History of California | Page 8

when there
was no light."
"Tell us how the coyote danced with the star," said Gesnip.
"No," replied the mother, "another time we shall see. Now I shall sing
to coax sleep to tired eyes, and the little ones will go to bed." And this
was what she sang: "Pah-high-nui-veve, veve, veve, shumeh, veve,
veve, veve, shumeh, Pah-high-nui-veve," and so on, repeating these
words over and over until Cleeta and Nakin were sound asleep. Then
she laid them on their tule mats, which were spread on the floor of the
jacal, where baby Nahal, close wrapped in his cocoon-shaped cradle,
had been a long time sleeping.
"Mother," said Gesnip, coming into the jacal, "they have brought in the
elk. Don't you want something from them?"
"Yes," replied Macana, "I will go and see about it. I want one of the
skins to make your father a warm hunting dress."
The Indians who had gone after the elk had skinned and cut them up
where they lay, as they were so large that the burden had to be
distributed among a number of carriers. Macana found Sholoc busy
portioning out parts of the elk. As he had a fine seal-skin suit himself,
he gladly gave her the skin of the deer which he had shot.
"Isn't that a big one?" said Payuchi. "It will make father a fine hunting
suit, it is so thick." Gesnip was loaded down with some of the best cuts
of the meat to take to her father's jacal. Cuchuma himself began
removing the tendons from the legs, to cure for bowstrings, and to wrap

a new bow he was going to make.
"Here, Nopal," said Sholoc to his oldest nephew, a lad of fifteen, "I will
give you a piece of the antler and you can grind it down and make
yourself a hunting knife. It is time you ceased to play and became a
hunter. I had killed much game when I was your age."
"Will you give me some of the brains that I may finish tanning a
deerskin? I have been waiting to finish it until I could get some brains,
but it has been a long time since any one has brought in big game," said
Macana.
"Yes," answered Sholoc, "you shall have them. Payuchi, hand me my
elk-horn ax so that I can split open the head, and you can take the
brains to the jacal." Soon not a piece of meat, a bit of skin, tendon, or
bone, was left. All was put to use by these people of the forest. And
now the feast was ready. The women had roasted many pieces of elk's
meat over the coals. The fish had been taken from under the hot ashes,
the half burned grass removed from around them, and the fish broken
into pieces and put in flat baskets shaped like platters. There were also
pieces of elk meat and cakes of acorn meal baked on hot stones.
As was the custom with the Indians, the men were served first. Payuchi
watched anxiously as his father and the other men took large helpings
from the baskets.
"Do you think there will be enough for us to have any?" he asked
Gesnip. "I am so hungry and they are eating so much. If I were a man, I
should remember about the women and children."
"No; you wouldn't if you were a man; men never do," answered Gesnip.
"But you need not worry, there is plenty. Mother said there would be
some left for breakfast."
"Wait for that till I get through," said Payuchi, laughing. After all had
eaten a hearty meal, more than for many weeks they had been able to
have at any one time, the tired women each gathered her children
together and took them to her own jacal, leaving the men sitting around

the camp fire. Payuchi, who tumbled to sleep as soon as his head
touched his sleeping mat, was wakened by some one pulling his
rabbit-skin coat, which he wore nights as well as days.
"Payuchi," said a voice, "wake up."
"I have not been asleep," answered the boy, stoutly, as he rubbed his
eyes to get them open. "What do you want, Nopal?" for he saw his
brother speaking to him.
"Hush, do not waken mother," said Nopal, speaking very softly. "I
know that the men will make an offering to Chinigchinich. I am going
to watch them. We are old enough, at least I am. Do you want to
come?"
A star shone in at the top of the jacal, and Payuchi gazed up at it,
blinking, while he pulled his thoughts together.
"They will punish us if they find us out," said he at length.
"But we won't let them find us out, stupid one,"