3<)8 THE ZUNI INDIANS [eth. ann. 23 



upper tloor of liis house early on the morning following the writer's con- 

 vcrsiitioM with Niii'uchi, a sad scene was presented. The accused sat 

 upon the tioor, h>aning against the wall, a picture of abject despair, 

 though perfectly calm. His wife, who was ill, sat on one side and his 

 vouiig daughter, ready to become a mother, on the other. The eyes 

 ol" both women were swollen and inflamed from weeping, and they con- 

 tiiuied to weep as they clung to the man they loved. It would not do 

 for tiie wi'iter's presence in this house to become known. Taking the 

 man's hand she said: " Have faith in me; 1 will save you.'' His face 

 ))(•( iime radiant for a moment; then the stoical sadness returned, and, 

 smiling faintly as he thanked her, he said: "No, mother; you wish to 

 save me, but you can not. Nai'uchi has spoken." Adding another word 

 of assurance the writer hurriedly left the house without being dis- 

 covered. Before night came she held a court of her own, Nai'uchi, 

 the younger ])r()ther Bow priest, and the accused being present, and 

 the result was that the unfortunate was released. This was brought 

 about by a declaration on the part of the writer that she had deprived 

 the man of his power of sorcery; and he was soon at work upon his 

 house, fitting it for the reception of a Sha'hlko god. 



One must witness a trial for witchcraft to appreciate all the horrors 

 associated with this superstition. The writer has never seen anything 

 else in aboriginal lif(5 which so thoroughly aroused her indignation as 

 did a trial for witchcraft in which a child of lt2 years, the girl 

 previously referred to as suffering from a severe case of hysteria, 

 and a youth of not more than 17 were involved. She had been 

 brought from a farming district to Zuni to be placed under the care 

 of a theurgist. Her illness must be accounted for, and upon inquiry 

 it was learned that on the morning ])efore the attack she was seen 

 romping with a young man, who held her hands, and this was sufficient 

 evidence to bring him before the court for trial. The grandfather of 

 the girl, himself a member of the Bow priesthood, went to inform 

 Nai'uchi, l)ut he was then with a very sick patient and must not l)e 

 disturbed, so the younger brother Bow priest was notified, and he 

 calUnl together such members of the Bow priesthood as were in Zufii. 

 Then the old grandfather came for the writ(>r, who was engaged in 

 important work with a rain priest. The hour was late, the night cold, 

 and they seemed (piite safe from intrusion, l)ut one should never be 

 surju-ised however sudden the appearance of an Indian in Zuni or 

 in any other Indian land. Often they seem to rise from the earth or 

 to drop from the clouds. On hearing ap}n'oachi ng footsteps, the rain 

 priest declared he nuist not be caught talking, and disappeared be- 

 hind a portiere just as the grandfather of the sick girl stepped into 

 the camp. He had come to ask his mother to go with him to his 

 house that he might prove to her that his granddaughter had been 



