CHAPTER XX.
Sunshine and showers! A dingy blue sky is traversed by white, fleecyclouds, long mares' tails, on whose border giant thunderclouds loom up,sometimes drifting majestically along the horizon, or crowding upward tospread, dissolve, and disappear in the zenith.
It is the rainy season in New Mexico, with its sporadic showers, itspeculiar sunlight, moments of scorching heat, and blasts of cool winds,with thunder overhead. To the right and left rain falls in streaks, butwithout sultriness, and with no danger from violent wind-storms orcyclones. We are in the beginning of the month of September. It is warm,but not oppressive, and the spot from which we view the scenery aroundis high, open, and commands a wide extent of country.
We stand on a barren plateau. Lava-blocks are scattered about inconfusion, while tall arborescent cacti rise between them likeskeletons, and bunches of grass point upward here and there. North of usthe mesa expands in monotonous risings and swellings to the foot of atall, exceedingly graceful cone, whose slopes are dotted with bushes ofcedar and juniper. Beyond it are dark humps, denoting by their shapethat they are extinct craters. In the distance, west of that beautifulcone, which to-day is called, and very appropriately, the Tetilla, thesinuous profile of a mountain-chain just peeps over the bleak lineformed by the mesa and its various corrugations. Nestling within itsbosom rests the Rito de los Frijoles.
In the south, dense thunderclouds overhang massive peaks. Only the baseof the Sierra de Sandia, of the Old Placeres, and the numerous rangesbeyond, is visible, for a heavy shower falls in that direction. In theeast a plain sweeps into view, dotted by black specks looming up from areddish soil. This plain rises gently to the eastward, and abuts againsta tall mountain-range whose summits also are shrouded in massive clouds.
We stand on the bleak and wide mesa that interposes itself between thetown of Santa Fe and the valley of the Rio Grande. Not a living object,with the exception of wasps and beetles, can be seen; everything appearsdull and dead. The thunder roars in the distance.
And yet there is life of a higher order. Two ravens stalk about in anearnest, dignified manner. The birds look exceedingly and comicallyserious. Their plumage glistens in the subdued light of the sun. Theylook out for themselves, and care nothing for the remainder of creation.So deeply are they imbued with a sentiment of their own exceptionalposition in the realm of nature, that they pay no attention to anotherphase of life that shows itself near by, though not conspicuously.
Over the surface of the mesa are seen here and there almostimperceptible elevations destitute of vegetation. In these slightswellings, apertures are visible. Out of the latter the head of a smallanimal occasionally protrudes, disappears again, or rises displaying apair of shovel-like front teeth. Then a worm-like body pushes up frombelow, and a yellowish figure, half squirrel, half marmot, stands erecton the hillock, and utters a sharp, squealing bark. This barking isanswered from a neighbouring protuberance. From each hillock one ofthese little animals crawls down; and meeting one another half-way, theystand up facing each other, scratch and bite for a moment, thenseparate and return to their respective cave-dwellings. Other similarcreatures wriggle about in the vicinity; the shrill barking sounds farand near. A colony of so-called prairie dogs dwells in theneighbourhood.
To this exhibition of animal life the ravens pay no attention whatever.It is beneath their notice; their aims are of a higher order than thoseof beings who live upon roots and who burrow for their abode. They liveon prey that is far above the simple products of animal industry.Carrion is what they aspire to. Therefore they aspire with a lofty mien,prying and peering in every direction for something fallen. They are notfar from the eastern brink of the mesa, where the volcanic flow breaksoff suddenly in short, abrupt palisades. Who knows what their keen eyesmay have espied along that brink?
Another actor appears upon the scene, a prairie wolf, or coyote;consequently a rival, a competitor of the ravens; for he is in the samebusiness. But he belongs to a higher order; for while the ravens arescavengers, the coyote is a hunter as well. He would even prey upon thebirds themselves. As he approaches, with tail drooping and ears erect,and stops to sniff the air and glance about slyly, the ravens hop offsidewise away from the dangerous neighbour. Still they are loath to go,for the wolf may discover something the leavings of which they mayperhaps enjoy. But the coyote lies down, with his head between hisforepaws, and in this attitude pushes his body forward, almostimperceptibly. Such motions are very suspicious; the scavengers flaptheir wings, rise into the air, and soar away to some more secure spot.
The coyote, however, seems in no wise disappointed at the departure ofthe ravens. He pays no attention to their flight, but moves on towardthe lava-blocks that indicate the rim of the plateau. There he hasnoticed something; an object that lies motionless like a corpse. It maybe a corpse, and therefore something to prey upon. Nearer the coyoteglides. The object is long or elongated. Its colour is lighter than thatof the lava-blocks surrounding it, but its farther end is dark. Now thatend moves, and the head of an Indian, a village Indian of New Mexico,looms up above the boulders. The coyote has seen enough, for the man isalive, and not carrion. Away the beast trots, with drooping tail andears.
The Indian, who has been lying there with his face turned to the east,rises to his knees and faces about. His features are those of a man onthe threshold of mature age. We know this man! We have seen him before!And yet it cannot be, for how thin, how wan, how hollow the cheeks, howsunken the eyes! The face, notwithstanding the red paint, appearssallow. Still it is an old acquaintance, although since we saw him lasthe has sadly changed. Now he turns his face to the south, and we catch aglimpse of his profile. It is Zashue Tihua, the Indian from the Rito delos Frijoles, husband of Say Koitza, and father to Okoya and Shyuote.
