging to the neck of her mother -and shivering with terror. In the plaza, amidst -the lamentations of all the people, they dressed -her in her sacred cotton robes of ceremonial, embroidered -elaborately, and adorned her with earrings, -bracelets, beads,—many beautiful, precious -things. They painted her cheeks with red spots -as if for a dance; they made a road of sacred meal -toward the Door of the Serpent of the Sea—a distant -spring in our land known to this day as the -Doorway to the Serpent of the Sea—four steps -toward this spring did they mark in sacred terraces -on the ground at the western way of the -plaza. And when they had finished the sacred -road, the old priest, who never shed one tear, although -all the villagers wept sore,—for the maiden -was very beautiful,—instructed his daughter to go -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>100]</a></span> -forth on the terraced road, and, standing there, call -the Serpent to come to her.</p> - -<p>Then the door opened, and the Serpent descended -from the high room where he was coiled, -and, without using ladders, let his head and breast -down to the ground in great undulations. He -placed his head on the shoulder of the maiden, -and the word was given—the word: “It is time”—and -the maiden slowly started toward the west, -cowering beneath her burden; but whenever she -staggered with fear and weariness and was like to -wander from the way, the Serpent gently pushed -her onward and straightened her course.</p> - -<p>Thus they went toward the river trail and in it, -on and over the Mountain of the Red Paint; yet -still the Serpent was not all uncoiled from the -maiden’s room in the house, but continued to crawl -forth until they were past the mountain—when the -last of his length came forth. Here he began to -draw himself together again and to assume a new -shape. So that ere long his serpent form contracted, -until, lifting his head from the maiden’s -shoulder, he stood up, in form a beautiful youth in -sacred gala attire! He placed the scales of his -serpent form, now small, under his flowing mantle, -and called out to the maiden in a hoarse, hissing -voice: “Let us speak one to the other. Are you -tired, girl?” Yet she never moved her head, but -plodded on with her eyes cast down.</p> - -<p>“Are you weary, poor maiden?”—then he said -in a gentler voice, as he arose erect and fell a little -behind her, and wrapped his scales more closely -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>101]</a></span> -in his blanket—and he was now such a splendid -and brave hero, so magnificently dressed! And -he repeated, in a still softer voice: “Are you still -weary, poor maiden?”</p> - -<p>At first she dared not look around, though the -voice, so changed, sounded so far behind her and -thrilled her wonderfully with its kindness. Yet -she still felt the weight on her shoulder, the weight -of that dreaded Serpent’s head; for you know after -one has carried a heavy burden on his shoulder or -back, if it be removed he does not at once know -that it is taken away; it seems still to oppress and -pain him. So it was with her; but at length she -turned around a little and saw a young man—a -brave and handsome young man.</p> - -<p>“May I walk by your side?” said he, catching -her eye. “Why do you not speak with me?”</p> - -<p>“I am filled with fear and sadness and shame,” -said she.</p> - -<p>“Why?” asked he. “What do you fear?”</p> - -<p>“Because I came with a fearful creature forth -from my home, and he rested his head upon my -shoulder, and even now I feel his presence there,” -said she, lifting her hand to the place where his head -had rested, even still fearing that it might be there.</p> - -<p>“But I came all the way with you,” said he, “and -I saw no such creature as you describe.”</p> - -<p>Upon this she stopped and turned back and -looked again at him, and said: “You came all the -way? I wonder where this fearful being has gone!”</p> - -<p>He smiled, and replied: “I know where he has -gone.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>102]</a></span> -“Ah, youth and friend, will he now leave me -in peace,” said she, “and let me return to the -home of my people?”</p> - -<p>“No,” replied he, “because he thinks very much -of you.”</p> - -<p>“Why not? Where is he?”</p> - -<p>“He is here,” said the youth, smiling, and laying -his hand on his own heart. “I am he.”</p> - -<p>“You are he?” cried the maiden. Then she -looked at him again, and would not believe him.</p> - -<p>“Yea, my maiden, I am he!” said he. And he -drew forth from under his flowing mantle the shrivelled -serpent scales, and showed them as proofs of -his word. It was wonderful and beautiful to the -maiden to see that he was thus, a gentle being; and -she looked at him long.</p> - -<p>Then he said: “Yes, I am he. I love you, my -maiden! Will you not haply come forth and dwell -with me? Yes, you will go with me, and dwell with -me, and I will dwell with you, and I will love you. -I dwell not now, but ever, in all the Waters of the -World, and in each particular water. In all and each -you will dwell with me forever, and we will love -each other.”</p> - -<p>Behold! As they journeyed on, the maiden quite -forgot that she had been sad; she forgot her old -home, and followed and descended with him into -the Doorway of the Serpent of the Sea and dwelt -with him ever after.</p> - - - -<p class="break">It was thus in the days of the ancients. Therefore -the ancients, no less than ourselves, avoided -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>103]</a></span> -using springs, except for the drinking of their water; -for to this day we hold the flowing springs the most -precious things on earth, and therefore use them -not for any profane purposes whatsoever.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>104]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap06" id="chap06"></a>THE MAIDEN OF THE YELLOW ROCKS</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the days of the ancients, when our ancestors -lived in the Village of the Yellow Rocks,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> also in -the Salt City,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> also in the Village of the Winds,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> and -also in the Village of the White Flowering Herbs, and -also in the Village of Odd Waters, where they come -forth, when in fact all these broken-down villages -were inhabited by our ancients, there lived in the -Village of the Yellow Rocks a very beautiful maiden, -the daughter of the high priest.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_5_5">[5]</a></span> -Situated about seven miles east of Zuñi. <a href="#FNanchor_5_5">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_6_6">[6]</a></span> -Mátsaki, now a ruin about three miles east of Zuñi. <a href="#FNanchor_6_6">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_7_7">[7]</a></span> -Pínawa, an ancient ruin about a mile and a half west of Zuñi. <a href="#FNanchor_7_7">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Although a woman, she was wonderfully endowed -by birth with the magic knowledge of the hunt and -with the knowledge of all the animals who contribute -to the sustenance of man,—game animals. And, -although a woman, she was also somewhat bad in -her disposition, and selfish, in that, possessing this -knowledge above all other men and women, she -concluded she would have all these animals—the -deer, antelope, rabbits—to herself. So, through -her wonderful knowledge of their habits and language, -she communicated with them and charmed -them, and on the top of the mountain—where you -will see to this day the ancient figures of the deer -cut in the rock—she built a huge corral, and gathered -one after another all the deer and antelope -and other wild animals of that great country. And -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>105]</a></span> -the hunters of these villages hunted in vain; they -trailed the deer and the antelope, but they lost their -trails and always came home with nothing save the -weapons they took with them. But this maiden, -whenever she wished for deer, would go to her corral -and kill whatever animal she wanted; so she -and her family always had plenty of meat, while -others were without it; always had plenty of buckskins -with which to make moccasins and apparel, -while others were every day wearing out their old -supply and never able to replenish it.</p> - -<p>Now, this girl was surpassingly beautiful, and was -looked upon by many a young man as the flower of -his heart and the one on whom he would ultimately -concentrate his thoughts for life. Amongst these -young men, the first to manifest his feelings was a -youth from the Village of the Winds.</p> - -<p>One day he said to his old people: “I am going -courting.” And they observed that he made up a -bundle of various precious things for women’s -dress and ornamentation—necklaces, snow-white -buckskin moccasins and leggings, and embroidered -skirts and mantles—and, taking his bundle on his -shoulders, he started off for the Village of the -Yellow Rocks.</p> - -<p>When he reached the village he knew the home -of the maiden by the beauty of the house. Among -other houses it was alone of its kind. Attached -to the ladder was the cross-piece carved as it is in -these days, but depending from it was a fringe of -black hair (not scalp-locks) with which they still -ornament certain houses when they have sacred -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>106]</a></span> -ceremonies; and among this fringe were hung hollow -stalactites from a sacred cave on the Colorado -Chiquito, which sounded, when the wind blew -them together, like little bells. This fringe was -full of them, so that when a stranger came to -this important chief-priest’s house he no sooner -touched the ladder-rung at the foot than the bells -tinkled, and they knew some one was coming.</p> - -<p>As he placed his foot on the lowermost rung of -the ladder, <i>chi-la-li</i> sang the bells at the top.</p> - -<p>Said the people within: “Some one is coming.”</p> - -<p>Step after step he went up, and still the bells -made music at the top, and as he stepped over on -the roof, <em>thud</em>, <em>thud</em>, his footsteps sounded as he -walked along; and when he reached the door, those -within said: “Thou comest?” And he replied: -“I come. Draw me in”; by which expression he -meant that he had brought with him a present to -the family. Whenever a man has a bundle to -hand down, it is the place of the woman to take it; -and that is called “drawing a man in,” though she -only takes his bundle and he follows. In this case -he said “Draw me in,” and the maiden came to -the top of the ladder and took the bundle and -dropped it on the floor. They knew by the appearance -of the bundle what the object of the visit -was.</p> - -<p>The old man was sitting by the fireplace,—it -was night-time,—and as the stranger entered, -said, “Thou hast come?”</p> - -<p>The young man answered: “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Said the old man: “It is not customary for a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>107]</a></span> -stranger to visit the house of a stranger without -saying something of what may be in his thoughts.”</p> - -<p>“It is quite true,” said the youth; “I come -thinking of this maiden, your daughter. It has -occurred to me that I might happily and without -fear rest my thoughts and hopes on her; therefore -I come.”</p> - -<p>The daughter brought forth food for the young -man and bade him eat. He reached forth his -hand and partook of the food. She sat down and -took a mouthful or two, whereby they knew she -was favorably disposed. She was favorably disposed -to all appearance, but not in reality. When -he had finished eating, she said: “As you like, my -father. You are my father.” She answered to her -own thoughts: “Yes, you have often reproached -me for not treating with more gentleness those -who come courting me.”</p> - -<p>Finally said the father: “I give ye my blessing -and sacred speech, my children. I will adopt -thee as my child.”<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_8_8">[8]</a></span> -This, it may be explained, is all that the marriage ceremony consists of. <a href="#FNanchor_8_8">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>“My children,” said the father, after a while, -when he had smoked a little, “the stranger, now a -son, has come a long distance and must be weary.”</p> - -<p>So the maiden led him to an upper chamber, and -said: “Rest here; you are not yet my husband. -I would try you in the morning. Get up early, -when the deer are most plentiful, and go forth and -slay me a fine one, and then indeed shall we rest -our hopes and thoughts on each other for life.”</p> - -<p>“It is well,” said the youth; and he retired to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>108]</a></span> -sleep, and in the morning arose early. The maiden -gave into his hands the food for the day; he caught -up his bows and arrows and went forth into the -forests and mountains, seeking for the deer. He -found a superb track and followed it until it suddenly -disappeared, and though he worked hard -and followed it over and over again, he could find -nothing. While the young man was out hunting -and following the tracks for nothing, the young girl -went out, so as to be quite sure that none of her -deer should get out; and what did she do? She went -into the river and followed it against the current, -through the water beyond the village and where the -marked rocks stand, up the cañon to the place where -her deer were gathered. They were all there, peaceful -and contented. But there were no tracks of the -girl; no one could follow where she went.</p> - -<p>The young man hunted and hunted, and at -night-time, all tired out and hungry, took his way -back to the home of the maiden. She was there.</p> - -<p>“Ha!” said she, “what good fortune today?”</p> - -<p>And the young man with his face dragged down -and his eyes not bright, answered: “I found no -game today.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the girl, “it is too bad; but under -the circumstances we cannot rest our thoughts and -hopes on each other for life.”</p> - -<p>“No, I suppose not,” said the young man.</p> - -<p>“Here is your bundle,” said the girl. She raised -it very carefully and handed it to him. He took -it over his shoulder, and after all his weary work -went on his way home.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>109]</a></span> -The very next day a young man named Hálona, -when he heard of this, said: “Ha! ha! What a fool -he was! He didn’t take her enough presents; he -didn’t please her. I am said to be a very pleasant -fellow” (he was a very conceited young man); “I -will take her a bundle that will make things all -right.”</p> - -<p>So he put into a bundle everything that a woman -could reasonably want,—for he was a wealthy -young man, and his bundle was very heavy,—put -on his best dress, and with fine paint on his face -started for the home of the maiden. Finally, his -foot touched the lowermost rung of the ladder; -the stalactites went jingling above as he mounted, -and <em>thud</em> went his bundle as he dropped it on the -roof.</p> - -<p>“Somebody has come,” said the people below. -“Listen to that!”</p> - -<p>The maiden shrugged her shoulders and said: -“Thou comest?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered the young man; “draw me in.”</p> - -<p>So she reached up and pulled the huge bundle -down into the room, placing it on the floor, and -the young man followed it down.</p> - -<p>Said the old man, who was sitting by the fire, -for it was night: “Thou comest. Not thinking of -nothing doth one stranger come to the house of -another. What may be thy thoughts?”</p> - -<p>The young man looked at the maiden and said -to himself: “What a magnificent creature she is! -She will be my wife, no fear that she will not.” -Then said he aloud: “I came, thinking of your -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>110]</a></span> -daughter. I would rest my hopes and thoughts -on her.”</p> - -<p>“It is well,” said the old man. “It is the custom -of our people and of all people, that they may -possess dignity, that they may be the heads of -households; therefore, young men and maidens -marry and establish themselves in certain houses. -I have no objection. What dost thou think, my -daughter?”</p> - -<p>“I have no objection,” said the daughter.</p> - -<p>“Ah, what did I tell you?” said the youth to -himself, and ate with a great deal of satisfaction -the meal placed before him.</p> - -<p>The father laid out the corn-husks and tobacco, -and they had a smoke; then he said to his daughter: -“The stranger who is now my son has come a -long way, and should not be kept sitting up so -long.”</p> - -<p>As the daughter led him to another room, he -thought: “What a gentle creature she is! How -softly she steps up the ladder.”</p> - -<p>When the door was reached, she said: “Here -we will say good-night.”</p> - -<p>“What is the matter?” he asked.</p> - -<p>Said she: “I would like to know of my husband -this much, that he is a good hunter; that I may -have plenty of food all my days, and plenty of -buckskins for my clothing. Therefore I must ask -that in the morning you go forth and hunt the -deer, or bring home an antelope for me.”</p> - -<p>The young man quickly recovered himself, and -said: “It is well,” and lay himself down to rest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>111]</a></span> -So the next morning he went out, and there was -the maiden at the top of the house watching him. -He couldn’t wait for daylight; he wanted the Sun, -his father, to rise before his time, and when the -Sun did rise he jumped out of bed, tied his quiver -to his belt, took his bow in his hand, and, with a -little luncheon the maiden had prepared for him, -started off.</p> - -<p>As he went down the river he saw the maiden -was watching him from the top of the house; so -he started forward and ran until he was out of -sight, to show how fine a runner he was and how -good a hunter; because he was reputed to be a -very strong and active young man. He hunted -and hunted, but did not find any deer, nor even -any tracks.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the maiden went up the stream as -before and kept watch of the corral; and he fared -as the other young man had fared. At night he -came home, not quite so downcast as the other -had been, because he was a young man of more -self-reliance.</p> - -<p>She asked, as she met him: “Haven’t you got -any deer today?”</p> - -<p>He answered: “No.”</p> - -<p>She said: “I am sorry, but under the circumstances -I don’t see how we can become husband -and wife.”</p> - -<p>So he carried his bundle home.</p> - -<p>The next day there was a young man in the -City of Salt who heard of this,—not all of it, but -he heard that day after day young men were going -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>112]</a></span> -to the home of this maiden to court her, and she -turned them all away. He said: “I dare say they -didn’t take enough with them.” So he made up -two bundles and went to the home of the maiden, -and he said to himself: “This time it will be all -right.”</p> - -<p>When he arrived, much the same conversation -was gone through as before with the other young -men, and the girl said, when she lighted him to the -door of his room: “My young friend, if you will -find a deer for me tomorrow I will become your -wife and rest my hope only on you.”</p> - -<p>“Mercy on me!” thought the young man to himself, -“I have always been called a poor hunter. -What shall I do?”</p> - -<p>The next morning he tried, but with the same -results.</p> - -<p>Now, this girl was keeping the deer and antelope -and other animals so long closed up in the corral -that the people in all the villages round about were -ready to die of hunger for meat. Still, for her own -gratification she would keep these animals shut up.</p> - -<p>The young man came back at evening, and she -asked him if he had found a deer for her.</p> - -<p>“No,” said he, “I could not even find the trail -of one.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” she said, “I am sorry, for your bundles -are heavy.”</p> - -<p>He took them up and went home with them.</p> - -<p>Finally, this matter became so much talked about -that the two small gods on the top of Thunder -Mountain, who lived with their grandmother where -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>113]</a></span> -our sacrificial altar now stands, said: “There is -something wrong here; we will go and court this -maiden.” Now, these gods were extremely ugly in -appearance when they chose to be—mere pigmies -who never grew to man’s stature. They were always -boys in appearance, and their grandmother -was always crusty with them; but they concluded -one night that they would go the next day to woo -this maiden.</p> - -<p>Said one to the other: “Suppose we go and try -our luck with her.” Said he: “When I look at you, -you are very handsome.”</p> - -<p>Said the other to him: “When I look at you, you -are extremely handsome.”</p> - -<p>They were the ugliest beings in human form, but -in reality were among the most magnificent of -men, having power to take any form they chose.</p> - -<p>Said the elder one: “Grandmother, you know -how much talk there is about this maiden in the -Village of the Yellow Rocks. We have decided to -go and court her.”</p> - -<p>“You miserable, dirty, ugly little wretches! -The idea of your going to court this maiden when -she has refused the finest young men in the land!”</p> - -<p>“Well, we will go,” said he.</p> - -<p>“I don’t want you to go,” replied she. “Your -names will be in the mouths of everybody; you -will be laughed and jeered at.”</p> - -<p>“We will go,” said they. And, without paying -the slightest attention to their grandmother, they -made up their bundle—a very miserable bundle it -was; the younger brother put in little rocks and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>114]</a></span> -sticks and bits of buckskins and all sorts of worthless -things—and they started off.</p> - -<p>“What are you carrying this bundle for?” -asked Áhaiyúta, the elder brother.</p> - -<p>“I am taking it as a present to the maiden,” -said Mátsailéma, the younger one.</p> - -<p>“She doesn’t want any such trash as that,” said -the other. “They have taken very valuable presents -to her before; we have nothing to take equal -to what has been carried to her by others.”</p> - -<p>They decided to throw the bundle away altogether, -and started out with absolutely nothing but -their bows and arrows.</p> - -<p>As they proceeded they began to kill wood-rats, -and continued until they had slaughtered a large -number and had a long string of them held up by -their tails.</p> - -<p>“There!” exclaimed the younger brother. -“There is a fine present for the girl.” They -knew perfectly well how things were, and were -looking out for the interests of their children in -the villages round about.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my younger brother!” said the elder. -“These will not be acceptable to the girl at all; -she would not have them in the house!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, she would,” said the younger; “we -will take them along as a present to her.”</p> - -<p>So they went on, and it was hardly noon when -they arrived with their strings of rats at the white -cliffs on the southern side of the cañon opposite -the village where the maiden lived.</p> - -<p>“Here, let us sit down in the shade of this cliff,” -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>115]</a></span> -said the elder brother, “for it is not proper to go -courting until evening.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” said the younger, “let us go along -now. I am in a hurry! I am in a hurry!”</p> - -<p>“You are a fool!” said the elder brother; “you -should not think of going courting before evening. -Stay here patiently.”</p> - -<p>So they sat down in the shade of the cliff. But -the younger kept jumping up and running out to -see how the sun was all the afternoon, and he -would go and smooth out his string of rats from -time to time, and then go and look at the sun again. -Finally, when the sun was almost set, he called out: -“Now, come on!”</p> - -<p>“Wait until it is wholly dark,” said the other. -“You never did have any patience, sense, or -dignity about you.”</p> - -<p>“Why not go now?” asked the younger.</p> - -<p>So they kept quarrelling, but the elder brother’s -wish prevailed until it was nearly dark, when they -went on.</p> - -<p>The elder brother began to get very bashful as -they approached the village. “I wonder which -house it is,” said he.</p> - -<p>“The one with the tallest ladder in front of it, -of course,” said the other.</p> - -<p>Then the elder brother said in a low voice: -“Now, do behave yourself; be dignified.”</p> - -<p>“All right!” replied the younger.</p> - -<p>When they got to the ladder, the elder one said -in a whisper: “I don’t want to go up here; I don’t -want to go courting; let’s go back.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>116]</a></span> -“Go along up,” said the younger.</p> - -<p>“Keep still; be quiet!” said the elder one; “be -dignified!”</p> - -<p>They went up the ladder very carefully, so that -there was not a tinkle from the bells. The elder -brother hesitated, while the younger one went on -to the top, and over the edge of the house.</p> - -<p>“Now!” cried he.</p> - -<p>“Keep still!” whispered the other; and he gave -the ladder a little shake as he went, and the bells -tinkled at the top.</p> - -<p>The people downstairs said: “Who in the world -is coming now?”</p> - -<p>When they were both on the roof, the elder -brother said: “You go down first.”</p> - -<p>“I will do nothing of the kind,” said the other, -“you are the elder.”</p> - -<p>The people downstairs called out: “Who comes -there?”</p> - -<p>“See what you have done, you simpleton!” -said the elder brother. Then with a great deal of -dignity he walked down the ladder. The younger -one came tumbling down, carrying his string of -rats.</p> - -<p>“Throw it out, you fool; they don’t want rats!” -said the elder one.</p> - -<p>“Yes, they do,” replied the other. “The girl -will want these; maybe she will marry us on -account of them!”</p> - -<p>The elder brother was terribly disturbed, but the -other brought his rats in and laid them in the -middle of the floor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>117]</a></span> -The father looked up, and said: “You come?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered the two odd ones.</p> - -<p>“Sit down,” said the old man. So they sat -down, and food was placed before them.</p> - -<p>“It seems,” said the father, “that ye have met -with luck today in hunting,” as he cast his eyes -on the string of rats.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Two.</p> - -<p>So the old priest went and got some prayer-meal, -and, turning the faces of the rats toward the -east, said a short prayer.</p> - -<p>“What did I tell you?” said the younger -brother; “they like the presents we have brought. -Just see!”</p> - -<p>Presently the old man said: “It is not customary -for strangers to come to a house without something -in mind.”</p> - -<p>“Quite so,” said the younger brother.</p> - -<p>“Yes, my father,” said the elder one; “we have -come thinking of your daughter. We understand -that she has been wooed by various young men, -and it has occurred to us that they did not bring -the right kind of presents.”</p> - -<p>“So we brought these,” said the younger brother.</p> - -<p>“It is well,” said the old man. “It is the custom -for maidens and youths to marry. It rests with -my daughter.”</p> - -<p>So he referred the matter to his daughter, and -she said: “As you think, my father. Which one?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, take us both!” said the younger brother.</p> - -<p>This was rather embarrassing to the maiden, but -she knew she had a safe retreat. So when the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>118]</a></span> -father admonished her that it was time to lead -the two young men up into the room where the -others had been placed, she told them the same -story.</p> - -<p>They said, “It is well.”</p> - -<p>They lay down, but instead of sleeping spent -most of the night in speculating as to the future.</p> - -<p>“What a magnificent wife we will have,” said -one to the other.</p> - -<p>“Don’t talk so loud; every one will hear you; -you will be covered with shame!”</p> - -<p>After a while they went to sleep; but were awake -early the next morning. The younger brother began -to talk to the elder one, who said: “Keep -quiet; the people are not awake; don’t disturb -them!”</p> - -<p>The younger one said: “The sun is rising.”</p> - -<p>“Keep quiet,” said the other, “and when they -are awake they will give us some luncheon to take -with us.”</p> - -<p>But the younger one jumped up and went rushing -about the house, calling out: “The sun is rising; -Get up!”</p> - -<p>The luncheon was provided, and when they -started off the maiden went out on the house-top -and asked them which direction they would take.</p> - -<p>Said they: “We will go over to the south and -will get a deer before long, although we are very -small and may not meet with very good luck.”</p> - -<p>So they descended the ladder, and the maiden -said to herself: “Ugly, miserable little wretches; I -will teach them to come courting me in this way!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>119]</a></span> -The brothers went off to the cliffs, and, while -pretending to be hunting, they ran back through -the thickets near the house and waited to see what -the maiden would do.</p> - -<p>Pretty soon she came out. They watched her -and saw that she went down the valley and presently -ran into the river, leaving no trail behind, -and took her course up the stream. They ran on -ahead, and long before she had ascended the river -found the path leading out of it up the mountain. -Following this path, they came to the corral, and, -looking over it, they saw thousands of deer, mountain-sheep, -antelope, and other animals wandering -around in the enclosure.</p> - -<p>“Ha! here is the place!” the younger brother -exclaimed. “Let us go at them now!”</p> - -<p>“Keep quiet! Be patient! Wait till the maiden -comes,” said the elder one. “If we should -happen to kill one of these deer before she comes, -perhaps she has some magic power or knowledge -by which she would deprive us of the fruits of our -efforts.”</p> - -<p>“No, let us kill one now,” said the other. But -the elder one kept him curbed until the maiden -was climbing the cliff, when he could restrain him -no longer, and the youth pulled out his bow and -let fly an arrow at the largest deer. One arrow, -and the deer fell to the ground, and when the -maiden appeared on the spot the deer was lying -dead not far away.</p> - -<p>The brothers said: “You come, do you? And -here we are!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>120]</a></span> -She looked at them, and her heart went down and -became as heavy as a stone, and she did not answer.</p> - -<p>“I say, you come!” said the younger brother. -“You come, do you?”</p> - -<p>She said, “Yes.” Then said she to herself: -“Well, I suppose I shall have to submit, as I made -the arrangement myself.” Then she looked up -and said: “I see you have killed a deer.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we killed one; didn’t have any difficulty -at all,” said the younger brother. “Come, and help -us skin him; we are so little and hungry and tired -we can’t do it. Come on.”</p> - -<p>So the girl went slowly forward, and in a dejected -way helped them skin the deer. Then they -began to shoot more deer, and attempted to drag -them out; but the men were so small they could -not do it, and the girl had to help them. Then -they cut up the meat and made it into bundles. -She made a large one for herself, and they made -two little ones for themselves.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said they, wiping their brows, “we have -done a good day’s work, haven’t we?” and they -looked at the maiden with twinkling eyes.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said she; “you are great hunters.”</p> - -<p>“Shall we go toward home?” asked the younger -brother of the maiden. “It would be a shame for -you to take such a bundle as that. I will take it -for you.”</p> - -<p>“You little conceited wretch!” cried the elder -brother. “Haven’t I tried to restrain you?—and -now you are going to bury yourself under a bundle -of meat!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>121]</a></span> -“No,” said the younger brother, “I can carry it.”</p> - -<p>So they propped the great bundle of meat against -a tree. The elder brother called on the maiden -to help him; the younger one stooped down and -received it on his back. They had no sooner let -go of it than it fell on the ground and completely -flattened the little man out.</p> - -<p>“Mercy! mercy! I am dying; help me out of -here!” cried he.</p> - -<p>So they managed to roll the thing off, and he -got up and rubbed his back, complaining bitterly -(he was only making believe), and said: “I shall -have to take my little bundle.”</p> - -<p>So he shouldered his little bundle, and the maiden -took the large one; but before she started she -turned to the animals and said, “Oh, my children! -these many days, throwing the warm light of your -favor upon me, you have rested contented to remain -away from the sight of men. Now, hereafter you -shall go forth whithersoever you will, that the earth -may be covered with your offspring, and men may -once more have of your flesh to eat and of your -pelts to wear.” And away went the antelope, the -deer, the mountain-sheep, the elk, and the buffalo -over all the land.</p> - -<p>Then the young Gods of War turned to the -maiden and said: “Now, shall we go home?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said she.</p> - -<p>“Well, I will take the lead,” said the younger -brother.</p> - -<p>“Get behind where you belong,” said the other; -“I will precede the party.” So the elder brother -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>122]</a></span> -went first, the maiden came next, and the younger -brother followed behind, with his little bag of -meat.</p> - -<p>So they went home, and the maiden placed -the meat to dry in the upper rooms of the house.</p> - -<p>While she was doing this, it was yet early in -the day. The two brothers were sitting together, -and whispering: “And what will she say for herself -now?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see what she can say for herself.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, nothing can she say for herself.”</p> - -<p>And when the meat was all packed away in the -house and the sun had set, they sat by themselves -talking this over: “What can she say for herself?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing whatever; nothing remains to be -done.”</p> - -<p>“That is quite so,” said they, as they went in -to the evening meal and sat with the family to -eat it.</p> - -<p>Finally the maiden said: “With all your hunting -and the labors of the day, you must be very -weary. Where you slept last night you will find -a resting-place. Go and rest yourselves. I cannot -consent to marry you, because you have not -yet shown yourselves capable of taking care of -and dressing the buckskins, as well as of killing -deer and antelope and such animals. For a long -time buckskins have been accumulating in the -upper room. I have no brothers to soften and -scrape them; therefore, if you Two will take the -hair off from all my buckskins tomorrow before -sunset, and scrape the underside so that they will -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>123]</a></span> -be thin and soft, I will consent to be the wife of -one of you, or both.”</p> - -<p>And they said: “Oh mercy, it is too bad!”</p> - -<p>“We can never do it,” said the younger brother.</p> - -<p>“I don’t suppose we can; but we can try,” -said the elder.</p> - -<p>So they lay down.</p> - -<p>“Let us take things in time,” said the elder -one, after he had thought of it. And they jumped -up and called to the maiden: “Where are those -buckskins?”</p> - -<p>“They are in the upper room,” said she.</p> - -<p>She showed them the way to the upper room. -It was packed to the rafters with buckskins. They -began to make big bales of these and then took -them down to the river. When they got them -all down there they said: “How in the world can -we scrape so many skins? There are more here -than we can clean in a year.”</p> - -<p>“I will tell you what,” said the younger brother; -“we will stow away some in the crevices of the -rocks, and get rid of them in that way.”</p> - -<p>“Always hasty, always hasty,” said the elder. -“Do you suppose that woman put those skins -away without counting every one of them? We -can’t do that.”</p> - -<p>They spread them out in the water that they -might soak all night, and built a little dam so they -would not float away. While they were thus -engaged they heard some one talking, so they -pricked up their ears to listen.</p> - -<p>Now, the hill that stands by the side across from -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>124]</a></span> -the Village of the Yellow Rocks was, and still is, -a favorite home of the Field-mice. They are very -prolific, and have to provide great bundles of wool -for their families. But in the days of the ancients -they were terrible gamblers and were all the time -betting away their nests, and the young Mice -being perfectly bare, with no wool on them at all, -died of cold. And still they kept on betting, -making little figures of nests and betting these -away against the time when they should have -more. It was these Mice which the two gods -overheard.</p> - -<p>Said the younger brother: “Listen to that! -Who is talking?”</p> - -<p>“Some one is betting. Let us go nearer.”</p> - -<p>They went across the river and listened, and -heard the tiny little voices calling out and shouting.</p> - -<p>“Let us go in,” said the younger brother. And -he placed his foot in the hole and descended, -followed by the other. They found there an -enormous village of Field-mice in human form, -their clothes, in the shape of Mice, hanging over -the sides of the house. Some had their clothing -all off down to their waists, and were betting as -hard as they could and talking with one another.</p> - -<p>As soon as the two brothers entered, they said: -“Who comes?”</p> - -<p>The Two answered: “We come.”</p> - -<p>“Come in, come in,” cried the Mice,—they were -not very polite. “Sit down and have a game. -We have not anything to bet just now, but if you -trust us we will bet with you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>125]</a></span> -“What had you in mind in coming?” said an -old Field-mouse with a broken tail.</p> - -<p>They answered that they had come because they -heard voices. Then they told their story.</p> - -<p>“What is this you have to do?” asked the Mice.</p> - -<p>“To clean all the hair off those pelts tomorrow.”</p> - -<p>The Mice looked around at one another; their -eyes fairly sparkled and burned.</p> - -<p>“Now, then, we will help you if you will promise -us something,” said they; “but we want your solemn -promise.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?” asked the brothers.</p> - -<p>“That you will give us all the hair.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” said the brothers; “we will be glad -to get rid of it.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said they; “where are the skins?” -Then they all began to pour out of the place, and -they were so numerous that it was like water, when -the rain is falling hard, running over a rock.</p> - -<p>When they had all run out the two War-gods -drew the skins on the bank, and the Field-mice -went to nibbling the hair and cleaning off the underside. -They made up little bundles of the flesh -from the skins for their food, and great parcels of the -hair. Finally they said: “May we have them all?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the brothers, “we must have eight -reserved, four for each, so that we will be hard at -work all day tomorrow.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the Mice, “we can’t consent to -leaving even so many, unless you promise that you -will gather up all the hair and put it somewhere so -that we can get it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>126]</a></span> -The Two promised that, and said: “Be sure to -leave eight skins, will you? and we will go to bed -and rest ourselves.”</p> - -<p>“All right, all right!” responded the Field-mice.</p> - -<p>So the brothers climbed up the hill to the town, -and up the ladder, and slept in their room.</p> - -<p>The next morning the girl said: “Now, remember, -you will have to clean every skin and make it -soft and white.”</p> - -<p>So they went down to the river and started to -work. The girl had said to them that at midday -she would go down and see how they were getting -along. They were at work nearly all the forenoon -on the skins. While the elder brother shaved the -hair off, the younger one scraped them thin and -softened them.</p> - -<p>When the maiden came at noon, she said: “How -are you getting along?”</p> - -<p>“We have finished four and are at work on the -fifth.”</p> - -<p>“Remember,” said she, “you must finish all of -them today or I shall have to send you home.”</p> - -<p>So they worked away until a little before the -sun set, when she appeared again. They had just -finished the last. The Field-mice had carefully -dressed all the others (they did it better than the -men), and there they lay spread out on the sands -like a great field of something growing, only -white.</p> - -<p>When the maiden came down she was perfectly -overcome; she looked and looked and counted and -recounted. She found them all there. Then she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>127]</a></span> -got a long pole and fished in the water, but there -were none.</p> - -<p>Said she: “Yes, you shall be my husbands; I -shall have to submit.”</p> - -<p>She went home with them, and for a long time -they all lived together, the woman with her two -husbands. They managed to get along very comfortably, -and the two brothers didn’t quarrel any -more than they had done before.</p> - -<p>Finally, there were born little twin boys, exactly -like their fathers, who were also twins, although -one was called the elder and the other the younger.</p> - -<p>After a time the younger brother said: “Now, -let us go home to our grandmother. People always -go home to their own houses and take their -families with them.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the elder one, “you must remember -that we have been only pretending to be human -beings. It would not do to take the maiden home -with us.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the other; “I want her to go with -us. Our grandmother kept making fun of us; -called us little, miserable, wretched creatures. I -want to show her that we amount to something!”</p> - -<p>The elder brother could not get the younger -one to leave the wife behind, and like a dutiful -wife she said: “I will go with you.” They made -up their bundles and started out. It was a very -hot day, and when they had climbed nearly to the -top of Thunder Mountain, the younger brother -said: “Ahem! I am tired. Let us sit down and -rest.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>128]</a></span> -“It will not do,” said the elder brother. “You -know very well it will not do to sit down; our -father, the Sun, has forbidden that we should be -among mortals. It will not do.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, it will; we must sit down here,” said -the younger brother; and again his wish prevailed -and they sat down.</p> - -<p>At midday the Sun stood still in the sky, and -looked down and saw this beautiful woman, and by -the power of his withdrawing rays quickly snatched -her from them while they were sitting there talking, -she carrying her little children.</p> - -<p>The brothers looked around and said: “Where is -our wife?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, there she is,” cried the younger; “I will -shoot her.”</p> - -<p>“Shoot your wife!” cried the elder brother. -“No, let her go! Serves you right!”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the younger, “I will shoot her!” -He looked up and drew his arrow, and as his aim -was absolutely unerring, <em>swish</em> went the arrow -directly to her, and she was killed. The power of -life by which the Sun was drawing her up was gone, -the thread was cut, and she fell over and over and -struck the earth.</p> - -<p>The two little children were so very small, and -their bones so soft, that the fall did not hurt them -much. They fell on the soft bank, and rolled and -rolled down the hill, and the younger brother ran -forward and caught them up in his arms, crying: -“Oh, my little children!” and brought them to the -elder brother, who said: “Now, what can be done -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>129]</a></span> -with these little babies, with no mother, no -food?”</p> - -<p>“We will take them home to grandmother,” said -the younger brother.</p> - -<p>“Your grandmother cannot take care of these -babies,” said the elder brother.</p> - -<p>“Yes, she can, of course,” said the younger -brother. “Come on, come on! I didn’t want to -lose my wife and children, too; I thought I must -still have the children; that is the reason why I -shot her.”</p> - -<p>So one of them took one of the children, and the -other one took the other, and they carried them up -to the top of Thunder Mountain.</p> - -<p>“Now, then,” said the elder brother, “we went -off to marry; we come home with no wife and two -little children and with nothing to feed them.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, grandmother!” called out the younger -brother.</p> - -<p>The old woman hadn’t heard them for many a -day, for many a month, even for years. She looked -out and said: “My grandchildren are coming,” and -she called to them: “I am so glad you have come!”</p> - -<p>“Here, see what we have,” said the younger -brother. “Here are your grandchildren. Come -and take them!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you miserable boy, you are always doing -something foolish; where is your wife?” asked the -grandmother.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I shot her!” was the response.</p> - -<p>“Why did you do that?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t want my father, the Sun, to take them -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>130]</a></span> -away with my wife. I knew you would not care -anything about my wife, but I knew you would be -very fond of the grandchildren. Here they are.”</p> - -<p>But she wouldn’t look at all. So the younger -brother drew his face down, and taking the poor -little children in his arms said: “You unnatural -grandmother, you! Here are two nice little grandchildren -for you!”</p> - -<p>She said: “How shall I feed them? or what -shall I do with them?”</p> - -<p>He replied: “Oh, take care of them, take care -of them!”</p> - -<p>She took a good look at them, and became a true -grandmother. She ran and clasped the little ones, -crying out: “Let me take you away from these -miserable children of mine!” She made some beds -of sand for them, as Zuñi mothers do today, got -some soft skins for them to lie on, and fed them -with a kind of milk made of corn toasted and -ground and mixed with water; so that they gradually -enlarged and grew up to be nice children.</p> - - - -<p class="break">Thus it was in the days of the ancients, and has -been told to us in these days, that even the most -cruel and heartless of the gods do these things. -Even they took these helpless children to their -grandmother, and she succored them and brought -them up to the time of reason. Therefore it is the -duty of those who find helpless babies or children, -inasmuch as they are not so cruel and terrible as -were the Gods of War,—not nearly,—surely it is -their duty to take those children and succor and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>131]</a></span> -bring them up to the time of reason, when they can -care for themselves. That is why our people, when -children have been abandoned, provide and care for -them as if they were their own.</p> - -<p>Thus long is my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>132]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap07" id="chap07"></a>THE FOSTER-CHILD OF THE DEER</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>NCE, long, long ago, at Háwikuh, there lived -a maiden most beautiful. In her earlier -years her father, who was a great priest, had -devoted her to sacred things, and therefore he -kept her always in the house secure from the gaze -of all men, and thus she grew.</p> - -<p>She was so beautiful that when the Sun looked -down along one of the straight beams of his own -light, if one of those beams chanced to pass through -a chink in the roof, the sky-hole, or the windows -of the upper part of the maiden’s room, he beheld -her and wondered at her rare beauty, unable to -compare it with anything he saw in his great -journeys round about the worlds. Thus, as the -maiden grew apace and became a young woman, -the Sun loved her exceedingly, and as time went -on he became so enamored of her that he descended -to earth and entered on one of his own -beams of light into her apartment, so that suddenly, -while she was sitting one noon-day weaving pretty -baskets, there stood before her a glorious youth, -gloriously dressed. It was the Sun-father. He -looked upon her gently and lovingly; she looked -upon him not fearfully: and so it came about that -she loved him and he loved her, and he won her -to be his wife. And many were the days in which -he visited her and dwelt with her for a space at -noon-time; but as she was alone mostly, or as she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>133]</a></span> -kept sitting weaving her trays when any one of the -family entered her apartment, no one suspected this.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"> -<a name="plate05" id="plate05"></a> -<img src="images/zft10.jpg" width="700" height="406" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by Hillers</p> -<p class="caption">A BURRO TRAIN IN A ZUÑI STREET</p> -</div> - -<p>Now, as she knew that she had been devoted to -sacred things, and that if she explained how it was -that she was a mother she would not be believed, -she was greatly exercised in mind and heart. She -therefore decided that when her child was born -she would put it away from her.</p> - -<p>When the time came, the child one night was -born. She carefully wrapped the little baby boy -in some soft cotton-wool, and in the middle of the -night stole out softly over the roof-tops, and, -silently descending, laid the child on the sheltered -side of a heap of refuse near the little stream that -flows by Háwikuh, in the valley below. Then, -mourning as a mother will mourn for her offspring, -she returned to her room and lay herself -down, poor thing, to rest.</p> - -<p>As daylight was breaking in the east, and the -hills and the valleys were coming forth one after -another from the shadows of night, a Deer with -her two little brightly-speckled fawns descended -from the hills to the south across the valley, with -ears and eyes alert, and stopped at the stream to -drink. While drinking they were startled by an -infant’s cry, and, looking up, they saw dust and -cotton-wool and other things flying about in the -air, almost as if a little whirlwind were blowing -on the site of the refuse-heap where the child had -been laid. It was the child, who, waking and finding -itself alone, hungry, and cold, was crying and -throwing its little hands about.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>134]</a></span> -“Bless my delight!” cried the Deer to her fawns. -“I have this day found a waif, a child, and though -it be human it shall be mine; for, see, my children, -I love you so much that surely I could love -another.”</p> - -<p>Thereupon she approached the little infant, and -breathed her warm breath upon it and caressed it -until it became quiet, and then after wrapping -about it the cotton-wool, she gently lifted it on her -broad horns, and, turning, carried it steadily away -toward the south, followed on either side by her -children, who kept crying out “Neh! neh!” in -their delight.</p> - -<p>The home of this old Deer and her little ones, -where all her children had been born for years, -was south of Háwikuh, in the valley that turns off -among the ledges of rocks near the little spring -called Póshaan. There, in the shelter of a clump -of piñon and cedar trees, was a soft and warm -retreat, winter and summer, and this was the lair -of the Deer and her young.</p> - -<p>The Deer was no less delighted than surprised -next morning to find that the infant had grown -apace, for she had suckled it with her own milk, -and that before the declining of the sun it was already -creeping about. And greater was her surprise -and delight, as day succeeded day, to find -that the child grew even more swiftly than grow -the children of the Deer. Behold! on the evening -of the fourth day it was running about and playing -with its foster brother and sister. Nor was it slow -of foot, even as compared with those little Deer. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>135]</a></span> -Behold! yet greater cause for wonder, on the -eighth day it was a youth fair to look upon—looking -upon itself and seeing that it had no clothing, and -wondering why it was not clothed, like its brother -and sister, in soft warm hair with pretty spots upon it.</p> - -<p>As time went on, this little foster-child of the -Deer (it must always be remembered that it was -the offspring of the Sun-father himself), in playing -with his brother and sister, and in his runnings -about, grew wondrously strong, and even swifter -of foot than the Deer themselves, and learned the -language of the Deer and all their ways.</p> - -<p>When he had become perfected in all that a Deer -should know, the Deer-mother led him forth into -the wilds and made him acquainted with the great -herd to which she belonged. They were exceedingly -happy with this addition to their number; -much they loved him, and so sagacious was the -youth that he soon became the leader of the Deer -of the Háwikuh country.</p> - -<p>When these Deer and the Antelopes were out -on the mesas ranging to and fro, there at their -head ran the swift youth. The soles of his feet -became as hard as the hoofs of the Deer, the skin -of his person strong and dark, the hair of his head -long and waving and as soft as the hair on the -sides of the Deer themselves.</p> - -<p>It chanced one morning, late that summer, that -the uncle of the maiden who had cast away her -child went out hunting, and he took his way southward -past Póshaan, the lair of the Deer-mother -and her foster-child. As he traversed the borders -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>136]</a></span> -of the great mesas that lie beyond, he saw a vast -herd of Deer gathered, as people gather in council. -They were quiet and seemed to be listening intently -to some one in their midst. The hunter -stole along carefully on hands and knees, twisting -himself among the bushes until he came nearer; -and what was his wonder when he beheld, in the -midst of the Deer, a splendid youth, broad of -shoulder, tall and strong of limb, sitting nude and -graceful on the ground, and the old Deer and the -young seemed to be paying attention to what he -was saying. The hunter rubbed his eyes and -looked again; and again he looked, shading his -eyes with his hands. Then he elevated himself to -peer yet more closely, and the sharp eyes of the -youth discovered him. With a shout he lifted himself -to his feet and sped away like the wind, followed -by the whole herd, their hoofs thundering, -and soon they were all out of sight.</p> - -<p>The hunter dropped his bow and stood there -musing; then picking it up, he turned himself about -and ran toward Háwikuh as fast as he could. -When he arrived he related to the father of the -girl what he had seen. The old priest summoned -his hunters and warriors and bade the uncle repeat -the story. Many there were who said: “You have -seen an apparition, and of evil omen to your family, -alas! alas!”</p> - -<p>“No,” said he, “I looked, and again I looked, -and yet again, and again, and I avow to you that -what I saw was as plain and as mortal as the Deer -themselves.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>137]</a></span> -Convinced at last, the council decided to form -a grand hunt, and word was given from the house-tops -that on the fourth day from that day a hunt -should be undertaken—that the southern mesa -should be surrounded, and that the people should -gather in from all sides and encompass the herd -there, in order that this wonderful youth should not -escape being seen, or possibly captured.</p> - -<p>Now, when the Deer had gone to a safe distance -they slackened their pace and called to their leader -not to fear. And the old foster-mother of the -youth for the first time related to him, as she had -related to them long ago, that he was the child of -mortals, telling how she had found him.</p> - -<p>The youth sat with his head bowed, thinking of -these things. Then he raised his head proudly, -and said: “What though I be the child of mortals, -they have not loved me: they have cast me from -their midst, therefore will I be faithful to thee -alone.”</p> - -<p>But the old Deer-mother said to him: “Hush, -my child! Thou art but a mortal, and though thou -might’st live on the roots of the trees and the -bushes and plants that mature in autumn, yet -surely in the winter time thou could’st not live, for -my supply of milk will be withholden, and the -fruits and the nuts will all be gone.”</p> - -<p>And the older members of that large herd gathered -round and repeated what she had been saying. -And they said: “We are aware that we shall be -hunted now, as is the invariable custom when our -herd has been discovered, on the fourth day from -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>138]</a></span> -the day on which we were first seen. Amongst -the people who come there will be, no doubt, those -who will seek you; and you must not endeavor to -escape. Even we ourselves are accustomed to -give up our lives to the brave hunters among this -people, for many of them are sacred of thought, -sacred of heart, and make due sacrifices unto us, -that our lives in other form may be spared unceasingly.”</p> - -<p>A splendid Deer rose from the midst of the -herd, and, coming forward, laid his cheek on the -cheek of the boy, and said: “Yet we love you, but -we must now part from you. And, in order that -you may be like unto other mortals, only exceeding -them, accompany me to the Land of the Souls of -Men, where sit in council the Gods of the Sacred -Dance and Drama, the Gods of the Spirit -World.”</p> - -<p>To all this the youth, being convinced, agreed. -And on that same day the Deer who had spoken -set forward, the swift youth running by his side, -toward the Lake of the Dead. On and on they -sped, and as night was falling they came to the -borders of that lake, and the lights were shining -over its middle and the Gardens of the Sacred -Dance. And the old Drama-woman and the old -Drama-man were walking on its shores, back and -forth, calling across to each other.</p> - -<p>As the Deer neared the shore of the lake, he -turned and said to his companion: “Step in boldly -with me. Ladders of rushes will rise to receive -you, and down underneath the waters into the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>139]</a></span> -great Halls of the Dead and of the Sacred Dance -we will be borne gently and swiftly.”</p> - -<p>Then they stepped into the lake. Brighter and -lighter it grew. Great ladders of rushes and flags -lifted themselves from the water, and upon them -the Deer and his companion were borne downward -into halls of splendor, lighted by many lights and -fires. And in the largest chamber the gods were -sitting in council silently. Páutiwa, the Sun-priest -of the Sacred Drama (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i>), Shúlawitsi (the -God of Fire), with his torch of ever-living flame, -and many others were there; and when the -strangers arrived they greeted and were greeted, -and were given a place in the light of the central -fire. And in through the doors of the west and the -north and the east and the south filed long rows of -sacred dancers, those who had passed through the -Lake of the Dead, clad in cotton mantles, white as -the daylight, finely embroidered, decked with many -a treasure shell and turquoise stone. These performed -their sacred rites, to the delight of the gods -and the wonder of the Deer and his foster-brother.</p> - -<p>And when the dancers had retired, Páutiwa, the -Sun-priest of the Sacred Dance, arose, and said: -“What would’st thou?”—though he knew full well -beforehand. “What would’st thou, oh, Deer of -the forest mesas, with thy companion, thy foster-brother; -for not thinking of nothing would one -visit the home of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i>.”</p> - -<p>Then the Deer lifted his head and told his story.</p> - -<p>“It is well,” said the gods.</p> - -<p>“Appear, my faithful one,” said Páutiwa to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>140]</a></span> -Shúlawitsi. And Shúlawitsi appeared and waved -his flame around the youth, so that he became convinced -of his mortal origin and of his dependence -upon food prepared by fire. Then the gods who -speak the speech of men gathered around and -breathed upon the youth, and touched to his lips -moisture from their own mouths, and touched the -portals of his ears with oil from their own ears, and -thus was the youth made acquainted with both the -speech and the understanding of the speech of -mortal man. Then the gods called out, and there -were brought before them fine garments of white -cotton embroidered in many colors, rare necklaces -of sacred shell with many turquoises and coral-like -stones and shells strung in their midst, and all that -the most beautifully clad of our ancients could have -glorified their appearance with. Such things they -brought forth, and, making them into a bundle, -laid them at the feet of the youth. Then they -said: “Oh, youth, oh, brother and father, since -thou art the child of the Sun, who is the father of us -all, go forth with thy foster-brother to thy last meeting-place -with him and with his people; and when -on the day after the morrow hunters shall gather -from around thy country, some of ye, oh, Deer,” -said he, turning to the Deer, “yield thyselves up -that ye may die as must thy kind ever continue -to die, for the sake of this thy brother.”</p> - -<p>“I will lead them,” simply replied the Deer. -“Thanks.”</p> - -<p>And Páutiwa continued: “Here full soon wilt -thou be gathered in our midst, or with the winds -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>141]</a></span> -and the mists of the air at night-time wilt sport, -ever-living. Go ye forth, then, carrying this bundle, -and, as ye best know how, prepare this our -father and child for his reception among men. -And, O son and father,” continued the priest-god, -turning to the youth, “Fear not! Happy wilt -thou be in the days to come, and treasured among -men. Hence thy birth. Return with the Deer -and do as thou art told to do. Thy uncle, leading -his priest-youths, will be foremost in the hunt. He -will pursue thee and thy foster-mother. Lead -him far away; and when thou hast so led him, -cease running and turn and wait, and peacefully go -home whither he guides thee.”</p> - -<p>The sounds of the Sacred Dance came in from -the outer apartments, and the youth and the Deer, -taking their bundle, departed. More quickly than -they had come they sped away; and on the morning -when the hunters of Háwikuh were setting -forth, the Deer gathered themselves in a vast herd -on the southern mesa, and they circled about -the youth and instructed him how to unloose the -bundle he had brought. Then closer and closer -came the Deer to the youth and bade him stand -in his nakedness, and they ran swiftly about him, -breathing fierce, moist breaths until hot steam enveloped -him and bathed him from head to foot, so -that he was purified, and his skin was softened, and -his hair hung down in a smooth yet waving mass -at the back of his head. Then the youth put on the -costume, one article after another, he having seen -them worn by the Gods of the Sacred Dance, and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>142]</a></span> -by the dancers; and into his hair at the back, -under the band which he placed round his temples, -he thrust the glowing feathers of the macaw which -had been given him. Then, seeing that there was -still one article left,—a little string of conical -shells,—he asked what that was for; and the Deer -told him to tie it about his knee.</p> - -<p>The Deer gathered around him once more, and -the old chief said: “Who among ye are willing -to die?” And, as if it were a festive occasion to -which they were going, many a fine Deer bounded -forth, striving for the place of those who were to -die, until a large number were gathered, fearless -and ready. Then the Deer began to move.</p> - -<p>Soon there was an alarm. In the north and -the west and the south and the east there was -cause for alarm. And the Deer began to scatter, -and then to assemble and scatter again. At last -the hunters with drawn bows came running in, and -soon their arrows were flying in the midst of those -who were devoted, and Deer after Deer fell, pierced -to the heart or other vital part.</p> - -<p>At last but few were left,—amongst them the -kind old Deer-mother and her two children; and, -taking the lead, the glorious youth, although encumbered -by his new dress, sped forth with them. -They ran and ran, the fleetest of the tribe of -Háwikuh pursuing them; but all save the uncle -and his brave sons were soon left far behind. -The youth’s foster-brother was soon slain, and the -youth, growing angry, turned about; then bethinking -himself of the words of the gods, he sped away -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>143]</a></span> -again. So his foster-sister, too, was killed; but he -kept on, his old mother alone running behind -him. At last the uncle and his sons overtook the -old mother, and they merely caught her and turned -her away, saying: “Faithful to the last she has -been to this youth.” Then they renewed the chase -for the youth; and he at last, pretending weariness, -faced about and stood like a stag at bay. As -soon as they approached, he dropped his arms and -lowered his head. Then he said: “Oh, my uncle” -(for the gods had told who would find him)—“Oh, -my uncle, what wouldst thou? Thou hast killed -my brothers and sisters; what wouldst thou with -me?”</p> - -<p>The old man stopped and gazed at the youth -in wonder and admiration of his fine appearance -and beautiful apparel. Then he said: “Why dost -thou call me uncle?”</p> - -<p>“Because, verily,” replied the youth, “thou art -my uncle, and thy niece, my maiden-mother, gave -birth to me and cast me away upon a dust-heap; -and then my noble Deer found me and nourished -me and cherished me.”</p> - -<p>The uncle and his sons gazed still with wonder. -Then they thought they saw in the youth’s clear -eyes and his soft, oval face a likeness to the mother, -and they said: “Verily, this which he says is true.” -Then they turned about and took him by the hands -gently and led him toward Háwikuh, while one -of them sped forward to test the truth of his -utterances.</p> - -<p>When the messenger arrived at Háwikuh he took -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>144]</a></span> -his way straight to the house of the priest, and -told him what he had heard. The priest in anger -summoned the maiden.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my child,” said he, “hast thou done this -thing which we are told thou hast done?” And -he related what he had been told.</p> - -<p>“Nay, no such thing have I done,” said -she.</p> - -<p>“Yea, but thou hast, oh, unnatural mother! -And who was the father?” demanded the old priest -with great severity.</p> - -<p>Then the maiden, thinking of her Sun-lover, -bowed her head in her lap and rocked herself to -and fro, and cried sorely. And then she said: -“Yea, it is true; so true that I feared thy wrath, oh, -my father! I feared thy shame, oh, my mother! -and what could I do?” Then she told of her -lover, the Sun,—with tears she told it, and she -cried out: “Bring back my child that I may nurse -him and love but him alone, and see him the father -of children!”</p> - -<p>By this time the hunters arrived, some bringing -game, but others bringing in their midst this wondrous -youth, on whom each man and maiden in -Háwikuh gazed with delight and admiration.</p> - -<p>They took him to the home of his priest-grandfather; -and as though he knew the way he entered -the apartment of his mother, and she, rising and -opening wide her arms, threw herself on his breast -and cried and cried. And he laid his hand on her -head, and said: “Oh, mother, weep not, for I have -come to thee, and I will cherish thee.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>145]</a></span> -So was the foster-child of the Deer restored to -his mother and his people.</p> - -<p>Wondrously wise in the ways of the Deer and -their language was he—so much so that, seeing -them, he understood them. This youth made -little ado of hunting, for he knew that he could -pay those rites and attentions to the Deer that -were most acceptable, and made them glad of -death at the hand of the hunter. And ere long, so -great was his knowledge and success, and his preciousness -in the eyes of the Master of Life, that -by his will and his arm alone the tribe of Háwikuh -was fed and was clad in buckskins.</p> - -<p>A rare and beautiful maiden he married, and -most happy was he with her.</p> - -<p>It was his custom to go forth early in the morning, -when the Deer came down to drink or stretch -themselves and walk abroad and crop the grass; -and, taking his bow and quiver of arrows, he would -go to a distant mesa, and, calling the Deer around -him, and following them as swiftly as they ran, he -would strike them down in great numbers, and, returning, -say to his people: “Go and bring in my -game, giving me only parts of what I have slain -and taking the rest yourselves.”</p> - -<p>So you can readily see how he and his people -became the greatest people of Háwikuh. Nor is -it marvellous that the sorcerers of that tribe should -have grown envious of his prosperity, and sought -to diminish it in many ways, wherein they failed.</p> - -<p>At last one night the Master of Sorcerers -in secret places raised his voice and cried: -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>146]</a></span> -“<i>Weh-h-h-h! Weh-h-h-h-h-h!</i>” And round about -him presently gathered all the sorcerers of the -place, and they entered into a deep cavern, large -and lighted by green, glowing fires, and there, staring -at each other, they devised means to destroy -this splendid youth, the child of the Sun.</p> - -<p>One of their number stood forth and said: “I -will destroy him in his own vocation. He is a -hunter, and the Coyote loves well to follow the -hunter.” His words were received with acclamation, -and the youth who had offered himself sped -forth in the night to prepare, by incantation and -with his infernal appliances, a disguise for himself.</p> - -<p>On the next morning, when the youth went forth -to hunt, an old Coyote sneaked behind him after -he reached the mesas, and, following stealthily, -waited his throwing down of the Deer; and when -the youth had called and killed a number of Deer -and sat down to rest on a fallen tree, the Coyote -sneaked into sight. The youth, looking at him, -merely thought: “He seeks the blood of my slain -Deer,” and he went on with his prayers and sacrifices -to the dead of the Deer. But soon, stiffening -his limbs, the Coyote swiftly scudded across the -open, and, with a puff from his mouth and nostrils -like a sneeze toward the youth, threw himself -against him and arose a man,—the same man who -had offered his services in the council of the wizards—while -the poor youth, falling over, ran away, -a human being still in heart and mind, but in form -a coyote.</p> - -<p>Off to the southward he wandered, his tail dragging -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>147]</a></span> -in the dust; and growing hungry he had -naught to eat; and cold on the sides of the mesas -he passed the night, and on the following morning -wandered still, until at last, very hungry, he was -fain even to nip the blades of grass and eat the -berries of the juniper. Thus he became ill and -worn; and one night as he was seeking a warm -place to lay him down and die, he saw a little red -light glowing from the top of a hillock. Toward -this light he took his way, and when he came near -he saw that it was shining up through the sky-hole -of someone’s house. He peered over the edge -and saw an old Badger with his grizzly wife, sitting -before a fire, not in the form of a badger but -in the form of a little man, his badger-skin hanging -beside him.</p> - -<p>Then the youth said to himself: “I will cast -myself down into their house, thus showing them -my miserable condition.” And as he tried to step -down the ladder, he fell, <i>teng</i>, on the floor before -them.</p> - -<p>The Badgers were disgusted. They grabbed -the Coyote, and hauling him up the ladder, threw -him into the plain, where, <i>toonoo</i>, he fell far away -and swooned from loss of breath. When he recovered -his thoughts he again turned toward the -glowing sky-hole, and, crawling feebly back, threw -himself down into the room again. Again he -was thrown out, but this time the Badger said: -“It is marvellously strange that this Coyote, the -miserable fellow, should insist on coming back, -and coming back.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>148]</a></span> -“I have heard,” said the little old Badger-woman, -“that our glorious beloved youth of Háwikuh -was changed some time ago into a Coyote. -It may be he. Let us see when he comes again -if it be he. For the love of mercy, let us -see!”</p> - -<p>Ere long the youth again tried to clamber down -the ladder, and fell with a thud on the floor before -them. A long time he lay there senseless, but at -last opened his eyes and looked about. The -Badgers eagerly asked if he were the same who -had been changed into a Coyote, or condemned -to inhabit the form of one. The youth could only -move his head in acquiescence.