f
in the forest above the Rito. A clinking and crackling followed, as if a
mass of scoria were shattered, then a deafening peal shook the cliffs to
the very foundations. A strong gust of wind swept down the gorge. It
caused the tall pines to shake, and the shrubbery surged in the blast.
In the nooks and angles of the cliffs the wind whirled, raising clouds
of dust and sand. Raindrops began to fall, large and sparse at first,
afterward smaller but thick and fast. The first rain of the season
poured down upon the Rito de los Frijoles.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 9: A clear definition of the Shiuana is not easy to give. In a
general sense, they might be called the "spirits of the Fetiches." As
everything strange, unusual, or inexplicable is attributed to spiritual
origin, the numbers of the Shiuana are very great. Even the pictures of
the sun-father, of the moon-mother, etc., are Shiuana, in the sense of
their supposed spiritual connection with the deified beings they
represent.]

CHAPTER VIII.

Shotaye had taken no part in the great dance, and no one had missed her.
It was known that whenever the Koshare appeared in public she was
certain to stay at home. In point of fact she seldom left her cell,
unless it was to ascend one of the mesas for the purpose of gathering
medicinal herbs. Shotaye enjoyed the reputation of being a strange and
even mysterious being; and so long as her services were not absolutely
required, nobody cared to intrude upon her. Nevertheless, she often
received visitors of the male sex. She despised men most thoroughly, but
accepted their attentions if profitable.

On the day following the ayash tyucotz Shotaye left her cave in quest of
vegetable medicaments. We have seen how she met Okoya, and how they
greeted one another. The boy's sullen manner amused her; she attributed
his morose ways to the effects of an over-lively night. Onward she went,
down to the edge of the brook, then turned to the right up the course of
the streamlet. That the skies threatened to become overcast and that
rain might overtake her during the day mattered little. Whenever the
Indian is bent upon the performance of some task, sunshine or rain,
moonlight or snow, are matters of indifference. Shotaye strolled on
regardless of things above or below. People were of as little interest
to her as the clouds. The latter could do her errand no harm, and that
errand everybody might know if they chose to follow her.

Wandering