What is he doing here? It is now more than three weeks since he and hisbrother Hayoue took leave of the Tyuonyi in order to search for theirlost people. They went forth into that limited, yet for the Indianimmensely vast, world to-day called central New Mexico. In a month atravelling Indian may easily be hundreds of miles away if unimpeded inhis march. But we find him here, barely a day's journey from the Rito. Astrong man cannot have spent all this time in going such a littledistance. He must have wandered far, strayed back and forth, up anddown, perhaps into the western mountains, where the Navajos lurk,--thebad men who frightened his wife and children away from their homes, orwho perhaps captured or killed them. Or he may have gone to the south,where the black cloud is hanging, and where it thunders, and therain-streaks hang like long black veils of mourning. He has perchancetramped down the Rio Grande valley, through sand, by groves ofpoplar-trees, and where the sand-storms howl and wail. Now he comesback, unrequited for all his labour and sufferings, for those whom hesought are not with him!
His gaze was not directed to the north when the wolf espied him, but tothe east. He may be on the homeward stretch, but he has not given up allhope. His eyes look for those whom he has lost; he is loath to give upthe search, loath to return alone to the home which the enemy has soiledwith the lifeblood of his youngest child. He is changed in appearance,lean, and with hollow burning eyes he gazes at the clouds as if there hemight find his missing wife and children.
As he kneels and gazes, another Indian rises from amidst the shaggyblocks of lava a short distance off, stands up, and then sits down upona rock. He turns his head to the east. He too is gaunt and thin, hisfeatures are pale, and his eyes lie deep in their sockets. On his backhangs a shield; but it is soiled, beaten, and perforated. To his arm isfastened a war-club, and the quiver on his back is half-filled withnewly made arrows. As this Indian turns his face to the north werecognize him also. It is Hayoue, Hayoue as emaciated and careworn ashis brother Zashue. They are alone. Neither has found anything yet.
Zashue rises to go where his brother is sitting. As the latter perceiveshim he points with his arm to the east. There at the farthest end of theplain, at the foot of the high cloud-veiled mountains, a long row offoot-hills recedes in
an angle. To this angle Hayoue is pointing. Anuntrained eye would have seen nothing but cedar-clad hills and the lowerend of slopes dark and frowning, above which seething cloudsoccasionally disclose higher folds of mountains whose tops are shroudedin mist. But Zashue has no untrained eye; he gazes and gazes; at last heturns around to his brother with an approving nod and says,--
"Fire."
"Puyatye Zaashtesh," Hayoue replies; and each looks at the otherinquiringly.
Where we might have seen but the usual dim haze veiling distant objects,they have discovered a bluish tint capping the hills like a pale streak.It denotes the presence of smoke, therefore fire. Not a burning forest,for there is no high timber on that range of foot-hills, but smokearising from a place where people are dwelling. The roaming mountainIndians, the Apaches or Navajos, settle nowhere permanently. The smokehas not been produced by their straggling camp-fires; it indicates thelocation of a permanent village. Those village Indians that dwell eastof the Rio Grande are Tanos, and the Queres call them Puyatye. Theremust be a Tano village in that corner far away where the bluish filmhovers. Hayoue is right, a Puyatye Zaashtesh stands where to-day liesthe capital of New Mexico,--the old Spanish settlement of Santa Fe.
The brothers cast their eyes to the ground; both seem to be in doubt,Zashue is the first to speak.
"Do you suppose that our people might be at that Zaashtesh?"
Hayoue shrugged his shoulders.
"It may be, I don't know."
"Will it be safe for us to go to the Puyatye?" the other inquireddoubtfully.
The younger sighs and answers,--
"They have never done wrong to us."
"Still they speak the tongue of the people of Karo."
"It is true, but they live nearer to us."
"But they are Tehuas too, like the people of the north, and--"
Hayoue interrupts him, saying,--
"Our folk have gone to them as often as they wished buffalo-hides, andthe Puyatye have received them well, giving them what was right. Whyshould they now be hard toward us?"
"Still if the Tehuas have gone to see them, saying, 'The Queres from theTyuonyi came to strike us like Moshome over night; look and see thatthey do not hurt you also,' and now we come with shield, bow, and arrow,what can the Puyatye think other than that we are Moshome Queres?"
Hayoue feels the weight of this observation; he casts his eye to theground and remains silent. Zashue continues,--
"It is true that the Moshome Dinne cannot have killed all our people.This we found out on the R[=a]tye," pointing to the Sierra de SanMiguel; "ere I killed the old man to take ahtzeta from him, he liftedall of his fingers four times and pointed over here. Do you not think,satyumishe, that he meant to tell me thereby that forty of our peopleescaped and fled to Hanyi?"
"I do; and that is the reason why I believe we shall find them inHashyuko,"--the eastern corner, the Queres name for the place whereSanta Fe stands,--replied the other, very positively. "Behold,satyumishe, we have searched everywhere we could, have followed everytrail we could follow. Nearly all the tracks were those of our people,of that I am sure, and how far have we not gone after them? Ten days atleast we were in the mountains on the tracks of the Moshome Dinne. Wefought them and took ahtzeta. At last we learned that many of our womenand children had been taken by those shuatyam and that we never any morecould obtain them, also that Okoya was probably not still alive. Then wewent south and saw tracks,--small tracks of children, larger ones ofwomen, and a few that were those of men. We went toward Cuame until wecould not see the tracks because it had rained, and the rain had washedthem away. To go farther was useless, for whither should we go?"
