LostIndianMagic 10038467 PDF

LE T A N A R ROW F LY AT THE FL EE I N G FI G URE T H AT W AS N OW RU NN N G
I
S W I FT LY

L O S T IN D IA N
M AG IC
A M Y ST E RY ST ORY OF THE RE D MAN
AS H E LIV E D B E FORE THE
WH I T E M AN C AM E
BY
G R AC E A N D C ARL M O O N
AUTH O RS OF IN D I A
N LE G EN DS I N RHY M E
A Z KS3 3
I LL US TRTI O 13

a DEC ORATI O NS B Y
RI CK A . S TOK E S C
PUBL SHERS I
C o py righ t, 19 18, b y
F RE DE RI CK A . S TOK ES A
C OM P NY
A l l R igh ts R e s e rv e d
Pr in te d in th e
TO OUR M O H E RST
MARY B . PURD I E
A ND
L .NE T TA M OON
T H I S B OO K I S
L O V I N G LY D E D I C A T E D
B Y T H E A U T H O RS
F O REW O RD
O ut in t he region o f the sage and the pin e ;

in the far reaches o f the ever mysterious desert
-
,
the Indian campres Of the lo n g ago heard ma n y

a tale well worth the telli n g Some there were
.
that have been handed down through the chann el

,
O f an unwrit to n ue
g , from age to youth
told ,
retold and told again until they come to the hear

,
in g of even y o u and me .Thus the ancient tale Of

Kay yah and the Lost Magic comes to be set down

-
.
I t may be that the lege n d loses somewhat in part

in g with the strange to n gue that gave it birt h but
,
the t hread o n which t he cru de beads o f i t s adv e n

tures are strung runs back even t o the rs t accoun t
and may be O f t he same spinn ing .
T H E A U TH ORS .
Pasadena Califo rnia 19 18

, , .
PR O L O GU E
E RH A P S
the thi n g that more than all else
, ,
governed the life an d conduct Of o u r Amer

ican Indians before the comi n g of the white m an
,
with his aggressive religious views was su p e rsti ,
t ion .
Like all primitive peoples they perso n ied the

hidden powers Of Nature most Of which were ,
feared and they supposed that back Of all disaster

,
stood some evil intelligence tha t mus t be appeased ,
or fought with the aid O f some o t her power p o s

,
!
sessing greater virtue .
Naturally enough t he power that in their Opin

, ,
ion brought the grea t es t pro t ection agai n st evil

, ,
and produced the grea t est blessi n gs in abu n dant

crops successful hu n ting and strength in battle
, , ,
was symbolized by some image o r Obj ect which took

to itself the mighty power and gave o ut its magical
charm o r great medicine t o the fortunate tribe
, ,
who possessed i t .
All good fort une great or small was credited

, ,
t o i t s power All evils were though t to be less

.
ix
x PR O L O GUE
vicious than they would have been had the grea t
Magic not been o n duty in the medicine lodge o r ,
hidden away o n some secluded altar I t was mos t .

j ealously protected and regarded as t he t ribe s mos t
priceless possession Gradually such a t ribal fe t
.
ish would come to be looked upon as t he vi t al link

b etween the power o f the gods and the humble
earth people ; their charm agains t all t he wiles o f
the witches and evil spiri t s that were ruled over
,
b y the chief Of all trouble makers t he Shin di -

.
Thus t he people Of Ah c o with whom o u r s t ory

-
,
deals placed the highest ear t hly value upon a lit t le

,
carven bear o f turquoise their migh t y Magic

,
handed down to them o ut of a mysterious p ast ; an

inheri t ance from genera t ions Of t heir forefathers
who had received its cons t ant protec t ion and t he ,
blessings Of i t s power for good Its fame Spread .
abroad and at las t a powerful neighboring t ribe

,
began t o covet it and the unscrupulous young chief

,
o f the t ribe laid careful plans to secure i t by a
subtle method o f his o w n .
O ne eve n tful nigh t ve years before our s t ory

,
opens the great Magic disappeared from the sacred

,
altar of the medicine lodge o f Ah co and wi t h i t s -

,
loss came t he looked f o r train of want woe and

-
, ,
disaster O ne heavy shadow lay upon the hea rt s

.
of t he men the loss Of their Magic ; o n e de t er

PR O L O GUE xi
mination remained uppermost in their minds its
recovery .
S easons passed bringing their varying for t une

, ,
and then dawned the day o f Kay yah who with

-
,
ever cons t ant faith in J Oh O na ai the Great S pirit

- -
,
whose symbol was the su n went forth to nd the

,
li t tl e b lue bear and res tore it t o his people .

C O NTEN TS
I . T H E TH E F T
II . T H E WR O N G B A G
III . K AY

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Y AH A T TA -
PA U

-
WE E
IV . T H E H I DDE N PA S S A G E

V . D E E NA Y
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S N ARRA T IV E
VI . C AV E M A N
TH E
V I I A S E C R ET C O UN C I L
.
V III T H E M AR K O F T H E B E A R WI T C H
.
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I! .TH E M A G I C SL E EP

SA H N E I N TH E E A G L E S N E S T

!

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B E TA A T S I N
'
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! I I K A Y Y A H T E S TS I H E B O W

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.
! III T H E PL A C E O F TH E WH I TE RO C K
.
TA G A M O S PE A K S
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! V T H E C H I N D O G H O WL S
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ILLUSTRATIONS
He aise d h is arm s in
r s alut atio n to th e gre at
ligh t-m ak e r Fro n tispi ece
FA CIN G
PA G E
He could n o t re m e m b e r th e d ay wh e n h e h ad n o t

se e n S ah m e p as s with h e r w ate jar

-
r-
St e pp in g qu ic kly b ackw a d h is foo t w e n t in t o

r ,
e m p ty S p ac e an d h e fe l t h im se lf fallin g th ro u gh
,

th e air
He t opp e d in f o n t O f K ay y ah an d sh akin g th e
s r
'
-
,
ra ttle an d p ay tick c h an te d hi s o n g
r e r- s , s
H e e xt e n d e d h i righ t h an d as far as p o s ib l e
s s

t o ward th e op e th at h un g f om th e t e e
r r r
Le t a n a ow y a
rr t th e e e in g gure th at was
n o w runn in g s w iftly

H e d e w it ou t tigh t cl asp e d in h is h an d
r ,
-
.
S ah n e w at c h e d h im with gr win g am a e m e n t

-
o z

An d th e s o n g was th e T O t o m e d e ath c h a
'
-
nt -
2 L O S T IND IAN MAGI C
The village O f Ah co principal camp o f t he

-
,
Nag apahs was si tua t ed a t the mou t h o f a canyon

'
- -
,
whose sandy oor was level with t he deser t and ,
whose rocky walls grew farther and far ther apar t

as they reached o u t int o the sandy spaces of t he
plain like t he mou t h Of a grea t river ent ering the
ocean and ended in a f e w detached monument s Of
,
fantastic shape and brillia n t coloring Far back .
and beyond the camp the sides of the canyon drew

,
rapidly t ogether in high precipi t ous cli ff s which

,
kept the narrow passage between in an almos t per

e tu al sta t e f gloom High up in the rocky wall
p O . s
could b e seen the remains O f cli ff dwellings the -

,

homes Of t he Na y a t he los t people as t h e
-
,
deser t tribes ca lled them and here an d t here an

,
eagle had buil t his nest .
From the sandy oor o f the canyon bubbling ,
up from t he underground came a s t ream Of wa t er ,
once rushing and plen t iful ; but now a mere thread ,
Of silver it wandered lazily down int o t he deser t

,
and disappeared in t he sand .
Sage brush mezqui t e and cac t us grew every

-
,
where with here and t here a dwarfed pinyon t ree or

,
the big red ball Of a tumble weed The li t tle elds

,
-
.
t hat had been cu l tiva t ed by t he men Of Ah co

-
seemed almos t swallowed up by the deser t which

came to t he very edge o f t he camp and w as sepa
THE THEF T 3
ra t ed from i t only by the wid t h o f t he narrow

s t ream.
The camp consisted of abou t t wo hundred h o

gans o r houses ; rou n d huts buil t of wa t tled poles
an d plastered with mud an d clay an d with a small
shelter in front O f each door made O f poles and t ree
boughs In t he cen t er Of the camp was a much
.
larger hogan t he Medicine Lodge whose door o r

, ,
opening as did all the o t hers faced t he eas t

, , .
The camp was still quie t wi t h sleep a f e w t hin,
wisps Of blue smoke rising from o n e o r tw o o f the

hogans giving the only evidence that some Of the
,
wome n were awake and about to prepare t he morn

ing meal .

K ay y ah wi t h a glance at the growing ligh t in
,
t he eas t gave a t igh t ening twist t o the knot in t he

,
girdle abou t his waist and set O ff o n a brisk ru n

for t he small shelf o f rock several hundred yards
,
from camp from which he loved to watch t he sun

,
rise Every movemen t O f his limbs was free and

.
swinging and t he warm blood glowed t hrough t he

,
bronze Of his skin .
He was t all and s t raigh t and s t rong as t he young

pines tha t grew far up t he canyon and his face as
open and clear featured as his o w n deser t with
-
,
eyes se t well apar t and absolu t ely fearless in ex

pression a ra t her prominen t nose and s t rong chin
, .
4 L O S T IND IAN MAGIC
and a mouth which though straigh t and rm could

, ,
smile readily enough and soft en in t o t ender li n es

f o r those he loved .
H e was about eigh t een years Of age bu t looked

older as do most young Indians o f either sex and
, ,
his body had reached an almos t perfec t sta t e o f

development Brigh t bi t s Of blue t urquoise hung
.
in his ears and a b and o f red st ained deerskin bound -
his hair ; these gave color t o his cos tume if what ,
he wore could be digni ed by such a nam e his ,
only garments b eing a breech clou t o r loin cloth -
and moccasins o f so ft doe skin leaving his limbs -

,
and body free in every moveme n t and exposed t o

the bracing air O ld m e n say that such was t he
.
usual summer dress Of the deser t people before t he

coming o f t he white man .

The sof t pa t pa t o f his m o c c asin e d feet in
-
the sand raised li tt le pu ff s Of dus t with every step

and sen t scurrying many t iny animals O f the desert ;
a li t tle white tailed rabbit whisked across t he t rail
-
in fron t Of him and a horned t oa d airing himself ,
o n a a t rock wa t ched him with bright j eweled

, ,
eyes as he passed The east gre w brighter and he

.
quickened his steps reaching the little cli ff j us t

,
as J o h O na ai the sun god peeped over t he edge

- -
,
-
,
Of t he desert He raised his arms in saluta t ion t o

.
t he grea t ligh t maker and as t he gle aming d isk

-
,
TH E THEF T 5
swung clear o f the horizon let his eyes wander over ,
the deser t now sharp and distinc t in the clear at

,
mo sp h e re and glowing with color : ba n ds o f rose

and lavender the san dstone cliff s with ou t crop
,
-
pings Of shale ; the warm yellow O f the dry sands ,
an d here an d there the bright red o f a butte worn

by erosion and the gray O f a rocky mesa As he .
looked his eye leaped suddenly to a tiny Spot O f

,
color that ros e straight i n to the air above an ancient

pi n yon tree some hu n dred yards to the north ; it
-
rose and dropped to the tree a n d rose again a nd
dropped a second time ; a bit of brillia n t red that

shone in the su n like a large drop Of blood .

A bird thought Kay yah but a stra n ge look
,

-
,
in g bird with stra n ge actio n s

, an d he j umped ,
from the shelf of rock and started for the tree with
keenl y aroused interes t and curiosity .
He kep t his eyes o n the t wis t ed branches as he

approached bu t could n o t see the bird ; and when
,
he was within an arm s length Of the t ree a To to

-

me warrior deadly enemy t o himself and tribe

, ,
leaped withou t a momen t s warning from behind it

,

and straigh t a t him Kay yah was ins t antly o n

.

-
the defensive and quick as though t reached for his

,
knife ; bu t t he o t her with a hand as swift an d

, ,
prepared for the action s t ruck the weapon fro m

,
his ngers before he had it fairly in his grasp

6 LO S T I ND I AN MAG I C
and i t wen t sp inn ing In t o the sage He made t o .
grip Kay yah abou t the waist but succeeded only

-
in ge tt ing his arms half way for Kay yah though ,

-
,
n o t so heavy was quicker t han t he TO t o me and

- -
,
slipped under his hold .
They fought ercely f o r a moment each trying ,
t o get the underhold and Kay yah soon saw t ha t

,
-
the TO t o me Oiled as he was and more slippery

-

-
,
t han an ee l t o t he t ouch w as more t han a ma t ch ,
for him ; bu t suddenly a trick he had learned in

camp came t o his mind The TO to me was t rying .
-
-
t o force him back agains t t he t ree ; Kay yah chose -
a momen t when he fel t t he man s whole strengt h
exer t ed against his resistance t hen he suddenly ,
s t epped back pulling t he warrior t oward him and

, ,
thro wing o u t his righ t t high As the man s tumbled .
forward Kay yah whipped his righ t arm over his

-
neck and bearing down wit h all his s t reng th t hrew ,
him over his t high and he fell heavily o n his back .
Kay yah spr ang instan t ly for the man s knife ;

-
bu t a t tha t momen t his arms were grasped from

behind his hands t wis t ed t oge t her and he w as
, ,
j erked up from t he body Of his enemy who imme ,
d iate ly j umped t o his fee t drawing his knife fr o m ,
his girdle as he rose .
Kay yah t ried t o s t ruggle free bu t w as held as

-
in a V ise The tw o men had him a t t heir mercy and

.
TH E THEF T 7
he believed i t was only a ques t ion Of momen t s unt il

they should end his life He s t ood mo t ionl ess n o w .
,
and did n o t so much as quiver an eyelid when the

rst of the t wo men threatened his throa t with the
point Of his in t knife and said wi t h a sneer o f ,
t riumph
N o w d o g Of a Nag apah
- -
,
But he was cut short by the man who held

Kay yah
-
.

E nough Chot zu ! Wau kO ma waits There
,

- -

-
.

is no t im e for words The bag ! The bag ! .
He spoke as o n e in comm and an d Kay yah ,

-
understood his words as the T o to me la n guage ,

-

-
had been taught h im as a child B ut he made n o .
sign O f having understood an d indeed he had not

comprehended f o r the words conveyed li t tle mean
,
ing to him until t he rst man again approached

his throa t with the knife and with a swift movement
severed the thong about his neck and possessed
himself Of the small skin bag that dangled a t i t s
end Immediately Kay yah felt his feet t ripped
.
-
from under him and was thrown v io le n tlv on his

face in the sand .
When he arose t he t wo men were dodging

through the sage several yards away running ,
s ilen t ly and eviden t ly taking precau t ions not t o be

se en f rom t he Nag apah camp He could no t

- -
.
8 L O S T I ND IAN MAGI C
have caught them had he tried and it would hav e

been more than foolish t o m ake t he a t tempt ; for
the men were n o w well armed as they had picked ,
up in t heir ight bows and arrows that had been

, ,
left near by and could h ave shot him where he

sto od had they so desired Why they did not was
.
part Of a mys t ery surrounding the a ffair which

seemed to Kay yah to grow more inexplicable as
'-
he stood watching them The men had knives

.
and could have used t hem when they sprang a t

him ; and the T o to mes were deadly enemies not
-
-
inclined t o mercy in the past Failing to kill him.
they could easily have taken him prisoner ; bu t

that they also had fail ed to do They had simply .
t aken the little bag from abou t his neck placed ,
there by his dying mother and cont aining she had ,
told him good medicine to pro t ec t him from all

,
evil All the boys o f his t ribe wore t hem an d he

.
had never given his asecond thought Why should .
To t o mes evidently at the comm a nd o f their chief

-
!
-
, ,
for they had mentioned the name Of Wau kO m a -

'-
,
come a j ourney o f a day an d a night simply to O b

tain his fetish ?
Kay yah could think Of no explanation for such

-
strange actions and troubled by these puzzling

,
thoughts turned back t oward camp as the m e n had

, ,
n o w disappeared from his si ht In t urnin his

g g .
,
10 L O S T I ND IAN MAG I C
bi t e Of food and go s t raigh t t o t he Medicine Lodge ,

where Ol d Dee nay Medicine C hief O f t he Nag
-

,
apahs and his sole councilor and advisor since the

-
,
death o f his father and mother migh t be able to ,
throw some ligh t o n t he morning s s t range happen
ing .
Bu t t here was a smal l group in fron t O f his

hogan ga thered around a steaming po t a tt en ded
,
by an Old woman with s t raggling gray locks and ,
they gree t ed him hilariously and made w ay f o r him

in their circle as he approached .
Kay yah sa t down and took the mea t and bread

-
O ff ered h im by t he Old wom an Diz pah t he one ,

-
,
who knew him perhaps bet t er than anyone else in

Ah co and who read his every mood She watched
-
, .
him n o w keenly wi t h eyes sunken far down in the

,
wrinkles Of her face That something t roubled h im

.
she fel t int uitively bu t i t was no t her way t o sp ea k

,
wha t was in h er heart Her lean j aws were well

. .
known in camp for t heir sharp clacking and their ,
garrulous t ones had concealed many a hear t ache

and a l o nging t o sympathize with t hose she loved .
She spoke ligh t ly n o w bu t t here w as an under

curren t Of questioning in her voice .

Ah Kay yah my son why so sad and silen t
,
-
, ,
?
Was the huge rabbi t y o u Sho t for your break f as t

t oo large f o r you to carry home ?
TH E TH E F T 11
The o t hers laughed loudly a t t his and K ay yah ,

-
smiled as he answered her :

Your cooking Mother Diz pah does n o t giv e
'
-
, ,

me strength enough to hunt .
There was louder laughter a t this ; for in all Ah ,

c O there was no be tt er hunter than Kay yah a nd

-
,
Mother Diz pah was equally famous f o r her cook

-
ing.
She shook her gray head in pretended anger .

If i t is my cooking that has made you sad then ,
it must have been y ou who took the seed cakes t ha t

I had made for the corn festival !
There was a shout Of merrimen t a t t his and ,
Kay yah rose hastily in pretended guilt and lef t

-
, ,
t he group He walked directly to t he Medicine

.
Lodge and drawing aside the hide at its entrance

, ,
peered in The interior seemed dark in cont rast

.
t o the ou t door sunshine and f o r a momen t Kay ,

yah could see no o n e B u t a quie t voice spoke . .

Ent er my son if i t is D ee nay y o u seek
, ,
-

.
Kay yah ent ered and his eyes soon grew accus

-
,
to m e d t o t he light within The hogan was t he larg .
es t in camp and i t s Circular wall more smoothly

nished t han were the o thers Here and t here hung .
fea t hered prayer s t icks and ceremonial ra tt les and ,
li tt le hide bags t hat Kay yah knew contained earth

-
and p o llen o f many colors f o r t he sacred sand

12 LO S T IND IAN MAGIC
paintings D eerskin m at s lay in a circle around

.
the oor agai n s t the wall and opposite the door ,
could j us t be distinguished in the shadows the big

medicine drum The only light came from the
.
smoke hole in the center Of the rude dome ceiling

-
and from a small re which burned feebly beneath

it.
B ending over the re as if to ga ther all its ,
warm th to himself sat a very o l d man seamed and

, ,
wrinkled as a walnut Kay yah could easily see .

-

why he was called by many the Moon man ; , ,
for in t he dim in t erior as he s a t with his back t o

,
the ent rance wrapped in dark hides the brigh t

, ,
patch Of his silver head seeming t o oat in t he ,
shadows immedia t ely caugh t and held t he eye until

,

the o t her Obj ects became clear And Moon man .
he was in another sense ; for he rarely was seen

in the dayligh t preferring to spend his time in
,
quiet though t in t he Medicine Lod ge during the

su nl it hours and venturing o ut among his people
when t he res were ablaze a t night when he would ,
appear suddenly in o n e group and then ano ther

with a few words O f gree t ing or a silen t nod and
then disappear He was looked upon almost with
.
aw e by the Nag apahs as his wisdom was grea t

- -
,
an d i t was t hought tha t no act o r word o r happen

ing in cam p was unknown to him .
THE THE FT 13
Kay yah ent ered in silence an d sat down by the

-
o ld man w h o did n o t look up o r make any motion

,
o f recogni tion though the relatio n be tween them

, ,
through lo n g years O f close friendship had become ,
almost that o f father an d son .

Father said Kay yah my though t s are puz
,
-
,
z l e d by a happe ni n g Of this mor n ing perhaps your

wisdom may throw light upo n it .

My ears are open Kay yah my son ,

-
, ,
s w e re d Dee n a

y
-
.
As Kay yah told Of the two T O t o mes and

- -

-
the theft O f the bag the O ld man sat sile n t the , ,
expression Of his face did not change though he ,
turned toward Kay yah eyes that gleamed with

-
an in n er excitemen t he did n o t attempt to disguise .
He did not speak until the narrative was nished

an d then his questions were short and t o the poin t .

What did the bag co n tain ?
I know only from the words o f mv mother ,
that i t co nt ained a charm good medicine to ward

away evil answered Kay yah
,
-
.

Umph ! Then you could n ot have looked with

in without spoili n g its charm said the Old man ,

medi t atively When did it come in to your pos
.

session ?

The nigh t my father came home ; tha t las t nigh t
when he fell in fron t o f our hogan sho t t hrough
14 LO S T IND IAN MAGI C
wi t h TO t o me arrows my mo t her t ook this fe t ish

-

-
,
from him from his hand o r from about his neck

, ,
and kept i t for me until t he day she died .
D ee nay leaned forward and his eyes ashed

-

.

The TO t o me wolves have a good scen t for
-

-
an Old t rail ! B u t this is s t range news Kay yah ,

-
,
my so n s t range news I should have known O f t his

.
before You knew n o t what was in t he bag and

.
,
ye t th e y the T O t o mes knew

,
Yes t ha t is -
-
, .

s t range Wau kO ma sent for it a two days

.
-

- -

j ourney He would have done t ha t fo r no ordinary

.
fe t ish can it be

His voice trailed O ff in t o
silence as he sat with kni tt ed brows deep in t hough t
over this strange problem .
A t ingling sense Of exci t ement began t o grow

in Kay yah as a half formed though t took shape
-
-
in his mind He wa t ched Dee nay wi t h a t ense

.
-

expec t ancy awai t ing his nex t words

, .
The moment s grew into wha t seemed a long

t ime to Kay yah and still t he o ld man sa t t hink

-
ing ; he nodded his head slowly several t imes and ,
his lip s m o ved noiselessly I t was eviden t t hat he .
was deeply stirred and when he nally looked up ,
and began to speak his eyes burn ed with a re

that Kay yah had never before seen in t hem
-
.

Kay yah my so n if this bag cont ai n ed wha t
-
, , ,
I grea t ly fear i t did an d others knew o f it even I , ,

THE T H E F T 15
could n o t keep o ur t ribe from war wi t h t he T O

to mes awar for which we are no t prepared B u t

-
.
there is a doubt ; this matter is no t yet perfec t ly

clear to my mind ; it will take thought For t hat .
I mus t be alone G O n o w and whe n t he sun is

.
,
four ngers above the desert s rim return t o me ;
I will then have words for you B ut rst answer .
for me o n e question Have y o u spoken t o anyone

.

o f this ?

Y o u are the rs t Fa t her
, .
I t is well ; see tha t I am t he last G O and .

,

re turn as I have said .
Kay yah walked o ut o f the Lodge with many

-
s t range though t s troubling his mind ; he was in no

mood to talk wi t h his usual companions and aft er ,
walking some distance toward the canyon found a ,
spot under a larg e rock by the na rrow s tream

where he hoped t o be alone .
When in a little while he heard t he soft shu ffle

, ,
Of approaching moccasins he made a movemen t t o

,
leave t he place bu t decided to wai t and see who

,
came A slender girl came around the corner o f

.
the rock carrying a j ar on her shoulders His

,
.
rs t t hough t a t sigh t o f her was o f relief Here .
was o n e who never dis t urbed his t hinking and who

never urged him t o talk He could not remember
.
the day when he had n o t seen S ah n e pass wi th -

16 L O S T IND IAN MAG I C
her wa t er j ar and he liked th e li tt le smile t ha t

,
came t o her lip s and th e d roop Of her eyes as he

nodded to her though t hey seldom spoke t o each
,
o ther She knelt n o w without aword by the s t ream

.
,
which widened and deepened int o a small pool j us t

here and mad e i t possibl e t o dip the j ar int o i t s
cool dep ths .
She seemed t o fee l K ay yah s eyes on her as ' -
she worked and s t ooped lo w t o hide the deep red

,
t ha t dyed her cheeks A look Of admira t ion shone

.
in his eyes f o r she made a pre tt y pic ture in her

,
buc kskin dress ou t lined against the silvery gr ay

,
Of the sage He spoke t o her

. .

Why are y ou di ff e re n t from t he o t her girl s

Of t he camp S ah n e ?
,

-
She gave a half frigh t ened l i tt le l oo k up a t him

-
and down in t o the pool again and the red b urned

more deeply in her cheeks bu t she did no t answer , .

Why are you always alone S ah n e he asked ?
,
-

again Why are y o never wi t h the o t hers
. u ?
She rose t o her fee t and there was m ore than ,
embarrassment in her manner n o w .

Y o u do not know ? she asked looking a way ,
from him .

N O I do not know why
,

She h e si t ated for a momen t and t hen lift ed h e r ,
h e ad pr o udly bu t did no t look at h im

, .
THE THEF T 17
I am TO t o me she said ; and K ay yah

-

-
,
-
,
through his as t o n ishme n t felt his heart grow heavy ,
wi t hin h im A gulf had opened up between them ;

.
-
a gulf xed by all the laws an d traditions Of his

people and hers He stood looki n g at her in si
.
lence as his thoughts tried to adj ust themselves to

this n e w condi t ion She slowly turned her head .
t o meet his eyes .

Y o u d o n o t like that ? she asked quietly .
N O I do n o t like t hat but I like y ou S ah n e

,

-
.
The smile came back to her eyes but could no t

quite hide the pitiful little droop Of her mouth as
she drew t he water j ar to her shoulder and waited
a momen t as if f o r him to speak agai n but as he ,
did n o t she gave a shy n o d and walked back the

way she had come .
He s t ood looking aft er her S ah ne Of an e n

,
emy t ribe Why should such a though t cause his

.
heart t o throb with a dull pain He could not u n

?
d e rsta n d the se n se Of depression that had come t o
him n o r did he like it an d forced his thoughts back

, ,
t o Dee nay and the mor n i n g s adventure ; but a t

-

though t Of the little medicine bag his heart again

began t o bea t fast what if it did contain what
D ee nay had hi n ted and he waited with impa

-

tie n c e f or the aft ernoon hours to slip away until

he could ge t back t o the Old man Finally the sun .
18 LO S T IND I AN MAG I C
drew near t o th e horizon and he found himself

again sea t ed in the Medicin e Lodge wi t h D ee nay -

,
who did not speak immediately o n his entrance bu t

still sa t wi t h head bowed in t hough t as though he ,
had no t moved since morning At l as t he spoke : .

I t has no t been in vain t ha t I have m ade prayers
t o the Grea t S pirit Kay yah and o ur pa t h is n o w
,
-
,
more clear I t would t ake more t han a ra t to draw

.
the TO t o me wild ca t s from t heir den We m ay

-

- -
.
be sure t hey came seeking big game none o t her

,

S O i t seems t o me t han our grea t Magic
, .
Kay yah gave a sharp exclamation though t he

-
,
words bu t afrmed wha t had b een in his mind since

morning .
D ee nay nodded slowly

-

.

The honey draws the bees and a ro tt ing car ,
cass the vultures bu t the TO to mes have ever been

,
-
-
keen o n t he t rail o f o u r Magic and it may b e t hat ,
t hey have now hun t ed i t down H o w i t came in .
t he li tt le bag we know n ot ; bu t ou r work is n ow

,
clear before us This is wha t has been made plain

.
t o me y o u mus t go to t he TO t o me camp and

-

,
if o ur gods are good to y o u nd t he way t o recover ,
t his bag We know tha t the Grea t Spiri t pro t ects

.
those wh o seek t heir o w n I f t he b ag did no t c o n

.
t ain t he Magic we mus t know wha t i t did cont ain

, .
Wh a t h as va l ue f o r t he T O to mes may h ave v alue-

TH E T HEF T 19
for the Nag apahs also D O you know t he coun

- -
.

try O f these people Kay yah ?
,

-
O nly as a hunt er from a dis t ance answered , ,
Kay yah -
.

Y o u do no t know Qua ma the moun t ain which

-
,

rises t o t he north o f t heir camp ? con t inued t he
Old man .
I have seen it many tim es from t he plain below

bu t have never explored its trails .
D ee nay nodded slowly

-

.

B eware o f the T O to me t rails ! They are as -

-
rabbi t tracks in t he deser t Make your way onl y

-
.
where t he mountain goat has led f o r I know y o u
t o be sure o f foo t I t is to the foothills Of t his

.
mount ain you mus t go f o r they overlook t he T o ,
to me camp and from there y o u can watch t heir

-
,
actions Remember Kay yah it is by t heir ac

.
,

-
,
tions that men and beasts be t ray their secrets th e
wild cat skulks when the prey is in his mouth bu t

-
,
t he eagle ies t o his nes t and t he eagle t s cry

t he TO t o mes will make gay wi t h feasting and
-

-
dancing if t hey have succeeded after t hese many ,
seasons in capturing o u r S t rong Medicine It is

, .
in tha t way that y o u will learn t heir secre t ; and

once sure t hat they have t he Magic i t will be f or
y o u t o discover where it is kep t This you may .
n o t do from t he hills In t his all I have t augh t .

,
20 LO S T IND IAN MAGIC
y o u o f cau t ion will be necessary Remember tha t .
t he dark is a faithful aid to those who would n o t

be seen but the dark also has dangers for those who
,
have n o t ears trained as have o u r brothers o f the

,
night and a dog s nose is as keen at nigh t as in

the sunlight my so n The T O t o me camp is so

, .
-

-
S ituated that you may n o t easily enter i t without
bei n g seen nor can y o u overlook i t near at hand ;

,
it will be difcul t to learn the inform at ion y o u

seek .

I have no t given you an easy t ask Kay yah ,
-
,
my son but o n e which holds much in its acco m

,
p lis h m e n t for

if i t is learned
, by o u r enemies that
t he power Of t he Magic is gained only when i t is
placed o n t he al t ar Of t he Medicine Lodge an d
sprinkled with the sacred meal and if they S O place ,
it t hen it will t ake all o f the medicine o f our wisest

,
men and t he s t reng th o f o u r warriors to bring it

back to i t s rightful place and i t may well be t ha t ,
even t hen we would fail And if we fail the abun .

dan t crops the clear springs the prosperi t y and

, ,
success in hun t and b at tle and the protec t ion fr o m ,
all enemies all t hese that should belong t o t he

,
Nag apahs will be with the TO t o mes D oes

- - -

-
.
your hear t fail Kay yah o r is i t s t rong to do t his

,

,

task ?
Kay yah reddened a t t he direc t ques ti on an d

-
,
THE THEF T 21
his voice was h usky with embarrassment bu t he ,
looked Dee nay squarely in the eyes as he an

-

sw e re d

My hear t is s t rong to do it .
I t is well I have not said how y o u will nd

.
where the Magic is kept that is not f o r me to say

.
B ut we k n ow that whe n o u r cause is right the ,
Great S piri t ope n s the way and so it will be fo r

,
you Make n o attempt to get the Magic unaided

.
,
f o r i t will be well guarded and in such an attempt

,
you might give your life without return It is well .
tha t I have t aught my childre n the tongues o f the

t ribes about us for it may be o f service to you to
,
know the lan gu age Of these T O to mes ; y o u may -

-
hear their talk from the trails I f you nd they have

.
captured the Magic return quickly t o me for I

, ,
have further plans ; do no t linger o n the way ; ve

suns should see y o u here again H ave my words .

been plain ?

Yes Father
, .
I t is well Y o u mus t go to ni gh t There is

. .
no moon and the trail Of the TO to mes is still -

-
clear in t he canyon sands G O before the ear t h

.
,
has swallowed it Is there aught you would ask

.
,
my so n the words o f D ee nay are f o r your coun

-

s el
.
Y o u have made the way plain for me F a ther , .

22 L O S T IND I AN MAGI C
There is nothing t ha t I would ask bu t I would ,
like to t ell o f wha t had been in my mind t hese

many days pas t .

Speak Kay yah,
-
.
The boy hesita t ed wi th some sligh t Show Of em

,
ba rra ssm e n t but an earnest t one came to his voice

,
that had no t been t here before .

When I have been alone before th e Grea t
S piri t at sunrise I have made a vow within my

,

hear t and i t is t his t hat I would give my life

,

t o t his o n e purpose to bring back t o my people

the Magic which is t heir o w n When my mother .
placed the bag abou t my neck my o w n hear t t ells ,
me tha t she did not know wh at i t con t ained ; bu t

if i t did contain the Magic and if i t was by her ,
ac t ion tha t it was lost t hen it shall b e mine F at her

, , ,

wi th t he help O f t he Great Spirit t o bring i t back

, .

I t is well Kay yah A warm ligh t came in t o
,
-
.
t he Old man s eyes as they res t ed o n Kay yah an d

-
he looked well pleased .
There was silence f o r a shor t while and the n ,
Kay yah looked up suddenl y

-
.

Fa ther how 18 i t t ha t w e have aT O t o me girl
,
-

-

among ou r women ?

Tha t is t o go f ar back Kay yah y ou spe ak ,
-

Of S ah n e -?
havior and with a wonderful skill in taming ani

mals and birds That was why in time he was
.
, ,
made keeper o f t he sacred eagle in the Medicine

Lodge where he remained u n til the night he was
,
killed His baby was much l oved by the women

. .
It was no t unt il aft er t he night he was killed t hat

i t became known t ha t he was T O t o me ; t ha t -
-
his s t ory had been false and that he had been sent
,
to o u r camp as a spy S ince this was known o u r

.
,

women have looked away from S ah n e
-
.
A s t rangely bi tt er look came into Kay yah s -
f ace as the Old m an ceased speaking .

A n d ye t he said I have been told the TO t o
, ,
-

m es were once a grea t and good people .
D ee nay did n o t answer an d again there was

-

,
silence f o r a f e w moments Presen t ly Kay yah .

-
l ooked up .

Was not this G O me kill ed t he nigh t my fa t her
-

wa s also killed ?

The s ame my so n , .
Was he in t he L o dge when i t was discovered

t ha t t he Magic was missing ?

He w as in the Lodge and alone when I ent ered
and found o u r Great Medicine gone B ut he .
could n o t have t aken the Magic ; he was searched

then and la t er and if he had been able t o g ive it
, ,
in som e way t o th e T o t o m e s it is c e r t ain t h at

'
- -
,
THE THEF T 25
they would n o t have continued t heir e ff orts t o Ob

tain it which they have done from that day t o
,

this
.

C ould he n t have buried i t asked Kay yah
o ?
-
.
The Old man shook his head .

You yourself have helped t o search t he plain
, ,

and canyon .
Kay yah felt his face grow ho t with the t hought

-
tha t was in his mi n d and he forced it away from

,
him as a vision O f S ah n e sweet and girlish came

-
, ,
before his me n tal vision what could s he know Of
the Magic and if she h ad known Of it t he fact

,
t ha t it had not reached the T O to mes w as surely -

-
proof Of her loyalty t o her adopted people .

Then it must have been in t he little bag tha t
my father brought back the bag tha t my mother ,
placed abou t my neck when she died And n o w I .
will go t o recover it at your word

,

.

I t is well prepare here f o r your j ourney Y o u

.

will nd food and weapons also and Dee n ay ,
-

indica t ed t he ar t icles wi t h a ges t ure .
Kay yah arose and soon found t he t hings he

-
needed D ried mea t and piki bread he s t u ff ed int o

.
th e girdle at his waist and also a kni fe in the s ame

,
place A deerskin bow case containi ng a stou t b o w

.
-
,
and quiver Of arrows he drew over his shoulder ;

,
he t es t ed the t hongs Of his mo ccasins and girdle ,

LO S T IND I AN MAG I C
and was ready for his j ourney D ee n ay l ooked

.
-

up when Kay yah again stood before him

-
.
I s end you alone f o r t wo reasons my son O ne

, .
man can go where tw o migh t be discovered And .
a secre t ceases t o be a secre t when shared by to o

many and my words have t old y o u why t his mis

sion mus t remain secre t f or a while at leas t S O

, .
n o w t he wisdom o f your way lies in cau t ion and
silence it is well t o remember wha t y ou have

learned of the ways Of the f o x and t he snake t hey
make f e w mis t akes The t rail is there gO and

.
-
re t urn as I have said in ve suns from n ow an d

t he Great Spiri t O f all be wi t h you .
Kay yah s t epped o ut in t o t he t wi l igh t H e

-
.
avoided the groups abou t the supper res and

walked quickly o ut O f camp t oward t he canyon ,
where shrouded already in t he shadows o f e ar l y

,
nigh t lay his t rai l

, .
C HAP TE R II
TH E W RON G B A G
A s tre c
t h o
f ro ck y m e sa
f,
an d a s w e e p o d e s e rt s an d
A n ar ro w l e dge al o n g a c l iff ; a s tr ip o f s to n y l an d ;
T h e s h arp h o riz o n o f th e h i ll s ; an e agl e s s tar tl e d c ry

T h e m o un tain trail l e ad s o n an d o n an d o v e r i t th e s ky
, .
HE t wo T O t o mes leavi g Kay yah stand

-

-
,
n

-
ing in the early morning su n light ran freely ,
and easily making a wide detour about the Nag a

,
-
pah camp and arriving in the shadows O f the canyon

before the sun was more than two hands above
t he horizo n C hot z u the larger an d heavier Of t he
.

-
,
two ran always a few feet behi n d his lighter com

,
p anion and kept closely in his track Their p ace .
was in the nature O f a dog trot an d could be kep t -
up for many hours without w eari n ess even when ,
t he t rail began gradually to rise and grow more

difcul t wi th sliding s and and rocks and rolling
gravel .
It has been said tha t C ho t z u was the larger

-
Of the t wo ; his feat ures carried o u t t he general lines

Of his gure and were also large and coarse with ,
27
28 L O S T IND I AN MAG I C
a heavy forehead which overhung eyes se t a trie

to o closely together I n his head and a nose with
bulbous nostrils His lip s were thick and loosely .
hung together and n o t over i n clined t o silence H e -

.
was al t oge ther in striking contrast t o his co m p an

io n H awal li ; f o r where C hot z u was thick H a
,
-
-
-
wal li was slim in neck and t high and nostril ; and

-
,
where C hot z u gave t he impression Of brute force

- -
,
H awal li showed the al ertness O f skill and t rain

-
-
ing and t he renemen t Of though t As t hey ran

, .
C ho t z u s t ill held t he lit t le bag in his hand and

-
glanced at i t from time to t ime .

What do y o u t hink is in this b ag H awal li ?
,
-
-

O ne little look would show .
H awal li s t opped ab rup t ly and reach ed fort h

-
-
his hand .

Give me t he b ag C ho t z u Y o u know wel l ,

-
.
t h at W au k O ma said t o bring i t safe t o h im u n

-

-

Opened .

Wau ko ma ! sneered Cho t zu as he handed
-

-
-
,
over the bag with reluc t ance

Wau kO m a and .
-
-

are y o u then so fai t hful to W au kO ma ? -

-
H awal li did not answer bu t with head held

-
-
,
high t ur n ed and again broke into his easy run

, ,
the little bag tucked safely in t o his girdle B u t .
C hot z u was not to be so easily silenced

-
.

D id no t Tag a m o have a word to s ay about -
-
THE WR O NG B AG 29

t his bag friend H awal li , His eyes gli tt ered as -

- ?
he S poke and he leaned t oward his comp anion as

if to dare him t o a n swer .
H awal li answered shor t ly

- -
.

Tag a mo as y o u know is in t he council Of
-
-
, ,

Wau kO ma -

-
.

Ah do you say so ! I t may b e
, t here are those
who say di ff erently Tag a mo has been Medicin e .

