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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--“... 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