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Show i//l,*i''l ttm<, ',] ',',!i/)>i: J ate my usual allowance of broiWI IIIIIUJHI. 'I (M. Ilt.ll>; children utared at me in wonder while I 1,1.. u,.. „„„i,, „,, ,|,,„},i, \ , „ , \ ; m v to see me topple over dead ''!' ''"r '";""l , ! gravely shook their heads but said nothing Strange to relate in two days I was taken down sick, and had the worst spell of sickness any one could have and recover The nature of my sickness I never knew Believing that I was going to have a bad spell of sick ness, I decided to try to reach Wingate, about 75 mUes d t ^ d satnartbedy0hddthe and started; had go nTe abou^t fou^r milel sh a[dw "h»e n] "a sEtorSm fseit m, and a strong wind [blew] in my face. At this poTnt I must have lost conscience, for the next moment of c o u s in faousness I found myself lying in the snow which was"about a foot deep, in the vi.Iage. It seems that when Host con scienliousness I must have dropt the briddle reins and the mule, having its way, turned back and went to the " l l a gt This surely saved my life, for had I continued on wouTd and"haSt.' 1 ^V""''™ ' ^ ™ int° th* S great cavern the r n / ^ " ° U 3 a " d i m a f f i n e d "W>" j" » A t T d f e S T T,And fl°°r Were o n l y a b o u t a foot apart. to rea h Tt I h.° A* T " 1 W a t e r ' b u t a t e v ^ «"* agains the Vnnf 7 1 m y h e 8 d a g a i n s t t h e «** floor or against the roof. Next morning my face was black and blue from bumping my head against the wall of the house Feeling that I was surely up against the real thing I re solved to write a note to the Doctor at Win rate wS* L t against the wall and a bit of paper I a t t X t o d to write but could not write more than two or three words when T he r a " ' o l T n d " " A * * * *i m e ' ^ ^ t h f n o l ' a n d covered wTth"na n *? ^ *° W i n f f a t e a c r o s s t h« mountains Z ^ - T K i T W m t h e m i d d l e o f rioter. The Indian wwaarr ccht'ieeff , SSaalivra;d1o"r Tby 'n am^ e, ca^m e rt6ot Utrhnee dh-o uTseh aanid^ aske"d" the people if they were doing anything for me. They safd no TJ W™ T ^° d i e f ° r X h a d e a t e n moat on theProhibited days. The_ch,ef shook his head and said he is an America„1 32 •^ J ' ^ / C a n s eat meat at all times, but if he w o , n Suni of course he would surely die. He then sq[u]atted down ami told me to put my arms about his neck, and carried mo to life house where I lay in a delirious state for nearly two months. Conscientiousness seemed to return very gradually, and I was half conscience and half delirious for some time. In the course of time I had fully recovered my mind, but could not speak above a whisper. My eyes were sunken in my head so that I could not see more than the outlines of a man six feet away. My skin was black as a cole [coal]; every bit of flesh had disappeared and I was merely a living skeleton, nothing but skin and bone. After I had gained strength enough to turn my head about, I saw two bottles nearby, one full and the other 3/4 empty. Making signs to the Chief he came close and placed his ear to my mouth; I asked what the bottles were. He said it was the medicine the Doctor had sent from Wingate; that one contained whiskey and as all Americans drunk it he had given me a spoonful every day with the idea, as he said, that if it did no good it would not do any harm. The "whiskey" he gave me was feavor medicine, but smelled a bit like whiskey; the other bottle he had not touched as he did not know how to use it. It was for the stomach. After the feavor had left me and I had been improving for a month, I felt so well that I wanted to get up, but the chief laughed and said, "You cannot stand up." However, I insisted on getting up, and imagined if he only helped me to my feet I could stand. This he did, but as he gradually eased up on me I settled down like a wet rag. Soon after this the Tah-poop 49 and all Caciques came to the room and had a big pow-wow among themselves. Finally the Tah-poop who spoke very good Spanish turned about and said to me, "We have been talking about you; you have been sick a long time but are going to get well now, but on condition that you become a Zuni. The Great Spirit says you ate meat thru ignorance, but by becoming a Zuiii and complying with our rules and rites you will recover. Can you 49. Tah-poop is a Zuni term for governor, and is still so used. In Adolph F. Bandelier, The Delight Makers, it is spelled tapop. According to Edmund Ladd. a native of Zuni, the pronunciation would be more nearly reflected in spelling as follows : Taw-poop-poo. The Cacique is a spiritual leader of the Pueblo people. 33 |
