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ZUNI FOLK TALES
RECORDED AND TRANSLATED BY
FRANK HAMILTON GUSHING
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
J. W. POWELL
TENAT8AH
NEW YORK AND LONDON
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
tfbe "KnickerbocKer press
1901
COPYRIGHT, igoi
BY
EMILY T. M. GUSHING
TTbe fmfcfcerbocfcer press, flew florfc
LIST OF TALES
PAGE
THE TRIAL OF LOVERS : OR THE MAIDEN OF MATSAKI AND THE
RED FEATHER .......... I
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 AHAIYUTA AND MATSAILEMA 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 SfuiuKi : 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'IAKIME . 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
iii
iv List of Tales
PAGE
THE UGLY WILD BOY WHO DROVE THE BEAR AWAY FROM SOUTH-
EASTERN MESA 310
THE REVENGE OF THE Two BROTHERS ON THE HAWIKUHKWE,
OR THE Two LITTLE ONES AND THEIR TURKEYS . . .317
THE YOUNG SWIFT-RUNNER WHO WAS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTH-
ING BY THE AGED TARANTULA 345
ATAHSAIA, THE CANNIBAL DEMON . . . . . . . 365
THE HERMIT MfrsiNA 385
How THE TWINS OF WAR AND CHANCE, AHAIYUTA AND MATSAI-
LEMA, FARED WITH THE UNBORN-MADE MEN OF THE UNDER-
WORLD 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 GUSHING. Frontispiece
THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE 34
ZUNI FROM THE SOUTH 64
WAIHUSIWA ......... 92
A BURRO TRAIN IN A ZUNI STREET 132
THUNDER MOUNTAIN FROM ZUNI 174
A HOPI (MOKl) MAIDEN . . . . . . 184
A DANCE OF THE K.AKA ...... 228
ACROSS THE TERRACES OF ZUNI ..... 276
THE PINNACLES OF THUNDER MOUNTAIN . . . 344
PALOWAHTIWA ........ 388
ZUNI WOMEN CARRYING WATER ..... 428
INTRODUCTION
IT is instructive to compare superstition with
science. Mythology is the term used to desig-
nate 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 litera-
ture, 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 hu-
man 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
vii
viii Introduction
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 dis-
credited 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 phi-
losophy, are called folk-lore, or sometimes folk-tales.
The folk-tales collected by Mr. Gushing constitute
a charming exhibit of the wisdom of the Zuftis as
they believe, though it may be but a charming ex-
hibit of the follies of the Zufiis 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 dis-
cover 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 indus-
tries, 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
Introduction ix
opinions ; hence mythology or folk-lore is of pro-
found interest and supreme importance.
Under the scriptorial wand of Gushing the folk-
tales of the Zunis 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. Gushing can
think as myth-makers think, he can speak as proph-
ets 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 Zuni, 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 crea-
tures 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 exist-
ence 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 usu-
ally they cannot travel. The waters are animals
sometimes under the spell of enchantment. Lakes
writhe in waves, the sea travels in circles about the
x Introduction
earth, and the streams run over the lands. Moun-
tains and hills tremble in pain, but cannot wander
about ; but rocks and hills and mountains some-
times 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 necro-
mancy, 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, j
In every Amerindian language there is a term
to express this magical power. Among the Iro-
quoian 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 ser-
pent 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 rattle-snake
may be stretched beside the arrow, and an invoca-
tion 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 under-
Introduction xi
standing of the doctrine of orenda as believed and
practised by the Amerindian tribes than Gushing
himself. In other publications he has elaborately
discussed this doctrine, and in his lectures he was
wont to show how forms and decorations of imple-
ments 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 deter-
mined 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 tri-
bal 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 at-
tributed by tribal men to orenda, and all mythology
is a theory of magic. Yet many of the tribes, per-
haps 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
xii Introduction
frontier parlance they are usually called medicine-
men. Shamans are usually initiated into the guild,
and frequently there are elaborate tribal cere-
monies for the purpose. Often individuals have
revelations and set up to prophesy, to expel dis-
eases, and to teach as priests. If they gain a fol-
lowing 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 ex-
treme cases may be put to death. All Amerin-
dians believe in shamancraft and witchcraft.
The myths of cosmology are usually called crea-
tion 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
Introduction xiii
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 ani-
mals (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 enlight-
ened 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 cosmo-
logical concepts of the Amerinds.
The primitive religion of every Amerindian
xiv Introduction
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 wor-
shipers. Time would fail me to tell of the multi-
tude 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 festi-
val, 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.
Introduction xv
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 medi-
cine 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 frag-
ments 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 eth-
nology 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
xvi Introduction
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 de-
velopment 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 sacri-
ficed. 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 Pennsyl-
vania, 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
Introduction xvii
and educated as a priest. The nephew, on his re-
turn 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 establish-
ing 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 reser-
vation,— the one are " Christians," the other are
" Pagans " who believe and teach the cult of Hand-
some Lake.
Mr. Gushing 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.
ZUNI FOLK TALES
THE TRIAL OF LOVERS:
OR THE MAIDEN OF MATSAKI AND THE RED FEATHER
(Told the First Night)
IN the days of the ancients, when Matsaki was the
home of the children of men, there lived, in that
town, which is called " Salt City," because the God-
dess 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 cov-
ered with turquoises and precious shells from the
ocean — so many were the sacrifices he made to the
gods. His house was the largest in Mdtsaki, 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 timush 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
2 Zuni Folk Tales
Winds. He was so filled with thoughts of the
maiden of Matsaki 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 Matsaki ; what think ye ? "
" Be it well," said the old ones. So toward night
the young man made a bundle of mantles and neck-
laces, which he rolled up in the best and whitest
buckskin he had. When the sun was setting he
started toward Matsaki, 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 — " Sh6 ! "
" 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 care-
fully, 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
The Trial of Lovers 3
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 htwe, 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 re-
plied 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
4 Zuni Folk Tales
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
The Trial of Lovers 5
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,
6 Zufii Folk Tales
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 I "
he yelled; "what matters — what in the name
of the Moon Mother matters with these little
beasts that cause thoughts?" Whereupon, crazed
and restless as a spider on hot ashes, he rolled
in the dust, but to no purpose, for the flies and
gnats and mosquitoes sang " ku-n-n" and " te-
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 of" 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 Matsaki for may-flies and gnats and
mosquitoes ! " So on the very next morning, he,
too, said to his old ones : " What a fool that lit-
tle boy must have been. I will visit the maiden
of Matsaki. I '11 show the people of Pinawa what
a Hampasawan 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.
The Trial of Lovers 7
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 Matsaki. 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 satis-
faction," 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 Halon-
awan,1 lived a handsome young man, but he was
poor, although the son of the priest -chief of
Halonawan. He thought many days, and at last
said to his grandmother, who was very old and
crafty, <H6-ta ? "
1 The ancient pueblo of Zuni itself was called Halonawan, 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 Halonawan 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 Zuiiis, Hdlona-itiwana, or the "Middle Ant Hill of
the World," and was often spoken of in connection with the older town as
simply the "Ant Hill."
8 Zufii Folk Tales
" What sayest my ndna?" said the old woman;
for, like grandmothers nowadays, she was very
soft and gentle to her grandson.
" I have seen the maiden of Matsaki 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 manli-
ness. My heart is hard against weariness, and I
would go and speak to the beautiful maiden."
"Yo d! 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
The Trial of Lovers 9
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 even-
ing, he took a little bundle and went up the trail
by the river-side to Matsaki. When he climbed
the ladder and shouted down the mat door : " Sht /
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 :
<4 Hai, and Ee, we are within. Be yourself
within."
Then without help he went down the ladder,
but he did n'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 fin-
ished the maiden arose and brought rich venison
stew and flaky hdwe, which she placed before the
youth where the fire's brightness would fall upon
it, with meat broth for drink ; then she sat down
io Zuni Folk Tales
opposite him and said, " Eat and drink ! " Where-
upon 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 ciga-
rette 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-t!" 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
The Trial of Lovers n
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 content-
ment 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
12 Zufii Folk Tales
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 ex-
claimed to his companions, "Sho-o-o-m-m ! " and " Us-
d / " 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
The Trial of Lovers 13
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, " Yd 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 stand-
ing 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 al-
most always find may-flies, gnats, and mosquitoes
around prairie-dog holes in summer time when the
corn is growing.
14 Zufii Folk Tales
So the young man breathed easily as he hoed
hard to finish his task ere the noonday, 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 htwe 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 Matsaki, 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 ear-rings as long as your
fingers — of turquoises, — and her fine cotton man-
tles with borders of stitched butterflies of summer-
land, 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 her-
self, and she filled the one with meat broth, and
the other with the h£we and sweet-bread, and
placing the bowl of meat broth on her head, she
The Trial of Lovers 15
took the tray of htwe 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 hams face as she tripped toward the river.
" Ho hd ! " said the two-hearted sister. " Ttm-
ithlokwa thlokwd ! Wanani ! " which are words
of defiance and hatred, used so long ago by de-
mons 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 un-
less 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."
1 6 Zufli Folk Tales
"£" 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
The Trial of Lovers 17
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
Matsaki ; 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 Matsaki 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.
1 8 Zufii Folk Tales
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 Mdtsaki,
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 Mdtsaki 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 Trial of Lovers 19
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, there-
fore 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 coun-
cils pale their red in the sunlight." Then her voice
20 Zuni Folk Tales
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 maid-
en'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
The Trial of Lovers 21
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 dayland is lighting, tie over my fore-
head 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."
22 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ab-
sence. 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-
The Trial of Lovers 23
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 to-
ward the land of evening, the young man fol-
lowed 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 pifions and cedars. As the night
hid the hills in the shadows, alas ! the plume dis-
appeared, 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
24 Zuni Folk Tales
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,
The Trial of Lovers 25
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 to-
ward 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 d ! My lover, my hus-
band, 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
26 Zuni Folk Tales
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 d! It shall be as thou
wiliest. 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 for-
ever."
At mid-sun on the day after, the plume led the
way straight to a deep cafton, 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 caflon,
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 wan-
dered, 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
caflon, happened to see him, and called out :
" Tsithl ! Tsithl!" and much more, which meant
"Ahhai! Wananl ! " " You crazy fool of a be-
ing ! You have not the wings of a falcon, nor the
hands of a Squirrel, nor the feet of a spirit, and if
The Trial of Lovers 27
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 hus-
band who was digging a hole in the sand under-
neath 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, —
" Kidthld 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
28 Zuni Folk Tales
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 moun-
tains, where lay a beautiful lake ; and around the
borders of the lake a very ugly old man and wo-
man, 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.
The Trial of Lovers 29
" 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 win-
dows, like sparks from a chimney on a dark, wind-
less night. Then the ladder again ascended, and
he saw the forms of the dead pass out and in, and
heard the sounds of the Kdkd, as it danced for the
gods. The comers and goers were bright and
beautiful, but their garments were snow-white cot-
ton, stitched with many-colored threads, and their
necklaces and bracelets were of dazzling white
shells and turquoises unnumbered. Once he ven-
tured 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 beauti-
ful bride all covered with garments and bright
things. And there in the midst of the Kdkd she
sat at the head of the dancers. She seemed happy
and smiled as she watched, and youths as bright
30 Zuni Folk Tales
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 : " Muh&t ! Hu hu ! Hu hu / "
44 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 any-
one 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, be-
hold ! it widened into a bright room, and many
Owl-men and Owl-women around greeted him hap-
pily, and bade him sit down and eat.
The old Owl who had brought him, changed him-
self 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.
The Trial of Lovers 31
" 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 medi-
cine, 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 Matsaki 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 Kdkd. Softly they flew over the sleeping
fathers and their children (the gods of the Kdkd
and the spirits) and, laying the prayer-plumes be-
fore 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.
32 Zuni Folk Tales
As the great star came out of the dayland, 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 : " Hahud, 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 ! "
The Trial of Lovers
33
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.
THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE
IN forgotten times, in the days of our ancients, at
the Middle Place, or what is now Shiwina
(Zuni), 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 treat-
ment the bird responded with a most satisfied air,
and seemed equally fond of his owner.
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, win-
ter and summer, no other care occupied his atten-
tion. 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 aver-
34
The Youth and his Eagle 35
sion 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, climb-
ing 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 : u 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."
36 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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 aver-
sion upon me, so much so that they have at last deter-
mined 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. There-
fore 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 re-
main 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
The Youth and his Eagle 37
wings to fly, nor have you knowledge to guide your
course through the high skies into other worlds
that you know not oL"
" 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."
44 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 un-
doing and to my sadness will such a journey be
undertaken."
" Let me go, let me go ! Only let me go ! " im-
plored the youth.
