USA > Arizona > The marvellous country : or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' home > Part 22
USA > New Mexico > The marvellous country : or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico, the Apaches' home > Part 22
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"Sore! Tell me about it, doctor."
"Tell you about it? I wish I could. The first thing we knew of your mishap, we saw you going down the face of the bluff on your back, at a rate of speed that would have put to shame old Pegasus himself, without even the compli- ment of, notifying us of your intended trip. It was some seconds before I comprehended the situation, and even then we could neither of us do anything, and certainly never expected to see you alive again.
"We listened, and heard you call from away down below that you were 'all right;' and then Don Rafael started off like the wind, and almost before the old cacique or I had had time to collect our senses, and think how we could ren- der you any assistance, he was back with half a dozen Zunis and some lariats. I declare I don't think he was gone five minutes. When you think of the distance he was obliged to travel to the pueblo and back, it seems incredible that he
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A BOTTLE OF ARNICA.
could have gotten over the ground in such a short space of time.
"They went to the terrace above you, and Don Rafael and one of the Zunis were lowered to the spot where you lay, attached the ropes around your body, and you were then hoisted, more dead than alive, to the ledge where the Zunis stood, after which you were carried upon their shoulders to the plain below. We laid you upon the grass, and I made an examination to ascertain the extent of your injuries, and greatly to my satisfaction and delight found that your only serious injury was a broken arm. I managed to successfully set it, after which you were brought here. It was really a most wonderful escape; the thing couldn't be done once in ten thousand times; for, with the exception of your broken arm, which isn't a bad fracture by any means, and some pretty rough old bruises, you are quite unharmed. A few days will set you all right again. I only wish I had some arnica for you."
"But, doctor, have you none ? You had a bottle."
"A bottle! Yes, but not enough to do you much good, though. I would as soon think of anointing a whale with a pint of water. I have ordered you some soup, and am going up to the pueblo to ascertain if the Zunis have any remedies which they successfully use for bruises."
Jimmy soon after made his appearance with a bowl of hot mutton broth. While partaking of it, he entertained me
JIMMY'S STORY. 417
with an amusing account of my fall, viewed from his stand- point, evidently conceiving the idea that it was occasioned by some experiment I had been making to find a shorter cut to the plain below; "for," said he, " 'twas an awful fall yer got, Judge, an' whin Don Rafael cum runnin' into the town beyant thare, and sed yer'd fall'n from the top ov the bluff, and wuz kilt intirely from the ifficts ov it, I thought I shud die misilf from the fright I got, an' I hadn't the stringth in mi ligs to stan' up at all, at all, an' ef it hadn't bin for mi mither-in-lor, I'd nivir hev raised the stringth to hev got back to camp; she's a foine nuss, mi mither-in-lor; she's bitther nor any sisther o' charity I ivir saw - a foine woman, sur."
"Jimmy, how came you in the pueblo on that afternoon ? Didn't I expressly forbid you to go there?"
"Did I say I wuz there; an' how could I be afther forgit- tin' what yer honor said to me, an' the purticlar charges yez giv to me ?"
"That's just what I'd like to know, Jimmy, what sent you to the pueblo."
"It wuz. a-lookin' afther the animals, sur. I wuz fearful they might naed somethin', sur."
"But, Jimmy, what was your mother-in-law doing at the corral where the animals were ?"
"Faith, sur, an' she wasn't there. I wuz at her house; I hadn't bin to say the animals yit; I wuz jist a-goin', sur.
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THE BETROTHED.
when I see Don Rafael a-comin', and thin I wuz scart, and forgot all about 'em, sur. But I'm thankful to see yez will, sur, an' able to take yer soup."
In a very short time after Jimmy left me, I dropped into a quiet slumber, from which I was aroused by the arrival of
Merrill
JIMMY'S MOTHER-IN-LAW.
the doctor in company with a woman that he had procured to give me treatment, à la Zuni.
The woman, by no means a bad-looking one, was about forty-five years of age, quite well preserved, and altogether a better sperimen than the average of Zuni women.
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MY NURSE.
She at once commenced bathing my body with a lotion prepared from herbs, which seemed to give me almost instant relief. She was remarkably neat and cleanly in her personal appearance, and the gay-colored ribbons with which her head was adorned, together with a bright scarlet jacket, gave to her quite a coquettish air.