</p> - -<p>Then the Badgers hastily gathered an emetic -and set it to boil, and when ready they poured the -fluid down the throat of the seeming Coyote, and -tenderly held him and pitied him. Then they -laid him before the fire to warm him. Then the -old Badger, looking about in some of his burrows, -found a sacred rock crystal, and heating it to -glowing heat in the fire, he seared the palms of -the youth’s hands, the soles of his feet, and the -crown of his head, repeating incantations as he -performed this last operation, whereupon the skin -burst and fell off, and the youth, haggard and lean, -lay before them. They nourished him as best -they could, and, when well recovered, sent him home -to join his people again and render them happy. -Clad in his own fine garments, happy of countenance -and handsome as before, and, according to -his regular custom, bearing a Deer on his back, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>149]</a></span> -returned the youth to his people, and there he -lived most happily.</p> - - - -<p class="break">As I have said, this was in the days of the ancients, -and it is because this youth lived so long with the -Deer and became acquainted with their every way -and their every word, and taught all that he knew -to his children and to others whom he took into -his friendship, that we have today a class of men—the -Sacred Hunters of our tribe,—who surpassingly -understand the ways and the language of the Deer.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 480px;"> -<img src="images/zft11.png" width="480" height="149" -alt="Carvings" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>150]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap08" id="chap08"></a>THE BOY HUNTER WHO NEVER -SACRIFICED TO THE DEER -HE HAD SLAIN:<br /> - -<span class="vsmlfont">OR THE ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF RATTLESNAKES</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N very ancient times, there lived at Tâ′ia,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> below -the Zuñi Mountains, an old <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">shíwani</i> or priest-chief, -who had a young son named Héasailuhtiwa -(“Metal-hand”), famed throughout the land of the -Zuñis for his success in hunting.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_9_9">[9]</a></span> -The native name of the Zuñi town of Las Nutrias. <a href="#FNanchor_9_9">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>When very young, this lad had said to his -parents: “My old ones, let me go away from the -home of my fathers and dwell by myself.”</p> - -<p>“Why do you, a young boy, wish to go and -dwell by yourself, my son? Know you not that -you would fare but badly, for you are careless and -forgetful? No, no! remain with us, that we may -care for you.”</p> - -<p>But the boy answered: “Why should I fare -badly? Can I not hunt my own game and roast -the meat over the fire? It is because you never -care to have me go forth alone that I wish to live -by myself, for I long to travel far and hunt deer in -the mountains of many countries: yet whenever I -start forth you call me back, and it is painful to -my longing thoughts thus to be held back when I -would go forward.”</p> - -<p>It was not until the lad had spoken thus again -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>151]</a></span> -and again, and once more, that the parents sadly -yielded to his wish. They insisted, however, much -to the boy’s displeasure, that his younger sister, -Waíasialuhtitsa, should go with him, only to look -after his house, and to remind him here and there, -at times, of his forgetfulness. So the brother and -sister chose the lofty rooms of a high house in the -upper part of the pueblo and lived there.</p> - -<p>The boy each day went out hunting and failed -not each time to bring in slain animals, while the -sister cooked for him and looked after the house. -Yet, although the boy was a great hunter, he never -sacrificed to the Deer he had slain, nor to the Gods -of Prey who delight in aiding the hunter who renews -them; for the lad was forgetful and careless -of all things.</p> - -<p>One day he went forth over the mountain toward -the north, until he came to the Waters of the Bear.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> -There he started up a huge Buck, and, finding the -trail, followed it far toward the northward. Yet, -although swift of foot, the youth could not overtake -the running Deer, and thus it happened that -he went on and on, past mesas, valleys, and mountains, -until he came to the brink of a great river -which flows westwardly from the north.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> On the -banks of this great river grew forests of cottonwood, -and into the thickets of these forests led -the trail, straight toward the river bank. Just as -the young man was about to follow the track to the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>152]</a></span> -bank, he thought he saw under a large tree in the -midst of the thickets the form of the Deer, so, -bending very low, he ran around close to the bank, -and came up between the river and the thicket.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_10_10">[10]</a></span> -Aínshik’yanakwin, or Bear Spring, where Fort Wingate now stands. <a href="#FNanchor_10_10">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_11_11">[11]</a></span> -Probably Green River, or some important tributary of the Colorado -Grande. <a href="#FNanchor_11_11">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>As he guardedly approached the tree, his eyes -now following the track, now glancing up, he discovered -a richly dressed, handsome young man, -who called out to him: “How art thou these days, -and whither art thou going?”</p> - -<p>The young man straightened up, and quickly -drawing his breath, replied: “I am hunting a Deer -whose tracks I have followed all the way from the -Waters of the Bear.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed!” exclaimed the stranger, “and where -has thy Deer gone?”</p> - -<p>“I know not,” replied the youth, “for here are -his tracks.” Then he observed that they led to -the place where the stranger was sitting, and the -latter at the same time remarked:</p> - -<p>“I am the Deer, and it was as I would have it -that I enticed thee hither.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hai-í!</i>” exclaimed the young man.</p> - -<p>“Aye,” continued the stranger. “Alas! alas! -thou forgetful one! Thou hast day after day -chased my children over the plains and slain -them; thou hast made thyself happy of their flesh, -and of their flesh added unto thine own meat and -that of thy kindred; but, alas! thou hast been -forgetful and careless, and not once hast thou -given unto their souls the comfort of that which -they yearn for and need. Yet hast thou had -good fortune in the chase. At last the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>153]</a></span> -Sun-father has listened to the supplications of my -children and commanded that I bring thee here, -and here have I brought thee. Listen! The -Sun-father commands that thou shalt visit him -in his house at the western end of the world, and -these are his instructions.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed! Well, I suppose it must be, and it -is well!” exclaimed the young man.</p> - -<p>“And,” continued the Deer-being, “thou must -hasten home and call thy father. Tell him to -summon his <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Pithlan Shíwani</i> (Priest of the Bow, -or Warrior) and command him that he shall instruct -his children to repair to the rooms of sacred -things and prepare plumed prayer-sticks for the -Sun-father, the Moon-mother, and the Great -Ocean, and red plumes of sacrifice for the Beings -of Prey; that fully they must prepare everything, -for thou, their child and father, shalt visit the -home of the Sun-father, and in payment for thy -forgetfulness and carelessness shalt render him, -and the Moon-mother, and the Beings of the -Great Ocean, plumes of sacrifice. Hasten home, -and tell thy father these things. Then tell thy -sister to prepare sweetened meal of parched corn -to serve as the food of thy journey, and pollen of -the flowers of corn; and ask thy mother to prepare -great quantities of new cotton, and, making -all these things into bundles, thou must summon -some of thy relatives, and come to this tree -on the fourth day from this day. Make haste, -for thou art swift of foot, and tell all these -things to thy father; he will understand thee, for -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>154]</a></span> -is he not a priest-chief? Hast thou knives of -flint?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the young man, “my father has -many.”</p> - -<p>“Select from them two,” said the Deer-being—“a -large one and a smaller one; and when thou -hast returned to this place, cut down with the -larger knife yonder great tree, and with the -smaller knife hollow it out. Leave the large end -entire, and for the smaller end thou must make -a round door, and around the inside of the smaller -end cut a notch that shall be like a terrace toward -the outside, but shall slope from within that thou -mayest close it from the inside with the round door; -then pad the inside with cotton, and make in the -bottom a padding thicker than the rest; but leave -space that thou mayest lie thy length, or sit up -and eat. And in the top cut a hole larger inside -than out, that thou mayest close it from the inside -with a plug of wood. Then when thou hast placed -the sweetened meal of parched corn inside, and -the plumed prayer-sticks and the sacred pollen of -corn-flowers, then enter thyself and close the door -in the end and the hole in the top that thy people -may roll thee into the river. Thou wilt meet -strange beings on thy way. Choose from amongst -them whom thou shalt have as a companion, and -proceed, as thy companion shall direct, to the -great mountain where the Sun enters. Haste -and tell thy father these things.” And ere the -youth could say, “Be it well,” and, “I will,” -the Deer-being had vanished, and he lifted up -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>155]</a></span> -his face and started swiftly for the home of his -fathers.</p> - -<p>At sunset the sister looked forth from her high -house-top, but nowhere could she see her brother -coming. She turned at last to enter, thinking and -saying to her breast: “Alas! what did we not think -and guess of his carelessness.” But just as the -country was growing dim in the darkness, the -young man ran breathlessly in, and, greeting his -sister, sat down in the doorway.</p> - -<p>The sister wondered that he had no deer or -other game, but placed a meal before him, and, -when he had done, herself ate. But the young -man remained silent until she had finished, then -he said: “Younger sister, I am weary and would -sit here; do you go and call father, for I would -speak to him of many things.”</p> - -<p>So the sister cleared away the food and ran to -summon the father. Soon she returned with the -old man, who, sighing, “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ha hua!</i>” from the effort -of climbing, greeted his son and sat down, looking -all about the room for the fresh deer-meat; but, -seeing none, he asked: “What and wherefore hast -thou summoned me, my son?”</p> - -<p>“It is this,” replied the son, and he related all -that had been told him by the Deer-being, describing -the magnificent dress, the turquoise and shell -earrings, necklaces, and wristlets of the handsome -stranger.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” replied the father. “It is well; for -as the Sun-father hath directed the Deer-being, -thus must it be done.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>156]</a></span> -Then he forthwith went away and commanded -his Priest of the Bow, who, mounting to the topmost -house, directed the elders and priests of the -tribe, saying:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Ye, our children, listen!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Ye I will this day inform,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Our child, our father,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">He of the strong hand,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">He who so hunts the Deer,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Goes unto the Sunset world,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Goes, our Sun-father to greet;<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Gather at the sacred houses,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Bring thy prayer-sticks, twines, and feathers,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">And prepare for him,—<br /></div> -<div class="i0">For the Sun-father,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">For the Moon-mother,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">For the Great Ocean,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">For the Prey-beings, plumes and treasures.<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Hasten, hasten, ye our children, in the morning!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>So the people gathered in the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">kiwetsiwe</i> and -sacred houses next morning and began to make -prayer-plumes, while the sister of the young man -and her relatives made sweet parched corn-meal and -gathered pollen. Toward evening all was completed. -The young man summoned his relatives, -and chose his four uncles to accompany him. Then -he spread enough cotton-wool out to cover the -floor, and, gathering it up, made it into a small -bundle. The sweet meal filled a large sack of -buckskin, and he took also a little sack of sacred red -paint and the black warrior paint with little shining -particles in it. Then he bade farewell to his lamenting -people and rested for the evening journey.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>157]</a></span> -Next morning, escorted by priests, the young -man, arrayed in garments of embroidered white -cotton and carrying his plumes in his arms, started -out of the town, and, accompanied only by his four -uncles, set out over the mountains. On the third -day they reached the forest on the bank of the -great river and encamped.</p> - -<p>Then the young man left the camp of his uncles -and went alone into the forest, and, choosing the -greatest tree he could find, hacked midway through -it with his great flint knife. The next day he cut -the other half and felled it, when he found it partly -hollow. So with his little knife he began to cut it -as he had been directed, and made the round door -for it and the hole through the top. With his -bundle of cotton he padded it everywhere inside -until it was thickly coated and soft, and he made a -bed on the bottom as thick as himself.</p> - -<p>When all was ready and he had placed his food -and plumes inside, he called his uncles and showed -them the hollow log. “In this,” said he, “I am -to journey to the western home of our Sun-father. -When I have entered and closed the round door -tightly and put the plug into the upper hole securely, -do ye, never thinking of me, roll the log -over and over to the high brink of the river, -and, never regarding consequences, push it into -the water.”</p> - -<p>Then it was that the uncles all lamented and -tried to dissuade him; but he persisted, and -they bade him “Go,” as forever, “for,” said they, -“could one think of journeying even to the end of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>158]</a></span> -the earth and across the waters that embrace the -world without perishing?”</p> - -<p>Then, hastily embracing each of them, the young -man entered his log, and, securely fastening the -door from the inside, and the plug, called out (they -heard but faintly), “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kesi!</i>” which means “All is -ready.”</p> - -<p>Sorrowfully and gently they rolled the log over -and over to the high river bank, and, hesitating a -moment, pushed it off with anxious eyes and closed -mouths into the river. Eagerly they watched it -as it tumbled end-over-end and down into the water -with a great splash, and disappeared under the -waves, which rolled one after another across to the -opposite banks of the river. But for a long time -they saw nothing of it. After a while, far off, -speeding on toward the Western Waters of the -World, they saw the log rocking along on the rushing -waters until it passed out of sight, and they -sadly turned toward their homes under the Mountains -of the South.</p> - -<p>When the log had ceased rocking and plunging, -the young man cautiously drew out the plug, and, -finding that no water flowed in, peered out. A ray -of sunlight slanted in, and by that he knew it was -not yet midday, and he could see a round piece of -sky and clouds through the hole. By-and-by the -ray of sunlight came straight down, and then after -a while slanted the other way, and finally toward -evening it ceased to shine in, and then the youth -took out some of his meal and ate his supper. -When after a while he could see the stars, and later -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>159]</a></span> -the Hanging Lines [the sword-belt of Orion], he -knew it was time to rest, so he lay down to sleep.</p> - -<p>Thus, day after day, he travelled until he knew he -was out on the Great Waters of the World, for no -longer did his log strike against anything or whirl -around, nor could he see, through the chink, leaves -of overhanging trees, nor rocks and banks of earth. -On the tenth morning, when he looked up through -the hole, he saw that the clouds did not move, and -wondering at this, kicked at his log, but it would -not move. Then he peered out as far as he could -and saw rocks and trees. When he tried to rock -his log, it remained firm, so he determined to open -the door at the end.</p> - -<p>Now, in reality, his log had been cast high up on -the shore of a great mountain that rose out of the -waters; and this mountain was the home of the -Rattlesnakes. A Rattlesnake maiden was roaming -along the shore just as the young man was about -to open the door of his log. She espied the curious -vessel, and said to herself in thought: “What may -this be? Ah, yes, and who? Ah, yes, the mortal -who was to come; it must be he!” Whereupon -she hastened to the shore and tapped on the log.</p> - -<p>“Art thou come?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Aye,” replied the youth. “Who may you be, -and where am I?”</p> - -<p>“You are landed on the Island of the Rattlesnakes, -and I am one of them. The other side of -the mountain here is where our village is. Come -out and go with me, for my old ones have expected -you long.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>160]</a></span> -“Is it dry, surely?” asked the young man.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes! Here you are high above the waters.”</p> - -<p>Thereupon the young man opened from the inside -his door, and peered out. Surely enough, -there he was high among the rocks and sands. -Then he looked at the Rattlesnake maiden, and -scarcely believed she was what she called herself, -for she was a most beautiful young woman, and -like a daughter of men. Yet around her waist—she -was dressed in cotton mantles—was girt a rattlesnake-skin -which was open at the breast and on -the crown of the head.</p> - -<p>“Come with me,” said the maiden; and she led -the way over the mountain and across to a deep -valley, where terrible Serpents writhed and gleamed -in the sunlight so thickly that they seemed, with -their hissing and rattling, like a dry mat shaken by -the wind. The youth drew back in horror, but the -maiden said: “Fear not; they will neither harm -you nor frighten you more, for they are my people.” -Whereupon she commanded them to fall back and -make a pathway for the young man and herself; -and they tamely obeyed her commands. Through -the opening thus made they passed down to a -cavern, on entering which they found a great room. -There were great numbers of Rattlesnake people, -old and young, gathered in council, for they knew -of the coming of the young man. Around the -walls of their houses were many pegs and racks -with serpent skins hanging on them—skins like the -one the young girl wore as a girdle. The elders -arose and greeted the youth, saying: “Our child -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>161]</a></span> -and our father, comest thou, comest thou happily -these many days?”</p> - -<p>“Aye, happily,” replied the youth.</p> - -<p>And after a feast of strange food had been -placed before the young man, and he had eaten a -little, the elders said to him: “Knowest thou -whither thou goest, that the way is long and fearful, -and to mortals unknown, and that it will be -but to meet with poverty that thou journeyest -alone? Therefore have we assembled to await -thy coming and in order that thou shouldst journey -preciously, we have decided to ask thee to -choose from amongst us whom thou shalt have for -a companion.”</p> - -<p>“It is well, my fathers,” said the young man, -and, casting his eyes about the council to find -which face should be kindest to him, he chose the -maiden, and said: “Let it be this one, for she -found me and loved me in that she gently and -without fear brought me into your presence.”</p> - -<p>And the girl said: “It is well, and I will go.”</p> - -<p>Instantly the grave and dignified elders, the -happy-faced youths and maidens, the kind-eyed -matrons, all reached up for their serpent skins, and, -passing them over their persons,—lo! in the time -of the telling of it, the whole place was filled with -writhing and hissing Serpents and the din of their -rattles. In horror the young man stood against -the wall like a hollow stalk, and the Serpent -maiden, going to each of the members of the council, -extracted from each a single fang, which she -wrapped together in a piece of fabric, until she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>162]</a></span> -had a great bundle. Then she passed her hand -over her person, and lo! she became a beautiful -human maiden again, holding in her hand a rattlesnake -skin. Then taking up the bundle of fangs, -she said to the young man: “Come, for I know the -way and will guide you!”—and the young man followed -her to the shore where his log lay.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said she, “wait while I fix this log anew, -that it may be well,” and she bored many little -holes all over the log, and into these holes she inserted -the crooked fangs, so that they all stood -slanting toward the rear, like the spines on the -back of a porcupine.</p> - -<p>When she had done this, she said: “First I will -enter, for there may not be room for two, and in -order that I may make myself like the space I enter, -I will lay on my dress again. Do you, when I -have entered, enter also, and with your feet kick -the log down to the shore waters, when you must -quickly close the door and the waters will take us -abroad upon themselves.”</p> - -<p>In an instant she had passed into her serpent -form again and crawled into the log. The young -man did as he was bidden, and as he closed the -door a wave bore them gently out upon the waters. -Then, as the young man turned to look upon his companion -coiled so near him, he drew back in horror.</p> - -<p>“Why do you fear?” asked the Rattlesnake.</p> - -<p>“I know not, but I fear you; perhaps, though -you speak gently, you will, when I sleep, bite me -and devour my flesh, and it is with thoughts of this -that I have fear.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>163]</a></span> -“Ah, no!” replied the maiden, “but, that you -may not fear, I will change myself.” And so saying, -she took off her skin, and, opening the upper -part of the door, hung the skin on the fangs outside.</p> - -<p>Finally, toward noon-time, the youth prepared -his meal food, and placing some before the maiden, -asked her to eat.</p> - -<p>“Ah, no! alas, I know not the food of mortals. -Have you not with you the yellow dust of the -corn-flower?”</p> - -<p>“Aye, that I have,” said the young man, and -producing a bag, opened it and asked the girl: -“How shall I feed it to you?”</p> - -<p>“Scatter it upon the cotton, and by my knowledge -I will gather it.”</p> - -<p>Then the young man scattered a great quantity -on the cotton, wondering how the girl would gather -it up. But the maiden opened the door, and taking -down the skin changed herself to a serpent, and -passing to and fro over the pollen, received it all -within her scales. Then she resumed her human -form again and hung the skin up as before.</p> - -<p>Thus they floated until they came to the great -forks of the Mighty Waters of the World, and -their floating log was guided into the southern -branch. And on they floated toward the westward -for four months from the time when the uncles had -thrown him into the river.</p> - -<p>One day the maiden said to the youth: “We -are nearing our journey’s end, and, as I know the -way, I will guide you. Hold yourself hard and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>164]</a></span> -ready, for the waters will cast our house high upon -the shores of the mountain wherein the Sun enters, -and these shores are inaccessible because so -smooth.”</p> - -<p>Then the log was cast high above the slippery -bank, and when the waters receded there it remained, -for the fangs grappled it fast.</p> - -<p>Then said the maiden: “Let us now go out. -Fear not for your craft, for the fangs will hold it -fast; it matters little how high the waves may roll, -or how steep and slippery the bank.”</p> - -<p>Then, taking in his arms the sacred plumes -which his people had prepared for him, he followed -the girl far up to the doorway in the Mountain of -the Sea. Out of it grew a great ladder of giant -rushes, by the side of which stood an enormous -basket-tray. Very fast approached the Sun, and -soon the Sun-father descended the ladder, and -the two voyagers followed down. They were -gently greeted by a kind old woman, the grandmother -of the Sun, and were given seats at one -side of a great and wonderfully beautiful room.</p> - -<p>Then the Sun-father approached some pegs in -the wall and from them suspended his bow and -quiver, and his bright sun-shield, and his wonderful -travelling dress. Behold! there stood, kindly smiling -before the youth and maiden, the most magnificent -and gentle of beings in the world—the -Sun-father.</p> - -<p>Then the Sun-father greeted them, and, turning -to a great package which he had brought in, opened -it and disclosed thousands of shell beads, red and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>165]</a></span> -white, and thousands more of brilliant turquoises. -These he poured into the great tray at the door-side, -and gave them to the grandmother, who -forthwith began to sort them with great rapidity. -But, ere she had done, the Sun-father took them -from her; part of them he took out with unerring -judgment and cast them abroad into the great -waters as we cast sacred prayer-meal. The others -he brought below and gave them to the grandmother -for safe-keeping.</p> - -<p>Then he turned once more to the youth and -the maiden, and said to the former: “So thou hast -come, my child, even as I commanded. It is well, -and I am thankful.” Then, in a stern and louder -voice, which yet sounded like the voice of a father, -he asked: “Hast thou brought with thee that -whereby we are made happy with our children?”</p> - -<p>And the young man said: “Aye, I have.”</p> - -<p>“It is well; and if it be well, then shalt thou -precious be; for knowest thou not that I recognize -the really good from the evil,—even of the thoughts -of men,—and that I know the prayer and sacrifice -that is meant, from the words and treasures of -those who do but lie in addressing them to me, -and speak and act as children in a joke? Behold -the treasure which I brought with me from the -cities of mankind today! Some of them I cherished -preciously, for they are the gifts to me of good hearts -and I treasure them that I may return them in -good fortune and blessing to those who gave them. -But some thou sawest I cast abroad into the great -waters that they may again be gathered up and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>166]</a></span> -presented to me; for they were the gifts of double -and foolish hearts, and as such cannot be treasured -by me nor returned unto those who gave them. -Bring forth, my child, the plumes and gifts thou -hast brought. Thy mother dwelleth in the next -room, and when she appeareth in this, thou shalt -with thine own hand present to her thy sacrifice.”</p> - -<p>So the youth, bowing his head, unwrapped his -bundle and laid before the Sun-father the plumes -he had brought. And the Sun-father took them -and breathed upon them and upon the youth, and -said: “Thanks, this day. Thou hast straightened -thy crooked thoughts.”</p> - -<p>And when the beautiful Mother of Men, the -Moon-mother—the wife of the Sun-father—appeared, -the boy placed before her the plumes he -had brought, and she, too, breathed upon them, and -said: “Thanks, this day,” even as the Sun-father had.</p> - -<p>Then the Sun-father turned to the youth and -said: “Thou shalt join me in my journey round -the world, that thou mayest see the towns and nations -of mankind—my children; that thou mayest -realize how many are my children. Four days -shalt thou join me in my journeyings, and then -shalt thou return to the home of thy fathers.”</p> - -<p>And the young man said: “It is well!” but he -turned his eyes to the maiden.</p> - -<p>“Fear not, my child,” added the Father, “she -shall sit preciously in my house until we have -returned.”</p> - -<p>And after they had feasted, the Sun-father -again enrobed himself, and the youth he dressed -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>167]</a></span> -in appearance as he himself was dressed. Then, -taking the sun-dress from the wall, he led the way -down through the four great apartments of the -world, and came out into the Lower Country of -the Earth.</p> - -<p>Behold! as they entered that great world, it was -filled with snow and cold below, and the tracks of -men led out over great white plains, and as they -passed the cities of these nether countries people -strange to see were clearing away the snow from -their house-tops and doorways.</p> - -<p>And so they journeyed to the other House of -the Sun, and, passing up through the four great -rooms, entered the home of the aunts of the Sun-father; -and here, too, the young man presented -plumes of prayer and sacrifice to the inmates, and -received their thanks and blessings.</p> - -<p>Again they started together on their journey; -and behold! as they came out into the World of -Daylight, the skies below them were filled with -the rain of summer-time.</p> - -<p>Across the great world they journeyed, and they -saw city after city of men, and many tribes of -strange peoples. Here they were engaged in wars -and in wasting the lives of one another; there they -were dying of famine and disease; and more of -misery and poverty than of happiness saw the -young man among the nations of men. “For,” -said the Sun-father, “these be, alas! my children, -who waste their lives in foolishness, or slay one -another in useless anger; yet they are brothers to -one another, and I am the father of all.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>168]</a></span> -Thus journeyed they four days; and each evening -when they returned to the home where the -Sun-father enters, he gave to his grandmother -the great package of treasure which his children -among men had sacrificed to him, and each day he -cast the treasures of the bad and double-hearted -into the great waters.</p> - -<p>On the fourth day, when they had entered the -western home of the Sun-father, said the latter to -the youth: “Thy task is meted out and finished; -thou shalt now return unto the home of thy fathers—my -children below the mountains of Shíwina. -How many days, thinkest thou, shalt thou journey?”</p> - -<p>“Many days more than ten,” replied the youth -with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“Ah! no, my child,” said the Sun-father. -“Listen; thou shalt in one day reach the banks of -the river whence thou camest. Listen! Thou shalt -take this, my shaft of strong lightning; thou shalt -grasp its neck with firm hands, and as thou extendest -it, it will stretch out far to thy front and -draw thee more swiftly than the arrow’s flight -through the water. Take with thee this quiver of -unerring arrows, and this strong bow, that by their -will thou mayest seek life; but forget not thy sacrifices -nor that they are to be made with true word -and a faithful heart. Take also with thee thy -guide and companion, the Rattlesnake maiden. -When thou hast arrived at the shore of the country -of her people, let go the lightning, and it will land -thee high. On the morrow I will journey slowly, -that ere I be done rising thou mayest reach the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>169]</a></span> -home of the maiden. There thou must stop but -briefly, for thy fathers, the Rattle-tailed Serpents, -will instruct thee, and to their counsel thou must -pay strict heed, for thus only will it be well. Thou -shalt present to them the plumes of the Prey-beings -thou bringest, and when thou hast presented -these, thou must continue thy journey. Rest thou -until the morrow, and early as the light speed -hence toward the home of thy fathers. May all -days find ye, children, happy.” With this, the Sun-father, -scarce listening to the prayers and thanks -of the youth and maiden, vanished below.</p> - -<p>Thus, when morning approached, the youth and -the maiden entered the hollow house and closed it. -Scarce did the youth grasp the lightning when, -drawn by the bright shaft, the log shot far out into -the great waters and was skimming, too fast to be -seen, toward the home of the Rattle-tailed Serpents.</p> - -<p>And the Sun had but just climbed above the -mountains of this world of daylight when the little -tube was thrown high above the banks of the great -island whither they were journeying.</p> - -<p>Then the youth and the maiden again entered the -council of the Rattlesnakes, and when they saw -the shining black paint on his face they asked that -they too might paint their faces like his own; but -they painted their cheeks awkwardly, as to this day -may be seen; for all rattlesnakes are painted unevenly -in the face. Then the young man presented -to each the plumes he had brought, and told the -elders that he would return with their maiden to -the home of his father.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>170]</a></span> -“Be it well, that it may be well,” they replied; -and they thanked him with delight for the treasure-plumes -he had bestowed upon them.</p> - -<p>“Go ye happily all days,” said the elders. -“Listen, child, and father, to our words of advice. -But a little while, and thou wilt reach the bank -whence thou started. Let go the shaft of lightning, -and, behold, the tube thou hast journeyed -with will plunge far down into the river. Then -shalt thou journey with this our maiden three -days. Care not to embrace her, for if thou doest -this, it will not be well. Journey ye preciously, -our children, and may ye be happy one with the -other.”</p> - -<p>So again they entered their hollow log, and, before -entering, the maiden placed her rattlesnake -skin as before on the fangs. With incredible swiftness -the lightning drew them up the great surging -river to the banks where the cottonwood forests -grow, and when the lad pressed the shaft it landed -them high among the forest trees above the steep -bank. Then the youth pressed the lightning-shaft -with all his might, and the log was dashed into the -great river. While yet he gazed at the bounding -log, behold! the fangs which the maiden had fixed -into it turned to living serpents; hence today, -throughout the whole great world, from the Land -of Summer to the Waters of Sunset, are found the -Rattlesnakes and their children.</p> - -<p>Then the young man journeyed with the maiden -southward; and on the way, with the bow and arrows -the Sun-father had given him, he killed game, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>171]</a></span> -that they might have meat to eat. Nor did he -forget the commandments of his Sun-father. At -night he built a fire in a forest of piñons, and made -a bower for the maiden near to it; but she could -not sit there, for she feared the fire, and its light -pained her eyes. Nor could she eat at first of the -food he cooked for her, but only tasted a few -mouthfuls of it. Then the young man made a bed -for her under the trees, and told her to rest peacefully, -for he would guard her through the night.</p> - -<p>And thus they journeyed and rested until the -fourth day, when at evening they entered the town -under the mountains of Shíwina and were happily -welcomed by the father, sister, and relatives of the -young man. Blessed by the old priest-chief, the -youth and the maiden dwelt with the younger sister -Waíasialuhtitsa, in the high house of the upper -part of the town. And the boy was as before -a mighty hunter, and the maiden at last grew used -to the food and ways of mortals.</p> - -<p>After they had thus lived together for a long -time, there were born of the maiden two children, -twins.</p> - -<p>Wonderful to relate, these children grew to the -power of wandering, in a single day and night; and -hence, when they appeared suddenly on the -house-tops and in the plazas, people said to one -another:</p> - -<p>“Who are these strange people, and whence -came they?”—and talked much after the manner -of our foolish people. And the other little children -in the town beat them and quarrelled with them, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>172]</a></span> -as strange children are apt to do with strange -children. And when the twins ran in to their -mother, crying and complaining, the poor young -woman was saddened; so she said to the -father when he returned from hunting in the -evening:</p> - -<p>“Ah! ‘their father,’ it is not well that we -remain longer here. No, alas! I must return to -the country of my fathers, and take with me these -little ones,” and, although the father prayed her -not, she said only: “It must be,” and he was -forced to consent.</p> - -<p>Then for four days the Rattlesnake woman -instructed him in the prayers and chants of her -people, and she took him forth and showed him -the medicines whereby the bite of her fathers -might be assuaged, and how to prepare them. -Again and again the young man urged her not -to leave him, saying: “The way is long and filled -with dangers. How, alas! will you reach it in -safety?”</p> - -<p>“Fear not,” said she; “go with me only to the -shore of the great river, and my fathers will come -to meet me and take me home.”</p> - -<p>Sadly, on the last morning, the father accompanied -his wife and children to the forests of the -great river. There she said he must not follow; -but as he embraced them he cried out:</p> - -<p>“Ah, alas! my beautiful wife, my beloved children, -flesh of my flesh, how shall I not follow ye?”</p> - -<p>Then his wife answered: “Fear not, nor trouble -thyself with sad thoughts. Whither we go thou -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>173]</a></span> -canst not follow, for thou eatest cooked food—(thou -art a mortal); but soon thy fathers and mine -will come for thee, and thou wilt follow us, never -to return.” Then she turned from him with the -little children and was seen no more, and the young -man silently returned to his home below the mountains -of Shíwina.</p> - -<p>It happened here and there in time that young -men of his tribe were bitten by rattlesnakes; but -the young man had only to suck their wounds, and -apply his medicines, and sing his incantations -and prayers, to cure them. Whenever this happened, -he breathed the sacred breath upon them, -and enjoined them to secrecy of the rituals and -chants he taught them, save only to such as they -should choose and teach the practice of their -prayers.</p> - -<p>Thus he had cured and taught eight, when one -day he ascended the mountains for wood. There, -alone in the forest, he was met and bitten by his -fathers. Although he slowly and painfully crawled -home, long ere he reached his town he was so -swollen that the eight whom he had instructed -tried in vain to cure him, and, bidding them cherish -as a precious gift the knowledge of his beloved -wife, he died.</p> - -<p>Immediately his fathers met his breath and being -and took them to the home of the Maiden of the -Rattlesnakes and of his lost children. Need we -ask why he was not cured by his disciples?</p> - -<p>Thus it was in the days of the ancients, and -hence today we have fathers amongst us to whom -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>174]</a></span> -the dread bite of the rattlesnake need cause no -sad thoughts,—the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tchi Kialikwe</i> (Society of the -Rattlesnakes).</p> - -<p>Thus much and thus shortened is my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 480px;"> -<img src="images/zft12.png" width="480" height="142" -alt="Masks" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="imgbreak"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"> -<a name="plate06" id="plate06"></a> -<img src="images/zft13.jpg" width="700" height="410" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">THUNDER MOUNTAIN FROM ZUÑI</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>175]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap09" id="chap09"></a>HOW ÁHAIYÚTA AND MÁTSAILÉMA -STOLE THE THUNDER-STONE AND -THE LIGHTNING-SHAFT</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">Á</span>HAIYÚTA and Mátsailéma, with their grandmother, -lived where now stands the ancient -Middle Place of Sacrifice on Thunder Mountain.</p> - -<p>One day they went out hunting prairie-dogs, and -while they were running about from one prairie-dog -village to another, it began to rain, which made the -trail slippery and the ground muddy, so that the -boys became a little wrathful. Then they sat -down and cursed the rain for a brief space. Off in -the south it thundered until the earth trembled, and -the lightning-shafts flew about the red-bordered -clouds until the two brothers were nearly blinded -with the beholding of it. Presently the younger -brother smoothed his brow, and jumped up with an -exclamation somewhat profane, and cried out: -“Elder brother, let us go to the Land of Everlasting -Summer and steal from the gods in council -their thunder and lightning. I think it would be -fine fun to do that sort of thing we have just been -looking at and listening to.”</p> - -<p>The elder brother was somewhat more cautious; -still, on the whole, he liked the idea. So he said: -“Let us take our prairie-dogs home to the grandmother, -that she shall have something to eat meanwhile, -and we will think about going tomorrow -morning.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>176]</a></span> -The next morning, bright and early, they started -out. In vain the old grandmother called rather -crossly after them: “Where are you going now?” -She could get no satisfaction, for she knew they -lied when they called back: “Oh, we are only -going to hunt more prairie-dogs.” It is true that -they skulked round in the plains about Thunder -Mountain a little while, as if looking for prairie-dogs. -Then, picking up their wondrously swift -heels, they sped away toward that beautiful country -of the corals, the Land of Everlasting Summer.</p> - -<p>At last,—it may be in the mountains of that -country, which are said to glow like shells of the -sea or the clouds of the sunset,—they came to the -House of the Beloved Gods themselves. And that -red house was a wondrous terrace, rising wall after -wall, and step after step, like a high mountain, -grand and stately; and the walls were so smooth -and high that the skill and power of the little -War-gods availed them nothing; they could not -get in.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” asked the younger brother.</p> - -<p>“Go home,” said the elder, “and mind our own -affairs.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” urged the younger; “I have it, elder -brother. Let us hunt up our grandfather, the -Centipede.”</p> - -<p>“Good!” replied the elder. “A happy thought -is that of yours, my brother younger.”</p> - -<p>Forthwith they laid down their bows and quivers -of mountain-lion skin, their shields, and other -things, and set about turning over all the flat stones -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>177]</a></span> -they could find. Presently, lifting one with their -united strength, they found under it the very old -fellow they sought. He doubled himself, and covered -his eyes from the sharpness of the daylight. -He did not much like being thus disturbed, even -by his grandchildren, the War-gods, in the middle -of his noon-day nap, and was by no means polite -to them. But they prodded him a little in the -side, and said: “Now, grandfather, look here! -We are in difficulty, and there is no one in the -wide world who can help us out as you will.”</p> - -<p>The old Centipede was naturally flattered. He -unrolled himself and viewed them with a look -which he intended to be extremely reproachful and -belittling. “Ah, my grandchildren,” said he, “what -are you up to now? Are you trying to get yourselves -into trouble, as usual? No doubt of it! I -will help you all I can; but the consequences be on -your own heads!”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, grandfather, that’s right! No -one in the world could help us as you can,” said -one of them. “The fact is, we want to get hold -of the thunder-stone and the lightning-shaft which -the Rain-gods up there in the tremendous house -keep and guard so carefully, we understand. Now, -in the first place, we cannot get up the wall; in the -second place, if we did, we would probably have a -fuss with them in trying to steal these things. -Therefore, we want you to help us, if you will.”</p> - -<p>“With all my heart, my boys! But I should -advise you to run along home to your grandmother, -and let these things alone.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>178]</a></span> -“Oh, pshaw, nonsense! We are only going to -play a little while with the thunder and lightning.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” replied the old Worm; “sit here -and wait for me.” He wriggled himself and -stirred about, and his countless legs were more -countless than ever with rapid motions as he ran -toward the walls of that stately terrace. A vine -could not have run up more closely, nor a bird -more rapidly; for if one foot slipped, another held -on; so the old Centipede wriggled himself up the -sides and over the roof, down into the great sky-hole; -and, scorning the ladder, which he feared -might creak, he went along, head-downward, on -the ceiling to the end of the room over the altar, -ran down the side, and approached that most forbidden -of places, the altar of the gods themselves. -The beloved gods, in silent majesty, were sitting -there with their heads bowed in meditation so -deep that they heard not the faint scuffle of the -Centipede’s feet as he wound himself down into -the altar and stole the thunder-stone. He took -it in his mouth—which was larger than the mouths -of Centipedes are now—and carried it silently, -weighty as it was, up the way he had come, over -the roof, down the wall, and back to the flat stone -where he made his home, and where, hardly able -to contain themselves with impatience, the two -youthful gods were awaiting him.</p> - -<p>“Here he comes!” cried the younger brother, -“and he’s got it! By my war-bonnet, he’s got it!”</p> - -<p>The old grandfather threw the stone down. It -began to sound, but Áhaiyúta grabbed it, and, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>179]</a></span> -as it were, throttled its world-stirring speech. -“Good! good!” he cried to the grandfather; -“thank you, old grandfather, thank you!”</p> - -<p>“Hold on!” cried the younger brother; “you -didn’t bring both. What can we do with the one -without the other?”</p> - -<p>“Shut up!” cried the old Worm. “I know -what I am about!” And before they could say -any more he was off again. Ere long he returned, -carrying the shaft of lightning, with its blue, shimmering -point, in his mouth.</p> - -<p>“Good!” cried the War-gods. And the younger -brother caught up the lightning, and almost forgot -his weapons, which, however, he did stop to take -up, and started on a full run for Thunder Mountain, -followed by his more deliberate, but equally -interested elder brother, who brought along the -thunder-stone, which he found a somewhat heavier -burden than he had supposed.</p> - -<p>It was not long, you may well imagine, so powerful -were these Gods of War, ere they reached -the home of their grandmother on the top of -Thunder Mountain. They had carefully concealed -the thunder-stone and the shaft of lightning meanwhile, -and had taken care to provide themselves -with a few prairie-dogs by way of deception.</p> - -<p>Still, in majestic revery, unmoved, and apparently -unwitting of what had taken place, sat the -Rain-gods in their home in the mountains of -Summerland.</p> - -<p>Not long after they arrived, the young gods -began to grow curious and anxious to try their -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>180]</a></span> -new playthings. They poked one another considerably, -and whispered a great deal, so that their -grandmother began to suspect they were about -to play some rash joke or other, and presently -she espied the point of lightning gleaming under -Mátsailéma’s dirty jacket.</p> - -<p>“Demons and corpses!” she cried. “By the -moon! You have stolen the thunder-stone and -lightning-shaft from the Gods of Rain themselves! -Go this instant and return them, and never do -such a thing again!” she cried, with the utmost -severity; and, making a quick step for the fireplace, -she picked up a poker with which to belabor -their backs, when they whisked out of the room -and into another. They slammed the door in -their grandmother’s face and braced it, and, clearing -away a lot of rubbish that was lying around -the rear room, they established themselves in one -end, and, nodding and winking at one another, -cried out: “Now, then!” The younger let go the -lightning-shaft; the elder rolled the thunder-stone. -The lightning hissed through the air, and far out -into the sky, and returned. The thunder-stone -rolled and rumbled until it shook the foundations -of the mountain. “Glorious fun!” cried the boys, -rubbing their thighs in ecstasy of delight. “Do -it again!” And again they sent forth the lightning -and rolled the thunder-stone.</p> - -<p>And now the gods in Summerland arose in their -majesty and breathed upon the skies; and the -winds rose, and the rains fell like rivers from the -clouds, centering their violence upon the roof of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>181]</a></span> -the poor old grandmother’s house. Heedlessly -those reckless wretches kept on playing the thunder-stone -and lightning-shaft without the slightest -regard to the tremendous commotion they were -raising all through the skies and all over Thunder -Mountain; but nowhere else as above the house -where their poor old grandmother lived fell the -torrent of the rain, and there alone, of course, burst -the lightning and rolled the thunder.</p> - -<p>Soon the water poured through the roof of the -house; but, move the things as the old grandmother -would, she could not keep them dry; scold the boys -as she would, she could not make them desist. -No, they would only go on with their play more -violently than ever, exclaiming: “What has she -to say, anyway? It won’t hurt her to get a good -ducking, and this is fun!” By-and-by the waters -rose so high that they extinguished the fire. Soon -they rose still higher, so that the War-gods had -to paddle around half submerged. Still they kept -rolling the thunder-stone and shooting the lightning. -The old grandmother scolded harder and harder, -but after awhile desisted and climbed to the top -of the fireplace, whence, after recovering from her -exertion, she began again. But the boys heeded -her not, only saying: “Let her yell! Let her scold! -This is fun!” At last they began to take the old -grandmother’s scolding as a matter of course, and -allowed nothing but the water to interrupt their -pastime. It rose so high, finally, that they were -near drowning. Then they climbed to the roof, -but still they kept on.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>182]</a></span> -“By the bones of the dead! why did we not -think to come here before? ’Tis ten times as fine -up here. See him shoot!” cried one to the other, -as the lightning sped through the sky, ever returning.</p> - -<p>“Hear it mutter and roll!” cried the other, as -the thunder bellowed and grumbled.</p> - -<p>But no sooner had the Two begun their sport on -the roof, than the rain fell in one vast sheet all -about them; and it was not long ere the house -was so full that the old grandmother—locked in -as she was—bobbed her poor pate on the rafters in -trying to keep it above the water. She gulped -water, and gasped, coughed, strangled, and shrieked -to no purpose.</p> - -<p>“What a fuss our old grandmother is making, -to be sure!” cried the boys. And they kept on, -until, forsooth, the water had completely filled the -room, and the grandmother’s cries gurgled away -and ceased. Finally, the thunder-stone grew so -terrific, and the lightning so hot and unmanageable, -that the boys, drawing a long breath and -thinking with immense satisfaction of the fun they -had had, possibly also influenced as to the safety -of the house, which was beginning to totter, flung -the thunder-stone and the lightning-shaft into the -sky, where, rattling and flashing away, they finally -disappeared over the mountains in the south.</p> - -<p>Then the clouds rolled away and the sun shone -out, and the boys, wet to the skin, tired in good -earnest, and hungry as well, looked around. -“Goodness! the water is running out of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>183]</a></span> -windows of our house! This is a pretty mess -we are in! Grandmother! Grandmother!” they -shouted. “Open the door, and let us in!” But -the old grandmother had piped her last, and never -a sound came except that of flowing water. They -sat themselves down on the roof, and waited for -the water to get lower. Then they climbed down, -and pounded open the door, and the water came -out with a rush, and out with a rush, too, their -poor old grandmother,—her eyes staring, her hair -all mopped and muddied, and her fingers and legs -as stiff as cedar sticks.</p> - -<p>“Oh, ye gods! ye gods!” the two boys exclaimed; -“we have killed our own grandmother—poor -old grandmother, who scolded us so hard and -loved us so much! Let us bury her here in front -of the door, as soon as the water has run away.”</p> - -<p>So, as soon as it became dry enough, there they -buried her; and in less than four days a strange -plant grew up on that spot, and on its little branches, -amid its bright green leaves, hung long, pointed -pods of fruit, as red as the fire on the breast of the -red-bird.</p> - -<p>“It is well,” said the boys, as they stood one day -looking at this plant. “Let us scatter the seeds -abroad, that men may find and plant them. It -seems it was not without good cause that in -the abandonment to our sport we killed our old -grandmother, for out of her heart there sprung a -plant into the fruits of which, as it were, has flowed -the color as well as the fire of her scolding tongue; -and, if we have lost our grandmother, whom we -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>184]</a></span> -loved much, but who loved us more, men have -gained a new food, which, though it burn them, -shall please them more than did the heat of her -discourse please us. Poor old grandmother! Men -will little dream when they eat peppers that the -seed of them first arose from the fiery heart of the -grandmother of Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma.”</p> - -<p>Thereupon the two seized the pods and crushed -them between their hands, with an exclamation of -pleasure at the brisk odor they gave forth. They -cast the seeds abroad, which seeds here and there -took root; and the plants which sprang from them -being found by men, were esteemed good and were -cultivated, as they are to this day in the pepper -gardens of Zuñi.</p> - -<p>Ever since this time you hear that mountain -wherein lived the gods with their grandmother -called Thunder Mountain; and often, indeed, to -this day, the lightning flashes and the thunder -plays over its brows and the rain falls there most -frequently.</p> - -<p>It is said by some that the two boys, when asked -how they stole the lightning-shaft and the thunder-stone, -told on their poor old grandfather, the -Centipede. The beloved Gods of the Rain gave -him the lightning-shaft to handle in another way, -and it so burned and shrivelled him that he became -small, as you can see by looking at any of his numerous -descendants, who are not only small but -appear like a well-toasted bit of buckskin, fringed -at the edges.</p> - -<p>So shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="imgbreak"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 524px;"> -<a name="plate07" id="plate07"></a> -<img src="images/zft14.jpg" width="524" height="700" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">A HOPI (MOKI) MAIDEN</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>185]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap10" id="chap10"></a>THE WARRIOR SUITOR OF MOKI</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/zft15.png" width="100" height="118" -alt="A young Moki woman" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="dropcap">W</span>E take up a story. Of the times of -the ancients, a story. Listen, ye -young ones and youths, and from what -I say draw inference. For behold! the -youth of our nation in these recent -generations have become less sturdy than of old; -else what I relate had not happened.</p> - -<p>To our shame be it told that not many generations -ago there lived in Moki a poor, ill-favored outcast -of a young man, a not-to-be-thought-of-as-hero -youth, yet nevertheless the hero of my story; for -this youth, the last-mentioned in the numbering of -the men of Moki in those days, alone brought great -grief on the nation of Zuñi.</p> - -<p>And it happened that in Walpi, on the first mesa -of the Mokis, there lived an amiable, charming, and -surpassingly beautiful girl, whose face was shining, -eyes bright, cheeks red like the frost-bite on the -datila<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>; whose hair was abundant and soft, black -and waving, and done up in large whorls above her -ears,—larger than those of the other maidens of -her town or nation,—and whose beautiful possessions -were as many as were the charms of her -person.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_12_12">[12]</a></span> -Fruit of the yucca, or soap-weed plant. <a href="#FNanchor_12_12">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>What wonder, then, that the youths of the Moki -towns should be enamored of her, and seek constantly, -with much urgent bespeaking, for the favor -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>186]</a></span> -of her affections? Yet she would none of them. -She would shake her head with a saucy smile, and -reply to every one, as well as to every recommendation -of one from her elders: “A hero for me or no -one! Any one of these young men may win my -affections if he will, for who knows until the time -comes whether a man be a hero or not?”</p> - -<p>So she made a proposition. She said to all the -youths who came suing for her hand: “Behold! -our nation is at enmity with the Zuñis, far off to -the eastward, over the mountains. If any of you be -so stout of limb and strong of heart and brave of -will, let him go to Zuñi, slay the men of that nation, -our enemies, and bring home, not only as proofs of -his valor, but as presentations to the warrior societies -of our people, scalps in goodly number. Him -will I admire to the tips of my eyelashes; him will -I cherish to the extent of my powers; him will I -make my husband, and in such a husband will I -glory!”</p> - -<p>But most of the young and handsome suitors who -worried her with their importunities would depart -forthwith, crestfallen, loving the girl as they did, -forsooth, much less than they feared the warriors of -Zuñi,—so degenerate they had become, for shame! -Months passed by. Not one of those who went to -the maiden’s house full of love came away from it -with as much love as want of valor.</p> - -<p>At last this outcast youth I have mentioned—who -was spoken to by none, who lived not even in -the houses of his people, but, all filth and rags, -made himself comfortable as best he could with the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>187]</a></span> -dogs and eagles and other creatures captive of the -people, eating like them the castaway and unwholesome -scraps of ordinary meals—heard these jilted -lovers conversing from time to time, exclaiming one -to another: “A valuable maiden, indeed, for whom -one would risk one’s life single handed against a -nation whose ancients ever prevailed over all men! -No! though she be the loveliest of women, I care -not for her on those conditions.” “Nor I!” “Nor -I!” others would exclaim.</p> - -<p>Overhearing this talk, the youth formed a most -presumptuous resolution—no other, in fact, than -this: that he himself would woo the maiden.</p> - -<p>All dirty and ragged as he was, with hair unkempt, -finger-nails long, and person calloused by -much exposure, lean and wiry like an abused but -hardened cur, he took himself one night to the -home of the maiden’s father.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">She-e!</i>” he exclaimed at the entrance of the -house, on the top.</p> - -<p>And the people within called out: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kwátchi!</i>”</p> - -<p>“Are ye in?” inquired the youth, in such an -affable and finished tone and manner of speaking -that the people expected to see some magnificent -youth enter, and to listen to his proposal of marriage -with their maiden.</p> - -<p>When they called out “Come in!” and he -came stepping down the ladder into the lighted -room, they were, therefore, greatly surprised to see -this vagabond in the place of what they expected; -nevertheless, the old father greeted him pleasantly -and politely and showed him a seat before the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>188]</a></span> -fireplace, and bade the women set food before -him. And the youth, although he had not for -many a day tasted good food or consumed a full -meal even, ate quite sparingly; and, having finished, -joined, by the old man’s invitation, in the -smoking and conversation of the evening.</p> - -<p>At last the old man asked him what he came -thinking of; and the youth stated that, although it -might seem presumptuous, he had heard of the -conditions which the maiden of this house had -made for those who would win her, and it had -occurred to him that he would be glad to try,—so -little were his merits, yet so great his love.</p> - -<p>The old man listened, with an inward smile; and -the maiden, though she conceived no dislike for the -youth (there was something about him, strange to -say, now that his voice had been heard, which -changed her opinion of him), nevertheless was -quite merry, all to herself, over this unheard-of proposal. -So, when she was asked what she thought -of the matter, merely to test the seriousness of the -young vagabond’s motives, she made the conditions -for him even harder than she had for the others, -saying: “Look you, stranger! If you will slay -single-handed some of the warriors of the valiant -Zuñis and bring back to our town, to the joy of our -warriors and people, a goodly number of their -scalps, I will indeed wed you, as I have said I -would the others.”</p> - -<p>This satisfied the youth, and, bidding them all -pass a happy night, he went forth into the dark.</p> - -<p>Not quite so poor and helpless as he seemed, was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>189]</a></span> -this youth; but one of those wonderful beings of -this earth in reality, for, behold! as he had lived -all his days since childhood with the dogs and -eagles and other captive animals of the towns of -Moki-land, so, from long association with them, he -had learned their ways and language and had -gained their friendship and allegiance as no other -mortal ever did. No family had he; no one to -advise him, save this great family of dogs and other -animals with which he lived.</p> - -<p>What do you suppose he did? He went to each -hole, sheltered nook, and oven in the town and -called on the Dogs to join him in council, not long -before morning of that same night. Every Dog in -the town answered the summons; and, below the -mesa on which Walpi stands, on one of those sloping -banks lighted by the moon, they gathered and -made a tremendous clamor with their yelpings and -barkings and other noises such as you are accustomed -to hear from Dogs at night-time. The -proposition which the youth made to this council -of Dogs was as follows:</p> - -<p>“My friends and brothers, I am about to go -forth on the path of war to the cities of the Zuñis -toward the sunrise. If I succeed, my reward will -be great. Now, as I well know from having lived -amongst you and been one of you so long, there -are two things which are more prized in a Dog’s -life than anything else. An occasional good feast -is one of them; being let alone is another. I think -I can bring about both of these rewards for you all -if you will, four days hence, after I have prepared -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>190]</a></span> -a sufficiency of food for the party, join me in my -warlike expedition against the Zuñis.”</p> - -<p>The Dogs greeted this proposition with vociferous -acclamation, and the council dispersed.</p> - -<p>On the following day, toward evening, the youth -again presented himself at the home of the maiden. -“My friends,” said he to the family; “I am, as you -know, or can easily perceive, extremely poor. I -have no home nor source of food; yet, as I anticipate -that I shall be long on this journey, and as I -neither possess nor know how to use a bow and -arrow, I come to humbly beseech your assistance. -I will undertake this thing which has been proposed -to me; but, in order that I may be enabled -the more easily to do so, I desire that you will -present to me a sufficiency of food for my journey; -or, if you will lend it to me, I shall be satisfied.”</p> - -<p>Now, the maiden’s people were among the first -in the nation, and well-to-do in all ways. They -most willingly consented to give the young man -not only a sufficiency of food for days, but for -months; and when he went away that night he had -all that he could carry of meal, coarse and fine, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">piki</i> -or Moki wafer-rolls, tortillas, and abundant grease-cakes, -which he well knew would be most tempting -to Dogs.</p> - -<p>On the fourth day thereafter,—for he had been -making his weapons: some flint knives and a good -hard war-club,—at evening, he again called at each -of the holes and places the Dogs of the town inhabited, -and he said to all of them: “I shall leave -forthwith on my journey, having provided myself -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>191]</a></span> -with a sufficiency of food for much feasting on the -way. Like yourselves, I have become inured to -hardship and am swift of foot, and by midnight I -shall be half-way to Zuñi. As soon as the people -are asleep, that they may not pelt you with stones -and drive you back, follow on the trail to Zuñi as -fast as you can. I will await you by the side of -the Black Mountains, near the Spring of the Night-hawks, -and there I will cook the provisions, that -we may have a jolly feast and the more strongly -proceed on our journey the day following.”</p> - -<p>The Dogs gave him repeated assurances of their -willingness to follow; and, heavily laden with his -provisions, the youth, just at dusk, climbed unobserved -down the nether side of the mesa and set -out through the plains of sagebrush, over the hills -far east of Moki, and so on along the plateaus and -valleys leading to this our town of Zuñi. At the -place he had appointed as a rendezvous he arrived -not long before midnight, lighted a fire, unstrapped -his provisions, and began to cook mush in great -quantities.</p> - -<p>Now, after the lights in the windows of Moki -began to go out—shutting up their red eyes, as it -were, as the maidens of Moki shut up their bright -eyes—there was tremendous activity observed -among the Dogs. But they made not much noise -about it until every last Dog in town—as motley a -crowd of curs and mongrels as ever were seen, unless -one might see all the Dogs of Moki today—descended -the mesa, and one by one gathered in a -great pack, and started, baying, barking, and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>192]</a></span> -howling louder and louder as they went along over -the eastern hills on the trail which the youth had -taken.</p> - -<p>By-and-by he heard them coming; <i>te-ne-e-e-e</i> they -sounded as they ran; <i>wo-wo-o-o-o</i> they came, baying -and barking in all sorts of voices, nearer and -nearer. So the youth prepared his provisions, and -as the nearest of them came into the light of the -fire, cried out: “Ho, my friends, ye come! I am -glad to see ye come! Sit ye round my camp-fire. -Let us feast and be merry and lighten the load of -my provisions. Methinks we will all carry some of -them when we start out tomorrow.”</p> - -<p>Thereupon he liberally distributed mush, tortillas, -and paper bread,—inviting the hot, tired Dogs -to drink their fill from the spring and eat their fill -from the feast. The Dogs, being very hungry, -as Dogs always are—and the more so from the -memory of many a long fast—fell to with avidity -(and you know what that means with Dogs); and -the Short-legs and Beagles would not have fared -very well had the youth not considered them and -held back a good supply of provisions against -their tardy appearance.</p> - -<p>Finally, when all were assembled and had eaten, -if not to their satisfaction—that was impossible—yet -to their temporary gratification, a merry, -noisy, much-wriggling crowd they became. Some -lay down and rested, others were impatient for the -journey; so that even before daylight the youth, -making up his bundle of provisions, again set forth -at a swift trot, followed by this pack of Dogs which -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>193]</a></span> -ran along either side of him and strung out on the -trail the length of a race-course behind him.</p> - -<p>Before night, see this valiant youth quietly hiding -himself away in one of the deep arroyos -around the western end of Grand Mountain, and -the foot-hills of Twin Mountain, near which, as you -know, the trail from Moki leads to our town. He -is giving directions to the Dogs in a quiet manner, -and feeding them again, rather more sparingly -than at first that they may be anxious for their -work.</p> - -<p>He says to them: “My friends and brothers, -lay yourselves about here, each one according to -his color in places most suited for concealment,—some -near the gray sage-bushes; and you fellows -with fine marks on your backs keep out of sight, -pray, in these deep holes, and come in as our -reserve force when we want you. Now, lie here -patiently, for you will have enough work to do, -and can afford to rest. Tomorrow morning, not -long after sunrise, I shall doubtless come, with -more precipitation than willingness, toward your -ambuscade, with a pack of Dogs less worthy the -name than yourselves at my heels. Be ready to -help me; they are well-nurtured Dogs, and doubtless, -if you like, you will be wise enough to make -much of this fact.”</p> - -<p>The Dogs were well pleased with his proposition, -and, in louder voices than was prudent, attested -their readiness to follow his suggestion, going so -far as to assure him that he need have no fear -whatsoever, that they alone would vanquish the Zuñi -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>194]</a></span> -nation—which, they had heard from other Dogs, -was becoming rather lazy and indifferent in manly -matters, Dogs and all.</p> - -<p>The night wore on; the youth had refreshed -himself with sleep, and somewhat after the herald-stars -of the morning-star had appeared, he stealthily -picked his way across our broad plain, toward the -hill of Zuñi; and out west there, only a short space -from the sunset front of our town, he crouched -down on a little terrace to wait.</p> - -<p>Not long after the morning-star had risen, a fine -old Zuñi came out of his house, shook his blanket, -wrapped it round him, and came stealing down in -the daylight to the river side. After he had presented -his morning sacrifice toward the rising sun, -he returned and sat down a moment. He had no -sooner seated himself than the wily, sinewy youth -with a quick motion sprang up, pulled the poor -man over, and with his war-club knocked his brains -out, after which he leisurely took off the scalp of -the one he had slain. He had barely finished this -operation when he heard a ladder creak in one of -the upper terraces of the town. He quickly tucked -the scalp in his belt, pulled himself together, and -thrusting the body of the dead man into the bottom -of a hole, which was very near, crouched over it and -waited. The footsteps of the man who was coming -sounded nearer and nearer. Presently he also came -to this place; but no sooner had he reached the -terrace than the Moki youth leaped up and dealt -him such a blow on the head that, without uttering -a sound, he instantly expired. This one he likewise -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>195]</a></span> -scalped, and then another and another he -served in the same way, until, there being four slain -men in the pit, he had to drag some out of the way -and throw them behind the dust-heap. Just as he -returned another man sauntered down to the place. -The youth murdered him like the rest, and was -busy skinning his scalp, when another who had followed -him somewhat closely appeared at the hole, -and discovering what was going on, ran toward the -town for his weapons, shouting the war-cry of alarm -as he went. Picking up the scalps and snatching -from the bodies of the slain their ornaments of -greatest value, the Moki youth sped off over the -plain.</p> - -<p>In less time than it takes to tell it, the people of -Zuñi were in arms; dogs barked, children cried, -women screamed,—for no one knew how many the -enemy might be,—and the Priests of the Bow, in -half-secured armor of buckskin, and with weapons -in hand, came thundering down the hill and across -the plains in pursuit of the fleeing youth and in -readiness to oppose his band. Long before this -crowd of warriors, now fully awake and wild with -rage, had reached the spot, the youth plunged into -the arroyo and called out to his Dogs: “Now for it, -my friends! They will be here in a minute! Do -you hear them coming?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, ho!” softly barked the Dogs; and they -stiffened their claws and crouched themselves to -spring when the time should come.