Stories of the Fourth Night

Stories of the Fourth NightThe Story of the Gambler’s WarAnd after this, for a long time, there was peace toward the Apaches, but it happened, once, that two brothers of the country went to gamble with the Awup, playing the game calledwaw-pah-teein which the gamblers guess in which piece of cane a little ball is hidden.And one of the brothers, after losing all his goods, bet his brother and lost him, and then bet the different parts of his own body, leaving his heart to the last, and finally wagered his heart against all his previous bets, saying it was worth more than they, and hoping so to recover all, but he lost that also.And when the game was ended the Apaches killed his brother, but allowed him to walk away, and he returned to his own land.But all the way he would see his brother’s tracks, and whenever he stopped to camp he would see his brother’s body, where it lay, and how he looked, lying there dead; and when he got home he felt so sad he cried aloud, but no one paid any attention to him.And when he got home his folks gave him food to eat, and water to drink, but he would neither eat nor drink, feeling so sad about his brother, and he took nothing for four days.But on the fifth day he went out and soughtthe cool shade of trees to forget his brother, and went upon the hills and stood there, but he could not forget; and then, in coming down, he fell down and went to sleep.And in his sleep his brother came to him, and he seemed to know him, but when he tried to put his arms around his brother he woke up and found he was not there.And he went home and ate, and then made this speech:—“My pitiful relatives, I will pity you and you will pity me.This spread-out-thing, the world, is covered with feathers, because of my sadness, and the mountains are covered with soft feathers.Over these the sun comes, but gives me no light, I am so sad.And the night comes, and has no darkness to rest me, because my eyes are open all night.(This has happened to me, O all my relatives.)And it was my own bones that I raked up, and with them made a fire that showed me theoppositeland, the Land of the Enemy.(This was done, my relatives.)The sticks I cut for the number of days were my own sinews, cut and bound together.It was my own rib that I used as aneev-a-dah-kote, or fire rubbing stick.It was my own bowels that I used for a belt.And it was my scalp, and my own hair, that I used for sandals.It was my own skull that I filled with my own blood, and drank from, and talked like a drunkard.And I wandered where the ashes are dumped, and I wandered over the hills, and I found it could be done, and went to the shadows of the trees and found the same thing.On the level ground I fell, and the Sun, the Traveller, was overhead, and from above my brother came down, and I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.And I thought I was holding all sadness, but there was a yet stronger sadness, for my brother came down and stood on my breast, and the tears fell down and watered the ground.And I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.And this was my desire, that I should go to the powerful woman, and I reached her quietly where she lived.And I spoke to her this way:‘You were living over there.You are the person who makes a hoop for her gyihhaw from the Apaches’ bow, and with their arrows makes the back-stop, theoam-muck, and with their blood you color the gyihhaw prettily; and you split the arrow-heads and make from them theov-a-nuck, and tie it in with the Apaches’ hair, weaving the hair to the left and then binding it on.’And this way I spoke to her.And then she gave me good news of the weakness of the Apaches and I ran out full of joy.And from there I rose up and reached the Feather-Nested Doctor, Quotaveech, and I spoke to him this way:‘And you belong here.And you make the ribs of your kee from the Apache bows, and you tie the arrows across with the bow strings, and with the sinews of their bows you tie them.And with the robes of the Apaches, and with their head-wear, and with their moccasins, you cover the kee instead of with arrow weeds.And inside, at the four corners, there are hung locks of Apaches’ hair, and at the corners are the stumps of the cane-tube pipes, smoking themselves, and forming the smoke into all colors of flowers—white and glittering and gray and yellow.’And this way I spoke to him, and he gave me the good news of the weakness of the Apaches.And I came down and went Southward to the other doctor, calledVahk-lohn Mahkaiand there I reached him.And this way I spoke to him:‘And here is where you belong.The Apache bow you make into the likeness of the pretty rainbow, and the arrows you make into the likeness of the white-headed grass.And the fore shaft of the arrows you turn into water moss, and the arrows into resemblance of flat clay.And the hair of the Apaches you make into likeness of clouds.’And this way I spoke to him, and he told me the news of the weakness of the Apaches.And I ran out of the house, and went westward, and found the old woman doctor,Tawquahdahmawks.And I said to her:‘You belong here.And you make the bow of the Apaches into the hoop of the game theAw-aw-bopp, the Maricopas, play, the rolling hoop that they throw sticks after.And their arrows you flatten up with your teeth, and wear around your brows like a crown.And the fore shafts of the arrows you have split, and painted red with the Apache blood, and made into gainskoot, the dice sticks.And the Apache hair you make into a skirt.’And this way I spoke to her, and she told me the thought of the two different peoples, the Awawtam and the Awup, that they were enemies, and she told me this, and I went out from there and strengthened myself four times.And I spread the news when I got home, and set thedoctorover it.And there was the stump of the doctor’s pipe standing there, and smoking itself, and I imbibed it, and smoked it toward the enemy, and the smoke changed into different colors of flowers, white, glittering, grey and yellow, and reached the edge of the earth, the land of the Apache, and circled around there.And it softened the earth, and brought fresh grass, and fresh leaves on the trees, so that the Apaches would be gathered together.And my western famous enemy went and told his son to go to his uncle, to see if it was so that there was plenty of grass and plenty of things to eat there.And his son went and said: ‘My father sent me to find out about these things,’and his uncle said: ‘It is so what he has heard, that we have plenty of things to eat, and all kinds of game, and that is what I eat.You go back and tell the old man to come, so that I will be with him here.’So the boy went and told the old man this, and he got up and put on his nose-ring of turquoise, and took his cake of paint, and his locks of hair, and his pouch.After he got everything together he started out and camped for one night, and arriving at his destination the next morning, after the sun rose, came to his brother and called him, ‘Brother!’ with a loud voice.And the next morning the brother got up and went hunting, and found a dead deer, and brought it home, and called it fresh meat, and they ate it together.But instead of eating deer they ate themselves up.And their skins became like sick person’s skin, and their hair became coarse, and their eyes were sore, and they became lousy, and were so weakthat they left their hands beneath their heads when they scratched themselves lying down.And the brother’s wife went and gathered seed to eat, and found it easy to gather, without husks, and thought to enjoy eating it, but when she ate it she ate her own lice, and her skin became as a sick person’s skin, her hair became coarse, her person lousy, her eyes sore.And my enemy in the far east heard about food being so plenty to eat there, and sent his son to ask his uncle if these reports were so.And his father got up and took his war-bonnet of eagle-feathers, and his moccasins, and, using his power, brought even his wind and his clouds and his rainbow with him, and all his crops, for tho he had plenty at home hethoughtto find more at his brother’s place.And, camping one night on the road, he came to his brother, after sunrise, and called him ‘Brother’ with a loud voice.And everything happened to this enemy from the east, and his brother, and brother’s wife, that had happened to the enemy from the west and his brother and brother’s wife.And I found the Apache enemy early in the morning, lying asleep,still needing his blanket, and covering himself up, and captured him without trouble.And there I captured all his property, and took from him captives and many scalps, and my way coming back seemed to be down hill, and I strengthened myself and came to the level ground.And when I came to the hollow where I drank, the water rippled from my moving it.And I appointed messengers to go ahead and tell those at home, the old men and women waiting to hear of us, the good news of our victory.And after sending on the messengers I went on, rejoicing, carrying the consciousness of my victory over the Apaches with me; and arriving home at evening I found the land filled with the news, even the tops of the hills covered.And I told my people to send word to our western relatives, and to our southern relatives, and our eastern relatives, that the good news might be known to all.”After this he called the people together for war, and the first evening they camped a man prophesied, and said:“Now we have heard our war-speech, and are on our way, and I foresee the way beautiful with flowers, even the big trees covered with flowers,andI can see that we come to the enemy and conquerthemeasily.And the road to the east is lined with white flowers, and the Apaches, seeing it, rejoice also, with smiles, thinking it for their good, but really it is for their destruction, for it is made so by the power of our doctors.And in the middle of the earth, between us and the enemy, stood the Cane-Tube Pipe and smoked itself.I inhaled the smoke and blew it out toward the East, and saw the smoke rising till it reached theVahahkkee of Light, and up still till it reached the Cane of Light.And I took that cane and punched it at the corner of the Vahahkkee, and out came the White Water and the White Wasps, and the wasps flew around it four times and then they went down again.And then in the South I saw the Blue Vahahkkee, and the Blue Cane, and I took the cane and punched it into the corner of the vahahkkee, and there came out Blue Water and Blue Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then sank down again.And in the West there stood the Black Vahahkkee, and the Black Cane, and I took the cane and punched at the corner, and there came out Black Water and Black Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.And in the North stood the Yellow Vahahkkee, and the Yellow Cane, and I took the cane and punched it at the corner, and there came out Yellow Water and Yellow Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.And on top of this vahahkkee was a Yellow Spider, and I asked him to help me, and he stretched his web four times, and there found my enemy.And there he bound his heart with his web, and bound his arms, and bound his bow and his arrows, and left him there in the state of a woman, with nothing to defend himself with.And he pushed me toward where he had left him, and I captured him very easily, and all his property, and all his children.You, my relatives, may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”And they camped out another night, and another one spoke, and he said:“I was lying in ashes, and praying the distant mountains for strength, and the far doctors for power.And there was a Sun that rose from the east and followed the western road.And all the four-footed animals met together and called themselves relatives, and all the birds met together and called themselves relatives, and in this order followed the Sun.And the Sun rose again, and brought me theSee-hee-vit-tahFeather, the Sunbeam, to wear on my head, and hugged me up to him.And the Sun rose again, and brought the Blue Fog, and in the fog took me toward the enemy.But instead of taking me to the enemy it took me up into the sky, to the Yellow Crow.And the Yellow Crow, as a powerful mahkai, went down to the enemy and divided their land four times, and slew the human beings, and painted the rocks over beautifully with their blood.And from there I went to the Yellow Spider, living on the back of the mound at the North, and asked him to help me.And he stretched his web four times, and found my enemy, and bound him, and pushed me toward him, and I took him, and all his, captive, and came home rejoicing.So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory. You may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”And they went toward the mountains where the Apaches live, and camped there, and there were empty Apache houses there, and one of them spoke using himself figuratively as a type of his people:“Perhaps these Apaches have gone from here to my house, and have killed me and have dragged me thru the waters we passed coming here, and have beaten me with all the sticks we saw on the road, and have thrown ashes over me, and maybe these are my bones that lie here, and this dry blood is my blood.This has been done, my relatives, and there in the East is a Vahahkkee of Light, and within it there is a Butcher-bird of Light.And I asked the Butcher-bird for power, and he followed his Road of Light, and touched the ground four times with his tail, and came to me.And he went on the road that is lighted by a mahkai, and following that reached my enemy.And my enemy thought himself a good dreamer, and that his dreams were fulfilled for good, and that he had a good bow with a good string, and good cane arrows, but the Butcher-bird had alreadypunched his eyes out without his knowing it.And all the animals and birds of the Apaches think they have good eyes to see with, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.And the winds of the Apaches think they have sharp eyes, and the clouds of the Apaches think themselves sharp-eyed, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.So he treated the enemy like that, and left him there as a woman, and then pushed me toward him, and I went and captured him easily.And I gathered all the property, and all the captives, and, turning back, looked ahead of me and found the country all springy with water, and wasps flying, and I followed them.And ahead of me was a road with many flowers, and a butterfly that beautifully spread itself open and led the way, and I followed.And I brought the dead enemy home, and from there the news spread all over my country.So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory.And you may not like the sound of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over our enemy.”Notes on the Story of the Gambler’s WarIn this we are given wonderful glimpses into the strange, fierce, sad, extravagant poetry of the Indian speeches, which seem oftenest inspired by the passion of revenge. Notice that in these stories, if several speeches are given in any one story, they generally have a quite similar ending, a sort of refrain: “So, my relatives,” etc.This story ends abruptly, and is, I think, manifestly only a fragment. Following the speeches, which were mere boastful prophecies, should have been an account in detail of the actual campaign, as in the story of Pahtahnkum’s war.The Story of NahvahchooEe-ee-toy was once wandering along when he found some moss that had been left there ever since the flood, and he stood and looked at it, wondering how he could make it into a human being.And while he watched it the sun breathed on it, and it became not a man, but a turtle.And he wandered on again and found some driftwood, and while he stood wondering how to make it into a human being, the sun breathed on it, and it became a man, but he could not see its face, which was covered as with a mask.And the turtle and the masked man, thus created, went westward, and came to a Blue Vahahkkee, and they went in and staid all night.In the morning, when the sun rose, they were frightened at the blue beams that shone thru the vahahkkee, and they left.And after going a little way they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds flew over them to keep them from being seen.And they came to a Black Night. In that night was a Black Bow, which stretched as if it were going to shoot them, so that they were afraid to lie down all night.And the next day they came to a Blue Road, and a flock of Blue Birds flew over them, and all around, striking them.After a while they came to a Blue Night, and in the night was a Blue Bow, which stretched itself threateningly at them, as the Black Bow had done the night before.And they could not sleep for fear that night, either; and the next day they came to a White Road, and a flock of White Birds followed them, striking them.And they came to a White Night, and in that night was a White Bow, which threatened them as the others had done, so that again they could not sleep.And the next day they had a similar experience, only it was a Yellow Road, with Yellow Birds, and a Yellow Night with a Yellow Bow.The next day there was no danger any more, and they went on and came to a mountain,Co-so-vah-taw-up-kih, or Twisted Neck Mountain, and there the Nahvahchoo (masked man), having run ahead, left the turtle behind, and when evening came sat down and waited for the turtle to come up. But the turtle was too far behind, and when night came stopped where he was, and made a fire, and made corn and pumpkins, and roasted the corn and set the pumpkins around the fire, as the Indians do, to scorch them before putting them in the ashes.And Nahvahchoo heard the popping sound of the cooking, and came running back, and tried to steal a piece of the fire to have one of his own, but the turtle would not let him. And so theNahvahchoo went off and made a fire of his own, and corn and pumpkins of his own, and cooked them as the turtle had done.In the morning, after they had feasted on the pumpkin and corn, the turtle,Wee-hee-kee-nee, sank down and went under the earth to the ocean, and made that his home, and Nahvahchoo sank down and went in the same direction, but not so far, coming up on the sea shore.And Nahvahchoo went along the sea-shore, toward the east, till he came to a great deal of driftwood, and many flowers, and handled all these, and got their strength, and made his home in the east.One day Nahvahchoo heard the earth shaking, and ran out of his house to try and find where the shaking came from, and he went south and did not feel it, and went west and felt it a little, and went north and felt it more. And so he ran back and put on his mask, and took his bow, and went north. And the first time he stopped and listened he heard it somewhat, and the next time he heard it more, and the third time still more, and the fourth time he came to where many people were singing the songWah-hee-hee-vee, and dancing the danceVee-pee-nim, in which the dancers wear gourd masks, on their faces, pierced full of little holes to let the light thru.And they were dancing, too, the danceKawk-spahk-kum, in which the dancers wear a cloth mask, like Nahvahchoo, with a little gourd, full of holes, over the mouth-hole, to sing thru.And they were dancing also the danceTawt-a-kum, in which the dancer wears a bonnet of cloth, and a mask like Nahvahchoo does.And the people sitting around in these dances had little rods which they rubbed upon notched sticks, in time to the singing and the dancing.At first Nahvahchoo was greatly excited by all this dancing, for all these people seemed to do nothing else but sing and dance, and make the rods and notched sticks and stand them up in bunches; but after a few days he began to think of game, for he was a great hunter, and he went out and found the tracks of a deer.And measuring these with his arrow he laughed, covering his mouth with his hand, and said: “This deer will not run very fast, I could catch him myself.” For a deer that measures a good way between his tracks is long-bodied, and cannot run fast, while a deer that measures short between tracks has a short body, and jumps quicker.And he followed the deer, which heard him coming, and began to run, and when Nahvahchoo saw by its tracks that it was running, he ran, too, and getting on a hill saw the dust of its running away off; and he ran after it, and when he came to the next hill it was close, and he ran down, and killed it, and took it back to the singers, and they fell ravenously upon it and ate it all up, not leaving him even the bones.Nahvahchoo sat off a little way and watched them, and one of their speakers addressed him,and said: “We know you, who you are. You are a great doctor, and a great hunter, and a great farmer, and a powerful man every way. And maybe you expected us to join in your hunt and help you carry the game. But we want you to join us, and become a singer, and you will have plenty of corn and beans to eat, and you will find that such food will last, while, as you see, the game, when you bring it in, lasts but a little while.”So Nahvahchoo staid with them and became a singer, and after a while the people told him to go to a certain vahahkkee, and said: “You will find something there with which you will be pleased. And then go to the opposite one, and you will find that with which you will be still more pleased.And one of these vahahkkees was calledSee-pook(Red-bird) Vahahkkee and the other was namedWah-choo-kook-kee(Oriole) Vahahkkee.—But tho they told him to go to these they did not allow him to do so, but one day he slipped away, when they were not looking, and opened one, and saw in it many wonderful things, clouds forming and sprinkling all the time; and in the other it was the same.And one was covered with red flowers, and the other with yellow flowers, and where they came together the mingling of red and yellow was very pretty.At the door of each vahahkkee was a corn-mill.And he stole one of these and went west. But after a while he stopped and said: “I wonder what is going to happen, for the east is all green and the west is of the same color.”But he ran on, and the clouds came over him, and it began to sprinkle, and then to rain, and then the water began to run, and get deeper and deeper, and he said:“This is happening to me because I stole this mill, but I am not going to let it go, I am going to keep it.”And he ran on and came to where he had separated from Weeheekeenee, and went on and over Cosovahtawupkih, the Twisted Neck Mountain.And on that mountain he felt rather faint, and put his hand in his pouch and found a root and chewed it, the rootCheek-kuh-pool-tak, and breathed it out, and it stopped raining.And he went on to the Quojata Mountain, and sat there and took a smoke; and then on to Ahn-naykum; and then to Odchee, where he left the mill; and then toKee-ahk Toe-ahk, where he also rested and took a smoke; and then he went home.And when Nahvahchoo arrived home he made a speech:“Where shall we hear the talk that will make us drunk and dizzy with the flowers of eloquence?There was near the water the driftwood lying, and from above the sun breathed down and a being was made.And it was the beautiful daybreak that I took and wiped its face with, and the remains of darkness that I painted its face with.And there were all kinds of bird’s feathers that I made a feather bonnet from.And there were joining wasps that came and flapped on the bonnet.And there were many butterflies that flapped their wings upon the bonnet, upon its feathers.And it was from the rainbow that I made its bow, and from the Milky Way that I made its arrow.From a red skin it was that I made itssaw-suh-buh, to cover its arm for the bow-string not to injure it.And it was a redkuess-kotethat I made and put in its hair to scratch with.And it was the gray fog that I fastened in its shoulders for its mantle.And the strong wind it was that I used for its girdle, around its waist.In the middle of the earth lay a square water moss, and the sun breathed on it and it turned into a creature, a turtle.And from there the Driftwood-Being went west with it.From there they went westward and watched the sun rise in the Blue Vahahkkee, and were frightened, and returned.From there they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds followed them, and to a Black Night wherein a Black Bow frightened them.And from there they came to a Blue Road, with Blue Birds following, and to a Blue Night with a Blue Bow to frighten them.And from there they came to a White Road with White Birds following, and a White Night with a White Bow to threaten them.And the next day it was a Yellow Road and Yellow Birds, and after that a Yellow Night and a Yellow Bow.And there was a square water full of ice, and he went around it four times.And there he found Seepook Vahahkkee, with its red flowers, and Wahchookookkee Vahahkkee with its yellow flowers, and there he got the everlasting corn-mill, and went westward and strengthened himself four times.And as he went westward there came a wind which felt good and refreshed him, and pleasant clouds that sprinkled him with water, and then there was rain, and the rattling of running water, and he went on his road rejoicing.And he reached the Twisted Neck Mountain, and there he felt faint a little, and took from his pouch the root Cheekkuhpooltak, and chewed it, and breathed it out, and was refreshed and went on.And he refreshed himself four times and went on, and found Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, and there he gave his power to the people who were gathered together, and said: ‘My relatives, I want you to think of this, that our country will be more beautiful and produce more, because you know our country will not hereafter be what it has been’.”And he made another speech:“It was after the creation of the earth, and there was a mud vahahkkee, and inside of it lay a piece of wood burning at one end, and by it stood a cane-tube pipe, smoking, and we inhaled the smoke, and then we saw things clearer and talked about them.In the West there was a Black Mocking Bird, and from him I asked power, and he brought the news and spread it over all the earth, and to every hill and every mountain and every tree, that the earth would stand still, but it did not, it still moved.(And you, Black Mocking Bird, take back your Black Winds, and your Black Clouds, and stay where you are, and your relatives may sometimes come to you for power.)And in the South there was a Blue Mocking Bird, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and over every hill and every mountain, and to every tree, that the earth stood still, but it did not, it still moved.In the East was a Mocking Bird of Light, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and to every hill, mountain and tree, that the earth stood still, but it still moved.And Above there was darkness, where lived the Feather Nested Doctor, who is famous for his power, and I asked him for power, and he spread the news, as the others had done, but the earth still moved.And in the North lived a Yellow Spider, and I asked him for power, and he stretched his news, and made his web, and tied the earth up with it, and made a fringe like a blanket fringe at each corner, and laid his arrows over it.The fringe at the West corner he made black, and covered it with the Black Vahahkkee to hold it down; and he put the blue fringe at the South corner, and over it the Blue Vahahkkee to hold it down, and he put the black arrows over the BlackVahahkkee,and the blue arrows over the BlueVahahkkee.And in the East he put theVahahkkeeof Light over the fringe and the arrows of light over it.And after all this was done the earth stood still.And after this is done you are carried away like a child, and are set down facing the East, and your heart comes out towards it, and can be seen going up and down till it reaches it.And over the land your seed shall spring up and grow, and have good stalks and many flowers, and have good wide leaves and heads of good seeds.And after the seed is ripe they will take it and put it away and grind it with sunbeams, and the boys and girls shall eat and be happy, and all the old men and women shall eat it and lengthen their lives.”Notes on the Story of NahvahchooThe story of Nahvahchoo was celebrated till lately among the Pimas by dancing games, resembling those described in this story, the players wearing masks and gourds, and rattling notched sticks, one of them impersonating Nahvahchoo himself.In the reference to the earth’s moving, in one of the speeches, one might suspect a glimpse of true astronomical knowledge, but this is likely only a poetic figure.The “everlasting corn will” reminds a little of the old folk-lore tale of the everlasting salt mill whose continuous grinding makes the ocean salt.The Story of Corn and Tobacco1There was a powerful mahkai who had a daughter, who, tho old enuf, was unmarried, and who grew tired of her single life and asked her father to bury her, saying, we will see then if the men will care for me.And from her grave grew the plant tobacco, and her father took it and smoked it and when the people who were gathered together smelled it they wondered what it was, and sent Toehahvs to find out.But, altho the tobacco still grew, the woman came to life again and came out of her grave back to her home.And one day she played gainskoot with Corn, and Corn beat her, and won all she had. But she gave some little things she did not care for to Corn, and the rest of her debt she did not pay, and they quarreled.She told Corn to go away, saying; “Nobody cares for you, now, but they care a great deal for me, and the doctors use me to make rain, and when they have moistened the ground is the only time you can come out.”And the Corn said: “You don’t know how much the people like me; the old as well as the young eat me, and I don’t think there is a person thatdoes not like me.” And Corn told Tobacco to go away herself.There were people there who heard them quarreling, and tho Tobacco staid on, whenever she would be in a house and hear people laughing she would think they were laughing at her. And she became very sad, and one day sank down in her house and went westward and came to a house there.And the person who lived there told her where to sleep, saying, “Many people stop here, and that is where they sleep.”But she said: “I am travelling, and no one knows where I am, and if any one follows me, and comes here, you tell them that you saw me, that I left very early in the morning and you do not know which way I went.” And she told him that she did not know herself which way she would go, and at night, when she went to bed, she brought a strong wind, and when she wanted to leave she sank down and went westward, and the wind blew away all her tracks.And she came to the Mohaves and lived there in a high mountain,Cheof Toe-ahk, or tall mountain, which has a cliff very hard to climb, but Tobacco stood up there.And after Tobacco had gone, Corn remained, but when corn-planting time came none was planted, because there was no rain. And so it went on—all summer, and people began to say: “It is so, when Tobacco was here, we had plenty ofrain, and now we have not any, and she must have had wonderful power.”And the people scolded Corn for sending Tobacco away, and told him to go away himself, and then they sent for Tobacco to come back, that they might have rain again.And Corn left, going toward the east, singing all the way, taking Pumpkin with him, who was singing too, saying they were going where there was plenty of moisture.And the next year there was no water, and a powerful doctor,Gee-hee-sop, took the Doctor’s Stone of Light, and the Doctor’s Square Stone, and some soft feathers, and eagle’s-tail feathers, and went to where Tobacco lived, asking her to come back, saying “We are all suffering for water, and we know you have power to make it rain, And every seed buried in the ground is begging for water, and likely to be burned up, and every tree is suffering, and I want you to come.”Then Tobacco said: “What has become of Corn? He is still with you, and corn is what you ought to eat, and everybody likes it, but nobody cares for me, except perhaps some old man who likes to smoke me, and I do not want to go back, and I am not going!”But Geeheesop said: “Corn is not there now, he has gone away, and we do not know where he is.” And again he asked Tobacco to come back but she refused, but gave him four balls of tobacco seed and said to him: “Take thesehome with you, and take the dirt of the tobacco-worm, and roll it up, and put it in a cane-tube and smoke it all around, and you will have rain, and then plant the seed, and in four days it will come up; and when you get the leaves, smoke them, and call on the winds, and you will have clouds and plenty of rain.”So Geeheesop went home with the seed balls, and tobacco-worm dirt, and did as Tobacco had told him; and the smoking of the dirt brought rain, and the seeds were planted in a secret place, and in four days came up, and grew for a while, but finally were about to die for want of rain.ThenGeeheesopgot some of the leaves and smoked them, and the wind blew, and rain came, and the plants revived and grew till they were ripe.When the tobacco was ripe Geeheesop gathered a lot of the leaves and filled with them one of the gourd-like nests which the woodpecker,koh-daht, makes in thehar-san, or giant-cactus, and then took a few of these and put them in a cane-tube pipe, orwatch-kee, and went to where the people gathered in the evening.And the doctor who was the father of Tobacco said: “What is this I smell? There is something new here!”And one said, “Perhaps it is some greens that I ate today that you smell,” and he breathed toward him.But the mahkai said, “That is not it.”And others breathed toward him, but he could not smell it.Then Geeheesop rolled a coal toward himself, and lit up his pipe, and the doctor said: “This is what I smelled!”And Geeheesop, after smoking a few whiffs, passed the pipe around to the others, and all smoked it, and when it came back to him he stuck it in the ground.And the next night he came with a new pipe to the place of meeting, but the father of Tobacco said: “Last night I had a smoke, but I did not feel good after it.”And all the others said: “Why we smoked and enjoyed it.”But the man who had eaten the greenskah-tee-kum, the day before, said: “He does not mean that he did not enjoy the smoke, but something else troubled him after it, and I think it was that when we passed the pipe around we did not say ‘My relatives,’ ‘brother,’ or ‘cousin,’ or whatever it was, but passed it quietly without using any names.”And Tobacco’s father said “Yes, that is what I mean.”(And from that time on all the Pimas smoked that way when they came together, using a cane-tube pipe, or making a long cigarette of corn-husk and tobacco, and passing it around among relatives.)So Geeheesop lit his pipe and passed it aroundin the way to satisfy the doctor.And the people saved the seeds of that tobacco, and to day it is all over the land.And the Corn and the Pumpkin had gone east, and for many years they lived there, and the people they had left had no corn, and no pumpkins; but after a while they returned of themselves, and came first to the mountain Tahtkum, and lived there a while, and then crossed the river and lived near Blackwater, at the place calledToeahk-Comalk, or White Thin Mountain, and from there went and lived awhile at Gahkotekih or, as it is now called, Superstition Mountain.While they lived at Gahkotekih there was a woman living near there at a place calledkawt-kee oy-ee-duckwho, with her younger brother, went to Gahkotekih to gather and roast the white cactus, and while they were doing this Corn saw them from the mountain and came down.And the boy saw him and said: “I think that is my uncle coming,” but his sister said,“It cannot be, for he is far away. If he were here the people would not be starving as now.”But the boy was right, it was his uncle, and Corn came to them and staid with them while the cactus was baking. And after awhile, as he sat aside, he would shoot an arrow up in the air, and it would fall whirling where the cooking was, and he would go and pick it up.Finally he said to the woman: “Would younot better uncover the corn and see if it is cooked yet?” And she said: “It is not corn, it is cactus.”Again, after a while, he said: “Would you not better uncover the pumpkin and see if it is done?” And she replied: “It is not pumpkin, we are baking, it is cactus.” But finally he said “Well, uncover it anyway,” and she uncovered it, and there were corn and pumpkin there, together, all nicely mixed and cooked, and she sat staring at it, and he told her to uncover it more, and she did so and ate some of it.And then he asked about the Tobacco woman, if she were married yet, and she said, “No, she is not married, but she is back with us again, now.”Then he asked her to send the little boy ahead and tell the people that Corn was coming to live with them again. But first the little boy was to go to the doctor who was the father of Tobacco, and see if he and his daughter wanted Corn to return. If they did he would come, and if they did not he would stay away. And he wanted the boy to come right back and tell what answer he got.So the little boy went, and took some corn with him to the doctor, and said: “Corn sent me, and he wants your daughter, and he wants to know if you want him. If you do he will return, but if you do not he will turn back again. And he wants me to bring him word what you say.”And the mahkai said “I have nothing to say against him. I guess he knows the people want corn. Go and tell him to come.”And Corn said: “Go back to the doctor and tell him to make a little kee, as quick as he can, and to get the people to help him, and to cover it with mats instead of bushes, and to let Tobacco go there and stay there till I come.And tell all the people to sweep their houses, and around their houses, and if anything in their houses is broken, such as pots,vahs-hroms, to turn them right side up. For I am coming back openly; there will be no secret about it.”So the little boy went back and told the doctor all that Corn had told him to say, and the doctor and the people built the kee, and Tobacco went there, and the people swept their houses and around them as they were told.And before sunset the woman came home with the corn and pumpkins she had cooked at the mountain, but Corn staid out till it was evening.And when evening came there was a black cloud where Corn stood, and soon it began to rain corn, and every little while a big pumpkin would come down,bump. And it rained corn and pumpkins all night, while Corn and his bride were in their kee, and in the morning the people went out and gathered up the corn from the swept place around their houses.And so Corn and Pumpkin came back again.The people gathered up all the corn aroundtheir houses, and all their vessels, even their broken ones, which they had turned up, were full, and their houses were soon packed full of corn and pumpkins.So Corn lived there with his wife, and after a while Tobacco had a baby, and it was a little crooked-necked pumpkin, such as the Pimas call a dog-pumpkin.And when the child had grown a little, one day its father and mother went out to work in the garden, and they put the little pumpkin baby behind a mat leaning against the wall. And some children, coming in, found it there, and began to play with it for a doll, carrying it on their backs as they do their dolls. And finally they dropped it and broke its neck.And when Corn came back and found his baby was broken he was angry, and left his wife, and went east again, and staid there awhile, and then bethought him of his pets, the blackbirds, which he had left behind, and came back to his wife again.But after awhile he again went east, taking his pets with him, scattering grains of corn so that the blackbirds would follow him.Corn made this speech while he was in the kee with Tobacco:In the East there is the Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, where lives the great doctor, the king fisher.And I came toBives-chool, the king fisher,and asked him for power, and he heard me asking, and flew up on his kee, and looked toward the West, and breathed the light four times, and flew and breathed again four times, and so on—flying four times and breathing after each flight four times, and then he sat over a place in the ground that was cut open.And in the West there was a Bluebird, and when I asked him for power he flew up on his kee, and breathed four times, and then flew toward the East, and he and Biveschool met at the middle of the earth.And Biveschool asked the Bluebird to do some great thing to show his power, and the Bluebird took the blue grains of corn from his breast and then planted them, and they grew up into beautiful tall corn, so tall its tops touched the sky and its leaves bowed over and scratched the ground in the wind.And Biveschool took white seeds from his breast, and planted them, and they came up, and were beautiful to be seen, and came to bear fruit that lay one after another on the vine—these were pumpkins.And the beautiful boys ran around among these plants, and learned to shout and learned to whistle, and the beautiful girls ran around among these plants and learned to whistle.And the relatives heard of these good years, and the plenty to eat, and there came a relative leading her child by the hand, who said: “Wewill go right on, for our relatives must have plenty to eat, and we shall not always suffer with hunger.So these came, but did not eat it all, but returned.So my relatives, think of this, that we shall not suffer with hunger always.”And Corn made another speech at that time to Tobacco’s father:“Doctor! Doctor! have you seen that this earth that you have made is burning! The mountains are crumbling, and all kinds of trees are burning down.And the people over the land which you have made run around, and have forgotten how to shout, and have forgotten how to walk, since the ground is so hot and burning.And the birds which you have made have forgotten how to fly, and have forgotten how to sing.And when you found this out you held up the long pinion feathers,mah-cheev-a-duck, toward the East, and there came the long clouds one after the other.And there in those clouds there were low thunderings, and they spread over the earth, and watered all the plants, and the roots of all the trees; and everything was different from what it had been.Every low place and every valley was crooked, but the force of the watersstraightenedthem out, and there was driftwood on all theshores: and after it was over every low place and every valley had foam in its mouth.And in the mouth stood the Doctor, and took the grains from his breast, and planted them, and the corn grew and was beautiful. And he went on further, to another low valley, and planted other seeds, and the pumpkin grew and was beautiful.And its vine to the West was black and zigzag in form, and to the South was blue and zigzag in form, and to the East was white and zigzag in form, and to the North was yellow and zigzag in form.So everything came up, and there was plenty to eat, and the people gathered it up, and the young boys and girls ate and were happy, and the old men and the old women ate and lengthened even their few days.So think of this, my relatives, and know that we are not to suffer with hunger always.”And the Dog-Pumpkin Baby lay there broken, after Corn went away, but after awhile sank down and went to Gahkotekih, and grew up there, and became the Harsan or Giant Cactus.And the mother and grandfathercouldnot find the Dog-Pumpkin Baby, and called the people together, and Toehahvs was asked to find it, and he smelled around where it had been, and went around in circles.And he came to where the Giant Cactus was and thought it was the baby, but was not sure,and so came back, and told them he could not find it.And they wanted Nooee to go, and Toehahvs said to Nooee: “I did see something, but I was not quite sure, but I want you to examine that Giant Cactus.”So Nooee flew around and around and examined the Giant Cactus and came back, and when the people questioned him said: “I have found it and it is already full-grown, and I tell you I think something good will happen to us because of it.”And when the Cactus had fruit the people gathered it, and madetis-win, and took the seeds and spread them out in the sun.And the Badger stole these seeds, and when the people knew it they sent Toehahvs after thethief.And Toehahvs went and saw Badger ahead of him in the road, and saw him go out and around and come into the road again and come toward him.And when they met, Toehahvs asked him what he had in his hand. And Badger said “I have something, but I’m not going to show you!”Then Toehahvs said: “If you’ll only just open your hand, so I can see, I’ll be satisfied.”And Badger opened his hand, and Toehahvs hit it a slap from below, and knocked the seeds all around, and that is why the giant cactus is now so scattered.Notes on the Story of Corn and TobaccoIn the Story of Corn and Tobacco we touch the superstitions about rain, the most desired thing in the desert. The mahkais used tobacco in their incantations, both for curing sickness and for making rain. It would appear that the Piman mind confused clouds of smoke and clouds of vapor, and because tobacco made clouds it was probably supposed to be potent in begetting rain. The Pimas told me that the Doctor’s Square Stone was used in the incantations for rain, and there appears to have been a connection in Piman thought between feathers and clouds, and therefore between feathers and rain, and it will be noticed that when Geeheesop went to get Tobacco’s help in making rain he took feathers and both kinds of Doctor-stone.This story seems to profess to give the origin of tobacco, giant cactus and of tiswin.1Read before the Anthropological Society of Philadelphia, May 11, 1904.The Story of the Children of CloudThere was a woman who lived in the mountains, who was very beautiful, and had many suitors, but she never married anyone.And one day she was making mats of cane; and she fell asleep and a rain came and a drop fell on her navel.And she had twin babies, and all the men claimed them, but when the babies were old enuf to crawl she told all the claimants to get in a circle, and she would put the babies in the middle, and if they crawled up to any man he would be the father.But the babies climbed upon nobody,andshe never married.And when these twin boys were old enuf their mother showed them a cloud in the east, and said: “That is your father, and his name is Cloud, and the Wind is your uncle, your father’s older brother.”But the children paid little attention, but when they got older they asked their mother if they could go and see their father. And their mother let them go.And they went, and came to a house, and the man who lived there asked them where they were going, and they said they were looking for their father, whose name was Cloud.And the man pointed to the next house, andsaid: “That man, there, is your father.”And they went to that man, but he said: “It is not so. He is your father. He is Cloud,” and sent them back again.But the first man sent them back once more to the second, who was really Cloud.And Cloud said, that time; “I wonder if it is so that you are my children!”And the boys said: “That is what they say.”And Cloud said: “I want you to do something to prove it.”Then the oldest boy thundered loud and lightened, and the other lightened a little, and Cloud said, “It is true, you are my children!”And before night Cloud fed them, and then went into his kee and shut it up and left them outside all night. And it rained and snowed all night, but they staid outside.And in the morning Cloud came out, and said: “It is really so, that you are my children.”And the next night he took them to a pond, where there was ice, and left them there all night. And the next day, when he came there and found they had staid in the water all night he said: “It is really so—you are my children.”So Cloudacknowledgedthem for his children and took them into his kee. And after awhile the boys wanted to go back to their mother,and Cloud said: “You may go, but you must not speak to anybody on the way. And I will be with you on the journey.”So the boys started, and cloud was over them, in the sky, shadowing them.And after a while they saw a man coming, and the younger boy said: “We must ask him how our mother is.”But the older brother said: “Don’t you remember that our father told us not to speak to anyone?”The younger said: “Yes, I remember, but it would not be right not ask how our mother is.”So when the man came the boy asked: “How is everybody at home, and how is the old woman, our mother?”And then the cloud above them lightened and thundered, and they were both turned into century plants.Notes on the Story of CloudIn Emory’s report, before alluded to, also in Captain Johnston’s, we find variants of The Story of the Children of Cloud. Thristy Hawk, the Maricopa, told Emory “that in bygone days a woman of surpassing beauty resided in a green spot in the mountains, near where we were encamped. All the men admired and paid court to her. She received the tributes of their devotion, grain, skins, etc., but gave no love or other favor in return. Her virtue and her determination to remain unmarried were equally firm. There came a drought which threatened the world with famine. In their distress, people applied to her, and she gave corn from her stock, and the supply seemed endless.... One day as she was lying asleep with her body exposed, a drop of rain fell on her stomach, which produced conception. A son was the issue, who was the founder of a new race which built all these houses” (ruins, vahahkkees).Johnston has it: “The general asked a Pima who made the house I had seen. ‘It is the Caza de Montezuma,’said he, ‘it was built by the son of the most beautiful woman, who once dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair, and all the handsome men came to court her, but in vain; when they came, they paid tribute, and out of this small store she fed all the people in time of distress, and it did not diminish; at last, as she lay asleep, a drop of rain fell upon her navel, and she became pregnant, and brought forth a boy, who was the builder of all these houses.”The seeneeyawkum gives her twins but knew nothing of any story of their children or of these buildings, the vahahkkees.The Story of Tcheunassat SeevenStcheuadack Seeven wanted to gamble with Tcheunassat Seeven, who lived at Kawtkee Oyyeeduck, and sent a man with an invitation to come and play against him, and bring all his wives.And Tcheunassat Seeven said: “I will go, for my wives are used to travelling, and we will take food, and will camp on the road, and day after tomorrow, about evening, we will be there.”So the messenger went back with this word, and in the morning Tcheunassat Seeven got his lunch ready, and he and his wives started; and the first night camped at Odchee, and the next day came to the little mountain, near Blackwater, calledSahn-a-mik, and they crossedAk-kee-mull, The River, the Gila, there, and Tcheunassat Seeven told his wives to wash their hair and clean themselves there, and then he told them to go ahead to Stcheuadack Seeven while he took his bath. And while he bathed they went on and came to Stcheuadack Seeven’s house, where he was singing and his wives dancing.Then the wives of Tcheunassat Seeven did not ask for invitation, but went right in and joined the dance, and went to Stcheuadack Seeven and took hold of his hand in the dance, pushing each other away to get it.And Stcheuadack Seeven thought from this that he would get all of Tcheunassat Seeven’s wives away from him.Tcheunassat Seeven, after his bath, cut a piece of oapot wood and sharpened it, and split the other end into four pieces, and bent them over and tied the ends of crow’s feathers to them, and stuck it in his hair, and dipped his finger in white paint and made one little spot over each eye, which was all the paint he used, and then he went and watched his wives dancing and taking Stcheuadack Seeven’s hand.And Stcheuadack Seeven asked them if that was their husband, and they said: “Yes, he is our husband. He is not very good-looking, but we care so much for him.”Tcheunassat Seeven watched the dancing awhile and then stepped back a little and took out his rattle and began to sing. And at once everybody crowded around him, and all his wives came back to him, and finally all Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives came and contended for his hand, as his wives had been doing with Stcheuadack Seeven.And this went on into the night, all dancing and having a good time, except Stcheuadack Seeven, who walked around looking at his wives dancing.And finally he sent a message to the most beautiful of his wives (who had a beautiful daughter) and told him to tell her: “I am sleepy,and I want you home now, and I want all my wives to go into the house.”And she said: “I will come. I will tell my daughter, who is over there, and then we will come home.”But she did not tell her daughter, and did not come home, and Stcheuadack Seeven waited awhile, and then found his messenger and asked him: “Did you tell her?”And the messenger said: “I did.”And he said: “Tell her again that I am waiting outside here, and I want her to come to me and we will go home.”Then the messenger told the woman again, but she did not come, and Stcheuadack Seeven wandered around outside till morning.And near morning Tcheunassat Seeven sang abeautifulsong, and began to move toward his own home, dancing all the way, and all the women going before him.And he did this till morning, and then stopped, and went home, taking all his own wives and all of Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives with him.And Stcheuadack Seeven went home, when he saw this, and took his beautiful cloak all covered with live butterflies and humming-birds, and lay down, covering himself with it.But four days after, Stcheuadack Seeven told the messenger to take this beautiful cloak toTcheunassatSeeven, and ask him to send back that beautiful wife and her daughter, and to keepthe rest of the wives; and to keep the cloak and use that to marry more wives.ButTcheunassatSeeven said to the messenger: “Tell him I do not want his cloak. I have one just like it, and I have all I want, and I will not send back any of his wives. It was his wish that we should gamble, and if he had been the better singer and had won my wives I would not have asked for any of them back.”And now Tcheunassat Seeven appeared as a beautiful person, with long hair and turquoise ear-rings, and he said: “He need not think I always look as I did when I came to his dance. That was only to fool him.”The beautiful daughter of the beautiful wife grew up, and Tcheunassat Seeven married her, too, and she had a baby.And when Stcheuadack Seeven heard of it, he said: “I am going to punish him.” And he made a black spider and sent it thru the air.And in the evening when the mother wanted to air her baby’s cradle, she took it out, and then the black spider got in the baby’s cradle and hid himself, and when the baby was put back the spider bit it, and it began to cry.And its father and mother tried to pacify it, but could not, and when they took it out of the cradle, there they found the black spider.And Tcheunassat Seeven sent word toStcheuadackSeeven to come and see his grand-child, which was about to die, but Stcheuadack Seevensaid to the messenger: “What is the matter with Tcheunassat Seeven? He is a powerful doctor. Tell him to cure the child. I will not come. The bite of a black spider is poisonous, but it never kills anybody.Tell him to get some weeds on Maricopa Mountain and cure the child.” And he sent the messenger back again.AndTcheunassatSeeven said: “How can I get those weeds when I do not know which ones are right and there are so many! I cannot go.”And he did not go, and the child died.A Song of Tcheunassat SeevenThere stands a dead vahahkkeeOn top of it there runs back and forth the SeevenAnd he has a robe with yellow hand prints on it.The Lark’s Song about his Lost Wife1My poor wife!In the West she seems to be bound by the song of the Bamboo.1This is a Pima flute-song, a record of which I obtained for my phonograph while in Arizona. It has no direct connection with the legends; but illustrates the Story of Tcheunassat Seeven a little, as it is about a woman, the wife of an Indian named the Lark, who is led away by the seductive singing of another Indian named the Bamboo; the Indians having an idea that women were most easily seduced by music. The Pimas, when they speak English, calling the wild cane bamboo.The Legend of BlackwaterAlittle off from the road between Sacaton, and Casa Grande Ruins there is, or was in the old days, a mysterious pool of dark water, which the Indians regarded with superstitious awe.They said it was of fathomless depth, that it communicated with the ocean, and that strange, monstrous animals at times appeared in it. There are Indians still living who declare they have seen them with their own eyes.I visited this famous place once with my interpreter, Mr Wood. After galloping a while thru a mezquite forest we suddenly emerged upon its legendary shores.Alas, for the prosaic quality of fact! It was but a common-place water-hole, or spring-pond, a few rods across, with bogs and bulrushes in its center.The unkindness of irrigation ditches, withdrawing its waters, revealed that like most bottomless pools of story it was very shallow indeed.It was nearly dry.Its name of Blackwater has been given to the nearbysurroundingdistrict.This was the only trace of the common Indian superstition of water monsters I found among the Pimas.Koo-a KutchThe End

