Okoya had been correct in his surmise that Shotaye was gone. In vain Say
Koitza pined; her friend had left never to return.
When the news of Topanashka's death reached her, which it did on the
very night of the occurrence, she saw at a glance that henceforth her
presence among the Queres was an impossibility, for she knew that the
deceased was the only one who could interpose himself between Say Koitza
and her enemies, and thus wield an influence indirectly favourable to
herself. She recognized that henceforth Tyope was free to act as he
pleased in the matter, for the medicine-men would be on his side. And
she saw that the days of mourning that were sure to follow afforded her
a capital opportunity for leaving the Rito unobserved, and executing her
flight to the Tehuas of the Puye.
Shotaye could not believe that Cayamo was the slayer of Topanashka. Her
warrior from the north was in too great a hurry to get out of the way of
pursuing Navajos. He was too anxious to save the scalp he had taken.
Even in case Topanashka had overtaken him, which seemed impossible, the
Tehua would have avoided rather than attacked the unarmed old man. And
if the maseua surprised their interview and followed her knight, the
latter had too much vantage-ground to be ever overtaken by his aged and
unarmed pursuer. The fact that the sandal had been found, Shotaye
interpreted as evidence of Cayamo's precipitate flight. From her
standpoint she reached the very correct conclusion that the Navajos who
followed in Cayamo's tracks, and not the Tehua, must have killed the
father of her friend Say.
But she saw that her people would fall into error as to the manner of
Topanashka's death. She saw that they could not have reached a different
conclusion, and also that the error must call forth extraordinary
measures of revenge. She heard enough and saw enough, during the
commotion prevailing at the Rito when the dead body was brought in, to
become convinced that as soon as the mourning ceremonies were over the
Queres would take the war-path against the supposed murderers of their
war-chief. She took care not to disabuse the minds of any of her tribal
brethren, and said nothing, but felt glad at the opportunity which the
proposed campaign would give her for revenge.
Flight to the Tehuas was not only very easy, it could be executed under
circumstances that would give her among the other tribe a position of
considerable importance. It was almost needless to avail herself of the
understanding with Cayamo; she had far more important things to
communicate. By informing the Tehuas of the movement on foot against
them, she appeared as a deserter from the enemy, as a timely friend. If
afterward, as she confidently believed, Tyope should come up with the
warriors against the Tehuas, he would find everything prepared for a
disastrous reception. Matters looked exceedingly promising for her
plans.
For all that, she did not forget Say Koitza; but she had been to some
extent forewarned, and as soon as Say heard of Shotaye's absence she
must suspect the truth. After all, Say was in no real danger. Until the
campaign was over, there was no time to think of her case, and during
that campaign Shotaye would provide for the Queres such a rough
handling that no thoughts of witchcraft trials would trouble them for
some time to come. For there should be mourning, sadness, grief,
howling, and gnashing of teeth on the Rito on a very large scale.
Still she did not lose sight of the possibility that her absence might
be noticed at an early day, and might arouse suspicion. It was possible,
though not at all likely. As long as people mourned, nobody would care
for her. After the official mourning was over the council would be
convened and the campaign announced. Thereupon all the men who had to
take part would have to retire for the customary fasts and
purifications, and the Yaya and the Chayani would have to work heavily.
Her home was not likely to be visited by any one for a number of days,
and when the warriors of the Queres were on the march nobody would call
them back because she had disappeared from the Rito.
Perfectly at rest in regard to her own future, reassured as to the fate
of Say Koitza, Shotaye had, on the night of the second day after the
murder of Topanashka, left her home and climbed to the northern mesa
without meeting any obstacle. When the sun rose, she found herself quite
near the place which Cayamo, as far as she understood, had designated as
the spot where his friend Teanyi would wait for her. Unacquainted with
the real distance that separates the Rito from the cave-dwellings above
Santa Clara, she had underrated it; and it was only at noon, after she
had spent hours walking through the pine timber and in fruitless
waiting, that a man stepped up to her from behind a tree and called
out,--
"Teanyi!" Then he added, "Cayamo," and inquired, "Shotaye?"
He was the looked-for and longed-for delegate; and when the sun stood
at its height, the two were travelling toward the Puye together.
