THE HAVASUPAIS AND THEIR LEGENDS
In almost every case one finds a variety of differing legends related
by the Indians of any tribe upon the same subject. As the Wallapais
and Havasupais are cousins, one would naturally expect their legends
to have some things in common. How much this is so will be seen by a
comparison of the following story with that of the Wallapai Origin
Legend.
* * * * *
"The two gods of the universe," said O-dig-i-ni-ni´-a, the relator of
the mythic law of the Havasupais, "are Tochopa and Hokomata. Tochopa
he heap good. Hokomata heap han-a-to-op´-o-gi--heap bad all same white
man's devil. Him Hokomata make big row with Tochopa, and he say he
drown the world.
"Tochopa was full of sadness at the news. He had one daughter whom he
devotedly loved, and from her he had hoped would descend the whole
human race for whom the world had been made. If Hokomata persisted in
his wicked determination she must be saved at all hazard. So, working
day and night, he speedily prepared the trunk of a pinion tree by
hollowing it out from one end. In this hollow tree he placed food and
other necessaries, and also made a lookout window. Then he brought
his daughter, and telling her she must go into this tree and there be
sealed up, he took a sad farewell of her, closed up the end of the
tree, and then sat down to await the destruction of the world. It was
not long before the floods began to descend. Not rain, but cataracts,
rivers, deluges came, making more noise than a thousand Hack-a-tai-as
(Colorado River) and covering all the earth with water. The pinion
log floated, and in safety lay Pu-keh-eh, while the waters surged
higher and higher and covered the tops of Hue-han-a-patch-a (the San
Franciscos), Hue-ga-wōōl-a (Williams Mountain), and all the other
mountains of the world.
"But the waters of heaven could not always be pouring down, and soon
after they ceased, the flood upon the earth found a way to rush
into the sea. And as it dashed down it cut through the rocks of the
plateaus and made the deep Chic-a-mi-mi (canyon) of the Colorado River
(Hack-a-tai-a). Soon all the water was gone.
"Then Pu-keh-eh found her log no longer floating, and she peeped out
of the window Tochopa had placed in her boat, and, though it was misty
and almost dark, she could see in the dim distance the great mountains
of the San Francisco range. And near by was the canyon of the Little
Colorado, and to the north was Hack-a-tai-a, and to the west was the
canyon of the Havasu.
"The flood had lasted so long that she had grown to be a woman, and,
seeing the water gone, she came out and began to make pottery and
baskets as her father long ago had taught her. But she was a woman. And
what is a woman without a child in her arms or nursing at her breasts?
How she longed to be a mother! But where was a father for her child?
Alas! there was no man in the whole universe!
[Illustration: CHICKAPANAGIE'S WIFE, A HAVASUPAI, PARCHING CORN IN
BASKET.]
[Illustration: A WALLAPAI WOMAN POUNDING ACORNS.]
"Day after day longings for maternity filled her heart, until,
one morning,--glorious happy morning for Pu-keh-eh and the Havasu
race,--the darkness began to disappear, and in the far-away east
soft and new brightness appeared. It was the triumphant Sun coming
to conquer the long night and bring light into the world. Nearer and
nearer he came, and at last, as he peeped over the far-away mesa
summits, Pu-keh-eh arose and thanked Tochopa, for here, at last, was a
father for her child. She conceived, and in the fulness of time bore a
son, whom she delighted in and called In-ya´-a--the son of the Sun.
"But as the days rolled on she again felt the longings for maternity.
By this time she had wandered far to the west and had entered the
beautiful canyon of the Havasu, where deep down between the rocks
were several grand and glorious waterfalls, and one of these,
Wa-ha-hath-peek-ha-ha, she determined should be the father of her
second child.
"When it was born it was a girl, and to this day all the girls of the
Havasupai are 'daughters of the water.'
"As these two children grew up they married, and thus became the
progenitors of the human race. First the Havasupais were born, then the
Apaches, then the Wallapais, then the Hopis, then the Paiutis, then the
Navahoes.
"And Tochopa told them all where they should live. The Havasupais and
the Apaches were to dwell in Havasu Canyon, the former on one side of
the Havasu (blue water), and the latter on the other side, and occupy
the territory as far east as the Little Colorado and south to the San
Francisco Mountains. The Wallapais were to roam in the country west of
Havasu Canyon, and the Hopis and Navahoes east of the Little Colorado,
and the Paiutis north of the big Colorado.
"And there in Havasu Canyon, above their dancing-place, he carved on
the summit of the walls figures of Pu-keh-eh and A-pa-a to remind them
from whom they were descended. Here for a long time Havasupais and
Apaches lived together in peace, but one day an Apache man saw a most
beautiful Havasu woman, and he fell in love with her, and he went to
his home and prayed and longed and ate his heart out for this woman who
was the wife of another. He called upon Hokomata, the bad god, to help
him, and Hokomata, always glad to foment trouble, told him to pay no
attention to the restrictions placed upon him by Tochopa, but to cross
the Havasu, kill the woman's husband, and steal her for his own wife.
