Chapter IV: Growth of the Navaho Nation (1)

375. Before Estsánatlehi left, she said to Yolkaí Estsán: "Now, younger sister, I must leave you. Think well what you would most like to do after I am gone." The younger sister replied: "I would most like to go back to Depe'ntsa, where our people came from." "Alas! you will be lonely there," said the elder sister. "You will want for some one around you to make a noise and keep you company." Still, when Estsánatlehi left, Yolkaí Estsán turned her face toward Depe'ntsa. She went with the two brothers as far as To`ye'tli, and, when these stopped there, she set out alone for the mountains.

376. When she got to Depe'ntsa (the San Juan Mountains), she went first to a place lying east of Hadzinaí (the Place of Emergence), named Dsilladiltéhi; in an old ruined pueblo on its side she rested during the day, and at night she went to the top of the mountain to sleep. On the second day she went to a mountain south of the Place of Emergence, called Dsili'ndiltéhi; rested on the side of the mountain during the day, and on its top at night. She began now to feel lonely, and at night she thought of how men might be made to keep her company. She wandered round in thought during the third day, and on the third night she slept on top of Dsiltagiiltéhi, a mountain west of Hadzinaí. On the fourth day she walked around the Place of Emergence, and wandered into the old ruins she found there. On the fourth night she went to the top of Dsiltiniltéz, the mountain which lies to the north of the Place of Emergence, and there she rested, but did not sleep; for she thought all the time about her loneliness, and of how people might be made. On the fifth day she came down to the shores of the lake which surrounded the Place of Emergence, and built a shelter of brush. "I may as well stay here," she said to herself; "what does it avail that I wander round?" She sat up late that night thinking of her lonely condition. She felt that she could not stay there longer without companionship. She thought of her sister in the far west, of the Twelve People, of the gods that dwelt in the different mountains, and she thought she might do well to go and live with some of them.

377. The next morning she heard faintly, in the early dawn, the voice of Hastséyalti shouting his usual "Wu`hu`hu`hú," in the far east. Four times the cry was uttered, each time louder and nearer. Immediately after the last call the god appeared. "Where did you save yourself?" he asked the White Shell Woman, meaning, "Where were you, that you escaped the anáye when they ravaged the land?" "I was at Dsilnáotil with my sister," she said; "but for five nights I have been all alone in these mountains. I have been hoping that something might happen to relieve my great loneliness,--that I might meet some one. Sítsaí (Grandfather), whence do you come?" He replied: "I come from Tse`gíhi,[165] the home of the gods. I pity your loneliness and wish to help you. If you remain where you are, I shall return in four days and bring Estsánatlehi, the divine ones of all the great mountains, and other gods, with me." When he left, she built for herself a good hut with a storm door. She swept the floor clean, and made a comfortable bed of soft grass and leaves.

378. At dawn on the fourth day after the god departed, Yolkaí Estsán heard two voices calling,--the voice of Hastséyalti, the Talking God, and the voice of Hastséhogan, the House God. The voices were heard, as usual, four times, and immediately after the last call the gods appeared. It was dark and misty that day; the sun did not rise. Soon after the arrival of the first two, the other promised visitors came, and they all formed themselves in a circle east of the lodge, each in the place where he or she belonged. Thus the divine ones of Tsisnadzi'ni stood in the east; those of Tsótsil (San Mateo Mountain) in the south; those of Dokoslíd (San Francisco Mountain) in the west; those of Depe'ntsa (San Juan Mountain) in the north. Each one present had his appropriate place in the group. At first Yolkaí Estsán stood in the west; but her sister, Estsánatlehi, said to her: "No, my young sister; go you and stand in the east. My place is in the west," and thus they stood during the ceremony. Estsánatlehi brought with her two sacred blankets called Dilpi'l-naská, the Dark Embroidered, and Lakaí-naská, the White Embroidered. Hastséhogan brought with him two sacred buckskins, and the Nalkénaaz (a divine couple who came together walking arm in arm) brought two ears of corn,--one yellow, one white,--which the female carried in a dish of turquoise.

379. Hastséyalti laid the sacred blankets on the ground, and spread on top of these one of the sacred buckskins with its head to the west. He took from the dish of the female Nalkénaaz the two ears of corn, handing the white ear to Tse`gádinatini Asiké, the Rock Crystal Boy of the eastern mountain, and the yellow ear to Natáltsoi Atét, the Yellow Corn Girl of San Francisco Mountain. These divine ones laid the ears on the buckskin,--the yellow with its tip toward the west, the white with its tip toward the east. Hastséyalti picked up the ears, and nearly laid them down on the buckskin with their tips to the east, but he did not let them touch the buckskin; as he did this he uttered his own cry of "Wu`hu`hu`hú." Then he nearly laid them down with their tips to the south, giving as he did so Hastséhogan's cry of "Ha-wa-u-ú." With similar motions he pointed the ears to the west and the north. Next he raised them toward the sky, and at length laid them down on the buckskin, with their tips to the east. He accompanied each act with a cry of his own or of Hastséhogan, alternating as in the beginning. So the ears were turned in every direction, and this is the reason the Navahoes never abide in one home like the Pueblos, but wander ever from place to place. Over the ears of corn he laid the other sacred buckskin with its head to the east, and then Ni'ltsi, the Wind, entered between the skins. Four times, at intervals, Hastséyalti raised the buckskins a little and peeped in. When he looked the fourth time, he saw that the white ear of corn was changed to a man, and the yellow ear to a woman. It was Ni'ltsi who gave them the breath of life. He entered at the heads and came out at the ends of the fingers and toes, and to this day we see his trail in the tip of every human finger. The Rock Crystal Boy furnished them with mind, and the Grasshopper Girl gave them voices. When Hastséyalti at last threw off the top buckskin, a dark cloud descended and covered like a blanket the forms of the new pair. Yolkaí Estsán led them into her hogán, and the assembled gods dispersed. Before he left, Hastséyalti promised to return in four days.