Shotaye attempted to convey the idea to her companion that the Queres
were upon the point of moving upon the Tehuas in force. Her excited
gesticulations and broken sentences only succeeded in making him believe
that she was herself the object of lively pursuit by a considerable
number of men. Therefore when the pair reached the isolated, castle-like
rock called Puye, which dominates the country far around, and along the
base of which the dwellings of the Tehuas were excavated in friable
white pumice-stone, in the same manner as are those of the Rito, Teanyi
left her standing before the entrance to his own cave-home, went in, and
called his wife to take care of the new-comer while he ran to the tuyo,
as the governor is called among the Tehuas. The wife of Teanyi had not
been informed of the nature of Shotaye's call, and as she took her into
her quarters she eyed her curiously and suspiciously, for it was
probably the first time she had seen a human being that spoke a language
different from her own. She gave her no food, but waited her husband's
return. Shotaye, on her side, cast the quick glance of her lively eyes
at everything. From time to time she attempted a word of conversation;
she smiled and gesticulated, but the only response was a shaking of the
head and facial expressions that denoted suspicion rather than
friendship.
Teanyi had informed the tuyo that he had met a woman from the Rito de
los Frijoles and had taken her to his home, or rather to that of his
wife; that the woman was gesticulating in an unintelligible manner; and
that all he could surmise was that there might be Queres approaching the
Puye with hostile intentions. He said nothing about Cayamo and his
relations toward Shotaye, for Cayamo had enjoined absolute secrecy.
The governor of the Tehuas was a different man from the pompous little
tapop of the Queres. The latter would at once have called the council
and done everything to surround the event and his own person with as
much noise as possible. Not so the tuyo of the Puye. He only said, "I
will go with you," and went to the room of Teanyi's wife to see Shotaye
and investigate for himself.
The gesticulations began again, and the woman used every effort to make
herself understood. The governor did his best to understand her, but no
progress was made toward comprehension. She even followed Cayamo's
precedent in drawing a line on the floor from north to south,
designating the southern end as Tupoge, the northern end as Puye, for
thus much she had kept in memory. Then she pointed out on that line the
spot where Topanashka had been killed, and said, "Uan save," and made
the gesture-sign for killing. Lastly she tried to convey the idea that
the Queres were in arms against the Tehuas.
The governor displayed much coolness, and paid close attention during
this strange and almost comic interview. He thought he understood that a
man from the Rito, probably called Topanashka, had been murdered by the
Dinnes on the trail leading to the Puye from the south. He also thought
that the Queres were on the war-path to avenge the murder. In what
manner this was connected with the excited state of the woman he could
not clearly see, unless she was perhaps the widow of the murdered man.
In that event she might have become insane from fright and despair! Her
violent gesticulations and the expression of passion and agitation on
her features confirmed his suspicion that Shotaye was distracted.
A growing coldness in his manner at last showed the woman what sort of
an impression she had been creating, and she felt very uneasy. Not that
her life became endangered thereby; on the contrary, the Indian is very
considerate and charitable toward such unfortunates. But from the moment
that the Tehuas were convinced of her insanity they would attach no
longer any importance to her warnings, and a precious lapse of time that
should be improved for immediate preparations for defence was
irretrievably lost. The Queres might be allowed to approach, and their
onslaught would find the Tehuas utterly unprepared. If only Cayamo had
been present! But he dared not approach a woman now, for he was at work
purifying himself and fasting, in anticipation of the great day when the
scalp which he had taken would be feasted over, danced over, prayed at,
and sung to. Shotaye found herself in a most painful situation. She
noticed how complacently the tuyo smiled, the more she attempted to
insist. At last he turned to Teanyi and said a few words to the latter.
Teanyi shook his head, and Shotaye followed the discussion that ensued
between the two men with eager eyes and ears.
It soon became clear to her that they were of different opinions, and
that each one persisted in his own. Finally Teanyi spoke alone, and for
quite a while in a low voice; and the governor listened attentively and
with growing interest. Though Teanyi's voice was muffled, Shotaye still
overheard the word Cayamo several times. Straining her sense of hearing,
she caught the words tupoge, tema quio, finally Shotaye also. The tuyo
listened, smiled, winked slyly, and at last laughed aloud. At the same
time he turned his face to her and nodded most pleasantly; thereupon he
said a few words to Teanyi aloud, and the latter turned to his family,
which had little by little congregated in the room, and repeated, as
appeared to Shotaye, his statements. At the close of his talk all broke
out in a joyful laugh. The housewife, who until then had rather frowned
at the visitor, now smiled and nodded too, repeating the words,--
"Not Queres; Tehua woman, wife of Cayamo."
