History of California Part 2

"Not this time; he will eat with Sholoc and the men when the fish are ready," replied his mother.

"This is good soup," said Gesnip. "I am glad I worked hard before the water came up. But, Payuchi, didn't you and Nopal get any clams?"

"Yes," said her brother, making a face; he had dipped down where the stones were hottest and the soup thickest, and had taken a mouthful that burned him. "Yes, we got some clams, more than I could carry; but Nopal was running races with the other boys and would not come, so I left him to bring them. He will lose his fish dinner if he doesn't hurry."

"Mother," said Cleeta, "may we stay up to the fish bake?"

"No," answered her mother. "You and Nakin must go to bed, but I will save some for your breakfast. You are tired, Cleeta."

"Yes, I am tired," said the little girl, leaning her head against her mother's shoulder, "but I am warm in my rabbit-skin dress. We all have warm dresses now. Please tell me a good-night story," she begged. "We have been good and brought in much food."

"Yes, tell us how the hawk and coyote made the sun," said Gesnip.

"Very well," said the mother, "only you must be quite still."

"It was in the beginning of all things, and a bowl of darkness, blacker than the pitch lining of our water basket, covered the earth. Man, when he would go abroad, fell against man, against trees, against wild animals, even against Lollah, the bear, who would, in turn, hug the unhappy one to death. Birds flying in the air came together and fell struggling to the earth. All was confusion."

"Once the hawk, by chance, flew in the face of the coyote. Instead of fighting about it as naughty children might, they, like people of good manners, apologized many times. Then they talked over the unhappy state of things and determined to remedy the evil. The coyote first gathered a great heap of dried tules, rolled them together into a ball, and gave them to the hawk, with some pieces of flint. The hawk, taking them in his talons, flew straight up into the sky, where he struck fire with his flints, lit the ball of reeds, and left it there whirling along with a bright yellow light, as it continues to whirl to-day; for it, children, is our sun, ruler of the day."

"The hawk next flew back for another ball to rule the night, but the coyote had no tule gathered, and the hawk hurried him so that some damp stems were mixed in. The hawk flew with this ball into the sky and set it afire but because of the green tules it burned with only a dim light; and this, children, is our moon, ruler of the night."

"That is a fine story," said Payuchi. "I am glad I did not live when there was no light."

"Tell us how the coyote danced with the star," said Gesnip.

"No," replied the mother, "another time we shall see. Now I shall sing to coax sleep to tired eyes, and the little ones will go to bed." And this was what she sang: "Pah-high-nui-veve, veve, veve, shumeh, veve, veve, veve, shumeh, Pah-high-nui-veve," and so on, repeating these words over and over until Cleeta and Nakin were sound asleep. Then she laid them on their tule mats, which were spread on the floor of the jacal, where baby Nahal, close wrapped in his coc.o.o.n-shaped cradle, had been a long time sleeping.

"Mother," said Gesnip, coming into the jacal, "they have brought in the elk. Don't you want something from them?"

"Yes," replied Macana, "I will go and see about it. I want one of the skins to make your father a warm hunting dress."

The Indians who had gone after the elk had skinned and cut them up where they lay, as they were so large that the burden had to be distributed among a number of carriers. Macana found Sholoc busy portioning out parts of the elk. As he had a fine seal-skin suit himself, he gladly gave her the skin of the deer which he had shot.

"Isn't that a big one?" said Payuchi. "It will make father a fine hunting suit, it is so thick." Gesnip was loaded down with some of the best cuts of the meat to take to her father's jacal. Cuchuma himself began removing the tendons from the legs, to cure for bowstrings, and to wrap a new bow he was going to make.

"Here, Nopal," said Sholoc to his oldest nephew, a lad of fifteen, "I will give you a piece of the antler and you can grind it down and make yourself a hunting knife. It is time you ceased to play and became a hunter. I had killed much game when I was your age."

"Will you give me some of the brains that I may finish tanning a deerskin? I have been waiting to finish it until I could get some brains, but it has been a long time since any one has brought in big game," said Macana.

"Yes," answered Sholoc, "you shall have them. Payuchi, hand me my elk-horn ax so that I can split open the head, and you can take the brains to the jacal." Soon not a piece of meat, a bit of skin, tendon, or bone, was left. All was put to use by these people of the forest. And now the feast was ready. The women had roasted many pieces of elk's meat over the coals. The fish had been taken from under the hot ashes, the half burned gra.s.s removed from around them, and the fish broken into pieces and put in flat baskets shaped like platters. There were also pieces of elk meat and cakes of acorn meal baked on hot stones.

As was the custom with the Indians, the men were served first. Payuchi watched anxiously as his father and the other men took large helpings from the baskets.