380. No songs were sung and no prayers uttered during their rites, and the work was done in one day. The hogán near which all these things happened still stands; but since that time it has been transformed into a little hill. To-day (A.D. 1884) seven times old age has killed since this pair was made by the holy ones from the ears of corn. The next very old man who dies will make the eighth time.[166]

381. Early on the fourth morning after his departure Hastséyalti came again as he had promised, announcing his approach by calling four times as usual. When White Shell Woman heard the first call, she aroused the young people and said: "Get up, my children, and make a fire. Hastséyalti is coming." He brought with him another couple, Hadáhonige Asiké (Mirage Boy) and Hadáhonestid Atét (Ground-heat Girl). He gave Yolkaí Estsán two ears of corn, saying, "Grind only one grain at a time," and departed. Yolkaí Estsán said to the newly-arrived couple: "This boy and girl of corn cannot marry one another, for they are brother and sister; neither can you marry one another, for you are also brother and sister, yet I must do something for you all." So she married the boy made of corn to the Ground-heat Girl, and the Mirage Boy to the girl made of corn. After a time each couple had two children,--a boy and a girl. When these were large enough to run around, this family all moved away from Hadzinaí, where they had lived four years, to Tse`lakaíia (White Standing Rock). The two men were busy every day hunting rabbits, rats, and other such animals, for on such game they chiefly lived. From these people are descended the gens of Tse`dzinki'ni,[167] House of the Dark Cliffs; so named because the gods who created the first pair came from the cliff houses of Tse`gíhi, and brought from there the ears of corn from which this first pair was made.

382. After they had lived thirteen years at Tse`lakaíia, during which time they had seen no sign of the existence of any people but themselves, they beheld one night the gleam of a distant fire. They sought for the fire all that night and the next day, but could not find it. The next night they saw it again in the same place, and the next day they searched with greater vigilance, but in vain. On the third night, when the distant gleam shone again through the darkness, they determined to adopt some means, better than they had previously taken, to locate it. They drove a forked stick firmly into the ground; one of the men got down on his hands and knees, spreading them as wide apart as possible, and sighted the fire through the fork of the stick. Next morning he carefully placed his hands and knees in the tracks which they had made the night before, and once more looked through the fork. His sight was thus guided to a little wooded hollow on the side of a far-off mountain. One of the men walked over to the mountain and entered the little hollow, which was small and could be explored in a few moments; but he discovered no fire, no ashes, no human tracks, no evidence of the presence of man. On the fourth night all the adults of the party took sight over the forked stick at the far twinkle, and in the morning when they looked again they found they had all sighted the same little grove on the distant mountain-side. "Strange!" said the man who had hunted there the day before; "the place is small. I went all through it again and again. There was no sign of life there, and not a drop of water that could reflect a ray from a star or from the moon." Then all the males of the family, men and boys, went to explore the little wood. Just as they were about to return, having found nothing, Wind whispered into the ear of one: "You are deceived. That light shines through a crack in the mountain at night. Cross the ridge and you will find the fire."[168] They had not gone far over the ridge when they saw the footprints of men, then the footprints of children, and soon they came to the camp. One party was as much rejoiced as the other to find people like themselves in the wilderness. They embraced one another, and shouted mutual greetings and questions. "Whence do you come?" said the strangers. "From Tse`lakaíia," was the response. "And whence come you?" asked the men of the White Standing Rock. "We tarried last," replied the strangers, "at To`i'ndotsos, a poor country, where we lived on ducks and snakes.[169] We have been here only a few days, and now we live on ground-rats, prairie-dogs, and wild seeds." The new party consisted of twelve persons,--five men, three women, one grown girl, one grown boy, and two small children. The Tse`dzinki'ni people took the strangers home with them, and Yolkaí Estsán welcomed them, saying: "Ahaláni sastsíni!" (Greeting, my children!) The place where the Tse`dzinki'ni found the strangers encamped was called Tsé`tlana (Bend in a Canyon); so they gave them the name of Tse`tláni, or Tse`tlánidine`, and from them is descended the present gens of Tse`tláni in the Navaho nation.