"The Apache heeded this evil counsel and did so.
"When the Havasupais discovered the wrong that had been done them,
and the great disgrace this Apache had brought upon the tribe, they
counselled together, and determined to drive out the Apaches from their
canyon home. No longer should they be brothers. They bade the Apaches
be gone, and when they refused, fell upon them and drove them out. Up
the rocks near Hue-gli-i-wa the Apaches climbed, and to this day the
marks of their footsteps may be seen. They were driven far away to the
south and commanded never to come north of the San Francisco Mountains.
Hence, though originally they were brothers, there has ever since been
war between the people of the Havasu and the Apaches.
"Then, to remind them of the sure punishment that comes to evil-doers,
Tochopa carved the great stone figures of the Apache man and the
Havasupai squaw so that they could be seen from above and below,
and there to this day the Hue-gli-i-wa remain, as a warning against
unlawful love and its dire consequences."
Here is another story told by a shaman of the Havasupais of the origin
of the race. It is interesting and instructive to note the points of
similarity and difference.
"In the days of long ago a man and a woman (Hokomata and Pukeheh
Panowa) lived here on the earth. By and by a son was born to them, whom
they named Tochopa. As he grew up to manhood Pukeheh Panowa fell in
love with him and wished to marry him, but he instinctively shrank from
such incestuous intercourse. The woman grew angry as he repelled her,
and she made a number of frogs which brought large volumes of water.
Soon all the country began to be flooded with water, and Hokomata found
out what was the matter. He then took Tochopa and a girl and placed
them in the trunk of a pinion tree, sealed it up, and sent them afloat
on the waters. He stored the tree with corn, peaches, pumpkins, and
other food, so they would not be hungry, and for many long days the
tree floated hither and thither on the face of the waters. Soon the
waters began to subside, and the tree grounded near to where the Little
Colorado now is. When Tochopa found the tree was no longer floating he
knocked on the side, and Hokomata heard him and came and let him out.
As he stepped on the ground he saw Huehanapatcha (the San Francisco
Mountains), Huegadawiza (Red Butte), Huegawōōla (Williams Mountain),
and he said: 'I know these mountains. This is not far from my country.'
And the water ran down the Hack-a-tha-eh-la (the salty stream, or
the Little Colorado) and made Hack-a-tai-a (the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado). Here he and his wife lived until she gave birth to the son
and daughter as before related."
The way the Wallapai became a separate people is thus related by the
Havasupais:
"A long time ago the animals were all the same as Indians, and the
Indians as the animals. The Coyote he lived here in Havasu Canyon. One
time he go away for a long time and he catch 'em a good squaw, and by
and bye he have a little boy.
"The little boy grew up to be a man, and he went up on top (out of
the canyon, upon the higher plateaus), and there he found two squaw.
It heap cold on top, and he get two squaw to keep him warm when he go
to sleep. Then he came back to Havasu, and when his papa (the Coyote)
saw his two squaws he said: 'I take this one. One squaw enough for
you.' But the boy was angry and said one squaw was not enough. 'When I
lie down to sleep I heap cold. Squaw she heap warm. Two squaw keep me
warm.' The Coyote told his son not to talk; he must be content with one
squaw and go to sleep. And the squaw was proud that the Coyote had made
her his wife, and she began to taunt the boy, and when he replied she
asked the Coyote to tell his boy not to talk. And the Coyote was mad
and spoke angrily to his boy.
"When he awoke in the morning his son was gone. And ten sleeps passed
by and still he did not come back, so the Coyote tracked him up
Wallapai Canyon, and went a long, long way. He reached the hilltop and
still he did not find his son. At last, a long, long way off he saw
him, and he changed him into a mountain sheep. Then a lot more mountain
sheep came and ran with the Coyote's son, and the Coyote could not tell
which of the band was his boy. He looked and looked, but it was all in
vain. He tried to change his boy back again, so that he would no longer
be a mountain sheep, but, as he could not tell which was his boy, his
efforts were in vain, and he had to go back to Havasu alone.
"For a long time the boy remained as a mountain sheep, until the horns
had grown large upon his head. Then he changed himself back to a man,
and he found his squaw there, waiting for him, and that is why, to this
day, the Wallapai is to the Havasupai the A-mu-u or mountain sheep."
* * * * *
The origin of the Hopis is thus related by the Havasupais:
"Long time ago two men were born near Mooney Falls. They were twins,
yet one was big man, and the other a little big. They came up into this
part of the canyon (where the Havasupais now live). It was no good in
those days. There was no water and it was 'heap hot.' The little big
man he say: 'I no like 'em stay here. Let us go hunt 'em good place
to live where we catch plenty water, plenty corn.' So they left the
canyon and climbed out where the Hopi trail now is. Here they stayed
in the forest some time, hunting and making buckskin. After they had
got a large bundle of buckskins dressed, they put them on their backs
and began to walk on to seek the country of lots of water, where plenty
of corn would grow. But it was hot weather and the load was heavy, and
they soon grew so very tired that the smaller brother began to cry.
