He worried about that as well.
She laughed and tossed her head. 'I think I'll find myself a husband.
Did you know that during a rain dance the woman may choose? The rest of the time, the men do the choosing.'
'I hope you choose well,' Father John said seriously.
He had seen several instances of unwise choices. Young women with their newfound jobs and independence were finding partners for themselves rather than following the old ways and letting their families do the negotiating. As a result, there was a growing problem with out-of-wedlock pregnancies. In addition, there were more and more cases where young fathers simply walked away from familial responsibilities.
'Maybe I'll choose you,' Rita said with a mischievous smile.
Father John flushed. Dancing Quail always laughed at him when his ears turned red like that.
'I've already explained that to you,' he said seriously.
'Priests don't marry.'
'But what about that new priest, the Pre ... pre. .
She stumbled over the long, unfamiliar word.
'Presbyterian?' Father John supplied.
'Yes. What about that new Reverend Hobson? He's a priest with a wife and three children.'
'He's not a priest,' Father John explained. 'He's a pastor-a Protestant, not a Catholic. Pastors marry. Priests don't.'
'I don't understand,' Rita said with a frown. 'You're all from the same tribe, aren't you?'
Father John had never before considered the issue in quite those terms.
'Yes,' he answered. 'Yes and no.'
The first giant cactus, Hahshani, was a very strange thing. Growing up over the spot where Coyote had buried the little boy's bones, he was tall and thick and soft, shooting straight up out of the ground until he finally sprouted arnu.
The people and animals were curious, and they all came to look at him.
The children played around Hahshani and stuck sticks into him. This hurt Giant Cactus, so he put out long, sharp needles to keep them away.
Then the children shot arrows into him. This made Hahshani very angry, so he sank into the ground and went away to a place where no one could find him.
After Giant Cactus disappeared, the people were sorry and began looking for him. Finally Crow, who was flying over Giwho Tho'ag or Burden Basket Mountain, came back and told the people he had found the cactus hiding in a place where no animals ever went and where no people hunted.
The people called a council. Afterward, the chief told the people to prepare four large baskets, then he told Crow to take the baskets and fly back to Hahshani. When Crow reached Giant Cactus, Hahshani was covered with red, juicy fruit. As the chief had directed, Crow loaded the fruit into the baskets and took it back to the People.
Crow placed the fruit in ollas that were filled with water, and then the ollas were set on the fire, where they were kept boiling from sunrise to sunset.
For four days, they cooked the fruit, and when it was finished, the chief told the people to prepare for a great wine feast. The people were puzzled because they had never tasted wine before. So all the people-Indians, animals, and bird&-gathered around to drink the wine.
At the feast, everyone drank so much that they began to do silly things.
Grasshopper pulled off one of his legs and wore it as a headdress.
Nighthawk saw this and laughed so hard that his mouth split wide open.
Since then, Nighthawk is so embarrassed by his big mouth that he only flies at night. Some of the other birds were so drunk that they began fighting and pulling out each other's feathers. That is why some of them still have bloody heads to this day.
When the chief saw all this fighting, he decided that there would be no more wine feasts, so he carefully gathered up all the Giant Cactus seeds and gave them to a messenger to take far away. The people didn't like this, so they sent Coyote after Messenger.
Coyote asked Messenger to show him what was in his hand. Messenger said no, but Coyote begged for one little peck, and finally, after much coaxing, Messenger gave in.
He opened his hand, just the slightest bit. As soon as he did, Coyote struck his hand, and the seeds of Hahshani flew far into the air.
The wind was coming from the north. Wind caught Hahshani's seeds and carried them up over the mountaintops, scattering them on the south sides of the mountains.
And that is why, to this day, Giant Cactus grows only on the south sides of the mountains. And since then, every year, the people have held the feast of the cactus wine.
The night was cooling fast. In the desert outside Sells, a coyote howled and was answered by a chorus of village dogs. It was a pleasant, peaceful sound that made both Papago men feel relaxed and at home.
For some time, Looks At Nothing sat smoking the wiw, the wild tobacco, and saying nothing. Fat Crack admired the old man's concentration and stubbornness He had beard stories about how the injured Looks At Nothing, returning to the reservation from Ajo, had shunned the white man's ways, including alcohol and store- bought tobacco and cigarettes.