-
-
C hief these man y moons but he had better have ,

a care l I C ho t zu say it h e and his followers

,

-
,

,
H e p aused and looked sig n icantly a t H awal -

li . His followers are n o t u n k n own to Wau kO -

ma who is s till chief Of the T O to mes

,
-

-
.
H awal li shrugged his shoulders contemp t uous

-

-
Thy t ongue is over loose it may well loosen

t hy head also friend some day , , .
Chot z u lapsed in t o surly silence and the tw o

-
,
began to gO more slowly as t he t rail n o w led steeply

up the side o f t he canyon O nce they dropped cau .
tio u sly behind a large boulder as a hun t ing part y -
Of Nag apahs p as sed below them and a t ano ther

-
-
,
t ime they were tempted to take a sho t at a moun

t ain sheep which ran swiftly up t he trail ahead O f
them ; but they did n o t let the arrow y as t he ,
sheep might plunge into the canyon below and b e

tray their presence to possible foes .
3 0 LO S T IND IAN MAGI C
B y noon t hey had gained the level Of t he upper

coun t ry and left t he canyon behind The hea t o f .
t he sun se t them bo t h t o l ooking f or water signs

and it w as no t long before a lit t le pile O f rocks
with i t s poin t ing stone o n top led t hem to a shel
te re d pool where t hey drank t heir ll and plunged
,
t heir faces int o the refreshing dep ths They also .
a t e a little from t heir small supply o f dried meat

and hard maize cake and aft er a very f e w moments
,
continued their j ourney Their way now lay across

.
country much like t he desert below save t ha t i t

,
was more rolling and broken by many gullies and

canyons some Of which were O f almost as much im
,
por t ance as t he o n e they had left behind The .
food seemed to loosen C hot zu s t ongue again and-
an inner excitemen t brough t a s t range gleam to his

eyes He spoke t o H awal li in a t one ve ry dif
.
-
-
f e re n t from t he o n e he had used before and t he ,
words came slowly from his t ongue .

Have you t hought H awal li , h e hesi t a t ed
-
- -

what this bag may cont ain ?
H awal li gave a sligh t shrug t o his shoulders

-

-
,
that may ha v e mean t a frma t ion o r negation bu t ,
did no t speak .
Have y o u t hough t and Cho t zu leaned -
forward tha t his words migh t t he more surely be , ,

3 2 L O S T IND IAN MAGI C
his enemies ; f or in addi t ion t o grea t physical

strength which a t sixty years had weakened n o t
,
o n e bi t he had a t his command all t he magi c and

,
su p ers t ition Of a long line Of medicine men and

knew t he history an d family Of every member O f
the t ribe from t he smalles t papoose to the Oldes t
grayhead who had long forgot t en the number o f
his years The followers Of T ag a mo were t hose
.
-

-
who loved j ustice and peace while the other fac ,
tion t he wilder Of t he young men gloried in the

, ,
brutal and lawless rule o f Wau k o ma There had -

-
.
been no Open break betwe en the t wo fac t ions and ,
migh t never be for an I ndian t hough he may in

, ,
his heart ha t e his chief ye t will he remain loyal t o

,
t he end f o r Old t radi t ion and supers t i t ion hold him

,
in t heir grip S O H awal li though ha t ing Wau

.
-

-
,
kO ma and despisin g C ho t z u as his follower gave

- -
,
open expression t o neither feeling H e realized .
tha t Wau kO ma himself had no faith in his o w n

-
-
following ; f o r had he n o t in sending f o r t he bag

, ,
chosen o n e he knew t o be Of the opposing fac t ion

as more wor t hy o f trus t than his own men ?
With t he rs t pink ligh t o f morning t he tw o men

dr ew near to t he TO t o me village Of Ta pau wee
-
- -
-
.
Wi t h the excep t ion Of t he f e w s t ops t hey had made

f o r wa t er t hey had kep t up t he s a
, me s w inging tro t
f o r a day and a nigh t and ye t t hey appeared a
,
s
THE WR O NG BAG 3 3
fresh as at the start an d approached the camp with

heads throw n back and a quickened pace They .
did no t slacken their speed until they reached the

door O f the medici n e lodge pushed aside the cur ,
tain and stepped within

, .
S ea t ed in a circle o n the oor Of the lodge were

ve men smoking ; the haze from their pipes hung
,
in t he air like a f o g an d gave a weird uncertain ,
aspec t to their faces Wau ko ma faced the e n .

-

-
trance ; aman with a heavy square face high cheek , ,
bones and a thi n cruel mouth Tag a mo sa t next

, .
-

-
to him o r rather towered for he was a gian t Of a

, ,
man with the face o f a lion an d the voice O f one

, .
I t was a comm on j oke in camp to say when it ,

thundered Tag a mo speaks !,
The other three
-

-
were elders O f the tribe without whom no ceremony

was comple t e .
H awal li stepped forward laid the lit t le bag at

-

,
th e feet o f Wau ko ma and s t ood upright wait

- -
, ,
ing.
Wau k O ma made a ges t ure toward t he door

-

-
.

It is well ! G o y o u and your companion
.
And they passed o u t dropping t he hide a t t he ,
door behind t hem .
There was silence in t he me dicine lodge The .
l i tt le bag lay where H awal li had placed i t o n -

-
,
the bea t en oor and t he clouds of smoke curled

,
upward N O man had moved ; each seemingly in

.
,
t en t o u his o wn thoughts gazed in t o vacancy , .
Presently Wau kO ma with deliberate motions -

-
, ,
drew a in t knife from his girdle and picking up ,
the little bag severed the thong t ha t bound its

,
throat Then drawing out the only ar t icle i t con

.
,
ta in e d he placed it on his palm for all t o see a

,

heavy ring curiously carved and O f eviden t an

,
tiqu ity .
The silence seemed grea t er th an before Wau .

!
kO ma s eyes were fas t ened o n t he ring bu t the

-
others after o n e long look at i t had shifted t heir

, ,
gaze to Wau ko m ahimself who seeming to feel

-

, ,
the in t ensity o f their regard looked up with some ,
thing like deance in his eyes mingled with grow ,
ing anger .

Call back t he messengers ! he commanded ; and
when H awal li and Chot z u again appeared a t
-

-
-
the door he spoke harshly t o H awal li

,
-
-
.

I sen t for t he bag about the neck Of Kay yah -
the Nag apah and y o u bring me this ! The mea n

- -
,

ing wha t is t he mea ni ng o f this Speak quickly !
?
H awal li s t ood motionless

-
-
.

This is from the neck O f the Nag apah There - -
.

is n o mis t ake he said and his quie t t ones were in
, ,
s t riking con t ras t t o t hose o f W au kO ma who n ow -

-
,
THE WR O NG B AG 3 5
t urned t o C hot zu wi t h a puzzled frown o n his

-
face .

Cho t z u what say you Of this

- ?
,
H awal li speaks what is so Wau kO ma I

- - - -
, .
,
C ho t z u and no other cut it from about the neck

-
, ,
of the Nag apah dog Three suns we watched

- -
.
fo r him an d when he came

,

Enough ! G O both Of y o u ; but wait outside
.
Again there was silence in the lodge but not for ,
long Tag a mo s eyes had not left Wau kO ma s

.
-

-

-

face since the openi n g Of the bag ; he seemed thi n k

ing deeply an d now his voice boomed sudde n ly
forth from the smoky haze

Wau kO ma wha t means this and his nger
- ? -
,

indicated the ri n g How comes it that a Nag a .

-

pah wears t hat which you have cla imed to have ?
There was a sneer in Wau k O ma s voice as he -

-

answered and his eyes ashed , .

H o w comes it that the fox has t he fur o f a
hare in his den Are thieves unknown to you Tag
?
,
a mo
- ? This Nag apah like all his tribe is a
- -
, ,

thief and , his fury ri sm g his life shall pay f or

this !
Tag a m o and the elders smoked quie t ly for a
-

-
moment an d t hen he reached for t he little bag

, ,
which s t ill lay at Wau kO ma s fee t and looked a t -

,
i t though t fully The sinews were Old and s t i ff and.

,
3 6 L O S T IND IAN MAG I C
t he thong which had bound i t nearly worn t hrough

o n t he S l d e tha t had lain nex t the esh o f its wearer .
He n gered the two small silver beads t ha t dan

gled from the bag and looking within noted the , ,
worn hollow left by the ring Then he spoke .

This fox went hunt ing young Wau kO ma The ,
-
-
ring has lain within its nes t for many seasons .
Wau kO ma rose t o his feet and his voice w as

-
-
harsh with anger .

I care not the t ime has n o w come for his th ie v

ing t o end and I Wau kO ma shall end it By

,
-
- -
.

t he sacred symbol of J Oh O na ai I swear i t ! And
- -
,
t aking t he ri n g an d bag he s t rode o u t Of the medi

cine lodge withou t o n e backward glance .
The Old men smoked in silence until Tag a mo -

-
again spoke He addressed the man on his righ t

. .

Speak Dis din ! What know y ou of t he bag
,

-

worn by t his Nag apah ?
- -

Dis din drew deliberately at his pipe f o r sev
-
eral momen t s before answering ; his thin silver hair ,
fell over the brow O f a pa t riarch and his fea tures

gave evide n ce Of a renemen t O f though t unusual
among his people He was the father of H awal .
-

li and the like n ess was m arked Presen t ly he le t

, .
his long pipe res t on the beaten oor and wa t ch e d

i t s smoke curl upward as he t alked .
When o u r spy G O me was sen t t o t he N ag

,

-
,

THE WR O NG BAG 3 ?
apah camp t hese many summers p as t

-
,

fo r reas ons
well known to y o u brothers the o t hers nodded,

over their pipes h e found the Magic of t he Nag

apahs guarded by two m e n : Dee nay the medi

- -

,
cine chief and Qua hi da t he father Of this boy

,
-

-
, ,

Kay yah
-
He drew again at his pipe
. This .
Qua h i da was chosen that night we know o f

-

-
, ,
t o bury their treasure this we learned from the
man we afterward captured A n d with Qua h i da .

-

-
went another We received the word from G O me

.
-
the way is k n ow n to you also .
Again the others nodded in silence .

The tw o were at the mouth Of t he canyon when
o u r scouting party fou n d them re t urning to their ,
camp They were both mortally wounded by o ur

.
warriors bu t Qua h i da with the speed o f a dy

,
-

-
,
ing deer escaped to die at his o w n door O ne of

, .
o ur party followed him and saw him hand t o his
woman a little bag from which the re ligh t caught

t he gleam O f silver beads ; he made an e ff ort t o
speak but no words came and he fell back dead .
The other man w as co n scious for some time before

he also died and he was made t o S peak about his
people He said it w as useless for the T O t o mes
.
-
-
to cap t ure Ah c o the Nag apah camp as the

-
,

- -
,
t reasure was n o longer there When tortured to tell .

,
th e whereabouts O f the Magic he s aid o n ly tha t ,

3 8 L O S T I ND IAN MAG I C
i t was in t he keeping o f Qua hi da and i t w as t hen -

-
,
t hat the runner returned wi t h his t ale Of wha t had

happened at camp and o f the bag handed by Qua
hi da t o his wife who thrust i t int o the bosom O f

-
,
her dress The cap t ured man sm iled when he

.

heard this and died in pe ace .
Dis din picked up his pipe as the others lis t ene d

-
expec t antly f o r his next words :

O n e other inciden t there w as t hat night he ,

continued As the men stood considerin g a soun d
.
,
Of hurrying fee t came to their ears someo n e who
came running in fear o r exci t ement and before

,
he coul d be s t ayed o n e O f the T O t o mes had pu t

,
-

an arrow to the string an d let y straight at the

approaching gure who leaped high in t o th e air
,
and fell o n his face As they turned him over the

.
features Of G O me could be plainly see n in the s t ar

-
ligh t O nly four words could he gasp o u t before

.
he also was gone The Magic the bag was all

.

he said And since then brothers we have had

.
, ,
S pies cons t a n tly watching for the reappearance Of
t he lit t le bag with silver beads the bag which Wau ,

ko ma n o w carries

-
.
He ceased speaking abrup t ly and T ag a mo -

-
made a guttura l sound which seemed t o express

ma n y things .

We t railed a wolf and caught a f o x Bu t wha t .
40 L O S T I ND IAN MAGIC
s traight in t o his seemed to look through and b e

,
yond him with an indi ff erence and pride that gave

li t tle indica t ion Of the rebellion that was surging
with in him ; for it was Kay yah lle d wi th fury
-
at himself for the carelessness tha t had placed him

in the h ands o f his enemies
.
C HAP TER I II
WEE
-
K AY Y AH AT T A PA U
-
Pe r he c d l ik e an e agl e on its n e st
T a p au
-

we e l ie s .
S e t h igh up o n a ro ck y c re s t
A gain s t th e s kie s .
OOK IN G downward upon it from t he pre !
c i ito u s slope Of the rst rocky foothill tha t

p
towers above i t o n the northern side t he TO t o me ,
-

-
mesa rises sheer o u t Of the deser t like an island

in a beca lmed sea Even a casual glance at i t and
.
the im m ediate count ry about it would sufce to t ell

why t he T O t o mes had chosen its top as a si t e
-

-
for t heir permanen t camp the village o f Ta pau -

we e .
The great perpendicular walls of t his rock

ribbed base drop down o n all sides o f t he camp
except one but at a poin t o n t he side neares t the
,
mountain na t ure has provided an approach t hat

n o t only gave the T O t o mes a direct level path

- -
to the foothills bu t t he narrowness Of t he passage

,
m ade i t p ossible for a very few men t o protec t t he

4]
camp from an invading par t y Of almos t any size .
This long narrow approach ran along the top of a

rocky ridge tha t seemed t o proj ec t i t self from t he
foo thills t o the mesa as though t he thin arm Of
s t one were loath t o permi t this island Of rock to
be separated from t he paren t moun t ain O f which i t
had a t o n e t ime doubtless been a pa rt B eyond
, , .
bow sho t from t he hills o n o n e side and pro t ect e d

-
,
from t he open deser t t ha t l ay below it o n the other ,
t he place seemed impregnable The area of t he

mes a was n o t large ye t t here was ample room o n
,
i t s leve l surface for t he t wo or three hundred h O

gans t ha t housed t he t ribe The main portion of
.
t he houses were erec t ed in t he shape o f a crescent

whose ou t ward curve fronted t he narrow approach
t o t he mesa Small bushe s tumble weed and a
.
,
-
,
few s t unt ed pinyon t rees do t ted t he ou t er margin

Of t he mesa giving a s t ill more secluded appearance
,
t o t he houses t ha t clus t ered within O ver and b e

.
yond t he mesa t o the southward t he grea t level,
deser t s t re t ched monotonously o ut t o th e fain t pur

ple bu tt es o n t he horizon line .
O n t he eas t ern side ran an energe t ic li ttle s t re am

that coursed downward in a curve from the moun
tain side a mile o r more away and then owed in
-
,
an almos t s t raight line to the foot of the m esa .
R eaching i t s base it skirted around it o n th e d e s rt

,
e
KAY YAH AT TA PAU WE E

- -
-
43
side and turning back t oward the moun t ain for

, ,
a lit t le way wandered O ff again westwardly across

,
t he plai n where after several miles O f snake like

, ,
-
twists and turns i t emptied i t self into a shallow

,
lake tha t sparkled in the sun like a smal l disk

o f burnished copper .
O n the wes t side o f the camp at a poin t where,
the narrow approach j oined the mesa a steep little ,
t rail t ha t led zig zaggi n g downward to the stream

-
below had been cut into the sides Of the cli ff O ver
, .
this trail the women brough t the daily supply O f

fresh water for the camp s use I f the supply was

.
cut o ff by an enemy a little pool deep in t he

, ,
rocks o n the w estern side O f the mesa where t he ,
seepage from wi n ter snows an d rains kept it lled ,
could be drawn upo n an d be made t o last longer

t han t he enemy would care to remain below .
At late eve n ing the lo w golden light O f the se t

ting su n ooded the desert an d gilded the western
walls Of the mesa th at cas t its great purple shadow
s t reaming out to t he eas t I t sharply ou t lined the
.
cli ff s a t the base of the foothills and turned the

stream into a t hread of gold Such was the scene
.
tha t spread out be n eath th e wondering eye s o f

Kay yah as he look ed down from t he shel t ering
-
pile o f rocks high up o n the neares t foothill H is .
un eve n tful j our n ey o f a day and a nigh t was a t an

end and he was thankful tha t t he sun Was y e t

,
high enough f o r him t o inspect the enemy camp

before darkness fell As he looked downw ard his
.
,
t rained eyes t oo k in the unusual surroundi n gs an d

he carefully noted each detail th at w ould be o f use
t o him in t he t ask tha t lay before him As his eyes
.
wandered along th e little stream o n the eas t ern

S ide o f the mesa he no t iced t hat t he b a nk neares t
t he foothills was very s t eep and co n tained no t rail ,
while t he opposi t e bank was piled high with great

boulders and thick underbrush Small trees an d
.
bushes grew abou t t he s t ream as it neared t he cli ff s

,
and do tted the little l p e s t ha t ran upward in

drift s a t the base Of t he mesa .
It seemed plain enough tha t if he was to ent er

t he vi l lage he mus t n d some point a t which he
could scale t he walls from the desert side as an ,
entr ance by way Of ei ther O f the t wo trails w as

o u t Of t he ques t ion . He must get to the pl ain
below and under cover o f dark n es s follow the
,
l ittle stream around the foot o f the mesa to the

eas t ern side which seemed to be the most prom
,
ising place t o nd a break in the wall up which he

might ascend .
D own in the village he could see men and women ,
looking no larger t han ants as they moved abou t

,
among the hogans O n the sou t hern side O f th e

.
- -

-
45
camp no t far from the mes as edge stood a hogan

,

that was much larger than the rest The medicine .

lodge thought Kay yah as he carefully noted its
,

,
location Withi n its walls and perhap s upon i t s

.
,
altar the little bag might even now be lying His

, .
hear t beat fast with the thought and his hopes ,
alm ost shattered at nding the enemy camp so

wonderfully protected from an i n truder n o w b e ,
gan t o return .
As his eyes searched for the best way down t o

t he plain a way that must h e tr aveled after dark
,
ness came he saw several ti n y gures of men or

, ,
boys run n ing in the desert at the foo t o f the mesa

, .
As they came nearer he saw they were having

some kind O f game o r race as they were kicking a ,
small Obj ect with their feet as they ran He sud .
denly remembered that he had been told o f a T O

t o me game in which the con t estants usually three

-
,
o n a side tossed a smooth round stick with their

,
toes as t hey ran over a given distance The side .
tha t brough t t heir stick to the goal rs t won th e

game N o w as the nude runners came on around
.
,
t he mesa he became so i n tent in watching them that

he forgot f o r the momen t all else and rising
, , , ,
from his shelter I n the rocks moved a little ne arer ,
the edge Of the slope to get a better view Sud .
d e n ly he heard the sound o f steps at his b ack ; and

as he t urned he fel t the quick clu t ch o f s t rong arms ,
and before he could make e ff ectual resistance found

himself at the mercy of three T O t o me men The -

-
.
Oldest O f the t hree a man O f grea t strengt h and

, ,
o n e who seemed to be accus t omed t o leading men ,
was t he rs t to speak

A nice place for a Nag ap ah rabbit t o choose

- -
when spying upon the den Of wolves Are your .

young eyes sa t ised with what they have seen ?
Kay yah s blood ran hot wi t hin him and he in

-
v
wa rd ly cursed the carelessness tha t had made h im
such an easy prey t o his T O t o me captors bu t his

-

-
,
face ins t antly became a mask tha t e ff ec t ually hid

his t houghts ; a mask O f cold digni t y t ha t could
give li tt le satisfac t ion t o his enemies .

F o r o n e who walks alone y o u are far from ,

your campre said ano ther who now produced a
, ,
stou t thong which he handed t o t he t wo men who

held Kay yah -
.
Pre t ending no t t o understand their language ,

-
K ay yah made n o reply They now t ied his arms
.
securely behind his back and pushed him forward ,
indica t ing t ha t he was t o go with t hem He knew .
enough t o m ake n o s t ru ggle as escape was n o w,
o u t O f t he ques t ion He also k n ew tha t his cap t ors

.
would t ake him to the camp below as i t was the ,
cus t om o f all deser t t ri b es t o b ring the ir cap t ives

row approach to the mes a an d after a very shor t

,
t ime he found himself marching along the nar

ro w ridge.
As the four men advanced dogs n aked children , , ,
and a few Old women ran o u t to meet them as the y ,
had seen from a distance that the hu n ters brough t

a captive with them The news that a captured
.
enemy was being brought into camp quickly spread

over the village an d in a few moment s a crowd gath
ered about the approachi n g party as t hey passe d
be tween the ro w o f houses I n the clamor o f voices
.
tha t arose questions j ibes and insults were al l

, , ,
hurled a t Kay yah a t o n ce ; bu t pretending no t to

-
understand he held his head high and walked more

,
like a conqueror than a captive S oon several Of .
the people who knew t he N ag apah language - -
began to taunt him in his o wn t ongue ; bu t he p aid

no more a t tention to these than t o t he former r e
marks Some thing in his quiet digni t y began to
.
make the childish clamor sou n d foolish t o t he crowd ,
and they now followed the party in silenc e t o t he

public gathering place in the cent er Of t he camp .
As soon as he was halted in the level opening in

fro nt of the circling hogan s he looked into t he an
,
ta g o n ist ic faces of t hose about him with an in

di ff ere n ce that was not forced If death was t o .
come and he did n o t doubt t ha t i t would come


- -
-
49
he knew how to die like a man an d a warrior ; even

the torture would n o t move him to any show Of
pai n as that would bri n g pleasure t o his captors
,
.
His thoughts t ur n ed to D ee nay and as he fully -

,
realized h o w unworthy he had proven him self Of

the trust the o l d m an had placed in h im his hear t ,
grew bitter with self co n dem n atio n B u t it w as

-
.
useless to lame n t the past and as he thought Of ,
the peril that co n fro n ted him his mi n d turned to

an o f t repeated admonitio n given him by his aged
-

cou n selor : A warrior may lose his spear his ar ,
rows an d his k ni fe but his thoughts may st ill re

, ,
main with h im and prove to be his most powerful

weapons Realizi n g that he must keep his thoughts
.
ac t i n g to some purpose he stood upright and mo ,
tio nl e ss his height e n abling him to see over t he

,
heads Of mos t o f the men about h im .
A heavily built TO to me now pushed his way -

-
through the crowd and coming close to Kay yah

-
, , ,
called o u t with triumpha n t voice :

Aha ! It is soon t hat I get even with the Nag a
-
pah dog who tried t o throw me me C hot z u who

,
-
,

could throw two like him and use but o n e arm !

And then with mock k ind n ess he asked : D O y o u
come to T a pau wee for the little bag I took from
-

-

your neck ?
At the sound O f C ho t zu s remark a second g

-

50 LO S T IND IAN MAGI C
ure c ame up and the crowd made way for him as

he approached He also was heavily built and
.
near Kay yah s heigh t His face like tha t O f

-
. ,
C hot z u was coarse and brutal but he made a

-
, ,
great e ffort to carry himself with a dignied bear

ing that w as plainly unn a tural .

Wau k O ma comes said a lo w voice in t he
-
-
,
crowd near Kay yah -

.
As he strode up into the circle he s t opped t o

speak in a lo w t o n e to C hot z u At that momen t

.
Kay yah noticed a gray haired Old man approach

- -
in g t he ou t er edge o f the crowd His great shoul .
ders t o w ered above those about him an d his large

black eyes seemed t o blaze o ut Of a face that re
vealed u n usual power and dign ity Then the man .
with the brutal face whom Kay yah n o w k n ew ,

-
to be Wau kO ma the T O to me chief walked up

-
-
,
-

-
,
to him and in a voice that w as mean t t o be awe !
inspiring said :

S O here is the thieving Nag apah who s t ole - -
the little bag an d n o w sneaks back like a skulking

,
d o g t o steal again Your life was spared when my

.
men took the bag from your neck t wo suns ago ,
then raising his right ha n d as if to make his words

more impressive but to n ight you pay the price
, .

Kay yah seemed to look straight through and
-
beyo n d the man as he spoke and his perfec t mask ,


- -
-
51
of cool indi ff erence angered t he less gifted young -
chie f who inwardly realized the mental superior

,
ity o f the captive w h o stood before him S t ung .
by the thought he grasped Kay yah by the hair,

-
,
and waggi n g his head back an d forth he shouted

To n ight you n g whelp O f a slink d o g y o u die !
,
-
,
The humiliating and cowardly act O f Wau kO -

ma brought the h o t blood leapi n g to Kay yah s

-

face as he tugged vainly at the tho n gs about his

wrists ; then he looked up an d his eyes met those
o f the white haired O l d giant who n o w stood before
-
him S omethi n g in the wo n derful face more kind

.
,
ly than the other faces o f the crowd quieted him ,
and he again s t ood erect and motionless Then .
the Old man s expression suddenl y cha n ged as

though some important thought had ashed into

his mi n d a t hough t that dema n ded denite actio n
,
.

B e ta atsin be t a a t sin ! ! E agle wings eagle

- - - - :
, ,
wings ! he excla imed under his breath bu t loud ,
enough f o r the words t o reach Kay yah s ears ;

-

and t ur ni ng with more Of the moveme nt o f a

,
young wrestler t han that o f an Ol d man he faced ,
V a
V u k o
-
m a The las t red glow O f t he setting sun
.
sho n e full upon the bronzed O ld face that n o w held

an expression Of ahn o st u n natural calm and Kay ,

yah felt as t hough he looked upo n the face o f a god .

In a deep voice tha t rumbled as if from a c ave he ,
addr essed Wau kO ma -

-
.

Let not your word go for t h to t he people t hat
t he Nag apah spy shall die this night It is my

- -
.
wish f o r a reason that I will give before the cou n

,
cil tha t he be made a prisoner and given trial b e

,

fore he is pu t t o t he death .
Anger blazed up anew in W au ko ma s voice -

-

as he shou t ed

N O Nag apah is given t rial in a TO to me
- -
- -
camp ! My word is given ! It shall be as I have

said if I have t o kill him with my o w n hand !

Turning t o t he crowd the O l d man raised his ,
arms and in a voice t hat t hundered o u t in the eve

,
ning s t illness like t he booming Of a migh t y drum ,
he cried

L is t en t hen my people ! Y o u h ave heard t he
, ,
word Of Wau kO ma ; hearken unto me All o f -

-
.
you from the child t o the hoary headed know tha t

,
-
,
I raise no t my voice except i t be f o r good purpose .
This Nag apah shall n o t die this night ! If any

- -
a tt empt his life he shall answer to me with his o wn .
I Tag a mo have said it and by t he gods o f o u r

,
-
-
, ,

fathers it shall stand .
At this unprecedented ac t ion O f t he Old medicine

man in publicly opposi n g the word O f the tribal
,
chief a death like silence fel l up on th e crowd t hat

,
-

- -

-
53
stood a momen t as if dazed Then repea t ed e x cl a.
matio n s an d low murmurs O f approval came from a

group of the Older men who stood about Tag a -

mo ; but several o f the you n ger men moved nearer

the you n g chief w h o had stepped aside at the sud
den an d u n looked for action Of the old man R e
-
.
coveri n g from his momentary surprise an d gain ,
ing courage from his followers Wau kO ma said ,

-

-
We will see whose word shall sta n d an d I
shall know how to deal with all who oppose me !

With a look Of dea n ce a n d hatred tha t swept
bo t h Tag a mo and Kay yah he strode away t o

-

-
,
his hoga n followed by the men who h ad shown

,
t heir loyalty .
Turning again t o the crowd t he o l d medicine ,
man quietly gave orders to release the captive s
hands and to place him in a guarded hogan for

,
the ni ght Then ann ou n cing tha t he would call

.
the council f o r a trial at sunrise he turned an d ,
with head bowed in thought walked away in t o the

gathering gloom .
T W O men stepped forward an d after cutting the

thong abou t Kay yah s wrists led him away toward

-

a hogan t ha t stood o n the farther side Of t he vil

lage His guards made no attempt to mis t reat him ;
.
in fac t they seemed to regard him with a puzzled

,
ques t ioning in their eyes tha t plainly to l d t hat

they had been as mystied as he by the strange

action o f Tag a mo He was not to be given the
-
-
.
usual treatme n t of a spy at leas t no t until after ,
trial and the strange turn O f a ff airs that had pre

,
ven ted his being immedi ately pu t to dea t h n ow o c ,
c u ie d his mi n d more than all else

p .
Groping around in t he dim light within t he hogan

that was to serve as his priso n he found food and ,
wa t er as well as a very poor bed of o l d skins .
S eating himself on the latter he t ried to bring his ,
confused thoughts together in an e ff ort to nd s o me

reason for the strange actions Of both Tag a mo -
-
and t he youn g TO t o me chief Many questions

-
-
.
that could not be answered crowded i n to his mind .
Why had Wau kO m aaccused him Of st e aling the

-
-
little bag tha t t hey the T O to m e s had s tolen

,
-
-
,
from him ? Why had the mann er O f Tag a mo -

-
changed so sudde n ly while looki n g at him an d w h y ,
had he asked tha t he be given trial as a l aw breaker -
when it was the custom Of all tribes t o show no

mercy to an enemy especially o n e who had been
,
caugh t wh ile spying upon the tribe D id the Old

?
T O to me hope t o force him to give some informa

-

-
tion about the Nag apahs ? A n d wha t had he

- -

mean t by exclaimi n g B e t a a t sin ?
,
Some c harm
- -
word possibly as medicine men used many such

,
words t hough seldom ou t side o f t he medicine lodge

, .
get away ; he will look and see no o n e ; t hen whe n

he tries t o ru n an arrow will do t he work an d n o

one will k n ow the h o w t hat sent i t Who then .

can say a word ?

B ut if the Nag apah should suspect some t hing

- -
,

and not try to escape questioned the guard
? .

That also is provided for Wau ko m a has .
-

-
said that he dies tonight and so it will be Tag a , .

-

mo is no t chief and t he people will laugh a t him

,
and the Old men who follow him when we show

them t his nigh t t ha t the word of Wau k O ma is -

-
law and tha t t he Nag apah has been pu t to dea t h

-
-

as he said .

When is this t o b e done asked the guard
? .
S oon for T ag a mo m ay decide to come and

,
-
-
make a change in the guard himself and SO o ur ,

plan be made to no purpose .
Kay yah remained very quie t The words O f

-
.
C hot zu though spoken in a very low tone had

-
, ,
been heard by him an d he doubted n o t t hat t he

,
plan spoken Of would be carried o u t immediately .
If he was t o defe n d himself o r if t here was any ,
possible chan ce for an escape he mus t ac t quickly , .
Then his eyes searched about the hogan f o r any

t hin g that could b e used as a weapon o r for any ,
way other than the door by which he could ge t o ut

, ,
Of his prison .

- -
-
57
His search seemed fruitless The lodge was an .
unusually large and well built one an d its smooth -

,
surfaced walls O ff ered no possibility Of maki n g a

passage t hrough them With the exception Of the
.
skins o n which he sat and the large at re sto n e

,
in the center O f the room there were no furnish ings

, .
The night was rapidly growi n g dark and he wel ,
comed t he dark n ess B lack clouds that had begun

.
to drift upward from the east swep t across the ,
sky and obscured most o f the starlight O nl y .
o ccasionally did the rou n d smoke hole overhe ad -
become clearly visible in the u n certai n light He .
turn ed his face toward it watchi n g the passing ,
clouds and wonderi n g w hat course O f actio n he

,
would follow if O n e Of his guards should enter the

hogan t o make an end Of him .
Suddenl y he j umped to his feet as he realized

t hat t he smoke hole might o f er a possible me an s
-
O f escape. H e leapt upward with all his strength

in an e ff ort to grasp its rim but fou n d as h e , ,
migh t have k n own that the hole was to o high to

,
be within his reach B ut there was a n other way

.
that i t might b e reached an d as th e plan formed ,
in his mi n d he stepped to the doorway and lis t ened

,
.
All was silent an d he realiz ed that the TO to mes

,
-

-
had probably withdraw n to give him his false o p

p o rtu ni t
y t o escape He k n ew they coul d n o t
.
be far away but j us t h o w far he could no t guess

,
.
C autiously drawing aside the hide at the door

way he looked Out He could see n o o n e in the dim
.
light ; the camp seemed deserted and save f o r th e

,
sou n d O f the risin g wind that whistled among the

rocks and bushes all was silent He wondered
,
.
how many steps he could take o ut Of the doorway

before an arrow or knife would strike him down .
Feeling f o r the to p of the door curtain he found , ,
as he suspected that it was rmly b ound to a p ole

,
Of about the thickness Of his arm and as he felt for

,
the en ds Of this he foun d that they rested o n other

large p oles at the sides o f the door an d were kept ,
in place by thongs that had once bound them closely

but were now dry and loose .
Cautiously an d as silently as p ossible he worked

, ,
the p ole back an d forth a f e w times and was soon ,
able to slide it through the dried fastenings and

lift it from its resting place The noise he had
-
.
made was slight but he stood for a momen t hardly

, ,
breathi n g as he waited for an expected movement

,
o n the p art o f the guards ; but they were evidently
giving him every opportunity to come o u t an d ,
made n o sign that would indicate that they had

heard him Returnin g to the c e nter Of the hogan
.
,
he felt among the ski n s Of the crude bed and select ,
ing two o f t he smallest and thinnest among them

- -
-
59
wr apped them as tightly as he could about the ends

of the pole Then stepp ing to the re sto n e di
.
r e c tly beneath the smokehole and standing with

,
the pole poised f o r action he waited for the light

,
again to shi n e brightly enough to aid him .
After wha t seemed a lon g tim e the sky above the

hole brightened a little but it was enough for his
,
purp ose Tossing the p ole high through the open

.
in g and leapi n g at the same t ime with the hide ,
he j erked it to o n e side as the p ole fell squarely

across the hole He heard a l o w exclamation from
.
some o n e outside but there was still no movement

,
toward the door and his heart beat high with hop e
,
as he drew himself up through the blackened aper

ture to the top O f the hoga n and cautiously crouched
down o n its curved roof The darkness was so
.
great that he could distinguish nothing and he ,
could hear no sound save the rising wind Deter .
mined that only immediate action could save him ,
he slid cautiously down o n the side O f the hut t hat

he kn ew to be opposite the entrance and waited ,
a momen t f o r s ome sound to guide him He could .
n o w see the dim dark mass of another hoga n n o t
far from the o n e he had j ust left and as he moved ,
swiftly into its deeper shadow a hand came o ut of

,
t he darkn ess and laid itself o n his shoulder .

Is tha t you Chot zu
,
?
The voice sounded
-
60 LO S T I ND I AN MAGI C
familiar somehow bu t he did no t stop t o identify

,
it and j erking himself free he s t ar t ed to run but it ,
seemed as if a dozen forms separated t hemselves

from t he shadow an d he was helpless among so
,
many .

I t is t he Nag ap ah said another voice
-
B ut ,
.

how did he escap e ? He came by the back way .
Exasperated by t he realization that his o n e

chance Of escape had come an d gone Kay yah ,

made a mighty e ff ort to free himself from his cap

tors and as he struggled in their grasp the voice
,
he had rs t heard spoke again and this time in ,
very poor Nag apah

- -
.

We do not mean y o u harm Nag apah but if ,
- -
,
you struggle you bring pu n ishment upon yourself

an d you ght to no purpose C ome quietly and I .
give y o u promise tha t no harm will come t o y o u this

nigh t .
Kay yah became quiet as the hopelessness O f his

-
situation became apparent to him and all but two ,
Of the men let go Of him and conferred among t hem

selves .

Tag a mo is in the medicine lodge and will not
-

-

call the council before the dawn said o n e What , .
think you H awal li is his in terest in this man

,
-

-
, ,
and why should Wau kO ma wish him put to death -

- -

-
61
n o w, since i t is Tag a mo s wish that t rial be -

-

given ?

Y have heard as much as I and t he answer
ou ,

I know n o t came the reply , .
At the mention Of the name Of H awal li Kay -

-
,

yah remembered the last speaker to be the c o m

panion Of C hot z u when the two had t aken the bag

-
from him and knew it was his voice tha t he had

,
recognized in the dark n ess .

B ut we must see that he is kept safe o r answer ,
t o Tag a mo as you have heard an d y o u all know

-

-
,
what that means said H awal li ,

-

-
.

We c an keep him safe enough said another , ,
for Wau kO ma will n o t dare to defy Tag a mo

-
-
-
-
openl y and bri n g a ght among us as he knows ,
that Tag a mo has the greates t number Of the

-

-
tribe f o r his followers .
As to that I know no t said H awal 1i bu t ,

-
-
,
the guards must be men we c an trust Kee t o you .

-
,
wil l guard the door and give place to no o n e u nl es s

,
I bring ano t her guard from Tag a mo to s t and in -

-

your s t ead .

And I spoke ano t her voice will go on guar d
, ,
wi t h Kee to
-
.
There was a slight hesitation in H aw al li s -

-

voice as t he las t O ff er was made bu t he replied ,

You Tal lak kin Are you ready to ans wer

,
-
?

with your life for the Nag apah s safety ?
-

I am ready came the reply ,
.
I t is well then ; let us go said H awal li

,
-

-
.
They walked swiftly for some little distance an d ,
nally Kay yah was pushed through the en t rance

-
Of another hogan an d the hide curtain dropped b e

hind him He looked about his new prison giving
. ,
attention to every deta il A small re burned in .
the cent er Of the room and by its ligh t he s aw t ha t

,
soft skins lay about the oor ; large woven reed

ma t s th e beds Of the more ease loving T O to mes
,
- - -
,
lay near t he walls and an abundance Of food in n e

,
ly woven baskets was placed about the cheerful blaze

o n the re sto n e Here were luxuries o f almos t
.
every kin d ; bu t why had he been given them O ne ?
possible reason came vaguely int o his t hough t s At .
some t ime he had heard tales o f a people who Often

gave their c ap t ured enemies many luxuries j ust by
way o f contrast t o the torture that always followed .
H awal li had said that he should not be ill treated

-
-
durin g the n ight ; and T ag a mo the chief med -

-
,
ic in e man Of the tribe had sworn tha t a n yon e who

,
a t tempted his life should answer to him with his

o wn
but he was o n ly to b e protected un til aft er
trial Was he sim ply being used as an excuse for
.
a gh t be twe e n the strong will o f Tag a mo and -

-
in fron t Of the lodge as his form could dimly be

,
seen at intervals pas sing the paler patch Of light

framed by the doorway The guard at the back
.
was also o n du t y as he could sometimes be heard

,
as he moved about near the wall Of the hogan .
Was this man at the rear Of the hut Of Wau ko -

ma s faction From the co n versation he had over

?
heard he decided that he might b e and t his would,
be the man he would h ave to reckon with in case he

made a second attempt to escape As ma t ters .
stood he was for the present in no da n ger and

, ,
would h ave to wait with what patience he coul d

, ,
unt il events took some n e w tur n .
The heavy darkn ess arou n d him the sighing o f ,
the wind accompan ied by the dis t a n t rumble Of t he

,
approaching storm seemed to lull his senses int o

,
a drowsin ess tha t was hard to overcome He p o n .
dered more an d more hazily over his si tuation ,
while loss o f sleep the n ight before his long j our ,
ney an d the hard exertio n s O f the evening now

,
arrayed themselves against his cons t an t e ff ort s to

remai n awake .
Just when he lapsed in t o sl umber he did no t

know but he was suddenly conscious Of a dis t urb
,
a n ce from without I n stantly he threw O ff the

.
,
haze o f sleep and his brai n w as clear an d ac t ive

, .
H e sprang noiselessly t o his fee t every facul t y ,


- -

-
65
aler t ; his ears s t raini n g to ca t ch any sou n d A .
loud peal of t hunder boomed o u t an d its many

echoes rolled away into the distant ca n yons C oul d .
it have bee n thunder that had awakened him His ?
i n stinct t old h im n o S torms seldom disturbed his

.
night s res t Then his ears caught the murmur Of

.
voices from the rear Of the lodge and though the ,
voices were low he recog n ized o n e Of them to be

that Of the young chief whom he now felt to be his

greatest e n emy G O ! co m ma n ded the voice
. I .
will t ake your place G O withou t noise an d keep

.
,

a still to n gue in your j aws The sound O f the soft
.
s t eps O f the guard as he moved away told t hat

the rs t part of the command at least was being
obeyed .

