PARSONS] TALES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE 445 



go to the Mescallero country where he did meet an old man with a 

 black dog which the old man sold him for $5. On making camp Juan 

 found that the dog would not eat. There was a deserted house 

 near by. Juan started to go into it, then turned back. The dog 

 went on into it. Later, Juan went there and found the dog dead. 

 As he himself would have been had he gone at first into the house, 

 for the dog was bitten by a snake, the Snake Father subsequently 

 told Juan. 



Incidentally, I may note that there is a ceremony for snake bite, 

 but as it was not described I have referred to that part of the treat- 

 ment which was mentioned under sickness and cure. 



40. After I Killed a Bear 



I was out him ting for deer. I saw a bush and the leaves were 

 moving. I shot at it. It was a bear. My sister asked the tutude 

 (town medicine society) to work for me. They put me alone in 

 my own house for four days. No relation could come in, only a 

 woman assistant brought me food. She never came close to me. On 

 the fourth evening tutude came for me to take me to their house. 

 He knocked at the door and said, "Akuwam'!" He came in where I 

 was sitting and spat on me what he was chewing, from my forehead 

 down. His two eagle feathers he waved [antisunwise] in front of 

 me three times and then rubbed one feather against the other [slicing 

 motion of discard], cleaning me. He spoke my name. I answered, 

 "Ka'a." He said, "Asom'pian" [meaning vmknown]. He gave me 

 the tips of the two feathers to hold. He said, "Stand up." Then I 

 stood up. His hands holding the feathers were crossed, so he unfolded 

 them behind his head and I was left behind him, still holding the tips 

 of the feathers. This way, holding the feather tips, I followed him to 

 their house [society's house]. The other people in my house followed 

 us, first my sister, then my father and daughter, then the rest of my 

 relations (kserim niatun, all relations) followed in single file. At their 

 house, Ka'a knocked the door with his foot and said, "Akuwam'!" 

 An assistant came and opened the door and threw a line of pollen 

 from the door through into the next room where the altar (nake'e) 

 was. AU my relations stayed in the first room as well as the other 

 people who came to see, many of them. We went on into the next 

 room, Ka'a set me down in front of the altar. Then he dipped his 

 feathers in the medicine bowl and sprinkled me, and then he circled 

 me with the feathers three times, calling out "truhi'! truhi'! truhi'!" 

 Then he spoke to the others (12 of them) sitting behind the iema'- 

 paru, and they stood up and came around me. 



They began to sing and to circle around me three times, each time 

 each passed me, he circled with his feathers and said, "Hae'!" Ka'a 