Stories of the Fourth NightThe Story of the Gambler’s WarAnd after this, for a long time, there was peace toward the Apaches, but it happened, once, that two brothers of the country went to gamble with the Awup, playing the game calledwaw-pah-teein which the gamblers guess in which piece of cane a little ball is hidden.And one of the brothers, after losing all his goods, bet his brother and lost him, and then bet the different parts of his own body, leaving his heart to the last, and finally wagered his heart against all his previous bets, saying it was worth more than they, and hoping so to recover all, but he lost that also.And when the game was ended the Apaches killed his brother, but allowed him to walk away, and he returned to his own land.But all the way he would see his brother’s tracks, and whenever he stopped to camp he would see his brother’s body, where it lay, and how he looked, lying there dead; and when he got home he felt so sad he cried aloud, but no one paid any attention to him.And when he got home his folks gave him food to eat, and water to drink, but he would neither eat nor drink, feeling so sad about his brother, and he took nothing for four days.But on the fifth day he went out and soughtthe cool shade of trees to forget his brother, and went upon the hills and stood there, but he could not forget; and then, in coming down, he fell down and went to sleep.And in his sleep his brother came to him, and he seemed to know him, but when he tried to put his arms around his brother he woke up and found he was not there.And he went home and ate, and then made this speech:—“My pitiful relatives, I will pity you and you will pity me.This spread-out-thing, the world, is covered with feathers, because of my sadness, and the mountains are covered with soft feathers.Over these the sun comes, but gives me no light, I am so sad.And the night comes, and has no darkness to rest me, because my eyes are open all night.(This has happened to me, O all my relatives.)And it was my own bones that I raked up, and with them made a fire that showed me theoppositeland, the Land of the Enemy.(This was done, my relatives.)The sticks I cut for the number of days were my own sinews, cut and bound together.It was my own rib that I used as aneev-a-dah-kote, or fire rubbing stick.It was my own bowels that I used for a belt.And it was my scalp, and my own hair, that I used for sandals.It was my own skull that I filled with my own blood, and drank from, and talked like a drunkard.And I wandered where the ashes are dumped, and I wandered over the hills, and I found it could be done, and went to the shadows of the trees and found the same thing.On the level ground I fell, and the Sun, the Traveller, was overhead, and from above my brother came down, and I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.And I thought I was holding all sadness, but there was a yet stronger sadness, for my brother came down and stood on my breast, and the tears fell down and watered the ground.And I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.And this was my desire, that I should go to the powerful woman, and I reached her quietly where she lived.And I spoke to her this way:‘You were living over there.You are the person who makes a hoop for her gyihhaw from the Apaches’ bow, and with their arrows makes the back-stop, theoam-muck, and with their blood you color the gyihhaw prettily; and you split the arrow-heads and make from them theov-a-nuck, and tie it in with the Apaches’ hair, weaving the hair to the left and then binding it on.’And this way I spoke to her.And then she gave me good news of the weakness of the Apaches and I ran out full of joy.And from there I rose up and reached the Feather-Nested Doctor, Quotaveech, and I spoke to him this way:‘And you belong here.And you make the ribs of your kee from the Apache bows, and you tie the arrows across with the bow strings, and with the sinews of their bows you tie them.And with the robes of the Apaches, and with their head-wear, and with their moccasins, you cover the kee instead of with arrow weeds.And inside, at the four corners, there are hung locks of Apaches’ hair, and at the corners are the stumps of the cane-tube pipes, smoking themselves, and forming the smoke into all colors of flowers—white and glittering and gray and yellow.’And this way I spoke to him, and he gave me the good news of the weakness of the Apaches.And I came down and went Southward to the other doctor, calledVahk-lohn Mahkaiand there I reached him.And this way I spoke to him:‘And here is where you belong.The Apache bow you make into the likeness of the pretty rainbow, and the arrows you make into the likeness of the white-headed grass.And the fore shaft of the arrows you turn into water moss, and the arrows into resemblance of flat clay.And the hair of the Apaches you make into likeness of clouds.’And this way I spoke to him, and he told me the news of the weakness of the Apaches.And I ran out of the house, and went westward, and found the old woman doctor,Tawquahdahmawks.And I said to her:‘You belong here.And you make the bow of the Apaches into the hoop of the game theAw-aw-bopp, the Maricopas, play, the rolling hoop that they throw sticks after.And their arrows you flatten up with your teeth, and wear around your brows like a crown.And the fore shafts of the arrows you have split, and painted red with the Apache blood, and made into gainskoot, the dice sticks.And the Apache hair you make into a skirt.’And this way I spoke to her, and she told me the thought of the two different peoples, the Awawtam and the Awup, that they were enemies, and she told me this, and I went out from there and strengthened myself four times.And I spread the news when I got home, and set thedoctorover it.And there was the stump of the doctor’s pipe standing there, and smoking itself, and I imbibed it, and smoked it toward the enemy, and the smoke changed into different colors of flowers, white, glittering, grey and yellow, and reached the edge of the earth, the land of the Apache, and circled around there.And it softened the earth, and brought fresh grass, and fresh leaves on the trees, so that the Apaches would be gathered together.And my western famous enemy went and told his son to go to his uncle, to see if it was so that there was plenty of grass and plenty of things to eat there.And his son went and said: ‘My father sent me to find out about these things,’and his uncle said: ‘It is so what he has heard, that we have plenty of things to eat, and all kinds of game, and that is what I eat.You go back and tell the old man to come, so that I will be with him here.’So the boy went and told the old man this, and he got up and put on his nose-ring of turquoise, and took his cake of paint, and his locks of hair, and his pouch.After he got everything together he started out and camped for one night, and arriving at his destination the next morning, after the sun rose, came to his brother and called him, ‘Brother!’ with a loud voice.And the next morning the brother got up and went hunting, and found a dead deer, and brought it home, and called it fresh meat, and they ate it together.But instead of eating deer they ate themselves up.And their skins became like sick person’s skin, and their hair became coarse, and their eyes were sore, and they became lousy, and were so weakthat they left their hands beneath their heads when they scratched themselves lying down.And the brother’s wife went and gathered seed to eat, and found it easy to gather, without husks, and thought to enjoy eating it, but when she ate it she ate her own lice, and her skin became as a sick person’s skin, her hair became coarse, her person lousy, her eyes sore.And my enemy in the far east heard about food being so plenty to eat there, and sent his son to ask his uncle if these reports were so.And his father got up and took his war-bonnet of eagle-feathers, and his moccasins, and, using his power, brought even his wind and his clouds and his rainbow with him, and all his crops, for tho he had plenty at home hethoughtto find more at his brother’s place.And, camping one night on the road, he came to his brother, after sunrise, and called him ‘Brother’ with a loud voice.And everything happened to this enemy from the east, and his brother, and brother’s wife, that had happened to the enemy from the west and his brother and brother’s wife.And I found the Apache enemy early in the morning, lying asleep,still needing his blanket, and covering himself up, and captured him without trouble.And there I captured all his property, and took from him captives and many scalps, and my way coming back seemed to be down hill, and I strengthened myself and came to the level ground.And when I came to the hollow where I drank, the water rippled from my moving it.And I appointed messengers to go ahead and tell those at home, the old men and women waiting to hear of us, the good news of our victory.And after sending on the messengers I went on, rejoicing, carrying the consciousness of my victory over the Apaches with me; and arriving home at evening I found the land filled with the news, even the tops of the hills covered.And I told my people to send word to our western relatives, and to our southern relatives, and our eastern relatives, that the good news might be known to all.”After this he called the people together for war, and the first evening they camped a man prophesied, and said:“Now we have heard our war-speech, and are on our way, and I foresee the way beautiful with flowers, even the big trees covered with flowers,andI can see that we come to the enemy and conquerthemeasily.And the road to the east is lined with white flowers, and the Apaches, seeing it, rejoice also, with smiles, thinking it for their good, but really it is for their destruction, for it is made so by the power of our doctors.And in the middle of the earth, between us and the enemy, stood the Cane-Tube Pipe and smoked itself.I inhaled the smoke and blew it out toward the East, and saw the smoke rising till it reached theVahahkkee of Light, and up still till it reached the Cane of Light.And I took that cane and punched it at the corner of the Vahahkkee, and out came the White Water and the White Wasps, and the wasps flew around it four times and then they went down again.And then in the South I saw the Blue Vahahkkee, and the Blue Cane, and I took the cane and punched it into the corner of the vahahkkee, and there came out Blue Water and Blue Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then sank down again.And in the West there stood the Black Vahahkkee, and the Black Cane, and I took the cane and punched at the corner, and there came out Black Water and Black Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.And in the North stood the Yellow Vahahkkee, and the Yellow Cane, and I took the cane and punched it at the corner, and there came out Yellow Water and Yellow Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.And on top of this vahahkkee was a Yellow Spider, and I asked him to help me, and he stretched his web four times, and there found my enemy.And there he bound his heart with his web, and bound his arms, and bound his bow and his arrows, and left him there in the state of a woman, with nothing to defend himself with.And he pushed me toward where he had left him, and I captured him very easily, and all his property, and all his children.You, my relatives, may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”And they camped out another night, and another one spoke, and he said:“I was lying in ashes, and praying the distant mountains for strength, and the far doctors for power.And there was a Sun that rose from the east and followed the western road.And all the four-footed animals met together and called themselves relatives, and all the birds met together and called themselves relatives, and in this order followed the Sun.And the Sun rose again, and brought me theSee-hee-vit-tahFeather, the Sunbeam, to wear on my head, and hugged me up to him.And the Sun rose again, and brought the Blue Fog, and in the fog took me toward the enemy.But instead of taking me to the enemy it took me up into the sky, to the Yellow Crow.And the Yellow Crow, as a powerful mahkai, went down to the enemy and divided their land four times, and slew the human beings, and painted the rocks over beautifully with their blood.And from there I went to the Yellow Spider, living on the back of the mound at the North, and asked him to help me.And he stretched his web four times, and found my enemy, and bound him, and pushed me toward him, and I took him, and all his, captive, and came home rejoicing.So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory. You may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”And they went toward the mountains where the Apaches live, and camped there, and there were empty Apache houses there, and one of them spoke using himself figuratively as a type of his people:“Perhaps these Apaches have gone from here to my house, and have killed me and have dragged me thru the waters we passed coming here, and have beaten me with all the sticks we saw on the road, and have thrown ashes over me, and maybe these are my bones that lie here, and this dry blood is my blood.This has been done, my relatives, and there in the East is a Vahahkkee of Light, and within it there is a Butcher-bird of Light.And I asked the Butcher-bird for power, and he followed his Road of Light, and touched the ground four times with his tail, and came to me.And he went on the road that is lighted by a mahkai, and following that reached my enemy.And my enemy thought himself a good dreamer, and that his dreams were fulfilled for good, and that he had a good bow with a good string, and good cane arrows, but the Butcher-bird had alreadypunched his eyes out without his knowing it.And all the animals and birds of the Apaches think they have good eyes to see with, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.And the winds of the Apaches think they have sharp eyes, and the clouds of the Apaches think themselves sharp-eyed, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.So he treated the enemy like that, and left him there as a woman, and then pushed me toward him, and I went and captured him easily.And I gathered all the property, and all the captives, and, turning back, looked ahead of me and found the country all springy with water, and wasps flying, and I followed them.And ahead of me was a road with many flowers, and a butterfly that beautifully spread itself open and led the way, and I followed.And I brought the dead enemy home, and from there the news spread all over my country.So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory.And you may not like the sound of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over our enemy.”Notes on the Story of the Gambler’s WarIn this we are given wonderful glimpses into the strange, fierce, sad, extravagant poetry of the Indian speeches, which seem oftenest inspired by the passion of revenge. Notice that in these stories, if several speeches are given in any one story, they generally have a quite similar ending, a sort of refrain: “So, my relatives,” etc.This story ends abruptly, and is, I think, manifestly only a fragment. Following the speeches, which were mere boastful prophecies, should have been an account in detail of the actual campaign, as in the story of Pahtahnkum’s war.The Story of NahvahchooEe-ee-toy was once wandering along when he found some moss that had been left there ever since the flood, and he stood and looked at it, wondering how he could make it into a human being.And while he watched it the sun breathed on it, and it became not a man, but a turtle.And he wandered on again and found some driftwood, and while he stood wondering how to make it into a human being, the sun breathed on it, and it became a man, but he could not see its face, which was covered as with a mask.And the turtle and the masked man, thus created, went westward, and came to a Blue Vahahkkee, and they went in and staid all night.In the morning, when the sun rose, they were frightened at the blue beams that shone thru the vahahkkee, and they left.And after going a little way they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds flew over them to keep them from being seen.And they came to a Black Night. In that night was a Black Bow, which stretched as if it were going to shoot them, so that they were afraid to lie down all night.And the next day they came to a Blue Road, and a flock of Blue Birds flew over them, and all around, striking them.After a while they came to a Blue Night, and in the night was a Blue Bow, which stretched itself threateningly at them, as the Black Bow had done the night before.And they could not sleep for fear that night, either; and the next day they came to a White Road, and a flock of White Birds followed them, striking them.And they came to a White Night, and in that night was a White Bow, which threatened them as the others had done, so that again they could not sleep.And the next day they had a similar experience, only it was a Yellow Road, with Yellow Birds, and a Yellow Night with a Yellow Bow.The next day there was no danger any more, and they went on and came to a mountain,Co-so-vah-taw-up-kih, or Twisted Neck Mountain, and there the Nahvahchoo (masked man), having run ahead, left the turtle behind, and when evening came sat down and waited for the turtle to come up. But the turtle was too far behind, and when night came stopped where he was, and made a fire, and made corn and pumpkins, and roasted the corn and set the pumpkins around the fire, as the Indians do, to scorch them before putting them in the ashes.And Nahvahchoo heard the popping sound of the cooking, and came running back, and tried to steal a piece of the fire to have one of his own, but the turtle would not let him. And so theNahvahchoo went off and made a fire of his own, and corn and pumpkins of his own, and cooked them as the turtle had done.In the morning, after they had feasted on the pumpkin and corn, the turtle,Wee-hee-kee-nee, sank down and went under the earth to the ocean, and made that his home, and Nahvahchoo sank down and went in the same direction, but not so far, coming up on the sea shore.And Nahvahchoo went along the sea-shore, toward the east, till he came to a great deal of driftwood, and many flowers, and handled all these, and got their strength, and made his home in the east.One day Nahvahchoo heard the earth shaking, and ran out of his house to try and find where the shaking came from, and he went south and did not feel it, and went west and felt it a little, and went north and felt it more. And so he ran back and put on his mask, and took his bow, and went north. And the first time he stopped and listened he heard it somewhat, and the next time he heard it more, and the third time still more, and the fourth time he came to where many people were singing the songWah-hee-hee-vee, and dancing the danceVee-pee-nim, in which the dancers wear gourd masks, on their faces, pierced full of little holes to let the light thru.And they were dancing, too, the danceKawk-spahk-kum, in which the dancers wear a cloth mask, like Nahvahchoo, with a little gourd, full of holes, over the mouth-hole, to sing thru.And they were dancing also the danceTawt-a-kum, in which the dancer wears a bonnet of cloth, and a mask like Nahvahchoo does.And the people sitting around in these dances had little rods which they rubbed upon notched sticks, in time to the singing and the dancing.At first Nahvahchoo was greatly excited by all this dancing, for all these people seemed to do nothing else but sing and dance, and make the rods and notched sticks and stand them up in bunches; but after a few days he began to think of game, for he was a great hunter, and he went out and found the tracks of a deer.And measuring these with his arrow he laughed, covering his mouth with his hand, and said: “This deer will not run very fast, I could catch him myself.” For a deer that measures a good way between his tracks is long-bodied, and cannot run fast, while a deer that measures short between tracks has a short body, and jumps quicker.And he followed the deer, which heard him coming, and began to run, and when Nahvahchoo saw by its tracks that it was running, he ran, too, and getting on a hill saw the dust of its running away off; and he ran after it, and when he came to the next hill it was close, and he ran down, and killed it, and took it back to the singers, and they fell ravenously upon it and ate it all up, not leaving him even the bones.Nahvahchoo sat off a little way and watched them, and one of their speakers addressed him,and said: “We know you, who you are. You are a great doctor, and a great hunter, and a great farmer, and a powerful man every way. And maybe you expected us to join in your hunt and help you carry the game. But we want you to join us, and become a singer, and you will have plenty of corn and beans to eat, and you will find that such food will last, while, as you see, the game, when you bring it in, lasts but a little while.”So Nahvahchoo staid with them and became a singer, and after a while the people told him to go to a certain vahahkkee, and said: “You will find something there with which you will be pleased. And then go to the opposite one, and you will find that with which you will be still more pleased.And one of these vahahkkees was calledSee-pook(Red-bird) Vahahkkee and the other was namedWah-choo-kook-kee(Oriole) Vahahkkee.—But tho they told him to go to these they did not allow him to do so, but one day he slipped away, when they were not looking, and opened one, and saw in it many wonderful things, clouds forming and sprinkling all the time; and in the other it was the same.And one was covered with red flowers, and the other with yellow flowers, and where they came together the mingling of red and yellow was very pretty.At the door of each vahahkkee was a corn-mill.And he stole one of these and went west. But after a while he stopped and said: “I wonder what is going to happen, for the east is all green and the west is of the same color.”But he ran on, and the clouds came over him, and it began to sprinkle, and then to rain, and then the water began to run, and get deeper and deeper, and he said:“This is happening to me because I stole this mill, but I am not going to let it go, I am going to keep it.”And he ran on and came to where he had separated from Weeheekeenee, and went on and over Cosovahtawupkih, the Twisted Neck Mountain.And on that mountain he felt rather faint, and put his hand in his pouch and found a root and chewed it, the rootCheek-kuh-pool-tak, and breathed it out, and it stopped raining.And he went on to the Quojata Mountain, and sat there and took a smoke; and then on to Ahn-naykum; and then to Odchee, where he left the mill; and then toKee-ahk Toe-ahk, where he also rested and took a smoke; and then he went home.And when Nahvahchoo arrived home he made a speech:“Where shall we hear the talk that will make us drunk and dizzy with the flowers of eloquence?There was near the water the driftwood lying, and from above the sun breathed down and a being was made.And it was the beautiful daybreak that I took and wiped its face with, and the remains of darkness that I painted its face with.And there were all kinds of bird’s feathers that I made a feather bonnet from.And there were joining wasps that came and flapped on the bonnet.And there were many butterflies that flapped their wings upon the bonnet, upon its feathers.And it was from the rainbow that I made its bow, and from the Milky Way that I made its arrow.From a red skin it was that I made itssaw-suh-buh, to cover its arm for the bow-string not to injure it.And it was a redkuess-kotethat I made and put in its hair to scratch with.And it was the gray fog that I fastened in its shoulders for its mantle.And the strong wind it was that I used for its girdle, around its waist.In the middle of the earth lay a square water moss, and the sun breathed on it and it turned into a creature, a turtle.And from there the Driftwood-Being went west with it.From there they went westward and watched the sun rise in the Blue Vahahkkee, and were frightened, and returned.From there they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds followed them, and to a Black Night wherein a Black Bow frightened them.And from there they came to a Blue Road, with Blue Birds following, and to a Blue Night with a Blue Bow to frighten them.And from there they came to a White Road with White Birds following, and a White Night with a White Bow to threaten them.And the next day it was a Yellow Road and Yellow Birds, and after that a Yellow Night and a Yellow Bow.And there was a square water full of ice, and he went around it four times.And there he found Seepook Vahahkkee, with its red flowers, and Wahchookookkee Vahahkkee with its yellow flowers, and there he got the everlasting corn-mill, and went westward and strengthened himself four times.And as he went westward there came a wind which felt good and refreshed him, and pleasant clouds that sprinkled him with water, and then there was rain, and the rattling of running water, and he went on his road rejoicing.And he reached the Twisted Neck Mountain, and there he felt faint a little, and took from his pouch the root Cheekkuhpooltak, and chewed it, and breathed it out, and was refreshed and went on.And he refreshed himself four times and went on, and found Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, and there he gave his power to the people who were gathered together, and said: ‘My relatives, I want you to think of this, that our country will be more beautiful and produce more, because you know our country will not hereafter be what it has been’.”And he made another speech:“It was after the creation of the earth, and there was a mud vahahkkee, and inside of it lay a piece of wood burning at one end, and by it stood a cane-tube pipe, smoking, and we inhaled the smoke, and then we saw things clearer and talked about them.In the West there was a Black Mocking Bird, and from him I asked power, and he brought the news and spread it over all the earth, and to every hill and every mountain and every tree, that the earth would stand still, but it did not, it still moved.(And you, Black Mocking Bird, take back your Black Winds, and your Black Clouds, and stay where you are, and your relatives may sometimes come to you for power.)And in the South there was a Blue Mocking Bird, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and over every hill and every mountain, and to every tree, that the earth stood still, but it did not, it still moved.In the East was a Mocking Bird of Light, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and to every hill, mountain and tree, that the earth stood still, but it still moved.And Above there was darkness, where lived the Feather Nested Doctor, who is famous for his power, and I asked him for power, and he spread the news, as the others had done, but the earth still moved.And in the North lived a Yellow Spider, and I asked him for power, and he stretched his news, and made his web, and tied the earth up with it, and made a fringe like a blanket fringe at each corner, and laid his arrows over it.The fringe at the West corner he made black, and covered it with the Black Vahahkkee to hold it down; and he put the blue fringe at the South corner, and over it the Blue Vahahkkee to hold it down, and he put the black arrows over the BlackVahahkkee,and the blue arrows over the BlueVahahkkee.And in the East he put theVahahkkeeof Light over the fringe and the arrows of light over it.And after all this was done the earth stood still.And after this is done you are carried away like a child, and are set down facing the East, and your heart comes out towards it, and can be seen going up and down till it reaches it.And over the land your seed shall spring up and grow, and have good stalks and many flowers, and have good wide leaves and heads of good seeds.And after the seed is ripe they will take it and put it away and grind it with sunbeams, and the boys and girls shall eat and be happy, and all the old men and women shall eat it and lengthen their lives.”Notes on the Story of NahvahchooThe story of Nahvahchoo was celebrated till lately among the Pimas by dancing games, resembling those described in this story, the players wearing masks and gourds, and rattling notched sticks, one of them impersonating Nahvahchoo himself.In the reference to the earth’s moving, in one of the speeches, one might suspect a glimpse of true astronomical knowledge, but this is likely only a poetic figure.The “everlasting corn will” reminds a little of the old folk-lore tale of the everlasting salt mill whose continuous grinding makes the ocean salt.The Story of Corn and Tobacco1There was a powerful mahkai who had a daughter, who, tho old enuf, was unmarried, and who grew tired of her single life and asked her father to bury her, saying, we will see then if the men will care for me.And from her grave grew the plant tobacco, and her father took it and smoked it and when the people who were gathered together smelled it they wondered what it was, and sent Toehahvs to find out.But, altho the tobacco still grew, the woman came to life again and came out of her grave back to her home.And one day she played gainskoot with Corn, and Corn beat her, and won all she had. But she gave some little things she did not care for to Corn, and the rest of her debt she did not pay, and they quarreled.She told Corn to go away, saying; “Nobody cares for you, now, but they care a great deal for me, and the doctors use me to make rain, and when they have moistened the ground is the only time you can come out.”And the Corn said: “You don’t know how much the people like me; the old as well as the young eat me, and I don’t think there is a person thatdoes not like me.” And Corn told Tobacco to go away herself.There were people there who heard them quarreling, and tho Tobacco staid on, whenever she would be in a house and hear people laughing she would think they were laughing at her. And she became very sad, and one day sank down in her house and went westward and came to a house there.And the person who lived there told her where to sleep, saying, “Many people stop here, and that is where they sleep.”But she said: “I am travelling, and no one knows where I am, and if any one follows me, and comes here, you tell them that you saw me, that I left very early in the morning and you do not know which way I went.” And she told him that she did not know herself which way she would go, and at night, when she went to bed, she brought a strong wind, and when she wanted to leave she sank down and went westward, and the wind blew away all her tracks.And she came to the Mohaves and lived there in a high mountain,Cheof Toe-ahk, or tall mountain, which has a cliff very hard to climb, but Tobacco stood up there.And after Tobacco had gone, Corn remained, but when corn-planting time came none was planted, because there was no rain. And so it went on—all summer, and people began to say: “It is so, when Tobacco was here, we had plenty ofrain, and now we have not any, and she must have had wonderful power.”And the people scolded Corn for sending Tobacco away, and told him to go away himself, and then they sent for Tobacco to come back, that they might have rain again.And Corn left, going toward the east, singing all the way, taking Pumpkin with him, who was singing too, saying they were going where there was plenty of moisture.And the next year there was no water, and a powerful doctor,Gee-hee-sop, took the Doctor’s Stone of Light, and the Doctor’s Square Stone, and some soft feathers, and eagle’s-tail feathers, and went to where Tobacco lived, asking her to come back, saying “We are all suffering for water, and we know you have power to make it rain, And every seed buried in the ground is begging for water, and likely to be burned up, and every tree is suffering, and I want you to come.”Then Tobacco said: “What has become of Corn? He is still with you, and corn is what you ought to eat, and everybody likes it, but nobody cares for me, except perhaps some old man who likes to smoke me, and I do not want to go back, and I am not going!”But Geeheesop said: “Corn is not there now, he has gone away, and we do not know where he is.” And again he asked Tobacco to come back but she refused, but gave him four balls of tobacco seed and said to him: “Take thesehome with you, and take the dirt of the tobacco-worm, and roll it up, and put it in a cane-tube and smoke it all around, and you will have rain, and then plant the seed, and in four days it will come up; and when you get the leaves, smoke them, and call on the winds, and you will have clouds and plenty of rain.”So Geeheesop went home with the seed balls, and tobacco-worm dirt, and did as Tobacco had told him; and the smoking of the dirt brought rain, and the seeds were planted in a secret place, and in four days came up, and grew for a while, but finally were about to die for want of rain.ThenGeeheesopgot some of the leaves and smoked them, and the wind blew, and rain came, and the plants revived and grew till they were ripe.When the tobacco was ripe Geeheesop gathered a lot of the leaves and filled with them one of the gourd-like nests which the woodpecker,koh-daht, makes in thehar-san, or giant-cactus, and then took a few of these and put them in a cane-tube pipe, orwatch-kee, and went to where the people gathered in the evening.And the doctor who was the father of Tobacco said: “What is this I smell? There is something new here!”And one said, “Perhaps it is some greens that I ate today that you smell,” and he breathed toward him.But the mahkai said, “That is not it.”And others breathed toward him, but he could not smell it.Then Geeheesop rolled a coal toward himself, and lit up his pipe, and the doctor said: “This is what I smelled!”And Geeheesop, after smoking a few whiffs, passed the pipe around to the others, and all smoked it, and when it came back to him he stuck it in the ground.And the next night he came with a new pipe to the place of meeting, but the father of Tobacco said: “Last night I had a smoke, but I did not feel good after it.”And all the others said: “Why we smoked and enjoyed it.”But the man who had eaten the greenskah-tee-kum, the day before, said: “He does not mean that he did not enjoy the smoke, but something else troubled him after it, and I think it was that when we passed the pipe around we did not say ‘My relatives,’ ‘brother,’ or ‘cousin,’ or whatever it was, but passed it quietly without using any names.”And Tobacco’s father said “Yes, that is what I mean.”(And from that time on all the Pimas smoked that way when they came together, using a cane-tube pipe, or making a long cigarette of corn-husk and tobacco, and passing it around among relatives.)So Geeheesop lit his pipe and passed it aroundin the way to satisfy the doctor.And the people saved the seeds of that tobacco, and to day it is all over the land.And the Corn and the Pumpkin had gone east, and for many years they lived there, and the people they had left had no corn, and no pumpkins; but after a while they returned of themselves, and came first to the mountain Tahtkum, and lived there a while, and then crossed the river and lived near Blackwater, at the place calledToeahk-Comalk, or White Thin Mountain, and from there went and lived awhile at Gahkotekih or, as it is now called, Superstition Mountain.While they lived at Gahkotekih there was a woman living near there at a place calledkawt-kee oy-ee-duckwho, with her younger brother, went to Gahkotekih to gather and roast the white cactus, and while they were doing this Corn saw them from the mountain and came down.And the boy saw him and said: “I think that is my uncle coming,” but his sister said,“It cannot be, for he is far away. If he were here the people would not be starving as now.”But the boy was right, it was his uncle, and Corn came to them and staid with them while the cactus was baking. And after awhile, as he sat aside, he would shoot an arrow up in the air, and it would fall whirling where the cooking was, and he would go and pick it up.Finally he said to the woman: “Would younot better uncover the corn and see if it is cooked yet?” And she said: “It is not corn, it is cactus.”Again, after a while, he said: “Would you not better uncover the pumpkin and see if it is done?” And she replied: “It is not pumpkin, we are baking, it is cactus.” But finally he said “Well, uncover it anyway,” and she uncovered it, and there were corn and pumpkin there, together, all nicely mixed and cooked, and she sat staring at it, and he told her to uncover it more, and she did so and ate some of it.And then he asked about the Tobacco woman, if she were married yet, and she said, “No, she is not married, but she is back with us again, now.”Then he asked her to send the little boy ahead and tell the people that Corn was coming to live with them again. But first the little boy was to go to the doctor who was the father of Tobacco, and see if he and his daughter wanted Corn to return. If they did he would come, and if they did not he would stay away. And he wanted the boy to come right back and tell what answer he got.So the little boy went, and took some corn with him to the doctor, and said: “Corn sent me, and he wants your daughter, and he wants to know if you want him. If you do he will return, but if you do not he will turn back again. And he wants me to bring him word what you say.”And the mahkai said “I have nothing to say against him. I guess he knows the people want corn. Go and tell him to come.”And Corn said: “Go back to the doctor and tell him to make a little kee, as quick as he can, and to get the people to help him, and to cover it with mats instead of bushes, and to let Tobacco go there and stay there till I come.And tell all the people to sweep their houses, and around their houses, and if anything in their houses is broken, such as pots,vahs-hroms, to turn them right side up. For I am coming back openly; there will be no secret about it.”So the little boy went back and told the doctor all that Corn had told him to say, and the doctor and the people built the kee, and Tobacco went there, and the people swept their houses and around them as they were told.And before sunset the woman came home with the corn and pumpkins she had cooked at the mountain, but Corn staid out till it was evening.And when evening came there was a black cloud where Corn stood, and soon it began to rain corn, and every little while a big pumpkin would come down,bump. And it rained corn and pumpkins all night, while Corn and his bride were in their kee, and in the morning the people went out and gathered up the corn from the swept place around their houses.And so Corn and Pumpkin came back again.The people gathered up all the corn aroundtheir houses, and all their vessels, even their broken ones, which they had turned up, were full, and their houses were soon packed full of corn and pumpkins.So Corn lived there with his wife, and after a while Tobacco had a baby, and it was a little crooked-necked pumpkin, such as the Pimas call a dog-pumpkin.And when the child had grown a little, one day its father and mother went out to work in the garden, and they put the little pumpkin baby behind a mat leaning against the wall. And some children, coming in, found it there, and began to play with it for a doll, carrying it on their backs as they do their dolls. And finally they dropped it and broke its neck.And when Corn came back and found his baby was broken he was angry, and left his wife, and went east again, and staid there awhile, and then bethought him of his pets, the blackbirds, which he had left behind, and came back to his wife again.But after awhile he again went east, taking his pets with him, scattering grains of corn so that the blackbirds would follow him.Corn made this speech while he was in the kee with Tobacco:In the East there is the Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, where lives the great doctor, the king fisher.And I came toBives-chool, the king fisher,and asked him for power, and he heard me asking, and flew up on his kee, and looked toward the West, and breathed the light four times, and flew and breathed again four times, and so on—flying four times and breathing after each flight four times, and then he sat over a place in the ground that was cut open.And in the West there was a Bluebird, and when I asked him for power he flew up on his kee, and breathed four times, and then flew toward the East, and he and Biveschool met at the middle of the earth.And Biveschool asked the Bluebird to do some great thing to show his power, and the Bluebird took the blue grains of corn from his breast and then planted them, and they grew up into beautiful tall corn, so tall its tops touched the sky and its leaves bowed over and scratched the ground in the wind.And Biveschool took white seeds from his breast, and planted them, and they came up, and were beautiful to be seen, and came to bear fruit that lay one after another on the vine—these were pumpkins.And the beautiful boys ran around among these plants, and learned to shout and learned to whistle, and the beautiful girls ran around among these plants and learned to whistle.And the relatives heard of these good years, and the plenty to eat, and there came a relative leading her child by the hand, who said: “Wewill go right on, for our relatives must have plenty to eat, and we shall not always suffer with hunger.So these came, but did not eat it all, but returned.So my relatives, think of this, that we shall not suffer with hunger always.”And Corn made another speech at that time to Tobacco’s father:“Doctor! Doctor! have you seen that this earth that you have made is burning! The mountains are crumbling, and all kinds of trees are burning down.And the people over the land which you have made run around, and have forgotten how to shout, and have forgotten how to walk, since the ground is so hot and burning.And the birds which you have made have forgotten how to fly, and have forgotten how to sing.And when you found this out you held up the long pinion feathers,mah-cheev-a-duck, toward the East, and there came the long clouds one after the other.And there in those clouds there were low thunderings, and they spread over the earth, and watered all the plants, and the roots of all the trees; and everything was different from what it had been.Every low place and every valley was crooked, but the force of the watersstraightenedthem out, and there was driftwood on all theshores: and after it was over every low place and every valley had foam in its mouth.And in the mouth stood the Doctor, and took the grains from his breast, and planted them, and the corn grew and was beautiful. And he went on further, to another low valley, and planted other seeds, and the pumpkin grew and was beautiful.And its vine to the West was black and zigzag in form, and to the South was blue and zigzag in form, and to the East was white and zigzag in form, and to the North was yellow and zigzag in form.So everything came up, and there was plenty to eat, and the people gathered it up, and the young boys and girls ate and were happy, and the old men and the old women ate and lengthened even their few days.So think of this, my relatives, and know that we are not to suffer with hunger always.”And the Dog-Pumpkin Baby lay there broken, after Corn went away, but after awhile sank down and went to Gahkotekih, and grew up there, and became the Harsan or Giant Cactus.And the mother and grandfathercouldnot find the Dog-Pumpkin Baby, and called the people together, and Toehahvs was asked to find it, and he smelled around where it had been, and went around in circles.And he came to where the Giant Cactus was and thought it was the baby, but was not sure,and so came back, and told them he could not find it.And they wanted Nooee to go, and Toehahvs said to Nooee: “I did see something, but I was not quite sure, but I want you to examine that Giant Cactus.”So Nooee flew around and around and examined the Giant Cactus and came back, and when the people questioned him said: “I have found it and it is already full-grown, and I tell you I think something good will happen to us because of it.”And when the Cactus had fruit the people gathered it, and madetis-win, and took the seeds and spread them out in the sun.And the Badger stole these seeds, and when the people knew it they sent Toehahvs after thethief.And Toehahvs went and saw Badger ahead of him in the road, and saw him go out and around and come into the road again and come toward him.And when they met, Toehahvs asked him what he had in his hand. And Badger said “I have something, but I’m not going to show you!”Then Toehahvs said: “If you’ll only just open your hand, so I can see, I’ll be satisfied.”And Badger opened his hand, and Toehahvs hit it a slap from below, and knocked the seeds all around, and that is why the giant cactus is now so scattered.Notes on the Story of Corn and TobaccoIn the Story of Corn and Tobacco we touch the superstitions about rain, the most desired thing in the desert. The mahkais used tobacco in their incantations, both for curing sickness and for making rain. It would appear that the Piman mind confused clouds of smoke and clouds of vapor, and because tobacco made clouds it was probably supposed to be potent in begetting rain. The Pimas told me that the Doctor’s Square Stone was used in the incantations for rain, and there appears to have been a connection in Piman thought between feathers and clouds, and therefore between feathers and rain, and it will be noticed that when Geeheesop went to get Tobacco’s help in making rain he took feathers and both kinds of Doctor-stone.This story seems to profess to give the origin of tobacco, giant cactus and of tiswin.1Read before the Anthropological Society of Philadelphia, May 11, 1904.The Story of the Children of CloudThere was a woman who lived in the mountains, who was very beautiful, and had many suitors, but she never married anyone.And one day she was making mats of cane; and she fell asleep and a rain came and a drop fell on her navel.And she had twin babies, and all the men claimed them, but when the babies were old enuf to crawl she told all the claimants to get in a circle, and she would put the babies in the middle, and if they crawled up to any man he would be the father.But the babies climbed upon nobody,andshe never married.And when these twin boys were old enuf their mother showed them a cloud in the east, and said: “That is your father, and his name is Cloud, and the Wind is your uncle, your father’s older brother.”But the children paid little attention, but when they got older they asked their mother if they could go and see their father. And their mother let them go.And they went, and came to a house, and the man who lived there asked them where they were going, and they said they were looking for their father, whose name was Cloud.And the man pointed to the next house, andsaid: “That man, there, is your father.”And they went to that man, but he said: “It is not so. He is your father. He is Cloud,” and sent them back again.But the first man sent them back once more to the second, who was really Cloud.And Cloud said, that time; “I wonder if it is so that you are my children!”And the boys said: “That is what they say.”And Cloud said: “I want you to do something to prove it.”Then the oldest boy thundered loud and lightened, and the other lightened a little, and Cloud said, “It is true, you are my children!”And before night Cloud fed them, and then went into his kee and shut it up and left them outside all night. And it rained and snowed all night, but they staid outside.And in the morning Cloud came out, and said: “It is really so, that you are my children.”And the next night he took them to a pond, where there was ice, and left them there all night. And the next day, when he came there and found they had staid in the water all night he said: “It is really so—you are my children.”So Cloudacknowledgedthem for his children and took them into his kee. And after awhile the boys wanted to go back to their mother,and Cloud said: “You may go, but you must not speak to anybody on the way. And I will be with you on the journey.”So the boys started, and cloud was over them, in the sky, shadowing them.And after a while they saw a man coming, and the younger boy said: “We must ask him how our mother is.”But the older brother said: “Don’t you remember that our father told us not to speak to anyone?”The younger said: “Yes, I remember, but it would not be right not ask how our mother is.”So when the man came the boy asked: “How is everybody at home, and how is the old woman, our mother?”And then the cloud above them lightened and thundered, and they were both turned into century plants.Notes on the Story of CloudIn Emory’s report, before alluded to, also in Captain Johnston’s, we find variants of The Story of the Children of Cloud. Thristy Hawk, the Maricopa, told Emory “that in bygone days a woman of surpassing beauty resided in a green spot in the mountains, near where we were encamped. All the men admired and paid court to her. She received the tributes of their devotion, grain, skins, etc., but gave no love or other favor in return. Her virtue and her determination to remain unmarried were equally firm. There came a drought which threatened the world with famine. In their distress, people applied to her, and she gave corn from her stock, and the supply seemed endless.... One day as she was lying asleep with her body exposed, a drop of rain fell on her stomach, which produced conception. A son was the issue, who was the founder of a new race which built all these houses” (ruins, vahahkkees).Johnston has it: “The general asked a Pima who made the house I had seen. ‘It is the Caza de Montezuma,’said he, ‘it was built by the son of the most beautiful woman, who once dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair, and all the handsome men came to court her, but in vain; when they came, they paid tribute, and out of this small store she fed all the people in time of distress, and it did not diminish; at last, as she lay asleep, a drop of rain fell upon her navel, and she became pregnant, and brought forth a boy, who was the builder of all these houses.”The seeneeyawkum gives her twins but knew nothing of any story of their children or of these buildings, the vahahkkees.The Story of Tcheunassat SeevenStcheuadack Seeven wanted to gamble with Tcheunassat Seeven, who lived at Kawtkee Oyyeeduck, and sent a man with an invitation to come and play against him, and bring all his wives.And Tcheunassat Seeven said: “I will go, for my wives are used to travelling, and we will take food, and will camp on the road, and day after tomorrow, about evening, we will be there.”So the messenger went back with this word, and in the morning Tcheunassat Seeven got his lunch ready, and he and his wives started; and the first night camped at Odchee, and the next day came to the little mountain, near Blackwater, calledSahn-a-mik, and they crossedAk-kee-mull, The River, the Gila, there, and Tcheunassat Seeven told his wives to wash their hair and clean themselves there, and then he told them to go ahead to Stcheuadack Seeven while he took his bath. And while he bathed they went on and came to Stcheuadack Seeven’s house, where he was singing and his wives dancing.Then the wives of Tcheunassat Seeven did not ask for invitation, but went right in and joined the dance, and went to Stcheuadack Seeven and took hold of his hand in the dance, pushing each other away to get it.And Stcheuadack Seeven thought from this that he would get all of Tcheunassat Seeven’s wives away from him.Tcheunassat Seeven, after his bath, cut a piece of oapot wood and sharpened it, and split the other end into four pieces, and bent them over and tied the ends of crow’s feathers to them, and stuck it in his hair, and dipped his finger in white paint and made one little spot over each eye, which was all the paint he used, and then he went and watched his wives dancing and taking Stcheuadack Seeven’s hand.And Stcheuadack Seeven asked them if that was their husband, and they said: “Yes, he is our husband. He is not very good-looking, but we care so much for him.”Tcheunassat Seeven watched the dancing awhile and then stepped back a little and took out his rattle and began to sing. And at once everybody crowded around him, and all his wives came back to him, and finally all Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives came and contended for his hand, as his wives had been doing with Stcheuadack Seeven.And this went on into the night, all dancing and having a good time, except Stcheuadack Seeven, who walked around looking at his wives dancing.And finally he sent a message to the most beautiful of his wives (who had a beautiful daughter) and told him to tell her: “I am sleepy,and I want you home now, and I want all my wives to go into the house.”And she said: “I will come. I will tell my daughter, who is over there, and then we will come home.”But she did not tell her daughter, and did not come home, and Stcheuadack Seeven waited awhile, and then found his messenger and asked him: “Did you tell her?”And the messenger said: “I did.”And he said: “Tell her again that I am waiting outside here, and I want her to come to me and we will go home.”Then the messenger told the woman again, but she did not come, and Stcheuadack Seeven wandered around outside till morning.And near morning Tcheunassat Seeven sang abeautifulsong, and began to move toward his own home, dancing all the way, and all the women going before him.And he did this till morning, and then stopped, and went home, taking all his own wives and all of Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives with him.And Stcheuadack Seeven went home, when he saw this, and took his beautiful cloak all covered with live butterflies and humming-birds, and lay down, covering himself with it.But four days after, Stcheuadack Seeven told the messenger to take this beautiful cloak toTcheunassatSeeven, and ask him to send back that beautiful wife and her daughter, and to keepthe rest of the wives; and to keep the cloak and use that to marry more wives.ButTcheunassatSeeven said to the messenger: “Tell him I do not want his cloak. I have one just like it, and I have all I want, and I will not send back any of his wives. It was his wish that we should gamble, and if he had been the better singer and had won my wives I would not have asked for any of them back.”And now Tcheunassat Seeven appeared as a beautiful person, with long hair and turquoise ear-rings, and he said: “He need not think I always look as I did when I came to his dance. That was only to fool him.”The beautiful daughter of the beautiful wife grew up, and Tcheunassat Seeven married her, too, and she had a baby.And when Stcheuadack Seeven heard of it, he said: “I am going to punish him.” And he made a black spider and sent it thru the air.And in the evening when the mother wanted to air her baby’s cradle, she took it out, and then the black spider got in the baby’s cradle and hid himself, and when the baby was put back the spider bit it, and it began to cry.And its father and mother tried to pacify it, but could not, and when they took it out of the cradle, there they found the black spider.And Tcheunassat Seeven sent word toStcheuadackSeeven to come and see his grand-child, which was about to die, but Stcheuadack Seevensaid to the messenger: “What is the matter with Tcheunassat Seeven? He is a powerful doctor. Tell him to cure the child. I will not come. The bite of a black spider is poisonous, but it never kills anybody.Tell him to get some weeds on Maricopa Mountain and cure the child.” And he sent the messenger back again.AndTcheunassatSeeven said: “How can I get those weeds when I do not know which ones are right and there are so many! I cannot go.”And he did not go, and the child died.A Song of Tcheunassat SeevenThere stands a dead vahahkkeeOn top of it there runs back and forth the SeevenAnd he has a robe with yellow hand prints on it.The Lark’s Song about his Lost Wife1My poor wife!In the West she seems to be bound by the song of the Bamboo.1This is a Pima flute-song, a record of which I obtained for my phonograph while in Arizona. It has no direct connection with the legends; but illustrates the Story of Tcheunassat Seeven a little, as it is about a woman, the wife of an Indian named the Lark, who is led away by the seductive singing of another Indian named the Bamboo; the Indians having an idea that women were most easily seduced by music. The Pimas, when they speak English, calling the wild cane bamboo.The Legend of BlackwaterAlittle off from the road between Sacaton, and Casa Grande Ruins there is, or was in the old days, a mysterious pool of dark water, which the Indians regarded with superstitious awe.They said it was of fathomless depth, that it communicated with the ocean, and that strange, monstrous animals at times appeared in it. There are Indians still living who declare they have seen them with their own eyes.I visited this famous place once with my interpreter, Mr Wood. After galloping a while thru a mezquite forest we suddenly emerged upon its legendary shores.Alas, for the prosaic quality of fact! It was but a common-place water-hole, or spring-pond, a few rods across, with bogs and bulrushes in its center.The unkindness of irrigation ditches, withdrawing its waters, revealed that like most bottomless pools of story it was very shallow indeed.It was nearly dry.Its name of Blackwater has been given to the nearbysurroundingdistrict.This was the only trace of the common Indian superstition of water monsters I found among the Pimas.Koo-a KutchThe End

