USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. VII > Part 8
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"'Now they did not know how they could live on the small portion that had been given them. So the Coyote, when he heard them bemoaning their lot, came and told them to follow his ex- ample; therefore, our fathers became a nation of hunters. As the waters of the world dried and flowed away, the face of the earth cracked, and was worn full of deep canyons. One of these canyons was very narrow and filled with rattlesnakes. This was the canyon of the Hava- supai; and down in a grotto, under the falls, lived a great goddess, Ka-mu-iu-dr-ma-gui-iu-e- ba, or 'Mother of the Waters.' She was wooed by the rattlesnakes, and bore two sons, Ha- ma-u-giu-iu-e-ba, or 'Children of the Waters.' Upon the head of each was a great flint knife. Now the earth became so dry that our fore- fathers had but little water to drink, and, wan- dering about in search of it, came to the brink of the canyon; but they could not enter because VII-8
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of the rattlesnakes. So the two boys slew the rattlesnakes with their magic flint knives, and widened the rocks above the home of their mother. Then they guided them down the can- yon, and built little houses high up among the cliffs; for the Apache-Mohaves came in, too, and disputed possession with them. As the two chil- dren led the people down the canyon, they made their handprints on the walls, and painted the animals which should serve as food for their people; and these marks still remain on the rocks, and thither we go when we wish to secure the deer, or to ask for rain. When, at last, they reached the home of their mother, she told them that this should be their home forever; that it was not good to live on meat alone, but that they should build houses there, and plant the ear of corn they had, and it would be a means of life. So they did as she told them, and the Apache- Mohaves lived among them, where the canyon was narrower. For a long time all was well, until a young Havasupai man stole an Apache- Mohave girl, which caused strife, and wars en- sued, so that the Apache-Mohaves were driven away. For this reason we live alone in the canyon.
" 'But, alas! the Coyote ate a part of the heart of the great cacique; hence, only during sum- mer do we live in the home of the Mother of the Waters, and plant as she told us; but in winter we have to follow the deer with our father, the Coyote, and live only as he does, in houses of grass and bark; for the Mother of the Waters grew sad when her people became so foolish, and, leaving only one of her sons to take care of them,
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she went away to her home among the white shells, in the great world of waters.'
"'Do you Americans,' said the old man, as he ceased, with a sigh of longing, 'never see the Mother of the Waters, when you wander along the shores of the great ocean ?'
" 'Oh, yes,' I said, and then I told him the story of the mermaid; and, happy almost to tears, he added, 'Alas! I cannot tell you more, for the only books our fathers gave us were our hearts and our mouths.'
"A fairy story is this, of the Nation of the Willows; and while science teaches us another tale, may we not poetically believe, with these simple natives, that they have always lived here, apart from the world of nations; that ever since they wandered forth from the four fertile wombs of mother earth, this little strip of land and river and willow, and the great rock-walls, so near to- gether, yet so sublime and impassable, have bounded their generations of life, have had shadows cast on them by the smoke-clouds of the numberless funeral pyres of all their un- named dead ?"
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CHAPTER VI. THE HAVASUPAI (Continued).
LEGENDS-ORIGIN-HOW WALLAPAIS BECAME A SEPARATE PEOPLE - RELATION OF ORIGIN OF HOPIS.
Mr. George Wharton James, in his most ex- cellent work, "The Indians of the Painted Desert Region," gives the following legends of the Havasupais :
"In almost every case one finds a variety of differing legends related by the Indians of any tribe upon the same subject. As the Wallapais and Havasupais are cousins, one would natur- ally expect their legends to have some things in common. How much this is so will be seen by a comparison of the following story with that of the Wallapai Origin legend.
" 'The two gods of the universe,' said O-dig-i- ni-ni-a, the relator of the mythic lore of the Havasupais, 'are Tochopa and Hokomata. To- chopa, he heap good. Hokomata, he han-ato- op-o-gi-heap bad-all same white man's devil. Him Hokomata make big row with Tochopa, and he say he drown the world.
