Post by Okwes on Feb 6, 2008 11:24:34 GMT -5
Flint-Man, The Search For Fire, And Loon Woman - Achomawi
At one time people had no flint for their arrows. They used bark for
arrow-points, and it did not work well. One day Ground-Squirrel determined
to get flint from Flint-Man, who owned it. So he stole away while every one
else was out hunting. He got to the house where Flint-Man lived, and went
in. He said he was hungry, and Flint-Man gave him pounded flint to eat. He
ate much of it, and then lay down to sleep. The pounded flint he had eaten
made Squirrel sick, and he defecated blood. Flint-Man saw this, and thought,
"Well, he will die." He came over and looked at Squirrel, and thought he was
dead: so he left him, and went out. As soon as he was gone, Squirrel jumped
up, for he had been shamming. He took a lot of flints, made them up in a
bundle, and ran away. Flint-Man soon saw him, and gave chase. He nearly
caught up with him, when Squirrel threw the flints into a hole in the
ground, and jumped in after them. Flint-Man came up and jumped in after him;
but Squirrel was out at the other end, and away before he could reach him.
Flint-Man gave chase again; but, as before, Squirrel jumped into a hole and
got away. Then Squirrel travelled far under ground; but when he came up,
Flint-Man saw him, and continued to chase. Five times Squirrel thus eluded
his pursuer; and then the latter gave up, and went back. Squirrel, however,
kept on under ground.
When he got back to the house, he hid the flints in the bushes, all but one,
a knife, which he tied to a string, and hung round his neck, so that it was
on his back behind, where no one could see it. He went in and sat down, but
the others had not got back from the hunt. By and by they returned, and
brought meat. They gave some to Squirrel, who secretly cut it up with his
knife. They saw this, and asked what he was doing, but he wouldn't tell
them. Next day he went out and took all the flints he had brought. He took
them to the house, and gave them to the people, giving one to each. "With
these," he said, "you can kill deer better, and can cut up the meat." Then
all day the people sat there and chipped their flints, making arrow-points.
And next day they all went out to hunt, and with the new points they killed
great quantities of deer,--so many that there were five deer apiece when
they divided up the lot, After this one day Dog went to get fire, for people
until then had eaten their food raw. He travelled far to the west, to where
Fire-Woman lived, for she owned all the fire. He climbed up on the roof of
her house, and lay quietly near the smoke-hole. The sparks came out in
crowds; and Dog held his ear over the opening, and caught a spark in it, and
so in the other ear as well. He had put a little dry tinder in his ears
before starting. Then he ran home. The fire in Fire-Woman's house began to
die down; and she said then, "Let the fire Dog carries go out." Then Bluejay
said, "Qas!" and it began to rain. Dog held his head on one side to keep the
rain out of his ear, and ran as fast as he could. When he reached the top of
the hill just west of Burney Valley, it stopped raining. He got back to the
house about sunset, as the people were eating supper. They gave him some,
but he did not tell them what he had done. Next morning Dog got up, went to
the centre of the sweat-house, and held his ear down to the ground, and took
out the plug he had put in, and the coals fell out. People could cook their
food now. So they roasted some meat, and said, "That tastes good." Then they
went out hunting.
Next night Wildcat had a bad dream, and went out to the little house near
by, where the two sisters of all the people in the big house slept. These
two women were Eagle and Loon. Wildcat crawled in and slept there, but did
not touch the women. In the morning Loon went out, got some pitch and
smeared it on herself, so that she might know who it was who had come in the
night. Next night Wildcat went again to his sisters' hut, and this time had
connection with Loon; and in the morning when he left, some of his fur was
left sticking to the pitch. He came back to the house, and lay down so that
no one could see where the hair had been pulled off. He pretended to be
asleep. Loon found who had come to her in the night, and was angry. She went
outdoors, and said, "Bring me a bundle of bark to carry fire in," and at
once the fire blazed up all around the sweat-house. Every time she said
this, a great flame shot up in front of the door. The people inside grew
afraid at this, and Coyote said, "Who has done this to our sister?" Then he
turned to Wildcat and said, "You had better go off with her, or she will
burn us all up." Wildcat did not want to move; but they rolled him over and
saw where his fur had been pulled out. Then everybody said, "You did it!"
