247 



abnndoiiod and left luihiii-icd, llic sc-ircd Indians li(',t.'t,dnj,' tlio whites lo inlci- 

 tlicni. If fliorc wero nd w intcs in (he vicinity, tlicy were left uiil)Uricd. 'I'iic 

 a^'cncy and school pcoplf inl<'iri'd many Indians who had thus hccn alian- 

 (huiod. The Kaycnta iMiliccnian was JmriiMl by a f^ovcrnniont pjn'ly after lie 

 had heen dead in an abandoned hojian (MRht days. Also, in the week closint; 

 April, the j;overnnient stocknnm interred two intlneiiza victims who had lain 

 in their respective hoijans since last fall. 



When sick, the Navajo think one should eat a whole lot. If one can not 

 eat, it i.s expected he will die. Stutlinir in sicUncs-; is usually practicecl as a 

 remedy and is often the cause of inncli trouble and many deaths. At one 

 ]>lace on the reservation, during the plaiiiie, meat balls the si/e of the end 

 of one's thumb were forced down tiie jKitients who were too \\-eak and sick 

 to eat initil no more could be forced down them. The stomach of an intlu- 

 enzji victim at another place, who had been abandoned and partly eaten 

 by the wolves, Avas seen to contain about a cpiart of corn which had prob- 

 ably been boiled bef(n-e it was forced down him. Such stulTed patients usu- 

 ally died. 



When sick, the medicine man often jiives the ]iatient the juice of the 

 Arizona jimpson and same was much used durin;,' the inflenza epidemic. 

 This makes the pulse run high and caa-es the patient to be delirion.s. It is 

 n.sed as one of the last resorts. One jimpson victim examined by the agency 

 physician had a pulse running as high as 2-k), The Indians also killed 

 horses and made horsetail soup as a remedy to coml)at the disease. This 

 was a good thing in a way as it helped get rid of some of the worthless 

 ponies. The main remedy, however, was the powwow, Yavachai ceremonies, 

 accompanied by elaborate sand-paintings. 



In making these paintings, all but the patient in the respective house- 

 hold concerned is removed from the liogan, usually to a corral-like brush 

 wind-protection- — provided a regular medicine-lodge is not erected for the 

 ceremony. The drawing is then made around the central fire or about it; 

 each medicine man has his own system and places the drawing to suit his 

 own taste and whims. Usually, the parts of the drawing are in concen- 

 tric bands whose separating rings represent rainbows. The inter-rainbow 

 .spaces are filled with crude figures of human-mythical beings called 

 "chindes." When completed, the nude patient is smeared from head to 

 foot with a blackish, medicinal concoction. He is then placed either on 

 or near the drawing. Then elaborate singing and praying follows. As a 

 faith cui-e,- it is a good remedy, but it failed to cure the influenza. This 

 failing, the final and last remedy was a massage, contorting process. As the 

 <lisease usually terminated in pneumonia and consequently the lungs bec.ime 

 "tight." the medicine man jumped on the chest to loosen up the lungs. The 

 result can be imagined ! 



After the final abatement of the malady, the Indians rode over the reser- 

 vation, scattering sacred meal and corn ])ollen in i>rayer over their stone 

 altars on every high point, to i)revent the epidendc from returning. It is 

 to be hoped that the deities will listen to their e.irnest supplications. 