"There are other Zaashtesh farther down the Rio Grande, so the Naua toldme," replied Zashue; "but these dwell far, far away,"--he waved his handto the south,--"where it is very warm and where there are a great manyMoshome."
"Those are too far off," Hayoue said, shaking his head; "our people didnot go so far without resting. We must have overtaken them, for werested not."
The elder brother nodded; he was fully conscious that they had neverrested on the journey. He felt it now.
"Therefore, brother," Hayoue went on, "I believe that those whom we lookfor are there," pointing to the east. "In the Sierra del Valle are onlythose whom the Moshome have captured; the others must have turned backalong the river, crossing it to go to the Puyatye; for there are noMoshome over here, and if the Puyatye speak like the Tehuas, theirhearts are different and more like ours. I think we should go to theZaashtesh yonder, at the foot of the big kote where the snow is hanging.If we do not find them there, then I think we should go farther, as faras where the buffaloes are feeding. There are villages there, too, Ihave been told, and there our people will be. If we once know which ofthem are alive and free, we shall also know those who are among theMoshome, and can see what to do for them."
"It strikes me," Zashue still objected, "that if the koitza and thelittle ones were on this side of the river we must have seen theirtracks."
"But it rains, brother," Hayoue replied, looking up at the sky. "TheShiuana send us rain every night and often during the day, and it washesaway the footprints. Besides, we have merely followed the river thusfar, and our people may have turned inland. There is so much sand on thebanks that the rain destroys all foot-marks."
Zashue looked up; a thought had struck him like a flash.
"Have you seen the ravine below here?" He pointed to the south. "Howwould it do for us to look there? The ravine comes from the river."
"You are right," Hayoue assented, rising and moving slowly on. Thestrong young man was tired, almost exhausted from endless roaming,searching, spying, and from hunger and thirst combined. Zashue took amore southeasterly direction, so that both struck the brink of theravine at some distance apart.
From the brink they looked down into a deep cleft, at the bottom ofwhich the little Rio de Santa Fe winds its course toward the Rio Grande.This cleft is the gorge which to-day is called Canon de las Bocas. Southof it the plateaus continue with barren undulations and whitish hills.They rise gradually to the base of a sombre mountain cluster, the bulkof which was wrapped in clouds, as well as the huge mass of the Sandiachain to its right. Still farther to the right the Rio Grande valleyopened. Sand-whirls chased along that valley to meet a shower which wassending rain-streaks into it. A cloud had meanwhile gathered over theheads of the wanderers, thunder reverberated, and the raindrops began tofall. The men paid no attention; they gazed down at the little torrentbeneath, at the groups of poplar-trees on its banks, and at thescattered patches of open ground along its course. Their desire was todescend into the gorge to search for traces of those whom they longedfor.
The descent was impracticable from where they had stopped. A rim ofvertical cliffs of lava and trap formed the upper border of the cleft.Suddenly Hayoue exclaimed,--
"Umo, they are not down here, or we should see them from above. Let usgo farther, where there are no rocks, and where the stream enters thegorge. If our people have come through here we must find their tracks atthe outlet."
"It is well," replied Zashue.
The shower drizzled out; its main force was spent on the southernplateaus, and cool gusts of wind blew across to the north side. When thebrothers had clambered down the rugged slope covered with scatteredlava-blocks to the sandy nook where now stands the hamlet of the"Ciene-quilla," clouds had again lifted over Hashyuko, and on the slopeof the high Sierra the bluish cloudlet swam clear and distinct.
Much water ran in the bed of the river at the mouth of the Bocas, andthere was no hope of finding any tracks there.
The men staggered up and down, and at last Zashue stood still, bentover, and appeared to examine something. Then he called aloud,--
"Come over here!" With this he raised something from the ground. Hayouewent over to him, and both looked at the object carefully. It was apiece of cloth made of cotton dyed black, of the size of a hand, tornoff but recently, and soiled by mud and moisture. Hayoue no
dded; thefind pleased him.
"That is from our women," said he.
"The women from the Puyatye," Zashue said doubtingly, "wear skirts likeour koitza."
"It is so, but the women from Hashyuko do not go so far from their homesnow. Nothing is ripe,--neither cactus, figs, nor yucca fruit. Whatshould they come out here for? When do our women ever go so far from theZaashtesh?"
"Shotaye used to go farther," objected the elder.
"Shotaye," Hayoue muttered, "Shotaye was--you know what she was! Thereis none like her in the world. What she may be doing in case she isalive, nobody can tell."
"I wish I knew her to be with Say Koitza now," Zashue sighed.
"Shotaye is dead," his brother asserted. "But I believe that this rag isfrom our people, and you were right in coming hither. Look!" pointing tothe entrance of the Bocas, "they came through there and from the west.Even if we find no trace of them I still believe that they went toHashyuko and that we shall find them there. Let us go ere it is toolate!"