"Do you think there will be enough for us to have any?" he asked Gesnip.

"I am so hungry and they are eating so much. If I were a man, I should remember about the women and children."

"No; you wouldn't if you were a man; men never do," answered Gesnip.

"But you need not worry, there is plenty. Mother said there would be some left for breakfast."

"Wait for that till I get through," said Payuchi, laughing. After all had eaten a hearty meal, more than for many weeks they had been able to have at any one time, the tired women each gathered her children together and took them to her own jacal, leaving the men sitting around the camp fire. Payuchi, who tumbled to sleep as soon as his head touched his sleeping mat, was wakened by some one pulling his rabbit-skin coat, which he wore nights as well as days.

"Payuchi," said a voice, "wake up."

"I have not been asleep," answered the boy, stoutly, as he rubbed his eyes to get them open. "What do you want, Nopal?" for he saw his brother speaking to him.

"Hush, do not waken mother," said Nopal, speaking very softly. "I know that the men will make an offering to Chinigchinich. I am going to watch them. We are old enough, at least I am. Do you want to come?"

A star shone in at the top of the jacal, and Payuchi gazed up at it, blinking, while he pulled his thoughts together.

"They will punish us if they find us out," said he at length.

"But we won't let them find us out, stupid one," replied his brother, impatiently.

"What if Chinigchinich should be angry with us? He does not like to have children in the ceremony of the offering," said Payuchi.

"I will give him my humming-bird skin, and you shall give him your mountain quail head; then he will be pleased with us," answered Nopal.

"All right," said the boy; "I do not like very well to part with that quail head, but perhaps it is a good thing to do."

Creeping softly from the jacal, the boys crouched in the shade of a willow bush and watched the men by the camp fire.

"They are standing up. They are just going," said Payuchi, "and every one has something in his hand. Father has two bows; I wonder why."

"I think he is going to make an offering of the new bow to Chinigchinich," answered Nopal. "I thought he was going to keep it and give me his old one," he added, with some disappointment.

"What are they offering for?" asked the young brother.

"For rain," said Nopal. "See, they are going now." In single file the men walked swiftly away, stepping so softly that not a twig cracked.

After a little the boys followed, slipping from bush to bush that they might not be discovered. They had walked about a mile, when they came to thicker woods with bigger trees and saw a light ahead of them. Nopal laid his hand on his brother to stop him. Peeping through a scrub-oak bush, they looked down into a little glade arched over with great live oaks. In the middle of the opening they saw, by the light of a low fire, a small cone-shaped hut. Beside it stood a gigantic figure painted and adorned with sh.e.l.ls, feathers, rattlesnake skins, and necklaces of bone.

"Come back," whispered Payuchi, his teeth chattering with fear. "It is Chinigchinich himself; he will see us, and we shall die."

"No," answered Nopal, "it is only Nihie, the medicine man. He looks so tall because of his headdress. It is made of framework of dried tules covered with feathers and fish bladders. I saw it one day in his jacal, and it is as tall as I am. That jacal beside him is the vanquech [temple], and I think there is something awful there. You see if there isn't. Hush, now! Squat down. Here they come."

In a procession the men came into the opening, and, stalking solemnly by, each cast down at the door of the temple an offering of some object which he prized. Cuchuma gave a bone knife which he greatly valued, and a handsome new bow. Sholoc gave a speckled green stone olla from Santa Catalina and a small string of money; but these were chiefs' offerings.

The other gifts were simpler--sh.e.l.ls, acorn meal, baskets, birds' skins, but always something for which the owner cared.

At last the medicine man, satisfied with the things offered which became his own when the ceremony was over, stooped and drew forth the sacred emblem from the temple. It was not even an idol, only a fetich composed of a sack made from the skin of a coyote, the head carefully preserved and stuffed, while the body was dressed smooth of hair and adorned with hanging sh.e.l.ls and tufts of birds' feathers. A bundle of arrows protruded from the open mouth, giving it a fierce appearance. While Nihie held it up, the men circled round once again, this time more rapidly, and as they pa.s.sed the medicine man, each gave a spring into the air, shooting an arrow upward with all his force. When the last man had disappeared under the trees, Nihie replaced the skin in the temple, put out the fire, and, singing a kind of chant, he led the men back to their jacals. The boys stood up. Payuchi shivered and drew a long breath.

"We must get away now; Nihie will be back soon to get the offerings,"

said Nopal.

"But first we must offer our gifts, or Chinigchinich will be angry,"

said Payuchi.

"Come on, then," said the brother; so, stealing softly down the hillside, the boys cast their offerings on the pile in front of the hut and ran away, taking a roundabout path home, that they might not meet the medicine man returning.

"We must hurry to get in the jacal before father," said Nopal, suddenly.