nARRiNGTONl CHILDREN'S STORIES 373 



The man took out his sword and severed the woman's neck. He took 

 the head and started up toward Picuris again. As he went along 

 and came to Paxwinowia'ai he turned and looked back, and torches 

 were flashing around where the Taos lived. Some of the lights 

 were coming along the roads by which he had come. The man ran 

 his best toward Picui'is. 'When he got out to P^tcothako'ai he 

 gave a war whoop. The men of Picuris, when they heard the war 

 whoop, took the arrows, guns, and whatever weapons they had, 

 and hm-ried toward the top of PQtcothoko'ai Mountain. Wlien they 

 reached the top, they found the man with the head of the Taos 

 woman. They built a fire at the top and had a wai'-dance. 



When they finished dancing, they took the head down to the 

 Pueblo. "Let us build a scalp house; we might happen to go to 

 war and bring more scalps, and could hang them up," some of the 

 men said. And so they built a scalp house the very next day. 



So this is the reason that scalps which were brought by men who 

 went to war are hanging at the Pueblo to this day. 



The Sunken Estufa 



My children, long ago when I was a child like you at the Pueblo, 

 my grandparents and even my parents used to tell me lilvc this, 

 that a long time ago, when at Picuris Pueblo they still used to carry 

 on by native custom and do everything by ceremony, one spring 

 the people were grmding flowers at Rappui. Even to this time 

 you can see the place as you pass by, as it is sunken. Perhaps 

 there may be some 250 people buried in that estufa. Among those 

 buried there are the men and women who were singing. The 

 prettiest looking of all were the paien^ (literally, "grinders"), whom 

 they nowadays call kwol'enQ (maidens). But these girls ground flowers 

 long ago in ceremony, and that is why they were so called. I suppose 

 that all the people that were in there were dressed up nicely. 



So that is the reason, my children, that the old men at the Pueblo 

 still talk about it, that one might get rich with beads, earrings, and 

 many other things that are buried there. You know that our 

 palefaced brothers value ancient articles much. If I were to have 

 my own wa^- and were to be permitted at the Pueblo, I would get some 

 of the palefaces to help me dig that place; I would gladly go to dig 

 that estufa. That is all I have to say to you about that estufa at 

 the Pueblo, for that is all I know. So put the unpression in your 

 head as I have told you, so that when these old people have passed 

 away you can take theh' place and have this story to tell. 



