246 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. VIII. 



They went on top of the mesa and watched. Many of them had 

 balls of pitch with them that they had procured from the woods. 

 When the Sikyatki people were out in the fields they rushed upon the 

 village where they found only some women and children. These 

 they killed. They then rubbed the pitch on the walls of the houses 

 and set the houses on fire, thus destroying the village. When the 

 people who were planting saw the smoke rise from the village, they 

 at once realized what had happened. They rushed to their village 

 but had only their planting sticks with them. The Walpi, before set- 

 ting fire to the houses, had secured the bows, arrows, and tomahawks 

 so that they were well armed when they met the people of Sikyatki, 

 and in a short time had killed them all, including the chief who had 

 been the instigator of the revenge. Thus Sikyatki was destroyed and 

 has ever since been in ruins. It came so suddenly that even now 

 charred corn is constantly found in the ruins. 



103. THE DESTRUCTION OF AOATOVl.' 



Haliksai! A long time ago the people were living in Aoatovi. In 

 Shongopavi, Mishongnovi, and Walpi they were then not yet living 

 on top of the mesa, but at the places where there are now the ruins of 

 those villages. In Oraibi they were living where the village now 

 stands. The villages of Sichomovi and Hano were then not existing. 

 They were erected when the Walpi moved on the mesa. The people 

 at Aoatovi had a great many ponies so that the men hunted on ponies. 

 They had strong hearts. When they were hunting they were full of 

 hilarity. 



Thus they were living there. They had not any cattle yet, but 

 they lived on game and on sheep, of which they had some at that time 

 at Aoativi. One time they were going on a hunting expedition again, 

 but this time the maidens of the village participated in the hunt. 

 They were, however, not on horseback as the young men were. At 

 about noon they- had gone as far as they wanted to go, and returned. 

 When they had found a rabbit it was placed on the ground and the 

 maidens raced for it, and whoever won the race received the rabbit, 

 which she handed to either her father or her brother who was present, 

 who then tied it up and carried it home in the evening. 



The daughter of the village chief, a very pretty maiden, who had 

 big hair whorls, was also among the hunters, and as the hunting 

 party was returning in the afternoon one of the young men in chas- 

 ing a rabbit on his pony, dashed over this maiden and killed her.. 



1 Told by Tangakhoyoma (Oraibi). 



