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Show 156 X. DINE BIKEYAH Then the American filled a pipe with tobacco, and the little group had a smoke. After that, the story becomes unclear. Haashkeneinii Biye' said that a boy in the group was curious about the miner's gun and wanted to have a look. A Navajo scout named Pete concluded from other reports that the Navajos planned to kill the American, and the boy was trying to get the gun. For whatever reason, the miner and the boy had a scuffle over the rifle. Haashkeneinii Biye' then struck Walcott in the back of the head with an axe. When Walcott began to revive, according to Haashkeneinii Biye', a man named Dene Ts'osii "took up the axe and hit him three or four times on each side of the head near the ears and killed him right away." Pete decided that it happened otherwise: "The American went to him [the boy] and told him to leave the gun alone, and stooped down to pick it up when Osh-ka-ni-ne-be-gay [Haashkeneinii Biye'] came up behind him, the American, and struck him in the back of the head with the axe, killing him instantly. Ten-nai-tsosi [Dene Ts'osii] was still sitting near the fire____" A chase came next. The Navajos tried to kill McNally before he could escape and inform the law. Joined by another group of Navajos, the little band attacked McNally. The miner tied three horses together and hid behind them. Either Haashkeneinii Biye' or Dene Ts'osii shot the horses with the American's rifle. Then McNally shot one of the Navajos through the head. When the Navajos drew back, the American got away. Old Haashkeneinii arrived, and they tracked the miner through the night. They caught and shot McNally near Black Mesa. Dene Ts'osii was quick to make his statement to the Indian agent. Only a few days later, Haashkeneinii and one of his sons, with Ganado Mucho and a small army of friends, came to the agency to tell their side of the story. They were angry about the way that the agent had handled recent killings of Navajos by whites. Because of this, the Navajos would not give themselves up. In the middle of this problem, a new agent took over. He gave the Navajos ten days, until July 10, 1894, to turn themselves in. On that day, Haashkeneinii came to the agency with the agent's scouts, and the man who had been shot in the head was arrested. Still, Haashkeneinii Biye' could not be found. He had joined a band of Utes, who were ready to fight to keep him with them. The whole country was upset. Old Haashkeneinii's people were up in arms. "There are a great many Indians here and the air is thick |