SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST. 
31 
Concerning the constellations they have many interesting stories, 
and while the individual stars are personages, the groups of stars are 
various personages in attitudes performing various acts, or are spoken 
ot as things without life ; and these stories of the constellations are 
considered by them as mere fabrications. A meteorite is said to be 
star-dung, and curiously enough a snail is called by the same name, and 
supposed to be the excrement of some stellar personage ; that is, snails 
are fallen meteors. They explain the origin of canons and valleys, of 
lire and water, of snow, hail, and rain, of the rainbow, and many other 
things. 
The means by which this mythology is preserved from one genera- 
tion to the other is very elaborate and very efficient. 
DEMONOLOGY. 
In addition to the mythological personages they believe in a great uum - 
ber of beings which may be called demons. Kai'-nu-shuvs are beings who 
live in the high mountains ; they usually remain in deep chambers, caves, 
and underground apartments in the mountains by day, but when the 
storms gather over the mountains they come out under cover of the 
clouds, mount their fleet chargers, the mountain sheep, and ride at 
break-neck speed over the peaks and crags. They are supposed to 
have special control over the mountain sheep, elk, and deer; and an 
Indian, when he kills one of these animals, leaves some portion of the 
carcass near by where the animal has fallen, to propitiate the good-will 
of Kai-ni-shuv. They tell many wonderful stories of these beings. 
Pong-a-wits is the sprite of the spring. Po-wha is the Demon of the 
Lake. The U-nu-wits is the genie who performs many strange deeds, 
and has the power of transforming himself in magical ways. The Tu- 
mu-ur-ru-gwait-si-gaip, or rock-rover, lives among the naked rocks and 
cliffs. His special delight is to catch unwary people and take them to 
the brink of frightful precipices, and there exact from them promises, 
a failure to fulfill which causes the wicked violator of his vows to lose 
his own ghost, and another takes possession of him, and causes him to 
behave in unseemly ways. This is their explaination of insanity. 
The Yan-tups are the beings who produce the various diseases; thus 
an Indian does not understand a sickness to be an improper working of 
the physical system, but to be an entity — an evil being — a devil — a 
Van-tup who takes possession of the man, and all their medical treat- 
ment is sorcery. 
They have a great variety of ceremonies, observances, and cruel 
torturings by which these evil beings are driven from the sick. I have 
myself witnessed a great number of them, and made record of what I 
have seen. 
POETRY. 
Of poetry they have a great store, consisting of songs, usually of few 
stanzas, rarely more than half a dozen, chiefly celebrating the beauties 