Later in the day, when the cacique came to see me, I was sufficiently free from pain to , be able to sit up and converse with him; and for an hour or more I was agrecably enter- tained by the many interesting facts concerning the Zunis, their legends and traditions, as well as those relating to the Moquis country, which he never tired of telling. I was es- pecially glad to hear him discourse at some length of the Moquis, for the inaccessibility of that country had compelled us to forego an intended visit there.
Among the many legends that he related was one regard- ing the future state, which for poctical imagery I have rarely heard equalled. A similar legend prevails among the more northern tribes on the Pacific coast, which has been so frequently referred to by different writers as one of the most beautiful of the many traditions extant among them, that I propose to give it substantially as I find it related by the Abbé Domenech, well satisfied that it will lose none of its beauty or force when clothed in his language.
A young Zuni huntsman, distinguished for his manly
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A BEAUTIFUL LEGEND.
beauty and his noble pride, saw his betrothed die on the day he was to have wedded her. .
Hle had given proof of his impetuous courage in battle, and the warriors of his tribe had long admired his intrepid- ity; but now his heart was without the power to endure the cruel loss he had sustained.
' Since the fatal day which had destroyed his dearest hopes, he knew neither joy nor repose. He often went to visit the cherished tomb, and remained whole days absorbed in his bitter grief. His family and friends urged him to seck a diversion from his sorrow in hunting and war, but his former occupations had lost all attractions, and his tomahawk and arrows were forgotten.
Having heard that a path existed which led into the "Country of Souls," he resolved to seek it out and follow it, until he should find her whom he so sincerely mourned.
One morning he departed alone, and turned towards the south, guided only by tradition. For a long time he per- ceived no difference in the aspect of nature: the mountains, the valleys, the forests, and the rivers resembled those which he had so often traversed near the tombs of his fathers.
The day preceding his departure from home, a heavy fall of snow had covered the ground; but by degrees, as he advanced upon his journey, the snow became rarer, and at length disappeared altogether. The trees soon became green, the forests gay and smiling, the air pure and warm,
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THIE OLD MAN WITHI WIIITE HAIR.
and the cloudless sky resembled a vast blue prairie sus- pended over his head, while delicious flowers made the atmosphere heavy with their sweet perfumes, and birds of most brilliant plumage sang their melodious songs.
By these signs, the mourner knew that he was on the right road, for they were all in accordance with the tradition.
At last he came to a shady and sequestered path, which attracted his fancy to such a degree that he determined to follow it; and after passing through a beautiful wood, he found himself before an humble cabin, situated upon the top of a high hill.
At the door of this dwelling stood an old man with long white hair, whose whole appearance betokened great age, and whose eyes, though sunken, shone like fire. IIe was clothed in a mantle of swans' down, which, thrown negli- gently over his shoulders, fell to the ground in graceful folds, and in his hand he held a long stick.
The young Zuni began to relate his history, but before he had uttered five words, he was interrupted by the old man, who thus addressed him: -
"I was waiting for you, that I might introduce you into my cabin. She whom you seek passed here a few days since, and as she was fatigued by her journey, she rested in my poor dwelling. Come in; sit down, and I will point out to you the road that you must follow, if you would find your bride."
422
THE ISLAND OF THE BLESSED.
After the young warrior had fully recovered from the fatigue of his long journey, the old man led him out of the cabin by another door, when, pointing with his stick, he said to him: "Do you see yonder, far away beyond that gulf, a beautiful green prairie? That is the Island of the Blessed.' You are here upon its confines, and the only entrance to it is through my cabin; before departing from here, you must leave your bow and arrows, your dog, and your body with me; upon your return you will find them here."
The traveller immediately felt himself become extraordi- narily light; his feet scarcely touched the ground, and his arms seemed transformed into wings.
This sudden and wonderful transformation seemed to extend to all surrounding objects; the trees, foliage, flow- ers, lakes, and streams shone with extraordinary brilliancy.
The wild animals gambolled around him with a fearless- ness which incontestably proved that the hunter never entered into their countries.
Birds of all colors sang melodies unknown to him, or spor- tively bathed in the limpid waters of the lakes and rivers.
But what astonished him more than all the wondrous things that he saw, was to find that he walked freely through dense thickets of verdure, without being impeded by the objects that stood in his path.
By these things he understood that all the sights which
423
THE MASTER OF LIFE.
he saw were only images, shadows of the material world, and that he was in the abode of spirits.