The last words were uttered in such a positive tone that Zashue yielded,and followed his brother, who since their discovery again moved withvigorous strides. Since the last evening neither of them had eatenanything, and their meal then had been scanty enough. The discovery hadinfused new strength into their exhausted bodies, and the brotherswalked on, side by side, as if they were well fed and thoroughly rested.Zashue still remained in doubt; he would rather have made furtherresearches. He knew from the talk of old men that the Tanos inhabitedvillages farther south, and it was possible that the fugitives, afraidof the dispositions of the Puyatye that lived closer to the Tehuas, hadavoided them in order to take refuge at a greater distance from thepeople of the Puye. But above all, Zashue felt strong misgivings inregard to the reception which he and his brother, both armed as theywere, might find at Hashyuko.
Under different circumstances he would have gone to the Tanos withoutany fear, and would have entered the village as a guest. Now, since theQueres of the Rito and the Tehuas had come to blows, it was possiblethat the latter had informed their relatives in the southeast of whatoccurred and thus made them suspicious of the Queres. He and his brothercarried the implements of war, but they were not in war-paint. Thatlooked very suspicious, and they might be taken for spies; and as soonas they should be noticed some of the Tanos might lie in wait for themwith evil intentions. If on the other hand Hayoue was right, then allwould be right. But he could not agree with his brother on that point. Acertain instinct told him that the fugitives had wandered south insteadof east. Nevertheless he yielded willingly to the superior energy anddetermination of Hayoue. Zashue was a weak man, and glad to lean upon astronger arm, a more determined will.
Hayoue on his part was fully convinced of the correctness of his views.He had no thought of danger. He reflected, and Zashue had overlookedthis important point, that, in case the Tehuas notified the Tanos ofrecent occurrences, they would not fail to boast of their signaltriumph, and to represent the defeat of the Queres as akin to completedestruction. Therefore in what light could he and his brother appear tothe people of Hashyuko than as fugitives from a tribe well nighexterminated? Fugitives of that class are always, even by savages,received and treated as guests. Finally, should it come to blows, Hayouewas ready for them also, to give as well as take.
The distance which separated the two men from their place of destinationwas about twelve English miles. The plain between the upper, or easternmouth of the Canon of the Bocas and the foot of the Santa Femountain-range rises gradually, and in even but extensive undulations.It is closed to the north by a broad sandy ridge, which skirts thenorthern bank of the little Santa Fe stream. That ridge extends from theeast, where Santa Fe stands, to the volcanic mesa through which thecleft of the Bocas meanders in the west; and the plain lies south of it,dipping in that direction as well as to the west also. Several ravineswith sloping borders run through it from east to west; the nearest onesouth of the Santa Fe river is called Arroyo Hondo. These gorges orchannels are dry except in the rainy season, when torrents of water gushdown them for a few hours after some exceedingly violent shower in themountains. The vegetation of the plain consists mainly of bunch-grass,juniper, and tall, arborescent cacti.
Hayoue took the direction to the northeast, keeping between the Santa FeCreek on their left and the Arroyo Hondo on the right. As often happensduring the afternoon, the sky had begun to clear; and as eveningapproached, the tall Santa Fe Sierra shone out majestically, free fromclouds, the top of "Baldy" covered with snow. The high timber on thelower ridges appeared distinct, and the folds of the mountain-sidesclothed in vivid green alternated with black yet luminous shadows. Acool wind blew from the south in gusts, and the wanderers hastened theirsteps lest night should overtake them ere they could reach the village,now distinguishable below the blue cloud of smoke as a reddishprotuberance on a bleak hill.
Zashue stood still, and beckoned his brother to do the same and listen.From the direction they were going came faint cries; the brothers lookedat each other.
"There are Puyatye over there," said Hayoue.
"Ko!" assented Zashue, then as if making a discovery he added, "They arehunting rabbits and hares."
"You are right, surely they hunt rabbits," said Hayoue, his eyesbrightening at the suggestion.
"What shall we do?" Zashue asked.
"We will go to them at once," said the other. "That is very good, verygood for us indeed, for if they hunt rabbits all their yaya and nashtiowill be there too."
One of the broad swellings which traverse the Santa Fe plain lay betweenthe young men and the place whence the sounds came; it concealed thehunters from their gaze, but the manner in which the cries seemed toshift proved that they were swiftly moving to and fro. Zashue feltgreatly relieved, for his explanation that the Tanos might be on ageneral hunt for rabbits was probably true, and it was a very good sign.The rabbit-hunt is usually a prelude to solemn dances, therefore it wasnot likely that the Tanos suspected danger or had any knowledge ofevents at the Puye.
The great rabbit-hunt, still practised by all the Pueblos several timesduring each year, is a communal undertaking, a religious ceremony, inwhich not only the men take part, but the women and children also. Theobject is to obtain the skins which the chief penitents use for somesacramental purpose. It is also a feast and a day of rejoicing andmerriment for the whole village. The hunt is under the direction of theprincipal war captain, and the leading dignitaries share the sport. Longprayers around a fire which is started outside of the pueblo opens theperformance. The game is hunted and killed with clubs, and a lively andsometimes amusing rivalry is displayed by both sexes in securing therabbits, which often gives rise to very ludicrous scenes. Sometimes thehunt is continued for several days in succession.
