Creation Myths of Primitive America. Jeremiah Curtin
who were in the sweat-house to come out, and he began to send them to their places.
To Kar he said: “Go and live on Wini Mem. Be a gray heron there; that is a good country for you.” (Before white people came there were many of these birds on that river.)
To Toko he said: “Go to Kawiken on Pui Mem. Be a sunfish and live there always. You, Sula, go to the south of Bohem Puyuk on Wini Mem. Be a trout, and live at Sulanharas.”
To Torihas he said: “You will be a blue crane,” and to Chalilak: “You will be a goose. You both will have two places to live in, one in the south and the other in the north. You will go north in the spring and live there all summer; you will go south in the fall and live in the south all winter. Do this always; travel that way every year.”
To Kiriu he said: “Go and live along the water. You will be a loon, and you will go up and down great rivers all your life.”
To Katsi he said: “You will be a fish hawk, catch fish and eat them, live along rivers.”
Olelbis plucked one small feather from the neck of Moihas. This he threw down and said, “Be an eagle, and live on high mountains.” All bald eagles on earth came from that feather, but the great Moihas remained above with Olelbis, where he is now.
From Lutchi Olelbis plucked one feather, threw it down, and said: “You will be a humming-bird. Fly around in spring when the green grass comes and the trees and flowers bloom. You will be on blossoms and dart from one to another everywhere.” Lutchi himself stayed in Olelpanti.
Olelbis pulled a feather from Kau, threw it down, and said: “You will fly along rivers, be a white crane, and live near them always.” The great Kau stayed in Olelpanti with Olelbis.
From the elder Hus brother Olelbis plucked a feather from the right side, sent the feather down on this earth, and said—
“You be a buzzard down there, and in spring go up on Wini Mem and look for dead salmon and other fish along Pui Mem, Bohema Mem, and other rivers, eat dead salmon and other fish. When people kill a snake or something else which they do not like, you will go and eat the snake or other dead thing. The Wintu, the coming people, will feed you always with what is dead.”
Tilitchi had been sent for three persons, and now he brought the first.
“Who is this?” asked Olelbis of the old women.
“This is Dokos,” said they; “he is bad.”
Dokos was placed a little northeast of the sweat-house. He sat looking toward the west. Tilichi brought in a second and third person.
“Who are these?” asked Olelbis.
“These are both bad people,” said the old women. “These are Wima Loimis and Klak Loimis.”
“Put them with Dokos,” said Olelbis. After he had called all the people out of the sweat-house to send them to their proper places, Olelbis had put something on their teeth to make them harmless.
“Come here, Wima Loimis,” said Olelbis. “I have something to put on your teeth so that they may harm no one.”
“I want nothing on my teeth,” said Wima Loimis. “If something were put on them I could not eat.” He asked again, but she shook her head, saying: “I want nothing on my teeth, I could not eat if anything were put on them.”
“If she will not come, come you, Klak Loimis.” Klak Loimis would not go to him.
“Why not come when I call you?” asked Olelbis.
“My sister Wima will not go. She says that she could not eat if her teeth were touched. I want nothing on my teeth. I am afraid that I could not eat.”
“Very well,” answered Olelbis, “you, Wima, and you, Klak, want to be different from others. Come, Dokos, I will touch your teeth.”
“My sisters, Klak and Wima, want nothing on their teeth. I want nothing on mine. I am angry at my sisters; my heart hates them. I do not wish to be good. I am angry at my sisters. I will be wicked as well as they.” Then turning to his sisters he said: “After a while people will employ me against you whenever they are angry at you. Whenever you bite people or hurt them, they will call me to fight against you, and I will go with them. I will go into your bodies and kill you. Then you will be sorry for what you have done to-day. Olelbis asked you to be good. He wants you to be good, but you are not willing. I will be bad to punish you.”
When the two women heard these words they cried, and Wima said, “Well, my brother, we can put something on our teeth yet.”
Dokos placed his head between his hands and sat awhile in that posture. Then he straightened himself and said—
“You two have talked enough; you would better stop. You are not like me; I am stronger than both of you, and I shall be so always. You, Wima, and you, Klak, will hate people only, but I shall hate all living things. I shall hate you, hate every one; kill you, kill every one. I want nothing of any one. I want no friend in any place.”
“Well,” said Olelbis, “you go as you are.”
“I will go first,” said Dokos.
“Go,” said Olelbis, “to Koiham Nomdaltopi, be flint there, and spread all around the place. You, Klak Loimis, will go to Klak Kewilton, be a rattlesnake there, increase and spread everywhere. I will send you, Wima, to Wima Wai Tsarauton; you will be a grizzly bear there. After a while a great family will come from you and spread over all the country. You will be bad; and, Klak, you will be bad, but, Dokos, you will be the worst, always ready to hurt and kill; always angry, always hating your sisters and every one living.
“You, Klak, and you, Wima, when you see people you will bite them, and people will take Dokos to kill you, and Dokos will go into your bodies, and you will die. Wima, you will be sorry that you would not let me change your teeth. You, Klak, will be sorry. You will bite people, and they will kill you because you cannot run away from them. Your dead body will lie on the ground, and buzzards will eat it.
“Dokos, you will go to your place and increase. People will go there and get you to kill your sisters and others for them, and when you have pleased them and killed all the people they wished you to kill, when they want you no longer, they will throw you down on a rock and break you to pieces, then you will be nothing. You will be dead forever. Now go!”
To all those who let their teeth be made innocent, Olelbis said: “You will go to where I send you—one here, another there.” And he gave their places to all. To some he said: “After a while the new people will use you for food,” and to the others he said: “The new people will use your skins, and you will be of service to them, you will be good for them.”
The first person taken up to Olelbis’s sweat-house was Tsurat; and now Olelbis spoke to Tsurat last of all and said—
“Pluck one feather from your back.”
Tsurat plucked it.
Olelbis threw the feather to the earth and said—
“The place where this falls will be called Tsurat-ton Mem Puisono. This feather will become woodpeckers, and their place will be there. Their red feathers will be beautiful, and every one will like their red scalps and will use them for headbands. The woodpeckers will be also called Topi chilchihl” (bead birds).
All people that were good on this earth only, of use only here, Olelbis sent down to be beasts, birds, and other creatures. The powerful and great people that were good in Olelpanti and useful there he kept with himself, and sent only a feather or a part of each to become something useful down here. The good people themselves, the great ones, stayed above, where they are with Olelbis now.
OLELBIS AND MEM LOIMIS