ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS
OF
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
VOL. XXIV, PART II
MYTHS AND TALES FROM THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE
BY
PLINY EARLE GODDARD
[Illustration: THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SCIENCE EDUCATION]
NEW YORK
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES
1919
MYTHS AND TALES FROM THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE.
BY PLINY EARLE GODDARD.
INTRODUCTION.
These myths and tales are the free translations of texts recorded in the
dialect of the White Mountain Apache. The texts themselves with word for
word translations follow as Part IV of the volume. They were recorded,
with one exception, during the winter of 1910 as a part of the studies
made in the Southwest under the yearly grant of Mr. Archer M.
Huntington. The creation myth, secured from Noze, differs in important
incidents from the versions given above from the San Carlos as well as
from versions secured from other White Mountain Apache. It should not be
assumed that these differences are tribal, it is more probable that they
are individual, since forms from the San Carlos and Navajo are closely
similar to each other.
The greater number of the remaining narratives were secured from the
father of Frank Crockett, the interpreter employed. Several of these are
ceremonial and religious in their character and probably would not have
been given except for the son's influence. Two of these were later
secured from San Carlos informants in more extended form but highly
corroborative in their general agreement.
The main purpose in recording these narratives was to secure sufficient
and varied connected texts in the dialect of the White Mountain Apache.
As a collection of mythology and folklore it is probably far from
complete. It is assumed, however, to be fairly representative.
PLINY EARLE GODDARD.
January, 1919.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
INTRODUCTION 89
CREATION MYTH 93
NAIYENEZGANI 115
THE PLACING OF THE EARTH 119
THE ADOLESCENCE CEREMONY 123
THE MIGRATION OF THE GANS 124
RELEASING THE DEER 126
DEER WOMAN 127
THE GAMBLER WHO SECURED THE WATER-CEREMONY 128
THE MAN WHO VISITED THE SKY WITH THE EAGLES 132
HE WHO BECAME A SNAKE 135
THE HUNTER WHO SECURED THE BEAR CEREMONY 136
THE CANNIBAL OWL 137
THE DOINGS OF COYOTE 138
BIBLIOGRAPHY 139
CREATION MYTH.[1]
There were many houses there. A maiden went from the settlement to the
top of a high mountain[2] and came where the rays of the rising Sun
first strike. She raised her skirt and the “breath” of the Sun entered
her. She went up the mountain four mornings, and four times the breath
of the Sun penetrated her. This girl who had never been married became
pregnant and the people were making remarks about it.
She went up the mountain on four successive days and four days after
that, eight days altogether, she gave birth to a child. Four days later,
the child stood on its feet. His fingers and toes were webbed and he had
neither eyebrows nor eyelashes and the hairs on his head were scattered,
one in a place. His ears were round with only the openings. Everyone
said he did not look like a man. After four more days he walked well and
played with the other children.
His mother went again to the east and lay down under a place where water
was dripping. The water fell into her as it dripped from the hanging
algæ. She did this four times and became pregnant. After four days they
all saw that her abdomen was enlarged and when she had been in that
condition four days, eight days in all, she gave birth to another
child.[3] When it was four days old it stood up and was able to walk
well. Its appearance was like that of the first child. It had webbed
hands and feet and was without hair. It had round ears with holes only.
The children walked about together, the head of one being higher than
that of the other.
The people were asking, “Whose children are these going about?” They
wanted to know who would make them like human beings. “Who are the kin
of the woman whose children are going about among us?” The mother had a
sister who wondered why the people were saying these things, for the
boys had a father who lived a long way off.
The boys were eight days old and big enough to run about and were
becoming intelligent. They asked their mother where their father was
living. “Why do you ask?” she said. “You cannot go to him.” “Why do you
say that? Why do you hide our father from us?” the boys asked. “Well, do
you really want to go where your father lives?” she asked them. “Why do
you suppose we are asking?” the boys replied. “We will go where our
father lives.” Their mother told them that they were talking foolishly,
that the distance was great, and that they would not be able to go. The
boys insisted but were again discouraged by their mother. They finally
said that it must be they had no father if they could not go to him. The
mother then consented and said they three would go to the top of a great
mountain. She cut a supply of meat and after four days, when it was near
dawn, they started. They came to the top of the mountain when it was day
and stood there facing the Sun. The woman stood between the boys holding
them by the hand. When the sun was rising she said: “Look, your father
is rising. Observe well. His breath streams out from four sides. Go
towards the streaming out of his breath. There are dangerous things
living in the east. What have you to go with?” She had a brown fly and
she gave it to the boys, that it might sit by their ears. The fly was to
show them the way and tell them where the dangerous ones lived.
She told them they were to start at midday. They remained there until
the sun reached the sky hole.[4] They then went four times around the
trees on top of the mountain. The woman started home and the boys set
out on their journey.
