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how
it happened. We know that they began to use flying canoes. At first they were
not large, these silvery ships with wings. They moved with a slight whirring
sound, and a dipping movement, like an eagle.
"The passing centuries brought other
changes. Tribe after tribe swept across the land, fighting to possess it for
awhile and passing like the storm of sand. In their mountain city still in the
caverns, the Hav-musuvs dwelt in peace, far removed from the conflict.
Sometimes they were seen at a distance in their flying ships or riding on the
snowy-white animals which took them from ledge to ledge up the cliff. We have
never seen these strange animals at any other place. To these people the
passing centuries brought only larger and larger ships, moving always more
silently."
"Have you ever seen a Hav-musuv?"
(The Navajo asked...)
"No.. but we have many stories of
them. There are reasons why one does not
become too curious."
"Reasons?"
"Yes. These strange people have
weapons. One is a small tube which stuns one with a prickly feeling like a rain
of cactus needles. One cannot move for hours, and during this time the
mysterious ones vanish up the cliffs. The other weapon is deadly. It is a long,
silvery tube. When this is pointed at you, death follows immediately..."
"But tell me about these people. What do they look like and how do they
dress?" (the Navajo asked).
"They are a beautiful people. Their
skin is a golden tint, and a head band holds back their long dark hair. They
dress always in a white fine-spun garment which wraps around them and is draped
upon one shoulder. Pale sandles are worn upon their feet..."
His voice trailed away in a puff of smoke. The purple shadows rising up the wallS of the Funerals