Ah t hought Kay yah the young chief fears
,
-
,
tha t his men may not gu ard me well and comes t o ,

do the work himself .
As he followed the line Of thought this led him

int o he heard the sound o f men s cuf in g near t he
,
front Of t he lodge Then the roaring Of a passing

.
gus t Of wind drowned the sound ; bu t a momen t

later came a low groan and o n e o f the men fell ,
heavily an d evidently lay still Then came the sound .
of heavy breathi n g from the victor who seemed ,
to be approaching the door o f t he hogan I n .
sta n tl the whole si t ua t ion s t raigh t ened i t self out in

y
66 L O S T I ND I AN MAG IC
Kay yah s mind Wau kO ma had come t o carr y

-
.
-

-
o u t his threat to kill him with his o w n hand and ,
after dismissi n g the guard at t he rear O f the lodge ,
who it was now evide n t was o n e Of his followers

, ,
had killed the m an who guarded the ent rance so

t hat t here could be no alarm given and no wi t ness , .
He had waited until the late hour t o make cer t ain

he would not be disturbed an d the noise Of the ,
storm would drown the possible sounds O f con ic t .
I t was well plan ned an d the very t reachery and

,
cleverness o f it sharpened Kay yah s wi t s for he -
k n ew tha t here he had an adversary who would

call forth all that was in him o f s t rength and skill
if he was t o escape death .
By the dim light that ltered momentari l y from

between t he storm clouds Kay yah could b arely ,

-
see beyo n d the square opening o f the d oorway and ,
steppi n g quickly to the left side of it he crouched ,
f o r the spr i ng that must be made a t his an t agonis t

the moment he en t ered as he evident ly int ended
,
doi n g Armed with the killin g knife and knowing

. -
,

Kay yah to be unarmed the Odds were all wi t h
-
,
Wau kO ma and the resul t Of t he impend in g gh t

-

-
,
seemed certain .
I n t he dead silence tha t n o w reigned in which ,
Wau kO ma seemed to be lis t ening Kay yah de

-

-
,
-
cided o n his o n e possible course o f ac t ion B ein g .

- -
-
67
on the right side O f his antagonis t he could onl y ,
hope f o r light e n ough to see the arm that held the

k n ife if the young chief entered the doorway The .
darkness was his greatest aid an d he felt thankful ,
t ha t no sp ark o f the re remained to light up the

int erior o f t he lodge Wau kO ma was evide n tly
.
-

-
wai t ing to fully recover his breath after his ght

wi th t he guard He also probably hoped for some
.
sound from within the hogan as the i n terior loomed ,
black and O ff ered no suggestio n as to where Kay

,

yah might be The pause became so lo n g that Kay

.

yah began to think that his enemy would n o t come

inside un t il some moveme n t Of his o wn be t rayed
his posi t ion .
Then very slowly a dim light came from a rif t

in t he clouds and t he dark bulk Of the crouchi n g
chief was revealed some four feet from the e u
t rance Ins t an t ly Kay yah sprang like amountain
.

-
cat at its prey The im pact O f the young Indian s

.

body against his a n tago n ist was a powerful o n e ,
and would have resulted disastrously for the T O

t o me had he n o t been somewhat prep ared for such
-
a move o n Kay yah s part ; an d as it was h is beav

-

ier weigh t was all t hat saved him from losing his
balance .
Half t wis t ing in a short backward step Wau ,
kO ma ins t antly drew his right arm for the kni f e

-
68 L OST IND I AN MAGI C
thrust ; but Kay yah s left hand had t he wris t b e

-
fore the blow could fall and his righ t arm had ,
gone about the neck Of his enemy B oth m e n .
knew that it was now a test o f streng t h and skill .
N O sound p assed their lips as each for very di ff e r ,
ent reasons wan ted silen ce Wau k O m a becaus e

,
.
-
-
-
he wished to kill Kay yah secretly and Kay yah -
,
because he wished t o make way with his an t agonis t

and escape B ackward and forward the two gure
.
struggled Wau kO ma depending upon his superi

,
-

- !
o r weight and Kay yah upon his skill and agili t y

-
.
,
With a roar the passing s t orm broke overhead ,
and as the wind swept over t he mesa it drove great

shee t s Of rain upon the struggli n g men drenching ,
t heir bodies and m aking their hold upon each o ther

more d ifcul t t o re t ai n Kay yah was t hankful f o r
.
-
the rough rock footi n g beneath as a slip o r fall ,
made by the unarmed man in such a gh t could

mea n only o n e thing Twice did Kay yah try the
.
-
wrestler s leg hold to trip his enemy and e ach time

-
,
Wau kO ma evaded him with a skill tha t showed

-

-
that he to o knew the tricks Of the wres t ler Again .
and again Wau kO m a exerted every ounce o f his

-

-
stre n gth to bri n g the knife down o r wrench his

arm from his enemy s grip Twice its p o m t pricked

.
-
Kay yah s wrist but each time he again forced th e

arm o f his enemy upward The strain was n o w .

- -
-
69
growing t errible and Kay yah realized wi t h grim -

,
satisfactio n tha t Wau kO m a was breathing more

,
-

-
heavily t ha n he .
Suddenly with a mighty e ff ort the young chief

, ,
pulled in savagely o n the left arm that was abou t

Kay yah s waist and be n t him backward with all
-
the stre n gth that could be brough t to h e ar T h e .
move took Kay yah O ff his guard an d he felt h im

-
,
self bending to a poi n t where he would fall beneath

his foe B u t o n e possible course Of action now stoo d
.
betwee n him an d certain death and he put it to ,
i n s t an t t est With a quick movement for which

.
,
he was famous amo n g the wrestlers O f his own camp ,
he threw his left leg o u t as far as possible t o o n e

side ; then suddenly l e tti n g go o f Wau k o ma s -

-

wris t he t wisted his whole body downward t o the

,
left breaking the hold that bou n d his wais t and

, ,
instantly brought his left forearm beneath his an

ta o n ist s chin The knife descended bu t s t ruck

g .
onl y a glanci n g blow that ripped int o t he shoulder .
B efore it could be raised again K ay yah had forced ,

-
t he head of his e n emy backward and had a t t he ,
same instant tur n ed his own body until his back

was alm ost against the b ack o f his foe his right ,
ha n d grippin g Wau k O ma s left arm from t he -

-

rear With back arched as a powerful brace he

.
,
now slowly pulled downward .

70 L O S T I ND I AN M A G I C
Kay yah s unlooked f or ac t ion had been e x ecu t e d

-
-
so quickly t hat Wau kO ma inten t onl y upon t he -

-
,
use Of his knife did not realize until to o la t e t ha t

,

he had been caught in the s t rangle hold Of Thal

kin the choke neck throw S avagely t hough in
,
-
.
,
e ff ectually n o w he struck downward with t he k ni fe

, ,
bu t could only reach his an t agonis t where no t ell

ing blow could be dealt .
Then f or the rst t ime Kay yah spoke I n per

-
.
f e c tly good T O to me he s aid :

-
-

The Nag ap ah dog shakes t he TO to me ra t
- - -

-

in his t eeth .
Wau kO ma dropped the knife and wit h both

-
-
,
h ands he now clutched frant ically a t t he arm tha t

was slowly but surely c rushing the breat h from him .
A momen t later the T O to me s body relaxed and -

-

Kay yah threw him t o the ground where he lay

-
,
still .
In the s t arlight tha t broke t hrough the las t rag

ged clouds O f the passing storm Kay yah knel t ,
-
over his senseless foe and picking up t he knife ,
thought f o r a moment to make sure O f the dea t h

, ,
o f his e n emy ; bu t as he raised the weapon n o w red ,
with his own blood his eye suddenly caugh t sigh t

,
o f a little bag abou t Wau k O m as neck Its f a -

-
.
miliar shape and color needed no close scru t iny .

CHAP TE R IV
TH E H I DDE N PA SSAGE
Th e y b uil t
in age s l o n g ago, th e N a y a a e
k d
I n s to n y l iff an d w all an d ro y h e igh t,

c ck
B ut th e y h av e go n e th e l o n g trail o f th e ea d d
A nd le ft no tale, no re c d or o
f th e ir g
i h t .
HE N Kay yah stepped backward over t he

!
cli ff he believed that he went to his death .
I n t he ash o f a seco n d all o f the event s Of his

pas t life seemed t o pas s before his mi n d with as
to n ish in g clearness ending with th e triumphant
,
ba t tle with his enemy above .
Then came a crash as t hough his body were

hurtled through a cloud Of we t brush and crackling
t wigs From this moving mass he rolled wi t h t er
.
ri c speed fell a little way and clutching o u t des

, ,
p e ra t el
y, caught and held what seemed to be amass
of stout t wigs His body whipped downward as
.
his grip held rm and with a j arring blow i t s t ruck

,
h eavily t he u n resisti n g limb O f a tree , .
A sharp pain in his side like the s t ab O f ablun t ,
knife caused a groan t o escape his lips

, Quickly .
72
TH E H I DDEN PAS SAGE 73
loweri n g himself from the scratching branches Of

the thick topped j u n iper into which he had fallen
-
,
he felt the rocks O f the steep slope below him and

crouched down beneath the tree stil l holding to the
,
twisted tru n k .
The light from a torch n o w ickered from above ,
an d he he ard the voices Of the T O to mes who were

-

-
,
run n i n g to an d fro o n the cli ff edge above him .
He waited in sile n ce for a mome n t tryi n g to re ,
cover the breath that had almost left his body and ,
realized that he had narrowly escaped death A .
lighted torch was hurled from above an d came spin

n i n g in great circles through the air throwing show ,
ers O f Sparks in its descent It struck a pro j e ctio n

.
in the canyon wall some f eet from h im bounded ,
o u t and do w n i n to the sp ace below Evidently i t .
was thrown with the hope that its ligh t would re

veal his positio n but in this it failed as the dense
, ,
top Of the tree above him protected him from the

sight O f his enemies and he was safe f o r t he mo
,
me n t at least The are o f the torch had revealed

.
two importa n t things t o him : in o n e he saw t he

real reason for his escape from worse inj ury and
possible death an d in the other a possible w ay to
,
get safely to the level country below .
Al l abou t t he tree in grea t black piles were

, ,
m asses o f tumble wee d balls t ha t had l oose ned f ro m

-
the mesa above during the storm an d had blown ,
over the cli ff t o lodge among the tree t ops and

bushes below In t o o n e o f these drifts of wet tum
.
ble weed he had fallen breaki n g th e force Of his

-
,
descent before he had crashed into the t op o f the

j uniper tree -
.
His side n o w t hrobbed wi t h dull pain and t he

smarting wound in his shoulder reminded him that
the blood mus t be staunched Quickly tearing a .
strip from t he soft buckskin abou t his loins he ban

d age d t he cut as best he could drew the knot tight ,
with his t eeth and started downward ! s sile n tly

,
and as rapidly as the darkness and s t eep slop e

would permit .
He had made considerable progress when a large

s t one loosened by his feet went crashin g down
, ,
in t o the brush below I t s loud noise indicated his.
position to the watchers above and almost ins t an t

l y a shower Of rocks fell about him Then loud .
voices as if the men were quarreling came to his

, ,
ears and no more s t ones were t hrown Evidently

, .
some Of each faction were among the men and the ,
followers O f Tag a mo had probably persuaded-

-
the s t one throwers to cease Bu t the noise o f the

-
.
falling rock had told them what t hey were waiting

t o know tha t h e w as alive and he knew they woul d
, ,
THE H IDDEN PAS SAGE 75
immediately dispatch a party Of men for every t rail

that led dow n ward to head him O ff
, .
From a little way below him n o w came the sou nd

Of the stream swollen i n to a torre n t by the heavy
,
rain and as he reached its lo w ba n k he plunged

,
his face into the cooling water H e remembered .
from what he had seen that morning from his posi

t ion o n t he mountai n that the northern ba n k Of
,
the stream on which he n o w fou n d himself was

, ,
comparatively smooth an d took comfort in the fac t

,
that as no trail led directly down the cli ff which was ,
much too gte e p f o r cl imbi n g his pursuers would be

,
compelled to go o u t around the base o f the mesa ,
an d could no t get to him from his side Of the stream ,
as the great crags an d boulders would make their

passage to o slow and dangerous in the darkness .
B u t he could not remain here as the very Obstacles

,
tha t preve n ted his enemies from reaching him b arred

his o w n escape .
He t ook the only possible trail which followed ,
the s t ream and led directly to the mountain and ,
he could o n ly h O p e that with the darkness as an

ally he could gain the foothills before the T O to mes -

-
could i n t ercept his path As he ran he thought care

.
fully O f all the methods his enemies would probably

use t o recapture him The swiftest runners would
.
doub t less take the t rail t hat followed t he foot of

the mou n tain from which t hey could cu t across his

,
path a mile o r so farther along where t he stream

,
curved downward from the foo t hi l ls Then p e rh ap

.
a second party would be sent o u t int o the deser t

from the other side Of t he camp and would at t emp t
t o head him O ff if he t urned away from the moun
t ain an d sough t t o escape across the plain The .
fac t that the pa t h he was now traveling was a far

shorter cu t to the foothills than any his pursuers
could take was almost discounted by the cer t ainty

that his wound and desperate struggle wi t h W au
kO ma had t aken half o f h is usual s t rength

.
He ran steadily w ith no at t empt to a t tain the

,
speed th at he could make if he exerted all his

strengt h He k n ew that the testin g t ime would
.
-
come as soon as he commenced to climb i n to higher

ground that lay ahead Agai n and again did he
.
have to stoop lo w as he ran to ease the p ain in

,
his side bu t he kept his mind xed o n the o n e

thou gh t th e bag was his again and he mus t no t

,
be caugh t .
Presently he heard the sound o f wat erfalls that

t old Of higher ground ahead and soon he found
,
himself o n a narrow trail tha t ran sharply upward ,
zig zagging across the side O f a steep foo t hill I m

-
.
m edia t ely ahead loomed the grea t dark mass Of t he

THE H IDD EN PAS SAGE 77
moun t ain and he realized that he had reached com

p ara t iv e l y safe grou n d ahead O f his pursuers .
He was n o w forced to walk and climb as fas t

as his s t re n gth would permit and after a few mo
,
ments came out onto level ground Quickly lying .
do w n he put his ear to the earth and listened He

, .
could disti n ctly hear the p ad p ad O f m o c c asin e d fee t

-
some distance away an d arose stari n g about h im in

, ,
the dim starlight to get his bearings .
A cli ff loomed ahead an d he saw that he stood

o n a wide trail t h at led around it a n d doubtless rose
t o a higher level There was no other path visible

.
,
so he ran o n and when he had rou n ded the cli ff

he found himself o n a seco n d ledge Of rock well up
o n the highest foothill very near the base o f the
mountain Here the trail ran into another t ha t

.
seemed to cross it at a sharp angle Again there was

.
no t ime to stop to make a choice an d turning to the ,
righ t he ran for some dista n ce along a smooth level

,
shelf O f rock that skirted the rst great rock wall

,
o f the mountain . Soon it began to widen o u t grad

ua lly and the n ended abruptly in a mass o f huge
,
rocks that had falle n from above Arriving a t the.
end he peered o u t over the rocks and could see tha t

the wall dropped sheer down in a great precipice
j us t beyond them Turning abou t he saw t he e ven
.
stone s Of a whitened wall in the deep shadow a t

the base o f the cli ff its center cu t by t he sharp

, ,
black openi ng o f a doorway .

The home Of the N ay akaed he said to him - -
se lf ; and turning swiftly ran back to see if t he

, ,
trail he was o n did not branch O ff and lead t o a

still higher level B ut he had not taken many steps
.
before he heard the sound Of his pursuers running

along the trail a little lower down There was no .
time now t o search for a b ack t r ail and he t urned ,

;
abou t an d retraced his s t eps to t he ancien t cli ff

dwelling Above him loomed the overhangin g wall
.
o f rock the rs t mighty cli ff Of the grea t moun t ain ;

,
below was a drop in the darkness to depths he could

n o t see He knew it would be useless t o hide in
.
the fallen rocks The T O to mes would separat e

.
-

-
when they came to any branch Of the tr ail and ,
he k n ew there would be at least four men sent t o

explore each n e w trail that Opened al ong the way .
Each party would have a torch that would be ligh t

ed when search for his tracks began and his every ,
footprin t would be plainly visible in t he moist s and

O f t he rock ledge .
He knew that neither his o w n people n o r th e

TO to mes ever e n t ered the ancient abodes Of t he
-

-
Na y akaed the v anished people Of t he cli ff s ; bu t

- -

,
putting all superstition and fear from his t hough t s

he en t ered the do o rway of t he dwelling deciding ,
tles woven in and o ut among them He climbed

,
.
up o n the pile o f fallen rock and reached upward ,
hopi n g to nd a loose ceiling pole that could be

-
used as an e ffective weapon while his strength las t

ed As he caught hold O f the small ceiling timbers
.
he fou n d to his surprise that not only o n e pole but

, ,
a whole section O f them was movable an d although ,
it could n o t be forced downward it could be pushed

upward with appare n t ease .
As he pushed upward a cool draught Of air

poured over him an d a quantity of n e dust sifted
,
down over his head an d shoulders Evidently there .
was an ope n i n g above and probably the back Of

,
the structure had a second story Perhaps t he pile .
Of crumbled rock and earth o n which he stood had

b een some ki n d O f a stairway long ago tumbled
,
into ruins Again he pushed upward an d outward

.
o n the poles a n d fou n d that they could slide to one
side far enough to admi t his body through t he open
ing thus made .
Weakened as he was an d alm os t unnerved by

,
the pain in his side he knew that it would require

,
every Ounce O f his stre n gth to draw himself up and

through the hole C lenchin g his t eeth as if t o shut
.
ou t the pain that would be caused by the exertion ,
and drawing a deep breath he clasped the poles

,
a t t he sides o f the Opening and drew himself up

THE H IDD EN PA S SAGE 81
until he could sit o n the edge O f the hole As he .
drew his feet up he heard the noise O f a party o f

his pursuers who had j ust arrived on the ledge o ut
side Cautiously and as s ilently as possible he
.
, ,
moved t o o n e side far enough to slide the section

o f poles bac k into place an d nding it secure sat
,
down upon i t leaning wearily against the cli ff wall

,
tha t continued up the back o f the room o r opening

in which he n o w found himself .
The darkness around him was in t ense He coul d .
see nothing but could distinctly hear the conversa

,
tion Of the m e n who n o w had gathered near the

door o f the dwelling H e could hear the whirr
.
whirr of re sticks as o n e o f the men made a re

to ligh t the t orch The men spoke in low guttur al
.
tones f o r they had no t yet see n his tracks and did

,
no t wish their remarks t o be heard in case he was

hiding in the rocks beyond them Presently the .
snappin g o f the burning bark came t o Kay yah s -
ears as the t orch was lighted and almos t ins t antly

,
a shout went up as his t racks were discovered .

The dog has run t o t he end o f his t r ail t his
t ime and n o w hides in t he house O f t he dead t o s ave
,

himself ! said a voice .

Those are his tracks and he ll no t make many

more said another
. .
Then a voice t hat he knew t o be tha t o f t he m an

C hot z u spoke
-
.

The Nag apah dog h as a witch in him Her e
- -
.
is another proof ; for he enters the house Of t he dead ,
and no o n e who is not a witch would do that N O .
man who is n o t o f the Shin di ! devil ! people can -
kill an armed gu ard take a knife from Wau kO m a ,

-

-

and s t r angle h im .

W au kO m a w as no t s trangled to t he dea th
-

-
,

replied an other voice When I left T a p au w e e
.
-
-
he was alive and although he could no t speak Tag

, ,

a mo says he will live
-
.

Bu t I say again that he is a witch ! spoke Cho t

zu. For he can wrestle like the Shin di He al -
.

mos t threw m e tw o suns ago .
This l ast remark was followed by the sound Of

other men j oining the rs t party and a voice that ,
Kay yah reco gnized to be that O f H awal li called

- -
-
out :
Y should be the las t to speak o f t he Nag a

ou
-
p ah s skill in wrestling C hot z u He t hrew you as

,
-
.
easily as a man throws a child an d would have made ,

an e n d o f y o u had I n o t come t o your assis t ance .

You think I fear the d o g o f a N ag ap ah ? - -
sneered C hot zu
-
.

If y o u do n o t fear him gO in there and b ring ,

him out challenged H awa l li
,
-
-
.
t ure bu t those who had lived t o tell o f t heir e xp e ri

,
ence said that they tracked the witch until they

he a '
id the many growls and sounds tha t it made
and t hen they dared no t go further for the sounds ,
were fearful like t hat Of the growls Of many dif

f e re n t a ni mals .

The bear witch is not here ; the Nag ap ah is
-

- -

here and we must take him back to T ag a m o
,
-
-
,
said th e voice of H awal li -

-
.

The dog dies here replied Chot z u ; bu t his ,
-
voice lacked strength and the rem ark sounded like

an idle boas t .

Give me the t orch com m anded H aw al li ; ,
-
-
and a momen t later Kay yah heard his foo t s t eps a t -
the door .

Come o u t t o us and you have fair t ria l before
,

T ag a mo-

-
he called in Nag apah Then re
,
-
-
.
,
c e iv in g n o reply he walked into the room and Kay

, ,
yah could see the ickering poi n ts o f light through

the poles ben eath him and the pungent Odor Of ,
the burning j u n iper bark came to his nostrils O ther .
foot falls about the doorway an d the sound o f

-
,
bodies crowdin g t ogether told him that several face s ,
mus t be peeri n g in doubtless expecting t o see th e

,
brave H awal li in a death struggle wi t h him o r

-

-
,
being torn t o pieces by t he witch .
In a voice so husky with a nameles s dread as t o

THE H IDDEN PAS SAGE 85
be scarcely more tha n a loud whisper H awal li ,

-

-

said : He is not here !
Then as if the terror Of the situa t ion struck them
,
all at o n ce the crowd ed down the trail

,
.
The fear O f the T O to mes was for the momen t

-

-
shared by Kay yah but he drove the fear from

-
,
his heart and rose slowly to his feet feeling about ,
him in the darkness as he did so H e could n o t .
go down again i n to the room below as he knew that ,
t he dawn was near an d that the T O to mes in

,
-

,
spite o f t heir temporary fear would not le ave any ,
trail unguarded from below As he felt about him .
in t he darkness he found to his surprise that he could

t ouch four walls o f solid rock He must be in a sort .
Of ch imney cut o u t Of the cli ff itself He fel t care .
fully Over t he walls with his ha n ds and present ly

his ngers slipped into a small slot o r hole which
he instantly knew to be a crude step o r foothold
t o be used in cl imbing The little hollow was lled
.
wi t h ne dust bu t he pushed his n gers through

t his and fou n d that the depression slanted down
ward at t he b ack f o r a good n ger length thus ,
forming a hand as well as foothold Above as far .

,
as he could reach were similar depressions cu t a t

,
regular in tervals into the solid rock .
As he looked upward he could see nothing bu t ,
t he means Of climbing which he h ad found made

, ,
it cer t ain tha t there was some opening or p as sage

above Feeling somewhat revived after his rest
. ,
and encouraged by the discovery Of the holes in the

rock he tighte n ed his belt and started slowly up
,
ward Up an d up he went and was soo n than kful

.
,
that the Na y akaed were little people and had

- -

therefore been compelled to make the hand and

footholds close together ; otherwise he felt he could
never reach the top as his muscles almost refused
,
to work and his strength was nearly gone .
After wha t seemed an endless climb he could ,
feel the sides O f the passage narrowing and the ,
back wall Of the great crack o r openi n g w as n o w so

close that he could lean back against i t and wi t h ,
feet securely braced in t he holes he could thus res t,
his righ t arm now s t i ff ened by the wounded shoul

,
der A little farther up the s t eps ended and feel

.
,
ing t o t he left with his foot he found tha t it rested

o n a level ledge Of rock He stepped o ut and cau
.
tio u sly moved along the ledge He knew that he

.
must be in a great crack o r crevice in the moun

tain side f o r there was little more than room f o r
-
,
his body to move sidewise between t he walls .
He had n oticed that the air was growing fresher

and it n o w blew down o n his face and fevered body
in cool refreshi n g gus t s that told he was ne aring th e
opening He was stil l in complete darkness an d
.
lie f Through half open eye s h e l ooked abou t him

.
-
and fel t more as though he were in a land Of dreams

than in a land Of reali t y In o n e direc t ion he .
could look ou t in t o emp t y space whose far thest

outlines were lost in the early morning mists while ,
in another he co ul d look along the wide ledge o n

which stood t hree large cli ff dwellings more elabor
ately buil t than t he o n e he had left below He .
wondered hazily wha t t heir bu ilder s could have

been like ; t hen t he ancien t dwellings seemed to fade
from his sigh t ; the moun t ain seemed t o move and
slowly t o t urn around and around He closed his .
eyes and ex tended his arms o n t he ground in an

e ff ort t o s t eady his reeling senses His thoughts .
wen t whirling through a j umble Of event s in which

t he pain in his side seemed t o be akind Of animal
wit ch tha t was t rying to lower him into a bot t om
less pi t Then in t o his confused thoughts came
.
,
t he sound O f a voice singing It came nearer and .
nearer The voice was t ha t Of a TO t o me man

.
-
-
,
an d now t he words crowded o ut all Of the weird

impressions tha t had thronged his mind and rang
clear and distinct in his brain .

The s un -
go d c o me s ; th e s un -
g d com
o es ;
He d r aws h is b o w an d th e Sh ad o ws y .
T h e n igh t is e e in g ac r o s s th e s ky .
H e lift s h is h e ad an d th e d ay is n igh
, .
THE H I DDEN PAS SAGE 89
0 M o th e r E arth th e l igh t is com e

, .
0 B ro t h e r S t ar s th e n igh t is go n e
, .
T h e s un go d c o m e s ; th e s un go d com e s
- -
.
A t the sound o f the To to me language alarm

-

-
,
seemed to battle f o r advantage in Kay yah s f e

-

vered brain and in a moment he had raised himself

,
upon his elbow t u rning his face toward a bend in

,
the shelf o f rock from whence the voice O f the ap

ro achin To to me seemed to come He made a

p g
! -
.
great e ffort t o rise then all turned black abou t him

,
and he fe ll back in t o unconsciousness .

CHAPTE R V
DE E -
N AY S N ARRAT I V E
To h
ni
-
t t h o un il c c s i ts , w ith in th e gl o w
g e
Of re ligh t in th e s he l te r o f th e h o gan wall s ,
A n d w is e m en tal k in guar d d e c
voi e s lo w ;
Wh il e f rom th e p l ain th e gaun t c o y o te c all s .
ANY days D ee nay wai t ed for word f rom -

Kay yah and as time passed and no mes

-
,
sage came his hear t grew heavy within him K ay

, .

yah was as a son t o him and dearly loved and t he ,

successful ou t come o f th is m issio n would have meant
t he recognition Of Kay yah as o n e Of t he chie f
-
young men o f the t rib e Bu t n o w he feared the .
worst t hat Kay yah had been cap t ured while spy

-
ing o n t he T O t o me camp and had in all prob a

-

-
,
b ility been sho t wi th arrows t he usual fa t e o f a

,

spy and his though t s grew dark with foreboding

.
Toward evening o f the sevent h d ay he sum

mo u ed t he chief medicine men o f the t ribe t o coun -
cil in t he lodge and they were n o w gathered abou t

,
the lit tle re while t he daylight waned ou t side .
They were sil ent and expec t an t t hes e wise men , ,
90
F o r a re as o n t h at l i h a y es e v
On m y h e art ah d I w uld t ll y o u
, o e
O f t he re as o n th at y u th in k in g
, o r
A n d th e wis dom y u h a e gath o d v e re
F r om y ou r m an y qu i t c amp s e
-
re ,
A n d th e s il e n c e of y ou r h gan o s
T h at y ou r wis dom if it m ay b , e,
M ay re v e al th e w ay t h at h idd n
s e .
D ee nay p aused an d drew t hough t fu l ly

-

pipe f or af e w momen t s .
Th at I m ay b e cl ar m y b ro th e rs
e , ,
I will te ll again th e s t ry o
Of o ur t ribe f r om th b gin n in g e e ,
T h ou gh y o u k n o w it w ll m y b ro th e rs e , .
The wis e men nodded in silence and t he smoke

from t heir pipes curled upward in a piling cloud
t ow ard t he smoke hole overh ead
-
.

L o n g be fo e o ur fath rs
r e ,
O r th e fath e r s o f o ur f at h e rs ,
H ad b e h ld th l igh t O f m rn in g ;
e e o
L o n g be fo re th e d e e r an d b is o n
H ad b e e n f righ t e n e d fro m th i v all e y ; s
F rom th e n o rt h aG re at C h i f j ou rn e y e d ; e
J urn e y e d s o u th an d b r ou gh t his p e o ple ;

o
S e ar c h in g fo r abe tt r h u n tin g ;
e
F o r al an d m re ric h an d f e t il e ;
o r

D E E NAY S NARRATIVE
-
93
S e ar c hin g f o r a s h e l t e re d v all e y
T h at w as f ro m h i f o s p ro t e c t e d s e .
Up a hill t h e G e at C hie f j o u rn e y e d ;
r
Up a m o u n t ain t h at w as h igh e r
T h an th e w o ld t h at l ay be l o w h im
r .
A ll ar ou n d h im s p re ad th e d e s e rt
A n d b e y o n d t h e mou n t ain s r is in g ;
,
A n d t h e m an y s h e l t e re d c an y o n s .
L n g an d c are ful w as hi s s e ar c h in g
o
T h n h is e y e s c re p t t o a v all e y
e
G r e n it l ay b e f o re h im s m il in g ;
e ,
Ric h in m an y v ari d v e rdu r ; -

e e
W at e r d b y a s t e am t h at s p arkl e d ;
e r
Sh l t e d b y a m igh ty c an y o n
e re .
L o n g h e l o o k e d an d t h e n h wh is p e re d e
T h o u G re at S p i it hat h d ire c t e d ;

,
r ,
T h e re b lo w m e l ie s o u r h o m in g
e .

A n d tw as t h u s o u r c amp w as fou n d e d

.
Again D ee nay paused and t he o t hers gave gu t

-

,
t ural sounds Of approval and a frma t ion .
In th se d ay s O f th e b ginn in g
o e ,
P ac ful w as th t ri be an d h app y ;
e e e ,
B ut t h C h i f w as of a n at u r
e e e
T h at f l n g c uld n t st ay qui e t ;
or o o o
I n h i h a t th
s ein g p irit
r e ro v s
E er g w m r
v t ro n g an d u rge n t ;
re o e s
B ut hi p e pl w re c n t n t e d
s o e e o e
A nd d e sire d t o ro am n o l o n g r e
.
I t is k n w n t o y u my b r o th e r s
.
o o . ,
H o w th e tim gre w l o n g an d lo n ge r e ,
t e n th e o in C h ief wa s a by en t ; s
g r
A b s n t f o m th e t rib e an d cou n c il
e r .
B u t at l as t th e re c am e amo rn in g
.
V h e n h e c am e b ack t o h is p e opl e ,
S t an g in l o o k an d s t r an ge O f m an n e r
r e
,
A n d c al l e d all th e trib e t o cou n c il :

Y o un g a n d o l d h e ca ll e d t o c o u n c il !
.
D ee ay p aused a
n d looked t hou gh t full y a t t he

-
n
fire .
T h e s e th e w o r d s h e gay e in cou n c il

B ro th s it h as be n my r ul in g
er . e
T h at a ll m e n sh o ul d l i e as pl e as e d th e m v
If th y b u t be y th e c o u n c il
e o .
T h y w h o ch o o s th e qu i e t l i i n g
e e v
O f th e fi e ld an d c am p an d c o u n c il ,
T h y h ay e c h o e n w e ll my b
e th e r s ;
s ro
T h e y w h o d o p r o t e c t o u r c am p re s
In th e gh tin g O f o u r f o e m n e .
T h e y h ay e c h o s e n w e ll my b r o th e r s , .
Th y w h o b rin g u s f o d an d cl o thi n g
e o ,
Hi d e f o r b o w s an d i n t f o arr o w s r ,
F r o m th e c an y o n an d th f o r e s t e ,
B ut m
y w ay is n ot . as y o u r w ay ;
T o th e wis e m en of m y p e opl e
Wh e n th e y s e k m e in th e f o re s t
e .
N o w m y b ro th e rs I h av e s p o k e n
, , ,
A n d m y w ay i s n o t as y o u r w ay ,
P e ac e b e wit h y o u p e ac e an d pl e n ty

.
,
A n d h e l e f t h is p e opl e gaz in g,
A s h e w alk e d in t o th e f o re s t ;
W alke d n o lo n ge r as am an w ould
B ut as b e ar up o n h is fou r fe e t .
A n d twas s o it h app e n e d b r o th e rs

, ,

T h at we rs t re c e iv e d o ur M agi c .
Dee nay drew the lit t le b ag again from his belt

-

and sca t tered a pinch o f t he fragran t powder on

the ames His lis t eners wai t ed e x pec t ant ly f o r him
.
to con t inue .

F rom t h at d ay o ur p e opl e p ro s p e re d ;
I n th e b att l e al way s v ic t o rs ;
I n t h e h u n t th e y w e re s ucc e s s ful ;
I n t h e e ld th e m an y gre e n thin gs
G re w ab u n d an t ly an d rip e n e d .
F ro m th e c any o n c am e o u r riv e r ,
Giv in g t o th e v all e y wat e r .
A n d th e mou n t ain s gav e u s t u rquo ise ;

G av e u s we al th in m an y t u rquo is e .
F ro m th at d ay o u r p e o pl e p r o s p e re d ;
F ro m th e d ay o u r M igh t y M agic
L ay upo n th e s ac re d al t ar
I n th e s ac re d m e al an d p o ll e n
'
.

D E E NAY S NARRATIVE
-
97
D ee nay looked abou t him at t he circle of faces ;

-

each head drooped and the pipes lay before them

o n t he oor held in inert hands He nodded slow .
ly .
N ow e ld s are d ry an d y e llo w ;
o ur
S t ro n g o u r f o e s s e e m t o ur w e ak n e s s
o .
G o n e o ur t re as u re go n e o u r t u rquo ise ;
,
A n d th e b o w arm s o f o u r h u n t r s
-
e
O ft e n idl e h an g be s id e t h e m
F o r th e l ack o f an y h u n t in g .
A n d th e riv r t h at o w d s in gin g
e e , ,
F ro m th e c an y o n t o o u r all e y v ,
B are ly c r e p s ac ro s s t h e p e bb l e s
e ,
B are l y s av e s o u r l ip s f o m p ar c h in g r .
A n d o u r al t ar B ro t h e rs l o o k y o u !

,
See th e al t ar t o p is v ac an t !

On l y s c att e re d m e al an d p o ll e n
L ie upo n it s e mp ty s u r f ac e .

W h e re ! Oh wh e re ! h as go n e o u r M agic ?
,
He ste pp e d abrup t ly and every head was raised .
An o l d man opened his mouth as if t o S peak but ,
D ee nay raised his hand commanding sil ence

-

, .
N o I would not h av e y o u an swe r .
For I much t o t e ll y o u ;
ve t h av e
I wh o s aw an d k n w c an t e ll y o u
, e ,
O f th at n igh t wh e n s t r an ge thin gs h app e n e d .

B ut v e s umm e r s un s p as se d us
h av e ,
B ut v e win t e r s n o w s h av e m e l t e d
S in c e t h e n igh t o u r p e o pl e h u rrie d
T o p re p are o u r c amp f o r l e av in g .
F o r th e s e as o n was th e s p rin gtim e

Wh e n we fare in t o th e d e s e rt
F o r o u r y e arl y s p rin gtim e h u n tin g ,
A s y o u k n o w s o w ll m y b r o th e rs
e , .
Wh e n w e l e av e o u r s un b ak e d h o gan s
-
F o r th e hi d e t e n t s of th e d e s e rt
A n d be c o m e again a p e opl e
Of th e o p e n pl ain an d m e s a ,
R o v in g h u n t r s f o r as e as o n ;
e
Wh e n o u r t re as u re d s t o re are hidd e n s
I n th e r o k c av e s of th e c an y o n
c
A n d o u M agi c al way s gu ard e d

r
B y th e o n e wh o is appo in t e d .
! A n d

t w as al w ay gs u a r d e d s a f e l y
T il th e n igh t t h e n igh t we k n o w o f !

, .
T wo we re s e n t t o h id e th e t re as u re ,
T wo we re s e n t f ar up th e c an y o n ;
O n e t o gu ar d an d o n e t o h id e it ,
Wh e re th e n igh t an d d ark we re th ick e st .
W h e n th e p att e r o f th ir f o o t st e p s
e
H ad be e n s wall o we d b y th e c an y o n
I re tu rn e d th n t o th e h o gan ;
e
T o th e l o d ge wh e re w as o u r al t ar .
I D e e n ay f wh o was t o gu ard it
,
-
, ,
Was t o gu ard o ur M igh ty M agic .

Wh o cou t in g in o u r c an y o n
we re s ,
A n d wh o s e f at e we n e v e r h e ar d of .
T h is is k n o wn t o y o u m y b ro th e rs
, .
S o o ur M agic an d o ur t re as u re
B o th we re lo s t b e y o n d t h e n d in g .
We h av e s e ar ch e d th e r ocky c an y o n ,
S e ar c h e d th e c amp an d e v e ry h o gan .
E v e ry m an an d c hild an d wo m an ,
A ll h av e aid e d in th e s e ar c h i ng .
B ut t o n o av ail m y b r o th e rs
,
B u t t o n o av ail m y b ro th e rs
, .
Dee nay s t opped and bowed his head The

-

.
ashes in his pipe lay cold and gray and he emp t ied
them in t o the little re and laid aside t he pipe ; th e
o t hers followed his example .
All h e re k o n n me d
a
w th e b o yK ay y ah ,
-
'
S o n o f h im th e y c all e d ! u ah i d a
'
- -
Wh o fe ll d e ad b e f o re h is h o gan
On th e ni
gh t d is ast e r
o f o ur .
K ay y ah wh o h as p r o v e d t h e b rav e s t

-
,
O f o u r y o u n g m e n in th e h u n tin g ,
Wh o is fe arl e s s as th e e agl e ,
A n d as s k illful as th e be av e r ;
K ay y ah wh o h as l e d th e s e ar c hin g
'
-
,
F o r o u r M agi c an d o ur t re as u re ;
Wh o h as be e n m y willin g pup il
F o r th e s e m any m an y h arv e s t s
, .

D E E NAY S NARRATIV E
-
10 1
I s th e re am o n g y o u , b ro th e rs ,
on e
Wh o h as d o u b t o f K ay y ah s v alo r ?

-
Every o ld head was shaken vehemen t ly and a ,

gleam of p ride came into Dee nay s eyes as he con -
tinn ed
E arl y th e n m o rn in g b ro th e r s
o ne , ,
Wh il e y o u l e p t w ith in y o u h gan s
s r o ,
K ay y ah a h is d ail y w n t w as
'

, s o ,
W e n t t o v ie w t h e s un go d s ri s in g

.
A s h e s t o o d all u n s u s p e c t in g
, ,
T w o s p ran g at hi m f ro m th b u sh e s e .
S p ie s t h e y we r o f th e T o t o m s
'
e ,
- -
e .
A n d t h e y s p r an g an d h e ld h im h lpl e s s e

T il o n e o f t h e t w o h ad t ak n e
F rom h is n e ck a b ag th at h u n g th e re ,
T h e n th e y ran back t o th e ir p e o pl e .
9k 9k 91
6
B ro th e rs w h av all u p c t d
, e e s s e e
T h at o u r M agic l ay w e ll h idd e n ,
W ith th e t as u e th at w as b u rie d
re r .
H o w w k n w n o t h w ! uahi d a

- -
e e o
C ould h a e t ak e n it we k n o w n o t
v ,
N o r hi as n f r o d o in g
s re o o s .
B ut a s t ran ge r thin g h a h app e n e d s ,
A n d th e an sw t ill i h idd n er s s e .
F o r th e b ag f m K ay y ah t ak n
'
-
ro e
Wa h e ld b y this s am ! uah i d a
s e -
'
-
10 2 LO S T I N D I A N MAG I C
Wh e n h e fe ll be fo re h is h o gan
Pie r c e d b y m an y f o e m an arr o ws .
T his w as t o ld t o m e b y K ay y a
'
h
,
Wh o kn w o n ly th at h is m o th e r
e
Pl ac e d it o n h is n ck wh e n d y in g e ,
S ay in g th at it h e ld a f e tish ,
M e d ic in e h e mu s t n o t p art with .

