MooNEY) warriors' taboos — UTE FIGHT 323 



whicli the tribe still retains, was never allowed to leave the home camp. 

 Set daya-ite carried one and intrusted the other to his friend 

 Pa-gunheiite, " Hornless-bull." According to another story, PA-gufi- 

 heQte's medicine was one which belonged to himself and had no con- 

 nection with the taime, although it was a smaller image of similar 

 appearance. However, Pa-gunheute was killed and his medicine 

 captured, together with the other. 



Tbey set out for the Navaho country, but the omens were unpro- 

 pitious from the start. Among the numerous things tabooed to the 

 taime are bears, skunks, rabbits, and looking-glasses, none of which 

 must be permitted to come near the sacred image or be touched by the 

 taime keeper. Almost at the start the warriors were alarmed by seeing 

 a skunk cross their path, and soon afterward it was discovered that 

 the Comanche had brought with them their looking-glasses, which they 

 refused to break or thiow away, but wrapped them up and concealed 

 them at one of the camping places to await their return. Farther on, 

 at a place where the warriors had halted for the night to prepare sup- 

 per, the wind carried to the nostrils of the Kiowa the smell of burning 

 grease. On investigating the cause they found that their sacrilegious 

 allies had killed a bear and were broiling the flesh over their fire. 

 Eealizing that nothing but defeat could now be in store for them, many 

 of the warriors turned back, but Set-dayaite, trusting to his medicine, 

 persisted in goingforward, while Pii-tadal, although he foresaw disaster, 

 as the organizer and leader of the expedition felt bound in honor to 

 proceed. 



They went up the north bank of the South Canadian until they 

 reached the salt beds in the vicinity of Eed-river spring, near where 

 they had encountered the Navaho the preceding winter. Here they 

 met a much smaller party of Ute, said to have numbered only thirty or 

 forty, and the battle at once began. For some reason, perhaps because 

 the Kiowa felt that their gods had deserted them, they did not light 

 with their accustomed dash, and the battle soon became a flight, the 

 Ute pursuing them for some miles down the river and killing seven, 

 including Set-dayaite and his adopted son, a Mexican captive. Set- 

 day^-ite on this occasion rode a balky horse, which became unman- 

 agciible, so that he dismounted and met his fate on foot, telling his 

 comrades that there was his i)lace to die. His adopted son might have 

 saved himself, but on seeing his father's plight he returned and was 

 killed with him. Pa-gunhente, who carried the other medicine, was 

 also among the slain. 



Set-dayu ite had the taitne bag tied upon his back, where it was 

 found by the Ute after the tight. They readily recognized it as some 

 great "medicine," a conjecture which was made certain if it be true, as 

 some say, that the dead man had cut (painted?) upon his body sacred 

 emblems similar to those i)ainted ui)on the image itself, viz, a crescent 

 upon each breast, the sun in the center, and upon hia forehead another 



