Analy High School - Azalea Yearbook (Sebastopol, CA)

Page 22 text:

The wigwams were closed and the Indian village seemed to be sleeping. Suddenly the flaps on one of the wigwams were cast aside and Ajidauno slipped out into the moonlight so quietly that hardly a sound was made. Turning to the left, he crept into the sagebrush that skirted the village. Out into the night the silvery laughter of an Indian maid rang softly, followed by the deep voice of a warrior. Instantly Ajidauno recognized them as Chitani and Agu. Realizing that his opportunity for revenge had come, Ajidauno fell on his stomach and crept in that direction. As he drew nearer he could hear their voices more distinctly. Soon he was peeping thru the sagebrush and aiming his arrow at the white breast of Agu. For an instant a wave of his old love for Agu swept over him, but for an instant only, for he fought that down, steadied his hand and pulled the string. Suddenly all the Indians in the village were awakened by a wild scream which quivered thru the startled air. Quickly everybody ran outside until the village was swarming with Indians, each one yelling or asking questions. Chitani bent over the now still figure of Agu and whispered his farewell to her. Seeing that Agu was no longer living, Chitani picked up his weapon, a sharp pointed knife, and went to avenge her death. Ajidauno’s thoughts had gone no further than the mo¬ ment of his revenge; he had not planned on escaping from Chitani’s vengeance. Hardly daring to breathe, he lay quite still until he saw that Chitani was making straight for the bush from which his arrow flew. Knowing that he was no match for Chitani, Ajidauno fled toward the village. A short combat was fought after Chitani had overtaken Ajidauno, but soon the latter lay st retched out on the sands, the blood streaming from his chest. “Oh, Agu! Agu!” cried Chitani, “Thou and I are parted forever. My immortality is but a curse now. Oh, if I were only as easy away from the world as mortal men! If this knife would only end my life as easily as it has ended Ajidauno’s! But no longer will I live with other men. No longer will T enjoy the adventures of war. I will only pine and think of you hereafter!” With that he turned and ran into the desert. The speechless Indians wondered silently at this strange incident. Page 14

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' Cfje Snbtan Propfjecp By MARTHA HANEGRESS. ' 24 [ FIRST AWARD ] M 0 ONE in the little Indian village on the edge of the Mohave Desert knew where Chitani came from. Chitani was very tall and strong, and he had fought in many battles. In the evening around the fire he would tell of his adventures in war and show the scars from the wounds that the foe had given him. “He must be old, very old,” said the wise medicine man, “for he has fought in so many battles and he has had more ad¬ ventures than one man can get in a hundred summers. The Gods must have given him eternal youth, for a mortal man would have died from so many of those wounds that he has received. ’ So it was rumored around the village that Chitani had been made immortal by the Gods and that he was hundreds of years old, altho he had the strength and nature of youth. “No arrow can inflict a death wound upon him,” they said, “and no disease can weaken him.” The little children looked upon him as a God and the elders all loved and respected him. But no, not every one loved him and respected him! Ajidauno, a tall, lithe youth, despised him with all the fiery passion of his nature. Ajidauno could see that Agu, the maiden he loved, was slighting him and favoring Chitani, who also wooed her. Secretly in his heart he had long plotted revenge. Believing that he could not kill Chitani he wickedly planned to murder Agu, knowing that her death would grieve Chitani more than anything else in the world, and he could not follow her to the Happy Hunting Grounds. The summer moonlight was streaming steadily down ward, making the sands of the Mohave Desert a dazzling white. Everything was quiet; not even a breeze was stirring. Page t 3

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After burying the two dead bodies, they asked the wise medi¬ cine man, who was supposed to know everything, if Cliitani would wander about the desert forever and ever. The wise medicine men stayed in their dark cave many days and nights and when they came out they said: “The Gods will not make Chitani roam the desert forever. Their gift of immortality is now a curse. When the desert thru which he roams is fertile, Chitani shall go to the Happy Hunting Grounds.” Often, in the night time, the Indians heard long-drawn wails and sighs. “That is Chitani,” they would say. ‘,He is still roaming o’er the desert. But when the desert is fertile he will join Agu. ’ ’ The legend was handed down from generation to genera¬ tion and the baying of the coyotes was always thought to be the wailing of Chitani. Now there are but few Indians in California. Perhaps they do not know this legend, but those that do will probably tell you. The wailing is no longer he,ard in the South, for our desert is nearly gone. In the Imperial Valley fertile farms take up every acre. The Colorado river is irrigating the Mo¬ have Desert. The white man might think he is wise and did it all, but the Gods helped him, for they were sorry for Chitani. Now Chitani is joyfully wandering hand in hand with Agu thru the Happy Hunting Grounds. Page 15