MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: THE CAPTIVITY OF THE PROPHET. 395 
not discover a single hiding place ; so he trudged on, tired and hungry 
and sorrowing, and he wept all along the way. At noon they gave him 
another handful of berries. 
27. At night they came to a plain situated between four mountains, 
one on the east, one on the south, one on the west, and one on the north, 
and here there was a great encampment of Ute, whose tents were scat- 
tered around in different places on the plain. There was one tent 
whose top was painted black and whose base was painted white and 
which had a forked pole set in the ground in front of it. To this his 
master, the old man who had saved his life and taken him by the arm 
on the oceasion of his capture, led him, while the rest of the war party 
departed to their respective tents. The old man hung his own arms 
and accouterments on the pole, and the slave, fellowing his example, 
hung his deer skin mask and robe on the forks and laid his erutches 
against the pole, and he prayed to the head of the deer, saying: 
Whenever I have appealed to you, you have helped me, my pet. 
Once you were alive. my pet. 
Take care that I do not die, my pet. 
Watch over me. 
When he had finished his prayer an old man came and danced around 
him, and when the latter bad done an old woman approached with a 
whistle in her hand and she whistled all around him. This was for joy 
because they had captured one of an alien tribe. Then his master mo- 
tioned to him to go into the tent. Here he was given a large bowl of 
berries of which he ate his fill, and he was allowed to lie down and 
sleep undisturbed until morning. 
28. Next morning the Ute began to enter the tent. They came one 
by one and in small groups until after a while there was a considerable 
crowd present. Then they gave the Navajo to understand by signs 
that they wished to know for what purpose he wore the mask and the 
buckskin. He answered that he used them for no particular purpose, 
but only for a whim. They repeated the question three times very 
pointedly and searchingly, but he continued to make evasive replies. 
The fourth time they addressed him they charged him to tell the truth 
and speak quickly, reminding him that he was a prisoner whose life 
was in the hands of his captors and telling him that if he did not dis- 
close the use of his mask and robe he would be killed before sunset, 
while if he revealed the secret his life would be spared. He pondered 
but a short time over their words and determined to tell them the truth. 
So he explained to them the use of the mask and the robe in deceiving 
the deer and told the wonderful power he had of getting game by shoot- 
ing into certain bushes. At dark they sent in two young men to be 
initiated into his mysteries. He began by giving them a full account 
of all bis father had done and all he had shown him; he then taught 
them how to build the sweat-house, how to make the mask, how to 
shoot the pluck, and bow to walk like a deer, and he made them prac- | 
