152 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. VIII. 



the blind man had suggested that they take a bow and arrows along, 

 so that, in case they needed some food, they could kill some game. 

 When they had come opposite the elk the cripple suggested that the 

 blind man shoot the elk, as his own hands were also somewhat crippled, 

 and he was unable to handle a bow. He put an arrow on the bow, 

 and the blind man got the bow ready, the cripple doing the aiming 

 for him. The elk was now standing west of them, and at the proper 

 time the cripple told the blind man to shoot. He shot and killed 

 the elk. 



They were now very anxious to roast some of the meat, but had 

 nothing to skin the animal or cut the meat with; so they went there 

 and with one of their arrows they dug out the eyes of the elk. The 

 blind man then, being directed by the lame man, gathered some 

 sticks of wood and they built a fire, starting the fire by rubbing wood 

 and fire sticks together. They placed the two eyes on the fire and 

 waited. When the eyes got very hot they burst with a great report. 

 "Hihiya!" the men exclaimed, and both jumped up, the lame man 

 finding that he could walk, and the blind man finding his eyes opened. 

 "Ishuti, " the blind man said. "What is it (hinti)?" "My eyes are 

 open." "Yes, and I can walk," the other man replied. By this time 

 it had become evening, "Now let us remain awake all night," the 

 man who had been blind said, "because if we go to sleep my eyes 

 might stick together again." "Yes, if I lie down I might find that I 

 cannot walk again in the morning," the other one replied. So the 

 first one handed the other a small twig of 6cvi (Ephedra), saying to 

 him, "If you see that I go to sleep, you prick my eyes so that I awake." 

 The other one handed the blind man, as we shall call him for brevity's 

 sake, also some prickly weed, saying: "If you see me sit down you 

 prick my body so that I remain standing." Thus they remained 

 awake all night watching each other. 



Early in the morning they concluded that they would follow the 

 tracks of the inhabitants of the village who had fled. They finally 

 found them in a timber quite a distance to the north. "What has 

 happened to you?" they said. "Why, you were blind and lame, and 

 now you can see and walk." "Yes," they said, "something has hap- 

 pened to us-; and now let us go back again to the village. There is 

 nothing the matter there any more." So the people all returned to 

 the village, these two taking the lead, and that is the reason why 

 Oraibi is again inhabited. If these two had not brought the people 

 back they would never have returned. 



