ell of a protracted migration, not
of continuous travel, for they remained for many seasons in one place,
where they would plant and build permanent houses. One of these halting
places is described as a canyon with high, steep walls, in which was a
flowing stream; this, it is said, was the Tsegi (the Navajo name for
Canyon de Chelly). Here they built a large house in a cavernous recess,
high up in the canyon wall. They tell of devoting two years[3] to ladder
making and cutting and pecking shallow holes up the steep rocky side by
which to mount to the cavern, and three years more were employed in
building the house. While this work was in progress part of the men were
planting gardens, and the women and children were gathering stones. But
no adequate reason is given for thus toiling to fit this impracticable
site for occupation; the footprints of Masauwu, which they were
following, led them there.

[Footnote 3: The term yasuna, translated here as "year," is of
rather indefinite significance; it sometimes means thirteen moons
and in other instances much longer periods.]

The legend goes on to tell that after they had lived there for a long
time a stranger happened to stray in their vicinity, who proved to be a
Hopituh, and said that he lived in the south. After some stay he left
and was accompanied by a party of the "Horn," who were to visit the land
occupied by their kindred Hopituh and return with an account of them;
but they never came back. After waiting a long time another band was
sent, who returned and said that the first emissaries had found wives
and had built houses on the brink of a beautiful canyon, not far from
the other Hopituh dwellings. After this many of the Horns grew
dissatisfied with their cavern home, dissensions arose, they left their
home, and finally they reached Tusayan. They lived at first in one of
the canyons east of the villages, in the vicinity of Keam's Canyon, and
some of the numerous ruins on its brink mark the sites of their early
houses. There seems to be no legend distinctly attaching any particular
ruin to the Horn people, although there is little doubt that the Snake
and the Horn were the two first peoples who came to the neighborhood of
the present villages. The Bear people were the next, but they arrived as
separate branches, and from opposite directions, although of the same
Hopituh stock. It has been impossible to obtain directly the legend of
the Bears from the west.