MATTHEWS. ] MYTH: TILE WONDERFUL COURIERS. 413 
yonder tree we saw Tla¢escgiui last. I suppose if we went there now 
we would find him asleep under it.” 
64. About the middle of the afternoon, while they were playing their 
ganies, one looked to the north, and, at a distance, he saw one of the 
messengers approaching them, and he cried out, ‘ Here comes Tla¢escini; 
he has wakened from his sleep and is coming back for something to 
eat.” A moment later Indsiskai was annonneed as approaching from 
the south. They both reached the door of the medicine lodge at the 
same time; but Tla¢es¢ini entered first, aanded his bag to the medicine 
man, and sat down in the same place where he sat when he entered 
in the morning. Indsiskai followed and, handing his bag to the sha- 
man, sat down opposite his companion. Now, many who were without 
tbronged into the lodge to enjoy the sport, and they laughed and whis- 
pered among themselves; but the couriers were grave and silent, and, 
while the medicine man opened the bags, they took off their ornaments 
and washed the paint from their bodies. In the bag of Tla¢es¢ini were 
found four ears of léjyipéj (corn baked in the husk underground). They 
were still hot from the fire, and the shaman broke them into fragments 
and passed the pieces around. From the bag of Indsiskai two pieces of 
noga‘ (the hard sugar of the maguey), such as the Apache make, were 
taken. When the young men had finished cleaning themselves, they 
passed out in silence, without a glance for any one. 
65. At nightfall they returued to the lodge, and entering, sat down 
in the west, one on each side of the medicine man, and Tla¢escini ad- 
dressed him, saying: ‘“*When we came to the lodge this afternoon, we 
did not give you an account of our journeys because the people who are 
with you are fools, who laughed when we came home from the long 
journey which they feared to undertake; but now we have come to tell 
you our adventures. 1,” continued Tla¢esgini, “ went to the north. On 
my way I met another messenger who was traveling from a distant 
cainp to this one to call you all to a dance in a circle of branches of a 
different kind from ours. When he learned my errand he tried to prevail 
on me toreturn hither and put off our dance till another day, so that we 
might attend their ceremony and that they in turn might attend ours; 
but I refused, saying our people were in haste to complete their dance. 
Then we exchanged bows and quivers as a sigu to our people that we 
had met and that what we would tell on our return was the truth. 
You observe that the bow and quiver I have now are not those with 
which I left this morning, We parted, and I kept on my way towards 
the north. 1t was yet early in the day when I reached Cogojila‘, where 
the Jicarilla and friendly Ute were encamped. There I sprinkled 
meal on the medicine man and gave him my message. When I arrived 
they were just opening a pit in which they had roasted corn, and they 
gaye me the ears which I have brought home. They promised to be 
here in our camp at the exd of the third day, which will be the night 
of our dance.” 