The Story of the Gambler’s WarAnd after this, for a long time, there was peace toward the Apaches, but it happened, once, that two brothers of the country went to gamble with the Awup, playing the game calledwaw-pah-teein which the gamblers guess in which piece of cane a little ball is hidden.And one of the brothers, after losing all his goods, bet his brother and lost him, and then bet the different parts of his own body, leaving his heart to the last, and finally wagered his heart against all his previous bets, saying it was worth more than they, and hoping so to recover all, but he lost that also.And when the game was ended the Apaches killed his brother, but allowed him to walk away, and he returned to his own land.But all the way he would see his brother’s tracks, and whenever he stopped to camp he would see his brother’s body, where it lay, and how he looked, lying there dead; and when he got home he felt so sad he cried aloud, but no one paid any attention to him.And when he got home his folks gave him food to eat, and water to drink, but he would neither eat nor drink, feeling so sad about his brother, and he took nothing for four days.But on the fifth day he went out and soughtthe cool shade of trees to forget his brother, and went upon the hills and stood there, but he could not forget; and then, in coming down, he fell down and went to sleep.And in his sleep his brother came to him, and he seemed to know him, but when he tried to put his arms around his brother he woke up and found he was not there.And he went home and ate, and then made this speech:—“My pitiful relatives, I will pity you and you will pity me.This spread-out-thing, the world, is covered with feathers, because of my sadness, and the mountains are covered with soft feathers.Over these the sun comes, but gives me no light, I am so sad.And the night comes, and has no darkness to rest me, because my eyes are open all night.(This has happened to me, O all my relatives.)And it was my own bones that I raked up, and with them made a fire that showed me theoppositeland, the Land of the Enemy.(This was done, my relatives.)The sticks I cut for the number of days were my own sinews, cut and bound together.It was my own rib that I used as aneev-a-dah-kote, or fire rubbing stick.It was my own bowels that I used for a belt.And it was my scalp, and my own hair, that I used for sandals.It was my own skull that I filled with my own blood, and drank from, and talked like a drunkard.And I wandered where the ashes are dumped, and I wandered over the hills, and I found it could be done, and went to the shadows of the trees and found the same thing.On the level ground I fell, and the Sun, the Traveller, was overhead, and from above my brother came down, and I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.And I thought I was holding all sadness, but there was a yet stronger sadness, for my brother came down and stood on my breast, and the tears fell down and watered the ground.And I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.And this was my desire, that I should go to the powerful woman, and I reached her quietly where she lived.And I spoke to her this way:‘You were living over there.You are the person who makes a hoop for her gyihhaw from the Apaches’ bow, and with their arrows makes the back-stop, theoam-muck, and with their blood you color the gyihhaw prettily; and you split the arrow-heads and make from them theov-a-nuck, and tie it in with the Apaches’ hair, weaving the hair to the left and then binding it on.’And this way I spoke to her.And then she gave me good news of the weakness of the Apaches and I ran out full of joy.And from there I rose up and reached the Feather-Nested Doctor, Quotaveech, and I spoke to him this way:‘And you belong here.And you make the ribs of your kee from the Apache bows, and you tie the arrows across with the bow strings, and with the sinews of their bows you tie them.And with the robes of the Apaches, and with their head-wear, and with their moccasins, you cover the kee instead of with arrow weeds.And inside, at the four corners, there are hung locks of Apaches’ hair, and at the corners are the stumps of the cane-tube pipes, smoking themselves, and forming the smoke into all colors of flowers—white and glittering and gray and yellow.’And this way I spoke to him, and he gave me the good news of the weakness of the Apaches.And I came down and went Southward to the other doctor, calledVahk-lohn Mahkaiand there I reached him.And this way I spoke to him:‘And here is where you belong.The Apache bow you make into the likeness of the pretty rainbow, and the arrows you make into the likeness of the white-headed grass.And the fore shaft of the arrows you turn into water moss, and the arrows into resemblance of flat clay.And the hair of the Apaches you make into likeness of clouds.’And this way I spoke to him, and he told me the news of the weakness of the Apaches.And I ran out of the house, and went westward, and found the old woman doctor,Tawquahdahmawks.And I said to her:‘You belong here.And you make the bow of the Apaches into the hoop of the game theAw-aw-bopp, the Maricopas, play, the rolling hoop that they throw sticks after.And their arrows you flatten up with your teeth, and wear around your brows like a crown.And the fore shafts of the arrows you have split, and painted red with the Apache blood, and made into gainskoot, the dice sticks.And the Apache hair you make into a skirt.’And this way I spoke to her, and she told me the thought of the two different peoples, the Awawtam and the Awup, that they were enemies, and she told me this, and I went out from there and strengthened myself four times.And I spread the news when I got home, and set thedoctorover it.And there was the stump of the doctor’s pipe standing there, and smoking itself, and I imbibed it, and smoked it toward the enemy, and the smoke changed into different colors of flowers, white, glittering, grey and yellow, and reached the edge of the earth, the land of the Apache, and circled around there.And it softened the earth, and brought fresh grass, and fresh leaves on the trees, so that the Apaches would be gathered together.And my western famous enemy went and told his son to go to his uncle, to see if it was so that there was plenty of grass and plenty of things to eat there.And his son went and said: ‘My father sent me to find out about these things,’and his uncle said: ‘It is so what he has heard, that we have plenty of things to eat, and all kinds of game, and that is what I eat.You go back and tell the old man to come, so that I will be with him here.’So the boy went and told the old man this, and he got up and put on his nose-ring of turquoise, and took his cake of paint, and his locks of hair, and his pouch.After he got everything together he started out and camped for one night, and arriving at his destination the next morning, after the sun rose, came to his brother and called him, ‘Brother!’ with a loud voice.And the next morning the brother got up and went hunting, and found a dead deer, and brought it home, and called it fresh meat, and they ate it together.But instead of eating deer they ate themselves up.And their skins became like sick person’s skin, and their hair became coarse, and their eyes were sore, and they became lousy, and were so weakthat they left their hands beneath their heads when they scratched themselves lying down.And the brother’s wife went and gathered seed to eat, and found it easy to gather, without husks, and thought to enjoy eating it, but when she ate it she ate her own lice, and her skin became as a sick person’s skin, her hair became coarse, her person lousy, her eyes sore.And my enemy in the far east heard about food being so plenty to eat there, and sent his son to ask his uncle if these reports were so.And his father got up and took his war-bonnet of eagle-feathers, and his moccasins, and, using his power, brought even his wind and his clouds and his rainbow with him, and all his crops, for tho he had plenty at home hethoughtto find more at his brother’s place.And, camping one night on the road, he came to his brother, after sunrise, and called him ‘Brother’ with a loud voice.And everything happened to this enemy from the east, and his brother, and brother’s wife, that had happened to the enemy from the west and his brother and brother’s wife.And I found the Apache enemy early in the morning, lying asleep,still needing his blanket, and covering himself up, and captured him without trouble.And there I captured all his property, and took from him captives and many scalps, and my way coming back seemed to be down hill, and I strengthened myself and came to the level ground.And when I came to the hollow where I drank, the water rippled from my moving it.And I appointed messengers to go ahead and tell those at home, the old men and women waiting to hear of us, the good news of our victory.And after sending on the messengers I went on, rejoicing, carrying the consciousness of my victory over the Apaches with me; and arriving home at evening I found the land filled with the news, even the tops of the hills covered.And I told my people to send word to our western relatives, and to our southern relatives, and our eastern relatives, that the good news might be known to all.”After this he called the people together for war, and the first evening they camped a man prophesied, and said:“Now we have heard our war-speech, and are on our way, and I foresee the way beautiful with flowers, even the big trees covered with flowers,andI can see that we come to the enemy and conquerthemeasily.And the road to the east is lined with white flowers, and the Apaches, seeing it, rejoice also, with smiles, thinking it for their good, but really it is for their destruction, for it is made so by the power of our doctors.And in the middle of the earth, between us and the enemy, stood the Cane-Tube Pipe and smoked itself.I inhaled the smoke and blew it out toward the East, and saw the smoke rising till it reached theVahahkkee of Light, and up still till it reached the Cane of Light.And I took that cane and punched it at the corner of the Vahahkkee, and out came the White Water and the White Wasps, and the wasps flew around it four times and then they went down again.And then in the South I saw the Blue Vahahkkee, and the Blue Cane, and I took the cane and punched it into the corner of the vahahkkee, and there came out Blue Water and Blue Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then sank down again.And in the West there stood the Black Vahahkkee, and the Black Cane, and I took the cane and punched at the corner, and there came out Black Water and Black Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.And in the North stood the Yellow Vahahkkee, and the Yellow Cane, and I took the cane and punched it at the corner, and there came out Yellow Water and Yellow Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.And on top of this vahahkkee was a Yellow Spider, and I asked him to help me, and he stretched his web four times, and there found my enemy.And there he bound his heart with his web, and bound his arms, and bound his bow and his arrows, and left him there in the state of a woman, with nothing to defend himself with.And he pushed me toward where he had left him, and I captured him very easily, and all his property, and all his children.You, my relatives, may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”And they camped out another night, and another one spoke, and he said:“I was lying in ashes, and praying the distant mountains for strength, and the far doctors for power.And there was a Sun that rose from the east and followed the western road.And all the four-footed animals met together and called themselves relatives, and all the birds met together and called themselves relatives, and in this order followed the Sun.And the Sun rose again, and brought me theSee-hee-vit-tahFeather, the Sunbeam, to wear on my head, and hugged me up to him.And the Sun rose again, and brought the Blue Fog, and in the fog took me toward the enemy.But instead of taking me to the enemy it took me up into the sky, to the Yellow Crow.And the Yellow Crow, as a powerful mahkai, went down to the enemy and divided their land four times, and slew the human beings, and painted the rocks over beautifully with their blood.And from there I went to the Yellow Spider, living on the back of the mound at the North, and asked him to help me.And he stretched his web four times, and found my enemy, and bound him, and pushed me toward him, and I took him, and all his, captive, and came home rejoicing.So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory. You may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”And they went toward the mountains where the Apaches live, and camped there, and there were empty Apache houses there, and one of them spoke using himself figuratively as a type of his people:“Perhaps these Apaches have gone from here to my house, and have killed me and have dragged me thru the waters we passed coming here, and have beaten me with all the sticks we saw on the road, and have thrown ashes over me, and maybe these are my bones that lie here, and this dry blood is my blood.This has been done, my relatives, and there in the East is a Vahahkkee of Light, and within it there is a Butcher-bird of Light.And I asked the Butcher-bird for power, and he followed his Road of Light, and touched the ground four times with his tail, and came to me.And he went on the road that is lighted by a mahkai, and following that reached my enemy.And my enemy thought himself a good dreamer, and that his dreams were fulfilled for good, and that he had a good bow with a good string, and good cane arrows, but the Butcher-bird had alreadypunched his eyes out without his knowing it.And all the animals and birds of the Apaches think they have good eyes to see with, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.And the winds of the Apaches think they have sharp eyes, and the clouds of the Apaches think themselves sharp-eyed, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.So he treated the enemy like that, and left him there as a woman, and then pushed me toward him, and I went and captured him easily.And I gathered all the property, and all the captives, and, turning back, looked ahead of me and found the country all springy with water, and wasps flying, and I followed them.And ahead of me was a road with many flowers, and a butterfly that beautifully spread itself open and led the way, and I followed.And I brought the dead enemy home, and from there the news spread all over my country.So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory.And you may not like the sound of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over our enemy.”Notes on the Story of the Gambler’s WarIn this we are given wonderful glimpses into the strange, fierce, sad, extravagant poetry of the Indian speeches, which seem oftenest inspired by the passion of revenge. Notice that in these stories, if several speeches are given in any one story, they generally have a quite similar ending, a sort of refrain: “So, my relatives,” etc.This story ends abruptly, and is, I think, manifestly only a fragment. Following the speeches, which were mere boastful prophecies, should have been an account in detail of the actual campaign, as in the story of Pahtahnkum’s war.