When the brothers reached the crest of the undulation, they witnessedsights that to a stranger would have been nearly incomprehensible. Men,women, and children were running back and forth in every direction, nolonger chasing game, but playing, laughing, romping, with loud andboisterous talk. Small groups were already going home loaded with game,others with empty hands, to the great amusement and merciless jeering ofthe successful hunters. Among the former were men dressed in the costumeof women, while with the lucky ones women in male attire paradedproudly. It was an animated picture spread over a wide expanse, but itwas moving back to the village in the east; and when the Indians fromthe Rito stood still to observe, there remained in their immediatevicinity only a few men in female garb. Beyond them stood a group offive or six persons, laughing and jesting.
Over the broad plain there rested a mild, subdued glow of pleasanttwilight; the highest summits of the Sierra glistened in fiery hues.
Hayoue stepped up boldly, his brother keeping alongside watchfully. Hewas ready, not to flee, but to hide, and use the bow in case ofnecessity. They were noticed by those standing nearest. The men inwomen's garb were busy breaking twigs and branches, or cutting them offwith stone implements. At the sight of strangers, they susp
ended workand stared. Hayoue laid aside his bow and quiver, and extended his righthand, calling out,--
"Queres Tyuonyi!"
No answer came. Zashue could not control his mirth at the sight of themen in such guise; he broke out in a ringing laugh, pointed at them, andshouted, "Puyatye!" then to himself with the exclamation, "Koshare!"
The salutations called forth no reply. The Tanos continued to stare. Itwas not merely astonishment which caused them to remain motionless;there was quite as much embarrassment on their part. For these men inwomen's wraps had had to assume the costumes as a punishment, becausethey had allowed women to outwit or out-hunt them in the joint pursuitof the same animal. Whenever a man and a woman, during one of theseceremonial hunts, chase the same rabbit, and the woman succeeds inslaying it, then her male competitor must exchange his dress for that ofthe successful woman, who in turn proudly, amidst applause and jeerings,assumes the garb of the male. The man thereafter has to go on huntinguntil he kills a rabbit himself, and can by offering it to the womanreclaim his clothing. All are not lucky enough to succeed, and ithappens sometimes that the hunt is over before their efforts aresuccessful. Such unfortunates are required to gather a load of firewoodas big as they can carry, and bring it to the house of the woman holdingtheir clothes in pledge. Thereupon the dresses are exchanged, and thenight passes in the usual childish amusements for the many, in religiousrites for the religious functionaries.
The men first seen by the brothers betrayed by their dress andoccupation that they belonged to the unlucky ones. They saw at a glancethat the new-comers were village Indians; they also recognized fromtheir behaviour that they came with friendly intentions. This increasedtheir embarrassment, for they knew, or at least supposed, that thestrangers would see at once the cause of their strange appearance. Sogreat was their uneasiness, that one of them crouched behind a bush tohide.
Meanwhile all the Tehuas, who had been standing some distance off, camerunning up, with the exception of one, who was seen going toward thepueblo at full speed. The others held their wooden clubs ready, in caseof trouble. Hayoue advanced toward them in his usual unconcerned way,and saluted them with--
"Guatzena, Puyatye!"
Zashue had remained behind, keeping an eye on the weapons which both ofthem had laid on the ground.
The Tanos whispered and whispered. They evidently guessed at themeaning of Hayoue's words, for one of them stepped up, and replied withthe usual compliment in Tehua,--
"Senggerehu."
Each grasped the other's hand. Hayoue uttered "Queres," and pointing tothe west, "Tyuonyi."
To this speech the other replied by pointing at himself and at hiscomrades with the word "Tano;" then at the village, which was stilldimly visible in the twilight, "Oga P' Hoge."[12] Thereupon he made thegesture-sign for sleep, and breathed on Hayoue's hand. The latterresponded to the compliment and gave Zashue a signal to come nearer.When Zashue rejoined the group they all greeted the Queres in the samemanner, and the one who was still holding Hayoue's hand began to pullhim along, urging him to go to the village with them. The adventurersfrom the Rito felt that they might be welcome. Zashue even made aneccentric, clownish jump, exclaiming,--
"Koshare raua! Raua Koshare!"
Boisterous laughter broke out. One of the Tanos threw his arm aroundZashue's neck, shouting at the top of his voice,--
"Hiuonde tema kosare!" He pressed him to his breast, whispering,--
"Oga P' Hoge Pare!"
No mistake was possible; the Tano was a brother, a Koshare like Zashue,and delighted to meet another from the far-distant west. More and morelively the men became on both sides; clumsy attempts at explanation weremade; words, signs, gestures passed between them, while walking brisklyon; and all were merry and in good spirits.
It was night. Behind the gigantic wall of mountains in the east awhitish glare arose, the light of the rising moon. The group had reachedthe banks of the Rio de Santa Fe, near where now stands the church ofNuestra Senora de Guadalupe. Before them lay a dusky wilderness,abutting against steep hills. On the highest of those, which overlooksthe present town in the north, a terraced mound could be distinguished,and from its sides luminous points twinkled in ruddy light. The thumpingof drums, shrill flutes, and an undefined noise rhythmic in itscharacter, in which human voices and numerous rattles were confusedlymingled, issued from a quarter above which a glow arose like that of afire burning within. That irregular pile was the pueblo of Oga P' Hoge;it stood where Fort Marcy was subsequently erected by the United Statestroops.
