y long black hair which
never touches the ground but which floats along behind the Water Babies
when they walk. In general, these creatures look like small humans.
However, they are boneless, cold to the touch, and damp.

Between two and three thousand Water Babies live in the Sierra, according
to one informant. They inhabit lakes, streams, marshes, ponds, springs,
and irrigation ditches. They speak a language of their own but are always
able to speak Washo. With a single exception, every Washo of middle age
and over to whom I talked claimed to have at least heard Water Babies
calling from some body of water in the night. Several others claimed to
have seen Water Baby footprints (one even reporting that the footprints he
had seen were those of a female because the tracks were clearly those of
high heeled shoes!). One informant steadfastly claimed to have seen a
Water Baby, at least fleetingly, in 1956.

Two distinct attitudes about these creatures are displayed by the Washo.
Most informants openly admitted being afraid of Water Babies. If they
heard one they remained in their houses or attempted to avoid contact.
They claimed that if a person saw a Water Baby by accident, at the very
least he would be struck unconscious and greater harm, in the form of
sickness, might be inflicted on him or on one of his relatives. The
general attitude was that Water Babies were best left alone because they
were extremely powerful.

This attitude is perhaps summed up best by one of my informants, a rather
sophisticated Washo who has lived in cities for long periods and who is an
active leader in the tribe's legal battle with the federal government. He
is also a devoted peyotist who often conducts curing ceremonies and is
conceded to have a curing power. He said, "If they ever get up a bunch to
trap one of them [Water Babies], I don't want to have nothing to do with
it." When I asked why not, he replied: "Why hell, if you make one of them
things mad they'll flood the world. I just don't want nothing to do with
them. I ain't that desperate." I asked, "desperate for what?" and he
replied "for power. I like to dream about womens [sic] and things like
that, not about Water Babies and that funny stuff."

This last statement clearly indicates the other attitude about Water
Babies; they are often guardian spirits of Washo who have special power,
particularly shamanistic curing power. Another informant expressed this
other attitude about thes