The Story of the Gambler’s War

And after this, for a long time, there was peace toward the Apaches, but it happened, once, that two brothers of the country went to gamble with the Awup, playing the game calledwaw-pah-teein which the gamblers guess in which piece of cane a little ball is hidden.And one of the brothers, after losing all his goods, bet his brother and lost him, and then bet the different parts of his own body, leaving his heart to the last, and finally wagered his heart against all his previous bets, saying it was worth more than they, and hoping so to recover all, but he lost that also.And when the game was ended the Apaches killed his brother, but allowed him to walk away, and he returned to his own land.But all the way he would see his brother’s tracks, and whenever he stopped to camp he would see his brother’s body, where it lay, and how he looked, lying there dead; and when he got home he felt so sad he cried aloud, but no one paid any attention to him.And when he got home his folks gave him food to eat, and water to drink, but he would neither eat nor drink, feeling so sad about his brother, and he took nothing for four days.But on the fifth day he went out and soughtthe cool shade of trees to forget his brother, and went upon the hills and stood there, but he could not forget; and then, in coming down, he fell down and went to sleep.And in his sleep his brother came to him, and he seemed to know him, but when he tried to put his arms around his brother he woke up and found he was not there.And he went home and ate, and then made this speech:—“My pitiful relatives, I will pity you and you will pity me.This spread-out-thing, the world, is covered with feathers, because of my sadness, and the mountains are covered with soft feathers.Over these the sun comes, but gives me no light, I am so sad.And the night comes, and has no darkness to rest me, because my eyes are open all night.(This has happened to me, O all my relatives.)And it was my own bones that I raked up, and with them made a fire that showed me theoppositeland, the Land of the Enemy.(This was done, my relatives.)The sticks I cut for the number of days were my own sinews, cut and bound together.It was my own rib that I used as aneev-a-dah-kote, or fire rubbing stick.It was my own bowels that I used for a belt.And it was my scalp, and my own hair, that I used for sandals.It was my own skull that I filled with my own blood, and drank from, and talked like a drunkard.And I wandered where the ashes are dumped, and I wandered over the hills, and I found it could be done, and went to the shadows of the trees and found the same thing.On the level ground I fell, and the Sun, the Traveller, was overhead, and from above my brother came down, and I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.And I thought I was holding all sadness, but there was a yet stronger sadness, for my brother came down and stood on my breast, and the tears fell down and watered the ground.And I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.And this was my desire, that I should go to the powerful woman, and I reached her quietly where she lived.And I spoke to her this way:‘You were living over there.You are the person who makes a hoop for her gyihhaw from the Apaches’ bow, and with their arrows makes the back-stop, theoam-muck, and with their blood you color the gyihhaw prettily; and you split the arrow-heads and make from them theov-a-nuck, and tie it in with the Apaches’ hair, weaving the hair to the left and then binding it on.’And this way I spoke to her.And then she gave me good news of the weakness of the Apaches and I ran out full of joy.And from there I rose up and reached the Feather-Nested Doctor, Quotaveech, and I spoke to him this way:‘And you belong here.And you make the ribs of your kee from the Apache bows, and you tie the arrows across with the bow strings, and with the sinews of their bows you tie them.And with the robes of the Apaches, and with their head-wear, and with their moccasins, you cover the kee instead of with arrow weeds.And inside, at the four corners, there are hung locks of Apaches’ hair, and at the corners are the stumps of the cane-tube pipes, smoking themselves, and forming the smoke into all colors of flowers—white and glittering and gray and yellow.’And this way I spoke to him, and he gave me the good news of the weakness of the Apaches.And I came down and went Southward to the other doctor, calledVahk-lohn Mahkaiand there I reached him.And this way I spoke to him:‘And here is where you belong.The Apache bow you make into the likeness of the pretty rainbow, and the arrows you make into the likeness of the white-headed grass.And the fore shaft of the arrows you turn into water moss, and the arrows into resemblance of flat clay.And the hair of the Apaches you make into likeness of clouds.’And this way I spoke to him, and he told me the news of the weakness of the Apaches.And I ran out of the house, and went westward, and found the old woman doctor,Tawquahdahmawks.And I said to her:‘You belong here.And you make the bow of the Apaches into the hoop of the game theAw-aw-bopp, the Maricopas, play, the rolling hoop that they throw sticks after.And their arrows you flatten up with your teeth, and wear around your brows like a crown.And the fore shafts of the arrows you have split, and painted red with the Apache blood, and made into gainskoot, the dice sticks.And the Apache hair you make into a skirt.’And this way I spoke to her, and she told me the thought of the two different peoples, the Awawtam and the Awup, that they were enemies, and she told me this, and I went out from there and strengthened myself four times.And I spread the news when I got home, and set thedoctorover it.And there was the stump of the doctor’s pipe standing there, and smoking itself, and I imbibed it, and smoked it toward the enemy, and the smoke changed into different colors of flowers, white, glittering, grey and yellow, and reached the edge of the earth, the land of the Apache, and circled around there.And it softened the earth, and brought fresh grass, and fresh leaves on the trees, so that the Apaches would be gathered together.And my western famous enemy went and told his son to go to his uncle, to see if it was so that there was plenty of grass and plenty of things to eat there.And his son went and said: ‘My father sent me to find out about these things,’and his uncle said: ‘It is so what he has heard, that we have plenty of things to eat, and all kinds of game, and that is what I eat.You go back and tell the old man to come, so that I will be with him here.’So the boy went and told the old man this, and he got up and put on his nose-ring of turquoise, and took his cake of paint, and his locks of hair, and his pouch.After he got everything together he started out and camped for one night, and arriving at his destination the next morning, after the sun rose, came to his brother and called him, ‘Brother!’ with a loud voice.And the next morning the brother got up and went hunting, and found a dead deer, and brought it home, and called it fresh meat, and they ate it together.But instead of eating deer they ate themselves up.And their skins became like sick person’s skin, and their hair became coarse, and their eyes were sore, and they became lousy, and were so weakthat they left their hands beneath their heads when they scratched themselves lying down.And the brother’s wife went and gathered seed to eat, and found it easy to gather, without husks, and thought to enjoy eating it, but when she ate it she ate her own lice, and her skin became as a sick person’s skin, her hair became coarse, her person lousy, her eyes sore.And my enemy in the far east heard about food being so plenty to eat there, and sent his son to ask his uncle if these reports were so.And his father got up and took his war-bonnet of eagle-feathers, and his moccasins, and, using his power, brought even his wind and his clouds and his rainbow with him, and all his crops, for tho he had plenty at home hethoughtto find more at his brother’s place.And, camping one night on the road, he came to his brother, after sunrise, and called him ‘Brother’ with a loud voice.And everything happened to this enemy from the east, and his brother, and brother’s wife, that had happened to the enemy from the west and his brother and brother’s wife.And I found the Apache enemy early in the morning, lying asleep,still needing his blanket, and covering himself up, and captured him without trouble.And there I captured all his property, and took from him captives and many scalps, and my way coming back seemed to be down hill, and I strengthened myself and came to the level ground.And when I came to the hollow where I drank, the water rippled from my moving it.And I appointed messengers to go ahead and tell those at home, the old men and women waiting to hear of us, the good news of our victory.And after sending on the messengers I went on, rejoicing, carrying the consciousness of my victory over the Apaches with me; and arriving home at evening I found the land filled with the news, even the tops of the hills covered.And I told my people to send word to our western relatives, and to our southern relatives, and our eastern relatives, that the good news might be known to all.”After this he called the people together for war, and the first evening they camped a man prophesied, and said:“Now we have heard our war-speech, and are on our way, and I foresee the way beautiful with flowers, even the big trees covered with flowers,andI can see that we come to the enemy and conquerthemeasily.And the road to the east is lined with white flowers, and the Apaches, seeing it, rejoice also, with smiles, thinking it for their good, but really it is for their destruction, for it is made so by the power of our doctors.And in the middle of the earth, between us and the enemy, stood the Cane-Tube Pipe and smoked itself.I inhaled the smoke and blew it out toward the East, and saw the smoke rising till it reached theVahahkkee of Light, and up still till it reached the Cane of Light.And I took that cane and punched it at the corner of the Vahahkkee, and out came the White Water and the White Wasps, and the wasps flew around it four times and then they went down again.And then in the South I saw the Blue Vahahkkee, and the Blue Cane, and I took the cane and punched it into the corner of the vahahkkee, and there came out Blue Water and Blue Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then sank down again.And in the West there stood the Black Vahahkkee, and the Black Cane, and I took the cane and punched at the corner, and there came out Black Water and Black Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.And in the North stood the Yellow Vahahkkee, and the Yellow Cane, and I took the cane and punched it at the corner, and there came out Yellow Water and Yellow Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.And on top of this vahahkkee was a Yellow Spider, and I asked him to help me, and he stretched his web four times, and there found my enemy.And there he bound his heart with his web, and bound his arms, and bound his bow and his arrows, and left him there in the state of a woman, with nothing to defend himself with.And he pushed me toward where he had left him, and I captured him very easily, and all his property, and all his children.You, my relatives, may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”And they camped out another night, and another one spoke, and he said:“I was lying in ashes, and praying the distant mountains for strength, and the far doctors for power.And there was a Sun that rose from the east and followed the western road.And all the four-footed animals met together and called themselves relatives, and all the birds met together and called themselves relatives, and in this order followed the Sun.And the Sun rose again, and brought me theSee-hee-vit-tahFeather, the Sunbeam, to wear on my head, and hugged me up to him.And the Sun rose again, and brought the Blue Fog, and in the fog took me toward the enemy.But instead of taking me to the enemy it took me up into the sky, to the Yellow Crow.And the Yellow Crow, as a powerful mahkai, went down to the enemy and divided their land four times, and slew the human beings, and painted the rocks over beautifully with their blood.And from there I went to the Yellow Spider, living on the back of the mound at the North, and asked him to help me.And he stretched his web four times, and found my enemy, and bound him, and pushed me toward him, and I took him, and all his, captive, and came home rejoicing.So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory. You may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”And they went toward the mountains where the Apaches live, and camped there, and there were empty Apache houses there, and one of them spoke using himself figuratively as a type of his people:“Perhaps these Apaches have gone from here to my house, and have killed me and have dragged me thru the waters we passed coming here, and have beaten me with all the sticks we saw on the road, and have thrown ashes over me, and maybe these are my bones that lie here, and this dry blood is my blood.This has been done, my relatives, and there in the East is a Vahahkkee of Light, and within it there is a Butcher-bird of Light.And I asked the Butcher-bird for power, and he followed his Road of Light, and touched the ground four times with his tail, and came to me.And he went on the road that is lighted by a mahkai, and following that reached my enemy.And my enemy thought himself a good dreamer, and that his dreams were fulfilled for good, and that he had a good bow with a good string, and good cane arrows, but the Butcher-bird had alreadypunched his eyes out without his knowing it.And all the animals and birds of the Apaches think they have good eyes to see with, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.And the winds of the Apaches think they have sharp eyes, and the clouds of the Apaches think themselves sharp-eyed, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.So he treated the enemy like that, and left him there as a woman, and then pushed me toward him, and I went and captured him easily.And I gathered all the property, and all the captives, and, turning back, looked ahead of me and found the country all springy with water, and wasps flying, and I followed them.And ahead of me was a road with many flowers, and a butterfly that beautifully spread itself open and led the way, and I followed.And I brought the dead enemy home, and from there the news spread all over my country.So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory.And you may not like the sound of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over our enemy.”Notes on the Story of the Gambler’s WarIn this we are given wonderful glimpses into the strange, fierce, sad, extravagant poetry of the Indian speeches, which seem oftenest inspired by the passion of revenge. Notice that in these stories, if several speeches are given in any one story, they generally have a quite similar ending, a sort of refrain: “So, my relatives,” etc.This story ends abruptly, and is, I think, manifestly only a fragment. Following the speeches, which were mere boastful prophecies, should have been an account in detail of the actual campaign, as in the story of Pahtahnkum’s war.

And after this, for a long time, there was peace toward the Apaches, but it happened, once, that two brothers of the country went to gamble with the Awup, playing the game calledwaw-pah-teein which the gamblers guess in which piece of cane a little ball is hidden.

And one of the brothers, after losing all his goods, bet his brother and lost him, and then bet the different parts of his own body, leaving his heart to the last, and finally wagered his heart against all his previous bets, saying it was worth more than they, and hoping so to recover all, but he lost that also.

And when the game was ended the Apaches killed his brother, but allowed him to walk away, and he returned to his own land.

But all the way he would see his brother’s tracks, and whenever he stopped to camp he would see his brother’s body, where it lay, and how he looked, lying there dead; and when he got home he felt so sad he cried aloud, but no one paid any attention to him.

And when he got home his folks gave him food to eat, and water to drink, but he would neither eat nor drink, feeling so sad about his brother, and he took nothing for four days.

But on the fifth day he went out and soughtthe cool shade of trees to forget his brother, and went upon the hills and stood there, but he could not forget; and then, in coming down, he fell down and went to sleep.

And in his sleep his brother came to him, and he seemed to know him, but when he tried to put his arms around his brother he woke up and found he was not there.

And he went home and ate, and then made this speech:—

“My pitiful relatives, I will pity you and you will pity me.

This spread-out-thing, the world, is covered with feathers, because of my sadness, and the mountains are covered with soft feathers.

Over these the sun comes, but gives me no light, I am so sad.

And the night comes, and has no darkness to rest me, because my eyes are open all night.

(This has happened to me, O all my relatives.)

And it was my own bones that I raked up, and with them made a fire that showed me theoppositeland, the Land of the Enemy.

(This was done, my relatives.)

The sticks I cut for the number of days were my own sinews, cut and bound together.

It was my own rib that I used as aneev-a-dah-kote, or fire rubbing stick.

It was my own bowels that I used for a belt.

And it was my scalp, and my own hair, that I used for sandals.

It was my own skull that I filled with my own blood, and drank from, and talked like a drunkard.

And I wandered where the ashes are dumped, and I wandered over the hills, and I found it could be done, and went to the shadows of the trees and found the same thing.

On the level ground I fell, and the Sun, the Traveller, was overhead, and from above my brother came down, and I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.

And I thought I was holding all sadness, but there was a yet stronger sadness, for my brother came down and stood on my breast, and the tears fell down and watered the ground.

And I tried to hug him, but only hugged myself.

And this was my desire, that I should go to the powerful woman, and I reached her quietly where she lived.

And I spoke to her this way:

‘You were living over there.

You are the person who makes a hoop for her gyihhaw from the Apaches’ bow, and with their arrows makes the back-stop, theoam-muck, and with their blood you color the gyihhaw prettily; and you split the arrow-heads and make from them theov-a-nuck, and tie it in with the Apaches’ hair, weaving the hair to the left and then binding it on.’

And this way I spoke to her.

And then she gave me good news of the weakness of the Apaches and I ran out full of joy.

And from there I rose up and reached the Feather-Nested Doctor, Quotaveech, and I spoke to him this way:

‘And you belong here.

