"I have noticed nothing," the other replied.
"Come over here and face the breeze," said the first; and there, sure
enough, came wafts of air sweet and savory. Neither had ever before
scented anything so pleasing, and they determined to follow the aroma
against the breeze. The moon shed ample light to guide their footsteps,
and once locating the true direction whence the wind came, the two had no
difficulty in threading their way straight to the home of the brothers who
had vanquished so many rivals in so many feats. Knowing nothing of the
men, other than that they were strangers from an alien tribe, the girls
were somewhat startled at coming so boldly face to face with them; but a
moment's hesitation gave them assurance, for surely, they thought, such
finely dressed, handsome men could mean no harm.
Said one: "What it was we did not know, so came to determine if we could;
but the most delicious odor we ever smelled seemed to fill the air about
us at the dance, coming always from this direction, and now we see that it
was the smoke of your tobacco. It must be a wonderful land, where you come
from, if tobacco like that grows there."
"That you may see for yourselves," answered the elder brother, "for we
have come to take you there if you will but consent to go. Our land is
rich in jewels and possesses a soil that grows bountiful crops of many
kinds, some of which you have never seen. Marry us and you shall live
always in abundance."
The girls consented, and at bedtime retired with their husbands for the
night, only to waken in the morning, however, to a sense of horror; for
whom should they find beside them but the two grim-visaged old men so
cordially hated by all their tribe! They dared not to display their fear
and horror before the men, who were quite awake, though feigning sleep,
but each read the other's feelings at a glance. Where were they? Where had
they been? Had they merely dreamed of meeting two handsome, well-clad
strangers in the night? Slowly their memories came back--the last shooting
contest, the preparation for the dance, the songs and feasting, the
enchanting perfumed breezes, and their quest--they remembered now. But how
this change in their companions? They were strangers, and unquestionably
magicians who could transform themselves or work spells on others! With
this thought the desire for vengeance increased with every pulse-beat.
[Illustration: _Haschebaad_ - Navaho]
_Haschebaad_ - Navaho
_From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis_
In Navaho mythology there are numerous references to benevolent female
deities, who are personated in medicine rites by men wearing masks, as
shown in this plate. Haschebaad may be translated "female deity," or
"goddess."
The day wore on before the women had a chance to talk together apart from
their husbands, when they agreed that they would return to their home and
tell their brother of the evil worked upon them by the old men, whom they
would then soon see killed; but the Little Whirlwind whispered to them,
"Return not to your home; anger fills the hearts of all your people, and
it is you who would be killed with clubs and stones." Thwarted in this
plan, they determined to leave and search for a distant tribe of which
they had once heard, that lived in peace, and had never led the life of
marauders. There, surely, they might receive food and shelter and freedom
from the sorcery of their husbands. Each would take a separate course upon
starting, to meet at a wooded mountain in the east.
All went well throughout the day; the old men rested and made ready for
the journey to their home-land, on which they planned to start at
daybreak. That night the women did not sleep. When their husbands became
wrapt in slumber, they quietly crawled out from their furs, snatched a
little food, and glided into the moonlight. They had been gone but a short
time when one of the old men arose to stir the fire, and in deep surprise
noted the absence of the women. He called his brother, and the two held a
hurried consultation. They circled the lodge, but in the dimness of the
light could discern no guiding footprint to tell the direction in which
their young wives had gone. Returning to the camp, they filled their
sacred pipes, and in silence sat and smoked. Soon a thin curl of smoke was
seen drifting southward, winding in and out among the pinons; then another
on the north side. These they followed, bearing eastward, smoking as they
went, and as the sun began to tint the higher hills and mountain crests
with yellow, bathing all else in purple shadows, they came upon their
wives in a little rocky canon screened by thickly growing cedar and pinon.
The smoke foretold the women of their doom, so they were not taken by
surprise.
Seeing no way to escape, the girls resigned themselves to fate, and meekly
followed the old men back to camp, whence they journeyed with them to the
west.
At their home the brothers had wives and children, so they did not herald
their new consorts as such, but wedded them at once to their eldest sons.
This prospect pleased the two young women, and they entered into the
spirit of the new life with zest. They learned the songs and chants of the
rites of the Snake and the Bear people--the clans to which these younger
husbands belonged--and taught them to a young brother who came to visit
them. When the brother returned to the Navaho people, he told them that
his sisters were quite happy, and with the songs he had learned from them
he originated the Hozhoni Hatal, Happiness Chant.