383. The next morning after the arrival of the Tse`tláni, Hastséyalti came once more to the lodge of the White Shell Woman; but he talked with her apart from the others, and when he was gone she told no one what he said. In three days he came back again; again they talked apart, and when Hastséyalti was gone she remained silent. It was her custom to sleep with one of the little girls, who was her favorite and companion. In the morning after the second visit of Hastséyalti she said to this little girl: "I am going to leave you. The gods of Tse`gíhi have sent for me; but I shall not forget your people, and shall come often to watch over them and be near them. Tell them this when they waken." When she had spoken she disappeared from the sight of the little girl, and when the people woke they searched, but could find her nowhere. They supposed she had gone to Tse`gíhi and tarried there a while before she went to Depe'ntsa to dwell forever in the house of White Shell, which had been prepared for her there. The fourth night after the departure of Yolkaí Estsán the little girl had a dream, which she related to her people in the morning. In the vision she saw Yolkaí Estsán, who said to her: "My grandchild, I am going to Depe'ntsa to dwell. I would take you with me, for I love you, were it not that your parents would mourn for you. But look always for the she-rain when it comes near your dwelling, for I shall ever be in the she-rain."

384. While at White Standing Rock the men wandered much around the country in search of food. Some who had been to To`dokónzi (Saline Water) said the latter was a better place than than that in which they lived; that there were some porcupines there, an abundance of rats, prairie-dogs, and seed-bearing plants; and that there were steep-sided mesa points in the neighborhood where they might surround large game.[170] After the departure of Yolkaí Estsán the people all moved to To`dokónzi;[171] but they remained here only a few days, and then went to Tsa`olgáhasze. Here they planted some grains of corn from the two ears that Hastséyalti had given them long ago. This was a very prolific kind of corn; when planted, several stalks sprouted from each grain, and a single grain, when ground, produced a large quantity of meal, which lasted them many days.

385. When they had been fourteen years at Tsa`olgáhasze they were joined by another people, who came from the sacred mountain of Dsilnáotil, and were therefore called Dsilnaoti'lni, or Dsilnaoti'ldine`. These were regarded as diné` digíni, or holy people, because they had no tradition of their recent creation, and were supposed to have escaped the fury of the alien gods by means of some miraculous protection. They did not camp at first with the older settlers, but dwelt a little apart, and sent often to the latter to borrow pots and metates. After a while all joined together as one people, and for a long time these three gentes have been as one gens and have become close relations to one another. The new-comers dug among old ruins and found pots and stone axes; with the latter they built themselves huts.

386. Seven years after the arrival of the Dsilnaoti'lni a fourth gens joined the Navahoes. The new arrivals said they had been seeking for the Dsilnaoti'lni all over the land for many years. Sometimes they would come upon the dead bushes of old camps. Sometimes they would find deserted brush shelters, partly green, or, again, quite green and fresh. Occasionally they would observe faint footprints, and think they were just about to meet another people like themselves in the desolate land; but again all traces of humanity would be lost. They were rejoiced to meet at last the people they so long had sought. The new-comers camped close to the Dsilnaoti'lni, and discovered that they and the latter carried similar red arrow-holders,[172] such as the other gentes did not have, and this led them to believe that they were related to the Dsilnaoti'lni. The Navahoes did not then make large skin quivers such as they have in these days; they carried their arrows in simpler contrivances. The strangers said that they came from a place called Haskánhatso (much Yucca baccata), and that they were the Haskándine`, or Yucca People; but the older gentes called them Haskánhatso, or Haskanhatsódine`, from the place whence they came.[173]

387. Fourteen years after the accession of the fourth gens, the Navahoes moved to Kintyél (which was then a ruin), in the Chaco Canyon. They camped there at night in a scattering fashion, and made so many fires that they attracted the attention of some strangers camped on a distant mountain, and these strangers came down next day to find out who the numerous people were that kindled so many fires. As the strangers, who were also diné` digíni, or holy people, said they came from Nahopá (Place of the Brown Horizontal Streak), the Navahoes called them Nahopáni. They joined the tribe, camping near the Haskánhatso and Dsilnaoti'lni.

388. It was autumn when the fifth gens was received. Then the whole tribe moved to the banks of the San Juan River and settled at a place called Tsintó`betlo[174] (Tree Sweeping Water), where a peculiar white tree hangs over the stream and sweeps the surface of the water with its long branches: there is no other tree of its kind near by. Here they determined to remain some time and raise crops; so they built warm huts for the winter, and all the fall and winter, when the days were fair, they worked in the bottom-lands grubbing up roots and getting the soil ready for gardens to be planted in the spring. The elder gentes camped farther down the stream than those more newly arrived.

389. In those days the language which the Navahoes spoke was not the same they speak now. It was a poor language then; it is better in these days.

390. When the tribe had been living six years on the banks of the San Juan, a band joined them who came from Tsi'nadzin[175] (Black Horizontal Forest), and were named as a gens from the place whence they came. The Navahoes observed that in this band there was a man who talked a great deal to the people almost every morning and evening. The Navahoes did not at first understand what this meant; but after a while they learned he spoke to his people because he was their chief. His name was Nabiniltáhi.