The boys went toward the east but the Sun was going in the opposite
direction.[5] The boys sat down and cried. A Raven, spreading out his
wings, alighted nearby and asked the boys why they were crying. The boys
replied that their father lived over there and that they were going to
visit him. The Raven asked if they were carrying anything in the way of
food with them. They replied that they had some meat. The Raven said
they might ride on his back if they would give him some of the meat. The
fly told them it would be all right to ride on the Raven, that the Raven
could see half the way and that there someone was living who knew the
remainder of the way. They were told by the Raven to break up the meat
and put the pieces in his mouth, that two of the parcels would sustain
him until he finished the journey as far as he knew the way. They were
directed to get on the Raven's back. The Raven began by flying near the
ground, then went higher and higher, circling around. A hot rain fell
but the Raven covered them with his wings. They kept putting the meat
into the Raven's mouth. When they had fed the Raven two pieces of the
meat they passed through a cloud where the large Eagle lived. The Raven
told them that that one (the Eagle) would now take them, that he knew
all the places because he saw everything upon the earth; that he himself
would go back.
The Eagle asked them where they were going, saying that he lived in a
dangerous place. The boys indicated the direction they were going,
saying they had been told their father lived there. Eagle said it was
true their father lived at that place and asked if they had heard about
his house. The boys replied that their mother had told them that the Sun
was their father and that he lived over there. Because she had told them
this they were on their way to see him. Eagle asked them by what means
they intended to go, saying even he was in danger from the Sun. The fly
staying by the ear of one of the boys flew away and soon returned with
the statement that the dangerous places did exist and that Eagle, with
whom they were sitting, was the one who knew and was in control of these
dangerous places. Before the house of the Sun was ice, interlocked like
fallen timber. Eagle addressed the boys, asking if they had with them
anything from the earth, meaning meat. They replied that they had and
each of the boys took some from his pocket. Eagle asked for some of it,
which when it was given him he ate.
Eagle then said they would set out, for he knew the trail. He requested
them to put meat in his mouth as he flew with them, indicating the
amount which would be sufficient, for the trail. When they were seated
on the Eagle he started down with them, circling around as he flew. A
storm of hail fell on them, the hailstones being large with thirty-two
points.[6] The eagle protected the boys by covering them with his wings
which were rolled back over them. When they had passed through the storm
Eagle asked that meat be put in his mouth. When he had been fed he flew
away with the boys and went through a hole which was there for him. When
he came to the trail he alighted and pointing out the path told them
that it led to the house of the Sun.[7] He said that he himself would
now turn back home.
The boys went forward until they crossed a shallow valley beyond which
was the house, which had projections running out in four directions.
When they walked with their eyes closed the house went out of sight, but
when they opened their eyes the house settled down again. It did this
four times and then it stood firmly. The two boys walked on and coming
to the house, stood in front of the entrance. An old woman who was the
wife of the Sun sat there.
She advised them to go on wherever they were intending to go, since a
person of mean disposition was soon to arrive. The woman who spoke to
them was really handsome but she sat there in the form of an old woman.
The boys replied that they had been told that their father lived there,
and that they had started to come that morning. The woman replied that
she did not know who their father was. The boys said that the Sun was
their father and they had come to visit him. The woman then asked who
had told them that the Sun was their father. They said their mother had
told them so. The woman told them that their father would soon return
and asked them to be seated on a chair she indicated. When they were
seated, the chair kept whirling around with them. When the chair would
lift up the woman would make it come down again. When the woman saw the
chair come down again she announced herself as nearly convinced they had
spoken the truth.
Saying that the Sun was now coming close, she took four silk blankets[8]
of different colors which had been sewed together projecting in four
directions and rolled the boys up in them. She put them into an inside
room. They heard the Sun come back and heard him speak. “Old woman,
where are the two men who came here?” he asked. The woman replied: “I
have not seen anyone. No one has been here.” “You say there is no one.
They must have come, for here are their tracks,” the Sun replied. “You
must have been cohabiting with someone else. You say you travel over
this broad earth and that you do not visit anyone. You must have been
deceiving me about it for two men came in from that trail saying they
are your children,” his wife said. The Sun asked that they be brought
in, and the woman opened the door, brought in the roll of blankets, and
threw it down. The Sun shook the blankets and two men stood up. The Sun
spoke: “Hesh, do you consider these to be my children? They do not look
like me.” He stood by them and repeated his question, calling attention
to their webbed hands and feet and their round ears. “Are you really my
children?” he asked them. “Who is called the Sun, I wonder?” the
youngest of the boys said, and water fell from his eyes. “Well, maybe
you are my children. Sit here and wait,” the Sun said. Their fly looked
around and reported that the man was their father. After examining the
room everywhere, the inner corners, the windows, and door, the fly told
them that ordeals were being prepared for them. He said that soon a
blazing sky would be arranged, into which they would be thrown. The fly
looked around for downy feathers which he gave the boys.
