STEVENSON] WITCHCRAFT 403 



When the boy repeated his story, Nai'uchi declared it to be a lie: " You 

 did not get 3 our knowledge of witchcraft from Santo Domingo, aiul I 

 am here to see that you speak the truth. 1 shall keep you talking until 

 3^ou do speak the truth/' Losing all faith in winning belief for his story, 

 the wretched bo}- invented another, which he hoped would satisfy his 

 judge: "Yes; I lied, I lied because 1 loved my father and mother and 

 sister, and did not wish to speak of them. They are witches. 1 belong 

 to the family of original witches. All my grandfathers were wizards. 

 I have the plume oti'erings brought to this world by my witch ances- 

 tors.'' ''Where? Where?" exclaimed the warriors in one breath, as 

 they bent eagerly forward, so as not to lose one word. "In my 

 mother's house. There at the winter solstice witches gather from all 

 over the country to prevent the rains and snows." "You lie,'' cried 

 one. of the warriors. "We would know of this if it were true." 

 "HowT' inquired the boy. "Some one would see the strangers 

 come." "No; they would not. Ancient plume offerings held to our 

 hearts and jucca strings crossed over our l)reasts, while we jump 

 through a hoop made of yucca, empower us to make ourselves into 

 dogs, cats, coyotes, hawks, crows, and owls, so that we pass (luickly 

 and unknown about the country. We gather in an inner room of mv 

 mother's house where four ancient lamps hang, one on each wall, and 

 by this light we sit and talk and make the rain-makers angry, so that 

 they will not work. I can assume the form of a cat and pass through 

 the smallest hole to enter a house. 1 can till my mouth with cactus 

 needles and shoot them through windows and destroy life. I have 

 killed two infants, three guds, and two bo3's. I have packages of 

 ancient pra3'er plumes, and I have two others that are used to convert 

 us into other forms than our own." " We will see them! We will see 

 them!" exclaimed the warriors. The bo}^ had not anticipated this in 

 weaving a story which he thought might make his accusers tear to 

 take his life. "Alas! I can not show them; they are in my mother's 

 ancestral house, and she is absent at the farming district and has the 

 keys." Nai'uchi, not to be thwarted, exclaimed: "I liave keys!" He 

 left the house to procure them, and in a short time returned with a 

 bunch of keys and commanded the accused to proceed to his tnotliei">< 

 house. 



The assembled warriors and the writer, who was always provided 

 with candles and matches, accompanied Nai'uchi and the boy. Ascend 

 ing a ladder from a court the party, led by the accused, cbmbed over 

 several roofs to reach the house. The door was locked, Init it yielded 

 to the tirst key. The warriors have greafauthority and are not deli- 

 cate al)out using or abusing it, and it may be presumed that if the 

 keys had failed, the doors would have been forced. The boy main- 

 tained remarkable composure as he entered the house. Me declared 

 that the prayer plumes were secreted in the wall of the adjoining room, 