391. While living at the San Juan the people amused themselves much with games. They played mostly nánzoz[76] in the daytime and kesitsé[176] at night. They had as yet no horses, domestic sheep, or goats. They rarely succeeded in killing deer or Rocky Mountain sheep. When they secured deer it was sometimes by still-hunting them, sometimes by surrounding one and making it run till it was exhausted, and sometimes by driving them over precipices. When a man got two skins of these larger animals he made a garment of them by tying the fore-legs together over his shoulders. The woman wore a garment consisting of two webs of woven cedar bark, one hanging in front and one behind; all wore sandals of yucca fibre or cedar bark. They had headdresses made of weasel-skins and rat-skins, with the tails hanging down behind. These headdresses were often ornamented with colored artificial horns, made out of wood, or with the horns of the female mountain sheep shaved thin. Their blankets were made of cedar bark, of yucca fibre, or of skins sewed together.[177] Each house had, in front of the door, a long passageway, in which hung two curtains,--one at the outer, the other at the inner end,--made usually of woven cedar bark. In winter they brought in plenty of wood at night, closed both curtains, and made the house warm before they went to sleep. Their bows were of plain wood then; the Navahoes had not yet learned to put animal fibre on the backs of the bows.[178] Their arrows were mostly of reeds tipped with wood; but some made wooden arrows.[180] The bottom-land which they farmed was surrounded by high bluffs, and hemmed in up-stream and down-stream by jutting bluffs which came close to the river. After a time the tribe became too numerous for all to dwell and farm on this spot, so some went up in the bluffs to live and built stone storehouses in the cliffs,[179] while others--the Tsinadzi'ni--went below the lower promontory to make gardens. Later yet, some moved across the San Juan and raised crops on the other side of the stream.[180]

392. Eight years after the coming of the Tsinadzi'ni, some fires were observed at night on a distant eminence north of the river, and spies were sent out to see who made them. The spies brought back word that they had found a party of strangers encamped at a place called Tha`nezá`, Among the Scattered (Hills). Soon after, this party came in and joined the Navahoes, making a new gens, which was called Tha`nezá`ni. The strangers said they were descended from the Hadáhonigedine`, or Mirage People. The remains of their old huts are still to be seen at Tha`nezá`.

393. Five years after the Tha`nezá`ni were added, another people joined the tribe; but what gods sent them none could tell. They came from a place called Dsiltlá` (Base of Mountain), and were given the name of Dsiltlá`ni. As they had headdresses, bows, arrows, and arrow-holders similar to those of the Tha`nezá`ni they concluded they must be related to the latter. Ever since, these two gentes have been very close friends,--so close that a member of one cannot marry a member of the other. The Dsiltlá`ni knew how to make wicker water-bottles, carrying-baskets, and earthen pots, and they taught their arts to the rest of the people.

394. Five years later, they were joined on the San Juan by a numerous band who came originally from a place called Thá`pahahalkaí, White Valley among the Waters, which is near where the city of Santa Fé now stands. These people had long viewed in the western distance the mountains where the Navahoes dwelt, wondering if any one lived there, and at length decided to go thither. They journeyed westward twelve days till they reached the mountains, and they spent eight days travelling among them before they encountered the Navahoes. Then they settled at To`i'ndotsos and lived there twelve years, subsisting on ducks and fish,[169] but making no farms. All this time they were friendly to the Navahoes and exchanged visits; but, finding no special evidences of relationship with the latter, they dwelt apart. When at length they came to the San Juan to live, marriages had taken place between members of the two tribes, and the people from Among the Waters became a part of the Navaho nation, forming the gens of Thá`paha. They settled at a place called Hyíetyin (Trails Leading Upward), close to the Navahoes. Here was a smooth, sandy plain, which they thought would be good for farming, and the chief, whose name was Góntso, or Big Knee, had stakes set around the plain to show that his people claimed it. The people of the new gens were good hunters, skilled in making weapons and beautiful buckskin shirts, and they taught their arts to the other gentes.

395. The Thá`paha then spoke a language more like the modern Navaho than that which the other gentes spoke. The languages were not alike. The chief of the Tsinadzi'ni and Góntso often visited one another at night, year after year, for the purpose of uniting the two languages and picking out the words in each that were best. But the words of the Thá`paha were usually the best and plainest;[182] so the new language resembles the Thá`paha more than it resembles the old Navaho.

396. While the Thá`paha lived at Hyíetyin they had always abundant crops,--better crops than their neighbors had. Sometimes they could not harvest all they raised, and let food lie ungathered in the field. They built stone storehouses, something like pueblo houses, among the cliffs, and in these stored their corn. The storehouses stand there yet. The Thá`paha remained at Hyíetyin thirteen years, during which time many important events occurred, as will be told, and then they moved to Azdeltsígi.