" It is said," replied the Eagle calmly. " Even
38 Zuni Folk Tales
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 hunt-
ers 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
The Youth and his Eagle 39
and wider as it went up, and higher and higher, un-
til 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 end-
less cliffs they came out on the other side into
the sky-world ; and still upward soared the Eagle,
40 Zuni Folk Tales
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 won-
dered in love and joy, a beautiful maiden was
uncovered before him, in garments of dazzling
whiteness, softness, and beauty. No more beauti-
ful 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 be-
wildering 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, gleam-
ing, clean, and white ; no ladders, no smoke, no
filth in any part whatsoever.
The Youth and his Eagle 41
" 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 lad-
ders 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 assu-
rances 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. Start-
ing 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.
42 Zuni Folk Tales
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 comform 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, watch-
ing 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
The Youth and his Eagle 43
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 cap-
tured 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
44 Zuni Folk Tales
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 con-
tinued to live there happily.1
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 grand-
child. And in consequence of this fondness, his
1 This curious conception of the food of the storks and cranes and peli-
cans, 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 with-
draw 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 Zunis, they have evidently taken from it the suggestion for
the special kinds of food which were offered to the youth.
The Youth and his Eagle 45
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 ex-
clamation : " 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
46 Zufii Folk Tales
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 in-
habitants thereof, which invitation we cannot re-
fuse, 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 heed-
lessness of my advice and that of your grand-
parents, 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 firelight 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
The Youth and his Eagle 47
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 beau-
tiful, 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,
48 Zuni Folk Tales
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.
The Youth and his Eagle 49
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 be-
fore 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 bend-
ing 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 re-
mains 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, ris-
ing, 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
50 Zuni Folk Tales
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 creak-
ing 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, catch-
ing 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, nau-
seating herbs and other medicines were mingled
with it, and the youth was directed to drink of that.
The Youth and his Eagle 51
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 for-
feited. 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 de-
scend 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 ? "
14 We told you not to do it, and you heeded not
our telling."
So the youth lagged away to the home of the
52 Zuni Folk Tales
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 housetop, 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 disrepu-
table 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
The Youth and his Eagle 53
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 sus-
tained him and drew it off, bade him farewell for-
ever, 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, remem-
bering this youth's experience, become enamored
of Death.
Thus shortens my story.
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 Matsaki, or the Salt City, there dwelt at this
time many very wealthy families, who possessed
large flocks of these birds, which it was their cus-
tom 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 Matsaki 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 Tur-
keys for a living ; and little was given to her ex-
cept 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 kind-
ness, which she never received, she was made
kind even to the creatures that depended upon her,
54
The Poor Turkey Girl 55
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 Zuni, — 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 re-
flected : "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
56 Zuni Folk Tales
which they had been duly invited by the other vil-
lagers, and heard them talking and laughing mer-
rily 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 Matsaki had all departed toward
Zufti and the girl was wandering around the
plains alone with her Turkeys, one of the big Gob-
blers 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 Matsaki, 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 Matsaki, or even Zufli.'
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
The Poor Turkey Girl 57
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 Matsaki, 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 hap-
piness 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 en-
joyment, you should forget us, who are your friends,
yet so much depend upon you, then we will think :
1 Behold, this our maiden mother, though so hum-
ble 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 every-
thing you direct me to do I will be obedient as you
always have been to me."
58 Zuni Folk Tales
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 tak-
ing 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 cot-
ton 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 pos-
sessed by her mistresses in Matsaki.
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 Mdtsaki. Her
hair was soft and wavy, instead of being an ugly,
sun-burnt shock ; her cheeks were full and dimpled,
The Poor Turkey Girl 59
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 lay-
ing 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 ! " an-
swered the maiden.
Hastily she sped away down the river path to-
ward Zuni. When she arrived there, she went in
6o Zuni Folk Tales
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,
14 Whence comes this beautiful maiden ? "
Not long did she stand there neglected. The
chiefs of the dance, all gorgeous in their holiday at-
tire, 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 considera-
tion 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
The Poor Turkey Girl 61
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 ex-
pected. 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 Canon of the Cottonwoods, and then
round behind Thunder Mountain, through the
Gateway of Zufti, 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
62 Zuni Folk Tales
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, re-
doubling 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 !
Klyaanaa, to! to!
Yee hull hull!
" Hon awen Tsita
Itiwanakwin
Otakyaan aaa kyaa ;
Lesna akyaaa
Shoya-tfoskwi
Teydthltokw'in
Hon aawani!
" Ye yee huli huli,
Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot,
Huli hull!
Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot,
Huli huli!"1
"Up the river, to! to!
Up the river, to ! to!
Sing ye ye !
Up the river, to! to I
Up the river, to ! to !
Sing yee hull huli!
" Oh, our maiden mother
To the Middle Place
To dance went away ;
1 This, like all the folk-songs, is difficult of translation ; and that which is
given is only approximate.
The Poor Turkey Girl 63
Therefore as she lingers,
To the Canon Mesa
And the plains above it
We all run away !
" Sing ye yee hull huli,
Tot- tot, tot- tot, tot-tot,
Hull huli!
Tot-tot, tot-tot, tot-tot,
Hull hull!"
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 Canon Mesa,
at the borders of the Zuni 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 be-
fore. Weary, grieving, and despairing, she re-
turned to Matsaki.
Thus it was in the days of the ancients. There-
fore, where you see the rocks leading up to the
top of Cafton 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 Zuni Mountains since that day turkeys
have been more abundant than in any other place.
64
Zuni Folk Tales
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.
HOW THE SUMMER BIRDS CAME
IN the days of the ancients, in the town under
Thunder Mountain called K'iakime, 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 descend-
ing 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, there-
fore, before he was many days old, he had begun to
run about and speak, and had wonderful intelli-
gence 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
66 Zufii Folk Tales
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 did n'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 sav-
age being, and no one dares go near there to get
timber for the bows or sticks for the arrows, be-
How the Summer Birds Came 67
cause the Bear would surely devour whoever ven-
tured 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 thought-
ful 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.
68 Zuni Folk Tales
"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 ! "
44 Hollo!" exclaimed the Bear. "What is that
you say?"
44 My mother is one of the most beautiful women
you ever saw ! "
44 Indeed ! " said the Bear, as he relaxed his hold.
44 My son, sit down. What did you come to my
house for? I am sure you are very welcome."
44 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 tim-
How the Summer Birds Came 69
ber 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 have n't any-
thing 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.
70 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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 straight-
ened 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 sun-
set, 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.
How the Summer Birds Came 71
" 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.
44 These points are nothing but black coals," said
the Bear.
4< I tell you," said the boy, 44 they are good, black,
flint arrow-heads, hard and sharp as any others."
44 No," said the other, 44 nothing but coals."
44 Now, suppose you let me try one of those coals
on you," said the boy.
44 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.
44 Wah ! " uttered the Bear, as he gave a great snort
and rolled over on the house-top and died.
44 Ha, ha ! " shouted the boy, 44 what you had in-
tended 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 ;
72 Zuni Folk Tales
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," an-
swered 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.
How the Summer Birds Came 73
"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 per-
ished 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
74 Zufti Folk Tales
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 con-
tinued until he was all covered with it ; but, know-
ing 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 soli-
tary one of them."
" Oh, you foolish, foolish, disobedient fellow ! I
How the Summer Birds Came 75
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 crea-
tures."
" 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 caflon 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,
76 Zuni Folk Tales
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 go-
ing? 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 vil-
lage 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."
How the Summer Birds Came 77
" 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
78 Zuni Folk Tales
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 grasp-
ing 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 fal-
cons 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.
44 Ah," said the boy, "born for evil, changed for
good ! Ye shall be the means whereby our chil-
dren 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.
How the Summer Birds Came 79
As soon as she had sat down to her evening
tasks, he asked : " Now, is there any other of these
terrible creatures ? "
44 Well, I shall tell you of nothing more now,"
said she.
44 Why, is there anything more ?" asked the boy.
44 No, there is not," replied she.
44 Ah, mother, I think there must be."
44 No ; there is nothing more, I tell you."
44 Ah, mother, I think there must be."
And he kept bothering and teasing until she
told him again (she knew she would have to) :
44 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 coun-
try, and people never pass through that section
from fear."
44 Ah," said the boy ; " don't tell me any more ;
he must be a fearful creature, indeed."
44 Yes ; but you will be sure to go there,"
said she.
44 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
8o Zuni Folk Tales
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 grand-
father, 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.
u 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 com-
fortably ; 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 pene-
How the Summer Birds Came 81
trate, 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 up-
ward, 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 did n'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
82 Zuni Folk Tales
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 drop-
ping 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 is n't handsome any
more ; he is n'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 disap-
point me by refusing to tell."
How the Summer Birds Came 83
" Oh, my dear son," said she, " I wish you
would n'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 enor-
mous 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
84 Zuni Folk Tales
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."
How the Summer Birds Came 85
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
86 Zufii Folk Tales
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 some-
thing 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
How the Summer Birds Came 87
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.
88 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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, depend-
ing 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 ! "
How the Summer Birds Came 89
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, fool-
ish, 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 ? "
90 Zuni Folk Tales
"Ah, me!" said she, "he never did know any-
thing— 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 cac-
tus-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 every-
thing else uneatable.
" Sit down, my grandson, and eat ; strengthen
yourself after your various adventures and ex-
ertions. I feel very weary myself," said she.
And she took a nip of one of them ; but the boy
could n'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
could n't tell a cactus-berry from anything else
round and rough.
" Well, inasmuch as you won't eat, my grand-
son," 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 grand-
How the Summer Birds Came 91
son. 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 an-
other 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 en-
tered 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.
92 Zuni Folk Tales
Thus it was, my children, in the days of the an-
cients, 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 Zuftis are dark people." l
Thus shortens my story.
1 That is, people in the dark — having no knowledge.
Photo by A. C. Vroman
WAIHUSIWA
THE SERPENT OF THE SEA
NOTE. — The priest of the K'iaklu or epic-ritual of Zuni 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 Waihusiwa.
" Son ah tehi ! " he exclaimed, which may be interpreted: " Let us abide
with the ancients to-night."
The listeners reply: " E-so," or " Tea-tu." ("Certainly," or "Be it
well.")
IN the times of our forefathers, under Thunder
Mountain was a village called K'iakime ("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 beauti-
ful, 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 Kolowissi (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
93
94 Zuni Folk Tales
way. As might have been expected, Kolowissi be-
came 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 beauti-
ful 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 de-
serted 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
The Serpent of the Sea 95
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 your-
selves ? Do you suppose any mother would leave'
96 Zuni Folk Tales'
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 induce-
ment ; 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, gleam-
ing 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 im-
patient 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
The Serpent of the Sea 97
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 skyhole 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 im-
possible, 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, deliber-
ately 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, Kolowissi ! 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
98 Zuni Folk Tales
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 offer-
ings of treasure.
After four days of labor, these things they ar-
The Serpent of the Sea 99
ranged 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 mani-
fested 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, em-
broidered elaborately, and adorned her with ear-
rings, 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 dis-
tant 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 ter-
races 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, al-
though all the villagers wept sore, — for the maiden
was very beautiful, — instructed his daughter to go
ioo Zuni Folk Tales
forth on the terraced road, and, standing there, call
the Serpent to come to her.
Then the door opened, and the Serpent de-
scended 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 con-
tracted, 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
The Serpent of the Sea 101
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."
io2 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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 lay-
ing 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 shriv-
elled 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. There-
fore the ancients, no less than ourselves, avoided
The Serpent of the Sea 103
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,1 also in
the Salt City,2 also in the Village of the Winds,3 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.
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 lan-
guage, 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 gath-
ered one after another all the deer and antelope
and other wild animals of that great country. And
1 Situated about seven miles east of Zufii.
2 Matsaki, now a ruin about three miles east of Zufii.
3 Pinawa, an ancient ruin about a mile and a half west of Zufii.
104
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 105
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 cor-
ral 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 buck-
skins 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
io6 Zuni Folk Tales
ceremonies ; and among this fringe were hung hol-
low 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 ap-
pearance 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
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 107
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 dis-
posed 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 bless-
ing and sacred speech, my children. I will adopt
thee as my child."1
" 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
1 This, it may be explaned, is all that the marriage ceremony consists of.
io8 Zuni Folk Tales
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 sud-
denly 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 cafion to the place where
her deer were gathered. They were all there, peace-
ful 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 Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 109
The very next day a young man named Halona,
when he heard of this, said : " Ha ! ha ! What a fool
he was ! He did n't take her enough presents ; he
did n'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
no Zufti Folk Tales
daughter. I would rest my hopes and thoughts
on her."
" It is well," said the old man. " It is the cus-
tom 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.
, The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 1 1 1
So the next morning he went out, and there was
the maiden at the top of the house watching him.
He could n'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 : " Have n't you got
any deer today ? "
He answered : " No."
She said : " I am sorry, but under the circum-
stances 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
ii2 Zuni Folk Tales
to the home of this maiden to court her, and she
turned them all away. He said : " I dare say they
did n'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 him-
self, " 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
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 113
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 al-
ways 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
ii4 Zuni Folk Tales
sticks and bits of buckskins and all sorts of worth-
less things — and they started off.