</p> - -<p>Presently on came the crowd of warriors, now -feeling that they had but a small force, if indeed -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>196]</a></span> -more than one man to oppose. And they came -with such precipitation that they took the gray and -dun and yellow-shaded Dogs for so many rocks and -heaps of sand, and were fairly in the midst of those -brutes before they became aware of them at all. -Death and ashes! what a time there was of it! -The youth fell in with his war-club, the Dogs around, -behind, and in front of them howling, snarling, biting, -tearing, and shaking the Zuñis on every hand, -until every one of the band was torn to pieces or so -mangled that a few taps of the club of the youth -dispatched them. Those who had followed behind, -not knowing what to think of it all, frantically ran -back to their people,—the shame-begrimed cowards!—while -the youth, with abundant leisure, went -on skinning scalps, until, perceiving much activity -in the distant town, concluded it would be wise to -abandon some few he had not finished. So, catching -up his pack of provisions and his bloody string of -scalps (which was so long and thick he could hardly -carry it, and which dragged on the ground behind -him), he trotted over the hills, followed by some of -the Dogs—the others remaining behind, feeling -more secure of swiftness—to take advantage of -the ample feast spread before them.</p> - -<p>When the youth and the Dogs who followed -him, or afterward joined him, had again reached -the great spring by the Black Mountains, leaving -those who pursued far behind, they stopped; -and, building a fire of brush and pine-knots, the -youth cooked all the provisions he had. “Thanks -this day, my friends and brothers!” he cried to the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>197]</a></span> -Dogs. “Ye have nobly served me. I will feast -ye of the best.” Whereupon he produced the -grease-cakes and the more delicate articles of food -which he had reserved as a reward for the Dogs. -They ate and ate, and loud were their demonstrations -of satisfaction. Then the youth, taking up -the string of scalps again, attached them to a long -pole, which, to keep the lower ones from dragging -on the ground, he elevated over his shoulder, and, -striking up a song of victory, he wound his way -along the trail toward Moki.</p> - -<p>The Dogs, crazy with victory and much glutted, -could not contain themselves, but they bow-wowed -with delight and yelped and scurried about, cutting -circles dusty and wide around their father, the conquering -youth. They hurried on so fast that by-and-by -it was noticeable that the Beagle Dogs fell -in the rear. “By the music of marrowbones!” exclaimed -some of the swifter of foot; “we will have -to slacken our pace, father.” Said they, addressing -the youth: “Our poor brothers, the Short-legs, -are evidently getting tired; they are falling far in -the rear, and it is not valorous, however great your -victory and however strong your desire to proclaim -it at home, to leave a worn-out brother lagging behind. -The enemy might come unawares and cut -off his return and his daylight.” Most reluctantly, -therefore, they slackened their pace, and with -shouts and yelps encouraged as much as possible -the stump-legged Dogs following behind.</p> - -<p>Now, on that day in Moki there had been much -surprise expressed at the absence of the Dogs, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>198]</a></span> -except those which were so young or so old that they -could not travel; and the people began to think -that some devil or all the wizards in Mokidom had -been conjuring their Dogs away from them, when -toward evening they heard a distant sound, which -was the approaching victors’ demonstration of rejoicing, -and clear above all was the song of victory -shouted by the lusty youth as he came bringing -his scalps along. “Woo, woo, woo!” the Dogs -sounded as they came across the valley and approached -the foot of the mesa; and when the -people looked down and saw the blood and dirt -with which every Dog was covered, they knew not -what to make of it,—whether their Dogs had been -enticed away and foully beaten, or whether they -had taken after a herd of antelope, perhaps, and -vanquished them. But presently they espied in -the midst of the motley crowd of Curs the tall lank -form of the vagabond youth and heard his lusty -song. The youths who had been jilted by the -maiden at once had their own ideas. Some of -them sneaked away; others ground their teeth and -covered their eyes, filled with rage and shame; -while the elder-men of the nation, seeing what feats -of valor this neglected youth had accomplished, -glorified him with answering songs of victory and -gathered in solemn council, as if for a most honored -and precious guest, to receive him.</p> - -<p>So, victorious and successful in all ways, the outcast -dog of a youth who went to Zuñi and returned -the hero of the Moki nation right willingly was -accepted by this beauteous maiden as her husband -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>199]</a></span> -after the ceremonies of initiation and purification -had been performed over him.</p> - -<p>Ah, well! that was very fine; but all this praise -of one who had been despised and abused by themselves, -and, more than all, the possession of such a -beautiful wife, wrought fierce jealousy in the breasts -of the many jilted lovers; making those who had -looked askance at one another before, true friends -and firm brothers in a single cause—the undoing of -this lucky vagabond youth. Nor were they alone in -this desire, for behold! copying their lucky sister, all -the pretty maidens in Moki declared that they -would marry no one who did not show himself at -least in some degree heroic, like the youth of the -dog-holes who had married their pretty sister. It -therefore came about that the whole tribe of Moki, -so far as the young men were concerned, became a -company of jilted lovers, and all the maidens became -confirmed in their resolutions of virgin maidenhood.</p> - -<p>The jilted lovers got together one night in a -cautious sort of way (for they were all afraid of this -hero) and held a council. But the fools didn’t -think of the Dogs lying around outside, who heard -what they said. They concluded the best way to -get even with this youth was to kill him; but how -to kill him was the problem, for they were cowards. -“We will get up a hunt,” said one; “and make -friends with him and ask him to go, paying him all -sorts of attention, and ask him to instruct us in the -arts of war, the wretch! He will readily join us in -our hunting excursion, and some of us will sling a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>200]</a></span> -throwing-stick at him and finish the conceited -fellow’s days!”</p> - -<p>Now, the Dogs scrambled off immediately and -informed their friend and brother what was going on.</p> - -<p>He said: “All right! I will accept their advances -and go with them on the hunt.”</p> - -<p>He went off that night to a cave, where he had -often sought shelter from the wind when driven out -of the town of Walpi, and thus had made acquaintance -with those most unerring travellers in crooked -places—the Cave-swallows. He went to one of -them, an elderly, wise bird, and, addressing him as -“Grandfather,” told him what was going on.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said the old bird; “I will help -you.” And he made a boomerang for the youth -which had the power to fly around bushes and -down into gullies; and if well thrown, of course, it -could not be dodged by any rabbit, however swift -of foot or sly in hiding. Having finished this -boomerang, he told the youth to take it and use it -freely in hunting. The youth thanked him, and -returning to his town passed a peaceful night.</p> - -<p>When he appeared the next morning, the others -greeted him pleasantly—those who happened to -see him—to which greetings he replied with equal -cordiality. They were so importunate with the -priest-chiefs to be allowed to undertake a grand -rabbit-hunt that these fathers of the people, always -desirous of contributing to the happiness of their -children, ordered a grand hunt for the very next -day. So everybody was busy forthwith in making -throwing-sticks and boomerangs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>201]</a></span> -The next day all the able-bodied youth of the -town, selecting the hero of whom we have told as -their leader, took their way to the great plain -south of Moki, and there, spreading out into an -enormous circle, they drove hundreds of rabbits -closer and closer together among the sagebrush in -the center of the valley. Some of them succeeded -in striking down one—some of them three or four—but -ere long every one observed that each time -the youth threw his stick he struck a rabbit and -secured it, until he had so many that he was forced -to call some boys who had followed along to carry -them for him.</p> - -<p>Already inflamed by their jealousies to great -anger, what was the chagrin of this crowd of dandies, -now that this youth whom they so heartily -despised actually surpassed them even in hunting -rabbits! They gnashed their teeth with rage, and -one of them in a moment of excitement, when two -or three rabbits were trying to escape, took deliberate -aim at the youth and threw his boomerang at -him. The youth, who was wily, sprang into the -air so high, pretending meanwhile to throw his -boomerang, that the missile missed his vital parts, -but struck his leg and apparently broke it, so that -he fell down senseless in the midst of the crowd; -and the people set up a great shout—some of lamentation, -some of exultation.</p> - -<p>“Let him lie there and rot!” said the angry -suitors, catching up their own rabbits and making -off for the pueblo. But some of the old men, who -deplored this seeming accident of the youth, ran as -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>202]</a></span> -fast as they could toward the town—fearing to -raise him lest they should make his hurt worse—for -medicine.</p> - -<p>When the youth had been left alone, he opened -his eyes and smiled. Then, taking from his pouch -a medicine unfailing in its effects, applied it to the -bruised spot and quickly became relieved of pain, -if not even of injury. Rising, he looked about and -found the rabbits where, panic-stricken, the boys -had dropped them and fled away. He made up a -huge bundle, and not long before sunset, behold! -singing merrily, he came marching, though limping -somewhat, through the plain before the foot-hills of -Moki, bearing an enormous burden of rabbits. He -climbed the mesa, greeted every one pleasantly as -though nothing had occurred, took his way to his -home, and became admired of all the women of -Moki, young and old, as a paragon of valor and -manhood.</p> - -<p>It became absolutely necessary after that, of -course,—for these faint-hearted dandies tried no -more tricks with the youth,—for anyone who would -marry a Moki maiden to show himself a man in -some way or other; and, as the ugliest and most -neglected of children generally turn out sharpest -because they have to look out for themselves, so it -happens that to this day the husbands of Moki are -generally very ugly; but one thing is certain—they -are men.</p> - -<p>Reflect on these things, ye young ones and -youths.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>203]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap11" id="chap11"></a>HOW THE COYOTE JOINED THE DANCE -OF THE BURROWING-OWLS</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">Y</span>OU may know the country that lies south of the -valley in which our town stands. You travel -along the trail which winds round the hill our ancients -called <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ishana-tak’yapon</i>,—which means the -Hill of Grease, for the rocks sometimes shine in the -light of the sun at evening, and it is said that strange -things occurred there in the days of the ancients, -which makes them thus to shine, while rocks of the -kind in other places do not,—you travel on up this -trail, crossing over the arroyos and foot-hills of the -great mesa called Middle Mountain, until you come -to the foot of the cliffs. Then you climb up back -and forth, winding round and round, until you reach -the top of the mountain, which is as flat as the floor -of a house, merely being here and there traversed -by small valleys covered with piñon and cedar, and -threaded by trails made not only by the feet of our -people but by deer and other animals. And so you -go on and on, until, hardly knowing it, you have -descended from the top of Middle Mountain, and -found yourself in a wide plain covered with grass, -and here and there clumps of trees. Beyond this -valley is an elevated sandy plain, rather sunken in -the middle, so that when it rains the water filters -down into the soil of the depressed portion (which -is wide enough to be a country in itself) and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>204]</a></span> -nourishes the grasses there; so that most of the -year they grow green and sweet.</p> - -<p>Now, a long, long time ago, in this valley or -basin there lived a village of Prairie-dogs, on fairly -peaceable terms with Rattlesnakes, Adders, Chameleons, -Horned-toads, and Burrowing-owls. With -the Owls they were especially friendly, looking at -them as creatures of great gravity and sanctity. -For this reason these Prairie-dogs and their companions -never disturbed the councils or ceremonies -of the Burrowing-owls, but treated them most respectfully, -keeping at a distance from them when -their dances were going on.</p> - -<p>It chanced one day that the Burrowing-owls were -having a great dance all to themselves, rather early -in the morning. The dance they were engaged in -was one peculiarly prized by them, requiring no -little dexterity in its execution. Each dancer, -young man or maiden, carried upon his or her head -a bowl of foam, and though their legs were crooked -and their motions disjointed, they danced to the -whistling of some and the clapping beaks of others, -in perfect unison, and with such dexterity that they -never spilled a speck of the foam on their sleek -mantles of dun-black feather-work.</p> - -<p>It chanced this morning of the Foam-dance that -a Coyote was nosing about for Grasshoppers and -Prairie-dogs. So quite naturally he was prowling -around the by-streets in the borders of the Prairie-dog -town. His house where he lived with his old -grandmother stood back to the westward, just over -the elevations that bounded Sunken Country, among -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>205]</a></span> -the rocks. He heard the click-clack of the musicians -and their shrill, funny little song:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“I yami hota utchu tchapikya,<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Tokos! tokos! tokos! tokos!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>So he pricked up his ears, and lifting his tail, trotted -forward toward the level place between the hillocks -and doorways of the village, where the Owls were -dancing in a row. He looked at them with great -curiosity, squatting on his haunches, the more composedly -to observe them. Indeed, he became so -much interested and amused by their shambling -motions and clever evolutions, that he could no -longer contain his curiosity. So he stepped forward, -with a smirk and a nod toward the old master -of ceremonies, and said: “My father, how are you -and your children these many days?”</p> - -<p>“Contented and happy,” replied the old Owl, -turning his attention to the dancing again.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I observe you are dancing,” said the -Coyote. “A very fine dance, upon my word! -Charming! Charming! And why should you be -dancing if you were not contented and happy, to -be sure?”</p> - -<p>“We are dancing,” responded the Owl, “both for -our pleasure and for the good of the town.”</p> - -<p>“True, true,” replied the Coyote; “but what’s -that which looks like foam these dancers are carrying -on their heads, and why do they dance in so -limping a fashion?”</p> - -<p>“You see, my friend,” said the Owl, turning -toward the Coyote, “we hold this to be a very -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>206]</a></span> -sacred performance—very sacred indeed. Being -such, these my children are initiated and so trained -in the mysteries of the sacred society of which -this is a custom that they can do very strange -things in the observance of our ceremonies. You -ask what it is that looks like foam they are balancing -on their heads. Look more closely, friend. -Do you not observe that it is their own grandmothers’ -heads they have on, the feathers turned -white with age?”</p> - -<p>“By my eyes!” exclaimed the Coyote, blinking -and twitching his whiskers; “it seems so.”</p> - -<p>“And you ask also why they limp as they dance,” -said the Owl. “Now, this limp is essential to the -proper performance of our dance—so essential, in -fact, that in order to attain to it these my children -go through the pain of having their legs broken. -Instead of losing by this, they gain in a great many -ways. Good luck always follows them. They are -quite as spry as they were before, and enjoy, moreover, -the distinction of performing a dance which -no other people or creatures in the world are capable -of!”</p> - -<p>“Dust and devils!” ejaculated the Coyote. -“This is passing strange. A most admirable dance, -upon my word! Why, every bristle on my body -keeps time to the music and their steps! Look -here, my friend, don’t you think that I could learn -that dance?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” replied the old Owl; “it is rather hard -to learn, and you haven’t been initiated, you -know; but, still, if you are determined that you -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>207]</a></span> -would like to join the dance—by the way, have -you a grandmother?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and a fine old woman she is,” said he, -twitching his mouth in the direction of his house. -“She lives there with me. I dare say she is -looking after my breakfast now.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” continued the old Owl, “if you care -to join in our dance, fulfill the conditions, and I -think we can receive you into our order.” And he -added, aside: “The silly fool; the sneaking, impertinent -wretch! I will teach him to be sticking -that sharp nose of his into other people’s affairs!”</p> - -<p>“All right! All right!” cried the Coyote, excitedly. -“Will it last long?”</p> - -<p>“Until the sun is so bright that it hurts our -eyes,” said the Owl; “a long time yet.”</p> - -<p>“All right! All right! I’ll be back in a little -while,” said the Coyote; and, switching his tail -into the air, away he ran toward his home. When -he came to the house, he saw his old grandmother -on the roof, which was a rock beside his hole, gathering -fur from some skins which he had brought -home, to make up a bed for the Coyote’s family.</p> - -<p>“Ha, my blessed grandmother!” said the Coyote, -“by means of your aid, what a fine thing I -shall be able to do!”</p> - -<p>The old woman was singing to herself when the -Coyote dashed up to the roof where she was sitting, -and, catching up a convenient leg-bone, whacked -her over the pate and sawed her head off with the -teeth of a deer. All bloody and soft as it was, he -clapped it on his own head and raised himself on -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>208]</a></span> -his hindlegs, bracing his tail against the ground, -and letting his paws drop with the toes outspread, -to imitate as nearly as possible the drooping wings -of the dancing Owls. He found that it worked -very well; so, descending with the head in one paw -and a stone in the other, he found a convenient -sharp-edged rock, and, laying his legs across it, hit -them a tremendous crack with the stone, which -broke them, to be sure, into splinters.</p> - -<p>“Beloved Powers! Oh!” howled the Coyote. -“Oh-o-o-o-o! the dance may be a fine thing, but -the initiation is anything else!”</p> - -<p>However, with his faith unabated, he shook -himself together and got up to walk. But -he could walk only with his paws; his hindlegs -dragged helplessly behind him. Nevertheless, -with great pain, and getting weaker and weaker -every step of the way, he made what haste he -could back to the Prairie-dog town, his poor old -grandmother’s head slung over his shoulders.</p> - -<p>When he approached the dancers,—for they -were still dancing,—they pretended to be greatly -delighted with their proselyte, and greeted him, -notwithstanding his rueful countenance, with many -congratulatory epithets, mingled with very proper -and warm expressions of welcome. The Coyote -looked sick and groaned occasionally and kept -looking around at his feet, as though he would like -to lick them. But the old Owl extended his wing -and cautioned him not to interfere with the working -power of faith in this essential observance, and -invited him (with a <em>hem</em> that very much resembled -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>209]</a></span> -a suppressed giggle), to join in their dance. -The Coyote smirked and bowed and tried to stand -up gracefully on his stumps, but fell over, his grandmother’s -head rolling around in the dirt. He -picked up the grisly head, clapped it on his crown -again and raised himself, and with many a howl, -which he tried in vain to check, began to prance -around; but ere long tumbled over again. The -Burrowing-owls were filled with such merriment at -his discomfiture that they laughed until they spilled -the foam all down their backs and bosoms; and, -with a parting fling at the Coyote which gave him -to understand that he had made a fine fool of himself, -and would know better than to pry into other -people’s business next time, skipped away to a safe -distance from him.</p> - -<p>Then, seeing how he had been tricked, the Coyote -fell to howling and clapping his thighs; and, -catching sight of his poor grandmother’s head, all -bloody and begrimed with dirt, he cried out in grief -and anger: “Alas! alas! that it should have come -to this! You little devils! I’ll be even with you! -I’ll smoke you out of your holes.”</p> - -<p>“What will you smoke us out with?” tauntingly -asked the Burrowing-owls.</p> - -<p>“Ha! you’ll find out. With yucca!”</p> - -<p>“O! O! ha! ha!” laughed the Owls. “That -is our succotash!”</p> - -<p>“Ah, well! I’ll smoke you out!” yelled the -Coyote, stung by their taunts.</p> - -<p>“What with?” cried the Owls.</p> - -<p>“Grease-weed.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>210]</a></span> -“He, ha! ho, ho! We make our mush-stew of -that!”</p> - -<p>“Ha! but I’ll smoke you out, nevertheless, you -little beasts!”</p> - -<p>“What with? What with?” shouted the Owls.</p> - -<p>“Yellow-top weeds,” said he.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha! All right; smoke away! We make -our sweet gruel with that, you fool!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll fix you! I’ll smoke you out! I’ll suffocate -the very last one of you!”</p> - -<p>“What with? What with?” shouted the Owls, -skipping around on their crooked feet.</p> - -<p>“Pitch-pine,” snarled the Coyote.</p> - -<p>This frightened the Owls, for pitch-pine, even to -this day, is sickening to them. Away they plunged -into their holes, pell-mell.</p> - -<p>Then the Coyote looked at his poor old grandmother’s -begrimed and bloody head, and cried out—just -as Coyotes do now at sunset, I suppose—“Oh, -my poor, poor grandmother! So this is -what they have caused me to do to you!” And, -tormented both by his grief and his pain, he took -up the head of his grandmother and crawled back -as best he could to his house.</p> - -<p>When he arrived there he managed to climb up -to the roof, where her body lay stiff. He chafed -her legs and sides, and washed the blood and dirt -from her head, and got a bit of sinew, and sewed -her head to her body as carefully as he could and -as hastily. Then he opened her mouth, and, putting -his muzzle to it, blew into her throat, in the -hope of resuscitating her; but the wind only leaked -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>211]</a></span> -out from the holes in her neck, and she gave no -signs of animation. Then the Coyote mixed some -pap of fine toasted meal and water and poured it -down her throat, addressing her with vehement expressions -of regret at what he had done, and apology -and solicitation that she should not mind, as -he didn’t mean it, and imploring her to revive. -But the pap only trickled out between the stitches -in her neck, and she grew colder and stiffer all the -while; so that at last the Coyote gave it up, and, -moaning, he betook himself to a near clump of -piñon trees, intent upon vengeance and designing -to gather pitch with which to smoke the Owls to -death. But, weakened by his injuries, and filled -with grief and shame and mortification, when he -got there he could only lie down.</p> - -<p>He was so engrossed in howling and thinking of -his woes and pains that a Horned-toad, who saw -him, and who hated him because of the insults he -had frequently suffered from him and his kind, -crawled into the throat of the beast without his noticing -it. Presently the little creature struck up a -song:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Tsakina muuu-ki<br /></div> -<div class="i1">Iyami Kushina tsoiyakya<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Aisiwaiki muki, muki,<br /></div> -<div class="i4">Muuu ka!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Ah-a-a-a-a-a,” the Coyote was groaning. But -when he heard this song, apparently far off, and -yet so near, he felt very strangely inside, so he -thought and no doubt wondered if it were the song -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>212]</a></span> -of some musician. At any rate, he lifted his head -and looked all around, but hearing nothing, lay -down again and bemoaned his fate.</p> - -<p>Then the Horned-toad sang again. This time -the Coyote called out immediately, and the Horned-toad -answered: “Here I am.” But look as he -would, the Coyote could not find the Toad. So -he listened for the song again, and heard it, and -asked who it was that was singing. The Horned-toad -replied that it was he. But still the Coyote -could not find him. A fourth time the Horned-toad -sang, and the Coyote began to suspect that it -was under him. So he lifted himself to see; and -one of the spines on the Horned-toad’s neck -pricked him, and at the same time the little fellow -called out: “Here I am, you idiot, inside of you! -I came upon you here, and being a medicine-man -of some prominence, I thought I would explore -your vitals and see what was the matter.”</p> - -<p>“By the souls of my ancestors!” exclaimed the -Coyote, “be careful what you do in there!”</p> - -<p>The Horned-toad replied by laying his hand on -the Coyote’s liver, and exclaiming: “What is this -I feel?”</p> - -<p>“Where?” said the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Down here.”</p> - -<p>“Merciful daylight! it is my liver, without -which no one can have solidity of any kind, or a -proper vitality. Be very careful not to injure that; -if you do, I shall die at once, and what will become -of my poor wife and children?”</p> - -<p>Then the Horned-toad climbed up to the stomach -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>213]</a></span> -of the Coyote. “What is this, my friend?” said -he, feeling the sides of the Coyote’s food-bag.</p> - -<p>“What is it like?” asked the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Wrinkled,” said the Horned-toad, “and filled -with a fearful mess of stuff!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! mercy! mercy! good daylight! My -precious friend, be very careful! That is the very -source of my being—my stomach itself!”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said the Horned-toad. Then he -moved on somewhat farther and touched the heart -of the Coyote, which startled him fearfully. “What -is this?” cried the Horned-toad.</p> - -<p>“Mercy, mercy! what are you doing?” exclaimed -the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Nothing—feeling of your vitals,” was the reply. -“What is it?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, what is it like?” said the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Shaped like a pine-nut,” said the Horned-toad, -“as nearly as I can make out; it keeps leaping -so.”</p> - -<p>“Leaping, is it?” howled the Coyote. “Mercy! -my friend, get away from there! That is the very -heart of my being, the thread that ties my existence, -the home of my emotions, and my knowledge -of daylight. Go away from there, do, I pray you! -If you should scratch it ever so little, it would be -the death of me, and what would my wife and children -do?”</p> - -<p>“Hey!” said the Horned-toad, “you wouldn’t -be apt to insult me and my people any more if I -touched you up there a little, would you?” And he -hooked one of his horns into the Coyote’s heart. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>214]</a></span> -The Coyote gave one gasp, straightened out his -limbs, and expired.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha! you villain! Thus would you have -done to me, had you found the chance; thus unto -you”—saying which he found his way out and -sought the nearest water-pocket he could find.</p> - - - -<p class="break">So you see from this, which took place in the -days of the ancients, it may be inferred that the instinct -of meddling with everything that did not -concern him, and making a universal nuisance of -himself, and desiring to imitate everything that he -sees, ready to jump into any trap that is laid for -him, is a confirmed instinct with the Coyote, for -those are precisely his characteristics today.</p> - -<p>Furthermore, Coyotes never insult Horned-toads -nowadays, and they keep clear of Burrowing-owls. -And ever since then the Burrowing-owls have been -speckled with gray and white all over their backs -and bosoms, because their ancestors spilled foam -over themselves in laughing at the silliness of the -Coyote.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>215]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap12" id="chap12"></a>THE COYOTE WHO KILLED THE -DEMON SÍUIUKI:<br /> - -<span class="vsmlfont">OR WHY COYOTES RUN THEIR NOSES INTO DEADFALLS</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>T was very long ago, in the days of the ancients. -There stood a village in the cañon south of -Thunder Mountain where the Gods of Prey all -lived with their sisters and mothers: the Mountain -Lion, the great Black Bear, the Wildcat, the Gray -Wolf, the Eagle, and even the Mole—all the Gods -of Prey lived there together with their mothers and -sisters. Day after day they went out hunting, for -hunting was their business of life, and they were -great hunters.</p> - -<p>Now, right up on the edge of Thunder Mountain -there lived a spotted Demon, named Síuiuki, and -whenever the people of the towns round about -went hunting, he lay in wait for them and ate them -up.</p> - -<p>After a long while the Gods of Prey grew discontented, -and they said to one another: “What -in the world can we do? None of the children of -men ever make sacrifices to us, for, whenever our -children among men go out hunting, this Demon -who lives on the top of Thunder Mountain destroys -them and eats them up. What in the world -can be done?”</p> - -<p>“It would be a good thing if we could kill him,” -said some of them.</p> - -<p>Now, just down below the house of the Demon, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>216]</a></span> -in Wolf Cañon, lived a Coyote, and he had found -out where the Gods of Prey lived, and whenever -he wanted a feast of sinew and gristle, he went below -their houses and gnawed at the bones that they had -thrown away, and thus it happened that when the -gods were talking together in this way he was near -their doorway gnawing a bone, and he heard all -they said.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said one or two of the others, “and if -anybody will go and kill Síuiuki, we will give him -our sister to marry.”</p> - -<p>“Aha!” said the Coyote to himself. “Ha, ha!”—and -he dropped the bone he was gnawing and -cut off for home as fast as ever he could.</p> - -<p>Next morning, bright and early, he began to dig -into the side of the cañon below the Demon’s -home, and after he had dug a great hollow in the -side of the arroyo, he rolled a heavy stone into it, -and found another, which he placed beside it. -Then he brought a great many leg-bones of deer -and antelope. Then he found a large bowl and -put a lot of yellow medicine-fluid in it, and placed -it beside the rock. He then sat down and began -to crack the leg-bones with the two stones he had -brought there.</p> - -<p>The old Demon was not in the habit of rising -very early, but when he arose that morning he -came out and sat down on the edge of the cliff; -there the Coyote was, battering away at the bones -and pretending to bathe his own lips with the -medicine-fluid.</p> - -<p>“I wonder what in the world that little sneak is -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>217]</a></span> -doing down there,” said the old Demon. So he -put on his war-badge and took his bow and arrows, -as though he were going out to hunt, and started -down to where the Coyote was.</p> - -<p>“Hello!” said the Coyote, “how did you pass -the night?”</p> - -<p>“What in the world are you doing here?” asked -the Demon.</p> - -<p>“Why, don’t you know?” replied the Coyote. -“This is the way I train myself for running, so as -to catch the deer; I can run faster than any deer -in the country. With my medicine, here, I take the -swiftness out of these bones.”</p> - -<p>“Is it possible?” said the old Demon.</p> - -<p>“Of course it is,” said the Coyote. “There is -no deer that can run away from me.”</p> - -<p>“Will you show me?” said the Demon, eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, of course I will; and then we will -go hunting together.”</p> - -<p>“Good, good!” said the old Demon. “I have a -hard time catching deer and antelope.”</p> - -<p>“Well, now, you sit down right over there and -watch me,” said the Coyote, “and I will show you -all about it.”</p> - -<p>So he laid his left leg over the rock, and then -slily took an antelope bone and laid it by the side -of it. Then he picked up a large stone and -struck it as hard as ever he could against the -bone. Whack! went the stone, and it split the bone -into splinters; and the Coyote pretended that it -was the bone of his own leg.</p> - -<p>“Aye! Ah! Oh!” exclaimed he. “But then it -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>218]</a></span> -will get well!” Still crying “Oh! Ah!” he splashed -the leg with the medicine-water and rubbed it. -“Didn’t I tell you?” said he, “it is all right now.” -And then away he went and ran like lightning -round and round on the plain below, and rushed -back again. “Didn’t I tell you so?” said he.</p> - -<p>“Fury! what a runner it makes out of you,” said -the old Demon, and his eyes stuck out more than -ever. “Let me try it now.”</p> - -<p>“Hold on, hold on,” said the Coyote; “I have -not half finished yet.”</p> - -<p>So he repeated the experiment with his other -leg, and made great ado, as if it hurt him more -than ever. But, pretending to cure himself with -the medicine-water, he ran round and round on the -plain below so fast that he fairly left a streak of -dust behind him.</p> - -<p>“Why, indeed, you are one of the fastest runners -I ever saw!” said the Demon, rubbing his eyes.</p> - -<p>Then the Coyote repeated the experiment first -with his left paw and then with his right; and the -last time he ran more swiftly than before.</p> - -<p>“Why, do you mean to say that if I do that I -can run as fast as you do?” said the Demon.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” replied the Coyote. “But it will -hurt you.”</p> - -<p>“Ho! who cares for a little hurt?” said the -Demon.</p> - -<p>“Oh! but it hurts terribly,” said the Coyote, -“and I am afraid you won’t have the pluck to go -through with it.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I am a baby?” said the old -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>219]</a></span> -Demon, getting up,—“or a woman, that I should be -afraid to pound my legs and arms?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I only thought I’d tell you how much -it hurts,” said the Coyote; “but if you want to try -it yourself, why, go ahead. There’s one thing certain: -when you make yourself as swift as I am, -there’s no deer in all the country that can get -away from us two.”</p> - -<p>“What shall I do?” said the Demon.</p> - -<p>“You just sit right down there, and I’ll show -you how,” said the Coyote. So the Demon sat -down by the rock.</p> - -<p>“There, now, you just lay your leg right over -that stone and take the other rock and strike your -leg just as hard as you can; and as soon as you -have done, bathe it in the medicine-water. Then -do just the same way to the other.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said the Demon. So he laid his leg -over the rock, and picking up the other stone, -brought it down with might and main across his -thigh—so hard, indeed, that he crushed the bone -into splinters.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my! Oh, my! what shall I do?” shouted -the Demon.</p> - -<p>“Be patient, be patient; it will get well,” said -the Coyote, and he splashed it with the medicine-fluid.</p> - -<p>Then, picking up the stone again, the Demon hit -the other thigh even harder, from pain.</p> - -<p>“It will get well, my friend; it will get well,” -shouted the Coyote; and he splashed more of the -medicine-water on the two wounded legs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>220]</a></span> -Then the Demon picked up the stone once more, -and, laying his left arm across the other stone, -pounded that also until it was broken.</p> - -<p>“Hold on; let me bathe it for you,” said the -Coyote. “Does it hurt? Oh, well, it will get -well. Just wait until you have doctored the other -arm, and then in a few minutes you will be all -right.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” groaned the Demon. -“How in the world can I doctor the other arm, for -my left arm is broken?”</p> - -<p>“Lay it across the rock, my friend,” said the -Coyote, “and I’ll doctor it for you.”</p> - -<p>So the Demon did as he was bidden, and the -Coyote brought the stone down with might and -main against his arm. “Have patience, my friend, -have patience,” said he, as he bathed the injured -limb with more of the medicine-water. But the -Demon only groaned and howled, and rolled over -and over in the dust with pain.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” laughed the Coyote, as he keeled a -somersault over the rocks and ran off over the -plain. “How do you feel now, old man?”</p> - -<p>“But it hurts! It hurts!” cried the Demon. -“I shall never get well; it will kill me!”</p> - -<p>“Of course it will,” laughed the Coyote. “That’s -just what I wanted it to do, you old fool!”</p> - -<p>So the old Demon lay down and died from sheer -pain.</p> - -<p>Then the Coyote took the Demon’s knife from -him, and, cutting open his breast, tore out his -heart, wind-pipe, and all. Then, stealing the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>221]</a></span> -war-badge that the Demon had worn, he cut away as fast -as ever he could for the home of the Prey-gods. -Before noon he neared their house, and, just as he -ran up into the plaza in front of it, the youngest -sister of the Prey-gods came out to hang up some -meat to dry. Now, her brothers had all gone hunting; -not one of them was at home.</p> - -<p>“I say, wife,” said the Coyote. “Wife! Wife!”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” said the girl. “Impertinent scoundrel! -I wonder where he is and who he is that -has the impudence to call me his wife, when he -knows that I have never been married!”</p> - -<p>“Wife! Wife!” shouted the Coyote again.</p> - -<p>“Away with you, you shameless rascal!” cried -the girl, in indignation. Then she looked around -and spied the Coyote sitting there on the ash-heap, -with his nose in the air, as though he were the -biggest fellow in the world.</p> - -<p>“Clear out, you wretch!” cried the girl.</p> - -<p>“Softly, softly,” replied the Coyote. “Do you -remember what your brothers said last night?”</p> - -<p>“What was that?” said the girl.</p> - -<p>“Why, whoever would kill the speckled Demon, -they declared, should have you for his wife.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what of that?” said the girl.</p> - -<p>“Oh, nothing,” replied the Coyote, “only I’ve -killed him!” And, holding up the Demon’s heart -and war-badge, he stuck his nose in the air again.</p> - -<p>So the poor girl said not a word, but sat there -until the Coyote called out: “I say, wife, come -down and take me up; I can’t climb the ladders.”</p> - -<p>So the poor girl went down the ladder, took her -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>222]</a></span> -foul-smelling husband in her arms, and climbed up -with him.</p> - -<p>“Now, take me in with you,” said the Coyote. -So she did as she was bidden. Then she was -about to mix some dough, but the Coyote kept -getting in her way.</p> - -<p>“Get out of the way a minute, won’t you?” said -the girl, “until I cook something for you.”</p> - -<p>“I want you to come and sit down with me,” -said the Coyote, “and let me kiss you, for you -know you are my wife, now.” So the poor girl had -to submit to the ill-smelling creature’s embraces.</p> - -<p>Presently along came her brother, the Gray -Wolf, but he was a very good-natured sort of fellow; -so he received the Coyote pleasantly. Then along -came the Bear, with a big antelope over his shoulder; -but he didn’t say anything, for he was a lazy, good-natured -fellow. Then presently the other brothers -came in, one by one; but the Mountain Lion was -so late in returning that they began to look anxiously -out for him. When they saw him coming -from the north with more meat and more game -than all the others together had brought, he was -evidently not in good humor, for as he approached -the house he exclaimed, with a howl: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i>”</p> - -<p>“There he goes again,” said the brothers and -sisters, all in a chorus. “Always out of temper with -something.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i>” exclaimed the Mountain Lion -again, louder than before. And, as he mounted -the ladder, he exclaimed for a third time: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i>” -and, throwing his meat down, entered swearing -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>223]</a></span> -and growling until his brothers were ashamed of -him, and told him he had better behave himself.</p> - -<p>“Come and eat,” said the sister, as she brought -a bowl of meat and put it on the floor.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i>” again exclaimed the Mountain -Lion, as he came nearer and sat down to eat. -“What in the world is the matter with you, sister? -You smell just like a Coyote. <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i>”</p> - -<p>“Have you no more decency than to come home -and scold your sister in that way?” exclaimed the -Wolf. “I’m disgusted with you.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i>” reiterated the Mountain Lion.</p> - -<p>Now, when the Coyote had heard the Mountain -Lion coming, he had sneaked off into a corner; -but he stuck his sharp nose out, and the Mountain -Lion espied it. “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i>” said he. “Sling -that bad-smelling beast out of the house! Kick -him out!” cried the old man, with a growl. So -the sister, fearing that her brother would eat her -husband up, took the Coyote in her arms and carried -him into another room.</p> - -<p>“Now, stay there and keep still, for brother is -very cross; but then he is always cross if things -don’t go right,” she said.</p> - -<p>So when evening came her brothers began to -discuss where they would go hunting the next -day; and the Coyote, who was listening at the -door, heard them. So he called out: “Wife! -Wife!”</p> - -<p>“<i>Shom-me!</i>” remarked old Long Tail. “Shut -up, you dirty whelp.” And as the sister arose to -go to see what her husband wanted, the Mountain -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>224]</a></span> -Lion remarked: “You had better sling that foul-smelling -cub of yours over the roof.”</p> - -<p>No sooner had the girl entered than the Coyote -began to brag what a runner he was, and to cut -around at a great rate.</p> - -<p>“<i>Shom-me!</i>” exclaimed the Mountain Lion again. -“A Coyote always will make a Coyote of himself, -foul-smelling wretch! <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i>”</p> - -<p>“Shut up, and behave yourself!” cried the Wolf. -“Don’t you know any better than to talk about your -brother-in-law in that way?” But neither the Coyote -nor the girl could sleep that night for the growlings -and roarings of their big brother, the Long Tail.</p> - -<p>When the brothers began to prepare for the -hunt the next morning, out came the Coyote all -ready to accompany them. “You, you?” said the -Mountain Lion. “You going to hunt with us? -You conceited sneak!”</p> - -<p>“Let him go if he wants to,” said the Wolf.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hu-hu-ya!</i> Fine company!” remarked the -Mountain Lion. “If you fellows want to walk -with him, you may. There’s one thing certain, -I’ll not be seen in his company,” and away strode -the old fellow, lashing his tail and growling as he -went. So the Coyote, taking a luncheon of dried -meat that his wife put up for him, sneaked along -behind with his tail dragging in the dust. Finally -they all reached the mountain where they intended -to hunt, and soon the Mountain Lion and the Bear -started out to drive in a herd of antelope that -they had scented in the distance. Presently along -rushed the leaders of the herd.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>225]</a></span> -“Now, then, I’ll show your cross old brother -whether I can hunt or not,” cried the Coyote, and -away he rushed right into the herd of antelope and -deer before anyone could restrain him. Of course -he made a Coyote of himself, and away went the -deer in all directions. Nevertheless, the brothers, -who were great hunters, succeeded in catching a -few of them; and, just as they sat down to lunch, -the Mountain Lion returned with a big elk on his -shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Where is our sweet-scented brother-in-law?” he -asked.</p> - -<p>“Nobody knows,” replied they. “He rushed off -after the deer and antelope, and that was the last -of him.”</p> - -<p>“Of course the beast will make a Coyote of -himself. But he can go till he can go no longer, -for all I care,” added the Mountain Lion, as he sat -down to eat.</p> - -<p>Presently along came the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Where’s your game, my fine hunter?” asked -the Mountain Lion.</p> - -<p>“They all got away from me,” whined the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Of course they did, you fool!” sneered the -Mountain Lion. “The best thing that you can do -is to go home and see your wife. Here, take this -meat to sister,” said he, slinging him a haunch of -venison.</p> - -<p>“Where’s the road?” asked the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the Wolf, “follow that path right -over there until you come to where it forks; then -be sure to take the right-hand trail, for if you -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>226]</a></span> -follow the left-hand trail it will lead you away from -home and into trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Which trail did you say?” cried the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“<i>Shom-me!</i>” again exclaimed the Mountain Lion.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” hastily added the Coyote; “the -right-hand trail. No, the left-hand trail.”</p> - -<p>“Just what you might expect,” growled the -Mountain Lion. “Already the fool has forgotten -what you told him. Well, as for me, he can go on -the left-hand trail if he wants to, and the farther he -goes the better.”</p> - -<p>“Now, be sure and take the right-hand trail,” -called the Wolf, as the Coyote started.</p> - -<p>“I know, I know,” cried the Coyote; and away -he went with his heavy haunch of venison slung -over his shoulder. After a while he came to the -fork in the trail. “Let me see,” said he, “it’s the -left-hand trail, it seems to me. No, the right-hand -trail. Well, I declare, I’ve forgotten! Perhaps it -is the right-hand trail, and maybe it is the left-hand -trail. Yes, it is the left-hand trail. Now -I’m certain.” And, picking up his haunch of venison, -away he trotted along the left-hand trail. -Presently he came to a steep cliff and began to -climb it. But he had no sooner reached the middle -than a lot of Chimney-swallows began to fly around -his head and pick at his eyes, and slap him on the -nose with their wings.</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear! oh, dear!” exclaimed the Coyote. -“Aye! aye!” and he bobbed his head from side to -side to dodge the Swallows, until he missed his -footing, and down he tumbled, heels over head,—meat, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>227]</a></span> -Coyote, and all,—until he struck a great pile -of rocks below, and was dashed to pieces.</p> - -<p>That was the end of the Coyote; but not of my -story.</p> - -<p>Now, the brothers went on hunting again. Then, -one by one, they returned home. As before, the -Mountain Lion came in last of all. He smelt all -about the room. “Whew!” exclaimed he. “It still -smells here as if twenty Coyotes had been around. -But it seems to me that our fine brother-in-law isn’t -anywhere about.”</p> - -<p>“No,” responded the rest, with troubled looks on -their faces. “Nobody has seen anything of him -yet.”</p> - -<p>“<i>Shom—m-m!</i>” remarked the Mountain Lion -again. “Didn’t I tell you, brothers, that he was a -fool and would forget your directions? I say -I told you that before he started. Well, for my -part, I hope the beast has gone so far that he -will never return,” and with that he ate his supper.</p> - -<p>When supper was over, the sister said: “Come, -brothers, let’s go and hunt for my husband.”</p> - -<p>At first the Mountain Lion growled and swore a -great deal; but at last he consented to go. When -they came to where the trails forked, there were the -tracks of the Coyote on the left-hand trail.</p> - -<p>“The idiot!” exclaimed the Mountain Lion. “I -hope he has fallen off the cliff and broken every -bone in his body!”</p> - -<p>When at last the party reached the mountain, -sure enough, there lay the body of the Coyote, -with not a whole bone in him except his head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>228]</a></span> -“Good enough for you,” growled the Mountain -Lion, as he picked up a great stone and, <i>tu-um!</i> -threw it down with all his strength upon the head -of the Coyote.</p> - -<p>That’s what happened a great while ago. And -for that reason whenever a Coyote sees a bait of -meat inside of a stone deadfall he is sure to stick -his nose in and get his head mashed for his pains.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="imgbreak"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"> -<a name="plate08" id="plate08"></a> -<img src="images/zft16.jpg" width="700" height="411" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">A DANCE OF THE KÂKÂ</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>229]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap13" id="chap13"></a>HOW THE COYOTES TRIED TO STEAL -THE CHILDREN OF THE -SACRED DANCE</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the times of the ancients, when our people -lived in various places about the valley of Zuñi -where ruins now stand, it is said that an old Coyote -lived in Cedar Cañon with his family, which included -a fine litter of pups. It is also said that at this time -there lived on the crest of Thunder Mountain, back -of the broad rock column or pinnacle which guards -its western portion, one of the gods of the Sacred -Drama Dance (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i>)<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>, named K’yámakwe, with his -children, many in number and altogether like himself.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_13_13">[13]</a></span> -The <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i>, or Sacred Drama Dance, is represented by a great variety -of masks and costumes worn by Zuñi dancers during the performance of -this remarkable dramatic ceremony. Undoubtedly many of the traditional -characters of the Sacred Drama thus represented are conventionalizations -of the mythic conceptions or personifications of animal attributes. Therefore -many of these characters partake at once of the characteristics, in appearance -as well as in other ways, of animals and men. The example in -point is a good illustration of this. The K’yámakwe are supposed to have -been a most wonderful and powerful tribe of demi-gods, inhabiting a great -valley and range of mesas some forty miles south of Zuñi. Their powers -over the atmospheric phenomena of nature and over all the herbivorous animals -are supposed to have been absolute. Their attitude toward man was -at times inimical, at times friendly or beneficent. Such a relationship, controlled -simply by either laudatory or propitiatory worship, was supposed to -hold spiritually, still, between these and other beings represented in the -Sacred Drama and men. It is believed that through the power of breath -communicated by these ancient gods to men, from one man to another man, -and thus from generation to generation, an actual connection has been kept -up between initiated members of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i> drama and these original demi-god -characters which it represents; so that when a member is properly -dressed in the costume of any one of these characters, a ceremony (the -description of which is too long for insertion here) accompanying the putting -on of the mask is supposed not only to place him <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en rapport</i> spiritually with -the character he represents, but even to possess him with the spirit of that -character or demi-god. He is, therefore, so long as he remains disguised as -one of these demi-gods, treated as if he were actually that being which he -personates. One of the K’yámakwe is represented by means of a mask, -round and smooth-headed, with little black eyes turned up at the corners so -as to represent a segment of a diminishing spiral; the color of the face is -green, and it is separated from the rest of the head by a line composed of -alternate blocks of black and yellow; the crown and back of the head are -snow-white; and the ears are pendent and conical in shape, being composed -of husks or other paper-like material; the mouth is round, and furnished -with a four-pointed beak of husks, which extends two or three inches outward -and spreads at the end like the petals of a half-closed lily; round the -neck is a collar of fox fur, and covering the body are flowing robes of sacred -embroidered mantles, which (notwithstanding the gay ornaments and other -appurtenances of the costume) have, in connection with the expression of the -mask, a spectral effect; the feet are encased in brilliantly painted moccasins, -of archaic form, and the wrists laden with shell bracelets and bow-guards. -When the long file of these strange figures making up the -K’yámakwe Drama Dance comes in from the southward to the dance -plazas of the pueblo, each member of it bears on his back freshly slain deer, -antelope, rabbits, and other game animals or portions of them in abundance, -made up in packages, highly decorated with tufts of evergreen, and painted -toys for presentation to the children. In one hand are carried bows and -arrows, and in the other a peculiar rattle or clanger made of the shoulder-blades -of deer. The wonder expressed by the coyote as the story goes on, -and his excessive admiration of the children of the K’yámakwe may therefore -be understood. <a href="#FNanchor_13_13">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>230]</a></span> -One day the old Coyote of Cedar Cañon went -out hunting, and as he was prowling around among -the sage-bushes below Thunder Mountain, he heard -the clang and rattle and the shrill cries of the -K’yámakwe. He pricked up his ears, stuck his -nose into the air, sniffed about and looked all -around, and presently discovered the K’yámakwe -children running rapidly back and forth on the very -edge of the mountain.</p> - -<p>“Delight of my senses, what pretty creatures -they are! Good for me!” he piped, in a jovial -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>231]</a></span> -voice. “I am the finder of children. I must capture -the little fellows tomorrow, and bring them up -as Coyotes ought to be brought up. Aren’t they -handsome, though?”</p> - -<p>All this he said to himself, in a fit of conceit, -with his nose in the air (presumptuous cur!), planning -to steal the children of a god! He hunted no -more that day, but ran home as fast as he could, -and, arriving there, he said: “Wife! Wife! O wife! -I have discovered a number of the prettiest waifs -one ever saw. They are children of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i>, but -what matters that? They are there, running back -and forth and clanging their rattles along the very -edge of Thunder Mountain. I mean to steal them -tomorrow, every one of them, and bring them -here!”</p> - -<p>“Mercy on us!” exclaimed the old Coyote’s -wife. “There are children enough and to spare -already. What in the world can we do with all of -them, you fool?”</p> - -<p>“But they are pretty,” said the Coyote. “Immensely -fine! Every Coyote in the country would -envy us the possession of them!”</p> - -<p>“But you say they are many,” continued the -wife.</p> - -<p>“Well, yes, a good many,” said the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Well, why not divide them among our associated -clans?” suggested the old woman. “You -never can capture them alone; it is rare enough -that you capture <em>anything</em> alone, leave out the children -of the K’yámakwe. Get your relatives to help -you, and divide the children amongst them.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>232]</a></span> -“Well, now, come to think of it, it is a good -plan,” said the Coyote, with his nose on his neck. -“If I get up this expedition I’ll be a big chief, -won’t I? Hurrah! Here’s for it!” he shouted; -and, switching his tail in the face of his wife, he -shot out of the hole and ran away to a high rock, -where, squatting down with a most important air -and his nose lifted high, he cried out:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Au hii lâ-â-â-â!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Su Homaya-kwe!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Su Kemaya-kwe!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Su Ayalla-kwe!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Su Kutsuku-kwe!</i><br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">[Listen ye all!<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Coyotes of the Cedar-cañon tribe!<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Coyotes of the Sunflower-stalk-plain tribe!<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Coyotes of the Lifted-stone-mountain tribe!<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Coyotes of the Place-of-rock-gullies tribe!]<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>I have instructions for you this day. I have -found waif children many—of the K’yámakwe, the -young. I would steal the waif-children many, of -the K’yámakwe, the young. I would steal them -tomorrow, that they may be adopted of us. I -would have your aid in the stealing of the K’yámakwe -young. Listen ye all, and tomorrow gather -in council. Thus much I instruct ye:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Coyotes of the Cedar-cañon tribe!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Coyotes of the Sunflower-stalk-plain tribe!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Coyotes of the Lifted-stone-mountain tribe!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Coyotes of the Place-of-rock-gullies tribe!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It was growing dark, and immediately from all -quarters, in dark places under the cañons and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>233]</a></span> -arroyos, issued answering howls and howls. You -should have seen that crowd of Coyotes the next -morning, large and small, old and young,—all four -tribes gathered together in the plain below Thunder -Mountain!</p> - -<p>When they had all assembled, the Coyote who -had made the discovery mounted an ant-hill, sat -down, and, lifting his paw, was about to give directions -with the air of a chief when an ant bit him. -He lost his dignity, but resumed it again on the -top of a neighboring rock. Again he stuck his -nose into the air and his paw out, and with ridiculous -assumption informed the Coyotes that he was -chief of them all and that they would do well to pay -attention to his directions. He then showed himself -much more skilful than you might have -expected. As you know, the cliff of Thunder -Mountain is very steep, especially that part back of -the two standing rocks. Well, this was the direction -of the Coyote:</p> - -<p>“One of you shall place himself at the base of -the mountain; another shall climb over him, and -the first one shall grasp his tail; and another over -them, and his tail shall be grasped by the second, -and so on until the top is reached. Hang tight, -my friends, every one of you, and every one fall in -line. Eructate thoroughly before you do so. If -you do not, we may be in a pretty mess; for, supposing -that any one along the line should hiccough, -he would lose his hold, and down we would all fall!”</p> - -<p>So the Coyotes all at once began to curve their -necks and swell themselves up and strain and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>234]</a></span> -wriggle and belch wind as much as possible. Then -all fell into a line and grabbed each other’s tails, -and thus they extended themselves in a long string -up the very face of Thunder Mountain. A ridiculous -little pup was at one end and a good, strong, -grizzled old fellow—no other than the chief of the -party—at the other.</p> - -<p>“Souls of my ancestors! Hang tight, my friends! -Hang tight! Hang tight!” said he, when, suddenly, -one near the top, in the agitation of the -moment, began to sneeze, lost his hold, and down -the whole string, hundreds of them, fell, and were -completely flattened out among the rocks.</p> - -<p>The warrior of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i>—he of the Long Horn, -with frightful, staring eyes, and visage blue with -rage,—bow and war-club in hand, was hastening -from the sacred lake in the west to rescue the children -of the K’yámakwe. When he arrived they -had been rescued already, so, after storming around -a little and mauling such of the Coyotes as were -not quite dead, he set to skin them all.</p> - -<p>And ever since then you will observe that the -dancers of the Long Horn have blue faces, and whenever -they arrive in our pueblo wear collars of coyote-skin -about their necks. That is the way they -got them. Before that they had no collars. It is -presumable that that is the reason why they bellow -so and have such hoarse voices, having previously -taken cold, every one of them, for the want of fur -collars.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>235]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap14" id="chap14"></a>THE COYOTE AND THE BEETLE</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N remote times, after our ancients were settled at -Middle Ant Hill, a little thing occurred which -will explain a great deal.</p> - -<p>My children, you have doubtless seen Tip-beetles. -They run around on smooth, hard patches of -ground in spring time and early summer, kicking -their heels into the air and thrusting their heads -into any crack or hole they find.</p> - -<p>Well, in ancient times, on the pathway leading -around to Fat Mountain, there was one of these -Beetles running about in all directions in the sunshine, -when a Coyote came trotting along. He -pricked up his ears, lowered his nose, arched his -neck, and stuck out his paw toward the Beetle. -“Ha!” said he, “I shall bite you!”</p> - -<p>The Beetle immediately stuck his head down -close to the ground, and, lifting one of his antennæ -deprecatingly, exclaimed: “Hold on! Hold on, -friend! Wait a bit, for the love of mercy! I hear -something very strange down below here!”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” replied the Coyote. “What do you -hear?”</p> - -<p>“Hush! hush!” cried the Beetle, with his head -still to the ground. “Listen!”</p> - -<p>So the Coyote drew back and listened most attentively. -By-and-by the Beetle lifted himself -with a long sigh of relief.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>236]</a></span> -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Okwe!</i>” exclaimed the Coyote. “What was -going on?”</p> - -<p>“The Good Soul save us!” exclaimed the Beetle, -with a shake of his head. “I heard them saying -down there that tomorrow they would chase away -and thoroughly chastise everybody who defiled the -public trails of this country, and they are making -ready as fast as they can!”</p> - -<p>“Souls of my ancestors!” cried the Coyote. “I -have been loitering along this trail this very morning, -and have defiled it repeatedly. I’ll cut!” And -away he ran as fast as he could go.</p> - -<p>The Beetle, in pure exuberance of spirits, turned -somersaults and stuck his head in the sand until it -was quite turned.</p> - -<p>Thus did the Beetle in the days of the ancients -save himself from being bitten. Consequently the -Tip-beetle has that strange habit of kicking his -heels into the air and sticking his head in the sand.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>237]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap15" id="chap15"></a>HOW THE COYOTE DANCED WITH -THE BLACKBIRDS</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>NE late autumn day in the times of the ancients, -a large council of Blackbirds were -gathered, fluttering and chattering, on the smooth, -rocky slopes of Gorge Mountain, northwest of -Zuñi. Like ourselves, these birds, as you are well -aware, congregate together in autumn time, when -the harvests are ripe, to indulge in their festivities -before going into winter quarters; only we do not -move away, while they, on strong wings and swift, retreat -for a time to the Land of Everlasting Summer.</p> - -<p>Well, on this particular morning they were -making a great noise and having a grand dance, -and this was the way of it: They would gather in -one vast flock, somewhat orderly in its disposition, -on the sloping face of Gorge Mountain,—the older -birds in front, the younger ones behind,-and down -the slope, chirping and fluttering, they would hop, -hop, hop, singing:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ketchu, Ketchu, oñtilã, oñtilã,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ketchu, Ketchu, oñtilã, oñtilã!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Âshokta a yá-à-laa Ke-e-tchu,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i6"><i>Oñtilã,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i6"><i>Oñtilã!</i>”—<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">Blackbirds, Blackbirds, dance away, O, dance away, O!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Blackbirds, Blackbirds, dance away, O, dance away, O!<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Down the Mountain of the Gorges, Blackbirds,<br /></div> -<div class="i11">Dance away, O!<br /></div> -<div class="i11">Dance away, O!—<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>238]</a></span> -and, spreading their wings, with many a flutter, -flurry, and scurry, <i>keh keh,—keh keh,—keh keh,—keh -keh</i>,—they would fly away into the air, swirling -off in a dense, black flock, circling far upward and -onward; then, wheeling about and darting down, -they would dip themselves in the broad spring -which flows out at the foot of the mountain, and return -to their dancing place on the rocky slopes.</p> - -<p>A Coyote was out hunting (as if he could catch -anything, the beast!) and saw them, and was enraptured.</p> - -<p>“You beautiful creatures!” he exclaimed. “You -graceful dancers! Delight of my senses! How -do you do that, anyway? Couldn’t I join in your -dance—the first part of it, at least?”</p> - -<p>“Why, certainly; yes,” said the Blackbirds. -“We are quite willing,” the masters of the ceremony -said.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the Coyote, “I can get on the -slope of the rocks and I can sing the song with -you; but I suppose that when you leap off into the -air I shall have to sit there patting the rock with -my paw and my tail and singing while you have -the fun of it.”</p> - -<p>“It may be,” said an old Blackbird, “that we -can fit you out so that you can fly with us.”</p> - -<p>“Is it possible!” cried the Coyote, “Then by -all means do so. By the Blessed Immortals! -Now, if I am only able to circle off into the air -like you fellows, I’ll be the biggest Coyote in the -world!”</p> - -<p>“I think it will be easy,” resumed the old Blackbird. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>239]</a></span> -“My children,” said he, “you are many, and -many are your wing-feathers. Contribute each one -of you a feather to our friend.” Thereupon the -Blackbirds, each one of them, plucked a feather -from his wing. Unfortunately they all plucked -feathers from the wings on the same side.</p> - -<p>“Are you sure, my friend,” continued the old -Blackbird, “that you are willing to go through the -operation of having these feathers planted in your -skin? If so, I think we can fit you out.”</p> - -<p>“Willing?—why, of course I am willing.” And -the Coyote held up one of his arms, and, sitting -down, steadied himself with his tail. Then the -Blackbirds thrust in the feathers all along the rear -of his forelegs and down the sides of his back, -where wings ought to be. It hurt, and the Coyote -twitched his mustache considerably; but he said -nothing. When it was done, he asked: “Am I -ready now?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Blackbirds; “we think you’ll do.”</p> - -<p>So they formed themselves again on the upper -part of the slope, sang their songs, and hopped -along down with many a flutter, flurry, and scurry,—<i>Keh -keh, keh keh, keh keh</i>,—and away they flew -off into the air.</p> - -<p>The Coyote, somewhat startled, got out of time, -but followed bravely, making heavy flops; but, as -I have said before, the wings he was supplied with -were composed of feathers all plucked from one -side, and therefore he flew slanting and spirally -and brought up with a whack, which nearly knocked -the breath out of him, against the side of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>240]</a></span> -mountain. He picked himself up, and shook himself, -and cried out: “Hold! Hold! Hold on, hold -on, there!” to the fast-disappearing Blackbirds. -“You’ve left me behind!”</p> - -<p>When the birds returned they explained: “Your -wings are not quite thick enough, friend; and, besides, -even a young Blackbird, when he is first -learning to fly, does just this sort of thing that you -have been doing—makes bad work of it.”</p> - -<p>“Sit down again,” said the old Blackbird. And -he called out to the rest: “Get feathers from your -other sides also, and be careful to select a few -strong feathers from the tips of the wings, for by -means of these we cleave the air, guide our movements, -and sustain our flight.”</p> - -<p>So the Blackbirds all did as they were bidden, -and after the new feathers were planted, each one -plucked out a tail-feather, and the most skilful of -the Blackbirds inserted these feathers into the tip -of the Coyote’s tail. It made him wince and “yip” -occasionally; but he stood it bravely and reared -his head proudly, thinking all the while: “What a -splendid Coyote I shall be! Did ever anyone -hear of a Coyote flying?”</p> - -<p>The procession formed again. Down the slope -they went, hopity-hop, hopity-hop, singing their -song, and away they flew into the air, the Coyote -in their midst. Far off and high they circled and -circled, the Coyote cutting more eager pranks than -any of the rest. Finally they returned, dipped -themselves again into the spring, and settled on the -slopes of the rocks.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>241]</a></span> -“There, now,” cried out the Coyote, with a flutter -of his feathery tail, “I can fly as well as the rest of -you.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, you do well!” exclaimed the Blackbirds. -“Shall we try it again?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes! Oh, yes! I’m a little winded,” cried -the Coyote, “but this is the best fun I ever had.”</p> - -<p>The Blackbirds, however, were not satisfied with -their companion. They found him less sedate than -a dancer ought to be, and, moreover, his irregular -cuttings-up in the air were not to their taste. So -the old ones whispered to one another: “This fellow -is a fool, and we must pluck him when he gets -into the air. We’ll fly so far this time that he will -get a little tired out and cry to us for assistance.”</p> - -<p>The procession formed, and hopity-hop, hopity-hop, -down the mountain slope they went, and with -many a flutter and flurry flew off into the air. The -Coyote, unable to restrain himself, even took the -lead. On and on and on they flew, the Blackbirds -and the Coyote, and up and up and up, and they -circled round and round, until the Coyote found -himself missing a wing stroke occasionally and falling -out of line; and he cried out: “Help! help, -friends, help!”</p> - -<p>“All right!” cried the Blackbirds. “Catch hold -of his wings; hold him up!” cried the old ones. -And the Blackbirds flew at him; and every time -they caught hold of him (the old fool all the time -thinking they were helping) they plucked out a -feather, until at last the feathers had become so -thin that he began to fall, and he fell and fell and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>242]</a></span> -fell,—flop, flop, flop, he went through the air,—the -few feathers left in his forelegs and sides and the -tip of his tail just saving him from being utterly -crushed as he fell with a thud to the ground. He -lost his senses completely, and lay there as if dead -for a long time. When he awoke, he shook his -head sadly, and, with a crestfallen countenance and -tail dragging between his legs, betook himself to -his home over the mountains.