164 THE ACOMA INDIANS 



[ETH. ANN. 47 



don 'r go home. Let's go." "No; she won't think that. We got bow 

 and arrow. No one going to get us. We will protect ourself." 

 Then they hang all the meat on the tree. Then they had the guts 

 with the blood in it. The blind one said, "Let's build some rocks 

 around and buiy the blood right here. We'U eat it in the morning." 

 The webbed boy showed liis brother where to find the rocks. Then 

 they build the oven and start a fire in it. After it aU got heated up 

 good they clean out the fire and use the cedar brushes to sweep it out 

 good. Then they put it in, the guts and blood together. When they 

 put it in they cover it over with a thin flat rock Then they build 

 a fire on top of the flat rock. They keep the fire going that way a 

 little while tfll they think it's cooked enough. Then they start to 

 fix the bed. "Let's go to bed," they say. Then they went to bed. 

 Next morning they get up early in the morning. Then the blind 

 boy asked Ms brother, "Where did we bury the guts?" "Right 

 there," and he show him where they were. "Let's get them out and 

 eat early and then we can start out early for home." Then the blind 

 boy took it out and laid it out on cedar branches. 



The webbed boy moved around; he coidd hardly move; he just go 

 around slow hke frog. The webbed boy touched the gut. It hot. 

 "How we going to open it, this gut?" Then the blind one sharpened 

 a stick and stuck the gut with the sharp stick. And it was fuU of 

 steam. When it got stuck with the stick it explode. And the webbed 

 one he was sitting right near, and when it explode, all the blood went 

 over him. It was hot, that blood. And when the blood got on him, 

 all that sldn between his fingers and toes and all along his sides, it 

 came loose and came oft'. "Oh! Look what the blood did to me." 

 And he start jumping aroimd and dancing. He was glad; happy. 

 And the same way, when the gut explode, it went over the blind boy. 

 And when he wipe the blood off his face, his eyes, he could see. They 

 were both glad. They dance around. They glad. "See what it 

 done for us, this noctm' (sausage)!" 



They start home right away. They pack up the deer meat and 

 run home right away. They didn't have to come back. When they 

 get to their house, their mother is up on the house. "I wonder who 

 is coming with those packs. I wonder if they are my children. I 

 don't thinli so. He isn't carrying his brother on his back, but they 

 are cari-ying something." 



When the boys got to their house they called out, "Here we are, 

 mother. We have lots deer meat. Open up the door; we want to 

 get in." The mother was surprised. "Wonder how you got that 

 way?" she said. "Yes; that's wonderful that noctmi, what it done 

 to us," they told their mother. And they told her bow it happened. 



