384 ISLETA, NEW MEXICO [eth. ann.47 



chief thanked Wseide that he had come down. From the time the 

 bat had first spoken to the town cliief, at the village of the town chief 

 a cloud began to appear, like a thread. When the tree was down the 

 people could see clouds and they began to think that the town chief 

 was coming back again. So the town chief explained to all the 

 animals what had happened. They fed him. He stayed with them 

 for two days. He was anxious to go home. He knew very well that 

 his people were starving. 



At last the animals prepared food for him for his journey. Then he 

 got his whistle and blew it, and it began to rain in that country and 

 the clouds appeared at his village. The animals started with him 

 on his way. Then they said goodby to him, and he went on. Every 

 day he would whistle, and every day it would rain, and the people 

 saw the clouds closer. It took him six months to reach his village. 

 Toward the seventh month when he whistled the clouds were still 

 closer to the village. On the first day of the seventh month the 

 people planned in four days to go out and meet the town chief, for 

 they heard his whistle, in the southeast. The animals began to 

 revive, the river ran, and the springs. On the fourth day they 

 went out and met the town chief. Then they took him to his 

 place. Everybody in the village came there and asked him for 

 something to eat. So the town chief began to start his ceremony 

 and he gave a few com grains to all the people, to each the color 

 according to his own corn color. They said that was not enough. 

 But when they went back to their houses, their houses were full of 

 corn. Then they had plenty to eat. They started their ceremonies 

 again. From bat the chichu kabede gets his power, and the town 

 chief helps him, and at that time the town chief feeds the ants,'' 

 because the ants were the ones to make the plan to get the town chief 

 down. 



10. The First Rattlesnake 



Natoai lived an old woman with her son, Nachoochi. He was a 

 great hunter for all in the vOlage and a helper to all. He had a 

 friend who was a witch. They used to go out hunting together. 

 When Nachoochi killed any deer, the first thing he did was to feed 

 the ants and to leave a hind leg for the animals to eat, the rest he 

 would carry home. When he got home, he would distribute the meat 

 to all the people as long as it held out, saving only a little for his 

 mother. So everybody loved him so much that his friend got jealous 

 of him. His friend said to him one night, "My friend, let us go out 

 hunting to-morrow and not come back for two days." Nachoochi 

 said, "All right. Let us go and stay as long as you like." So his 

 mother got a lunch ready to last two days, and the next morning 



" Anybody going out from the village might sprinkle crumbs for the ants. 



