Page 252 - TheHopiIndians

244 MESA FOLK OF HOPILAND
subject of jest. The cook was reauy an adept at snor
ing and the still watches of the desert night were often
too vocal. Wupa used to sing out "Dawa yam it.
Kook!" "Daybreak, cook!'' followed by a fine imita
tion of snoring which the subject of the jest did not
enjoy. But Wupa was at his best when prospecting
an ancient ruin to locate the most promising place to
dig for relics. At such times his gravity and wisdom
fairly bulged out. His advice was clearly and forci
bly given, but the nemesis of humorists followed him,
and no one ever thought of taking him seriously. And
he never seemed disappointed. Wupa is a true hu
morist, without bitterness, one to be laughed at and
loved. He was almost tearful at parting and made
many protestations of friendship, at the same time
presenting two watermelons from his field. These
melons were unripe, according to un-Hopi standards,
but were received in the spirit in which they were
given, and later some natives met on the road to
Ream's Canyon had an unexpected feast.
The romance of Wupa's devotion to his Mexican
senora and the fine flavor of constancy he showed to
ward her received a rude shattering the year after
the commencement of this account. He took unto
himself a Hopi helpmeet, — an albino, — and a whim
sical pair they looked when they came to the Snake
Dance the following summer.
This step of Wupa's, in view of the repeated con
fidences that Hopi maidens were not to his taste any