B r o th e r s d id it h old o u r M agi c P

D ee nay s paus e was dramatic and it was as if

-
,
an elec t ric shock had passed through t he men abou t

t he circle They sa t rigidly erect but the re in
.
,
t heir eyes and their half open mou ths spoke o f an -
eagerness and exci t emen t t heir silenc e and

b ility did not conceal .
If o ur b th o u gh t th at o ur M agic
t ri e
H ad be n c ap t u d b y o u r f m e n
e re oe
T h y w ould l o udl y c ry f r b att l e ;

e o
B ut w e c an n t gh t m y b r o th e rs o , ,
We a we ak an d th e T t m s
re o
o
'
-
e
A re at ib o f m igh ty p pl
r e eo e .
T h u o n v ry id e I po n d e e d
s e e s r ,
And I u gh t th M igh ty S p i it
so e r
F o an an sw
r t th is p bl m er o ro e ,
A n d th an w e T h is m y b r o th e rs
s er ,
K ay y ah wh i b a an d f arl e s s
'
-
, o s r ve e ,
I ha t t th t t
v e se n m s o e o
o
'

e
T d is c
o if it m ay b
ov e r, e,
10 4 LO S T IND I AN MAG I C
She spoke again .

For what I have done I may die bu t before I ,

die I would speak .

S ah n e ! It was Dee nay who spoke and his
- -

voice was cold with disapproval D o y o u forget .

the laws o f o ur tribe and of your maidenhood ? He
spoke as a father would speak to a wayw ard child
who has displeased him .

I do not forget but the matter is o f life and
,
deat h hear me before I am co n demned

.

I t canno t b e a woman may no t speak before

the council .

A woman ! Then do not call me longer woman

I am an Indian a n d an outc a st And I would .
speak o f that which calls y o u here of K a yah -

y

and o f the Magic .

D ee n ay s eyes softened at men t ion o f Kay
-

yah s name and the frown grew less app arent

, .

Wha t know y o f Kay yah an d o f the M agic
o u
- ?
His cold t one had cha n ged to o n e t inged with in

te re st though the mention o f the Magi c had caused
,
a sligh t suspicion to enter his heart .

Then I may sp eak ? S ah ne s hands were -
tigh t clasped at her sides and spok e of nervous

-
tension .

Speak ! said Dee n ay -
She l ook e d a t t he circle o f f aces t urne d t oward

DE E NAY S NARRATIVE -
10 5
her and every eye was cold The rigid attention .
o f t he men gave no suggestion o f sympathy and a ,
wave o f faint n ess swept over her She closed her .
eyes for a seco n d an d se n t a swif t prayer for aid

to the Great Spirit o f all .

Y o u men of the Nag apah already I see my

- -
condemna t ion in your eyes You j udge me before .
y o u hear me It was so with. the women B ecause .
my father was a spy an e n emy you t hi n k me , ,
the same It is not true I was born To t o me

. .
-
-
,
but I am Na g apah n o w I f you do not believe

- -
.
,
I shall give you proof Listen I cann ot live here .

longer so The women tur n away from me t he

.
,
men make light talk as I pass I have pride ; I .
have honor I can n ot live so I am o f your people

. .
B efore the t ruth was kn own o f my father y o u ,
D ee nay taught me o f the sacred things I made

-

, .
seed cakes f o r o ur ceremo ni es and danced in the

-
,
Virgin dance of the C orn Fes t ival Hear t and sou l .
I am Nag ap ah and the gods you worship a t

- -
,
your altars I also worship But words are no t .
enough I give myself to prove what I say I

. .
was born T o to me an d my father G 6 me keeper

-

-
,

-
,
o f t he S acred E agle gave me a clan word to prove ,
my birt h This word I canno t speak aloud or t o

.
any bu t Dis din of t he T o t o mes o r his eldes t

-
-
-
,
10 6 L O S T I ND IAN MAGI C
living so n bu t it will prove my bir t h an d give me

position in t he tribe .
There w as a movement among t he men and an

ang ry look passed over their faces but before t hey ,
could speak S ah n e continued

-
.

Wai t ! I have not spoken ! I can ent er the
T o to me camp without suspicion

- -
D ee nay leaned forward and his eyes narrowed

-

in sudden comprehension .

They will receive me there as I am n o t received

here . She spoke with bitterness My father w as .
a spy in your camp I will be a spy among t he .

To t o mes
-
-
.
The men leaned forward and a murmur passed

among them .

If it is true as y o u believe that they have the
, ,
Magic I shall nd Where it is an d

, she spoke ,

slowly n ow and her head drooped I shall nd wh at ,

h as been the fate o f Kay yah

-
.
An o l d man spoke harshly :

H o w d o we know tha t y o u o f To t o me blood ,
-
-
,
will n o t take wha t you have learned t onigh t in coun

cil to the Lodge o f your people To me it is good .

reason f o r your going There was an open sneer
.
in his voice and the words stung S ah n e as if he -
ha d lashed her with a t hong The blood e w t o her .
face and she held her head high as she an sWe re d :

D ee nay again spoke and ther e was kindness in his

-

v oice .

It is well S ah n e Re t urn n o w t o your hogan
,

-
.
,
and with the sun tomorrow come to me and I shall

hav e words f o r y o u of this j ourney o n which y o u
shall s t art before the coming of another nigh t Go
.
,

n o w and see that you speak to no o n e
, .
And S ah n e passed s ilen t ly ou t of t he L odge

-
.
CHAP TER V I
TH E C AV E M AN
Th e S h in d i ro am am t h e h ill s !
-
s on
g
M ix s tro n
g m agic
m e dic i
ne-m an .
With m igh ty to o th an d c l aw h e ill s k ,
Till all b e go n e b ut th e B e ar w it h
-
c c l an .
ITH the rst return of consciousness after ,
his collapse o n the ledge o f rock Kay yah ,

-
awoke to nd himself stari n g up at the roof of a

cave whose grea t rock walls arched ou t ward in t o
a low dome above h im He turned his head t oward
.
the light t ha t ooded the room an d saw a wide

entrance through which a m an of average height
could p ass withou t stoopi n g Then his eyes wan .
dered about the cavern his thoughts searching an

,
a n swer t o the rs t ques t ion that naturally entered

his mind Where was he He tried t o think o f
.
?
t he immediate p ast ; some grea t trial o r disas t er

had befallen him he was vaguely sure of tha t bu t
, ,
wha t was i t O f only tw o things was he cer t ain

? .
He was t oo weak to rise o r even care t o rise from

,
109
the comfor t abl e bed o f skins o n which he lay and ,
he w as very hungry .
As he looked about his s t range surroundings he

saw the remains o f a small re in the cen t er o f t he
c ave oor an d near it two e arthen vessels t hat
doubtless contai n ed food o f some kind Then as .
,
though it were the memory o f a dream he had t he ,
dim recollection o f having frequently tasted mea t

soup from the smaller o f the two vessels held by a
hand that pressed i t to his lips The owner o f the .
cave mus t be away o n some errand f o r he was ,
alone .
Wi t h an e ff or t that brough t a pain t o his shoul

der and side he rose o n o n e elbow and stretched a
hand t oward the vessel It was too far away Then
. .
his e y e caught a reed wa t er bottle tha t s t ood near

-
his head against the cave wall After a deep draugh t

.
from the water it cont ained he leaned b ack and

closed his eyes N o w he must collect his t hough t s ;
.
t ry to remember what had happened to him S earch .
ing back for the last thing he could remember he

recalled the ght with Wau ko ma Then the fall -

-
.
over the cli ff Yes that w as whe n he had inj ured

.
,
his side Then slowly his mind unfolded the igh t

.
to t he moun t ains the ruin and the slow climb up

,
and up and up through a great dark crack in the

cli ff N o that mus t have bee n adr e am f o r t here
.
, ,
1 12 L O S T I N D I AN MAG I C
clan t hough t Kay yah as none bu t the clan have

,
-
,

t he dea t h he ad in their homes
-
.
Near t he sku ll hung a cluster o f sm all bags o f

smoo th d o e skin tha t doub t less conta i ned colore d
-
sands and magic medicine The cave dweller must .

-
also be a medicine man -

.
As he con t empla t ed t he little b ags Kay yah s ,

!

though t s suddenly j umped t o t he bag he had re

covered from Wau k o ma and his hand stole to his
-

-
,
bel t The li t tle b ag was gone H e fel t among

. .
the skins o n which he lay bu t his search proved ,
fruitless Then his mind recalled the rock ledge to

.
which he had somehow climbed and the voice o f ,
t he To t o me who came t oward him singing t he

-
-
S un G o d song Then this was th e cave o f a T o to

.
-

me an d t he To t o me had t aken t he bag from him

,
-
-
an d now held him prisoner !

He had no desire t o rise o r m ake an y e ff or t t o
escape and this fac t seemed strange to him In
, .
his weakness he felt like achild and was ve ry co n

t en t t o lie st ill and res t Then he no t iced that .
t he ligh t o f the sun o n the left wall o f th e entrance

struck t he rocks with a pale rosy glow The sun .
mus t be l ow and near t he horizon He n o w remem .
bered tha t when he had reached the cli ff ou t side i t

was before t he dawn and now the lo w sun t old him
,
th at th e day had alm os t gone Then his t houghts .

THE CAVE MAN 113
wandered back to his home in Ah c o and i t seemed -
a lo n g long time since he had left D ee nay s t an d

,
-

ing in the half gloom o f the big medicine lodge as

he bravely started o n his mission over the
ca n yon trail His last meeting with S ah n e
.
-
came vividly in to his min d an d a little pain came ,
into his heart as he recalled her blush and the j o y

less smile that was about her lips whe n she told
him t hat she was T o to me Why could she n o t

-
.
have bee n Nag apah ; and the n he asked himself

- -
wh y was it that he cared so much .
As he stared o u t o f the e n tra n ce i n to the gath

erin g twilight he heard the sou n d o f footstep s com
,
ing along the sa n dy trail As he listened he no .
t iced somethin g stra n ge about the shuffli n g nois e

made by the approachi n g feet O ne foot not only .
made more nois e than the other but it also groun d ,
i n to t he sand as if the own e r at each step twisted

his foot before lifti n g it again A cripple though t .
,
Kay yah The n he heard a voice a strang e deep

-
.
,
voice tha t sounded like the l o w wi n d sigh ing in

,
t he canyon As the si n ger c ame nearer Kay yah

.

-
caught fai n tly the words o f the song an d kn ew the

m a n to b e To to me The n more clearly came the
-
-
.
words

The chin dog howls he howls in the wind
-
A , .
l ong drawn o u t whine followed the w o rds t he

- -
114 LO S T I ND IAN MAGI C
whine o f a dog in fear o f a bear o r moun t ain ca t ;

t he imitation was perfec t .

The bush tail keeps to his hole s ang the voice
-
, .
The bear sits back in his cav e in fear Then .
followed a sound so like the growling o f a bear

tha t Kay yah involun t arily arose o n his elbow with
-
,
the feeling that a bear must be j ust ou t side the

cave door Then he sank b ack realizing tha t it must
.
,
have been the singer f o r t he voice wen t o n wi t h

,
the song

The wolf sit s back in his cave afraid The
low half growl half whine o f the wolf followed
,
-
,
-
.

The Shin di comes t he Shi n di comes
-
,
-
.
The song ended abrup t ly as the singer neared the

cave en t rance A momen t later a white haired o l d
.
-
man entered and Kay yah saw that he limped and

,
-
his body twisted a lit t le w i t h each s t ep In o n e .
hand he carried a large pitch cover ed wa t er bo t - -
tle of woven reeds bou n d abou t by a thong t ha t

ra n up over his shoulder t o support par t o f the
w eight . In his o t her ha n d was a stout spear used

f o r both climbing and defense After setting down .
th e water bot t le t he man turned and looked a t Kay

-
y a h , peering under his hand as if t o see more

clearly in t he darkening cave The two stared at .
each o ther f o r a moment in silence Then realizing .

,
a con t radiction a mixture o f unusual s t rengt h and

,
weakness The face showed great ren ement bu t

.
seemed somehow to be lacki n g in strength while t he ,
long arms an d wide shoulders revealed power an d

grea t endurance in spite o f age Evidently the .
man s mind was n o t altogether right yet it was

,
plain from the surroundings that a cer t ain sane

ness and even cleverness controlled mos t of his ac
, ,
tions Kay yah had known o ld men in his o wn

.

-
t ribe whose min ds seemed to wander ye t at t imes ,
t hey thought wi t h perfec t cle a

rness .
The o ld T o t o me now squatted down by the

-

-
re and began to r ake some live coals from the

ashes S oon a blaze was crackling the dry s t icks
.
,
and o n e o f the earthen vessels was set upon t hem .

I am very hungry said Kay yah ,
-
.
In reply the o l d man reached for the small ves

se l t hat remained beside the re and handed i t t o
him withou t a word It seemed to Kay yah that

.

-
he had never t asted any thing so good as the mea t

stew that the bowl contained and he a t e with arel ,
ish When the last o f it w as ea t en h e put down

.
t he bowl and raising himself slowly in t o a sitting

,
posture made an e ff ort t o move back to the wall

, ,
where he could rest in a new position an d see his

s t range compa n io n an d the surroundings more eas
ily S eeing his movemen t t he o l d m an st epped
.
,
THE C AVE MAN 117
over and lifted him to a comfortable position agains t

the wall as easily as if he had bee n a child K ay .

yah wondered at the m an s stre n gth an d then at his
o w n feeli n g o f weakness He must ge t his strength .
back as soon as possible ; then h e must get the

little bag from the o l d man who doubtless had it , ,
and retur n to the N ag apah camp with the rst - -
opportunity prese n ted Just n o w he could use .
his thoughts onl y as his body was too weak to be

,
o f service .
S oon Tso as he had called h imself had cooked

, ,
the conte n ts o f the larger bowl and the re ligh t

ickered over his wri n kled face as he removed the
vessel to the oor S eati n g himself o n some skins
.
near t he opposite wall he leaned back and wait ed

f o r his eve n ing meal to cool .

Why do y o u who are To to me live up here
,
-

-
,

in the mountai n asked Kay yah
? -
.
To to me ! T o to me e j aculated the old man

-

- -

-
.
There is but o n e T o to me ; he is Tap awan and -

- - -

he is dead The others are slink dogs that bark

.
and run T o to me ! Umph ! I was To to me long

.
-

- -

-
ago long ago before the crow turned black o r t he

, ,
mountain cat had fur .
In t he n o w dim light the crouching gure o f t he

o l d man recalled to Kay yah s mind the eeting

-
imp ression o f some even t o f long ago S ome earl y .

mee t ing w it h
D ee nay no doub t T so s remarks -

.

n o w lled Kay yah s though and he began to

- '
wonder if the o l d man were an ou t cast o r hermit

who lived up here alo n e .

D o not t he To to mes come here t o see you -? -
he ve n tured .
A l o w laugh came from Tso and then he replied ,

The dogs ca nn o t nd Tso an d t he oldest son ,
o f th e E art h mother has medicine t o o strong for
the To t o me children None can come here bu t

-
-
.
We o f the E arth people Y o u know the way down .

from the t op I know th e way up from below
. .
I t was plain t ha t T so believed that he Kay yah ,

-
,
had climbed down o r fallen from the t op of t he

ledge above and he saw tha t i t was useless t o c o r
,
rec t him again but he n o w remembered distin ctly

,
having climbed up through some ki n d of crack in

the cli ff wall and recalled the hidden opening ou t
o f which he had crawled .
By t he t ime t he old man had eaten his meal ,
darknes s had settled down in the cave and only the

soft t wilight sugges t ed ra ther th an revealed its in
te rio r .

If all this s t range m an says is t rue then I can ,

l eave here as soon as I am s t rong enough t o t r avel ,
though t Kay yah Then his mind returned to the

-
.
l i tt le bag Wh y had the o l d man t aken it Aft er

.
?
l ight he saw that it was indeed the grea t p aw o f

a bear but that it formed a strange moccasin within
,
which the man s crippled foot was held by b ands

of bearskin attached to the sides o f t he p aw I n .
st an tly he realized that here was D o h the man ,
bear the witch who was feared by both Nag apahs

,
-
and T o t o mes This revelation explained why the

-
-
.
D o h witch had a twisted moccasin o n the left foo t ,
as i t was this foot that the o l d To t o me t wisted as -

he walked It also explained the terrifying sound

.
o f the growli n g bear that men had heard when they
found f resh tracks of the man bear f o r t he o l d man ,
had already revealed his weird powers in imi t at ing

not only the bear but the wolf and t he d o g Kay .

yah laughed to himself as the full signic ance o f

the revelation came to him The bear foo t w as .
strong medici n e i n deed f o r neither a Nag apah

,
-
-
n o r a To to me would care to follow a bear wi t ch

'
-
.
With a sigh the old man sat down and after

, ,
humming for a f e w momen t s under his breath b e ,
gan to speak .

The E arth mother gives a name to all her sons ,
from Sug the rat to me the eldes t o f t hem all

, , , .

Wha t name has she given to you ?

I am called Kay yah came the rep l y '-
, .
The old man repea t ed the name over and over .

The name has no meaning for Tso I shal l call .
THE C AVE MAN 12 1
you the Rain boy because you fell d o wn from t he

-

clouds .
Kay yah t hought best t o let his aged hos t have

-
his o w n way an d made n o obj ection to the new

n ame He had two reaso n s for decid in g not to
.
anger the old man in an y way His n atural respect .
f o r o ld age was o n e ; an d the other l a y in the hope

that he would gai n the co n de n ce o f the old T o t o -

m e learn if he had the little bag and perhaps even

, ,
gain his assista n ce in n di n g the best way to return

to t he N ag apah camp Inte n t o n thoughts o f

- -
.
t he little bag he forgot for the moment that he

,
was with a T o to me and remarked in his o wn -

-
tongue

When I was o n the rocks outside o f your cave
I lost somethi n g When y o u brought me here did .
y o u nd it and keep it for me ?

a
Why do you talk Nag pah asked the o l d
?
- -
man roughly as he arose and came toward Kay

,

yah Then without waiting f o r a reply he c o n

.
tinn ed as if t o himself

Yes your hair and your moccasins are as t he
,
Nag apahs wear them B ut the E arth mother

- -
.
chooses her sons from all people .
Then as he re t urned to his place by the wall he

s p oke s t il l l owe r an d as though to himsel f al o ne
D ee nay is Nag apah yes yes he is Nag a

-

- -
, ,
-

pah .
Forgetting his question abou t the los t b ag in ,
his astonishment at hearing the n ame o f D ee nay -

in the mouth o f t his To t o me Kay yah asked -

-
,
-

D o you know my father D ee nay ,
-

The o l d man either did no t hear o r was t oo

wrapped in though t to notice the question f o r he ,
made no reply Again Kay yah asked the ques

.
-
tio n and this t ime Tso looked up an d after gazing

, ,
a t Kay yah f o r some time in silence he said

-
,

Long ago before the o w l hunted by nigh t b e
, ,
fore t he at bill ran o n t op of the water when in

-
,
t he darkness o f sleep the gray wolf messenger for

t he Great Spiri t came in the night to Tap awan - -

and brought his eyes t o the long sleep amountain ,
lion fought and fell over the cli ff down down

, .
Bu t the E ar t h mother said The lion shall no t die ,

so a man o f s t rong medicine came to the lion and

t he lion lived Yes Tso knows D ee n ay and Tso
.
,
-

knows more and more and now his deep voice

t railed o ff so lo w t ha t Kay yah could scarcely hear -
t he words ye t he knew instinc t ively that h e mus t

,
no t int errupt t he o l d man s strange recita t ion

.

Yes , con t inued the low voice Tso knows ,
where t he sky pain t grows The earth s an d p aint .

-
in g is good bu t i t is not good medicine wi t hou t t he

12 4 LO S T IND I A N MAGI C
hobbling with all the speed o f which he w as cap able

,
made f o r the narrow ledge the outlin es of whose

da n gerous edge were los t in the blackness o f the
nigh t .
C HAP TER VI I
A SE C RE T C O U N CI L
The s an d s o f th e d e s e rt are f re e
f or al l
And she l te r m an y a cla n,
Wh o h av e f e lt th e l ure o
f th e ir m
y i
st c c al l
A nd o wn
f ro m th e h aun ts o
f m an .
AU K O MA S recovery from his gh t wi th

- -
Kay yah was rapid but it would have been

-
,
diffi cul t to recogn ize the true story o f that nigh t

from the accou n t he gave to Tag a mo and others -

-
.
The events as they had happen ed were far t oo

, ,
belittli n g t o his pride and self importance to re -
pea t to others an d so t he account he gave was a

s t range distortion of t he facts carefully rehearsed ,
in his thoughts to give an impressio n of truth and

accuracy It was therefore with a feeling o f fury
.
, ,
tha t he saw a t the very outset o f his carefully

,
planned accou n t a look of un m istakable doubt in

,
Tag a mo s shrewd eyes ; a doubt which grew in to

-
-
certaint y as the young chief talked .
I t w as t he day after t he happe ni n g t hat he told

125
12 6 L O S T IND IAN MAGIC
what had occurred as unt il then his t hroa t had been

,
closed t o sound and his voice was yet husky from

,
the treatment it had rece ived at the hands o f Kay
yah He lay in his own lodge o n a couch of sof t

.
skins surround ed by T ag a mo D is din and some

,
-

-
,

-
,
o f his o w n following and a restless im patie n ce shone

,
in his eyes and sounded in his voice as he spoke .

The dog o f a Nag apah has t he stre n gth o f a
- -
devil cat ; but he never could have held me had I

-

no t been taken unawares he said , .
Tag a mo did n o t attempt t o disguise the no t e

-

-
o f skepticism in his voice as he replied

Is it so O ur ears are open wide t o hear t he
?

account o f this stra n ge ght .
Wau ko ma cas t a venomous glance a t the o ld

-

-
m an and his voice w as h arsh wi t h anger as he con

tin u e d :

The nigh t was thick with storm as y o u know , ,
b u t above the sound o f the wind I though t I heard

a cry from the hogan where the Nag apah spy
-
wa s kept he broke o ff and raised h imself on

o n e elbow It h ad been well if my word had bee n
.
heeded an d t his dog put to death at su n set I d o .
not forge t Tag a mo tha t you an d others h ave

,
-
-
,
pu t my word a t nought have deed me Your

.

age alo n e protects y o u but it does not protec t all .
Tag a m o answered only with a deprecating

-

-
12 8 L OS T IND IAN MAG I C
dead . And t here was a note o f deance n ow in

Wau ko ma s voice
-

-

.
Tag a m o did not speak f o r a momen t Then

-
-
.

The mirage in the desert seems real to the man
whose thoughts are fevered with thirst but to t hose ,
who observe it is upside down And he ros e with

.
dignity and walked o u t o f t he lodge .
Wau k o ma frown ed more blackly t han be f ore

-
-
,
and he harshly commanded the remaining men to

follow Tag a mo and leave him in peace W hen he
-
-
.
was alone he lay f o r a long time looki n g up t hrough

t he smoke hole a t the bit o f blue sky t hat shone
-
t here F o r several days he lay o n t he couch o f hides

.
as his s t rength came gradually back to him bu t ,
he was n o t idle in those days ; par t y aft er par ty

of searchers he sen t into t he canyons and foothill s
and mountain t o nd t race o f Kay yah bu t they -
,
all re t urned wi t h t he same repor t : The Nag a

-
pah mus t be dead as no living t hing was t o be found

,

in t he rocks o r o n any o f the trails Bu t it was .
strange that they had not found his body nor was
there t race o f struggle o n any trail Wau k o ma .
-

a t length decided t ha t his enemy had met his death

in the cave o f some wild beast o r lay shattered at,
the foo t o f some precipice whose dark depths were

b eyond explora t ion by the eyes o f man and i t was ,
A S E C RE T C O UN C IL 12 9
with a feeling o f great relief tha t he g ave his

thoughts t o o t her things .
More and more marked had become the division

betwee n his followers and those o f T ag a mo and -

-
,
mi n gled with t he a n ger which this aroused in the

chief had come a secret fear as t o the possible o u t
come H e called together the men o n whom he
.
could most surely depend an d made many plans .
O n this day before the su n had shone above the

,
desert s rim a ru n ner leaving the door o f Wau ko

, ,
-

ma s lodge had sped down the mes a trail and dis

appeared i n to t he great stretches o f the plain To .
night asecret cou n cil was to meet in his o w n hogan

and he awaited the coming o f the men w ith im
pa t ience .
They came in s ilently o n e by o n e and t ook their

, ,
places in the circle o n the oor Guards were s t a

.
tio n e d a t t he door and watched outside All fel t .
that matters o f import ance were to b e discussed

and a sense o f impending danger o r ill was in t he
air.
The night was dark and the camp quie t bu t other ,
gures besides t hemselves were abroad and t hey

glanced a t o n e another signi cantly as several o f
Tag a mo s followers passed at some distance from
-
-
the lodge barely recognizable in the gloom

,
.

There are other councils t onigh t spoke a voice
,
.
L O S T IND IAN MAGI C
Wau ko ma looked up quickly

-
-
.

My place is at the head of all counci l s in t his

camp ! he said No n e dare call t he men t oge ther
.
save at my word .

Yet they meet said the voice again For as
, .
I passed the medici n e lodge but a moment ago ,

D is din and others entered

-
.
Anger darke n ed the face of Wau k o ma b ut -

-
,
he sat silent in thought before he spoke .

I will let it pass this one time impor t an t ma t
t ers keep me here but such things shall no t con
t in u e lo n g C hot z u move to the left three places

-
.
,
in the circle are to be left vacan t o t hers will b e

here t onight .
The m e n looked a t one another and a scarcely

audible murmur of surprise passed among them .
Wau ko ma looked about at the circle o f faces and

-

-
a gr im sm ile lifted the corner o f his mouth Their .
uncertainty pleased him ; bu t he s t ooped t o the re

tha t burned in the middle o f the oor and taking ,
an ember with o n e blackened end touched it to

the lled bowl o f his pipe and passed it about t he
circle He spoke no word and they smoked in
.
silence un t il lo w voices were heard a t the door The .
guard who was pos t ed outside spoke to another who

arrive d ; ahn o st immedia t ely he came within the
door .
The desert wolves have come at t he call o f the

m oun t ain wolf spoke t he o n e who seemed their
,

leader Wha t word h ave you for them
.
?

B rothers answered Wau ko ma and his eyes
,
-

-
,
s t ill did no t meet the eyes o f any o f his o w n men ,
w e have kept places f o r you in the circle o f our

council to signify t hat you are indeed o ur bro t hers .
B e seated and smoke with us while we talk o f many

t hings .
There were dark looks o n the faces o f m any abou t

t he circle as the strangers awkwardly and with an
ill grace t ook the seats i n dica t ed to t hem The .
desert men unders t ood To to me but spoke in a -

'
-
language tha t seemed a strange conglomeration o f

all desert t ongues and yet i t was int elligible t o
,
the men present .
Wau ko ma spoke long and in t he end his gifts

-

-
passed into the han ds o f the Ta p ee chis As he - -

.
spoke many and uneasy glances passed among his

,
followers and t hey looked at him with uncer t ai n ty

in their eyes but such was his au t hority over the m
,
that they spoke no word though t he feeling among

them was s t rong .
At last o n e o f the strangers glanced up a t t he

smoke hole where the glimpse o f night sky w as
-
growing pale .
A S E C RE T CO UNCIL 13 3
The nigh t is o ld he said We must be far , .
from here before t he sun has come .

It is well said Wau ko ma The trail lies
,
-

-
.
well guarded by my men as when you cam e Will

-
.
the desert wolves come again at t he call o f the moun

tain wolf ?

I an d my tribe will lis t en for your voice said ,

t he man We shall come whe n you call
. .

With claws prepared f o r ght ? asked Wau
ko ma

-
.
The ma n s eyes gleamed

.

Yes an d with bared teeth !
,
Agai n the gr im smile twitched at the corner o f

Wau ko ma s mouth an d he nodded toward the
-

-

door .

G o and may the Sun G o d smite your enemies !

The men passed out an d there was silence in

the lodge f o r the space o f a few moments Wau .
ko ma was still smili n g into the re but his smile

-
was no t pleasan t to see .

The deser t come s to o u r aid he said W au , .

ko ma is still chief o f the T o to mes

- -

-
.
O ne more brave than t he rest spoke up

, , .

I like this not it is n o t plai n to me t he desert

t hieves are not ou r brothers and I like it no t ,
.
Wau ko ma s expression did n o t change as he

-

-

l ooked a t the man and he did no t immedia t ely an ,

swer At this mome n t the hide at the door was

.
pulled aside and a man walked in He blinked .
bli n dly at the re for a moment as a man whose ,
eyes had grown accustomed to darkness then peered ,
a t Wau ko ma an d the circle of faces abou t him

-
.

I have seen the Nag apah ! he said - -
.
The words were like an explodi n g bomb in the

room and nearly every m an gave a sharp e x cla
mati on of surprise .
Wau ko ma spoke harshly in incredulous amaze

-

-
men t .

You have see n the Nag ap ah ali7ze ? -
-

Alive and in hidi n g answered the man , .
Where did y o u see him H ave n o t our men

?

searched every t rail ? And there was a note in
Wau k o ma s voice that boded ill f o r those who
-

-

had taken this duty lightly .
Y o u will remember t hat rst nigh t t hat we

traced him to t he ruin of the Na y akaed again - -

spoke t he man It was where the trail ends b e
.
yond there t hat I s aw him .
Wau ko m a sneered
-
-

'
Y o u have see n a vision The ruin and rocks .
were searched and he could have found no food

,
in t hat place .
B ut it is no t in t he ruin o r the rocks that he is

hiding spoke the man slowly and signicantly
, .
13 6 LO S T I ND IAN MAGI C
wall o f rock above There was no trail up the face

.
o f t he cli ff no foothold an d yet I swear that I

, ,

s aw a face look at me from the ledge above ; for

the space o f a breath it was there and then gone
bu t plai n to see was the red band o n the hair I t .
is t here o n t he shelf o f rock tha t the Nag apah

- -

is hidi n g .

Is he a spider that he can craw l up a sheer

wall o f rock ? Wau ko ma s voice was s t ill in
-
-
credulous .

I t may be tha t he is a witch said t he man ; ,
I know not but he is there o n a shelf o f rock

, ,
tha t begins and ends plainly before th e eyes wi t h ,

n o way up o r down .

No t even from above Wha t is the approach
?

from above Wau ko ma spok e with impatience
-
? -
.

There is none answered the man
, The wall .
that rises beyond t he shelf over hangs by many

b an d s and there is no way up .

O f t hat you are certain ? asked Wau ko ma -
-
.

I am cer t ain And t he man s t one left n o
.

doub t as t o his convic t ion Until th e sun went .
down I searched every trail and examined every

cli ff and rock from above and below and none
climb better t han I There is no way up t o t he

.
h igher level above the shelf ; it seems t o be a p ar t

o f th e to p o f ! u a m ai t self whose hei ghts as y ou
'
-
, ,
A SE CRE T CO UN C IL 13 7
know , no living man has scaled And there is no .

w ay to the ledge itself .

Why did you not shoot the d o g ? Wau ko -

ma spoke n o w with bitter n ess ; he was at last con

v in c e d that his enemy still lived .

The word has gone forth that your arrow alone

was to reach his heart said the man , .

I have no t said so Wau ko ma replied quick
,
-

-

ly He is to die but I care not how A re men
, .
watching the trails ?

I lef t two in front o f the ruin an d two fur t her

down the t rail and a note o f sulle n n ess crept i n to
,
t he ma n s voice He had looked for an d expected

.
praise f o r hi s actions but had me t o nl y criticism

,
and sharp words .

Good ! S ee tha t more are se n t to share their
g uard . The d o g shall no t escape t his time I .

would have him trapped like a bear in a pit And .
Wau ko ma s voice was n o t pleasant to hear

-

-

.

Wha t o f t his bear witch said a n other
? -
Imy .
self have seen his tracks ; they lead t o a wall of

rock and go no further Are the Nag apah an d .
- -
the bear witch the same

- ?
A shiver seemed to pass among t he men .

A wi t ch he may be spoke Wau ko ma , He -

.
ghts as on e But man o r beas t o r spirit my arrow

.
,

shall nd i t s w a t o his black heart
y .
13 8 LO ST I ND IAN MAGIC
There are t h ose who say y o u fear t he N ag a

-

pah spoke a voice from the circle
, .
Wau ko m asnarled his answer

-

.

My knife shall force his words down his lying

throat who speaks so ! Who was the man ?

I bu t heard I bu t heard said the other has

,
You had bet t er save your ears f o r be tt er t hings ,

my friend o r lose them al t oge t her said Wau ko
, ,
-

ma .

Shall we hun t th e Nag apah wi th t om orrow s - -

sun ? I t was C hot z u who spoke
-
.

N o t tomorrow for my bow a , rm has not ye t -
receive d its full strength but the day after and
no power shall t hen save him from my vengeance .
There was a weakness in the words o f the c hief that

seemed t o be felt by all ; even C hot z u looked down
-
a t the bea t en oor o f the lodge and moved uneasily .
The s trong tam tam tam o f a drum came t o

- -
their ears There was no mis t aking t he sou n d it

.

was the drum o f the medicine lodge .
Wau k o ma lifted his head an d sprang t o his

-
-
fee t amazemen t incredulity and anger in his face

, , .
Never since he had been chief had tha t drum been

, ,
sou nded excep t when he was present I t was beaten .
o nly o n im p or t an t occasions occa sions wh e n he a s, ,

14 0 L O S T I ND IAN MAGIC
here a t the head of his t ribe ; here where t hey hel d ,
ceremony without him .
Tag a m o sat Opposite t he en t rance and he n o w

-
-
,
raised his head and looked straight int o Wau k o -

ma s eyes H e was t he rst to spe ak

. .

Enter Wau ko ma ! Your place awai t s you
,
-
-

in the circle .
Wau ko ma s t ood sti fy erec t and folded his

-

arms ; he restrained himself with difficulty ; his in

c l in atio n was to t ake t hese o l d men by the hair o f
their heads and throw them into t he ni ght bu t ,
no t so read the unwritten law : to dishonor age

is a cr ime even a chief o f the To t o mes would -

-
think long befor e comm itting .

My place has awai t ed me thus far it c an wai t

l onger What is the meani n g o f this
.
? and he

waved his arm indica t ing the circle o f men I have .

called no council t o thi s lodge A n d his voice .
was harsh wi t h pent u p rage -

.
Tag a mo s face was calm but there was acold

-
-
l igh t in his eye He spoke delibera t ely and quie t

.
ly z
And ye t the council has been called
, .
The veins in Wau ko ma s neck seemed swollen -

-
to t he burs t ing point ; his head grew ho t

-
.

To your hogans all o f you ! he said in athick

voice I am chief o f t he To to mes and by the
.
-

-
, ,
A S E C RE T CO UNCIL 14 1

gods no council shall be held here t hat comes no t

,

at my word .
S ome o f the old men half rose an d looked a t T ag

a mo with u n certai n ty in their eyes
-
He raised .
a ha n d an d they slowly sa n k back into their places .
He spoke almost gently

Has it go n e from your mind Wau k o ma ,
-

-
,

tha t you did call a cou n cil for this night ?
Wau ko ma frown ed an d cast an u n easy gla n ce

-

-
over his shoulder at the men who stood behi n d
Is there a law which says that I chief o f the T o ,

to mes ca n not call a council when I so desire

-
,
?
There was a deep s n eer in the words ; bu t t he ex

pression o n Tag a mo s face did n o t change though
-

-

his voice grew stern an d boomed like distant thun

der .

A council o f the To to mes mus t include t he -

-
chief m e n of the To to mes the men who sat in -

-
cou n cil before you Wau ko ma were born No ,

-

-
, .

coun cil is complete withou t them .

And yet I Wau ko ma did hold council a
,
-

-
,
-
c ou n cil o f the To to mes acomplete cou n cil ; an d

-

-
,

the wise men adeeper sneer lay on the words

were no t called .
Like a t hunderbolt fro m t he blue came t he quick

reply
When was t he law made tha t includes in a

council o f t he To t o mes the thieving hou n ds o f -

-
the deser t Those vultures who live o n dead men s

?
bones and who until now h ave never soiled a T o , ,

t o me t rail !
-
The blood ed from Wau k o ma s face an d his -

-

ngers clenched deep i n to his han ds He stared .
a t T ag a mo but no words came to his lips The

-

-
, .
m e n o f the council looked away from his face f o r ,
it was no t pleasa n t t o see and the men at the door ,
way who had followed him here drew back o n e

, , ,
by o n e into the darkness

, .
Tag a mo spoke again

-
-

The night is dark but it has e ars and eyes f o r ,
Tag a mo And the dawn is near when al l m ay

-

-
.
,
see.
He looked Wau ko ma s t raight in the eyes an d -

-
,
Wau ko ma s gaze wavered before his an d fell

-

-

.

Go now This matter will b e clear to you at
.

an other t ime and before many suns have passed .
Wau k o ma t urned in the doorway ; he was

-

-
alone with the old men the others had gone He

.
hesitated for a mome n t the n lifted the hide cur t ain ,
and walked o u t in t o t he paling nigh t .

D oes t he eldes t s o n o f t he E ar t h mother kill a

child t o whom he has given a name ?
The e ff ec t o f the question was almost ins t an t ane

ou s. Reminded t hat he had renamed Kay yah as -
,
a member o f the E arth clan the o ld man s t opped

,
and stood uncer t ainly o n t he edge o f t he cli ff .
For a moment tha t seemed an age t o Kay yah

,
-
,
t he grim old gure held his burden poised above

t he precipice ; his par t ially unbalanced mind slowly
t aking in all t ha t t he question had implied ; and
t hen realizing as Kay yah had hoped he would
,
-
,
t ha t no I ndian leas t o f all a medicine man could

,
-
,
kill o n e to whom he had given a clan name withou t

receiving the ins t an t curse o f the Grea t S p irit he ,
slowly t urned t oward the cave and to Kay yah s ,

surprise he laughed a deep throated laugh t ha t -
ended in a growl like that of a cornered a ni mal .
At the en t rance he se t Kay yah down o n his fee t

'-
,
s aying as he did so

Go back in t o the lion s den Rain boy The

-
.
s t ar brothers guard the sky and no clouds are above

-
,

f o r you t o f a ll from .
Kay yah walked uns t eadily t o t he bed o f skins

-
a t t he b ack o f t he cave and lay down Tso did not .
e n t er an d a f e w moments later the sound o f his

,
que er t wis t ed s t eps t old t ha t he w as walking away

MARK O F THE B EAR WIT C H -
145
int o t he n igh t Then came the sound

. of t he deep
voice as he sang
c h in d o g h o wl s h h o wl s in th e win d ;
T he -
e
T h e b u s h t ail k e p t o h is h l

e s o e ,
A n d b ac k in h is c a s it s th be a in f ar ve e r e ,
A n d b ack in h is d e n s it s th w o lf af aid ; e r
T is th e Shin d i c m e s o n t h
-
o a in
gow i n d ; e r r
O n th e ro a in g win d in th e be n d in g t e e s
r r ,
A n d th m o u n t ain qu ak s a t h p in e t e sh ak e s
e e s e -
re .
T h e S h in d i c o m s an d th e c hin d o g h o wl s ;
-
e ,
-

T h e c hi n d o g ru n s with t h e win d
-
.
As t he voice died away in the distance Kay yah ,

-
t hough t of the strange t urn of a ff airs that had so

nearly cost him his life It was n o w plain that the .
o l d To to me not only had the little bag but t hat he

- -
,
prized i t above life itself and intended t o keep i t .
Bu t why should he want it since he lived apar t ,
from t he To to me tribe and the Magic had no

-

-
,
vir tue when separated from the t ribal alt ar and

the sacred meal t ha t must be upon it ?
He must learn where Tso had hidden it whether ,
about his person o r in the cave and then recover it ; ,
bu t no t unt il he was able to escape with it as it ,
would not do t o have the o ld man miss the bag

and a tt ack him again while i n his weakened co n di
t ion He needed stre n gth h is lack o f it was an e w
.
experience to him and impa t ie n t with t he feeli ng

,
o f weakness t ha t was upon him he slowly arose and ,
walked feebly about the cave .
As he neared the e n t ra n ce he stopped The cool .
nigh t air blew in upon him and from o ut in th e

,
silent desert that lay far below came the fain t

ky y i yi e e e of a lone chin dog ! coyo t e ! calling t o
- - - -
his ma t e His surroundings seemed very strange

.
,
and Ah c o with its intima t e shel t er and many

-
,
friends seemed far away ye t he rather liked t he

, ,
feeling o f loneliness tha t was upon him .
He had walked abou t the cave bu t a very short

t ime when he grew t oo weary for fur t her e ff or t and ,
knowing t h at sleep would be his greatest aid in

t he recovery o f his streng t h he lay down and w as
,
soon los t in slumber .
S everal uneventful days passed and t hey wer e ,
long wearisome days t o Kay yah as his weakness

-
,

preven t ed him from wandering beyond the cave s
ent rance Neither h e nor Tso had ment ioned the
.
li t tle bag since the nigh t when both had so nearly

gone over the grea t cli ff ou t side F o r a day and a .
n ight the o l d man had been absent bu t at sunrise o f ,
the second day he entered the cave j us t as Kay yah

-
awoke from his ni gh t s res t

.

