Part 13
340. Together they plucked the two Tse`na'hale, put the feathers in her basket, and got the basket on her back. He reserved only the largest feather from one wing of each bird for his trophies. As she was starting to leave he warned her not to pass through either of two neighboring localities, which were the dry beds of temporary lakes; one was overgrown with weeds, the other with sunflowers. Despite his warning she walked toward the sunflowers. As she was about to enter them he called after her again, and begged her not to go that way, but she heeded him not and went on. She had not taken many steps among the sunflowers when she heard a fluttering sound behind her, and a little bird of strange appearance flew past her close to her ear. As she stepped farther on she heard more fluttering and saw more birds of varying plumage, such as she had never seen before, flying over her shoulders and going off in every direction. She looked around, and was astonished to behold that the birds were swarming out of her own basket. She tried to hold them in, to catch them as they flew out, but all in vain. She laid down her basket and watched, helplessly, her feathers changing into little birds of all kinds,--wrens, warblers, titmice, and the like,--and flying away, until her basket was empty. Thus it was that the little birds were created.[141]
341. When he got home To`badzistsíni said to him: "Elder brother, I have watched the kethawns all the time you were gone. About midday the black cigarette took fire, and I was troubled, for I knew you were in danger; but when it had burned half way the fire went out and then I was glad, for I thought you were safe again." "Ah, that must have been the time when Tse`na'hale carried me up and threw me on the rocks," said Nayénezgani. He hung his trophies on the east side of the lodge, and then he asked his mother where Tse`tahotsiltá`li[142] dwelt. She told him he lived at Tse`tezá`; but, as on previous occasions, she warned him of the power of the enemy, and tried to dissuade him from seeking further dangers. Next morning he set out to find Tse`tahotsiltá`li, He Who Kicks (People) Down the Cliff. This anáye lived on the side of a high cliff, a trail passed at his feet, and when travellers went that way he kicked them down to the bottom of the precipice. Nayénezgani had not travelled long when he discovered a well-beaten trail; following this, he found that it led him along the face of a high precipice, and soon he came in sight of his enemy, who had a form much like that of a man. The monster reclined quietly against the rock, as if he meditated no harm, and Nayénezgani advanced as if he feared no danger, yet watching his adversary closely. As he passed, the latter kicked at him, but he dodged the kick and asked: "Why did you kick at me?" "Oh, my grandchild," said the anáye, "I was weary lying thus, and I only stretched out my leg to rest myself." Four times did Nayénezgani pass him, and four times did the monster kick at him in vain. Then the hero struck his enemy with his great stone knife over the eyes, and struck him again and again till he felt sure that he had slain him; but he was surprised to find that the body did not fall down the cliff. He cut with his knife under the corpse in different places, but found nothing that held it to the rock until he came to the head, and then he discovered that the long hair grew, like the roots of a cedar, into a cleft in the rock. When he cut the hair,[143] the body tumbled down out of sight. The moment it fell a great clamor of voices came up from below. "I want the eyes," screamed one; "Give me an arm," cried another; "I want the liver," said a third; "No, the liver shall be mine," yelled a fourth; and thus the quarrelling went on. "Ah!" thought Nayénezgani, "these are the children quarrelling over the father's corpse. Thus, perhaps, they would have been quarrelling over mine had I not dodged his kicks."