</p> - -<p>The agony of that fall had been so great and the -heat of his exertions so excessive, that the feathers -left in his forelegs and tail-tip were all shrivelled up -into little ugly black fringes of hair. His descendants -were many.</p> - -<p>Therefore you will often meet coyotes to this -day who have little black fringes along the rear of -their forelegs, and the tips of their tails are often -black. Thus it was in the days of the ancients.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>243]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap16" id="chap16"></a>HOW THE TURTLE OUT HUNTING -DUPED THE COYOTE</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the times of the ancients, long, long ago, near -the Highflowing River on the Zuñi Mountains, -there lived an old Turtle. He went out hunting, -one day, and by means of his ingenuity killed a -large, fine deer. When he had thrown the deer to -the ground, he had no means of skinning it. He -sat down and reflected, scratching the lid of his eye -with the nail of his hind foot. He concluded he -would have to go hunting for a flint-knife; therefore -he set forth. He came after a while to a place -where old buildings had stood. Then he began to -hum an old magic song, such as, it is said, the -ancients sung when they hunted for the flint of -which to make knives. He sang in this way:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Apatsinan tse wash,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Apatsinan tse wash,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Tsepa! Tsepa!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>which may be translated, not perhaps correctly, -but well enough:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">Fire-striking flint-stone, oh, make yourself known!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Fire-striking flint-stone, oh, make yourself known!<br /></div> -<div class="i8">Magically! Magically!<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>As he was thus crawling about and singing, a -Coyote running through the woods overheard him. -He exclaimed: “Uh! I wonder who is singing -and what he is saying. Ah, he is hunting for a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>244]</a></span> -flint-knife, is he?—evidently somebody who has -killed a deer!” He turned back, and ran over to -where the old Turtle was. As he neared him, he -cried out: “Halloo, friend! Didn’t I hear you -singing?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” was the reply of the Turtle.</p> - -<p>“What were you singing?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing in particular.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you were, too. What were you saying?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing in particular, I tell you; at least, -nothing that concerns you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you were saying something, and this is -what you said.” And so the Coyote, who could -not sing the song, deliberately repeated the words -he had heard.</p> - -<p>“Well, suppose I did say so; what of that?” -said the Turtle.</p> - -<p>“Why, you were hunting for a flint-knife; that -is why you said what you did,” replied the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Well, what of that?”</p> - -<p>“What did you want the flint-knife for?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing in particular,” replied the Turtle.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you did; you wanted it for something. -What was it?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing in particular, I say,” replied the -Turtle. “At least, nothing that concerns you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you did want it for something,” said the -Coyote, “and I know what it was, too.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what?” asked the Turtle, who was waxing -rather angry.</p> - -<p>“You wanted it to skin a deer with; that’s -what you wanted it for. Where is the deer -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>245]</a></span> -now, come? You have killed a deer and I know -it. Tell, where is it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it lies over yonder,” replied the Turtle.</p> - -<p>“Where? Come, let us go; I’ll help you skin it.”</p> - -<p>“I can get along very well without you,” replied -the Turtle.</p> - -<p>“What if I do help you a little? I am very -hungry this morning, and would like to lap up the -blood.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, come along, torment!” replied the -Turtle. So, finding a knife, they proceeded to -where the deer was lying.</p> - -<p>“Let me hold him for you,” cried the Coyote. -Whereupon he jumped over the deer, spread out -its hind legs, and placed a paw on each of them, -holding the body open; and thus they began to -skin the deer. When they had finished this work, -the Coyote turned to the Turtle and asked: “How -much of him are you going to give me?”</p> - -<p>“The usual parts that fall to anyone who comes -along when the hunter is skinning a deer,” replied -the Turtle.</p> - -<p>“What parts?” eagerly asked the Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Stomach and liver,” replied the Turtle, briefly.</p> - -<p>“I won’t take that,” whined the Coyote. “I want -you to give me half of the deer.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll do no such thing,” replied the Turtle. “I -killed the deer; you only helped to skin him, and -you ought to be satisfied with my liberality in giving -you the stomach and liver alone. I’ll throw in -a little fat, to be sure, and some of the intestines; -but I’ll give you no more.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>246]</a></span> -“Yes, you will, too,” snarled the Coyote, showing -his teeth.</p> - -<p>“Oh, will I?” replied the Turtle, deliberately, -hauling in one or two of his flippers.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you will; or I’ll simply murder you, that’s -all.”</p> - -<p>The Turtle immediately pulled his feet, head, and -tail in, and cried: “I tell you, I’ll give you nothing -but the stomach and liver and some of the intestines -of this deer!”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, I will forthwith kill you!” snapped -the Coyote, and he made a grab for the Turtle. -<i>Kopo!</i> sounded his teeth as they struck on the -hard shell of the Turtle; and, bite as he would, -the Turtle simply slipped out of his mouth every -time he grabbed him. He rolled the Turtle over -and over to find a good place for biting, and held -him between his paws as if he were a bone, and -gnawed at him; but, do his best, <i>kopo, kopo!</i> his -teeth kept slipping off the Turtle’s hard shell. At -last he exclaimed, rather hotly: “There’s more -than one way of killing a beast like you!” So he -set the Turtle up on end, and, catching up a quantity -of sand, stuffed it into the hole where the -Turtle’s head had disappeared and tapped it well -down with a stick until he had completely filled the -crevice. “There, now,” he exclaimed, with a -snicker of delight. “I think I have fixed you now, -old Hardshell, and served you right, too, you old -stingy-box!”—whereupon he whisked away to the -meat.</p> - -<p>The Turtle considered it best to die, as it were; -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>247]</a></span> -but he listened intently to what was going on. The -Coyote cut up the deer and made a package of him -in his own skin. Then he washed the stomach in -a neighboring brook and filled it with choppings of -the liver and kidneys, and fat stripped from the intestines, -and clots of blood, dashing in a few sprigs -of herbs here and there. Then, according to the -custom of hunters in all times, he dug an oven in -the ground and buried the stomach, in order to -make a baked blood-pudding of it while he was -summoning his family and friends to help him take -the meat home.</p> - -<p>The Turtle clawed a little of the sand away from -his neck and peered out just a trifle. He heard -the Coyote grunting as he tried to lift the meat in -order to hang it on a branch of a neighboring pine -tree. He was just exclaiming: “What a lucky -fellow I am to come on that lame, helpless old -wretch and get all this meat from him without the -trouble of hunting for it, to be sure! Ah, my -dear children, my fine old wife, what a feast we -will have this day!”—for you know the Coyote -had a large family over the way,—he was just -exclaiming this, I say, when the Turtle cried out, -faintly: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Natipa!</i>”</p> - -<p>“You hard-coated old scoundrel! You ugly, -crooked-legged beast! You stingy-box!” snarled -the Coyote. “So you are alive, are you?” -Dropping the meat, he leaped back to where the -Turtle was lying, his head hauled in again, and, -jamming every crevice full of sand, made it hard -and firm. Then, hitting the Turtle a clip with the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>248]</a></span> -tip of his nose, he sent him rolling over and over -like a flat, round stone down the slope.</p> - -<p>“This is fine treatment to receive from the -hands of such a sneaking cur as that,” thought the -Turtle. “I think I will keep quiet this time and -let him do as he pleases. But through my ingenuity -I killed the deer, and it may be that through -ingenuity I can keep the deer.”</p> - -<p>So the Turtle kept perfectly dead, to all appearances, -and the Coyote, leaving the meat hanging -on a low branch of a tree and building a fire over -the oven he had excavated, whisked away with his -tail in the air to his house just the other side of the -mountain.</p> - -<p>When he arrived there he cried out: “Wife, -wife! Children, children! Come, quick! Great -news! Killed an enormous deer today. I have -made a blood-pudding in his stomach and buried -it. Let us go and have a feast; then you must -help me bring the meat home.”</p> - -<p>Those Coyotes were perfectly wild. The cubs, -half-grown, with their tails more like sticks than -brushes, trembled from the ends of their toe-nails -to the tips of their stick-like tails; and they all -set off—the old ones ahead, the young ones following -single file—as fast as they could toward the -place where the blood-pudding was buried.</p> - -<p>Now, as soon as the old Turtle was satisfied that -the Coyote had left, he dug the sand out of his -collar with his tough claws, and, proceeding to the -place where the meat hung, first hauled it up, piece -by piece, to the very top of the tree; for Turtles -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>249]</a></span> -have claws, you know, and can climb, especially if -the trunk of the tree leans over, as that one did. -Having hauled the meat to the very topmost -branches of the tree, and tied it there securely, he -descended and went over to where the blood-pudding -was buried. He raked the embers away from -it and pulled it out; then he dragged it off to a -neighboring ant-hill where the red fire-ants were -congregated in great numbers. Immediately they -began to rush out, smelling the cooked meat, and -the Turtle, untying the end of the stomach, chucked -as many of the ants as he could into it. Then he -dragged the pudding back to the fire and replaced -it in the oven, taking care that the coals should not -get near it.</p> - -<p>He had barely climbed the tree again and nestled -himself on his bundle of meat, when along came -those eager Coyotes. Everything stuck up all -over them with anxiety for the feast—their hair, -the tips of their ears, and the points of their tails; -and as they neared the place and smelt the blood -and the cooked meat, they began to sing and dance -as they came along, and this was what they sang:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Na-ti tsa, na-ti tsa!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i1"><i>Tui-ya si-si na-ti tsa!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i1"><i>Tui-ya si-si na-ti tsa!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Tui-ya si-si! Tui-ya si-si!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>We will have to translate this—which is so old -that who can remember exactly what it means?—thus:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">Meat of the deer, meat of the deer!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Luscious fruit-like meat of the deer!<br /></div> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>250]</a></span> -<div class="i0">Luscious fruit-like meat of the deer!<br /></div> -<div class="i1">Luscious fruit-like! Luscious fruit-like!<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>No sooner had they neared the spot where they -smelt the meat than, without looking around at all, -they made a bound for it. But the old Coyote -grabbed the hindmost of the young ones by the ear -until he yelped, shook him, and called out to all the -rest: “Look you here! Eat in a decent manner -or you will burn your chops off! I stuffed the pudding -full of grease, and the moment you puncture -it, the grease, being hot, will fly out and burn you. -Be careful and dignified, children. There is plenty -of time, and you shall be satisfied. Don’t gorge -at the first helping!”</p> - -<p>But the moment the little Coyotes were freed, -they made a grand bounce for the tempting stomach, -tearing it open, and grabbing huge mouthfuls. It -may be surmised that the fire-ants were not comfortable. -They ran all over the lips and cheeks of -the voracious little gormands and bit them until they -cried out, shaking their heads and rubbing them in -the sand: “<i>Atu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu!</i>”</p> - -<p>“There, now, didn’t I tell you, little fools, to be -careful? It was the grease that burnt you. Now -I hope you know enough to eat a little more moderately. -There’s plenty of time to satisfy yourselves, -I say,” cried the old Coyote, sitting down on -his haunches.</p> - -<p>Then the little cubs and the old woman attacked -the delicacy again. “<i>Atu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu!</i>” they -exclaimed, shaking their heads and flapping -their ears; and presently they all went away -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>251]</a></span> -and sat down, observing this wonderful hot -pudding.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_14_14">[14]</a></span> -It may be well to explain here that there is no more intensely painful or -fiery bite known than the bite of the fire-ant or red ant of the Southwest -and the tropics, named, in Zuñi, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">halo</i>. Large pimples and blisters are -raised by the bite, which is so venomous, moreover, that for the time being -it poisons the blood and fills every vein of the body with burning sensations. <a href="#FNanchor_14_14">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Then the Coyote looked around and observed -that the meat was gone, and, following the grease -and blood spots up the tree with his eye, saw in the -top the pack of meat with the Turtle calmly reclining -upon it and resting, his head stretched far out -on his hand. The Turtle lifted his head and exclaimed: -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Pe-sa-las-ta-i-i-i-i!</i>”</p> - -<p>“You tough-hided old beast!” yelled the Coyote, -in an ecstasy of rage and disappointment. “Throw -down some of that meat, now, will you? I killed -that deer; you only helped me skin him; and here -you have stolen all the meat. Wife! Children! -Didn’t I kill the deer?” he cried, turning to the -rest.</p> - -<p>“Certainly you did, and he’s a sneaking old -wretch to steal it from you!” they exclaimed in -chorus, looking longingly at the pack of meat in -the top of the tree.</p> - -<p>“Who said I stole the meat from you?” cried -out the Turtle. “I only hauled it up here to keep -it from being stolen, you villain! Scatter yourselves -out to catch some of it. I will throw as fine -a pair of ribs down to you as ever you saw. There, -now, spread yourselves out and get close together. -Ready?” he called, as the Coyotes lay down on -their backs side by side and stretched their paws as -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>252]</a></span> -high as they could eagerly and tremblingly toward -the meat.</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes!” cried the Coyotes, in one voice. -“We are all ready! Now, then!”</p> - -<p>The old Turtle took up the pair of ribs, and, -catching them in his beak, crawled out to the end -of the branch immediately over the Coyotes, and, -giving them a good fling, dropped them as hard as -he could. Over and over they fell, and then came -down like a pair of stones across the bodies of the -Coyotes, crushing the wind out of them, so that -they had no breath left with which to cry out, and -most of them were instantly killed. But the two -little cubs at either side escaped with only a hurt -or two, and, after yelling fearfully, one of them -took his tail between his legs and ran away. The -other one, still very hungry, ran off with his tail -lowered and his nose to the ground, sidewise, until -he had got to a safe distance, and then he sat down -and looked up. Presently he thought he would -return and eat some of the meat from the ribs.</p> - -<p>“Wait!” cried the old Turtle, “don’t go near -that meat; leave it alone for your parents and -brothers and sisters. Really, I am so old and stiff -that it took me a long time to get out to the end of -that limb, and I am afraid they went to sleep while -I was getting there, for see how still they lie.”</p> - -<p>“By my ancestors!” exclaimed the Coyote, looking -at them; “that is so.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you come up here and have a feast -with me,” said the Turtle, “and leave that meat alone -for your brothers and sisters and your old ones?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>253]</a></span> -“How can I get up there?” whined the Coyote, -crawling nearer to the tree.</p> - -<p>“Simply reach up until you get your paw over -one of the branches, and then haul yourself up,” -replied the Turtle.</p> - -<p>The little Coyote stretched and jumped, and, -though he sometimes succeeded in getting his paw -over the branch, he fell back, <em>flop!</em> every time. And -then he would yelp and sing out as though every -bone in his body was broken.</p> - -<p>“Never mind! never mind!” cried the Turtle. -“I’ll come down and help you.” So he crawled -down the tree, and, reaching over, grabbed the -little Coyote by the top-knot, and by much struggling -he was able to climb up. When they got to -the top of the tree the Turtle said: “There, now, -help yourself.”</p> - -<p>The little Coyote fell to and filled himself so full -that he was as round as a plum and elastic as a -cranberry. Then he looked about and licked his -chops and tried to breathe, but couldn’t more than -half, and said: “Oh, my! if I don’t get some water -I’ll choke!”</p> - -<p>“My friend,” said the Turtle, “do you see that -drop of water gleaming in the sun at the end of -that branch of this pine tree?” (It was really pitch.) -“Now, I have lived in the tops of trees so much -that I know where to go. Trees have springs. -Look at that.”</p> - -<p>The Coyote looked and was convinced.</p> - -<p>“Walk out, now, to the end of the branch, or -until you come to one of those drops of water, then -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>254]</a></span> -take it in your mouth and suck, and all the water -you want will flow out.”</p> - -<p>The little Coyote started. He trembled and was -unsteady on his legs, but managed to get half way. -“Is it here?” he called, turning round and looking -back.</p> - -<p>“No, a little farther,” said the Turtle.</p> - -<p>So he cautiously stepped a little farther. The -branch was swaying dreadfully. He turned his -head, and just as he was saying, “Is it here?” he -lost his balance and fell plump to the ground, striking -so hard on the tough earth that he was instantly -killed.</p> - -<p>“There, you wretched beast!” said the old Turtle -with a sigh of relief and satisfaction. “Ingenuity -enabled me to kill a deer. Ingenuity enabled -me to retain the deer.”</p> - -<p>It must not be forgotten that one of the little -Coyotes ran away. He had numerous descendants, -and ever since that time they have been characterized -by pimples all over their faces where the -mustaches grow out, and little blotches inside of -their lips, such as you see inside the lips of dogs.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>255]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap17" id="chap17"></a>THE COYOTE AND THE LOCUST</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the days of the ancients, there lived south of -Zuñi, beyond the headland of rocks, at a -place called Suski-ashokton (“Rock Hollow of the -Coyotes”), an old Coyote. And this side of the -headland of rocks, in the bank of a steep arroyo, -lived an old Locust, near where stood a piñon tree, -crooked and so bereft of needles that it was sunny.</p> - -<p>One day the Coyote went out hunting, leaving -his large family of children and his old wife at home. -It was a fine day and the sun was shining brightly, -and the old Locust crawled out of his home in the -loam of the arroyo and ascended to one of the bare -branches of the piñon tree, where, hooking his feet -firmly into the bark, he began to sing and play his -flute. The Coyote in his wanderings came along -just as he began to sing these words:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Yaamii heeshoo taatani tchupatchinte,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i12"><i>Shohkoya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i12"><i>Shohkoya!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">Locust, locust, playing a flute,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Locust, locust, playing a flute!<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Away up above on the pine-tree bough, closely clinging,<br /></div> -<div class="i11">Playing a flute,<br /></div> -<div class="i11">Playing a flute!<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Delight of my senses!” called out the Coyote, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>256]</a></span> -squatting down on his haunches, and looking up, -with his ears pricked and his mouth grinning; “Delight -of my senses, how finely you play your -flute!”</p> - -<p>“Do you think so?” said the Locust, continuing -his song.</p> - -<p>“Goodness, yes!” cried the Coyote, shifting -nearer. “What a song it is! Pray, teach it to -me, so that I can take it home and dance my children -to it. I have a large family at home.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said the Locust. “Listen, then.” -And he sang his song again:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Yaamii heeshoo taatani tchupatchinte,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i12"><i>Shohkoya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i12"><i>Shohkoya!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Delightful!” cried the Coyote. “Now, shall I -try?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, try.”</p> - -<p>Then in a very hoarse voice the Coyote half -growled and half sang (making a mistake here and -there, to be sure) what the Locust had sung, though -there was very little music in his repetition of the -performance.</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Tchu u-mali, tchumali—shohshoh koya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Tchu tchu mali, tchumali shohkoya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Yaa mami he he shoo ta ta tante tchup patchin te,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i12"><i>Shohkoya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i12"><i>Shohkoya!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Ha!” laughed he, as he finished; “I have got -it, haven’t I?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>257]</a></span> -“Well, yes,” said the Locust, “fairly well.”</p> - -<p>“Now, then, let us sing it over together.”</p> - -<p>And while the Locust piped shrilly the Coyote -sang gruffly, though much better than at first, the -song.</p> - -<p>“There, now,” exclaimed he, with a whisk of his -tail; “didn’t I tell you?” and without waiting to say -another word he whisked away toward his home -beyond the headland of rocks. As he was running -along the plain he kept repeating the song to himself, -so that he would not forget it, casting his eyes -into the air, after the manner of men in trying to -remember or to say particularly fine things, so that -he did not notice an old Gopher peering at him -somewhat ahead on the trail; and the old Gopher -laid a trap for him in his hole.</p> - -<p>The Coyote came trotting along, singing: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shohkoya, -shohkoya</i>,” when suddenly he tumbled heels -over head into the Gopher’s hole. He sneezed, -began to cough, and to rub the sand out of his -eyes; and then jumping out, cursed the Gopher -heartily, and tried to recall his song, but found that -he had utterly forgotten it, so startled had he been.</p> - -<p>“The lubber-cheeked old Gopher! I wish the -pests were all in the Land of Demons!” cried he. -“They dig their holes, and nobody can go anywhere -in safety. And now I have forgotten my -song. Well, I will run back and get the old Locust -to sing it over again. If he can sit there singing -to himself, why can’t he sing it to me? No doubt -in the world he is still out there on that piñon -branch singing away.” Saying which, he ran back -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>258]</a></span> -as fast as he could. When he arrived at the piñon -tree, sure enough, there was the old Locust still sitting -and singing.</p> - -<p>“Now, how lucky this is, my friend!” cried the -Coyote, long before he had reached the place. -“The lubber-cheeked, fat-sided old Gopher dug a -hole right in my path; and I went along singing -your delightful song and was so busy with it that I -fell headlong into the trap he had set for me, and -I was so startled that, on my word, I forgot all about -the song, and I have come back to ask you to sing -it for me again.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said the Locust. “Be more careful -this time.” So he sang the song over.</p> - -<p>“Good! Surely I’ll not forget it this time,” -cried the Coyote; so he whisked about, and away -he sped toward his home beyond the headland of -rocks. “Goodness!” said he to himself, as he -went along; “what a fine thing this will be for my -children! How they will be quieted by it when I -dance them as I sing it! Let’s see how it runs. -Oh, yes!</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Tchumali, tchumali, shohkoya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Tchumali, tchumali, shohko</i>—”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><i>Thli-i-i-i-i-p, piu-piu, piu-piu!</i> fluttered a flock of -Pigeons out of the bushes at his very feet, with -such a whizzing and whistling that the Coyote -nearly tumbled over with fright, and, recovering -himself, cursed the Doves heartily, calling them -“gray-backed, useless sage-vermin”; and, between -his fright and his anger, was so much shaken up -that he again forgot his song.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>259]</a></span> -Now, the Locust wisely concluded that this -would be the case, and as he did not like the Coyote -very well, having been told that sometimes -members of his tribe were by no means friendly to -Locusts and other insects, he concluded to play -him a trick and teach him a lesson in the minding -of his own affairs. So, catching tight hold of the -bark, he swelled himself up and strained until his -back split open; then he skinned himself out of his -old skin, and, crawling down the tree, found a suitable -quartz stone, which, being light-colored and -clear, would not make his skin look unlike himself. -He took the stone up the tree and carefully placed -it in the empty skin. Then he cemented the back -together with a little pitch and left his exact counterfeit -sticking to the bark, after which he flew -away to a neighboring tree.</p> - -<p>No sooner had the Coyote recovered his equanimity -to some extent than, discovering the loss of -his song and again exclaiming “No doubt he is -still there piping away; I’ll go and get him to sing -it over,”—he ran back as fast as he could.</p> - -<p>“Ah wha!” he exclaimed, as he neared the tree. -“I am quite fatigued with all this extra running -about. But, no matter; I see you are still there, -my friend. A lot of miserable, gray-backed -Ground-pigeons flew up right from under me as I -was going along singing my song, and they startled -me so that I forgot it; but I tell you, I cursed -them heartily! Now, my friend, will you not be -good enough to sing once more for me?”</p> - -<p>He paused for a reply. None came.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>260]</a></span> -“Why, what’s the matter? Don’t you hear -me?” yelled the Coyote, running nearer, looking -closely, and scrutinizing the Locust. “I say, I have -lost my song, and want you to sing for me again. -Will you, or will you not?” Then he paused.</p> - -<p>“Look here, are you going to sing for me or -not?” continued the Coyote, getting angry.</p> - -<p>No reply.</p> - -<p>The Coyote stretched out his nose, wrinkled up -his lips, and snarled: “Look here, do you see my -teeth? Well, I’ll ask you just four times more to -sing for me, and if you don’t sing then, I’ll snap -you up in a hurry, I tell you. Will—you—sing—for -me? Once. Will you sing—for me? Twice. -Two more times! Look out! Will you sing for -me? Are you a fool? Do you see my teeth? -Only once more! Will—you—sing—for me?”</p> - -<p>No reply.</p> - -<p>“Well, you are a fool!” yelled the Coyote, unable -to restrain himself longer, and making a quick -jump, he snapped the Locust skin off of the bough, -and bit it so hard that it crushed and broke the -teeth in the middle of his jaw, driving some of -them so far down in his gums that you could hardly -see them, and crowding the others out so that they -were regular tusks. The Coyote dropped the -stone, rolled in the sand, and howled and snarled -and wriggled with pain. Then he got up and shook -his head, and ran away with his tail between his -legs. So excessive was his pain that at the first -brook he came to he stooped down to lap up water -in order to alleviate it, and he there beheld what -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>261]</a></span> -you and I see in the mouths of every Coyote we -ever catch,—that the teeth back of the canines are -all driven down, so that you can see only the points -of them, and look very much broken up.</p> - -<p>In the days of the ancients the Coyote minded -not his own business and restrained not his anger. -So he bit a Locust that was only the skin of one -with a stone inside. And all his descendants have -inherited his broken teeth. And so also to this -day, when Locusts venture out on a sunny morning -to sing a song, it is not infrequently their custom -to protect themselves from the consequences of -attracting too much attention by skinning themselves -and leaving their counterparts on the trees.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>262]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap18" id="chap18"></a>THE COYOTE AND THE RAVENS WHO -RACED THEIR EYES</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">L</span>ONG, long ago, in the days of the ancients, -there lived in Hómaiakwin, or the Cañon of -the Cedars, a Coyote,—doubtless the same one I -have told you of as having made friends with the -Woodpounder bird. As you know, this cañon in -which he lived is below the high eastern cliff of -Face Mountain.</p> - -<p>This Coyote was out walking one day. On -leaving his house he had said that he was going -hunting; but,—miserable fellow!—who ever knew -a Coyote to catch anything, unless it were a prairie-dog -or a wood-rat or a locust or something of the -kind? So you may depend upon it he was out -walking; that is, wandering around to see what he -could see.</p> - -<p>He crossed over the valley northward, with his -tail dragging along in an indifferent sort of a way, -until he came to the place on Thunder Mountain -called Shoton-pia (“Where the Shell Breastplate -Hangs”). He climbed up the foot-hills, and along -the terraces at the base of the cliff, and thus happened -to get toward the southeastern corner of the -mountain. There is a little column of rock with a -round top to it standing there, as you know, to this -day.</p> - -<p>Now, on the top of this standing rock sat two -old Ravens, racing their eyes. One of them would -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>263]</a></span> -settle himself down on the rock and point with his -beak straight off across the valley to some pinnacle -in the cliffs of the opposite mesa. Then he would -say to his companion, without turning his head at -all: “You see that rock yonder? Well, ahem! -Standing rock yonder, round you, go ye my eyes -and come back.” Then he would lower his head, -stiffen his neck, squeeze his eyelids, and “<em>Pop!</em>” -he would say as his eyes flew out of their sockets, -and sailed away toward the rock like two streaks of -lightning, reaching which they would go round it, -and come back toward the Raven; and as they -were coming back, he would swell up his throat -and say “<i>Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u</i>,”—whereupon his eyes -would slide with a <i>k’othlo!</i> into their sockets -again. Then he would turn toward his companion, -and swelling up his throat still more, and ducking -his head just as if he were trying to vomit his own -neck, he would laugh inordinately; and the other -would laugh with him, bristling up all the feathers -on his body.</p> - -<p>Then the other one would settle himself, and -say: “Ah, I’ll better you! You see that rock -away yonder?” Then he would begin to squeeze -his eyelids, and <i>thlut!</i> his eyes would fly out of -their sockets and away across the mesa and round -the rock he had named; and as they flew back, he -would lower himself, and say “<i>Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u</i>,” -when <i>k’othlo!</i> the eyes would slide into their -sockets again. Then, as much amused as ever, the -Ravens would laugh at one another again.</p> - -<p>Now, the Coyote heard the Ravens humming -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>264]</a></span> -their eyes back into their sockets; and the sound -they made, as well as the way they laughed so -heartily, exceedingly pleased him, so that he stuck -his tail up very straight and laughed merely from -seeing them laugh. Presently he could contain himself -no longer. “Friends,” he cried, in a shrieky -little voice, “I say, friends, how do you do, and -what are you doing?”</p> - -<p>The Ravens looked down, and when they saw -the Coyote they laughed and punched one another -with their wings and cried out to him: “Bless you! -Glad to see you come!”</p> - -<p>“What is it you are doing?” asked he. “By the -daylight of the gods, it is funny, whatever it is!” -And he whisked his tail and laughed, as he said -this, drawing nearer to the Ravens.</p> - -<p>“Why, we are racing our eyes,” said the older of -the two Ravens. “Didn’t you ever see anyone -race his eyes before?”</p> - -<p>“Good demons, no!” exclaimed the Coyote. -“Race your eyes! How in the world do you race -your eyes?”</p> - -<p>“Why, this way,” said one of the Ravens. And -he settled himself down. “Do you see that tall -rock yonder? Ahem! Well, tall rock, yonder,—ye -my eyes go round it and return to me!” -<i>K’othlo! k’othlo!</i> the eyes slipped out of their -sockets, and the Raven, holding his head perfectly -still, waited, with his upper lids hanging wrinkled -on his lower, for the return of the eyes; and as -they neared him, he crouched down, swelled up his -neck, and exclaimed “<i>Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u</i>.” <i>Tsoko! -</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>265]</a></span> -the eyes flew into their sockets again. Then the -Raven turned around and showed his two black -bright eyes as good as ever. “There, now! what -did I tell you?”</p> - -<p>“By the moon!” squeaked the Coyote, and -came up nearer still. “How in the world do you -do that? It is one of the most wonderful and -funny things I ever saw!”</p> - -<p>“Well, here, come up close to me,” said the Raven, -“and I will show you how it is done.” Then the -other Raven settled himself down; and <em>pop!</em> -went his eyes out of their sockets, round a rock -still farther away. And as they returned, he exclaimed -“<i>Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u</i>,” when <i>tsoko!</i> in again -they came. And he turned around laughing at the -Coyote. “There, now!” said he, “didn’t I tell -you?”</p> - -<p>“By the daylight of the gods! I wish I -could do that,” said the Coyote. “Suppose I try -my eyes?”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, if you like, to be sure!” said the -Ravens. “Well, now, do you want to try?”</p> - -<p>“Humph! I should say I did,” replied the -Coyote.</p> - -<p>“Well, then, settle down right here on this rock,” -said the Ravens, making way for him, “and hold -your head out toward that rock and say: ‘Yonder -rock, these my eyes go round it and return to me.’”</p> - -<p>“I know! I know! I know!” yelled the Coyote. -And he settled himself down, and squeezed and -groaned to force his eyes out of his sockets, but -they would not go. “Goodness!” said the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>266]</a></span> -Coyote, “how can I get my eyes to go out of -their sockets?”</p> - -<p>“Why, don’t you know how?” said the Ravens. -“Well, just keep still, and we’ll help you; we’ll -take them out for you.”</p> - -<p>“All right! all right!” cried the Coyote, unable -to repress his impatience. “Quick! quick! here I -am, all ready!” And crouching down, he laid his -tail straight out, swelled up his neck, and strained -with every muscle to force his eyes out of his head. -The Ravens picked them out with a dexterous -twist of their beaks in no time, and sent them flying -off over the valley. The Coyote yelped a little -when they came out, but stood his ground manfully, -and cringed down his neck and waited for -his eyes to come back.</p> - -<p>“Let the fool of a beast go without his eyes,” -said the Ravens. “He was so very anxious to get -rid of them, and do something he had no business -with; let him go without them!” Whereupon they -flew off across the valley, and caught up his eyes -and ate them, and flew on, laughing at the predicament -in which they had left the Coyote.</p> - -<p>Now, thus the Coyote sat there the proper length -of time; then he opened his mouth, and said -“<i>Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u!</i>” But he waited in vain for his -eyes to come back. And “<i>Whu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u!</i>” -he said again. No use. “Mercy!” exclaimed he, -“what can have become of my eyes? Why don’t -they come back?” After he had waited and “<i>whu-u-u-u-u-d</i>” -until he was tired, he concluded that his -eyes had got lost, and laid his head on his breast, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>267]</a></span> -wofully thinking of his misfortune. “How in the -world shall I hunt up my eyes?” he groaned, as he -lifted himself cautiously (for it must be remembered -that he stood on a narrow rock), and tried to look -all around; but he couldn’t see. Then he began to -feel with his paws, one after another, to find the -way down; and he slipped and fell, so that nearly -all the breath was knocked out of his body. When -he had recovered, he picked himself up, and felt -and felt along, slowly descending, until he got into -the valley.</p> - -<p>Now, it happened as he felt his way along with -his toes that he came to a wet place in the valley, -not far below where the spring of Shuntakaiya -flows out from the cliffs above. In feeling his way, -his foot happened to strike a yellow cranberry, ripe -and soft, but very cold, of course. “Ha!” said he, -“lucky fellow, I! Here is one of my eyes.” So he -picked it up and clapped it into one of his empty -sockets; then he peered up to the sky, and the -light struck through it. “Didn’t I tell you so, old -fellow? It is one of your eyes, by the souls of your -ancestors!” Then he felt around until he found -another cranberry. “Ha!” said he, “and this -proves it! Here is the other!” And he clapped -that into the other empty socket. He didn’t seem -to see quite as well as he had seen before, but still -the cranberries answered the purpose of eyes exceedingly -well, and the poor wretch of a Coyote -never knew the difference; only it was observed -when he returned to his companions in the Cañon -of the Cedars that he had yellow eyes instead of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>268]</a></span> -black ones, which everybody knows Coyotes and -all other creatures had at first.</p> - - - -<p class="break">Thus it was in the days of the ancients, and -hence to this day coyotes have yellow eyes, and -are not always quick to see things.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>269]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap19" id="chap19"></a>THE PRAIRIE-DOGS AND THEIR -PRIEST, THE BURROWING-OWL</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>NCE, long, long ago, there stood in Prairie-dog -Land a large Prairie-dog village. Prairie-dog -Land is south of Zuñi, beyond Grease Mountain; -and in the middle of that country, which is -one of our smaller meadows, stands a mountain, -which is a little mound. All round about the base -of this mountain were the sky-holes and door-mounds -and pathways of the grandfathers of the -Prairie-dogs. In the very top of the mount was the -house of an old Burrowing-owl and his wife.</p> - -<p>One summer it rained and it rained and it rained, -so that the fine fields of <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">mitäliko</i> (wild portulaca) -were kept constantly fresh, and the Prairie-dogs -had unfailing supplies of this, their favorite food. -They became fat and happy, and gloried in the -rain-storms that had produced such an abundant -harvest for them. But still it kept raining, until -by-and-by, when they descended to their fields of -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">mitäliko</i>, they found their feet were wet, which they -did not like any more than Prairie-dogs like it -today.</p> - -<p>Now, you know that in some parts of the meadow -of Prairie-dog Land are little hollows, in which the -water collects when it rains hard. Just in these -places were the fields of <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">mitäliko</i>. And still it -rained and rained, until finally only the tops of the -plants appeared above the waters.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>270]</a></span> -Then the Prairie-dogs began to curse the rain -and to fall off in flesh, for they could no longer go -to the fields to collect food, and the stores in their -granaries were running low. At last they grew -very hungry and lean and could hardly get about, -for it rained and rained day after day, so that they -dare not go away from their holes, and their stores -were all gone.</p> - -<p>The old ones among the Prairie-dogs, the grandfathers, -called a great council; three or four of -them came out of their houses, stood up on the -mounds in front of their sky-holes, and called out -“<i>Wek wek,—wek wek,—wek wek,—wek wek!</i>” in -shrill, squeaky voices, so that the women and children -in the holes round about exclaimed: “Goodness, -gracious! the old ones are calling a council!” -And everybody trooped to the council, which was -gathered round the base of the Burrowing-owl’s -mountain.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the chief spokesman or counsellor, -“you see those wretched rainers keep dropping -water until our fields of <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">mitäliko</i> are flooded. -They ought to know that we are short of leg, and -that we can’t go into the lakes to gather food, and -here we are starving. Our women are dying, our -children are crying, and we can scarcely go from -door to door. Now, what is to be done? How -can we stop the rain?—that is the question.”</p> - -<p>They talked and talked; they devised many -plans, which were considered futile, most of them -having been tried already. At last a wise old gray-cheeked -fellow suggested that it would be well to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>271]</a></span> -apply to their grandfather, the Burrowing-owl, who -lived in the top of the mountain.</p> - -<p>“Hear! hear!” cried the council in one voice,—whereupon -the old man who had spoken was -chosen as messenger to the Burrowing-owl.</p> - -<p>He climbed to the top of the mountain, with -many a rest, and at last got near the doorway, and -sitting down at a respectful distance, raised himself -on his haunches, folded his hands across his breast, -then cried out: “<i>Wek wek,—wek wek!</i>”</p> - -<p>The old grandfather Burrowing-owl, not in very -good humor, stepped out, blinking his eyes and -asked what was the matter. He said: “It isn’t -your custom to come up to my house and make -such a racket, though true enough it is that I hear -your rackets down below. It cannot be for nothing -that you come; therefore, what is your -message?”</p> - -<p>“My grandfather,” said the Prairie-dog, “in -council we have considered how to stop the irrepressible -rainers; but all of our efforts and devices -are quite futile, so that we are forced to -apply to you.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, indeed,” said the old Owl, scratching the -corner of his eye with his claw. “Go down home, -and I will see what I can do tomorrow morning. -As you all know very well, I am a priest. I will -set aside four days for fasting and meditation and -sacred labors. Please await the result.”</p> - -<p>The old Prairie-dog humbly bade him farewell -and departed for his village below.</p> - -<p>Next morning the Burrowing-owl said to his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>272]</a></span> -wife: “Put on a large quantity of beans, my old -one, and cook them well,—small beans, of the kind -that smell not pleasantly.” He then bade her -“Good morning,” and left. He went about for a -long time, hunting at the roots of bushes. At last -he found one of those ill-smelling Beetles, with its -head stuck way down in the midst of the roots. -He grabbed him up, notwithstanding the poor -creature’s remonstrances, and took him home.</p> - -<p>When he arrived there, said he: “My friend, it -seems to me you are making a great fuss about -this thing, but I am not going to hurt you, except -in one way,—by the presentation to you of all the -food you can eat.”</p> - -<p>“Bless me!” said the Tip-beetle, bobbing his -head down into the ground and rearing himself -into the air. Then he sat down quite relieved and -contented.</p> - -<p>“Old woman,” said the Burrowing-owl, “lay out -a dish of the beans on the floor.” The wife complied. -“My friend,” said the Burrowing-owl to the -Tip-beetle, “fall to and satisfy yourself.”</p> - -<p>The Tip-beetle, with another tip, sat down before -the bowl of beans. He ate, and swallowed, -and gulped until he had entirely emptied the dish, -and began to grow rather full of girth.</p> - -<p>“Not yet satisfied?” asked the Owl. “Old -woman, lay out another bowl.”</p> - -<p>Another large bowl of the bean soup was placed -before the Tip-beetle, who likewise gulped and -gulped at this, and at last diminished it to nothing. -Now, the Tip-beetle by this time looked like a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>273]</a></span> -well-blown-up paunch. Still, when the old Owl -remarked “Is there left of your capacity?” he replied: -“Somewhat; by the favor of a little more, -I think I shall be satisfied.”</p> - -<p>“Old woman,” said the Owl, “a little more.”</p> - -<p>The old woman placed another bowl before the -Tip-beetle; and he ate and ate, and swallowed and -swallowed, and gulped and sputtered; but with all -the standing up and wiggling of his head that he -could do he could not finish the bowl; and at last, -wiping the perspiration from his brow, he exclaimed: -“Thanks, thanks, I am satisfied.”</p> - -<p>“Ha, indeed!” said the Owl. Both the old -woman and the Tip-beetle had noticed, while the -feast was going on, that the Owl had cut out a -good-sized round piece of buckskin, and he was -running a thread round about the edge of it, leaving -two strings at either side, like the strings with -which one draws together a pouch. Just as the -Tip-beetle returned his thanks the old Owl had -finished his work.</p> - -<p>“My friend,” said he, turning to the Tip-beetle, -“you have feasted to satisfaction, and it appears to -me by your motions that you are exceedingly uncomfortable, -being larger of girth than is safe and well -for a Tip-beetle. Perhaps you are not aware that one -who eats freely of bean soup is likely to grow still -larger. I would advise you, therefore, when I lay -this pouch on the floor, with the mouth of it toward -you, to run your head into it and exhale as much -wind as possible; and to facilitate this I will squeeze -you slightly.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>274]</a></span> -The Tip-beetle was not very well pleased with -the proposition; still he by no means refused to -comply.</p> - -<p>“You see,” continued the Owl, “you are at once -to be relieved of the serious consequences of your -gluttony, while at the same time paying for your -food.”</p> - -<p>“Now, this is an excellent idea, upon my word,” -replied the Tip-beetle, and forthwith he thrust himself -into the bag. The old Owl embraced the Tip-beetle -and gently squeezed him, increasing the -pressure as time went on, until a large amount of -his girth had been diminished; but behold! the -girth of the bag was swelled until it was so full with -struggling wind that it could hardly be tied up! -Outside, the rain was rattling, rattling.</p> - -<p>Said the old Owl to the Tip-beetle: “My friend, -if you do not mind the rain, which I dare say you -do not, you may now return to your home. Many -thanks for your assistance.”</p> - -<p>The Tip-beetle, likewise with expression of -thanks, took his departure.</p> - -<p>When the morning of the fourth day came, and -the rain still continued, in fact increased, the old -Owl took the bag of wind out to the mount before -his doorway.</p> - -<p>Now, you know that if one goes near a Tip-beetle -and disturbs him, that Tip-beetle will rear himself on -his hands and head and disgorge breath of so pungent -a nature that nobody can withstand it. Woe to -the nose of that man who is in the neighborhood! -It will be so seared with this over-powering odor -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>275]</a></span> -that it cannot sneeze, though desiring never so -much to do so. You know, also, if you touch a Tip-beetle -who is angry, all the good water in Zuñi River -will not remove from your fingers the memory of -that Beetle, whenever you chance to smell of them. -And you know, also, how small stewed beans with -thick skins affect one. Conceive, then, the power -of the medicine contained in that little bag.</p> - -<p>The old Owl, taking up a stick, hit the bag one -whack. The clouds, before so thick, glaring with -lightning, trembling and swirling with thunder, now -began to thin out in the zenith and depart, and the -sunlight sifted through. The Owl hit the bag another -stroke,—behold, afar off scudded the clouds -as before a fierce blast. Again the old Owl hit the -bag. The clouds were resting on the far away -mountain-tops before he had lowered his stick. -Then, with one mighty effort, he gave the bag a -final whack, wholly emptying it of its contents, and -the sky was as clear as it is on a summer’s day in -the noon-time of a drought. So potent was this -all-penetrating and irresistible odor, that even the -Rain-gods themselves could not withstand it, and -withdrew their forces and retired before it.</p> - -<p>Out from their holes trooped the Prairie-dogs, -and sitting up on their haunches all round about -the mountain, they shouted at the tops of their -shrill voices, “<i>Wek wek,—wek wek,—wek wek!</i>” -in praise of their great priest, the Grandfather Burrowing-owl.</p> - - - -<p class="break">Behold, thus it was in the days of the ancients. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>276]</a></span> -And for that reason prairie-dogs and burrowing-owls -have always been great friends. And the -burrowing-owls consider no place in the world -quite so appropriate for the bringing forth, hatching, -and rearing of their children as the holes of -the prairie-dogs.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - -<div class="imgbreak"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"> -<a name="plate09" id="plate09"></a> -<img src="images/zft17.jpg" width="700" height="423" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">ACROSS THE TERRACES OF ZUÑI</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>277]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap20" id="chap20"></a>HOW THE GOPHER RACED WITH THE -RUNNERS OF K’IÁKIME</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HERE was a time in the days of the ancients -when the runners of K’iákime were famed -above those of all other cities in the Valley of Shíwina -for their strength, endurance, and swiftness of -foot. In running the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">tikwa</i>, or kicked-stick race, -they overcame, one after another, the runners of -Shíwina or Zuñi, of Mátsaki or the Salt City, of -Pínawa or the Town of the Winds, and in fact all -who dared to challenge them or to accept their -challenges.</p> - -<p>The people of Shíwina and Mátsaki did not give -up easily. They ran again and again, only to be -beaten and to lose the vast piles of goods and precious -things which they had staked or bet; and at -last they were wholly disheartened and bereft of -everything which without shame a man might exhibit -for betting.</p> - -<p>So the people of the two towns called a council, -and the old men and runners gathered -and discussed what could be done that the -runners of K’iákime might be overcome. They -thought of all the wise men and wise beings they -knew of; one after another of them was mentioned, -and at last a few prevailed in contending that for -both wisdom and cunning or craft the Gopher took -precedence over all those who had been mentioned. -Forthwith a young man was dispatched to find an -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>278]</a></span> -old Gopher who lived on the side of the hill near -which the race-course began.</p> - -<p>He was out sunning himself, and finishing a -cellar, when the young man approached him, and he -called out: “Ha, grandson! Don’t bother me this -morning; I am busy digging my cellars.”</p> - -<p>The young man insisted that he came with an -important message from his people. So the old -Gopher ceased his work, and listened attentively -while the young man related to him the difficulties -they were in.</p> - -<p>Said he: “Go back, my grandson, and tell your -people to challenge the runners of K’iákime to run -the race of the kicked stick with a runner whom -they have chosen, a single one, the fourth day from -this day; and tell your people, moreover, that I will -run the race for them, providing only that the runners -of K’iákime will permit me to go my own -way, on my own road, which as you know runs -underground.”</p> - -<p>The youth thanked the old Gopher and was -about to retire when the fat-sided, heavy-cheeked -old fellow called to him to hold on a little. “Mind -you,” said he. “Tell your people also that they -shall bet for me only two things—red paint and -sacred yellow pollen. These shall, as it were, be -the payment for my exertions, if I win, as I prize -this sort of possession above all else.”</p> - -<p>The young man returned and reported what the -Gopher had said. Thereupon the people of Shíwina -and Mátsaki sent a challenge to the people of -K’iákime for a race, saying: “We bet all that we -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>279]</a></span> -have against what you have won from us from time -to time that our runner, the Gopher, who lives beside -the beginning of our race-course, will beat you in -the race, which we propose shall be the fourth day -from this day. The only condition we name is, -that the Gopher shall be permitted to run in his -own way, on his own road, which is underground.”</p> - -<p>Right glad were the runners of K’iákime to run -against anyone proposed by those whom they had -so often beaten. They hesitated not a moment in -replying that they would run against the Gopher or -any other friend of the people of Mátsaki and Shíwina, -stipulating only that the Gopher, if he ran -underground, should appear at the surface occasionally, -that they might know where he was. So -it was arranged, and the acceptance of the challenge -was reported to the Gopher, and the stipulation -also which was named by the runners of -K’iákime.</p> - -<p>That night the old Gopher went to his younger -brother, old like himself, heavy-cheeked, gray-and-brown-coated, -and dusty with diggings of his cellars. -“My younger brother,” said the old Gopher, -“the fourth day from this day I am to run a race. -I shall start at the beginning of the race-course of -the people of K’iákime over here, which is near my -home, as you know. There I shall dig two holes; -one at the beginning of the race-course, the other -a little farther on. Now, here at your home, near -the Place of the Scratching Bushes, do you dig a -hole, down below where the race-course passes -your place, off to one side of it, and another hole a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>280]</a></span> -little beyond the first. The means by which I shall -be distinguished as a racer will be a red plume tied -to my head. Do you also procure a red plume and -tie it to your head. When you hear the thundering -of the feet of the racers, run out and show yourself -for a minute, and rush into the other hole as fast -as you can.”</p> - -<p>“I understand what you would have of me, and -right gladly will I do it. It would please me exceedingly -to take down the pride of those haughty -runners of K’iákime, or at least to help in doing -it,” replied the younger brother.</p> - -<p>The old Gopher went on to the Sitting Space -of the Red Shell, where dwelt another of his -younger brothers precisely like himself and the one -he had already spoken to, near whose home the -race-course also ran. To him he communicated the -same information, and gave the same directions. -Then he went on still farther to the place called -K’ópak’yan, where dwelt another of his younger -brothers. To him also he gave the same directions; -and to still another younger brother, who -dwelt beneath the base of the two broad pillars of -Thunder Mountain, at the last turning-point of the -race-course; and to another brother, who dwelt at -the Place of the Burnt Log; and lastly to another -brother quite as cunning and inventive as himself, -who dwelt just below K’iákime where the race-course -turned toward its end. When all these arrangements -had been made, the old Gopher went -back and settled himself comfortably in his -nest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>281]</a></span> -Bright and early on the fourth day preparations -were made for the race. The runners of K’iákime -had been fasting and training in the sacred houses, -and they came forth stripped and begirt for the -racing, carrying their stick. Then came the people -of Mátsaki and Shíwina, who gathered on the -plain, and there they waited. But they waited not -long, for soon the old Gopher appeared close in -their midst, popping out of the ground, and on his -head was a little red plume. He placed the stick -which had been prepared for him, on the ground, -where he could grab it with his teeth easily, saying: -“Of course, you will excuse me if I do not kick my -stick, since my feet are so short that I could not do -so. On the other hand,” he said to the runners, -“you do not have to dig your way as I do. Therefore, -we are evenly matched.”</p> - -<p>The runners of K’iákime, contemptuously laughing, -asked him why he did not ask for some privilege -instead of talking about things which meant -nothing to them.</p> - -<p>At last the word was given. With a yell and a -spring, off dashed the racers of K’iákime, gaily -kicking their stick before them. Grabbing his -stick in his teeth, into the ground plunged the old -Gopher. Fearful lest their runner should be -beaten, the people of Shíwina and Mátsaki ran to a -neighboring hill, watching breathlessly for him to -appear somewhere in the course of the race above -the plain. Away over the plain in a cloud of dust -swept the runners of K’iákime. They were already -far off, when suddenly, some distance before them, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>282]</a></span> -out of the ground in the midst of the race-course, -popped the old Gopher, to all appearance, the -red plume dusty, but waving proudly on his forehead. -After looking round at the runners, into -the ground he plunged again. The people of Shíwina -and Mátsaki yelled their applause. The runners -of K’iákime, astounded that the Gopher should -be ahead of them, redoubled their efforts. When -they came near the Place of the Red Shell, behold! -somewhat muddy round the eyes and nose, -out popped the old Gopher again, to all appearance. -Of course it was his brother, the red plume -somewhat heavy with dirt, but still waving on his -forehead.</p> - -<p>On rushed the runners, and they had no sooner -neared K’ópak’yan than again they saw the Gopher -in advance of them, now apparently covered with -sweat,—for this cunning brother had provided himself -with a little water which he rubbed over his fur -and made it all muddy, as though he were perspiring -and had already begun to grow tired. He came -out of his hole and popped into the other less -quickly than the others had done; and the runners, -who were not far behind him, raised a great shout -and pushed ahead. When they thought they had -gained on him, behold! in their pathway, all bedraggled -with mud, apparently the same old Gopher -appeared, moving with some difficulty, and then -disappeared under the ground again. And so on, -the runners kept seeing the Gopher at intervals, -each time a little worse off than before, until they -came to the last turning-place; and just as they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>283]</a></span> -reached it, almost in their midst appeared the most -bedraggled and worn out of all the Gophers. -They, seeing the red plume on his crest, almost obscured -by mud and all flattened out, regarded him -as surely the same old Gopher.</p> - -<p>Finally, the original old Gopher, who had been -quietly sleeping meanwhile, roused himself, and besoaking -himself from the tip of his nose to the end -of his short tail, wallowed about in the dirt until he -was well plastered with mud, half closing his eyes, -and crawled out before the astonished multitude at -the end of the goal, a sorry-looking object indeed, -far ahead of the runners, who were rapidly approaching. -A great shout was raised by those -who were present, and the runners of K’iákime for -the first time lost all of their winnings, and had the -swiftness, or at least all their confidence, taken out -of them, as doth the wind lose its swiftness when -its legs are broken.</p> - - - -<p class="break">Thus it was in the days of the ancients. By the -skill and cunning of the Gopher—who, by digging -his many holes and pitfalls, is the opponent of all -runners, great and small—was the race won against -the swiftest runners among the youth of our ancients. -Therefore, to this day the young runners -of Zuñi, on going forth to prepare for a race, take -with them the sacred yellow pollen and red paint; -and they make for the gophers, round about the -race-course in the country, beautiful little plumes, -and they speak to them speeches in prayer, saying: -“Behold, O ye Gophers of the plains and the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>284]</a></span> -trails, we race! And that we may have thy aid, -we give ye these things, which are unto ye and -your kind most precious, that ye will cause to fall -into your holes and crannies and be hidden away in -the dark and the dirt the sticks that are kicked by -our opponents.”</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>285]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap21" id="chap21"></a>HOW THE RATTLESNAKES CAME TO -BE WHAT THEY ARE</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">K</span>NOW you that long, long ago there lived at -Yathlpew’nan, as live there now, many Rattlesnakes; -but then they were men and women, only -of a Rattlesnake kind.</p> - -<p>One day the little children of one of the houses -there wished to go out to play at sliding down the -sand-banks south of the Bitter Pond on the other -side of our river. So they cried out to their -parents: “Let us go, O mother, grandmother, -father! and take our little sister to play on the -sunny side of the sand-banks.”</p> - -<p>“My children,” said the mother, “go if you wish, -but be very careful of your little sister; for she is -young. Carry her gently on your shoulders, and -place her where she will be safe, for she is very -small and helpless.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes!” cried the children. “We love our -little sister, don’t we, little one?” said they, turning -to the baby girl. Then they took her up in -their mantles, and carried her on their shoulders -out to the sunny side of the sand-banks; and there -they began to play at sliding one after another.</p> - -<p>The little girl, immensely delighted with their -sport, toddled out from the place where they had -set her down, just as one of the girls was speeding -down the side of the sand-hill. The little creature -ran, clapping her hands and laughing, to catch her -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>286]</a></span> -sister as she came; and the elder one, trying in vain -to stop herself, called out to her to beware; but she -was a little thing, and knew not the meaning of her -sister’s warning; and, alas! the elder one slid down -upon her, knocked her over and rolled her in the -sand, crushing her so that she died, and rolling her -out very small.</p> - -<p>The children all gathered around their little sister, -and cried and cried. Finally they took her up -tenderly, and, placing her on their shoulders, sang -as they went slowly toward home:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Tchi-tola tsaaana!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Tchi-tola tsaaana!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Tchi-tola tsaaana!</i><br /></div> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i1"><i>Ama ma hama seta!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i1"><i>Ama ma hama seta!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">Rattlesnake little-little!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Rattlesnake little-little!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Rattlesnake little-little!<br /></div> -</div> - -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i1">Alas, we bear her!<br /></div> -<div class="i1">Alas, we bear her!<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>As they approached the village of the Rattlesnakes, -the mother of the little one looked out and -saw them coming and heard their song.</p> - -<p>“O, my children! my children!” she cried. -“Ye foolish little ones, did I not tell ye to beware -and to be careful, O, my children?” Then -she exclaimed—rocking herself to and fro, and wriggling -from side to side at the same time, casting -her hands into the air, and sobbing wildly—</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>287]</a></span> -<div class="i0">“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ayaa mash toki!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ayaa mash toki!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i1"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hai! i i i i!</i>”<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a><br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>and fell in a swoon, still wriggling, to the ground.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_15_15">[15]</a></span> -It is impossible to translate this exclamation, as it is probably archaic, -and it is certainly the intention that its meaning shall not be plain. Judging -from its etymology, I should think that its meaning might be:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Oh, alas! our little maiden!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Oh, alas! our little maiden!<br /></div> -<div class="i2">Ala-a-a-a-a-s!”<br /> <a href="#FNanchor_15_15">Back</a></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>When the old grandmother saw them coming, -she too said:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ayaa mash toki!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ayaa mash toki!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i1"><i>Hai! i i i i!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>And as one after another in that village saw the -little child, so beloved, brought home thus mutilated -and dead, each cried out as the others had cried:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ayaa mash toki!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ayaa mash toki!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i1"><i>Hai! i i i i!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>and all swooned away; and the children also who -were bringing the little one joined in the cry of -woe, and swooned away. And when they all returned -to life, behold, they could not arise, but -went wriggling along the ground, faintly crying, as -Rattlesnakes wriggle and cry to this day.</p> - -<p>So you see that once—as was the case with -many, if not all, of the animals—the Rattlesnakes -were a people, and a splendid people too. Therefore -we kill them not needlessly, nor waste the -lives even of other animals without cause.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>288]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap22" id="chap22"></a>HOW THE CORN-PESTS WERE -ENSNARED</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the days of the ancients, long, long ago, there -lived in our town, which was then called the -Middle Ant Hill of the World, a proud maiden, -very pretty and very attractive, the daughter of -one of the richest men among our people. She -had every possession a Zuñi maiden could wish for,—blankets -and mantles, embroidered dresses and -sashes, buckskins and moccasins, turquoise earrings -and shell necklaces, bracelets so many you could -not count them. She had her father and mother, -brothers and sisters, all of whom she loved very much. -Why, therefore, should she care for anything else?</p> - -<p>There was only one thing to trouble her. Behold! -it came of much possession, for she had -large corn-fields, so large and so many that those -who planted and worked them for her could not -look after them properly, and no sooner had the -corn ears become full and sweet with the milk of -their being than all sorts of animals broke into -those fields and pulled down the corn-stalks and ate -up the sweet ears of corn. Now, how to remove -this difficulty the poor girl did not know.</p> - -<p>Yes, now that I think of it, there was another -thing that troubled her very much, fully as much -as did the corn-pests,—pests of another kind, however, -for there wasn’t an unmarried young man in -all the valley of our ancients who was not running -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>289]</a></span> -mad over the charms of this girl. Besides all that, -not a few of them had an eye on so many possessions, -and thought her home wouldn’t be an uncomfortable -place to live in. So they never gave -the poor girl any peace, but hung round her house, -and came to visit her father so constantly that at -last she determined to put the two pests together -and call them one, and thereby get rid, if possible, -of one or the other. So, when these young men -were very importunate, she would say to them, -“Look you! if any one of you will go to my corn-fields, -and destroy or scare away, so that they will -never come back again, the pests that eat up my -corn, him I will marry and cherish, for I shall respect -his ability and ingenuity.”</p> - -<p>The young men tried and tried, but it was of no -use. Before long, everybody knew of this singular -proposition.</p> - -<p>There was a young fellow who lived in one of -the outer towns, the poorest of the poor among -our people; and not only that, but he was so ugly -that no woman would ever look at him without -laughing.</p> - -<p>Now, there are two kinds of laugh with women. -One of them is a very good sort of thing, and -makes young men feel happy and conceited. The -other kind is somewhat heartier, but makes young -men feel depressed and very humble. It need not -be asked which kind was laughed by the women -when they saw this ugly, ragged, miserable-looking -young man. He had bright twinkling eyes, however, -and that means more than all else sometimes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>290]</a></span> -Now, this young man came to hear of what was -going on. He had no present to offer the girl, but -he admired her as much as—yes, a good deal more -than—if he had been the handsomest young man -of his time. So just in the way that he was he -went to the house of this girl one evening. He -was received politely, and it was noticeable to the -old folks that the girl seemed rather to like him,—just -as it is noticeable to you and me today that -what people have they prize less than what they -have not. The girl placed a tray of bread before -the young man and bade him eat; and after he -had done, he looked around with his twinkling -little eyes. And the old man said, “Let us smoke -together.” And so they smoked.</p> - -<p>By-and-by the old man asked if he were not -thinking of something in coming to the house of a -stranger. And the young man replied, it was very -true; he had thoughts, though he felt ashamed to -say it, but he even wished to be accepted as a -suitor for his daughter.</p> - -<p>The father referred the matter to the girl, and -she said she would be very well satisfied; then she -took the young man aside and spoke a few words -to him,—in fact, told him what were the conditions -of his becoming her accepted husband. He smiled, -and said he would certainly try to the best of his -ability, but this was a very hard thing she asked.</p> - -<p>“I know it is,” said the girl; “that is why I ask it.”</p> - -<p>Now, the young man left the house forthwith. -The next day he very quietly went down into the -corn-fields belonging to the girl, and over toward -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>291]</a></span> -the northern mesa, for that is where her corn-fields -were—lucky being! He dug a great deep pit with -a sharp stick and a bone shovel. Now, when he -had dug it—very smooth at the sides and top it -was—he went to the mountain and got some poles, -placing them across the hole, and over these poles -he spread earth, and set up corn-stalks just as -though no hole had been dug there; then he put -some exceedingly tempting bait, plenty of it, over -the center of these poles, which were so weak that -nobody, however light of foot, could walk over -them without breaking through.