" 'Tochopa was full of sadness at the news. He had one daughter whom he devotedly loved, and from her he had hoped would descend the whole human race for whom the world had been made. If Hokomata persisted in his wicked de- termination she must be saved at all hazard. So, working day and night, he speedily prepared the trunk of a pinion tree by hollowing it out
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from one end. In this hollow tree he placed food and other necessaries, and also made a look- out window. Then he brought his daughter, and telling her she must go into this tree and there be sealed up, he took a sad farewell of her, closed up the end of the tree, and then sat down to await the destruction of the world. It was not long before the floods began to descend. Not rain, but cataracts, rivers, deluges came, making more noise than a thousand Hack-a-tai-as (Colo- rado River) and covering all the earth with water. The pinion log floated, and in safety lay Pu-keh-eh, while the water surged higher and higher and covered the tops of Hue-han-a- patch-a (the San Francisco), Hue-ga-wool-a (Williams Mountain), and all the other moun- tains of the world.
" 'But the waters of heaven could not always be pouring down, and soon after they ceased, the flood upon the earth found a way to rush into the sea. And as it dashed down it cut through the rocks of the plateaus and made the deep Chi-a-mi-mi (canyon) of the Colorado river (Hack-a-tai-a). Soon all the water was gone.
" 'Then Pu-keh-eh found her log no longer floating, and she peeped out of the window Tochopa had placed in her boat, and, though it was misty and almost dark, she could see in the dim distance the great mountains of the San Francisco range. And near by was the canyon of the Little Colorado, and to the north was Hack-a-tai-a, and to the west was the canyon of the Havasu.
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" 'The flood had lasted so long that she had grown to be a woman, and, seeing the water gone, she came out and began to make pottery and baskets as her father long ago had taught her. But she was a woman. And what is a woman without a child in her arms or nursing at her breasts ? How she longed to be a mother ! But where was a father for her child ? Alas ! there was no man in the whole universe.'
" 'Day after day longings for maternity filled her heart, until, one morning,-glorious happy morning for Pu-keh-eh and the Havasu race,- the darkness began to disappear, and in the far away east soft and new brightness appeared. It was the triumphant Sun coming to conquer the long night and bring light into the world. Nearer and nearer he came, and at last, as he peeped over the far away mesa summits, Pu-keh-eh arose and thanked Tochopa, for here, at last, was a father for her child. She con- ceived, and in the fullness of time bore a son, whom she delighted in and called In-ya-a-the son of the Sun.
"'But as the days rolled on she again felt the longings for maternity. By this time she had wandered far to the west and had entered the beautiful canyon of the Havasu, where deep down between the rocks were several grand and glorious waterfalls, and one of these, Wa-ha- hath-peek-ha-ha, she determined should be the father of her second child.
" 'When it was born it was a girl, and to this day all the girls of the Havasupai are 'daugh- ters of the water.'
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" 'As these two children grew up they mar- ried, and thus became the progenitors of the human race. First the Havasupais were born, then the Apaches, then the Wallapais, then the Hopis, then the Paiutis, then the Navahos.
"'And Tochopa told them all where they should live. The Havasupais and the Apaches were to dwell in Havasu Canyon, the former on one side of the Havasu (blue water), and the latter on the other side, and occupy the terri- tory as far east as the Little Colorado and south to the San Francisco Mountains. The Walla- pais were to roam in the country west of Havasu Canyon, and the Hopis and Navahos east of the Little Colorado, and the Paiutis north of the big Colorado.
"'And there in Havasu Canyon, above their dancing place, he carved on the summit of the walls, figures of Pu-keh-eh and A-pa-a to re- mind them from whom they were descended. Here for a long time Havasupais and Apaches lived together in peace, but one day an Apache man saw a most beautiful Havasu woman, and he fell in love with her, and he went to his home and prayed and longed and ate his heart out for this woman who was the wife of another. He called upon Hokomata, the bad god, to help him, and Hokomata, always glad to foment trouble, told him to pay no attention to the restrictions placed upon him by Tochopa, but to cross the Havasu, kill the woman's husband, and steal her for his own wife.
" 'The Apache heeded this evil counsel, and did so.
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" 'When the Havasupais discovered the wrong that had been done them, and the great disgrace this Apache had brought upon the tribe, they counselled together, and determined to drive out the Apaches from their canyon home. No longer should they be brothers. They bade the Apaches be gone, and when they refused, fell upon them and drove them out. Up the rocks near Hue-gli-i-wa the Apaches climbed, and to this day the marks of their foot- steps may be seen. They were driven far away to the south and commanded never to come north of the San Francisco Mountains. Hence, though originally they were brothers, there has ever since been war between the people of the Havasu and the Apaches.