342. He tried to descend along the trail he was on, but found it led no farther. Then he retraced his steps till he saw another trail that seemed to lead to the bottom of the cliff. He followed it and soon came to the young of the anáye, twelve in number, who had just devoured their father's corpse; the blood was still streaming from their mouths. He ran among them, and hacked at them in every direction with his great stone knife. They fled; but he pursued them, and in a little while he had killed all but one. This one ran faster than the rest, and climbed among some high rocks; but Nayénezgani followed him and caught him. He stopped to take breath; as he did so he looked at the child and saw that he was disgustingly ugly and filthy. "You ugly thing," said Nayénezgani; "when you ran from me so fleetly I thought you might be something handsome and worth killing; but now that I behold your face I shall let you live. Go to yonder mountain of Natsisaán[144] and dwell there. It is a barren land, where you will have to work hard for your living, and will wander ever naked and hungry." The boy went to Natsisaán, as he was told, and there he became the progenitor of the Pahutes, a people ugly, starved, and ragged, who never wash themselves and live on the vermin of the desert.[145]
343. He went to where he had first found the children of Tse`tahotsiltá`li. Nothing was left of the father's corpse but the bones and scalp. (This anáye used to wear his hair after the manner of a Pueblo Indian.) The hero cut a piece of the hair from one side of the head and carried it home as a trophy. When he got home there were the usual questions and answers and rejoicings, and when he asked his mother, "Where is the home of the Bináye Aháni, the people who slay with their eyes," she begged him, as before, to rest contented and run no more risks; but she added: "They live at Tse`ahalzi'ni, Rock with Black Hole."[146] This place stands to this day, but is changed since the anáye dwelt there. It has still a hole, on one side, that looks like a door, and another on the top that looks like a smoke-hole.
344. On this occasion, in addition to his other weapons, he took a bag of salt with him on his journey.[147] When he came to Tse`ahalzi'ni he entered the rock house and sat down on the north side. In other parts of the lodge sat the old couple of the Bináye Aháni and many of their children. They all stared with their great eyes at the intruder, and flashes of lightning streamed from their eyes toward him, but glanced harmless off his armor. Seeing that they did not kill him, they stared harder and harder at him, until their eyes protruded far from their sockets. Then into the fire in the centre of the lodge he threw the salt, which spluttered and flew in every direction, striking the eyes of the anáye and blinding them. While they held down their heads in pain, he struck with his great stone knife and killed all except the two youngest.
345. Thus he spoke to the two which he spared: "Had you grown up here, you would have lived only to be things of evil and to destroy men; but now I shall make you of use to my kind in the days to come when men increase on the earth." To the elder he said: "You will ever speak to men and tell them what happens beyond their sight; you will warn them of the approach of enemies," and he changed it into a bird called Tsidiltói[148] (shooting or exploring bird). He addressed the younger, saying: "It will be your task to make things beautiful, to make the earth happy." And he changed it into a bird called Hostódi,[149] which is sleepy in the daytime and comes out at night.
346. When he reached home with his trophies, which were the eyes[150] of the first Bináye Aháni he had killed, and told what he had done, Estsánatlehi took a piece of the lung of Téelget (which he had previously brought home), put it in her mouth, and, dancing sang this song:--
Nayénezgani brings for me, Of Téelget he brings for me, Truly a lung he brings for me, The people are restored.
To`badzistsíni brings for me, Of Tse`na'hale he brings for me, Truly a wing he brings for me, The people are restored.
Léyaneyani brings for me, Of Tse`tahotsiltá`li he brings for me, Truly a side-lock he brings for me, The people are restored.
Tsówenatlehi[151] brings for me, Of Bináye Aháni he brings for me, Truly an eye he brings for me, The people are restored.[276]
347. When she had finished her rejoicings he asked, "Where shall I find Sasnalkáhi (Bear that Pursues)?" "He lives at Tse`bahástsit (Rock that Frightens)," she replied; but again she pleaded with him, pictured to him the power of the enemy he sought, and begged him to venture no more.
348. Next morning he went off to Rock that Frightens and walked all around it, without meeting the bear or finding his trail. At length, looking up to the top of the rock, he saw the bear's head sticking out of a hole, and he climbed up. The bear's den was in the shape of a cross, and had four entrances. Nayénezgani looked into the east entrance, the south entrance, and the west entrance without getting sight of his enemy. As he approached the north entrance he saw the head of the watching bear again; but it was instantly withdrawn, and the bear went toward the south entrance. The hero ran round fast and lay in wait. In a little while the bear thrust forth his head to look, and Nayénezgani cut it off with his great stone knife.