When the Sun had finished eating he asked that those who said they were
the Sun's children should be brought in. He threw them into the place of
danger. He pushed them in with lightning which had sharp spines. They
turned into downy feathers and stood in front of him again. “It is
true,” the Sun said. He threw them in four times, pushing them down.
Each time they turned into feathers and came back in front of the Sun as
before. The Sun then said he was convinced that they were his children.
His wife said: “They told you they were your children, but you have
treated them badly.” The Sun replied: “They certainly are my children
but I did not believe it before.” The Sun asked his wife to prepare a
sweatlodge as soon as they had eaten.
She made a sweatlodge covered with a blue blanket on one side, a black
one on another side, a white one on another side, and a yellow one on
another side. His wife had the stones heated red hot, like red hot iron.
They three went right in, but the Sun only came out again. When the bath
had been heated the fourth time the boys were as if they had been
boiled. He pushed back the skin which was between their fingers and
toes. He fixed for them their lower leg muscles, their knees, their
thighs, their biceps, their elbows, and their lower arms. He made the
hair of their heads come to their hips, twisting it off at that length.
He made their ears, their eyelashes, and their eyebrows, their noses,
their mouths, and their faces. He fixed every part of their bodies as it
should be. The Sun went out of the bath with the boys and sat with them
on the seat where his wife usually sat. They were just like men.[9] When
the wife of the Sun came and stood in front of them she looked at them
closely, but could not distinguish one from the other. “Move, husband,”
she said. The one sitting in the middle moved himself. “You told me you
had not been with any woman but you fooled me. These are your children.
You must have a wife. Go home with them,” the woman said.
The Sun spoke to his wife, saying that these were his children but that
if he went away with them to the earth she would be lonesome. Only today
there was a good sunset. “Just now when you said 'no' your eye winked,”
he said to her. “I am jealous of what is far away,” she said. The Sun
said he would not go, but would talk to his children.
“My boys, shall I give you names?” “Yes, it is not well to be without
names,” they replied. Then the Sun said he would name them. He told the
older his name would be Naiyenezgani and that he must behave well.[10]
He told the other one that he would be named Tobatc'istcini. “When you
are upon the earth you will be called so and you will tell them that
your father named you that. You shall say, 'He made my name
Naiyenezgani.' But you, 'Tobatc'istcini he made my name,' you must tell
them.”
The Sun then asked them for what they had come. They told him they had
come for his horse, his saddle, his bridle, his halter, his rope, and
his saddle blanket. The Sun asked who had told them he had such
property. The older one replied that their mother had told them what
property he had and had told them that she would be happy if they
brought it back to the earth. She said that he (the Sun) would also be
happy. The Sun replied that he had no property, no horse, saddle,
bridle, halter, rope, or saddle blanket. The fly had told them that the
Sun had these, but he looked around again and reported that the Sun had
them close by.
“Let us go over there,” one of them proposed. They went to a fenced
enclosure and entered through a gate. The yard was so full of black
bears that the mass of their moving backs occupied the entire space.
“Which of those are my horses?” the Sun asked. “They are fearful
animals,” the boys replied. “These are my horses,” the Sun insisted and
mounted one of them and rode around on it. The fly informed the boys
that they were being deceived. The Sun proposed that they should go in
another direction to another enclosure. Inside this yard were white-tail
deer, mule deer, elk, and mountain-sheep. The Sun announced that these
were his horses and told the boys to choose any one they liked and catch
it. “Which is the largest?” he asked them. “These are not horses,” the
boys replied, “they are named deer. We asked you for horses.” The Sun
insisted they were his horses and that he rode them great distances.
“Well, you have outwitted me. I thought I would succeed in outwitting
you, but you have won.” The younger brother asked the Sun what he was
concealing from them, saying he could find them. The Sun asked them not
to say that and proposed that they look in another place where he had a
few horses confined. They went to the place indicated and found the
place filled with antelope, sheep, goats, and pigs. “Catch any one of
these you want,” the Sun said. “You tend to them here alone,” the boys
replied and walked out leaving the Sun who followed behind.
They went to the house and ate a meal. Their fly told them that the
Sun's horses were in the enclosure that had four doors. When they had
finished eating they went to this enclosure which was a house with a
roof having holes in it. It had spikes like irons, sticking up from it.
It was closed and completely dark. “There are horses in there,” the fly
told them. The Sun said, “I told you it was useless.” One of the boys
asked that they might look in. There was a door there which he opened. A
little beyond it was another door, a little beyond another, and a little
beyond that another, and still beyond that another. They now came to
horses in the enclosure but could not enter. By standing on something
they could see through a hole in the roof. They could not get in between
the horses until they were caused to separate and to open up a passage.