</p> - -<p>Night came on, and you could hear the Coyotes -begin to sing; and the whole army of pests—Bears, -Badgers, Gophers, all sorts of creatures, as they -came down slowly, each one in his own way, from -the mountain. The Coyotes first came into the -field, being swift of foot; and one of them, nosing -around and keeping a sharp lookout for watchers, -happened to espy those wonderfully tempting morsels -that lay over the hole.</p> - -<p>“Ha!” said he (Coyotes don’t think much what -they are doing), and he gave a leap, when in he -went—sticks, dirt, bait, and all—to the bottom of the -hole. He picked himself up and rubbed the sand -out of his eyes, then began to jump and jump, trying -to get out; but it was of no use, and he set up -a most doleful howl.</p> - -<p>He had just stopped for breath, when a Bear -came along. “What in the name of all the devils -and witches are you howling so for?” said he. -“Where are you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>292]</a></span> -The Coyote swallowed his whimpers immediately, -set himself up in a careless attitude, and cried out: -“Broadfoot, lucky, lucky, lucky fellow! Did you -hear me singing? I am the happiest creature on -the face of the earth, or rather under it.”</p> - -<p>“What about? I shouldn’t think you were -happy, to judge from your howling.”</p> - -<p>“Why! Mercy on me!” cried the Coyote, “I -was singing for joy.”</p> - -<p>“How’s that?” asked the Bear.</p> - -<p>“Why,” said the Coyote, “I came along here -this evening and by the merest accident fell into -this hole. And what do you suppose I found down -here? Green-corn, meat, sweet-stuff, and everything -a corn-eater could wish for. The only thing -I lacked to complete my happiness was someone -to enjoy the meal with me. Jump in!—it isn’t very -deep—and fall to, friend. We’ll have a jolly good -night of it.”</p> - -<p>So the old Bear looked down, drew back a minute, -hesitated, and then jumped in. When the Bear got -down there, the Coyote laid himself back, slapped -his thighs, and laughed and laughed and laughed. -“Now, get out if you can,” said he to the Bear. -“You and I are in a pretty mess. I fell in here by -accident, it is true, but I would give my teeth and -eyes if I could get out again!”</p> - -<p>The Bear came very near eating him up, but the -Coyote whispered something in his ear. “Good!” -yelled the Bear. “Ha! ha! ha! Excellent idea! -Let us sing together. Let them come!”</p> - -<p>So they laughed and sang and feasted until they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>293]</a></span> -attracted almost every corn-pest in the fields to the -spot to see what they were doing. “Keep away, -my friends,” cried out the Coyote. “No such luck -for you. We got here first. Our spoils!”</p> - -<p>“Can’t I come?” “Can’t I come?” cried out -one after another.</p> - -<p>“Well, yes,—no,—there may not be enough for -you all.” “Come on, though; come on! who -cares?”—cried out the old Bear. And they rushed -in so fast that very soon the pit-hole was almost full -of them, scrambling to get ahead of one another, and -before they knew their predicament they were already -in it. The Coyote laughed, shuffled around, -and screamed at the top of his voice; he climbed -up over his grandfather the Bear, scrambled through -the others, which were snarling and biting each -other, and, knowing what he was about, skipped -over their backs, out of the hole, and ran away -laughing as hard as he could.</p> - -<p>Now, the next morning down to the corn-field -came the young man. Drawing near to the pit he -heard a tremendous racket, and going to the edge -and peering in he saw that it was half filled with -the pests which had been destroying the corn of -the maiden,—every kind of creature that had ever -meddled with the corn-fields of man, there they -were in that deep pit; some of them all tired out, -waiting for “the end of their daylight,” others still -jumping and crawling and falling in their efforts to -get out.</p> - -<p>“Good! good! my friends,” cried the young -man. “You must be cold; I’ll warm you up a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>294]</a></span> -little.” So he gathered a quantity of dry wood and -threw it into the pit. “Be patient! be patient!” -said he. “I hope I don’t hurt any of you. It will -be all over in a few minutes.” Then he lighted -the wood and burned the rascals all up. But he -noticed the Coyote was not there. “What does it -matter?” said he. “One kind of pest a man can -fight, but not many.”</p> - -<p>So he went back to the house of the girl and reported -to her what he had done. She was so -pleased she hardly knew how to express her gratitude, -but said to the young man with a smile on -her face and a twinkle in her eye, “Are you quite -sure they were all there?”</p> - -<p>“Why, they were all there except the Coyote,” -said the young man; “but I must tell you the truth, -and somehow he got out or didn’t get in.”</p> - -<p>“Who cares for a Coyote!” said the girl. “I -would much rather marry a man with some ingenuity -about him than have all the Coyotes in the -world to kill.” Whereupon she accepted this very -ugly but ingenious young man; and it is notable -that ever since then pretty girls care very little how -their husbands look, being pretty enough themselves -for both. But they like to have them able -to think and guess at a way of getting along occasionally. -Furthermore, what does a rich girl care -for a rich young man? Ever since then, even to -this day, as you know, rich girls almost invariably -pick out poor young men for their husbands, and -rich young men are sure to take a fancy to poor -girls.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>295]</a></span> -Thus it was in the days of the ancients. The -Coyote got out of the trap that was set for him by -the ugly young man. That is the reason why -coyotes are so much more abundant than any other -corn-pests in the land of Zuñi, and do what you -will, they are sure to get away with some of your -corn, anyhow.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 375px;"> -<img src="images/zft18.png" width="375" height="155" -alt="Frog and tadpoles" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>296]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap23" id="chap23"></a>JACK-RABBIT AND COTTONTAIL</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">A</span>NCIENTLY the Jack-rabbit lived in a sage -plain, and the Cottontail rabbit lived in a -cliff hard by. They saw the clouds gather, so they -went out to sing. The long-legged Jack-rabbit -sang for snow, thus:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>U pi na wi sho, U pi na wi sho,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>U kuk uku u kuk!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>But the short-legged Cottontail sang for rain, like -this:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Hatchi ethla ho na an saia.</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>That’s what they sung—one asking for snow, -the other for rain; hence to this day the Pók’ia -(Jack-rabbit) runs when it snows, the Â′kshiko -(Cottontail) when it rains.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 470px;"> -<img src="images/zft19.png" width="470" height="288" -alt="Two rabbits" /> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>297]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap24" id="chap24"></a>THE RABBIT HUNTRESS AND HER -ADVENTURES</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>T was long ago, in the days of the ancients, that -a poor maiden lived at K’yawana Tehua-tsana -(“Little Gateway of Zuñi River”). You know there -are black stone walls of houses standing there on -the tops of the cliffs of lava, above the narrow -place through which the river runs, to this day.</p> - -<p>In one of these houses there lived this poor -maiden alone with her feeble old father and her -aged mother. She was unmarried, and her brothers -had all been killed in wars, or had died gently; so the -family lived there helplessly, so far as many things -were concerned, from the lack of men in their house.</p> - -<p>It is true that in making the gardens—the little -plantings of beans, pumpkins, squashes, melons, and -corn—the maiden was able to do very well; and -thus mainly on the products of these things the -family were supported. But, as in those days of -our ancients we had neither sheep nor cattle, the -hunt was depended upon to supply the meat; or -sometimes it was procured by barter of the products -of the fields to those who hunted mostly. -Of these things this little family had barely enough -for their own subsistence; hence, they could not -procure their supplies of meat in this way.</p> - -<p>Long before, it had been a great house, for -many were the brave and strong young men who -had lived in it; but the rooms were now empty, or -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>298]</a></span> -at best contained only the leavings of those who -had lived there, much used and worn out.</p> - -<p>One autumn day, near winter-time, snow fell, and -it became very cold. The maiden had gathered -brush and firewood in abundance, and it was piled -along the roof of the house and down underneath -the ladder which descended from the top. She -saw the young men issue forth the next morning in -great numbers, their feet protected by long stockings -of deerskin, the fur turned inward, and they -carried on their shoulders and stuck in their belts -stone axes and rabbit-sticks. As she gazed at them -from the roof, she said to herself: “O that I were -a man and could go forth, as do these young men, -hunting rabbits! Then my poor old mother and -father would not lack for flesh with which to duly -season their food and nourish their lean bodies.” -Thus ran her thoughts, and before night, as she -saw these same young men coming in, one after -another, some of them bringing long strings of -rabbits, others short ones, but none of them empty-handed, -she decided that, woman though she was, -she would set forth on the morrow to try what -luck she might find in the killing of rabbits herself.</p> - -<p>It may seem strange that, although this maiden -was beautiful and young, the youths did not give -her some of their rabbits. But their feelings were -not friendly, for no one of them would she accept -as a husband, although one after another of them -had offered himself for marriage.</p> - -<p>Fully resolved, the girl that evening sat down by -the fireplace, and turning toward her aged parents, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>299]</a></span> -said: “O my mother and father, I see that the -snow has fallen, whereby easily rabbits are tracked, -and the young men who went out this morning returned -long before evening heavily laden with -strings of this game. Behold, in the other rooms -of our house are many rabbit-sticks, and there hang -on the walls stone axes, and with these I might -perchance strike down a rabbit on his trail, or, if he -run into a log, split the log and dig him out. So I -have thought during the day, and have decided to -go tomorrow and try my fortunes in the hunt, -woman though I be.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Naiya</i>, my daughter,” quavered the feeble old -mother; “you would surely be very cold, or you -would lose your way, or grow so tired that you -could not return before night, and you must not go -out to hunt rabbits, woman as you are.”</p> - -<p>“Why, certainly not,” insisted the old man, rubbing -his lean knees and shaking his head over the -days that were gone. “No, no; let us live in poverty -rather than that you should run such risks as -these, O my daughter.”</p> - -<p>But, say what they would, the girl was determined. -And the old man said at last: “Very -well! You will not be turned from your course. -Therefore, O daughter, I will help you as best I -may.” He hobbled into another room, and found -there some old deerskins covered thickly with fur; -and drawing them out, he moistened and carefully -softened them, and cut out for the maiden long -stockings, which he sewed up with sinew and the -fiber of the yucca leaf. Then he selected for her -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>300]</a></span> -from among the old possessions of his brothers and -sons, who had been killed or perished otherwise, a -number of rabbit-sticks and a fine, heavy stone axe. -Meanwhile, the old woman busied herself in preparing -a lunch for the girl, which was composed of -little cakes of corn-meal, spiced with pepper and -wild onions, pierced through the middle, and baked -in the ashes. When she had made a long string of -these by threading them like beads on a rope of -yucca fiber, she laid them down not far from the -ladder on a little bench, with the rabbit-sticks, the -stone axe, and the deerskin stockings.</p> - -<p>That night the maiden planned and planned, and -early on the following morning, even before the -young men had gone out from the town, she had -put on a warm, short-skirted dress, knotted a mantle -over her shoulder and thrown another and larger -one over her back, drawn on the deerskin stockings, -had thrown the string of corn-cakes over her shoulder, -stuck the rabbit-sticks in her belt, and carrying -the stone axe in her hand sallied forth eastward -through the Gateway of Zuñi and into the plain of -the valley beyond, called the Plain of the Burnt -River, on account of the black, roasted-looking -rocks along some parts of its sides. Dazzlingly -white the snow stretched out before her,—not deep, -but unbroken,—and when she came near the cliffs -with many little cañons in them, along the northern -side of the valley, she saw many a trail of rabbits -running out and in among the rocks and between -the bushes.</p> - -<p>Warm and excited by her unwonted exercise, she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>301]</a></span> -did not heed a coming snow-storm, but ran about -from one place to another, following the trails of -the rabbits, sometimes up into the cañons, where -the forests of piñon and cedar stood, and where -here and there she had the good fortune sometimes -to run two, three, or four rabbits into a single hollow -log. It was little work to split these logs, for -they were small, as you know, and to dig out the -rabbits and slay them by a blow of the hand on -the nape of the neck, back of the ears; and as she -killed each rabbit she raised it reverently to her -lips, and breathed from its nostrils its expiring -breath, and, tying its legs together, placed it on the -string, which after a while began to grow heavy -on her shoulders. Still she kept on, little heeding -the snow which was falling fast; nor did she notice -that it was growing darker and darker, so intent -was she on the hunt, and so glad was she to capture -so many rabbits. Indeed, she followed the trails -until they were no longer visible, as the snow fell -all around her, thinking all the while: “How happy -will be my poor old father and mother that they -shall now have flesh to eat! How strong will they -grow! And when this meat is gone, that which is -dried and preserved of it also, lo! another snow-storm -will no doubt come, and I can go out hunting -again.”</p> - -<p>At last the twilight came, and, looking around, -she found that the snow had fallen deeply, there -was no trail, and that she had lost her way. True, -she turned about and started in the direction of -her home, as she supposed, walking as fast as -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>302]</a></span> -she could through the soft, deep snow. Yet she -reckoned not rightly, for instead of going eastward -along the valley, she went southward across it, -and entering the mouth of the Descending Plain -of the Pines, she went on and on, thinking she was -going homeward, until at last it grew dark and -she knew not which way to turn.</p> - -<p>“What harm,” thought she, “if I find a sheltered -place among the rocks? What harm if I remain -all night, and go home in the morning when -the snow has ceased falling, and by the light I -shall know my way?”</p> - -<p>So she turned about to some rocks which appeared, -black and dim, a short distance away. Fortunately, -among these rocks is the cave which is -known as Taiuma’s Cave. This she came to, and -peering into that black hole, she saw in it, back -some distance, a little glowing light. “Ha, ha!” -thought she; “perhaps some rabbit-hunters like -myself, belated yesterday, passed the night here -and left the fire burning. If so, this is greater -good fortune than I could have looked for.” So, -lowering the string of rabbits which she carried on -her shoulder, and throwing off her mantle, she -crawled in, peering well into the darkness, for fear -of wild beasts; then, returning, she drew in the -string of rabbits and the mantle.</p> - -<p>Behold! there was a bed of hot coals buried in -the ashes in the very middle of the cave, and piled -up on one side were fragments of broken wood. -The girl, happy in her good fortune, issued forth -and gathered more sticks from the cliff-side, where -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>303]</a></span> -dead piñons are found in great numbers, and bringing -them in little armfuls one after another, she -finally succeeded in gathering a store sufficient to -keep the fire burning brightly all the night through. -Then she drew off her snow-covered stockings of -deerskin and the bedraggled mantles, and, building -a fire, hung them up to dry and sat down to rest -herself. The fire burned up and glowed brightly, -so that the whole cave was as light as a room at -night when a dance is being celebrated. By-and-by, -after her clothing had dried, she spread a mantle on -the floor of the cave by the side of the fire, and, -sitting down, dressed one of her rabbits and roasted -it, and, untying the string of corn-cakes her mother -had made for her, feasted on the roasted meat -and cakes.</p> - -<p>She had just finished her evening meal, and was -about to recline and watch the fire for awhile, -when she heard away off in the distance a long, -low cry of distress—“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ho-o-o-o thlaia-a!</i>”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” thought the girl, “someone, more belated -than myself, is lost; doubtless one of the -rabbit-hunters.” She got up, and went nearer to -the entrance of the cavern.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ho-o-o-o thlaia-a!</i>” sounded the cry, nearer -this time. She ran out, and, as it was repeated -again, she placed her hand to her mouth, and cried, -woman though she was, as loudly as possible: -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Li-i thlaia-a!</i>” (“Here!”)</p> - -<p>The cry was repeated near at hand, and presently -the maiden, listening first, and then shouting, and -listening again, heard the clatter of an enormous -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>304]</a></span> -rattle. In dismay and terror she threw her hands -into the air, and, crouching down, rushed into the -cave and retreated to its farthest limits, where she -sat shuddering with fear, for she knew that one -of the Cannibal Demons of those days, perhaps the -renowned Átahsaia of the east, had seen the light -of her fire through the cave entrance, with his -terrible staring eyes, and assuming it to be a lost -wanderer, had cried out, and so led her to guide -him to her place of concealment.</p> - -<p>On came the Demon, snapping the twigs under -his feet and shouting in a hoarse, loud voice: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ho -lithlsh tâ ime!</i>” (“Ho, there! So you are in -here, are you?”) <i>Kothl!</i> clanged his rattle, while, -almost fainting with terror, closer to the rock -crouched the maiden.</p> - -<p>The old Demon came to the entrance of the -cave and bawled out: “I am cold, I am hungry! -Let me in!” Without further ado, he stooped -and tried to get in; but, behold! the entrance was -too small for his giant shoulders to pass. Then -he pretended to be wonderfully civil, and said: -“Come out, and bring me something to eat.”</p> - -<p>“I have nothing for you,” cried the maiden. -“I have eaten my food.”</p> - -<p>“Have you no rabbits?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Come out and bring me some of them.”</p> - -<p>But the maiden was so terrified that she dared -not move toward the entrance.</p> - -<p>“Throw me a rabbit!” shouted the old Demon.</p> - -<p>The maiden threw him one of her precious -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>305]</a></span> -rabbits at last, when she could rise and go to it. -He clutched it with his long, horny hand, gave -one gulp and swallowed it. Then he cried out: -“Throw me another!” She threw him another, -which he also immediately swallowed; and so on -until the poor maiden had thrown all the rabbits -to the voracious old monster. Every one she -threw him he caught in his huge, yellow-tusked -mouth, and swallowed, hair and all, at one gulp.</p> - -<p>“Throw me another!” cried he, when the last -had already been thrown to him.</p> - -<p>So the poor maiden was forced to say: “I have -no more.”</p> - -<p>“Throw me your overshoes!” cried he.</p> - -<p>She threw the overshoes of deerskin, and these -like the rabbits he speedily devoured. Then he -called for her moccasins, and she threw them; for -her belt, and she threw it; and finally, wonderful -to tell, she threw even her mantle, and blanket, and -her overdress, until, behold, she had nothing left!</p> - -<p>Now, with all he had eaten, the old Demon was -swollen hugely at the stomach, and, though he -tried and tried to squeeze himself through the -mouth of the cave, he could not by any means -succeed. Finally, lifting his great flint axe, he -began to shatter the rock about the entrance to -the cave, and slowly but surely he enlarged the -hole and the maiden now knew that as soon as he -could get in he would devour her also, and she -almost fainted at the sickening thought. Pound, -pound, pound, pound, went the great axe of the -Demon as he struck the rocks.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>306]</a></span> -In the distance the two War-gods were sitting -in their home at Thla-uthla (the Shrine amid the -Bushes) beyond Thunder Mountain, and though -far off, they heard thus in the middle of the night -the pounding of the Demon’s hammer-axe against -the rocks. And of course they knew at once that -a poor maiden, for the sake of her father and -mother, had been out hunting,—that she had lost -her way and, finding a cave where there was a little -fire, entered it, rebuilt the fire, and rested herself; -that, attracted by the light of her fire, the Cannibal -Demon had come and besieged her retreat, and -only a little time hence would he so enlarge the -entrance to the cave that he could squeeze even -his great over-filled paunch through it and come -at the maiden to destroy her. So, catching up -their wonderful weapons, these two War-gods -flew away into the darkness and in no time they -were approaching the Descending Plain of the -Pines.</p> - -<p>Just as the Demon was about to enter the cavern, -and the maiden had fainted at seeing his huge face -and gray shock of hair and staring eyes, his yellow, -protruding tusks, and his horny, taloned hand, -they came upon the old beast, and, each one hitting -him a welt with his war-club, they “ended his -daylight,” and then hauled him forth into the open -space. They opened his huge paunch and withdrew -from it the maiden’s garments, and even the -rabbits which had been slain. The rabbits they -cast away amongst the soap-weed plants that grew -on the slope at the foot of the cliff. The -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>307]</a></span> -garments they spread out on the snow, and by their -knowledge cleansed and made them perfect, even -more perfect than they had been before. Then, -flinging the huge body of the giant Demon down -into the depths of the cañon, they turned them -about and, calling out gentle words to the maiden, -entered and restored her; and she, seeing in them -not their usual ugly persons, but handsome youths -(as like to one another as are two deer born of -the same mother), was greatly comforted; and -bending low, and breathing upon their hands, -thanked them over and over for the rescue they -had brought her. But she crouched herself low -with shame that her garments were but few, when, -behold! the youths went out and brought in to her -the garments they had cleaned by their knowledge, -restoring them to her.</p> - -<p>Then, spreading their mantles by the door of the -cave, they slept there that night, in order to protect -the maiden, and on the morrow wakened her. -They told her many things, and showed her many -things which she had not known before, and counselled -her thus: “It is not fearful that a maiden -should marry; therefore, O maiden, return unto -thy people in the Village of the Gateway of the -River of Zuñi. This morning we will slay rabbits -unnumbered for you, and start you on your way, -guarding you down the snow-covered valley, and -when you are in sight of your home we will leave -you, telling you our names.”</p> - -<p>So, early in the morning the two gods went forth; -and flinging their sticks among the soap-weed -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>308]</a></span> -plants, behold! as though the soap-weed plants -were rabbits, so many lay killed on the snow -before these mighty hunters. And they gathered -together great numbers of these rabbits, a -string for each one of the party; and when the -Sun had risen clearer in the sky, and his light -sparkled on the snow around them, they took the -rabbits to the maiden and presented them, saying: -“We will carry each one of us a string of these -rabbits.” Then taking her hand, they led her out -of the cave and down the valley, until, beyond on -the high black mesas at the Gateway of the River -of Zuñi, she saw the smoke rise from the houses -of her village. Then turned the two War-gods -to her, and they told her their names. And again -she bent low, and breathed on their hands. Then, -dropping the strings of rabbits which they had -carried close beside the maiden, they swiftly -disappeared.</p> - -<p>Thinking much of all she had learned, she continued -her way to the home of her father and -mother; and as she went into the town, staggering -under her load of rabbits, the young men and -the old men and women and children beheld her -with wonder; and no hunter in that town thought -of comparing himself with the Maiden Huntress -of K’yawana Tehua-tsana. The old man and the -old woman, who had mourned the night through -and sat up anxiously watching, were overcome -with happiness when they saw their daughter returning; -and as she laid the rabbits at their feet, -she said: “Behold! my father and my mother, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>309]</a></span> -foolish have I been, and much danger have I -passed through, because I forgot the ways of a -woman and assumed the ways of a man. But two -wondrous youths have taught me that a woman -may be a huntress and yet never leave her own -fireside. Behold! I will marry, when some good -youth comes to me, and he will hunt rabbits and -deer for me, for my parents and my children.”</p> - -<p>So, one day, when one of those youths who had -seen her come in laden with rabbits, and who -had admired her time out of mind, presented himself -with a bundle at the maiden’s fireside, behold! -she smilingly and delightedly accepted him. And -from that day to this, when women would hunt -rabbits or deer, they marry, and behold, the rabbits -and deer are hunted.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>310]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap25" id="chap25"></a>THE UGLY WILD BOY WHO DROVE -THE BEAR AWAY FROM SOUTHEASTERN -MESA</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the days of the ancients there lived with his -old grandmother, not far from K’iákime, east, -where the sweet wafer-bread is pictured on the -rocks, a frightfully ugly boy. The color of his -body and face was blue. He had a twisted nose, -crooked scars of various colors ran down each side -of his face, and he had a bunch of red things like -peppers on his head; in fact, in all ways he resembled -the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Héhea</i>, or the wild men of the Sacred -Dance who serve as runners to the priest-clowns.</p> - -<p>Now, one season it had rained so much that the -piñon trees were laden with nuts, and the datilas -were heavy with fruit, and the gray grass and red-top -were so heavy with seeds that even when the -wind did not blow they bent as if in a breeze.</p> - -<p>In vain the people of K’iákime went to the -Southeastern Mesa, where the nut trees and datilas -and grass grew. They could not gather the nuts -and the fruit and the seeds, because of the ugly -old Bear who claimed the country and its products -for his own, and waxed fat thereon. Some of the -people were killed by him, others were maimed, -and all the rest were driven away.</p> - -<p>One day the ugly little boy said to his grandmother: -“O grandmother, I am going out to gather -datilas and piñon nuts on the Southeastern Mesa.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>311]</a></span> -“Child, child!” cried the grandmother, “do -not go; do not, by any means, go! You know -very well there is an ugly Bear there who will either -kill you or maim you frightfully.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care for all that!” cried the boy; “I -am going!” Whereupon he went.</p> - -<p>He followed the trail called the Road of the -Pending Meal-sack, and he climbed the crooked -path up Shoyakoskwe (Southeastern Mesa), and -advanced over the wide plateau. No sooner had -he begun to pluck the sweet datila fruit and eat of -it, and had cracked between his teeth an occasional -piñon nut, than “<i>Wha-a-a-a!</i>” snarled the old Bear; -and he came rushing out of the nearest thicket -toward the boy.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">U shoma kutchi kihe!</i>” shouted the boy. -“Friend, friend, don’t bite me! It’ll hurt! Don’t -bite me! I came to make a bargain with you.”</p> - -<p>“I’d like to know why I shouldn’t bite you!” -growled the Bear. “I’ll tear you to pieces. -What have you come to my country for, stealing -my fruit and nuts and grass-seed?”</p> - -<p>“I came to get something to eat,” replied the -boy. “You have plenty.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, I have not. I will let you pick -nothing. I will tear you to pieces!” said the -Bear.</p> - -<p>“Don’t, don’t, and I will make a bargain with -you,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Who should talk of bargains to me?” yelled -the Bear, cracking a small pine-tree to pieces with -his paws and teeth, so great was his rage.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>312]</a></span> -“These things are no more yours than mine,” -said the boy, “and I’ll prove it.”</p> - -<p>“How?” asked the Bear.</p> - -<p>“They are mine; they are not yours!” cried -the boy.</p> - -<p>“They are mine, I tell you! They are not -yours!” replied the Bear.</p> - -<p>“They are mine!” retorted the boy.</p> - -<p>And so they might have wrangled till sunset, or -torn one another into pieces, had it not been for a -suggestion that the boy made.</p> - -<p>“Look here! I’ll make a proposition to you,” -said he.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” asked the Bear.</p> - -<p>“Whoever is certain of his rights on this plateau -and the things that grow on it must prove it by not -being scared by anything that the other does,” said -the boy.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” laughed the Bear, in his big, coarse -voice. “That is a good plan, indeed. I am perfectly -willing to stand the test.”</p> - -<p>“Well, now, one of us must run away and -hide,” said the boy, “and then the other must -come on him unaware in some way and frighten -him, if he can.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said the Bear. “Who first?”</p> - -<p>“Just as you say,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Well, then, I will try you first,” said the Bear, -“for this place belongs to me.” Whereupon he -turned and fled into the thicket. And the boy -went around picking datilas and eating them, and -throwing the skins away. Presently the Bear -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>313]</a></span> -came rushing out of the thicket, snapping the -trees and twigs, and throwing them about at such a -rate that you would have thought there was a sandstorm -raging through the forest.</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ku hai yaau!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ku pekwia nu!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i2"><i>Ha! ha! ha! haaaa!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>he exclaimed, rushing at the boy from the rear.</p> - -<p>The boy stirred never so much as a leaf, only -kept on champing his datilas.</p> - -<p>Again the Bear retired, and again he came -rushing forth and snarling out: “<i>Ha! ha! ha! -hu! hu! hu!</i>” in a terrific voice, and grabbed the -boy; but never so much as the boy’s heart stirred.</p> - -<p>“By my senses!” exclaimed the Bear; “you are -a man, and I must give it up. Now, suppose -you try me. I can stand as much frightening -as you, and, unless you can frighten me, I tell you -you must keep away from my datila and piñon -patch.”</p> - -<p>Then the boy turned on his heel and fled away -toward his grandmother’s house, singing as he -went:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Kuyaina itoshlakyanaa!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Kuyaina itoshlakyanaa!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">He of the piñon patch frightened shall be!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">He of the piñon patch frightened shall be!<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Oh! shall he?” cried his grandmother. “I -declare, I am surprised to see you come back -alive and well.”</p> - -<p>“Hurry up, grandmother,” said the boy, “and -paint me as frightfully as you can.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>314]</a></span> -“All right, my son; I will help you!” So she -blackened the right side of his face with soot, -and painted the left side with ashes, until he -looked like a veritable demon. Then she gave -him a stone axe of ancient time and magic power, -and she said: “Take this, my son, and see what -you can do with it.”</p> - -<p>The boy ran back to the mountain. The Bear -was wandering around eating datilas. The boy -suddenly ran toward him, and exclaimed:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ai yaaaa!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i1"><i>He! he! he! he! he! he! he! tooh!</i>”—<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>and he whacked the side of a hollow piñon tree -with his axe. The tree was shivered with a thundering -noise, the earth shook, and the Bear jumped -as if he had been struck by one of the flying -splinters. Then, recovering himself and catching -sight of the boy, he exclaimed: “What a fool I am, -to be scared by that little wretch of a boy!” But -presently, seeing the boy’s face, he was startled -again, and exclaimed: “By my eyes, the Death -Demon is after me, surely!”</p> - -<p>Again the boy, as he came near, whacked with -his magic axe the body of another tree, calling out -in a still louder voice. The earth shook so much -and the noise was so thunderous that the Bear -sneezed with agitation. And again, as the boy -came still nearer, once more he struck a tree a -tremendous blow, and again the earth thundered -and trembled more violently than ever, and the Bear -almost lost his senses with fright and thought surely -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>315]</a></span> -the Corpse Demon was coming this time. When, -for the fourth time, the boy struck a tree, close -to the Bear, the old fellow was thrown violently -to the ground with the heaving of the earth and -the bellowing of the sounds that issued forth. Picking -himself up as fast as he could, never stopping to -see whether it was a boy or a devil, he fled to the -eastward as fast as his legs would carry him, and, -as he heard the boy following him, he never -stopped until he reached the Zuñi Mountains.</p> - -<p>“There!” said the boy; “I’ll chase the old rogue -no farther. He’s been living all these years on -the mountain where more fruit and nuts and grass-seed -grow than a thousand Bears could eat, and -yet he’s never let so much as a single soul of the -town of K’iákime gather a bit.”</p> - -<p>Then the boy returned to his grandmother, -and related to her what had taken place.</p> - -<p>“Go,” said she, “and tell the people of K’iákime, -from the top of yonder high rock, that those -who wish to go out to gather grass-seed and datilas -and piñon nuts need fear no longer.”</p> - -<p>So the boy went out, and, mounting the high -rock, informed and directed the people as follows:</p> - -<p>“Ye of the Home of the Eagles! Ye do I now -inform, whomsoever of ye would gather datilas, -whomsoever of ye would gather piñon nuts, whomsoever -of ye would gather grass-seed, that bread -may be made, hie ye over the mountains, and -gather them to your hearts’ content, for I have -driven the Bear away!”</p> - -<p>A few believed in what the boy said; and some, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>316]</a></span> -because he was ugly, would not believe it and -would not go; and thus were as much hindered -from gathering grass-seed and nuts for daily food -as if the Bear had been really there. You know -people nowadays are often frightened by such a -kind of Bear as this.</p> - - - -<p class="break">Thus it was in the days of the ancients. And -therefore the Zuñi Mountains to this day are -filled with bears; but they rarely descend to the -mesas in the southwest, being fully convinced from -the experience of their ancestor that the Corpse -Demon is near and continues to lie in wait for -them. And our people go over the mountains as -they will, even women and children, and gather -datila fruit, piñon nuts, and grass-seed without -hindrance.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>317]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap26" id="chap26"></a>THE REVENGE OF THE TWO BROTHERS -ON THE HÁWIKUHKWE, OR -THE TWO LITTLE ONES<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> AND -THEIR TURKEYS<br /> - -<span class="vsmlfont">(THE ORIGIN OF THE PRIESTS AND CHIEFS OF -THE DANCE OF VICTORY)</span></h2> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_16_16">[16]</a></span> -This term refers to the two Gods of War, Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma, -who, as has been seen in previous tales, were accounted immortal twin -youths of small size. <a href="#FNanchor_16_16">Back</a></p> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">L</span>ONG, long ago, there lived on Twin Mountain, -Áhaiyúta and his younger brother, with their -grandmother. They had a large flock of Turkeys -of which they were very fond, but were not so -attentive to them as they should have been. Said -the grandmother to the boys, late one morning: -“Let your poor Turkeys out, for they will starve, -poor birds, if you do not let them out oftener.”</p> - -<p>“But they will run away, grandmother,” said the -two boys, who did not fancy herding them much -of the time.</p> - -<p>“Why should they run away?” asked the vexed -grandmother, who had a sorry enough time managing -the two heedless boys. “Rest assured they -will come back when roosting-time comes, for such -is their custom.”</p> - -<p>So the Twain ran down and reluctantly let their -Turkeys go. The Turkeys were many—dirty old -hens, piping, long-legged youngsters, and noisy old -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>318]</a></span> -cocks; but they were all more noisy when they -were let out, and not long was it before they were -straying far beyond the border of woods and -toward Háwikuh.</p> - -<p>Not long after noon the flock of Turkeys -strolled, gobbling and chirping, into the valley -north of Háwikuh<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> where many of the people of -that pueblo had corn-fields. Some young men -who were resting from their hoeing heard the -calls of the Turkeys, and, starting up, saw across -the valley a larger flock than they had ever been -wont to find. Of course they were crazy. They -started up and ran as fast as they could toward -the pueblo, calling out as they went what they -had discovered, so that all the people in the -fields began to gather in. As soon as they came -within the pueblo, they sought out the Priests of -the Bow and told them what they had discovered.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_17_17">[17]</a></span> -Háwikuh, or Aguico of the Spaniards, a pueblo now in ruins across -the valley northwestward from Ojo Caliente, the southwestern farming -town of the Zuñis. <a href="#FNanchor_17_17">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Very quickly ran the priests to the tops of the -houses, and they began to call out to their people: -“Ye we would this day make wise, for our sons -tell us of many Turkeys in the valley over the -hill; so hasten ye to gather together good bows -and arrows, boomerangs, and strings, that ye may -be made happy and add unto your flocks and -make more plentiful the plumes in your feather -boxes.”</p> - -<p>In a very short time the people were rushing -out of their doorways all prepared for the chase, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>319]</a></span> -and they ran after the young men and leaders as -though in a race of the kicked stick.</p> - -<p>Now, the sage-bushes and grasses grow tall to -this day in the valley north of Háwikuh, and so -they grew in the days long, long ago that I tell of. -It thus happened that the poor Turkeys who were -racing after grasshoppers, and peeping, and calling, -and gobbling, did not know that the Háwikuh -people were after them until they heard some old -hens calling out in alarm from behind. Even then -they were unable to get away, for the people were -around them shouting and hurling crooked sticks, -and shooting sharp arrows at them in all directions. -Soon they began to fall on every side, -especially the long-legged young ones, who so tangled -their legs in the grasses that they could not -keep up with their mothers, and were easily overtaken -by the hunters of Háwikuh; and the old -hens who stayed behind to look after the young -ones were no better, and the cocks who stayed -back to look after the old hens were even worse -off, for the people sought them most because their -feathers were so much brighter.</p> - -<p>So it happened in a very short time that more -than half the flock were killed and others were -falling when a half-grown Long-leg started as fast -as he could alone toward Twin Mountain.</p> - -<p>It was growing late, and Áhaiyúta and his -younger brother and their old grandmother were -on top of their house shading their eyes and watching -for the return of the Turkeys, when they saw -the solitary young Long-leg coming, all out of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>320]</a></span> -breath and his wings dragging, over the hill below -Master Cañon.</p> - -<p>“Ha!” said the younger brother; “look! there -comes a Long-legs,—and what is he shouting?—Jump -up, brother, jump up! Do you hear that?”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">I-wo-loh-kia-a—a—a!</i>” called the Turkey, so -that they could just hear him; and as that means -“Murder! Murder!” you may think to yourself -how much they were excited; but they were not so -much alarmed as the old grandmother, “for,” said -they, one to the other, “it is nothing but a youngster, -anyway, and they are always more scared than -the old ones.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, they hastened down to meet him, -and as they approached they saw that he was terribly -frightened, so they anxiously waited until he -breathed more easily and would stand still; then -they asked: “What is it? Where is it? Why -do you come alone, crying ‘Murder, Murder!’”</p> - -<p>“Alas! my fathers,” exclaimed the Turkey. -“Alas! I, alone, am left to tell of it; ere I left -they were thrown down all around me.”</p> - -<p>“Who did this?” angrily demanded the boys.</p> - -<p>“The people of Háwikuh,” exclaimed the Turkey, -glancing apprehensively around.</p> - -<p>“Ha! we shall yet win back our loss,” ejaculated -the boys to one another; and then they turned -to the Turkey. “Are they all murdered and -gone?” they asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, alas! yes; I alone am left,” moaned the -young Turkey.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no!” broke in the elder brother, “there -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>321]</a></span> -will yet many return, for this is but a Long-leg, and -surely when he could save himself others and older -ones could.” Even then they heard some of the -Turkeys calling to one another, out of breath over -the low hills. “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">U-kwa-tchi!</i>” (“Didn’t I tell -you!”) exclaimed Áhaiyúta, and they started toward -the mountain.</p> - -<p>One by one, or in little bunches, the Turkeys -came fleeing in, scared, weary, and bedraggled; -and the boys knew by this, and that only a -few after all returned, that the Long-leg had not -been for nothing taught to fear. They betook -themselves to their house. There they sat down -to eat with their grandmother, and after the eating -was finished, they poked little sticks into the -blazing fire on the hearth, and cried out to their -grandmother: “Tomorrow, grandmother, we will -gather fagots.”</p> - -<p>“Foolish, foolish boys!” crooned the old grandmother.</p> - -<p>“Aye, tomorrow we will gather sprouts. -Where do they grow thickest and straightest, -grandmother?”</p> - -<p>“Now, you boys had better let sprouts and war -alone,” retorted the grandmother.</p> - -<p>“But we must win back our losing,” cried the -boys, with so much vehemence that the grandmother -only shook her head and exclaimed: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">A-ti-ki!</i> -(“Blood!”) Strange creatures, my grandchildren, -both!” whereupon the two boys poked one the -other and laughed.</p> - -<p>“Well,” added the grandmother, “I have warned -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>322]</a></span> -you; now act your own thoughts”;—and the boys -looked at her as earnestly as though they knew -nothing of what she would say. “Fine warriors, -indeed, who do not know where to look for arrow-sticks! -But if you will go sprouting, why, over -there in the Rain-pond Basin are plenty of sprouts, -and then north on Scale Ridge grow more, and -over in Oak Cañon are fine oak-sprouts, more than -ten boys like you could carry, and above here -around Great Mountain are other kinds, and everywhere -grow sprouts enough, if people weren’t beasts -passing understanding; and, what’s more, I could -tell you boys something to your advantage if you -would ever listen to your old grandmother, but—”</p> - -<p>“What is it? What is it?” interrupted the -boys excitedly, just as if they knew nothing of -what she would say.</p> - -<p>“Why, over there by the Rain-pond Basin lives -your grandfather—”</p> - -<p>“Who’s that? Who’s that?” interrupted the -boys again.</p> - -<p>“I’ve a mind not to tell you, you shameless little -beasts, another word,” jerked out the old grandmother, -sucking her lips as if they were marrowbones, -and digging into the pudding she was -stirring as though it were alive enough to be -killed,—“just as though I were not telling you -as fast as I could; and, besides, anything but little -beasts would know their grandfather—why, the -Rainbow-worm, of course!”<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_18_18">[18]</a></span> -One of the “measuring-worms” which is named the rainbow, on account -of his streaked back and habit of bending double when travelling. <a href="#FNanchor_18_18">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>323]</a></span> -“The Rainbow-worm our grandfather, indeed!” -persisted the boys; and they would have said more -had not their grandmother, getting cross, raised -the pudding-stick at them, and bid them “shut -up!” So they subsided, and the old woman continued: -“Yes, your grandfather, and for shame!—You -may sit there and giggle all you please, but -your grandfather the Rainbow-worm is a great -warrior, I can tell you, and if you boys will go -sprouting, why, I can tell you, you will fare but -with poverty the day after, if you do not get him -to help you, that’s all!”</p> - -<p>“Indeed,” replied the boys, quite respectfully.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that I tell you; and, moresoever, over -there beyond at the wood border, in a pond, is -your other grandfather, and he is a great warrior, -too.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed!” exclaimed the boys, as though they -did not know that already, also.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and you must go to see him, too; for you -can’t get along without him any more than without -the other. Now, you boys go to sleep, for you -will want to get up very early in the morning, and -you must go down the path and straight over the -little hills to where your grandfathers live, and not -up into the Master Cañon to gather your sticks, -for if you do you will forget all I’ve told you. -You are creatures who pass comprehension, you -two grandchildren of mine.”</p> - -<p>So the two boys lay down in the corner together -under one robe, like a man and his wife, for they -did not sleep apart like our boys. But, do you -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>324]</a></span> -know, those two mischievous boys giggled and -kicked one another, and kept turning about, just -as though they never dreamed of the morning. -Then they fell to quarrelling about who could turn -over the quicker.</p> - -<p>“I can,” said the elder brother.</p> - -<p>“You can’t!”</p> - -<p>“I can!”</p> - -<p>“No, you can’t!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I can, and I’ll show you”; and he was -about to brace himself for the trial when the old -grandmother strode over with her pudding-stick, -lifting it in the air, with her usual expression of -“Blood! my grandchildren both,” when they -quieted down and pretended to sleep; but still -they kept giggling and trying to pull the cover off -each other.</p> - -<p>“Stop that gaping and fooling, will you? And -go to sleep, you nasty little cubs!” cried the irritated -old woman; and laughing outright at their -poor old grandmother, they put their arms around -each other and fell asleep.</p> - -<p>Next morning the sun rose, till he shone straight -over the mountain, but still the two boys were -asleep. The old grandmother had gone out to -water her garden, and now she was sitting on the -house-top shading her eyes and looking down the -trail she had told the boys to follow, to see them -come out of the shadow.</p> - -<p>After she had strained her poor old eyes till -they watered, she grew impatient: “Did I ever -see such boys! Now they’ve gone and played me -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>325]</a></span> -another trick. They’ll rue their pranks some -day.” Then she thought she would go down and -get some mush for breakfast. As she climbed -down the ladder, she heard a tremendous snoring. -“Ho, ho!” exclaimed the old grandmother; and -striding across the room she shook the boys -soundly. “Get up, get up! you lazy creatures; -fine sprouters, you!”</p> - -<p>The boys rolled over, rubbed their eyes, and -began to stretch.</p> - -<p>“Get up, get up! the day is warmed long ago; -fine warriors, you!” reiterated the old woman, giving -them another shaking.</p> - -<p>The boys sat up, stretched, gaped, rubbed their -eyes, and scratched their heads—the dirtiest little -fellows ever seen—but they were only making believe. -Their arms were crusty with dirt, and their -hair stood out like down on a wild milkweed after -a rain-storm, and yet these boys were the handsomest -children that ever lived—only they were -fooling their old grandmother, you see.</p> - -<p>“You’d better be down at the spring washing -your eyes at sunrise, instead of scratching your -heads here with the sun shining already down the -sky-hole”; croaked the old woman.</p> - -<p>“What! is the sun out?” cried the boys in -mock surprise; but they knew what time it was -as well as the old crone did.</p> - -<p>“Out! I should say it was! You boys might -as well go to sleep again. A fine bundle of sticks -you could get today, with the sun done climbing -up already.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>326]</a></span> -So the boys pretended to be in a great hurry -and, grabbing up their bows and quivers, never -stopped to half dress nor heeded the old woman’s -offer of food, but were jumping down the crags -like mountain goats before the old woman was -up the ladder.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Atiki!</i>” exclaimed the grandmother; “these -beasts that cause meditation!” Then she climbed -the terrace and watched and watched and watched; -but the boys liked nothing better than to worry -their old grandmother, so they ran up Master -Cañon and into the woods and so across to Rain-pond -Basin, leaving the old woman to look as she -would.</p> - -<p>“<i>Uhh!</i>” groaned the old woman; “they are -down among the rocks playing. Fine warriors, -they!” and with this she went back to her cooking.</p> - -<p>By-and-by the boys came to the edge of the -basin where the pod plant grew. Sure enough, -there was the Rainbow-worm, eating leaves as -though he were dying of hunger—a great fat fellow, -as big as the boys themselves; for long, -long ago, in the days I tell you of, the Rainbow-worm -was much bigger than he is now.</p> - -<p>“Hold on,” said the younger brother. “Let’s -frighten the old fellow.”</p> - -<p>So they sneaked up until they were close to the -grandfather, and then they began to tickle him with -a stalk. Amiwili—that was his name—twitched -his skin and bit away faster and faster at the leaves, -until Áhaiyúta shouted at the top of his voice, -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ha-u-thla!</i>” which made the old man jump and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>327]</a></span> -turn back so quickly that he would have broken -his back had he a back-bone.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shoma!</i>” he exclaimed. “It’s my grandchildren, -is it? I am old and a little deaf, and you -frightened me, my boys.”</p> - -<p>“Did we frighten you, grandfather? That’s -too bad. Well, never mind; we’ve come to you for -advice.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that, my grandchildren?” looking out -of his yellow eyes as though he were very wise, -and standing up on his head and tail as though -they had been two feet.</p> - -<p>“Why, you see,” said the boys, “we had a big -drove of Turkeys, and we let them out to feed -yesterday, but the fools got too near Háwikuh and -the people there killed many, many of them; so -we have decided to get back our winnings and even -the game with them, the shameless beasts!”</p> - -<p>“Ah ha!” exclaimed old Amiwili. “Very well!” -and he lay down on his belly and lifted his head -into the air like a man resting on his elbows. -“Ah ha!” said he, with a wag of his head and a -squint of his goggle. “Ah ha! Very well! I’ll -show them that they are not to treat my grandchildren -like that. I’m a warrior, every direction -of me—and there are a great many directions -when I get angry, now, I can tell you! I’m just -made to use up life,” said he, with another swagger -of his head.</p> - -<p>“Listen to that!” said Mátsailéma to his -brother.</p> - -<p>“To use up life, that’s what I’m for,” added -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>328]</a></span> -the old man, with emphasis; “I’ll show the Háwikuhkwe!”</p> - -<p>“Will you come to the council?” asked the -two boys.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shuathla</i>,” swaggered the old man—which -is a very old-fashioned word that our grandfathers -used when they said: “Go ye but before me.”</p> - -<p>So the boys skipped over to the pool at the -wood border. There was their old grandfather, -the Turtle, with his eyes squinted up, paddling -round in the scum, and stretching his long neck -up to bite off the heads of the water-rushes.</p> - -<p>“Let’s have some fun with the old Shield-back,” -said the boys to one another. “Just you hold a -moment, brother elder,” said Mátsailéma as he -fitted an arrow to the string and drew it clean to -the point. <i>Tsi-i-i-i thle-e-e!</i> sang the arrow as it -struck the back of the old Turtle; and although -he was as big as the Turtles in the big Waters of -the World now are, the force and fright ducked -him under the scum like a chip, and he came up -with his eyes slimy and his mouth full of spittle, -and his legs flying round too fast to be counted. -When he spied the two boys, he cursed them -harder than their grandmother did, but they hardly -heard him, for their arrow glanced upward from -his back and came down so straight that they had -to run for their lives. “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Atiki!</i> troublesome little -beasts, who never knew what shame nor dignity -was!” exclaimed the old fellow.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be angry with us, grandpa,” said the -boys. “You must be deaf, for we called and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>329]</a></span> -called to you, but you only paddled round and -ate rushes; so we thought we would fire an arrow -at you, for you know we couldn’t get at you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s it! Well, what may my grandchildren -be thinking of, in thus coming to see me? -It cannot be for nothing,” reflected the old man, -as he twisted his head up toward them and pushed -the scum with his tail.</p> - -<p>“Quite true, grandfather; we’ve started out -sprouting, and had to come to our grandfather -for advice.”</p> - -<p>“Why, what is it then?” queried the old -Shield-back.</p> - -<p>“You see, we have a flock of Turkeys—”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know,” interrupted the old man, “for -they came down here to drink yesterday and broke -my morning nap with their ‘<i>quit quit quittings!</i>’”</p> - -<p>“Well,” resumed the boys, “they went toward -the Háwikuhkwe, and the shameless beasts, that -they are, turned out and killed very nearly all of -them, and we’re going to even matters with them; -that’s why we are out sprouting.”</p> - -<p>“Ah ha!” cried the old man, paddling up nearer -to the bank. “Good! Well, that’s right, my -grandchildren; you show that you are the wise -boys that you are to come to me. I’m a great -warrior, I am, for though I have neither bow nor -arrow, yet the more my enemies have, the worse -for themselves, that’s all. You two just wait until -tomorrow,” and he stretched his head out until -it looked as though he kept a snake in his -shell.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>330]</a></span> -“Will you help us?” asked the boys. (They -knew very well he would like nothing better.)</p> - -<p>“Of course, my grandchildren.”</p> - -<p>“Will you come to the council?”</p> - -<p>“Of course, my grandchildren two. How many -will be there?” called the old fellow.</p> - -<p>“The house shall be as full as a full stomach,” -retorted the boys, jousting each other.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Thluathlá!</i>” gruffly said Etawa, for that was -the Turtle’s name.</p> - -<p>So the boys started for Oak-wood Cañon, and, -arrived there, soon had a large bundle of branches -cut down with their big flint knives, and four -stout, dry oak-sticks. They shouldered their -“sprouts” and started home, and, although they -had bundles big enough to almost hide them, they -trotted along as though they had nothing. On -their way they picked up a lot of obsidian, and -went fast enough until they were near their -home, and then they were “very tired”—so tired -that the old grandmother, when she caught sight -of them, pitied them, and hurried down to stir -some mush for them. She buried some corn-cakes -in the ashes, too, and roasted some prairie-dogs -in the same way; so that when those two lying -little rascals came up and seemed so worn-out, she -hurried so fast to get their food ready that it made -her sinews twitch.</p> - -<p>When the boys had eaten all they could and -cracked a few prairie-dog bones, they fell to -breaking the sprouts. They worked with their -stone chips very fast, and soon had barked all they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>331]</a></span> -wanted. These they straightened by passing them -through their horns<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> and placed them before the -fire. While the shafts were drying, they broke -up the obsidian, and laying chips of it on a stone -covered with buckskin, quickly fashioned them -into sharp arrow-heads with the points of other -stones, and these they fastened to the ends of the -shafts, placing feathers of the eagle on the other -ends, until they had made enough for four big -bundles. Then they made a bow of each of the -four oak-sticks, and stood them up to dry against -the wall.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_19_19">[19]</a></span> -Fragments of mountain-sheep horn are used to this day by the Zuñis -for the same purpose. They are flattened by heat and perforated with -holes of varying size. By introducing the shaft to be straightened, and -rubbing with a twisting motion the inner sides of the crooked portions, -they are gradually straightened out, afterward to be straightened by hand -from time to time as they dry before the fire. <a href="#FNanchor_19_19">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>As it grew dark they heard something like a -dry leaf in a little wind.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said one to the other, “our grandfather -comes”; and sure enough presently Amiwili poked -his yellow eyes in at the door, but quickly drew -back again.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kutchi!</i>” said he, “your fire is fearful; it -scares me!”</p> - -<p>“The grandfather cometh!” exclaimed the boys. -“Come in; sit down.”</p> - -<p>“Very well. Ah! you are stretching shafts, are -you?” said the old Worm, crawling around behind -the boys and into the darkest corner he could find.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied they. “Why do you not come -out into the light, grandpa?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>332]</a></span> -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kutchi!</i> I fear the fire; it hurts my eyes, and -makes me feel as the sun does after a rain-storm -and I have no leaves to crawl into.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said the boys. “Grandmother, -spread a robe for him in the corner.” Then they -busied themselves straightening some of the arrows -and trying their bows. Just as they were pulling -one toward the entrance way, they heard old Etawa -thumping along, and immediately the old fellow -called out: “Hold on; don’t thump me against -one of those sticks of yours; they jar a fellow so!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s you, is it, grandfather? Well, we’re -only trying our new bows; come in and sit down.” -So the old fellow bumped along in and took his -place by the fire, for he did not care whether it -was hot or cold.</p> - -<p>“Are the councillors here?” asked he, wagging -his head around.</p> - -<p>“Why, certainly,” said the two boys; “and now -our council is so full we had better proceed to discuss -what we had better do.”</p> - -<p>When the old Turtle discovered that the boys -had been playing him a joke, he was vexed, but -he didn’t show it. “Amiwili here?” asked he. -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tchukwe!</i> We four will teach those Háwikuhkwe!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed!” croaked the Rainbow-worm.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the boys, “at daybreak tomorrow -morning, before it is light, we shall start for -Háwikuh-town.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” responded Amiwili. “Come to -my place first, and let me know when you start.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>333]</a></span> -“And,” added Etawa, “come to my place next -and let me know. When you boys get to Háwikuh -and alarm the people, if they get too thick for you, -come back to my house as fast as you can, and -you, Mátsailéma, take me up on your back. Then -you two run toward your other grandfather’s house. -I’ll show these Háwikuhkwe that I can waste life -as much as anybody, even if I have no arrows to -shoot at them.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” added the Rainbow-worm, “and when -you come up to my house, just run past me and I’ll -take care of the rest of them. I’m made to use -up life, I am,” swaggered he.</p> - -<p>“And I,” boasted the old Turtle. “Come, -brother, let us be going, for we have a long way to -travel, and our legs are short.” So, after feasting, -the two started away.</p> - -<p>As soon as they had gone, the two boys went to -their corner and lay down to rest, first filling their -quivers with arrows, and laying their water-shield<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> -out on the floor. They were presently quiet, and -then began to snore; so their old grandmother -went into another room and brought out a new -bowl which she filled with water. Then she retired -into the room again, and when she came out she -was dressed in beautiful embroidered mantles and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>334]</a></span> -skirts and decorated with precious ornaments of -shell and turquoise.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_20_20">[20]</a></span> -The <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">kia-al-lan</i>, or water-shield, is represented in modern times by -a beautiful netting of white cotton threads strung on a round hoop, with a -downy plume suspended from the center. This, with the dealings of -Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma with arrows of lightning, and the simile of their -father the Sun, leaves little doubt that they are, in common with mystic -creations of the Aryans, representatives of natural phenomena or their -agents. This is even more closely suggested by the sequel. <a href="#FNanchor_20_20">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>The noise she made awoke Áhaiyúta, who -punched his younger brother, and said: “Wake -up, wake up! Here’s grandmother dressed as -though she were going to a dance!”</p> - -<p>Then the younger brother raised his voice to a -sharp whisper (they knew perfectly well what the -old grandmother was intending to do): “What -for?”</p> - -<p>“Here!” said the old woman, turning toward -the bed. “Go to sleep! What are you never-weary -little beasts doing now? For shame! You pretend -you are going out to war tomorrow!”</p> - -<p>“Why are you dressed so, grandmother?” -ventured the younger.</p> - -<p>“What <em>should</em> I be dressed for but to make -medicine for you two? Now, mind, you must not -watch me. I shall make the medicine and place -it in these two cane tubes, and you must shoot -them into the middle of the plaza of Háwikuh as -soon as you get there. That will make the people -like women; for the canes will break and make -the medicine fly about like mist, and whomsoever -gets his skin wet by it, will become no more of a -warrior than a woman. Go to sleep, I say, you -pests!”</p> - -<p>But the boys had no intention of sleeping. To -be sure, they stretched themselves out and slyly -laid their arms across their eyes. The old grandmother -did not notice this at first. She began to -wash her arms in the bowl of water. Then she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>335]</a></span> -rubbed them so hard that the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">yepna</i> (“substance of -flesh”) was rolled off in little lumps and fell into -the water. This she began to mix carefully with -the water, when Áhaiyúta whispered to the other: -“Brother younger, just look! Old grandmother’s -arms look as bright as a young girl’s. Look, -look!” said he, still louder, for the other had -already begun to giggle; but when the old woman -turned to talk sharply at them, they turned over, -the rascals, as dutifully as though they had never -joked with their poor old grandmother. Soon -they were indeed sleeping.</p> - -<p>Then the grandmother proceeded to fill the -canes with the fluid, and then she fastened these -to the ends of two good arrows. “There!” she -exclaimed, with a sigh; and after she had chanted -an incantation over the canes, she laid some food -near the boys and softly left the room, to sleep.</p> - -<p>The boys never minded the things they had to -do in the morning, but slept soundly until the -coming of day, when they arose, took their bows -and quivers, knives, war-clubs, arrows, and water-shield, -and quietly stole away.</p> - -<p>It was not long ere they approached the house -of Amiwili. He was fairly gorging the leaves of -all the lizard plants he could lay hold of, and -already looked so full that he must have felt like -a ball. But he munched away so busily that he -wouldn’t have looked at the boys had it been light -enough.</p> - -<p>“How did our grandfather come unto the -morning?” asked they.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>336]</a></span> -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Thluathlá!</i>” (“Get out!”) was all the old -Worm vouchsafed them between his cuds; and -they sped on.</p> - -<p>Soon they reached the home of the old Turtle. -This old grandfather was more leisurely. “You -will return at the height of the sun,” said he. -“Now mind what I told you last night. I’ll -wait right here on the bank for you.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” laughed the boys, for little they -cared that they were on the war-path.</p> - -<p>By-and-by they neared the town of Háwikuh. -It was twilight, for the morning star was high. -The boys sat down a moment and sang an incantation,—the -same our fathers and children, the -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ápithlan Shíwani</i>, sing now. Then the younger -brother ran round the pueblo to scout. Two or -three people were getting up, as he could see, for -nearly everybody slept on the roofs, it was so -warm.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Iwolohkia-a-a!</i>” cried he, at the top of his -voice; and as the people were rousing he drew one -of the cane arrows full length in his bow, and so -straight and high did he shoot, that it fell <i>thl-i-i-i-i!</i> -into the middle of the plaza, splitting and scattering -medicine-water in every direction, so that the -people all exclaimed, as they rubbed their eyes: -“Ho! it is raining, and yet the sky is clear! And -didn’t some one cry ‘Murder, murder!’”</p> - -<p>When Áhaiyúta’s arrow struck, it scattered -more medicine-water upon them, until they thought -they must be dreaming of rain; but just then -Mátsailéma shouted, “<i>Ho-o-o!</i> Murder!” again, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>337]</a></span> -and everybody started to hunt bows and arrows. -Then the boy ran to the hiding-place of his brother -in the grass on the trail toward the wood border, -and just as he got there, some of the people who -were shouting and gabbling to one another ran -out to see him.</p> - -<p>“Ha!” they shouted, “there they are, on the -northern trail.”</p> - -<p>So the Háwikuhkwe all poured down toward -them, but when they arrived there they found no -enemy. While the people were looking and running -about, <i>tsok tsok</i>, and <i>tsok tsok</i>, and <i>tsok tsok</i>, -the arrows of Áhaiyúta, and Mátsailéma struck -the nearest ones, for they had crawled along the trail -and were waiting in the grass. They never missed. -Every man they struck fell, but many, many came -on, and when these saw that there were only two, -their faces were all the more to the front with -haste. Still the two boys shot, shot, shot at them -until many were killed or wounded before the remainder -decided to flee.</p> - -<p>“Come, brother, my arrows are gone,” said the -younger brother. “Quick! put on the water-shield, -and let us be off!” Now, the people were gaining -on them faster and faster, but Áhaiyúta threw -water like thick rain from his shield strapped over -his back, so that the enemies’ bow-strings loosened, -and they had to stop to tighten them again and -again.</p> - -<p>Whenever the Háwikuhkwe pressed them too -closely, the water-shield sprinkled them so thoroughly -that when they nocked an arrow the sinew -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>338]</a></span> -bow-string stretched like gum, and all they could -do was to stop and tighten their bow-strings again. -Thus the boys were able to near the home of their -grandfather, the big Turtle, now and then shooting -at the leaders with their warring arrows and rarely -missing their marks.</p> - -<p>But as they came near, the people were gathering -more and more thickly in their rear, so that -Mátsailéma barely had time to take his grandfather—who -was waiting on the bank of the pond—upon -his back.</p> - -<p>“Now, run you along in front and we’ll follow -behind,” said old Etawa, as he put one paw over -the left shoulder and the other under the right -arm, and clasped his legs tightly around the loins -of Mátsailéma so as to hug close to his back.</p> - -<p>“Grandfather, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">kutchi!</i> You are as heavy as a -rock and as hard as one, too,” said the younger -brother. “How can I dodge those stinging -beasts?”</p> - -<p>“That’s all the better for you,” said the old -Turtle, loosening his grip a little; “take it easy.”</p> - -<p>“They’re coming! They’re coming!” shouted -Áhaiyúta from ahead. “Hurry, hurry, brother -younger; hurry!” But Mátsailéma couldn’t get -along any faster than he could.</p> - -<p>Presently the old Turtle glanced around and -saw that the people were gaining on them and -already drawing their bows. “Duck your head -down and never mind them. Now, you’ll see -what I can do!” said he, pulling into his shell.</p> - -<p><i>Thle-e-e, thle-thle-thle-e-e</i>, rattled the arrows -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>339]</a></span> -against old Etawa’s shell, and the warriors were -already shouting, “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ho-o-o-awiyeishikia!</i>”—which -was their cry of victory,—when they began to cry -out in other tones, for <i>tsuiya!</i> their arrows glanced -from old Turtle’s shell and struck themselves, so -that they dropped in every direction. “Terror -and blood! but those beings can shoot fast and -hard!” shouted they to one another, but they kept -pelting away harder and faster, only to hit one -another with the glancing arrows.