397. Góntso had twelve wives; four of these were from the gens of Tsinadzi'ni, four from the gens of Dsiltlá`ni, and four from the gens of Tha`nezá`ni. He used to give much grain from his abundant harvests to the gentes to which his wives belonged; but, in spite of his generosity, his wives were unfaithful to him. He complained to their relations and to their chiefs; these remonstrated with the wives, but failed to improve their ways. At last they lost patience with the women and said to Góntso: "Do with them as you will. We shall not interfere." So the next wife whom he detected in crime he mutilated in a shameful way, and she died in consequence. He cut off the ears of the next transgressor, and she, too, died. He amputated the breasts of the third wife who offended him, and she died also. He cut off the nose of the fourth; she did not die. He determined then that cutting the nose should, in future, be the greatest punishment imposed on the faithless wife,--something that would disfigure but not kill,--and the rest of the people agreed with him.[183] But this had no effect on the remaining wives; they continued to lapse from virtue till all were noseless. Then they got together and began to plot mischief against their husband, Big Knee. They spoke so openly of their evil intentions that he feared to let any of them stay in his lodge at night and he slept alone.

398. About this time the people determined to have a great ceremony for the benefit of Big Knee; so they made great preparations and held a rite of nine days' duration.[184] During its progress the mutilated women remained in a hut by themselves, and talked about the unkindness of their people and the vengeance due to their husband. They said one to another: "We should leave our people and go elsewhere." On the last night of the ceremony there was a series of public exhibitions in a corral, or circle of branches, such as the Navahoes have now on the last night of the ceremony of the mountain chant,[185] and among the different alíli, or entertainments of the night, was a dance by the mutilated women. When their time came they entered the circle, each bearing a knife in her hand, and danced around the central fire, peering among the spectators as if searching for their husband; but he was hidden in the wall of branches that formed the circle. As they danced they sang a song the burden of which was "Pésla asilá." (It was the knife that did it to me.) When they had finished their dance they left the corral, and, in the darkness without, screamed maledictions at their people, saying: "May the waters drown ye! May the winters freeze ye! May the fires burn ye! May the lightnings strike ye!" and much more. Having cursed till they were tired, they departed for the far north, where they still dwell, and now, whenever they turn their faces to the south, we have cold winds and storms and lightning.

399. Not long after this memorable ceremony a number of Utes visited the Navahoes. They came when the corn-ears were small, and remained till the corn was harvested. They worked for the Navahoes, and when their stomachs were filled all left except one family, which consisted of an old couple, two girls, and a boy. These at first intended to stay but a short time after their friends had gone; but they tarried longer and longer, and postponed their going from time to time, till they ended by staying with the Navahoes till they died. They made particular friends with the Thá`paha, and got into the way of speaking to the latter people as they would to relations. One of the girls, whose name was Tsá`yiskid (Sage-Brush Hill), lived to be an old woman and the mother of many children. From her is descended the gens of Tsa`yiski'dni, which is so closely allied to the Thá`paha that a member of one of these gentes may not marry a member of the other.

400. Soon after the departure of the Utes the Navahoes were joined by a group of people who, when they came to tell their story, were found to have come from Thá`paha-halkaí, and to have made wanderings similar to those of the people who first came from that place. The new people spoke, also, the same language as the Thá`paha. For these reasons they were not formed into a new gens, but were joined to the gens of Thá`paha.

401. Some years later a large band came from the south to the settlement on the San Juan. It consisted of Apaches, who told the Navahoes that they had left their old tribe forever and desired to become Navahoes. They had not come to visit, they said, but to stay. They all belonged to one gens among the Apaches,--the gens of Tse`zindiaí (Trap-dyke),[186] and they were admitted into the tribe as a new gens with their old name. From the beginning they showed a desire to associate with Thá`paha, and now they are closely related to the latter and must not marry with them. Another band of Apaches, which came a little later, was added to the same gens.

402. About this time there was a great famine in Zuñi, and some people from this pueblo came to the San Juan to dwell with the Navahoes. They came first to the Thá`paha, and, although they had women in the party, they were not formed into a new gens, but added to Thá`paha. The gens of Zuñi was formed later.

403. The famine prevailed also at other pueblos, and some starving people came to the Navahoes from an old pueblo named Klógi, which was near where the pueblo of Jemez now stands. These formed the gens of Klógi, and made special friends of the Thá`paha.

404. The next accession was a family of seven adults, who came from a place called Tó`hani (Near the Water). They first visited the Dsiltlá`ni and remained, forming the gens of Tó`hani, affiliated now with Dsiltlá`ni.

405. The people who joined the Navahoes next after the Tó`hani came from a place called Tha`tsí, Among the Red (Waters or Banks), which was west of the San Juan settlement. From their traditions it appeared that they were not a newly created people; they had escaped in some way from the alien gods, and were for these reasons regarded as diné` digíni, or holy people. They were divided into two gentes, Thá`tsini and Kaídine`, or Willow People, and for a while they formed two gentes among the Navahoes; but in these days all traces of this division have been lost, and all their descendants are now called, without distinction, sometimes Thá`tsini and sometimes Kai or Kaídine`.

