o bring a large basket, with which she covered
the bird up, caught it and had it for many years. Every night the bird
flew away, and then returned in the morning. Once, when the woman
was absent at a tesvino feast, the girl killed the bird and roasted
it. She could not eat it, however, because it had such a bad smell, and
the woman found it on her return in the basket, dead and roasted. The
girl ran away and the raccoons ate the corn the woman was watching.

The giant woodpecker during the wet season rises high up toward the
sun; that is why he gets his tail burned.

When the Tarahumares handle any kind of fish they take care not to
touch their hair, for fear that it may turn grey and they become old.

The rattlesnakes are the companions of the sorcerers and watch to meet
them and then talk with them. A Mexican once killed a rattlesnake,
and the Indian grew very angry and said that the snake had protected
his house; now he had no one to guard it.

Large serpents, which only the shamans can see, are thought to live
in the rivers. They have horns and very big eyes.

The dragon-fly has no song; it flies about without making a noise.

Tata Dios put sheep into the world; they are good animals because they
give wool from which people can weave blankets, and their meat is good,
and they do not weep when they are killed. But goats were put into
the world by the Devil; their hair is of no use, their meat is bad,
and they howl much when they are killed.

Chapter XVII

The Shamans or Wise Men of the Tribe--Healers and Priests
in One--Disease Caused by Looks and Thoughts--Everybody and
Everything has to be Cured--Nobody Feels Well without His
"Doctor"--Sorcery--The Powers of Evil are as Great as those
of Good--Remarkable Cure for Snake-bite--Trepanning Among the
Ancient Tarahumares.

Without his shaman the Tarahumare would feel lost, both in this life
and after death. The shaman is his priest and physician. He performs
all the ceremonies and conducts all the dances and feasts by which
the gods are propitiated and evil is averted, doing all the singing,
praying, and sacrificing. By this means, and by instructing the people
what to do to make it rain and secure other benefits, he maintains
good terms for them with their deities, who are jealous of man and
bear him ill-will. He is also on the alert to keep those under his care
from sorcery, illness, and other evil that may befall them. Even