" What are you carrying this bundle for ? "
asked Ahaiyiita, the elder brother.
" I am taking it as a present to the maiden,"
said Mdtsail^ma, the younger one.
" She does n't want any such trash as that," said
the other. " They have taken very valuable pres-
ents 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 alto-
gether, 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.
44 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 caflon opposite
the village where the maiden lived.
" Here, let us sit down in the shade of this cliff,"
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 1 1 5
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."
n6 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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,
11 you are the elder."
The people downstairs called out : " Who comes
there?"
11 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 Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 117
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
n8 Zuni Folk Tales
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 be-
gan 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 Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 119
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 pres-
ently 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, moun-
tain-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 maid-
en 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 ! "
120 Zufli Folk Tales
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 ; did n'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 de-
jected 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, have n'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. " Have n't I tried to restrain you ? — and
now you are going to bury yourself under a bundle
of meat ! "
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 121
" 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 maid-
en 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
122 Zuni Folk Tales
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 her-
self 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 hunt-
ing 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 can-
not 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
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 123
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 ? "
u 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
124 Zuni Folk Tales
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."
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 125
" 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 sol-
emn promise."
<4 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 un-
derside. 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."
i26 Zufii Folk Tales
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, remem-
ber, 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
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 127
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 com-
fortably, and the two brothers did n'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 al-
ways 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."
128 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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."
44 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."
44 Shoot your wife ! " cried the elder brother.
44 No, let her go ! Serves you right ! "
"No," said the younger, 44 1 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 :
44 Oh, my little children ! " and brought them to the
elder brother, who said : " Now, what can be done
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 1 29
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 did n'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 had n'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 did n't want my father, the Sun, to take them
130 Zufii Folk Tales
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 would n'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 grand-
children 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 Zufti 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 gradu-
ally 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
The Maiden of the Yellow Rocks 131
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 Hawikuh, 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 de-
scended 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
132
The Foster-Child of the Deer 133
kept sitting weaving her trays when any one of the
family entered her apartment, no one suspected this.
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 Hawikuh, in the valley below. Then,
mourning as a mother will mourn for her off-
spring, 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 find-
ing itself alone, hungry, and cold, was crying and
throwing its little hands about.
134 Zuni Folk Tales
11 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 chil-
dren, 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 Hdwikuh, in the valley that turns off
among the ledges of rocks near the little spring
called P6shaan. There, in the shelter of a clump
of pifton 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 al-
ready creeping about. And greater was her sur-
prise 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.
The Foster-Child of the Deer 135
Behold ! yet greater cause for wonder, on the
eighth day it was a youth fair to look upon — look-
ing 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 exceed-
ingly 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 Hdwikuh 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 south-
ward past Poshaan, the lair of the Deer-mother
and her foster-child. As he traversed the borders
Zuni Folk Tales
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 in-
tently 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 him-
self to his feet and sped away like the wind, fol-
lowed 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 Hdwikuh 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."
The Foster-Child of the Deer 137
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 gath-
ered 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
138 Zuni Folk Tales
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 un-
ceasingly."
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
The Foster-Child of the Deer 139
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. Pautiwa, the Sun-priest
of the Sacred Drama (Kdk£), Shiilawitsi (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 per-
formed 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, Pautiwa, 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 Kdkd"
Then the Deer lifted his head and told his story.
" It is well," said the gods.
"Appear, my faithful one," said Pautiwa to
140 Zuni Folk Tales
Shulawitsi. And Shiilawitsi appeared and waved
his flame around the youth, so that he became con-
vinced 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 meet-
ing-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 Pautiwa continued : " Here full soon wilt
thou be gathered in our midst, or with the winds
The Foster-Child of the Deer 141
and the mists of the air at night-time wilt sport,
ever-living. Go ye forth, then, carrying this bun-
dle, 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 morn-
ing when the hunters of Hdwikuh 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 en-
veloped 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
H2 Zuni Folk Tales
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 en-
cumbered by his new dress, sped forth with them.
They ran and ran, the fleetest of the tribe of
Hawikuh 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 bethink-
ing himself of the words of the gods, he sped away
The Foster-Child of the Deer 143
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 weari-
ness, 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 Hawikuh, while one
of them sped forward to test the truth of his
utterances.
When the messenger arrived at Hawikuh he took
H4 Zuni Folk Tales
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 won-
drous youth, on whom each man and maiden in
Hawikuh gazed with delight and admiration.
They took him to the home of his priest-grand-
father ; 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.
The Foster-Child of the Deer 145
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 pre-
ciousness in the eyes of the Master of Life, that
by his will and his arm alone the tribe of Hawikuh
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 morn-
ing, 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, re-
turning, 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 Hawikuh. 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 :
146 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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, star-
ing 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 acclama-
tion, 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 sacri-
fices to the dead of the Deer. But soon, stiffen-
ing 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 wiz-
ards— 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 drag-
The Foster-Child of the Deer 147
ging 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, sit-
ting 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 re-
covered 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."
148 Zuni Folk Tales
" I have heard," said the little old Badger-
woman, " that our glorious beloved youth of Ha-
wikuh 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 counte-
nance and handsome as before, and, according to
his regular custom, bearing a Deer on his back,
The Foster-Child of the Deer
149
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.
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 Ta'ia,1 below
the Zufti Mountains, an old shiwani or priest-
chief, who had a young son named Heasailuhtiwa
(" Metal-hand "), famed throughout the land of the
Zuftis for his success in hunting.
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
1 The native name of the Zufti town of Las Nutrias.
150
The Boy Hunter 151
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,
Waiasialuhtitsa, 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 re-
news 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. 1
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 over-
take the running Deer, and thus it happened that
he went on and on, past mesas, valleys, and moun-
tains, until he came to the brink of a great river
which flows westwardly from the north.2 On the
banks of this great river grew forests of cotton-
wood, 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
1 Ainshik'yanakwin, or Bear Spring, where Fort Wingate now stands.
9 Probably Green River, or some important tributary of the Colorado
Grande.
152 Zuni Folk Tales
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.
As he guardedly approached the tree, his eyes
now following the track, now glancing up, he dis-
covered 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-i ! " 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-
The Boy Hunter 153
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 Shiwani (Priest of the Bow,
or Warrior) and command him that he shall in-
struct 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 pre-
pare great quantities of new cotton, and, making
all these things into bundles, thou must sum-
mon 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
154 Zuni Folk Tales
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
The Boy Hunter 155
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, describ-
ing the magnificent dress, the turquoise and shell
ear-rings, 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."
156 Zuni Folk Tales
Then he forthwith went away and commanded
his Priest of the Bow, who, mounting to the top-
most 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 cornmeal and
gathered pollen. Toward evening all was com-
pleted. 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 la-
menting people and rested for the evening journey.
The Boy Hunter 157
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 se-
curely, 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
158 Zuni Folk Tales
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 rush-
ing waters until it passed out of sight, and they
sadly turned toward their homes under the Moun-
tains 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 Boy Hunter 159
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 Rattle-
snakes, 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."
160 Zuni Folk Tales
" Is it dry, surely?" asked the young man.
" Why, yes ! Here you are high above the waters."
Thereupon the young man opened from the in-
side 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 rat-
tlesnake-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
The Boy Hunter 161
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 fear-
ful, 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 jour-
ney 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 coun-
cil, extracted from each a single fang, which she
wrapped together in a piece of fabric, until she
162 Zuni Folk Tales
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 rattle-
snake 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 fol-
lowed 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 in-
serted 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 en-
ter, 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 com-
panion 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."
The Boy Hunter 163
" Ah, no ! " replied the maiden, " but, that you
may not fear, I will change myself." And so say-
ing, she took off her skin, and, opening the upper
part of the door, hung the skin on the fangs out-
side.
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 knowl-
edge 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
1 64 Zuni Folk Tales
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 re-
mained, 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 grand-
mother 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 smil-
ing before the youth and maiden, the most mag-
nificent 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
The Boy Hunter 165
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 grand-
mother 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
166 Zufii Folk Tales
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 na-
tions 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
The Boy Hunter 167
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 housetops 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."
1 68 Zufii Folk Tales
Thus journeyed they four days ; and each eve-
ning 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 Shiwina.
How many days, thinkest thou, shalt thou journey ? "
44 Many days more than ten," replied the youth
with a sigh.
44 Ah! no, my child," said the Sun-father.
44 Listen ; thou shalt in one day reach the banks of
the river whence thou earnest. Listen ! Thou shalt
take this, my shaft of strong lightning ; thou shalt
grasp its neck with firm hands, and as thou ex-
tendest 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 sacri-
fices 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
The Boy Hunter 169
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-be-
ings 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 un-
evenly 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.
1 70 Zuni Folk Tales
"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 light-
ning, 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, be-
fore entering, the maiden placed her rattlesnake
skin as before on the fangs. With incredible swift-
ness 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 ar-
rows the Sun-father had given him, he killed game,
The Boy Hunter 171
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 pinons, 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 peace-
fully, 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 Shiwina 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
Waiasialuhtitsa, 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
housetops 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,
i?2 Zuni Folk Tales
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 accom-
panied 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 chil-
dren, 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
The Boy Hunter 173
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 moun-
tains of Shiwina.
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 hap-
pened, 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
174
Zuni Folk Tales
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.
HOW AHAIYtfTA AND MATSAILfiMA
STOLE THE THUNDER-STONE AND
THE LIGHTNING-SHAFT
A HAIYUTA and Matsailema, with their grand-
** mother, 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 Ever-
lasting 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 grand-
mother, that she shall have something to eat mean-
while, and we will think about going tomorrow
morning."
175
176 Zufii Folk Tales
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 coun-
try 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 quiv-
ers of mountain-lion skin, their shields, and other
things, and set about turning over all the flat stones
Ahaiyuta and Matsailema 177
they could find. Presently, lifting one with their
united strength, they found under it the very old
fellow they sought. He doubled himself, and cov-
ered 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 noonday 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 your-
selves 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 grand-
mother, and let these things alone."
1 78 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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 for-
bidden 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 Ahaiyiita grabbed it, and,
Ahaiytita and Matsailema 1 79
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
did n'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, shim-
mering 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 Moun-
tain, 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 pow-
erful 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 mean-
while, and had taken care to provide themselves
with a few prairie-dogs by way of deception.
Still, in majestic revery, unmoved, and appa-
rently 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
i8o Zuni Folk Tales
new playthings. They poked one another con-
siderably, 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
Matsailema'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 fire-
place, 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, clear-
ing 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 light-
ning 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
Ahaiyiita and Matsailema 181
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.
182 Zufii Folk Tales
" By the bones of the dead ! why did we not
think to come here before ? 'T is ten times as fine
up here. See him shoot ! " cried one to the other,
as the lightning sped through the sky, ever re-
turning.
" 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 unmanage-
able, 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
Ahaiyiita and Matsailema 183
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 ex-
claimed ; " 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
1 84 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Ahaiyuta and Matsailema."
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 Zufti.
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 nu-
merous descendants, who are not only small but
appear like a well-toasted bit of buckskin, fringed
at the edges.
So shortens my story.
Photo by A. C. Vroman
A HOPI (MOKl) MAIDEN
THE WARRIOR SUITOR OF MOKI
E take up a story. Of the times of
the ancients, a story. Listen, ye
young ones and youths, and from what
I 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 genera-
tions ago there lived in Moki a poor, ill-favored out-
cast 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 Zufti.
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
datila1; 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 posses-
sions were as many as were the charms of her
person.
What wonder, then, that the youths of the Moki
towns should be enamored of her, and seek con-
stantly, with much urgent bespeaking, for the favor
1 Fruit of the yucca, or soap-weed plant.
185
1 86 Zuni Folk Tales
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 recommenda-
tion 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 Zuftis, 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 Zufii, slay the men of that nation,
our enemies, and bring home, not only as proofs of
his valor, but as presentations to the warrior socie-
ties 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
Zufti, — 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
The Warrior Suitor of Moki 187
dogs and eagles and other creatures captive of the
people, eating like them the castaway and unwhole-
some 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 un-
kempt, 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 : " Kwdtchi ! "
" 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 mar-
riage 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
1 88 Zuni Folk Tales
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 fin-
ished, 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 pro-
posal. 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
Zuftis 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
The Warrior Suitor of Moki 189
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 slop-
ing banks lighted by the moon, they gathered and
made a tremendous clamor with their yelpings and
barkings and other noises such as you are accus-
tomed 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 Zuflis
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
190 Zuni Folk Tales
a sufficiency of food for the party, join me in my
warlike expedition against the Zuflis."
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 antici-
pate 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 pro-
posed 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 in-
habited, and he said to all of them : " I shall leave
forthwith on my journey, having provided myself
The Warrior Suitor of Moki 191
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 Zufli. As soon as the people
are asleep, that they may not pelt you with stones
and drive you back, follow on the trail to Zufti 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 unob-
served 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 Zuni. 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, un-
less 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
192 Zuni Folk Tales
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, bay-
ing 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, torti-
llas, 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 impossi-
ble— 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
The Warrior Suitor of Moki 193
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 hid-
ing 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 doubt-
less, if you like, you will be wise enough to make
much of this fact."
