Little Umwa had died a few weeks before, so every day Massea, Ama, and the children went to see the eagles. Docas always took them something to eat.
“Tell Umwa we love her still,” said Docas to the eagles.
“Tell Umwa I’ll take good care of her if she will come back,” said Heema.
“Tell Umwa ’Lachu want to play,” said little Alachu.
The father and mother also, told the eagles many things to tell their baby, for the Indians thought that the eagles would see Umwa, and could talk to her after they were killed.
The men built a very large brush hut, large enough to hold all the Indians in the village. At the end of two weeks, Massea said, “Now we will build a fire in the big hut.”
As the sun set they began dancing around the fire, and danced all night until almost sunrise. Each carried in his hands a bunch of owl feathers tied to a stick, with rattles from a rattlesnake in among the feathers. Whenever the bunch was shaken it made a rattling noise.
Several times during the night Massea threw baskets on the fire. Sometimes the baskets rolled off without burning. Massea put those baskets into the laps of women who were sitting near the fire, saying to them, “Give these baskets to the poor people.”
This went on till sunrise, and then the fire was made to burn very brightly. The eagles were killed and their bodies were laid on the fire. As the bodies burned, Massea danced more wildly than ever, shaking the rattle even more rapidly. And all the time he kept calling, “Don’t forget to tell Umwa.”
