Creation Myths of Primitive America. Jeremiah Curtin
a person came from the east to Olelpanti, Klabus Herit. “My uncle,” said Olelbis to Klabus, “I am looking all over the world below, but can see nothing on it. Do you know any place beyond the sky on the north, south, east, or west, where there is earth?
“I know no place where there is earth,” said Klabus.
Soon another person, Yilahl Herit, was seen coming from the west. When he came up, Olelbis asked—
“My uncle, do you know of earth, or trees, or people in any place beyond the sky?”
“I do not,” answered Yilahl. “But are you all well here?”
“We are well and unharmed,” answered Olelbis.
“How did you come here? Which way did you come? Where did you stay that the world fire did not burn you?” asked Klabus of Yilahl.
“I will tell you,” said Yilahl. “When the fire began, I went west, I went under the sky where it touches the lower world, I went out to the other side. The fire did not go there. There is earth now in that place.”
“My uncles,” said Olelbis, “I want you both to go down, to go west, and get that earth for me.”
“I will go,” said Klabus; and turning to the two old women he said: “Give me two baskets, very large round baskets.”
The old women made two very large baskets. Klabus took these and went west with Yilahl. As soon as they started Olelbis took a great sky net (kolchi koro), and it spread out; it reached to the ends of the sky in every direction; it was full of small, fine holes, like a sieve. He spread it out in Olelpanti; put it under his sweat-house. It is above this world yet, but we cannot see it.
Klabus and Yilahl went west to where the earth was. Klabus dug it up and filled the baskets quickly; went to the north side of the sweat-house and threw the earth into the great net, then hurried back and brought more earth and threw it on the net. It went through the net and fell down here, fell on the rocks in this world like rain.
Klabus hurried back and forth very quickly, carrying one basket on each arm. He was going and coming for five days and five nights; fine earth was falling all this time, till the rocks were covered, and there was plenty of earth everywhere.
Yilahl gave no help. He went down the first time with Klabus, showed him the earth, and stayed there, but he did not help to carry earth or to dig it.
When Klabus had covered all the rocks with good earth, Olelbis told him to rest.
“Go west and tell Yilahl to help you,” said Olelbis to Klabus the next morning, after he had rested. “Tell him to work with you, fixing the earth which you have thrown down. Go, both of you; make mountains, hills, and level country; arrange everything.”
No fire was visible anywhere; every bit had been quenched by the flood which came in after Lutchi propped up the sky. Yilahl came out into this world below from under the edge of the sky in the west, and Klabus came out from under it in the east. Both met and went to work. Yilahl made the small hills and fixed the rolling country. Klabus raised the great mountains and mountain ranges. There was nothing but earth and rock yet; no people at work only these two, Klabus and Yilahl.
Olelbis stood watching and looking; he looked five days, found no fire in any place. Next day he saw a little smoke in the southwest coming straight up as if through a small opening. Olelbis had a Winishuyat on his head tied in his hair, and the Winishuyat said to him—
“My brother, look; there is a little fire away down south; a woman there has fire in a small basket.”
This woman was Yonot, the mother of Pohila, who had gone back to live in her old house.
“My brother,” said Olelbis, turning to Tede Wiu, “do you see that place there? Go and bring fire from it.”
Tede Wiu went quickly to the place where Olelbis had seen the smoke. He found a house, and looking through a crack he saw the glow of fire, but not the fire itself.
Tede Wiu stayed five days and nights watching. He could not get into the house where the basket was. That house was closed firmly, and had no door. At last he went back to Olelpanti without fire.
“I should like to catch the fish which I see jumping in that southern water,” said Kuntihle, “but we could not cook fish if we had it, for we have no fire.”
“You would better go yourself and try to get fire,” said Olelbis.
Kuntihle went and watched five days. He could not get into the house, and no fire fell out. He went back to Olelpanti.
“We need fire,” said Olelbis, “but how are we to get it? Go again and try,” said he to Tede Wiu; “watch till fire falls out, or go in and take some.”
Klabus and Yilahl were at work yet.
Tede Wiu went, crept under the house, watched five days and nights, stayed right under the basket in which Pohila was. On the sixth morning, very early, just at daybreak, a spark of fire fell out. Tede Wiu caught the spark, ran off quickly to Olelbis, and gave it to him.
They had fire in Olelpanti now, and were glad. Neither Yonot, the mother, nor Tilikus, the father of Pohila, knew that fire had been carried away to Olelpanti.
Klabus and Yilahl were still at work making the mountains and valleys, and had almost finished.
Now that there was fire in Olelpanti, Kuntihle said: “I will go and see that fish. Tilitchi, will you come with me?”
Tilitchi went. Before they started Olelbis gave them a fish net. They caught a fish, and went back, dressed, cooked, and ate it.
“This is a good fish,” said Olelbis. “How did it get into that water? That pond in the rock is small and round; there is no water to run into it. Grandmothers, what shall we do with this pond and the fish in it?”
“We will tell you,” said the old women. “Go to the west under the sky, break off a strip of the sky, bring it here, and make a pointed pole of it.”
Klabus and Yilahl were just putting the top on Bohem Puyuk; all the other mountains in the world were finished.
Olelbis went west, got the sky pole, and pointed one end of it. He stuck the pole down at the foot of Bohem Puyuk, drew the point of it along southward, making a deep furrow. Then he stuck the pole far north, and made a second furrow to join the eastern end of the first one. There was no water in either furrow yet, and Olelbis said—
“Now, my grandmothers, what shall I do next?”
“Take this grapevine root,” said they. “Throw it to the place where you thrust in the pole at the foot of Bohem Puyuk.”
He threw the root. One end of it went into the mountain, the other hung out; from this water flowed.
“This will be called Wini Mem,” said the grandmothers. “The country around it will be good; many people will go there to live in the future.”
The grandmothers gave a second root, a tule root, and Olelbis threw this far up north, where one end stuck in the ground as had the grapevine root, and from the other end flowed Pui Mem—there is much tule at the head of Pui Mem to this day.
Olelbis took his sky pole again and made deep furrows down southward from Bohema Mem, large ones for large rivers and smaller ones for creeks. Water flowed and filled the furrows, flowed southward till it reached the place where Kuntihle found the first fish; and when the large river reached that little pond, fish went out of it into the river, and from the river into all creeks and rivers.
When the rivers were finished, and water was running in them, Olelbis saw an acorn tree in the east, outside the sky. He looked on the north side of the tree and saw some one hammering. He hurled a stone from his sling, struck down the person, and sent Tilitchi to bring him. Tilitchi brought him.
“Of what people is this one?” asked he of the old