349. He addressed the head, saying: "You were a bad thing in your old life, and tried only to do mischief; but in new shapes I shall make you of use to the people; in the future, when they increase upon the earth, you will furnish them with sweet food to eat, with foam to cleanse their bodies, and with threads for their clothing." He cut the head into three pieces: he threw one to the east, where it became tsási, or haskán (Yucca baccata); he threw another to the west, where it became tsásitsoz (Yucca angustifolia); and he threw the third to the south, where it became nóta (mescal). He cut off the left forepaw to take home as a trophy.
350. "Where shall I find Tsé`nagahi (Travelling Stone)?" he said after he had returned from his encounter with Pursuing Bear and shown his trophy to his people. "You will find him in a lake near where Tsé`espai points up," answered Estsánatlehi; but she implored him not to go near the lake. He did not heed her, and next morning he went off to seek the Travelling Stone.
351. He approached the lake on the north side, while the wind was blowing from the south, but he saw nothing of the stone. Thence he went around to the south side of the lake. When he got here the stone scented him, rose to the surface, poised itself a moment, and flew toward Nayénezgani as if hurled by a giant hand. Raising his lightning arrow, he held it in the course of the stone and knocked a piece off the latter. When the stone fell he struck another piece off with his knife. Tsé`nagahi now saw it had a powerful foe to contend against; so, instead of hurling itself at him again, it fled and Nayénezgani went in pursuit. He chased it all over the present Navaho land, knocking pieces off it in many places[152] as he followed, until at length he chased it into the San Juan River at Tsintáhokata, where a point of forest runs down toward the river.
352. Travelling Stone sped down with the current and Nayénezgani ran along the bank after it. Four times he got ahead of the stone, but three times it escaped him by dipping deep into the river. When he headed it off for the fourth time, he saw it gleaming like fire under the water, and he stopped to gaze at it. Then the stone spoke and said: "Sawé (my baby, my darling), take pity on me, and I shall no longer harm your people, but do good to them instead. I shall keep the springs in the mountains open and cause your rivers to flow; kill me and your lands will become barren." Nayénezgani answered: "If you keep this promise I shall spare you; but if you ever more do evil as you have done before, I shall seek you again, and then I shall not spare you." Tsé`nagahi has kept his promise ever since, and has become the Tiéholtsodi of the upper world.
353. He brought home no trophy from the contest with Tsé`nagahi. It had now been eight days since he left the house of the Sun.[153] He was weary from his battles with the anáye, and he determined to rest four days. During this time he gave his relatives a full account of his journeys and his adventures from first to last, and as he began he sang a song:--
Nayénezgani to Atsé Estsán began to tell, About Bitéelgeti he began to tell, From homes of giants coming, he began to tell.
To`badzistsíni to Estsánatlehi began to tell, About the Tse`na'hale he began to tell, From homes of giants coming, he began to tell.
Léyaneyani to Atsé Estsán began to tell, Of Tse`tahotsiltá`li he began to tell, From homes of giants coming, he began to tell.
Tsówenatlehi to Estsánatlehi began to tell, About Bináye Aháni he began to tell, From homes of giants coming, he began to tell.[277]
354. There were still many of the anáye to kill; there was White under the Rock, Blue under the Rock, Yellow under the Rock, Black under the Rock, and many yélapahi, or brown giants. Besides these there were a number of stone pueblos, now in ruins, that were inhabited by various animals (crows, eagles, etc.),[154] who filled the land and left no room for the people. During the four days of rest, the brothers consulted as to how they might slay all these enemies, and they determined to visit again the house of the Sun. On the morning of the fourth night they started for the east. They encountered no enemies on the way and had a pleasant journey. When they entered the house of the Sun no one greeted them; no one offered them a seat. They sat down together on the floor, and as soon as they were seated lightning began to shoot into the lodge. It struck the ground near them four times. Immediately after the last flash Tsápani, Bat, and Tó`nenili, Water Sprinkler, entered. "Do not be angry with us," said the intruders; "we flung the lightning only because we feel happy and want to play with you:" still the brothers kept wrathful looks on their faces, until Ni'ltsi whispered into their ears: "Be not angry with the strangers. They were once friends of the anáye and did not wish them to die; but now they are friends of yours, since you have conquered the greatest of the anáye." Then, at last, Tsóhanoai spoke to his children, saying: "These people are rude; they respect no one. Heed them not. Here are seats for you. Be seated." Saying this, he offered the brothers a seat of shell and a seat of turquoise; but Ni'ltsi told the brothers not to take them. "These are seats of peace," he said; "you still want help in war. Nayénezgani, take the seat of red stone, which is the warrior's seat; and you, To`badzistsíni, stand." They did as the Wind bade them.