All laughed, and the governor exclaimed,--
"It is well."
The case was clear to all. Cayamo, on his expedition to secure scalps,
had picked up a sweetheart. Food was placed before Shotaye, and the
woman caressed her, inviting her to eat.
In the mean time, one of the boys had left the room. Shotaye was still
eating when he returned in company with an elderly man of low stature,
whose greeting was answered with the usual reply.
This man cowered down among the rest, and listened with the closest
attention to a long speech of the governor. At the close of it he sat
for a while scrutinizing the woman's appearance, but when she looked up
at him he addressed her in her own dialect, and with the words,--
"Where do you come from?"
A heavy load fell from Shotaye's heart. The ice was broken; henceforth
she could explain herself in her own tongue, and inform the Tehuas of
everything that was so important to them, so momentous to her. But her
first impression, on hearing her tongue spoken by one who was certainly
not of her stock, was almost one of fright. People who spoke more than
one language were excessively rare at those times; and those who
happened to learn the speech of another tribe kept it secret, as Tyope,
for instance, concealed his knowledge of the Navajo language from the
people of the Rito. The knowledge of more than one tongue was a
suspicious and therefore a dangerous gift. The man who now conversed
with Shotaye in the Queres dialect was not a native of the Puye. He
belonged to the linguistic group of the Tehuas, but to the southern
branch, the Tanos, who inhabited several villages west of the Rio Grande
and in the country where the city of Santa Fé now stands. Between the
Tanos and the Queres there was limited commercial intercourse, for the
Tanos claimed the veins of turquoise that abound on the heights near
some of their villages, and the Queres went thither at rare intervals to
trade for the gems which they were unable to obtain by force.
Through this rare and limited traffic the Tano had become acquainted
with some of the men of the Rito, and many years ago had even
accompanied them to their home in the mountain gorge. Such visits were
literally great affairs at the time, and they lasted long. Extensive
formalities were required to ascertain first how far the Shiuana
appeared favourable to the new-comer, and how he should make himself
understood to them. The medicine-men had to make strenuous efforts in
behalf of the visitor. Equally long formalities preceded his departure,
and our Tano had in this manner, between reception, residence, and
leave-taking, spent more than a year at the Rito de los Frijoles. During
that time he had acquired a knowledge of the Queres language, and spoke
it therefore not fluently, but still intelligibly.
As Shotaye had appeared excited and agitated as long as she felt
helpless in matters of speech, so now she became free, easy, and above
all, calm and clear in her utterances, when she could make herself
understood. The Tano began to question her in a methodical, and even in
an argumentative manner. He spoke slowly and brokenly; but she
understood him, and he comprehended fully her replies, for they were
given to the same categoric way. Each of her sentences he translated
into Tehua, turning to the tuyo at the end of every one of her answers.
Shotaye told him everything, with the exception of the matter of the
owl's feathers, for these would have been as dangerous among the Tehuas
as among the Queres. She explained the misunderstanding that lay at the
bottom of the hostility displayed by the Queres, and finally she
insisted that there was no time to clear up that misunderstanding; and
since the Queres were already on the march, she urged speedy preparation
to repel the assault. She strained the truth on the latter point, but
the tuyo forgave her this manifest exaggeration. He knew that there must
be at least five days' delay before the prospective campaign. The
further the woman proceeded in her exposition of facts, the more she
observed, through her quick and scrutinizing glance, that her listeners
became deeply interested, and that thoroughly startled, they at last
displayed marks of indignation. That indignation, it was plain, was
against the Queres; and Shotaye felt that she had gained her point. The
breach between the tribes was now widened to such an extent that it
could never be healed. At the close of the interrogatory, which had
frequently been interrupted by exclamations of surprise and anger, the
mistress of the house caressed Shotaye, calling her sister. The tuyo,
however, merely nodded to her kindly, uttered in a commanding tone a few
words to those present, and went out to attend to his duties of
convening the council. But the Tano Indian remained with Shotaye until
late in the night. He pretended to keep her company, and to contribute
toward dispelling the feeling of loneliness that might overcome her in
the midst of people with whom she could not converse. But in reality he
remained as a spy, to cross-examine in a covert way. Shotaye was wary,
and not one contradiction, not one misstatement, could he detect during
their talk. Then he went where the council had gathered, reporting that
according to his conviction the woman was not only sincere, but
exceedingly well-informed.
