The informant describes the legend of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe; a legend from his Jewish summer camp that he went to in the valley of Colorado.  The Jewish camp is for campers ranging from ages eight to sixteen.  This tradition has value for him because he has partaken in it for many years and holds it as a fond memory of camp.  The story is also meant to promote cooperation between campers and unity.

There is a big rock formation out of nowhere that appears to have been placed there near his camp.  The story goes that there was an Indian tribe that lived there and the chief had three sons.  Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe was the chief and he left the kingdom to his three sons who each was skilled in a different thing.  After the chief left the sons argued and battled for power over the kingdom.  In the end the three sons ended up cooperating.  It is believed that the spirit of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe will always bring the camp together. 

After the legend of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe is told the entire camp yells together: “Waaaaaaa-taaaaaa-hoteeeee-a-hoeeeee.”  Then a counselor goes way behind a cave and ten seconds later gives a response of: “Waaaa-taaa-hoteee-a-hoeee.”

The story of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe demonstrates the purposes of legends to sometimes promote positive ideas for a group of people.  It is evident that the summer camp uses the story of the chief to instill the idea of cooperation and unity into the campers.  It is interesting to note that the camp uses a physical piece of its landscape to develop stories around it.  It is interesting to note that the legend is effective with younger children.