After this all manner of distressing punishments were inflicted
upon them, and wherever they halted, the grass immediately
withered and dried. Their wanderings brought them to the foot of
the San Francisco Mountains, where they dwelt for a long time, and
at that place the virgin gave birth to a daughter who had a little
knob on each side of her forehead. They preserved this child, and
when she had grown to be a woman, the horned _katcina_ appeared
and announced to her that she would give birth to horned twins,
who would bring rain and remove the punishment from their people.
This woman was married, and the twins, a boy and a girl, were
born; but she concealed their divine origin, fearing they would be
destroyed.
The _Patun_ (Squash) now moved to the Little Colorado, where they
built houses and met some of the _Patki_ people to whom they
related their distresses. A wise man of the _Patki_ came over to
see them, and on seeing the twins at once pronounced them to be
the _Alosaka_. They had no horns up to this time, but as soon as
this announcement was made, their horns became visible and the
twins then spoke to the people and said it had been ordained that
they were to be unable to help their people until the people
themselves discovered who they were. The _Patun_ were so enraged
to think that the _Alosaka_ had been with them, unknown so many
years, that they killed them, and still greater sufferings ensued.
They again repented, and carved two stone images of the _Alosaka_
which they painted and decked with feathers and sought to
propitiate the mother. She was full of pity for her people and
prayed to the Sky-god to relieve them. A period elapsed in which
their troubles were in great measure abated.
The _Patun_ then sought to join the _Patki_ clans, but the _Patki_
would not permit this, and compelled them to keep east of Awatobi.
Many ruins of phratry and family houses of the _Patun_ people
exist on the small watercourses north of the Puerco at various
distances eastward from the present village of Walpi. The nearest
are almost fifteen miles, the farthest about fifty miles.
Their wandering course was now stayed. When they essayed to move
farther eastward, a nomadic hunting race who occupied that region
besought them not to advance farther. Their evil notoriety had
preceded them, and the nomads feared the maleficent influence of
their neighborhood. It would seem, however, that instead of
hostile demonstrations the nomads entered into a treaty with them,
offering to pay tribute of venison, roots, and grass-seeds, if
they would abstain from traversing and blighting their land, to
which the _Patun_ agreed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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