It would be superfluous to enter into details concerning the
proceedings of the council. Its composition and the formalities were in
the main similar to those of the council of the Queres. One point was
earnestly discussed,--the propriety of sending a messenger to the Queres
to clear up, if possible, the misunderstanding. But the thought was
finally discarded, on the ground that it was not the Tehuas who should
make overtures of peace,--because they were absolutely innocent,--but
the Queres, for it was they who, ere proceeding to hostile
demonstrations, should have called on the Tehuas for explanation. Had
the two tribes been on friendly terms, it might have been different; but
there existed a breach between them already, and if the Queres chose to
still further widen it, the Tehuas felt ready for any emergency. It was
resolved to prepare for war at once, to call to arms the entire male
population, send ahead the necessary spies, and thus prepared, to wait.
With this the matter went into the hands of the great medicine-man and
the head war-chief. The former was almost an equivalent to the Hishtanyi
Chayan among the Queres, the latter the exact equivalent of the maseua.
The castle-like rock of the Puye, along whose base the numerous
cave-dwellings are burrowed out of a very friable and almost snow-white
tufa, is situated about ten miles west of the Rio Grande, and not two
miles south of the picturesque cañon of Santa Clara. The cliff is over
one half mile long, and it dominates the mesa on which it stands. For
many miles there are groves of timber surrounding the foot of the high
and rugged slope that leads up to the cave-dwellings. While the Queres
at the Rito dwelt at the bottom of a secluded gorge, the Tehuas occupied
a picturesque citadel rising from a high and level plateau. Northeast of
the Puye, and separated from it by the cañon of Santa Clara, there rises
a similar rock, equally bold and striking, and higher still, but not as
extensive. This is called by the Tehuas, Shu Finne. Its lower rim is
also perforated by cave-dwellings, and these were inhabited by a portion
of the same tribe. During the night runners were sent to the Shu Finne,
calling upon its people for assistance; and videttes were placed on the
mountains and on the little mesa capping the cliff. The Tehuas were more
numerous than the Queres of the Rito, and might well wait calmly and
with dignity until the latter either sought to negotiate or broke out in
unjustifiable warfare.
The five days which, as the tuyo had correctly inferred, would be spent
by the people of the Tyuonyi in mourning and in warlike preparations,
passed; and no messenger of peace came to the Tehuas. The Queres
remained in perfect confidence that those whom they intended to surprise
were in absolute ignorance of any evil intentions on their part. But
when the night of the fifth day had shrouded the landscape in purple
darkness, Tehua warriors began to stream down the slopes from the cliff
and its cave-dwellings. The deepest silence was observed, instructions
having been given beforehand, and the bands of armed men moved
noiselessly forward. The plan was not to await the attack at home, but
to advance into the more timbered country south of the barren mesa where
the cliff rises, and to surprise the enemy on their approach. From
reports of spies it was known that no Queres were as yet scouring the
heights north of the Rito; and the Tehuas, moving swiftly, were able to
place themselves in ambush in the rocky wilderness where, later on,
their descendants built and inhabited the now ruined village of the
Pueblo of the Bird. One half day's journey would bring the Queres easily
to that point, where they certainly would not expect to be met by armed
foes. There is water in the vicinity, and the ground is broken with
pine groves. It could be foretold with reasonable certainty that the
enemy would move in the direction of this place, for it is the
straightest course, though not the easiest, from the Rito northward. In
this region the Tehua hosts spread out, scouts preceding even as far as
the Ziro kauash. The Queres might come, for everything was as ready as
Shotaye's fondest hopes could have wished.
