BUSSELL] MYTHS 219 



ki"tcs, and with them Vantre mif^lit win if he wished to gaml>le. He 

 phiced such maf;ic power in the markin<;s on tiie sticks that no one 

 could win from Vantre. Eltler Brother recognized the power in the 

 sticks and told the people that they were powerless to win from Viin- 

 tre. Elder Brother told the man at whose house Vantre fjambleil 

 that if he would let his son and dau<;hter work for him (Elder Brot her) , 

 he would arrange it so that Vantre could not win from others. The 

 man agreed. Elder Brother sent the son to a roosting place of large 

 birds to get feathers. The boy brought the feathers to the house. 

 The girl was told to singe the feathers, grind them into a powder, and 

 mix them with some pinole. 



The next day Vantre came to the same place to gamble. Elder 

 Brother said to the young woman, "Go to the pool with your kiaha 

 and ollas. Take the pinole and make it ready when Vantre goes 

 there." She followed Elder Brother's directions and went 4o get 

 the water. A'antre said to the man with whom he had been ])laying 

 on pre\'ious days, "I am going to the pool to get a drink of water 

 before we begin playing." The others told liim to go into the house 

 to get the drmk, but he went off, saying that he wished to sec the 

 young woman. When he came to her he said he wantetl her for 

 his wife, but she replied that she would not make any promises 

 milcss he drank her pinole. So Vantre was glad to take the drink. 

 The first swallow seemed sour or bitter, but he took a second, a 

 third, and a fourth drink. The moment he took the fourth tlrink 

 feathers began to appear upon his bod}^; these grew out at once 

 and he became a large eagle. The young woman took her basket, 

 returned to the village, and told what had happened. The people 

 then took their bows and arrows, went to the pool, and there ft)und 

 the eagle sitting on the bank. They surrounded liini, but he flew 

 away and found refuge in the mountains, whence he came from 

 time to time to caiTy away men and women to his hiding place. 

 As their numbers decreased the people cried out for help to Elder 

 Brother, who said he would kill the eagle after four days. He told 

 the people to watch a sharp-pointed moimtain after his departure 

 and if a cloud appeared at the left of the peak they woukl know 

 that he had been killed; if the cloud appeared at the right theAr 

 would know that he had thme some great thing. Eagle was so large 

 antl strong that when he sat on the momitain top it broke beneath 

 his weight. It used to be all flat and smooth, but it was his sitting 

 on it that made the peaks and rough places. When arrows were shot 

 at him he caught them in his hand. (Tliis must be a true story, for 

 there is a picture of him with the arrows in liis hand, on the dollar. 

 So the Americans must have known about lum.) 