The Dogs were well pleased with his proposi-
tion, 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 Zufli
13
194 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Zuft i ; 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 Zufti 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 pre-
sented 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 like-
The Warrior Suitor of Moki 195
wise 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 fol-
lowed 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
Zuni 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
196 Zuni Folk Tales
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, bit-
ing, tearing, and shaking the Zufiis 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 cow-
ards ! — 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
The Warrior Suitor of Moki 197
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 demonstra-
tions 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 con-
quering 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 ! " ex-
claimed some of the swifter of foot ; " we will have
to slacken our pace, father." Said they, address-
ing 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 be-
hind. 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,
198 Zuni Folk Tales
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 re-
joicing, 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 ap-
proached 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 hon-
ored and precious guest, to receive him.
So, victorious and successful in all ways, the out-
cast dog of a youth who went to Zufli and returned
the hero of the Moki nation right willingly was
accepted by this beauteous maiden as her husband
The Warrior Suitor of Moki 199
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 them-
selves, 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 maiden-
hood.
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 did n'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
200 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ad-
vances 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 acquain-
tance 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 Warrior Suitor of Moki 201
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 dan-
dies, 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 delib-
erate 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 la-
mentation, 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
202 Zuni Folk Tales
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 an-
cients called Ishana-tatiyapon, — 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 pifton 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
203
204 Zuni Folk Tales
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, Chame-
leons, 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 com-
panions never disturbed the councils or ceremonies
of the Burrowing-owls, but treated them most re-
spectfully, 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 Dance of the Burrowing-Owls 205
the rocks. He heard the click-clack of the musi-
cians 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 com-
posedly 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 for-
ward, 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 carry-
ing 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
206 Zuni Folk Tales
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 balanc-
ing on their heads. Look more closely, friend.
Do you not observe that it is their own grand-
mothers' 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, more-
over, the distinction of performing a dance which
no other people or creatures in the world are capa-
ble 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 have n't been initiated, you
know ; but, still, if you are determined that you
The Dance of the Burrowing-Owls 207
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, im-
pertinent 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, ex-
citedly. " 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 '11 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, gath-
ering 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 Coy-
ote, "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
2o8 Zuni Folk Tales
his hind-legs, 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 hind-legs
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 work-
ing power of faith in this essential observance, and
invited him (with a hem that very much resem-
The Dance of the Burrowing-Owls 209
bled 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 grand-
mother'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 him-
self, 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 Coy-
ote 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 '11 be even with you !
I '11 smoke you out of your holes."
" What will you smoke us out with ? " tauntingly
asked the Burrowing-owls.
" Ha ! you '11 find out. With yucca ! "
" O ! O ! ha ! ha ! " laughed the Owls. " That
is our succotash ! "
" Ah, well ! I '11 smoke you out ! " yelled the
Coyote, stung by their taunts.
" What with ? " cried the Owls.
" Grease- weed."
210 Zuni Folk Tales
" He, ha ! ho, ho ! We make our mush-stew of
that ! "
" Ha ! but I '11 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 ! "
44 1 '11 fix you ! I '11 smoke you out ! I '11 suffo-
cate 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 grand-
mother'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. j
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, put-
ting his muzzle to it, blew into her throat, in the
hope of resuscitating her ; but the wind only leaked
The Dance of the Burrowing-Owls 2 1 1
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 ex-
pressions of regret at what he had done, and apol-
ogy and solicitation that she should not mind, as
he did n'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
pinon 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 no-
ticing it. Presently the little creature struck up a
song:
" Tsakina muuu-ki
lyami 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
212 Zuni Folk Tales
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
The Dance of the Burrowing-Owls 213
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, uand 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 ? " ex-
claimed 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 exist-
ence, 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 chil-
dren 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.
214 Zuni Folk Tales
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 in-
stinct 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 SIUIUKI :
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 cafton 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 Siuiuki, 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 dis-
contented, 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 de-
stroys them and eats them up. What in the world
can be done ? "
u It would be a good thing if we could kill him,"
said some of them.
Now, just down below the house of the Demon,
215
216 Zuni Folk Tales
in Wolf Carton, 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 Siuiuki, 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 cafion 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
Coyote who Killed the Demon 217
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 ? "
41 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
218 Zuni Folk Tales
will get well ! " Still crying " Oh ! Ah ! " he splashed
the leg with the medicine-water and rubbed it.
" Did n'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. " Did n'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,
41 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 De-
Coyote who Killed the Demon 219
mon, 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 cer-
tain : 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 '11 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.
220 Zuni Folk Tales
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."
44 Oh, dear ! Oh, dear ! " groaned the Demon.
44 How in the world can I doctor the other arm, for
my left arm is broken ? "
44 Lay it across the rock, my friend," said the
Coyote, 44 and I '11 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. 4t 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.
44 Ha, ha ! " laughed the Coyote, as he keeled a
somersault over the rocks and ran off over the
plain. 4< How do you feel now, old man ?"
" But it hurts ! It hurts ! " cried the Demon.
44 1 shall never get well ; it will kill me ! "
44 Of course it will," laughed the Coyote. 44 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-
Coyote who Killed the Demon 221
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 hunt-
ing ; not one of them was at home.
" I say, wife," said the Coyote. " Wife ! Wife ! "
" Humph ! " said the girl. " Impertinent scoun-
drel ! 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
222 Zuni Folk Tales
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 did n'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 anx-
iously 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*yaf" 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 swear-
Coyote who Killed the Demon 223
ing 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 'in 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 car-
ried 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
224 Zufii Folk Tales
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-yaf Fine company!" remarked the
Mountain Lion. "If you fellows want to walk
with him, you may. There 's one thing certain,
I '11 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.
Coyote who Killed the Demon 225
" Now, then, I '11 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
226 Zuni Folk Tales
follow the left-hand trail it will lead you away from
home and into trouble."
" Which trail did you say ? " cried the Coyote.
" Skom-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 veni-
son, 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, —
Coyote who Killed the Demon 227
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 is n't
anywhere about."
" No," responded the rest, with troubled looks on
their faces. " Nobody has seen anything of him
yet."
"Shorn — m-mf" remarked the Mountain Lion
again. " Did n'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.
228 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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.
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 Zufti
where ruins now stand, it is said that an old Coyote
lived in Cedar Canon 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 (Kdk£f^ named K'yamakwe, with his
children, many in number and altogether like him-
self.
1 The Kdkd, or Sacred Drama Dance, is represented by a great variety
of masks and costumes worn by Zufii 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. There-
fore many of these characters partake at once of the characteristics, in ap-
pearance as well as in other ways, of animals and men. The example in
point is a good illustration of this. The K'yamakwe 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 Zufii. Their powers
over the atmospheric phenomena of nature and over all the herbivorous ani-
mals are supposed to have been absolute. Their attitude toward man was
at times inimical, at times friendly or beneficent. Such a relationship, con-
trolled 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 Kdkd 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
22Q
232 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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 '11 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 hit Id-d-d-d !
Su Homaya-kwe /
Su Kemaya-kwe!
Su Ayalla-kwe !
Su Kutsuku-kwc !
[Listen ye all !
Coyotes of the Cedar-cafion 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'ydmakwe, the
young. I would steal the waif-children many, of
the K'ydmakwe, 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'ydma-
kwe young. Listen ye all, and tomorrow gather
in council. Thus much I instruct ye :
" Coyotes of the Cedar-cafton 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 caftons and
Children of the Sacred Dance 233
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 Thun-
der 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 direc-
tions 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 ridicu-
lous 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 him-
self 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 direc-
tion 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, sup-
posing 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
234 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ridicu-
lous 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, sud-
denly, 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 Kdkd — 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 chil-
dren of the K'ydmakwe. 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 when-
ever they arrive in our pueblo wear collars of coy-
ote-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 sun-
shine, 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 antennae
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 at-
tentively. By-and-by the Beetle lifted himself
with a long sigh of relief.
235
236 Zuni Folk Tales
"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 morn-
ing, and have defiled it repeatedly. I '11 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 an-
cients, a large council of Blackbirds were
gathered, fluttering and chattering, on the smooth,
rocky slopes of Gorge Mountain, northwest of
Zufli. 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, re-
treat 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, ontila, ontila,
Ketchu, Ketchu, ontila, ontila!
Ashokta a yd-a-laa Ke-e-tchu^
Ontila,
Ontila!"—
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 ! —
237
238 Zuni Folk Tales
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 re-
turn 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 en-
raptured.
" You beautiful creatures ! " he exclaimed. " You
graceful dancers ! Delight of my senses ! How
do you do that, anyway ? Could n't I join in your
dance — the first part of it, at least ? "
44 Why, certainly ; yes," said the Blackbirds.
"We are quite willing," the masters of the cere-
mony said.
44 Well," said the Coyote, 44 1 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."
44 It may be," said an old Blackbird, 44 that we
can fit you out so that you can fly with us."
44 Is it possible ! " cried the Coyote, 44 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 '11 be the biggest Coyote in the
world ! "
44 1 think it will be easy," resumed the old Black-
How the Coyote Danced 239
bird. " 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 '11 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
240 Zuni Folk Tales
mountain. He picked himself up, and shook him-
self, 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, be-
sides, 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 move-
ments, 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.
How the Coyote Danced 241
" 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 fel-
low is a fool, and we must pluck him when he gets
into the air. We '11 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 fall-
ing 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
16
242 Zuni Folk Tales
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 descend-
ants 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 Zuni 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 ; there-
fore 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
243
244 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ! Did n'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 wax-
ing rather angry.
" You wanted it to skin a deer with ; that 's
what you wanted it for. Where is the deer
How the Turtle Duped the Coyote 245
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 '11 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 ? "
u The usual parts that fall to anyone who comes
along when the hunter is skinning a deer," re-
plied the Turtle.
" What parts ? " eagerly asked the Coyote.
" Stomach and liver," replied the Turtle, briefly.
" 1 won't take that," whined the Coyote. "I want
you to give me half of the deer."
" I '11 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 giv-
ing you the stomach and liver alone. I '11 throw in
a little fat, to be sure, and some of the intestines ;
but I '11 give you no more."
246 Zuni Folk Tales
" Yes, you will, too," snarled the Coyote, show-
ing his teeth.
"Oh, will I?" replied the Turtle, deliberately,
hauling in one or two of his flippers.
" Yes, you will ; or I '11 simply murder you, that 's
all."
The Turtle immediately pulled his feet, head, and
tail in, and cried : " I tell you, I '11 give you nothing
but the stomach and liver and some of the intes-
tines 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 quan-
tity 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 ;
How the Turtle Duped the Coyote 247
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 in-
testines, 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 wras 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
248 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ingenu-
ity I killed the deer, and it may be that through
ingenuity I can keep the deer."
So the Turtle kept perfectly dead, to all appear-
ances, arid 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 follow-
ing 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
How the Turtle Duped the Coyote 249
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-pud-
ding 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-titsa!
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 !
250 Zuni Folk Tales
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 pud-
ding 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 com-
fortable. 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, did n'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 mod-
erately. There 's plenty of time to satisfy your-
selves, 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
How the Turtle Duped the Coyote 251
and sat down, observing this wonderful hot
pudding.1
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 reclin-
ing upon it and resting, his head stretched far out
on his hand. The Turtle lifted his head and ex-
claimed : " 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 your-
selves 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
1 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 Zuni, 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.
252 Zuni Folk Tales
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, look-
ing 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 the Turtle Duped the Coyote 253
" 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 '11 come down and help you." So he crawled
down the tree, and, reaching over, grabbed the
little Coyote by the topknot, and by much strug-
gling 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 could n'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
254 Zufii Folk Tales
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, strik-
ing so hard on the tough earth that he was instantly
killed.
" There, you wretched beast ! " said the old Tur-
tle with a sigh of relief and satisfaction. " Ingenu-
ity 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 character-
ized 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
Zufli, 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 pinon 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 pifton 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 tchupatchinle^
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,
255
256 Zuni Folk Tales
squatting down on his haunches, and looking up,
with his ears pricked and his mouth grinning ; " De-
light 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 chil-
dren 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?"
The Coyote and the Locust 257
" 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 ; " did n'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 him-
self, 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 : "Shoh-
koya, 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 any-
where 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 pinon
branch singing away." Saying which, he ran back
258 Zuni Folk Tales
as fast as he could. When he arrived at the pifton
tree, sure enough, there was the old Locust still sit-
ting 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 '11 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 !
" Tehumali, 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.
The Coyote and the Locust 259
Now, the Locust wisely concluded that this
would be the case, and as he did not like the Coy-
ote 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 suit-
able 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 coun-
terfeit sticking to the bark, after which he flew
away to a neighboring tree.
No sooner had the Coyote recovered his equa-
nimity to some extent than, discovering the loss of
his song and again exclaiming " No doubt he is
still there piping away ; I '11 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.