During these warlike preparations Shotaye found ample time and
opportunity to become initiated into the life of her new home. The old
interpreter proved a very useful guide, and she improved his willingness
to talk and to advise. He informed her that Cayamo was free, and that as
soon as the story of their meeting had become known among the people of
the Puye, everybody began to look upon her as his future wife. Shortly
before the beginning of the campaign, the time of his retirement
expired; the ceremonies on the scalp matter had to be postponed on
account of the all-important measures of war, and Cayamo was able to
present himself to his future spouse in the natural colour of his skin
and in his usual costume. Their meeting was not in the least
sentimental. Both laughed aloud and joyfully; they exchanged gestures
and signs plainly indicating their future duties and probable results.
Those present laughed in token of approval and applause. At a hint from
Teanyi's wife, Shotaye placed some corn-cakes before Cayamo. He ate a
few morsels, the courtship formalities were fulfilled, and the
bridegroom returned to his duty as a warrior.
The Tano had informed the woman that Cayamo belonged to the clan of the
Sun. In return she communicated that the Water people were her kindred.
What the Queres called Tzitz hanutsh the Tehuas named P'ho doa, and the
members of the clan P'ho were therefore officially requested to take
their new sister in charge. Some of the old men of the cluster came
over to the dwellings of the Turquoise clan, where the wife of Teanyi
lived. In their company came several women, who escorted Shotaye to her
new quarters. On the way to the caves of P'ho doa one of the women
lightly touched Shotaye's breast, then her own, and whispered,--
"Oyike P'ho."
It was her name, and Shotaye communicated her own in reply. The woman
shook her head, whispering,--
"Nyo Shotaye, nyo Tema, 'not Shotaye, not Queres.' Tehua quio." Then she
grasped her hand and breathed into Shotaye's ear,--
"Aua P'ho Quio."
Shotaye easily understood the meaning of this confidential
communication. With her change of abode her name was to change also.
Henceforth she was to be a Tehua woman, and Aua P'ho Quio was to be her
name.
The Tano continued his visits as heretofore. He plied the woman with
questions, sometimes of the most complex nature. His conduct in this
respect was characteristic of the suspicious nature of the Indian
generally. The leaders of the Tehuas mistrusted Shotaye still,
notwithstanding her clear and positive talk; and they had instructed the
Tano to keep her company and to probe her sincerity and veracity still
further. But she was more than a match for all of them. She saw through
the maze of the very confused and bewildering interrogatory, and her
replies were such as to absolutely confirm the Tehuas in the good
opinion they had conceived of her. Whatever the interpreter reported to
the tuyo that was of any value to the military operations impending, was
immediately communicated to the war-chief through a special runner, for
that functionary was in the field already with his men.
Shotaye made use of her conversations with the Tano Indian to direct the
attention of the Tehuas toward Tyope. She described him as the leading
warrior and the most influential man on the Rito, as the pivot around
which everything revolved and on whose life much would depend. But she
was artful enough not to depict Tyope as a bad man, lest the Tehuas
might infer her real purpose. She spoke of him as a man dangerous
through his good qualities, and as a formidable adversary. In short her
words produced such an effect that the governor himself came to
interrogate her on the subject, and even caused the war-chief to return
from the field on the fourth day, and had him visit Shotaye in company
with the interpreter and secure a detailed and accurate description of
this dangerous individual. Then they went to the medicine-man and
consulted him about the propriety of taking Shotaye along into the
field, that she might point out the great warrior who, so they had
become convinced, must be killed at all hazards in order to insure
success. On the evening of the sixth day, therefore, Shotaye wandered
over to Tzirege in company with the commander himself.
Shortly after their arrival among the group of warriors where the
war-chief had taken his position, runners came from the south with news
that they had detected several Queres in full war-paint creeping
northward from the brink of the Rito. These runners were at once ordered
back, with strict injunctions to the scouts not to impede the enemy's
movements, but to suffer them to advance. The Tehuas were quite
scattered, particularly in the front, as is usually the case with bodies
of Indians on the war-path. The main bodies concealed themselves between
the Tzirege and a deep and broad ravine farther south, called to-day
Cañada Ancha. They kept in the woods toward the mountains, expecting
their foes to approach on a line closer to the river. The plan was to
allow the Queres to come up undisturbed as far as the north side of the
Cañada. As the men from the Rito advanced, the Tehua scouts were to
close in from the rear and follow them cautiously, until the enemies
were all gathered on the desired spot, with the woods to their left and
rugged, barren cliffs and peaks to their right. Then the trap would be
sprung; and if the Queres took to those bleak fastnesses for defence it
would be easy to surround them, cut them off from water, and thus
exterminate them completely.