And you make the ribs of your kee from the Apache bows, and you tie the arrows across with the bow strings, and with the sinews of their bows you tie them.

And with the robes of the Apaches, and with their head-wear, and with their moccasins, you cover the kee instead of with arrow weeds.

And inside, at the four corners, there are hung locks of Apaches’ hair, and at the corners are the stumps of the cane-tube pipes, smoking themselves, and forming the smoke into all colors of flowers—white and glittering and gray and yellow.’

And this way I spoke to him, and he gave me the good news of the weakness of the Apaches.

And I came down and went Southward to the other doctor, calledVahk-lohn Mahkaiand there I reached him.

And this way I spoke to him:

‘And here is where you belong.

The Apache bow you make into the likeness of the pretty rainbow, and the arrows you make into the likeness of the white-headed grass.

And the fore shaft of the arrows you turn into water moss, and the arrows into resemblance of flat clay.

And the hair of the Apaches you make into likeness of clouds.’

And this way I spoke to him, and he told me the news of the weakness of the Apaches.

And I ran out of the house, and went westward, and found the old woman doctor,Tawquahdahmawks.

And I said to her:

‘You belong here.

And you make the bow of the Apaches into the hoop of the game theAw-aw-bopp, the Maricopas, play, the rolling hoop that they throw sticks after.

And their arrows you flatten up with your teeth, and wear around your brows like a crown.

And the fore shafts of the arrows you have split, and painted red with the Apache blood, and made into gainskoot, the dice sticks.

And the Apache hair you make into a skirt.’

And this way I spoke to her, and she told me the thought of the two different peoples, the Awawtam and the Awup, that they were enemies, and she told me this, and I went out from there and strengthened myself four times.

And I spread the news when I got home, and set thedoctorover it.

And there was the stump of the doctor’s pipe standing there, and smoking itself, and I imbibed it, and smoked it toward the enemy, and the smoke changed into different colors of flowers, white, glittering, grey and yellow, and reached the edge of the earth, the land of the Apache, and circled around there.

And it softened the earth, and brought fresh grass, and fresh leaves on the trees, so that the Apaches would be gathered together.

And my western famous enemy went and told his son to go to his uncle, to see if it was so that there was plenty of grass and plenty of things to eat there.

And his son went and said: ‘My father sent me to find out about these things,’and his uncle said: ‘It is so what he has heard, that we have plenty of things to eat, and all kinds of game, and that is what I eat.

You go back and tell the old man to come, so that I will be with him here.’

So the boy went and told the old man this, and he got up and put on his nose-ring of turquoise, and took his cake of paint, and his locks of hair, and his pouch.

After he got everything together he started out and camped for one night, and arriving at his destination the next morning, after the sun rose, came to his brother and called him, ‘Brother!’ with a loud voice.

And the next morning the brother got up and went hunting, and found a dead deer, and brought it home, and called it fresh meat, and they ate it together.

But instead of eating deer they ate themselves up.

And their skins became like sick person’s skin, and their hair became coarse, and their eyes were sore, and they became lousy, and were so weakthat they left their hands beneath their heads when they scratched themselves lying down.

And the brother’s wife went and gathered seed to eat, and found it easy to gather, without husks, and thought to enjoy eating it, but when she ate it she ate her own lice, and her skin became as a sick person’s skin, her hair became coarse, her person lousy, her eyes sore.

And my enemy in the far east heard about food being so plenty to eat there, and sent his son to ask his uncle if these reports were so.

And his father got up and took his war-bonnet of eagle-feathers, and his moccasins, and, using his power, brought even his wind and his clouds and his rainbow with him, and all his crops, for tho he had plenty at home hethoughtto find more at his brother’s place.

And, camping one night on the road, he came to his brother, after sunrise, and called him ‘Brother’ with a loud voice.

And everything happened to this enemy from the east, and his brother, and brother’s wife, that had happened to the enemy from the west and his brother and brother’s wife.

And I found the Apache enemy early in the morning, lying asleep,still needing his blanket, and covering himself up, and captured him without trouble.

And there I captured all his property, and took from him captives and many scalps, and my way coming back seemed to be down hill, and I strengthened myself and came to the level ground.

And when I came to the hollow where I drank, the water rippled from my moving it.

And I appointed messengers to go ahead and tell those at home, the old men and women waiting to hear of us, the good news of our victory.

And after sending on the messengers I went on, rejoicing, carrying the consciousness of my victory over the Apaches with me; and arriving home at evening I found the land filled with the news, even the tops of the hills covered.

And I told my people to send word to our western relatives, and to our southern relatives, and our eastern relatives, that the good news might be known to all.”

After this he called the people together for war, and the first evening they camped a man prophesied, and said:

“Now we have heard our war-speech, and are on our way, and I foresee the way beautiful with flowers, even the big trees covered with flowers,andI can see that we come to the enemy and conquerthemeasily.

And the road to the east is lined with white flowers, and the Apaches, seeing it, rejoice also, with smiles, thinking it for their good, but really it is for their destruction, for it is made so by the power of our doctors.

And in the middle of the earth, between us and the enemy, stood the Cane-Tube Pipe and smoked itself.

I inhaled the smoke and blew it out toward the East, and saw the smoke rising till it reached theVahahkkee of Light, and up still till it reached the Cane of Light.

And I took that cane and punched it at the corner of the Vahahkkee, and out came the White Water and the White Wasps, and the wasps flew around it four times and then they went down again.

And then in the South I saw the Blue Vahahkkee, and the Blue Cane, and I took the cane and punched it into the corner of the vahahkkee, and there came out Blue Water and Blue Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then sank down again.

And in the West there stood the Black Vahahkkee, and the Black Cane, and I took the cane and punched at the corner, and there came out Black Water and Black Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.

And in the North stood the Yellow Vahahkkee, and the Yellow Cane, and I took the cane and punched it at the corner, and there came out Yellow Water and Yellow Wasps, and the wasps flew around four times, and then went in again.

And on top of this vahahkkee was a Yellow Spider, and I asked him to help me, and he stretched his web four times, and there found my enemy.

And there he bound his heart with his web, and bound his arms, and bound his bow and his arrows, and left him there in the state of a woman, with nothing to defend himself with.

And he pushed me toward where he had left him, and I captured him very easily, and all his property, and all his children.

You, my relatives, may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”

And they camped out another night, and another one spoke, and he said:

“I was lying in ashes, and praying the distant mountains for strength, and the far doctors for power.

And there was a Sun that rose from the east and followed the western road.

And all the four-footed animals met together and called themselves relatives, and all the birds met together and called themselves relatives, and in this order followed the Sun.

And the Sun rose again, and brought me theSee-hee-vit-tahFeather, the Sunbeam, to wear on my head, and hugged me up to him.

And the Sun rose again, and brought the Blue Fog, and in the fog took me toward the enemy.

But instead of taking me to the enemy it took me up into the sky, to the Yellow Crow.

And the Yellow Crow, as a powerful mahkai, went down to the enemy and divided their land four times, and slew the human beings, and painted the rocks over beautifully with their blood.

And from there I went to the Yellow Spider, living on the back of the mound at the North, and asked him to help me.

And he stretched his web four times, and found my enemy, and bound him, and pushed me toward him, and I took him, and all his, captive, and came home rejoicing.

So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory. You may not like the noise of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over the enemy.”

And they went toward the mountains where the Apaches live, and camped there, and there were empty Apache houses there, and one of them spoke using himself figuratively as a type of his people:

“Perhaps these Apaches have gone from here to my house, and have killed me and have dragged me thru the waters we passed coming here, and have beaten me with all the sticks we saw on the road, and have thrown ashes over me, and maybe these are my bones that lie here, and this dry blood is my blood.

This has been done, my relatives, and there in the East is a Vahahkkee of Light, and within it there is a Butcher-bird of Light.

And I asked the Butcher-bird for power, and he followed his Road of Light, and touched the ground four times with his tail, and came to me.

And he went on the road that is lighted by a mahkai, and following that reached my enemy.

And my enemy thought himself a good dreamer, and that his dreams were fulfilled for good, and that he had a good bow with a good string, and good cane arrows, but the Butcher-bird had alreadypunched his eyes out without his knowing it.

And all the animals and birds of the Apaches think they have good eyes to see with, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.

And the winds of the Apaches think they have sharp eyes, and the clouds of the Apaches think themselves sharp-eyed, but the Butcher-bird has punched their eyes out without their knowing it.

So he treated the enemy like that, and left him there as a woman, and then pushed me toward him, and I went and captured him easily.

And I gathered all the property, and all the captives, and, turning back, looked ahead of me and found the country all springy with water, and wasps flying, and I followed them.

And ahead of me was a road with many flowers, and a butterfly that beautifully spread itself open and led the way, and I followed.

And I brought the dead enemy home, and from there the news spread all over my country.

So, my relatives, think of this, that there will be victory.

And you may not like the sound of our rejoicing, but it is only for a short time that we rejoice over our enemy.”

Notes on the Story of the Gambler’s WarIn this we are given wonderful glimpses into the strange, fierce, sad, extravagant poetry of the Indian speeches, which seem oftenest inspired by the passion of revenge. Notice that in these stories, if several speeches are given in any one story, they generally have a quite similar ending, a sort of refrain: “So, my relatives,” etc.This story ends abruptly, and is, I think, manifestly only a fragment. Following the speeches, which were mere boastful prophecies, should have been an account in detail of the actual campaign, as in the story of Pahtahnkum’s war.

Notes on the Story of the Gambler’s War

In this we are given wonderful glimpses into the strange, fierce, sad, extravagant poetry of the Indian speeches, which seem oftenest inspired by the passion of revenge. Notice that in these stories, if several speeches are given in any one story, they generally have a quite similar ending, a sort of refrain: “So, my relatives,” etc.This story ends abruptly, and is, I think, manifestly only a fragment. Following the speeches, which were mere boastful prophecies, should have been an account in detail of the actual campaign, as in the story of Pahtahnkum’s war.

In this we are given wonderful glimpses into the strange, fierce, sad, extravagant poetry of the Indian speeches, which seem oftenest inspired by the passion of revenge. Notice that in these stories, if several speeches are given in any one story, they generally have a quite similar ending, a sort of refrain: “So, my relatives,” etc.

This story ends abruptly, and is, I think, manifestly only a fragment. Following the speeches, which were mere boastful prophecies, should have been an account in detail of the actual campaign, as in the story of Pahtahnkum’s war.

The Story of NahvahchooEe-ee-toy was once wandering along when he found some moss that had been left there ever since the flood, and he stood and looked at it, wondering how he could make it into a human being.And while he watched it the sun breathed on it, and it became not a man, but a turtle.And he wandered on again and found some driftwood, and while he stood wondering how to make it into a human being, the sun breathed on it, and it became a man, but he could not see its face, which was covered as with a mask.And the turtle and the masked man, thus created, went westward, and came to a Blue Vahahkkee, and they went in and staid all night.In the morning, when the sun rose, they were frightened at the blue beams that shone thru the vahahkkee, and they left.And after going a little way they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds flew over them to keep them from being seen.And they came to a Black Night. In that night was a Black Bow, which stretched as if it were going to shoot them, so that they were afraid to lie down all night.And the next day they came to a Blue Road, and a flock of Blue Birds flew over them, and all around, striking them.After a while they came to a Blue Night, and in the night was a Blue Bow, which stretched itself threateningly at them, as the Black Bow had done the night before.And they could not sleep for fear that night, either; and the next day they came to a White Road, and a flock of White Birds followed them, striking them.And they came to a White Night, and in that night was a White Bow, which threatened them as the others had done, so that again they could not sleep.And the next day they had a similar experience, only it was a Yellow Road, with Yellow Birds, and a Yellow Night with a Yellow Bow.The next day there was no danger any more, and they went on and came to a mountain,Co-so-vah-taw-up-kih, or Twisted Neck Mountain, and there the Nahvahchoo (masked man), having run ahead, left the turtle behind, and when evening came sat down and waited for the turtle to come up. But the turtle was too far behind, and when night came stopped where he was, and made a fire, and made corn and pumpkins, and roasted the corn and set the pumpkins around the fire, as the Indians do, to scorch them before putting them in the ashes.And Nahvahchoo heard the popping sound of the cooking, and came running back, and tried to steal a piece of the fire to have one of his own, but the turtle would not let him. And so theNahvahchoo went off and made a fire of his own, and corn and pumpkins of his own, and cooked them as the turtle had done.In the morning, after they had feasted on the pumpkin and corn, the turtle,Wee-hee-kee-nee, sank down and went under the earth to the ocean, and made that his home, and Nahvahchoo sank down and went in the same direction, but not so far, coming up on the sea shore.And Nahvahchoo went along the sea-shore, toward the east, till he came to a great deal of driftwood, and many flowers, and handled all these, and got their strength, and made his home in the east.One day Nahvahchoo heard the earth shaking, and ran out of his house to try and find where the shaking came from, and he went south and did not feel it, and went west and felt it a little, and went north and felt it more. And so he ran back and put on his mask, and took his bow, and went north. And the first time he stopped and listened he heard it somewhat, and the next time he heard it more, and the third time still more, and the fourth time he came to where many people were singing the songWah-hee-hee-vee, and dancing the danceVee-pee-nim, in which the dancers wear gourd masks, on their faces, pierced full of little holes to let the light thru.And they were dancing, too, the danceKawk-spahk-kum, in which the dancers wear a cloth mask, like Nahvahchoo, with a little gourd, full of holes, over the mouth-hole, to sing thru.And they were dancing also the danceTawt-a-kum, in which the dancer wears a bonnet of cloth, and a mask like Nahvahchoo does.And the people sitting around in these dances had little rods which they rubbed upon notched sticks, in time to the singing and the dancing.At first Nahvahchoo was greatly excited by all this dancing, for all these people seemed to do nothing else but sing and dance, and make the rods and notched sticks and stand them up in bunches; but after a few days he began to think of game, for he was a great hunter, and he went out and found the tracks of a deer.And measuring these with his arrow he laughed, covering his mouth with his hand, and said: “This deer will not run very fast, I could catch him myself.” For a deer that measures a good way between his tracks is long-bodied, and cannot run fast, while a deer that measures short between tracks has a short body, and jumps quicker.And he followed the deer, which heard him coming, and began to run, and when Nahvahchoo saw by its tracks that it was running, he ran, too, and getting on a hill saw the dust of its running away off; and he ran after it, and when he came to the next hill it was close, and he ran down, and killed it, and took it back to the singers, and they fell ravenously upon it and ate it all up, not leaving him even the bones.Nahvahchoo sat off a little way and watched them, and one of their speakers addressed him,and said: “We know you, who you are. You are a great doctor, and a great hunter, and a great farmer, and a powerful man every way. And maybe you expected us to join in your hunt and help you carry the game. But we want you to join us, and become a singer, and you will have plenty of corn and beans to eat, and you will find that such food will last, while, as you see, the game, when you bring it in, lasts but a little while.”So Nahvahchoo staid with them and became a singer, and after a while the people told him to go to a certain vahahkkee, and said: “You will find something there with which you will be pleased. And then go to the opposite one, and you will find that with which you will be still more pleased.And one of these vahahkkees was calledSee-pook(Red-bird) Vahahkkee and the other was namedWah-choo-kook-kee(Oriole) Vahahkkee.—But tho they told him to go to these they did not allow him to do so, but one day he slipped away, when they were not looking, and opened one, and saw in it many wonderful things, clouds forming and sprinkling all the time; and in the other it was the same.And one was covered with red flowers, and the other with yellow flowers, and where they came together the mingling of red and yellow was very pretty.At the door of each vahahkkee was a corn-mill.And he stole one of these and went west. But after a while he stopped and said: “I wonder what is going to happen, for the east is all green and the west is of the same color.”But he ran on, and the clouds came over him, and it began to sprinkle, and then to rain, and then the water began to run, and get deeper and deeper, and he said:“This is happening to me because I stole this mill, but I am not going to let it go, I am going to keep it.”And he ran on and came to where he had separated from Weeheekeenee, and went on and over Cosovahtawupkih, the Twisted Neck Mountain.And on that mountain he felt rather faint, and put his hand in his pouch and found a root and chewed it, the rootCheek-kuh-pool-tak, and breathed it out, and it stopped raining.And he went on to the Quojata Mountain, and sat there and took a smoke; and then on to Ahn-naykum; and then to Odchee, where he left the mill; and then toKee-ahk Toe-ahk, where he also rested and took a smoke; and then he went home.And when Nahvahchoo arrived home he made a speech:“Where shall we hear the talk that will make us drunk and dizzy with the flowers of eloquence?There was near the water the driftwood lying, and from above the sun breathed down and a being was made.And it was the beautiful daybreak that I took and wiped its face with, and the remains of darkness that I painted its face with.And there were all kinds of bird’s feathers that I made a feather bonnet from.And there were joining wasps that came and flapped on the bonnet.And there were many butterflies that flapped their wings upon the bonnet, upon its feathers.And it was from the rainbow that I made its bow, and from the Milky Way that I made its arrow.From a red skin it was that I made itssaw-suh-buh, to cover its arm for the bow-string not to injure it.And it was a redkuess-kotethat I made and put in its hair to scratch with.And it was the gray fog that I fastened in its shoulders for its mantle.And the strong wind it was that I used for its girdle, around its waist.In the middle of the earth lay a square water moss, and the sun breathed on it and it turned into a creature, a turtle.And from there the Driftwood-Being went west with it.From there they went westward and watched the sun rise in the Blue Vahahkkee, and were frightened, and returned.From there they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds followed them, and to a Black Night wherein a Black Bow frightened them.And from there they came to a Blue Road, with Blue Birds following, and to a Blue Night with a Blue Bow to frighten them.And from there they came to a White Road with White Birds following, and a White Night with a White Bow to threaten them.And the next day it was a Yellow Road and Yellow Birds, and after that a Yellow Night and a Yellow Bow.And there was a square water full of ice, and he went around it four times.And there he found Seepook Vahahkkee, with its red flowers, and Wahchookookkee Vahahkkee with its yellow flowers, and there he got the everlasting corn-mill, and went westward and strengthened himself four times.And as he went westward there came a wind which felt good and refreshed him, and pleasant clouds that sprinkled him with water, and then there was rain, and the rattling of running water, and he went on his road rejoicing.And he reached the Twisted Neck Mountain, and there he felt faint a little, and took from his pouch the root Cheekkuhpooltak, and chewed it, and breathed it out, and was refreshed and went on.And he refreshed himself four times and went on, and found Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, and there he gave his power to the people who were gathered together, and said: ‘My relatives, I want you to think of this, that our country will be more beautiful and produce more, because you know our country will not hereafter be what it has been’.”And he made another speech:“It was after the creation of the earth, and there was a mud vahahkkee, and inside of it lay a piece of wood burning at one end, and by it stood a cane-tube pipe, smoking, and we inhaled the smoke, and then we saw things clearer and talked about them.In the West there was a Black Mocking Bird, and from him I asked power, and he brought the news and spread it over all the earth, and to every hill and every mountain and every tree, that the earth would stand still, but it did not, it still moved.(And you, Black Mocking Bird, take back your Black Winds, and your Black Clouds, and stay where you are, and your relatives may sometimes come to you for power.)And in the South there was a Blue Mocking Bird, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and over every hill and every mountain, and to every tree, that the earth stood still, but it did not, it still moved.In the East was a Mocking Bird of Light, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and to every hill, mountain and tree, that the earth stood still, but it still moved.And Above there was darkness, where lived the Feather Nested Doctor, who is famous for his power, and I asked him for power, and he spread the news, as the others had done, but the earth still moved.And in the North lived a Yellow Spider, and I asked him for power, and he stretched his news, and made his web, and tied the earth up with it, and made a fringe like a blanket fringe at each corner, and laid his arrows over it.The fringe at the West corner he made black, and covered it with the Black Vahahkkee to hold it down; and he put the blue fringe at the South corner, and over it the Blue Vahahkkee to hold it down, and he put the black arrows over the BlackVahahkkee,and the blue arrows over the BlueVahahkkee.And in the East he put theVahahkkeeof Light over the fringe and the arrows of light over it.And after all this was done the earth stood still.And after this is done you are carried away like a child, and are set down facing the East, and your heart comes out towards it, and can be seen going up and down till it reaches it.And over the land your seed shall spring up and grow, and have good stalks and many flowers, and have good wide leaves and heads of good seeds.And after the seed is ripe they will take it and put it away and grind it with sunbeams, and the boys and girls shall eat and be happy, and all the old men and women shall eat it and lengthen their lives.”Notes on the Story of NahvahchooThe story of Nahvahchoo was celebrated till lately among the Pimas by dancing games, resembling those described in this story, the players wearing masks and gourds, and rattling notched sticks, one of them impersonating Nahvahchoo himself.In the reference to the earth’s moving, in one of the speeches, one might suspect a glimpse of true astronomical knowledge, but this is likely only a poetic figure.The “everlasting corn will” reminds a little of the old folk-lore tale of the everlasting salt mill whose continuous grinding makes the ocean salt.

The Story of Nahvahchoo

Ee-ee-toy was once wandering along when he found some moss that had been left there ever since the flood, and he stood and looked at it, wondering how he could make it into a human being.And while he watched it the sun breathed on it, and it became not a man, but a turtle.And he wandered on again and found some driftwood, and while he stood wondering how to make it into a human being, the sun breathed on it, and it became a man, but he could not see its face, which was covered as with a mask.And the turtle and the masked man, thus created, went westward, and came to a Blue Vahahkkee, and they went in and staid all night.In the morning, when the sun rose, they were frightened at the blue beams that shone thru the vahahkkee, and they left.And after going a little way they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds flew over them to keep them from being seen.And they came to a Black Night. In that night was a Black Bow, which stretched as if it were going to shoot them, so that they were afraid to lie down all night.And the next day they came to a Blue Road, and a flock of Blue Birds flew over them, and all around, striking them.After a while they came to a Blue Night, and in the night was a Blue Bow, which stretched itself threateningly at them, as the Black Bow had done the night before.And they could not sleep for fear that night, either; and the next day they came to a White Road, and a flock of White Birds followed them, striking them.And they came to a White Night, and in that night was a White Bow, which threatened them as the others had done, so that again they could not sleep.And the next day they had a similar experience, only it was a Yellow Road, with Yellow Birds, and a Yellow Night with a Yellow Bow.The next day there was no danger any more, and they went on and came to a mountain,Co-so-vah-taw-up-kih, or Twisted Neck Mountain, and there the Nahvahchoo (masked man), having run ahead, left the turtle behind, and when evening came sat down and waited for the turtle to come up. But the turtle was too far behind, and when night came stopped where he was, and made a fire, and made corn and pumpkins, and roasted the corn and set the pumpkins around the fire, as the Indians do, to scorch them before putting them in the ashes.And Nahvahchoo heard the popping sound of the cooking, and came running back, and tried to steal a piece of the fire to have one of his own, but the turtle would not let him. And so theNahvahchoo went off and made a fire of his own, and corn and pumpkins of his own, and cooked them as the turtle had done.In the morning, after they had feasted on the pumpkin and corn, the turtle,Wee-hee-kee-nee, sank down and went under the earth to the ocean, and made that his home, and Nahvahchoo sank down and went in the same direction, but not so far, coming up on the sea shore.And Nahvahchoo went along the sea-shore, toward the east, till he came to a great deal of driftwood, and many flowers, and handled all these, and got their strength, and made his home in the east.One day Nahvahchoo heard the earth shaking, and ran out of his house to try and find where the shaking came from, and he went south and did not feel it, and went west and felt it a little, and went north and felt it more. And so he ran back and put on his mask, and took his bow, and went north. And the first time he stopped and listened he heard it somewhat, and the next time he heard it more, and the third time still more, and the fourth time he came to where many people were singing the songWah-hee-hee-vee, and dancing the danceVee-pee-nim, in which the dancers wear gourd masks, on their faces, pierced full of little holes to let the light thru.And they were dancing, too, the danceKawk-spahk-kum, in which the dancers wear a cloth mask, like Nahvahchoo, with a little gourd, full of holes, over the mouth-hole, to sing thru.And they were dancing also the danceTawt-a-kum, in which the dancer wears a bonnet of cloth, and a mask like Nahvahchoo does.And the people sitting around in these dances had little rods which they rubbed upon notched sticks, in time to the singing and the dancing.At first Nahvahchoo was greatly excited by all this dancing, for all these people seemed to do nothing else but sing and dance, and make the rods and notched sticks and stand them up in bunches; but after a few days he began to think of game, for he was a great hunter, and he went out and found the tracks of a deer.And measuring these with his arrow he laughed, covering his mouth with his hand, and said: “This deer will not run very fast, I could catch him myself.” For a deer that measures a good way between his tracks is long-bodied, and cannot run fast, while a deer that measures short between tracks has a short body, and jumps quicker.And he followed the deer, which heard him coming, and began to run, and when Nahvahchoo saw by its tracks that it was running, he ran, too, and getting on a hill saw the dust of its running away off; and he ran after it, and when he came to the next hill it was close, and he ran down, and killed it, and took it back to the singers, and they fell ravenously upon it and ate it all up, not leaving him even the bones.Nahvahchoo sat off a little way and watched them, and one of their speakers addressed him,and said: “We know you, who you are. You are a great doctor, and a great hunter, and a great farmer, and a powerful man every way. And maybe you expected us to join in your hunt and help you carry the game. But we want you to join us, and become a singer, and you will have plenty of corn and beans to eat, and you will find that such food will last, while, as you see, the game, when you bring it in, lasts but a little while.”So Nahvahchoo staid with them and became a singer, and after a while the people told him to go to a certain vahahkkee, and said: “You will find something there with which you will be pleased. And then go to the opposite one, and you will find that with which you will be still more pleased.And one of these vahahkkees was calledSee-pook(Red-bird) Vahahkkee and the other was namedWah-choo-kook-kee(Oriole) Vahahkkee.—But tho they told him to go to these they did not allow him to do so, but one day he slipped away, when they were not looking, and opened one, and saw in it many wonderful things, clouds forming and sprinkling all the time; and in the other it was the same.And one was covered with red flowers, and the other with yellow flowers, and where they came together the mingling of red and yellow was very pretty.At the door of each vahahkkee was a corn-mill.And he stole one of these and went west. But after a while he stopped and said: “I wonder what is going to happen, for the east is all green and the west is of the same color.”But he ran on, and the clouds came over him, and it began to sprinkle, and then to rain, and then the water began to run, and get deeper and deeper, and he said:“This is happening to me because I stole this mill, but I am not going to let it go, I am going to keep it.”And he ran on and came to where he had separated from Weeheekeenee, and went on and over Cosovahtawupkih, the Twisted Neck Mountain.And on that mountain he felt rather faint, and put his hand in his pouch and found a root and chewed it, the rootCheek-kuh-pool-tak, and breathed it out, and it stopped raining.And he went on to the Quojata Mountain, and sat there and took a smoke; and then on to Ahn-naykum; and then to Odchee, where he left the mill; and then toKee-ahk Toe-ahk, where he also rested and took a smoke; and then he went home.And when Nahvahchoo arrived home he made a speech:“Where shall we hear the talk that will make us drunk and dizzy with the flowers of eloquence?There was near the water the driftwood lying, and from above the sun breathed down and a being was made.And it was the beautiful daybreak that I took and wiped its face with, and the remains of darkness that I painted its face with.And there were all kinds of bird’s feathers that I made a feather bonnet from.And there were joining wasps that came and flapped on the bonnet.And there were many butterflies that flapped their wings upon the bonnet, upon its feathers.And it was from the rainbow that I made its bow, and from the Milky Way that I made its arrow.From a red skin it was that I made itssaw-suh-buh, to cover its arm for the bow-string not to injure it.And it was a redkuess-kotethat I made and put in its hair to scratch with.And it was the gray fog that I fastened in its shoulders for its mantle.And the strong wind it was that I used for its girdle, around its waist.In the middle of the earth lay a square water moss, and the sun breathed on it and it turned into a creature, a turtle.And from there the Driftwood-Being went west with it.From there they went westward and watched the sun rise in the Blue Vahahkkee, and were frightened, and returned.From there they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds followed them, and to a Black Night wherein a Black Bow frightened them.And from there they came to a Blue Road, with Blue Birds following, and to a Blue Night with a Blue Bow to frighten them.And from there they came to a White Road with White Birds following, and a White Night with a White Bow to threaten them.And the next day it was a Yellow Road and Yellow Birds, and after that a Yellow Night and a Yellow Bow.And there was a square water full of ice, and he went around it four times.And there he found Seepook Vahahkkee, with its red flowers, and Wahchookookkee Vahahkkee with its yellow flowers, and there he got the everlasting corn-mill, and went westward and strengthened himself four times.And as he went westward there came a wind which felt good and refreshed him, and pleasant clouds that sprinkled him with water, and then there was rain, and the rattling of running water, and he went on his road rejoicing.And he reached the Twisted Neck Mountain, and there he felt faint a little, and took from his pouch the root Cheekkuhpooltak, and chewed it, and breathed it out, and was refreshed and went on.And he refreshed himself four times and went on, and found Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, and there he gave his power to the people who were gathered together, and said: ‘My relatives, I want you to think of this, that our country will be more beautiful and produce more, because you know our country will not hereafter be what it has been’.”And he made another speech:“It was after the creation of the earth, and there was a mud vahahkkee, and inside of it lay a piece of wood burning at one end, and by it stood a cane-tube pipe, smoking, and we inhaled the smoke, and then we saw things clearer and talked about them.In the West there was a Black Mocking Bird, and from him I asked power, and he brought the news and spread it over all the earth, and to every hill and every mountain and every tree, that the earth would stand still, but it did not, it still moved.(And you, Black Mocking Bird, take back your Black Winds, and your Black Clouds, and stay where you are, and your relatives may sometimes come to you for power.)And in the South there was a Blue Mocking Bird, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and over every hill and every mountain, and to every tree, that the earth stood still, but it did not, it still moved.In the East was a Mocking Bird of Light, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and to every hill, mountain and tree, that the earth stood still, but it still moved.And Above there was darkness, where lived the Feather Nested Doctor, who is famous for his power, and I asked him for power, and he spread the news, as the others had done, but the earth still moved.And in the North lived a Yellow Spider, and I asked him for power, and he stretched his news, and made his web, and tied the earth up with it, and made a fringe like a blanket fringe at each corner, and laid his arrows over it.The fringe at the West corner he made black, and covered it with the Black Vahahkkee to hold it down; and he put the blue fringe at the South corner, and over it the Blue Vahahkkee to hold it down, and he put the black arrows over the BlackVahahkkee,and the blue arrows over the BlueVahahkkee.And in the East he put theVahahkkeeof Light over the fringe and the arrows of light over it.And after all this was done the earth stood still.And after this is done you are carried away like a child, and are set down facing the East, and your heart comes out towards it, and can be seen going up and down till it reaches it.And over the land your seed shall spring up and grow, and have good stalks and many flowers, and have good wide leaves and heads of good seeds.And after the seed is ripe they will take it and put it away and grind it with sunbeams, and the boys and girls shall eat and be happy, and all the old men and women shall eat it and lengthen their lives.”Notes on the Story of NahvahchooThe story of Nahvahchoo was celebrated till lately among the Pimas by dancing games, resembling those described in this story, the players wearing masks and gourds, and rattling notched sticks, one of them impersonating Nahvahchoo himself.In the reference to the earth’s moving, in one of the speeches, one might suspect a glimpse of true astronomical knowledge, but this is likely only a poetic figure.The “everlasting corn will” reminds a little of the old folk-lore tale of the everlasting salt mill whose continuous grinding makes the ocean salt.