406. Before this time the Navahoes had been a weak and peaceable tribe; but now they found themselves becoming a numerous people and they began to talk of going to war. Of late years they had heard much of the great pueblos along the Rio Grande, but how their people had saved themselves from the anáye the Navahoes did not know. A man named Napaílinta got up a war party and made a raid on a pueblo named Kinlitsí (Red House), and returned with some captives, among whom was a girl captured by Napaílinta. From her is descended the gens of Kinlitsí, whose members are now close relations to Tsinadzi'ni (the gens of Napaílinta), and cannot intermarry with the latter.

407. The captives from Kinlitsí were, at first, slaves among the Navahoes;[187] but their descendants became free and increased greatly, and from them came another gens, Tliziláni, Many Goats, also closely related to Tsinadzi'ni.

408. Next in order came a band of Apaches from the south representing two gentes,--Destsíni (Red Streak People), and Tlastsíni (Red Flat Ground People). These were adopted by the Navahoes as two separate gentes and became close relations to the Tsinadzi'ni.

409. Not long after the arrival of these Apaches some Utes came into the neighborhood of the Navahoes, camping at a place called Tsé`di`yikáni (a ridge or promontory projecting into the river), not far from Hyíetyin. They had good arms of all kinds, and two varieties of shields,--one round and one with a crescentic cut in the top. They lived for a while by themselves, and were at first unruly and impertinent; but in the course of time they merged into the Navahoes, forming the gens of Notá or Notádine`, Ute People.

410. About the time they were incorporated by the Navahoes, or soon after, a war party of the Utes made a raid on a Mexican settlement, somewhere near where Socorro now is, and captured a Spanish woman. She was their slave; but her descendants became free among the Navahoes and formed the Nakaídine` (White Stranger People), or Mexican gens, who cannot now intermarry with Notádine`.

411. Góntso, or Big Knee, chief of the Thá`paha, was still alive and was a famous old man; but he had become feeble and had many ailments. There was a great ceremony practised in those days called natsi'd, which lasted all winter,[184] from harvest-time to planting-time; but the Navahoes have long ceased to celebrate it. This ceremony was held one winter for the benefit of Big Knee at the sacred place of To`ye'tli, the home of the War Gods. One night, while the rites were being performed, some strangers joined the Navahoes coming from the direction of the river. Adopted by the Navahoes, they formed the gens of To`yetlíni, and became closely allied to Notádine` and Nakaídine`.

412. On another occasion during the same winter some Apaches came from their country in the south to witness the ceremony of natsi'd. Among the women of the Thá`paha was one who visited the Apache camp and remained all night there. She became attached to an Apache youth, with whom she secretly absconded when the visitors left. For a long time her people did not know what had become of her; but many years after, learning where she was, some of her relations went to the Apache country to persuade her to return. She came back an old woman, bringing her husband and a family of three girls. The girls were handsome, had light skins and fair hair. Their grandmother, who admired them very much, insisted that a new gens should be made of them. So they were called Háltso, Yellow Bodies,[188] and originated the gens of that name. Their father died an old man among the Navahoes.

413. On another night of the same winter, while the ceremony for Big Knee was going on, two strange men, speaking the Navaho language, entered the camp. They said they were the advanced couriers of a multitude of wanderers who had left the shores of the great waters in the west to join the Navahoes. You shall now hear the story of the people who came from the western ocean:--

414. Surrounding Estsánatlehi's home were four mountains, located like those at the Place of Emergence--one in the east, one in the south, one in the west, and one in the north. She was in the habit of dancing on these mountains,--on the mountain in the east to bring clouds; on the mountain in the south, to bring all kinds of goods,--jewels, clothing, etc.; on the mountain in the west, to bring plants of all kinds; and on the mountain in the north, to bring corn and animals. On these journeys for dancing she passed from the east mountain to the south, the west, and the north mountain, the way the sun goes; and when she was done dancing on the north mountain she retraced her course (without crossing it) to the east; but she never completed the circle, i.e., she never passed from the north directly to the east. Over the space between the north and the east mountains she never travelled. This is the way her trail lay:--

415. Estsánatlehi had not been long in her western home when she began to feel lonely. She had no companions there. The people who had accompanied her thither did not stay with her. She thought she might make people to keep her company, so one day, when she had completed one of her dancing journeys, she sat down on the eastern mountain. Here she rubbed epidermis from under her left arm with her right hand; she held this in her palm and it changed into four persons,--two men and two women,--from whom descended a gens to which no name was then given, but which afterwards (as will be told) received the name of Honagá`ni. She rubbed the epidermis with her left hand from under her right arm, held it in her palm as before, and it became two men and two women, from whom descended the gens afterwards known as Kinaá`ni. In a similar way, of epidermis rubbed from under her left breast she created four people, from whom descended the gens later known as To`ditsíni; of epidermis from under her right breast, four persons, from whom descended the gens called Bitáni; of epidermis from the middle of her chest, the four whose descendants were called Hasli'zni; and of epidermis from her back between her shoulders, the four whose descendants were called Bitá`ni in later times.