Night had fallen when another message came, to the effect that the
numbers of the enemy were increasing, and beginning to spread over the
timber in small groups. The war-chief sent a messenger to the Puye, and
after midnight the great medicine-man of war appeared in person. The
shaman was, like all the others, painted black; a tall plume taken from
an eagle rose behind each ear; the left hand carried a rattle; and a
little drum was suspended from his shoulder. As soon as he arrived, one
of the warriors retired to a spot which was almost hedged in by several
bushy cedar-trees. There he built a fire, and as soon as it burned he
covered it in such a manner that only a thin film of smoke arose from
it. To this smouldering heap the shaman proceeded alone and sat down.
There he spent the night, muttering incantations and prayers, shaking
his rattle, and striking the drum softly from time to time.
The sounds that proceeded from his discordant music were so faint that
they could be heard only in close proximity. They were besides the only
human sound in this wilderness. Animal voices occasionally disturbed the
quietness of the night. Nobody would have supposed that between the Rito
and the mesas opposite San Ildefonso of to-day several hundred Indian
warriors were hidden, patiently waiting or slowly moving forward. It was
a quiet, still night, cool, as the nights mostly are in the rainy
season, and dark. The sky was partly overcast; but the clouds did not
drift, they formed and dissolved overhead; and the stars appeared and
disappeared alternately as the nebulous fleeces disclosed or shrouded
them. Behind the mountain, thunderclouds rested, and occasional flashes
of lightning illuminated the crests, and faint thunder muttered in the
distance. It had no threatening sound, and the lightning did not seem
like prophetic writing on the sombre clouds. It was a pleasant night and
an excellent one for Indian warfare.
The scouts of the Tehuas had reported in the last instance that the bulk
of the war-party from the Rito must now be on the move, for no fresh
additions were coming up from the gorge. So careless and unconcerned
were the Queres, so absolutely sure of the enemy's ignorance of their
designs, that they never thought of sending scouts to the upper end of
the northern mesa. From there a few Tehuas had comfortably observed
everything that happened in the gorge during the day, and as evening
came they could report even the numbers of the warriors who took part in
the campaign. As soon as these warriors were all on the Ziro kauash, the
Tehua spies, after warning those behind them, crept cautiously into the
rear of the advancing foe.
All the able-bodied men from the Tyuonyi had not been permitted to join
the expedition. Hayoue was not among them, neither was Okoya. It was a
sad disappointment to the boy, and yet was he not staying at home in
defence of his mother and of Mitsha? Say Koitza had ceased to weep, but
the persistent neglect which she thought she suffered from Shotaye
grieved her. At last she asked Okoya whether he had seen anything of the
cave-woman. His reply, that he thought she had gone, explained
everything. She recollected the confident words that Shotaye had spoken
to her, and concluded that the woman had carried out her plan of taking
refuge with the Tehuas. That quelled her apprehensions and allayed her
fears. Shotaye knew what she was and had to do; and Shotaye--of this Say
felt convinced--was true to her. In order to be quite sure of the fact,
however, she strolled up to the cave in the course of an afternoon. The
rooms were empty, and Say turned back. One of Shotaye's neighbours
stopped her to ask where the medicine-woman might be. Say carelessly
replied that she was probably on the heights above, gathering herbs. The
wily fugitive had left her household as if she were about to return
soon. With the exception of the mother of Okoya nobody noticed her
absence. She was known to disappear occasionally for several days; and
furthermore, the excitement and bustle incident upon the prospective
expedition against the Tehuas engaged everybody's attention.
Say Koitza could not help wondering whether Shotaye would inform the
Tehuas of the impending attack. Perhaps she might, perhaps not. At all
events she felt relieved upon hearing that neither her son nor her
husband nor even Hayoue were to go with the warriors. The enterprise
aroused within her vague apprehensions; why, she could not tell. But it
pleased her to learn that Tyope was going,--going as the leader, the
war-captain of the party.