355. "My children, why do you come to me again?" asked Tsóhanoai, the bearer of the sun. "We come for no special purpose; we come only to pass away the time," Nayénezgani answered. Three times he asked this question and got the same reply. When he asked for the fourth time, he added, "Speak the truth. When you came to me before I gave you all you asked for." Now it was To`badzistsíni who replied: "Oh, father! there are still many of the anáye left, and they are increasing. We wish to destroy them." "My children," said Tsóhanoai, "when I helped you before, I asked you for nothing in return. I am willing to help you again; but I wish to know, first, if you are willing to do something for me. I have a long way to travel every day, and often, in the long summer days, I do not get through in time, and then I have no place to rest or eat till I get back to my home in the east. I wish you to send your mother to the west that she may make a new home for me." "I will do it," said Nayénezgani; "I will send her there." But To`badzistsíni said: "No, Estsánatlehi is under the power of none; we cannot make promises for her, she must speak for herself, she is her own mistress; but I shall tell her your wishes and plead for you." The room they were in had four curtains which closed the ways leading into other apartments. Tsóhanoai lifted the curtain in the east, which was black, and took out of the room in the east five hoops: one of these was colored black, another blue, a third yellow, and a fourth white, the fifth was many-colored and shining. Each hoop had attached to it a knife of the same color as itself. He took out also four great hailstones, colored like the four first hoops. He gave all these to his sons and said: "Your mother will know what to do with these things."
356. When they got their gifts they set out on their homeward journey. As they went on their way they beheld a wonderful vision. The gods spread before them the country of the Navahoes as it was to be in the future when men increased in the land and became rich and happy. They spoke to one another of their father, of what he had said to them, of what they had seen in his house, and of all the strange things that had happened. When they got near their journey's end they sang this song:--
Nayénezgani, he is holy, Thus speaks the Sun, Holy he stands.
To`badzistsíni, he is holy, Thus speaks the Moon, Holy he moves.
Léyaneyani, he is holy, Thus speaks the Sun, Holy he stands.
Tsówenatlehi, he is holy, Thus speaks the Moon, Holy he moves.[278]
357. When they got within sight of their home they sang this song:--
Slayer of Giants, Through the sky I hear him. His voice sounds everywhere, His voice divine.
Child of the Water, Through the floods I hear him. His voice sounds everywhere, His voice divine.
Reared 'neath the Earth, Through the earth I hear him. His voice sounds everywhere, His voice divine.
