PARSONS] TALES OF WITCHCRAFT 433 



they got to the mountains they made a fahina. They made a fire in 

 the middle of the fahina and got their dinner. The man said they 

 would not go out hunting imtil early next morning. Early in the 

 morning the boy built the fire and made some coffee. He got break- 

 fast. The man said to the boy, "You choose the direction to go in," 

 so the boy chose the north. He went and a few hills off he found a deer. 

 He killed him and butchered him and carried him into camp. The 

 other man foimd some deer, but he could not kill any. So he gave up 

 and went back to camp. The boy said they would divide the deer he 

 had killed. Next morning after breakfast and a smoke the man said, 

 "My friend, let us play a game." They put down a blanket and the 

 man put down the belt he had brought with liim. Boy asked him for 

 the belt. "No, but I will try yom- luck." He rolled up the belt. "If 

 you can catch it bj^ the fringe you can have it." He imroUed the belt 

 and when the boy caught it by the end he turned coyote. So the man 

 said to him, "Goodbye, my friend, I am going. All this mountain is 

 yours. Trj^ hard and you will get a rabbit to eat." Then the man 

 packed iip their donkey and the whole deer, leaving the coyote crying. 

 ^Mien he got home, his wife said, "Where is your partner?" "I do 

 not know anything about him. We separated in the mountains. I 

 went one side, he went the other side." "Poor fellow," said his wife. 

 Three days later the old woman heard that her grandson had not come 

 back. She went to the man's house and asked about him. He told 

 her the same story. Five days later the boy came to liis grandmother's 

 house as a coyote. He would sleep under the ladder. In the daytime 

 the dogs would bark at him, but they did not harm him. They knew 

 he was a person. But people said, "\\Tiat is this coyote doing about 

 here? Must be stealing chickens." So they set the dogs on him. Day 

 and night his grandmother was crying for him. At last the coyote 

 went away. He came to a camp where two men were herding sheep. 

 The dogs started to chase him, but as soon as they came up to him 

 they became still. Next morning the herder saw the coyote and sent 

 the dogs after him. But the dogs did not worry him. One herder 

 said to the other, "Coyote round here, but he does not harm the 

 sheep." "Must be a good coyote." They threw some bones out to 

 the coyote. "Poor Uttle coyote, he is hungry." He was getting thin. 

 He saw the tears were nmning down the face of the coyote. "Wonder 

 if he is a person." So he said, "Well, coyote, are you a person?" 

 Coyote nodded his head. He asked him three times. He told his 

 partner. They went over to the coyote, who was still crying. They 

 took him into their camp and put him on a sheepsldn and fed liim. 

 After three days they put him on front on then- burro and took him 

 down into the village. They went to the house of the war chief and 

 told him about the coyote. The war chief asked Coyote if he was a 

 person. The tears were running down and he shook his head. 