Ee-ee-toy was once wandering along when he found some moss that had been left there ever since the flood, and he stood and looked at it, wondering how he could make it into a human being.

And while he watched it the sun breathed on it, and it became not a man, but a turtle.

And he wandered on again and found some driftwood, and while he stood wondering how to make it into a human being, the sun breathed on it, and it became a man, but he could not see its face, which was covered as with a mask.

And the turtle and the masked man, thus created, went westward, and came to a Blue Vahahkkee, and they went in and staid all night.

In the morning, when the sun rose, they were frightened at the blue beams that shone thru the vahahkkee, and they left.

And after going a little way they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds flew over them to keep them from being seen.

And they came to a Black Night. In that night was a Black Bow, which stretched as if it were going to shoot them, so that they were afraid to lie down all night.

And the next day they came to a Blue Road, and a flock of Blue Birds flew over them, and all around, striking them.

After a while they came to a Blue Night, and in the night was a Blue Bow, which stretched itself threateningly at them, as the Black Bow had done the night before.

And they could not sleep for fear that night, either; and the next day they came to a White Road, and a flock of White Birds followed them, striking them.

And they came to a White Night, and in that night was a White Bow, which threatened them as the others had done, so that again they could not sleep.

And the next day they had a similar experience, only it was a Yellow Road, with Yellow Birds, and a Yellow Night with a Yellow Bow.

The next day there was no danger any more, and they went on and came to a mountain,Co-so-vah-taw-up-kih, or Twisted Neck Mountain, and there the Nahvahchoo (masked man), having run ahead, left the turtle behind, and when evening came sat down and waited for the turtle to come up. But the turtle was too far behind, and when night came stopped where he was, and made a fire, and made corn and pumpkins, and roasted the corn and set the pumpkins around the fire, as the Indians do, to scorch them before putting them in the ashes.

And Nahvahchoo heard the popping sound of the cooking, and came running back, and tried to steal a piece of the fire to have one of his own, but the turtle would not let him. And so theNahvahchoo went off and made a fire of his own, and corn and pumpkins of his own, and cooked them as the turtle had done.

In the morning, after they had feasted on the pumpkin and corn, the turtle,Wee-hee-kee-nee, sank down and went under the earth to the ocean, and made that his home, and Nahvahchoo sank down and went in the same direction, but not so far, coming up on the sea shore.

And Nahvahchoo went along the sea-shore, toward the east, till he came to a great deal of driftwood, and many flowers, and handled all these, and got their strength, and made his home in the east.

One day Nahvahchoo heard the earth shaking, and ran out of his house to try and find where the shaking came from, and he went south and did not feel it, and went west and felt it a little, and went north and felt it more. And so he ran back and put on his mask, and took his bow, and went north. And the first time he stopped and listened he heard it somewhat, and the next time he heard it more, and the third time still more, and the fourth time he came to where many people were singing the songWah-hee-hee-vee, and dancing the danceVee-pee-nim, in which the dancers wear gourd masks, on their faces, pierced full of little holes to let the light thru.

And they were dancing, too, the danceKawk-spahk-kum, in which the dancers wear a cloth mask, like Nahvahchoo, with a little gourd, full of holes, over the mouth-hole, to sing thru.

And they were dancing also the danceTawt-a-kum, in which the dancer wears a bonnet of cloth, and a mask like Nahvahchoo does.

And the people sitting around in these dances had little rods which they rubbed upon notched sticks, in time to the singing and the dancing.

At first Nahvahchoo was greatly excited by all this dancing, for all these people seemed to do nothing else but sing and dance, and make the rods and notched sticks and stand them up in bunches; but after a few days he began to think of game, for he was a great hunter, and he went out and found the tracks of a deer.

And measuring these with his arrow he laughed, covering his mouth with his hand, and said: “This deer will not run very fast, I could catch him myself.” For a deer that measures a good way between his tracks is long-bodied, and cannot run fast, while a deer that measures short between tracks has a short body, and jumps quicker.

And he followed the deer, which heard him coming, and began to run, and when Nahvahchoo saw by its tracks that it was running, he ran, too, and getting on a hill saw the dust of its running away off; and he ran after it, and when he came to the next hill it was close, and he ran down, and killed it, and took it back to the singers, and they fell ravenously upon it and ate it all up, not leaving him even the bones.

Nahvahchoo sat off a little way and watched them, and one of their speakers addressed him,and said: “We know you, who you are. You are a great doctor, and a great hunter, and a great farmer, and a powerful man every way. And maybe you expected us to join in your hunt and help you carry the game. But we want you to join us, and become a singer, and you will have plenty of corn and beans to eat, and you will find that such food will last, while, as you see, the game, when you bring it in, lasts but a little while.”

So Nahvahchoo staid with them and became a singer, and after a while the people told him to go to a certain vahahkkee, and said: “You will find something there with which you will be pleased. And then go to the opposite one, and you will find that with which you will be still more pleased.

And one of these vahahkkees was calledSee-pook(Red-bird) Vahahkkee and the other was namedWah-choo-kook-kee(Oriole) Vahahkkee.—But tho they told him to go to these they did not allow him to do so, but one day he slipped away, when they were not looking, and opened one, and saw in it many wonderful things, clouds forming and sprinkling all the time; and in the other it was the same.

And one was covered with red flowers, and the other with yellow flowers, and where they came together the mingling of red and yellow was very pretty.

At the door of each vahahkkee was a corn-mill.And he stole one of these and went west. But after a while he stopped and said: “I wonder what is going to happen, for the east is all green and the west is of the same color.”

But he ran on, and the clouds came over him, and it began to sprinkle, and then to rain, and then the water began to run, and get deeper and deeper, and he said:“This is happening to me because I stole this mill, but I am not going to let it go, I am going to keep it.”

And he ran on and came to where he had separated from Weeheekeenee, and went on and over Cosovahtawupkih, the Twisted Neck Mountain.

And on that mountain he felt rather faint, and put his hand in his pouch and found a root and chewed it, the rootCheek-kuh-pool-tak, and breathed it out, and it stopped raining.

And he went on to the Quojata Mountain, and sat there and took a smoke; and then on to Ahn-naykum; and then to Odchee, where he left the mill; and then toKee-ahk Toe-ahk, where he also rested and took a smoke; and then he went home.

And when Nahvahchoo arrived home he made a speech:

“Where shall we hear the talk that will make us drunk and dizzy with the flowers of eloquence?

There was near the water the driftwood lying, and from above the sun breathed down and a being was made.

And it was the beautiful daybreak that I took and wiped its face with, and the remains of darkness that I painted its face with.

And there were all kinds of bird’s feathers that I made a feather bonnet from.

And there were joining wasps that came and flapped on the bonnet.

And there were many butterflies that flapped their wings upon the bonnet, upon its feathers.

And it was from the rainbow that I made its bow, and from the Milky Way that I made its arrow.

From a red skin it was that I made itssaw-suh-buh, to cover its arm for the bow-string not to injure it.

And it was a redkuess-kotethat I made and put in its hair to scratch with.

And it was the gray fog that I fastened in its shoulders for its mantle.

And the strong wind it was that I used for its girdle, around its waist.

In the middle of the earth lay a square water moss, and the sun breathed on it and it turned into a creature, a turtle.

And from there the Driftwood-Being went west with it.

From there they went westward and watched the sun rise in the Blue Vahahkkee, and were frightened, and returned.

From there they came to a Black Road, and Black Birds followed them, and to a Black Night wherein a Black Bow frightened them.

And from there they came to a Blue Road, with Blue Birds following, and to a Blue Night with a Blue Bow to frighten them.

And from there they came to a White Road with White Birds following, and a White Night with a White Bow to threaten them.

And the next day it was a Yellow Road and Yellow Birds, and after that a Yellow Night and a Yellow Bow.

And there was a square water full of ice, and he went around it four times.

And there he found Seepook Vahahkkee, with its red flowers, and Wahchookookkee Vahahkkee with its yellow flowers, and there he got the everlasting corn-mill, and went westward and strengthened himself four times.

And as he went westward there came a wind which felt good and refreshed him, and pleasant clouds that sprinkled him with water, and then there was rain, and the rattling of running water, and he went on his road rejoicing.

And he reached the Twisted Neck Mountain, and there he felt faint a little, and took from his pouch the root Cheekkuhpooltak, and chewed it, and breathed it out, and was refreshed and went on.

And he refreshed himself four times and went on, and found Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, and there he gave his power to the people who were gathered together, and said: ‘My relatives, I want you to think of this, that our country will be more beautiful and produce more, because you know our country will not hereafter be what it has been’.”

And he made another speech:

“It was after the creation of the earth, and there was a mud vahahkkee, and inside of it lay a piece of wood burning at one end, and by it stood a cane-tube pipe, smoking, and we inhaled the smoke, and then we saw things clearer and talked about them.

In the West there was a Black Mocking Bird, and from him I asked power, and he brought the news and spread it over all the earth, and to every hill and every mountain and every tree, that the earth would stand still, but it did not, it still moved.

(And you, Black Mocking Bird, take back your Black Winds, and your Black Clouds, and stay where you are, and your relatives may sometimes come to you for power.)

And in the South there was a Blue Mocking Bird, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and over every hill and every mountain, and to every tree, that the earth stood still, but it did not, it still moved.

In the East was a Mocking Bird of Light, and I asked it for power, and it stretched the news over all the earth, and to every hill, mountain and tree, that the earth stood still, but it still moved.

And Above there was darkness, where lived the Feather Nested Doctor, who is famous for his power, and I asked him for power, and he spread the news, as the others had done, but the earth still moved.

And in the North lived a Yellow Spider, and I asked him for power, and he stretched his news, and made his web, and tied the earth up with it, and made a fringe like a blanket fringe at each corner, and laid his arrows over it.

The fringe at the West corner he made black, and covered it with the Black Vahahkkee to hold it down; and he put the blue fringe at the South corner, and over it the Blue Vahahkkee to hold it down, and he put the black arrows over the BlackVahahkkee,and the blue arrows over the BlueVahahkkee.

And in the East he put theVahahkkeeof Light over the fringe and the arrows of light over it.

And after all this was done the earth stood still.

And after this is done you are carried away like a child, and are set down facing the East, and your heart comes out towards it, and can be seen going up and down till it reaches it.

And over the land your seed shall spring up and grow, and have good stalks and many flowers, and have good wide leaves and heads of good seeds.

And after the seed is ripe they will take it and put it away and grind it with sunbeams, and the boys and girls shall eat and be happy, and all the old men and women shall eat it and lengthen their lives.”

Notes on the Story of NahvahchooThe story of Nahvahchoo was celebrated till lately among the Pimas by dancing games, resembling those described in this story, the players wearing masks and gourds, and rattling notched sticks, one of them impersonating Nahvahchoo himself.In the reference to the earth’s moving, in one of the speeches, one might suspect a glimpse of true astronomical knowledge, but this is likely only a poetic figure.The “everlasting corn will” reminds a little of the old folk-lore tale of the everlasting salt mill whose continuous grinding makes the ocean salt.

Notes on the Story of Nahvahchoo

The story of Nahvahchoo was celebrated till lately among the Pimas by dancing games, resembling those described in this story, the players wearing masks and gourds, and rattling notched sticks, one of them impersonating Nahvahchoo himself.In the reference to the earth’s moving, in one of the speeches, one might suspect a glimpse of true astronomical knowledge, but this is likely only a poetic figure.The “everlasting corn will” reminds a little of the old folk-lore tale of the everlasting salt mill whose continuous grinding makes the ocean salt.

The story of Nahvahchoo was celebrated till lately among the Pimas by dancing games, resembling those described in this story, the players wearing masks and gourds, and rattling notched sticks, one of them impersonating Nahvahchoo himself.

In the reference to the earth’s moving, in one of the speeches, one might suspect a glimpse of true astronomical knowledge, but this is likely only a poetic figure.

The “everlasting corn will” reminds a little of the old folk-lore tale of the everlasting salt mill whose continuous grinding makes the ocean salt.

The Story of Corn and Tobacco1There was a powerful mahkai who had a daughter, who, tho old enuf, was unmarried, and who grew tired of her single life and asked her father to bury her, saying, we will see then if the men will care for me.And from her grave grew the plant tobacco, and her father took it and smoked it and when the people who were gathered together smelled it they wondered what it was, and sent Toehahvs to find out.But, altho the tobacco still grew, the woman came to life again and came out of her grave back to her home.And one day she played gainskoot with Corn, and Corn beat her, and won all she had. But she gave some little things she did not care for to Corn, and the rest of her debt she did not pay, and they quarreled.She told Corn to go away, saying; “Nobody cares for you, now, but they care a great deal for me, and the doctors use me to make rain, and when they have moistened the ground is the only time you can come out.”And the Corn said: “You don’t know how much the people like me; the old as well as the young eat me, and I don’t think there is a person thatdoes not like me.” And Corn told Tobacco to go away herself.There were people there who heard them quarreling, and tho Tobacco staid on, whenever she would be in a house and hear people laughing she would think they were laughing at her. And she became very sad, and one day sank down in her house and went westward and came to a house there.And the person who lived there told her where to sleep, saying, “Many people stop here, and that is where they sleep.”But she said: “I am travelling, and no one knows where I am, and if any one follows me, and comes here, you tell them that you saw me, that I left very early in the morning and you do not know which way I went.” And she told him that she did not know herself which way she would go, and at night, when she went to bed, she brought a strong wind, and when she wanted to leave she sank down and went westward, and the wind blew away all her tracks.And she came to the Mohaves and lived there in a high mountain,Cheof Toe-ahk, or tall mountain, which has a cliff very hard to climb, but Tobacco stood up there.And after Tobacco had gone, Corn remained, but when corn-planting time came none was planted, because there was no rain. And so it went on—all summer, and people began to say: “It is so, when Tobacco was here, we had plenty ofrain, and now we have not any, and she must have had wonderful power.”And the people scolded Corn for sending Tobacco away, and told him to go away himself, and then they sent for Tobacco to come back, that they might have rain again.And Corn left, going toward the east, singing all the way, taking Pumpkin with him, who was singing too, saying they were going where there was plenty of moisture.And the next year there was no water, and a powerful doctor,Gee-hee-sop, took the Doctor’s Stone of Light, and the Doctor’s Square Stone, and some soft feathers, and eagle’s-tail feathers, and went to where Tobacco lived, asking her to come back, saying “We are all suffering for water, and we know you have power to make it rain, And every seed buried in the ground is begging for water, and likely to be burned up, and every tree is suffering, and I want you to come.”Then Tobacco said: “What has become of Corn? He is still with you, and corn is what you ought to eat, and everybody likes it, but nobody cares for me, except perhaps some old man who likes to smoke me, and I do not want to go back, and I am not going!”But Geeheesop said: “Corn is not there now, he has gone away, and we do not know where he is.” And again he asked Tobacco to come back but she refused, but gave him four balls of tobacco seed and said to him: “Take thesehome with you, and take the dirt of the tobacco-worm, and roll it up, and put it in a cane-tube and smoke it all around, and you will have rain, and then plant the seed, and in four days it will come up; and when you get the leaves, smoke them, and call on the winds, and you will have clouds and plenty of rain.”So Geeheesop went home with the seed balls, and tobacco-worm dirt, and did as Tobacco had told him; and the smoking of the dirt brought rain, and the seeds were planted in a secret place, and in four days came up, and grew for a while, but finally were about to die for want of rain.ThenGeeheesopgot some of the leaves and smoked them, and the wind blew, and rain came, and the plants revived and grew till they were ripe.When the tobacco was ripe Geeheesop gathered a lot of the leaves and filled with them one of the gourd-like nests which the woodpecker,koh-daht, makes in thehar-san, or giant-cactus, and then took a few of these and put them in a cane-tube pipe, orwatch-kee, and went to where the people gathered in the evening.And the doctor who was the father of Tobacco said: “What is this I smell? There is something new here!”And one said, “Perhaps it is some greens that I ate today that you smell,” and he breathed toward him.But the mahkai said, “That is not it.”And others breathed toward him, but he could not smell it.Then Geeheesop rolled a coal toward himself, and lit up his pipe, and the doctor said: “This is what I smelled!”And Geeheesop, after smoking a few whiffs, passed the pipe around to the others, and all smoked it, and when it came back to him he stuck it in the ground.And the next night he came with a new pipe to the place of meeting, but the father of Tobacco said: “Last night I had a smoke, but I did not feel good after it.”And all the others said: “Why we smoked and enjoyed it.”But the man who had eaten the greenskah-tee-kum, the day before, said: “He does not mean that he did not enjoy the smoke, but something else troubled him after it, and I think it was that when we passed the pipe around we did not say ‘My relatives,’ ‘brother,’ or ‘cousin,’ or whatever it was, but passed it quietly without using any names.”And Tobacco’s father said “Yes, that is what I mean.”(And from that time on all the Pimas smoked that way when they came together, using a cane-tube pipe, or making a long cigarette of corn-husk and tobacco, and passing it around among relatives.)So Geeheesop lit his pipe and passed it aroundin the way to satisfy the doctor.And the people saved the seeds of that tobacco, and to day it is all over the land.And the Corn and the Pumpkin had gone east, and for many years they lived there, and the people they had left had no corn, and no pumpkins; but after a while they returned of themselves, and came first to the mountain Tahtkum, and lived there a while, and then crossed the river and lived near Blackwater, at the place calledToeahk-Comalk, or White Thin Mountain, and from there went and lived awhile at Gahkotekih or, as it is now called, Superstition Mountain.While they lived at Gahkotekih there was a woman living near there at a place calledkawt-kee oy-ee-duckwho, with her younger brother, went to Gahkotekih to gather and roast the white cactus, and while they were doing this Corn saw them from the mountain and came down.And the boy saw him and said: “I think that is my uncle coming,” but his sister said,“It cannot be, for he is far away. If he were here the people would not be starving as now.”But the boy was right, it was his uncle, and Corn came to them and staid with them while the cactus was baking. And after awhile, as he sat aside, he would shoot an arrow up in the air, and it would fall whirling where the cooking was, and he would go and pick it up.Finally he said to the woman: “Would younot better uncover the corn and see if it is cooked yet?” And she said: “It is not corn, it is cactus.”Again, after a while, he said: “Would you not better uncover the pumpkin and see if it is done?” And she replied: “It is not pumpkin, we are baking, it is cactus.” But finally he said “Well, uncover it anyway,” and she uncovered it, and there were corn and pumpkin there, together, all nicely mixed and cooked, and she sat staring at it, and he told her to uncover it more, and she did so and ate some of it.And then he asked about the Tobacco woman, if she were married yet, and she said, “No, she is not married, but she is back with us again, now.”Then he asked her to send the little boy ahead and tell the people that Corn was coming to live with them again. But first the little boy was to go to the doctor who was the father of Tobacco, and see if he and his daughter wanted Corn to return. If they did he would come, and if they did not he would stay away. And he wanted the boy to come right back and tell what answer he got.So the little boy went, and took some corn with him to the doctor, and said: “Corn sent me, and he wants your daughter, and he wants to know if you want him. If you do he will return, but if you do not he will turn back again. And he wants me to bring him word what you say.”And the mahkai said “I have nothing to say against him. I guess he knows the people want corn. Go and tell him to come.”And Corn said: “Go back to the doctor and tell him to make a little kee, as quick as he can, and to get the people to help him, and to cover it with mats instead of bushes, and to let Tobacco go there and stay there till I come.And tell all the people to sweep their houses, and around their houses, and if anything in their houses is broken, such as pots,vahs-hroms, to turn them right side up. For I am coming back openly; there will be no secret about it.”So the little boy went back and told the doctor all that Corn had told him to say, and the doctor and the people built the kee, and Tobacco went there, and the people swept their houses and around them as they were told.And before sunset the woman came home with the corn and pumpkins she had cooked at the mountain, but Corn staid out till it was evening.And when evening came there was a black cloud where Corn stood, and soon it began to rain corn, and every little while a big pumpkin would come down,bump. And it rained corn and pumpkins all night, while Corn and his bride were in their kee, and in the morning the people went out and gathered up the corn from the swept place around their houses.And so Corn and Pumpkin came back again.The people gathered up all the corn aroundtheir houses, and all their vessels, even their broken ones, which they had turned up, were full, and their houses were soon packed full of corn and pumpkins.So Corn lived there with his wife, and after a while Tobacco had a baby, and it was a little crooked-necked pumpkin, such as the Pimas call a dog-pumpkin.And when the child had grown a little, one day its father and mother went out to work in the garden, and they put the little pumpkin baby behind a mat leaning against the wall. And some children, coming in, found it there, and began to play with it for a doll, carrying it on their backs as they do their dolls. And finally they dropped it and broke its neck.And when Corn came back and found his baby was broken he was angry, and left his wife, and went east again, and staid there awhile, and then bethought him of his pets, the blackbirds, which he had left behind, and came back to his wife again.But after awhile he again went east, taking his pets with him, scattering grains of corn so that the blackbirds would follow him.Corn made this speech while he was in the kee with Tobacco:In the East there is the Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, where lives the great doctor, the king fisher.And I came toBives-chool, the king fisher,and asked him for power, and he heard me asking, and flew up on his kee, and looked toward the West, and breathed the light four times, and flew and breathed again four times, and so on—flying four times and breathing after each flight four times, and then he sat over a place in the ground that was cut open.And in the West there was a Bluebird, and when I asked him for power he flew up on his kee, and breathed four times, and then flew toward the East, and he and Biveschool met at the middle of the earth.And Biveschool asked the Bluebird to do some great thing to show his power, and the Bluebird took the blue grains of corn from his breast and then planted them, and they grew up into beautiful tall corn, so tall its tops touched the sky and its leaves bowed over and scratched the ground in the wind.And Biveschool took white seeds from his breast, and planted them, and they came up, and were beautiful to be seen, and came to bear fruit that lay one after another on the vine—these were pumpkins.And the beautiful boys ran around among these plants, and learned to shout and learned to whistle, and the beautiful girls ran around among these plants and learned to whistle.And the relatives heard of these good years, and the plenty to eat, and there came a relative leading her child by the hand, who said: “Wewill go right on, for our relatives must have plenty to eat, and we shall not always suffer with hunger.So these came, but did not eat it all, but returned.So my relatives, think of this, that we shall not suffer with hunger always.”And Corn made another speech at that time to Tobacco’s father:“Doctor! Doctor! have you seen that this earth that you have made is burning! The mountains are crumbling, and all kinds of trees are burning down.And the people over the land which you have made run around, and have forgotten how to shout, and have forgotten how to walk, since the ground is so hot and burning.And the birds which you have made have forgotten how to fly, and have forgotten how to sing.And when you found this out you held up the long pinion feathers,mah-cheev-a-duck, toward the East, and there came the long clouds one after the other.And there in those clouds there were low thunderings, and they spread over the earth, and watered all the plants, and the roots of all the trees; and everything was different from what it had been.Every low place and every valley was crooked, but the force of the watersstraightenedthem out, and there was driftwood on all theshores: and after it was over every low place and every valley had foam in its mouth.And in the mouth stood the Doctor, and took the grains from his breast, and planted them, and the corn grew and was beautiful. And he went on further, to another low valley, and planted other seeds, and the pumpkin grew and was beautiful.And its vine to the West was black and zigzag in form, and to the South was blue and zigzag in form, and to the East was white and zigzag in form, and to the North was yellow and zigzag in form.So everything came up, and there was plenty to eat, and the people gathered it up, and the young boys and girls ate and were happy, and the old men and the old women ate and lengthened even their few days.So think of this, my relatives, and know that we are not to suffer with hunger always.”And the Dog-Pumpkin Baby lay there broken, after Corn went away, but after awhile sank down and went to Gahkotekih, and grew up there, and became the Harsan or Giant Cactus.And the mother and grandfathercouldnot find the Dog-Pumpkin Baby, and called the people together, and Toehahvs was asked to find it, and he smelled around where it had been, and went around in circles.And he came to where the Giant Cactus was and thought it was the baby, but was not sure,and so came back, and told them he could not find it.And they wanted Nooee to go, and Toehahvs said to Nooee: “I did see something, but I was not quite sure, but I want you to examine that Giant Cactus.”So Nooee flew around and around and examined the Giant Cactus and came back, and when the people questioned him said: “I have found it and it is already full-grown, and I tell you I think something good will happen to us because of it.”And when the Cactus had fruit the people gathered it, and madetis-win, and took the seeds and spread them out in the sun.And the Badger stole these seeds, and when the people knew it they sent Toehahvs after thethief.And Toehahvs went and saw Badger ahead of him in the road, and saw him go out and around and come into the road again and come toward him.And when they met, Toehahvs asked him what he had in his hand. And Badger said “I have something, but I’m not going to show you!”Then Toehahvs said: “If you’ll only just open your hand, so I can see, I’ll be satisfied.”And Badger opened his hand, and Toehahvs hit it a slap from below, and knocked the seeds all around, and that is why the giant cactus is now so scattered.Notes on the Story of Corn and TobaccoIn the Story of Corn and Tobacco we touch the superstitions about rain, the most desired thing in the desert. The mahkais used tobacco in their incantations, both for curing sickness and for making rain. It would appear that the Piman mind confused clouds of smoke and clouds of vapor, and because tobacco made clouds it was probably supposed to be potent in begetting rain. The Pimas told me that the Doctor’s Square Stone was used in the incantations for rain, and there appears to have been a connection in Piman thought between feathers and clouds, and therefore between feathers and rain, and it will be noticed that when Geeheesop went to get Tobacco’s help in making rain he took feathers and both kinds of Doctor-stone.This story seems to profess to give the origin of tobacco, giant cactus and of tiswin.1Read before the Anthropological Society of Philadelphia, May 11, 1904.