The moon had risen and rested on the higher crests of the mountains. Itslight penetrated the basin in which now the town of Santa Fe extends, onboth banks of the little stream and south of it. When to-day the moonthus stands over the heights, and looks down the turrets and cupolas ofthe capitol, hospitals and seminaries glisten in phosphorescent light,and the towers of the cathedral loom up solemnly, casting on the groundbefore it jet-black shadows. Over elegant dwellings, over modest flatroofs of adobe houses, over military buildings, institutes for theeducation of those of all races and creeds, the moonlight restspeacefully. Brilliant music sounds in the plaza from the heights; in thenorthwest a spark rushes down in serpentine windings nearer andnearer,--the approaching railway train! From the south a shrill whistleis heard,--another iron horse sweeping up with people and news from theoutside world. Shade-trees rustle in the evening breeze, and theirleaves dance, alternately plunged in silvery brightness and transparentnight.
To-day the heights of Fort Marcy are deserted, bleak by daylight, paleand yet frowning when shines the moon. Since the seventeenth centurylife has sprung up at its base. At the time when Hayoue and Zashuelived, life was above, and looked down upon a wilderness beneath. To-daythe hills are wild. Formerly juniper-bushes, cedar, and cactus alonepeopled the banks of the river, growing along the rills and on thedrift-heaps formed by the torrent.
The group of men, with Hayoue and Zashue in their midst, halted on thesouth bank. This did not suit Zashue; it struck him as rather unfriendlyor at least as suspicious. Their companions were evidently waiting fororders, ere they crossed the river.
A man came splashing through the water and called out something, whichthe Queres of course did not understand. At once all conversationceased, and the Tanos became silent and grave. The new-comer spokefirst; he spoke rapidly and in a low voice, then grasped Hayoue's handto breathe on it, and held it fast. Zashue's hands as well had beenseized by two Tanos. His bow and quiver had been removed from him undersome friendly pretext. They were disarmed. Then all moved on, forded thestream, and took a trail that led directly to the foot of the hill wherestood the pueblo. All sounds of merriment above were hushed, nothingmoved but the men and the night wind rustling through the shrubbery. Atthe foot of the high hill other Indians came up; these were armed, andthey followed the group.
All this looked ominous. They were no longer treated as guests; theywere prisoners! Zashue was not so much surprised as Hayoue, for he hadalways mistrusted. Hayoue inwardly raved. He reproached himself for nothaving listened to his brother's warnings, for having allowed hisrashness, his conceit, his over-confidence, to prevail to such an extentas to fall into a trap which he felt sure the Tanos had artfully laidand cunningly sprung upon them. Still all his indignation and rage wereof no avail. Even if he were able to free himself from the grasp of hisguards, and to escape the arrow-shots that would be aimed at thefugitive, he saw no chance for him in the relentless chase that wouldfollow. All advantages would be on the side of the Tanos, who knew thecountry, whereas he was a total stranger. Nothing was left him but toresign himself to his fate and to await the course of events. It washard for the proud, self-glorious young warrior; it was not only hardbut if he took into consideration his overbearing manner toward Zashue,a punishment justly merited. Hayoue hung his head, crestfallen and inbitter wrath.
At last some one came down the steep hill, muttered a few words, and theascent began. Nobody turned back to glance at the moonlit expanse thatwas
unfolding itself more and more beneath. A dismal yelping soundedfrom below, the voice of a coyote from the banks of the stream. The wolfhad followed the returning hunters. He licked the blood trickling fromthe dead game and called his comrades. Other voices answered in theneighbourhood; from various parts of the basin the barking died away ina mournful, dismal wail mingled with shrieks, sobs, and fiendishlaughter. It rose from the depths, filling the air, re-echoing from thehills, and changing its modulations, a horrible chorus of moans andgroans alternating with exclamations of hellish triumph. A shiver passedthrough both the prisoners; their entrance into Oga P' Hoge took placewith dismal prognostications.
The pueblo was built in the shape of a rectangle. The north and eastsides of it formed a continuous structure; narrow alleys separated themfrom the south and the west sides, and between the two there was also analley of entrance and exit. Through the latter therefore, on thesouthwest corner, the Tanos entered an open space like a largecourt-yard, surrounded by the terraced buildings composing the village.
At the approach of the group, human forms had appeared on the flat roofsand peered down upon the prisoners with curious eyes. As soon as thecaptives entered the square, the number of spectators increased; theycame out from the interior, from lower stories, down from the uppertier, men, women, and children. They descended into the square, and thewhole population of the village, about four hundred souls, gatheredaround the strangers and their guard. All the able-bodied men were notamong them. A dozen videttes were distributed on the flat roofs, andnearly fifty warriors, hastily armed and equipped, had scattered at somedistance from the buildings along the hills throughout the basin, tointercept a possible flight, as well as to guard approaches in case thetwo prisoners should be merely advance scouts of a larger body ofenemies. Of all this Hayoue and Zashue knew nothing, of course; but theynoticed that the throng about them was not friendly, that an ominoussilence prevailed. Hardly a whisper was heard; a few women onlygesticulated wildly.
The Tanos dropped the hands of their captives, but they remained aroundthem still. For a long while they were left to stand; nobody broughtthem food, nobody offered them water to allay their thirst. Thewhispering grew louder; it sounded like murmured threats.