After having walked nearly a whole day in this beau- tiful land of enchantment, he arrived upon the bank of an immense lake, in the midst of which he saw the "Island of the Blessed."
A canoe, made of a single white stone, and as brilliant as crystal, was moored to the shore. He threw himself into it, and seizing the oars, which were also of fine crystallized stone, began rowing towards the Island. Scarcely had he left the shore, when, to his joy, he saw his beautiful young bride, whom he had come so far to find, enter a barque like his own, imitate all his movements, and row by the side of the one in which he was floating.
As they advanced, the waves arose threatening and foam- ing, as if they desired to swallow up the two voyagers in their angry embraces; then they would recede to again form anew, as menacing as before.
The two lovers passed through continual alternations of hope and fear, their terror being greatly increased by seeing through the transparent water, that the bottom of the lake was strewn with the bones of the multitudes that had been shipwrecked while attempting the same voyage that they were then taking.
The Master of Life had, however, decreed that they should arrive safely, because the thoughts and actions of both had
424
A COMMAND.
ever been good; but they beheld many others, less happy than themselves, after struggling in vain against the waves, sink helplessly into the abyss.
Men and women of every rank, age, and condition in life, embarked; some reached the port without difficulty, others perished on the way.
At last, they were permitted to set foot upon the shore of the happy island; they breathed with delight the perfumed air which strengthened them like celestial food; they walked together in meadows always green, and filled with flowers which did not fade when trodden on, but emitted an exquisite perfume that soothed and delighted the senses.
All nature, in this enchanting island, had been planned by the Great Spirit, expressly to charm the souls of those who were to be its inhabitants; cold, heat, tempest, snow, hun- ger, tears, war, and death were unknown; animals were hunted in the "happy hunting-grounds" for amusement only, but were never killed.
Our young warrior would have remained eternally in this happy land with his betrothed, had not the Master of Life commanded him to return to his own country, to finish his mortal course.
IIe could not see him who spoke, but he heard a voice like the sweet murmur of the breeze, which said to him: "Return to the land from whence you came. The time has not arrived for you to come and dwell in this blessed abode;
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425
THE ZUNI HEREAFTER.
the duties for which I created you have not yet been ful- filled; return, and give to your people the example of a true life; you will become a great chief in your tribe; you will be instructed in your duties by the messenger who guards the entrance to this happy island.
"He will restore to you your body and all that you left in his cabin. Listen to him, and you shall one day return to join the spirit that you came to see, and whom you must leave behind you, for you were only admitted to visit with her, and to see the glories of this happy land, because you were faithful to the memory of her whom you so truly loved, and who is accepted, and will remain here always young, and happier by far than when I called her from the land of snow."
There are many of these legends among the Zunis, which might be related in this connection, some of them very beautiful, and all of them abounding in the finest poetical fancy; but the preceding legend of the "Island of the Blessed" is sufficient to give the reader an idea of them, and perhaps a glimpse of the Zunis' hereafter, which to my own mind suggests much that is pleasant for contemplation, although many of my readers, I fear, will hardly call it orthodox.
As I had felt the necessity of returning to my blankets during the recital of this charming little legend, as soon as he had finished it the cacique arose and congratulated me
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426
JIMMY IN COUNCIL.
most sincerely upon my very wonderful escape from instant death. He took his departure, wishing me a speedy recovery, and promising to spend a portion of the morrow with me.
While lying in my blankets, I could distinctly hear the low, monotonous tones of Jimmy's voice, uninterrupted by any sound in reply, until, fancying that he must be talking to himself, I managed to so change my position that I was enabled to see him sitting upon the ground at no great dis- tance behind the wagon, conversing by signs with the woman that the doctor had procured from the pueblo to act as my nurse, while at the same time, he kept up the inces- sant talking that had first attracted my attention, although he knew very well that the woman could not understand a single word that he uttered.
Curiosity prompted me to endeavor to ascertain what the subject of conversation was, and, by attentively listen- ing, I managed to occasionally catch a word, while fancy supplied the missing ones.
In this manner I soon became convinced that he was rehearsing to his auditor a list of the many charms pos- sessed by the "girl he left behind him" in his flight and hurried descent upon our camp on the night of the Navajoes' attack.
