150 THE SIA. 



and happy;" and in a little while Uis road was covered with the water 

 and the coyote moved on; bat after a time he wished for something 

 more, and he sat down and said to tlie clond people, "I wish much for 

 water to my shoulders ; 1 will then be very happy and contented ;" and 

 in a moment the waters arose as he had wished; but he did not go far 

 before he again sat down and talked to the cloud peojile, saying, "If 

 you will only give me water so high that my eyes, nose, mouth, and 

 ears are alone above it I will be happy and contented ; then my road 

 will indeed be cool;'' and his prayer was answered. 



But even this did not satisfy him, and after traveling a short dis- 

 tance he sat down and imi>lored the cloud people to give him a river 

 that he might float over the road, and immediately a river appeared 

 and the coyote floated with the stream. He was high in the mountains 

 and wished to go below to the hare laud. After floating a long distance 

 he came to the hare land and saw many hares a little distance oft', both 

 large aud small, and they were ou both sides of the river. The coyote 

 lay down as though he were dead (he was covered in mud), and lis- 

 tened, and presently he saw a woman ka'wate (mephitis) approaching, 

 carrying her vase and gouid; she was coming for water. Before the 

 coyote saw the ka'wate he heard the gourd striking against the vase. 

 As she drew near the coyote peeped at her aud she looked at him and 

 said: "Here is a dead coyote. Where did he come from? I guess 

 from the mountains above. I guess he fell into the water and died." 

 When she came closer he looked at her and said: "Come here, woman." 

 "What do you want?" said the ka'wate. "I want you to be my com- 

 panion," said the coyote. "I know all the hares aud other small ani- 

 mals well, aud I guess in a little while they will all come here, and 

 ■wlien they think I am dead they will be very happy." And the two 

 talked much together and the coyote said : " Let us be companions, 

 what do you thiuk about it"?" "I have no thoughts at all," said the 

 ka'wate. "I," said the coyote, "thiuk we liad better work together." 

 And the ka'wate replied : " It is well." Then said the coyote : " Go and 

 bring me four clubs; I want them for the hares." When the ka'wate 

 returned with the clubs the coyote said: "Put them on the ground and 

 cover them with earth." When this was done he lay upon them. 

 Then said the coyote: "Go and bring me the seeds from the patiiin." 

 (A very tall grass : the seeds when rii^e are black.) He put the seeds on 

 his mouth, nostrils, eyes, aud ears aud scattered them over his body. 

 This he did that the hares might think him dead and being eaten by 

 worms. Then he said to the ka'wate: "Look around everywhere 

 for the hares ; when you see them, say a coyote is dead ; they will soon 

 come to look at me and they ^vill dance around me for joy because I am 

 dead. You returu with them, and when they dance tell them to look 

 to the cloud people while they dance, and then throw your poison (me- 

 phitic fluid) up and let it fall upon their faces like rain, aud when it 

 goes in their eyes they can not see, for the poison of the ka'wate burns 



