Book excerpt: This collection of American Indian legends was gathered by Gene Meany Hodge from authentic sources in the 1930s and centers around the sacred supernatural personages of the American Pueblo Indians called Kachinas (pronounced Kah-chee-nahs). Mrs. Hodge wrote: “All in all the Kachinas are lovable and kindly supernaturals who bring rain and other blessings to the people.” The legends of the Kachinas are a unifying and cohesive force in the continuance of Native American social history. In these stories, you discover why Kachinas wear feathers, how Tihkuyi created the game animals, why the war chiefs abandoned latiku, how the rattlesnakes came to be what they are and other events from the past. This book makes an ideal companion to “Coyote Tales from the Indian Pueblos,” also published by Sunstone Press.