416. She said to these: "I wish you to dwell near me, where I can always see you; but if you choose to go to the east, where your kindred dwell, you may go." She took them from her floating home to the mainland; here they lived for thirty years, during which time they married and had many children. At the end of this time the Twelve People (Diné` Nakidáta), or rather what was left of them, appeared among Estsánatlehi's people and said to them: "We have lost our sister who kept our house for us; we have no home; we know not where else to go; so we have come here to behold our mother, our grandmother. You have kindred in the far east who have increased until they are now a great people. We do not visit them, but we stand on the mountains and look at them from afar. We know they would welcome you if you went to them." And many more things they told about the people in the far east.

417. Now all crossed on a bridge of rainbow to the house of Estsánatlehi on the sea, where she welcomed them and embraced them. Of the Diné` Nakidáta but ten were left, for, as has been told, they lost their sister and their younger brother; but when they came to the home of Estsánatlehi she made for them two more people out of turquoise, and this completed their original number of twelve. She knew with what thoughts her children had come. She opened four doors leading from the central chamber of her house into four other rooms, and showed them her various treasures, saying: "Stay with me always, my children; these things shall be yours, and we shall be always happy together."

418. When the people went back from the house of Estsánatlehi to the mainland, all was gossip and excitement in their camp about what they had heard of the people in the east. Each one had a different part or version of the tale to tell,--of how the people in the east lived, of what they ate, of the way in which they were divided into gentes, of how the gentes were named, and of other things about them they had heard. "The people are few where we live," they said; "we would be better off where there are so many." They talked thus for twelve days. At the end of that time they concluded to depart, and they fixed the fourteenth day after that as the day they should leave.

419. Before they left, the Diné` Nakidáta and Estsánatlehi came to see them. She said: "It is a long and dangerous journey to where you are going. It is well that you should be cared for and protected on the way. I shall give you five of my pets,[189]--a bear, a great snake, a deer, a porcupine, and a puma,--to watch over you. They will not desert you. Speak of no evil deeds in the presence of the bear or the snake, for they may do the evil they hear you speak of; but the deer and the porcupine are good,--say whatever you please to say in their presence."

420. Besides these pets she gave them five magic wands. To those who were afterwards named Honagá`ni she gave a wand of turquoise; to those who later were called Kinaá`ni, a wand of white shell; to those who became To`ditsíni, a wand of haliotis shell; to those who became Bitá`ni, a wand of black stone; and to those who in later days became Hasli'zni, a wand of red stone. "I give you these for your protection," she said, "but I shall watch over you myself while you are on your journey."

421. On the appointed day they set out on their journey. On the twelfth day of their march they crossed a high ridge and came in sight of a great treeless plain, in the centre of which they observed some dark objects in motion. They could not determine what they were, but suspected they were men. They continued their journey, but did not directly approach the dark objects; they moved among the foothills that surrounded the plain, and kept under cover of the timber. As they went along they discerned the dark objects more plainly, and discovered that these were indeed human beings. They got among the foothills to one side of where the strangers were, and camped in the woods at night.

422. In spite of all the precautions taken by the travellers, they had been observed by the people of the plain, and at night two of the latter visited their camp. The visitors said they were Kiltsói, or Kiltsóidine` (People of the Bigelovia graveolens); that their tribe was numerous; that the plain in which they dwelt was extensive; and that they had watermelons getting ripe, with corn and other food, in their gardens. The people of the west concluded to remain here a while. The second night they had two more visitors, one of whom became enamored of a maiden among the wanderers, and asked for her in marriage. Her people refused him at first; but when he came the second night and begged for her again, they gave her to him. He stayed with her in the camp of her people as long as they remained in the valley, except the last two nights, when she went and stayed with his people. These gave an abundance of the produce of their fields to the wanderers, and the latter fared well. When the travellers were prepared to move, they implored the young husband to go with them, while he begged to have his wife remain with him in the valley. They argued long; but in the end the woman's relations prevailed, and the Kiltsói man joined them on their journey. In the mean time four other men of Kiltsói had fallen in love with maidens of the wanderers, and asked for them in marriage. The migrating band refused to leave the girls behind, so the enamored young men left their kindred and joined the travellers. The Kiltsói tried to persuade the others to dwell in their land forever, but without avail.

423. They broke camp at last early in the morning, and travelled all day. At night a great wind arose, and the bear would not rest, but ran around the camp all night, uneasy and watchful. The men looked out and saw some of the Kiltsói trying to approach; but the bear warded them off and they disappeared without doing harm. In the morning it was found that the men of the Kiltsói who had joined them on their journey had now deserted them, and it was supposed that in some way they were in league with their brethren outside.

424. The second day they journeyed far, and did not make camp until after dark. As on the previous night, the bear was awake, watchful, and uneasy all night. They supposed he was still looking out for lurking Kiltsói. Not until daybreak did he lie down and take a little sleep while the people were preparing for the day's march.

425. On the third night the bear was again wakeful and on guard, and only lay down in the morning while the people were breaking camp. "My pet, why are you troubled thus every night?" said one of the men to the bear. The latter only grunted in reply, and made a motion with his nose in the direction whence they had come.