The Sun then told them to catch the horse that they thought was his. The
fly sitting by one of their ears told them they were to catch the horse
with a rope which they should induce the Sun to give them. When the Sun
again urged them to catch the horse without delay, they asked whether
they should lead the horse by the mane or carry him out in their hands.
The Sun, with spotted ropes in his hand, went right through the door
which he opened. He gave one of the ropes to each of the boys, telling
them to catch the horses which were his. The animals were milling around
in the enclosure. In the center was one which was not moving, a sorrel
with a small white spot on its forehead. Its mane reached the ground.
When it raised its head one of the boys started toward it, the horses
separating. He threw the rope and caught the horse which he led back.
The Sun then told the other boy to catch a horse, wanting to know who
had told him which horse to catch. There was a stallion running around
the outside of the herd. Its mane reached the ground; he was acting wild
but the fly told them that although he acted as if he were mean he was
really gentle. He directed them to take both these horses from the Sun.
When the other boy started with his rope toward the stallion he was
running around the outside of the herd and coming toward the boy. When
he came close and saw the boy he stopped and then wheeled back. The boy
lassoed it and immediately the horse trotted up to him, nosing his arm.
He led the stallion up beside the sorrel horse which was a mare. The Sun
said: “There they are, ride them, take them with you to the earth.”
The boys then asked for the horse trappings for which they had also
come. The Sun said he did not know what they meant by horse trappings.
The younger boy said, “Well, if you do not know what horse trappings
are, do not again put them on these horses in the corral.” The Sun asked
who it was who had made them as smart as he was himself. They replied
that he, the Sun, had made them smart and had made them speak wisely.
They then asked by name for bridle, halter, saddle blanket, and
saddle.[11] Turning his back to the boys he walked away and opened a
door, bidding the boys enter. They went in and saw saddles lying there
with bridles hanging on the saddle horns. The blankets were lying
beneath. Before they went in the fly flew in and selected two out of all
the saddles. One was lying at the east and the other at the west. The
first was blue and the other yellow. The fly had returned to one of
their ears by the time the Sun said: “There are those saddles, take the
ones you want.” The fly told the boys that the saddles which looked good
really were not, but that they should choose the blue and yellow ones,
indicating them, and the blankets, halters, bridles, and ropes of
similar colors lying by them. These were the Sun's own particular set of
trappings. When the Sun urged them to hurry up each boy stepped toward
the saddle he had chosen. When they did so the saddles moved of
themselves with the blankets and bridles. There was a sound “gij” of the
moving leather and “tsil” as they came to rest.
The Sun turned his face away and took a black silk handkerchief which
had two white stripes around the border from his pocket. With this he
wiped his eyes. “I raised you for just this purpose,” he said. The Sun
started to walk toward the horses. Their fly had told them not to touch
the saddles, that the Sun himself would fix them. “They belong to you,”
the fly said. “Everything is alive; the rope on the horse moves about of
itself. The saddle will jump on of itself.”[12] The fly told them this.
The halter was gone, the bridle and saddle blanket which had been lying
on the saddle were gone. The halter, bridle, and saddle blanket that had
been with the blue saddle were also gone. The Sun called them to come
where he was standing. They both went out again and the doors of the
saddle room and of the stable were shut.
They went to the Sun, who was standing between the two horses so that
their heads projected as he held the bridles. They started away, the
boys walking in front of the Sun as he directed them to do. They passed
through the four doors to a post standing in front of the Sun's house.
He led the horses to the post where they stood without being tied.[13]
There were four chairs standing inside the Sun's house; and one by
itself for the woman.[14] His children sat on the chairs and his wife
sat on the one which was hers. The Sun addressed them as follows:—
“My boys, I will instruct you about the dangerous places you will come
to. The horses know the dangerous places on the way back. My wife is
pleased with you and treats you well. That is why you are to have these
horses, one of which is hers. The other is mine and so is the saddle,
bridle, halter, and saddle blanket. They are all mine. You will go back
to your kindred. When you are near, hurry. I will give you something.”
The Sun got up and reached inside to a shelf from which he took up an
iron knife like a sword. Turning around he took up a bow and arrows
having iron heads. There were two of the arrows. “I give these to you,”
he said. “You are giving us these! Our mother did not know about them.
Why does she not give us something?” the boys said. The Sun's wife said
she would speak a few words to them. “You shall be my nephews. Your
mother shall be my sister. She shall be like me. Because of this I have
treated you well. She shall be the same as I. I become an old woman and
at other times I am as if I were two years old. She shall be the same
way.[15] You shall tell her this before the Sun travels far. I am the
one telling you; he did not tell you. I will name my sister. Your father
will give you names.” The Sun picked something up and was still holding
it. “Wait, I will tell you something and after that he will give you a
name. I name her Nigostsanbikayo.[16] Every one will call her that. She
will come to me. You, too, will come to me. I give a name to your
mother. She will be called Ests'unnadlehi and she will help you. I make
a name for her, Ests'unnadlehi, and with that she will help you. When
she has children again they will be two girls. These girls will belong
to the people for there will be people.[17] She will help them. I, too,
will help them when they come to me. He, too, will help his children.