As I gazed at the pair, I thought that I remembered the woman's features, although I could not recall where I had
427
PREVARICATION.
scen her, as the neat and jaunty garb in which she was clothed effectually metamorphosed her beyond recognition.
I heard Jimmy say to her, "She wuz an illigant craythur, cz beautiful ez yoursilf intirely, an' me heart is broke, shure; ".at the same time he endeavored by the most ridicu- lous pantomime to make the woman comprehend what he was saying, and endeavoring to enforce the remark upon her mind by asking every moment, "D'ye understhand that, noo?" with an carnestness that was truly amusing.
To cach repetition of the above question, the woman would reply by an affirmative nod of the head, which seemed to give him the most complete satisfaction.
After watching them for some time, I once more quietly resumed my former position, and calling loudly for Jimmy, he presented himself before me.
Inquiring for Don Rafael, Jimmy informed me that he had accompanied the doctor to the pueblo for some pur- pose, whereat I asked Jimmy if the nurse that the doctor had brought from the town had returned yet.
"Shure, sur," said Jimmy, "she wuz jist a-goin', whin I seen her last."
"How long ago was that, Jimmy ?"
"Indade, sur, I wouldn't sthate, not havin' the time wid me!"
"Well, Jimmy, has she gone or not, do you know?"
"Faix, I wouldn't like to sthate, but I'll go and say."
428
THIE MOTHER-IN-LAW.
And the next minute he was by her side, making the most frantic gesticulations in his efforts to get rid of the poor woman, while he insisted upon continually talking to her, in a strain something like the following,-
"Ye must go right home, like a good ooman, an' I'll cum up right away, for if the Juge knows yer in camp, he'd hev me kilt immajetly at onst. Go now, there's a good ooman; don't bodder him enny longer."
After fairly pushing the woman out of the camp, and returning with a most innocent look upon his face, he re- marked, "I don't say her inywhere about, sur."
I said, "Jimmy, who is the woman? I've seen her before, somewhere."
"Indade, sur, it's only me mither-in-lor."
" Who ?"
"It's the mither of the gurl, sur."
"What girl, Jimmy ?"
"The gurl, sur, thet thim Navajoe divils rin away wid the other night;" and tears as big as gooseberries appeared in Jimmy's eyes; as he added, "poor craythur, who can till what her sufferin's may be."
I said to Jimmy, thinking to comfort him in his afflic- tion, "Well, I'm very glad she's here, for now you may be enabled to make the poor woman some kind of repara- tion for the great wrong you have unconsciously worked her, as well as her daughter."
429
A REQUEST.
"Wrang, sur! How did I wrang her?"
" By cruelly leaving the poor girl to be captured by the Navajoes, when you might have defended her just as well as not, and -"
"Last me scalp?" said Jimmy, in a tone of voice that clearly indicated that such a contingency had been fully considered by him, before acting in the matter.
"Certainly, Jimmy, any person should feel it an honor to lose his scalp, or his life even, in defence of his lady- love."
"An' what wud me honor amount to widout me scalp ? Bedad, I'd rayther fale the wan, then have the ither," said Jimmy, inadvertently passing his hand over the top of his head, as if to assure himself that his scalp was still there. "But, sur, the poor woman is wantin' some things to make hursilf comfurtable, jist thryflin' things, sur; wee little things, that yer honor wouldn't miss at all, at all. Can she have 'em?"
"Well, Jimmy, as she's gone now, we'll talk of it another time."
"Shure, sur, she haven't gone, I giss."
"But you told me she had, Jimmy."
"Will, sur, I didn't rightly know at the time I was spak- in', sur."
"Jimmy., I think you're trying to deceive me."
"Is it mesilf, sur, that wud be thryin' to decave yez,
430
A NEW COOK.
d'ye think ? I'd know I couldn't do it, sur, but can I give the woman a few things, sur?"
"Yes, Jimmy; but remember we're a long way from home yet, and our supply is none of the largest."
"Shure, sur, I know all that," said Jimmy, as he hurried away to bestow his presents, leaving me well satisfied in my own mind, and greatly relieved to think that we should have no further trouble from Jimmy's too susceptible heart.
Ere half an hour had elapsed, Jimmy returned, and seat- ing himself by my side, remarked, -
"That's a moighty foine woman, Juge."
"Yes, Jimmy, she seems like a nice kind of a person.".
"She's a beauthifool craythur, sur, and an illigant cook."
