March, 1905. The Traditions of the Hopi — Voth. a 17 



ing to me that way now, but I am going to devour you." Where- 

 upon he commenced to hunt a place of ascent. Finally having found 

 a place, tried to climb up, but soon got tired and fell back. The 

 little Bird seeing it, triumphantly sang: 



Suun pi pak wuptipakaa. 



Never you'll ascend here to my nest. 



This made the Snake still more angry and it tried to get up to the 

 nest again and succeeded in climbing up higher than before, but fell 

 back again. The little Bird again sang its little song of triumph. 

 Thus the Serpent made three unsuccessful efforts, but the fourth 

 time it succeeded in reaching the mouth of the opening in which the 

 little bird's nest was, and hooking its mouth over the rim, looked into 

 the hole and saw four young birds in the nest. He said to the Bird : 

 "Now, don't you run away, I am going to devour you," and then 

 entered the hole. The bird escaped, leaving its little ones in the 

 nest. The Snake coiled up in the nest and devoured the four little 

 birds, whereupon it remained in the nest four days. On the fourth 

 day it left the place but crawled up on the bluff where it coiled up. 

 The old Bird kept flying and running about in the neighborhood of 

 the Snake, bewailing the loss of its brood. The Snake then began 

 to exert its charm on the poor Bird, trying to cause it to come nearer. 

 This the Snake did by strong inhalations, and whenever the reptile 

 inhaled the bird would be drawn towards the snake, when it exhaled 

 the bird would try to escape, but would be drawn closer towards the 

 Snake's mouth at the next inhalation.' This game the Snake car- 

 ried on with its poor victim for quite a while, the poor Bird being 

 entirely under the charm of the reptile. Finally it was drawn by a 

 last strong inhalation on the part of the Snake close to the latter 's 

 mouth and then the Snake devoured its victim. 



84. THE SNAKES AND THE LOCUSTS.* 



Alfksai! At H6yapi the people were living. There they were 

 living. At a little distance to the north of this place is a small bluff, 



' The Hopi claim that they have repeatedly observed the exerting of such a charm over mice , 

 little rabbits, etc., on the part of bull-snakes. One told me that he had watched a snake charm a 

 large mouse for quite a while. The snake when inhaling and exhaling produced a loud whizzing 

 sound. The mouse would be drawn towards the snake, apparently against its will, and being in 

 great terror when the snake inhaled, but would run to a rock while it was exhaling. When finally 

 the snake had drawn its victim close to itself, it wound itself around the mouse in such a manner 

 that nothing could be seen of the latter. 



Others have watched the same procedure between a snake and a rabbit. The Hopi say that 

 sometimes they take pity on the victim, and with a stick or some other object cut through the line 

 of the charm upon which the victim is at once set free and escapes. 



2 Told by Lomdvantiwa (Shupalilavi) . 