At last the hands of the strangers were again seized and they were ledacross the square to the northeastern corner. The throng opened in frontof them as they advanced, closing in behind, and all following likechildren after a procession. Some ran along the walls, eager to be nearand on hand when the strangers came up. Their curiosity was soongratified, for the square was small. At the foot of one of the notchedbeams another halt was made. Two of the guards climbed up and exchangeda few words with an Indian sitting on the roof. Then Hayoue wassignalled to follow. A Tano came behind him; after him Zashue, and thentwo armed men. The crowd had meanwhile closed up against the wall,pressing eye and ear against the air-holes, out of which the firelightshone. Nobody attempted to climb the roof, but all remained below, amoving, wrangling crowd of people illuminated by the placid light of themoon.
Another delay occurred on the roof. The wanderers heard loud talkingbeneath their feet, and concluded that the council sat in a room below,and that they would be led before that august body. There was someconsolation in this fact, for it showed at least that they would not beslaughtered at once. But how should they defend themselves? Nobodyunderstood their language, any more than they understood that of theTanos! The situation seemed desperate. Hayoue, as well as Zashue, felthelpless; but they had to submit to the inevitable. After all, deathwould put an end to everything; it is beautiful at Shipapu,--there isconstant dancing and singing; the girls are always young and the womennever too old.
Hayoue's hand was again grasped by one of the guards, and he wasmotioned to descend into the apartment below. Zashue had to follow. Theyfound themselves in a long room, whose whitewashed walls reflected thelight of a small fire burning on a rude hearth. Close to the hearth sata man whom the prisoners at once supposed to be the puyo, or governor.By his side sat another, a small figure, somewhat wrinkled. He worenothing but a breech-clout of buckskin, for it was summer. Several agedmen were gathered in the neighbourhood of the fire. Although none ofthem wore either ornaments or badges, it was easy to surmise that theywere the principal shamans. Along the wall sat, lounged, or squatted theclan delegates, so that all in all there were present about eighteenpersons, including the prisoners. Outside, the faces and eyes oflisteners appeared from time to time through the air-holes.
The man whom the two Queres rightly took to be the civil chief, motionedthem, adding, "Sit down."
They obeyed, and remained sitting with downcast looks. The councilmenglanced at them furtively from time to time. None of them spoke. At lasta whisper was heard, and now a voice said in the Queres dialect,--
"Whither are you going?"
Hayoue started, and stared about in the room, looking for the man who inthis foreign country spoke his own language. When he finally discoveredthat it was the small old man sitting by the side of the governor, hegaped at him with lips parted, and an expression akin to fright. He hadacquired a dim knowledge of the fact that it might be possible for oneman to know more than one language, but he had never met such a prodigyas yet. After the first surprise was over, he still stared at thespeaker with inquisitive glances, eager to see whether it was possibleto speak two dialects with one and the same tongue. Zashue was lessstartled. He knew that there were people who had learned a speechdifferent from the one to which they were born. Therefore he replied tothe query,--
"We are searching for our women, our daughters, and our children."
"Why do you look for them here? We have them not," said the old man.
"Because we have hunted for them everywhere else and have not foundthem."
"Are you alone?" continued his interlocutor.
"I and my brother are alone," Zashue asserted.
"Why did your koitza and makatza leave you?"
"The Moshome drove them off."
"The Moshome?" The inquisitor criticised his words.
Hayoue had recovered from his surprise. He interjected in a loud, bluntvoice,--
"While the men went out to strike the Tehuas, the Moshome Dinne cameupon us. We were only a few, and the shuatyam laid waste our corn, andkilled many women. Many more, however, fled; we do not know whither.These we have gone out to find; we are looking for them this day hereamong you, but you have taken us captives. You have treated us, not asit is customary between the Zaashtesh, but as the Moshome are wont to dowhen strangers come to their hogans." He looked down again, angry.Zashue endeavoured to give him a warning sign, but Hayoue saw it not.
The old man smiled. Afterward he translated to the Tanos what had beensaid. His communication excited considerable attention. At the close ofhis speech, one of the medicine-men replied in a few words. Theinterpreter turned again to the Queres, asking,--
"Why did the people of the Tyuonyi come upon our brethren in the northby night, like shutzuna? The men from the Puye had done them no harm."
"No harm?" Hayoue broke out. "Did they not murder the best, the bravest,the wisest man, our father the maseua? Was it not enough? If you do notcall that a bad, a base deed, then you and all of you are as bad and asbase as the Tehuas."
The old man's features remained placid. He replied in a quiet tone, buthis manner was cool and measured,--
"I know that you believe that the Tehuas killed your maseua. I know itwell; for Shotaye, who now is called Aua P'ho Quio, and who lives withCayamo in the homes at the Puye, came to warn the Tehuas that the Quereswere coming over against them. But it is not true. It was not ourbrethren from the north, it was the Moshome Dinne." He uttered the namewith marked emphasis. "They killed the maseua of your tribe."
We recognize in the interpreter the same old man who served the Tehuasin their first interviews with Shotaye. The Tehuas had despatched him tothe Tanos, in order to inform the latter of their signal triumph, and toput them on their guard against the Queres. It
was a lucky hour forHayoue and Zashue, especially for the former, when the old man reachedthe Tanos.
