The Destruction of the Vahahkkees

p. 154

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE VAHAHKKEES

(The Pima plural of vah-ahk-kee is vahp-ahk-kee, but I have made all plurals English, as more understandable.)

AND after this they were not sick any more, and they came to the Gila Country, to Ee-ee-toy's land, the Land of the Vahahkkees, and here they divided themselves into four parties, of which one went south; but the doctors united them all by "The Light," so that they would know about each other in case there was a battle in which any needed assistance.

And as they came into this country the people there were stirred up with alarm, and the great doctor who lived at Casa Blanca, whose name was Tcheu-tchick-a-dah-tai Seeven, sent his son to Stcheuadack Seeven, at Casa Grande, to enquire if there were any prophecies that he knew of about the coming of this great invading army.

So the boy went, but just before he got there he heard a frog, a big one, which Stcheuadack Seeven kept for a pet and to assist him in his work as a doctor, and when the boy heard the frog he was frightened, and ran back, and when his father asked what he had learned, he said: "Nothing, I heard a noise there that frightened me, so I ran home again."

And his father said: "That is nothing to be

p. 155

afraid of, that is only the voice of his pet, his frog," and he sent the boy once more.

So the boy went again, and came to Stcheuadack Seeven who asked him what his father had sent him for, and the boy replied that his father wanted to know if there were any prophecies about the coming of this enemy, and how he felt about it every evening.

When the boy returned his father asked him what Stcheuadack Seeven knew, and how he felt, and the boy said: "He does not know anything. He says he sits out every night, and hears the different animals, and enjoys their pleasant voices, and in the morning he enjoys hearing the sweet songs of the birds, and he always feels good, and does not fear anything."

So his father said: "I am well satisfied that I will not be the first to see this thing happen. It will be Stcheuadack Seeven who will first see it, and it will not be ten days before it will occur."

And in a few days Ee-ee-toy's army came to the village of Stcheuadack Seeven and killed all the people there.

And Geeaduck Seeven, who lived at Awawtkum Vahahkkee, told his people to flee: and many did so and ran to the mountains and other places, but the others who did not run away came to Geeaduck Seeven's house, and he told them to come in there.

And the enemy came, and they fought, but it was not easy for Ee-ee-toy's warriors to fight=-the

p. 156

men of Geeaduck Seeven, because they were nearly all inside, but his men managed to set fire to the house, and so destroyed it, and killed all who were therein.

Then Ee-ee-toy's men marched on, north, to where Cheof-hahvo Seeven, or Long Dipper Chief, lived, and as they marched along they sang about the places they were conquering, and they sang of the beads that they expected to get at this village, the beads called sah-vaht-kih, and there was an old woman among them who said: "When you get those beads, I want them." And so when they had conquered that vahahkkee they gave the beads to her.

And they went from there to the home of Dthas Seeven, who had a cane-cactus fence about his place, and Ee-ee-toy's men heard of this, and sang about it as they went along. And they took this place and killed Dthas Seeven.

And then they went on to where the Casa Blanca vahahkkees now are in ruins; and the great doctor who lived there, the same who had sent his boy to inquire of the prophecies, drew a magic line before his place, so that the enemy could not cross. And when Ee-ee-toy's men came to the line the earth opened, and they could not go further till one of their great doctors, by his power, had closed it, and then they could pass it.

And they had a great battle there, for the place was very strong, and hard to get into. And there was a doctor among them called Nee-hum Mah-kai,

p. 157

or Thunder Doctor, and they asked him to use his magic power to tear the place down, and he tried, but could not succeed. And they asked another, called Tchu-dun Mahkai, or Earthquake Doctor, and he tried and failed also. And then they asked another, a little man, not supposed to have much power, and he took a hair from his head, and held it up by the two ends, and sang a song, and turned it into a snake. And he sent the snake, and it struck the house, and shook it so that it broke and fell down from above. And then Ee-ee-toy's men took the place, and killed everybody there except Tcheutchickadahtai Seeven, who escaped and ran on.

And one of Ee-ee-toy's warriors pursued him, and was going to strike him with a club when he sank down, and the place where he sank was filled with a fog, so that they could not see him, and he got out on the other side and ran on. But they had a doctor called Ku-mi-wahk Mahkai, or Fog Doctor, and they had him clear away the fog and then they could see him and chased him again.

