sovereign remedy for toothache, however, is to go to the
_estufa_ after dark, carrying food in the left hand, march
round inside the big circular room three times, leave the food
under the secret recess in the wall where the scalps taken in
old wars are kept, and then come out. The toothache is always
left behind!
At that the Mountain Lion, the Bear, the Buffalo, and all
the other Captains of Four-feet, declared T’hoo-chée-deh the
Father-of-All-Medicine. They made a strong law that from that time
the body of the Field-Mouse should be held sacred, so that no animal
dares to kill him or even to touch him dead. And so it remains to
this day. But only the birds and the snakes, who were not at the
Council of the Four feet, they do not respect T’hoo-chée-deh.
So the Field-Mouse was the first medicine-man. He chose one of each
kind of four-feet to be his assistants, and taught them the use of
all herbs, and how to cure pain, so that each might practise among
his own people--a Bear-doctor for the Bears, and a Wolf-doctor for
the Wolves, and so to all the tribes of the animals.
Of those he taught, there was one who was not a True Believer--the
Badger. But he listened also, and made as if he believed all.
With time, the teaching was done; and T’hoo-chée-deh sent all his
assistant doctors home to their own peoples to heal. But whenever one
of them was asked with the sacred corn-meal[112] to come and cure a
sick one, he always came first to get the Father, the Field-Mouse, to
accompany and help him.
[112] The necessary accompaniment, among the Pueblos, of a call
for the doctor. In some cases, the sacred smoking-herb was
used. Either article was wrapped in corn-husk. See, also, “Some
Strange Corners of Our Country,” chapters xviii and xx.
But all this time Kahr-naí-deh, the Badger, was not believing; and at
last he said to his wife:
“Now I will _see_ if Old T’hoo-chée-deh is really a medicine-man. If
he finds me, I will believe him.”
So from that day for four days the Badger touched no food, until he
was almost dead. And on the fifth day he said:
“_In-hlee-oo wáy-ee_, wife of me, go now and call T’hoo-chée-deh, to
see if he will cure me.”
So the Badger-wife went with meal to the house of the Field-Mouse,
making to be very sad; and brought him back with her. When they came,
the Badger was as if very sick and in great pain.
T’hoo-chée-deh asked nothing; but took off the little pouch of roots
and laid it beside him. And then rubbing a little wood-ashes on his
hands, he put them on the stomach and breast of the Badger, rubbing
and feeling. When he had felt the Badger’s stomach, he began to sing:
_Káhr-nah-hlóo-hlee wee-end-t’hú
Beh-hú hoo-báhn,
Ah-náh káh-chah-him-aí
T’hóo-chée-hlóo-hlee t’oh-ah-yin-áhb
Wee-end-t’hú beh-hú hoo-báhn._
(Badger-Old-Man four days
Has the hunger-killing,
To know, to know surely
If Field-Mouse-Old-Man
Has the Medicine Power.
Four days, four days,
He has the hunger-killing.)
When he had finished rubbing and singing, he said to the Badger:
“There is no need of a remedy. In my teaching I found you
attentive--now be true. You have wasted, in trying my power. Now get
up and eat, to make up for the lost. And do not think that way again.”
With that, he took his pouch of roots and went home. As soon as he
was out of the house, the Badger said to his wife:
“My wife, now I believe that Mouse-Old-Man _has_ the Power; and never
again will I think _that_ way.”
Then the Badger-wife brought food, and he ate--for he was dying of
hunger. When he had eaten, the animals came in to see him, for they
had heard that he was very sick. He told them all that had been, and
how T’hoo-chée-deh had known his trick. At that, all the animals were
afraid of the Field-Mouse, and respected him more than ever--for it
was plain that he indeed had the Power.
Time passing so, it came that one day the Men of the Old made
_nah-kú-ah-shu_, the great round-hunt. When they had made a great
circle on the _llano_, and killed many rabbits, some of them found
T’hoo-chée-deh, and made him prisoner. They brought him before the
_principales_, who questioned him, saying:
“How do you gain your life?”
“I gain it,” he answered, “by going about among the animals who are
sick, and curing them.”
Then the elders said: “If that is so, teach us your Power, and we
will set you free; but if not, you shall die.”
T’hoo-chée-deh agreed, and they brought him to town with honor.
For twelve days and twelve nights he and the men stayed shut up
in the _estufa_, for two days fasting, and one day making the
medicine-dance, and then fasting and then dancing again, as our
medicine-men do to this day.
On the last night, when he had taught the men all the herbs and
how to use them, and they had become wise with practice, they sent
T’hoo-chée-deh out with a strong guard, that nothing should harm him.
They set him down at the door of his own house under the chapparo.
A law was made, giving him full liberty of all that is grown in the
fields. To this day, all True Believers honor him, so that he is not
called small any more. When they sing of him in the sacred places,
they make his house great, calling it _koor-óo-hlee naht-hóo_, the
Mountain of the Chapparo. And him they call not T’hoo-chée-deh, the
Field-Mouse, but _Pee-íd-deh p’ah-hláh-queer_, the Deer-by-the-River,
that he may not seem of little honor.[113] For he was the Father of
Medicine, and taught us how to cure the sick.
[113] This is not an exception. Nearly all the animals known to
the Tée-wahn have not only their common name, but a ceremonial
and sacred one, which is used exclusively in the songs and
rites.
* * * * *
“_Tahb-kóon-ahm?_” cried the boys. “Is _that_ why the Coyote always
cries? And is that why we must never hurt the Field-Mouse, but show
him respect, as to elders?”
“That is the very why,” said Manuelito’s grandfather, gravely; and
all the old men nodded.
“And why--” began ’Tonio. But his father shook his head.
“_Tah!_ It is enough. _Tóo-kwai!_”
So we stepped out into the night to our homes. And from the _Kú-mai_,
black against the starry sky, the howl of Too-wháy-deh, wandering
with his toothache, swelled across the sleeping village of the
Tée-wahn.
[Illustration: Is that so?
Yes; that is so.
The End]
Transcriber’s Note
All inconsistencies in hyphenation and accent use are preserved as
printed.
Minor punctuation errors have been repaired.
The following typographic errors have been fixed:
Page 79--stanger amended to stranger--Then a young woman who
was a stranger ...
Page 126--seen amended to see--After this, whenever you see an
Eagle ...
The frontispiece has been moved to follow the title page. Other
illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not
in the middle of a paragraph.