" 'Then, to remind them of the sure punish- ment that comes to evildoers, Tochopa carved the great stone figures of the Apache man and the Havasupai squaw so that they could be seen from above and below, and there to this day the Hue-gli-i-wa remain, as a warning against un- lawful love and its dire consequences.'
"Here is another story told by a shaman of the Havasupais of the origin of the race. It is interesting and instructive to note the points of similarity and difference.
" 'In the days of long ago a man and a woman (Hokomata and Pukeheh Panowa) lived here on the earth. By and by a son was born to them, whom they named Tochopa. As he grew up to manhood Pukeheh Panowa fell in love with him and wished to marry him, but he in- stinctively shrank from such incestuous inter- course. The woman grew angry as he repelled
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her, and she made a number of frogs which brought large volumes of water. Soon all the country began to be flooded with water, and Hokomata found out what was the matter. He then took Tochopa and a girl and placed them in the trunk of a pinion tree, sealed it up, and sent them afloat on the waters. He stored the tree with corn, peaches, pumpkins, and other food, so they would not be hungry, and for many long days the tree floated hither and thither on the face of the waters. Soon the waters began to subside, and the tree grounded near where the Little Colorado now is. When Tochopa found the tree was no longer float- ing he knocked on the side, and Hokomata heard him and came and let him out. As he stepped on the ground he saw Huehanapatche (the San Francisco Mountains), Huegadawiza (Red Butte), Huegawoola (William Moun- tains), and he said: 'I know these mountains. This is not far from my country.' And the water ran down the Hack-a-tha-eh-la (the salty stream, or the Little Colorado) and made Hack- a-tai-a (the Grand Canyon of the Colorado). Here he and his wife lived until she gave birth to the son and daughter as before related.'
"The way the Wallapai became a separate people is thus related by the Havasupais :
" 'A long time ago the animals were all the same as Indians, and the Indians as the ani- mals. The Coyote he lived here in Havasu Canyon. One time he go away for a long time and he catch 'em a good squaw, and by and bye he had a little boy.
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" 'The little boy grew up to be a man, and he went up on top (out of the canyon, upon the higher plateaus), and there he found two squaws. It heap cold on top, and he get two squaws to keep him warm when he go to sleep. Then he come back to Havasu, and when his papa (the Coyote) saw his two squaws he said : 'I take this one. One squaw enough for you.' But the boy was angry and said one squaw was not enough. 'When I lie down to sleep I heap cold. Squaw she heap warm. Two squaw keep me warm.' The Coyote told his son not to talk; he must be content with one squaw and go to sleep. And the squaw was proud that the Coyote had made her his wife, and she began to taunt the boy, and when he replied she asked the Coyote to tell his boy not to talk. And the Coyote was mad and spoke angrily to his boy.
" 'When he awoke in the morning his son was gone. And ten sleeps passed by and still he did not come back, so the Coyote tracked him up Wallapai Canyon, and went a long, long way. He reached the hilltop, and still he did not find his son. At last, a long, long way off, he saw him, and he changed him into a mountain sheep. Then a lot more mountain sheep came and ran with the Coyote's son, and the Coyote could not tell which of the band was his boy. He looked and looked, but it was all in vain. He tried to change his boy back again, so that he would no longer be a mountain sheep, but, as he could not tell which was his boy, his efforts were in vain, and he had to go back to Havasu alone.
"'For a long time the boy remained as a mountain sheep, until the horns had grown
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large upon his head. Then he changed himself back to a man, and he found his squaw there, waiting for him, and that is why, to this day, the Wallapai is to the Havasupai the A-mu-u, or mountain sheep.'
"The origin of the Hopis is thus related by the Havasupais :
"'Long time ago two men were born near Mooney Falls. They were twins, yet one was big man, and the other a little big. They came up into this part of the canyon (where the Havasupais now live). It was no good in those days. There was no water and it was 'heap hot.' The little big man he say : 'I no like 'em stay here. Let us go hunt 'em good place to live where we catch plenty water, plenty corn.' So they left the canyon and climbed out where the Hopi trail now is. Here they stayed in the forest some time, hunting and making buckskin. After they had got a large bundle of buckskins dressed, they put them on their backs and began to walk on to seek the country of lots of water, where plenty of corn would grow. But it was hot weather and the load was heavy, and they soon grew so very tired that the smaller brother
began to cry. As they walked on he cried more and more, until when they came to the hilltop looking down to the Little Colorado River, he said: 'I cannot go any farther. I am going to lie down here and go to sleep.' So they both went to sleep, and when they woke up the big brother said: 'Where you go? You no walk long way. You heap tired.'