260 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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 '11 ask you just four times more to
sing for me, and if you don't sing then, I '11 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
The Coyote and the Locust 261
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 them-
selves 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 Homaiakwin, or the Cafton 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 cafton 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 hap-
pened 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
262
The Coyote and the Ravens 263
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 corne 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 '11 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 fcothlo ! 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
264 Zuni Folk Tales
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 him-
self 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. " Did n'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 ! "
ICothlo! Kothlo! 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 Coyote and the Ravens 265
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 ex-
claimed " 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, " did n'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
266 Zuni Folk Tales
Coyote, " how can I get my eyes to go out of
their sockets ? "
11 Why, don't you know how ?" said the Ravens.
" Well, just keep still, and we '11 help you ; we '11
take them out for you."
44 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 fly-
ing off over the valley. The Coyote yelped a little
when they came out, but stood his ground man-
fully, and cringed down his neck and waited for
his eyes to come back.
44 Let the fool of a beast go without his eyes,"
said the Ravens. 4< 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 predica-
ment 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 " W hu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u ! "
he said again. No use. 44 Mercy ! " exclaimed he,
44 what can have become of my eyes ? Why don't
they come back ? " After he had waited and 44 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,
The Coyote and the Ravens 267
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 could n'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. " Did n'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 ex-
ceedingly well, and the poor wretch of a Coyote
never knew the difference ; only it was observed
when he returned to his companions in the Canon
of the Cedars that he had yellow eyes instead of
268 Zufti Folk Tales
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 Zufti, beyond Grease Moun-
tain ; 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 mitdliko (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
mitdliko, 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 mitdliko. And still it
rained and rained, until finally only the tops of the
plants appeared above the waters.
269
270 Zuni Folk Tales
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 grand-
fathers, 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
"Wekwek, — wek wek, — wek wek, — wek wek!" in
shrill, squeaky voices, so that the women and chil-
dren in the holes round about exclaimed : " Good-
ness, 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 mitaliko 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
The Prairie-dogs and their Priest 271
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 is n'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 noth-
ing that you come ; therefore, what is your
message ? "
"My grandfather," said the Prairie-dog, " in
council we have considered how to stop the ir-
repressible rainers ; but all of our efforts and de-
vices 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
272 Zuni Folk Tales
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."
4 * 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 com-
plied. " My friend," said the Burrowing-owl to the
Tip-beetle, " fall to and satisfy yourself."
The Tip-beetle, with another tip, sat down be-
fore 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
The Prairie-dogs and their Priest 273
well-blown-up paunch. Still, when the old Owl
remarked " Is there left of your capacity?" he re-
plied : " 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 ex-
claimed : " 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, leav-
ing 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 uncom-
fortable, 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."
8
274 Zuni Folk Tales
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 him-
self 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 pung-
ent 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
The Prairie-dogs and their Priest 275
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 Zuni 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 an-
other 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 Bur-
rowing-owl.
Behold, thus it was in the days of the ancients.
276 Zuni Folk Tales
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, hatch-
ing, and rearing of their children as the holes of
the prairie-dogs.
Thus shortens my story.
HOW THE GOPHER RACED WITH THE
RUNNERS OF K'lAKIME
'"FHERE was a time in the days of the ancients
when the runners of K'iakime were famed
above those of all other cities in the Valley of Shi-
wina for their strength, endurance, and swiftness of
foot. In running the tikwa, or kicked-stick race,
they overcame, one after another, the runners of
Shiwina or Zufti, of Matsaki or the Salt City, of
Pinawa or the Town of the Winds, and in fact all
who dared to challenge them or to accept their
challenges.
The people of Shiwina and Matsaki did not give
up easily. They ran again and again, only to be
beaten and to lose the vast piles of goods and pre-
cious things which they had staked or bet ; and at
last they were wholly disheartened and bereft of
everything which without shame a man might ex-
hibit for betting.
So the people of the two towns called a coun-
cil, and the old men and runners gathered
and discussed what could be done that the
runners of K'iakime 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
277
278 Zuni Folk Tales
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'iakime 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 run-
ners of K'icikime 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 Shi-
wina and Ma"tsaki sent a challenge to the people of
K'ia*kime for a race, saying : " We bet all that we
How the Gopher Raced 279
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'iakime 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 Matsaki and Shi-
wina, stipulating only that the Gopher, if he ran
underground, should appear at the surface occa-
sionally, that they might know where he was. So
it was arranged, and the acceptance of the chal-
lenge was reported to the Gopher, and the stipu-
lation also which was named by the runners of
K'iakime.
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 cel-
lars. " My younger brother," said the old Gopher,
4 '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'iakime 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
280 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ex-
ceedingly to take down the pride of those haughty
runners of K'idkime, 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'6pak'yan, where dwelt another of his younger
brothers. To him also he gave the same direc-
tions ; 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'iakime where the race-
course turned toward its end. When all these ar-
rangements had been made, the old Gopher went
back and settled himself comfortably in his
nest.
How the Gopher Raced 281
Bright and early on the fourth day preparations
were made for the race. The runners of K'iakime
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 peo-
ple of Matsaki and Shiwina, 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. There-
fore, we are evenly matched."
The runners of K'iakime, contemptuously laugh-
ing, asked him why he did not ask for some privi-
lege 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'iakime, 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 Shiwina and Matsaki 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'iakime. They were already
far off, when suddenly, some distance before them,
282 Zuni Folk Tales
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 fore-
head. After looking round at the runners, into
the ground he plunged again. The people of Shi-
wina and Matsaki yelled their applause. The run-
ners of K'iakime, astounded that the Gopher should
be ahead of them, redoubled their efforts. When
they came near the Place of the Red Shell, be-
hold ! somewhat muddy round the eyes and nose,
out popped the old Gopher again, to all appear-
ance. 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'6pak'yan than again they saw the Gopher
in advance of them, now apparently covered with
sweat, — for this cunning brother had provided him-
self with a little water which he rubbed over his fur
and made it all muddy, as though he were perspir-
ing 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 bedrag-
gled 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
How the Gopher Raced 283
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 ob-
scured 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 be-
soaking 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 ap-
proaching. A great shout was raised by those
who were present, and the runners of K'iakime 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 an-
cients. Therefore, to this day the young runners
of Zuni, 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
284 Zuiii Folk Tales
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 Rat-
tlesnakes ; 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, turn-
ing 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
285
286 Zuni Folk Tales
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 sis-
ter, 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 !
Tc hi -tola tsaaana !
Tchi-tola tsaaana !
A ma 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 Rattle-
snakes, 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 be-
ware and to be careful, O, my children ? " Then
she exclaimed — rocking herself to and fro, and wrig-
gling from side to side at the same time, casting
her hands into the air, and sobbing wildly —
The Rattlesnakes 287
" Ayaa mash toki /
Ayaa mash toki !
Hai! i ii i !" 1
and fell in a swoon, still wriggling, to the ground.
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! Hi if"
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 re-
turned 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. There-
fore we kill them not needlessly, nor waste the
lives even of other animals without cause.
Thus shortens my story.
1 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. Judg-
ing 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 ! "
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 Zufti 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. Be-
hold ! 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, how-
ever, for there was n't an unmarried young man in
all the valley of our ancients who was not running
288
The Corn-Pests 289
mad over the charms of this girl. Besides all that,
not a few of them had an eye on so many posses-
sions, and thought her home would n't be an un-
comfortable 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 re-
spect 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, how-
ever, and that means more than all else sometimes.
290 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Corn-Pests 291
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 mor-
sels 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, try-
ing 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 ? "
292 Zuni Folk Tales
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 should n'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.
11 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 every-
thing 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 is n't very
deep — and fall to, friend. We '11 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.
u 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
The Corn-Pests 293
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 al-
ready 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 '11 warm you up a
294 Zuni Folk Tales
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 re-
ported to her what he had done. She was so
pleased she hardly knew how to express her grati-
tude, 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 did n't get in."
" Who cares for a Coyote ! " said the girl. " I
would much rather marry a man with some ingenu-
ity 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 them-
selves for both. But they like to have them able
to think and guess at a way of getting along occa-
sionally. 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.
The Corn-Pests
295
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 Zufti, and do what you
will, they are sure to get away with some of your
corn, anyhow.
Thus shortens my story.
JACK-RABBIT AND COTTONTAIL
A NCIENTLY the Jack-rabbit lived in a sage
^* plain, and the Cottontail rabbit lived in a
cliff hard by. They saw the clouds gather, so they
went out to sing. The long-legged Jack-rabbit
sang for snow, thus :
" U pi na wi sho^ U pi na wi sho>
U kukuku 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 P6k'ia
(Jack- rabbit) runs when it snows, the A'kshiko
(Cottontail) when it rains.
Thus shortens my story.
296
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 Zuni 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 pro-
ducts 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
297
298 Zuni Folk Tales
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 stock-
ings 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,
The Rabbit Huntress 299
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 re-
turned 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, rub-
bing his lean knees and shaking his head over the
days that were gone. " No, no ; let us live in pov-
erty rather than that you should run such risks as
these, O my daughter."
But, say what they would, the girl was deter-
mined. 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
300 Zuni Folk Tales
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 prepar-
ing 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 shoul-
der, stuck the rabbit-sticks in her belt, and carrying
the stone axe in her hand sallied forth eastward
through the Gateway of Zufti 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 caftons 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
The Rabbit Huntress 301
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 canons, where
the forests of pinon and cedar stood, and where
here and there she had the good fortune sometimes
to run two, three, or four rabbits into a single hol-
low 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 hunt-
ing 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
302 Zuni Folk Tales
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 shel-
tered place among the rocks ? What harm if I re-
main 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 ap-
peared, black and dim, a short distance away. For-
tunately, 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
The Rabbit Huntress 303
dead piftons are found in great numbers, and bring-
ing 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 be-
lated 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-ithlaia-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
304 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Atahsaia 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 td 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
The Rabbit Huntress 3°5
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.
3o6 Zufii Folk Tales
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 yel-
low, protruding tusks, and his horny, taloned hand,
they came upon the old beast, and, each one hit-
ting 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 with-
drew 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 gar-
The Rabbit Huntress 307
ments 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 cafton, 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 pro-
tect 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 coun-
selled 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 Zufli. 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
3o8 Zuni Folk Tales
plants, behold ! as though the soap-weed plants
were rabbits, so many lay killed on the snow
before these mighty hunters. And they gath-
ered 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 Zufti, 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 con-
tinued her way to the home of her father and
mother ; and as she went into the town, stagger-
ing 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 re-
turning ; and as she laid the rabbits at their feet,
she said : " Behold ! my father and my mother,
The Rabbit Huntress 309
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 him-
self 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 SOUTH-
EASTERN MESA
IN the days of the ancients there lived with his
old grandmother, not far from K'iakime, 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 re-
sembled the Hthea, 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
pinon 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'idkime 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 grand-
mother: " O grandmother, I am going out to gather
datilas and pifion nuts on the Southeastern Mesa."
310
The Ugly Wild Boy 311
"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
pifton nut, than " Wha-a-a-a ! " snarled the old Bear ;
and he came rushing out of the nearest thicket
toward the boy.
44 U shoma kutchi kihe ! " shouted the boy.
" Friend, friend, don't bite me ! It '11 hurt ! Don't
bite me ! I came to make a bargain with you."
" I 'd like to know why I should n't bite you ! "
growled the Bear. "I '11 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.
44 Don't, don't, and I will make a bargain with
you," said the boy.
44 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.
312 Zuni Folk Tales
" These things are no more yours than mine,"
said the boy, "and I '11 prove it."
44 How?" asked the Bear.
44 They are mine ; they are not yours ! " cried
the boy.
44 They are mine, I tell you ! They are not
yours!" replied -the Bear.
44 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.
4< Look here ! I '11 make a proposition to you,"
said he.
" What 's that ? asked the Bear.
44 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.
<4Ha, ha!" laughed the Bear, in his big, coarse
voice. 44 That is a good plan, indeed. I am per-
fectly willing to stand the test."
44 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."
44 All right," said the Bear. 44 Who first ? "
" Just as you say," said the boy.
4< Well, then, I will try you first," said the Bear,
44 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
The Ugly Wild Boy 313
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 sand-
storm 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 pinon
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 pinon patch frightened shall be !
He of the pinon 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."
3H Zuni Folk Tales
" 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 :
* ' At yaaaa !
He! he! he! he! he! he! he! tooh!"—
and he whacked the side of a hollow pifton tree
with his axe. The tree was shivered with a thun-
dering 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 : 4t 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 Ugly Wild Boy 315
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. Pick-
ing 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 Zuni Mountains.
" There ! " said the boy ; " I '11 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'idkime 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'ia-
kime, from the top of yonder high rock, that those
who wish to go out to gather grass-seed and datilas
and pinon 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 pinon nuts, whom-
soever 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,
316 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Zufti 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, pifton nuts, and grass-seed without
hindrance.