The two adventurers were thunderstruck. Speechless, with heads bowed,they sat in utter amazement at what they were being told. Everything wasso completely new to them, and yet it explained so much, that they wereunable to collect their minds at once. The Tanos saw their confusion.What the interpreter told them of the replies of the prisoners hadalready created much interest, and now their embarrassed state attractedstill greater attention. The interpreter, therefore, was prompted tofurther question them.
"When the Queres moved against the Tehuas, were you along?"
"No," Zashue replied sullenly.
"Have many of your people returned from the north?"
"Enough to hold their own against all who speak your language," Hayoueretorted.
The old man blinked; he had put an imprudent question. After a shortpause, he asked again,--
"Why did you alone go out to seek for your people?"
"Because," Hayoue indignantly retorted, "the others had to remain athome to protect the weak ones, in case the Moshome Tehua came for theleavings of the Moshome Dinne." He accompanied these already insultingwords with looks of defiance, glancing around with eyes flashing, andlips scornfully curled. His wrath was raised to the highest pitch; hecould not control himself.
Fortunately for him the Tanos did not understand his words, and theinterpreter was shrewd enough to see that the young man thought himselfjustly angry, and withheld his insulting speech from his listeners. Hecomprehended the position of the strangers, and understood what theirfeelings must be. He had no doubt in regard to their sincerity andtruthfulness. An important point which he realized was the presentweakened condition of the Queres tribe. He turned to the meeting andspoke long and earnestly. His speech was followed with the closestattention, and Zashue, who felt more composed than his younger brother,noticed that the words fell on ready ears. A short discussion followed,in which every one participated in turn; at last all seemed unanimous,and the interpreter, avoiding Hayoue, who sat with eyes gleaming like aloaded electric battery ready to send off flying and burning sparks,turned to Zashue with the query,--
"Have you any trace of your people?"
Zashue related everything in a simple and truthful manner,--how theycame to the determination to visit the village, with the intention incase there should be none of the fugitives here to turn southward andcontinue their search among the southern pueblos. Every word he said wasafterward translated to the council; the tuyo delivered a short address;and the interpreter spoke to the two young men in a solemn, dignifiedmanner, as follows:--
"It is well! My brethren say that you are welcome. They also say thatyou should forgive them for having suspected you. The people on theTyuonyi wronged those at the Puye, and that was not good! But now, sincethe hand of Those Above has stricken the Queres, we will no longer beMoshome, but brethren, and will forget what has come between us. Are wenot all one, we who wear the hair in sidelocks,--one from the beginning;and have we not all come forth at the same place? You are welcome!"
The speaker paused, glancing at the governor. The latter rose, went overto Zashue, took his hand, breathed on it, and lifted it upward. He didthe same to Hayoue; then he returned to his seat and gave a sign to theinterpreter, who went on,--
"Those whom you long for are not here. But it may be that as you say,brother,"--he directed these words to Zashue--"they went to our peoplefarther south. In a few days I will have to go thither, and will be yourguide. Meanwhile eat the food and drink the water offered you by thosewho speak a tongue different from yours, but whose hearts are like yourheart, and who like you pray to Those Above. He who dwells up there isour father and your father; she who has her home on high is our motherand your mother. Therefore the mothers and fathers of the Tanos say toyou through me that it is well that you should stay here. Be welcome!"
Involuntarily Zashue uttered a deeply felt "Ho[=a]" of relief. Hayouenodded, and sighed as if breathing freer again. The great medicine-manarose, scattered sacred meal, and uttered a prayer to which all theothers listened in deep silence. Then he went to greet the strangers inthe customary manner. One by one the others followed,--the secondmedicine-man, the other chief officials, finally the delegates of theclans. Every one grasped their hands and went through the sameceremonies. The council was ended, and to every one's satisfaction.
Last came the old interpreter, and greeted them, saying,--
"I am Chang Doa, what you call Mokatsh hanutsh, 'panther clan.' Where doyou belong?"
"Tzitz hanutsh," Zashue quickly responded.
The old man turned to one of the delegates.
"Father," he called to him in his language, "our sons belong to yourpeople. Will you take them with you, or shall they go to the summercacique?"
The other reflected a short while, then he replied,--
"The summer cacique is busy; let the brethren come with me. I will leadthem to the homes of P'ho Doa."
News of the happy result of the council had already spread outside. Whenthe prisoners of a few hours ago, now transformed into honoured guests,stepped down into the square, every one looked at them pleasantly. Thethrong dispersed, but many followed them into the houses of the Waterclan, where they were treated to the primitive food of those times. Soonthey retired to rest on simple couches, there to forget the hardshipsand dangers they had suffered during the day.
Outside, the deepest silence reigned. The pueblo on the steep hill andthe desert plain below shone in the rays of the moon, peacefully, asthough they too would slumber. From the thickets along the little streamarose a faint twitter; louder and louder it sounded, and rose heavenwardin full, melodious strains, soaring on high through the stillness of thenight; it was the mocking-birds' greeting to the hour of rest.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 12: "Oga P' Hoge" is the name given to Santa Fe by the Tehuasof Santa Clara. The Tehuas of San Juan call it "Cua P' Hoge," the placeor village of the shell beads, or of the shells (Olivilla) from whichthey make the beads which they so highly prize. In the sixteenth centurythat pueblo was already deserted.]