The coming day brin g good t o y ou ! h e sai d
by wa o f sal u tat ion
y
t hen search him and the cave with every hope of

nding t he bag A ush of shame swept over him
.
o n second t hough t for he knew that he could not

,
mistrea t an o l d man and especially one who had

,
s aved his life and w as now giving him food and

shel t er He mus t bide his time u n t il he could re
.
cover th e bag wi t hout violence o r shame .
As he walked o u t o f t he cave and s t ood on the

ledge o f rock dri n king in the cool morning air
, ,
n e w life seemed to rise within him as he realized
tha t his accustomed feeling o f streng th had abou t

returned and t hat he would soo n be able t o go o n
,
wi t h t he t ask t ha t lay before h im Far below and .

,
stre t ching away beneath the blue h aze o f e arly

morning lay t he desert He walked nearer the
, .
edge and looked down to see if the T o to me mesa -

-
were visible from where he stood bu t i t could n o t ,
be seen as a proj ec t ing shoulder o f t he mount ain

,
obscured the view t oward the west .
D eciding t o learn more o f his strange surround

ings t han his streng t h up to this tim e h ad permit
, ,
t ed he walked along the shelf o f rock t o the righ t

, ,
and after a short dis t ance came to t he end o f t he

l edge The do w nward continuation o f the cli ff
.
above cu t squarely across the shelf making fur t her ,
p assage impossible L ooking upward he saw t ha t

.
,
at n o poin t could an ascent be made t o higher

MARK O F THE B EAR W I T CH -
14 9
ground as the overhanging cli ff rose some t hir t y

,
fee t to the next possible level and he smiled as he

,
thought o f o l d T so s belief that he had fallen from

above From directly above his head came th e

.
shrill song o f a catbird si n gin g with delight in the

morning su n shi n e The little si n ger was perched
.
o n t he limb o f a gnarled pi n yon tree that leaned -
o u t over the Cli ff s edge

.
At this sight o f t imber the rs t he had seen

,
since le aving the foothills below Kay yah decided ,

-
t hat the rock cli ff above him must be the last o f

the great bare surface o f perpe n dicular walls that
could be seen from far o u t in the desert below and ,
that the long at top o f the mountai n could no t

be very far above him B efore him as if crouching
.
,
in fear benea t h the overhangin g rock stood the ,
t hree ancient dwell ings of the Na y akaed th e - -

,
buildings he had seen in the fain t morni n g light

when he had climbed o ut o f the passage in t he
rocks There were no sign s o f other cli ff dwellings
.
at this end of the ledge but the thought suddenly

,
came t o him that the cave of old Tso had probably

been the remains o f such a dwelling and that the ,
o l d man had simply cleared it o u t for his own use .
The outle t o f t he passage up which he h ad climbed

, ,
mus t be near at hand an d he looked for it am ong

,
t he great at rocks near the edge o f the cli ff .

Remembering that the tilted strata o f rock ran

parallel with the slight i n cline up which he had
crawled he looked for this tilt and was soon st and
, ,
ing in the narrow little entrance The n he realized .
why Tso had never discovered the passage and ,
why no o n e attemp t ing to nd a way down from the

ledge at this point would believe that a way to
,
lower ground exis t ed for even from the opening in

,
which he stood no trace o f the little foo t holds

,
could be seen in t he great crack t hat shot down

ward into t he darkness Here then was o n e pos
.
, ,
sible way of escape if the T o t o me trails about

,
-

-
t he ruin below could be passed and no o n e bu t him

,
self knew o f its existence .
S teppi n g o u t o f the passage he walked though t

,
fully back to t he cave and t hough he could not see

,
the other end o f the long ledge because o f a curve

t ha t rounded a proj ec t ion in the cli ff a little way
beyond t he cave s entrance he believed that the

secre t passage he had discovered made it practically

certain tha t the ledge was everywhere cut o ff from
t hos e above and below as the little cli ff people had
,
doub t less used it as a secret retreat when hard

pressed by an enemy Ye t there was a n other exit
.
somewhere along t he o ther e n d o f t he shelf as Tso ,
had approached the cave from that side and h ad ,
always depar t ed in the same direc t ion His also .

15 2 LO S T I ND I AN MAGIC
usual frank way o f acting toward his hos t decided ,
him to keep his eyes closed and prete n d t o be asleep .
He even began to breathe more deeply and regu

larly that the deception might be the more com
,
p l e te
. And n o w through narrowly opened eyelids
he watched the o l d T o t o me as t he la t ter rose t o a

-

-
sit t ing pos t ure and after stretching his grea t arms
,
in an e ff or t to overcome t he relaxation o f sleep ,
got to his fee t Then aft er t aking a deep draugh t

.
from t he wa t er j ar , he walked t o the ba ck o f t he

-
cave and looked down a t his sleeping companion .
F o r a long time he thus s t ood and Kay yah b e ,

-
came so uncomfortable under t he gaze tha t he had

abou t decided t o open his eyes and ac t as t hough
he had j ust awakened when Tso began t o talk to
himself in a low voice no louder than a whisper .

The eagle doesn t lay dove s eggs and there is

never a rabbit in the li tt er o f the wolf A young .
f o x has a keen nose t ha t can sni ff up and down

t he wind ; yes u p and down the wind and he may

hun t as he sni ff s Has D ee nay sen t the young

.
-
f o x to t ake tha t which belongs to the lion ? The

lit t le bag belongs to Tso and Tso will keep i t
, .
Then he t urned an d s t epping noiselessly over t o

,
the grea t bu ff alo skull caught hold o f t he nose and

,
c au t iously swung the head to o n e side A t t he low .
Soun d made a s t he dry bone gra t ed a gainst t he roc k

MARK O F THE B EAR WIT C H -
15 3
wall t he cave he suddenly turned his head and

of ,
looked down at Kay yah ; bu t the closed eyes and

-
deep breathing reassured him and he turned again ,
to his task Quickly lifting out a small rk from

.
a spo t that had been covered by the skull he reached ,
into the hole thus uncovered and brought ou t a ,
small obj ect that was hidden from Kay yah s view -
by the grea t ha n d that closed upon it Moving .
around with his back t o the watchful sleeper on

the oor the old man bent over the little obj ec t
, ,
mumbling j oyously as he did so

Y o u belong to Tso and your Magic is for Tso, .
Wha t does the young fox know of the magic sleep ;

o f t he power it gives to go ; to see many things ;
many things O ld Two horns keeps very still and

? -
,
he will guard you safely from the young fox ; yes ,
as safely as the hawk is safe from the sparrow .
A t the o ld To t o me s mention o f the Magic

-

-

Kay yah s heart beat so fast that he could scarcely

-

re t ain his regular breathing He felt as if he .
could no t con t ain himself f o r j oy a t having so easily

found where Tso had hidden the bag He had men .
tio n e d the Magic so t he lit t le bag did con t ain i t

,
aft er all .
Carefully res t oring the cove t ed little pouch to its

s t range hiding place Tso replaced the stone and
-
, ,
aft er cautiously sliding the skull back to it s accus

to m edposition he picked up his s t ou t spear and

, ,
throwing his bow and arrow case over his shoulder ,
hobbled o u t o f the cave After giving him t ime .
enough to get around the curve o n the ledge o u t

side Kay yah arose to his feet and quietly fo l
,

-
lowed him determined to learn how he go t down

,
from t he shelf As he neared t he shoulder o f rock

.
around which the ledge curved he paused for a ,
moment to listen H e could hear nothing ; and fear

.
ing that Tso migh t h ave stopped on the other side

of t he curve and b e lis t e n ing to see if he were being
,
followed he waited in silence for a moment Then

, .
he heard a l o w sound that seemed to come from far

around the poin t and a little way beneath the shelf .
S t eppin g quickly around t he curve he looked along ,
the length o f the ledge tha t now ran smoothly b e

fore h im o n the same level for some distance and ,
then seemed t o end abrup t ly The o l d To t o me .

-
-
was no t in sigh t .
As he advanced along the shelf he no t iced t ha t ,
t here were n o o t her cli ff dwellings an d there seemed ,
t o be no t rail o r passage of an y kind by which a

higher o r lower level could be reached A li t tle .
farther o n he came t o aworn path t hat led t o the

outer edge o f the shelf where it ended a t some ,
grea t at topped rocks Stepping ou t o n t hese he

-
.
,
,
l ooked down ward and w as surprise d t o see som e

, ,
15 6 LO S T IN D IAN MAG I C
coun t less footprin t s made by t he o ld To to me -

-
during his many t rips to and from the cave The .
t racks led o n then suddenly ceased as he came up on

,
a sec t ion of hard rock where t here was no t su ffi cien t

earth on which t o leave a trail At one poin t where
.
,
the shelf narrowed down to a seemingly dangerous

width a pine log had been laid along the ou t er edge
,
f o r protection and kept its position by having o n e

,
end securely anchored beneath a great at t opped -
rock He wondered how the o ld man could have

.
brough t s o large a timber from the foo t hills up to

so great a height f o r the wood was not o ld enough
,
t o have been placed there by the lit t le cli ff p eople .
S t ill searching for some kind o f a crevice or open

ing t hrough which a p assage might have been made ,
Kay yah we n t o n until he came to t he point where

-
t he shelf suddenly narrowed t o its nal ending in

a mere pro j e ctio n scarcely wider than a man s foo t .
Puzzled by his failure he examined the rocks b e

,
nea t h and t he smoo th walls that t owered upward a t

his back ; no possible opening o f any kind was vis
ible Far down below he could see here and t here
.
, ,
the white lines o f t rails that wound in and ou t

among the dark gr een trees and bushes o f the fo o t
hills Then stepping nearer the edge he s aw t he
.
,
ou t er m argl n o f a t rail tha t ran p arallel wi t h t he

shelf some ft y fee t benea t h This mus t be a pa rt
.
MARK O F THE B EAR WITC H -
15 7
of the trail used by Tso after he got down from

t he shelf B ut how did he get down
.
?
B a fed for the time being by the fac t that he was

unable to nd the hidden passage he retraced his ,
s t eps t oward the cave He could of course sit

.
, ,
down and watch the ledge until the o ld man came

up from below ; but he might no t return f o r a day
o r more ,and another p lan now en t ered his mind ,
and he would doubtless have time to carry it o ut

b efore Tso re t urned . Later if he completed the
,
task before the o ld man appeared he would station ,
himself a t a point where he could not be seen but ,
from which he would be able to see the length of

th e shelf from the curve to its end .
Passing by the cave s entra n ce he wen t o n t o t he

o t her end o f the ledge and after nding the e n

,
t rance to the secret passage was s o on feeling his way

downward through the dark crack in t he cli ff that
l ed t o the an cient dwelling far below It was dif .
cu lt in t he darkness to feel for the li t tle ni ches wi t h

his fee t so the passage downward would require
,
more time than would be necessary in t he ascent ,
but it required les s strength .
He decided that his n al escape with the lit t le

bag must be through this passage if he found to !
day as he hoped he would that t he many To to me

, ,
-
-
t rails tha t lay abou t t he cli ff ruin below him coul d

158 LO S T I ND I AN MAGIC
be crossed with safe ty Such knowledge could be

.
gained only by dayligh t ; and n o w that he k n ew ,
a t last where t he b ag w a
, s he mus t be prepared
,
to escape with it as soon as he had gained a li tt le

more strength for the j ourney and had learned t he
bes t way to return t o t he N ag apah camp -
.
As he descended s t ep after step in the darkness ,
he realized why t he upward cl imb o n the n ight of

his escap e from the To t o mes had made so great
-
-
a trial o n his s t rength A t las t he reached the wider

.
opening tha t w as immediately above t he cli ff dwell

ing and could see t he poin t s o f light t ha t ltered
,
up t hrough t he ceiling poles As he felt about for

-
.
t he movable section tha t covered the hole through

which he had lift ed h imself o n the nigh t of his
climb up the p assage his hand came in contac t with
,
a little deerskin bag Even in t he darkness its

.
shape and the t wo little s ilver beads were enough

,
t o identify i t .
Puzzled beyo nd measure by t he unexpected nd ,
he slid the sec t ion o f poles t o one side and was

soon standing in t he light o f the room below Yes . ,
there was no mis t aking the familiar lit t le pouch ,
an d n o w he would know wha t i t con t ained Break .
ing the thong t hat l oosely held t he mou t h o f the

bag he shook i t s con t ent s o ut int o his hand The
, .
carved ring o f silver tha t migh t have d e ligh t ed him

a sound he l ooked o u t o n t he wide ledge t h at ran

,
in front o f the entrance All was quie t and as .

,
there was no o n e in sight he dropped down o n his ,
hands and knees and crawled o u t t o the edge o f

t he shelf .
L ooking below he saw tha t the coun t ry beneath

,
him was of barren hills wi t h few trees o r bushes

large enough to a o rd any shelter if he were forced
to elude a pursuer in the darkness o f nigh t Trails .
seemed t o run along every level O ff to t he wes t .
rose t he To to me mesa and the lit t le s t ream t ha t

-

-
,
led o u t to i t sp arkled in the sunlight T o go wes t .
ward t oward the Nag apah camp over the foo t

,

- -
hills was plainly impossible as t he grea t shoulder ,
o f t he moun t ain tha t had hidden his V iew wes t ward
when he had stood in front of old T so s cave j u t
ted o u t into t he foothills and n ally broke down

ward in a t vertical walls o f rock that could not
be p assed except by dropping down to a poin t t ha t
would bring him to o near the T o t o me camp -

-
.
It was plain that if he was to ge t t o the Nag a

-
p ah coun t ry from where he n o w stood he would ,
have to go s t raight o u t into t he deser t and make

a three days j ourney over a long circuitous rou t e

,
before he could get to t he farther side o f t he T o

t o me mesa and o n across the plains t o his own
-
camp If he was pursued aft er he go t int o t he

.
MARK O F THE B EAR -
V VI
T CH 16 1
deser t he might have to outrun his enemies and

,
thus make a still greater circle before he could ge t

to Ah c o He would need a three days supply

-
.
-

o f food f o r emergency and water enough for a day ,
a t least as it would require more than that time

,
to get around to Ma t awee the lake t hat lay ne ar - -

,
the head o f the Nag apah canyon Perhaps his

- -
.
bes t pla n would be to take such food as he could

from t ime to time and cache it in the secre t pas
sage ; thus he would not deprive the ol d To t o me -

-
,
nor arouse his suspicions .
As he leaned over scanning t he hills below a , ,
par t y o f To to mes suddenly rou n ded a point o n

-

-
a trail some dis t ance below He j umped b ack in .
sta n tl bu t no t before the quick eye of one o f t he

y ,
men had seen him A momen t la t er he was in .
t he cli ff dwelling and again seated in t he upper

,
passage with the section o f poles secure benea t h

him Here he waited a long time in silence but
.
,
he heard no sound o f anyone approachin g t he e n

t rance o f t he ruin D oubtless the distance from
.
the T o to mes up t o the point where he had

-
-
crouched o n t he rocks was so great that t he man

who had seen him had failed t o note t he par t icular
l edge .
After wai t ing a little longer in silence he arose ,
and made his way up the p assage t o t he now f a

miliar shelf above As he came to the las t in cline

.
t ha t led o ut o f the entrance a t the edge of the cli ff ,
he cau t iously raised his head to see if the o l d T o

to me w as in sigh t ; but seeing that t he t rail was

-
clear he was abou t to step out o f the p assage when

,
his eye caugh t a moving obj ect in a clearing o n

top o f the highest foothill far below A To to me .
-

-

guarding o n e o f the lower t rails thought Kay ,

yah as he quickly moved over to avoid being seen

, .
Then he s tepped o u t o n the shelf and was soon

in t he cave .
Tso had not re t urned duri n g his absence as the ,
spear and b o w case were still missing Going to

-
.
the curve in the ledge outside Kay yah looked ,

-
quickly along the shelf to make sure tha t t he o ld

,
man was n o t in sight then running back int o t he

,
cave he swung the bu ff alo skull to o n e side and

removed the stone from the hole cont aining the
obj ec t o f his long search With hear t beating high
.
with exci t emen t he ran his hand into the opening

,
an d drew o u t a little bag o f deerskin I t seemed .
too soft and round to contain anything like t he

lit t le magic bear o f turquoise O pening the mouth
.
tha t was held t ogether by a draw string o f sinew -

,
he has t ily examined the content s The pouch .
seemed to be lled with a ki n d o f ground s t one o r

ear th Pourin g a little of i t in t o his hand he found
.
,
164 L O S T I ND I AN MAGIC
used by medicine men t o make sleep He decided

-
.
t ha t he would fran kly ask t he o ld man if he knew

any t hing about the little blue bear the grea t Magic ,
o f the Nag apahs If T s o s anger had as it now

- -
.
,
seemed been aroused by t he fear o f losing the lit

,
t le bag o f powder i t was prob able t h at he knew

,
no t hing abou t t he los t Magi c .
S t ill puzzled by the unlooked for discoveries t hat -
he seemed to be maki n g at every t urn he walked ,
o ut around the proj ec t io n in the ledge and ,
crouched down where he could see the remai n i n g

lengt h o f the p ath that l ay alo n g the shelf All .
was as silen t as death The whole moun t ain .
seemed t o be wrapped in slumber Small swarms .
o f t iny gnats danced up a n d down in the bright
sunshine and a lo n e buzzard glided in gre at wide

,
circles in the blue dome overhead A wave of home .
sickness swept over Kay yah and he wished that

he could walk into t he familiar medicine lodge o f

Ah c o and t ell D ee nay o f his many strange e x

- -

rie n c e s and f t he many puzzling things t ha t

p e ,o
t he wise o ld man could doubtless explain .
Then suddenly t he s ilence was broken by the

angry voice o f a To t o me who seemed to be j us t -
-
,
below t he ledge and the unm istakable voice o f

,
Tso replying t o it He le ap t to his fee t and ran

.
al ong t he ledge t oward t he poin t where t he men

MARK O F THE B EAR WITC H -
16 5
seemed t o be Arriving above t hem he s t opped

.
,
and leaned over the edge o f the cli ff as far as he

dared without losing his balance About fty feet .
below him stood Tso facing a T o to me who s t ood -

-
with drawn h o w the arrow point ing a t the o l d

,
man s breast

.

Show me the t rail ! Show me the t rail o r ,

I will send you to the death ! commanded the
warrior the deadly calm in whose voice lef t no
,
doubt that he mea n t what he said .
The old man was slowly backi n g up the t rail ;

but he had been caught u n awares as no arrow was ,
tted to the b o w that he held in his hand and the ,
man was too far away from him t o permi t him

to make an y use o f his spear .
Jumping back Kay yah found a stone about the

,
-
size o f his head and s t epping again to the edge

,
o f the shelf he took careful aim and drove the
rock down ward As it crashed into the T o to me s

.
-
-
arms i t splint ered the b o w and arrow o n the rocks

beneath and bou n ded o u t t o the level below An
, .
i n s t ant la t er the spear of the old man had done its

work Then as Kay yah watched from above
.
,
-
,
he was surprised to see the old To to me raise the -

-
foo t that was t t ed with the bear s p aw and with
a scratching blow like that o f a real bear drive ,
a deep mark across the breas t o f t he lifeless war

166 L O S T I ND I AN MAGIC
rior who lay o n the rocks below him Then pick .
ing up the body he carried it down to the edge

o f t he n ext cli ff be n eath him and tossed i t as ,
t hough it were a s t ick o f wood o u t int o t he depths

,
below .
Realizing tha t in his present exci t ed condi t ion

Ts o might be very angry if he now stood and wait
ed for him to come up and thus be forced to dis
,
close his secret o f the hidden passage Kay yah ,

-
wen t back to the curve in the ledge and with body

hidden behind the proj ection in the cli ff lay a t ,
t o the ground with o n e eye still o n t he t rail t ha t

,
led along the shelf .
He wai t ed for a long time and had abou t de ,
cided t hat the o ld T o to me mus t have gone back

-

-
down his tra il a little way t o make sure tha t no

,
o t her spies were following him when sudde nly he ,
felt as though he mus t be losing his reason as he

gazed wide eyed a t the s t range spec t acle before
-
S lowly and silently t he end of the great pine log

t ha t lay along the edge o f t he t rail some dis t ance
from him rose i n t o the air and then moved alit t le
, ,
t o o n e side Then from where he lay it looked

.
, ,
as t hough the whole end o f the ledge were rising

as the log began to lower again and t he grea t at
t opped rock under which the t ree w as anchored
CHAP TE R I!
TH E M A GI C SL E E P
Th e arro w s o
f Ts o are s traigh t an d l o n g;
Wo e to th e f o e at w h om th e y are sp e d .
F o r th e m e di c i ne k n o wn to T s o is s tro n
g,
And th e arro ws are d ip p e d in Witc h dy e d
-
re d!
ELIE V IN G t ha t th e occurrence which had

j ust t aken place beneat h t he cli ff might so
exci t e th e o ld m an as temporarily to throw him
from his mental balan ce and into a conditio n in ,
which he would not be accountable for his actions ,
Kay yah wisely decided to pretend for th e m o

-
,
men t t ha t he had n o t taken an y p art in nor even

, ,
wi t nessed the encou nter with the To to me spy

,
-

-
.
S o as his aged host e n tered the cave he found him

b usily engaged in me n ding a tho n g o n o n e o f his
moccasins He did n o t look up u n til Tso had set
.
his spear against t he wall an d had hu n g his bow

and arrow cas e on its accustomed peg ; then as ,
Kay yah saw t hat he still had something t hat

-
looked like small game o f some kind suspended by

at hong from his shoulder he quietly asked ,
168
THE MAG I C S L E E P 169

Has good hunting come to your b ow t oday ?
S o good a shot as Tso carries good hu n ti n g

with him always came the reply as the o l d man
,
t hrew a large duck and some rabbi t s to the oor .
The squawki n g at bill ew high and fas t but

-
not so swift as t he arrow t ha t went up to mee t

him .

I to o can shoo t ventured Kay y ah
, and

-
,
would try my arm w ith the very good b o w you

have .

My bows are for a s t rong arm and an eye tha t

has j udgment replied the old man but you may
, ,
t ry
.
It was n o w evident tha t Tso was n o t excited ;

in fac t he seemed both calm and even happy Step
, .
p ing over to where it hung upon the wall Kay ,

yah drew t he bow from its case and after selecting

t wo arrows s t epped o ut o n t he ledge followed by
,
his aged hos t .
He spent a moment admiring the arrows as they ,
were no t only be autifully made bu t half o f each

shaft was stained a brilliant red He smiled as
.

the thought came to him The red arrows o f the

bear wi t ch !
-
o f which he had often heard

He .
t ted o n e t o the string and drew i t back and for th ,
delighted to n d that his strength was sufficien t to

bend the s t rong elast ic wood far enough t o send
t he arrow the dis t ance o f a long bowsho t F ar .
down t he mountain side a crow sunn ed himself on

a j utting crag and far ab ove the crow a long
, ,
bowshot from where they stood a sp arrow hawk ,

-
w atched t he hills below from t he blackened limb

o f a dead bush .

The hook bill is too f ar for your arm said
-
,
t he o ld m an ; but paying no heed to the remark ,
K a yah drew t he b wi t h all his s t reng t h and

y
-
o w
le t the arrow y A t t he t wang o f the string the
.
pointed missile ew on an errand that proved fatal

for the hawk who half spread his wings as if for
,
igh t then tum bled limply in t o t he rocks below

, .
A t th e splendid sho t a grunt o f approv al e s

caped Tso bu t he said
,
The boy with his rst b o w may h ave good luck

with his rst sho t The crow s t ill sleeps o n t he rock
.

and y o u have another arr ow .
The las t word had scarcely been spoken be f ore

the second shaft sped o n its way t o awaken the
crow .

The kaw has had his l ast sleep said Kay yah ,

-
simply as the crow pierced where he sat n ow lay

, , ,
a black spot o n the crag .
For a few moments after t he las t shot which , ,
owing to the crow s position below them was far

,
more difficul t than the longer shot at the hawk the ,

17 2 LO S T I ND I AN MAGIC
brough t t he eagle o u t o f t he clouds b u t all b y

t he hand o f Tso .

I hope i t may do as well f o r me replied K ay ,
'

yah . But he added after a momen t s re e c
,

t ion I would n o t dr aw it agains t the eagle f o r

, ,

i t is the sacred bird o f t he Nag ap ahs - -
.

A t t he end o f a day j ust before t he Sun go d ,
-

wen t t o sleep beyo n d t he dese rt said the o l d m an , ,
the lion was hun t ing in t he deep canyon ne ar to

t he Nag apah camp and he s aw an eagle rise up
-
-
,
from t he canyon mou t h and circle wide and high

and higher far beyond the bowshot o f all men bu t
,
Tso Then I said t o the arrow upon my b o w

.
string Go up swift as the arrow o f ligh t t ha t

,

is sho t by the Thunder god before he roars f rom -
t he bl ack storm cloud an d bring down th e big

-
,
bird tha t I may h av e h is tail feathers f o r my pray

,

e r sticks his wing feathers for my arrows and his

-
, ,
s harp claws f o r stro n g medici n e S o I sen t th e

.
arrow and th e eagle screamed as he t umbled down

,
and down but he fell to earth b eyond a li t tle hill

,
and I ran to pick him up before darkness should

come to hide him from my eyes B eyond t he hill .
stood a little Nag apah girl and when I came

- -
,
t o her the eagle lay dead at her feet She was .
angry wi t h grea t anger like t he ca t t ha t is c augh t

,
in t he hanging t rap and she shook her arms an d

,
THE MAGI C S LEEP 17 3
hands a t me and in To to me language called me

-

-
by new names that I would n o t like to keep .
The o l d man stopped t o grin broadly and

chuckled beneath his breath .

She said the eagle belonged t o her fa t her he ,

continued And if I took it she would scratch
.
the eyes from my head so I could see to shoo t no

more eagles .
As Tso lapsed i n to silence Kay yah asked

-

Did the little girl keep the eagle ?

Yes replied Tso
, I laughed at her which ,
made her the more a n gry an d I said to her Y o u , ,

may keep the eagle f o r stro n g medicine to keep

the Shin di and o l d To t o mes away
-
Then she
-

.

s aid If it will keep a To to me away i t will keep

,

-

-
the Shin di away for they are alike

-
, Then after .

a mome n t s pause he conti n ued B ut Tso has shot

many many eagles for no n e can escape the arrow

, ,

t hat goes from my bow .
As he n ished t he accoun t he laughed his lo w

laugh tha t somehow added t o his extr avagant
b oast .
As t he t wo n o w returned to the cave the o ld m an ,
searched amo n g the bu n dle of skins tha t hung

against the wall an d brought forth a bow case o f
,
-
panther skin and remarked as he h anded i t to

-
,
K ay yah
-
The b o w should have a good place to sleep

when i t is not hunt ing .
As t here were a number o f goo d arrows in t he

quiver o f t he case Kay yah felt the s t rong call
,
-
o f the hu n ter ris e j oyously within him as he slipped
his bow i n to its place and he felt elated wi t h the

,
though t tha t he was now armed once more withou t

having t o s t eal a weapon from his old benefactor ,
f o r whom a strong friendship w a s beginning to
grow up in his hear t Wi t hout looking at Tso

.
he remarked

S ome day the Rain b o y may nd a t ime when
-

he can give gifts t o Tso .

The Lion has all t hin gs ; he has need f o r no th
ing said t he o l d man but his voice and t he ex
, ,
pression o f his face be t rayed t he pleasure Kay

yah s remark had given him

The Lion s aved .
the Rain boy when he fell from the cli ff

-
The .
Rain boy drove the rock at t he To to me arrow

- -

-
that was aimed at the hear t o f the Lion The .
E ar t h mo ther gives help to you through me t ha t

she might give he lp to me t hrough you Thus .

reminded o f the To to me spy he co n tinued : The
-
-
dogs have followed Tso many times and always ,
t hey are sen t to the lo n g sleep with the mark of

t he be a r wi t ch o n their skin The mark is strong
-
.
medicine and when t he o ther T o to m e d ogs nd

,
-

-
17 6 LO S T IND I AN MAGI C
I found you wi t hou t weapons when y o u fell over

t he cli ff bu t I n o w can see tha t y o u had no need
,
o f t hem if you hunt for a h e a r o f stone Then .

D ee nay has n o t sen t you for the magic sleep
-

?

I know nothing o f the magic sleep replied ,
Kay yah ; bu t I mus t nd the great Magic t he

-
,
b l ue bear and re t urn i t t o my people

, .

There is a way t o nd wha t ever is los t and Tso ,

may t ell you o f the way some t ime he mumbled , , .
Then as t hough he had been speaking o f D ee

,
nay he continued :

,
Yes t he o ld eagle of the N ag ap ahs is a grea t

,
'

- -
medicine man If a bear should swallow down his

-
.
t hroa t all the witches of t he moun t ain and spirits

o f t he deser t he would ye t have less wisdom in h is
,
s t omach t han is in the head of D ee nay When -

Ts o the Lion fell down down from the cli ff s down

, , ,
f rom gh t ing t he dogs o f T a pau wee D ee nay -

-
,
-

found me in t he hills when memory o f all things

had gone from my head and he gave me the s t rong ,
medicine o f sleep and food f o r streng th Then I

,
.
showed h im some o f the blue s and for the sky pain t

ing t he p ainting of much magic f o r the medicine
,
lodge an d D ee n ay was glad with much happi

,
-

ness t ha t he migh t have it for none bu t Tso knows ,
o f t he lit t le sky blue s and tha t is lef t in the moun

-

t ain When D ee nay left t he Lion with food and
.
-
TH E MAGI C S LE EP 17 7
weap ons summer came and camped in t he hills and

,
o n the desert Then t he E arth mother led the

.
wounded Lion t o nd the secret ledge an d brought ,
him t o t he cave t hat has bee n his d e n N o o n e bu t .
the Lion knew o f it until you fell from the moun

tain to p with no weapons to ght the Lion so ,
t he Lion knew y o u came from the E ar t h mo t her .

Many many suns after D ee nay had gone and
,
-

,
the s um mer had run away from the north winds

t ha t came roaring over the mountain the Lion s aid ,
wi t hin himself that he would go wes t ward t o t he

canyon o f t he Nag apahs that he might again
- -
see D ee nay O ne night when the white powder o f

-

.
win t er was over the face o f the E ar t h mo t her the ,
Lion t ook a bag o f t he sky blue sand and t urned -
his face t oward Ah c o In the early ni ght as the

-
.
L ion watched two Nag apah men walked home

,
- -
from hunting and their feet fell soft in t he whi t e

,
powder along the wall near the canyon s mouth

.
O ne man was D ee nay but t he Lion made no-

sound for he must see the Nag ap ah eagle alone

,

- -
.
Then as t he tw o walked o n beyond Tso three ,
T o t o me dogs j um ped from the darkness o f the

- -
rock shadows and the m an with D ee nay fell with

,
-

a T o to me arrow in his back Then the Lion

-
-
.
growled with t he loud growl o f the bear and his

arrow sen t o n e d og t hen ano t her to his las t sleep
,
.
17 8 LO S T IND IAN MAG I C
The o t her T o t o me ran wi t h grea t fear in his

-

-
hear t Bu t D ee nay s t ood still as a stone o n the

.
-

mountain f o r he knew the growl o f the bear and

,
was glad in his hear t that Tso w as there t o shoo t

with grea t skill Then he called to the Lion I will
.
,

give to you a bag o f great magic the magic sleep , ,
and when the bag is empty come with it t o t he

Nag apah shrine benea t h t he cli ff s and leave it
- -
beneath the stone o f t he altar When the ne xt .
moon is n e w in t he west y o u will come and nd

it lled bene ath the Thunder rock of Ah co -

-
.

Then Tso gave Dee nay the sky blue sand h e -
-
had brough t and D ee nay was made glad With

,
-

.

his hand o n the shoulder o f the Lion he said The , ,
gods give j ustice for j ustice Y o u have s aved D ee .
nay from the long sleep because you were given

,
life and strength from the hand o f D ee n ay The -

.
sky blue sand comes t o the Nag apahs and the

-
- -
bag o f magic sleep goes t o the home o f Tso S o .
be it ! Then he was gone and the Lion found the

t wo T o to me dogs lying in the whi t e powder of

-
-
t he wint er and he left the mark o f the bear witch -
upon them When the Lion came again a t night

.
t o the Nag ap ah shrine he found the bag o f magic

- -
,
sleep beneath the Thunder rock S o i t has been -

.
each t ime o f t he cold when summer has gone Tso , ,

enough to drink and no t the grea t wa t ers as i t did

long ago The lit t le stream o f Ah co is not large
.
-
enough for o u r elds o f grain and t he green elds ,
a t t he desert s edge have t urned to t he brown and

the dus t o f t hirst Many prayers have gone up .
from the medicine lodge and big ceremonies have

been made t o the god o f the wa t ers bu t s t ill he ,
holds t he wa t er in his s t and bu t f e w drop s co m e

t hrough for the Nag apahs
- -
.
The o ld man looked up with keen interes t during

Kay yah s accoun t and when he had nished he

-

slowly nodded his head as he remarked

I kn ow I know and t he Lion can m ak e t he
, ,

gre at water again to o w t oward the Nag apahs -
-
.

D o you mean there is a way t o make t he wa t er
t o ow again down t hrough our canyon Al l t he
?
s trong medicine o f D ee nay has not been able to -

do that and are you wiser t han D ee nay

,
-

The o ld T o t o me laughed his deep quie t laugh

-

-
,
.

D ee nay knows all about grea t medicine and
-

,
T so knows some t hing t oo It is no t Magic t ha t .
will make t he wat ers t o o w .
Then after a long silence h e cont inued

When you have re t urned to D ee n ay and t here -

,
are none wi t h y o u t o hear t ell him t he Lion has ,
said t ha t be f ore many suns h av e rise n and se t much

THE MAGI C S LE EP 18 1
wa t er will begin t o ow down t he stream o f Ah
co
I will h e ar your mess age said Kay yah ; bu t ,
-
in his heart he felt there was little hop e o f the ful

l hn e n t o f the o l d man s promise

.

Y o u have said t hat there is a way by which

lost things are found said Kay yah ; and as I ,

-
mus t nd tha t which is los t I would have your ,
counsel f o r you have lived long and the E arth

,

mother h as taugh t you many things .
The o l d T o to me bowed his head on his hand

-

-
and remained silent for a lo n g t ime Then mak .

,
ing wide gestures wi t h his arms as if t o emphasize ,
his remarks he began : ,
B e tween the grea t land o f t he Sky people above

and t he face o f the E art h mo t her beneath is Wah ,

ma h a t he nding spirit o f the air There is no

-
, .
place where the air spirit does n o t go ; nothing

he does no t see ; nothing he does no t hear and he ,
knows where all t he lost things hide from the eyes

o f men . When the wind which is t he strong brea th ,
o f W ah ma h a blows over the face o f t he earth

- -
, ,
he t ells o f many things He t ells o f the cold b e .
fore the win t er comes ; o f warmth before the sum

mer is here and he t ells us o f the smell o f rain from
,
fa r away ; t he smell o f t he campre and of food
tha t is no t seen and gives to the nose of t he animal

,
182 L O S T I ND I AN MAG I C
brothers t he smell o f men while men are f ar o ff .
With great medicine I will bring Wah ma h a t o - -
y o u ,t ha t he may t ell y o u where your los t Magic

m ay be found .
Rising from the oor he t ook from t he wall t he

,
b ags o f po w dered earth p ain t and colored sa nds ,
and after cleari n g a large sp ace o n the oor wi t h

an eagle wing brush he knelt down and beg an t he
-
,
out line o f tw o ceremoni al pictures In less t ime .
t h an Kay yah would have believed i t possible t o

-
do i t he had made a small well drawn p aint ing

, ,
-
o f t he earth and sky symbols The sky god was .
o f the powdered blue sands whose hi ding place was -
known only to Tso and o n its smooth surface t he

,
snow white stars and constellatio n s o f pipe clay

-
shone brillia n tly The earth goddess was of brown

.
earth paint and from the cent er toward the four

,
cardinal points ran well made sprigs of t he gr e en -
corn the vine o f t he bean the leaves o f t obacco

, , ,
and t he wandering tendrils o f the melo n .
Rising from the oor t he o l d man moved t he ,
bu ff alo skull to o n e side this t ime wi t hou t making

,
any a ttemp t to hide his movements and bringing ,
forth the little bag dropped a pinch o f the cove t ed

,
powder in t o a sm all earthen bowl and after making ,
a little re o f sticks he poured some wa t er in t o

the bowl an d se t i t o n the ames .
weird song o r ch an t t o whi ch t he slowly shaken ,
ra tt le kep t perfec t time The chant was o f t he .
mountain ; o f t he deser t ; t he clouds and the stars ;

o f prais e for t he gods and a curse agains t the
wi t ches and ghosts o f t he famine and sickness ; o f

drou t h and raging s t orms .
Aft er t he song had run along mono t onously for

some t ime he s t opped and after t es t ing the potion ,
in t he bowl and nding i t cool enough t o swallow ,

he held i t t o Kay yah s lips wi t h th e command
-
t o drink When he had t ak en wha t seemed t o be

.
t he required amoun t t he bowl was again place d

up on the oor and the ceremony continued N ow .
t he o ld man began t o hobble around and around

t he p ain t ed oor continuing his weird song in a
,
higher key as he ben t his body lo w t o t he groun d

o r rose s t r aigh t with his great arms shak ing abov e
his head .
Suddenly he s t opped in fron t o f Kay yah and

-
,
shaking the rattle an d prayer s t ick j us t above his -
head he chan t ed his song :

,

Wah '
-
m ah a,

Wah '

m ah a,
G d o f th e
o n igh t - win d ,
G od of th e d ay win d -
,
C om t o m y c allin g blo w in upo n him ;

e ,
C m e with y u r k n win g qu ic kly t t ll h im

o o o , o e .
T ll f th e pl ac wh e e th lo s t t h in g is h idd
e o e r e e n.
HE S T O PPED IN F RO NT O F K AY
-
A N D S HA K I N G THE RATT L E A N D
Y AH ,
P RA Y E R S T
-
ICK HE C HA N TED H I S SO N G
C HAP TER !
N E ST

SA H
'-
NE IN TH E E AGL E S
The s un s in k s l o w in th e b urn in g w e s t;
0 , t h e trail is s te e
p f ro m th e ro ck to p l ain ;
B ut th e tim e h as c om e
f or th e n al te s t
T h e trail is s te e
p f ro m th e ro ck y c re s t,
B ut l e ads to w ar d hom e again .
HE t rail t o t he To to me camp seemed l ong -

to S ah n e and the t wo men D ee nay had

-
,
-

se n t as guard were silen t as shadows She was .
glad when t he high mesa o n which T a p au wee -

-
was situated came in t o view though t he trail lead ,
ing t o i t s summit looked steep and sh e was ve ry

weary .
She spoke to the tw o men .

