led. The first matter to decide was the
number of songs to be sung. Some wished fourteen, others thought twelve
sufficient. Hasche{~COMBINING BREVE~}lti, Talking God, sang the songs and chose to sing
fourteen. When he had finished, each of the Holy People sang six songs,
making in all two hundred and eighty-two. An entire night was thus
consumed. At dawn Astse Estsan came into the hogan with a white-shell bowl
containing yucca root, a black _tozus_, or water bottle, containing black
rain, and a blue one with blue rain. From each bottle she poured a little
water upon the yucca root and proceeded to wash Yolkai Estsan and all her
finery. That done, Yolkai Estsan was directed to run toward the rising sun
for a short distance and return. Many of the young people followed, a
chosen singer chanting eight songs during their absence. The ceremony
finished, the assemblage returned to their homes, each of the selected
singers taking one of the blankets from the seat in return for his
services.

Although all the people then on earth were of the Digi{~COMBINING BREVE~}n, only a few had
god-like powers, particularly First Man, First Woman, Yolkai Estsan, and
the Winds. The lesser Holy Ones worked much in clay, making pottery and
adobe houses. The designs they used in their earthenware, however, were of
a sacred nature, to be used only in ceremonials, and when the Fox, Wolf,
Badger, Bird, and many other people repeatedly employed sacred symbols to
adorn their cooking pots, First Man and his wife became very angry and
called a council, which, in addition to themselves, was attended by
Chehonaai, Yolkai Estsan, and Ni{~COMBINING BREVE~}lchi, the Wind People.

The wicked people had homes throughout the land, many of which were built
of stone, upon the plains, and others in the cliffs. The councillors
decided that these people and their homes must be destroyed, but how to
effect this was a problem.

First Woman and Chehonaai thought it would be wise to give birth to
demoniac monsters and let them devour the evil ones, but First Man
objected, and finally the council agreed that the Winds should perform the
task by bringing forth a devastating storm. The faithful were warned and
given time to seek refuge under the water, inside the sacred mountains, in
the higher cliffs, and in the sky. Then the Winds came. For four days
terrific storms raged, hurling men and trees and houses through the air
like leaves. When they abated hundreds of house