The Story Of Ee-ee-toy's Army

: STORIES OF THE THIRD NIGHT
: Aw-aw-tam Indian Nights

And after Ee-ee-toy was thru speaking Juhwerta Mahkai addressed him,

and promised him his help, and that he would lead out to earth again

his people, who had sunk down before the flood, that these might

fight against the people whom Ee-ee-toy had made and who now had

turned against him.



So when his people heard this they gathered together all their property

that they could carry, to take to earth with the .



And Juhwerta Mahkai said to Ee-ee-toy: "You go ahead of the people

and I will follow."



And they went out in bands.



The first band was called the Mah-mahk-Gum. These were led by

Ee-ee-toy, and their color was red.



The second band was called Ah-pah-pah Gum. And their colors were

white and yellow.



The third band was called Vah-vah Gum. And their color was red.



The fourth band was called Ah-pah-kee Gum. And their colors were

white and yellow.



The fifth band was called Aw-glee Gum. And their color was red.



And the sixth band was called Ah-pel-ee Gum. And their colors were

white and yellow.



And these bands were so called because it was by these names they

called their fathers.



As they were going to start they sent the Yellow Gopher ahead to open

a way for them to this earth.



And the gyih-haws were loaded with their belongings, and stood up

beside the ranks. And the bands went thru, one by one.



And when the fifth band was partly thru Toe-hahvs looked back and saw

the gyih-haws walking beside the ranks, and he was amused and said:

"I don't think there will be enemies enuf for us to kill, we are

so many, and there are these other things, beside us, that look so

funny." And he began to laugh.



And as soon as he laughed the gyih-haws stopped walking, and ever since

they have never walked, and the women have been obliged to carry them.



And after these words, too, the earth closed up, so that the sixth

band and part of the fifth band were left behind. And Juhwerta Mahkai

was left behind, also, and only Ee-ee-toy and Toe-hahvs, and some

other powerful men, went thru to lead the people.



And after they had come out a little way they came to a place called

the White Earth. And Ee-ee-toy stopped then and the others camped

with him.



And there the powerful men all sang, and the people joined in, and

all dressed themselves in their war-bonnets, and attired themselves

for war, and had a great war dance together.



And they went on again, another journey, and camped at the place

called Black Mountain, and again sang and danced a war dance.



So they went on, slowly, camping at one place, sometimes, for many

days or several weeks, making their living by hunting game.



And whenever they stopped they sent scouts and spies ahead to look out

for the next stopping-place, so that they might go ahead safely. And

this went on for many years.



And there were no deer in those days, and Ee-ee-toy said to the

wood-rat: "Let me make a deer of you." And the wood-rat said:

"Moevah Sophwah" (all right). But when Ee-ee-toy took out his knife

and began to cut at his skin to change him into a deer, he cried out

so hard that Ee-ee-toy let him go. And you may see the knife mark on

his chest and neck to this day.



And Ee-ee-toy asked another rat, the little one with coarse hair,

called Geo-wauk-kuh-wah-paw-kum, if he might make him into a deer,

and the little rat said "Moevah Sophwah!" And this little rat was

brave, and let Ee-ee-toy cut and change him, and he became a deer. And

Ee-ee-toy said: "You shall not be like some animals, that love to roam

all over, you shall love only one spot and wish to stay there." And

that is why, to this day, the deer do not care to leave their own

places and wander as coyotes do.



So there were now plenty of deer, and the people had something new

to live upon.



And there were two brothers who were especially good at hunting

the deer. Their names were Hay-mohl and Soo-a-dack Cee-a-vawt. And

they hunted as the people marched, and kept them well supplied with

deer-meat.



And there was a doctor among them who took the ears and tail of the

deer and worked such witchcraft on them that the deer could hide

away so well that the hunters could not see them. They hunted, as

the people journeyed along, but all in vain.



And the hunters in their trouble sought to get help from a doctor,

and they happened to go to the very one who had helped the deer, and

they told him they wanted help to find the deer, for the children

were crying and hungry and they wanted meat to feed them. And the

doctor said: "I guess the trouble is that you look for the deer in

the old places, where you have already killed them. If you will hunt

for them in the 'cheeks' (the outlying flanks) of our line of march,

you will find them." And the hunters hunted for the deer in the cheeks

but could not find them.



And they went that evening to the same doctor and told him of their

bad luck, and the doctor said: "If you will look for them next time

in the little valleys between the hills, I think, you will find them,

for they like to go there."



And the hunters went the next day and looked in the little valleys,

but could not find the deer, and they came that evening and told the

doctor of their bad luck. And he said: "If you hear of anyone who

chances to kill a deer, even if it is only a fawn, bring me the tips

of its ears, and of its tail, and of its nose."



And the doctor said: "I want you to bring me these because a deer

feels first with his tail that some one is after him, and, second,

hears with his ears that some one is near, and, third, smells danger

with his nose. And that is why I want you to bring me these."



The next day these brothers were in a crowd and heard that a fawn

had been killed, and went to it and cut off the tips of its tail and

of its ears and of its nose and brought these to the doctor. And the

doctor took these, and then he took those which he had used at first

to hide the deer with, and with these in his hand he began to sing.



And in his song he asked one of the brothers, Haymohl, for the

turquoise earrings which he wore; and then he asked Sooadack Ceeavawt

for the beads which were around his neck. But the brothers kept on

listening to his song and did not understand what he meant.



And he told them to hunt the next day near the crowd of people,

and they did so and killed a fawn, and took it home and had meat

with their family. And then they went again to the doctor; who again

sang his song, asking for the same gifts. And this time the brothers

understood him and Haymohl said: "O, I never thought of these," and

took off his ear rings and gave them to him. And Sooadack Ceeavawt

took off his necklace of beads and gave them to him. And the doctor

told them that the next day they were to hunt near the crowd, and they

would find plenty of deer anywhere they might hunt for them. And he

went to where the fawn skin was, and took pieces of its skin and made

medicine-bags for the brothers, out of the cheek pieces of the fawn

stretched out and made into soft buckskin, and filled these with the

scrapings of the buckskin and the tips of the fawn's ears and of his

tail and nose and gave one to each of the brothers.



And the brothers took these bags, and wore them at their belts, and

the next day they went out hunting and in a little while killed a

deer, and went on a little further and killed another, and after that

found plenty of deer; and from that time on the people had plenty of

venison again.



And the people marched on in the order of their villages; and a member

of one village, a woman, was taken sick, and her fellow-villagers

stayed with her to take care of her, and the rest of the army marched

on, leaving this village behind. And these remained with her till

she died, and buried her, and then journeyed on till they overtook

the others.



And as they traveled a pestilence broke out, a sickness which spread

thru all the villages and delayed them. But a doctor told them to

kill a doe and have a big dance, the dance that is called "Tramping

Down the Sickness," that the sick might get well. And they did this

and all their sick ones recovered.









THE FIRST SONG OF EE-EE-TOY'S ARMY



The White Earth I come to and sing;

Where many war-bonnets are shaking with the wind;

There we come together to dance and to sing.









THE DOCTOR'S SONG TO THE HUNTERS



Sahn-a-mahl! [5]

Haymohl give me the necklace!

Sooadack Ceeavawt give me the turquoise ear-rings!