The Changing Grandchild, Through the clouds I hear him. His voice sounds everywhere, His voice divine.[279]
358. When the brothers got home they said to Estsánatlehi: "Here are the hoops which our father has given us, and he told us you knew all about them. Show us, then, how to use them." She replied: "I have no knowledge of them." Three times she thus answered their questions. When they spoke to her for the fourth time and Nayénezgani was becoming angry and impatient, she said: "I have never seen the Sun God except from afar. He has never been down to the earth to visit me. I know nothing of these talismans of his, but I will try what I can do." She took the black hoop to the east, set it up so that it might roll, and spat through it the black hail, which was four-cornered; at once the hoop rolled off to the east and rolled out of sight. She took the blue hoop to the south, set it up, and spat through it the blue hail, which was six-cornered. Then the hoop rolled away to the south and disappeared. She carried the yellow hoop to the west, set it up, and spat through it the eight-cornered yellow hail; the hoop rolled off to the west and was lost to sight. She bore the white hoop to the north; spat through it the white hail, which had eleven corners, and the hoop sped to the north until it was seen no more. She threw the shining hoop up toward the zenith, threw the four colored knives in the same direction, and blew a powerful breath after them. Up they all went until they were lost to sight in the sky. As each hoop went away thunder was heard.[155]
359. During four days after this nothing of importance happened, and no change came in the weather. At the end of four days they heard thunder high up in the sky, and after this there were four days more of good weather. Then the sky grew dark, and something like a great white cloud descended from above. Estsánatlehi went abroad; she saw in all directions great whirlwinds which uprooted tall trees as if they had been weeds, and tossed great rocks around as if they had been pebbles. "My son, I fear for our house," she said when she came back. "It is high among the mountains, and the great winds may destroy it." When he heard this, Nayénezgani went out. He covered the house first with a black cloud, which he fastened to the ground with rainbows; second, with a black fog, which he fastened down with sunbeams; third, with a black cloud, which he secured with sheet-lightning; and fourth, with a black fog, which he secured with chain-lightning. At sunset that evening they caught a little glimpse of the sun; but after that, continuously for four days and four nights, it was dark; a storm of wind and hail prevailed, such as had never been seen before, and the air was filled with sharp stones carried before the wind. The people stayed safe in the lodge, but they could hear the noise of the great storm without. On the morning of the fifth day the tumult ceased, and Nayénezgani, going out, found that all was calm, though it was still dark. He now proceeded to remove the coverings from the lodge and threw them upwards toward the heavens. As the first covering, a sheet of fog, ascended, chain-lightning shot out of it (with chain-lightning it had been fastened down). As the second covering, a cloud, ascended, sheet-lightning came forth from it. As the third covering, a fog, went up, sunbeams streamed from it; and as the fourth cover, a robe of cloud, floated up, it became adorned with rainbows. The air was yet dark, and full of dust raised by the high wind; but a gentle shower of rain came later, laying the dust, and all was clear again. All the inmates of the lodge now came out, and they marvelled to see what changes the storm had wrought: near their house a great canyon had been formed; the shape of the bluffs around had been changed, and solitary pillars of rock[156] had been hewn by the winds.
360. "Surely all the anáye are now killed," said Estsánatlehi. "This storm must have destroyed them." But Ni'ltsi whispered into Nayénezgani's ear, "San (Old Age) still lives." The hero said then to his mother: "Where used Old Age to dwell?" His mother would not answer him, though he repeated his question four times. At last Ni'ltsi again whispered in his ear and said: "She lives in the mountains of Depe'ntsa."
361. Next morning he set out for the north, and when, after a long journey, he reached Depe'ntsa, he saw an old woman who came slowly toward him leaning on a staff. Her back was bent, her hair was white, and her face was deeply wrinkled. He knew this must be San. When they met he said: "Grandmother, I have come on a cruel errand. I have come to slay you." "Why would you slay me?" she said in a feeble voice, "I have never harmed any one. I hear that you have done great deeds in order that men might increase on the earth, but if you kill me there will be no increase of men; the boys will not grow up to become fathers; the worthless old men will not die; the people will stand still. It is well that people should grow old and pass away and give their places to the young. Let me live, and I shall help you to increase the people." "Grandmother, if you keep this promise I shall spare your life," said Nayénezgani, and he returned to his mother without a trophy.
362. When he got home Ni'ltsi whispered to him: "Hakáz Estsán (Cold Woman) still lives." Nayénezgani said to Estsánatlehi: "Mother, grandmother, where does Cold Woman dwell?" His mother would not answer him; but Ni'ltsi again whispered, saying: "Cold Woman lives high on the summits of Depe'ntsa, where the snow never melts."