In addition to the corn dishes, there is a great variety of other foods. Meat of all kinds is roasted, boiled or stewed. Broths, soups and stews are common. Boiled beans and baked squash are always part of a feast and any of these articles may be cooked in combination. In addition there are wild plant dishes; boiled greens, boiled or baked roots, stewed fruits, roasted seeds or ground pinon nuts. Fall is the time when there is the greatest abundance and variety of foods and the feasts that accompany the ceremonies are sumptuous affairs. The finest dishes are passed down into the kivas to the priests. Guests eat in the open courts around the cooking fires and drowsily belch their gratitude for the food and hospitality. In the evening the people gather around the many small fires that send dancing shadows across the roof of the great cave. From some of the kivas comes the chanting of the priests; from others come the more uncertain voices of the boys as they learn the endless songs. Some of the groups around the fires are also singing but most of them are quietly talking, gambling and sleeping. The canyon is lighted by the bright rays of a golden harvest moon and the cliffs echo the voices of the singers, not only from Cliff Palace but from all the other cliff dwellings up and down the canyons. The great green mesa is filled with happy, thankful people and troubles seem far away. The gods are pleased with the efforts of the industrious Indians. As autumn fades into winter the people of Cliff Palace face it with confidence. Winter is always an ordeal but they are well-prepared. There is an abundance of food and there is ample clothing. Great piles of wood have been gathered and the houses have carefully been rechinked. There will be suffering and many deaths during the cold months that are ahead but spring is just beyond. 7 WINTER Winter is the least enjoyable of all seasons for the people of Cliff Palace. It is a long, quiet, cold season, when the witches plague the people with their evil deeds. There is much sickness and suffering and often the sadness of death hangs over the town. Those who are active and healthy do not mind it so much, but it is an uncomfortable season for the children and an agonizing time for older men and women who suffer from rheumatism and arthritis.