"Well, we don't want her to cook for us."
"But she's comin', this blissid avenin', sur, to cook garvies for yez; thim illigant little cakes, that looks like wasps' nishts."
Thinking it best to humor Jimmy in his desires, I made no objection to the arrangement; and away he went, to ascer- tain if possible what had become of the doctor, who in a very few moments appeared with Don Rafael, who reported seeing Jimmy on his way to the pueblo; nor did we see him again until he appeared, late in the afternoon, in com- pany with his mother-in-law, who was evidently prepared to cook the "garvies," as she bore in her hand a small
431
GUAYAVES.
earthen dish or bottle, filled with the thin paste made of meal ground from corn.
As the guayave is an article of food very much liked by all the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, and also one that Americans become very fond of after a short sojourn in the country, let me inform the reader how it is made and what it is like.
The woman, after selecting a smooth, flat stone, laid it carefully upon our camp-fire, so that it would gradually heat through.
After it was hot, she knelt beside it, and pouring upon it a little of the paste from the bottle, with the palm of her hand she smoothly spread it over the surface of the stone, until it was very thinly and evenly distributed; then she peeled it off from the stone, and made it into a roll resembling a large cigar, when it was ready to be eaten.
It is a very palatable article of food, not unlike the tortilla (described in a previous chapter) in its taste, as well as the general manner of preparation.
We made our supper, in part, of guayaves that night, much to the satisfaction of Jimmy, who pronounced both cook and garvies "illigant."
CHAPTER XXVII.
PON rising the next morning, I was in- formed by Don Rafael that Jimmy had accompanied the nurse from camp the night before, and that he did not return until long after midnight. Deeming it best to let Jimmy know that I was in- 1 formed regarding his movements, though I did not want him to think that I was in- quiring too closely into the secret of his outgoings and incomings, I called him to me, and asked him his reason for absenting himself from camp the night before.
He replied that "he warked beside his mither-in-lor to the town beyant, in order that he might protict her from eny sthray bands of Navajoes that might be prowlin' through the counthry."
Of course, to so reasonable an excuse as this, I could offer no objections, as Jimmy had so clearly demonstrated in a previous instance both his ability and disposition to
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AN INVITATION.
defend (?) any woman who might be in his charge from dan- ger threatened by reason of Navajoe prowlers.
Breakfast was hardly dispatched, before Doctor Parker, who had seated himself, pipe in hand, by my side, discov- ered the cacique approaching, with the evident purpose of paying me his promised visit.
The doctor filled a pipe for the old man, who was no sooner seated, than he informed us, with an eagerness almost child-like in its simple earnestness, that on the mor- row the Zunis were to celebrate the "Maize," or "Green- corn dance," and that it would make him "much happy" if we would do him the honor to be present and witness it.
As this dance is one of the few Montezuma festivals still celebrated by these Indians, and is regarded by them with the greatest veneration, the doctor and myself determined to attend, and see this most curious and beautiful ceremony.
I immediately signified my thanks for the invitation, and promised, if able to walk to the pueblo, to be present.
As the old man seemed in quite a loquacious mood, a few questions drew from him much interesting information concerning Montezuma and the people of the Moquis country, as well as a description of some of the extensive and singular ruins found in the Navajoe country, some ninety or a hundred miles north of Zuni, lying upon the Rio de Chelly, and in the Canon de' Chaco, which are the most northern of any in New Mexico.
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LEGEND OF MONTEZUMA.
Upon asking him if he could give us any reliable account of these ruins, he replied, without a moment's hesitation, "O yes; they were built by Montezuma himself, who, as he travelled over the country, was in the habit of build- ing a town in a single night wherever he stopped; that he also planted maize at night, which in the morning was found to have grown and ripened, ready for his followers' use; that he never failed to construct an estufa in each town that he built, on the altar of which he kindled a flame, ever after regarded as sacred. This flame his fol- lowers were never to allow to become extinguished until his prophecies were all fulfilled; that for centuries his com- mands had been regarded, and the sacred flame was never allowed to go out until after that portion of his prophecies regarding the coming of the 'pale faces from the place where the sun rises,' had been literally fulfilled."*
Upon asking if he could give me any facts concerning Montezuma's origin, he informed me that Montezuma was the only son of the most beautiful woman that the Great Spirit, had ever created and permitted to bless the earth with her presence.
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