The Story of Corn and Tobacco1

There was a powerful mahkai who had a daughter, who, tho old enuf, was unmarried, and who grew tired of her single life and asked her father to bury her, saying, we will see then if the men will care for me.And from her grave grew the plant tobacco, and her father took it and smoked it and when the people who were gathered together smelled it they wondered what it was, and sent Toehahvs to find out.But, altho the tobacco still grew, the woman came to life again and came out of her grave back to her home.And one day she played gainskoot with Corn, and Corn beat her, and won all she had. But she gave some little things she did not care for to Corn, and the rest of her debt she did not pay, and they quarreled.She told Corn to go away, saying; “Nobody cares for you, now, but they care a great deal for me, and the doctors use me to make rain, and when they have moistened the ground is the only time you can come out.”And the Corn said: “You don’t know how much the people like me; the old as well as the young eat me, and I don’t think there is a person thatdoes not like me.” And Corn told Tobacco to go away herself.There were people there who heard them quarreling, and tho Tobacco staid on, whenever she would be in a house and hear people laughing she would think they were laughing at her. And she became very sad, and one day sank down in her house and went westward and came to a house there.And the person who lived there told her where to sleep, saying, “Many people stop here, and that is where they sleep.”But she said: “I am travelling, and no one knows where I am, and if any one follows me, and comes here, you tell them that you saw me, that I left very early in the morning and you do not know which way I went.” And she told him that she did not know herself which way she would go, and at night, when she went to bed, she brought a strong wind, and when she wanted to leave she sank down and went westward, and the wind blew away all her tracks.And she came to the Mohaves and lived there in a high mountain,Cheof Toe-ahk, or tall mountain, which has a cliff very hard to climb, but Tobacco stood up there.And after Tobacco had gone, Corn remained, but when corn-planting time came none was planted, because there was no rain. And so it went on—all summer, and people began to say: “It is so, when Tobacco was here, we had plenty ofrain, and now we have not any, and she must have had wonderful power.”And the people scolded Corn for sending Tobacco away, and told him to go away himself, and then they sent for Tobacco to come back, that they might have rain again.And Corn left, going toward the east, singing all the way, taking Pumpkin with him, who was singing too, saying they were going where there was plenty of moisture.And the next year there was no water, and a powerful doctor,Gee-hee-sop, took the Doctor’s Stone of Light, and the Doctor’s Square Stone, and some soft feathers, and eagle’s-tail feathers, and went to where Tobacco lived, asking her to come back, saying “We are all suffering for water, and we know you have power to make it rain, And every seed buried in the ground is begging for water, and likely to be burned up, and every tree is suffering, and I want you to come.”Then Tobacco said: “What has become of Corn? He is still with you, and corn is what you ought to eat, and everybody likes it, but nobody cares for me, except perhaps some old man who likes to smoke me, and I do not want to go back, and I am not going!”But Geeheesop said: “Corn is not there now, he has gone away, and we do not know where he is.” And again he asked Tobacco to come back but she refused, but gave him four balls of tobacco seed and said to him: “Take thesehome with you, and take the dirt of the tobacco-worm, and roll it up, and put it in a cane-tube and smoke it all around, and you will have rain, and then plant the seed, and in four days it will come up; and when you get the leaves, smoke them, and call on the winds, and you will have clouds and plenty of rain.”So Geeheesop went home with the seed balls, and tobacco-worm dirt, and did as Tobacco had told him; and the smoking of the dirt brought rain, and the seeds were planted in a secret place, and in four days came up, and grew for a while, but finally were about to die for want of rain.ThenGeeheesopgot some of the leaves and smoked them, and the wind blew, and rain came, and the plants revived and grew till they were ripe.When the tobacco was ripe Geeheesop gathered a lot of the leaves and filled with them one of the gourd-like nests which the woodpecker,koh-daht, makes in thehar-san, or giant-cactus, and then took a few of these and put them in a cane-tube pipe, orwatch-kee, and went to where the people gathered in the evening.And the doctor who was the father of Tobacco said: “What is this I smell? There is something new here!”And one said, “Perhaps it is some greens that I ate today that you smell,” and he breathed toward him.But the mahkai said, “That is not it.”And others breathed toward him, but he could not smell it.Then Geeheesop rolled a coal toward himself, and lit up his pipe, and the doctor said: “This is what I smelled!”And Geeheesop, after smoking a few whiffs, passed the pipe around to the others, and all smoked it, and when it came back to him he stuck it in the ground.And the next night he came with a new pipe to the place of meeting, but the father of Tobacco said: “Last night I had a smoke, but I did not feel good after it.”And all the others said: “Why we smoked and enjoyed it.”But the man who had eaten the greenskah-tee-kum, the day before, said: “He does not mean that he did not enjoy the smoke, but something else troubled him after it, and I think it was that when we passed the pipe around we did not say ‘My relatives,’ ‘brother,’ or ‘cousin,’ or whatever it was, but passed it quietly without using any names.”And Tobacco’s father said “Yes, that is what I mean.”(And from that time on all the Pimas smoked that way when they came together, using a cane-tube pipe, or making a long cigarette of corn-husk and tobacco, and passing it around among relatives.)So Geeheesop lit his pipe and passed it aroundin the way to satisfy the doctor.And the people saved the seeds of that tobacco, and to day it is all over the land.And the Corn and the Pumpkin had gone east, and for many years they lived there, and the people they had left had no corn, and no pumpkins; but after a while they returned of themselves, and came first to the mountain Tahtkum, and lived there a while, and then crossed the river and lived near Blackwater, at the place calledToeahk-Comalk, or White Thin Mountain, and from there went and lived awhile at Gahkotekih or, as it is now called, Superstition Mountain.While they lived at Gahkotekih there was a woman living near there at a place calledkawt-kee oy-ee-duckwho, with her younger brother, went to Gahkotekih to gather and roast the white cactus, and while they were doing this Corn saw them from the mountain and came down.And the boy saw him and said: “I think that is my uncle coming,” but his sister said,“It cannot be, for he is far away. If he were here the people would not be starving as now.”But the boy was right, it was his uncle, and Corn came to them and staid with them while the cactus was baking. And after awhile, as he sat aside, he would shoot an arrow up in the air, and it would fall whirling where the cooking was, and he would go and pick it up.Finally he said to the woman: “Would younot better uncover the corn and see if it is cooked yet?” And she said: “It is not corn, it is cactus.”Again, after a while, he said: “Would you not better uncover the pumpkin and see if it is done?” And she replied: “It is not pumpkin, we are baking, it is cactus.” But finally he said “Well, uncover it anyway,” and she uncovered it, and there were corn and pumpkin there, together, all nicely mixed and cooked, and she sat staring at it, and he told her to uncover it more, and she did so and ate some of it.And then he asked about the Tobacco woman, if she were married yet, and she said, “No, she is not married, but she is back with us again, now.”Then he asked her to send the little boy ahead and tell the people that Corn was coming to live with them again. But first the little boy was to go to the doctor who was the father of Tobacco, and see if he and his daughter wanted Corn to return. If they did he would come, and if they did not he would stay away. And he wanted the boy to come right back and tell what answer he got.So the little boy went, and took some corn with him to the doctor, and said: “Corn sent me, and he wants your daughter, and he wants to know if you want him. If you do he will return, but if you do not he will turn back again. And he wants me to bring him word what you say.”And the mahkai said “I have nothing to say against him. I guess he knows the people want corn. Go and tell him to come.”And Corn said: “Go back to the doctor and tell him to make a little kee, as quick as he can, and to get the people to help him, and to cover it with mats instead of bushes, and to let Tobacco go there and stay there till I come.And tell all the people to sweep their houses, and around their houses, and if anything in their houses is broken, such as pots,vahs-hroms, to turn them right side up. For I am coming back openly; there will be no secret about it.”So the little boy went back and told the doctor all that Corn had told him to say, and the doctor and the people built the kee, and Tobacco went there, and the people swept their houses and around them as they were told.And before sunset the woman came home with the corn and pumpkins she had cooked at the mountain, but Corn staid out till it was evening.And when evening came there was a black cloud where Corn stood, and soon it began to rain corn, and every little while a big pumpkin would come down,bump. And it rained corn and pumpkins all night, while Corn and his bride were in their kee, and in the morning the people went out and gathered up the corn from the swept place around their houses.And so Corn and Pumpkin came back again.The people gathered up all the corn aroundtheir houses, and all their vessels, even their broken ones, which they had turned up, were full, and their houses were soon packed full of corn and pumpkins.So Corn lived there with his wife, and after a while Tobacco had a baby, and it was a little crooked-necked pumpkin, such as the Pimas call a dog-pumpkin.And when the child had grown a little, one day its father and mother went out to work in the garden, and they put the little pumpkin baby behind a mat leaning against the wall. And some children, coming in, found it there, and began to play with it for a doll, carrying it on their backs as they do their dolls. And finally they dropped it and broke its neck.And when Corn came back and found his baby was broken he was angry, and left his wife, and went east again, and staid there awhile, and then bethought him of his pets, the blackbirds, which he had left behind, and came back to his wife again.But after awhile he again went east, taking his pets with him, scattering grains of corn so that the blackbirds would follow him.Corn made this speech while he was in the kee with Tobacco:In the East there is the Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, where lives the great doctor, the king fisher.And I came toBives-chool, the king fisher,and asked him for power, and he heard me asking, and flew up on his kee, and looked toward the West, and breathed the light four times, and flew and breathed again four times, and so on—flying four times and breathing after each flight four times, and then he sat over a place in the ground that was cut open.And in the West there was a Bluebird, and when I asked him for power he flew up on his kee, and breathed four times, and then flew toward the East, and he and Biveschool met at the middle of the earth.And Biveschool asked the Bluebird to do some great thing to show his power, and the Bluebird took the blue grains of corn from his breast and then planted them, and they grew up into beautiful tall corn, so tall its tops touched the sky and its leaves bowed over and scratched the ground in the wind.And Biveschool took white seeds from his breast, and planted them, and they came up, and were beautiful to be seen, and came to bear fruit that lay one after another on the vine—these were pumpkins.And the beautiful boys ran around among these plants, and learned to shout and learned to whistle, and the beautiful girls ran around among these plants and learned to whistle.And the relatives heard of these good years, and the plenty to eat, and there came a relative leading her child by the hand, who said: “Wewill go right on, for our relatives must have plenty to eat, and we shall not always suffer with hunger.So these came, but did not eat it all, but returned.So my relatives, think of this, that we shall not suffer with hunger always.”And Corn made another speech at that time to Tobacco’s father:“Doctor! Doctor! have you seen that this earth that you have made is burning! The mountains are crumbling, and all kinds of trees are burning down.And the people over the land which you have made run around, and have forgotten how to shout, and have forgotten how to walk, since the ground is so hot and burning.And the birds which you have made have forgotten how to fly, and have forgotten how to sing.And when you found this out you held up the long pinion feathers,mah-cheev-a-duck, toward the East, and there came the long clouds one after the other.And there in those clouds there were low thunderings, and they spread over the earth, and watered all the plants, and the roots of all the trees; and everything was different from what it had been.Every low place and every valley was crooked, but the force of the watersstraightenedthem out, and there was driftwood on all theshores: and after it was over every low place and every valley had foam in its mouth.And in the mouth stood the Doctor, and took the grains from his breast, and planted them, and the corn grew and was beautiful. And he went on further, to another low valley, and planted other seeds, and the pumpkin grew and was beautiful.And its vine to the West was black and zigzag in form, and to the South was blue and zigzag in form, and to the East was white and zigzag in form, and to the North was yellow and zigzag in form.So everything came up, and there was plenty to eat, and the people gathered it up, and the young boys and girls ate and were happy, and the old men and the old women ate and lengthened even their few days.So think of this, my relatives, and know that we are not to suffer with hunger always.”And the Dog-Pumpkin Baby lay there broken, after Corn went away, but after awhile sank down and went to Gahkotekih, and grew up there, and became the Harsan or Giant Cactus.And the mother and grandfathercouldnot find the Dog-Pumpkin Baby, and called the people together, and Toehahvs was asked to find it, and he smelled around where it had been, and went around in circles.And he came to where the Giant Cactus was and thought it was the baby, but was not sure,and so came back, and told them he could not find it.And they wanted Nooee to go, and Toehahvs said to Nooee: “I did see something, but I was not quite sure, but I want you to examine that Giant Cactus.”So Nooee flew around and around and examined the Giant Cactus and came back, and when the people questioned him said: “I have found it and it is already full-grown, and I tell you I think something good will happen to us because of it.”And when the Cactus had fruit the people gathered it, and madetis-win, and took the seeds and spread them out in the sun.And the Badger stole these seeds, and when the people knew it they sent Toehahvs after thethief.And Toehahvs went and saw Badger ahead of him in the road, and saw him go out and around and come into the road again and come toward him.And when they met, Toehahvs asked him what he had in his hand. And Badger said “I have something, but I’m not going to show you!”Then Toehahvs said: “If you’ll only just open your hand, so I can see, I’ll be satisfied.”And Badger opened his hand, and Toehahvs hit it a slap from below, and knocked the seeds all around, and that is why the giant cactus is now so scattered.Notes on the Story of Corn and TobaccoIn the Story of Corn and Tobacco we touch the superstitions about rain, the most desired thing in the desert. The mahkais used tobacco in their incantations, both for curing sickness and for making rain. It would appear that the Piman mind confused clouds of smoke and clouds of vapor, and because tobacco made clouds it was probably supposed to be potent in begetting rain. The Pimas told me that the Doctor’s Square Stone was used in the incantations for rain, and there appears to have been a connection in Piman thought between feathers and clouds, and therefore between feathers and rain, and it will be noticed that when Geeheesop went to get Tobacco’s help in making rain he took feathers and both kinds of Doctor-stone.This story seems to profess to give the origin of tobacco, giant cactus and of tiswin.

There was a powerful mahkai who had a daughter, who, tho old enuf, was unmarried, and who grew tired of her single life and asked her father to bury her, saying, we will see then if the men will care for me.

And from her grave grew the plant tobacco, and her father took it and smoked it and when the people who were gathered together smelled it they wondered what it was, and sent Toehahvs to find out.

But, altho the tobacco still grew, the woman came to life again and came out of her grave back to her home.

And one day she played gainskoot with Corn, and Corn beat her, and won all she had. But she gave some little things she did not care for to Corn, and the rest of her debt she did not pay, and they quarreled.

She told Corn to go away, saying; “Nobody cares for you, now, but they care a great deal for me, and the doctors use me to make rain, and when they have moistened the ground is the only time you can come out.”

And the Corn said: “You don’t know how much the people like me; the old as well as the young eat me, and I don’t think there is a person thatdoes not like me.” And Corn told Tobacco to go away herself.

There were people there who heard them quarreling, and tho Tobacco staid on, whenever she would be in a house and hear people laughing she would think they were laughing at her. And she became very sad, and one day sank down in her house and went westward and came to a house there.

And the person who lived there told her where to sleep, saying, “Many people stop here, and that is where they sleep.”

But she said: “I am travelling, and no one knows where I am, and if any one follows me, and comes here, you tell them that you saw me, that I left very early in the morning and you do not know which way I went.” And she told him that she did not know herself which way she would go, and at night, when she went to bed, she brought a strong wind, and when she wanted to leave she sank down and went westward, and the wind blew away all her tracks.

And she came to the Mohaves and lived there in a high mountain,Cheof Toe-ahk, or tall mountain, which has a cliff very hard to climb, but Tobacco stood up there.

And after Tobacco had gone, Corn remained, but when corn-planting time came none was planted, because there was no rain. And so it went on—all summer, and people began to say: “It is so, when Tobacco was here, we had plenty ofrain, and now we have not any, and she must have had wonderful power.”

And the people scolded Corn for sending Tobacco away, and told him to go away himself, and then they sent for Tobacco to come back, that they might have rain again.

And Corn left, going toward the east, singing all the way, taking Pumpkin with him, who was singing too, saying they were going where there was plenty of moisture.

And the next year there was no water, and a powerful doctor,Gee-hee-sop, took the Doctor’s Stone of Light, and the Doctor’s Square Stone, and some soft feathers, and eagle’s-tail feathers, and went to where Tobacco lived, asking her to come back, saying “We are all suffering for water, and we know you have power to make it rain, And every seed buried in the ground is begging for water, and likely to be burned up, and every tree is suffering, and I want you to come.”

Then Tobacco said: “What has become of Corn? He is still with you, and corn is what you ought to eat, and everybody likes it, but nobody cares for me, except perhaps some old man who likes to smoke me, and I do not want to go back, and I am not going!”

But Geeheesop said: “Corn is not there now, he has gone away, and we do not know where he is.” And again he asked Tobacco to come back but she refused, but gave him four balls of tobacco seed and said to him: “Take thesehome with you, and take the dirt of the tobacco-worm, and roll it up, and put it in a cane-tube and smoke it all around, and you will have rain, and then plant the seed, and in four days it will come up; and when you get the leaves, smoke them, and call on the winds, and you will have clouds and plenty of rain.”

So Geeheesop went home with the seed balls, and tobacco-worm dirt, and did as Tobacco had told him; and the smoking of the dirt brought rain, and the seeds were planted in a secret place, and in four days came up, and grew for a while, but finally were about to die for want of rain.

ThenGeeheesopgot some of the leaves and smoked them, and the wind blew, and rain came, and the plants revived and grew till they were ripe.

When the tobacco was ripe Geeheesop gathered a lot of the leaves and filled with them one of the gourd-like nests which the woodpecker,koh-daht, makes in thehar-san, or giant-cactus, and then took a few of these and put them in a cane-tube pipe, orwatch-kee, and went to where the people gathered in the evening.

And the doctor who was the father of Tobacco said: “What is this I smell? There is something new here!”

And one said, “Perhaps it is some greens that I ate today that you smell,” and he breathed toward him.

But the mahkai said, “That is not it.”

And others breathed toward him, but he could not smell it.

Then Geeheesop rolled a coal toward himself, and lit up his pipe, and the doctor said: “This is what I smelled!”

And Geeheesop, after smoking a few whiffs, passed the pipe around to the others, and all smoked it, and when it came back to him he stuck it in the ground.

And the next night he came with a new pipe to the place of meeting, but the father of Tobacco said: “Last night I had a smoke, but I did not feel good after it.”

And all the others said: “Why we smoked and enjoyed it.”

But the man who had eaten the greenskah-tee-kum, the day before, said: “He does not mean that he did not enjoy the smoke, but something else troubled him after it, and I think it was that when we passed the pipe around we did not say ‘My relatives,’ ‘brother,’ or ‘cousin,’ or whatever it was, but passed it quietly without using any names.”

And Tobacco’s father said “Yes, that is what I mean.”

(And from that time on all the Pimas smoked that way when they came together, using a cane-tube pipe, or making a long cigarette of corn-husk and tobacco, and passing it around among relatives.)

So Geeheesop lit his pipe and passed it aroundin the way to satisfy the doctor.

And the people saved the seeds of that tobacco, and to day it is all over the land.

And the Corn and the Pumpkin had gone east, and for many years they lived there, and the people they had left had no corn, and no pumpkins; but after a while they returned of themselves, and came first to the mountain Tahtkum, and lived there a while, and then crossed the river and lived near Blackwater, at the place calledToeahk-Comalk, or White Thin Mountain, and from there went and lived awhile at Gahkotekih or, as it is now called, Superstition Mountain.

While they lived at Gahkotekih there was a woman living near there at a place calledkawt-kee oy-ee-duckwho, with her younger brother, went to Gahkotekih to gather and roast the white cactus, and while they were doing this Corn saw them from the mountain and came down.

And the boy saw him and said: “I think that is my uncle coming,” but his sister said,“It cannot be, for he is far away. If he were here the people would not be starving as now.”

But the boy was right, it was his uncle, and Corn came to them and staid with them while the cactus was baking. And after awhile, as he sat aside, he would shoot an arrow up in the air, and it would fall whirling where the cooking was, and he would go and pick it up.

Finally he said to the woman: “Would younot better uncover the corn and see if it is cooked yet?” And she said: “It is not corn, it is cactus.”

Again, after a while, he said: “Would you not better uncover the pumpkin and see if it is done?” And she replied: “It is not pumpkin, we are baking, it is cactus.” But finally he said “Well, uncover it anyway,” and she uncovered it, and there were corn and pumpkin there, together, all nicely mixed and cooked, and she sat staring at it, and he told her to uncover it more, and she did so and ate some of it.

And then he asked about the Tobacco woman, if she were married yet, and she said, “No, she is not married, but she is back with us again, now.”

Then he asked her to send the little boy ahead and tell the people that Corn was coming to live with them again. But first the little boy was to go to the doctor who was the father of Tobacco, and see if he and his daughter wanted Corn to return. If they did he would come, and if they did not he would stay away. And he wanted the boy to come right back and tell what answer he got.

So the little boy went, and took some corn with him to the doctor, and said: “Corn sent me, and he wants your daughter, and he wants to know if you want him. If you do he will return, but if you do not he will turn back again. And he wants me to bring him word what you say.”

And the mahkai said “I have nothing to say against him. I guess he knows the people want corn. Go and tell him to come.”

And Corn said: “Go back to the doctor and tell him to make a little kee, as quick as he can, and to get the people to help him, and to cover it with mats instead of bushes, and to let Tobacco go there and stay there till I come.

And tell all the people to sweep their houses, and around their houses, and if anything in their houses is broken, such as pots,vahs-hroms, to turn them right side up. For I am coming back openly; there will be no secret about it.”

So the little boy went back and told the doctor all that Corn had told him to say, and the doctor and the people built the kee, and Tobacco went there, and the people swept their houses and around them as they were told.

And before sunset the woman came home with the corn and pumpkins she had cooked at the mountain, but Corn staid out till it was evening.

And when evening came there was a black cloud where Corn stood, and soon it began to rain corn, and every little while a big pumpkin would come down,bump. And it rained corn and pumpkins all night, while Corn and his bride were in their kee, and in the morning the people went out and gathered up the corn from the swept place around their houses.

And so Corn and Pumpkin came back again.

The people gathered up all the corn aroundtheir houses, and all their vessels, even their broken ones, which they had turned up, were full, and their houses were soon packed full of corn and pumpkins.

So Corn lived there with his wife, and after a while Tobacco had a baby, and it was a little crooked-necked pumpkin, such as the Pimas call a dog-pumpkin.

And when the child had grown a little, one day its father and mother went out to work in the garden, and they put the little pumpkin baby behind a mat leaning against the wall. And some children, coming in, found it there, and began to play with it for a doll, carrying it on their backs as they do their dolls. And finally they dropped it and broke its neck.

And when Corn came back and found his baby was broken he was angry, and left his wife, and went east again, and staid there awhile, and then bethought him of his pets, the blackbirds, which he had left behind, and came back to his wife again.

But after awhile he again went east, taking his pets with him, scattering grains of corn so that the blackbirds would follow him.

Corn made this speech while he was in the kee with Tobacco:

In the East there is the Tonedum Vahahkkee, the Vahahkkee of Light, where lives the great doctor, the king fisher.

And I came toBives-chool, the king fisher,and asked him for power, and he heard me asking, and flew up on his kee, and looked toward the West, and breathed the light four times, and flew and breathed again four times, and so on—flying four times and breathing after each flight four times, and then he sat over a place in the ground that was cut open.

And in the West there was a Bluebird, and when I asked him for power he flew up on his kee, and breathed four times, and then flew toward the East, and he and Biveschool met at the middle of the earth.

And Biveschool asked the Bluebird to do some great thing to show his power, and the Bluebird took the blue grains of corn from his breast and then planted them, and they grew up into beautiful tall corn, so tall its tops touched the sky and its leaves bowed over and scratched the ground in the wind.

And Biveschool took white seeds from his breast, and planted them, and they came up, and were beautiful to be seen, and came to bear fruit that lay one after another on the vine—these were pumpkins.

And the beautiful boys ran around among these plants, and learned to shout and learned to whistle, and the beautiful girls ran around among these plants and learned to whistle.

And the relatives heard of these good years, and the plenty to eat, and there came a relative leading her child by the hand, who said: “Wewill go right on, for our relatives must have plenty to eat, and we shall not always suffer with hunger.

So these came, but did not eat it all, but returned.

So my relatives, think of this, that we shall not suffer with hunger always.”

And Corn made another speech at that time to Tobacco’s father:

“Doctor! Doctor! have you seen that this earth that you have made is burning! The mountains are crumbling, and all kinds of trees are burning down.

And the people over the land which you have made run around, and have forgotten how to shout, and have forgotten how to walk, since the ground is so hot and burning.

And the birds which you have made have forgotten how to fly, and have forgotten how to sing.

And when you found this out you held up the long pinion feathers,mah-cheev-a-duck, toward the East, and there came the long clouds one after the other.

And there in those clouds there were low thunderings, and they spread over the earth, and watered all the plants, and the roots of all the trees; and everything was different from what it had been.

Every low place and every valley was crooked, but the force of the watersstraightenedthem out, and there was driftwood on all theshores: and after it was over every low place and every valley had foam in its mouth.

And in the mouth stood the Doctor, and took the grains from his breast, and planted them, and the corn grew and was beautiful. And he went on further, to another low valley, and planted other seeds, and the pumpkin grew and was beautiful.

And its vine to the West was black and zigzag in form, and to the South was blue and zigzag in form, and to the East was white and zigzag in form, and to the North was yellow and zigzag in form.

So everything came up, and there was plenty to eat, and the people gathered it up, and the young boys and girls ate and were happy, and the old men and the old women ate and lengthened even their few days.

So think of this, my relatives, and know that we are not to suffer with hunger always.”

And the Dog-Pumpkin Baby lay there broken, after Corn went away, but after awhile sank down and went to Gahkotekih, and grew up there, and became the Harsan or Giant Cactus.

And the mother and grandfathercouldnot find the Dog-Pumpkin Baby, and called the people together, and Toehahvs was asked to find it, and he smelled around where it had been, and went around in circles.

And he came to where the Giant Cactus was and thought it was the baby, but was not sure,and so came back, and told them he could not find it.

And they wanted Nooee to go, and Toehahvs said to Nooee: “I did see something, but I was not quite sure, but I want you to examine that Giant Cactus.”

So Nooee flew around and around and examined the Giant Cactus and came back, and when the people questioned him said: “I have found it and it is already full-grown, and I tell you I think something good will happen to us because of it.”

And when the Cactus had fruit the people gathered it, and madetis-win, and took the seeds and spread them out in the sun.

And the Badger stole these seeds, and when the people knew it they sent Toehahvs after thethief.

And Toehahvs went and saw Badger ahead of him in the road, and saw him go out and around and come into the road again and come toward him.

And when they met, Toehahvs asked him what he had in his hand. And Badger said “I have something, but I’m not going to show you!”

Then Toehahvs said: “If you’ll only just open your hand, so I can see, I’ll be satisfied.”

And Badger opened his hand, and Toehahvs hit it a slap from below, and knocked the seeds all around, and that is why the giant cactus is now so scattered.

Notes on the Story of Corn and TobaccoIn the Story of Corn and Tobacco we touch the superstitions about rain, the most desired thing in the desert. The mahkais used tobacco in their incantations, both for curing sickness and for making rain. It would appear that the Piman mind confused clouds of smoke and clouds of vapor, and because tobacco made clouds it was probably supposed to be potent in begetting rain. The Pimas told me that the Doctor’s Square Stone was used in the incantations for rain, and there appears to have been a connection in Piman thought between feathers and clouds, and therefore between feathers and rain, and it will be noticed that when Geeheesop went to get Tobacco’s help in making rain he took feathers and both kinds of Doctor-stone.This story seems to profess to give the origin of tobacco, giant cactus and of tiswin.

Notes on the Story of Corn and Tobacco

In the Story of Corn and Tobacco we touch the superstitions about rain, the most desired thing in the desert. The mahkais used tobacco in their incantations, both for curing sickness and for making rain. It would appear that the Piman mind confused clouds of smoke and clouds of vapor, and because tobacco made clouds it was probably supposed to be potent in begetting rain. The Pimas told me that the Doctor’s Square Stone was used in the incantations for rain, and there appears to have been a connection in Piman thought between feathers and clouds, and therefore between feathers and rain, and it will be noticed that when Geeheesop went to get Tobacco’s help in making rain he took feathers and both kinds of Doctor-stone.This story seems to profess to give the origin of tobacco, giant cactus and of tiswin.

In the Story of Corn and Tobacco we touch the superstitions about rain, the most desired thing in the desert. The mahkais used tobacco in their incantations, both for curing sickness and for making rain. It would appear that the Piman mind confused clouds of smoke and clouds of vapor, and because tobacco made clouds it was probably supposed to be potent in begetting rain. The Pimas told me that the Doctor’s Square Stone was used in the incantations for rain, and there appears to have been a connection in Piman thought between feathers and clouds, and therefore between feathers and rain, and it will be noticed that when Geeheesop went to get Tobacco’s help in making rain he took feathers and both kinds of Doctor-stone.

This story seems to profess to give the origin of tobacco, giant cactus and of tiswin.

1Read before the Anthropological Society of Philadelphia, May 11, 1904.

1Read before the Anthropological Society of Philadelphia, May 11, 1904.

The Story of the Children of CloudThere was a woman who lived in the mountains, who was very beautiful, and had many suitors, but she never married anyone.And one day she was making mats of cane; and she fell asleep and a rain came and a drop fell on her navel.And she had twin babies, and all the men claimed them, but when the babies were old enuf to crawl she told all the claimants to get in a circle, and she would put the babies in the middle, and if they crawled up to any man he would be the father.But the babies climbed upon nobody,andshe never married.And when these twin boys were old enuf their mother showed them a cloud in the east, and said: “That is your father, and his name is Cloud, and the Wind is your uncle, your father’s older brother.”But the children paid little attention, but when they got older they asked their mother if they could go and see their father. And their mother let them go.And they went, and came to a house, and the man who lived there asked them where they were going, and they said they were looking for their father, whose name was Cloud.And the man pointed to the next house, andsaid: “That man, there, is your father.”And they went to that man, but he said: “It is not so. He is your father. He is Cloud,” and sent them back again.But the first man sent them back once more to the second, who was really Cloud.And Cloud said, that time; “I wonder if it is so that you are my children!”And the boys said: “That is what they say.”And Cloud said: “I want you to do something to prove it.”Then the oldest boy thundered loud and lightened, and the other lightened a little, and Cloud said, “It is true, you are my children!”And before night Cloud fed them, and then went into his kee and shut it up and left them outside all night. And it rained and snowed all night, but they staid outside.And in the morning Cloud came out, and said: “It is really so, that you are my children.”And the next night he took them to a pond, where there was ice, and left them there all night. And the next day, when he came there and found they had staid in the water all night he said: “It is really so—you are my children.”So Cloudacknowledgedthem for his children and took them into his kee. And after awhile the boys wanted to go back to their mother,and Cloud said: “You may go, but you must not speak to anybody on the way. And I will be with you on the journey.”So the boys started, and cloud was over them, in the sky, shadowing them.And after a while they saw a man coming, and the younger boy said: “We must ask him how our mother is.”But the older brother said: “Don’t you remember that our father told us not to speak to anyone?”The younger said: “Yes, I remember, but it would not be right not ask how our mother is.”So when the man came the boy asked: “How is everybody at home, and how is the old woman, our mother?”And then the cloud above them lightened and thundered, and they were both turned into century plants.Notes on the Story of CloudIn Emory’s report, before alluded to, also in Captain Johnston’s, we find variants of The Story of the Children of Cloud. Thristy Hawk, the Maricopa, told Emory “that in bygone days a woman of surpassing beauty resided in a green spot in the mountains, near where we were encamped. All the men admired and paid court to her. She received the tributes of their devotion, grain, skins, etc., but gave no love or other favor in return. Her virtue and her determination to remain unmarried were equally firm. There came a drought which threatened the world with famine. In their distress, people applied to her, and she gave corn from her stock, and the supply seemed endless.... One day as she was lying asleep with her body exposed, a drop of rain fell on her stomach, which produced conception. A son was the issue, who was the founder of a new race which built all these houses” (ruins, vahahkkees).Johnston has it: “The general asked a Pima who made the house I had seen. ‘It is the Caza de Montezuma,’said he, ‘it was built by the son of the most beautiful woman, who once dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair, and all the handsome men came to court her, but in vain; when they came, they paid tribute, and out of this small store she fed all the people in time of distress, and it did not diminish; at last, as she lay asleep, a drop of rain fell upon her navel, and she became pregnant, and brought forth a boy, who was the builder of all these houses.”The seeneeyawkum gives her twins but knew nothing of any story of their children or of these buildings, the vahahkkees.

