172 - THE ACOMA INDIANS [eth. ann. 47 



mother did not know him. "That's me. I'm Mactcoai. They kill 

 me. I lay there four days. Tm-n black." "Well, that's your fault," 

 his mother say. "Well, mother, I guess I turn loose these gu-ls." 

 He tm-n them loose. "I guess you still remember where I pick you 

 up," he told those girls, "I guess you can find yom- way home. I 

 won't keep you any longer." Da hama tcaitc. 



Ka.sewat Rescues His Wife from Flint Bird 



In the old days, when the Akomeetc (people of Ako) were living at 

 Akohaitit" (east point of Ako, at the foot of the mesa), there was a war 

 chief who had a daughter. She did not care anytliing about men. 

 She would never speak to them, and she wouldn't let them try to 

 marry her. But there was a man named Kasewat who was a great 

 hunter and a great warrior. He married the war chief's daughter 

 and took her to his home at K'atsim" (the Enchanted Mesa). Kase- 

 wat wasn't a very good-looking fellow, but he was very powerful and 

 had all lands of weapons. He was the best hunter in the whole 

 pueblo. He had killed some giants (cko'yo) that used to roam 

 around the country. The mother of K'asewat was very fond of his 

 wife and used to be very nice to her. 



One day the war chief ordered a rabbit hunt. Everyone in the 

 pueblo was going. Kasewat was getting ready. The night before 

 the hunt the caiyaik (the medicine men of the hunt) got their medi- 

 cines read}^ and danced and sang the hunting song. 



Kasewat's wife was going hunting, too. She was so eager to go 

 she prepared everytliing in advance. Kasewat's mother wanted to 

 go too, so she could be near the girl (Kasewat's wife), but Kasewat 

 wouldn't let her go. Wlien they started out Kasewat asked his wiie 

 if she were going with him, but she said that she would go alone. 



The hunters set out from the viDage east of Ako. They were going 

 to go in two groups; one would go one way and the other another, 

 then they would come together in a great circle, driving the rabbits 

 toward the center. The war chief saw Kasewat and asked him if his 

 wife was along. Kasewat told liim that she was with some other 

 people. 



Kasewat's wife went along with some other people, but she strayed 

 away from them. When she was alone, away from the other people, 

 FUnt Bird (Hictian' koasiit) swooped down from the sky and stopped 

 right by the girl.^** He had been watching her from a door in the skj'. 

 He used to do that. He would watch through his door in the sky 

 and when he saw a good-looking girl he would &y down and get her 



^^ This Flint Bird seems to be a man who wears a siiit made of flint knives, a suit which makes him 

 appear hke a bird and able to fly like one. When he is home he takes this suit off and hangs it up on 



