Note 2 — THE YOUTH AND HIS EAGLE

This curious conception of the food of the storks and cranes and pelicans, for of such birds the folk-tale tells, is interesting. It is doubtless an attempt to explain what has been observed with relation to the pelicans and the storks especially: that they consume their food raw, and, as the Indian believes, cook it, as it were, in their own bodies, and then withdraw it, either for their young or for their final consumption. As this semi-digested food of such birds resembles very nearly the thick bean stews of the Zuñis, they have evidently taken from it the suggestion for the special kinds of food which were offered to the youth. Back