That is why I am telling you and you must remember it well. I have
finished. Your father will tell you about the objects he is about to
give you.”
The Sun gave the elder boy a weapon saying, “This will be called a 'blue
sword.' You will use it against the monsters on the earth. Because of
that I gave you the name, Naiyenezgani.” He gave the weapon to him
saying, “That is all for you.” Addressing the younger, he said, “Now I
give this to you, Tobatc'istcini. You will use this which I give you
against those who prey upon people. You are to help each other. I shall
be near you watching you. Whatever you do will be known to me. It will
be well if you kill these evil ones. The people will live everywhere.”
He gave him the bow with the injunction that he should draw the bow
three times without releasing the arrow and then he should shoot the
dangerous beings and they would fly apart. Having said this, he proposed
they should eat something. The Sun's wife was still sitting in her
accustomed seat. The men went to the table, well loaded with food
prepared by some unknown agency, and began to eat. The Sun's wife gave
the elder one a spotted belt with a yellow fringe hanging from its
border.
When they had finished the meal, the Sun said he did not know how the
visitors were to return. They went where the horses stood and the Sun
said, “Children, this stallion will go well in the lead. Now mount the
horses.” He held the stirrup and saddle horn and told the boys to get
on. They did so and rode away from the Sun's house where towards the
east a post stands up with white hair[18] which reaches to the ground
and turns up again. The rain falls on it. They rode their horses around
this post four times and came back where they were standing before, as
the Sun directed them to do.
When they had finished, the Sun's wife came up to them and told her
husband to count for his sons the two saddle blankets, two halters, two
bridles, two ropes, and two saddles. The Sun told them to start home;
that he was well acquainted with them. He charged them to take good care
of the saddle blankets and directed that the gray horse should go in the
lead because he knew the trail to the place midway between the earth and
the sky. From that point the sorrel horse was to lead because that one
knew the way from there on. When they returned where their mother lived
he told them to stake the horses out for four nights. The sorrel was to
be staked toward the east and the gray to the west. Having ridden the
horses among the people they were to unsaddle them in some good place. A
white saddle blanket was to be placed toward the east, a black one to
the south, a yellow one to the west, and a blue one to the north.[19]
The bridles, halters, ropes, and saddles were to be brought to the camp.
He charged them to keep in mind what he was telling, for he was telling
them this that they might be good men. He divided his property between
his boys. He told them after the horses had been running loose four days
to go to them early in the morning. This might be in any good place
where canyons meet, making a flat. When they came to them they were to
hold out their hands, palms upward, towards the horses. They were to
catch the horses while they were licking their hands. They were to
consider what he told them and when they should go for the horses after
four days, the four canyons coming together would be full of horses.
When their horses had been caught by holding out their hands, the saddle
blankets, one on the other, were to be put on them and the horses were
to be saddled. They were to ride the horses all day until sunset when
they were to be turned out again. Having turned them out, they were told
they might go the next day to see what was happening. Having finished
his speech he dismissed the boys.
They went with the Sun until they came to the top of the ridge, where
they stopped. The Sun felt the horses all over. He felt of their legs,
their feet, their faces, their ears, their manes, their backs, petting
them. “Goodbye, my horses,” he said, “travel well for my boys down to
the earth. There is food for you on the earth the same as here.” He
addressed the gray horse, telling him to be the leader on the way toward
the earth since he knew the way. He told the boys not to look at the
horses' feet nor to look behind them, but to keep their eyes fixed on
the tips of their ears.
They started; before they knew it the horses had changed places, and the
sorrel was leading. They thought the earth was far off but they soon
found the horses were trotting along on the earth. Now the horses were
running with them toward their camp. They rode up slowly where the
people were walking about. They rode to the camp side by side, and the
people all ran out to look at them. Their mother was standing outside
watching them and they rode up one on each side of her. “Mother,
Ests'unnadlehi, unsaddle our horses,” they said to her.
The people all came up to them. The woman, laughing, ran her hand over
the horses saying, “Your father gave you large horses.” When the people
had all come there, the boys told them to call their mother
Ests'unnadlehi. They all called her by that name. The older boy said
they were to call him Naiyenezgani. The younger one said they were to
call him Tobatc'istcini.[20] They addressed them saying, “When we were
here before you used to laugh at us because we were poor. We used to
walk because we were poor. We have visited our father where he lives.
The Sun's wife named our mother. Call me Naiyenezgani. That one was
given the name, Tobatc'istcini. These will be our names and be careful
to call them correctly. Do not come near these horses. We will stake one
out here and the other one there. They will remain tied out four days.
You may go.”