Then Butterfly got up, removed Wildcat's membrum and put a small one in its
place, and sent Wildcat out, telling him to return as soon as possible. Loon
was very anxious to make Wildcat her husband at once, and so made night come
on quickly. They camped then; but, in spite of his endeavors, Wildcat could
not satisfy Loon. Early in the morning, while Loon was asleep, Wildcat got
up, took a log of wood, laid it beside her, and ran away.
As soon as Wildcat had left, Spider began to make a net, and had finished it
by the time Wildcat returned. Coyote got in first, and then all the others,
after which Spider drew them all up into the sky, except Eagle, who flew
away. Loon by and by waked up, and, discovering the cheat, ran back to the
sweat-house, sending fire ahead of her to burn every one up. She saw all the
people, her brothers, going up in the net, and called out, "Why do you leave
me? You had better take me back!" Now, Coyote, to whom she spoke, was her
father; and he felt sorry for her, and wanted to see her: so he made a tiny
hole in the bottom of the net to peek through, and immediately it burst, and
all fell down into the blazing house. Loon was watching, and at once made a
seed-beater out of some twigs; and when pretty soon Coyote's heart popped in
the fire and shot up into the air, she let it go, but caught the next one;
and so on, catching all, as she thought. She strung them on a string. One
heart popped out, that she missed; that was Wood-Worm's, and it fell far
over toward Shasta; another popped, and was missed, and this was Butterfly,
and it fell far to the east. Blue-Stone was also missed. Meanwhile Eagle was
not burned, for she was flying about, weeping. Up to this time the world had
been flat; but as Eagle went about, she made the mountains.
Loon took all the hearts she had strung, and put them about her neck as a
necklace, and then went to one lake after another, till finally she came to
one at the head of Butte Creek, and there she stayed. Meanwhile Eagle went
all over the world making mountains, and looking for the hearts that had
escaped. For a small hill she would throw up the earth once; but for a large
mountain, three times. By and by she reached the country toward the north.
Here two women had gone out to get wood. They came to a deer-lick, which was
formed from the tears of one of the hearts, that belonging to Wood-Worm. The
two girls were Beads, and they heard the sound of weeping, and at last found
the heart. After much difficulty, they dug out the heart, which then became
just like a person, and learned from him all about the way he had come to be
there. Then Wood-Worm married the two Bead girls. Eagle came along this way,
wearing pitch in mourning for her brothers; and when she found her brother
Wood-Worm here, she returned to near the head of Butte Creek. Here lived two
boys (some sort of small brown water-birds), and she asked them if they had
seen Loon. They said that sometimes they had seen her on the lake, and had
heard her cry. They said she had a necklace about her neck, and that she
looked at herself all the time in the water. Eagle asked them if they could
kill Loon, and they said they thought they could if they had arrow-points of
deer-bone. One wanted bone from deer killed at a time when their hair was
turning red, the other when they dropped their antlers. So Eagle went off to
get the bones. She brought them; and the two men then took their arrows, and
went out in a tule boat before dawn. They hid in the tule swamp near the
edge of the lake. The younger said, "I'll shoot first." The elder then said,
" No, I'll shoot first, for you might miss." They finally agreed that both
should shoot at once.
At dawn Loon appeared, and the two shot, and she dove immediately. They
watched, and by and by Loon came up, dead. So they took her back to Eagle,
who took off the string of hearts around Loon's neck; then she skinned the
loon and stuffed it, and said that loons must cry and laugh in spring-time.
Eagle then hunted about all over the world, till she found the other two
hearts, those of Butterfly and of Blue-Stone, and then came back with them
all to the sweat-house, which she rebuilt. This was near Pitville. She then
took pine-boughs and fixed up the inside of the house nicely, and laid the
hearts in the water in the river near by. Then she went into the house, and,
lying face downwards, slept. In the early dawn all the hearts came to fife
again, and all came trooping into the house. She lay quietly, without
looking, until she had counted them all. Then she got up, and they all went
on living as before.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Achomawi And Atsugewi Tales, Achomawi Myths, Roland B. Dixon, JAFL Vol. 22,
no. 81, pp. 159-77 [1908] and JAFL Vol. 23, no. 85, pp. 283-7 [1909], and is
now in the public domain.
