Creation Myths of Primitive America Part 26

"When a man dies, his friends will put mempak on him, like this which I have around my neck, and an otter-skin band around his head, and give him a quiver, dress him, and then put him in the ground. When a man goes to some place, a grizzly bear may catch and kill him, or a rattlesnake will bite and kill him, and when people fight they will use flint and kill one another. People will get angry and fight. When there is a gathering, somebody will come running in and say, 'People over there are fighting.' Those inside will hurry to see, and will find a man killed, and say, 'A good man is killed;' then they will punish the others for killing him."

The two brothers sat there, made no answer.

"Well, my grandsons," continued Sedit, "I know that what I tell you is right. What do you think?"

The brothers said nothing at first. They thought and thought. After a while the elder looked at Sedit and said,--

"I think what you say is better. I think that it is right. I suppose it is true. I believe that you are old enough and ought to know. I think that you are right."

"Grandfather," said the younger brother, "would you like to die, too, the same as others, and be lying in the ground and not rise any more; never go around with an otter-skin band on your head, and a beautiful quiver at your back, and fine things such as you are wearing to-day?

You want others to die; you want death in the world. What would you say if you had to die yourself? You want all the coming people to die, and all living things hereafter to die and be gone from here. Olelbis does not want any one to die, but you want all living things on this earth to die. You want to spoil all the work which Olelbis sent us down here to do."

When the younger brother said this, the two stood up and walked off a little way, and Sedit said,--

"My grandsons, come back, come back. We have not finished talking yet.

We must talk more. We will talk this all over again. Come back, my grandsons, come back."

But the two brothers did not turn back; they walked on, walked toward the east always--said nothing. After a time they turned and went to where their road was. They pulled out some great stones, and the whole road fell to the ground.

The two brothers flew up then, circling around for a while. They went higher and higher, till at last they disappeared and went to Olelpanti.

Sedit saw them fly up, watched them till they disappeared. He stood looking around for a long time. At last he said,--

"What am I to do now? I wish I had not said all that, I wish I had not said so much. I wish I had not said anything."

He stood around there and kept repeating: "What am I to do now? I am sorry. Why did I talk so much? Hus asked me if I wanted to die. He said that all on earth here will have to die now. That is what Hus said. I don't know what to do. What can I do?"

He looked around and found a plant with long, broad leaves, the wild sunflower. He found this plant in great plenty, and took many leaves from it. He pulled off all his fine clothes, threw them aside, then stuck the leaves into his body, all the way up and down his legs, body, and arms, and said,--

"Now I will go up to Olelpanti. I am not going to stay down here where people die. I am going up to the place where the Hus brothers went."

He made a tail of leaves; then he rose and flew around and around, rose pretty high; the leaves began to get dry and break one after another. After a while Sedit, whirling round and round, came down with great force, struck the ground, and was crushed to pieces.

The Hus brothers went up to Olelpanti. Olelbis said,--

"There are rocks at the south not far from the sweat-house; go there and stay."

Olelbis looked down, and saw Sedit trying to fly to Olelpanti; he saw him fall.

"It is his own fault," said Olelbis. "Sedit is the first to die, killed by his own words; hereafter all his people will fall around and die and be found dead at roadsides and places where people pa.s.s. The people to come will see them there."

The name of the place where the ruined road was is Sonomyai.

Our Wintu people say that ever since white men settled in the country they have been drawing away the stones which the Hus brothers piled up. They have taken them as far as fifteen miles to build chimneys.

HAWT

PERSONAGES

After each name is given that of the beast, bird, or thing into which the personage was changed subsequently.