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"'And the little brother answered: 'I no like go farther. I go back Havasu. I catch 'em water there.'
"'All right!' replied the big brother, 'I no like Havasu. I go hunt water and plant corn and watermelons and sunflowers. You go back to Havasu.'
"'And he gave him a little bit of corn, and that explains why the Havasupais can grow only a small amount of corn in their canyon, though it is exceedingly sweet and delicious.
" 'But the big brother went on and found the places now occupied by the Hopi, and he settled there. And as he had taken lots of corn with him and he planted it, that explains (to the Havasupai mind) why the Hopi has so much corn.
" 'And the smaller brother found water when he got back to Havasu, and he planted his corn, and cared for it, and went and hunted and caught the deer and made buckskins. Then he found a squaw who made baskets, and helped him make mescal, and they stopped there all the time.
" 'The Hopi brother learned to make blan- kets, but no buckskin, so when he wants buckskin he has to come to his smaller brother in Havasu Canyon.' "'
CAPTAIN QUE-SU-LA (Chief of the Hualapai Indians)
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THE WALLAPAI.
CHAPTER VII. THE WALLAPAI.
LOCATION-LEGENDS-ADVENT OF THE WALLA- PAIS-MIKE BURNS' STORIES-THE FLOOD --- COUNCIL OF WAR.
The WALLAPAI, "pine tree folk," was a Yuman tribe originally living on the middle Colorado river above the Mohave tribe, from the Great Bend eastward, well into the interior of Arizona, occupying the Hualapai, Yavapai and Sacramento Valleys, the Cerbat and Aqua- rius Mountains forming the southern part of their range. They lived chiefly by the chase, and on roots and seeds. That they were brave and enterprising is shown by the pages of this history ; one Wallapai gave more trouble to the whites than two Mohaves, although they were said to be physically inferior to the Mohave. They were an offshoot of the Havasupais, speak- ing a closely related language.
The Wallapai is not rich in tradition or folk- lore, but in "The Indians of the Painted Desert Region," George Wharton James recites the following :
THE ADVENT OF THE WALLAPAIS.
"In the days of the long ago, when the world was young, there emerged from Shi-pa-pu two gods, who had come from the underworld, named To-cho-pa and Ho-ko-ma-ta. When these brothers first stood upon the surface of
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the earth, they found it impossible to move around, as the sky was pressed down close to the ground. They decided that, as they wished to remain upon the earth, they must push the sky up into place. Accordingly they pushed it up as high as they could with their hands, and then got long sticks and raised it still higher, after which they cut down trees and pushed it up higher still, and then, climbing the moun- tains, they forced it up to its present position, where it is out of reach of all human kind, and incapable of doing them any injury.
"While they were busy with their labors, an- other mythical hero appeared on the scene, on the north side of the Grand Canyon, not far from the canyon that is now known as Eldorado Canyon. Those were 'the days of the old,' when the animals had speech even as men, and in many things were wiser than men. The Coyote travelled much and knew many things, and he became the companion of this early-day man, and taught him of his wisdom. This gave the early man his name, Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve, which means 'Told or Taught by the Coyote.'
"For long they lived together, until the man began to grow lonesome. He no longer listened to the speech of the Coyote, and that made the animal sad. He wondered what could be done to bring comfort to his human friend, and at length suggested that he consult Those Above. Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve was lonesome because there were none others of his kind to talk to. He longed for human beings, so, accepting the ad- vice of the Covote, he retired to where he could speak freely to Those Above of his longings and
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desires. He was listened to with attention, and there told that nothing was easier than that other men, with women, should be sent upon the earth. ‘Build a stone hawa-stone house-not far from Eldorado Canyon, and then go down to where the waters flow and cut from the banks a number of canes or sticks. Cut many, and of six kinds. Long thick sticks and long thin sticks; medium-sized thick sticks and medium- sized thin sticks; short thick sticks and short thin sticks. Lay these out carefully and evenly in the stone hawa, and when the darkest hour of the night comes, the Powers of the Above will change them into human beings. But, be- ware, lest any sound is made. No voice must speak, or the power will cease to work.'