At one time people had no flint for their arrows. They used bark for
arrow-points, and it did not work well. One day Ground-Squirrel determined
to get flint from Flint-Man, who owned it. So he stole away while every one
else was out hunting. He got to the house where Flint-Man lived, and went
in. He said he was hungry, and Flint-Man gave him pounded flint to eat. He
ate much of it, and then lay down to sleep. The pounded flint he had eaten
made Squirrel sick, and he defecated blood. Flint-Man saw this, and thought,
"Well, he will die." He came over and looked at Squirrel, and thought he was
dead: so he left him, and went out. As soon as he was gone, Squirrel jumped
up, for he had been shamming. He took a lot of flints, made them up in a
bundle, and ran away. Flint-Man soon saw him, and gave chase. He nearly
caught up with him, when Squirrel threw the flints into a hole in the
ground, and jumped in after them. Flint-Man came up and jumped in after him;
but Squirrel was out at the other end, and away before he could reach him.
Flint-Man gave chase again; but, as before, Squirrel jumped into a hole and
got away. Then Squirrel travelled far under ground; but when he came up,
Flint-Man saw him, and continued to chase. Five times Squirrel thus eluded
his pursuer; and then the latter gave up, and went back. Squirrel, however,
kept on under ground.
When he got back to the house, he hid the flints in the bushes, all but one,
a knife, which he tied to a string, and hung round his neck, so that it was
on his back behind, where no one could see it. He went in and sat down, but
the others had not got back from the hunt. By and by they returned, and
brought meat. They gave some to Squirrel, who secretly cut it up with his
knife. They saw this, and asked what he was doing, but he wouldn't tell
them. Next day he went out and took all the flints he had brought. He took
them to the house, and gave them to the people, giving one to each. "With
these," he said, "you can kill deer better, and can cut up the meat." Then
all day the people sat there and chipped their flints, making arrow-points.
And next day they all went out to hunt, and with the new points they killed
great quantities of deer,--so many that there were five deer apiece when
they divided up the lot, After this one day Dog went to get fire, for people
until then had eaten their food raw. He travelled far to the west, to where
Fire-Woman lived, for she owned all the fire. He climbed up on the roof of
her house, and lay quietly near the smoke-hole. The sparks came out in
crowds; and Dog held his ear over the opening, and caught a spark in it, and
so in the other ear as well. He had put a little dry tinder in his ears
before starting. Then he ran home. The fire in Fire-Woman's house began to
die down; and she said then, "Let the fire Dog carries go out." Then Bluejay
said, "Qas!" and it began to rain. Dog held his head on one side to keep the
rain out of his ear, and ran as fast as he could. When he reached the top of
the hill just west of Burney Valley, it stopped raining. He got back to the
house about sunset, as the people were eating supper. They gave him some,
but he did not tell them what he had done. Next morning Dog got up, went to
the centre of the sweat-house, and held his ear down to the ground, and took
out the plug he had put in, and the coals fell out. People could cook their
food now. So they roasted some meat, and said, "That tastes good." Then they
went out hunting.
Next night Wildcat had a bad dream, and went out to the little house near
by, where the two sisters of all the people in the big house slept. These
two women were Eagle and Loon. Wildcat crawled in and slept there, but did
not touch the women. In the morning Loon went out, got some pitch and
smeared it on herself, so that she might know who it was who had come in the
night. Next night Wildcat went again to his sisters' hut, and this time had
connection with Loon; and in the morning when he left, some of his fur was
left sticking to the pitch. He came back to the house, and lay down so that
no one could see where the hair had been pulled off. He pretended to be
asleep. Loon found who had come to her in the night, and was angry. She went
outdoors, and said, "Bring me a bundle of bark to carry fire in," and at
once the fire blazed up all around the sweat-house. Every time she said
this, a great flame shot up in front of the door. The people inside grew
afraid at this, and Coyote said, "Who has done this to our sister?" Then he
turned to Wildcat and said, "You had better go off with her, or she will
burn us all up." Wildcat did not want to move; but they rolled him over and
saw where his fur had been pulled out. Then everybody said, "You did it!"
