Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

Quechan storytelling is not yet a lost art, but it is well on the way to becoming one. The decline is comparatively recent. Even people in their 30's, as well as those older than that, remember with pleasure being put to sleep by tales told by their elders, and when a storyteller is now available who will narrate such tales, there are always eager listeners to hear him. At the present time, however, the number of narrators who are confident of their ability to tell the stories is small indeed.