Return now to D ee nay From here I go -

.

alone The trails may be guarded
. .
The men t urned without a word and retraced

t heir s t eps b ack in the direction from which t hey
had come .
The sun was l o w in the west an d t hre w t he rock

walls o f the To to me mes a into golden relief
-

-
aga inst the purple shadows of the moun t ain tha t

186
SAH -
NE IN E AG L E S N E S T
18 7
rose beyo d S ah n e looked and stood still Her

n .

-
, .
he art bea t fas t within her There lay the place .
w here she had been bor n : the home o f her o w n peo

ple an d she came to it as a spy t o steal its se

erets ! The thought was bitter an d yet why should ,
she have love for a people o f whom she had heard

much evil an d little good The Nag apahs had .

- -
been kindly whe n they had thought her o n e of

t hemselves ; an d perhaps again when she had prov ,
en where her heart lay they would have smiles for ,
her And a n e w thought brought the blood to her

.
cheeks was Kay yah captive in that mes a town

-
and wo ul d the gods give it in to her ha n ds to deliver

him B ut if he were dead if they had killed h im
?
,

as a spy the n she too would follow if need be

, ,
the s ame trail B ut rst there was work to do

. .
And she ag ain started fo rward with her eyes lifted

t o her j ourney s end
.
She did n o t see a man step o u t from the shadow

o f a large boulder o n the trail in front o f her a nd
wait silently for her approach She di d not see .
him u n til she had almost reached him an d then ,
she s t ood s t ill with a sharp i n take o f breath A n .
other m an stood close to the boulder an d she knew ,
them for T o to mes F ear ashed in t o her heart

-
'
-
.
,
but she closed her t hought to i t Here was no .
place o r t ime for fear .

18 8 LO S T I ND I AN MAGI C
The m an spoke before she had breathed t wice

Why is a Nag ap ah woman o n t he t ra il o f -
-
the T o t o mes He sp oke in p oor Nag apah bu t

-
-
- -
she answered him in his own t ongue Her he ar t .
beat fas t bu t her voice was steady wi t h t he words .

I am no N ag apah I am T o t o me T ake - -
.
-
-
.

me t o Tag a mo -

-
.

Wau ko ma is o ur chief answered H awal li
-
-
,
-
-
,
for i t was he .
B ut i t is Tag a mo I would see said S ah ne

-
-
,

.
Your words are s t range for a cap t ive A cap .
t iv e follows at t he word o f him who has cap t ured .
Why do y o u say you are To t o me ? Y o u have -

the look o f a Nag apah and h ave never been seen

- -

among my people H aw al li s words were n o t
- -
.
withou t kindness bu t t here was increduli t y in h is

voice .

I have proof said S ah n e bu t my proof is,
-
,

f o r D is din alone
-
.

Dis din !
-
And H awal li n o w s poke wit h -
-

amazemen t D is din ! W ha t know you o f D is
.
-

din ?
S ah n e looked a t him and t here was a speech

-
less pleading in her eyes .

I am very weary t he t rail is long from A h

co. Take me to D is din o r t o Tag a mo and I '

- -
-
will prove my words .

gradually though t more and more of her own peo

ple until she could no longer stay away from them .
She had been received with kindness and many

questions by the girls w h o surrounded her their ,
eyes dwelling in wonder o n her strange ornamen t s

and unfamiliar garments . And she had been
brought t o this hogan with i t s soft skins and ma t s
and many curious articles and here among her
, ,
cousins she was t o have a home It was all as sh e

, .
had wished even better than she had really e x

,
e c te d and yet her heart ached within her She

p , .
had heard no word of Kay yah nor o f the Magic

-
,
and an o l d hag who sat outside o f the hogan and

,
stirred a p o t watched her wi t h deep sunken sus

,
-
,
p ic io u s eyes ; eyes tha t burned into her conscious
ness and followed her and haunted her C ould t he .
woman read her secret though t s ?
S ah n e lay wi t h sleepless eyes s t aring up at t he

-
smoke hole in t he hogan roof un t il t he s t ars grew

pale and the dark blue o f the sky gave place t o

purple and then t o pink and her weary eyes closed
in res t less slumber as the sun rose .
She awoke t o the sound o f lo w voices and rose ,
o n o n e elbow t o see who the speakers were It .
was broad dayligh t n o w and she could see clearly

every obj ec t in the hoga n bu t t here was no o n e
,
t here T he hide a t t he doorway blew s lowly back

.
SAH -
NE IN EAG L E S NE S T
19 1
and forth in a gentle wind and it was from there ,
t he voices came At rst she gave little heed to

.
the words but soon was startled i n t o close atten

,
tion and rose from a sitting post ure silently to her

fee t and crept toward the doorway A woman s .

voice spoke and the words were in a lo w whine .

A great chief will n o t take the words o f an o l d
woman but I have lived lo n g and seen much I t
, .
may n o t be as I have s aid but a maid amaid who ,

is fair o f f acc c an deceive the very gods and may

g

well deceive such as Tag a mo an d Dis din -

-

-
.

Hush ! said a man s voice The maid will
.

hear .

N o t she ! cont in ued the woman She sleeps

.
as o n e dead an d will no t wake until the sun is

many hands high .

Y o u say the girl is fair ? again spoke the man .
A high cackle evidently mean t f o r alaugh came

, ,
in reply .

The very words can draw even Wau ko m a -
-
.

But wait y o u shall see her for yourself

.
S ah n e drew back hastily from the doorway and

-
sank again o n her couch o f skins Wau ko ma .

-

-
,
chief of t he T o to mes was standing without and

-

-
, ,
t he o t her she had n o doubt was the old hag whose

, ,
eyes had haunted her There was a throbbing in .
her brain ; what could the words mean Was sh e

?
19 2 LO S T IND I AN MAGIC
susp ec t ed Wha t had t he o l d woman s aid b e f ore

?
her ears had been awake t o the voices And were

?
t hey n o w coming in S he sank as low as possible

?
in the couch an d drew t he skins about her b ut ,
t hey did no t enter There were a f e w more l o w

.
words which she did n o t ca t ch and t hen silence

had t hey gone ?
S he lay f o r wh at seemed a l ong t ime o n the

skins lis t ening A t rst t here was n o more sound
, .
,
bu t presently sh e heard a crackling o f bur ni ng

s t icks and a t hin old voice began t o croon A weird
, .
air i t was and spoke o f t he desert j us t before t he

dawn when t he black silen t nigh t f ades in t o agray
, ,
ghos t o f itself and ies mo aning away The word s , , .
came in a litt l e while words t ha t were far apar t
like t he mesquit e bushes in t he sand and c all ed to

o n e another across t he sp a ces :

O
ee d bl o ws c o ld ;

t h e win
O ee
th e n igh t is old

.
T h e sh ad o ws w ak e ,
A n d th e p in y o n s sh ak e
I n t h e gri p o f th e n igh t win d b o ld -
.
O -
ee
th e d aw n is ne ar ;
O e e m y h eart k n o ws fe ar ;
F o r th e c re ts o f n igh tse
A re s e e n in th e l igh t
W he n th e gh o s t o f d awn is h e re .
19 4 LO S T I ND IAN MAG I C
cold as she regarde d S ah n e f o r amomen t before -
she again spoke .

The dawn wind comes from t he land o f thos e
-
who know and has spoken to Chu nah she s aid

,
'
-
, .

Your words sound strange t o me s aid S ah ,

ne. What is i t tha t y o u know ?
The woman seemed to draw wi t hin herse l f as a

tur t le does and answered shor t ly :
,

More t han I will t ell .

Enough ! said S ah n e and her word was a
-
,
command All fear o f this o ld crone had suddenly

.
left her ; what she knew o r wha t she did no t know

'
ma t tered little as she could prove no t hing Speak

,
.
more pleasantly to me o r D is din shall hear o f -
your words ; I am o f his people and h ave given

proof The word was for D is din and n o t for
.
'
-
y o u . S ah n e spoke withou t anger

-
though she
had had su fcien t cause for i t .
The o ld woman dropped her head an d her voice ,
was again the whine t ha t S ah n e had heard o n

-
rs t awakening .

I am an o l d woman ; my words mean no t hing .
D o no t speak to Dis din ; my tongue shall say no

-

more .
S ah n e walked away f rom t he hogan wi t hou t

-
o n e backward glance for t he eyes t ha t s t ill wa t ched

SAH
-
NE IN EAGL E S NE S T
19 5
wi t h uns atised suspicion She spoke t o her cousins .
that day o f the o l d woman .

Why does she stay about the hogan her ways

are not pleasan t and her to n gue is sh arp .
O ne o f the girls answered her with a light laugh

O h do not mind C hu nah
, She is old an d
-
.
means but half o f what she says She has been .
nurse for each o n e o f us an d it would bre ak her

heart to be sen t away from the hogan .
And S ah n e said no more

-
.
D ays passed and she now knew for a certainty

that the Magic was not in th e To to me camp -

-
.
She had heard o f Kay yah s escape but thought

-

him dead though she knew gu ards were still placed

,
o n t he many trails for his possible capture She .
had seen Wau k o m a many times an d his bold

-

-
,
eyes hau n ted her even more than did those o f the
o l d woman who had not spoke n again but whose
e nm i t y she felt O f Wau ko ma she had heard

.
-

-
s t range things and when she had spoken o f him to

,
her cousin D ez pah D ez pah had put her n ger

-
,
-
t o her lips and looked cautiously about t o be sure

her words were not overheard .

Speak t ha t name with caution S ah n e There ,

-
.
are strange things about to happen se says our
fa th er D is din W au k o ma is still in name

,

-
.
-

-
, ,
chief o f the To t o mes bu t i t is whispered tha t

-
-
,
Tag a mo has all bu t t aken his pl ace I know

-

-
.
no t what i t means bu t w e are t old t o keep o u r lips

,
closed and o ur eyes and ears open .
She was now trea t ed as o n e of t he t ribe by many

and the sens e o f s t rangeness had worn a way She .
an d H awal li were o n t he mos t friendly terms

-

-
and it was when she was in his presence tha t her

sens e o f deception mos t hur t She had learned all .
t hat she possibly could and fel t t ha t she could serve

no purpose in remaining longer in Ta pau wee ; -
-
the time for her re turn t o Ah co if such re t urn

-
,
were possible was a t hand , .
Th e dawn ligh t crep t in t o t he hogan and S ah n e

-
rose from her couch o f skins an d s t epped lightly to

t he door The others lay sleeping and she made
.
no sound as she pushed aside t he hide curtain and

s t epped o u t The camp lay silent and she walked
.
swift ly between the hogans seeing no t so much ,
as a dog A t t he edge o f the mesa she gave o n e

.
long look at the glorious scene below : the deser t

pain t ed in the delicate hues t ha t come before t he
sun and wi t h a swift glance behind her s t epped
,
onto the trail t ha t l ed downward There was a .
lo w laugh near b y a man s laugh t hat held in i t

a deep no t e o f t riumph and she stepped has t ily

,
back trying to conce al herself behind o n e o f t he

,
large t umble weed balls t h at lay near b y I t w as

-
.
19 8 LO S T I N D I A N MAGI C
H e s t il l s t ood over her bu t t he sm ile faded f rom

,
his lips .

A spy i s a spy he said and his voice w as now
, ,
harsh I will give y o u unt il nigh t to decide w h e th

.
er you wil l have smiles or frowns for Wau ko m a -

-
.

Today I t rap the o t her Nag apah
- -
.
The blood left her cheeks and she looked up a t

him with frigh t ened eyes .

Wh at mean you is Kay yah t hen alive
? -
H e frowned as he answered
Y o u know this d o g ? Yes he is alive bu t n o t

,
f o r long He is t rapped like a f o x in his hole

.
,
and no power can s ave him now from my arrows .
Today we hun t him o ut .
S ah ne s face sank into her hands bu t she w as

'-
silen t her t houghts were whirling wha t could she

,

d o how keep Wau ko ma here un t i l Kay yah

-

-
-
could b e warned ?

The hills are h o t she said , Why hun t o n .
such a day There are cool hogans in camp and

?
my hands have skill in preparing pleasan t food .
She looked up with a pitiful attemp t a t coque t ry .
There was amusemen t in Wau ko m as f ace t ha t -

-
quickly turned to ange r .

S o y o u would save t he Nag apah he said and
- -
,

his face grew dark Tonigh t you shall have smiles
.
f o r me o r sleep the long sleep as shall Kay yah

'
-
, ,
wi t h an arrow in your heart spies are no t wel

SAH -
NE IN EAGLE S NE S T

19 9
come in Ta pau wee -

His voice agai n cha n ged
-
.

to mock kindness Today C hu n ah shall watch
-
over the little bird and clip its wings .
Sa h n e slipped back i n to the hogan like t he

-
caged bird she had been called an d lay o n the skin s

with her face in her hands She knew well that .
the o ld hag C hu nah had bee n given instructio n s

,

-
,
to keep close wa t ch o n her every action an d the ,
gloati n g t riumph in those o l d eyes stu n g her like

the lash of a whip She feared to go to Tag a mo
.
-
-
or Dis din for pro t ectio n lest their suspicion s be

-
aroused She must ght bu t ght in secre t and

.
,
alone .
Her cousins were gay that morning and told

her t hat t hey were all going t o hunt pinyo n nuts -
in the foo t hills f o r t he day an d would no t re t urn

until night when there would be a moon They
, .
were surprised at her refusal to go with them bu t ,
she t hought tha t her cha n ces for escape were far
be tt er away from t hem and decided no t to leave
Ta pau wee
-
-
.
Through the d ay she went about her usual t asks

wi th a face which gave no i n dication of the emo
tions struggli n g within her and was asked no ques
t ions She had seen the party headed by Wau
.
,
ko ma leave t he camp and knew t heir cruel pur

-
,
pose ye t she coul d do no t hing I t was n o w late

, .
evenin g and she s t ood o n t he edge of the mes alook

ing with burnin g eyes t oward t he moun t ain Was .
Kay yah i n deed there and alive only waiting to

-
,
be shot t o death as the chief had threatened And

?
she could send no message o f warni n g nothing

.
She clenched her han ds until they hurt and all ,
the time was conscious o f the wa t chful eyes at her

back eyes that lost no gesture o r movement tha t

she made eyes t hat s aid as plai nl y as spoken

,

words Your turn next girl o f the N ag apahs
, ,
-
-
.
She t urned ercely o n the o ld woman .

Why do you watch me D o you fear tha t I
?

will j ump from the mesa o r inj ure myself ?
Ch u nah mumbled something u n der her bre at h

-
and prete n ded occup ation with a j ar she carried .

I shall go for water said S ah n e suddenly ,

-
.

Follow if you wish but I shall go down the trail
, , .
And taking the j ar from the o ld woman she drew ,
it to her shoulder and started swiftly down t he

t rail.
C hu nah taken completely o ff her guard fol

-
, ,
lowed protesting with ever y step She spoke wild

, , .
ly and seemed not to car e what her words revealed

t o S ah n e f o r she feared to let th e girl for a
-
,
mome n t o u t o f her sight ; an d S ah n e u n fo rtu

-
,
na te l y for C hu nah had chosen a time when there

-
,
was no o n e in sight o n whom t he woman cou l d call

for aid .
of t he o l d woman followed her but only g ave wings

to her feet The cry seemed to go u nh eeded in
.
the general commo t ion above S he ran straigh t .
down t he trail ; t here was n o t ime to choose a p ath

among t he rocks and t rees t o either side The .
shouts o f the camp and o f t he o ld woman came

more and more fain t ly to her ears and nally died
away altoge ther as she ran o n with fas t bea t ing -
heart bu t unfaltering speed .
B ack o n t he mes a Chu nah s t ruggling back up

-
,
t he long t rail found her way t hrough the village

,
to Wau ko ma s side
-

-

.

The girl has gone she gasped There .

down the t rail toward A h co

-
.
Wau ko ma gav e a harsh exclama t ion and shook

-

-
her roughly .

Y o u shall p ay for this y o u o l d wi t ch ! he
snarled and t hrew her from him as he s t rode swift

,
ly t oward t he trail .

C hot z u come ! he called and as th e o ther
-
, ,
came close he spoke in a lo w voice .

The Nag apah girl is gone she must be

- -
brought back ! G o you an d head her o ff from

,
above the canyon I go the other way she can
no t escape from such a circle and we will meet a t ,
t he clearing this side o f the pass Come ! .
A n d both men ran swiftly down t he t rai l .

C HAP TER ! I
BE

-
TA -
AT SIN
d
T h e go s giv e s tre n gth to him w h o trie s ;
T h e te s te d
w in gs ar e th o s e th at r is e .
HE rst fain t glow o f a rosy dawn shone

through the cave s entrance as Kay y ah
-
opened his eyes on the morning after T so s in
vocation t o the go d VV ah ma h a His lo n g nigh t

- -
.
o f heavy sleep had left his mi n d clear a n d active ,
and he arose from his bed with the keen j oy o f

youth and strength singing in his heart He re .
membered quite clearly all the details o f T so s
weird ceremony that had taken place the night b e

fore but now the s and painti n gs were gone and the
,
cave s oor had its usual appearance Tso was

.
abse n t but he had not been away long as a little

, ,
blaze still ickered through the charred sticks upon

the re s t one an d steam lazily rose from the bowls
-
,
o f food tha t sat o n the oor abou t it .
Kay yah took the half ll e d water j ar t o the

- - -
ledge Ou t side and after dashing i t s cool con t ent s

,
203
over his hands and face relled it at t he poo l an d

,
re t urned to eat his morni n g meal .
As he appeased his keen appe t ite with the crude

t hough appetizi n g fare o f the old T o to me he -
-
,
though t over t he event s that had occurred sinc e

his arrival at t he cave and after forming and re
,
j e c tin g several plans for the immediate fu t ure he

decided that he would take his leave o f Tso j us t as
soon as he learned the bes t way to go back t o
Ah co I t was no t his intention t o abandon his

-
.
search f o r the Magic bu t as he had learned tha t

,
i t was no t in the possession of t he T o to mes he -

-
,

must n o w return f o r Dee nay s cou n sel and advice
-
before he could follow an y future course of ac

t ion .
Jus t as he was nishin g T so ent ered and with

,
o u t a word threw his bow case from his shoulder

-
and s t ood his spear against t he wall S omethin g .
in the o l d man s ac t ions and in the fac t t ha t he

had re t urned so soo n after starti n g o n what had

app arently been a hu n t ing trip told Kay yah t ha t
,

-
somethin g unusual had occurred .
The explana t ion was not long in coming .

The Lion will s t ay in his cave while t he d ay

is here remarked Tso
, . A pack o f the To t o m e -
-
dogs b ark around the trails below and look up

f rom t he hills like chi n do gs t ha t howl a t t he moon
-
.
eyes will see the wall o f a house o f t he dead The .
house is under t he rocks o n which we stand .
As Kay yah obeyed he looked as directly be

-
,
l o w as he could and was surprised to see t he outer

,
wall o f a cli ff dwelling immediately beneath him .
I t s to p came up almost to t he edge o f t he over

ha n ging c li ff .

When the To t o me dogs look up from below
-

-
,

said the o ld man t he house hides this part o f the
,
ledge The end seems to be where the lit t le shel f

.
comes up that holds t he po o l There is no way up .
to the pool so the o n e who comes t o nd the ledge

,
does n o t know where t o go and is blind t o t he

Lion s t rail

.

The gods o f the little people of t he cli ff s gave

them grea t wisdom said Kay yah and he thought
,

-
,
o f t he other cli ff dwelling from which he had

cl imbed up to the secret opening far around a t
t he o t her end o f t he ledge .

Their gods gave t hem wisdom remarked Tso , ,
but forgo t t o give t hem strong medicine agains t

the Shin di The witches got them all all and
-
.

,

sen t them o n t he long sleep .
Then he slowly rocked back and fort h as he

chant ed under his breath

P al e wit c h ,
bl ack wit ch ,
S t r n g is th m agic ;
o e

BE

-
TA AT S IN -
20 7
S t r o n g is t h e m e d ic in e
We we av e ab o u t u s .
S p awn o f th e sp id e r ;
F an g o f th e sh e w lf ;

o
C l aw o f th e b at win g ; -
T o o th o f th e sn ak e ;
M in gl e th y m agic
W ll in th e w e a in g
e v .
P al e w i t c h bl ack
, wi t ch ,
B ack t o t h e S hi n d i !
S t r o n g i s th e ci cl r e
Wo v e n ab o u t us .

When he had n ished his chan t Kay yah s t ill ,

-
,
wondering about the trail that must be hidden near

the house below them asked : ,
Does the house o f the Na y akaed tha t is b e -

neath us hide your trail ?

The Lion s trail leads into the house o f t he

dead replied Tso and the To to me dogs fear

, ,
-

-
the house for the sign o f death is upo n it and the

,
traces o f the bear witch are about it They do not

-
.
know that the Lio n s trail leads through the house

and another trail run s by it to a place more pleas

ing ; bu t if the hearts of the dogs grew brave b e
cause o f their number an d their wisdom grew
,
enough to t ell t hem the righ t way up t o the ledge ,

they could n o t lift t he grea t rock t ha t Tso al on e

knows how to move .
Kay yah remembered his vision o f the pin e log

'-
as i t rose int o the air moving t he nicely balanced ,
rock to o n e side and i t n o w came t o his mind that

,
t he stou t spear doubtless played i t s par t as a lever

when the o ld man came up from t he t rails below ;
bu t he said nothing It was quite plain t ha t Tso.
thought the T o t o mes were after him in S pi t e o f

-

-
,
the fac t t hat t hey could no t kn ow o f his exis t ence

excep t as D o h t he bear wi tc h who m t hey had
,
-
,
never seen Kay yah well knew whom t he T o t o

.

- -

mes were aft er and tha t if they t ried to ge t up t o

,
t he ledge i t would be with no t hough t o f nding

t he dread man bear -
.
A S t he two star t ed back t o t he cave he carefully ,
t hough t t he ma tt er over and deciding tha t i t was ,
no longer necessary to keep his knowledge o f the

other secre t passage from his o l d friend he re ,
m arked :

A t t he other end o f this ledge is a way down
t o t he hills below We may have s t rong need f o r
.
i t s use if o ur food should all b e ea t en before the

To t o mes leave the trails beneath this S ide o f the
-

-
cli ff s They would n o t believe t ha t t here is a way

.
down a t t he place where I will Show you f o r t he ,
w a ll b elow i t is very high and s t eep and t he pas ,

of t he dead t hat is far below u S b u t t he s t eps o f
the Na y akaed are not f o r t he crooked fee t of

- -

Tso The fee t o f the little cli ff people were small

.

and s t raight Then as they started t oward the
.
,
cave he continued
, A man climbs up withou t
grea t trial where he climbs down with lab or and
grea t care f o r the fee t have no eyes f o r a n e w
,
t rail and they are no t sure o f a way t ha t lies in

,

t he darkness .

This way is n o t a hard o n e said Kay yah ,
-
,

wishing to assure the o ld man and I am sure you ,
can go down it in safety f o r I have been down ,
t he passage S ince I came up an d my fee t found t he ,

s t eps without difficulty .
A t t he last remark Tso suddenly stopped .

You have been t o the hills below S ince you came

up here he asked somewha t suspiciously
? .

Yes said Kay yah honestly
, I t hought you
-
.
had f ound t he li t tle bag I had los t when I rs t .
came here and I had it in my mind to ge t it from

,
you and t o escape t o my country by the way I

came as I t hought t he bag contained the Magic
,
o f the N ag apahs but you did n o t have i t as I

'
- -
, ,
found it where I had lost it in the house of t he Na

y a -
kaed far below
.
Reaching int o his belt he brough t f or t h t he li t

t le bag saying as he did so :

BE

-
TA AT S IN
-
2 11
S ee it is here and shall n o t be los t again

, , .
At Sight o f the bag the old ma n s face cha n ged

,

as though another bei n g had stepped i n to his body .
It was as if h is half clouded mi n d had been sud

-
d e n ly cleared o f the co n fused impressio n s that had

often thronged it an d obscured his V iew o f the past .
Then a look o f wo n der came i n to his eyes and like ,
o n e who suddenly nds himself in the mids t o f
unfamiliar surrou n dings he gazed at his you n g ,
frie n d as he would have looked at a stranger With .
a growl o f rage he grabbed the little bag with o n e

hand as he clutched at Kay yah s throa t with the
-

other .

Thief thief ! he cried
, You stole it ! W h o .
are you ? Where i s the Yaz yah ? Speak ! O r -

you Shall never speak again .
Astounded by the i n sul t and the unlooked f o r -
actio n s of his supposed friend Kay yah thrust the ,

-
ha n d from his throat as t he ho t blood leaped to his

face .
And n ow as he gaze d a t Kay yah a change

,

-
,
more t errible t han t he rst came over the o ld T o

to me As if frozen where he stood his arms hang

-
.
,
ing helplessly at his S ides with mouth agape an d ,
eyes staring wildly from his ashen face he looked ,
as though some hidden terror had stricken his vi

t als wi t h a mor t al wound The helpless j aws moved .
2 12 L O S T IND I AN MAG I C
as t hough t o speak but no sound came from his ,
t hroa t Then as t hough he were wre n ching him

.
,
self free from some t errible spell tha t bound him ,
he sudde nl y t urned and with grea t arms upraised ,
ed along t he ledge shouting as he ran

B e ta a t si n be ta atsin be ta atsin
- -
,

- -
,

- -
Dazed by t he s t range sigh t he had j us t witnessed ,
a spectacle t ha t had driven all thought o f anger

from his heart Kay yah followed Tso m e ch an i
,

cal ly as the l att er ran o n around the poin t in t he

ledge to t he passage t hat led below A S he reached .
t he curve and looked along the Shelf beyond he saw

, ,
the o ld man fran t ically lift t he end o f the heavy

l og t o swing t he great rock from the opening .
Bu t he exer t ed t oo much s t reng t h and the s t rong ,
arms as if ac t ing withou t reason and rendered still

, ,
more powerfu l under t he stress o f exci t ement ,
forced t he l o g upward and beyond i t s b alancing

poin t The a t rock slid heavily inward and t he
.
,
big t imber poising for a second o n the edge o f

,
t he opening crashed downward through t he pas

,
sage below A cloud o f dus t arose as the log

.
plunged t o t he lower ledge and t he mountain walls ,
echoed loudly with the booming noise as it cr um

b l ed t he stone walls o f the a n cien t dwelling b e
n ea t h t hen rolled ou t ward and t umbled from leve l
,
2 14 L O S T I ND I AN MAGIC
p e are d t ha t he in t ended go directly down to t he

to
very hills o n which the enemy were camped .
A S his eyes searched t he country immediately

benea t h him h e saw a dozen or more To to me
,
-
-
men a t tracte d by t he loud noise o f the falling

,
lo g running upward from a poi n t in t he hills j ust

,
beneath t he t rail t aken by o ld Tso ; but as th e ,
rough ground o f t he mount ain side between them
prevent ed them from see i ng each other he felt like ,
S houting a warning to t he o l d man ; but o n second
though t he realized t ha t such action would be use

less The t hreate n ing situation was clear to him
. .
I t was evident t hat Tso had totally los t his rea

so n and in his mad haste had accide n tally o r i t
, ,
migh t have been intentionally des t royed the hid

,
den passage and laid i t s secre t bare t o all who

migh t n o w approach the cli ff Worse still t he
.
,
unarme d o ld man was running in t o t he very

clu t ches o f his enemies .
Why had Tso ac t ed as he had and why t he cry ,

of b e ta atsin
- -
the words used by Tag a m o the
,
-
-
nigh t o f his cap t ivi t y in t he T o t o me camp These

- ?
-
ques t ions remained uppermost in his mind but h e ,
could nd no answer to them He was half glad

.
that Tso had t aken the li tt le bag with him as it ,
had caused him enough t rouble and he was t ired ,

BE TA A T S IN

- -
2 15
of t he many un answerable ques t ions conc e rning it

that had arisen to ba ffle him .
A S he watched the old man hobbling from level

t o level n o w disappearing around some S ligh t pro
,
j e c t io n in the mountai n S ide the n appearing again

-
,
o n a lower sec t ion of the zig zaggi n g trail he also -

,
wa t ched t he party of T o to mes who were stead -

-
ily risi n g into higher ground and would surely

meet him .
Although t hey were still far below Kay yah s ,

-

keen eyes could distinguish some t hing o f t he fea

tures and build o f the To to me men and he was -

-
,
no t grea t ly surprised to see tha t they were led by

Wau ko ma Would the To to me chief t ake Tso
-

-
.
-
-
captive and return with him to Ta p au wee o r -

-
,
would he hold t he o l d man u n der guard and c o n

t i n n e upward in search for h im ? Then he suddenl y
remembered tha t probably no T o to me had seen -

-
Tso and lived to describe him to others an d it was ,
no t likely tha t Wau ko ma and his men would

-

-
associa t e their idea o f D oh the bear witch with ,

-
,
t he o l d man .
A momen t la t er he s aw t he To to mes s t op as -

-
if in s ur prise as Tso o n roundi ng a poin t that

,
had hidden him from their S ight me t them o n a ,
level stretch o f trail S lowing his gai t a little

.
,
t he o ld m an hobbled p ast them waving one arm ,

2 16 L O S T I ND I AN MAG I C
b ack t ow ard t he cli ff and app arent ly Shou t ing

something t o them as he ran A second l at er his .
words came faintly up t o Kay yah s ears

-

He is up t here up there up there ! , ,
F o r a momen t Kay yah s hear t grew bi tt er as

-
he realized tha t Tso had betrayed him in t o Wau

ko ma s hands ; but he wai t ed to see wha t t he l a
-
t
t er would do A S if rendered speechless by t he
.
unexpec t ed S igh t of a s t range o ld man having the ,
appearance and t ongue of o n e o f t heir o w n t ribe ,
t he T o t o mes made no e ff ort t o stop him as h e

-

-
hobbled o n down t he t rail and passed out o f Kay

yah s sigh t around a poin t below Then the To .
t o mes s t ar t ed quickly upward again but had gone

-
,
bu t a few s t eps when Wau k o ma halted them -

-
,
and after giving some has t y command to o n e o f

th e men in whose bru t al face and gure Kay yah

-
,
recognized Cho t z u the par t y con t inued more

'
-
,
S l o wly upward .
A t Wau ko m as word C ho t z u slipped back

-
-
,

-
along the t rail t t ing an arr ow to his b o w as he

,
ran When he had reached the poin t where Kay

.

yah had las t seen t he eeing gure o f the o ld man ,
he carefully drew his b o w and le t t he arrow y .
Kay yah could only guess a t t he probable resul t

-
o f t he sho t bu t rage ared up within him as he

,
wit n esse d th e cow ardly ac t t ha t had been execu t ed

To -
t o mes and s t epping down in t o t he en t rance

-
,
he leaned over the edge o f t he cli ff and scanned

the hills below In t he lit t le clearing o n t he hill
.
,
where he had seen the lone guard once before now ,
s t ood t hree men an d he drew quickly back as he

,
saw the y were all gazing up a t t he cli ff He had .
j ust s t epp ed to the ledge again when a spent ar

ro w arched upward in a graceful curv e and dropped
near his fee t .
To go down t he passage now was no t t o be

t hought o f for even if Wau ko ma and his men
,
-

were unable to nd t he upper opening they would ,
cer t ainly camp in t he cave and t he guards below

,
n o t o nl y knew that he was o n t he ledge bu t they ,
would guard well t he shelf below o n which t he li t

t le cli ff dwelling s t ood If he en t ered the passage
.
to hide it would only be a ques t ion o f t ime un t il

,
he would be compelled t o come o u t for wa t er and

food He s eemed to be caught like a rabbit in a
.
t rap and as he fully realized t he S i t uation he

, ,

stopped and t hought the mat t er over D ee nay .
-
had often repea t ed to him an old admoni t ion t ha t

now c a
me t o his mi n d : E xcitement goes blind in
t he presence o f danger Calm though t s are eye s
.
that may behold a way t o safety .
Then he lifted his arms and calmly t urned h is

f ace upward t oward Joho na ai th e Gre a t S pir i t
-
-
, ,

BE

-
TA AT S IN
-
2 19
in whom he had always t rusted and his eye caught ,
the rugged branches of the twisted pi n yo n t ree -
whose limbs overhung the edge o f the cli ff above .
The light of hope leaped i n to his face as apossible

way of escape came to his mind Ru n n ing with all .
S peed to the rocks above the pool he caught up t he ,
heavy coil o f rope tha t hung over the peg glan ci n g ,
down at the trails below as he did so The To to .

-

mes were but a little way below him but the steep ,
asce n t caused them to climb far more Slowly than

when on the lower levels an d he kn ew t hey would
,
move with the greatest cautio n when they came

withi n bowshot of the ruined cli ff dwelli n g He .
might have time but certai n ly n o n e to S pare

,
.
Runni n g back to the cave he brought ou t the o l d

,
rope o f twisted hide an d taking the two to a poi n t

,
beneath the tree he tied them securely together ,
maki n g one le n gth that he saw would be long

enough to reach from the ledge to the t ree and back
again Taki n g the stone ham m er from his belt
. ,
h e tied o n e e n d of the stout leather cord to the head

o f the weapon , an d after coiling the long strand
i n to a loose coil a t his feet he made ready f o r the
,
most importa n t step in his pla n S teppi n g o u t from

.
beneath the tree to a poi n t that would make it pos

sible for the stone hammer when thrown to p ass
, ,
over it and desce n d to the ledge again he gripped ,

t he handl e and aft er t aking care f u l aim hurl e d it

, ,
upward with su fcient force t o drive it alit t le above

t he tree before i t s descen t o n the other S ide He .
realized tha t his life might depend o n t he o n e

t hrow and his hear t bea t heavily wi t h excitemen t
,
and fear as t he hammer arched over the t ree as ,
he had in t ended i t Should bu t lit o n t he edge of

,
t he upper cli ff with i t s handle p ro j e ctin g where he

,
could j ust see i t from below .
C a t ching the rope he gave i t several Shor t j erks ,
causin g the weapon t o S lide nearer and n earer t o

t he edge O ne more Sharp pull and i t t umbled
.
downward bringing the Slack end o f the rope wi t h

,
i t as t he smoo th t wisted t hongs slid over t he s t rong

lim b s above .
A momen t l a t er Kay yah had t wis t ed t he two

-
lengths t ogether ei t her o n e o f which was more than

,
s t rong enough t o support his weigh t and as h e ,
untied the s t one hammer and replaced i t in his bel t ,
he heard the t riumphant shout o f t he To t o mes -

-
and knew they were coming up t he last p ar t o f

t he trail and had discovered t he n o w open p assage
a t t he o t her end o f t he ledge Quickly t aking the
.
ends o f the rope in his teeth t o make sure t ha t

,
his means o f escape would be taken up wi t h h im ,
he was soon climbing hand over hand up t he S ide

o f th e bulging c l i ff t o safe t y above He clim b e d
.
t e re d on ehis o w n arrows in passing He

of .
S hrugged his S houlders as he t hought o f wha t migh t
have happened t o him if t he deadly missile had been

shot by a better marksman .
Then rising quickly as the though t came to him

, , ,
he solem nl y held his arms upraised t o t he after

noon sun saying as he did so
,

Grea t S piri t in t he heart o f t he E ar th child
,
is than ks for t he escap e from his enemies Let n o t .

my hear t forge t .
Pulling o u t the arr ow he tossed i t over t he cli ff

,
to his enemies beneath to le t them know how lit t le

,
damage i t had done He heard i t s t rike t he ledge

.
below bu t no sound from t he men came back in

,
reply D oub t less Wau k o ma and his men were

.
-
-
inspecting the cave prep aratory t o robbing i t o f

,
everything o f value bu t he knew tha t some of his

,
men would be s t a t ioned ou t side with drawn bows

ready t o le t y a t him if he should att emp t t o
look below .
Then he suddenly realized the danger o f leaving

t he t ree as i t was for Wau k o m a would surely
,
-

-
make an e ff or t to follow him and might even now ,
be making aro p e from t he s t rong Skins tha t were

sca t tered abou t the cave He mus t nd some means
.
b y which t he overhanging lim b s cou l d be b roken o ff

BE

-
TA AT S IN
-
22 3
without e xp o sm g himself to the danger of Shots

from below .
A S he looked over the wide Slope about him he ,
saw that it was dotted with dwarf j u n iper an d

pinyon trees and gnarled sage brush grew wherever
-
,
-
it could nd a footi n g betwee n the rocks an d boul

ders that had tumbled dow n from the low crumbli n g
wall above He might n d enough dry wood with
.
which to build a re be n eath the tree an d could thus

burn the limbs o f but that would requ ire too long
,
a time The afternoo n sun was n o t ma n y hour s

.
above the horizon an d he must m ake his way to the

top o f the mountai n an d if possibl e desce n d to the
, ,
other side before dark n ess came He k n ew that no .
man had ever fou n d a way to its top an d it was for ,
that reason the o l d men o f the tribe had given the

great at plateau o n its sum mit the n ame B ah chi ,
-

Din o ch ! Shrine o f the Gods !
-
.
From his present position it looked as though he

might be able to reach the to p without great d if
culty and as he realized the fact a thrill o f ex
,
c it e m e n t ran through him as he knew he must be , ,
even now sta n ding higher up on the mou n tain than

,
any m an had ever stood before .
As he co n templated this fact his eye caught a huge

rou n d boulder that stood some little distan ce above
him and in an almost direct line with the tree A S .
2 24. L O S T IND IAN MAG I C
he ran up t o i t he saw t ha t i t might be possib l e to

roll i t if the rocks and earth tha t supported i t on
t he l ower S ide could be removed Aft er bre aking
.
o ff a s t ou t limb from a nearby t ree he returned
t o t he boulder an d using t he lim b as a digging t ool

, ,
wa s soon removing t he earth a n d stones from b e
nea t h its lower S ide After long and p atien t e f

.
fort he decided t hat a very hard push would s t art

i t o n i t s way He t hen gathered all the smaller
.
rocks and s t ones t ha t lay alo n g t he way between the

boulder and the t ree and laid them in a row on either
S ide to form a direc t and uni n t errupted path
, This .
accomplished he go t above t he gre a t boul der and

, ,
bracing his fee t against t he side o f the Slope and ,
with Shoulder t o t he rock pushed with all his

,
s t ren gth S lowly the great stone rolled over then

.
, ,
gatherin g momen tum with each t urn i t went plung

,
ing down the Slope directly a t t he tree A moment .
la t er a splin t ered s tump remain ed where t he pinyo n

had s t ood and a sound like a mighty peal o f t hun
,
der arose as the huge bo ul der crashed t o the l ower

S helf and bounded o u t into t he space below .
The continued rum ble and more distan t roar as ,
i t dropped in t o the hills bene ath was mingled wi th

,
the angry cries an d Shou t s o f t he T o t o mes who

-

-
,
were both frigh t ened by the t erric noise o f t he fall

C HAP TE R ! II
TE ST S T H E no w
'-
K AY Y AH
A narro w trail ; th e sh ad o w e d ni
gh t
Th e op e n s he l te r o f th e sk
y;
Th e sm e ll o
f s age ; a h ogan

s l igh t
A f ar c o y o te s

l o n e ly cr
y .
U A MA , the moun t ain that rears its mighty

-
bulk from the foothills beside the T o to me -

-
mes a is t he highest o f the range tha t s t re t ches away

,
to t he nor t heast I t s lofty S ides are girdled about

.
with frowning cli ff s and above them steep t erraces

,
rise ro w upon ro w t o t he nal suppor t o f its level

summit S corning the rough winds and sands o f
.
the desert below and the raging s t orms from abov e

, ,
it stand s l ike a proud g uardia n over the lesser moun

t ains and hills that trail o u t at its b ack I t s inac .
cessible to p made ! u a ma the mountain o f mys -
t ory t o all o f the t ribes o f the vast desert region a t

its b ase Accounts of the magic folk mys t erious
.
,
witch caves and a n imal dens to be found o n its for

-
,
bidden crest had always had an important par t in

the s t ories t old t he To to me and Nag apah chil-
- - -
2 26
KAY YAH TE S T S THE B OW

-
227
dren None could say tha t t he tales were un t rue as

.
,
no o n e had ever bee n upo n its summit an d Qua ma ,

-
was j ust the kind of place where witches and fairy

folk would choose to live When black storm clouds
.
-
obscured its top the o l d m e n o f T a p au wee would

,
-

-
tell the little boys tha t the Shi n di was giving a -
dance to the witches and t hat soon they would hear

,
t he bea t i n g of his big drum an d then the clouds

would tremble with fear and cry the ir t ears down
all over the earth .
From Ah c o the little Nag apah children

-

- -
looked at the mysterious mou n tain through t he blue

haze o f a greater distance an d though the dis t ance
,
caused the tales about it t o be less fearsome they ,
were none the less weird and impressive I t was .
well known to them how C hu n gua the headless -

,
wolf always came out o n the mou n tain to p t o look

,

f o r his head j ust as the n e w moon hung above Qua

ma as tha t was the o nl y time in the month t hat he

,
could see but he could never nd it as t he head

, ,
could n o t call o u t to h im because it had no body t o

give i t breath to growl with and the body could ,
n o t call o u t to t he head because it had no t ongu e
o r throa t wi t h which to make a noise .
The little Nag apah boys and girls were t old

- -
tha t if t hey were ever very bad the witches might

carry them o ff t o the black caves t hat were high up
on t he moun t ain sides and the threa t d id more t han

-
,
all else to make t hem good and obedient children .
Thus t he fearsome mys t eries o f ! ua m a were e s -
tab lish e d in the minds o f the little folk and t hese ,
impressions could n o t be al t oge t her shaken o ff when

ma nh ood came .
A S Kay yah worked his w a

-
y upward over t he
rough slopes and steep t erraces that lay be t ween him
and t he lofty mes a above the memory o f many ,
childh ood t ales o f the mount ain came to his mind ,
and through his thoughts ran the words o f a little

rhyme tha t had given him his rst idea of i t s aw e
inspiring mys t ery
On ! u a m asf
-

to p a bl ack cloud lie s .
Wau
m ee, O
w au h am -
ee.
T h e wit c h win d s w ail ; t h e

-
be r wit ch
a
ie s
T o t e ll t h e S h in d i -
s om e on e die s.
Wau
m ee . W au h am e e
- -
.