Thus shortens my story.
THE REVENGE OF THE TWO BROTH-
ERS ON THE HAWIKUHKWE, OR
THE TWO LITTLE ONES1 AND
THEIR TURKEYS
(THE ORIGIN OF THE PRIESTS AND CHIEFS OF
THE DANCE OF VICTORY)
LONG, long ago, there lived on Twin Mountain,
Ahaiyuta 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 manag-
ing 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
1 This term refers to the two Gods of War, Ahaiyuta and Matsailema,
who, as has been seen in previous tales, were accounted immortal twin
youths of small size.
317
318 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Hawikuh.
Not long after noon the flock of Turkeys
strolled, gobbling and chirping, into the valley
north of Hawikuh 1 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 puebio, they sought out the Priests of
the Bow and told them what they had discovered.
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,
1 Hawikuh, or Aguico of the Spaniards, a pueblo now in ruins across
the valley northwestward from Ojo Caliente, the southwestern farming
town of the Zunis.
Revenge of the Two Brothers 319
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 Hawikuh, 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 Hawikuh
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 direc-
tions. Soon they began to fall on every side,
especially the long-legged young ones, who so tan-
gled their legs in the grasses that they could not
keep up with their mothers, and were easily over-
taken by the hunters of Hawikuh ; 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 Ahaiyiita and his
younger brother and their old grandmother were
on top of their house shading their eyes and watch-
ing for the return of the Turkeys, when they saw
the solitary young Long-leg coming, all out of
320 Zufli Folk Tales
breath and his wings dragging, over the hill below
Master Caflon.
" 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 young-
ster, 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 ter-
ribly 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 Hawikuh," exclaimed the Tur-
key, 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
Revenge of the Two Brothers 321
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!" (" Did n't I tell
you ! ") exclaimed Ahaiyuta, and they started tow-
ard 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 eat-
ing 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!" croned the old grand-
mother.
" 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
322 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Cafton are fine oak-sprouts, more than
ten boys like you could carry, and above here
around Great Mountain are other kinds, and every-
where grow sprouts enough, if people were n'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 grand-
mother, sucking her lips as if they were marrow-
bones, 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 ! " 1
1 One of the " measuring- worms " which is named the rainbow, on ac-
count of his streaked back and habit of bending double when travelling.
Revenge of the Two Brothers 323
" 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 con-
tinued : " 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 war-
rior, 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 with-
out 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 Cafton 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
324 Zuni Folk Tales
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 irri-
tated 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
Revenge of the Two Brothers 325
another trick. They '11 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, giv-
ing 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 be-
lieve. 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 hand-
somest 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."
326 Zuni Folk Tales
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
Carton 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 fel-
low, 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 Ahaiyiita shouted at the top of his voice,
" Ha-u-thla / " which made the old man jump and
Revenge of the Two Brothers 327
turn back so quickly that he would have broken
his back had he a back-bone.
" Shoma ! " he exclaimed. " It 's my grandchil-
dren, 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 Hawikuh 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 '11
show them that they are not to treat my grand-
children 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 swag-
ger of his head.
" Listen to that ! " said Matsailema to his
brother.
" To use up life, that 's what I 'm for," added
328 Zuni Folk Tales
the old man, with emphasis ; " I '11 show the
kuhkwe ! "
" Will you come to the council ? " asked the
two boys.
" Skuathla" 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 Mdtsailema 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
Revenge of the Two Brothers 329
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 could n 't get at you."
" Oh, that 's it ! Well, what may my grand-
children 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 Hawikuhkwe, 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.
33° Zuni Folk Tales
"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.
" Thluathld!" gruffly said Etawa, for that was
the Turtle's name.
So the boys started for Oak-wood Cafion, 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
Revenge of the Two Brothers 33 l
wanted. These they straightened by passing them
through their horns1 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.
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 ! " j
" 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 ? "
1 Fragments of mountain-sheep horn are used to this day by the Zunis
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.
332 Zufii Folk Tales
" 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 fs 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 dis-
cuss what we had better do."
When the old Turtle discovered that the boys
had been playing him a joke, he was vexed, but
he did n't show it. " Amiwili here ? " asked he.
" Tchukwe / We four will teach those HcL-
wikuhkwe ! "
" Yes, indeed ! " croaked the Rainbow-worm.
" Well," said the boys, " at daybreak tomor-
row morning, before it is light, we shall start for
H awikuh-town. "
" Very well," responded Amiwili. " Come to
my place first, and let me know when you start."
Revenge of the Two Brothers 333
" And," added Etawa, " come to my place next
and let me know. When you boys get to Hawikuh
and alarm the people, if they get too thick for you,
come back to my house as fast as you can, and
you, Matsailema, take me up on your back. Then
you two run toward your other grandfather's house.
I '11 show these Hawikuhkwe 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 '11
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 1
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
1 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
Ahaiyuta and Matsailema 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.
334 Zuni Folk Tales
skirts and decorated with precious ornaments of
shell and turquoise.
The noise she made awoke Ahaiyiita, 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 pre-
tend 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 Hawikuh 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 grand-
mother did not notice this at first. She began to
wash her arms in the bowl of water. Then she
Revenge of the Two Brothers 335
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 Ahaiyiita 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
would n't have looked at the boys had it been light
enough.
" How did our grandfather come unto the
morning ? " asked they.
336 Zuni Folk Tales
" Thluathld ! " (" 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 '11
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 Hawikuh.
It was twilight, for the morning star was high.
The boys sat down a moment and sang an incan-
tation,— the same our fathers and children, the
Apithlan Shiwani, 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 scatter-
ing 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
did n't some one cry ' Murder, murder ! '
When Ahaiyuta's arrow struck, it scattered
more medicine-water upon them, until they thought
they must be dreaming of rain ; but just then
Matsailema shouted, " Ho-o-o ! Murder!" again,
Revenge of the Two Brothers 337
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 Hawikuhkwe all poured down toward
them, but when they arrived there they found no
enemy. While the people were looking and run-
ning about, tsok tsok, and tsok tsok, and tsok tsok,
the arrows of Ahaiyiita, and Matsailema 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 re-
mainder 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 Ahaiyuta 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 Hawikuhkwe pressed them too
closely, the water-shield sprinkled them so thor-
oughly that when they nocked an arrow the sinew
338 Zuni Folk Tales
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 gather-
ing more and more thickly in their rear, so that
Mdtsailema 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 '11 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 Matsaile*m.a 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
Ahaiyiita from ahead. " Hurry, hurry, brother
younger ; hurry ! " But Ma"tsaile*ma could n'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 '11 see
what I can do !" said he, pulling into his shell.
Thle-e-ey thle-thle-thle-e-e, rattled the arrows
Revenge of the Two Brothers 339
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 Ahaiyiita 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 ! "
Ahaiyiita jumped out of the way just as Mat-
sailema cried out : " Ha hua ! I can run no farther ;
I must drop you, grandfather," — but he saw Ahai-
yuta jump to one side, so he followed, too.
Old Amiwili reared himself and, opening his
mouth, waah ! week ! right and left he threw the
lizard leaves he had been eating, until the Hawikuh-
kwe were blinded and suffocated by them, and, drop-
ping 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
340 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Hawikuh.
" Ha, ha ! " laughed the two boys as they began
to take off the scalps of the Hawikuhkwe. " These
caps are better than half a flock of Turkeys."
" Who '11 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.
44 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 Cafion, he stuck a stick up in the air and
shouted.
44 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.
44 Hoo-o / Iwolohkia-a-a / " which, as you know,
means 44 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
Revenge of the Two Brothers 341
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 pre-
tended 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. 1
" 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."
1 The ridiculousness of the dialogue which follows may readily be under-
stood 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.
342 Zuni Folk Tales
"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?"
Revenge of the Two Brothers 343
"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 cere-
monials— all at the same time ; — but it was very
hard work, consequently they did n't get along
very well.
That 's the reason why today we have so many
song-masters and singers, dance leaders and dan-
cers, priests and common people, father clans and
mother clans, in the great Ceremony of Victory.
344 Zuni Folk Tales
Thus it happened with Ahaiyiita and Matsailema
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 Hawikuhkwe.
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 grand-
father. 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.
Photo by A. C. Vroman
THE PINNACLES OF THUNDER MOUNTAIN
THE YOUNG SWIFT -RUNNER WHO
WAS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHING
BY THE AGED TARANTULA
ALONG, long time ago, in K'iakime, 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 Moun-
tain, 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 ! "
345
346 Zuni Folk Tales
"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 ? " re-
joined the youth.
" It is for this reason," said the old Tarantula.
" Would n'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 blue-
ness, 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
The Young Swift-Runner 347
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 him-
self in these, he perched himself up on his crooked
hind-legs, and said : " Look at me, now. How do
I look?"
" Well, so far as the clothing is concerned, hand-
some," 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
348 Zuni Folk Tales
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 home-
ward.
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."
14 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,
The Young Swift-Runner 349
" 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 is n'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 chil-
dren ! 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 in-
struct 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 over-
350 Zuni Folk Tales
take 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 moun-
tain, 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 sug-
gested 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 him-
self 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.
The Young Swift-Runner 351
" 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 gar-
ments, and how to recover them we know not.
We have dug away the den, even to the founda-
tion 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 look-
ing at the opening of Old Tarantula's hole.
The plumes of sunlight were but barely gleam-
ing 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
352 Zuni Folk Tales
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! Wdloi 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 headfore-
most 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 :
" OhatchiKya ti Tdkiva,
Aiyaa Tdkwa!
OhatchiVya Hi Tdkwa,
OhatchiKya Hi Tdkwa !
Aiyaa Tdkwa!
Aiyaa Tdkwa!
Tdkwa, Tdkwa!"
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
The Young Swift-Runner 353
round on his crooked hind legs, with his fine gar-
ments 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 had n'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 Taran-
tula's den, until Old Tarantula again thrust out his
woolly nose, as might have been expected. He
354 Zuni Folk Tales
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 noth-
ing 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
did n't get me ! No, he did n'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 :
" OhatchiKya ti Tdkwb,
Aiyaa Tdkwb/
OhatchiVya Hi Tdkwb,
OhatchiKya lit Tdkwb!
Ai yaa Tdkiu&l
Ai yaa Tdkw&t
Tdkwb, Tdkwct!"
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, ad-
miring himself, answering his own questions, and
watching his own movements. But Great Eagle,
crest-fallen and shame-smitten, took his way to the
place of the council, reported his failure, and made
his adieu.
The Young Swift-Runner 355
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 sage-
brush, 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 over-
hanging 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 Ta-
rantula 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,
356 Zuni Folk Tales
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 bother-
ing 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 worth-
less thing like that ? Have n'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 tune-
less song :
" OhatchiVya ti Tdkwb,
Aiyaa Tdkwk !
OhatchiVya Hi Tdkwk,
Ohatchik'ya Hi Tdfavb !
Ai yaa Tdkwb,
Ai yaa Tdkwcl.
Tdkwa, Tdkwb!"
The Young Swift-Runner 357
He admired himself as much as before. " For-
sooth," 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 dis-
covered 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, Ahaiyiita and Matsailema, for in those days
they still dwelt on the top of Thunder Mountain
with their old grandmother, at the Middle Place
of Sacrifice.
358 Zuni Folk Tales
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 grand-
mother 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 conies to the
house of another."
41 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.
The Young Swift-Runner 359
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, grand-
mother ! Bestir yourself ! Grind flour for us.
Let it be rock flour ! "
The old grandmother gathered some white cal-
careous sandstone called kttchipawe. 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
360 Zuni Folk Tales
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 in-
formed the old ones of the word that had been
sent to them.
His father, the old priest-chief, called the war-
rior 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 joy-
ful 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 day-
light the youth alone took his way toward the sac-
The Young Swift-Runner 361
rificial 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, under-
stand, 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 ? Some-
body 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, does n'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
362 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ! Non-
sense ! 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 de-
light, 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 start-
ling ! " 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 him-
self. He had no sooner placed the other on his
The Young Swift-Runner 363
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, any-
way," 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 alto-
gether, 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 I
Mercy ! You hurt ! You hurt ! Don't treat me
so ! I '11 be good hereafter. I '11 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 destruc-
tion ; 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."
364 Zuni Folk Tales
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.
ATAHSAIA, THE CANNIBAL DEMON
IN the days of the ancients, when the children
of our forefathers lived in Heshokta (" Town of
the Cliffs "), there also lived two beautiful maidens,
elder and younger, sisters one to the other, daugh-
ters of a master-chief.
One bright morning in summer-time, the elder
sister called to the younger, "Hani!"
" What sayest thou ? " said the hdni.
"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 hdni; "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 man-
tles 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
365
366 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Atahsaia," and there, in the times I tell of, lived
Atahsaia 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 porcu-
pine-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 glar-
ing 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 yel-
low 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 Atahsaia, who in the days of the ancients de-
voured men and women for his meat, and the chil-
dren 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 bran-
dished 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.