[Illustration: Rito de los Frijoles
Looking out from the Ceremonial Cave]
Tyope had worked incessantly and with brilliant results. The Shkuy
Chayan and the Koshare Naua had succeeded in so inveigling the principal
shaman that he ordered that all the men from the Water clan, and those
from Shyuamo with few exceptions, should stay at home for the protection
of the women and children. That included Hayoue, of whose abilities and
popularity Tyope was afraid, and saved the Turquoise people from the
casualties of war. Tyope went so far as to praise Hayoue in the council,
suggesting that the young man should be intrusted with authority as
war-chief _ad interim_. The suggestion was carried out at once, and
afterward the Hishtanyi Chayan appointed Tyope as commander-in-chief of
the forces marching out. He himself accompanied the body of warriors as
adviser and spiritual guide to the captain. Nothing could suit Tyope
better. The man was old and not very strong, and people are often killed
in war.
After sunset the medicine-man made his appearance on the northern mesa
and performed his incantations. Tyope and most of the others breathed on
their war-fetiches, and then group after group stealthily moved onward.
The plan, which had been communicated to every one in its main points,
consisted in reaching before sunrise the very ground which the Tehuas
had selected for their operations; passing the following day in the
woods of that vicinity in concealment, and creeping up to the Puye the
following night; then, after sunrise, when the Tehuas would begin to
scatter, unarmed and unsuspecting, pouncing upon them and making a
general slaughter. Tyope had under his direction more than two hundred
men, and they extended over a wide front. About twenty experienced
warriors, mostly uakanyi, glided in advance as scouts. Behind them came
at a suitable distance either single warriors or small bands. The main
body came last. It was divided into several groups. Near the centre were
Tyope and the shaman.
Every one knew that his duty for the present consisted in searching for
traces of the enemy without exposing himself to discovery. Should a
single Tehua be observed, and it became possible for a scout to
overpower and kill him without noise, he might do it. In case a number
of foes were noticed, the spy was to give quiet warning to the man
nearest to him, that one to those in his rear; and they were to send a
runner to inform Tyope. In the mean time all were to halt until orders
came to move in a new direction. For Tyope, although he did not in the
least suspect that the Tehuas were forewarned, and still less on the
alert so close by the Rito, used every possible precaution in order that
the surprise might be complete and the blow as crushing as possible.
It was dark in the timber, and the main body of the Queres approached
the brink of the first cañon north of the Rito while the advance were
cautiously descending into the bottom and the scouts were already
farther on. Tyope and the medicine-man were standing a short distance
from the descent of the south side and listening to the news which a
runner had just brought in from the front.
"Are you sure you have noticed a man?" the Chayan asked in a whisper.
"I am sure of it. He crouched at the foot of a juniper-bush," replied
the messenger, positively.
"Has he seen you?" demanded Tyope.
"I believe not."
"When you left was he there still?"
"I could not see any more of him."
"How far is it from here? Where stands the tree?" the Chayan asked.
"It is on the other side of the ravine, near the border to the left."
Tyope pondered a while; then he said to the shaman,--
"Nashtio yaya, I think we should go more toward the east. What do you
say?"
"It is well," muttered the medicine-man.
"Satyumishe," Tyope said to the runner, "go and tell the men to go along
the ravine toward the Rio Grande until the trees become smaller. Thence
they may go to the north again, but slowly and carefully. Ziua," he
called to one of the bystanders, "go and tell those toward the left to
come where I stand. Ohotika," calling another, "run to the right and
command those there to wait until we join them."
The runners left in the directions indicated.
The information which had just been conveyed to Tyope was most
disagreeable. The presence of one human being at the time and place
indicated looked very suspicious. If the man had seen his warriors he
would certainly run home and give the alarm. All Tyope could do now was
to keep as close as possible to the Rio Grande, push up parallel with
the river as cautiously as possible, and thus sneak beyond the enemy, in
case, as he still could not believe, the latter were in anything like a
considerable force. He would thus eventually place himself between them
and their village.
After a while the warriors from the left came on hastily, stumbling
through the darkness. All together now went down in an easterly
direction, where the right wing, if this term can be used, was halting.
Thence Tyope despatched runners ahead to inquire whether everything was
quiet in front, to repeat the order of slow marching, and to direct them
to halt on the northern brink of the Cañada Ancha.
