OCR Text |
Show WITH THE HOLY PEOPLE 41 he did so, he found that he could step out of the nest and walk across the Sky World. He traveled for a while and came upon a hunting party. Its leader, Chief of Game, decided to let him stay. The longer he stayed with these people, however, the more strange things he noticed. After each hunt, the women would prepare only a little meat. The meal was always many times greater than the meat that had gone into it. Younger Brother wondered where all the meat for such a big meal came from. As they set out for their next camp, Younger Brother ran up the trail and hid himself. Soon the Chief of Game came along, followed by many deer and antelope. Then Younger Brother knew that the Chief of Game was using his magic to change the Game People into their animal forms. This way they could carry all the meat they needed under their skins! Soon they arrived at the home of Eagle Chief, Chief of Game's brother. The Chiefs told Younger Brother not to leave the house. But he soon tired of staying indoors and felt the urge to explore and hunt. After walking some distance the next morning, he came to a group of four houses around a very large plaza. At the black house, the people told him, "The house you are now in belongs to the Great Black Star (S9 tsoh). The other inner houses are also filled with Star People. They are all dressed in flints of their own colors." Younger Brother then asked about the outer square of houses around those of the Star People. "Those houses," they said, "belong to the Hunting Bird People, the Eagles and Hawks." When the Black Star People saw that he was growing homesick, they told him, "Don't go back to the place where you first came up on the rock, for it is not yet safe for you to return. Wait until we teach you our knowledge and make you strong." Younger Brother soon determined to set out for adventure. When he came to the house of the Eagles, he overheard them planning a raid on the Black Star People. But the Eagles would not let him join the raid, so he could only climb to a hilltop and watch the fight the next day. As the Eagles crossed a plain, they were suddenly attacked by swarms of Bees. The Bees flew under the Eagles' feathers, stinging some of the birds to death and badly wounding others. When at last the birds give up their attack, Younger Brother followed the Bees back to their underground home. There he killed many of them with a medicine he had made of a sacred herb (ch'il dilyesii). He then returned to the field of |