A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola: Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 3-228Mindeleff, Cosmos
History
A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola: Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 3-228
Mindeleff, Cosmos
Pueblo Indians -- Antiquities; Pueblo architecture
Again all the people traveled north until they came to the Little
Colorado, near San Francisco Mountains, and there they built houses
up and down the river. They also made long ditches to carry the
water from the river to their gardens. After living there a long
while they began to be plagued with swarms of a kind of gnat called
the sand-fly, which bit the children, causing them to swell up and
die. The place becoming unendurable, they were forced again to
resume their travels. Before starting, one of the Rain-women, who
was big with child, was made comfortable in one of the houses on the
mountain. She told her people to leave her, because she knew this
was the place where she was to remain forever. She also told them,
that hereafter whenever they should return to the mountain to hunt
she would provide them with plenty of game. Under her house is a
spring and any sterile woman who drinks of its water will bear
children. The people then began a long journey to reach the summit
of the table land on the north. They camped for rest on one of the
terraces, where there was no water, and they were very tired and
thirsty. Here the women celebrated the rain-feast--they danced for
three days, and on the fourth day the clouds brought heavy rain and
refreshed the people. This event is still commemorated by a circle
of stones at that place. They reached a spring southeast from
Káibitho (Kumás Spring) and there they built a house and lived for
some time. Our people had plenty of rain and cultivated much corn
and some of the Walpi people came to visit us. They told ns that
their rain only came here and there in fine misty sprays, and a
basketful of corn was regarded as a large crop. So they asked us to
come to their land and live with them and finally we consented. When
we got there we found some Eagle people living near the Second Mesa;
our people divided, and part went with the Eagle and have ever since
remained there; but we camped near the First Mesa. It was planting
time and the Walpi celebrated their rain-feast but they brought only
a mere misty drizzle. Then we celebrated our rain-feast and planted.
Great rains and thunder and lightning immediately followed and on
the first day after planting our corn was half an arm’s length high;
on the fourth day it was its full height, and in one moon it was
ripe. When we were going up to the village (Walpi was then north of
the gap, probably), we were met by a Bear man who said that our
thunder frightened the women and we must not go near the village.
Then the kwakwanti said, “Let us leave these people and seek a land
somewhere else,” but our women said they were tired of travel and
insisted upon our remaining. Then “Fire-picker” came down from the
village and told us to come up there and stay, but after we had got
into the village the Walpi women screamed out against us--they
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