</p> - -<p>“Hold!” cried one in advance of the others. -“Head them off! Head them off! We’re only -shooting ourselves against that black shield of -theirs, and the other loosens our bow-strings.”</p> - -<p>But just then Áhaiyúta reached the home of his -other grandfather, Amiwili. Behold! he was all -swollen up with food and could hardly move—only -wag his head back and forth.</p> - -<p>“Are you coming?” groaned the old fellow. -“Quick, get out of the way, all of you! Quick, -quick!”</p> - -<p>Áhaiyúta jumped out of the way just as Mátsailéma -cried out: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ha hua!</i> I can run no farther; -I must drop you, grandfather,”—but he saw Áhaiyúta -jump to one side, so he followed, too.</p> - -<p>Old Amiwili reared himself and, opening his -mouth, <i>waah! weeh!</i> right and left he threw the -lizard leaves he had been eating, until the Háwikuhkwe -were blinded and suffocated by them, and, dropping -their bows and weapons, began to clutch their -eyes from blindness and pain. And old Amiwili -coughed and coughed till he had blown nearly all -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>340]</a></span> -his substance away, and there was nothing left -of him but a worm no bigger than your middle -finger.</p> - -<p>“Drop me and make your winnings,” cried the -old Turtle. “I guess I can take care of myself,” -he chuckled from the inside of his shell; and it -was short work for the boys to cast down all their -enemies whom Amiwili had blown upon, and the -others fled terrified toward Háwikuh.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” laughed the two boys as they began -to take off the scalps of the Háwikuhkwe. “These -caps are better than half a flock of Turkeys.”</p> - -<p>“Who’ll proclaim our victory to our people?” -said they, suddenly stopping; and one would have -thought they belonged to a big village and a great -tribe instead of to a lone house on top of Twin -Mountain, with a single old granny in it; but then -that was their way, you know.</p> - -<p>“I will! I will!” cried the old Turtle, as he -waddled off toward Twin Mountain and left the -boys to skin scalps.</p> - -<p>When he came to the top of the low hill south -of Master Cañon, he stuck a stick up in the air and -shouted.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hoo-o! Hawanawi-i-i-i!</i>” which is the shout of -victory; and, not seeing the old woman, he cried -out two or three times.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hoo-o! Iwolohkia-a-a!</i>” which, as you know, -means “Murder! Murder!” The old woman heard -it and was frightened. She threw an old robe -over her shoulders, and, grabbing up the fire-poker, -started down as fast as her limping old limbs -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>341]</a></span> -would let her, and nearly tumbled over when she -heard old Etawa shout again, “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Iwolohkia!</i>”</p> - -<p>“Ha!” said she; “I’ll teach the shameless -Turkey killers, if I am an old woman;” and she -shook her fire-poker in the air until she came up -to where the old Turtle was waiting.</p> - -<p>Here, just as she came near, the old Turtle pretended -not to see her, but stood up on his legs, -and, holding his pole with one hand, cried out, -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hoo-o! Hawanawi-i-i-i!</i>” which was the shout of -victory, as I told you before.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” cried the old woman, as she -limped along up and said: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ah! ahi!</i>” (“My -poor old legs!”)</p> - -<p>“Victory!” said the proud Turtle, scarcely -deigning to look at her.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_21_21">[21]</a></span> -The ridiculousness of the dialogue which follows may readily be understood -when it is explained that each office in the celebration of victory has -to be performed by a distinct individual of specified clans according to -the function. <a href="#FNanchor_21_21">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>“Who has this day renewed himself?” she -inquired.</p> - -<p>“Thy grandchildren,” answered the old Turtle.</p> - -<p>“Have they won?” asked the old woman, as -she said: “Thanks this day!”</p> - -<p>“Many caps,” replied the Turtle.</p> - -<p>“Will they celebrate?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Who will purify and pass them?” asked the -granny.</p> - -<p>“Why, you will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will bathe the scalps?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>342]</a></span> -“Who will swing the scalps round the pueblo?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will adopt them?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will bring out the feast?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will be the priest of initiation?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will be the song-master?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will be the dancers?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will draw the arrows and sacrifice them?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will strive for the sacrificed arrows?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will lead the dance of victory?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will be the dancers?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will go to get the women to join the -dance?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>“What women will dance?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will take them to preside at the feast -of their relatives-in-law?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will be their relatives-in-law?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you will.”</p> - -<p>“Who will be the priests of their Father -Society?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>343]</a></span> -“Why, I will.”</p> - -<p>And they might have talked that way till sunset -had not the voices of the two boys, singing the -song of victory, been heard coming over the hill. -There they were, coming with two great strings -of scalps as big as a bunch of buckskins.</p> - -<p>“Oh! poor me! How shall I swing all those -scalps round the pueblo?” groaned the poor old -woman as she limped off to dress for the ceremony.</p> - -<p>“Why, swing them,” answered the old Turtle, -as he stretched himself up with the importance -of being master of ceremonies.</p> - -<p>So the boys brought the scalps up and the old -Turtle strung them thickly on a long pole.</p> - -<p>So day after day they danced and sang, to add -strands to the width of the boys’ badges. And -the old Turtle was master-priest of ceremonies -and people, low priest, song-master, and dancers; -sacrificer of arrows and striver after the arrows. -He would beat the drum and sing a little, then -run and dance out the measure; but it was very -hard work.</p> - -<p>And the old woman was mother of the children -and sisters, and their clan, and somebody’s else -clan, matron of ceremonials, and maidens of ceremonials—all -at the same time;—but it was very -hard work, consequently they didn’t get along -very well.</p> - -<p>That’s the reason why today we have so many -song-masters and singers, dance leaders and dancers, -priests and common people, father clans and -mother clans, in the great Ceremony of Victory.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>344]</a></span> -Thus it happened with Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma -and their old grandmother, and their grandfathers -the Rainbow-worm and the old Turtle. That is -the reason why rainbow-worms are no bigger than -your finger now, because their great grandfather -blew all his substance away at the Háwikuhkwe. -That’s the reason why the great Turtles in the -far-away Waters of the World are so much bigger -than their brothers and sisters here, and have -so many marks on their shells, where the arrows -glanced across the shield of their great grandfather. -For old Etawa was so proud after he had -been the great master of ceremonies that he -despised his old pond, and went off to seek a new -home in the Western Waters of the World, and -his grandchildren never grew any bigger after -he went away, and their descendants are just as -small as they were.</p> - -<p>And thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 470px;"> -<img src="images/zft20.png" width="470" height="111" -alt="Masks" /> -</div> - - - -<div class="imgbreak"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 532px;"> -<a name="plate10" id="plate10"></a> -<img src="images/zft21.jpg" width="532" height="700" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">THE PINNACLES OF THUNDER MOUNTAIN</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>345]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap27" id="chap27"></a>THE YOUNG SWIFT-RUNNER WHO -WAS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHING -BY THE AGED TARANTULA</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">A</span> LONG, long time ago, in K’iákime, there -lived a young man, the son of the priest-chief -of the town. It was this young man’s custom to -dress himself as for a dance and run entirely -around Thunder Mountain each morning before -the sun rose, before making his prayers. He was -a handsome young man, and his costume was -beautiful to behold.</p> - -<p>Now, below the two broad columns of rock which -stand at the southeastern end of Thunder Mountain, -and which are called Ak’yapaatch-ella,—below -these, in the base of the mountain, an old, -old Tarantula had his den. Of a morning, as the -young man in his beautiful dress sped by, the old -Tarantula heard the horn-bells which were attached -to his belt and saw him as he passed, this young -Swift-runner, and he thought to himself: “Ah, ha! -Now if I could only get his fine apparel away from -him, what luck it would be for me! I will wait -for him the next time.”</p> - -<p>Early the next morning, just as the sun peeped -over the lid of the world, sure enough the old -Tarantula heard the horn-bells, and, thrusting his -head out of his den, waited. As the young man -approached, he called out to him: “Hold, my -young friend; come here!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>346]</a></span> -“What for?” replied the youth. “I am in a -great hurry.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind that; come here,” said the old -Tarantula.</p> - -<p>“What is it? Why do you detain me?” rejoined -the youth.</p> - -<p>“It is for this reason,” said the old Tarantula. -“Wouldn’t you like to look at yourself today?—for -if you would, I can show you how.”</p> - -<p>“How?” asked the young man. “Make haste, -for I am in a hurry.”</p> - -<p>“Well, in this way,” was the reply. “Take off -your clothing, all of it; then I will take off mine. -You place yours in a heap before me; I will place -mine in a heap before you. Then I will put on -your apparel as you wear it, and then you will see -what a handsome fellow you are.”</p> - -<p>The young man thought about it and concluded -that it would be a very good thing to do. So he -began drawing off his clothing—his beautiful -painted moccasins, red and green; his fine white -leggings, knitted with cunning stitches and fringed -down the front, like the leggings worn by the -Master of the Dances at New Year; his delicately-embroidered -skirt, and mantle, and coat, all of -white cotton and marked with figures in many -colors; his heavy anklets of sacred white shell; -his blue turquoise earrings, like the sky in blueness, -and so long that they swept his shoulders; -his plaited headband of many-colored fibers, and -his bunch of blue, red, and yellow macaw feathers, -which he wore in his hair-knot at the back of his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>347]</a></span> -head,—all these things, one after another, he took -off and laid before the ugly old Tarantula.</p> - -<p>Then that woolly, hairy, clammy creature hauled -off his clothing—gray-blue, ugly, and coarse;—gray-blue -leggings, gray-blue skirt and breech-cloth, -gray-blue coat and mantle, nothing but gray-blue, -woolly and hairy, ugly and dirty. When the old -Tarantula had done this, he began to put on the -handsome garments that the young man had -placed before him, and, after he had dressed himself -in these, he perched himself up on his crooked -hindlegs, and said: “Look at me, now. How do -I look?”</p> - -<p>“Well, so far as the clothing is concerned, handsome,” -said the young man.</p> - -<p>“Just wait till I get a little farther off,” said -the old Tarantula, and he straightened himself up -and walked backward toward the door of his den. -Presently he stopped and stood still, and said: -“How do I look now?”</p> - -<p>“Handsomer,” said the young man.</p> - -<p>“Just wait till I get a little farther”; and again -he walked backward, which is a way Tarantulas -have, and stood up straight, and said: “How do -I look now?”</p> - -<p>“Handsomer still,” said the young man.</p> - -<p>“Ah, ha! Just wait till I get a little farther”;—and -now he backed to the very door of his den, -and stood upon the lip of the entrance, and said: -“Now, then, how do I look?”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly handsome,” said the young man.</p> - -<p>“Ah, ha!” chuckled the old Tarantula, and he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>348]</a></span> -turned himself around and plunged headforemost -into his hole.</p> - -<p>“Out upon him!” cried the young man, as he -stood there with his head bowed, and thinking. -“Out upon the old rascal! That is the trick he -serves me, is it? Fearful!” said he. “What -shall I do now? I can’t go home naked, or half -naked. Well, but I suppose I will have to,” said -he to himself. And, bending down, he reached -for the hairy gray-blue breech-cloth that had been -left there by the old Tarantula, and the skirt, and -put them on, and took his way swiftly homeward.</p> - -<p>When he reached home the sun was high, which -never had happened before, so that the old people -had been thinking, “Surely, something must have -happened to our young man that he comes not as -early as usual.” And when he came, they said: -“What has happened that has detained you so?”</p> - -<p>“Ha!” replied the youth; “the old Tarantula -that lives under the Ak’yapaatch-ella has stripped -me of my garments, and with them has run away -into his hole.”</p> - -<p>“We thought something of the kind must have -happened,” said his old father.</p> - -<p>“Send for your warrior priest,” said the other -old ones. “Let us see what he thinks about this, -and what shall be done.”</p> - -<p>So the priest-chief sent for his warrior priest, -and when the latter had come, he asked: “Why is -it that you have sent for me?”</p> - -<p>“True, we have sent for you,” said the father, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>349]</a></span> -“because Old Tarantula has stripped my son of his -handsome apparel, which is sacred and precious, -and we therefore hold it a great loss to him and -us. How do you think we can recover what has -been stolen?”</p> - -<p>The warrior priest thought a moment, and said: -“I should think we would have to dig him out, for -it isn’t likely he will show himself far from his den -again.”</p> - -<p>So the warrior priest went out on the tops of the -houses, and called to his people:</p> - -<p>“I instruct ye this day, oh, my people and children! -Listen to my instruction! Our child, in -running to and from his prayers this very morning -was intercepted by Old Tarantula, who, through -his skill and cunning, succeeded in stripping our -child of his handsome apparel. Therefore, I instruct -ye, make haste! Gather together digging-sticks -and hoes; let us all go and dig out the old -villain; let the whole town turn out, women as well -as men and children. My daughters, ye women of -this town, take with ye basket-bowls and baskets -and other things wherewith ye gather material for -plaster, with which to convey away the sand and -earth that is dug up by the men. Thus much I -instruct ye! Make haste all!” Whereupon he -descended, and, after eating, led the way toward -the den of Old Tarantula.</p> - -<p>When the people had also eaten and followed, -they began to work swiftly at tunnelling into the -hole of the Tarantula; and thus they worked and -worked from morning till night, but did not overtake -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>350]</a></span> -him, until at last they reached the solid rock -foundations of the mountain. They had filled -their baskets and basket-bowls with the sand, and -cast it behind them, and others had cast it behind -them, and so on until a large hillock of earth -and sand had been raised, but still they had not -overtaken Old Tarantula. Now, when they had -reached the solid rock foundations of the mountain, -they saw that the hole yawned like a cave -before them, and that it was needless to follow -farther. They gave up in despair, saying: “What -more can we do? Let us go home. Let us give -it up, since we must.” And they took their ways -homeward.</p> - -<p>Now, in the evening the old ones of the town -were very thoughtful, and they gathered together -and talked the matter over, and finally it was suggested -by someone in answer to the query, “What -can we do to recover our son’s lost garments?” -“Suppose that we send for the Great Kingfisher? -He is wise, crafty, swift of flight; he dashes himself -from on high, even into the water, and takes -him therefrom whatsoever he will, swift though it -be, without fail. Suppose we send for him, our -grandfather?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, ha! that’s it,” replied others. “Send for -him straightway.”</p> - -<p>So the master warrior priest called to Young -Swift-runner, and sent him to the Hill of the -Great Kingfisher.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked Kingfisher, when he heard -someone at the entrance of his house.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>351]</a></span> -“Come quickly! In council the old ones of our -town await you,” said the young man.</p> - -<p>So Great Kingfisher followed, and, arriving at -the council, greeted them and asked: “What is it -you would have of me?”</p> - -<p>Said they: “Old Tarantula has stripped our -young man, Swift-runner, of his beautiful garments, -and how to recover them we know not. -We have dug away the den, even to the foundation -of the mountain, but beyond this it extends. -What to do we know not. So we have sent for -you, knowing your power and ability to quickly -snatch even from under the waters whatsoever -you will.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, ha! I will take a step toward this thing,” -said Great Kingfisher, “but it is a difficult task -you place before me. Old Tarantula is exceedingly -cunning and very keen of sight, moreover. I will, -however, take a step, and if I have good luck will -be able to bring back to you something of what he -has stolen.” He then made his adieu, and went -back to his house at the Hill of the Kingfisher.</p> - -<p>Very early the next morning he took his swift -way to the Ak’yapaatch-ella, and there where the -columns of rock fork he lay himself down between -them, like a little finger between two other fingers, -merely thrusting his beak over the edge, and looking -at the opening of Old Tarantula’s hole.</p> - -<p>The plumes of sunlight were but barely gleaming -on the farther edge of the world when Old -Tarantula cast his eyes just out of the edge of his -hole, and looked all around. Eyes like many eyes -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>352]</a></span> -had he, wonderfully sharp and clear. With these -he looked all around, as might have been expected. -He discovered Great Kingfisher, little-so-ever of -him showing, and called out: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Heee! Wóloi weee!</i>” -(“Ho, ho! skulker skulking. Ho, ho! skulker -skulking!”) Instantly Great Kingfisher shook -out his wings, and <i>thluooo</i>, descended like a breath -of strong wind; and <i>thlu-u-u-kwa</i>, finished his flight -like a loosed arrow; but he merely brushed the -tips of the plumes in Old Tarantula’s head-knot, -and the creature doubled himself up and headforemost -plunged into his hole. Once in, “Ha, ha!” -said he. “Good for him! Good! Good! Let’s -have a dance, and sing,” said he, talking to himself; -and thereupon he pranced up, jigged about his dark, -deep room, singing this song:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ohatchik’ya ti Tákwà,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i5"><i>Tákwà, Tákwà!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Thus singing, he danced,—surely a song that -nobody but he could dance to, if it be a song, but -he danced to it. And when he had finished jigging -about, he looked at his fluttering garments, and -said: “Ha, ha! Just look at my fine dress! Now -am I not handsome? I tell you I am handsome! -Now, let’s have another dance!” And again he -sang at the top of his wheezing voice, and pranced -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>353]</a></span> -round on his crooked hind legs, with his fine garments -fluttering.</p> - -<p>But Great Kingfisher, with wings drooping and -beak gaped down at the corners,—as though being -hungry he had tried to catch a fish and hadn’t -caught him,—took his way back to the council; -and he said to the people there: “No use! I failed -utterly. As I said before, he is a crafty, keen-sighted -old fellow. What more have I to say?” -He made his adieus, and took his way back to the -Hill of the Kingfisher.</p> - -<p>Again the people talked with one another and -considered; and at last said some: “Inasmuch as -he has failed, let us send for our grandfather, -Great Eagle. He, of all living creatures with -wings, is swiftest and keenest of sight, strong of -grasp, hooked of beak, whatever getting holding, -and getting whatever he will.”</p> - -<p>They sent for the Eagle. He came, and when -made acquainted with their wishes turned quickly, -and said, in bidding them adieu: “I think that -possibly I can succeed, though surely, as my -brother has said, Old Tarantula is a crafty, keen-sighted -creature. I will do my best.”</p> - -<p>Early the next morning he took his way, before -sunrise, to the peak of the Mountain of the Badgers, -a long distance away from Ak’yapaatch-ella, but -still as no distance to the Eagle. There he stood, -with his head raised to the winds, turning first one -eye, then the other, on the entrance of Old Tarantula’s -den, until Old Tarantula again thrust out his -woolly nose, as might have been expected. He -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>354]</a></span> -discovered the Eagle, and was just shouting “Ho, -skulker, skulking!” when the Eagle swept like a -singing stone loosed from the sling straight at the -head of Old Tarantula. But his wings hissed and -buzzed past the hole harmlessly, and his crooked -talons reached down into the dark, clutching nothing -save one of the plumes in Old Tarantula’s -head-dress. Even this he failed to bring away.</p> - -<p>The Old Tarantula tumbled headlong into his -lower room, and exclaimed: “Ha, ha! Goodness -save us! What a startling he gave me! But he -didn’t get me! No, he didn’t get me! Let’s -have a dance! Jig it down! What a fine fellow I -am!” And he began to prance about, and jig and -sing as he had sung before:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ohatchik’ya ti Tákwà,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i5"><i>Tákwà, Tákwà!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>As soon as he paused for breath, he glanced -askance at his fluttering bright garments and cried -out: “Ho! what a handsome fellow I am! How -finely dressed I am! Let’s have another dance!” -And again he danced and sang, all by himself, admiring -himself, answering his own questions, and -watching his own movements. But Great Eagle, -crestfallen and shame-smitten, took his way to the -place of the council, reported his failure, and made -his adieu.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>355]</a></span> -Then again the people considered, and the old -ones decided to send for Hatchutsanona (the Lesser -Falcon), whose plumage is hard and smooth and -speckled, gray and brown, like the rocks and sagebrush, -and who, being swift as the Kingfisher, and -strong as the Eagle, and small, is not only able to -fly where other birds fly, but can penetrate the -closest thicket when seeking his prey, for trimmed -he is like a well-feathered arrow. They sent for -him; he came and, being made acquainted with -the facts of the case, said he could but try, though -he modestly affirmed that when his elder brothers, -Great Kingfisher and Great Eagle, had made such -efforts, it were well-nigh needless for him to try, -and repeated what they had said of the cunning and -keenness of sight of Old Tarantula.</p> - -<p>But he went early the next morning, and placed -himself on the very edge of the high cliff overhanging -the columns of rock and looking into the -den of Old Tarantula. There, when the sun rose, -you could scarcely have seen him, even though near -you might have been, for his coat of gray and -brown was like the rocks and dry grass around him, -and he lay very close to the ground, like an autumn -leaf beaten down by the rain. By-and-by Old Tarantula -thrust out his rugged face, and turned his -eyes in every direction, up and down; then twisted -his head from side to side. He saw nothing. He -had even poked his head entirely out of his hole, -and his shoulders were just visible, when Lesser -Falcon bestirred himself, and Old Tarantula, -alas! saw him; not in time to wholly save himself, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>356]</a></span> -however, for Lesser Falcon, with a sweep of his -wings like the swirl of a snowdrift, shot into the -mouth of Old Tarantula’s den, grasped at his head, -and brought away with him the macaw plumes of -the youth’s head-dress.</p> - -<p>Down into his den tumbled Old Tarantula, and -he sat down and bent himself double with fright -and chagrin. He wagged his head to and fro, and -sighed: “Alas! alas! my beautiful head-dress; -the skulking wretch! My beautiful head-dress; he -has taken it from me. What is the use of bothering -about a miserable bunch of macaw feathers, -anyway? They get dirty, they get bent and -broken, moths eat them, they change their color; -what is the use of troubling myself about a worthless -thing like that? Haven’t I still the finest -costume in the valley?—handsome leggings and -embroidered skirt and mantle, sleeves as pretty as -flowers in summer, necklaces worth fifty head-plumes, -and earrings worth a handful of such -necklaces? Ha, ha! let him away with the old -head-plumes! Let’s have a dance, and dance her -down, old fellow!” said he, talking to himself. -And again he skipped about, and sang his tuneless -song:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ohatchik’ya ti Tákwà,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ohatchik’ya lii Tákwà!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i3"><i>Ai yaa Tákwà.</i><br /></div> -<div class="i5"><i>Tákwà, Tákwà!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>357]</a></span> -He admired himself as much as before. “Forsooth,” -said he; “I could not have seen the head-plume -for I would have worn it in the back of -my head.”</p> - -<p>The Lesser Falcon, cursing at his half-luck, took -his way back to the council, and, casting the head-plume -at the feet of the old men, said: “Alas! -my fathers; this is the best I could do, for before -I had fairly taken my flight, Old Tarantula discovered -me and made into his den. But this I -got, and I bring it to you. May others succeed -better!”</p> - -<p>“Thou hast succeeded exceeding well, for most -precious are these plumes from Summerland,” said -the old priest. “Thanks be to you, this day, my -grandfather!” And the Lesser Falcon took his -way to the thickets and hillsides.</p> - -<p>Then the people said to one another: “What -more is there to be done? We must even have -recourse to the Gods, it seems.” And they called -Swift-runner and said to him: “Of the feathered -creatures we have chosen the wisest and swiftest -and strongest to aid us; yet they have failed -mainly. Therefore, we would even send you to the -Gods, for your performance of duty to them has -been faithful from morning to morning.” So they -instructed him to climb to the top of Thunder -Mountain and visit the home of the two War-gods, -Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma, for in those days -they still dwelt on the top of Thunder Mountain -with their old grandmother, at the Middle Place -of Sacrifice.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>358]</a></span> -The priests in the town prepared sacrificial -plumes and divided their treasures for the Gods, -and again calling the young man, presented them -to him as their messenger, bidding him bear to -the Gods their greetings.</p> - -<p>On the morning following, he climbed the steep -path and soon neared the dwelling of the Gods -and their grandmother. She was on the roof of -the house, while the two bad boys—always out of -the way when wanted, and never ceasing to play -their pranks, as was their little way, you know—were -down in the lower rooms. The old grandmother -bade the youth to enter, and called out to -her grandchildren, the two Gods: “My children, -come up, both of you, quickly. A young man has -arrived to see you, bringing greetings.” So they -cast off their playful behavior, and with great gravity -came into the room, and looking up to the tall -youth, said: “Thou hast come. May it be happily. -Sit down. What is it that thou wouldst have? -because for nothing no stranger comes to the -house of another.”</p> - -<p>“It is true, this which you say,” said the youth -reverently, breathing on his hands. “O ye, my -fathers! I bring greetings from the fathers of -my town below the mountain, and offerings from -them.”</p> - -<p>“It is well thus, my child,” replied the Gods.</p> - -<p>“And I bring also my burden of trouble, that I -may listen to your counsel, and perchance implore -your aid,” said the youth.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” said the Two; and they listened.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>359]</a></span> -Then the youth related his misfortune, telling -how he had been stripped of his clothing by Old -Tarantula; how the old ones, gathered in council, -had sought the aid, one after another, of the -wisest and swiftest of feathered beings, but with -little success; how they had at last counselled his -coming to them, the fathers of the people in times -of difficulty and strife.</p> - -<p>“Grandmother!” shouted the younger brother -War-god. “Make haste! Make haste, grandmother! -Bestir yourself! Grind flour for us. -Let it be rock flour!”</p> - -<p>The old grandmother gathered some white calcareous -sandstone called <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">kétchïpawe</i>. She broke -those rocks into fragments and ground them into -meal; then reduced them on a finer stone to soft, -impalpable powder. She made dough of this with -water, and the two Gods, with wonderful skill, -molded this dough, as it hardened, into figures -of elk-kind,—two deer and two antelope images -they made. When they had finished these, they -placed them before the youth, and said: “Take -these and stand them on the sacrificial rock-shelf -or terrace on the southern side of our mountain, -with prayer to the gods over them. Return to -your home, and tell the old ones what we have -directed you to do. Tell them also where we -said you should place these beings, for such they -will become upon the rock-shelf; and you should -go to greet them in the morning and guide them -with you toward the den of Old Tarantula,—Old -Tarantula is very fond of hunting; nothing is so -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>360]</a></span> -pleasing to him as to kill anything,—that thereby -he may be tempted forth from his hiding-place in -his den.”</p> - -<p>The youth did as he was directed, and when he -had placed the figures of the deer and the antelope -in a row on the shelf, and reached home, he informed -the old ones of the word that had been -sent to them.</p> - -<p>His father, the old priest-chief, called the warrior -priest, and said to him: “It may be possible -that Old Tarantula will be tempted forth from his -den tomorrow. Would it not be well for us to -take the war-path against him?”</p> - -<p>“It would, indeed, be well,” said the warrior -priest. And the priest-chief went to the house-top -and called to the people, saying:</p> - -<p>“O, ye, my people and children, I instruct ye -today! Let the young men and the warriors -gather and prepare as for war. By means of the -sacred images which have been made by the Two -Beloved for our son, Swift-runner, it may be that -we shall succeed in tempting Old Tarantula forth -from his den tomorrow. Let us be prepared to -capture him. Make haste! Make ready! Thus -much I instruct ye.”</p> - -<p>In great haste, as if under the influence of joyful -tidings indeed, the people prepared for war, -gathered together in great numbers, testing the -strength of their bows, and with much racket issued -forth from the town under Thunder Mountain, -spreading over all the foot-hills. And toward daylight -the youth alone took his way toward the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>361]</a></span> -sacrificial rock-shelf on the side of the mountain. -When he arrived there, behold! the two Antelopes -and the two Deer were tamely walking about, -cropping the grass and tender leaves, and as he -approached, they said: “So, here you are.”</p> - -<p>“Now, this day, behold, my children!” said he -in his prayer. “Even for the reason that we have -made ye beings, follow my instructions, oh, do! -Most wickedly and shamefully has Old Tarantula, -living below Ak’yapaatch-ella, robbed me of my -sacred fine apparel. I therefore call ye to aid me. -Go ye now toward his home, that he may be -tempted forth by the sight of ye.”</p> - -<p>Obediently the Deer and Antelope took their way -down the sloping sides of the foot-hills toward Old -Tarantula’s den. As they neared the den the -youth called out from one of the valleys below, -“<i>Hu-u-u-u-u-u!</i> Hasten! There go some deer -and antelope! Whoever may be near them, understand, -there go some deer and antelope!”</p> - -<p>Old Tarantula was talking to himself, as usual, -down in his inner room. He heard the faint sound. -“Ha!” cried he, “what is this humming? Somebody -calling, no doubt.” He skipped out toward -the doorway just as the young man called the -second time. “Ah, ha!” said he. “He says deer -are coming, doesn’t he? Let us see.” And -presently, when the young man called the third -time, he exclaimed: “That’s it! that is what he is -calling out. Now for a hunt! I might as well get -them as anyone else.”</p> - -<p>He caught up his bow, slipped the noose over -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>362]</a></span> -the head of it, twanged the string, and started. -But just as he was going out of his hole, he said to -himself: “Good daylight! this never will do; they -will be after me if I go out. Oh, pshaw! Nonsense! -they will do nothing of the kind. What -does it matter? Haven’t I bow and arrows with -me?” He leaped out of his hole and started off -toward the Deer. As he gained an eminence, he -cried: “Ah, ha! sure enough, there they come!” -Indeed, he was telling the truth. The Deer still -approached, and when the first one came near he -drew an arrow strongly and let fly. One of them -dropped at once. “Ah, ha!” cried he, “who says I -am not a good hunter?” He whipped out another -arrow, and fired at the second Deer, which dropped -where it had stood. With more exclamations of delight, -he shot at the Antelope following, which fell; -and then at the last one, which fell as the others had.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said he, “I suppose I might as well take -my meat home. Fine game I have bagged today.” -He untied the strap which he had brought along -and tied together the legs of the first deer he had -shot. He stooped down, raised the deer, knelt on -the ground and drew the strap over his forehead, -and was just about to rise with his burden and -make off for his den when, <i>klo-o-o-o-o!</i> he fell -down almost crushed under a mass of white rock. -“Goodness! what’s this? Mercy, but this is startling!” -He looked around, but he saw nothing of -his game save a shapeless mass of white rock. -“Well, I will try this other one,” said he to himself. -He had no sooner placed the other on his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>363]</a></span> -back than down it bore him, another mass of white -rock! “What can be the matter? The devil must -be to pay!” said he. Then he tried the next, with -no better success. “Well, there is one left, anyway,” -said he. He tied the feet of the last one -together, and was about to place the strap over his -forehead, when he heard a mighty and thundering -tread and great shouting and a terrible noise altogether, -for the people were already gathering about -his den. He made for the mouth of it with all -possible speed, but the people were there before -him; they closed in upon him, they clutched at his -stolen garments, they pulled his earrings out of his -ears, slitting his ears in doing so, until he put up -his hands and cried: “Death and ashes! Mercy! -Mercy! You hurt! You hurt! Don’t treat me -so! I’ll be good hereafter. I’ll take the clothing -off and give it back to you without making the -slightest trouble, if you will let me alone.” But -the people closed in still more angrily, and pulled -him about, buffeted him, tore his clothing from -him, until he was left nude and bruised and so -maimed that he could hardly move.</p> - -<p>Then the old priests gathered around, and said -one of them: “It will not be well if we let this -beast go as he is; he is too large, too powerful, -and too crafty. He has but to think of destruction; -forsooth, he destroys. He has but to think -of over-reaching; it is accomplished. It will not -be well that he should go abroad thus. He must -be roasted; and thus only can we rid the world -of him as he is.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>364]</a></span> -So the people assembled and heaped up great -quantities of dry firewood; and they drilled fire -from a stick, and lighted the mass. Then they -cast the struggling Tarantula amid the flames, and -he squeaked and sizzled and hissed, and swelled -and swelled and swelled, until, with a terrific noise, -he burst, and the fragments of his carcass were -cast to the uttermost parts of the earth. These -parts again took shape as beings not unlike Old -Tarantula himself.</p> - - - -<p class="break">Thus it was in the days of the ancients. And -therefore today, though crooked are the legs of -the tarantula, and his habit of progress backward, -still he is distributed throughout the great world. -Only he is very, very much smaller than was the -Great Tarantula who lived below the two rocky -columns of Thunder Mountain.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>365]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap28" id="chap28"></a>ÁTAHSAIA, THE CANNIBAL DEMON</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>N the days of the ancients, when the children -of our forefathers lived in Héshokta (“Town of -the Cliffs”), there also lived two beautiful maidens, -elder and younger, sisters one to the other, daughters -of a master-chief.</p> - -<p>One bright morning in summer-time, the elder -sister called to the younger, “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Háni!</i>”</p> - -<p>“What sayest thou?” said the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">háni</i>.</p> - -<p>“The day is bright and the water is warm. Let -us go down to the pool and wash our clothes, that -we may wear them as if new at the dance to come.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, yes, sister elder,” said the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">háni</i>; “but -these are days when they say the shadows of the -rocks and even the sage-bushes lodge unthinkable -things, and cause those who walk alone to breathe -hard with fear.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shtchu!</i>” exclaimed the elder sister derisively. -“Younger sisters always are as timid as younger -brothers are bad-tempered.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, well, then; as you will, sister elder. I will -not quarrel with your wish, but I fear to go.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Yaush!</i> Come along, then,” said the elder -sister; whereupon they gathered their cotton mantles -and other garments into bundles, and, taking -along a bag of yucca-root, or soap-weed, started -together down the steep, crooked path to where -the pool lay at the foot of the great mesa.</p> - -<p>Now, far above the Town of the Cliffs, among -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>366]</a></span> -the rocks of red-gray and yellow—red in the form -of a bowlder-like mountain that looks like a frozen -sand-bank—there is a deep cave. You have never -seen it? Well! to this day it is called the “Cave -of Átahsaia,” and there, in the times I tell of, lived -Átahsaia himself. Uhh! what an ugly demon he -was! His body was as big as the biggest elk’s, and -his breast was shaggy with hair as stiff as porcupine-quills. -His legs and arms were long and -brawny,—all covered with speckled scales of black -and white. His hair was coarse and snarly as a -buffalo’s mane, and his eyes were so big and glaring -that they popped out of his head like skinned -onions. His mouth stretched from one cheek to -the other and was filled with crooked fangs as yellow -as thrown-away deer-bones. His lips were as -red and puffy as peppers, and his face as wrinkled -and rough as a piece of burnt buckskin. That -was Átahsaia, who in the days of the ancients devoured -men and women for his meat, and the children -of men for his sweet-bread. His weapons -were terrible, too. His finger-nails were as long as -the claws of a bear, and in his left hand he carried -a bow made of the sapling of a mountain-oak, with -two arrows ready drawn for use. And he was -never seen without his great flint knife, as broad as -a man’s thigh and twice as long, which he brandished -with his right hand and poked his hair back -with, so that his grizzly fore-locks were covered with -the blood of those he had slaughtered. He wore -over his shoulders whole skins of the mountain -lion and bear clasped with buttons of wood.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>367]</a></span> -Now, although Átahsaia was ugly and could not -speak without chattering his teeth, or laugh without -barking like a wolf, he was a very polite -demon. But, like many ugly and polite people -nowadays, he was a great liar.</p> - -<p>Átahsaia that morning woke up and stuck his -head out of his hole just as the two maidens went -down to the spring. He caught sight of them -while his eyes travelled below, and he chuckled. -Then he muttered, as he gazed at them and saw -how young and fine they were: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ahhali! Yaa-tchi!</i>” -(“Good lunch! Two for a munch!”) and -howled his war-cry, “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ho-o-o-thlai-a!</i>” till Teshaminkia, -the Echo-god, shouted it to the maidens.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” exclaimed the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">háni</i>, clutching the arm of -her elder sister; “listen!”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ho-o-o-thlai-a!</i>” again roared the demon, and -again Teshaminkia.</p> - -<p>“Oh, oh! sister elder, what did I tell you! -Why did we come out today!” and both ran away; -then stopped to listen. When they heard nothing -more, they returned to the spring and went to -washing their clothes on some flat stones.</p> - -<p>But Átahsaia grabbed up his weapons and began -to clamber down the mountain, muttering and -chuckling to himself as he went: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ahhali! Yaa-tchi!</i>” -(“Good lunch! Two for a munch!”).</p> - -<p>Around the corner of Great Mesa, on the high -shelves of which stands the Town of the Cliffs, are -two towering buttes called Kwilli-yallon (Twin -Mountain). Far up on the top of this mountain -there dwelt Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>368]</a></span> -You don’t know who Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma -were? Well, I will tell you. They were the twin -children of the Sun-father and the Mother Waters -of the World. Before men were born to the light, -the Sun made love to the Waters of the World, -and under his warm, bright glances, there were -hatched out of a foam-cup on the face of the Great -Ocean, which then covered the earth, two wonderful -boys, whom men afterward named <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ua nam Atch -Píahk’oa</i> (“The Beloved Two who Fell”). The -Sun dried away the waters from the high-lands of -earth and these Two then delivered men forth -from the bowels of our Earth-mother, and guided -them eastward toward the home of their father, the -Sun. The time came, alas! when war and many -strange beings arose to destroy the children of -earth, and then the eight Stern Beings changed the -hearts of the twins to <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">sawanikia</i>, or the medicine of -war. Thenceforth they were known as Áhaiyúta -and Mátsailéma (“Our Beloved,” the “Terrible -Two,” “Boy-gods of War”).</p> - -<p>Even though changed, they still guarded our -ancients and guided them to the Middle of the -World, where we now live. Gifted with hearts of -the medicine of war, and with wisdom almost as -great as the Sun-father’s own, they became the invincible -guardians of the Corn-people of Earth, -and, with the rainbow for their weapon and thunderbolts -for their arrows,—swift lightning-shafts -pointed with turquoise,—were the greatest warriors -of all in the days of the new. When at last they -had conquered most of the enemies of men, they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>369]</a></span> -taught to a chosen few of their followers the songs, -prayers, and orders of a society of warriors who -should be called their children, the Priests<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> of the -Bow, and selecting from among them the two -wisest, breathed into their nostrils (as they have -since breathed into those of their successors) the -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">sawanikia</i>. Since then we make anew the semblance -of their being and place them each year at -mid-sun on the top of the Mountain of Thunder, -and on the top of the Mountain of the Beloved, -that they may know we remember them and that -they may guard (as it was said in the days of the -ancients they would guard) the Land of Zuñi from -sunrise to sunset and cut off the pathways of the -enemy.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_22_22">[22]</a></span> -Here and hereafter I use this term <em>priest</em> reluctantly, in lack of a better -word, but in accordance with Webster’s second definition.—F. H. C. <a href="#FNanchor_22_22">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Well, Áhaiyúta, who is called the elder brother, -and Mátsailéma, who is called the younger, were -living on the top of Twin Mountain with their old -grandmother.</p> - -<p>Said the elder to the younger on this same morning: -“Brother, let us go out and hunt. It is a fine -day. What say you?”</p> - -<p>“My face is in front of me,” said the younger, -“and under a roof is no place for men,” he added, -as he put on his helmet of elk-hide and took a -quiver of mountain-lion skin from an antler near -the ladder.</p> - -<p>“Where are you two boys going now?” shrieked -the grandmother through a trap-door from below. -“Don’t you ever intend to stop worrying me by -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>370]</a></span> -going abroad when even the spaces breed fear like -thick war?”</p> - -<p>“O grandmother,” they laughed, as they tightened -their bows and straightened their arrows -before the fire, “never mind us; we are only going -out for a hunt,” and before the old woman could -climb up to stop them they were gaily skipping -down the rocks toward the cliffs below.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the younger brother stopped. “Ahh!” -said he, “listen, brother! It is the cry of Átahsaia, -and the old wretch is surely abroad to cause tears!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied the elder. “It is Átahsaia, and -we must stop him! Come on, come on; quick!”</p> - -<p>“Hold, brother, hold! Stiffen your feet right -here with patience. He is after the two maidens -of Héshokta! I saw them going to the spring as -I came down. This day he must die. Is your -face to the front?”</p> - -<p>“It is; come on,” said the elder brother, starting -forward.</p> - -<p>“Stiffen your feet with patience, I say,” again -exclaimed the younger brother. “Know you that -the old demon comes up the pathway below here? -He will not hurt them until he gets them home. -You know he is a great liar, and a great flatterer; -that is the way the old beast catches people. -Now, if we wait here we will surely see them when -they come up.”</p> - -<p>So, after quarrelling a little, the elder brother -consented to sit down on a rock which overlooked -the pathway and was within bow-shot of the old -demon’s cave.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>371]</a></span> -Now, while the girls were washing, Átahsaia ran -as fast as his old joints would let him until the two -girls heard his mutterings and rattling weapons.</p> - -<p>“Something is coming, sister!” cried the younger, -and both ran toward the rocks to hide again, but -they were too late. The old demon strode around -by another way and suddenly, at a turn, came face -to face with them, glaring with his bloodshot eyes -and waving his great jagged flint knife. But as -he neared them he lowered the knife and smiled, -straightening himself up and approaching the -frightened ones as gently as would a young man.</p> - -<p>The poor younger sister clung to the elder one, -and sank moaning by her side, for the smile of -Átahsaia was as fearful as the scowl of a triumphant -enemy, or the laugh of a rattlesnake when he hears -any old man tell a lie and thinks he will poison him -for it.</p> - -<p>“Why do you run, and why do you weep so?” -asked the old demon. “I know you. I am ugly -and old, my pretty maidens, but I am your grandfather -and mean you no harm at all. I frightened -you only because I felt certain you would run -away from me if you could.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” faltered the elder sister, immediately -getting over her fright. “We did not know you -and therefore we were frightened by you. Come, -sister, come,” said she to the younger. “Brighten -your eyes and thoughts, for our grandfather will -not hurt us. Don’t you see?”</p> - -<p>But the younger sister only shook her head and -sobbed. Then the demon got angry. “What -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>372]</a></span> -are you blubbering about?” he roared, raising his -knife and sweeping it wildly through the air. “Do -you see this knife? This day I will cut off the -light of your life with it if you do not swallow -your whimpers!”</p> - -<p>“Get up, oh, do get up, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">háni</i>!” whispered the -elder sister, now again frightened herself. “Surely -he will not cut us off just now, if we obey him; -and is it not well that even for a little time the -light of life shine—though it shine through fear -and sadness—than be cut off altogether? For -who knows where the trails tend that lead through -the darkness of the night of death?”</p> - -<p>You know, in the speech of the rulers of the -world and of our ancients,<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> a man’s light was -cut off when his life was taken, and when he died -he came to the dividing-place of life.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_23_23">[23]</a></span> -One of the figures of speech meaning the gods. <a href="#FNanchor_23_23">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>The <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">háni</i> tried to rally herself and rose to her -feet, but she still trembled.</p> - -<p>“Now, my pretty maidens, my own granddaughters, -even,” said the old demon once more, -as gently as at first, “I am most glad I found you. -How good are the gods! for I am a poor, lone old -man. All my people are gone.” (Here he sighed -like the hiss of a wild-cat.) “Yonder above is -my home” (pointing over his shoulder), “and as -I am a great hunter, plenty of venison is baking -in my rear room and more sweet-bread than I can -eat. Lo! it makes me homesick to eat alone, and -when I saw you and saw how pretty and gentle -you were, I thought that it might be you would -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>373]</a></span> -throw the light of your favor on me, and go up -to my house to share of my abundance and drink -from my vessels. Besides, I am so old that only -now and then can I get a full jar of water up to -my house. So I came as fast as I could to ask -you to return and eat with me.”</p> - -<p>Reassured by his kind speech, the elder sister -hastened to say: “Of course, we will go with our -grandfather, and if that is all he may want of us, -we can soon fill his water-jars, can’t we, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">háni</i>?”</p> - -<p>“You are a good girl,” said the old demon to -the one who had spoken; then, glaring at the -younger sister: “Bring that fool along with you -and come up; she will not come by herself; she -has more bashfulness than sense, and less sense -than my knife, because that makes the world more -wise by killing off fools.”</p> - -<p>He led the way and the elder sister followed, -dragging along the shrinking <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">háni</i>.</p> - -<p>The old demon kept talking in a loud voice as -they went up the pathway, telling all sorts of -entertaining stories, until, as they neared the rocks -where Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma were waiting, the -Two heard him and said to one another: “Ahh, -they come!”</p> - -<p>Then the elder brother jumped up and began -to tighten his bow, but the younger brother -muttered: “Sit down, won’t you, you fool! -Átahsaia’s ears are like bat-ears, only bigger. -Wait now, till I say ready. You know he will not -hurt the girls until he gets them out from his -house. Look over there in front of his hole. Do -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>374]</a></span> -you see the flat place that leads along to that deep -chasm beyond?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied the elder brother. “But what of -that?”</p> - -<p>“What but that there he cuts the throats of his -captives and casts their bones and heads into the -depths of the chasm! Do you see the notch in -the stone? That’s where he lets their blood flow -down, and for that reason no one ever discovers -his tracks. Now, stiffen your feet with patience, I -say, and we will see what to do when the time -comes.”</p> - -<p>Again they sat and waited. As the old demon -and the girls passed along below, the elder brother -again started and would have shot had not Mátsailéma -held him back. “You fool of a brother -elder, but not wiser. No! Do you not know that -your arrow is lightning and will kill the maidens as -well as the monster?”</p> - -<p>Finally, the demon reached the entrance to his -cave, and, going in, asked the girls to follow him, -laying out two slabs for them to sit on. “Now, -sit down, my pretty girls, and I will soon get -something for you to eat. You must be hungry.” -Going to the rear of the cave, he broke open a -stone oven, and the steam which arose was certainly -delicious and meaty. Soon he brought out -two great bowls, big enough to feed a whole dance. -One contained meat, the other a mess resembling -sweet-bread pudding. “Now, let us eat,” said the -demon, seating himself opposite, and at once diving -his horny fingers and scaly hand half up to the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>375]</a></span> -wrist in the meat-broth. The elder sister began to -take bits of the food to eat it, when the younger -made a motion to her, and showed her with horror -the bones of a little hand. The sweet-bread was -the flesh and bones of little children. Then the -two girls only pretended to eat, taking the food -out and throwing it down by the side of the bowls.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you eat?” demanded the demon, -cramming at the same time a huge mouthful of -the meat, bones and all, into his wide throat.</p> - -<p>“We are eating,” said one of the girls.</p> - -<p>“Then why do you throw my food away?”</p> - -<p>“We are throwing away only the bones.”</p> - -<p>“Well, the bones are the better part,” retorted -the demon, taking another huge mouthful, by way -of example, big enough to make a grown man’s -meal. “Oh, yes!” he added; “I forgot that you -had baby teeth.”</p> - -<p>After the meal was finished, the old demon -said: “Let us go out and sit down in the sun -on my terrace. Perhaps, my pretty maidens, you -will comb an old man’s hair, for I have no one -left to help me now,” he sighed, pretending to be -very sad. So, showing the girls where to sit down, -without waiting for their assent he settled himself -in front of them and leaned his head back to have -it combed. The two maidens dared not disobey; -and now and then they pulled at a long, coarse -hair, and then snapped their fingers close to his -scalp, which so deceived the old demon that he -grunted with satisfaction every time. At last -their knees were so tired by his weight upon them -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>376]</a></span> -that they said they were done, and Átahsaia, -rising, pretended to be greatly pleased, and -thanked them over and over. Then he told them -to sit down in front of him, and he would comb -their hair as they had combed his, but not to -mind if he hurt a little for his fingers were old and -stiff. The two girls again dared not disobey, -and sat down as he had directed. Uhh! how the -old beast grinned and glared and breathed softly -between his teeth.</p> - -<p>The two brothers had carefully watched everything, -the elder one starting up now and then, the -younger remaining quiet. Suddenly Mátsailéma -sprang up. He caught the shield the Sun-father -had given him,—the shield which, though made -only of nets and knotted cords, would ward off -alike the weapons of the warrior or the magic of -the wizard. Holding it aloft, he cried to Áhaiyúta: -“Stand ready; the time is come! If I miss -him, pierce him with your arrow. Now, then—”</p> - -<p>He hurled the shield through the air. Swiftly -as a hawk and noiselessly as an owl, it sailed -straight over the heads of the maidens and settled -between them and the demon’s face. The shield -was invisible, and the old demon knew not it -was there. He leaned over as if to examine the -maidens’ heads. He opened his great mouth, and, -bending yet nearer, made a vicious bite at the -elder one.</p> - -<p>“Ai, ai! my poor little sister, alas!” with which -both fell to sobbing and moaning, and crouched, -expecting instantly to be destroyed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>377]</a></span> -But the demon’s teeth caught in the meshes of -the invisible shield, and, howling with vexation, -he began struggling to free himself of the encumbrance. -Áhaiyúta drew a shaft to the point and -let fly. With a thundering noise that rent the -rocks, and a rush of strong wind, the shaft blazed -through the air and buried itself in the demon’s -shoulders, piercing him through ere the thunder -had half done pealing. Swift as mountain sheep -were the leaps and light steps of the brothers, -who, bounding to the shelf of rock, drew their -war-clubs and soon softened the hard skull of the -old demon with them. The younger sister was -unharmed save by fright; but the elder sister lay -where she had sat, insensible.</p> - -<p>“Hold!” cried Mátsailéma, “she was to blame, -but then—” Lifting the swooning maiden in -his strong little arms, he laid her apart from the -others, and, breathing into her nostrils, soon revived -her eyes to wisdom.</p> - -<p>“<i>This day have we, through the power of sawanikia, -seen<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> for our father an enemy of our children -men. A beast that caused unto fatherless children, -unto menless women, unto womenless men (who -thus became through his evil will), tears and sad -thoughts, has this day been looked upon by the Sun -and laid low. May the favors of the gods thus -meet us ever.</i>”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_24_24">[24]</a></span> -To “see” an enemy signifies, in Zuñi mythology, to take his life. <a href="#FNanchor_24_24">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Thus said the two brothers, as they stood over the -gasping, still struggling but dying demon; and as -they closed their little prayer, the maidens, who -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>378]</a></span> -now first saw whom they had to thank for their -deliverance, were overwhelmed with gladness, yet -shame. They exclaimed, in response to the prayer: -“<i>May they, indeed, thus meet you and ourselves!</i>” -Then they breathed upon their hands.</p> - -<p>The two brothers now turned toward the girls. -“Look ye upon the last enemy of men,” said they, -“whom this day we have had the power of <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">sawanikia</i> -given us to destroy; whom this day the father -of all, our father the Sun, has looked upon, whose -light of life this day our weapons have cut off; -whose path of life this day our father has divided. -Not ourselves, but our father has done this deed, -through us. Haste to your home in Héshokta and -tell your father these things; and tell him, pray, -that he must assemble his priests and teach them -these our words, for we divide our paths of life -henceforth from one another and from the paths of -men, no more to mingle save in spirit with the -children of men. But we shall depart for our -everlasting home in the mountains—the one to the -Mountain of Thunder, the other to the Mount of -the Beloved—to guard from sunrise to sunset the -land of the Corn-priests of Earth, that the foolish -among men break not into the Middle Country of -Earth and lay it waste. Yet we shall require of -our children the plumes wherewith we dress our -thoughts, and the forms of our being wherewith men -may renew us each year at mid-sun. Henceforth -two stars at morning and evening will be seen, the -one going before, the other following, the Sun-father—the -one Áhaiyúta, his herald; the other -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>379]</a></span> -Mátsailéma, his guardian; warriors both, and fathers -of men. May the trail of life be finished ere -divided! Go ye happily hence.”</p> - -<p>The maidens breathed from the hands of the -Twain, and with bowed heads and a prayer of thanks -started down the pathway toward the Town of the -Cliffs. When they came to their home, the old -father asked whence they came. They told the -story of their adventure and repeated the words of -the Beloved.</p> - -<p>The old man bowed his head, and said: “It was -Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma!” Then he made a -prayer of thanks, and cast abroad on the winds -white meal of the seeds of earth and shells from the -Great Waters of the World, the pollen of beautiful -flowers, and the paints of war.</p> - -<p>“It is well!” he said. “Four days hence I -will assemble my warriors, and we will cut the -plume-sticks, paint and feather them, and place -them on high mountains, that through their knowledge -and power of medicine our Beloved Two -Warriors may take them unto themselves.”</p> - -<p>Now, when the maidens disappeared among the -rocks below, the brothers looked each at the other -and laughed. Then they shouted, and Áhaiyúta -kicked Átahsaia’s ugly carcass till it gurgled, at -which the two boys shouted again most hilariously -and laughed. “That’s what we proposed to do with -you, old beast!” they cried out.</p> - -<p>“But, brother younger,” said Áhaiyúta, “what -shall be done with him now?”</p> - -<p>“Let’s skin him,” said Mátsailéma.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>380]</a></span> -So they set to work and skinned the body from -foot to head, as one skins a fawn when one wishes -to make a seed-bag. Then they put sticks into -the legs and arms, and tied strings to them, and -stuffed the body with dry grass and moss; and -where they set the thing up against the cliff it -looked verily like the living Átahsaia.</p> - -<p>“Uhh! what an ugly beast he was!” said Mátsailéma. -Then he shouted: “<i>Wahaha, hihiho!</i>” -and almost doubled up with laughter. “Won’t -we have fun with old grandmother, though. Hurry -up; let’s take care of the rest of him!”</p> - -<p>They cut off the head, and Áhaiyúta said to it: -“<i>Thou hast been a liar, and told a falsehood for every -life thou hast taken in the world; therefore shall -thou become a lying star, and each night thy guilt -shall be seen of all men throughout the wide world.</i>” -He twirled the bloody head around once or twice, -and cast it with all might into the air. <i>Wa muu!</i> -it sped through the spaces into the middle of the -sky like a spirt of blood, and now it is a great red -star. It rises in summer-time and tells of the coming -morning when it is only midnight; hence it is -called <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Mokwanosana</i> (Great Lying Star).</p> - -<p>Then Mátsailéma seized the great knife and -ripped open the abdomen with one stroke. Grasping -the intestines, he tore them out and exclaimed: -“<i>Ye have devoured and digested the flesh of men -over the whole wide world; therefore ye shall be -stretched from one end of the earth to the other, -and the children of those ye have wasted will look -upon ye every night and will say to one another: -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>381]</a></span> -‘Ah, the entrails of him who caused sad thoughts -to our grandfathers shine well tonight!’ and they -will laugh and sneer at ye.</i>” Whereupon he slung -the whole mass aloft, and <i>tsolo!</i> it stretched from -one end of the world to the other, and became the -Great Snow-drift of the Skies (Milky Way). Lifting -the rest of the carcass, they threw it down -into the chasm whither the old demon had thrown -so many of his victims, and the rattlesnakes came -out and ate of the flesh day after day till their -fangs grew yellow with putrid meat, and even now -their children’s fangs are yellow and poisonous.</p> - - - -<p class="break">“Now, then, for some fun!” shouted Mátsailéma. -“Do you catch the old bag up and prance around -with it a little; and I will run off to see how it -looks.”</p> - -<p>Áhaiyúta caught up the effigy, and, hiding himself -behind, pulled at the strings till it looked, of -all things thinkable, like the living Átahsaia himself -starting out for a hunt, for they threw the -lion skins over it and tied the bow in its hand.</p> - -<p>“Excellent! Excellent!” exclaimed the boys, -and they clapped their hands and <i>wa-ha-ha-ed</i> and -<i>ho-ho-ho-ed</i> till they were sore. Then, dragging -the skin along, they ran as fast as they could, -down to the plain below Twin Mountain.</p> - -<p>The Sun was climbing down the western ladder, -and their old grandmother had been looking all -over the mountains and valleys below to see if the -two boys were coming. She had just climbed the -ladder and was gazing and fretting and saying: -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>382]</a></span> -“Oh! those two boys! terrible pests and as hard-hearted -and as long-winded in having their own -way as a turtle is in having his! Now, something -has happened to them; I knew it would,” -when suddenly a frightened scream came up from -below.</p> - -<p>“<i>Ho-o-o-ta! Ho-o-o-ta!</i> Come quick! Help! -Help!” the voice cried, as if in anguish.</p> - -<p>“Uhh!” exclaimed the old woman, and she -went so fast in her excitement that she tumbled -through the trap-door, and then jumped up, scolding -and groaning.</p> - -<p>She grabbed a poker of piñon, and rushed out of -the house. Sure enough, there was poor Mátsailéma -running hard and calling again and again -for her to hurry down. The old woman hobbled -along over the rough path as fast as she could, -and until her wind was blowing shorter and -shorter, when, suddenly turning around the crags, -she caught sight of Áhaiyúta struggling to get -away from Átahsaia.</p> - -<p>“<i>O ai o!</i> I knew it! I knew it!” cried the -old woman; and she ran faster than ever until -she came near enough to see that her poor grandson -was almost tired out, and that Mátsailéma had -lost even his war-club. “Stiffen your feet,—my -boys,—wait—a bit,” puffed the old woman, and, -flying into a passion, she rushed at the effigy -and began to pound it with her poker, till the -dust fairly smoked out of the dry grass, and the -skin doubled up as if it were in pain.</p> - -<p>Mátsailéma rolled and kicked in the grass, and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>383]</a></span> -Áhaiyúta soon had to let the stuffed demon fall -down for sheer laughing. But the old woman -never ceased. She belabored the demon and -cursed his cannibal heart and told him that was -what he got for chasing her grandsons, and that, -and this, and that, whack! whack! without stopping, -until she thought the monster surely must -be dead. Then she was about to rest when suddenly -the boys pulled the strings, and the demon -sprang up before her, seemingly as well as ever. -Again the old woman fell to, but her strokes -kept getting feebler and feebler, her breath shorter -and shorter, until her wind went out and she fell -to the ground.</p> - -<p>How the boys did laugh and roll on the ground -when the old grandmother moaned: “Alas! alas! -This day—my day—light is—cut off—and my -wind of life—fast going.”</p> - -<p>The old woman covered her head with her tattered -mantle; but when she found that Átahsaia -did not move, she raised her eyes and looked -through a rent. There were her two grandsons -rolling and kicking on the grass and holding their -mouths with both hands, their eyes swollen and -faces red with laughter. Then she suddenly -looked for the demon. There lay the skin, all -torn and battered out of shape.</p> - -<p>“So ho! you pesky wretches; that’s the way -you treat me, is it? Well! never again will I -help you, never!” she snapped, “nor shall you -ever live with me more!” Whereupon the old -woman jumped up and hobbled away.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>384]</a></span> -But little did the brothers care. They laughed -till she was far away, and then said one to the -other: “It is done!”</p> - - - -<p class="break">Since that time, the grandmother has gone, no one -knows where. But Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma are -the bright stars of the morning and evening, just -in front of and behind the Sun-father himself. -Yet their spirits hover over their shrines on Thunder -Mountain and the Mount of the Beloved, -they say, or linger over the Middle of the World, -forever to guide the games and to guard the warriors -of the Land of Zuñi. Thus it was in the days of -the ancients.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 480px;"> -<img src="images/zft22.png" width="480" height="203" -alt="Carvings" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>385]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap29" id="chap29"></a>THE HERMIT MÍTSINA</h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">W</span>HEN all was new, and the gods dwelt in the -ancient places, long, long before the time -of our ancients, many were the gods—some destined -for good and some for evil or for the doing -of things beneath understanding. And those of -evil intent, so painfully bad were they to become -that not in the company and council of the precious -beloved of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kâkâ</i> (the Order of the Sacred -Drama) could they be retained.</p> - -<p>Thus it happened, in the times of our ancients, -long, long ago, that there dwelt all alone in the -Cañon of the Pines, southeast of Zuñi, Mítsina the -Hermit. Of evil understanding he; therefore it had -been said to him (by the gods): “Alone shalt thou -dwell, being unwise and evil in thy ways, until thou -hast, through much happening, even become worthy -to dwell amongst us.” Thus it was that Mítsina -lived alone in his house in the Cañon of the Pines.</p> - -<p>Sometimes when a young man, dressed in very -fine apparel (wearing his collars of shell, and -turquoise earrings, and other precious things which -were plentiful in the days of our ancients), would -be out hunting, and chanced to go through the -Cañon of the Pines and near to the house of -Mítsina, he would hear the sounds of gaming from -within; for, being alone, the hermit whiled away -his time in playing at the game of sacred arrows -(or cane-cards).</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>386]</a></span> -Forever from the ceiling of his house there -hung suspended his basket-drum, made of a large -wicker bowl, over the mouth of which was stretched -tightly a soft buckskin, even like the basket-drums -which we use in the playing of cane-cards today, -and which you know are suspended with the skin-side -downward from the ceilings of the gaming -rooms in the topmost houses of our town. Though -the one he had was no better than those we have -today, save that it was larger and handsomer perhaps, -yet he delighted to call it his cloud canopy, -bethinking himself of the drum-basket of his -former associates, the gods, which is even the -rounded sky itself, with the clouds stretched across -it. Forever upon the floor of his house there lay -spread a great buffalo robe, the skin upward -dressed soft and smooth, as white as corn-flour, -and painted with the many-colored symbols and -counting marks of the game, even as our own. -But he delighted to call it his sacred terraced -plain,<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> bethinking himself of the robe-spread of -the gods, which is even the outspread earth itself, -bordered by terraced horizons, and diversified by -mountains, valleys, and bright places, which are -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>387]</a></span> -the symbols and game marks whereby the gods -themselves count up the score of their game.