282 NAVAJO CEREMONIAL OF HASJELTI DAILJIS. 
brothers were up early and saw the boy approaching. They said, “T 
bet he will have lots of stories to tell. He will say he saw something 
no one ever saw, or somebody jumped on him.” And the brother-in- 
law who was with them said, ‘‘Let him alone; when he comes into 
camp he will tell us all, and I believe these things do happen, for he 
could not make up these things all the time.” 
The camp was surrounded by pifon brush and a large fire burned in 
the center of the inclosure; there was much meat roasting over the fire. 
As soon as the youth reached the camp he raked over the coals and 
said, “I feel cold.” The brother-in-law replied, ‘It is cold. When 
people camp together they tell stories to one another in the mornings; 
we have told ours and we must now hear yours.” The youth related 
his experiences of the past night. He said, “Where I stopped last 
night was the worst camp I ever had.” The brothers kept their backs 
to the youth and pretended not to pay any attention, but the brother- 
in-law listened and questioned him. He continued, “I never heard 
such a noise.” The brothers then remarked, “I thought he would say 
something like that” (they were jealous of this crazy brother, he 
saw so much they could not see). The brother-in-law was inclined to 
believe the youth’s story and asked what kind of people made the noise. 
“JT do not know. They were strange people to me, but I do know they 
danced all night back and forth across the canyon, and I know my 
brothers killed twelve deer, and afterwards killed two of their people 
who went for the blood of the deer. I heard them say, ‘That is what 
must be expected if you will go to such places you must expect to be 
killed’” The elder brother began thinking and without turning 
toward the youth asked, “‘ How many deer did you say were killed?” 
and he answered “twelve.” Then the older brother said, ‘ Well, sir, 
you have told me many stories and I never believed you, but this 
story I do believe. What is the matter with you that you know all 
these things? How do you know these things and find out these 
things?” The youth replied, “I do not know how, but all these things 
come to my mind and my eyes.” The elder brother said, ‘‘I will now 
give more thought to you and study how you find out all about these 
things. We have a lot of meat and we did not know how to get it 
home; now that you have come let us return; you shall carry the 
meat.” When halfway home they were about to descend a mesa, and 
when on the edge they sat down to rest; then they saw far down the 
mesa four mountain sheep, and the brothers commanded the youth to 
kill one for them. They said, ‘Our meat is dry; your legs are fresh, so 
you will kill the sheep.” The youth succeeded in heading off the sheep 
by hiding in a bush (Bigelovia Douglasii) sometimes called sage brush 
but it is not the true sage brush. The sheep came directly toward him; 
he aimed his arrow at them, but before he could pull the bow his arm 
stiffened and became dead and the sheep passed by. All the sheep 
1 The Bigelovia Douglasii is made into rings and used in the ceremonial Hasjelti Dailjis with direct 
reference to this occurence. 