As t he fearful impression this rhym e h ad made

upon him as a li t tle boy came t o his min d he per ,
m it te d a S light S hiver o f t he o l d fear to run t hrough
him j us t for t he fun and mys t ery o f it Then sud .
d e n ly he j umped as though he were S hot as a little ,
ground S quirrel whisked from t he s age a t his fee t ,
and ran t o the Shel t er o f a nearby rock H e laughed .
al ou d as he re alized t he foolishness o f his t ho ugh ts

23 0 L O S T I ND I AN MAGI C
t he deser t if he j us t spread his arms wide enough

and ran fas t enough Blue j ays rabbit hawks an d
.
,
-
,
black birds e w noisily up from bush and sage as

-
he passed an d chattered an d scolded loudly a t the

,
sigh t o f a man who w as rudely in vading their b i t h

ert o exclusive domain .

A s t range excitement ran t hrough Kay yah s -
veins as he leaped over sage and weeds in his path

as each step brought him nearer home and he could ,
scarcely bri n g himself to stop as he reached the west

ern end o f the grea t at to p Halting o n the very .
edge of the plateau he looked o u t over the wonder

,
!
ful scene that lay beneath him and quickly searched ,
f o r the Spo t where he believed the Nag apah camp - -
must be S ituated Then his eye caugh t the familiar

.
t wis t ing ou t line o f the canyon that appeared from ,
where he s t ood like a dark blue crack in the earth

, ,
and yes a t i t s mou t h lay Ah c o its cluster of ti n y

,
-
,
hogans barely visible in the dim distance It seemed .
a long t ime since he had t urned his back upon the

N ag apah camp ; his hear t lled with though t s o f
- -
adventure and the recovery o f t he lost Magic He .
had found t he adven t ure bu t the lost Magic seemed

,
as far from recovery as i t had ever been .
As he looked a t the mountai n side 1m m e d iate ly -
b eneat h him he saw that he would be able t o desce n d

,
a l ong w ay before encoun t ering the sheer wal l s of


-
23 1
cli ff s that had always proved an e ff ectual barrier to

all who had attempted to climb up from below and ,
t hat n o w might hold him priso n er o n the mou n tain

t op J o h o na ai had led him through e ach difficult
.

- -
situatio n that had thus far confronted him an d b e

, , ,
doubted not that the Great S pirit would aid him

now .
He carefully stu di ed the nature of the cou n t ry

over which he must pass before he could get safely
o u t of the n etwork o f To to me trails man y of
- -
,
which he felt sure would b e guarded A S he

, , .
scan n ed the smooth hills n o w atte n ed o ut almost

like level cou n try by the height from which he looked
down upo n them he noticed a short canyo n set
,
squarely across the end of a ridge that ran f o r miles

almost directly t oward the Na g ap ah country - -
.
The n he remembered both the ca n yon and the ridge ,
as he had followed the no rthern slope o f the latter

when o n his way to the To to me mesa an d had had-

-
,
the good fortune to nd a pass in the canyo n wall

that had permitted him t o go down into it and thus ,
avoid the trails that he knew must lie o n the T o t o -

me side of the ridge .
A S he looked o u t in t o the foothills for landmarks

by which to guide his course whe n the lower ground
was reached he saw the snow white body and t wist
,
-
e d li m b s o f a de ad t ree standin g o n t he top of a

hill and noted t hat t he little canyon w as bu t a

,
Short dis t ance from it and due wes t o f t he hill o n

,
which it stood When he reached the coun t ry b e

.
low he would go directly t o the li t tle canyon if pos

,
sible f o r if he could ge t t hrough the foothills near

,
es t the mountain where guards were mos t apt to

,
be watching f o r him and g ain the canyon s shelter

,

he could elud e his enemies as the p ass led int o t he

,
open coun t ry north o f the ridge Though t s of t he

.
s t ro n g bow and goodly supply o f T so s red arrows
in t he case at his b ack gave him afeeling o f securi t y

and comfort as he felt prepared t o mee t any f o e
,
who migh t cross his p ath .
The la t e afternoon sun hung low over the horizon ,
and he mus t nd a way t o th e coun t ry below before

darkness came With a nal look over t he great
.
deser t world tha t lay below h e s t ar t ed rapidly

,
downward picking his way over the s t eep Slopes

,
t ha t led t o t he more formidable walls o f rock awai t

ing him far down t he mountain S ide His descent -
.
was more rapid than his upward climb had been ,
and soon he found himself o n the top of a wall th at

seemed bo t h to o high and to o steep t o descend It .
being t he uppermos t of the three great cli ff s th at

girdled the moun t ain he fel t sure tha t h e would
,
nd a place where t he oods from the pla t eau an d

S lo p es above had worn a passage and af t er a Shor t,
t ion as t he cu t was both too s t eep and too smoo th

,
t o a ff ord a footing o f an y kind and t here was noth

,
ing near him over which the rope could be hu n g .
C rawling o n f o r a Short dis t ance beyond the

break he examined the wall immediately be n eath
, ,
and found a li tt le pro j ee t ion several feet below h im

large enough for a rm footing and be n eath it,
were t wo others tha t seemed to run b ack to a

!
poin t that must be near t he t ree I f he could ge t

.
down t o t he lower proj ec t ion he migh t be able to

work his way back toward the pinyon and if suc ,
c e s s f ul the rest would be easy .
Removing his rope stone hammer an d bow c ase

, ,
-
,
so tha t nothing could hamper his movements where

even t he slightes t ex t ra weight o r false step migh t
, ,
cause him t o fall he le t himself down to the rst

,
proj ection and aft er cautiously lowering his body

,
t o t he las t foo t ing S lowly worked his way b ack

,
t oward t he li t tle tree whose proj ecting branches

he s aw t o be o n a level with his head B u t a t the .
very end of the slight proj ection o n which he s t ood ,
he found tha t he was still too far from his goal

t o b e able t o t hrow the rope over t he t ree success
fully as its small thick branches spread o u t toward
,
him making it impossible to get the rope over the

,
stou t trunk O ne plan tha t might be followed came

.
to h is m ind bu t he w oul d u se i t onl y as a las t reso rt

,
.
KAY YAH TE S T S TH E B OW

-
23 5
Climbing back t o the ledge above he walked o n ,
f o r some dista n ce in search of a n other passage that

would present fewer difficulties ; but the farther he
went the less promisi n g the w all became and t he
, ,
S helf o n which he walked was becoming narrower
with each step The sun was o n the horizon now

.
,
and bu t little time would be left to him before dark

ness came maki n g further descent impossible The .
moon would rise later but it is difficult to j udge

,
heights and depths accurately by moo n light and

the black Shadows would make climbing doubly ;
dangerous .
Goi n g back to the cut he uncoiled the rope and

,
doubled it so that the e n ds would be even for if he ,
were successful in reachi n g the next ledge below ,
he must be able to pull the rope down from the

tree after his descent as he would have s t ill greater
,
need of it when attempti n g the passage over the

remaining cli ff which he knew to be the highest of
them all Picki n g up the bow case in one ha n d and
.
-
t he stone hammer in the other he weighed them ,
carefully The bow case was a little the heavier

.
-
o f the two Removi n g a ha n dful of arrows from

.
the quiver he weighed them again and being sa t is

, ,
e d t hat they were o f a bout equal weight he care ,
fully s tuck t he extra arrows into his bel t and tied ,
the b o w case t o one end o f the rope and t he ham

-
23 6 LO S T I ND I AN MAGI C
mer t o t he o t her C arefully lowering the end o n

.
which t he ham m er was tied he let it Slip down pas t

,
o n e side o f t he tree and when half Of t he rope

,
was t hus played out he lowered the bow case un t il -
it p assed the tree o n the Opposite side and t hen ,
let go The weighted rope tightened rmly over

.
t he gnarled trunk as the ham mer and bow case slid -
downward t o within a few feet Of the lower shelf .
W i t h rope and weapons hanging far below him ,
his one way Of ge t ting down n o w lay in t aki n g a

chance he had hoped to avoid Stepping over to .
the poin t where he had climbed down before he ,
lowered himself from o n e proj ec t ion t o ano t her

un t il t he las t foo t ing was reached and again moved
cau t iously o u t toward the t ree B enea t h him
.
dropped t he grea t vertical cli ff s over which a S lip

o r false move might cause him to plunge in t o t he
yawning dep t hs below S lowly and c autiously he

.
moved o ut to t he last inch o f the little proj ection ;

t hen with left hand clinging to a crack in t he wall
,
above him and with every muscle tense f o r the t rial

,
t ha t was t o b e pu t upon t hem he e x t ended his

,
righ t hand as far as possible toward the rop e t hat

hung from t he t ree He knew tha t both s t rands
.
o f t he rope mus t be grasped at the same instan t ,
and his posi t ion at t ened as he w as against the

,
wall would make t he in t ended leap an awkward

,

-
23 7
one . Loosening his hold o n the crack above he ,
lunged forward ; and a second later was swinging

back and forth in mid air bu t holding rmly t o the
-
t w o strands Of rope .
A few moments la t er he stood on the sloping

ledge below his heart pou n din g and limbs t rem
,
bling with t he strai n that had been put upon them .
The hardes t part O f his descent was over in spi t e ,
Of the fact that the cli ff that remai n ed below was

the highes t o n the mou n tain for he could now use
,
his rope in o n e long strand an d he could see that

its length would reach to the bottom Of the wall .
Up t o t his point he had been forced to take the rope

with him bu t he could now fasten o n e end securely
,
t o t he ledge when making this las t desce n t as he ,
would no t need i t after reaching the ground below .
Untyi n g t he ha m m er an d b o w case from t he -
rope he pulled it down from the t ree an d sough t a

,
S po t level enough to permit him to go to its ou t er
edge and exami n e t he cli ff below The sun had .
n o w dropped below the rim Of the desert but its ,
ery aft erglow ooded the wes t ern sky and cast its
vivid coloring over hill s and mountai n Side turning -
,
rocks and t rees into a blaze Of red that Slowly faded

int o copper and dull gold S eated o n the ledge
.
Kay yah wi t nessed the wonderful color e ff ec t s O f

-
the sunse t wi th keen appreciation and wat ched for

,
23 8 LO S T I ND IAN MAGI C
a momen t the hills below n e w darkening int o deep

purple where t he mountain cas t its great Shadow
across them .

Great is t he power and great is t he goodness
,

Of JOho na ai he reverently murmured under his
'
- -
,
breath as he rose t o prepare for the nal step in

,
his j ourney to freedom .
There were man y narrow cracks in the rock ledge

abou t him and n di n g o n e that ran parallel with
,
t he edge O f the cli ff he placed his hammer handle

, ,
downward i n to it an d fou n d tha t it could b e driven

,
half way to t he head He the n bou n d o n e end O f

.
t he rope securely about it an d with a large ston e

drove t he hammer as deep in t o t he crack as i t s
stout ha n dle would permit it to go After m aking
.
a meal Of the bread an d dried mea t that he had

wrapped in the piece Of buckskin before depar t ing
from the cave he bound the small piece Of hide
,
abou t the rope at the point where it would com e

in con t ac t with the edge o f the cli ff to preven t i t s
wearin g t hrough while he was making the descen t .
'
Making a nal test o f the strength Of the hammer

handle by pulli n g upon the rope with all his
s t rength he carefully lowered himself over the edge
,
Of the cli ff an d began his las t downward climb to

the hills below .
When his fee t t ouched t he rm e ar th he ran

s t a t ioned in the near b y hil l s The moon was n o t

-
.
ye t high enough for h im to see any Of the land

marks t ha t he had selec t ed t o guide him o n his w ay ,
bu t t he evening s t ars gave him the point s Of the

compass and he cont inued his course by t hem .
Sudde nl y a sound as Of someone running through

t he b rush far down t o his left came to hi s ears ,
and he s t opped placing an arrow o n t he s t ring o f

,
his b ow as he wai t ed bu t the sound died aw ay and

, , ,
as t he ligh t grew bright er he saw some dis t ance ,
below him a lo w hill ; and o n its summi t t he whi t e

,
b ody and t wis t ed limbs O f a dead j uniper t ree s t oo d -
boldly o ut agains t the dark Sky He smiled wi t h .
pleasure as he recogniz ed i t as t he landmark he

had no t ed from t he mountain to p and knew tha t -
,
due wes t o f him lay t he friendly li tt l e canyon wi t h

t he ridge beyond .
Crawling forward he had j us t reached the t ree

,
when he heard t he sound Of a woman s voice a li tt le
way below him The voice w as lo w bu t t ense wi t h

.
exci t emen t as if i t s owner were posses sed o f min

,
gled fear and anger .
He leaped t o his fee t and his hear t s t ood s t ill

,
wi t hin him t he voice was like tha t o f S ah n e

-
.
Bu t even as he ran forward he realized t ha t S ah
n e could onl y be in A h c o and t ha t t he voice migh t

-
,
merely be like hers Torn by uncer t ain t y and real

.
,
KAY YAH TE S T S THE

-
B OW 2 41
izing that he must n o t allow excitemen t to lead him

i n to unwise actio n s that might cause him t o fall
agai n into the ha n ds O f his enemies he stopped and ,
crouched dow n in the s age to li sten As he did .
S O angry voices and the sound Of a struggle as Of

,
two m e n ghting came up from the spot where he

,
had heard the woman s voice He could n o w see

.
that the men were in a small clump Of bushes tha t

stood o n the edge O f the smooth sage covered S lope -
that ran O ff toward the south As he listened u n .

,
certai n j ust what h e Should do he could hear t he ,
men struggli n g despera t ely Men o f t he same .
tribe Often quarreled but they seldom fough t ex

,
cept o n ex t reme provocation O ne Of these men .
might be a Nag ap ah
- -
.
C rouching l o w in the sage he moved forward ,
again hopin g to ge t near enough to see some t hing

,
Of t he combatan t s withou t bei n g seen by t hem A S .
he drew nearer to them o n e Of the antagonis t s fell

,

with an angry cry and the other ran O ff up t he

,
S lope tow a rd t he head of the canyon Al though he .
had come to within a S hort distance Of them neither ,
Of the men had seen him so i n t ent were they in ,
the s t ruggle Then the fallen man half rose call

.
,
ing o u t as he did SO
B y t he gods ! Y ou Shall p ay for t his Cho t ,

2 42 L O S T I ND I A N MAGI C
The men t ion o f the name was enough t o c aus e an

instan t cha n ge in Kay yah s ac t ions Payin g no
-
.
heed t o the wounded man whom he n o w kn ew to be ,
TO t o me he changed his course to avoid the bush

-
-
,
es and dropping on o n e knee let an arrow y at

,
t he eeing gure t hat was n o w running swiftly

some dis t ance up the S lope With a loud cry the .
man leaped int o t he air and fell forward in t he

sage .
With the feeling t ha t he had done his duty in

avenging Tso Kay yah rose t o his feet t hen quick
,
-
,
ly tt ing another arr ow to the s t ring he t urned

back t oward the bushes and t he wounded man in
whose voice he had recogni zed H awal li -

-
.

Ah ! exclaimed the latter in obvious surprise ,
as Kay yah approached him ; and he made a quick

-
move as though to recover his h o w th at lay o n t he

ground a few fee t from him where i t had doubtless ,
fallen during the s t ruggle .

Hold o r y o u follow your friend Cho t zu !

-
commanded K ay yah quietly

W h o w as t he

.
woman and where is Sh e ? S peak quick !

N o t so fast Na g ap ah She is s afe enough
,
-
.
,
since you kill o n e that was after her and the other
o n e has n o t yet come this far Put down t he b o w . .

I will tell y o u what you have need t o know .

I am n o t caugh t t wice by the same dogs re ,
d
his open hand H awal li s t epped t oward K ay

,

-
y ah
Here is proof t ha t I know more Of you t h an y o u
o f me I was here to take y o u captive bu t my
.
,
hear t is more in t he safe t y Of t he girl Y o u have .
n o knife and Wau k O ma may come to o close for

-
-
,

y o u t o use t he arro w Quick for someone comes
! ,
A t the unexpec t ed kindness Kay yah hesi t a t ed ,

f o r a brief momen t ; t hen t aking t he pro ff ered

weapon he t urned saying as he did so ,

I understand My t hough t s are gr at efu l and
.

m y memory is long .
D iving int o the brush and t rees o f th e hillside he ,
ran swiftly down t he steep approach t ha t led t o t he

little canyon his heart pounding with mingled pain
,
and j oy a t the thought Of being so near t o S ah n e '

-
.
S ah n e a t Ta pau wee could mean only o n e t hing

- -
-
,
and t he t hough t lled his hear t with bi t tern es s

and a s t range anger tha t seemed to be direc t ed as
much agains t him self as her His o n e du t y now .
was t o save her from Wau kO ma and he t old -

-
, ,
himself he would d o t hat for any woman Of Ah co

,
-
.
He now fel t doubly glad t hat he had made an end

Of Cho t z u as th e la tt er was o n his way t o the
-
,
hea d Of t he canyon to intercep t S ah n e when h is

-
arrow had laid him lo w .
O n he ran do wn th e hill side u nti l fa

ll en rock an d
KAY YAH TE S T S T HE -
B OW 245
low broken walls n ear the canyon s mouth brough t
him to a walk C limbing over the few lo w ledge s

.
that blocked the way he was soon runni ng a l ong ,
in the de n se shadow Of the ca n yon s eastern wall

.
After some little distance he stopped an d lis t ened .
The pou n di n g in his heart seemed S O loud he could

hear little else but after putting his ear to the
,
ground he could hear the crunch Of sand beneath

swiftly runnin g feet far ahead O f h im The foot .
falls were to o ligh t t o be those Of a man Springin g .
t o his feet he ran forward with i n creased speed

, ,
an d after a f e w moments s t opped again

, , .

S ah n e ! he called in a low voice

-
.

Kay yah ! came the startled voice o f Sah n e

-
,
as S h e s t opped and leaned b ackward with o ut

s t retched arms against the canyon wall .

Yes it is I said Kah yah eve nl y as he ran
,

,

-
,
u p to her

We must be quick ! W au kO m a
.
-
-
hunts for y o u and I must put y o u o n the right way

,

to Ah co before I deal with him C ome ! he com

-
.
m e nded .
S ah n e was both too surprised and overj oyed t o

-
make reply and she followed as he took t he lead

,
and ran back to a poi n t where the canyon made a

S ligh t bend Then after s t opping a momen t t o
.
,
lis t en for the sou n d Of any approaching feet he ,
motioned for her again t o follow and dar t ed swift ly

across t he brigh t p a t ch Of moonligh t t ha t covered

the narrow canyon oor A momen t lat er t hey
.
stood beneath t he pass t ha t l ed to the open country

b eyond the ridge .
This is a break in the wall where we mus t climb ,

s aid Kay yah S imply
-
I will help y o u up Keep
. .
t o your righ t when y o u ge t t o t he t op follow t he

green s t ar t ha t is in the wes t .
L ift ing her t o a ledge a few fee t above the can

y o n bed he ,climbed u p beside her ; t hen stooping
down he commanded her to s t ep upon his Shoulders .
Holding t o t he rocks above she obeyed ; and as he

,
rose she was able t o s t ep t o a much higher level t hat

led gradually upward .
From where y o u now s t and y o u will b e able t o

make your way t o the top withou t my help When .
you have traveled until y o u are weary wait f o r ,
me I wai t here un t il I know you have t ime to

.
get far away from t hose who are aft er y o u t hen I ,
will follow When you have though t i t is time

.

for me t o come lis t en f o r the call Of the D ak bird
, .

Your voice has t he cold o f a n ger in i t said ,

S ah n e
-
. Is it no t cause f o r happiness t o b e wi t h

a friend again ?
The unexpec t ed ques t ion and the swee t nes s Of

t he voice lled him with mome n tary confusion and ,
when he replied he spoke harshly to hide i t .

Yes ,
a
said H w a
l li
as the guard ni shed
-

,

bind ing some soft ear t h over t he wound ; and Wau

kO ma himself may soon come t his way

-
.

Wha t T o t o me gh t s y o u with the k ni fe
-

- ?
b l unt ly asked t he guard whose curiosity was t hor ,
oughly aroused Then he sprang t o where he had .
laid his bow upon t he ground as t he sound O f some ,
o n e coming t hrough t he sage brush from down t he -
slop e came t o t heir ears .

L e t me have your kni f e s aid H awal l i I ,
-
-
.
have no weapon .
The man obeyed and t he t wo s t ood Silen t ly wait ,
ing f o r t he approaching gure who seemed t o move ,
swift ly t hough with grea t caution A few moments .
l a t er t he guard l owered his b ow as Wau kO ma ap -

-
p ro ach e d t hem .

H as Cho t zu passed t his way he asked as he
?

-
s t epped before them .

Yes said H awal li
, He lies wi t h an arrow -
-
.
in him in t he sage yonder a li tt le w ay up t he

S lop e .
W au kO ma gave a sligh t s t art a t t he une x p e c t

-
'-
ed news and his eyes caugh t t he bandage o n H a

,
wal li s side He made as t hough t o speak bu t

-

.
,
changing his mind ran o n up t he S lope in the dirce

t ion indica t ed by H awal li At this unlooked f o r -
-
.
-
-
249
reve l ation the guard s j aw dropped with as t onish

,

men t as he s t ared at h is companion .

This is trouble for us he nally excl aimed as , ,
t he thoughts of dealing with the a n gry chief came

to him .

Hold your to n gue Chaz pah you will learn ,
-
,

more in a Short time .
S carcely had his words been spoken when Wau

kO ma came running b ack to them In his han d

-
.
he held a blood stained arrow and as the moonligh t

-
,
fell full upon h im bo t h m e n were startled by t he ,
look o f fear and suppressed exci t emen t that shone

I.
l n ll l S face
0

Look ! he excla imed The red arrow Of t he .
bear witch ! I pulled it from the body Of C hot z u

-
that I might know whose bow had s e n t it D on t .

s t are a t me like b abies ! Speak ! What do you

know o f t his ?

I know no t hing abou t i t replied t he guard ,
.

F o r I did bu t come before y o u .

You H awal li questioned Wau kO ma as
,
? -
- -
-
,
he scowled at the man before him .

The arrow t ha t killed C hot zu was shot by the
-

Na g a pah

-
said
-
H a wal li quietly
, ; an d he has -
-
go n e on to pro t ect the girl S ah n e from any

-

o t hers who may attemp t to capture her .

The dog o f a Nag apah Shall not esca p e u s
-

again ! aid Wau k o m a be t ween se t t e e th
s -
-
.

Whi ch way has he gone ?
S ensing the fact tha t the t hrea t was bu t an i dl e

b oas t to hide his fear H awal li replied ,
-

-

The N ag apah has gone with the girl t o t he

- -
mou th Of t he canyon below H e will wait f o r you .
there o r in th e p ass as he knows y o u seek he r and

,
wil l see t ha t you nd him instead .

I f y o u know t ha t why do you stand here like ,
frigh t ened rabbi t s D O your cowardly hear t s fear

?

t o go aft er him ?

O ur orders are from T ag a mo said H aw al -
'-
,
-

li eve nl y He sen t us to guard the trails in the
.
hills There are no t rails in the canyon S ince y o u

. .
are under no man s order and have no fear o f t he

'
Na g apah we know y o u will go down t o t he can

- -
,
y o n t o kill him .
With face t urned in the direction t aken by S ah
n e and Kay yah t he young chief stood for a mo

-
men t as if helpless rage and fear fought within him .
He could n o t attack t he tw o armed men before

him and all con dence tha t he could conquer K ay
,

yah S ingle handed had gone from him

-
.
F ac ing H awal li and shaking his clenched hand

-

-
in the air he exclaimed :

,

I shall make an end O f this plo t agains t me and ,
C HAP TER ! II I
T H E PL A CE OF T H E WH I TE RO C K
Al l trail s l e ad b ack to h o m e, at l as t;
T h e gl o w in g re , th e f rie n l y s m il e s ;
d
T h e h e ar t f o rge ts th e d
an ge rs p as t
T h e w e arin e s s an d l o n e l y m il e s .
AH N E n ow ran over rough coun try ; before

and abou t her rocks and underbrush piled high

,
in miniature mountains and foo thills and t he ,
ground was broken with many dry s t ream beds -

.
Mezquite pinyon and cac t us assuming many fan

, ,
ta stic S hap es reared themselves in every direction

, ,
and great balls Of tumble weed loomed gray in t he

-
moo nl ight and stirred with every brea t h Of wind ;

and under the broken silver Of the sage moved t he
animal life Of the desert The lit t le hares t hat scur
.
ried in alarm at the sound Of a human foo t s t ep !
coyotes tha t S lipped by like ghostly Shadows in the

distance sending their clamorous cries into t he
,
n ight, and t he silent S liding ones that crept into

,
the warm cracks o f the rocks t o avoid t he cool nigh t

air and S lep t with every sense aler t S ah n e knew .
-
2 52
PLA C E O F THE WHITE R O CK 2 53
t hem all and feared no t one and her light fee t made ,
little Of the rough n ess Of her p ath She wen t .
swiftly and the words Kay yah had spoken kep t

,
-
pace in her thought with her swinging stride :

Follow t he ridge and the guidanc e o f the green

s t ar and Answer t he call Of the D ak bird
, , .
F o r the rest she mus t choose her o w n trail and

keep eyes and ears alert f o r possible enemies .
The Open desert she loved and k n ew i t s every ,
sound and aspect and t onight her heart s an g within

,
her an d her feet seemed to have wings Was n o t .
Kay yah alive and free and had he no t spoken

-
,
words to her It was true tha t his eyes had avoided

?
hers an d his voice was cold but wha t was that to the ,
fact t hat Wau kO ma had failed in his boas t and

-
-
Kay yah had escaped

- ?
A little hoo t o w l sen t forth his clear call from

-
somewhere near at hand and presen t ly itte d from

,
t ree to t ree seeming t o follow her in her ight

,
.
S ah n e s m iled : perhaps J Oh o n aai had sent o n e

-
- -
t o guard her in the night and the t hought pleased ,
her The moon was n o w almost directly overhead

.
and b rillian t as i t can be only in the clear alt itudes

Of the S ou t hwes t The shadows were no t the dense
.
,
t hick S hadows Of other lands but purple blue and ,

-
clear and S harp they lay like pools Of s t il l wa t er

,
o ut O f which rose grea t rocks ghostly whit e and ,

creamy pink ; queer twis t ed t rees and S ilve ry ,
clump s Of s age ; and over all the magic mantle Of

t he moonligh t .
S ah n e was n o t indi ff eren t t o t he shim mering

-
,
white splendor abou t her and the words o f a song ,
she h ad Oft en heard in Ah c o came to her mind an d -

,
half unconsciously she hum m ed t hem under her

-
b rea t h
The Moo n go d s e n d s a s p e ll o f ligh t

-
A m agi c s p ll in t th e m gh t ;
e o
O f S il v e r d re am s h e So ft ly w ea ves
O n ro ck s an d t e e s ; o n age an d l e av e s ;
r S
A s t o an d f ro th wit c h wm d s go ;
e
T h e w it c h win d s go an d s o ft l y b l o w

-
, .
T h e w ar rio r s h e ar t is b ou n d in d re am s ;

I n m an y d re am s ; in S ilv e r d re ams .
T h e m e d ic in e is s t ro n g S s tr on
g 1 .
T h e Moo n go d s p e ll is l o n g
-
D id Kay yah feel t he magi c spel l o f t he ni gh t

-
,
sh e wondered ; surely he mus t f o r every t hing was ,
under i t The S t ar bro thers t hemselves did n o t

.
-
seem cold and far away as usual bu t were lik e ,
c ountless camp re s o f t hose who had gone before ;

-
camp re s that sparkled warm and friendly about

-
t he great father re Of the nigh t t he Moon god

- -
himself And the Silence was n o t t he Silence o f an

.
answer and clung close t o t he Sh adow Of the t ree .
Kay yah came Out int o the moonligh t a short

-
dis t ance away and s t ood looking about him Again .
he called and t his t ime Sah n o could no t repress

,
-
a lit t le laugh that rose t o her lips He looked .
abou t quickly and t ook a f e w steps t oward the t ree .
He was frowning sligh t ly and his word s were cold

as he spoke .

Y o u did n o t answer t he cal l .

Was th at a D ak bird call she asked in pre
?
t ended inn o cence A D ak b ird is always hap py

.
and cal ls like this and t here w as such a thrill

and laugh through the call she sent ou t into t he
nigh t t ha t Kay yah s face relaxed for a momen t
-
and he could no t keep from smiling ; but almos t

ins t ant l y t he t roubled look came back and he opened
his lips t o speak bu t before the words could come
,
S ah n e spoke again

-
.

Hush ! she whispered Words are no t f o r
.
now
listen !
And t hrough the S ilence came a
S ligh t sound unmis t akable : someone was coming ;
,
someone whose swinging bow had s t ruck ligh t ly

agains t a rock as he passed .
Quick as t hough t Kay yah drew S ah n e down

,

-
-
in t o a great clump Of sage an d pu t an arrow t o

t he s t ring o f his bow as t hey wai t ed brea thless for
,
th e a pproach o f him who c am e It w as n o t long .

PLA C E O F THE WH ITE R O CK 25 7
b efore a man came in t o view a man who ran quickly ,
an d S ile n tly s t ooping and crouching as he S lippe d

,
from bush to tree and peerin g and listening in

,
every direction He did not act as a man would

.
who was hot on a trail bu t seemed uncer t ain O f

,
what he followed and at t imes looked up into the

,
tree branches as if what he sought could be there .
Kay yah followed his every movemen t with his

-
arrow taut o n t he s t ring but did no t Shoot as tha t

, ,
he would do onl y in self defe n se or re t ribution

-
.
When the man was gone beyond sound Of their

movements t hey rose from the sage and S ah n e
,
-
whispered

I t was f o r you he looked it was t he call he
h e ard f

Kay yah pu t his nger t o his l ips

-
.

We mus t n o t t alk n o w come !
And they picked their way through t he sage ,
going as swiftly as the rough coun t ry would allow .
Kay yah stopped frequent ly to listen for possi

-
ble pursuers and to study the country for the bes t

trail They had traveled f o r quite a while in Silence
.
when Sah n e S poke wit h a Shade of t imidi ty in her

-
voice .

Was there a gh t in the pass Sh e asked
? .

There was no gh t no o n e came answered

,
K ay yah ; and again t here w as Silence f o r a while

-
.
Kay yah s t hough t s were in a t urmoil ; n ot ye t

-
had he recovered from his astonishmen t and dis

may at nding S ah n e near T a pau wee O ne -
-

-
.

though t hammered a t his brain : A spy a spy ,
l ike her father And yet i t was agony t o h arbor

i t B ut if a spy why was Sh e ying from t he T O
.
, ,
t o m e S and ye t pro t ec t ed by a TO t o me
- ? He -
-
longed to ask her t he answers to these ques t ions b ut ,
a strange embarrassmen t and timidi t y ve ry f orei gn

tO his nature held him S ilen t Finally wi t h grea t .
,
e ff or t he ga t hered his courage t ogether and Spoke

, ,
in a voice S O l ow t ha t Sh e barely caugh t t he words

S ah n e w h y did you leave Ah co The t rail
-
,
?
-
o f t he T O to mes is no lace for a maiden o f th e

p
- -
Nag ap ahs
-
.
She had paused as he spoke and n o w s t ood s t ill

b u t looked away from him .
I have said I w as TO t o me Sh e answered -

-
, ,
and did not see t he deeper look o f t rouble t ha t

came int o his fa ce .
He in his t urn looked away from her as h e aske d

bi tt erly :
Then why do you re t urn t o Ah co -

I was TO to me Sh e repea t e d pu tt ing s trong
-

-
, ,

emphasis o n t he second wor d I was born T O t o .
-
me bu t until l ately knew i t no t My hear t has

, .
al ways been Nag ap ah D ee nay believed and

'-
-
.
-

2 60 LO S T IND IAN MAGIC
T here befor e t hem cl e ar marked t hrough the

,
-
dus t y sage lay a parrow trail leading toward Ah

, '

cO With j oyous hear t s they s t epped into it and

se t o ff at a s w inging t ro t t oward t he home coun
t ry They did no t speak Often after tha t as the
.
,
spell Of sile n ce seemed t o be o n all t hings but once

.
,
he asked if she were weary .

I S the bird weary when he is nearing the nes t ?

she laughed back I t may be but he does n o t drop
.
,
t o earth My feet have wings t onight I shall rest

. .
in Ah c o -
And t hey wen t o n
. .
The moon crep t o n t oward th e wes t ern horizon

and t he stars slipped o ut Of S igh t bu t s t ill they ,
ran o n over the little trail t hrough sage and mez

quite Over sand and rock and Shale ; the dawn wind
,
-
blew in t heir faces bringin g a breath Of t he can

,
yon c oolness ; and j ust as JOho na ai sent agolden

- -
spear o f ligh t over th e deser t s eas t ern rim Kay
y a h called o u t
Here we will res t S ah n e and eat This place
,
-
,
is known t o me and water is near .
She was no t sorry t o stop and sank down under ,
a j uniper t ree with a little sigh O f relief She

-
.
closed her eyes as Sh e res t ed her head agains t th e

trunk Of t he t ree and mus t h ave dozed longer th an
,
Sh e t hought f o r when she opened them again Kay

,
yah was bending a few f ee t in f ron t o f her busy

PLA C E O F THE WH ITE R O CK 2 61
with sticks and a li t tle pil e d f b rush and beside

re - ,
h im lay a rabbit fresh S lain The re cau gh t

, .
quickly and the rabbit clean Skl n n e d was soon Siz ,

-
,
z l in
g over the blaze o n t he end Of a sharp e ned s t ick .
Kay yah looked up and caught the smiling expres

-
sion o f her eyes ; he spoke quickly as i afraid ,
Of his words and anxious to get rid O f t hem .

JOho na ai has se n t his light across the desert
- -
,

and your eyes have ca ugh t its brightness .
She looked away c o hf u se d and he rose from , ,
the re holding o u t to her the rabbi t o n its s t ick

, .

Hold this he said and I will go for water
, ,
.
She looked abou t for a gourd o r j ar and then re w
membered .

My wa t er j ar lies at the foot o f Ta p au wee
-
-

mesa Sh e laughed
, I Shall come and drin .

N o t all wat erj a
' '
NO he answered grave l y
, rs .
are made Of clay o r woven reeds The E arth moth .
e r has childre n in the deser t a n d k n ows their needs .
Wait here an d rest for you are weary and w e still ,
have far t o gO Look ! The meat ! .

he cried ,
an d laughed t o see her start and j erk t he smoking

rabbit from the ames .

B efore the tree Shadow h as shor t ened a h and s

breadth I shall be b ack he called as he ran t hrough , ,
t he s age toward a little ravine near a t hand Pres .

2 62 L O S T I ND I AN MAG I C .
ently he re turned and in his han d w as a stal k o f

cac t us hollowe d o ut and lled with water .

It is n o t a gourd he smiled b u t wa t er is
, ,
w a t er A n d I hav e brough t other things

. Here .
are p inyon nu t s and ripe berries tha t were growi ng

near the wa t er We shall fare well ; the camp re
.
-
Of a great chief could no t give us bet t er and I ,
wou l d ra t her si t with y o u t han with a great chief ,
he ended br avely and did not look a t S ah n e

,
-
,
f o r he kn ew she was looki n g away from him .
They s a t do w n t o t he desert meal together and

laughed many t im es and talked much They had .
m any t hings t o t ell e ach other and S ah n e lis t ened ,

-
in big eyed wonder at the s t ory Of Kay yah s many

-
-
escapes whil e he in t urn grew red wi t h anger

, , ,
when she spoke o f Wau ko ma an d his cruel words-

-
.

It woul d have been well had my arrow fo un d

his hear t from the rock ledge he cried ; but I shall ,
come back some day t o his mesa t own m y hear t
t ells me I have n o t seen the last o f Ta pau wee o r -

-

Wau kO ma i t s chief
-
-
, .

Wh a t di d t he Old man Tso mean by t he s t range
, ,

words he called as he ran asked S ah n e
?
-
.

I know n o t ; t hey were the words O f o n e whose
m ind wanders A t t im es no man could speak more
.
clearly t h an he bu t a t other t imes he was as a child ;

,

h is t hough t s wou l d follow o n e t hing and t hen ah

downward They quickened t heir s t eps as familiar

.
landmarks o n e after the o t her began t o appear

, , ,
and Kay yah held his b o w with an arrow o n the

-
string ready t o Shoo t a t any game t ha t might come

t heir way .

N o w can y o u smell t he c amp re s called S ah -

N o, answered Kay yah -

. B u t s t op S ah
,
-
ne ;

look !
A grea t eagl e rose from a nes t in t he S ide Of the
canyon and began S lowly to circle upward S ah n o .

-
stood s t ill and watched the bird bu t Kay yah ,

-
,
wi t h pre t ended seriousness drew back his b o w and ,
aimed s t raight a t t he eagle watching S ah n e f rom ,

-
t he tai l Of his eye Aft er a momen t her eyes left

.
the eagle and came back to him and when Sh e s aw ,
t he arrow Sh e gave a cry and sprang t oward him ,
clu t ching his arm Her face went whi t e and sh e

.
was t rembli ng violen t ly .

Y o u would not S hoot ! You would no t S hoo t !
she cried in a voice tha t sounded s t r ange in her
own c ars .
-
Kay yah l owered t he b o w wi th his eyes o n her
face .

I bu t j es t ed S ah n e N O I woul d not Shoo t
,
-
.
, .
Bu t why d o you t remble Wha t h as caused y o u

?

Such fear ?
PLA C E O F THE WH ITE R O C K 2 65
S he grew more quie t but her fa c e was s l ow in

,
gaini n g i t s normal expression .

It is very b ad medici n e to Shoot an eagle Sh e ,

said an d her voice was still u n steady
, O nce b e .
fore I saw an arrow bring an eagle to the ground

once before .

A n d what followed ? he asked curiously Was .

the evil omen t rue to its n ame ?

I t was the night your father died and mine ,

Sh e answered simply The night the Magic was
.
l o st f

K a yah s manner changed instan t ly and his in

-
y
te n t i n terest was reected in his face .

Tell me he said quietly
, We will Sit here
.
for a moment .