Before sundown on the fourth day the horses whinnied. They went to their
horses and saddled them. They rode around among the camps until sundown
and then rode them to a flat where four canyons came together. They hung
a white saddle blanket toward the east, a black one to the south, a
yellow one to the west, and a blue one to the north. Their fly told them
to hang the blankets in four places, making an enclosure of them. After
four days they were to come and would find conditions different. He
charged the boys not to miss doing just as their father had told them.
They went back to the camp carrying the saddles, bridles, halters, and
ropes. After two days had passed their fly flew away. He returned,
reporting that there were many horses filling the place where the four
canyons came together. The next day he reported that the horses were so
thick one could walk on their backs. The next day (the fourth), about
sunrise, the two boys went there with their ropes in their hands. When
they came to the eastern canyon it was full of white horses, the
southern one was full of black horses, the western was full of yellow
horses, and the northern canyon with blue (gray) horses.
They took down all the saddle blankets and piled them together. With
valleys in four directions full of horses they did not know their former
horses from the others. They considered how they might distinguish them.
The horses were milling around near where a blanket hung. They were all
mingled together with the colors mixed. The men approached the horses
but they stopped before they got to them. They extended their hands with
pollen on the palms and the horses whinneyed. Then two horses trotted up
to them and licked the pollen from the hands of their owners who caught
them while they did it.[21] They led these horses back to the camp where
the saddles, etc., were lying.
When they led these two horses all the others followed. Their fly told
them all about the two horses, what they had done, and that they had
made many horses for them. Four days from now it would come about that
the broad earth would be covered with horses. Their fly flew to the
Sun's camp and the Sun instructed him. “Drive the horses over this way
and put a halter on top of that mountain; put a rope on the top of this
mountain to the south; put a halter on the top of the mountain to the
west; and put a rope on the mountain to the north. Your father says
this,” the fly told them.
The older of the brothers told the people that they should ride the
horses and not think they were wild. “Catch any of them and saddle them.
When you have ridden your horses, then do not go near them for four
days. Keep away from the horses which are inside where the halters and
ropes are lying. Turn the horses loose in the space enclosed by the
ropes and the halter. If they see you they may stampede. These horses
will be of great value to you.”
The brothers rode the two horses and the others all followed. When the
two horses whinneyed, the others all answered. They took off the ropes
and went back to camp. They asked their mother to put up two posts and
to put a smooth pole across their tops. She was asked to put the saddles
on this pole with their horns toward the east.[22] The bridles were to
be hung on the saddle horns and the saddle blankets spread over the
saddles. They asked her to think about the saddles where they were lying
during the night.
She kept her mind on the saddles during the night and in the early
morning she went out to them. There were four saddles on the pole where
there had been only two. She still kept her mind on the saddles and the
next morning there were six lying there. “My child,” she said, “you
spoke the truth. I kept my mind on the saddles and six are now lying
there.” Tobatc'istcini said, “Very well, keep thinking about them all
night and go to them early in the morning.” When she went out, there
were eight saddles on the pole.
Naiyenezgani said he was going yonder and would be back by sunset. He
went to the mountain top where the halter lay. The Sun was standing
there. “It must be my father,” he said. “I did not know you. I am glad
you came down to me.” “Well, my son,” the Sun replied, “let us go around
the horses.” “What time will it be when we get around them?” the son
asked. Leaving the place where the halters were lying they went where
the ropes were. The space was level full of horses. “Fine, my son,” the
Sun said to Naiyenezgani, “with ropes and halters you made a fence so
the horses cannot get out. You have this broad world for a corral.”
They went on and came where the halters were piled up. “These halters
will round up the wild horses for you and you will put them on their
heads.” They went on and came where the rope hung. “These ropes will
drive the horses together for you. They will drive the wild horses close
to camp for you.” They started back and came where Naiyenezgani had met
the Sun. “I have done everything for you,” the Sun said. “Now I am going
back and leave you. You too will go home. Tomorrow it will be finished.
You will give your people two horses apiece. Give each of them one
stallion and one mare. Distribute them from noon until sunset. These
horses are mares and stallions in equal numbers. Tonight two saddles are
to be placed on the pole you put up. You shall keep three saddles and
give away seven. When you give away the horses give away seven saddles.
Now my son, we separate. Shake hands. Others will do as we do.” They
said _njo_ to each other and separated. It was not long before he was
back and stood there as the sun set. He was happy and laughing. “Where
have you been, my son?” his mother asked. “You must have been in a good
place or you would not be laughing.” “What did you say, mother?” he
replied. “I am happy; when I came over there where the halter lay I met
my father. I walked with him all day. As we walked around the horses he
told me about everything. I am happy.”