Atahsaia the Cannibal Demon 367
Now, although Atahsaia was ugly and could not
speak without chattering his teeth, or laugh with-
out barking like a wolf, he was a very polite
demon. But, like many ugly and polite people
nowadays, he was a great liar.
Atahsaia 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 Tesha-
minkia, the Echo-god, shouted it to the maidens.
" Oh ! " exclaimed the hdni, 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 noth-
ing more, they returned to the spring and went to
washing their clothes on some flat stones.
But Atahsaia grabbed up his weapons and be-
gan 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 Ahaiyuta and Matsailema.
368 Zufti Folk Tales
You don't know who Ahaiyuta and Mdtsailema
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 wonder-
ful boys, whom men afterward named Ua nam Atch
Piahtioa (" 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 Ahaiyuta
and Mdtsaitema (" 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 in-
vincible guardians of the Corn-people of Earth,
and, with the rainbow for their weapon and thun-
derbolts 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
Atahsaia the Cannibal Demon 369
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 Priests1 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 sem-
blance of their being and place them each year at
midsun 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 Zuni from
sunrise to sunset and cut off the pathways of the
enemy.
Well, Ahaiyiita, who is called the elder brother,
and Matsailema, 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 morn-
ing : u 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
1 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.
24
370 Zuni Folk Tales
going abroad when even the spaces breed fear like
thick war ? "
" O grandmother," they laughed, as they tight-
ened 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 Atahsaia,
and the old wretch is surely abroad to cause tears ! "
" Yes," replied the elder. " It is Atahsaia, 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 Heshokta ! 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.
Atahsaia, the Cannibal Demon 371
Now, while the girls were washing, Atahsaia 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
Atahsaia 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 grand-
father 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
372 Zuni Folk Tales
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, hdni ! " 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, J a man's light was
cut off when his life was taken, and when he died
he came to the dividing-place of life.
The hdni tried to rally herself and rose to her
feet, but she still trembled.
" Now, my pretty maidens, my own grand-
daughters, 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
1 One of the figures of speech meaning the gods.
Atahsaia, the Cannibal Demon 373
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, hdni?"
" 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 hdni.
The old demon kept talking in a loud voice as
they went up the pathway, telling all sorts of
entertaining stones, until, as they neared the rocks
where Ahaiyiita and Matsail^ma 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 !
Atahsaia'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
374 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Mat-
sail^ma 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 cer-
tainly 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 div-
ing his horny fingers and scaly hand half up to the
Atahsaia, the Cannibal Demon 375
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
376 Zuni Folk Tales
that they said they were done, and Atahsaia,
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 every-
thing, the elder one starting up now and then, the
younger remaining quiet. Suddenly Matsaile*ma
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 Ahai-
yiita : " 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.
Atahsaia, the Cannibal Demon 377
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 encum-
brance. Ahaiyiita 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 Matsailema, " 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 saw an-
ikia, seen 1 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."
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
1 To "see " an enemy signifies, in Zuni mythology, to take his life.
378 Zuni Folk Tales
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 sawan-
ikia 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 He*shokta 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 midsun. Henceforth
two stars at morning and evening will be seen, the
one going before, the other following, the Sun-
father — the one Ahaiyiita, his herald ; the other
Atahsaia, the Cannibal Demon 379
Matsailema, his guardian ; warriors both, and fath-
ers 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
Ahaiydta and Matsailema ! " 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 knowl-
edge 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 Ahaiyiita
kicked Atahsaia'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 Ahaiyiita, " what
shall be done with him now ? "
" Let 's skin him," said Matsailema.
380 Zufii Folk Tales
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 Atahsaia.
" Uhh ! what an ugly beast he was ! " said Mat-
sailema. 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 Ahaiyuta said to it :
" Thou hast been a liar, and told a falsehood for every
life thou hast taken in the world ; therefore shalt
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 f
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 com-
ing morning when it is only midnight ; hence it is
called Mokwanosana (Great Lying Star).
Then Mdtsail^ma seized the great knife and
ripped open the abdomen with one stroke. Grasp-
ing 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 :
Atahsaia, the Cannibal Demon 381
* 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). Lift-
ing 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 Matsailema.
" Do you catch the old bag up and prance around
with it a little ; and I will run off to see how it
looks."
Ahaiyiita caught up the effigy, and, hiding him-
self behind, pulled at the strings till it looked, of
all things thinkable, like the living Atahsaia him-
self 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:
382 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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, some-
thing has happened to them ; I knew it would,"
when suddenly a frightened scream came up from
below.
44 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, scold-
ing and groaning.
She grabbed a poker of piflon, and rushed out of
the house. Sure enough, there was poor Matsai-
le*ma 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 Ahaiyiita struggling to get
away from Atahsaia.
" 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 grand-
son was almost tired out, and that Ma"tsaile*ma 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.
Matsailema rolled and kicked in the grass, and
Atahsaia, the Cannibal Demon 383
Ahaiyiita 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 stop-
ping, until she thought the monster surely must
be dead. Then she was about to rest when sud-
denly 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 tat-
tered mantle ; but when she found that Atahsaia
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.
382 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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, some-
thing 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, scold-
ing and groaning.
She grabbed a poker of pifton, and rushed out of
the house. Sure enough, there was poor Mdtsai-
le*ma 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 Ahaiyiita struggling to get
away from Atahsaia.
" O at of 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 grand-
son was almost tired out, and that Matsaile*ma 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.
Matsailema rolled and kicked in the grass, and
Atahsaia, the Cannibal Demon 383
Ahaiyiita 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 stop-
ping, until she thought the monster surely must
be dead. Then she was about to rest when sud-
denly 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 tat-
tered mantle ; but when she found that Atahsaia
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.
384
Zuni Folk Tales
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 Ahaiyiita and Matsailema 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 Thun-
der 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 Zufti. Thus it was in the days of
the ancients.
Thus shortens my story.
THE HERMIT MITSINA
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 des-
tined 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 pre-
cious beloved of the Kdkd (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
Cafton of the Pines, southeast of Zuni, Mitsina 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 Mitsina
lived alone in his house in the Canon 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
Canon of the Pines and near to the house of
Mitsina, 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).
385
386 Zuni Folk Tales
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 per-
haps, 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,1 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
1 The words "terrace," "sacred terrace," "terraced plain" (awilhlu-
ianc, awithluian-pewine), and the like, wherever they occur, refer to the
figurative expression for the earth in the Zufii 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 Mitsina 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 Zufiis have wandered and
lived for unnumbered generations, and where they still dwell, is made
The Hermit Mitsina 387
the symbols and game marks whereby the gods
themselves count up the score of their game.
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 Mitsina 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 Mitsina would ex-
claim, 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
Mitsina 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
up largely of mesas, or flat-top mountains or elevations, rising one above
another and showing as terraces on the horizon. Beheld at great dis-
tances, 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 Zufii people used the outspread buffalo robe for the
purpose.
388 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Mitsina' 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, Mitsina 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," Mitsina
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 ar-
rows— 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 Mitsina, with a
jolly, devil-may-care manner, would say : " Bet
your left thigh. I '11 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
Photo by A. C. Vroman
P/LOWAHTIWA
The Hermit Mitsina 389
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 Mitsina 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.
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 Mitsina
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 Ahaiyuta and Matsailema —
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
cafton they came into the Cafton of the Pines, near
where the house of Mitsina 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 Ahaiyiita, the elder. " Brother
younger, listen."
39° Zuni Folk Tales
The younger listened. " By my eyes ! " ex-
claimed 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 Mitsina espied them, and called
out : " Ha ! my little fellows ; glad to see you to-
day ! 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 Mitsina 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 Mftsina 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.
The Hermit Mitsina 391
" We 've nothing fine enough to bet for these
things," said they ruefully.
" O ho ! " cried Mitsina. " 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 '11 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 Mitsina, 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 grand-
mother 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 Mitsina suggested that they bet
their other thighs. They did so and again lost.
392 Zuni Folk Tales
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 : u All right ! " but the younger one said :
" Goodness ! as for you, you can bet your left
side if you want to, but I '11 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 Mitsina, " 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, look-
ing 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 Mitsina, 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
The Hermit Mitsina 393
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, Ahaiyuta and Matsailema, 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 Mit-
sina'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 Cafton of the Pines.
Mitsina 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. Mit-
sina espied them, and as usual invited them in to a
game. With as jolly an air as his own they ac-
cepted his challenge and sat down. Mitsina
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 Mitsina.
The War-gods scrambled out of the house,
and, by no means gently, dragged their wretched
394 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Mitsina, when told of the power of the weap-
ons, became doubtful as to his company, but pres-
ently 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."
The Hermit Mitsina 395
" 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 pos-
sessions which Mitsina 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 Mitsina 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, for-
sooth, 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 dream-
ing 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 stream-
ing in, and knew that it was still day, and that
it was all true.
396 Zuni Folk Tales
In feeling there he chanced to touch a little
package of pitch which had been laid in the win-
dow. 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 (Kothlu-
tllakwin) ; 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."
The Hermit Mitsina 397
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 Mitsina' s light, try-
ing to blow it out with their wings. Thluh !
thluk ! 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 al-
though 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 peo-
ple old Mitsina 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, AHAIYUTA AND MATSAI-
LEMA, FARED WITH THE UNBORN-
MADE MEN OFTHE UNDERWORLD1
TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION
TTERETOFORE I have withheld from publication
1 1 such single examples of Zufii folk-lore as the fol-
lowing, 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 Zufii meanings and conceptions in-
volved in the various allusions with which any one of
them teems. Yet, to avoid encumbering the present ex-
ample 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 Zufii Creation Myths in their relation to
primitive dance and other dramaturgic ceremonies.
Ever one of my chief story-tellers was Waihusiwa, — of
the priestly kin of Zufii. He had already told me some-
what 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 :
1 Reprinted from the Journal of American Folk-Lore, vol. V., No. 16, pp.
49-56.
398
The Twins of War 399
" There is a North, and of it I have told you U-la-p'-
na-we.1 There is a West; of it also I have told you //-
la-p'-na-we. There are the South and East; of them
likewise have I told you tt-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 Ser-
pent-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 — "
" Feel in the bottom of it, then," interposed old Pal-
owahtiwa, who was sitting near, " and tell him of the
Underworld."
" Hi-ta ! [Listen !] brother younger," said Waihusiwa,
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 /so to your story; short be it or long." 8
" Sons /so tse-nd / " (" Cool your ' sons /so ! ' and wait
till/ begin. ")-F. H. C.
Zufti 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.
1 From tt-na-la-a, " time or times of," and pJ-na-we, words or speeches
(tales) : " tales of time."
2 The invariable formula for beginning a folk tale is, by the raconteur:
" Sdn ah-tchi ! " (" Let us take up ") — ti-la-fi-ne, or " a folk tale," being
understood. To this the auditors or listeners respond: "£-so!" ("Yea,
verily.") Again, by the raconteur: "Sons i-nd-o-to-na ! Tern" etc. (" Let
us (tell of) the times of creation ! When," etc.) Again, by the listeners:
" Sons /so ! Te-d-tii ! " (" Yea, let us, verily ! Be it so.")
400 Zuni Folk Tales
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 (ycirite-tseman),
these people were really like the smoke,1 taking
form from without of the outward touching of
things, even as growing and unripe grains and
fruits do.
1 The Zufii 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 (shi-wai-d) pro-
duced 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
shi-u-na hd-i (haze being), and passing through the raw or soft (Kya-
pi-na), the formative {Kyai-yu-na}^ variable (thttm-ni-nd), fixed or done
The Twins of War 401
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
N
OW, the Twain Little-ones, Ahaiyiita and
Matsailema,1 were ever seeking scenes of
(ak-na), and finished or dead (a-sht-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
Zufii, 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.
1 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 Zuni Creation Myths.
26
402 Zuni Folk Tales
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.
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 ! "
11 Just so 1 " said Ahaiyiita.
Then they covered their heads with their cord-
shields ! — turned upside down — and shut their
eyes and stepped into the deep pool.
" 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.
1 Pi-a-la-wf (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.
The Twins of War 403
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 Ahaiyuta.
" Nay, not so," said Matsailema. " 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 look-
ing,— it was their way, you know.
" Well, well ! " said Matsailema, 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
Ahaiyuta. " 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 know-
ing," replied the younger brother. " Come, let us
lie low and watch."
404 Zuni Folk Tales
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 appear-
ance 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,1 but — "
11 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 peo-
ple, 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.
1 H4-lu-ha-pa ; from AS-tu, or /-/«, " hurrah," or " how delightful ! "—
and hd-fa, a corpse-demon, death. .
The Twins of War 405
"Ha-a! Stis-ki !
6-ma-ta
Hd-wi-mo-o !
6-ma-ta,
&-ma-ta Hd-wi-mo ! " 1
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 / Hd-wi-mo-o
6-ma-ta! "
But the Twain laughed and quickly drew their
arrows and loosed them amongst the crowd. Pit /
tsok ! sang the arrows through and through the
people, but never a one fell.