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_25_25">[25]</a></span> -The words “terrace,” “sacred terrace,” “terraced plain” (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">awithluiane</i>, -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">awithluian-pewine</i>), and the like, wherever they occur, refer to the -figurative expression for the earth in the Zuñi rituals addressed to the gods, -where they are used as more nearly conforming to the usage of the gods. -The symbol of the earth on the sacred altars is a terraced or zigzag figure -or decoration, and the same figure appears in their carvings and other -ornamental work. The disgraced god Mítsina applied the term to the -robe spread out as the bed for his game. It may be stated in further -explanation that the country in which the Zuñis have wandered and -lived for unnumbered generations, and where they still dwell, is made -up largely of mesas, or flat-top mountains or elevations, rising one above -another and showing as terraces on the horizon. Beheld at great distances, -or in the evening, these mountain terraces are mere silhouettes and -serve to exaggerate the zigzag spaces of light between them. As the -conventional sacred emblem for the earth is a terrace, outspread or -upreaching, as the case may be, so the conventional sacred emblem -for the sky is an inverted terrace.</p> - -<p>To the gods the whole earth is represented as having seemed so -small that they invariably spoke of it as the terraced plain, and in their -playing of this game they are supposed to have used it as the bed for -the game, as the Zuñi people used the outspread buffalo robe for the -purpose. <a href="#FNanchor_25_25">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Hearing these sounds of the game in passing, -the young man would naturally draw near and -listen. Though all alone, every time he made a -good throw Mítsina would exclaim “<i>Her-r-r-r!</i>” -and as the canes struck the skin of the drum-basket -above, <i>tcha-le-le, tcha-le-le</i>, it would sound; -and <i>ke-le-le</i> they would rattle as they fell on the -robe below. “Ha! ha!” old Mítsina would exclaim, -as if triumphantly to some opponent in the -game,—“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kohakwa iyathtokyai!</i>” as much as to -say: “Good for you, old fellow! The white-corn -symbol fell uppermost!”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” the young man would exclaim as he -listened. “Oh!”—and, wishing to learn more -about the matter, he would stealthily climb up the -ladder and peer down through the sky-hole. Old -Mítsina would catch sight of him, be sure of that, -and greet him most cordially, calling to him: -“Come in, come in, my fine young fellow, come -in; let’s have a game!”</p> - -<p>Now, he had practised so long that he had -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>388]</a></span> -acquired more skill than anyone else throughout -the world—at least among mortals; so that when -any of the young men chanced to play with him, -he invariably lost, poor fellow! Hanging on the -pole along the north side of Mítsina’s house were -the necklaces, embroidered mantles, and turquoises, -and all sorts of treasures which he had won in this -way; and as many on the western side, on the -southern side as many, and on the eastern side -also.</p> - -<p>When the young man came in, Mítsina would -continue: “My good friend, sit right down over -there. Have you your canes today?” If the -young man said “Yes,” he would say: “Ha! very -well.” Or, if he said “No,” “Never mind,” Mítsina -would say; “here are some,” producing a very fine -set of polished canes. The young man, being thus -pressed, would stake perhaps his necklace or his -earrings, and the game would begin. Losing -them, he would stake his clothing, his bows and arrows—in -fact, everything he had about him. You -know how it is with gamesters when they have -lost a great deal and wish to get it back again? -Well, so it was then. When the young man had -lost everything, he would bow his head on his -hand, and sit thinking. Then old Mítsina, with a -jolly, devil-may-care manner, would say: “Bet -your left thigh. I’ll put all you have lost and -more, too, on that.” The young man would say to -himself, with a sigh of relief: “What an old fool -you are!” and reply: “All right! I will take your -bet.” Alas! the one thigh he bet is lost; then the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>389]</a></span> -other goes the same way; then one of his sides -and arms; losing which, he bet the other, and so -on, until he had bet away his whole body, including -his head. Then in utter despair he would exclaim: -“Do with me as thou wilt. I am thy slave.” And -old Mítsina with the same devil-may-care manner -would catch him up, take him out to the back of -his house and wring his neck that he might not go -back and report his losses to his people.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 495px;"> -<a name="plate11" id="plate11"></a> -<img src="images/zft23.jpg" width="495" height="700" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">PÁLOWAHTIWA</p> -</div> - -<p>Again, some other well-equipped young man -would be passing that way, and hearing the sound -made by the solitary player, and being attracted -thereby, would be drawn in the same way into -the game, would lose everything, and old Mítsina -would wring his neck and keep his treasures.</p> - -<p>Thus it was in the days of the ancients. Great -were the losses of the young men, and many of -them perished.</p> - -<p>Well, one day little Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma—the -War-gods of peace times—who dwelt, as you -know, where their shrine now stands on Face -Mountain, with their old grandmother,—went out -hunting rabbits and prairie-dogs. It chanced that -in following the rabbits along the cliffs of a side -cañon they came into the Cañon of the Pines, near -where the house of Mítsina stood. Presently they -heard the sounds of his game. “Hu, hu!” the -old fellow would exclaim as he cast his canes into -the air. <i>Ke-le-le-le</i> they would rattle as they fell -on the skin.</p> - -<p>“Uh!” exclaimed Áhaiyúta, the elder. “Brother -younger, listen.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>390]</a></span> -The younger listened. “By my eyes!” exclaimed -he, “it is someone playing at cane-cards. -Let’s go and have a peep at him.” So they -climbed the ladder and peered in through the -sky-hole.</p> - -<p>Presently, old Mítsina espied them, and called -out: “Ha! my little fellows; glad to see you today! -How are you? Come in, come in! I am -dying for a game; I was playing here all by -myself.”</p> - -<p>The two little War-gods clambered down the -ladder, and old Mítsina placed blankets for them, -invited them most cordially to sit down, and asked -if they would like to play a game. Nothing loth -they, seeing all the fine things hanging round his -room; so out from their girdles they drew their -cane-cards, for those, as you know, they always -carried with them.</p> - -<p>Perhaps I have not told you that even the -basket-drum old Mítsina played with was fringed -with the handsome long turquoise earrings which -he had won, and even under the robe on which he -played there were piled one over another, in a -great flat heap, the finest of the necklaces gathered -from those whom he had defeated in playing and -then slain.</p> - -<p>“What would you like to put up?” asked the -old fellow, pointing around his room—particularly -to the basket-drum fringed with turquoises—and -lifting the robe and showing just enough of the -necklaces underneath it to whet the appetites of -the little War-gods.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>391]</a></span> -“We’ve nothing fine enough to bet for these -things,” said they ruefully.</p> - -<p>“O ho!” cried Mítsina. “No matter, no matter -at all, my boys. Bet your bows and arrows and -clothing; if you like, bet everything you have on, -and I’ll put up that poleful there on the north -side of my room.”</p> - -<p>“Good! good! tell him all right,” whispered -the younger brother to the elder.</p> - -<p>So the elder agreed, chuckling to himself, for -it was rarely that a man was found who could beat -the little War-gods in a game. And they began -their playing. How the turquoises rattled as -they threw their canes! How the canes jingled -and thumped as they fell on the robe!</p> - -<p>The game was merry and long, and well played -on both sides; but the poor little War-gods lost. -Their countenances fell; but old Mítsina, with a -merry twinkle in his eyes, exclaimed: “Oh pshaw! -never mind, never mind!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the two War-gods, “but how in -the world are we ever going back to our grandmother -in this plight?”—glancing down over their -bare bodies, for they had bet even the clothing -off their backs. “What else can we bet? How -can we win back what we have lost?”</p> - -<p>“Bet your left thighs,” said the old hermit.</p> - -<p>They thought a moment, and concluded they -would do so. So the game was staked again and -begun and the canes rattled merrily; but they lost -again. Then old Mítsina suggested that they bet -their other thighs. They did so and again lost. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>392]</a></span> -Then he suggested they should bet their left sides, -hoping forthwith to get hold of their hearts, but -the young War-gods were crafty. The elder one -exclaimed: “All right!” but the younger one said: -“Goodness! as for you, you can bet your left -side if you want to, but I’ll bet my right, for my -heart is on my left side, and who ever heard of a -man betting away his heart!”</p> - -<p>“Just as you like,” said Mítsina, “but if you’ll -bet your bodies up to your necks I will stake all -you have lost and all I have besides,” said he, looking -around on his fine possessions.</p> - -<p>“Done!” cried the War-gods. And again they -played and again lost. Then they had nothing -left but their heads and ears and eyes to bet. -Finally they concluded to bet these also, for said -they to one another: “What good will our heads -do us, even though they be the crown-pieces of -our being, without the rest?”</p> - -<p>They played again, but the poor fellows lost -their heads also. “Alas! alas! do as thou wilt -with us,” exclaimed the little War-gods, with rueful -countenances.</p> - -<p>Old Mítsina, locking them up in a small recess -of his house, went out and gathered before his -front door a great quantity of dry wood. Then he -tied the little fellows hand and foot, and laid them -near by,—not near enough to burn them up, but -near enough so that they would scorch,—and -lighted the fire, to have the pleasure of roasting -them. When they began to brown and sizzle a -little they writhed and howled with pain, but they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>393]</a></span> -were tough and quite bad, as you know, and this did -not kill them.</p> - -<p>Who can hide a thing from the eyes of the -gods? The elder brothers of these two foolish -little War-gods, Áhaiyúta and Mátsailéma, those -who dwelt on Thunder Mountain, became aware of -what was going on. “Come, brother younger,” -said the elder, strapping on his quiver and taking -his bow in hand, “come, let us off to old Mítsina’s -house and teach him a lesson!” So, in a -twinkling they were climbing down the mountain, -speeding across the wide valley, and threading -their way through the Cañon of the Pines.</p> - -<p>Mítsina had grown tired of watching the poor -little War-gods and had gone in to have another -little game, and there he was pitching his cane-cards -and talking to himself, as usual. The two -gods hauled their unfortunate brothers away from -the fire, and, climbing the ladder, peered in. Mítsina -espied them, and as usual invited them in to a -game. With as jolly an air as his own they accepted -his challenge and sat down. Mítsina -offered to bet all his fine things hanging on the -north side of the house. “What will you put up, -my little fellows?” asked he.</p> - -<p>“If you will include those ugly little devils that -we saw sizzling before the fire when we came in, -we will bet you everything we have with us,” -said they.</p> - -<p>“Good! good! haul them in!” shouted Mítsina.</p> - -<p>The War-gods scrambled out of the house, -and, by no means gently, dragged their wretched -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>394]</a></span> -little brothers in by the heels and dumped them -down on the floor to show their indifference, sat -down, and began to play. They bet their weapons, -holding up the knife of war which they carried, the -point of lightning itself fatal in power,—splitter -of mountains and overcomer of demons and men -alike.</p> - -<p>Old Mítsina, when told of the power of the weapons, -became doubtful as to his company, but presently -fell to and played with a will. He lost. Then -he put up all the rest of his goods hanging on the -other side of the room. Again he lost, and again, -even the turquoises hanging from the basket-drum, -the necklaces under his robe, and the things he -played with, and getting wild with excitement, sure -that his luck would return, followed out the plan -he had so often suggested to others, and bet away -his thighs, then his sides and arms, then his head -and ears, excepting his eyes, and last of all his very -eyes themselves. Each time the young War-gods -won. The old gambler let his hands fall by his -sides, and dropped his head on his breast, sick -with humiliation and chagrin.</p> - -<p>“Now, my brother,” said the elder to the -younger, “what shall we do with this beast?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said the other. “We can’t kill -him; yet, if we leave him to go his own way, he will -gamble and gamble without ceasing, and make no -end of trouble. Suppose we make a good man of -him.”</p> - -<p>“How?” asked the other.</p> - -<p>“Pluck out his eyes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>395]</a></span> -“Capital!” exclaimed the first. So, while one -of them held the old fellow down, the other -gouged out his eyes, and with pain and horror he -utterly forgot in unconsciousness (swooned away).</p> - -<p>The two elder War-gods set their younger -brothers on their feet, and all four of them joined -in clearing out the treasures and magnificent possessions -which Mítsina through all these years had -won from his victims; and these they took away -with them that by their sacred knowledge they -might change them into blessings for the faithful -of their children among men, and thus return, as it -were, what had been lost. Then away they went, -leaving old Mítsina still as witless as a dead man, -to his fate.</p> - -<p>By-and-by the old man came to his senses, and -raising himself up, tried to look around, but, forsooth, -he could not see.</p> - -<p>“What in the world has happened? What a -fearful pain I have in my temples!” said he. -“What is the matter? Is it night?”</p> - -<p>Then gradually his situation came to him. He -uttered a groan of pain and sorrow, and, putting -out his hand, felt the wall and raised himself by it. -Then he crept along, feeling his way to the window, -not yet quite certain whether he had been dreaming -all this and it was still night, or whether he had -really lost everything and been bereft of his eyes -by those midgets. When he put his hand into the -window, however, he felt the warm sunlight streaming -in, and knew that it was still day, and that -it was all true.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>396]</a></span> -In feeling there he chanced to touch a little -package of pitch which had been laid in the window. -He felt it all over with both hands, but -could not quite tell what it was. Then he put -it against his cheek, but was still uncertain; then -he rubbed it, and smelt of it. “Pitch! pitch! as -I live!” said he. “I have often lighted this when -it was dark, and been able to see. Now, maybe, if -I light it this time, I shall be able to see again.” -He felt his way all round the room to the fireplace, -and after burning his fingers two or three times in -feeling for coals, he found a sliver and held it in -the coals and ashes until he heard it begin to -sputter and crackle. Then he lighted the pitch -with it. Eyeless though he was, the fumes from -this medicine of the woodlands restored to him a -kind of vision. “Good!” cried the old fellow, “I -see again!” But when he looked around, he saw -nothing as it had been formerly; and his thoughts -reverted to the great City of the Gods (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Kothluellakwin</i>); -and, as it were, he could see the way -thither. So he turned toward his door, and with a -sigh gave up his old place of abode, relinquished -all thought of his possessions, gave up his former -bad inclinations, and turned westward toward the -City of the Gods and Souls.</p> - -<p>As he went along holding his light before him -and following it, he sang a mournful song. The -Birds, hearing this song, flocked around him, and as -he went on singing, exclaimed to one another: -“Ha! ha! the old wretch; he has lost his eyes! -Served him right! Let’s put out his light for him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>397]</a></span> -Now, before that time, strange as it may seem, -the Eagles and even the Crows were as white -as the foam on warring waters. The Eagles were -so strong that they thrust the other birds away, -and began to pounce down at Mítsina’s light, trying -to blow it out with their wings. <i>Thluh! -thluh!</i> they would flap into the light; but still -it would not go out; and they only singed their -feathers and blackened their wings and tails with -smoke. In looking at one another they saw what -a sad plight they were in. “Good gracious, -brothers!” exclaimed some of them to the others, -“we have made a fine mess of our white plumage!” -And they gave it up.</p> - -<p>Then the Crows rushed in and flapped against -the light, but they could not put it out; and although -they grew blacker and blacker, they would -not give it up. So they became as black as crows -are now; and ever since then eagles have been -speckled with brown and black, and crows have -been black, even to the tips of their beaks. And -whenever in the Sacred Drama Dance of our people -old Mítsina appears, he sings the doleful song -and carries the light of pitch pine. He goes naked, -with the exception of a wretched old cloth at his -loins; and he wears a mask with deep holes for -eyes, blood streaming from them.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>398]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap30" id="chap30"></a>HOW THE TWINS OF WAR AND -CHANCE, ÁHAIYÚTA AND MÁTSAILÉMA, -FARED WITH THE UNBORN-MADE -MEN OF THE UNDERWORLD<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></h2> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_26_26">[26]</a></span> -Reprinted from the <i>Journal of American Folk-Lore</i>, vol. v., No. 16, pp. -49-56. <a href="#FNanchor_26_26">Back</a></p> -</div> - - -<h3><span class="smcap">Translator’s Introduction</span></h3> - -<p><span class="dropcap">H</span>ERETOFORE I have withheld from publication -such single examples of Zuñi folk-lore as the following, -in order that the completer series might be -brought forth in the form of an unbroken collection, with -ample introductory as well as supplementary chapters, -essential to the proper understanding by ourselves of the -many distinctively Zuñi meanings and conceptions involved -in the various allusions with which any one of -them teems. Yet, to avoid encumbering the present example -with any but the briefest of notes, I must ask -leave to refer the reader to the more general yet detailed -chapters I have already written in the main, and with -which, I have reason to hope, I will ere long be able to -present the tales in question. Meanwhile, I would refer -likewise to the essay I have recently prepared for the -Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American -Ethnology, on <i>Zuñi Creation Myths</i> in their relation to -primitive dance and other dramaturgic ceremonies.</p> - -<p>Ever one of my chief story-tellers was Waíhusiwa,—of -the priestly kin of Zuñi. He had already told me somewhat -more than fifty of the folk tales, long and short, of -his people, when one night I asked him for “only one -more story of the grandfathers.” Wishing to evade me, -he replied with more show than sincerity:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>399]</a></span> -“There is a North, and of it I have told you <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">té-la-p’-na-we</i>.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> -There is a West; of it also I have told you <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">té-la-p’-na-we</i>. -There are the South and East; of them -likewise have I told you <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">té-la-p’-na-we</i>. Even of the -Above have I not but lately told you of the youth who -made love to his eagle and dwelt apace in the Sky-world? -And of the great World-embracing Waters? -You have been told of the hunter who married the Serpent-maiden -and journeyed to the Mountain of Sunset. -Now, therefore, my word-pouch is as empty as the food-pack -of a lost hunter, and—”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_27_27">[27]</a></span> -From <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">té-na-la-a</i>, “time or times of,” and <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">pé-na-we</i>, words or speeches -(tales): “tales of time.” <a href="#FNanchor_27_27">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>“Feel in the bottom of it, then,” interposed old Pálowahtiwa, -who was sitting near, “and tell him of the -Underworld.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hi-ta!</i> [Listen!] brother younger,” said Waíhusiwa, -nonplussed but ever ready. “Did you ever hear tell of -the people who could not digest, having, forsooth, no -proper insides wherewithal to do so? Did you ever hear -of them, brother younger?”</p> - -<p>“Nay, never; not even from my own grandfathers,” -said I. “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Sons éso</i> to your story; short be it or long.”<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_28_28">[28]</a></span> -The invariable formula for beginning a folk tale is, by the raconteur: -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Són ah-tchi!</i>” (“Let us take up”)—<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">té-la-p’-ne</i>, or “a folk tale,” being -understood. To this the auditors or listeners respond: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">É-so!</i>” (“Yea, -verily.”) Again, by the raconteur: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Sons i-nó-o-to-na! Tem</i>,” etc. (“Let -us (tell of) the times of creation! When,” etc.) Again, by the listeners: -“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Sons éso! Te-ä-tú!</i>” (“Yea, let us, verily! Be it so.”) <a href="#FNanchor_28_28">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Sons éso tse-ná!</i>” (“Cool your ‘<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">sons éso!</i>’ and wait -till <em>I</em> begin.”)—F. H. C.</p> - - -<h3><span class="smcap">Zuñi Introduction</span></h3> - -<p>It seems—so the words of the grandfathers say—that -in the Underworld were many strange -things and beings, even villages of men, long ago. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>400]</a></span> -But the people of those villages were unborn-made,—more -like the ghosts of the dead than ourselves, -yet more like ourselves than are the ghosts of the -dead, for as the dead are more finished of being -than we are, they were less so, as smoke, being -hazy, is less fine than mist, which is filmy; or as -green corn, though raw, is soft like cooked corn -which is done (like the dead), and as both are softer -than ripe corn which, though raw, is hardened by -age (as we are of meat).</p> - -<p>And also, these people were, you see, dead in -a way, in that they had not yet begun to live, that -is, as we live, in the daylight fashion.</p> - -<p>And so, it would seem, partly like ourselves, -they had bodies, and partly like the dead they had -no bodies, for being unfinished they were unfixed. -And whereas the dead are like the wind, and take -form from within of their own wills (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">yän′te-tseman</i>), -these people were really like the smoke,<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> taking -form from without of the outward touching of -things, even as growing and unripe grains and -fruits do.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_29_29">[29]</a></span> -The Zuñi classification of states of growth or being is as elaborate -as that of relative space in their mythology—both extremely detailed and -systematic, yet, when understood, purely primitive and simple. The -universe is supposed to have been generated from haze (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">shí-wai-a</i>) produced -by light (of the All-container, Sun-father) out of darkness. The -observed analogy of this in nature is the appearance of haze (both heat -and steam) preceding growth in springtime; the appearance of the -world, of growing and living things, through mist seemingly rising out -of the darkness each morning. In harmony with this conception of the -universe is the correlative one that every being (as to soul, at least) passes -through many successive states of becoming, always beginning as a -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">shí-u-na hâ-i</i> (haze being), and passing through the raw or soft (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">k’ya-pi-na</i>), -the formative (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">k’yaí-yu-na</i>), variable (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">thlím-ni-na</i>), fixed or done -(<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">ak-na</i>), and finished or dead (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">ä-shï-k’ya</i>) states; whilst the condition of -the surpassing beings (gods) may be any of these at will (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">i-thlim-na</i>, or -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">thlim-nah-na</i>, etc.). There are many analogies of this observed by the -Zuñi, likening, as he does, the generation of being to that of fire with the -fire-drill and stick. The most obvious of these is the appearance, in -volumes, of “smoke-steam” or haze just previously to ignition, and its -immediate disappearance with ignition. Further, the succession of beings -in the becoming of a complete being may be regarded as an orderly -personification of growth phenomena as observed in plants and seeds; -for example, in corn, which is characterized by no fewer than thirteen -mystic names, according to its stages of growth. This whole subject is -much more fully and conclusively set forth in the writings to which I have -already referred. <a href="#FNanchor_29_29">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>401]</a></span> -Well, in consequence, it was passing strange -what a state they were in! Bethink ye! Their -persons were much the reverse of our own, for -wherein we are hard, they were soft—pliable. -Wherein we are most completed, they were most -unfinished; for not having even the organs of -digestion, whereby we fare lustily, food in its -solidity was to them destructive, whereas to us -it is sustaining. When, therefore, they would eat, -they dreaded most the food itself, taking thought -not to touch it, and merely absorbing the mist -thereof. As fishes fare chiefly on water, and birds -on air, so these people ate by gulping down the -steam and savor of their cooked things whilst -cooking or still hot; then they threw the real -food away, forsooth!</p> - - -<h3><span class="smcap">The Tale</span></h3> - -<p><span class="dropcap">N</span>OW, the Twain Little-ones, Áhaiyúta and -Mátsailéma,<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> were ever seeking scenes of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>402]</a></span> -contention; for what was deathly and dreadful to -others was lively and delightful to them; so that -cries of distress were ever their calls of invitation, -as to a feast or dance is the call of a priest to us.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_30_30">[30]</a></span> -For the mythic origin of these two chief gods under the Sun, as his -right- and left-hand being, their relation to chance, war, games, etc., I -again refer the reader to the <i>Zuñi Creation Myths</i>. <a href="#FNanchor_30_30">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>On a day when the world was quiet, they were -sitting by the side of a deep pool. They heard -curious sounds coming up through the waters, as -though the bubbles were made by moans of the -waters affrighted.</p> - -<p>“Uh!” cried the elder. “What is that?”</p> - -<p>The younger brother turned his ear to the -ground and listened.</p> - -<p>“There is trouble down there, dire trouble, for -the people of the Underworld are shrieking war-cries -like daft warriors and wailing like murder-mourners. -What can be the matter? Let us -descend and see!”</p> - -<p>“Just so!” said Áhaiyúta.</p> - -<p>Then they covered their heads with their cord-shields<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a>—turned -upside down—and shut their -eyes and stepped into the deep pool.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_31_31">[31]</a></span> -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Pi-a-la-we</i> (cord or cotton shields), evidently an ancient style of -shield still surviving in the form of sacrificial net-shields of the Priesthood -of the Bow. But the shields of these two gods were supposed to have been -spun from the clouds which, supporting the sky-ocean, that in turn -supported the sky-world (as this world is believed to be supported by -under-waters and clouds), were hence possessed of the power of floating—upward -when turned up, downward when reversed. <a href="#FNanchor_31_31">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>“Now we are in the dark,” said they, “like the -dark down there. Well, then, by means of the -dark let us go down”—for they had wondrous -power, had those Twain; the magic of in-knowing-how -thought had they.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>403]</a></span> -Down, like light through dark places, they went; -dry through the waters; straight toward that -village in the Underworld.</p> - -<p>“Whew! the poor wretches are already dead,” -cried they, “and rotting”—for their noses were -sooner accustomed to the dark than their eyes, -which they now opened.</p> - -<p>“We might as well have spared ourselves the -coming, and stayed above,” said Áhaiyúta.</p> - -<p>“Nay, not so,” said Mátsailéma. “Let us go -on and see how they lived, even if they are -dead.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said the elder; and as they fared -toward the village they could see quite plainly -now, for they had made it dark (to themselves) -by shutting their eyes in the daylight above, so -now they made it light (to themselves) by opening -their eyes in the darkness below and simply looking,—it -was their way, you know.</p> - -<p>“Well, well!” said Mátsailéma, as they came -nearer and the stench doubled. “Look at the -village; it is full of people; the more they smell -of carrion the more they seem alive!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, by the chut of an arrow!” exclaimed -Áhaiyúta. “But look here! It is food we smell—cooked -food, all thrown away, as we throw away -bones and corn-cobs because they are too hard to -eat and profitless withal. What, now, can be the -meaning of this?”</p> - -<p>“What, indeed! Who can know save by knowing,” -replied the younger brother. “Come, let us -lie low and watch.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>404]</a></span> -So they went very quietly close to the village, -crouched down, and peered in. Some people inside -were about to eat. They took fine food steaming -hot from the cooking-pots and placed it low down -in wide trenchers; then they gathered around and -sipped in the steam and savor with every appearance -of satisfaction; but they were as chary of -touching the food or of letting the food touch -them as though it were the vilest of refuse.</p> - -<p>“Did you see that?” queried the younger -brother. “By the delight of death,<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> but—”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_32_32">[32]</a></span> -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hé-lu-ha-pa</i>; from <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">hé-lu</i>, or <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">é-lu</i>, “hurrah,” or “how delightful!”—and -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">há-pa</i>, a corpse-demon, death. <a href="#FNanchor_32_32">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>“Hist!” cried the elder. “If they are people of -that sort, feeding upon the savor of food, then they -will hear the suggestions of sounds better than the -sounds themselves, and the very demon fathers -would not know how to fare with such people, or to -fight them, either!”</p> - -<p>Hah! But already the people had heard! They -set up a clamor of war, swarming out to seek the -enemy, as well they might, for who would think -favorably of a sneaking stranger under the shade -of a house-wall watching the food of another? -Why, dogs growl even at their own offspring for -the like of that!</p> - -<p>“Where? Who? What is it?” cried the people, -rushing hither and thither like ants in a -shower. “Hah! There they are! There! -Quick!” cried they, pointing to the Twain, who -were cutting away to the nearest hillock. And -immediately they fell to singing their war-cry.</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>405]</a></span> -<div class="i0">“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ha-a! Sús-ki!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ó-ma-ta</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Há-wi-mo-o!</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ó-ma-ta,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ó-ma-ta Há-wi-mo!</i>”<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a><br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>sang they as they ran headlong toward the Two, -and then they began shouting:</p> - -<p>“Tread them both into the ground! Smite them -both! Fan them out! <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ho-o! Ha-a! Há-wi-mo-o -ó-ma-ta!</i>”</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_33_33">[33]</a></span> -This, like so many of the folk-tale songs, can only be translated etymologically -or by extended paraphrasing. Such songs are always jargonistic, -either archaic, imitative, or adapted from other languages of tribes -who possibly supplied incidents to the myths themselves; but they are, like -the latter, strictly harmonized with the native forms of expression and -phases of belief. <a href="#FNanchor_33_33">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>But the Twain laughed and quickly drew their -arrows and loosed them amongst the crowd. <i>P’it! -tsok!</i> sang the arrows through and through the -people, but never a one fell.</p> - -<p>“Why, how now is this?” cried the elder brother.</p> - -<p>“We’ll club them, then!” said Mátsailéma, and -he whiffed out his war-club and sprang to meet the -foremost whom he pummelled well and sorely over -the head and shoulders. Yet the man was only -confused (he was too soft and unstable to be hurt); -but another, rushing in at one side, was hit by one -of the shield-feathers and fell to the ground like -smoke driven down under a hawk’s wing.</p> - -<p>“Hold, brother, I have it! Hold!” cried -Áhaiyúta. Then he snatched up a bunch of dry -plume-grass and leaped forward. <em>Swish!</em> Two -ways he swept the faces and breasts of the pursuers. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>406]</a></span> -Lo! right and left they fell like bees in a rain-storm, -and quickly sued for mercy, screeching and -running at the mere sight of the grass-straws.</p> - -<p>“You fools!” cried the brothers. “Why, then, -did ye set upon us? We came for to help you and -were merely looking ahead as becomes strangers in -strange places, when, lo! you come running out like -a mess of mad flies with your ‘<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ha-a sús-ki ó-ma-ta!</i>’ -Call us coyote-sneaks, do you? But there! Rest -fearless! We hunger; give us to eat.”</p> - -<p>So they led the Twain into the court within the -town and quickly brought steaming food for them.</p> - -<p>They sat down and began to blow the food to -cool it, whereupon the people cried out in dismay: -“Hold! Hold, ye heedless strangers; do not waste -precious food like that! For shame!”</p> - -<p>“Waste food? Ha! This is the way <em>we</em> eat!” -said they, and clutching up huge morsels they -crammed their mouths full and bolted them almost -whole.</p> - -<p>The people were so horrified and sickened at -sight of this, that some of them sweated furiously,—which -was their way of spewing—whilst others, -stouter of thought, cried: “Hold! hold! Ye will -die; ye will surely sicken and die if the stuff do but -touch ye!”</p> - -<p>“Ho! ho!” cried the Twain, eating more lustily -than ever. “Eat thus and harden yourselves, you -poor, soft things, you!”</p> - -<p>Just then there was a great commotion. Everyone -rushed to the shelter of the walls and houses, -shouting to them to leave off and follow quickly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>407]</a></span> -“What is it?” asked they, looking up and all -around.</p> - -<p>“Woe, woe! The gods are angry with us this -day, and blowing arrows at us. They will kill you -both! Hurry!” A big puff of wind was blowing -over, scattering slivers and straws before it; that -was all!</p> - -<p>“Brother,” said the elder, “this will not do. -These people must be hardened and be taught to -eat. But let us take a little sleep first, then we -will look to this.”</p> - -<p>They propped themselves up against a wall, -set their shields in front of them, and fell asleep. -Not long after they awakened suddenly. Those -strange people were trying to drag them out to -bury them, but were afraid to touch them now, for -they thought them dead stuff, more dead than alive.</p> - -<p>The younger brother punched the elder with -his elbow, and both pretended to gasp, then kept -very still. The people succeeded at last in rolling -them out of the court like spoiling bodies, and -were about to mingle them with the refuse when -they suddenly let go and set up a great wail, shouting -“War! Murder!”</p> - -<p>“How now?” cried the Twain, jumping up. -Whereupon the people stared and chattered in -greater fright than ever at seeing the dead seemingly -come to life!</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter, you fool people?”</p> - -<p>“<i>Akaa kaa</i>,” cried a flock of jays.</p> - -<p>“Hear that!” said the villagers. “Hear that, -and ask what’s the matter! The jays are coming; -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>408]</a></span> -whoever they light on dies—run you two! <i>Aii!</i> -Murder!” And they left off their standing as -though chased by demons. On one or two of the -hindmost some jays alighted. They fell dead as -though struck by lightning!</p> - -<p>“Why, see that!” cried the elder brother—“these -people die if only birds alight on them!”</p> - -<p>“Hold on, there!” said the younger brother. -“Look here, you fearsome things!” So they -pulled hairs from some scalp-locks they had, and -made snares of them, and whenever the jays flew -at them they caught them with the nooses until -they had caught every one. Then they pinched -them dead and took them into the town and -roasted them. “This is the way,” said they, as -they ate the jays by morsels.</p> - -<p>And the people crowded around and shouted: -“Look! look! why, they eat the very enemy—say -nothing of refuse!” And although they -dreaded the couple, they became very conciliatory -and gave them a fit place to bide in.</p> - -<p>The very next day there was another alarm. -The Two ran out to learn what was the matter. -For a long time they could see nothing, but at -last they met some people fleeing into the town. -Chasing after them was a cooking-pot with earrings -of onions.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> It was boiling furiously and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>409]</a></span> -belching forth hot wind and steam and spluttering -mush in every direction. If ever so little of the -mush hit the people they fell over and died.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_34_34">[34]</a></span> -The onion here referred to is the dried, southwestern leek-clove, which -is so strong and indigestible that, when eaten raw and in quantity, gives -rise to great distress, or actually proves fatal to any but mature and -vigorous persons. This, of course, explains why it was chosen for its -value as a symbol of the vigor (or “daylight perfection” and invincibility) -of the Twin gods. <a href="#FNanchor_34_34">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">He!</i>” cried the Twain;</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Té-k’ya-thla-k’ya</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Í-ta-wa-k’ya</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Äsh′-she-shu-kwa!</i><br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>—As if food-stuff were made to make people -afraid!” Whereupon they twitched the earrings -off the pot and ate them up with all the mush that -was in the pot, which they forthwith kicked to -pieces vigorously.</p> - -<p>Then the people crowded still closer around -them, wondering to one another that they could -vanquish all enemies by eating them with such -impunity, and they begged the Twain to teach -them how to do it. So they gathered a great -council of the villagers, and when they found that -these poor people were only half finished, ... -they cut vents in them (such as were not afraid -to let them), ... and made them eat solid -food, by means of which they were hardened and -became men of meat then and there, instead of -having to get killed after the manner of the fearful, -and others of their kind beforetime, in order -to ascend to the daylight and take their places in -men born of men.</p> - -<p>And for this reason, behold! a new-born child -may eat only of wind-stuff until his cord of viewless -sustenance has been severed, and then only -by sucking milk or soft food first and with much -distress.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>410]</a></span> -Behold! And we may now see why, like new-born -children are the very aged; childish withal—<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">á-ya-vwi</i><a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a>;—not -only toothless, too, but also sure -to die of diarrhœa if they eat ever so little save -the soft parts and broths of cooked food. For -are not the babes new-come from the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shi-u-na</i><a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> -world; and are not the aged about to enter the -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Shi-po-lo-a</i><a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> world, where cooked food unconsumed -is never heeded by the fully dead?</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_35_35">[35]</a></span> -Dangerously susceptible, tender, delicate. <a href="#FNanchor_35_35">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_36_36">[36]</a></span> -Hazy, steam-growing. <a href="#FNanchor_36_36">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_37_37">[37]</a></span> -Mist-enshrouded. <a href="#FNanchor_37_37">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>411]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap31" id="chap31"></a>THE COCK AND THE MOUSE</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="note"> -<p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—While on their pilgrimage to the “Ocean of Sunrise” in the -summer of 1886, three Zuñis—Pálowahtiwa, Waíhusiwa, and Héluta—with -Mr. Cushing, were entertaining their assembled friends at Manchester-by-the-Sea -with folk tales, those related by the Indians being interpreted by -Mr. Cushing as they were uttered. When Mr. Cushing’s turn came for a -story he responded by relating the Italian tale of “The Cock and the -Mouse” which appears in Thomas Frederick Crane’s <i>Italian Popular Tales</i>. -About a year later, at Zuñi, but under somewhat similar circumstances, -Waíhusiwa’s time came to entertain the gathering, and great was Mr. Cushing’s -surprise when he presented a Zuñi version of the Italian tale. Mr. -Cushing translated the story as literally as possible, and it is here reproduced, -together with Mr. Crane’s translation from the Italian, in order that the -reader may not only see what transformation the original underwent in such -a brief period, and how well it has been adapted to Zuñi environment and -mode of thought, but also to give a glimpse of the Indian method of folk-tale -making.—<i>Editor.</i></p> -</div> - - -<h3><span class="smcap">Italian Version</span></h3> - -<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>NCE upon a time there were a cock and a -mouse. One day the mouse said to the cock: -“Friend Cock, shall we go and eat some nuts on -yonder tree?” “As you like.” So they both -went under the tree and the mouse climbed up at -once and began to eat. The poor cock began to -fly, and flew and flew, but could not come where -the mouse was. When it saw that there was no -hope of getting there, it said: “Friend Mouse, do -you know what I want you to do? Throw me a -nut.” The mouse went and threw one and hit the -cock on the head. The poor cock, with its head -all broken and covered with blood, went away to an -old woman. “Old aunt, give me some rags to cure -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>412]</a></span> -my head.” “If you will give me two hairs I will -give you the rags.” The cock went away to a dog. -“Dog, give me two hairs; the hairs I will give the -old woman; the old woman will give me rags to -cure my head.” “If you will give me a little bread,” -said the dog, “I will give you the hairs.” The -cock went away to a baker. “Baker, give me -bread; I will give bread to the dog; the dog will -give hairs; the hairs I will carry to the old woman; -the old woman will give me rags to cure my head.” -The baker answered: “I will not give you bread -unless you give me some wood.” The cock went -away to the forest. “Forest, give me some wood; -the wood I will carry to the baker; the baker will -give me some bread; the bread I will give to the -dog; the dog will give me hairs; the hairs I will -carry to the old woman; the old woman will give -me rags to cure my head.” The forest answered: -“If you will bring me a little water, I will give you -some wood.” The cock went away to a fountain. -“Fountain, give me water; water I will carry to the -forest; forest will give wood; wood I will carry to -the baker; baker will give bread; bread I will give -dog; dog will give hairs; hairs I will give old woman; -old woman will give rags to cure my head.” -The fountain gave him water; the water he carried -to the forest; the forest gave him wood; the wood -he carried to the baker; the baker gave him bread; -the bread he gave to the dog; the dog gave him -the hairs; the hairs he carried to the old woman; -the old woman gave him the rags; and the cock -cured his head.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>413]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Zuñi Version</span></h3> - -<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HUS it was in the Town of the Floods Abounding,<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> -long ago. There lived there an old woman, -so they say, of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Italia-kwe</i>,<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> who, in the -land of their nativity, are the parental brothers of the -Mexicans, it is said. Now, after the manner of that -people, this old woman had a <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> Cock which -she kept alone so that he would not fight the others. -He was very large, like a turkey, with a fine sleek -head and a bristle-brush on his breast like a turkey-cock’s -too, for the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i>-kind were at first the -younger brothers of the Turkeys, so it would seem.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_38_38">[38]</a></span> -Venice. <a href="#FNanchor_38_38">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_39_39">[39]</a></span> -“Italy-people.” <a href="#FNanchor_39_39">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Well, the old woman kept her Cock in a little -corral of tall close-set stakes, sharp at the top and -wattled together with rawhide thongs, like an eagle-cage -against a wall, only it had a little wicket also -fastened with thongs. Now, try as he would, the -old <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> Cock could not fly out, for he had no -chance to run and make a start as turkeys do in the -wilds, yet he was ever trying and trying, because he -was meat-hungry—always anxious for worms;—for, -although the people of that village had abundant -food, this old woman was poor and lived mainly on -grain-foods, wherefore, perforce, she fed the old -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> Cock with the refuse of her own eatings. -In the morning the old woman would come and -throw this refuse food into the corral cage.</p> - -<p>Under the wall near by there lived a Mouse. He -had no old grandmother to feed him, and he was -particularly fond of grain food. When, having eaten -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>414]</a></span> -his fill, the old Cock would settle down, stiff of neck -and not looking this side nor that, but sitting in -the sun <i>kâ-tâ-kâ-tok-ing</i> to himself, the little Mouse -would dodge out, steal a bit of tortilla or a crumb, -and whisk into his hole again. Being sleepy, the -<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> Cock never saw him, and so, day after day -the Mouse fared sumptuously and grew over-bold. -But one day, when corn was ripe and the Cock had -been well fed and was settling down to his sitting -nap, the Mouse came out and stole a particularly -large piece of bread, so that in trying to push it into -his hole he made some noise and, moreover, had to -stop and tunnel his doorway larger.</p> - -<p>The Cock turned his head and looked just as the -Mouse was working his way slowly in, and espied -the long, naked tail lying there on the ground and -wriggling as the Mouse moved to and fro at his -digging.</p> - -<p>“Hah! By the Grandmother of Substance, -it is a worm!” cackled the Cock, and he made one -peck at the Mouse’s tail and bit it so hard that he -cut it entirely off and swallowed it at one gulp.</p> - -<p>The Mouse, squeaking “Murder!” scurried -down into his sleeping-place, and fell to licking -his tail until his chops were all pink and his mouth -was drawn down like a crying woman’s; for he -loved his long tail as a young dancer loves the -glory of his long hair, and he cried continually: -“<i>Weh tsu tsu, weh tsu tse, yam hok ti-i-i!</i>” and -thought: “Oh, that shameless great beast! By -the Demon of Slave-creatures, I’ll have my payment -of him! For he is worse than an owl -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>415]</a></span> -or a night-hawk. They eat us all up, but he has -taken away the very mark of my mousehood and -left me to mourn it. I’ll take vengeance on him, -will I!”</p> - -<p>So, from that time the Mouse thought how he -might compass it, and this plan seemed best: He -would creep out some day, all maimed of tail as -he was, and implore pity, and thus, perchance, -make friends for a while with the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> Cock. -So he took seed-down, and made a plaster -of it with nut-resin, and applied it to the stump -of his tail. Then, on a morning, holding his tail -up as a dog does his foot when maimed by a cactus, -he crawled to the edge of his hole and cried -in a weak voice to the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i>:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i2">“<i>Ani, yoa yoa! Itâ-ak’ya Mosa,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i5"><i>Motcho wak’ya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i5"><i>Oshe wak’ya,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ethl hâ asha ni ha. Ha na, yoa, ha na!</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">Look you, pity, pity! Master of Food Substance,<br /></div> -<div class="i7">Of my maiming,<br /></div> -<div class="i7">Of my hunger,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">I am all but dying. Ah me, pity, ah me!<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Whereupon he held up his tail, which was a safe -thing to do, you see, for it no longer looked like -a worm or any other eatable.</p> - -<p>Now, the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> was flattered to be called a -master of plenty, so he said, quite haughtily (for -he had eaten and could not bend his neck, and felt -proud, withal), “Come in, you poor little thing, -and eat all you want. As if I cared for what the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>416]</a></span> -like of you could eat!” So the Mouse went in -and ate very little, as became a polite stranger, -and thanking the Cock, bade him good-day and -went back to his hole.</p> - -<p>By-and-by he came again, and this time he -brought part of a nutshell containing fine white -meat. When he had shouted warning of his coming -and entered the corral cage, he said: “Comrade -father, let us eat together. Of this food I -have plenty, gathered from yonder high nut-tree -which I climb every autumn when the corn is -ripe and cut the nuts therefrom. But of all food -yours I most relish, since I cannot store such in -my cellar. Now, it may be you will equally relish -mine; so let us eat, then, together.”</p> - -<p>“It is well, comrade child,” replied the Cock; -so they began to eat.</p> - -<p>But the Cock had no sooner tasted the nut than -he fairly chuckled for joy, and having speedily -made an end of the kernel, fell to lamenting his -hard lot. “Alas, ah me!” he said. “My grandmother -brings me, on rare days, something like to -this, but picked all too clean. There is nought -eatable so nice. Comrade little one, do you have -plenty of this kind, did you say?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” replied the Mouse; “but, you see, -the season is near to an end now, and when I -want more nuts I must go and gather them from -the tree. Look, now! Why do you not go there -also? That is the tree, close by.”</p> - -<p>“Ah me, I cannot escape, woe to me! Look -at my wings,” said the Cock, “they are worn to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>417]</a></span> -bristles—and as to the beard on my breast, my -chief ornament, alas! it is all crumpled and uneven, -so much have I tried to fly out and so hard -have I pushed against the bars. As for the door, -my grandmother claps that shut and fastens it -tightly with thongs, be you sure, as soon as ever -she finishes the feeding of me!”</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha!” exclaimed the Mouse. “If that’s -all, there’s nothing easier than to open that. -Look at my teeth; I even crack the hard nuts -with these scrapers of mine! Wait!” He ran -nimbly up the wicket and soon gnawed through -the holding-string. “There! comrade father; -push open the door, you are bigger than I, and -we will go nutting.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks this day,” cried the Cock, and shoving -the wicket open, he ran forth cackling and crowing -for gladness.</p> - -<p>Then the Mouse led the way to the tree. Up -the trunk he ran, and climbed and climbed until -he came to the topmost boughs. “Ha! the nuts -are fine and ripe up here,” he shouted.</p> - -<p>But the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> fluttered and flew all in vain; -his wings were so worn he could not win even to -the lowermost branches. “Oh! have pity on me, -comrade child! Cut off some of the nuts and throw -them down to me, do! My wings are so worn I -cannot fly any better than the grandmother’s old -dog, who is my neighbor over there.”</p> - -<p>“Be patient, be patient, father!” exclaimed the -Mouse. “I am cracking a big one for you as fast -as I can. There, catch it!” and he threw a fat -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>418]</a></span> -nut close to the Cock, who gleefully devoured -the kernel and, without so much as thanks, called -for more.</p> - -<p>“Wait, father,” said the Mouse. “There! -Stand right under me, so. Now, catch it; this is -a big one!” Saying which the Mouse crawled -out until he was straight over the Cock. “Now, -then,” said he, “watch in front!” and he let fall -the nut. It hit the Cock on the head so hard that -it bruised the skin off and stunned the old <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> -so that he fell over and died for a short time, -utterly forgetting.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Té mi thlo kô thlo kwa!</i>” shouted the Mouse, -as he hurried down the tree. “A little waiting, -and lo! What my foe would do to me, I to him -do, indeed!” Whereupon he ran across, before -ever the Cock had opened an eye, and gnawed his -bristles off so short that they never could grow -again. “There, now!” said the Mouse. “Lo! -thus healed is my heart, and my enemy is even as -he made me, bereft of distinction!” Then he ran -back to his cellar, satisfied.</p> - -<p>Finally the Cock opened his eyes. “Ah me, -my head!” he exclaimed. Then, moaning, he -staggered to his feet, and in doing so he espied -the nut. It was smooth and round, like a brown -egg. When the Cock saw it he fell to lamenting -more loudly than ever: “Oh, my head! <i>Tâ-kâ-kâ-kâ-â-â!</i>” -But the top of his head kept bleeding -and swelling until it was all covered over with -welts of gore, and it grew so heavy, withal, that -the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> thought he would surely die. So off -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>419]</a></span> -to his grandmother he went, lamenting all the way.</p> - -<p>Hearing him, the grandmother opened the door, -and cried: “What now?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my grandmother, ah me! I am murdered!” -he answered. “A great, round, hard -seed was dropped on my head by a little creature -with a short, one-feathered tail, who came and told -me that it was good to eat and—oh! my head is -all bleeding and swollen! By the light of your -favor, bind my wound for me lest, alas, I -die!”</p> - -<p>“Served you right! Why did you leave your -place, knowing better?” cried the old woman. “I -will not bind your head unless you give me your -very bristles of manhood, that you may remember -your lesson!”</p> - -<p>“Oh! take them, grandmother!” cried the -Cock; but when he looked down, alas! the beard -of his breast, the glory of his kind, was all gone. -“Ah me! ah me! What shall I do?” he again -cried. But the old woman told him that unless he -brought her at least four bristles she would not -cure him, and forthwith she shut the door.</p> - -<p>So the poor Cock slowly staggered back toward -his corral, hoping to find some of the hairs that -had been gnawed off. As he passed the little -lodge of his neighbor, the Dog, he caught sight -of old <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Wahtsita’s</i> fine muzzle-beard. “Ha!” -thought he. Then he told the Dog his tale, and -begged of him four hairs—“only four!”</p> - -<p>“You great, pampered noise-maker, give me -some bread, then, fine bread, and I will give you -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>420]</a></span> -the hairs.” Whereupon the Cock thought, and -went to the house of a Trader of Foodstuffs; and -he told him also the tale.</p> - -<p>“Well, then, bring me some wood with which I -may heat the oven to bake the bread,” said the -Trader of Foodstuffs.</p> - -<p>The Cock went to some Woods near by. “Oh, -ye Beloved of the Trees, drop me dry branches!” -And with this he told the Trees his tale; but the -Trees shook their leaves and said: “No rain has -fallen, and all our branches will soon be dry. Beseech -the Waters that they give us drink, then we -will gladly give you wood.”</p> - -<p>Then the Cock went to a Spring near by,—and -when he saw in it how his head was swollen and he -found that it was growing harder, he again began -to lament.</p> - -<p>“What matters?” murmured the Beloved of the -Waters.</p> - -<p>Then he told them the tale also.</p> - -<p>“Listen!” said the Beings of Water. “Long -have men neglected their duties, and the Beloved -of the Clouds need payment of due no less than -ourselves, the Trees, the Food-maker, the Dog, -and the Old Woman. Behold! no plumes are set -about our border! Now, therefore, pay to them of -thy feathers—four floating plumes from under thy -wings—and set them close over us, that, seen in -our depths from the sky, they will lure the Beloved -of the Clouds with their rain-laden breaths. Thus -will our stream-way be replenished and the Trees -watered, and their Winds in the Trees will drop -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>421]</a></span> -thee dead branches wherewith thou mayest make -payment and all will be well.”</p> - -<p>Forthwith the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tâkâkâ</i> plucked four of his best -plumes and set them, one on the northern, one on -the western, one on the southern, and one on the -eastern border of the Pool. Then the Winds of -the Four Quarters began to breathe upon the four -plumes, and with those Breaths of the Beloved -came Clouds, and from the Clouds fell Rain, and -the Trees threw down dry branches, and the Wind -placed among them Red-top Grass, which is light -and therefore lightens the load it is among. And -when the Cock returned and gathered a little bundle -of fagots, lo! the Red-top made it so light that -he easily carried it to the Food-maker, who gave -him bread, for which the Dog gave him four -bristles, and these he took to the old Grandmother.</p> - -<p>“Ha!” exclaimed she. “Now, child, I will cure -thee, but thou hast been so long that thy head will -always be welted and covered with proud-flesh, -even though healed. Still, it must ever be so. -Doing right keeps right; doing wrong makes -wrong, which, to make right, one must even pay as -the sick pay those who cure them. Go now, and -bide whither I bid thee.”</p> - -<p>When, after a time, the Cock became well, lo! -there were great, flabby, blood-red welts on his -head and blue marks on his temples where they -were bruised so sore. Now, listen:</p> - -<p>It is for this reason that ever since that time the -medicine masters of that people never give cure -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>422]</a></span> -without pay; never, for there is no virtue in medicine -of no value. Ever since then cocks have had -no bristles on their breasts—only little humps where -they ought to be;—and they always have blood-red -crests of meat on their heads. And even when a -hen lays an egg and a <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">tâkâkâ</i> cock sees it, he begins -to <i>tâ-kâ-kâ-â</i> as the ancient of them all did -when he saw the brown nut. And sometimes they -even pick at and eat these seeds of their own children, -especially when they are cracked.</p> - -<p>As for mice, we know how they went into the -meal-bags in olden times and came out something -else, and, getting smoked, became <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">tsothliko-ahâi</i>, -with long, bare tails. But that was before the -Cock cut the tail of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">tsothliko</i> Mouse off. Ever -since he cried in agony: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Weh tsu yii weh tsu!</i>” -like a child with a burnt finger, his children have -been called <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Wehtsutsukwe</i>, and wander wild in the -fields; hence field-mice to this day have short -tails, brown-stained and hairy; and their chops are -all pink, and when you look them in the face they -seem always to be crying.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>423]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="chap32" id="chap32"></a>THE GIANT CLOUD-SWALLOWER<br /> - -<span class="vsmlfont">A TALE OF CAÑON DE CHELLY</span></h2> -</div> - - -<div class="note"> -<h3><span class="smcap">Translator’s Introduction</span></h3> - -<p><span class="dropcap">D</span>EEP down in cañons of the Southwest, especially -where they are joined by other cañons, the traveller -may see standing forth from or hugging the angles of the -cliffs, great towering needles of stone—weird, rugged, fantastic, -oftentimes single, as often—like gigantic wind-stripped -trees with lesser trees standing beside them—double -or treble. Seen suddenly at a turn in the cañon -these giant stones startle the gazer with their monstrous -and human proportions, like giants, indeed, at bay against -the sheer rock walls, protecting their young, who appear -anon to crouch at the knees of their fathers or cling to -their sides.</p> - -<p>Few white men behold these statuesque stones in the -moonlight, or in the gray light and white mists of the -morning. At midday they seem dead or asleep while -standing; but when the moon is shining above them and -the wanderer below looks up to them, lo! the moon stands -still and these mighty crags start forth, advancing noiselessly. -His back is frozen, and even in the yielding sand -his feet are held fast by terror—a delicious, ghostly terror, -withal! Still he gazes fascinated, and as the shadow of -the moonlight falls toward him over the topmost crest, lo, -again! its crown is illumined and circled as if by a halo of -snow-light, and back and forth from this luminous fillet -over that high stony brow, black hair seems to tumble and -gather.</p> - -<p>Again, beheld in the dawn-light, when the mists are rising -slowly and are waving to and fro around the giddy -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>424]</a></span> -columns, hiding the cliffs behind them, these vast pinnacles -seem to nod and to waver or to sway themselves backward -and forward, all as silently as before. Soon, when -the sun is risen and the mists from below fade away, the -wind blows more mist from the mesa; you see clouds of -it pour from the cliff edge, just behind and above these -great towers, and shimmer against the bright sky; but as -soon as these clouds pass the crag-nests they are lost in -the sunlight around them—lost so fast, as yet others come -on, that the stone giants seem to drink them.</p> - -<p>Of such rocks, according to their variety and local surroundings, -the Zuñis relate many tales which are so ingenious -and befitting that if we believed, as the Zuñis do, that -in the time of creation when all things were young and -soft and were therefore easily fashioned by whatever -chanced to befall them—into this thing or that thing, into -this plant or that plant, this animal or that, and so on endlessly -through a dramatic story longer than Shakespeare -or the Bible—we would fain believe also as he does in the -quaint incidents of these stories of the time when all things -were new and the world was becoming as we see it now.</p> - -<p>One of these tales, a variant of others pertaining to particular -standing rocks in the west, south, or east, is told of -that wonder to all beholders, “El Capitan,” of the Cañon -de Chelly in the north. No one who has seen this stupendous -rock column can fail to be interested in the following -legend, or will fail to realize how, as this introduction -endeavors to make plainer, the Zuñi poet and -philosopher of olden times built up a story which he verily -believed quite sufficient to account for the great shaft of -sandstone and its many details and surroundings.—F. H. C.</p> -</div> - - -<p>Häki Suto, or Foretop Knot, he whose hair was -done up over his forehead like a quail’s crest, lived -among the great cliffs of the north long ago, when -the world was new. He was a giant, so tall that -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>425]</a></span> -men called him <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Lo Ikwithltchunona</i>, or the Cloud-swallower. -A devourer of men was he,—men were -his meat—yea, and a drinker of their very substance -was he, for the cloud-breaths of the beloved gods, -and souls of the dead, whence descend rains, even -these were his drink. Wherefore the People of the -Cliffs sought to slay him, and hero after hero perished -thuswise. Wherefore, too, snow ceased in -the north and the west; rain ceased in the south -and the east; the mists of the mountains above -were drunk up; the waters of the valleys below -were dried up; corn withered in the fields; men -hungered and died in the cliffs.</p> - -<p>Then came the Twin Gods of War, Áhaiyúta and -Mátsailéma, who in play staked the lives of foes -and fierce creatures. “Lo! it is not well with our -children, men,” said they. “Let us destroy this -Häki Suto, the swallower of clouds,” said they.</p> - -<p>They were walking along the trail which leads -southward to the Smooth-rocks-descending.</p> - -<p>“O, grandchildren, where be ye wending?” said -a little, little quavering voice. They looked,—the -younger, then the elder. There on the tip of a -grass-stalk, waving her banner of down-stuff, stood -their grandmother, Spinner of Meshes.</p> - -<p>“The Spider! Our Grandmother Spider!” cried -one of the gods to the other. “Ho! grandmother, -was that you calling?” shouted they to her.</p> - -<p>“Yea, children; where wend ye this noon-day?”</p> - -<p>“A-warring we are going,” said they. “Look now!</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“No beads for to broider your awning<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Have fallen this many a morning.”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>426]</a></span> -“Aha, wait ye! Whom ye seek, verily I know -him well,” said the Spider-woman.</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Like a tree fallen down from the mountain<br /></div> -<div class="i0">He lies by the side of the cliff-trail<br /></div> -<div class="i0">And feigns to sleep there, yet is wary.<br /></div> -<div class="i0">I will sew up his eyes with my down-cords.<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Then come ye and smite him, grandchildren.”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>She ran ahead. There lay Häki Suto, his legs -over the trail where men journeyed. Great, like -the trunks and branches of pine trees cast down by -a wind-storm, were his legs arching over the pathway, -and when some one chanced to come by, the -giant would call out: “Good morning!” and bid -him “pass right along under.” “I am old and -rheumatic,” he would continue, oh, so politely! -“Do not mind my rudeness, therefore; run right -along under; never fear, run right along under!” -But when the hunter tried to pass, <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">kúutsu!</i> Häki -Suto would snatch him up and cast him over the -cliff to be eaten by the young Forehead-cresters.</p> - -<p>The Spider stepped never so lightly, and climbed -up behind his great ear, and then busily wove at her -web, to and fro, up and down, and in and out of his -eyelashes she busily plied at her web.</p> - -<p>“Pesk the birds and buzz creatures!” growled -the giant, twitching this way and that his eyebrows, -which tickled; but he would not stir,—for he heard -the War-gods coming, and thought them fat hunters -and needs must feign sleepy.</p> - -<p>And these? Ha! ha! They begin to sing, as -was their fearless wont sometimes. Häki Suto -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>427]</a></span> -never looked, but yawned and drawled as they came -near, and nearer. “Never mind, my children, pass -right along under, pass right along under; I am -lame and tired this morning,” said he.</p> - -<p>Áhaiyúta ran to the left. Mátsailéma ran to the -right. Häki Suto sprang up to catch them, but his -eyes were so blinded with cobwebs that he missed -them and feigned to fall, crying: “Ouch! my poor -back! my poor back! Pass right along under, my -children, it was only a crick in my back. Ouch! -Oh, my poor back!” But they whacked him over -the head and stomach till he stiffened and died. -Then shouting “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">So ho!</i>” they shoved him over the -cliff.</p> - -<p>The Navahos say that the grandmother tied him -there by the hair—by his top-knot—where you see -the white streaks on the pillar, so <em>they</em> say; but it’s -the birds that streak the pillar, and <em>this</em> is the way. -When Häki Suto fell, his feet drave far into the -sands, and the Storm-gods rushed in to the aid of -their children, the War-gods, and drifted his blood-bedrenched -carcass all over with sand, whence he -dried and hardened to stone. When the young -ones saw him falling, they forthwith flocked up to -devour him, making loud clamor. But the Twain, -seeing this, made after them too and twisted the -necks of all save only the tallest (who was caught -in the sands with his father) and flung them aloft -to the winds, whereby one became instantly the -Owl, who twists her head wholly around whensoever -she pleases, and stares as though frightened and -strangled; and another the Falcon became, who -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>428]</a></span> -perches and nests to this day on the crest of his -sand-covered father, the Giant Cloud-drinker. And -the Falcons cry ever and ever “’Tis father; O -father!” (“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tí-tätchu ya-tätchu.</i>”)</p> - -<p>But, fearing that never again would the waters -refreshen their cañons, our ancients who dwelt in -the cliffs fled away to the southward and eastward—all -save those who had perished aforetime; they -are dead in their homes in the cliff-towns, dried, like -their corn-stalks that died when the rain stopped -long, long ago, when all things were new.</p> - -<p>Thus shortens my story.</p> - - -<div class="imgbreak"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 625px;"> -<a name="plate12" id="plate12"></a> -<img src="images/zft24.jpg" width="625" height="485" -alt="" /> -<p class="capleft">Photo by A. C. Vroman</p> -<p class="caption">ZUÑI WOMEN CARRYING WATER</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>429]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="chap33" id="chap33"></a>THE MAIDEN THE SUN MADE LOVE -TO, AND HER BOYS<br /> - -<span class="vsmlfont">OR, THE ORIGIN OF ANGER</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p><span class="dropcap">L</span>ET it be about a person who lived in the -Home of the Eagles (K’iákime), under the -Mountain of Thunder, that I tell you today. So -let it be. It was in the ancient, long-forgotten -times. It was in the very ancient times beyond -one’s guessing. There lived then, in this town, -the daughter of a great priest-chief, but she had -never, never, never since she was a little child, -come forth from the doorway of the house in -which she dwelt. No one there in that town had -ever seen her; even her own townspeople had -never seen her.