He said that none of them should go out tomorrow, but that he himself
would go out early. When he went out there in front of the yellow saddle
lay a white saddle. Behind that was a blue one. Between them was a
yellow saddle. The pole was full. There were ten saddles in a row. “I
told you to put up a long pole, and you put up a short one,” he said to
his mother. “You said dig one hole here and another there, my son,” she
replied. “Just these may well be our saddles,” he said. He called
Tobatc'istcini, saying they would go to catch the horses. “You go to the
rope over there. I, too, will go to the other rope. Hurry, we will catch
the horses,” he said to him. He ran where one rope was, and the other
one went where the other rope was. When they came to the two ropes, they
circled around, driving the horses all towards each other. They could
not find their own horses, the Sun's horses. They went into the
enclosure and walked around. Even when they went around that way they
could not find the horses. They looked for them again, going around
among the other horses, but they could not find them. The horses touched
each other, they were so thick.
Then Tobatc'istcini said, “Naiyenezgani, why do you act so? Is your mind
gone? You say you met your father yesterday and that you spent the day
going around the horses. He took them out of the herd, and away from
you.”
Naiyenezgani caught a black stallion and the other brother a sorrel
gelding. When they led them to the camp their mother asked
Tobatc'istcini why he had caught a sorrel and told him to turn him loose
and catch a white gelding. She said the gray and sorrel horses were made
for them and that they were well trained the day before. She told them
to hurry and drive the horses in. Tobatc'istcini rode the sorrel horse
back and unsaddled it. He then caught a white horse and drove the gray
horses back to the camp.[23]
“Let us go,” he said to his brother. They mounted the horses and rode
along. Their mother spoke to them, “My boys, take off that yellow saddle
and put on a white one.” When they came riding back where their mother
was, a horse whinneyed. It sounded like the voice of the gray stallion
that used to be his horse. Another horse whinneyed in this direction and
the voice was like that of the sorrel mare. They knew their horses when
they whinneyed and one said to the other, “Brother, those are our horses
whinneying but we cannot do anything about it.”[24] “Let us hurry,” the
other said. They rode toward the herd of horses but the horses started
to run and the herd broke up. While they were looking they ran where
their horses whinneyed. Their fly told them that the horses had already
run into the enclosure and that the four doors were shut. They heard
them whinneying far away. Their fly said the horses were already in
their stable, but they still whinneyed. They drove the other horses near
the camp. The older brother told the people to form in a line around the
horses. He said they were going to stake out horses for them. The people
replied that they had no ropes, that only the two brothers had them.
They asked the brothers to make ropes for them. They were told to wait
while they returned where the horses used to be. They told them that
they would have ropes the next day. The brothers went in different
directions, calling to each other. They met and sent their fly to the
Sun because the people were without ropes. He told his brother to go
back where he had been staying. He directed him also to take the bridle
off and to leave the rope as it was, tied to the saddle. “When the Sun
is in the middle of the sky we will drive the horses back. Although it
is late the Sun will be in the same place.[25] He (the Sun) may give us
something,” he said.
The fly returned and reported: “Your horse was standing behind him. He
sat watching where the stallions were fighting each other. He kept
looking at them and then he went a little way.”
The Sun's disk was yellow as at sunset. He looked down four times. The
yellow beams struck under his raised knees. From the other side they
also streamed toward him. Nothing happened, and he got up and went to
his horse. When he put his foot in the stirrup and mounted, ropes were
tied in four places to the saddle strings where there had been no ropes
before. Both saddles were that way. They both mounted together and their
horses pawed the ground and snorted. He rode back to the camp, loping,
and the other horses strung out behind him. The other brother was
running his horse on the other side. They stopped near the camp. The
horses were all lined up facing him. He called to the one on horseback,
“Come here.” He rode up to him and he asked how many ropes there were.
The other replied he did not know for he had not counted them, and
inquired of the other how many ropes he had. The first speaker replied
that he did not know. Then the younger brother said the other should
catch the horses for them and lead them out while he remained on his
horse where he was. The other brother then rode among the horses and
caught a mare. He led the horse out and gave the rope to one of the men.
He rode back among the horses and caught a stallion. When he had caught
six horses, the ropes were all gone. He beckoned with his hand and his
brother rode up to him. “Had you only six ropes?” he asked. “Yes, I only
had six and I have caught six horses. Now, take your turn and I will
remain here on horseback.” The second brother caught the horses and
reported that he had chosen the better horses. The horses were all good
but some of them looked to be small.
They told the people there were only seven saddles and that so many of
the men might have saddles, but that the others must ride around
bareback for the present. He told them that some time they might have
saddles because the Sun knew of their need and he himself knew it. He
instructed them to tie out their horses close by. He said if they heard
the horses nickering they would know that the stallions were covering
the mares. They would also know the colts when they were foaled. If they
turned their horses loose they might not know them. The ropes he said
would guard their horses for them. They would now drive back the other
horses while those who had received horses staked theirs out.
He drove the horses away and hung his bridle up. The other one he laid
in another direction. He took the saddle and everything else back to the
camp. They came back to the camp in the middle of the night but they did
not know it was night because the Sun had not moved.