44 Why, how now is this ? " cried the elder brother.
" We '11 club them, then ! " said Matsailema, 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.
44 Hold, brother, I have it ! Hold ! " cried
Ahaiyiita. 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.
1 This, like so many of the folk-tale songs, can only be translated ety-
mologically or by extended paraphrasing. Such songs are always jargon-
istic, 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.
406 Zuni Folk Tales
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 sus-ki 6-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. Every-
one rushed to the shelter of the walls and houses,
shouting to them to leave off and follow quickly.
The Twins of War 407
" 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, shout-
ing "War! Murder!"
"How now?" cried the Twain, jumping up.
Whereupon the people stared and chattered in
greater fright than ever at seeing the dead seem-
ingly 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 ;
408 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ear-
rings of onions.1 It was boiling furiously and
1 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.
The Twins of War 409
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.
" He / " cried the Twain ;
" Tt-Kya-thla-Kya
jf-ta-wa-Kya
Ash' -she-shu-kwa !
— As if food-stuff were made to make people
afraid ! " Whereupon they twitched the ear-rings
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 fear-
ful, 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 view-
less sustenance has been severed, and then only
by sucking milk or soft food first and with much
distress.
410 Zufti Folk Tales
Behold ! And we may now see why, like new-
born children are the very aged ; childish withal —
d-ya-vwil ; — not only toothless, too, but also sure
to die of diarrhoea if they eat ever so little save
the soft parts and broths of cooked food. For
are not the babes new-come from the Ski-u-na 2
world ; and are not the aged about to enter the
Shi-po-lo-a 3 world, where cooked food unconsumed
is never heeded by the fully dead ?
Thus shortens my story.
1 Dangerously susceptible, tender, delicate.
9 Hazy, steam-growing.
8 Mist-enshrouded.
THE COCK AND THE MOUSE
NOTE. — While on their pilgrimage to the "Ocean of Sunrise" in the
summer of 1886, three Zunis — Palowahtiwa, Waihusiwa, and Heluta — with
Mr. Gushing, were entertaining their assembled friends at Manchester-by-
the-Sea with folk tales, those related by the Indians being interpreted by
Mr. Gushing 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 Zuni, but under somewhat similar circumstances,
Waihusiwa's time came to entertain the gathering, and great was Mr. Cush-
ing's surprise when he presented a Zuni version of the Italian tale. Mr.
Gushing 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 Zuni 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
411
412 Zuni Folk Tales
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 wo-
man ; 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.
The Cock and the Mouse 413
Zufti VERSION
TH US it was in the Town of the Floods Abound-
ing,1 long ago. There lived there an old wo-
man, so they say, of the It alia- hive? 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 Tdkdkd 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 TdkdM-Vand. were at first the
younger brothers of the Turkeys, so it would seem.
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 Tdkdkd 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
Tdkdkd 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
1 Venice. * ' ' Italy-people. "
414 Zuni Folk Tales
his fill, the old Cock would settle down, stiff of neck
and not looking this side nor that, but sitting in
the sun kd-td-kd-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
Tdkdkd 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 '11 have my pay-
ment of him ! For he is worse than an owl
The Cock and the Mouse 415
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 '11 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 Tdkdkd 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 cac-
tus, he crawled to the edge of his hole and cried
in a weak voice to the Tdkdkd :
11 Am, yoa yoa ! Itd-aKya Mosa,
Motcho wak'ya,
Oshe wak'ya,
Ethl hd 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 Tdkdkd 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
4i 6 Zuni Folk Tales
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 com-
ing and entered the corral cage, he said : " Com-
rade 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 grand-
mother 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
The Cock and the Mouse 417
bristles — and as to the beard on my breast, my
chief ornament, alas ! it is all crumpled and un-
even, 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 Tdkdkd 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
4i 8 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Tdkdkd
so that he fell over and died for a short time,
utterly forgetting.
"TV mi thlo kd 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 ! Td-kd-
kd-kd-d-d!" But the top of his head kept bleed-
ing and swelling until it was all covered over with
welts of gore, and it grew so heavy, withal, that
the Tdkdkd thought he would surely die. So off
The Cock and the Mouse 419
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 mur-
dered ! " 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
420 Zuni Folk Tales
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. Be-
seech 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
The Cock and the Mouse 421
thee dead branches wherewith thou mayest make
payment and all will be well."
Forthwith the Tdkdkd 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 bun-
dle 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 Grand-
mother.
" 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
422 Zuni Folk Tales
without pay ; never, for there is no virtue in medi-
cine 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 tdkdkd cock sees it, he be-
gins to td-kd-kd-d 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 chil-
dren, 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-ahdi,
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 CANON DE CHELLY
TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION
DEEP down in caflons of the Southwest, especially
where they are joined by other caftons, the traveller
may see standing forth from or hugging the angles of the
cliffs, great towering needles of stone — weird, rugged, fan-
tastic, 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 caflon
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 noise-
lessly. 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 ris-
ing slowly and are waving to and fro around the giddy
423
424 Zuni Folk Tales
columns, hiding the cliffs behind them, these vast pinnacles
seem to nod and to waver or to sway themselves back-
ward 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 sur-
roundings, the Zufiis relate many tales which are so ingeni-
ous and befitting that if we believed, as the Zufiis 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 end-
lessly 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 par-
ticular standing rocks in the west, south, or east, is told of
that wonder to all beholders, " El Capitan," of the Cafion
de Chelly in the north. No one who has seen this stu-
pendous rock column can fail to be interested in the fol-
lowing legend, or will fail to realize how, as this intro-
duction endeavors to make plainer, the Zufii 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.
Haki 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
The Giant Cloud-swallower 425
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 per-
ished 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, Ahaiyuta and
Matsailema, 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
Haki 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."
426 Zuni Folk Tales
" 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 Haki 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 path-
way, 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, ktiutsu ! Haki
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. Haki Suto
The Giant Cloud-swallower 427
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.
Ahaiyuta ran to the left. Matsailema ran to the
right. Haki 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 topknot — 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 Haki 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
428 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ! " (" Ti-tatchu ya-tatchur )
But, fearing that never again would the waters
refreshen their caflons, 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 cornstalks that died when the rain stopped
long, long ago, when all things were new.
Thus shortens my story.
k A ^
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'iakime), 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
429
430 Zuni Folk Tales
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 be-
fore 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 daugh-
ter. 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 re-
turned to their ceremonial chamber they said to
The Maiden and the Sun 431
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 War-
rior festival, or Oinahe dance. " Surely," said
they, " she will come forth, and if not, let her
perish, for how can she refuse the delight of the
great Oinahe, 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 uinahe.
When they had done calling, they descended, and
the people said to one another : " Surely she will
come out when we dance the Uinake\ for she will
be delighted with it, and we shall yet see her.
She was very beautiful when she was a little girl."
432 Zuni Folk Tales
Then both of the warriors climbed to the top
of Thunder Mountain, where Ahaiydta and his
brother, Matsailema, 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 ! "
" Hail " 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 &inahe, 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 ? "
The Maiden and the Sun 433
"Yes," they replied.
11 Well, it shall come to pass as ye wish it, and
the girl must die if she come not forth at the bid-
ding of the Uinahe ! "
" 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 uinake. 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
434 Zuni Folk Tales
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 or-
dered the fiinahe, that you may be tempted out.
They went up to the home of Ahaiyiita and his
younger brother, where they live with their grand-
mother, 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 hap-
pen, 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
The Maiden and the Sun 435
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 per-
ish. 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 sur-
passed only by mine own, have they not com-
manded 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
436 Zuni Folk Tales
have not they said it should be, and are they not
above all things else powerful ? "
" Well, we '11 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 may-
est thou journey." And the Eagle began to de-
scend.
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 sun-
light 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. There-
fore she fanned him — made cool wind for him with
the basket tray and her mantle — and sprinkled cold
water upon his head.
The Maiden and the Sun 437
" 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 gar-
ments. 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
438 Zuni Folk Tales
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, gar-
ment 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
The Maiden and the Sun 439
Eagles." Therefore she brought forth her basket-
bowls of fine meal with which she had been accus-
tomed 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 re-
garded 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."1
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 her-
self 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
1 The maiden here addresses mankind generally.
440 Zuni Folk Tales
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.
The Maiden and the Sun 44 T
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," re-
plied 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.1
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 com-
ing Eagle and the maiden. " Alas ! my mother, my
child," said the Sun as the arrows flew past him and
1 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.
442 Zuni Folk Tales
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 moun-
tain 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 specta-
tor seized her body. "Mine!" cried he, trium-
phantly, 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 for-
tune this day has smiled on us." And they bore
her body away to their pueblo in the east.
The Maiden and the Sun 443
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 ! Some-
body 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?"
444 Zuni Folk Tales
"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 fol-
lowed, 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 Cafton, 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 Maiden and the Sun 445
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 chil-
dren 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 Cafton 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 feath-
ers on the arrows he was very awkward (for you
know badgers don't have fingers like men), so he
446 Zuni Folk Tales
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 ex-
claimed.
44 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 to-
morrow 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 could n'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
The Maiden and the Sun 447
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 moc-
casins 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 Moun-
tain. It was only a little while ere they struck a rab-
bit 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 rab-
bits, 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 him-
self, "I '11 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 cot-
ton ; fringed leggings covered his knees, and he
448 Zuni Folk Tales
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. Fear-
ful, 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 ! Some-
body '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 hud-
dled 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.
The Maiden and the Sun 449
" 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 beau-
tiful maiden who never left her home, but was
always shut in her room. Day after day at mid-
day, 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 Ahaiyuta
and his younger brother, Matsailema, 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 Oinahe. 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 caflon. Then it was that ye two, my
children, were born and rolled among the bushes.
Now, the people ran down from the village to
450 Zuni Folk Tales
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
The Maiden and the Sun 451
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 : ' Cer-
tainly, 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 bas-
ket-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,
452 Zuni Folk Tales
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
The Maiden and the Sun 453
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
of! 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
454 Zuni Folk Tales
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 mes-
senger, 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.
"TV/" 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.
The Maiden and the Sun 455
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 per-
ished 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 ! Some-
body 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."
456 Zuni Folk Tales
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 Cafion 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 they.
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 care-
The Maiden and the Sun 457
fully 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 some-
thing 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 chil-
dren 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'yatik'ia on their way, and
the people marvelled greatly at their beauty and
their magnificent dress. And so they followed the
road through the Canon of the Coyotes, thence
by the crooked pathway and the covered road
under the house into the court of K'iakime. Just
as the Sun-father had told them, they found every-
thing 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
458 Zuni Folk Tales
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 through-
out 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.
The Maiden and the Sun 459
" 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 tomor-
row we shall go to Acoma where the people dance
day after day in her memory." Then they de-
parted and returned to the place of the Badgers.
When they arrived at home, sure enough, there
460 Zuni Folk Tales
were their Badger-mother and Badger-father await-
ing 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 I " So they entered.
When they had finished eating, the elder bro-
ther 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 morn-
ing. 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 jour-
neyed 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
The Maiden and the Sun 461
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!" an-
swered 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?"
462 Zuni Folk Tales
" Nothing more, except that I think we had bet-
ter 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 di-
rected, and he shouldered the bundle of wood.
" How do I look ? " asked he.
u 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 sleep-
ers 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 sleep-
ing dancers awoke and started.
" Somebody is going up the ladder ! " they ex-
claimed to one another. Then the young man ran
The Maiden and the Sun 463
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 differ-
ence."
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.
" Did n'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
464 Zuni Folk Tales
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 remem-
ber 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
The Maiden and the Sun 465
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 run-
ning 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 moun-
tain 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 Moun-
tain, just where it turns to go south, stood the vil-
lage of K'yatik'ia, and down in the bottom of the
valley the great priest-chief of K'yatik'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'yatik'ia.
466 Zuni Folk Tales
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 morn-
ing 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 pick-
ing flowers long when a voice rose from the middle
of the vines :
" A-tc-ya-yc,
A-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
The Maiden and the Sun 467
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- Bancroft Library
li 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 to-
ward 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.
"Atil" cried she. "O dear! O dear!" she
468 Zuni Folk Tales
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 daugh-
ter. 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 re-
The Maiden and the Sun 469
mained as he was, and began to spin cotton marvel-
lously 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'yatik'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-chiefs
daughter ? " everybody asked of one another. No-
body 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-chiefs daugh-
ter ; 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 de-
cided that it would be well for him and the girl and
470 Zuni Folk Tales
their two little ones to die, because they had de-
ceived 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-chiefs 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 remem-
bered 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.
The Maiden and the Sun 471
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. De-
scend. 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
472 Zuni Folk Tales
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-chiefs 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 com-
pany 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
The Maiden and the Sun 473
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 in-
tended all things for your good, but ye were fools ;
therefore with me and mine will pass away your
peace and your treasures."
474 Zuni Folk Tales
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.)