Creation Myths of Primitive America. Jeremiah Curtin
before long.”
“Now, my people,” said Torihas, “come into the sweat-house and we will see what we can do with that flint.”
All went in. Hau went last, for he had the flint. He held it out, showed it again, and said, “I took this because you people wanted it.”
They passed the flint from one to another; all looked at it, all examined it. One old man said: “Give it to me here, let me see it.” He got it in his hand, and said: “Now all go outside of the sweat-house.”
This was Hilit Kiemila. They went out, leaving him alone. Patsotchet kept on repeating, “Katkatchila is angry, he is malicious; before long we shall see what will happen.”
As soon as Hilit was alone in the sweat-house, he began to rub the flint with his hands and roll it with his legs (Hilit was turned afterward into a house-fly, and that is why house-flies keep rubbing their legs against each other to this day). He wanted to make the flint large. After he had rolled and rubbed the flint all night, it was four or five feet long, and as thick and wide. He let the block fall to the ground and it made a great noise, a very loud noise; people heard it for a long distance. Hilit went out then and said—
“Go in, all you people, and look at that good flint.”
They went and looked. It was almost daylight at the time, and each one said—
“Well, I don’t know what is best to do; perhaps it would be best to send this off. It may be bad for us to keep it here; bad for us to have it in the sweat-house or the village.”
They did not know who could carry the great block, it was so heavy. “Perhaps Patsotchet can carry it,” said they.
Torihas went outside and called Patsotchet, saying: “Come into the sweat-house a little while. You come seldom; but come now.”
Patsotchet left his house, which was near by, and went into the sweat-house.
“What are you going to do?” asked he. “It is too late to do anything now. I have known a long time about Katkatchila. He is very strong. He will do something terrible as soon as daylight comes.”
“Patsotchet,” said Torihas, “you are a good man. I wish you would take this big flint and carry it far away off north.”
“I don’t want to take it,” said Patsotchet. “It is too heavy.”
Torihas went to Karili, who lived a little way off, and said: “Come into the sweat-house. I wish to talk with you.”
Karili went in. “Take this block,” said Torihas. “No one is willing to carry it away, but you are strong. Carry it north for me.”
Karili took up the flint, but when he had it outside the house he said: “I cannot carry this. It is too heavy. I am not able to carry it.”
Torihas called in Tichelis, and said: “My uncle, will you take this north for me?”
“Why will not others take it? Why are they unwilling to carry it?” asked Tichelis. “Well, I will take it,” said he, after thinking a little; and he made ready.
“Take it and start right away,” said Torihas. “Daylight is coming. Go straight. I will go, too, and when I am on the top of Toriham Pui Toror I will shout, and show you where to put the block.”
Tichelis put the flint on his back and hurried away with it.
When Katkatchila reached home he told his brother-in-law, Tilikus, and his brother-in-law’s brother, Poharamas, and Yonot, his sister, how his flint had been stolen.
It was just before sunrise. Tilikus and Poharamas went out in front of the house and swept a space clean and smooth; then they ran off to the east and got pine as full of pitch as they could find it. They brought a great deal of this, split some very fine, and made a large pile there on the smooth place.
Just at this time Torihas’s people were in his sweat-house talking about the theft. “Nothing will happen,” said most of them; “old Patsotchet is always talking in that way, foretelling trouble. We will dance to-day. Tichelis has carried that thing far away; all will be well now.”
Yonot, Katkatchila’s sister, had one child, a little baby which she called Pohila (fire child). The woman never left the house herself, and never let any one carry the child out.
“Now, my sister,” said Katkatchila, “bring your child here; bring my nephew out, and put him on that nice, smooth place which we have swept clean; it will be pleasant there for him.”
She brought the boy out, put him on the smooth place. Poharamas was on the southeast side all ready, and Tilikus on the southwest side. As soon as Yonot put down the baby, they pushed pitch-pine sticks toward it. That instant fire blazed up. When the fire had caught well Poharamas took a large burning brand of pitch-pine and rushed off to the southeast; Tilikus took another and ran to the southwest. Poharamas, when he reached the southeast where the sky comes to the earth, ran around northward close to the sky; he held the point of his burning brand on the ground, and set fire to everything as he ran. When Tilikus reached the southwest, at the place where the sky touches the earth, he ran northward near the sky. The two brothers went swiftly, leaving a line of flame behind them, and smoke rose in a cloud with the fire.
After the two had started Yonot snatched up Pohila, and as she raised the boy a great flame flashed up from the spot. She ran into the house with her son, and put him into the basket where she had kept him till that morning.
Torihas’s people had begun to dance. Some time after sunrise they saw a great fire far away on the east and on the west as well.
“Oh, look at the fire on both sides!” said one.
“It is far off, and won’t come here,” said another.
“I feel the heat already!” cried a third.
Soon all saw that the fire was coming toward them from the east and the west like waves of high water, and the line of it was going northward quickly. The fire made a terrible roar as it burned; soon everything was seething. Everywhere people were trying to escape, all were rushing toward the north. By the middle of the forenoon the heat and burning were so great that people began to fall down, crying out—
“Oh, I’m hot! Ah, I’m hot!”
Torihas made a rush toward the north, and reached the top of Toriham Pui Toror. When he saw the fire coming very near he called out to Tichelis, who was struggling along with the great block of flint on his back—
“Go ahead with the flint! Go on, go on, the fire is far from here, far behind us!”
Tichelis heard the shouting, but said nothing; kept going northward steadily. When he was northeast of Bohem Puyuk, he saw the fire coming very fast, a mighty blaze roaring up to the sky. It was coming from the south, east, west. Tichelis could go no farther; there was no place for escape above ground; the fire would soon be where he was. The flint had grown very hot from the burning; he threw it down; it had skinned his back, it was so hot and heavy. He ran under the ground, went as far as he could, and lay there. Presently he heard the fire roaring above him, the ground was burning, he was barely alive; soon all blazed up, earth, rocks, everything.
Tichelis went up in flames and smoke toward the sky.
When the brothers Tilikus and Poharamas had carried the fire around the world and met in the north, just half-way between east and west, they struck their torches together and threw them on the ground. The moment before they joined the burning brands two persons rushed out between them. One was Klabus and the other Tsaroki, who had carried the invitation from Torihas to Katkatchila. They just escaped.
The flint rock that Tichelis dropped lies there yet, just where it fell, and when the Wintu people want black flint they find it in that place.
Poharamas and Tilikus ran home as soon as they struck their torches together.
Katkatchila had a little brother.