The Story of the Children of Cloud

There was a woman who lived in the mountains, who was very beautiful, and had many suitors, but she never married anyone.And one day she was making mats of cane; and she fell asleep and a rain came and a drop fell on her navel.And she had twin babies, and all the men claimed them, but when the babies were old enuf to crawl she told all the claimants to get in a circle, and she would put the babies in the middle, and if they crawled up to any man he would be the father.But the babies climbed upon nobody,andshe never married.And when these twin boys were old enuf their mother showed them a cloud in the east, and said: “That is your father, and his name is Cloud, and the Wind is your uncle, your father’s older brother.”But the children paid little attention, but when they got older they asked their mother if they could go and see their father. And their mother let them go.And they went, and came to a house, and the man who lived there asked them where they were going, and they said they were looking for their father, whose name was Cloud.And the man pointed to the next house, andsaid: “That man, there, is your father.”And they went to that man, but he said: “It is not so. He is your father. He is Cloud,” and sent them back again.But the first man sent them back once more to the second, who was really Cloud.And Cloud said, that time; “I wonder if it is so that you are my children!”And the boys said: “That is what they say.”And Cloud said: “I want you to do something to prove it.”Then the oldest boy thundered loud and lightened, and the other lightened a little, and Cloud said, “It is true, you are my children!”And before night Cloud fed them, and then went into his kee and shut it up and left them outside all night. And it rained and snowed all night, but they staid outside.And in the morning Cloud came out, and said: “It is really so, that you are my children.”And the next night he took them to a pond, where there was ice, and left them there all night. And the next day, when he came there and found they had staid in the water all night he said: “It is really so—you are my children.”So Cloudacknowledgedthem for his children and took them into his kee. And after awhile the boys wanted to go back to their mother,and Cloud said: “You may go, but you must not speak to anybody on the way. And I will be with you on the journey.”So the boys started, and cloud was over them, in the sky, shadowing them.And after a while they saw a man coming, and the younger boy said: “We must ask him how our mother is.”But the older brother said: “Don’t you remember that our father told us not to speak to anyone?”The younger said: “Yes, I remember, but it would not be right not ask how our mother is.”So when the man came the boy asked: “How is everybody at home, and how is the old woman, our mother?”And then the cloud above them lightened and thundered, and they were both turned into century plants.Notes on the Story of CloudIn Emory’s report, before alluded to, also in Captain Johnston’s, we find variants of The Story of the Children of Cloud. Thristy Hawk, the Maricopa, told Emory “that in bygone days a woman of surpassing beauty resided in a green spot in the mountains, near where we were encamped. All the men admired and paid court to her. She received the tributes of their devotion, grain, skins, etc., but gave no love or other favor in return. Her virtue and her determination to remain unmarried were equally firm. There came a drought which threatened the world with famine. In their distress, people applied to her, and she gave corn from her stock, and the supply seemed endless.... One day as she was lying asleep with her body exposed, a drop of rain fell on her stomach, which produced conception. A son was the issue, who was the founder of a new race which built all these houses” (ruins, vahahkkees).Johnston has it: “The general asked a Pima who made the house I had seen. ‘It is the Caza de Montezuma,’said he, ‘it was built by the son of the most beautiful woman, who once dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair, and all the handsome men came to court her, but in vain; when they came, they paid tribute, and out of this small store she fed all the people in time of distress, and it did not diminish; at last, as she lay asleep, a drop of rain fell upon her navel, and she became pregnant, and brought forth a boy, who was the builder of all these houses.”The seeneeyawkum gives her twins but knew nothing of any story of their children or of these buildings, the vahahkkees.

There was a woman who lived in the mountains, who was very beautiful, and had many suitors, but she never married anyone.

And one day she was making mats of cane; and she fell asleep and a rain came and a drop fell on her navel.

And she had twin babies, and all the men claimed them, but when the babies were old enuf to crawl she told all the claimants to get in a circle, and she would put the babies in the middle, and if they crawled up to any man he would be the father.

But the babies climbed upon nobody,andshe never married.

And when these twin boys were old enuf their mother showed them a cloud in the east, and said: “That is your father, and his name is Cloud, and the Wind is your uncle, your father’s older brother.”

But the children paid little attention, but when they got older they asked their mother if they could go and see their father. And their mother let them go.

And they went, and came to a house, and the man who lived there asked them where they were going, and they said they were looking for their father, whose name was Cloud.

And the man pointed to the next house, andsaid: “That man, there, is your father.”

And they went to that man, but he said: “It is not so. He is your father. He is Cloud,” and sent them back again.

But the first man sent them back once more to the second, who was really Cloud.

And Cloud said, that time; “I wonder if it is so that you are my children!”

And the boys said: “That is what they say.”

And Cloud said: “I want you to do something to prove it.”

Then the oldest boy thundered loud and lightened, and the other lightened a little, and Cloud said, “It is true, you are my children!”

And before night Cloud fed them, and then went into his kee and shut it up and left them outside all night. And it rained and snowed all night, but they staid outside.

And in the morning Cloud came out, and said: “It is really so, that you are my children.”

And the next night he took them to a pond, where there was ice, and left them there all night. And the next day, when he came there and found they had staid in the water all night he said: “It is really so—you are my children.”

So Cloudacknowledgedthem for his children and took them into his kee. And after awhile the boys wanted to go back to their mother,and Cloud said: “You may go, but you must not speak to anybody on the way. And I will be with you on the journey.”

So the boys started, and cloud was over them, in the sky, shadowing them.

And after a while they saw a man coming, and the younger boy said: “We must ask him how our mother is.”

But the older brother said: “Don’t you remember that our father told us not to speak to anyone?”

The younger said: “Yes, I remember, but it would not be right not ask how our mother is.”

So when the man came the boy asked: “How is everybody at home, and how is the old woman, our mother?”

And then the cloud above them lightened and thundered, and they were both turned into century plants.

Notes on the Story of CloudIn Emory’s report, before alluded to, also in Captain Johnston’s, we find variants of The Story of the Children of Cloud. Thristy Hawk, the Maricopa, told Emory “that in bygone days a woman of surpassing beauty resided in a green spot in the mountains, near where we were encamped. All the men admired and paid court to her. She received the tributes of their devotion, grain, skins, etc., but gave no love or other favor in return. Her virtue and her determination to remain unmarried were equally firm. There came a drought which threatened the world with famine. In their distress, people applied to her, and she gave corn from her stock, and the supply seemed endless.... One day as she was lying asleep with her body exposed, a drop of rain fell on her stomach, which produced conception. A son was the issue, who was the founder of a new race which built all these houses” (ruins, vahahkkees).Johnston has it: “The general asked a Pima who made the house I had seen. ‘It is the Caza de Montezuma,’said he, ‘it was built by the son of the most beautiful woman, who once dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair, and all the handsome men came to court her, but in vain; when they came, they paid tribute, and out of this small store she fed all the people in time of distress, and it did not diminish; at last, as she lay asleep, a drop of rain fell upon her navel, and she became pregnant, and brought forth a boy, who was the builder of all these houses.”The seeneeyawkum gives her twins but knew nothing of any story of their children or of these buildings, the vahahkkees.

Notes on the Story of Cloud

In Emory’s report, before alluded to, also in Captain Johnston’s, we find variants of The Story of the Children of Cloud. Thristy Hawk, the Maricopa, told Emory “that in bygone days a woman of surpassing beauty resided in a green spot in the mountains, near where we were encamped. All the men admired and paid court to her. She received the tributes of their devotion, grain, skins, etc., but gave no love or other favor in return. Her virtue and her determination to remain unmarried were equally firm. There came a drought which threatened the world with famine. In their distress, people applied to her, and she gave corn from her stock, and the supply seemed endless.... One day as she was lying asleep with her body exposed, a drop of rain fell on her stomach, which produced conception. A son was the issue, who was the founder of a new race which built all these houses” (ruins, vahahkkees).Johnston has it: “The general asked a Pima who made the house I had seen. ‘It is the Caza de Montezuma,’said he, ‘it was built by the son of the most beautiful woman, who once dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair, and all the handsome men came to court her, but in vain; when they came, they paid tribute, and out of this small store she fed all the people in time of distress, and it did not diminish; at last, as she lay asleep, a drop of rain fell upon her navel, and she became pregnant, and brought forth a boy, who was the builder of all these houses.”The seeneeyawkum gives her twins but knew nothing of any story of their children or of these buildings, the vahahkkees.

In Emory’s report, before alluded to, also in Captain Johnston’s, we find variants of The Story of the Children of Cloud. Thristy Hawk, the Maricopa, told Emory “that in bygone days a woman of surpassing beauty resided in a green spot in the mountains, near where we were encamped. All the men admired and paid court to her. She received the tributes of their devotion, grain, skins, etc., but gave no love or other favor in return. Her virtue and her determination to remain unmarried were equally firm. There came a drought which threatened the world with famine. In their distress, people applied to her, and she gave corn from her stock, and the supply seemed endless.... One day as she was lying asleep with her body exposed, a drop of rain fell on her stomach, which produced conception. A son was the issue, who was the founder of a new race which built all these houses” (ruins, vahahkkees).

Johnston has it: “The general asked a Pima who made the house I had seen. ‘It is the Caza de Montezuma,’said he, ‘it was built by the son of the most beautiful woman, who once dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair, and all the handsome men came to court her, but in vain; when they came, they paid tribute, and out of this small store she fed all the people in time of distress, and it did not diminish; at last, as she lay asleep, a drop of rain fell upon her navel, and she became pregnant, and brought forth a boy, who was the builder of all these houses.”

The seeneeyawkum gives her twins but knew nothing of any story of their children or of these buildings, the vahahkkees.

The Story of Tcheunassat SeevenStcheuadack Seeven wanted to gamble with Tcheunassat Seeven, who lived at Kawtkee Oyyeeduck, and sent a man with an invitation to come and play against him, and bring all his wives.And Tcheunassat Seeven said: “I will go, for my wives are used to travelling, and we will take food, and will camp on the road, and day after tomorrow, about evening, we will be there.”So the messenger went back with this word, and in the morning Tcheunassat Seeven got his lunch ready, and he and his wives started; and the first night camped at Odchee, and the next day came to the little mountain, near Blackwater, calledSahn-a-mik, and they crossedAk-kee-mull, The River, the Gila, there, and Tcheunassat Seeven told his wives to wash their hair and clean themselves there, and then he told them to go ahead to Stcheuadack Seeven while he took his bath. And while he bathed they went on and came to Stcheuadack Seeven’s house, where he was singing and his wives dancing.Then the wives of Tcheunassat Seeven did not ask for invitation, but went right in and joined the dance, and went to Stcheuadack Seeven and took hold of his hand in the dance, pushing each other away to get it.And Stcheuadack Seeven thought from this that he would get all of Tcheunassat Seeven’s wives away from him.Tcheunassat Seeven, after his bath, cut a piece of oapot wood and sharpened it, and split the other end into four pieces, and bent them over and tied the ends of crow’s feathers to them, and stuck it in his hair, and dipped his finger in white paint and made one little spot over each eye, which was all the paint he used, and then he went and watched his wives dancing and taking Stcheuadack Seeven’s hand.And Stcheuadack Seeven asked them if that was their husband, and they said: “Yes, he is our husband. He is not very good-looking, but we care so much for him.”Tcheunassat Seeven watched the dancing awhile and then stepped back a little and took out his rattle and began to sing. And at once everybody crowded around him, and all his wives came back to him, and finally all Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives came and contended for his hand, as his wives had been doing with Stcheuadack Seeven.And this went on into the night, all dancing and having a good time, except Stcheuadack Seeven, who walked around looking at his wives dancing.And finally he sent a message to the most beautiful of his wives (who had a beautiful daughter) and told him to tell her: “I am sleepy,and I want you home now, and I want all my wives to go into the house.”And she said: “I will come. I will tell my daughter, who is over there, and then we will come home.”But she did not tell her daughter, and did not come home, and Stcheuadack Seeven waited awhile, and then found his messenger and asked him: “Did you tell her?”And the messenger said: “I did.”And he said: “Tell her again that I am waiting outside here, and I want her to come to me and we will go home.”Then the messenger told the woman again, but she did not come, and Stcheuadack Seeven wandered around outside till morning.And near morning Tcheunassat Seeven sang abeautifulsong, and began to move toward his own home, dancing all the way, and all the women going before him.And he did this till morning, and then stopped, and went home, taking all his own wives and all of Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives with him.And Stcheuadack Seeven went home, when he saw this, and took his beautiful cloak all covered with live butterflies and humming-birds, and lay down, covering himself with it.But four days after, Stcheuadack Seeven told the messenger to take this beautiful cloak toTcheunassatSeeven, and ask him to send back that beautiful wife and her daughter, and to keepthe rest of the wives; and to keep the cloak and use that to marry more wives.ButTcheunassatSeeven said to the messenger: “Tell him I do not want his cloak. I have one just like it, and I have all I want, and I will not send back any of his wives. It was his wish that we should gamble, and if he had been the better singer and had won my wives I would not have asked for any of them back.”And now Tcheunassat Seeven appeared as a beautiful person, with long hair and turquoise ear-rings, and he said: “He need not think I always look as I did when I came to his dance. That was only to fool him.”The beautiful daughter of the beautiful wife grew up, and Tcheunassat Seeven married her, too, and she had a baby.And when Stcheuadack Seeven heard of it, he said: “I am going to punish him.” And he made a black spider and sent it thru the air.And in the evening when the mother wanted to air her baby’s cradle, she took it out, and then the black spider got in the baby’s cradle and hid himself, and when the baby was put back the spider bit it, and it began to cry.And its father and mother tried to pacify it, but could not, and when they took it out of the cradle, there they found the black spider.And Tcheunassat Seeven sent word toStcheuadackSeeven to come and see his grand-child, which was about to die, but Stcheuadack Seevensaid to the messenger: “What is the matter with Tcheunassat Seeven? He is a powerful doctor. Tell him to cure the child. I will not come. The bite of a black spider is poisonous, but it never kills anybody.Tell him to get some weeds on Maricopa Mountain and cure the child.” And he sent the messenger back again.AndTcheunassatSeeven said: “How can I get those weeds when I do not know which ones are right and there are so many! I cannot go.”And he did not go, and the child died.A Song of Tcheunassat SeevenThere stands a dead vahahkkeeOn top of it there runs back and forth the SeevenAnd he has a robe with yellow hand prints on it.The Lark’s Song about his Lost Wife1My poor wife!In the West she seems to be bound by the song of the Bamboo.1This is a Pima flute-song, a record of which I obtained for my phonograph while in Arizona. It has no direct connection with the legends; but illustrates the Story of Tcheunassat Seeven a little, as it is about a woman, the wife of an Indian named the Lark, who is led away by the seductive singing of another Indian named the Bamboo; the Indians having an idea that women were most easily seduced by music. The Pimas, when they speak English, calling the wild cane bamboo.

The Story of Tcheunassat Seeven

Stcheuadack Seeven wanted to gamble with Tcheunassat Seeven, who lived at Kawtkee Oyyeeduck, and sent a man with an invitation to come and play against him, and bring all his wives.And Tcheunassat Seeven said: “I will go, for my wives are used to travelling, and we will take food, and will camp on the road, and day after tomorrow, about evening, we will be there.”So the messenger went back with this word, and in the morning Tcheunassat Seeven got his lunch ready, and he and his wives started; and the first night camped at Odchee, and the next day came to the little mountain, near Blackwater, calledSahn-a-mik, and they crossedAk-kee-mull, The River, the Gila, there, and Tcheunassat Seeven told his wives to wash their hair and clean themselves there, and then he told them to go ahead to Stcheuadack Seeven while he took his bath. And while he bathed they went on and came to Stcheuadack Seeven’s house, where he was singing and his wives dancing.Then the wives of Tcheunassat Seeven did not ask for invitation, but went right in and joined the dance, and went to Stcheuadack Seeven and took hold of his hand in the dance, pushing each other away to get it.And Stcheuadack Seeven thought from this that he would get all of Tcheunassat Seeven’s wives away from him.Tcheunassat Seeven, after his bath, cut a piece of oapot wood and sharpened it, and split the other end into four pieces, and bent them over and tied the ends of crow’s feathers to them, and stuck it in his hair, and dipped his finger in white paint and made one little spot over each eye, which was all the paint he used, and then he went and watched his wives dancing and taking Stcheuadack Seeven’s hand.And Stcheuadack Seeven asked them if that was their husband, and they said: “Yes, he is our husband. He is not very good-looking, but we care so much for him.”Tcheunassat Seeven watched the dancing awhile and then stepped back a little and took out his rattle and began to sing. And at once everybody crowded around him, and all his wives came back to him, and finally all Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives came and contended for his hand, as his wives had been doing with Stcheuadack Seeven.And this went on into the night, all dancing and having a good time, except Stcheuadack Seeven, who walked around looking at his wives dancing.And finally he sent a message to the most beautiful of his wives (who had a beautiful daughter) and told him to tell her: “I am sleepy,and I want you home now, and I want all my wives to go into the house.”And she said: “I will come. I will tell my daughter, who is over there, and then we will come home.”But she did not tell her daughter, and did not come home, and Stcheuadack Seeven waited awhile, and then found his messenger and asked him: “Did you tell her?”And the messenger said: “I did.”And he said: “Tell her again that I am waiting outside here, and I want her to come to me and we will go home.”Then the messenger told the woman again, but she did not come, and Stcheuadack Seeven wandered around outside till morning.And near morning Tcheunassat Seeven sang abeautifulsong, and began to move toward his own home, dancing all the way, and all the women going before him.And he did this till morning, and then stopped, and went home, taking all his own wives and all of Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives with him.And Stcheuadack Seeven went home, when he saw this, and took his beautiful cloak all covered with live butterflies and humming-birds, and lay down, covering himself with it.But four days after, Stcheuadack Seeven told the messenger to take this beautiful cloak toTcheunassatSeeven, and ask him to send back that beautiful wife and her daughter, and to keepthe rest of the wives; and to keep the cloak and use that to marry more wives.ButTcheunassatSeeven said to the messenger: “Tell him I do not want his cloak. I have one just like it, and I have all I want, and I will not send back any of his wives. It was his wish that we should gamble, and if he had been the better singer and had won my wives I would not have asked for any of them back.”And now Tcheunassat Seeven appeared as a beautiful person, with long hair and turquoise ear-rings, and he said: “He need not think I always look as I did when I came to his dance. That was only to fool him.”The beautiful daughter of the beautiful wife grew up, and Tcheunassat Seeven married her, too, and she had a baby.And when Stcheuadack Seeven heard of it, he said: “I am going to punish him.” And he made a black spider and sent it thru the air.And in the evening when the mother wanted to air her baby’s cradle, she took it out, and then the black spider got in the baby’s cradle and hid himself, and when the baby was put back the spider bit it, and it began to cry.And its father and mother tried to pacify it, but could not, and when they took it out of the cradle, there they found the black spider.And Tcheunassat Seeven sent word toStcheuadackSeeven to come and see his grand-child, which was about to die, but Stcheuadack Seevensaid to the messenger: “What is the matter with Tcheunassat Seeven? He is a powerful doctor. Tell him to cure the child. I will not come. The bite of a black spider is poisonous, but it never kills anybody.Tell him to get some weeds on Maricopa Mountain and cure the child.” And he sent the messenger back again.AndTcheunassatSeeven said: “How can I get those weeds when I do not know which ones are right and there are so many! I cannot go.”And he did not go, and the child died.A Song of Tcheunassat SeevenThere stands a dead vahahkkeeOn top of it there runs back and forth the SeevenAnd he has a robe with yellow hand prints on it.The Lark’s Song about his Lost Wife1My poor wife!In the West she seems to be bound by the song of the Bamboo.

Stcheuadack Seeven wanted to gamble with Tcheunassat Seeven, who lived at Kawtkee Oyyeeduck, and sent a man with an invitation to come and play against him, and bring all his wives.

And Tcheunassat Seeven said: “I will go, for my wives are used to travelling, and we will take food, and will camp on the road, and day after tomorrow, about evening, we will be there.”

So the messenger went back with this word, and in the morning Tcheunassat Seeven got his lunch ready, and he and his wives started; and the first night camped at Odchee, and the next day came to the little mountain, near Blackwater, calledSahn-a-mik, and they crossedAk-kee-mull, The River, the Gila, there, and Tcheunassat Seeven told his wives to wash their hair and clean themselves there, and then he told them to go ahead to Stcheuadack Seeven while he took his bath. And while he bathed they went on and came to Stcheuadack Seeven’s house, where he was singing and his wives dancing.

Then the wives of Tcheunassat Seeven did not ask for invitation, but went right in and joined the dance, and went to Stcheuadack Seeven and took hold of his hand in the dance, pushing each other away to get it.

And Stcheuadack Seeven thought from this that he would get all of Tcheunassat Seeven’s wives away from him.

Tcheunassat Seeven, after his bath, cut a piece of oapot wood and sharpened it, and split the other end into four pieces, and bent them over and tied the ends of crow’s feathers to them, and stuck it in his hair, and dipped his finger in white paint and made one little spot over each eye, which was all the paint he used, and then he went and watched his wives dancing and taking Stcheuadack Seeven’s hand.

And Stcheuadack Seeven asked them if that was their husband, and they said: “Yes, he is our husband. He is not very good-looking, but we care so much for him.”

Tcheunassat Seeven watched the dancing awhile and then stepped back a little and took out his rattle and began to sing. And at once everybody crowded around him, and all his wives came back to him, and finally all Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives came and contended for his hand, as his wives had been doing with Stcheuadack Seeven.

And this went on into the night, all dancing and having a good time, except Stcheuadack Seeven, who walked around looking at his wives dancing.

And finally he sent a message to the most beautiful of his wives (who had a beautiful daughter) and told him to tell her: “I am sleepy,and I want you home now, and I want all my wives to go into the house.”

And she said: “I will come. I will tell my daughter, who is over there, and then we will come home.”

But she did not tell her daughter, and did not come home, and Stcheuadack Seeven waited awhile, and then found his messenger and asked him: “Did you tell her?”

And the messenger said: “I did.”

And he said: “Tell her again that I am waiting outside here, and I want her to come to me and we will go home.”

Then the messenger told the woman again, but she did not come, and Stcheuadack Seeven wandered around outside till morning.

And near morning Tcheunassat Seeven sang abeautifulsong, and began to move toward his own home, dancing all the way, and all the women going before him.

And he did this till morning, and then stopped, and went home, taking all his own wives and all of Stcheuadack Seeven’s wives with him.

And Stcheuadack Seeven went home, when he saw this, and took his beautiful cloak all covered with live butterflies and humming-birds, and lay down, covering himself with it.

But four days after, Stcheuadack Seeven told the messenger to take this beautiful cloak toTcheunassatSeeven, and ask him to send back that beautiful wife and her daughter, and to keepthe rest of the wives; and to keep the cloak and use that to marry more wives.

ButTcheunassatSeeven said to the messenger: “Tell him I do not want his cloak. I have one just like it, and I have all I want, and I will not send back any of his wives. It was his wish that we should gamble, and if he had been the better singer and had won my wives I would not have asked for any of them back.”

And now Tcheunassat Seeven appeared as a beautiful person, with long hair and turquoise ear-rings, and he said: “He need not think I always look as I did when I came to his dance. That was only to fool him.”

The beautiful daughter of the beautiful wife grew up, and Tcheunassat Seeven married her, too, and she had a baby.

And when Stcheuadack Seeven heard of it, he said: “I am going to punish him.” And he made a black spider and sent it thru the air.

And in the evening when the mother wanted to air her baby’s cradle, she took it out, and then the black spider got in the baby’s cradle and hid himself, and when the baby was put back the spider bit it, and it began to cry.

And its father and mother tried to pacify it, but could not, and when they took it out of the cradle, there they found the black spider.

And Tcheunassat Seeven sent word toStcheuadackSeeven to come and see his grand-child, which was about to die, but Stcheuadack Seevensaid to the messenger: “What is the matter with Tcheunassat Seeven? He is a powerful doctor. Tell him to cure the child. I will not come. The bite of a black spider is poisonous, but it never kills anybody.Tell him to get some weeds on Maricopa Mountain and cure the child.” And he sent the messenger back again.

AndTcheunassatSeeven said: “How can I get those weeds when I do not know which ones are right and there are so many! I cannot go.”

And he did not go, and the child died.

A Song of Tcheunassat SeevenThere stands a dead vahahkkeeOn top of it there runs back and forth the SeevenAnd he has a robe with yellow hand prints on it.

A Song of Tcheunassat SeevenThere stands a dead vahahkkeeOn top of it there runs back and forth the SeevenAnd he has a robe with yellow hand prints on it.

There stands a dead vahahkkeeOn top of it there runs back and forth the SeevenAnd he has a robe with yellow hand prints on it.

There stands a dead vahahkkee

On top of it there runs back and forth the Seeven

And he has a robe with yellow hand prints on it.

The Lark’s Song about his Lost Wife1My poor wife!In the West she seems to be bound by the song of the Bamboo.

The Lark’s Song about his Lost Wife1My poor wife!In the West she seems to be bound by the song of the Bamboo.

My poor wife!In the West she seems to be bound by the song of the Bamboo.

My poor wife!

In the West she seems to be bound by the song of the Bamboo.

1This is a Pima flute-song, a record of which I obtained for my phonograph while in Arizona. It has no direct connection with the legends; but illustrates the Story of Tcheunassat Seeven a little, as it is about a woman, the wife of an Indian named the Lark, who is led away by the seductive singing of another Indian named the Bamboo; the Indians having an idea that women were most easily seduced by music. The Pimas, when they speak English, calling the wild cane bamboo.

1This is a Pima flute-song, a record of which I obtained for my phonograph while in Arizona. It has no direct connection with the legends; but illustrates the Story of Tcheunassat Seeven a little, as it is about a woman, the wife of an Indian named the Lark, who is led away by the seductive singing of another Indian named the Bamboo; the Indians having an idea that women were most easily seduced by music. The Pimas, when they speak English, calling the wild cane bamboo.

The Legend of BlackwaterAlittle off from the road between Sacaton, and Casa Grande Ruins there is, or was in the old days, a mysterious pool of dark water, which the Indians regarded with superstitious awe.They said it was of fathomless depth, that it communicated with the ocean, and that strange, monstrous animals at times appeared in it. There are Indians still living who declare they have seen them with their own eyes.I visited this famous place once with my interpreter, Mr Wood. After galloping a while thru a mezquite forest we suddenly emerged upon its legendary shores.Alas, for the prosaic quality of fact! It was but a common-place water-hole, or spring-pond, a few rods across, with bogs and bulrushes in its center.The unkindness of irrigation ditches, withdrawing its waters, revealed that like most bottomless pools of story it was very shallow indeed.It was nearly dry.Its name of Blackwater has been given to the nearbysurroundingdistrict.This was the only trace of the common Indian superstition of water monsters I found among the Pimas.Koo-a KutchThe End

The Legend of Blackwater

Alittle off from the road between Sacaton, and Casa Grande Ruins there is, or was in the old days, a mysterious pool of dark water, which the Indians regarded with superstitious awe.They said it was of fathomless depth, that it communicated with the ocean, and that strange, monstrous animals at times appeared in it. There are Indians still living who declare they have seen them with their own eyes.I visited this famous place once with my interpreter, Mr Wood. After galloping a while thru a mezquite forest we suddenly emerged upon its legendary shores.Alas, for the prosaic quality of fact! It was but a common-place water-hole, or spring-pond, a few rods across, with bogs and bulrushes in its center.The unkindness of irrigation ditches, withdrawing its waters, revealed that like most bottomless pools of story it was very shallow indeed.It was nearly dry.Its name of Blackwater has been given to the nearbysurroundingdistrict.This was the only trace of the common Indian superstition of water monsters I found among the Pimas.Koo-a KutchThe End

Alittle off from the road between Sacaton, and Casa Grande Ruins there is, or was in the old days, a mysterious pool of dark water, which the Indians regarded with superstitious awe.

They said it was of fathomless depth, that it communicated with the ocean, and that strange, monstrous animals at times appeared in it. There are Indians still living who declare they have seen them with their own eyes.

I visited this famous place once with my interpreter, Mr Wood. After galloping a while thru a mezquite forest we suddenly emerged upon its legendary shores.Alas, for the prosaic quality of fact! It was but a common-place water-hole, or spring-pond, a few rods across, with bogs and bulrushes in its center.

The unkindness of irrigation ditches, withdrawing its waters, revealed that like most bottomless pools of story it was very shallow indeed.

It was nearly dry.

Its name of Blackwater has been given to the nearbysurroundingdistrict.

This was the only trace of the common Indian superstition of water monsters I found among the Pimas.

Koo-a Kutch

The End

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