"Gladly Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve returned to the stone house, and with a hearty goodwill he cut many canes or sticks. He carried them to the house, and laid them out as he had been directed, all the time accompanied by the Coyote, who rejoiced to see his friend so cheerful and happy. Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve told Coyote what was to occur, and Coyote rejoiced in the wonderful event that was about to take place. When all was ready Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve was so wearied with his arduous labors that he retired to lie down and sleep, and bade Coyote watch and be especially mindful that no sound of any kind whatever issued from his lips. Coyote solemnly pledged himself to observe the commands,-he would not cease from watching, and not a sound would be uttered. Feeling secure in these promises, Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve stretched out and was soon sound asleep. Carefully Coyote
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watched. Darker grew the night. No sound except the far-away twho! twho! of the owl disturbed the perfect stillness. Suddenly the sticks began to move. In the pitch blackness of the house interior, Coyote could not see the actual change, the sudden appearing of feet and legs and hands and arms and heads, and the uprising of the sticks into perfect men and women, but in a few moments he had to stand aside, as a torrent of men, women, and children poured out of the doorway. Without a word, but thrilled even to the tip of his tail with delight, he examined men, women, youths, maidens, boys, girls, and found them all beauti- fully formed and physically perfect. Still they came through the door. Several times he found himself about to shout for joy, but managed to restrain his feelings. More came, and as they looked around them on the wonderful world to which they had come from nothingness, and ex- pressed their astonishment (for they were able to speak from the first moment), Coyote be- came wild with joy and could resist the inward pressure no longer. He began to talk to the new people, and to laugh and dance and shout and bark and yelp, in the sheer exuberance of his delight. How happy he was!
"Then there came an ominous stillness. The movements from inside the house ceased; no more humans appeared at the doorway. Almost frozen with terror, Coyote realized what he had done. The charm had ceased. Those Above were angry at his disobedience to their commands.
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"When Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve awoke he was de- lighted to see the noble human beings Those Above had sent to him, but when he entered the hawa his delight was changed to anger. There were hundreds more sticks to which no life had been given. Infuriated, he turned upon Coyote and reproached him with bitter words for fail- ing to observe his injunction, and then, with fierce anger, he kicked him and bade him be- gone! His tail between his legs, his head bowed, and with slinking demeanor, Coyote dis- appeared, and that is the reason all coyotes are now so cowardly, and never appear in the pres- ence of mankind without skulking and fear.
"As soon as they had become a little used to being on the earth, Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve called his people together and informed them that he must lead them to their future home. They came down Eldorado Canyon, and then crossed Hackataia (the Grand Canyon) and reached a small but picturesque canyon on the Wallapai reservation, called Mat-ta-wed-it-i-ta. This is their 'Garden of Eden.' Here a spring of water supplies nearly a hundred miner's inches of water, and there are about a hundred acres of good farming land, lying in such a position that it can well be irrigated from this spring. On the other side of the canyon is a cave about a hundred feet wide at its mouth, and perched fully half a thousand feet above the valley.
"Now Ka-that-a-ka-na-ve disappears in some variants of the story, and Hokomata and Toch- opa take his place at Mat-ta-wed-it-i-ta. The latter is ever the hero. He gave the people VII-9
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seeds of corn, pumpkins, melons, beans, etc., and showed them how to plant and irrigate them. In the meantime they had been taught how to live on grass seeds, the fruit of the tuna (prickly pear), and mescal, and how to slay the deer, antelope, turkey, jackrabbit, cottontail and squirrel.
"When the crops came, Tochopa counselled them not to eat any of the products except such as could be eaten without destroying the seeds,- the melons and pumpkins,-so that when plant- ing time came they had an abundance. When the next harvest was ripe the crops were large, and after picking out the best for seeds, some were stored away in the cave as a reserve and the remainder eaten. As the years went on they increased in numbers and strength. Tochopa was ever their good friend and guide. He taught them how to dance and smoke and rattle when they became sick; he gave them toholwa-the sweat house-to cure them of all evil; he taught the women how to make pottery, baskets and blankets woven from the dressed skins of rabbits. The men he taught how to dress buckskin, and hunt and trap all kinds of animals good for food. Thus they came almost to worship him and be ever singing his praises. This made Hokomata angry. He went away and sulked for days at a time. In his solitude he evidently thought out a plan for wreaking his jealous fury upon Tochopa and those who were so fond of him. There was one family, the head of which was inclined to be quarrelsome, and Hokomata went and made special friends with him. He taught the children how to make
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