When two days had passed two men came. There were many horses where they
had passed. They reported that something was running around the other
side of this large mountain. They did not know what it was, nor to whom
it belonged. They wondered what was meant and sent their fly to find
out. He flew away and came back almost immediately. He said it was true.
On the ridge beyond the mountain he saw horse tracks and a trail with
dust as fine as flour.
One of the brothers asked his mother to cook for the men quickly. It was
while they were eating that the fly reported. “Fly back there,” he
directed him. He told the visitors to remain, for they were no doubt
tired. They went back where the bridle was lying. They took off the rope
and hung it toward the east. They spoke to the bridle asking that the
horses, wherever they went, should come back together during the night.
The visitors were as the two brothers had been. They had no eyelashes or
eyebrows. Their ears were round and their heads were smooth. There were
webs between their fingers and toes. When they were asked whence they
came they replied that they had assumed there were people living
somewhere. Their own people had been killed off by something until only
the two were left. They saved themselves at night by digging a trench
and covering it with a large rock. When they started away, one of the
brothers asked where they were going. They replied that they did not
know where they were going but preferred not to stay where they were.
They said they did not like to be with many peoples. They preferred
staying there with their present hosts. Naiyenezgani asked them to tell
their story during the night.
When night came, he called four men to come and listen to what the
visitors were about to tell. He asked each of the four men to question
the guests. “What is the country called where you live and what kind of
thing is killing your people?” he asked. “Tell us about it.”
“The place where we live is called _danagogai_, plain. Something has
been killing our kinsfolk. It has been killing people everywhere on the
earth. We do not know what to do,” one of them replied. Naiyenezgani
told another of the men to question them. He asked if it were really
true that they had been living in that place, saying he did not believe
what the other had said. One of the guests replied that it was true. He
said they did not know how to tell untruths and that it was not right to
do so. “While we are here in camp it will kill someone.” He added, “I
have finished.” The second questioner said, “Why did you tell us this?
We are uneasy about it.” They replied that they were afraid of it and
therefore came there where they intended to live with them.
Naiyenezgani called upon a third man to question them. “Why did you
leave a trail for them?” he inquired. “When your kinsfolk were all
killed, why did you come to us leaving a trail?” The same man spoke
again. He directed that the next day a sweatbath should be prepared that
they should take a bath with the two visitors.
“You said the horses had gone far away. I presume they have already come
together again,” he said. “These some-kind-of-things you said were going
away we call horses. That is all I have to say.” “These two will speak
to you,” one of the company said.
“I cannot promise that I will kill that thing which has been killing
your people. Hurry to build the sweatlodge he mentioned,” Tobatc'istcini
said. “Make the sweatbath: we are going for the horses,” he added.
During the night the horses had come together. One bridle was lying at
the east and the other at the west. They told the horses they must all
stay there together. When the brothers returned the sweatlodge was built
and the stones were on the fire. Tobatc'istcini directed that the men
should stand in line while four of them should go into the bath four
times. He said that when they had come out the fourth time the visitors
would be like themselves. “You built this sweatbath, but it belongs to
the Sun,” he told them. When he (Naiyenezgani) went in with them the
fourth time he asked them where the thing was living which was killing
them. The visitors replied that he lived down this way, pointing toward
the west. “The one that has killed all of our people has something long
for a weapon,” he added. Naiyenezgani said, “Well, he has been killing
you.” When they came out the fourth time they all looked alike. They ate
and after the meal the brothers told them all to remain there while they
went to yonder white mountain ridge to look beyond. He looked at the
Sun.
They landed far away on the mountain ridge.[26] Beyond that mountain
they went to another. There was a plain on which a mountain was
standing. They landed next on that mountain. Tobatc'istcini said,
“Brother, is the dangerous thing feared by you? If you are afraid, I am
afraid. If you are not afraid neither am I afraid. You are the elder, I
am the younger.”
A man was walking in a valley without brush. He was the one who kills
people. They sent their fly to look over the body of their enemy, to
examine his ears, his eyes, and his mouth. The fly flew to the man and
alighted on his ear. When he alighted on his nose the man said, “It is
not just you. You smell like a man.”
The fly reported that they could not come up to the man, for while he
walked in one direction he could see behind because he had eyes in the
back of his head. He had no eyes in front. “He has something long in his
hand with which he kills people. When I sat on his nose he told me I
smelled like people,” the fly reported. “He is the same sort of a person
that you are.” The fly told them to go around to a certain gap in the
ridge, where the monster was accustomed to pass, and stand side by side.
He promised to let them know when the enemy approached. When the monster
walked along, the fly came back where the brothers were standing side by
side and said, “He is coming up here very close. If he stops here you
must cut his head off. Now, you shoot him,” he said. “If he sees anyone
he makes a sweep with his long weapon and kills the person even a long
way off.”