As they walked on he cried more and more, until when they came to the
hilltop looking down to the Little Colorado River, he said: 'I cannot
go any farther. I am going to lie down here and go to sleep.' So they
both went to sleep, and when they woke up the big brother said: 'Where
you go? You no walk long way. You heap tired.'
"And the little brother answered: 'I no like go farther. I go back
Havasu. I catch 'em water there.'
"'All right!' replied the big brother, 'I no like Havasu. I go hunt
water and plant corn and watermelons and sunflowers. You go back to
Havasu.'
"And he gave him a little bit of corn, and that explains why the
Havasupais can grow only a small amount of corn in their canyon, though
it is exceedingly sweet and delicious.
"But the big brother went on and found the places now occupied by the
Hopi, and he settled there. And as he had taken lots of corn with him
and he planted it, that explains" (to the Havasupai mind) "why the Hopi
has so much corn.
"And the smaller brother found water when he got back to Havasu, and
he planted his corn, and cared for it, and went and hunted and caught
the deer and made buckskin. Then he found a squaw who made baskets, and
helped him make mescal, and they stopped there all the time.
"The Hopi brother learned to make blankets, but no buckskin, so when he
wants buckskin he has to come to his smaller brother in Havasu Canyon."
* * * * *
In the early days the Havasupais were undoubtedly cliff-dwellers,
for in a score or more places in their canyons are houses in the
cliffs--some of them inaccessible--which their traditions say were once
occupied by certain families, the names of which are still remembered.
All throughout the Grand Canyon region, too, from the Little Colorado
River to Havasu Canyon, their cliff-dwellings, and smaller cliff
"corn-houses" and mescal pits, are to be found. Indeed, the Havasupais
built all the trails that are now being claimed as the work of white
men into the heart of the Grand Canyon. The Tanner-French trail, the
Red Canyon trail, the old Hance trail, the Grand View, Bright Angel,
and Mystic Spring trails, are all old Indian trails. Not only are the
cliff-dwellings and mescal pits proof of this, but the Havasupais can
tell the families to whom they originally belonged and to whom the
rights in them have descended. These rights they rigidly adhere to. It
is the white man who knows no law as far as the Indian is concerned,
and little by little the aborigine has lost springs, water-pockets, and
trails, and is regarded and treated as an unwelcome visitor.
[Illustration: HAVASUPAI MOTHER AND CHILD.]
[Illustration: A FAMILY GROUP OF HAVASUPAIS.]
By this it must not be inferred that the Indians built the trails as
white men build. In the main their trails were rude paths such as the
mountain sheep might make, but in every case they had one of these rude
pathways down into the canyon somewhere near to where the modern trails
are now located. At the Bright Angel this path was changed when white
engineers took hold of it, and at Mystic Spring Mr. Bass had built an
entirely new trail, down a different slope, long before he discovered
the Indian trail. Both unite near two great natural rock-cisterns, and
then deviate below, the Indian trail zigzagging to the left, while Mr.
Bass engineered a new trail of easy grade on the talus to the right.
Some of the Havasupais are returning to the cliff-dwelling style of
homes. My friend Wa-lu-tha-ma is forsaking his wood and brush "hawas,"
and constructing a house under the cliffs, where, as he quaintly puts
it, he can "keep dry when much rain comes."
It seems to me a reasonable supposition that it was from the frequency
of the occurrence of these corn-houses in the walls of Havasu
(Cataract) Canyon, with the occasional appearance of a few of the
larger houses used as dwellings by the Havasupais, that the absurd and
romantic yarns had their origin that fifteen, or less, years ago, were
current in Arizona and elsewhere about this interesting people. The
cowboys, miners, prospectors, and others, who accidentally stumbled
upon the upper entrance to the Havasu Canyon, and wandered down its
meandering course for ten or forty miles, even to the village of
the simple Havasupais, returned to civilization and propagated and
circulated stories that out-Munchausened Munchausen. They said these
people were cliff-dwellers, living at the present day in the walls of
the canyon; they were of powerful physical presence, and possessed
great endurance. Their fields and gardens were wonderful, and their
peach orchards surpassed those of most civilized cultivation, and they
held in slavery a lesser people, dwarfs or pigmies, doubtless, who
were cliff-dwellers like themselves, and whom they compelled by great
cruelty to perform the most arduous labors.
Others, having heard these stories, but whose spirit of adventure
took them no farther than the "rim" of the canyon, claimed to have
looked into the village and side canyons, and there seen the truth of
these stories demonstrated. They had seen the pigmies and the gigantic
Havasupais, had heard the harsh yells of the latter at the former, and
had seen the frantic endeavors of the little people to obey the stern
behests of their masters.
All these yarns are explained by the fact that the distance of view
dimmed the vision; the pigmies were boys driving the burros or horses,
yelling and shouting as Havasupai boys delight to do, the voices
magnified fifty-fold by the echoing walls of the canyon, while the
parents moved around attending to their own business, or looked on and
occasionally helped by a shout of encouragement or suggestion.