Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/248

] get some mescal." So they did, and waited all day long till sunset, when she usually came, but she did not come. Then they said, "She has gone far and has a heavy load and is waiting for us to come and help her; let us go." But the oldest boy said, "No, she will come anyway, she always does, even if she has a heavy load." So they waited till night, and gave her up, and went into the house to sleep; but they kept their sandals on, as the Pimas always did, so they could start of quickly if there were danger.

In their sleep they heard her coming tn her sandals, groaning and murmuring, so they all got up and went outdoors. They heard her go and look into the fire pit, and then come and stand in their midst. One said, "I think it is a ghost;" so they turned to the right and ran around the ki, and she followed them around and around. Finally they all went inside, still pursued, and the children stood on each side of the door and turned into stone. And the woman went away.

Once Coyote was sleeping very soundly and a great number of quails came along and cut pieces of fat meat out of him; then they went on. Just as they were cooking the meat Coyote overtook them and said, "Oh, where did you get that nice fat meat? Give me some." They gave him some, and after he had eaten all he wanted he went on. When he had gone a little way, the quails called after him, "Coyote, you ate your own meat."

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing; we heard something calling behind the mountains."

Presently they called again, "Coyote, you ate your own meat."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing; we heard somebody pounding his grinding stone."

So Coyote went on; but finally he felt his loss, and then he knew what the quails meant. So he said he would eat them up, and turned around after them. The quails flew above ground, and Coyote ran under them. Finally the quails got tired, but Coyote did not, for he was angry and did not feel fatigue.

By and by they came to a hole, and one of the smartest quails picked a cholla cactus branch and pushed it into the hole, and they all ran in after it. Coyote dug out the hole, and when he came to the first quail he said, "Was it you that told me I ate my own meat?" "No," said the quail, so he let him go, and he flew away. The next one he asked the same question and received the same reply, and let him go; and so on till the last quail was gone, and he came to the cactus branch. This was so covered with feathers that it looked like a quail, and the Coyote asked it the same question. There was no answer, and Coyote said, "I know it was you, because you do not answer." So he bit into it very hard and it killed him.