When the runners left, the march was resumed in the usual scattering
manner, as if all were skirmishers. Tyope and the shaman remained
together. Neither uttered a word. The commander looked up to the stars
from time to time. They were peeping out more and more, for the clouds
were dispersing. Only from the southwest distant thunder sounded and
lightning flashed occasionally. A shower was falling in that direction.
It was past midnight when the main body came up with the advance guard
after crossing the Cañada Ancha. Tyope found everything in order, and he
directed a farther advance. Tyope was angry. The circuit which he had
felt obliged to make made a serious delay, and there was danger that
with the early sunrise of the summer months he might be behind to such
an extent as to be unable to reach the cover of the woods in time. If
the Tehuas were informed of his approach they would either prepare for
his coming at the Puye--and the result of an open attack would be to say
the least extremely doubtful,--or they would come out in force, and
desultory fighting would ensue. In this those who were nearest water and
supplies always had the advantage. His idea of striking a sudden blow
appeared very much endangered by the presence of Tehuas in the forest.
He thought and thought without arriving at any satisfactory conclusion.
Return to the Rito he could not, for such a retreat was worse than
disaster. Neither could he decide alone; the Hishtanyi Chayan was by his
side and he had to consult him. So he stood still and turned to the
shaman, saying,--
"Nashtio yaya, the night will soon be over, and the sun may come out
from behind the mountain in the east."
"Ko," grunted the medicine-man.
"It is far yet to the houses of the Moshome Tehua."
The Chayan stood still.
"Sa uishe nashtio," said he, "the Shiuana direct us to go on a different
road. I saw an owl fly toward the moon. Let us go away from the river
into the kote to rest and to hide until the sun goes down again and we
may go farther toward the katityam of the enemy."
This was just as Tyope wanted. He disliked the idea of passing a day
concealed under cliffs and crags where a torrid sun shone, and where
there was water only in the river beneath and at a great depth. But he
wanted to be sure of what Those Above intended, so he asked again,--
"Yaya Chayan, do the Shiuana"--he emphasized the term--"say that we
should go to the west?"
"The spirits say that we should go where there is shade and water! Let
us go to the mountains; there we shall find both."
"They are right!" Tyope exclaimed. "I believe it is better to stay
there until the sun has risen. I will send word to the men to turn to
the left, and we will sleep in the shade of the trees until the time
comes to advance."
"You are right, brother," the Chayan assented; "do as you have said."
The two men had lagged behind the others during this conversation. Tyope
imitated the cry of an owl. Soon several warriors came up to him. He
directed them to go to the front, to the right, and to the left, and
give orders that all should move to the westward a short distance, far
enough to reach high timber. Then all should halt and prepare to pass
the night. He himself moved a short distance only in that direction, in
company with the shaman, and selected a spot where the mesa was covered
with the usual underbrush and where taller trees already began to
appear. Here he lay down to rest with eyes wide open, ready for any
emergency. Not far away the medicine-man found a secluded spot where he
sat down without fire, occasionally touching the drum and reciting his
prayers and incantations. They were the same as those which the shaman
of the Tehuas was directing to Those Above at the same time and not far
from him, but in a different tongue, for the success of his people and
the destruction of those for whom the Hishtanyi Chayan was praying.
The decision of Tyope to penetrate into the forest to the west brought
the Queres into the very position which the Tehuas desired. The scouts
of the latter had obeyed punctually and diligently the orders which they
had received, following step by step the advancing foe and reporting to
headquarters any notable move. They possessed the immense advantage of
knowing every movement the Queres made from the very beginning, and were
thus able to observe them unseen. As soon as Tyope had concentrated his
forces on the northern brink of the Cañada Ancha, the main body of the
Tehuas receded slightly to the west. As soon as the Queres began to
ascend in that direction, the retrograde movement of the others
continued in the centre; whereas the left wing spread out, and the right
slightly advanced to the east along the brink of the ravine. The scouts
were called in with all haste and reinforced, especially the body that
faced the Queres in the north. At the time Tyope lay down to rest, his
forces were surrounded everywhere except on the east. Everything was
ready for the Tehuas to begin their attack upon the unsuspecting foe at
daybreak.