296 THE MAIDU. 
sped on their way like a humming-bird; and at midnight they reached the 
home of Piuchunnuh. They alighted on the assembly-house wherein the 
Indians were assembled; and, as they touched the top of it, it opened and 
parted asunder in every direction, so that those who were within beheld 
the blue heavens and the stars. They cried out, ‘Make room for us”, and 
they came down and stood in an open space before the fire. And when 
they lifted up their voices to speak the house was full of sweet sounds, like 
a tree full of singing blackbirds. The heart of Piuchunnuh was filled 
with joy. 
One of the old men had in his hand the sacred rattle (sho’-lo-yoh), from 
which all others since have been modeled—a stick whereon were tied a 
hundred cocoons, dry, and full of acorns and grass-seed. He said to them, 
“Always when you sing have this rattle with you, and let it be made after 
the pattern which I now show you. The spirit of sweet music is in this 
rattle, and when it is shaken your songs will sound better.” Always before 
this, when Piuchunnuh had prayed, he had held leaves in his hand and 
waved them. But the old men said, ‘‘The leaves are not good. Have this 
rattle with you when you pray for acorns, and you will get them; or when 
you pray for grasshoppers, and you will get them. The leaves will bring 
no fruit when you pray with them.” 
Now, it was Woannomih who uttered all these words; the other old 
man was not so eloquent, but he stood behind Woannomih and sometimes 
put a word in his mouth. Woannomih further said to Piuchunnuh, ‘ Here- 
tofore you have let all your boys grow up like a wild tree in the mountains ; 
you have taught them nothing; they have gone their own way. Henceforth 
you must bring every youth, at a proper age, into your sacred assembly- 
house, and cause him to be initiated into the ways and knowledge of man- 
hood. You shall teach him to worship me, and to observe the sacred dances 
which I shall ordain in my honor.” (Before this there had never been any 
dances among the Konkau, nothing but songs.) He further said, “Three 
nights we shall teach and instruct you. There must be no light and no 
voice in this house or you will die. Three nights you must be silent and 
listen. We need no light; we have light in us. You shall know us in 
your hearts; you need neither to see nor to touch us.” 
