Pliny Earle Goddard

“ The yard was so full of black bears that the mass of their moving backs occupied the entire space. “Which of those are my horses?” the Sun asked. “They are fearful animals,” the boys replied. “These are my horses,” the Sun insisted and mounted one of them and rode around on it. The fly informed the boys that they were being deceived. The Sun proposed that they should go in another direction to another enclosure. Inside this yard were white-tail deer, mule deer, elk, and mountain-sheep. The Sun announced that these were his horses and told the boys to choose any one they liked and catch it. ”

“ Fog-youths are coming, right in front of the fog they are coming.
“Where the water stands straight up, next to him, the water people are coming to us. With water-downy-feathers as their feathers they are coming to us; holding the lightning in their hands they are coming to us. ”

“ He made their ears, their eyelashes, and their eyebrows, their noses, their mouths, and their faces. He fixed every part of their bodies as it should be. The Sun went out of the bath with the boys and sat with them on the seat where his wife usually sat. They were just like men. [9] When the wife of the Sun came and stood in front of them she looked at them closely, but could not distinguish one from the other. “Move, husband,” she said. The one sitting in the middle moved himself. “You told me you had not been with any woman but you fooled me. These are your children. You must have a wife. ”

“ The earth will remain well for us,” they said. “It is still the same way for us that it was long ago. We are thankful yet.”
“Mother, where does our father live?” the boys asked. “Do not ask, for he lives in a dangerous place,” Ests'unnadlehi replied. “Do not say he lives in a dangerous place but show us where it is, for we are going there,” they replied. “If you go you must travel only by night. During the day one must sit still,” she told them. She said this, for she meant for them to make the journey without being seen by the Sun. ”

“ When they did so the saddles moved of themselves with the blankets and bridles. There was a sound “gij” of the moving leather and “tsil” as they came to rest.
The Sun turned his face away and took a black silk handkerchief which had two white stripes around the border from his pocket. With this he wiped his eyes. “I raised you for just this purpose,” he said. The Sun started to walk toward the horses. Their fly had told them not to touch the saddles, that the Sun himself would fix them. “They belong to you,” the fly said. “Everything is alive; the rope on the horse moves about of itself. ”

“ There are no people living on the edges of the earth. We are all that are left. He killed people this way. Suppose that person should come on you, he would kill you this way.” He threw the weapon to a distant bush. It went around the tree and it was as if it had been cut off. “He was killing people thus. Now we will live well and no one will bother us. A man is going around the earth in one day and he will tell us about it.” [32] Tobatc'istcini started away and his mother spoke to him. “My son, put on this belt,” she said, offering him the one the Sun's wife had given her. ”

“ The boys assured him it would be all right. He replied that she would be surprised at least. He requested them to tell Ests'unnadlehi that he, the Sun, always told the truth. He charged the two boys that they should not lie to each other. “This is a good day for you both,” he told them. “Thank you, Ests'unnadlehi, my mother, thanks.” “Thank you, Djingona'ai, my father. It is true that it is fortunate for us. It was for that reason you raised us,” they said. [46] ”

“ They came to the top of the mountain when it was day and stood there facing the Sun. The woman stood between the boys holding them by the hand. When the sun was rising she said: “Look, your father is rising. Observe well. His breath streams out from four sides. Go towards the streaming out of his breath. There are dangerous things living in the east. What have you to go with?” She had a brown fly and she gave it to the boys, that it might sit by their ears. The fly was to show them the way and tell them where the dangerous ones lived. ”

“ The horse kept nickering and pawing the earth all the time; he would not graze and the boy was not satisfied. He rode back to the house of the Sun, took off the rope; and the horse ran off toward the east kicking up his heels.
The boy told his father, the Sun, that the stallion he had given him was not satisfactory, and that he had come to ask for a different horse. His father went away and returned with two horses, a stallion and a mare. “These are what you want, I suppose,” the Sun said, and gave the boy a rope, a halter, a saddle blanket, and a saddle. ”

“ Naiyenezgani said, “Well, he has been killing you.” When they came out the fourth time they all looked alike. They ate and after the meal the brothers told them all to remain there while they went to yonder white mountain ridge to look beyond. He looked at the Sun.
They landed far away on the mountain ridge. [26] Beyond that mountain they went to another. There was a plain on which a mountain was standing. They landed next on that mountain. Tobatc'istcini said, “Brother, is the dangerous thing feared by you? If you are afraid, I am afraid. If you are not afraid neither am I afraid. ”

“ His knife was sharp and the handle was good. “Let us take the knife to convince the people. If we do not have the knife, they will not believe us if we claim we have killed the Naiye' which used to kill people,” one of them said.
On their return they landed on the white mountain ridge and returned to the camp. When they had returned, Naiyenezgani directed that all the people, including the children, should come together. He asked his mother, because the people were assembling, to spread down a buckskin and to place on it the arrows, his own weapon, and that of the slain Naiye'. ”

“ When the Gans dance, the girl dances behind them. She does not sleep during the four nights.
On the morning after the fourth night all the people gather around to insure good luck in the future. The sun's songs, the chief's songs, are sung and with them they dance. After the four nights they paint the girl white with gypsum mixed with water which is in a shallow basket. The girl stands here and a woman whose husband is rich in horses and other property stirs the gypsum and water with a hairbrush. ”