426. On the fourth night they camped, for mutual protection, closer together than they had camped before. The bear sat on a neighboring hill, from which he could watch the sleepers, but slept not himself all night. As before, he took a short sleep in the morning. Before the people set out on their march some one said: "Let us look around and see if we can find what has troubled our pet." They sent two couriers to the east and two to the west. The former returned, having found nothing. The latter said they had seen strange footprints, as of people who had approached the camp and then gone back far to the west. Their pursuers, they thought, had returned to their homes.

427. They had now been four days without finding water, and the children were crying with thirst. On the fifth day's march they halted at noon and held a council. "How shall we procure water?" said one. "Let us try the power of our magic wands," said another. A man of the gens who owned the wand of turquoise stuck this wand into the ground, and worked it back and forth and round and round to make a good-sized hole. Water sprang from the hole. A woman of another gens crouched down to taste it. "It is bitter water," she cried. "Let that, then, be your name and the name of your people," said those who heard her; thus did the gens of To`ditsíni, Bitter Water People, receive its name.

428. When the people had cooked and eaten food and drunk their fill of the bitter water, they said: "Let us try to reach yonder mountain before night." So they pushed on to a distant mountain they had beheld in the east. When they got near the mountain they saw moccasin tracks, and knew there must be some other people at hand. At one place, near the base of the mountain, they observed a cluster of cottonwood trees, and, thinking there might be a spring there, they went straight to the cottonwood. Suddenly they found themselves among a strange people who were dwelling around a spring. The strangers greeted the wanderers in a friendly manner, embraced them, and asked them whence they came. The wanderers told their story briefly, and the strangers said: "We were created at this spring and have always lived here. It is called Maitó`, Coyote Water (Coyote Spring), and we are the Maídine`" (Coyote People). The Navahoes called them Maitó`dine`.

429. The travellers tarried four days at the Coyote Spring, during which time they talked much to their new friends, and at length persuaded the latter to join them on their eastern journey. Before they started, the Coyote People declared that their spring was the only water in the neighborhood; that they knew of no other water within two days' journey in any direction. On the morning of the fifth day they all moved off toward the east. They travelled all day, and made a dry camp at night. The next day at noon they halted on their way, and decided to try again the power of a magic wand. This time the white shell was used by a member of the gens to whom it had been given, in the same way that the turquoise wand was used before. Water sprang up. A woman of another gens said: "It is muddy; it may make the children sick." "Let your people then be named Hasli'zni, Mud People," cried voices in the crowd. Thus the gens of Hasli'z, or Hasli'zni, was named.

430. The second night after leaving Coyote Spring, darkness overtook the wanderers at a place where there was no water, and they rested there for the night. At noon on the following day all were thirsty, and the children were crying. The people halted, and proposed to try again the efficacy of a sacred wand. The wand of haliotis was used this time. When the water sprang up, a woman of the Coyote People stooped first and drank. "It is To`dokónz, alkaline (or sapid) water," she exclaimed. To her and her children the name To`dokónzi was then given, and from them the present gens of that name is descended. Its members may not marry with Maitó`dine`, to whom they are related.

431. On the night after they found the alkaline water, they encamped once more at a place where no water was to be found, and on the following day great were their sufferings from thirst. At midday they rested, and begged the bearers of the black stone wand to try the power of their magic implement. A stream of fine, clear water sprang up when the wand was stuck in the ground. They filled their vessels and all drank heartily, except a boy and a girl of the gens that bore the black stone wand. "Why do you not come and drink before the water is all gone?" some one asked. The children made no reply, but stood and looked at the water. The girl had her arms folded under her dress. They gave then to her and to her gens the name of Bitá`ni,[190] which signifies the arms under the dress.

432. The night after the Bitá`ni was named, the travellers slept once more at a place where no water was to be found, and next day they were very thirsty on their journey. In the middle of the day they stopped, and the power of the red stone wand was tried. It brought forth water from the ground, as the other wands had done, and all drank till they were satisfied; but no member of the gentes still unnamed said anything and no name was given.

433. After this they camped two nights without water. On the second noon they arrived at a spring in a canyon known to the Maídine` and called by them Halkaíto`, Water of the White Valley. They journeyed no farther that day, but camped by the water all night.

434. From Halkaíto` they travelled steadily for twenty-five days, until they came to a little river near San Francisco Mountain, and west of it. During this part of the journey they found sufficient water for their needs every day. They stopped at this river five nights and five days and hunted. Here one man, and one only,--whose name was Bainili'ni (Looks on at a Battle),--killed a deer, a large one, which he cut into small pieces and distributed around so that every one might get a taste.

435. From the banks of this stream they came to the east side of San Francisco Mountain, to where, beside a little peak, there is a spring that has no name. Here the travellers stopped several days, and built around their camp a stone wall that still stands.

436. The puma belonged to the gens that bore the black stone wand, and that was afterwards called Kinaá`ni. While the people were camped at this spring he killed a deer. The bear sometimes killed rabbits. The snake and the porcupine were of no use, but were a trouble instead, since they had to be carried along. The deer ran among the crowd and did neither good nor harm. The people lived mostly on rabbits and other small animals and the seeds of wild plants.