310 THE ZUNI INDIANS [kth. ann. 23 



and the two 301111^ men carried the bod}' to the grave. The burden 

 was so heavy that the bearers were compelled to stop and let it I'est on 

 the ground for a few moments. The head was laid to the east in the 

 grave; then the blanket was opened and earth was thrown in. ^o one 

 accompanied the bearers to the grave, and onl}' a few outside of the 

 immediate famil}' visited the house before the body was removed. 

 The eldest grandchild, a girl of 12 years, had to be sent for. She 

 seemed much afraid at first, but her grief appeared to allay her fears, 

 and the picture of the grandfather bowed with grief with the two 

 little girls and a boy, the latter being about live years of age, clasped 

 in his arms was one not soon to be forgotten. The only men present 

 at an}' time were the husband, the son, and the grandson. After the 

 bod}' was t)uried the husband, quite prostrated from grief, was com- 

 pelled to lie down. The other members of the family had their fore- 

 locks and hands bathed in yucca suds, and when the husband i"ecovered 

 sufficiently he was also bathed. His elder female relatives were most 

 sympathetic and devoted to him, one woman holding his head in her 

 arms. The daughter-in-law proceeded with hoe and native broom to 

 remove the earth which had been placed on the floor to catch the 

 water used in bathing the corpse. She first threw more earth upon 

 that which was wet and then scraped all together, putting it into a 

 cast-otf blanket. She was careful to scrape every particle of earth 

 from the stone floor, taking great pains to get it from the crevices; 

 not an atoiu was allowed to remain. 



A death which caused universal regret and distress in Zufii was that 

 of We'wha, undoubtedly the most remarkable member of the tribe. 

 This person was a man wearing woman's dress, and so carefully was 

 his sex concealed that for years the writer believed him to be a woman. 

 Some declared him to be an hermaphrodite, but the writer gave no 

 credence to the story, and continued to regard We'wha as a woman; 

 and as he was always referred to by the tribe as "she" — it being their 

 custom to speak of men who don woman's dress as if they were 

 women — and as the writer could never think of her faithful and 

 devoted friend in any other light, she will continue to use the femi- 

 nine gender when referring to We'wha. She was perhaps the tallest 

 person in Zufii; certainly the strongest, ])oth mentally and physically. 

 Her skin was much like that of the Chinese in color, many of the 

 Zunis having this complexion. During six months' stay in Washing- 

 ton she became several shades lighter. She had a good memory, not 

 only forthe lore of her people, but for, all that she heard of the outside 

 world. She spoke only a few words of English before coming to 

 Washington, but acquired the language with remarkable rapidity, and 

 was soon able to join in conversation. She possessed an indomitable 

 will and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Her likes and dislikes 

 were intense. She would risk anything to serve those she loved, but 