=Chirchihas=, mountain squirrel (red); =Handokmit=, striped snake; =Hau=, red fox; =Hawt=, eel; =Hus=, turkey buzzard; =Kanhlalas=, weasel; =Karkit=, raven; =Kinus=, wood dove; =Kiriu=, loon; =Lutchi=, humming-bird; =Memtulit=, otter; =Murope=, bull snake; =Nomhawena=, ----; =Nop=, deer; =Patkilis=, jack rabbit; =Pat.i.t=, panther; =Sedit=, coyote; =Tichelis=, ground squirrel; =Tsaik=, bluejay; =Tsararok=, kingfisher; =Tsaroki Sakahl=, brown-green snake; =Tsihl=, black bear; =Tsileu=, yellowhammer; =Tsudi=, mouse; =Tunhlucha=, frog; =Waida Dikit=, Dolly Varden trout; =Waida Werris=, Polar star; =Wai Hau=, silver-gray fox; =Waiti=, north side; =Watwut=, mountain bluejay; =Wima=, grizzly bear; =Yipokos=, black fox.

On the south side of Bohem Puyuk is a small mountain called Tede Puyuk. Near that small mountain lived Waida Dikit Kiemila. He lived all alone, without neighbors. There was no house near his. He lived long in that place, thinking what was best for him to do, thinking, thinking. After a great while he thought: "The best thing to do is to build a sweat-house."

He built a sweat-house about a mile west of the place where he was living. When he had finished, he took a kind of red earth and painted the eastern half of the house red on the outside. The western half he painted green with paint made from leaves of bushes. After he had painted the western half, all the different kinds of bushes whose leaves he had used for paint grew out of that side of the sweat-house.

The sweat-house was ready for use now, and Waida Dikit went to see a man, Tsaroki Sakahl, who lived farther south.

"My grandson," said Waida Dikit, "I wish you would come up and stay in my house. I have no one to keep me company. I wish you would come and live with me."

"I will go with you," said Tsaroki, and he went to live with the old man.

Waida Dikit had not told Tsaroki of the sweat-house, he took him to the old house. After two or three nights Waida Dikit said,--

"My grandson, what shall we do? What would you like to do? What will be best for us? We must talk about something. There should be something for us to talk about. We must have something to say."

"Well," said Tsaroki, "I think that you want what is best; you want to see somebody, to see something. I think that is what you want. I think I know what you want. The best way to get what you want is to build a sweat-house."

"That is wise talk, my grandson, I like to hear it. I have a sweat-house built--all finished."

"Where is it?" asked Tsaroki.

"I will show it to you soon," answered Waida Dikit.

Putting his hand behind him, he picked up a small basket, took out yellow paint with his thumb and forefinger, and drew a yellow streak from Tsaroki's head down his back. The young man had been all green; now there was yellow on his back. Next Waida Dikit took a net woven of gra.s.s fibre, like a woman's hair net, and put it on Tsaroki's head.

"You are ready now," said he. Then he led him out of the house and said, pointing to the west,--

"Look! There is our sweat-house. Now, my grandson, I am going to take you to that house. The east side is painted red. When we are there, don't go near the sweat-house on this eastern side; pa.s.s by, but not too near, a little way off. When we go in I will take the eastern half and stay in it; you will take the other half and stay on the western side, where there is green paint. That is where you are to lie, on the green side."

They started. The old man walked ahead. When they went in, Waida Dikit took the eastern half of the house and Tsaroki the western. The young man sat down, and then Waida Dikit took a pipe which was in the sweat-house.

"My grandson," said he, "you will find a pipe right there on your side of the house and a sack of tobacco. You may smoke if you wish."

Tsaroki took the pipe, looked at it, liked it well. This pipe was from Wai Hola Puyuk. When he drew in the smoke and puffed out the first whiff, the whole house was filled so that nothing was seen in it.

Waida Dikit put his head outside the door. There was smoke outside everywhere. He could see nothing. Then he turned back and said,--

"My grandson, you are a good man. You are a strong man. You smoke well. This will do for the first time.--If he does that again,"

thought the old man, "there will be nothing seen in this world; all will be covered with smoke;" and he said, "You are a strong man; that is enough for this time."

"I should like to know why he says, 'That is enough.' What does he want to do with me?" thought Tsaroki. "Maybe he is trying me in some way."