Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-10-13

no. HtlAtL WIS III TIE hdllCl Will A.lS
women of the herd and Old HualOee
smoked my tobacco n the es,ufa.
When See-chO-mGA found me watching
her q, work she would sop weaving
and turn her great, dark eyes across
the valley to the sncw-capped peaks Of
the San Francisco range. which rose
like clouds and rested IN the blue. Then
her gaze was very w,s,ful; but when she
saw that / had followed her glance TO-
ward the mountains she would quickly
drop her eyes and resume her work.
had watched See-cho-mah for seven
days, when one afternoon she stopped
her weaving and began grinding corn
on her me.ate. Suddenly she ceased
grinding. took a quick breath. and with
lowered eyes caught UP = handful of
-four and dashed Il IN my face. I did
not then know then what that meant.
but the act seemed playful-almost az
t5ctlcnate-so I caught aud kissed her.
That night they held q bale q, The
estufa. Such a dance you never saw.
The women and ell the tribe were ad-
mitted the men came masked, clad in
skins. Some wore hideOus goggles, cut
gourds, others masQueraded as ante
lopes, elks and bears, walking on all
fOurs and initiating their ga,.s. The
musicians sat IN the angles Of The
room. dlmly lighted by the sacred sage
IRE, and beat tCm-,0ms, sawed gourd
hddles, and played On flutes. whose
ends, immersed N water held in alias.
dubbed strange sounds in imitation Of
beasts and birds.
In the half-lighted room this wild
menagerie par2ded for some minutes
TO the weird music. Then the fiesta
fires were lighted. bark w.cks inserted
into earth jars filled with fat illumin-
ated and filled with shadows the Op-
press-ve room, and the dance began.
Women and children chanted to the
monoJ0lOus beat Of ,Om-tOms and the
movement Of dancing fee. Placed be-
fore the museums In the angles Of the
room were Jars filed with fiery t.swin.
1ermented from corn. As the t.swin
took hold OF the dancers the pace of
/ the dance increased. and the men
wearing horns locked themselves in
combat, Stimulating the fights Of the
/ forest. Toward midnight the stupor
| OF drink held some n sleep, but the
/ movements OF others were made only
\ more furious. Toward morning l wear
1 -ei on the revelry and resolved TO make
/ my exit. l glanced toward See-cho-
man and my look was strong enough TO
lead her. She followed me through the
smoke up the ladder and out into the
. plaza.
Together we walked around the in
/ closure against whose eastern wall the
/ descending moon sent o flood OF light.
On the face Of the building above US
I See-cbo-mah pointed to some paintings
and tried to translate them. They
were OF animals and plants done in
colors, but presented without perspect-
i've or scienlc effect She made me I'M
dersJand that these hirOglyphic group
lngs c0mmemOratcd the defeat of the
/ Apacaes when they st0rmed the bluffs
OF Oraibe. Then together we climbed
TO the tCpmost terrace and saw the full
moon smile behind the rim rock CT the
Magallons.
Three days had passed. and in spite
Of the fiesta no rain had fallen and The
I corn lay parching in the ground. The
/ people or the village spent that evening
/ on the terrace for the eStufa was closed
I to the public and the old men of the
I tribe met the Governor, Hullpee, there
I In council
When the moon rose I sought See
chO-mah, but did not ind her. 1
/ searched through all the terraces. walk
/ ing many times around the plaza: she
+ was not among the women Of the tribe
/ Then went down the steep trail which
ln.N 81.
was not at the springs. so l returned
f. by the other trail. which led upward
I 10 the opposite side of the plaza. AS
/ gained summit I glanced over the fat
mud roof Of the estufa and saw q sOli-
\ tary female figure lying near the hatch
/ way. It was See-ChO-mah. and she mo-
| toned me 10 silence. For twenty min
/ utes l stood ching her in the moon
! light Then she arose quickly ana
coming 70 me said I'm the hurried Ian
/ guage OF their signs that I was TO die.
Their medicine man had told the cOun-
/ ell that a strange devil was hidden in
their camp. and that the rain god
would not come so long as he rOamed
| free. See-chO-mah knew where they
would find the devil. Together we de-
/ scended the cobble trail that led past
( the sheep folds into the valley, where
my horse was grazing with band Of
I brOnChOs, and I could not catch him.
I Ter pinto pony was grazing with the
/ band She called him TO her and cut
my saddle horse ont Of the herd.
Then she cut strips from her blanket,
which l fashioned into a bridal. She
/ babe me make haste. and 1 beckOned
/ her TO follow. For a moment she fall
/ tered. then refused to come. saying
/ they would miss me sooner il she went
| alOng-that I must fly.
I left her standing by the acequia
/ and headed for the rim rock that lay
| a long days journey eastward beyond
\ the valley. All night 1 travelled and
/ until evening ,he next day, camping
on the crest of the rim rock with the
/ pine forest that extends q hundred
/ miles southwark TO Fort Verde spread
out 1000 feet below. 1 had come with
ont food and was TOO weak to make theI
. descent that day, so lay down to sleep.
I awakened a Mocui captive. They
bound me hand and foot. Their jury
had already tried my case at the estut,
aud now my captors proceeded to exc
cute it's sentence They selected two
scrubby juniper bushes that grew some
ten feet apart on this rocky cliff and
laid me on the ground between them.
Then they dashed rawhide riatas to my
. wrists and ankles. making the free
I ends fast TO the juniper bushes, so that
/ l was extended between them, for the
/ ropes were drawn so tight I could
/ scarcely roll over on the ground where
/ 1 lay. Next they brought q rattle
snake. long as a carbine. and secured