It was nearly dark in t he evening began Sah ,

ne . I had gone up t oward the mouth Of the can

yon for pinyon nuts an d was about to return home
when I s aw an eagle rise from Ah c o My father s

-
.

eagle h e was keeper Of the s acred eagle

.
Kay yah nodded and Sh e continued :

-

I s t ood still an d was watching the eagl e soar
high above my head when an arrow sho t like black
ligh t ning s t raight t oward him and down he came
at my fee t falli n g like a god from the Sky My
, .
hear t came t o my throa t f o r t he omen was bad and

, ,
furv burn ed in my b l ood f o r the o n e who had don e

t his It could b e n o Nag apah and I looke d

.
- -
,
toward t he canyon from whenc e t he arrow had

come .

Tso ! brea thed Kay yah ; bu t the low exclama

-
t ion passed u nh eard by S ah n e -

.

An Old man came o u t of the canyon a T O t o ,
-

me he w as I know no t wha t I said t o him for

.
,
my he ar t was h o t with fury He asked for my .
eagle but I would not le t him have it and a t l as t

, ,
he laughed a t me and wen t back int o t he canyon

S haking his head It was dark then and I buried
.
t he eagle in the rocks to keep away the coyo t es

h e w as to o heavy t o carry to Ah co and I marked
-
t he place wi t h a whit e s t one t hinking t o return th e

,
ne xt d ay t ha t my fat her migh t see But I did no t

, .
re turn she broke o ff with a quick brea t h .
K a y y ah was-
leaning forward .

You are sure i t was t he sacred eagle ?

Very sure answered S ah n e
, I knew him -
.
we l l ; we had t ended him f o r many years and also ,

t he red t hong was o n his leg .
Kay yah was silen t a momen t and t hen

-
,

Could y o u nd t ha t place again he asked
? .

The place in the rocks where I buried him ?

Yes he answered
, The place o f t he whi t e
.

ro ck .
Sh e j M p e d up from her sea t by t he t r ail .

t he t op He fel t tha t his h ands t rembled bu t S ah

.
,
'
n e did no t see ; Sh e watched him curiously .

Why do you Open a place o f res t Sh e asked
? .
Wai t he answered and present ly re ached

, ,
down in t o the S hallow hole he had made and lift e d

o u t a mass o f brown bones and what once had
b een feathers He laid i t carefully o n t he ground

.
and s traigh t ened t he dry bones as much as possible ;

t he red bi t o f t hong s t ill bound the withered t alon ,
and t he grea t wing bones were intact He looked

-
.
a t i t f o r a moment and then with fast beating

,
hear t Sl i p ped a hand in t o t he dus t y m ass under

ei ther wing It seemed as if t he blood s t ood still
.
in his veins as his ngers closed o n a little bag he

fel t under o n e win g He drew i t o u t tigh t clasped
.
,
-
in his hand and rose t o his feet His eyes gleamed

, . ,
and S ah n e wa t ched him with growing amazemen t

-
.
His expression was s t range as he looked a t her and

spoke .

The sacred eagle Was trained t o y a t t he word
o f his master that was known to us He carried

.
messages from the living to those gone before ; bu t

messages he carried also from the living t o the liv
in g I have heard i t said that the s acred eagle was
.
k nown t o y in the direction o f Ta pau wee ; one -

-
message he did no t carry t o its j ourney s end

l ook !
HE D R EW IT O UT , T I GHT C LA S PED I N H I S HAN D
-
S H -N E
A
W AT C HE D
H I M W I TH G RO W I N G A M AZ E M E N T
CHAP TER ! IV
TA G A-
-
M o SPE AK S
Li k e a w o v e n th re ad th e s to r
y an
r ,
We av ing l ive s an d fate s of

th e m en
I n to a b l an k e t o f o n e b ig p l an ;
,
I n to th e p as t an d b ack again .
T was dusk as S ah n e and Kay yah re ache d - -
the camp and many camp re s were burning

,

.
Quick questioning glances were thrown a t them as

,
they passed and sh arp exclamations came as rs t

,
one , and then t he o t her was recognized The men .
rose from t heir places by the res and t ook a few

s t ep s in t heir direction while women looked up ,
from the po t s t hey were t ending brushed back the ,
hair from t heir eyes and broke in t o high excited

,
-
questionings D ogs barked an d s ni ff ed a t their

.
heels and yelped j oyously as they recognized o ld

comp anions .
Kay yah lift ed his hand in gree t ing to many

-
familiar faces but did n o t check his pace and S ah ,

ne, with smiling face bu t weary fee t kep t a t his ,
side N o t ye t did the women know wha t she had

.
27 0
TAG -
A -
M O S PEAK S 27 1
done ; n o t ye t would they accept her as o n e o f

themselves ; but when D ee nay had spoken ah

,
then could she come o u t an d take her place t hen ,
would they know that she was no T o to me spy but -

-
,
Nag apah and heart and soul their sister Nag

- -
,

ap ah in all but in blood and her head drooped

-
,
again a t the thought an d her eyes rested for a m o

men t o n Kay yah th a t she could n ever change
-
.
The medicine lodge was dark and silent and ,
as t hey pushed aside the hide and stepped within ,
K a yah thought it emp t y bu t a voice spoke quick

-
y ;
ly at his step .

Kay yah m y son t he gods have sen t y o u back
-
,

,
t o D ee
And with a brea t h the gray ashes were blown
from t he little re that was all but dead and the ,
t iny ame leaped back into life There was re too .

in Dee nay s eyes as he looked up an d beckoned
-
Kay yah and S ah n e near

-
-
.
Kay yah could n o t speak ; his throat seemed

closed t o sound ; but he held o ut his open palm for

D ee n ay t o see in the light o f the feeble blaze the
-

, ,
obj ect that lay in his hand And then a s t range .
t hing happened The o l d man who was known to

.
,
all for his quiet dignity leaped to his feet like a ,

boy and snatching the Magic from Kay yah s
,

-
hand placed i t o n the alt ar and sprinkled i t wit h

,
27 2 L O S T I ND IAN MAGIC
sacred pollen from a li tt le bag t ha t hung near .
Then he stood in front o f the al t ar and raising his ,
hands high above his head broke int o a str ange ,
chant Kay yah and S ah n e s t anding mo t ionles s

.

-

,
and speechless wa t ched him and l is t ened

, .
aai, th e Wis e , th e good ,

'
Joho n -
M ak e r of th e liv e s o f m e n ,
B ack h as com e thy T alis m an !

F r om th e d e e p e s t h e art o f e arth
F r om th e s ac re d blu e o f sk ie s ;
B ack h as com e th y T al is m an !
D o wn s h all b o w o u r e n e m ie s ;
G re e n sh all gro w o u r h arv e s t fie ld s ;
B ack h as c o m e thy T al is m an !
S t r o n g again o u r b o w an d s p e ar ;
S t r o n g th e t rib e of N ag a p ah
'
- -
.

B ack h as com e th y T alisman !
And ending as abrup t ly as he had begun he ,
s t epped t o the great drum and began to pound on

i t a t rst slowly and softly then more swiftly and
, ,
loudly until t he grea t booming no t es rolled ou t

,
in t o t he quie t camp and at the call every Nag a

,
-
pah sprang t o his fee t and has t ened t o t he medicine

lodge .
And t hen began a nigh t o f feas t ing and danc

in g singing and merrymaking such as never before
,
t augh t t he Wi se t hings o f t he elders and wh o h as ,
been proven brave and wor t hy .

It is t he way o f o ur tribe f o r the medicine chief
t o name him who shall come after and h im I
name to you t his night Kay yah who has been

-
,
my pupil for these many seasons ; who is in all bu t ,
b l ood my son I t is he who will s t and where I have

, .
s t ood in the medicine lodge h e who will be chief
among y o u when I am gone If there b e one

.
among y o u who would raise his voice agains t h im ,
speak n ow while D ee nay m ay answer !

,

-

No o n e spoke and Kay yah s t ood red and ho t

,
-
with embarrassmen t looking int o t he many faces

,
raised t o his It was t he cus t om under such cir

.
,
!
cum sta n ce s for t he honored man t o speak t o th e

,
people and Kay yah knew wha t was expec t ed o f

,
-
him but i t seemed f o r a momen t as if his t ongue

,
would refuse t o obey Then some of t he dignit y .
o f t he o l d man who had fathered him descended t o
his shoulders and he spoke sim ply and wi t hou t fear .

The words o f D ee nay are direc t ed by the gods ;
-

when t he t ime comes I shall obey an d shall seek

their counse l in all tha t I do .
And t here was a murmur o f approval among t he

crowd Again Dee nay spoke and drew S ah n e
.
-

,
-
forward .

And here is a daugh t er who has served her pe o
TAG -
A
-
M O S PEAK S 27 5
ple well It was Kay yah w h o returned t o us o ur

.
-
Magic ; but S ah n e aided h im and she has served

-
us in ways u n known to you but known t o me She .
is a true daughter of the Nag apahs and worthy

- -

o f the name I Dee nay have said it

-
.
, ,
And he pushed her ge n tly toward a group o f

women who welcomed her with smiles an d many
,
pleasant words .
All night the people danced and the many res

glowed red Kay yah had ma n y times to rep eat
.

-
, ,
the story of his adventures and small boys and li tt le ,
girls liste n ed with open mouths in astonishment as

he t old of bei n g on the summ it o f Qua ma the -
mysterious Qua ma t he haunt o f the fairy folk

-
,
-
and the women clustered close to S ah n e and heard

-
in wonder her descriptions o f life in Ta p au wee -

-
.
The tw o had forgotten t heir weariness and the ,
n igh t wore o n t oward dawn with no though t o f
res t o r sleep O nly when the res began t o lose

.
their glow in the deeper red o f the sky and the ,
voices o f the singers t o mingle with the calls o f

waking birds did S ah n e suddenly remember that -
she had no t slept for two nigh t s and t hat she was ,
very weary She slipped away from the others

.
and made her way to t he familiar hogan where she

had spen t the grea t er par t o f her life She t hrew .
27 6 LOST IND IAN MAGI C
herself o n a soft pile o f skins and was a sleep almos t

before t hey had yielded to her weigh t .
She awoke suddenly in t he early evening and

l ay listeni n g ; the drums had ceased t he people

were calling with a new excitemen t in t heir voices .
What did it mean She rose quickly and made her

?
way agai n to the crowded gathering place a li ttle

-
girl who had been sent for a j ar o f wa t er t old ex

c ite d l
y tha t the s t ream was growing broader as she
watched ; and in a very short time the village was
empty as every man woman and child ocked down
, ,
to the borders o f the lit t le stream which grew int o a

,
river as the child had said even as t hey wa t ched

,
with wondering eyes .
The girl who had rs t spoken waded o ut int o

t he water and plunged her hands int o t he brown
dep t hs ; she straigh t ened up again with a shril l cry ,
and held asmall obj ec t high for all t o see .

Look wha t I have found ! Look wha t t he

wa t ers have brough t !
I t was a curiously wrough t bracele t o f bone in
which were skillfully set turquoise and o t her brigh t
s t ones a lit t le dulled by the wa t er
, .
A woman pushed her way through t he crowd and

her voice was high and loud with exci t ement .

The t reasure ! The treasure ! she cried T he
.

brace l e t is a par t o f t he t reasure !
27 8 LO S T IND I AN MAG I C
c ape d t he arrow o f Chot zu and was alive an d -

,
working in the in t eres t o f their friendship The .
though t lifted an oppression t ha t had lain heavier

t han he had been aware .
The sun shone red agai n s t t he canyon walls and ,
the people o f Ah c o t urned with j oyous faces back

-
toward home ; bu t t he strange happenings were no t

ye t a t an end f o r as they t urned toward t he vil
,
lage a man a t t he rear o f the crowd shou t ed

Quick bro t hers ! Your arms ! Look ! t he enemy
,

comes from t he canyon !

A n d as t hey t urned with s t artled faces a large ,
par t y o f To to mes emerged from t he mouth o f

-

-
the canyon and came direc t ly t oward t hem ; but at

t he appearance o f panic among the Nag ap ahs
- -
,
t hey stopped laid down t heir arms and held each

, ,
man his righ t hand above his head t o signify t hat

,
t hey came in peace The people o f Ah c o stood .

-
s t ill and wai t ed for t heir approach with wonder in

t heir hear t s s t range things had happened si n ce

t heir Magic had been re t urned to its altar t he night

before bu t this was t he strangest o f all t o see To
,

t o mes approaching with signs o f peace

-
.
The approaching p arty was led by an o ld man ,
who t owered above t hem and walked with t he rm

t read and dignied bearing o f a born leader As .
many o f t he Na g apahs recognized t his man with

- -
,
TAG -
A
-
M O SPEAK S 27 9
low murmuring o f his name D ee nay stepped f o r ,

-

ward and awaited his coming a f e w feet in fron t o f

his people When they were within easy speaking
.
distance o f each other Tag a mo for it was he -

- -
who led the T o t o mes stopped and the tw o men

-

- -
,
stood f o r a mome n t gravely regarding each other

in silence D ee n ay was the rst to speak
.
-

.

You come in peace Tag a mo he ques t ioned ,
-

-
.
I come in peace D ee ,
They were silen t for a moment and then D ee ,
nay again spoke

.

The years have then rolled back tha t is strange
it has been long since To t o me has looked upon -

-

Na g apah in peace
- -
.

The faul t has not been with me D ee nay bu t ,
-

,
with another m y heart has n ever changed t oward

you and if the old days come again t hen am I

,
glad .
Intent and eager s t ood t he Nag apahs watch -

-
,
ing with curious eyes these men they had so long

regarded as deadly enemies who now returned their ,
gla n ces with friendly looks an d a curiosi t y as inten t

as their o w n .
True to his race Tag a mo did no t a t once ex ,

-

-
plain t he purpose o f his mission bu t waited for ,
the f riendly bearing o f his men t o impress the

N a g ap ahs and t o give t hem t im e t o regain t heir
- -
280 LO S T I ND I A N MAG I C
assurance He s t ood quie t ly a t perfec t eas e an d

.
, ,
his eyes dwel t o n the swelling s t ream t ha t n o w over

ran its b anks He waved his arm t oward the water
. .

The rains have n o t been heavy ye t the waters ,
rise he said and his eyes had as t range gleam in

, ,
them as he looked a t D ee nay -

.

O ur Magic ag ain res t s o n i t s ancien t al t ar s aid ,
D ee nay a t rie s tify

-

.
A sligh t smi le came t o T ag a mo s lips -

-
.

The ma gic t ha t loosed t he wa t ers dwells at t he

other end o f the stream brother , .

I s i t so ? s aid D ee nay And was it t o t ell
-

m e t his t ha t you come t o Ah c o '-
T ag a mo again grew grav e

-

-
.

I come seeking t he chief o f my people he said , ,
an d folded his arms quietly .

D ee n ay s mann er grew cold and he spoke
-
,
s hor t ly .

Wau ko ma is no t here O ur hear t s are as
-
-
.
,

y o u know n o,t warm f o r Wau k o ma -
-
.

I t is n o t Wau ko ma t ha t I seek m y words
-
'-
s hal l b e c l ear t o y o u when I have spoken Wau .
ko m a is no l onger chief o f the T o t o mes it is

-
- -
o f another I speak t he t rue chief o f my people

,
h e who was called Al che sa by his mo her but

y
- -
t ,

w h o is cal l ed by ano t her name among you r people .

Y our wo rds hav e l it t l e m e aning for me again ,
CHAP TER ! V
TH E C H IN -
DO G H O WL S
0
P ath l e s s as th e se a; no w ay m ark e d d w ;
o n
Th e d e s e rt s an d no trail un c o v e re dk p ee s .
H e re m an y a h ap l e s s trav e l e r d e ath h as f o un d ,
A nd m id th e d e s o l ate was te s f or
g o tte n s e e l p s.
EE NAY looked a t Kay yah and back

-
-
again a t T ag a mo -
-
.
M ake clear yo ur words he said briey ; I ,

like n o t mysteries .
Kay yah stood as if carved in stone H ad his

-
.
ears deceived him Wha t was the meaning o f the

?
strange words spoken by Tag a mo ? His eyes -

-
sough t S ah m e who s t ood pale and s t ill some dis

-
,
tance away with her dark eyes xed o n Tag a mo s

,
-
-
face His hear t bea t fas t as he lis t ened in t ense

.
expec t ancy for t he words o f t he To t o me w h o -

-
,
n o w spoke slowly and wi t h grea t delibera t ion .

My heart is f o r actions more t ha n for words ,
ye t words are needed here and t he t elling may ,
no t be made brief f o r i t holds t he lives of men

.
And he folded his arms slowly and l ooked calmly

282
THE C HIN D O G H O WL S -
2 83
i n to the man y questionin g faces t urned t oward him .
F e w o f the N ag apahs u n derstood his words

'
- -
,
bu t t hey realized from the attitude of D ee nay -

an d Kay yah tha t matters o f great importance

-
were being discussed an d t hey eagerly awaited the

moment whe n D ee n ay would speak to them in
-

their o wn tongue ; but Tag a mo a n ticipated this -

-
expectan cy an d his next words and all that fol ,
lowed were spoke n in clear o w in g Nag apah

,
-

- -
which was understood by most of the men who

were with him .

Ma n y years ago he began a son came t o the
, ,
hogan of Tap awan greatest o f all T o to me

- -

,
-

-
chiefs h e who was k n own as Eagle Wings b e

-

cause o f the white wi n g mark that sho n e o n his -
cheek whe n in a n ger Great was t he j oy at the .
comi n g o f this so n for it was feared that another

would rule at the death o f E agle Wings and in ,
my tribe the son rules when the fa t her is go n e .
N o t long after this s o n was born Tap awan was - -

killed in battle an d his wife died also o f grief at

, ,
his death ; but before she died she placed about the
neck of A l che say her you n g son a little bag con
- -

, ,
tai n i n g the hereditary ri n g of all the T o to me -

-
chiefs He was at that time under tw o years o f

.

age.
D ee nay stood like a tall tree motionless his

-

, ,
284 LO S T IN D I A N MAG I C
whi t e head gl ist enin g in the l a t e su nl igh t and h is ,
b ur ni ng eyes xed o n Tag a mo s face Nag a -

-

.
-
p ahs and To t o mes alike seemed t o hold their

-
-
b rea th bu t t he eager expectancy o f the crowd had

,
t he e ff ec t o nl y o f making Tag a mo more d e lib -

-
e ra t e more calm
, H e s t ood silen t for a momen t
.
before con t inuing his strange narra t ive s t range in
what i t promised to reveal .

There l ived a t this t im e a sister t o T ap awan
, ,
- -

,
whos e husband was dead a sis t er and her son ,
Wau ko ma It was he whose rule t he people h ad

-
-
.
feared before t he bir t h o f A l che s ay f o r Wau ko -

,
-

ma though young was t hen as he is n o w m y

, ,

words need say no more f o r Wau ko m ais known ,

-
'-
t o you This sister came t o t he hogan where A]

.
che say was being tended and said she would t ake
-

t he care o f him and there was no o n e w h o could

t urn her away She took t he child and t ended him

.
wi t h wha t seemed kindness she and an o ld nurse
name d Lee t ah who had been her nurse in child

-
hood and t he nurs e o f t he child als o B ut very

, .
soon t hos e who p assed heard wailing in the hogan

and t hey were no t permit t ed t o ent er as Na kee ,
-
'
,
th e mo ther o f Wau ko ma s aid tha t A l che say

-

- - -
,
wa s very il l wi t h t he spo t ted sickness and t ha t it
wa s dea t h f o r any t o en t er Prayers were made .
f o r him and many dances a

, n d ceremonials in t he
Nag -
apahs !
T he woman Na kee
-
mo t her o f -

,
Wau ko ma had des ired always t h at her son should

-

-
,
rule and i t w as grief to her tha t a so n was born

,
t o T ap aw an b u t when t he gods pu t tha t so n

- -
in her power her j oy was grea t B u t t he gods sho w .
anger t o o n e who would take t he life o f a chie f and ,
she f eared t o kil l A l che say O ne nigh t when - -

.
,
there was no moon she pu t t he child in t o t he arms ,
o f L ee t ah t he o l d nurse

-
Take the child in t o
, .
t he hills she said where t here are bears and great

,

ca t s ; place him upon t he ground and wa t ch from

some safe place until y ou can return an d t ell me
t ha t Wau k o m a is chief of the To to mes Take
-
-
-
-
.
food and do n o t re t urn while t he child lives his
b lood wil l t hen b e upon t he beas t s and no t wi t h ,
9
us
The woman Lee t ah t ook t he child for sh e
-
,
knew tha t if she did n o t obey her l ife sh ould pay ,
and another would go in her s t ead S he crep t o u t .
o f T a pau wee and t hough t tha t no o n e s a w her

- -
go bu t o n e followed a medicine man o f t he

-

t ribe b y name Tso

.
Kay yah gave a lo w exclama t ion bu t i t p assed

-
,
u n heeded by t he others .
T s o followed and when he s aw the burden th a

t
,
t he woman carried he questioned her ; f o r they were

f riends Wi t h fear in her hear t t he wom an to l d
.
,
THE CHIN D O G H O WL S -
2 87
h im her errand and after some thought he spoke

of ,
to her The child mus t be saved but his life would

.

not be safe if he re t urned to Ta pau wee the fol -

-
lowers o f Na kee are many ; I have a plan that is

-

bet t er f o r a time at leas t He shall be placed

.
with good people w h o shall love him as their o w n ,
and when he is o ld enough he will re t urn to his own

people and claim what is rightfully his I will .
make known to Tag a mo an d others what I have

-

-
done and we will wa t ch his welfare and tell him

,
when the time shall come Wait here in a safe .
place o n t he moun t ain un t il I retur n and Na kee ,

-

will believe that y o u have do n e as she commanded .

He took the child and j our n eyed with him to
Ah co f o r he had heard of tw o there who greatly
'
-
,
desired a son which had not been granted them by

t he gods As he carried the chi ld he noticed abou t
.
i t s neck a li tt le bag suspended by a thong ; a bag

tha t he him self skilled in such things had made
, ,
and presented t o Tap awan the chief He was - -

.
glad t he bag was there for the child would need ,
the s t ro n g protection of the medicine he did no t

do ubt that i t cont ained .

Al che say he left j ust within the doorway o f
- -

t he hogan o f Qua h i da the Nag apah -
-
,

- -
.
There were shar p exclama t ions at this s t range

288 LO S T I ND I AN MAGI C
informa t ion and quick ques t ioning gl ance s we re

,
t hrown at Kay yah ; bu t Tag a mo con t inued :

- -

-

About his neck remained t he li tt le b ag pl aced
t here by his mother before she died and t ha t lit t le ,
bag contained the heredi t ary ring o f a

l l t he T o
t o me chiefs
-

Umph ! exclaimed D ee nay and th e e x cl am a -

,
t ion expressed much .
The blood in Kay yah s veins s eemed t urned to

-

re and a strange mis t sw am before his eyes ; bu t

,
Tag a mo his gl ance passing far over the he ads

-
-
,
o f those before him s p oke calml y o n

,

Tso re t urned quickly to where t he woman L ee
t ah awai t ed him o n t he moun t ain Thre e days had .
he been gone and her heart had almos t failed her

,
as she watched f o r his re turn ; bu t o thers also

wa t ched her sen t by Na kee who wished all t race
,
-

,
o f her crime des t royed and as t hey sa w aman speak

,
wi t h Lee tah Wau ko ma and two warriors

-
,
-
-
sprang from t he rocks and after ashor t gh t threw , ,
rs t Tso and then t he woman over t he edge o f the

cli ff o n which t hey s t ood F ar down in t o the c an
.
y o n t hey fell s t ruck t

, he rocks and lay s t il l .

The woman w as dead and t he men ret urned t o
t ell Na kee wha t t hey had done Tso t hey also
-

.
t hough t de ad and he remained f o r l ong as o n e in

,
t he las t sleep Bu t he w as no t dead and o n e c am e

.
,
290 LO S T IND IAN MAG I C
your hear t rem ains wi t h us of t he Nag ap ah al so

- -
.
I have said t hat y o u shall be chief when I am gone

and the word o f D ee n ay has never re t urned t o -

his mouth Tha t being so then you shall be chief

.

o f bo t h To t o mes and Nag apahs His eyes
-
-
- -
.

ashed as he again t urned to T ag a mo I t is -
-
.
thus that the gods fulll old prophecies Tag a mo ; ,

-

-
i t is thus t ha t we planned many years ago you and ,
I when t he dream showed lit t le chance o f coming

,

t rue I t is thus the Magic works !
.
A t t he men t ion o f t he Magic Tag a mo l ooked ,

-
-
though t ful .

Many years Wau ko ma planned t o s t ea l t he -
-
Magic o f the Nag apahs and at on e time was very

- -
,
condent that he had secured it as word came from ,
G 6 me who lived among your people t ha t ano t her

-
, ,
day would brin g the Magic to Ta p au wee ; bu t i t -

-
did no t come a n d grea t was o u r surprise t o hear

,

t hat i t had been los t from Ah c o -
.
Kay yah who had been s t anding silen t ly b y

-
,
D ee nay n o w spoke f o r the rst time

-

, .

There is reason in wha t G o me said The
-
.
sacred eagle o f Ah c o had been t rained to carry

-
messages t o Ta pau wee as i t may be t ha t you -

-
know T ag a mo I t was t o have carried the Magic

,
-
-
.
also bu t was sho t by Tso o f whom you have spoken

, , ,
29 1
and buried in t he rocks by S ah me adaughter o f

-
your people
He s t opped short ; a new thought had e n tered his
mind and the blood rose to his face He turned .
slowly and looked back into the crowd to where

S ah n e stood her cheeks burni n g and her eyes

-
shining They were o f o n e blood he and she

.
, .
Tag a mo spoke very gravely now

-

-
, .

A l che say born chief o f my people I come to
-

-
, ,
ask tha t y o u take your place as ruler o f the T o t o -

mes even as was your father before you It is

.
the wish o f your people that you return to Ta

pau wee ; they have many reasons for wishing that

-
you come They desire to show you kindness for

.
the way in which y o u were so lately trea t ed there

when t hey though t you an en emy and a spy an d
also t heir hearts are weary o f wrong and lawless

ruling I Tag a mo have been sent to ask th at
.
,
-

-
,
y o u will come Wha t is the answer

. that I t ake

back ?
Kay yah hesi t a t ed and t here was trouble in his

-
,
face as he spoke .

Wha t o f Wau ko ma he asked
? -
-
.
Wau ko ma is here he said

-
-
, .
A wave o f suppressed excitement swep t over t he

crowd as the second par t y of To to mes came t o -
-
ward them ; bu t any suspicion or uneasiness t ha t

may have been among the N ag apahs w as silenced
- -
when it was seen tha t with the excep t ion o f t he

,
t wo m e n who walked ahead o n either side o f Wau

ko ma all were unarmed
-
When they neared t he .
edge o f the crowd the voice o f D ee n ay broke th e -

t e n s e silence T aking Kay yah by t he arm h e

.

-
,
s t epped to the side o f T ag a mo and wi t h awide -

-
,
gesture tha t i n cluded all about him he sai d

Come bro t hers ! The shadows o f the c anyo n
,
grow long ; we will go to the be tt er shel t er o f Ah

co .
And withou t seeming to be conscious o f i t To ,
to mes and Nag apahs mingled as t hough o f o n e

-
- -
t ribe as t hey accomp anied t he n e w chief and t he

o l d medici n e men t o the Nag apah camp t he
-
-
-
,
guards wi t h Wau ko ma bringing up t he re ar

-

-
.
Hal t ing in the wide level space before t he medi

cin e lodge t he grea t gathering formed a circle and
,
waited f o r wha t was to follow As t he people gr ew .
silen t acommo t ion arose a t a poin t in the edge o f

,
the crowd and a momen t la t er a whi t e haired o l d

,
-
man forced his way t hrough t he circle and hobbled

across t he open sp ace t oward K ay yah -
.
29 4 LO S T IN D I A N MAG I C
the e x pression o n t he face o f the o l d To t o me -

-
medicine man showed plainly t hat he had already

-
known all that Tso had spoken H e n o w raised a .
hand as a sign al an d the men who guarded W au

ko ma brough t him forward in t o the cent er o f t he
-
circle .
All remained silen t as the deposed chief now ,
captive o f his own people was brough t before them

, .
No trace o f the struggle and violen t anger th at

must have ensued when he w as made a prisoner n o w
remained o n the features or in the bearing o f Wau
k o ma but a xed sullen expression that held the

-
, , ,
brutal face thi n ly masked the inner desire f o r de ad

,
ly retaliation agai n st all those about him S ome .
thi n g of that i n ner hatred was clearly visible t o

Tag a mo and as he thought of the treachery
-

-
,
W au k o ma had revealed in his secret dealings

-
-
with the vicious t ribe of desert pirates he was glad ,
t hat his days o f evi l were soon t o be br ought to

an end .
With arms bound t o his back he s t ood motion ,
less wit h a poorly assumed air o f indi ff erence

, ,

where his guards had placed him ; and in t o Kay
yah s mind ashed t he pic t ure o f the crowd that had

gathered abo u t him as he had stood bou n d be fore

W au k o ma on t he nigh t o f h is captivity in the To
-
-
to me camp
-
Again he could hear t he low e x cla
.
29 5
mat ion o f Tag a mo as he had looked so in t ently

-

-
at him B e ta atsi n b e ta atsin T hat mystery

-
- - -
, ,
was solved n o w ; an d he now kn ew why the o ld med

ic in e man had sworn before the To to me people

- - -
tha t he should not be put to death before given

t rial an d why the treac herous Wau ko ma had
,
-

-
been so determined that he must be killed a t o n ce .
Then too the strange actio n s o f T so were thus ex

, ,
plained as he also mus t have seen the bir thmark

,
o n his face ; and the u n expec t ed revelation had
thrown his defec t ive mind int o a temporary t o f

madness .
The crowd whose a t tention was divided between

,
Kay yah an d the deposed chief was suddenly

-
,
moved with excitement as the former walked up

and stood with folded arms before Wau ko ma -
-
.
S ome t hing in t he pose and bearing o f Kay yah -
caused the group o f o l d T o to me men who stood -

-
,
ab ou t Tag a mo to break in t o low murmurs that

-

-
,
expressed their stro n g emotion and then The , ,

son o f Tap awan The image o f E agle Wi n gs !
- -

burs t from o n e mouth t hen a n other as the strong , ,
like n ess be t ween the o ld chief and his son became

so apparent to t hem .
The blood of a long line o f wise and powerful

chiefs owed in t he vei n s of Kay yah The star
-
.
t lin g events and revela t ions tha t had j us t t rans

29 6 LO S T IND I AN MAGIC
p ire d had lif t ed him a t a s ingl e bound from you t h

to t he full s t ature o f manh ood and he took his ,
p lace as the leader o f his people with an e ase t ha t

brough t surprise even to t he heart o f D ee n ay -

.
A dea t h like silence fell o n t he crowd as looking

-
,
squarely into the shift ing eyes o f the cap t ive before
him Kay yah spoke
,

-
.

Wau ko ma t he gods give j ustice f o r j us t ice
-
-
,
among all E ar th children Y o u and I have changed .
pl aces and as your chief i t is I who now p ass

,

j udgment upon you .
Whi l e he was t hus speak ing Tso wi t h arms h alf , ,
b en t and wi t h hands clenched pulled away from

, ,
t he hand o f Tag a mo who tried to s t op him and

-

-
, ,
moved s t ealthily out in t o t he open sp ace and up

behind Kay yah his eyes blazing as he wai t ed wit h
-
,
t ense expec t ancy f o r t he word tha t would give t he

dea t h se n t ence to his hated enemy .
Turning his face t o where D ee nay and T ag a -

-

mo s t ood Kay yah asked

,

-

Is i t n o t so that amo n g o ur people t he word , ,

o f a righ t ful chief is above all others
?

I t is so said T ag a mo ; and all o f t he men o f
,
-
-
the crowd nodded approvingly .

If my rs t ac t as your chief in sigh t o f t he
Great Spiri t of us all sh o uld bring the blood o f

ill omen ou t weighed the desire for revenge and ,
w i t hin his hear t each fel t t he wisdom o f Kay yah s

-
ac t ion .
Com m anding the guards t o loose Wau ko ma s -

-

b onds he motioned t o the people o n the side o f the

,
crowd nearest the desert to make an Opening in the

cir c le ; then pointing t oward it and addressing t he
,
cap t ive he said ,

Go !
Wi t h a sneer upon his fa c e bu t wi t h slouching
,
gure no longer held erec t Wau k o m a walked ,

-

-
away and after passing t he last hogan o f t he vil

,
l age t urned in t o t he open deser t

, .
As he faced t he people again Kay yah hel d up ,

-
his hand f o r silence .

My people I have said to t he people o f Ah co
,
-
,
and n o w say t o you all tha t I will seek t he will

,
o f the Grea t S piri t in all t hin gs t ha t wis dom
may guide my actions t oward you Y o u have with .

,
j us t ice desired t he dea t h of that man and so migh t

, ,
I wi t h gre at er c ause than any o f you desire i t

, ,
also ; bu t I believe it is t he will of the gods th at I

should d o as I have done And n o w le t our t hough t s
.
turn to re j o i c i ng t hat the days of peace and old

friendship among us have come again and t ha t in ,

heart we are all o n e people .
L oud shou t s o f j oyous approval arose from t he

TH E CHIN D O G H O WL S-
29 9
cro wd t ha t n o w be g an t o gather about D ee nay -

and Tag a mo who th ey kn ew would tell them

-

-
, , ,
o f plans for the d a ys o f feasting and dancing that

would soon be held in both villages .
Taking advantage of the excitemen t o f the crowd ,
Kay yah went in search of Tso as he wished to ex

'
-
,
plain to him why he had been compelled t o ignore

his advice t o make an end o f Wau ko ma but the -
-
,
o l d man w a s n o t with D ee nay o r Tag a mo who

- - -
,
said that he had di sappeared in the crowd o n the

side near t he medicin e lodge Feeling that his old .
friend had not been treated with the kindness an d

considera t ion due him he searched amo n g the peo
,
ple near the lodge the n went i n to the big hogan it

,
self but found it empty With a vague im pression

, .
that all w as n o t right he stepped upo n a block o f

,
wood tha t s t ood j ust outside the doo rway and ,
scann ed the crowd ; but Tso was not among t he

people Again he stepped into the lodge and looked
.
at the wall beside the door where he had hung his

bow cas e t he nigh t o f his return It was gone His
-
. .
suspicions now t horoughly aroused he slipped ,
quickly ou t and around to the rear of the lodge and ,
unno t iced by t he crowd ran swiftly along back ,
of t he hogans un t il he came to the poin t wher e

Wau ko ma had left the village Coming upon an
-
-
.
3 00 L O S T I ND IAN MAG IC
exci t ed group o f li tt le boys he asked t hem if t hey ,
h ad seen acrippled o l d m an p ass t ha t w a y .

Y es re p lied o n e o f the boys ; and he mum
,
bled s t r ange t alk as he p assed and he wen t into ,
t he desert wher e the bad man wen t .

Wh ich way did h e go ? Spe ak quick ! com
ma n de d K a yah -
y .

Around t he ridge o f roc k yond e r t o t he wes t ,
said th e oldes t b o y .
Fearing he migh t be t oo la t e bu t d e te rm l n e d t hat ,
his command regarding W au ko m a mus t be -

-
obeyed Kay yah ran swiftly in t he direc t ion given

,
-
him by t he li t tle boys He knew t ha t a thirst f o r

.
a j us t revenge and the deadly accuracy o f T so s

,

marksmanship migh t easily bring t o naugh t his in

,
t ended act o f mercy and tha t he alone could hope

,
to appeal to t he old man s re a son

.
As he rounded t he las t poin t of high ground th at

hid t he view o f the deser t t o t he wes t he saw far , ,
ahe ad o f him t he o l d T o t o me s t anding like a s t at

,

-
u e agains t t he dying ligh t of t he sunse t sky As .
he ran fo rward t he o ld man with his face t urned

, ,
t oward t he wes t and all unmindful o f his young

,
friend s appro ach raised his arm s t riump h antly

above his head ; an d K ay yah real i z ed t ha t he h ad '-
come t oo la t e as over t he silence o f the deser t came

,
3 0 1,
the weird cadence o f T so s deep voice as he s ang

-m
an d the so n g was the T o t o me death chan t -

-
.
H o wl y e , h o w l f o r th e fall e n f o e ;
A h ki d ah ah e e ah e e
'
- - -
, ,
I n th e l o n g an d s il e n t sl e e p l aid l o w .
A h ki d ah ah
'
-
-
,

ee.
S t ro n g th e w arrio r

s b o w an d s p e ar ;
A h ki d ah ah ah

- -
,
-
ee -
ee,
T h e gh o s t f o e h o wl s , h e qu ak e s with
A h ki d ah ah
'
-
,
- -
ee .
Up th ro u gh t h e win d h is ie s ; s pi r it
T h d e ath b i d s c i c l wid t h
e

r ki s ;
r e e e s e
W ith b e ak an d cl aw th e s ile n t f o wl s
D o p d o wn d r o p d w n ; th e c h in d o g h o wl s
r ,
o
A h ki d ah a

,

li -
ee ee e e.
- -

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LE T A N A R ROW F LY AT THE FL EE I N G FI G URE T H AT W AS N OW RU NN N G

O ut in t he region o f the sage and the pin e ;

the Indian campres Of the lo n g ago heard ma n y

that have been handed down through the chann el

retold and told again until they come to the hear

in g of even y o u and me .Thus the ancient tale Of

I t may be that the lege n d loses somewhat in part

the t hread o n which t he cru de beads o f i t s adv e n

Pasadena Califo rnia 19 18

governed the life an d conduct Of o u r Amer

with his aggressive religious views was su p e rsti ,

Like all primitive peoples they perso n ied the

feared and they supposed that back Of all disaster

stood some evil intelligence tha t mus t be appeased ,

or fought with the aid O f some o t her power p o s

sessing greater virtue .

Naturally enough t he power that in their Opin

ion brought the grea t es t pro t ection agai n st evil

and produced the grea t est blessi n gs in abu n dant

was symbolized by some image o r Obj ect which took

All good fort une great or small was credited

t o i t s power All evils were though t to be less

hidden away o n some secluded altar I t was mos t .

ish would come to be looked upon as t he vi t al link

b y the chief Of all trouble makers t he Shin di -

Thus t he people Of Ah c o with whom o u r s t ory

deals placed the highest ear t hly value upon a lit t le

carven bear o f turquoise their migh t y Magic

handed down to them o ut of a mysterious p ast ; an

blessings Of i t s power for good Its fame Spread .

abroad and at las t a powerful neighboring t ribe

began t o covet it and the unscrupulous young chief

o f the t ribe laid careful plans to secure i t by a

subtle method o f his o w n .

O ne eve n tful nigh t ve years before our s t ory

opens the great Magic disappeared from the sacred

altar of the medicine lodge o f Ah co and wi t h i t s -

loss came t he looked f o r train of want woe and

disaster O ne heavy shadow lay upon the hea rt s

of t he men the loss Of their Magic ; o n e de t er

S easons passed bringing their varying for t une

and then dawned the day o f Kay yah who with

ever cons t ant faith in J Oh O na ai the Great S pirit

whose symbol was the su n went forth to nd the

li t tl e b lue bear and res tore it t o his people .

St e pp in g qu ic kly b ackw a d h is foo t w e n t in t o

The village O f Ah co principal camp o f t he

Nag apahs was si tua t ed a t the mou t h o f a canyon

whose sandy oor was level with t he deser t and ,

whose rocky walls grew farther and far ther apar t

fantastic shape and brillia n t coloring Far back .

and beyond the camp the sides of the canyon drew

rapidly t ogether in high precipi t ous cli ff s which

kept the narrow passage between in an almos t per

could b e seen the remains O f cli ff dwellings the -

deser t tribes ca lled them and here an d t here an

eagle had buil t his nest .

From the sandy oor o f the canyon bubbling ,

up from t he underground came a s t ream Of wa t er ,

once rushing and plen t iful ; but now a mere thread ,

Of silver it wandered lazily down int o t he deser t

and disappeared in t he sand .

Sage brush mezqui t e and cac t us grew every