And again, when about to be struck, he sank down, and a mirage filled the place so that they could not see him, for things did not look the same. And he got out beyond, and ran on. And they had a Sas-katch Mahkai, or Mirage Doctor, who cleared away the false appearance, and again they chased him, and were about to kill him, when again he sank.

p. 158

And this time a rainbow filled the place and made him invisible, and again he ran on till their Kee-hawt Mahkai, or Rainbow Doctor, removed the rainbow.

And once more they were about to strike him when he sank, and the quivers which heat makes, called coad-jook, filled the hole, and again he got away. But they had a Coadjook Doctor, and he removed it, and then they chased him and killed him.

And they went northward again from there.

And there was a rattlesnake who had never killed an enemy, and he asked a doctor to help him do this, and the doctor told him he would. And the doctor told his pet gopher to dig a hole to the village of the doctor who lived beyond Od-chee, where is the place called Scaw-coy-enk, or Rattlesnake Village. And this doctor was the speaker of his village, and every morning stood on a big stone and in a loud voice told the people what they were to do. And the gopher dug a hole to this stone, through which the rattlesnake crawled and lay in wait under the stone. And when the doctor came out to speak to his people in the morning, the rattlesnake bit him and then slid back into his hole again. And the doctor came down from the stone, and went into his kee, and fell down there and died.

And after taking this place they marched to the place called Ko-awt-kee Oy-yee-duck, or Shell Field, where a doctor-chief lived, named Tcheunasset

p. 159

Seeven, and this place they took, and Ee-ee-toy himself killed this doctor, this being the first foe he had killed.

And they went on again to the place where Nooee lived, called Wuh-a-kutch. And Ee-ee-toy said: "When you come there you will know the man who killed me by his white leggings, and when you find him, do not kill him, but capture him, and bring him to me, and I will do what I please with him."

And Ee-ee-toy had the Eagle and the Chicken-Hawk go up in the sky to look for Noo-ee, for he said he might go up there. And the Eagle and the Chicken-Hawk found Nooee there, and caught him, and brought him to Ee-ee-toy, who took him and scalped him alive. And Nooee, after he was scalped, fell down and died, and the women came around him, rejoicing and dancing, and singing; "O why is Seeven dead!" And after awhile be began to come to life again, and lay there rolling and moaning.

And Ee-ee-toy's men went on again to a village beyond Salt River, where lived a chief who had a brother, and they were both left-handed, but famous shots with the bow. And these brothers put up the hardest fight yet encountered. But when the brothers were too hard pressed they fled to Cheof See-vick, or Tall Red Mountain, and there they kept shooting and killed a great many of Ee-ee-toy's men, who were short of arrows, after so long fighting and many of their bows broken.

p. 160

Because of this, Ee-ee-toy's men had to fall back and surround the place.

And when this happened the band that had gone to the south knew by the "Light" that it was so, and came to help them. And these had many bows and arrows, and beside brought wood to mend the broken bows, and wood to make new arrows; and when they came into the place they gave their bows and arrows to Ee-ee-toy's men and made themselves new bows from the wood they had brought. And these men were the ancestors of the Toe-hawn-awh Aw-aw-tam, the present Papagoes, and that is why to this day the Papagoes are most expert in making bows and arrows. And then the fight began again and the two brave brothers were killed.

And from there they went on to another awawtkumvahahkkee, where is now Fort McDowell, where lived another seeven whom they fought and conquered.

And from there they went on westward thru the mountains. But when they came to Kah-woet-kee, near where is now Phoenix, one of the chiefs in Ee-ee-toy's army said: "I have seen enuf of this country, and I will take this for my part and remain here." And he did so.

And the bands went on and came to the Colorado River, and there one of the great doctors, called Gaht Mahkai, or Bow Doctor, struck the river with his bow and laid it down in the water. And the water separated then so that the people

p. 161

were able to go over to the other side. And beyond the Colorado they Came to a people who lived in holes in the ground, whom they found it hard to fight, and they asked help of their Thunder Doctor, and when the people came out of their holes to fight he struck right in the midst of them, but killed only one. Then they asked help of the Earthquake Doctor, and he was able to kill only one, And these two were all they killed. And these people were called Choo-chawf Aw-aw-tam, or the Foxes, because they lived in holes.

And after the army failed to conquer the Foxes they returned across the Colorado River, near where is now Yuma. And here again the Bow Doctor divided the water for them. But before all the bands were across the waters closed, and some were left behind. And these called to those who were across to have the Bow Doctor hit the waters again, that they also might get there. But those who were across would not do this, but told them that there was plenty of land where they were that would make them a comfortable home. And those left there were the ancestors of the present Yumas and Maricopas.