RDSSELL] MYTHS 225 



Mm into the woods and left liini thore. The news was spread about 

 tlie coinitrv tliat lie was dead, hut the next day he reappeared among the 

 people. They were afraid, but gathered together and killed him again. 

 After carrying liim to the woods they cut his flesh and scattered the 

 pieces, pounded his bones into powder and cast it to the winds, but 

 the next day at the same hour he was about among them again. 

 Again they killed him, and this time his body was burned to ashes. 

 Yet he was among them the next day as before. Then a great coimcil 

 was called and they discussed plans for getting rid of Elder Brother. 

 Some declared that if they did not kill him the fourth time they would 

 never kill him. So they called on Vulture, who had been saved with 

 Elder Brt)ther at the time of the flood, thinking that he must have 

 magic power or he would not have survived the flood. 



Vidture was a man who transformed himself into a bird with his 

 own magic power and had gone through the openings in tlie sky and 

 thus saved himself from destruction during the flood. After he 

 came down from the sky he wandered about the country and finally 

 built a va'-aki, magic house, the ruins of which yet remain, south of 

 where Phoenix now stands, between the Gila and Salt rivers. 



Vulture was li\'ing in this va'-akI when the people came to him 

 with their complaints concerning Elder Brother. They asked if he 

 could do anytliing to help them. Vulture said he had never used 

 his magic power, but he would test it. lie asked the people to come 

 to liis va'-alvl and he would make the trial in their presence. 



After the people had gathered in the house and the doors had been 

 closed he brought on darkness with his magic power while it was 

 yet daytime. The darkness was so heavy that the people could .see 

 nothing. A beam of light arose which grew stronger and stronger 

 until during the second night of their sojourn in the house it became 

 as brilliant as sunlight. There were four colors, four threads of 

 light, that extended upward until they reached the sun. 'Wilture 

 then ascended each thread in turn, telling the people that he must 

 have magic power (jr lie could not have done so. He told the people 

 that in four days Elder Brother would fall dead. On the fourth 

 night he reached the sun and remained there. All the people who 

 were in the va'-aki saw these miracles performed. 



Vulture told the sun to spit on the house of Elder Brother," on the 

 four pools of water at the va'-aki where Elder Brother kept his 

 magic power, on his dwelling places so that heat might fall upon him 

 and smother him. The sun did as he requested. Toward the end 

 of the foiu- days Elder Brother acted like a lunatic. The heat 

 became so inten.se that the cool fountains became boiling water and 

 he was finally suffocated. 



1 Said by Thin Leather to be in the Estrella mountains. Antonio thinlis it is in Baboquivarl 

 mountain. 



26 ETH— 08 17 