“ The sorrel was to be staked toward the east and the gray to the west. Having ridden the horses among the people they were to unsaddle them in some good place. A white saddle blanket was to be placed toward the east, a black one to the south, a yellow one to the west, and a blue one to the north. [19] The bridles, halters, ropes, and saddles were to be brought to the camp. He charged them to keep in mind what he was telling, for he was telling them this that they might be good men. He divided his property between his boys. ”

“ They mounted the horses and rode along. Their mother spoke to them, “My boys, take off that yellow saddle 107and put on a white one.” When they came riding back where their mother was, a horse whinneyed. It sounded like the voice of the gray stallion that used to be his horse. Another horse whinneyed in this direction and the voice was like that of the sorrel mare. They knew their horses when they whinneyed and one said to the other, “Brother, those are our horses whinneying but we cannot do anything about it.” ”

“ The woman, laughing, ran her hand over the horses saying, “Your father gave you large horses.” When the people had all come there, the boys told them to call their mother Ests'unnadlehi. They all called her by that name. The older boy said they were to call him Naiyenezgani. The younger one said they were to call him Tobatc'istcini. [20] They addressed them saying, “When we were here before you used to laugh at us because we were poor. We used to walk because we were poor. We have visited our father where he lives. The Sun's wife named our mother. Call me Naiyenezgani. ”

“ The Sun then told them to catch the horse that they thought was his. The fly sitting by one of their ears told them they were to catch the horse with a rope which they should induce the Sun to give them. When the Sun again urged them to catch the horse without delay, they asked whether they should lead the horse by the mane or carry him out in their hands. The Sun, with spotted ropes in his hand, went right through the door which he opened. He gave one of the ropes to each of the boys, telling them to catch the horses which were his. The animals were milling around in the enclosure. ”

“ They thought the earth was far off but they soon found the horses were trotting along on the earth. Now the horses were running with them toward their camp. They rode up slowly where the people were walking about. They rode to the camp side by side, and the people all ran out to look at them. Their mother was standing outside watching them and they rode up one on each side of her. “Mother, Ests'unnadlehi, unsaddle our horses,” they said to her. ”

“ This cane is said to be the sun's cane and the chief's cane.
The corn is poured from the basket over the crown of the girl's head. The people all try to get a handful of the corn. After that, she throws the blankets in every direction and the people pick them up, saying, “May her blankets be many.” They plant the corn and all say they raise large crops in consequence.
They prepare Gans and dance four nights. They do not allow anyone to sleep during the dancing.
The girl, Ests'unnadlehi, has a skirt and a shirt of dressed skin. ”

“ The Indians went there and came where the Gans were living.
125A small mountain stood at the east and on it Black Gan stood every dawn and talked as a chief. When he had spoken as chief four mornings, they asked why Black Gan was talking that way. All the Gans came together and he talked to them. “May one of your children remain here?” he asked. All the Gans said, “No. Our children are all going with us.” Then Black Gan decided that one of his should stay. He left the youngest little girl, putting a turquoise water jar by her pillow. He covered this with earth. ”

“ The older of the brothers told the people that they should ride the horses and not think they were wild. “Catch any of them and saddle them. When you have ridden your horses, then do not go near them for four days. Keep away from the horses which are inside where the halters and ropes are lying. Turn the horses loose in the space enclosed by the 105ropes and the halter. If they see you they may stampede. These horses will be of great value to you.” ”

“ Saying that the Sun was now coming close, she took four silk blankets [8] of different colors which had been sewed together projecting in four directions and rolled the boys up in them. She put them into an inside room. They heard the Sun come back and heard him speak. “Old woman, where are the two men who came here?” he asked. The woman replied: “I have not seen anyone. No one has been here.” “You say there is no one. They must have come, for here are their tracks,” the Sun replied. “You must have been cohabiting with someone else. ”

“ All the Eagle people, Black Whirlwind, the Sun, the Moon, and the Gan people all started toward Tsitena'a. When they came there, in the presence of the Sun and Moon, Black Gan rolled a turquoise hoop into the water. The water of the river rose up so much. Then Ganłbaiye rolled a hoop of bacinε into the water. Next Gan with his face half covered rolled a hoop of tsεłtcεε in the water and the river was lifted up so much (about a yard) . Finally, Ganłtci' rolled a hoop of yołgai and the water was high enough above the river bed that a man could walk under it. ”

“ The dancing people kept moving away toward the east. The old women and old men ran after them. They were dancing on the ground and then began to move up higher and higher in the air. The Indians ran after them but the Indians who were dancing went up with the dance. They could hear the sound of the dancing up there and the songs. They moved away to the Sun. He sent them where they do not die. They are still living there, I suppose. They are the people who do not die.
48. Told by the father of Frank Crockett, February, 1910.
126 Releasing the Deer. ”

“ Their fly told them all about the two horses, what they had done, and that they had made many horses for them. Four days from now it would come about that the broad earth would be covered with horses. Their fly flew to the Sun's camp and the Sun instructed him. “Drive the horses over this way and put a halter on top of that mountain; put a rope on the top of this mountain to the south; put a halter on the top of the mountain to the west; and put a rope on the mountain to the north. ”

“ The two wives of the Sun are often mentioned. The Navajo account has Esdzanadlehi go to the west where the sun visits her daily. Here and there, especially in the songs, the Moon is coupled with the Sun, and is feminine in sex. That the Moon and the Earth should both be called the “Woman who renews herself” is interesting. ”