</p> - -<p>Now, day after day at noon-time, when the Sun -stood in the mid-heavens, he would look down -from the sky through a little window in the roof -of her house. And he it was who instant was her -lover, and who, descending upon the luminously -yellow trail his own rays created, would talk to -her. And he was her only companion, for she -knew not her own townspeople, neither had she -seen them since she was a child. None save only -her parents ever saw her.</p> - -<p>“Wonder what the cacique’s child looks like,” -the people would say to one another. “She never -comes out; no one has seen her since she was a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>430]</a></span> -little child.” And so at last they schemed to get a -look at her. One said: “I have it! Let us have -a dance for her. Then it may be she will deign to -come forth.”</p> - -<p>The young man who spoke was chief of the -dances, and why should he not suggest such a -thing? So, his friends and followers agreeing, -they began to make plumes of macaw feathers—beautiful -plumes they were—for the Plume dance. -They set a day, and on that day, in the morning, -they danced, with music and song, in the plaza before -the house of the great priest-chief where the -girl lived. They looked along the top of the -house in vain; the girl was not there; only her -old parents sat on the roof.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I’m so thirsty!” cried the chief of the -dance, for he it was who wanted to see the girl.</p> - -<p>“Run right in and get a drink,” said the girl’s -old ones. So the young man climbed the ladder -and went into the first room. There was no water -there; then he went into the second room, but -there was no water there; then into the third -room, but still he found no water. He looked all -around, but saw nothing of the priest-chief’s daughter. -All the same, she was back in the fourth -room, sitting there just as if no dance were going -on in the plaza, weaving away at her beautiful -trays of colored splints.</p> - -<p>Well, the young man went back; they finished -their dance, but no one saw anything of the priest-chief’s -daughter; and when the dancers all returned -to their ceremonial chamber they said to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>431]</a></span> -one another: “Alas! although we danced for her, -she came not out to see us!”</p> - -<p>Now, in reality, the Sun, who was her lover, and -came down each day on a ray of his own light to -visit her, loved her so much he would not that she -should come forth from her house and be seen of -men. Therefore he set an Eagle upon the house-top -in a great cage to watch her. He was a very -wise old Eagle. He could understand every word -that the people said. And he it was that she fed -and watered from day to day. Now, the dancers -in the ceremonial chamber asked: “What shall we -do?”</p> - -<p>“Why, let us dance again,” said the chief of the -dances, “and if we do not succeed, yet again.” -They did as he said, but with no better success -than before; so at last the two Warrior Priests of -the Bow grew angry, and although they were the -girl’s father’s own warriors, they ordered the Warrior -festival, or <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Óinahe</i> dance. “Surely,” said -they, “she will come forth, and if not, let her -perish, for how can she refuse the delight of the -great <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Óinahe</i>, where each young man dances and -masks himself according to his fancy?”</p> - -<p>So, one night the two warriors went out and -called to the people to make ready and be happy, -for in four days they should dance the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Óinahe</i>. -When they had done calling, they descended, and -the people said to one another: “Surely she will -come out when we dance the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Óinahe</i>, for she will -be delighted with it, and we shall yet see her. -She was very beautiful when she was a little girl.” -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>432]</a></span> -Then both of the warriors climbed to the top -of Thunder Mountain, where Áhaiyúta and his -brother, Mátsailéma, the Gods of War, and their -grandmother lived in the middle of the summit. -As they approached the presence of the two gods, -they exclaimed: “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">She-e!</i>”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hai!</i>” the gods replied.</p> - -<p>“Our fathers, how is it that ye are, these many -days?” they asked, and the Twain replied: “We -are happy. Come in; sit down”; and they placed -a couple of stools for the warriors. “What is it -that ye would of us?” they continued; “for it -would be strange if ye came up to our house for -nothing.”</p> - -<p>“True it is,” replied the warriors. “It is in our -hearts as your two chosen children—as the war-priests -of our nation—that our people should be -made happy as the days of the year go by; and -we therefore think over all the beautiful dances, -and now and then command that the most fitting -of them shall appear. Now, our children, the -people of the Home of the Eagles, are anxious to -see our child, the daughter of the priest-chief, who -has not come forth from her house, and whom we -have never seen since she was a little girl. We have -thought to order your dance of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Óinahe</i>, and -we would that without fail our daughter should -be made to come forth or else die; therefore, our -fathers, we have come to consult ye and to ask -your advice.”</p> - -<p>“Aha!” cried the Twain. “Then ye are -anxious that this should be, are ye?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>433]</a></span> -“Yes,” they replied.</p> - -<p>“Well, it shall come to pass as ye wish it, and -the girl must die if she come not forth at the bidding -of the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Óinahe</i>!”</p> - -<p>“Aha!” ejaculated they both. “Thanks!”</p> - -<p>“Yea, it shall be as ye wish. Make our days -for us—name the times for preparation, and we -shall be with ye to lead the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Óinahe</i>. The first -time our dance will come forth, and the second -time our dance will come forth, and the third time -our dance will come forth, but the fourth time -our dance comes forth, it will happen as ye wish -it. It will certainly be finished as ye wish it.”</p> - -<p>“Well! Thanks; we go!” (good-by).</p> - -<p>“Go ye,” said the gods to their children; and -they went.</p> - -<p>The Eagle was very unhappy with all this. He -knew it all, for he understood everything that was -said. Next morning he hung his head at the -window with great sadness; so the girl, after she -had eaten her morning meal, took some dainty -bits to the window and said: “Why are you so -unhappy? See, I have brought you some food. -Eat!”</p> - -<p>“I will not eat; I cannot eat,” replied the Eagle.</p> - -<p>“Why not?” asked she. “I will not harm -you; I am happy; I love you just as much as -ever.”</p> - -<p>“Alas, alas! my mother,” said the Eagle. “It -is not with thoughts of myself that I am unhappy, -but your father’s two war-priests are anxious -that their children shall be made happy, and their -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>434]</a></span> -children, the people of our town under the -mountain, are longing to see you. They have said -to one another that you never come forth; they -have never seen you. Therefore they have ordered -the <i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Óinahe</i>, that you may be tempted out. -They went up to the home of Áhaiyúta and his -younger brother, where they live with their grandmother, -on the top of Thunder Mountain, and the -two gods have said to them: ‘It shall come to -pass as ye wish it.’ Therefore they will dance, -and on the fourth day of their dancing it shall -come to pass as they wish it. Indeed, it shall happen, -my poor mother, that you shall be no more. -Alas! I can do nothing; you can do nothing; why -should I tarry longer with you? You must loosen -my bonds and let me free.”</p> - -<p>“As you like,” said the girl. “I suppose it must -be as you say.” Then she loosened the Eagle’s -bonds, and, straight as the pathway of an arrow, -away he flew upward into the sky—even toward -the zenith where the Sun rested at noon-time, and -whither he soon arrived himself.</p> - -<p>“Thou comest,” said the Sun.</p> - -<p>“I do, my father. How art thou these many -days?” said the Eagle to the Sun.</p> - -<p>“Happy. Here, sit down.” There was a blanket -already placed for him, and thereupon he sat; but -he never looked to the right nor to the left, nor yet -about the Sun-father’s splendid home. He said -not a word. He only drooped his head, so sad -was he.</p> - -<p>“What is it, my child?” asked the Sun. “I -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>435]</a></span> -suppose thou hast some errand, else why shouldst -thou come? Surely it is not for nothing that thou -wouldst come so far to see me.”</p> - -<p>“Quite true,” answered the Eagle. “Alas! my -child; alas, my mother! Day after day down in -the home under the mountain the people dance -that they may tempt her forth; yet she has never -appeared. So her father’s war-priests are angry -and have at last been to see the Twain in their -home on Thunder Mountain, and the Twain have -commanded that soon it shall come to pass as the -people wish or that our beautiful maiden shall perish. -Even tomorrow it shall be; so have the -Twain said; and when the fourth dance comes out -it shall come to pass, and our beautiful maiden -shall be no more; thus have the Twain said. I -cannot enrich my mother, the daughter of the priest-chief, -thy beautiful child, with words of advice, with -aid of mine own will; hence come I unto thee. -What shall I do?”</p> - -<p>“What shalt thou do?” repeated the Sun. “I -know it is all as thou hast said. Know I not all -these things? The Twain, whose powers are surpassed -only by mine own, have they not commanded -that it shall be? What shalt thou do but -descend at once? Tell her to bathe herself and -put on her finest garments tomorrow morning. -Then, when the time comes, mount her upon thy -shoulders and bear her up to me. Only possibly -thou wilt have the great good fortune to reach my -house with her. Possibly in thy journey hither it -shall come to be, alas! as the Twain have said; for -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>436]</a></span> -have not they said it should be, and are they not -above all things else powerful?”</p> - -<p>“Well, we’ll try to come.”</p> - -<p>“But I will watch thee when thou art about to -reach the mid-heavens.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I go,” said the Eagle, rising.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” responded the Sun; “happily mayest -thou journey.” And the Eagle began to descend.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the daughter of the priest-chief -opened the sky-hole and placed a sacred medicine-bowl -half full of water on the floor where the sunlight -would shine into it, and where it would reflect -the sky, and there she sat looking intently down -into the water. By-and-by the Eagle came in -sight, and she saw his shadow in the water.</p> - -<p>Just then the Sun drew his shield from his -face. Oh! how hot it was down there on the -earth. The sky was ablaze with light, and no one -dared to look at it; and the sands grew so hot that -they burned the moccasins of those who walked -upon them. Everybody ran into the houses, and -the Eagle spread his wings and gently descended, -for he too was hot. And when he came near to -the house, the girl let him in and welcomed him.</p> - -<p>“Thou comest, father,” said she.</p> - -<p>He only drooped his head and flapped his wings, -unable even to speak, so hot was he.</p> - -<p>She saw that he was near to fainting. Therefore -she fanned him—made cool wind for him with -the basket tray and her mantle—and sprinkled cold -water upon his head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>437]</a></span> -“Thou hast been to the home of our father?” -she asked, when he had recovered.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied the Eagle.</p> - -<p>“What has he advised that we should do?” -asked she.</p> - -<p>“This,” said the Eagle; “tomorrow morning at -the dawn of day thou wilt arise and bathe thyself. -Then at sunrise thou shalt put on thy finest garments. -The dance will come forth; and then it -will come forth the second time, and the third time, -and again it will come the fourth time. Then I -will mount thee upon my shoulders and bear thee -away toward the Sun, who will be waiting for us. -It may be that we shall have the good fortune to -reach his home; and it may be that we shall get -only a little way when everything shall come to -pass unhappily and thou wilt be no more.” That -is what he said to her.</p> - -<p>It grew night. The girl collected all the basket-trays -that she had made for her father’s sacred -plumes; these by the fire-light she spread out, and -then began to divide them into different heaps.</p> - -<p>Now, her parents, who were sitting in the next -room, heard her until it was late at night, and they -said to each other: “Wonder what it is that keeps -our daughter up?” So the old priest-chief arose -and entered her room.</p> - -<p>“My child, art thou not at rest yet?” asked he.</p> - -<p>“No,” replied she. “I am dividing the trays I -have made for thee. These,” said she, pointing -to a heap of yellow ones, “shall pertain to the -north-land; these, the blue, to the west-land; the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>438]</a></span> -red to the land of the south, the white to the east, -the variegated to the upper regions, and the black -to the regions below. For tomorrow, beloved -father, thou shalt see me no more.”</p> - -<p>“It is well,” said the father, for he was a great -priest and knew the will of the gods, and to this he -always said: “It is well. What, therefore, should -I say?” So the old man left her.</p> - -<p>Then as morning approached she bathed herself. -And the Eagle, looking down, said: “My child, my -mother, lie down and rest thyself, for we are about -to undertake a long journey. Never fear; I will -wake thee at the right time.” So she lay down -and slept. The Eagle perched himself above her -and watched for the dawn.</p> - -<p>By-and-by the great star arose. Then he knew -that the Sun would soon follow it, and he said: -“Mother, arise! dress thyself, for the time is near -at hand.”</p> - -<p>Outside on the house-tops called the two war-priests -to their children:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“Hasten, hasten! Prepare for the dance!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Hasten, hasten! Eat for the dance!<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Hasten, hasten, our children all!”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Then the girl went into another room and -brought forth her finest dresses, and these, garment -after garment, she put on—not one dress, -but many. Upon her shoulders she placed four -mantles of snow-white embroidered cotton. Then -she said to the Eagle: “Wait a moment; I have -yet to think of our children in the Home of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>439]</a></span> -Eagles.” Therefore she brought forth her basket-bowls -of fine meal with which she had been accustomed -to powder her face. There was meal of the -yellow corn, the blue corn-meal, the red corn-meal, -the white corn-meal, the speckled corn-meal, and -the black corn-meal. “See,” said she, as she regarded -the various vessels of meal; “my children, -by means of these shall ye beautify flesh; by -means of these be precious against evil; by means -of these shall ye finish preciously your roads of -life. I am to be no more. Far off and to an -unknown region go I. Possibly I may reach it, -and live; probably not reach it, and die. These -do I leave as your inheritance. My children, -good-by.”<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_40_40">[40]</a></span> -The maiden here addresses mankind generally. <a href="#FNanchor_40_40">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>Then the Eagle descended. The drum began -to sound outside; the dance was coming—for the -first time, mind you, not the fourth. Then said -the Eagle, as he lowered himself: “Place thyself -upon my back; grasp me by the shoulders.” And -the girl did as she was bidden. She reclined herself -lengthwise on the back of the Eagle, and -grasped with her left hand his shoulders. “Now, -place one foot on one of my thighs and the other -on the other.” She placed one foot on one of his -thighs and the other on the other; and the Eagle -spread his tail and raised it that she might not fall -off. “All ready?” asked he, as the drum of the -coming dance sounded outside.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the girl; and they arose.</p> - -<p>“Open the wicket!” and <i>shoa!</i> the Eagle -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>440]</a></span> -spread his wings and away off up into the sky he -sprang with the maiden. Round and round, -round and round, they circled in the sky, but those -below saw nothing as they danced in the shadows -of the great houses. The dancers retired. Then -they came forth again. Again they retired and -came forth. Then the girl said: “Father, slower. -Let me sing a farewell song to my people, my -children of Earth, that they may know I am -going.”</p> - -<p>The Eagle spread his wings and sailed gently -through the air as the maiden sang. Then the -people in the plaza below heard the song, and -said: “Alas, alas! ye Twain!” said they to the -two gods who led the dance. “Our mother, our -child, away off through the skies goes she! Ye -are fools that ye have let her escape and deceive -us!”</p> - -<p>Some listened to the song and learned it. -Others did not. For the third time the dancers -came forth. “Once more have we to dance,” said -the two gods. “Where are they now?”</p> - -<p>“In the mid-heavens,” said the people.</p> - -<p>“Take it easily, my child,” said the Eagle. -“Once more are they to come forth. Possibly we -will yet have the great good fortune to reach the -home of our father.” And they sped along through -the air, nearer and nearer to the home of the Sun-father, -while the dancers below danced harder and -harder—many so joyful that they listened not to -the complainings of the people around, but danced -only more vigorously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>441]</a></span> -Then the dancers retired and came out for the -fourth and last time. In the van danced the two -gods, their faces blackened with the paint of war, -their hands bearing bows and arrows with which to -destroy the daughter of the priest-chief.</p> - -<p>Yes, they were almost there. Now, the Eagle’s -heart was high with hope. When the two gods -below reached the center of the plaza they turned -to the people and asked: “Where are they? -Where have they gone?”</p> - -<p>“There they are in the skies—almost there,” replied -the people.</p> - -<p>“Humph!” responded the gods. “Suppose -they <em>are</em> almost there; they shall never reach the -home of our father!”</p> - -<p>“Now, then, hurry, brother younger!” exclaimed -the elder; “with which hand wilt thou draw the -arrow?”</p> - -<p>“With thy hand, my right,” said the younger.</p> - -<p>“Very well; with thy hand, my left,” said the -elder.<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_41_41">[41]</a></span> -The twin children of the Sun were, in the days of creation, the benignant -guardians of men; but when the world became filled with envy and war, -they were changed by the eight gods of the storms into warriors more -powerful than all monsters, gods, or men. The elder one was right-handed, -the younger, left-handed; hence the form of expression here used. <a href="#FNanchor_41_41">Back</a></p> -</div> - -<p>So they drew their medicine-pointed arrows to -the heads. <i>Tsi-ni-i-i!</i> sang the arrows as they shot -through the air. Soon they reached the home of -the Sun, crossed one another over his face, and shot -downward more swiftly than ever toward the coming -Eagle and the maiden. “Alas! my mother, my -child,” said the Sun as the arrows flew past him and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>442]</a></span> -from him, “thou art no more.” And the arrows -shot downward on their course.</p> - -<p><i>Tsook!</i> sang the arrow of the elder god as it -pierced the back of the girl and entered her heart. -<i>Tso-ko!</i> sang the arrow of the younger as it struck -in the middle of her back.</p> - -<p>“Alas! my mother, my mother,” cried the Eagle, -“it is over, alas, alas!” said he, as she released her -hold, and, fainting, he left her to fall through the -air. Over and over, this way and that, fell the -beautiful maiden; and as the people strained their -eyes, nearer and nearer to the town neath the mountain -she fell. Soon, over and over, this way and -that, she came falling even with the top of the -mountain.</p> - -<p>Then the people rushed past one another out of -the plaza toward the place where they thought she -would strike. And just over there below the Home -of the Eagles, where the Waters of the Coyote gush -forth from the cliff-base, fell the beautiful maiden.</p> - -<p>Then there were born twin children—two wee -infants who rolled off into the rubbish and were -concealed under sticks and stones.</p> - -<p>Down rushed the people, and an Acoma spectator -seized her body. “Mine!” cried he, triumphantly, -as he raised the body above him.</p> - -<p>“Thine!” cried the people, for they had lost the -beautiful maiden.</p> - -<p>“Ours!” cried the Acomas, one to another, who -had come to witness the dances. “Great good fortune -this day has smiled on us.” And they bore -her body away to their pueblo in the east.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>443]</a></span> -Now, under the other end of Thunder Mountain -was the home of the Badgers, and an old Badger -who lived there was out hunting. After the people -had again gathered in the city, he passed near the -Waters of the Coyote and heard the voices of the -infants crying among the rubbish.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said he, “I hear the cry of children. My -little boys, my little girls,” cried he, “whichever ye -may be”; and he hastily searched and found them -where they were rolling about and crying among -the refuse. “Twins!” cried he. “Boys! Somebody -has left them here. Soon he will come back -to reclaim them. Let me walk away for a few -moments.”</p> - -<p>So he walked all around, but found no traces of -the parents, only the tracks of many men who had -gathered near.</p> - -<p>“Mine!” said he, as he trotted back; and with -soft grass he rubbed them till they were free from -the mud and refuse. “Thanks, thanks! Splendid! -Children have I, and boys at that, and when I am -older grown they will take from me the cares of the -chase. Goodness! Thanks! Nothing but boys shall -be my children!” So he rubbed them dry and -clean with more soft grass, and they stopped crying. -Then he took some dry grass and made a bundle -and put them in it, and started off for his home in -the Red Hills.</p> - -<p>The old Badger-woman was up on top of their -house looking around, running back and forth and -jumping in and out of her doorway. “Hai!” said -she; “thou comest?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>444]</a></span> -“Yes, hurry!” said the old Badger. “Come -down and meet me.”</p> - -<p>“What have you?” asked the Badger-woman, as -she ran down to meet him.</p> - -<p>“What have I,” said the old Badger, “but a -couple of wee little children! Here, take them -and carry them up to the house.”</p> - -<p>So the old woman took the bundle of grass and -opened it and began to fondle the children. “O -my poor little children; poor little babes!” said she.</p> - -<p>“Ah! stop playing with them and hurry along!” -commanded the old Badger.</p> - -<p>So the old woman hurried up to their doorway -as fast as possible and ran in. The old Badger followed, -and she said to him: “Where in the world -did you get these little children?”</p> - -<p>“Why,” replied he, “I had the greatest luck in -the world. I was out hunting, you know, and found -these two little fellows down in Coyote Cañon, just -this side of those men’s houses. They’re boys, both -of them. When they grow up, old wife, perhaps -they can hunt for us, and then I shall rest myself -from the labors of the hunt, with plenty of meat for -you and me every day of the year. What are you -standing there for?” said he. “Why don’t you go -and get them something to eat and make them a -bed?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes!” responded the old woman. “My poor -little children!” So she made a little nest at the -bottom of the hole and laid them on it. Then she -ran and fetched some green-corn ears and, picking -the kernels off, made some gruel of them, and fed -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>445]</a></span> -the little fellows. So the boy babies ate till they -kicked their heels with satisfaction, and that night -the old Badger-mother took one in her arms and -slept with it, and the old Badger-father slept with -the other.</p> - -<p>Now, every day they grew as much as the children -of men do in a year, so that in eight days they -were as large and knew as much as children usually -do in eight years. There was no little animal that -they could not kill unfailingly, for they were the -children of the Sun, you know. But, alas! they -grew weary of killing birds around their doorway, -and their old father kept telling them every morning -never to go out of sight of their house; and the old -woman kept watching them always for fear that they -would run off and get lost, or somebody would find -and claim them. Yes, they grew impatient of this. -They wanted to kill prairie-dogs and cottontails, but -they could not get near enough to them. So one -night when the old Badger came home they said -to him: “Father, come now; do make us some bows -and arrows so that we can hunt rabbits, and you -and mother can have all that you want to eat.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” replied the old man. And the next -day he went off to the Cañon of the Woods, and -somehow he managed to cut down a small oak and -get a lot of branches for arrows. He brought these -home, and that night with a piece of flint, little by -little he managed to make each of the boys a bow -and some arrows. But when he tried to put feathers -on the arrows he was very awkward (for you -know badgers don’t have fingers like men), so he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>446]</a></span> -had to take a single feather for each arrow and split -it and twist it around the butt of the shaft. That -very night, do you know, it snowed; yes, a great -deal of snow fell, and the little fellows looked out -and said to each other and to the old Badgers: -“Now then, tomorrow we will go rabbit-hunting.”</p> - -<p>“O mother, make a lunch for us!” they exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?” asked the old woman.</p> - -<p>“We are going out among the hills and down on -the plains where the trees grow, to hunt rabbits.”</p> - -<p>“O my poor little boys! What will you do?—you -will freeze to death, for you have no clothes -and no wool grows on your backs.”</p> - -<p>“Well, mother, we’re tough. We will get up tomorrow -and wait until the sun shines warm—then -we can go hunting.”</p> - -<p>“How in the world will you carry your food? -You have no blanket to wrap it in.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you just make some corn-cakes,” answered -the boys, “and string them on a little stick, and -we can take hold of the middle of the stick and -carry them just as well as not.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hi-ta!</i>” cried the old woman. “Listen, father.” -So she made the corn-cakes and strung them on -little sticks, and the two boys went to bed. But -they couldn’t sleep very well, being so impatient to -go hunting rabbits, and they kept waking each -other and peeping out to see how long it would be -before daylight.</p> - -<p>In the morning the old Badger got up early and -collected a lot of bark which he rubbed until it -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>447]</a></span> -was soft, and then he wove the boys each a curious -pair of moccasins that would come half-way up to -the knees. So the elder brother put on his moccasins -and ran out into the snow. “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">U-kwatchi!</i>” -exclaimed he. “First rate!” So the other little -boy put on his bark moccasins, and they took their -strings of corn-cakes and bows and arrows, and -started off as fast as they could. Well, they went -off among the hills at the foot of Thunder Mountain. -It was only a little while ere they struck a rabbit -trail, and the first arrow they shot killed the -rabbit. So they kept on hunting until they had a -large number of rabbits and began to get tired. -Although there was snow on the ground, the sun -was very warm, so they soon forgot all about it -until they began to grow hungry, and then they -looked up and saw that it was noon-time, because -the sun was resting in the mid-heavens. So they -went up on top of a high hill, and carried their -rabbits there one by one, to find a place where -the snow was shallow. Here they brushed a -space clear of the snow, and, depositing the rabbits, -sat down to eat their corn-cakes, which they -laid on a bundle of grass. While they sat there -eating, the Sun looked down and pitied his two -poor little children. “Wait a bit,” said he to himself, -“I’ll go down and talk to the little fellows, -and help them.” So by his will alone he descended, -and lo! he stood there on the earth just a little way -from the two boys,—grand, beautiful, sublime. -Upon his body were garments of embroidered cotton; -fringed leggings covered his knees, and he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>448]</a></span> -was girt with many-colored girdles; buckskins of -bright leather protected his feet; bracelets and -strings of wampum ornamented his neck and arms; -turquoise earrings hung from his ears; beautiful -plumes waved over his head; his long, glossy hair -was held with cords of many colors, into which -great plumes of macaw feathers were stuck. Fearful, -wonderful, beautiful, he stood. Suddenly one -of the boys looked up and saw the Sun-father -standing there.</p> - -<p>“Blood!” cried he to the other. “<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ati!</i> Somebody’s -coming!”</p> - -<p>“Where?” asked the other. “Where?”</p> - -<p>“Right over there!”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ati!</i>” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>Then the Sun, with stately step, approached -them, dazzling their eyes with his beauty and his -magnificent dress. So the poor little fellows huddled -together and crouched their knees close to -their bodies (for they had no clothes on), and -watched him, trembling, until he came near. Then -one of them said faintly: “Comest thou?” as -though he just remembered it.</p> - -<p>“Yea, I do, my children,” said the Sun. “How -are ye these many days?”</p> - -<p>“Happy,” responded they; but they were almost -frightened out of their wits, and kept looking first -at the Sun-father and then at each other.</p> - -<p>“My children,” said the Sun-father tenderly, -“ye are my own children; I gave ye both life.” -But they only gazed at him, not believing what he -said.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>449]</a></span> -“Ye are both mine own children,” he repeated.</p> - -<p>“Is that so?” replied they.</p> - -<p>“Yea, that is true; and I saw ye here, and pitied -ye; so I came to speak with ye and to help ye.”</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Hai!</i>” exclaimed they. But they still looked -at each other and at the Sun-father, and did not -believe him.</p> - -<p>“Yea, ye are verily my children,” continued the -Sun. “I am your own father. Around Thunder -Mountain there is a city of men. It is called the -Home of the Eagles, and there once lived a beautiful -maiden who never left her home, but was -always shut in her room. Day after day at midday, -just at this time, I came down and visited her -in my own sunlight. And a great Eagle always -stood and watched her. Now, the townspeople -grew anxious to see her, so they danced day after -day their most beautiful dances, hoping to entice -her to come forth; but she never looked out. So -her father’s warriors went to the home of Áhaiyúta -and his younger brother, Mátsailéma, where they -lived with their grandmother, on the middle of -Thunder Mountain, and the Twain said that they -would go with them and compel her to come forth. -Therefore, one day they went and led the dance -of the Óinahe. Yet, although they danced four -times, she would not come forth, but tried to -escape to my home in the heavens on the back of -her Eagle; so the two gods shot her, and she fell -down the cañon. Then it was that ye two, my -children, were born and rolled among the bushes. -Now, the people ran down from the village to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>450]</a></span> -strive for your mother’s body, and an Acoma got -her and carried her away to the home of his -people. An old Badger found ye and brought ye -home to his wife, and that is the way ye came to -live in the home of the Badgers.”</p> - -<p>Still the little ones did not believe him.</p> - -<p>“Look!” said the Sun-father. “See what I -have brought ye!” Then he continued: “Wait; -in eight days, in the Home of the Eagles, where -your aunts live in the house of your mother’s -father, there will be a great dance. Go ye thither. -Ye will climb up a crooked path and enter the -town through a road under the houses. Do not -go out at once into the plaza, but wait until the -dancers come out. Then step forth, and over to -the left of the plaza ye will see your grandfather’s -house. It is the greatest house in the city, and -the longest ladder leads up to it, and fringes of -hair ornament its poles. On the roof ye will see, -if the day be warm, two noisy macaws, and there -ye will see your mother’s sisters—your own aunts. -When ye go into the plaza the people will rush up -to ye and say: ‘Whither do ye come, friends? -Will ye not join in the dance?’ And ye must say -ye will, and then your aunts will come down and -dance for the first time, because they are the most -beautiful maidens in the pueblo, and very proud. -But they will take hold of your hands and dance -with ye, and when they have done will ask ye to -come into their house; and ye must go.</p> - -<p>“Now, the one who sits over in the northern -corner is the first sister of your mother, therefore -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>451]</a></span> -your mother; and the one who sits next to her is -your next mother, and so on. There will be eight -of them, and the youngest will be like a sister unto -ye. They will place stools for ye, and ye must sit -down and call them aunts. They will say: ‘Certainly, -we are the aunts of all good boys in the -cities of men who are not our enemies.’ And -then ye must tell them that they are your real -aunts, that this is your house, that your mother -used to live there—was the maiden who never -went out, but always sat making beautiful basket-trays -of many-colored splints. Then ye must lead -them into the next room, and the next, and then -into the next one, and point to the beautiful basket-trays -on the walls. There on the northern -wall will hang a yellow tray, on the west wall will -hang a blue one, and on the south wall, a red tray, -then on the east wall will hang a white tray, and -fastened to the ceiling will be a tray of many -colors, while a black one will stand under the floor. -And then ye must point to the trays and say: -‘These our mother made.’ Then they will believe -and embrace ye and will not want to let ye go; -but after ye have sat and eaten with them, ye -must come back to the home of the Badgers. -And the next day ye must go to Acoma to get -your mother. Just before ye arrive at the town of -Acoma ye will meet an old, wrinkled hag carrying -a big bundle of wood on her back. Ye must -call her ‘grandmother’ and greet her pleasantly. -She will tell ye she is the dance-priestess of -Acoma. Then ye must ask her why she, a woman, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>452]</a></span> -comes out to gather wood, and she will reply that -she gets the wood to make a light. Then ask her -why she wishes a light, and she will say to ye that -day after day she lights a fire in her ceremonial -chamber and that when she reaches home with her -wood the young men of her clan come together -and give her food, and that at night she takes the -wood to the ceremonial chamber and then sits on -a stone seat by the side of the fireplace and builds -a fire; that the young men gather in the chamber -and prepare for a dance. And when they are ready -she takes the bones of your mother from a niche in -the west end of the chamber and distributes them -among the young men, who carry them in the dance. -She gives the skull to the first one, the breast-bone -to the next, the ribs to another, and so on until they -all have bones to carry in the dance. When the -dance is over, she goes around and takes all the -bones back again and replaces them in the niche. -Then the young men depart for their homes, but -some of them sleep there in the chamber, and then -she lies down to sleep and to keep guard over the -bones.</p> - -<p>“Now, when she has told ye these things, ye -must ask her if that is all. If she says ‘Yes,’ kill -her; then skin her, and the younger brother must -wave his hands over her skin and put it on, and -he will look just like the old woman. And he -must climb up to the town of the Acomas and -enter and do just as the old woman said that she -did.</p> - -<p>“Now, after the dance is over and he has taken -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>453]</a></span> -back all of the bones and replaced them in the -niche, he must lie down and pretend to sleep, and -some of the young men will go home; others will -sleep there. When they all begin to snore, he must -gather all the bones, and the two dried eyes, and -the heart of his mother, and bring them away as -fast as ever he can to where his brother waits. -And when he gets there,—lo! she will come to life -again and be just as she was before she was killed -by the Twain. Now, mind, ye must not leave a -single bone nor any part, for if ye do, your -mother will lack that when she comes to life -again.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” replied the boys, “we will do as -you have told us; certainly we will.”</p> - -<p>“Now, I have given ye with your birth the -power to slay all game; but mind that not a single -rabbit, nor deer, nor antelope, nor mountain sheep, -nor elk—though he be the finest ye have ever -seen—shall ye slay, for in that case ye shall perish -with your mother.”</p> - -<p>So the two boys promised they would not. -“Of course we will not,” said the younger brother. -“When one’s father commands him, can he -disobey?”</p> - -<p>“Come hither,” said the Sun-father to the -younger brother. “Stand here.” So the little -boy did as he was bidden.</p> - -<p>“Lift up thy foot.” Then the Sun-father drew -off the moccasin of bark and put beautiful fringed -leggings upon it, and replaced the bark moccasins -with buskins like his own, and tied up the leggings -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>454]</a></span> -with many-colored garters, and dressed him as he -was dressed, and placed a beautiful quiver upon -his back. But the poor little boys were dark-colored, -and their hair was tangled and matted -over their heads. Then the Sun-father turned -himself about as if to summon some unseen messenger, -and created a great warm cloud of mist, -with which he cleansed the boys, and lo! their -skins became smooth and clear, and their hair fell -down their backs in wavy masses. Then the Sun-father -arranged the younger brother’s hair and -placed a plume therein like his own, and beautiful -plumes on his head.</p> - -<p>“There,” said he to the elder; “look at thy -younger brother.” But the poor little fellow was -covered with shame, and dared only steal glances -at his brother and the Sun-father. Then the Sun-father -dressed the other like the first.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ti!</i>” exclaimed they, as they looked at each -other and at the Sun-father.</p> - -<p>“You are just like Him,” they said to each -other. But still they did not call him father. -Then they fell to conversing.</p> - -<p>“Why; he must be our father!” said they to -each other. “Mother’s face has a black streak -right down the middle of it, and father’s face is -just like it, except that his chin is grizzly.” Then -they knew that the Sun was their father, and they -thanked him for his goodness.</p> - -<p>Then said the Sun-father to them: “Mind what -I have told ye, my children. I must go to my -home in the heavens. Happy may ye always be. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>455]</a></span> -Ye are my children; I love ye, and therefore I -came to help ye. Run home, now, for your -father and mother who reared ye—the Badgers—are -awaiting your coming. They will not know -ye, so ye must roll up your bark moccasins and -take along your strings of corn-cakes together with -the rabbits ye have slain.”</p> - -<p>“How can we carry them?” asked they; “for -they are heavy.”</p> - -<p>Then the Sun-father turned about and passed -his hands gently over the heap of dead rabbits. -“Lift them now,” said he to the children; and -when they tried to lift them, lo! they were as -light as dry grass-stalks. So they bade their -father farewell and started home. When they -had gone a little way they stopped to look around, -but their father was nowhere to be seen.</p> - -<p>Sure enough, when they neared home there were -the two old Badgers running around their hole, -and the old Badger-father was just getting ready -to go out and search, for fear that they had perished -from cold. He had just gone down to get -some rabbit-skins and other things with which to -wrap them, when the old woman, who was up -above, shouted down: “Hurry, come out! Somebody -is coming!”</p> - -<p>“Look!” said one of the children to the other. -“There’s our poor mother waiting for us. Hurry -up! Let’s run, or else our father will come out -searching for us.”</p> - -<p>As they approached they called out: “Poor -mother, here you are in the cold waiting for us.” -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>456]</a></span> -But she did not recognize them, and only hid her -face in her paws from shame, for they were too -beautiful to look upon—just like the Sun-father.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you know us, mother?” asked the Two -to the old woman just as the old Badger came out.</p> - -<p>“No!” answered she.</p> - -<p>“Why, we are your children!”</p> - -<p>“Ah! my children did not look like you!”</p> - -<p>“We are they! Look here!” said they, and they -showed the bark moccasins and the strings of corn-cakes.</p> - -<p>“Our poor children!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, our father is no other than the Sun-father, -and he came down to speak to us today, and he -dressed us as you see, just like himself, and he said -that our mother used to live over in the Home -of the Eagles, that our aunts still live there, and -our grandfather, and that our mother used to live -there, but the Twain killed her as she was trying -to escape on the back of an Eagle. And when she -fell into the Cañon of the Coyote we were born, -and father here found us and you both reared us.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is very true,” said the old Badger. -“I know it all; and I know, too, that there will be -a dance at the Home of the Eagles in eight days. -Tomorrow there will be only seven left, and when -the eighth day comes you will both go there to see -it. Come up and come down,” said he.</p> - -<p>So the two entered, but they were ill at ease in -their clothes, which they were not used to. And -when the old mother had placed soft rabbit-skins -on the floor, they doffed their clothing and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>457]</a></span> -carefully laid it away. Then the whole family ate -their evening meal.</p> - -<p>“Keep count for us, father, and when the time -comes, let us know,” said the boys.</p> - -<p>So the days passed by until the day before the -dance, and that morning the old Badger said to -the Two: “Tomorrow the dance will come.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” replied they; “let us go out and -hunt today, that you and mother may have something -to eat.” So they went forth, and in the -evening came back with great numbers of rabbits; -and the old mother skinned the rabbits and put -some of them to cook over night, so that her children -might eat before starting for the town under -Thunder Mountain.</p> - -<p>At sunrise next morning both dressed themselves -carefully, put on their plumes, and started on the -pathway that leads around the mountain. They -passed the village of K’yátik’ia on their way, and -the people marvelled greatly at their beauty and -their magnificent dress. And so they followed the -road through the Cañon of the Coyotes, thence -by the crooked pathway and the covered road -under the house into the court of K’iákime. Just -as the Sun-father had told them, they found everything -there. There was the great house with the -tall ladder and the two macaws, and there were the -young maidens, their aunts, sitting on the house-top.</p> - -<p>And as the dancers came into the court they -stepped forward, and then it was that the people -first saw and hailed them. The chief of the dance -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>458]</a></span> -came forward and asked them whither they came -and if they would not join in the dance. So they -assented and came forward to the center of the -plaza, and as they began to dance, the young girls -arose and the dance chiefs went and escorted them -to the dance plaza.</p> - -<p>Although they told them, “Dance here,” they -did not obey. They ran right over to where the -two young men were dancing, and took hold of -their hands just as the Sun-father had told them it -would come to pass. And, in fact, everything -happened just as he had said. Yes, they all ran -down and grasped the two boys’ hands, and when -the dance was over and they let go, they said to -the two handsome young strangers: “Come up; -come in.”</p> - -<p>“It is well,” said the two young men. So they -all went up into the house and sat down. Now, -all these girls were young, and they were very -much pleased with the young men. In fact the -two youngest were in love with them already; so -they smiled and made themselves very pleasant. -Then the first brother arose and went over to the -eldest one, and said: “Mother-aunt.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” she replied, “for of course throughout -the cities of men we, as the daughters of a -great priest, are the mothers of children,”—and -so on until they came to the last and youngest one, -whom they called “little mother-aunt,” and she -also replied that, however young they might be, -still they might be counted the mothers of the -children of men.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>459]</a></span> -“No, verily, ye are our parents,” replied the -Twain. “Beyond this room is another, and beyond -that another, and beyond that yet another where -lived our mother, who never went forth from her -house, but sat day after day making sacred trays. -And there even now, according to the colors of -the parts of the world hang her trays on the wall.”</p> - -<p>And so, as the Sun had told them, they finished -their story. Then the people were convinced, and -sent for the grandfather, the great priest-chief, -and when he came they all embraced their new -children, admiring greatly their straight, smooth -limbs and abundant hair. Then the grandfather -dressed them in some of the beautiful ornaments -their mother used to wear, and when evening -approached they feasted them. And after the -meal was over, as the Sun was setting, the two -boys arose and said, “We must go.”</p> - -<p>“Stay with us, stay with us,” the young girls -and the grandfather said. “Why should you go -away from your home? This is your own -home.”</p> - -<p>“No; we said to our mother and father, the -Badgers, that we would return to them; therefore -we must go,” urged the boys. So at last they -consented and wished them a happy journey.</p> - -<p>“Fear not,” said the Two as they started, “for -we shall yet go and get our mother. Even tomorrow -we shall go to Acoma where the people dance -day after day in her memory.” Then they departed -and returned to the place of the Badgers.</p> - -<p>When they arrived at home, sure enough, there -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>460]</a></span> -were their Badger-mother and Badger-father awaiting -them outside their holes.</p> - -<p>“Oh, here you are!” they cried.</p> - -<p>“Yes; how did you come unto the evening?”</p> - -<p>“Happily!” replied the old ones. “Come in, -come in!” So they entered.</p> - -<p>When they had finished eating, the elder brother -said: “Mother, father, look ye! Tomorrow -we must go after our mother to Acoma. Make -us a luncheon, and we will start early in the morning. -We are swift runners and shall get there in -one day; and the next day we will start back; -and the next day, quite early, we will come home -again with our mother.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” replied the Badger-father; “it is -well.” But the Badger-mother said, “Oh! my poor -children, my poor boys!”</p> - -<p>So, early next morning, the Badger-mother -rolled up some sweet corn-cakes in a blanket, for -she did not have to string them now, and together -the Twain started up the eastern trail. Their -father, the Sun, thought to help them; therefore -he lengthened the day and took two steps only -at a time, until the two boys had arrived at the -Springs of the Elks, almost on the borders of the -Acoma country. Then, with his usual speed journeyed -the Sun-father toward the Land of Night; -and the two boys continued until they arrived -within sight of the town of the Acomas—away out -there on top of a mountain. Sure enough, there -was an old hag struggling along under a load of -wood, and as the two brothers came up to her -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>461]</a></span> -they said: “Ha, grandmother, how are you these -many days?”</p> - -<p>“Happy,” replied the old woman.</p> - -<p>“Why is it that you, a woman, and an old -woman, have to carry wood?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I am the priestess of the dance!” answered -the old woman.</p> - -<p>“Priestess of the dance?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“What dance?”</p> - -<p>“Why, there once lived a maiden in the Town -of the Eagles, and the two Gods of War shot her -one day from the back of an Eagle who was trying -to run away with her, and she fell; and one of my -young men was the first to grasp her, therefore we -dance with her bones every night.”</p> - -<p>“Well, why do you get this wood?” they asked.</p> - -<p>“I light the ceremonial chamber with it.”</p> - -<p>“What do you do when you get home?”</p> - -<p>“Why, the maidens of my clan come and baptize -me and feast me; then when the evening comes I -go and light a fire with this wood in the chamber -and wait until the young men gather; and when -everything is ready I go to a niche in the wall and -get the maiden’s bones and distribute them; and -when they have finished the dance I tell them to -stop, and they replace the bones.”</p> - -<p>“What do they do then?” asked the two boys.</p> - -<p>“Why, some of them go home, and some sleep -right there, and I lie down and sleep there, too.”</p> - -<p>“Is that all?” inquired the two boys.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, what more should there be?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>462]</a></span> -“Nothing more, except that I think we had better -kill you now.” Thereupon they struck her to -the earth and killed her. Then they skinned her -like a bag, and the elder brother dressed the -younger in the skin, as the Sun-father had directed, -and he shouldered the bundle of wood.</p> - -<p>“How do I look?” asked he.</p> - -<p>“Just like her, for all the world!” responded the -other.</p> - -<p>“All right,” said he; “wait for me here.”</p> - -<p>“Go ahead,” said the elder brother, and away -the younger went. He ran with all his might till -he came near to the town, and then he began to -limp along and labor up the pathway just as the -old woman was wont to do, so that everybody -thought that he was the old woman, indeed. And -sure enough it all happened just as the Sun-father -had said it would. When the dance was over, -some of the young men went away and others slept -right there. There were so many of them, though, -that they almost covered the floor. When they all -began to snore, the young man arose, threw off his -disguise, and stepped carefully between the sleepers -till he reached the niche in the wall. Then he -put his mother’s bones, one by one, into his blanket, -felt all around to see that he left nothing, and -started for the ladder. He reached it all right and -took one, two, three steps; but when his foot -touched the fourth rung it creaked, and the sleeping -dancers awoke and started.</p> - -<p>“Somebody is going up the ladder!” they exclaimed -to one another. Then the young man ran -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>463]</a></span> -up as fast as ever he could, but alas! he dropped -one of his mother’s eyes out of the blanket. He -kept on running until he reached the foot of the -hill upon which the town stood; and when he came -to the spring down on the plains he stopped to -drink, and lo! his mother had come to life!</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ahwa!</i>” uttered the mother, “I’m tired and -I don’t know what is the matter with my eyes, for -things don’t look straight.”</p> - -<p>Then the young man looked at his mother. She -was more beautiful than all the other girls had -been, but one of her eyes was shrunken in. “Alas! -my mother,” said he, “I have dropped one of your -eyes; but never mind, you can comb your hair -down over it and no one will ever know the difference.”</p> - -<p>As soon as they were rested they started again, -and soon came to where the elder brother stood -awaiting them. When he looked at his mother, he -saw that one of her eyes had been left.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t I tell you beforehand to be careful?” -said he. “Poor mother; you have lost one of her -eyes!”</p> - -<p>“Well, it can’t be helped; never mind, she can -comb her hair down over the eye that is dry and no -one will ever know the difference.”</p> - -<p>“That’s so; it can’t be helped. Now let’s go,” -said the elder brother, and they all started.</p> - -<p>When they arrived at the Waters of the Elks, -the younger brother said: “Let’s camp here.”</p> - -<p>“No, let’s run home,” returned the elder brother.</p> - -<p>“No, let’s camp. Our poor mother will get -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>464]</a></span> -tired, and, besides, she can see nothing of the -country we are going through.”</p> - -<p>And although the elder brother urged that they -should go on, the younger insisted that they should -stay; therefore they camped. The next day they -continued their journey until they came near to the -City of the Heights, not far from their own home; -and as they journeyed, the deer, the antelope, the -elks, and the mountain sheep were everywhere.</p> - -<p>“Just look at that buck!” exclaimed the younger -brother, clutching his bow. “Let’s shoot him.”</p> - -<p>“No, no!” said the other; “Do you not remember -that our father forbade us?” So they went -on until they came to some trees, and as it was noon-day -they sat down to eat. Now, the fine game -animals circled all around and even came up near -enough to smell them, and stood gazing or cropping -the grass within a few steps of them.</p> - -<p>“Just look at that splendid antelope!” cried the -younger brother, and he nocked an arrow quicker -than thought.</p> - -<p>“No, no, no!” cried the elder, “you must not -shoot it.”</p> - -<p>“Why not? Here our poor mother has nothing -but corn-cakes to eat, with all this meat around us.” -And before his brother could speak another word, -he drew his arrow to the head, and <i>tsi!</i> it pierced -the heart of the great antelope and it fell dead.</p> - -<p>Now, all the great animals round about grew -angry when they saw this, and <i>tene!</i> they came -thundering after the little party. So the two fools, -forgetting all about their poor mother, jumped up -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>465]</a></span> -and ran away as fast as they could and climbed a -big tree to the very top. When they straddled a -big branch and looked down, the great deer had -trampled their poor mother to death. Then they -gathered around the foot of the tree to batter its -trunk with their sharp horns, but they could not -stir it. Presently some big-horn bucks came running -along. <i>Thle-ee-ta-a-a!</i> they banged their horns -against the butt of the tree until it began to split -and tremble, and presently bang! went the tree, -and the boys fell to the ground. Then the mountain -sheep and the great bucks trampled and tore -and speared them with their sharp horns, and tossed -them from one to another and lacerated them with -their hoofs until they were like worn-out clothing—all -torn to pieces except the head of the elder -brother which none of them would touch. And -there the head lay all through the winter; and the -next spring there was nothing but a skull left of -the two brothers.</p> - -<p>Now, off in the valley that led to Thunder Mountain, -just where it turns to go south, stood the village -of K’yátik’ia, and down in the bottom of the -valley the great priest-chief of K’yátik’ia had his -fields of corn and melons and squashes. Summer -came, and the squashes were all in bloom, when -the rain poured down all over the country; and -thus, little by little, the skull was washed until it -fell into a stream and went bumping along on the -waters even till it came to the fields of corn and -pumpkins and melons in the planting of the priest-chief -of K’yátik’ia.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>466]</a></span> -Now, when the pumpkin and squash vines were -in bloom, the priest-chief’s daughter, who was as -beautiful as you could look upon, went down every -morning just at daylight to gather squash-flowers -with which to sweeten the feast bread. The morning -after the rain had passed over, very early, she -said to her younger sister: “Stay here and grind -meal while I run down to the squash patch to pick -a lot of flowers.” So she took her mantle with her -and started for the fields. She had not been picking -flowers long when a voice rose from the middle -of the vines:</p> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem" lang="zun" xml:lang="zun"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">“<i>Ä-te-ya-ye,</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>Ä-te-ya-ye.</i><br /></div> -<div class="i0"><i>E-lu-ya.</i>”<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="poemcenter"> -<div class="poem"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="i0">Here are more flowers,<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Here are more flowers.<br /></div> -<div class="i0">Beautiful ones.<br /></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Ah!” said the girl, “I wonder what that is!” -So she put her blanket of flowers down as soon as -possible and started to hunt. As she approached -the vine where the skull had been wont to lie, lo! -there was a handsome young man!</p> - -<p>“What are you doing?” asked the young man.</p> - -<p>“Gathering flowers,” said she.</p> - -<p>“If you will promise to take me home with you, -I will help you,” said the young man.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” replied the girl.</p> - -<p>“Will you surely do it?” inquired the young -man.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said she, and lo! the young man reached -out his hand and there was a great heap of flowers -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>467]</a></span> -already plucked before him! And while they were -yet talking, the Sun rose; and as its first rays -touched him he began to sink, until there before -the girl was nothing but a hideous old skull.</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear!” cried she; “but I promised to take -it, and I suppose I must.” So she took the skull -up with the tips of her fingers and put it into the -blanket among the flowers, and started for home. -Then she entered an inner room of the house, and -taking the skull carefully out of the blanket, placed -some cotton in a large new water-jar, and laid the -skull upon it. Then she covered the jar with a -flat stone and went to work grinding meal.</p> - -<p>When the Sun was setting, a voice came from the -jar.</p> - -<p>“Take me down, quick!” And the girl took the -skull down and placed it on the floor, and as it grew -dark there stood the same handsome young man as -before, magnificently clothed, with precious stones -and shells all about him, just as the Sun-father had -dressed him. And the girl was very happy, and -told him she would marry him.</p> - -<p>Next morning, just as the Sun rose, the young -man vanished, and nothing but the old white skull -lay on the floor. So the girl placed it in the jar -again, and taking up another water-jar went out toward -the spring. Now, her younger sister went -into the room and espied the jar. “I wonder what -sister has covered this jar up so carefully for,” said -she to herself; and she stepped up to the jar and -took the lid off.</p> - -<p>“<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Ati!</i>” cried she. “O dear! O dear!” she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>468]</a></span> -screamed. For when she looked down into the jar -there was a great rattlesnake coiled up over the -smooth white skull.</p> - -<p>So she ran and called her father and told him in -great fright what she had seen.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said the father, for he was a very wise -priest-chief, “thou shouldst not meddle with things. -Thou shouldst keep quiet,” said he. He then arose -and went into the room. Then he approached the -jar, and, looking down into it, said: “Have mercy -upon us, my child, my father. Become as thou art. -Disguise not thyself in hideous forms, but as thou -hast been, be thou.” And the skull rattled against -the sides of the jar in assent.</p> - -<p>“It is well that thou shouldst marry my daughter. -And we will close this room that thou shalt -never come forth”; and again the skull clattered -and nodded in glad assent.</p> - -<p>So when the young girl returned, the voice came -forth from the jar again, and said: “Close all the -windows and doors, and bring me raw cotton if thy -father have it, for he has consented that I marry -you and throw off my disguise.”</p> - -<p>Then the girl gladly assented, and ran to get the -cotton, and brought a great quantity in the room. -Then when the night came the voice called once -more: “Take me down!” The girl did as she -was bidden, and the young man again stood before -her, more handsome than ever. So he married the -girl and both were very happy.</p> - -<p>And the next morning when the Sun rose the -young man did not again change his form, but -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>469]</a></span> -remained as he was, and began to spin cotton marvellously -fine and to weave blankets and mantles of the -most beautiful texture, for in nothing could he fail, -being a child of the Sun-father and a god himself.</p> - -<p>So the days and weeks passed by, and the Sun-father -looked down through the windows in sorrow -and said: “Alas! my son; I have delivered thee and -yet thou comest not to speak with thy father. But -thou shalt yet come; yea, verily, thou shalt yet -come.”</p> - -<p>So in time the beautiful daughter of the priest-chief -gave birth to two boys, like the children of -the deer. As day succeeded day, they grew larger -and wiser and their limbs strengthened until they -could run about, and thus it happened that one day -in their play they climbed up and played upon the -house-top and on the ground below. Thus it was -that the people of K’yátik’ia saw for the first time -the two little children; and when they saw them -they wondered greatly. Of course they wondered -greatly. Our grandfathers were fools.</p> - -<p>“Who in the world has married the priest-chief’s -daughter?” everybody asked of one another. Nobody -knew; so they called a council and made all -the young men go to it, and they asked each one -if he had secretly married the priest-chief’s daughter; -and every one of them said “No,” and looked -at every other one in great wonder.</p> - -<p>“Who in the world can it be? It may be that -some stranger has come and married her, and it -may be that he stays there.” So the council decided -that it would be well for him and the girl and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>470]</a></span> -their two little ones to die, because they had deceived -their people. Forthwith two war-priests -mounted the house-tops and commanded the people -to make haste and to prepare their weapons. -“Straighten your arrows, strengthen the backs of -your bows, put new points on your lances, harden -your shields, and get ready for battle, for in four -days the daughter and grandchildren of the priest-chief -and the unknown husband must die!”</p> - -<p>And when the priest-chief’s daughter heard the -voices of the heralds, she asked her younger sister, -who had been listening, what they said. And the -younger sister exclaimed: “Alas! you must all -die!” and then she told her what she had heard.</p> - -<p>Now, the young man called the old priest and -told him that he knew what would happen, and the -old priest said: “It is well; let the will of the gods -be done. My people know not the way of good -fortune, but are fools and must have their way.”</p> - -<p>Therefore for two days the people labored at -their weapons, and on the morning of the third -day they began to prepare for a feast of victory. -Then said the young man to his wife: “My little -mother, dearly beloved, on the morrow I must go -forth to meet my father”; for he suddenly remembered -that he had neglected his father.</p> - -<p>When the Sun had nearly reached the mid-heavens, -the young man said to his wife: “Go up -and open the sky-hole. Farewell!” said he, and he -suddenly became a cloud of mist which whirled -round and round and shot up like a whirlwind in -the rays of sunlight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>471]</a></span> -When he neared the Sun, the Sun-father said -nothing, and the young man waited outside in -shame. Then said the Sun-father in pretended -anger: “Come hither and sit down. Thou hast -been a fool. Did I not command thee and thy -brother?” And the young man only bent his head -and said: “It is too true.”</p> - -<p>Then the Sun-father smiled gently, and said: -“Think not, neither be sad, my child. I know -wherefore thou comest, and I remember how thou -didst try to prevail upon thy younger brother to -obey my commandments; and that it might be well -I caused thee to forget me, and to come unto the -past that thou hast come unto. Thou shalt be a -god, and shalt sit at my left hand. Forever and -ever shalt thou be a living good unto men, who -will see thee and worship thee in the evening. And -through thy will shall rain fall upon their lands. -True, I had designed, had my children been wiser, -that thou shouldst remain with them and enrich -them with thy precious shells and stones, with thy -great knowledge and good fortune. But those are -men very unwise and ungrateful, therefore shalt -thou and thy children, and even thy wife, be won -from thy earth-life and sit by my left hand. Descend. -Make four sacred hoops and entwine them -with cotton. Make four sacred wands, such as are -used in the races. Hast thou an unembroidered -cotton mantle?”</p> - -<p>“I have,” replied the young man.</p> - -<p>“It is well. This evening spread it out and place -at each of its four corners one of the sacred hoops -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>472]</a></span> -and wands. Place all thereon that thou valuest. -Leave not a precious stone nor yet a shell to serve -as parentage for others, but place all thereon. The -people will gather around thy father’s house and -storm it, and then retire and storm it again. Now, -when the people approach the house, sit ye down, -one at each of the four corners; grasp them and lift -them upward, and gradually ye will be raised. Then -when the people approach nearer, lift them upward -once more, and ye will be raised yet farther. And -when they begin to mount the ladders, lift ye again, -and yet again, and ye shall come unto my country.”</p> - -<p>So the young man descended. No change was -visible in the old priest-chief’s countenance. He -had caused gay preparations to go forward for the -festival, for a priest knows that all things are well, -and he makes no change in his mind or actions. -And when he asked the young man what the Sun-father -had said to him, the only reply was: “It shall -be well. Tomorrow we go to dwell forever at the -home of the Sun-father.”</p> - -<p>Early in the morning the two Priests of War -mounted to the house-tops and called out: “Hasten, -hasten! For the time has come and the people -must gather, each carrying his weapons, for today -the children of our priest-chief must die!”</p> - -<p>So, after the morning meal, all gathered at the -council, chambers of the warriors, and a great company -they were. The Sun had risen high. Brightly -painted shields glittered in his light. Long lances -stood black with paint like the charred trunks of a -burned forest; and the people raised their war-clubs -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>473]</a></span> -and struck them against one another until the din -was like thunder.</p> - -<p>“<i>Ho-o-o!</i>” sounded the clash of weapons and the -war-cries of the people, and in the home of the -priest-chief they knew they were coming. All night -long they had been preparing; the young man had -placed all their belongings upon the blanket, and -now one by one they sat down. The wife and the -husband grasped two corners, the children grasping -the two others. They lifted them and slowly arose -toward the ceiling. Once more, as the people came -nearer, they lifted the corners and neared the sky-hole. -When again they lifted the corners, they -passed above the roof, and the people saw their -shadows cast upon the ground.</p> - -<p>“Quick, quick!” shouted the young men. “See -the shadow; they are escaping!”</p> - -<p>Already the arrows began to whistle past them, but -the Sun cast his shield beneath them, and the arrows -only glanced away or flew past. Once more they -drew the corners of the mantle upward, and as they -rose higher and higher, the people, old and young, -began to quarrel and fell to beating one another, and -to fighting among themselves. The old ones called -the young ones fools for attempting the life of a god, -and the young ones in turn called the old ones fools -for counselling them to attempt the life of a god.</p> - -<p>“Thus shall ye ever be,” cried the young man, -“for ye are fools! Your father, the Sun, had intended -all things for your good, but ye were fools; -therefore with me and mine will pass away your -peace and your treasures.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[<span class="hidden">Pg </span>474]</a></span> -My children, at sunset have you not seen the -little blue twinkling stars that sit at the left hand -of the Sun as he sinks into night? Thus did it -come to pass in the days of the ancients, and thus -it is that only in the east and the west where the -Sun rises and sets, even on the borders of the great -oceans, may we find the jewels whereby we decorate -our persons. And ever since then, my children, the -world has been filled with anger, and even brothers -agree, then disagree, strike one another, and spill -their own blood in foolish anger.</p> - -<p>Perhaps had men been more grateful and wiser, -the Sun-father had smiled and dropped everywhere -the treasures we long for, and not hidden them -deep in the earth and buried them in the shores of -the sea. And perhaps, moreover, all men would -have smiled upon one another and never enlarged -their voices nor strengthened their arms in anger -toward one another.</p> - -<p>Thus short is my story; and may the corn-stalks -grow as long as my stretches, and may the will of -the Holder of the Roads of Life shelter me from -dangers as he sheltered his children in the days of -the ancients with the shield of his sunlight.</p> - -<p>It is all finished. (<i lang="zun" xml:lang="zun">Tenk’ia.</i>)</p> - -<div class="figcenternocap" style="width: 480px;"> -<img src="images/zft25.png" width="480" height="146" -alt="Zuni symbols" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="bbox"> -<p><b>Transcriber’s Note</b></p> - -<p>Archaic and variant spelling is preserved as printed.</p> - -<p>Minor punctuation errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Hyphen and accent usage has been made consistent.</p> - -<p>There was one instance in which a double quotation mark was unpaired.</p> - -<p>On page <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, there is the following:</p> - -<p class="amends">“... they dressed her in her sacred cotton robes of ceremonial, -embroidered elaborately, and adorned her ...”</p> - -<p>There may be a word missing following ‘ceremonial’ but as there is -no way to determine what it might be, it is preserved as printed.</p> - -<p>The following amendments have been made:</p> - -<div class="amends"> -<p>Page <a href="#Page_42">42</a>—comform amended to conform—... and they taught him how to conform -himself to it, ...</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, footnote <a href="#Footnote_8_8">8</a>—explaned amended to explained—This, it may be explained, ...</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_321">321</a>—croned amended to crooned—“Foolish, foolish boys!” crooned the -old grandmother.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_456">456</a>—they amended to he—“... Come up and come down,” said he.</p> -</div> - -<p>The frontispiece has been moved to follow the title page. Other illustrations have -been moved where necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph.</p> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZUI FOLK TALES***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 54682-h.htm or 54682-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/4/6/8/54682">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/6/8/54682</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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