Then Butterfly got up, removed Wildcat's membrum and put a small one in its
place, and sent Wildcat out, telling him to return as soon as possible. Loon
was very anxious to make Wildcat her husband at once, and so made night come
on quickly. They camped then; but, in spite of his endeavors, Wildcat could
not satisfy Loon. Early in the morning, while Loon was asleep, Wildcat got
up, took a log of wood, laid it beside her, and ran away.
As soon as Wildcat had left, Spider began to make a net, and had finished it
by the time Wildcat returned. Coyote got in first, and then all the others,
after which Spider drew them all up into the sky, except Eagle, who flew
away. Loon by and by waked up, and, discovering the cheat, ran back to the
sweat-house, sending fire ahead of her to burn every one up. She saw all the
people, her brothers, going up in the net, and called out, "Why do you leave
me? You had better take me back!" Now, Coyote, to whom she spoke, was her
father; and he felt sorry for her, and wanted to see her: so he made a tiny
hole in the bottom of the net to peek through, and immediately it burst, and
all fell down into the blazing house. Loon was watching, and at once made a
seed-beater out of some twigs; and when pretty soon Coyote's heart popped in
the fire and shot up into the air, she let it go, but caught the next one;
and so on, catching all, as she thought. She strung them on a string. One
heart popped out, that she missed; that was Wood-Worm's, and it fell far
over toward Shasta; another popped, and was missed, and this was Butterfly,
and it fell far to the east. Blue-Stone was also missed. Meanwhile Eagle was
not burned, for she was flying about, weeping. Up to this time the world had
been flat; but as Eagle went about, she made the mountains.
Loon took all the hearts she had strung, and put them about her neck as a
necklace, and then went to one lake after another, till finally she came to
one at the head of Butte Creek, and there she stayed. Meanwhile Eagle went
all over the world making mountains, and looking for the hearts that had
escaped. For a small hill she would throw up the earth once; but for a large
mountain, three times. By and by she reached the country toward the north.
Here two women had gone out to get wood. They came to a deer-lick, which was
formed from the tears of one of the hearts, that belonging to Wood-Worm. The
two girls were Beads, and they heard the sound of weeping, and at last found
the heart. After much difficulty, they dug out the heart, which then became
just like a person, and learned from him all about the way he had come to be
there. Then Wood-Worm married the two Bead girls. Eagle came along this way,
wearing pitch in mourning for her brothers; and when she found her brother
Wood-Worm here, she returned to near the head of Butte Creek. Here lived two
boys (some sort of small brown water-birds), and she asked them if they had
seen Loon. They said that sometimes they had seen her on the lake, and had
heard her cry. They said she had a necklace about her neck, and that she
looked at herself all the time in the water. Eagle asked them if they could
kill Loon, and they said they thought they could if they had arrow-points of
deer-bone. One wanted bone from deer killed at a time when their hair was
turning red, the other when they dropped their antlers. So Eagle went off to
get the bones. She brought them; and the two men then took their arrows, and
went out in a tule boat before dawn. They hid in the tule swamp near the
edge of the lake. The younger said, "I'll shoot first." The elder then said,
" No, I'll shoot first, for you might miss." They finally agreed that both
should shoot at once.
At dawn Loon appeared, and the two shot, and she dove immediately. They
watched, and by and by Loon came up, dead. So they took her back to Eagle,
who took off the string of hearts around Loon's neck; then she skinned the
loon and stuffed it, and said that loons must cry and laugh in spring-time.
Eagle then hunted about all over the world, till she found the other two
hearts, those of Butterfly and of Blue-Stone, and then came back with them
all to the sweat-house, which she rebuilt. This was near Pitville. She then
took pine-boughs and fixed up the inside of the house nicely, and laid the
hearts in the water in the river near by. Then she went into the house, and,
lying face downwards, slept. In the early dawn all the hearts came to fife
again, and all came trooping into the house. She lay quietly, without
looking, until she had counted them all. Then she got up, and they all went
on living as before.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Achomawi And Atsugewi Tales, Achomawi Myths, Roland B. Dixon, JAFL Vol. 22,
no. 81, pp. 159-77 [1908] and JAFL Vol. 23, no. 85, pp. 283-7 [1909], and is
now in the public domain.