The Hopi Indians

by Walter Hough

Over the plains and through the mountains roamed the Giant Elk. Many times larger was he than an ordinary elk, and an enemy to the Hopi, whom he slew with his great horns, laughing at their arrows and flint knives.

No one was safe from this roaming monster, enemy to living beings, so the Twins set out to have a trial of strength and skill with him. As it chanced, the Giant Elk was lying down in a beautiful valley, under the aspen trees of the San Francisco Mountains. Near the house of the Youths was this valley, and as they sought to stalk the Giant Elk the Mole met them and said, “Do not encounter him, for he is mighty and may kill you; wait here and I will help you.”

The Mole then excavated four chambers in the earth, one below another, and made the Twins remain in the upper one. He dug a long tunnel and coming up under the Elk, plucked a little soft hair from over his heart, at which the Elk turned his head and looked down, but the Mole said, “Be not angry, I only want a little soft hair to make a bed for my children.” So the Elk allowed him to continue the plucking. But the Mole took away enough fur to leave the skin quite bare over the heart, and expose the Elk to death. He then returned to the Twins and told them what he had done, and they threw bolts of lightning and wounded the Elk, who sprang to his feet and charged fiercely. But the Twins concealed themselves in the upper chamber, and when the Elk tried to gore them his horns were not long enough; again he charged, and thrust his horns downward, but the Twins had safely retreated to the second chamber; again he tried to reach them, but they were safe in the third room. They retreated to the fourth chamber, and when the Elk made another attempt he fell dead.

The Chipmunk who had witnessed the fight hurried up, and after thanking the Twins said he had come to show them how to cut up the monster’s body, which with his sharp teeth he soon accomplished. One of the Twins thanked Chipmunk, and, stooping, he dipped the tips of the first two fingers of his right hand in the Elk’s blood and drawing them along the body of the Chipmunk, made on it the marks which he still bears.

This is the story of how the Twins killed Chaveyo, who was a giant of the old times, clad in armor made of flint and seeking always for people to devour.

One day the Twins went to a great pool near Mt. Taylor, and soon Chaveyo came there likewise; he knelt down and drank four times, emptying the pool. He then arose and smelt the Twins and threw his weapon at them, but one of the Twins sprang in the air and as the weapon passed under him he caught it in his hand. Chaveyo then flung his lightning at the hero, but one of the Twins caught this as he had the weapon. The little war-god now flung his weapon at Chaveyo, but it glanced off his flint shirt. Then the Youth threw the lightning, but it only staggered him. After this they threw more lightning at Chaveyo, which knocked him down and killed him outright.

Another story tells how the Twins visited the sun.

The Twins lived with Spider Woman, their mother, on the west side of Mt. Taylor, and desired to see the home of their father. Spider Woman gave them as a charm a kind of meal, and directed that when they met the guardians of the home of the Sun, to chew a little and spurt it upon them.

The Twins journeyed far to the sunrise where the Sun’s home is entered through a canyon in the sky. There Bear, Mountain Lion, Snake, and Canyon Closing keep watch. The sky is solid in this place, and the walls of the entrance are constantly opening and closing, and would crush any unauthorized person who attempted to pass through.

As the Twins approached the ever-fierce watchers, the trail lay along a narrow way; they found it led them to a place on one side of which was the face of a vertical cliff, and on the other a precipice which sunk sheer to the Below (Underworld). An old man sat there, with his back against the wall and his knees drawn up close to his chin. When they attempted to pass, the old man suddenly thrust out his legs, trying to knock the passers over the cliff. But they leaped back and saved themselves, and in reply to a protest the old man said his legs were cramped and he simply extended them for relief. Whereupon the hero remembered the charm which he had for the southwest direction, and spurted it upon the old man, forcing the malignant old fellow to remain quite still with legs drawn up, until the Twins had passed.