Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology: to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891
History
Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology: to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891
Navajo Indians -- Rites and ceremonies; Pueblo Indians -- Antiquities; Pueblo architecture
The camp was surrounded by piñon brush and a large fire burned in the
center of the inclosure; there was much meat roasting over the fire. As
soon as the youth reached the camp he raked over the coals and said,
“I feel cold.” The brother-in-law replied, “It is cold. When people camp
together they tell stories to one another in the mornings; we have told
ours and we must now hear yours.” The youth related his experiences of
the past night. He said, “Where I stopped last night was the worst camp
I ever had.” The brothers kept their backs to the youth and pretended
not to pay any attention, but the brother-in-law listened and questioned
him. He continued, “I never heard such a noise.” The brothers then
remarked, “I thought he would say something like that” (they were
jealous of this crazy brother, he saw so much they could not see). The
brother-in-law was inclined to believe the youth’s story and asked what
kind of people made the noise. “I do not know. They were strange people
to me, but I do know they danced all night back and forth across the
canyon, and I know my brothers killed twelve deer, and afterwards killed
two of their people who went for the blood of the deer. I heard them
say, ’That is what must be expected if you will go to such places you
must expect to be killed.’” The elder brother began thinking and without
turning toward the youth asked, “How many deer did you say were killed?”
and he answered “twelve.” Then the older brother said, “Well, sir, you
have told me many stories and I never believed you, but this story I do
believe. What is the matter with you that you know all these things? How
do you know these things and find out these things?” The youth replied,
“I do not know how, but all these things come to my mind and my eyes.”
The elder brother said, “I will now give more thought to you and study
how you find out all about these things. We have a lot of meat and we
did not know how to get it home; now that you have come let us return;
you shall carry the meat.” When halfway home they were about to descend
a mesa, and when on the edge they sat down to rest; then they saw far
down the mesa four mountain sheep, and the brothers commanded the youth
to kill one for them. They said, “Our meat is dry; your legs are fresh,
so you will kill the sheep.” The youth succeeded in heading off the
sheep by hiding in a bush (_Bigelovia Douglasii_[9]) sometimes called
sage brush but it is not the true sage brush. The sheep came directly
toward him; he aimed his arrow at them, but before he could pull the bow
his arm stiffened and became dead and the sheep passed by. All the sheep
passed him, but he again headed them off by hiding in the stalks of a
large yucca.[10] The sheep passed within five steps of him, and again
when the time to pull the bow came his arm stiffened. The crow people
were watching him all the time. He again followed the sheep and got
ahead of them and hid behind a birch tree in bloom; he had his bow
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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