Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: Unit: British North America

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Myth-Folklore Unit: British North America

Overview. This selection of legends told by First Nations people of Canada is drawn from Judson's Myths and Legends of British North America, featuring stories of the Haida, Shuswap, and Inuit peoples, along with many more. There are creation stories about the beginnings of the world and about the origins of light, the stars, and the wind, and how the seals and the salmon came to be. In fact, from the Dakelh legend about the creation of light, you will finally learn what the fox says: "Fox kept singing, 'Khain, khain, khain' because he thought in that way he would gain light." In these stories you will meet the formidable Nuxalk goddess Qamaits, "Afraid of Nothing," and the hero Manabozho with his grandmother, plus the animal tricksters Raven, Coyote and, last but not least, Wolverine.

Language. Judson's book is an anthology of stories takes from various anthropological sources, written in a variety of styles. Some of the stories are told in a more traditional oral style, while other stories are edited in a style more like literary prose.

Story Length. Most of the stories here are quite short, and all of them are single-page stories.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: British North America. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

(free audiobook at LibriVox)

READING A:

READING B:

(illustration in the book)

BNA: Beliefs

You can lear more about the Nuxalk people (sometimes called the Bellacoola) at Wikipedia. Their name for the goddess you will read about here is Qamaits. She is a formidable goddess!

[Notes by LKG]

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

(Bella Coola, British Columbia)

Beliefs

Bella Coola

THE Bella Coola believe there are five worlds, one above the other. The middle one is our own world, the earth.

Above it are two upper worlds, one the home of Afraid of Nothing, and the one below that is the House of the Sun.

Below our earth are two lower worlds. The first is the Ghost Land; the second is the home of those who die a second time.

The upper heaven, which is the home of "Our Woman," or "Afraid of Nothing," as others call her, is a prairie without any trees upon it. In order to reach it, one must pass through the House of the Sun, though some people say that the sky is rent and one must pass through the great hole to reach the upper world.

The house of "Afraid of Nothing" stands in the far east. A strong wind blows always toward it across the open prairie, so that everything rolls to her house, but immediately around the house it is quite calm. In front of the house stands a post in the shape of a large winged monster, and its mouth is the entrance.

"Afraid of Nothing" created the whole world. A long time ago she also had a great war with the mountains. In the beginning of the world the mountains were of great height. They were human, and they made the world uninhabitable. "Afraid of Nothing" made war upon them and defeated them. She made them much smaller than they used to be. During this fight she broke off the nose of one mountain, and its face may be recognized even now. It is near the Bella Coola River.

There were two mountains near the headwaters of the Bella Coola River, and one kept always a fire burning in his house. One could see the smoke, and this fire warned its master, the mountain, whenever an enemy appeared. When "Afraid of Nothing" came down in her canoe, the fire gave warning. When she approached, the mountain broke her canoe and turned it into stone. So she returned to heaven. The canoe is still there at the foot of the mountain.

"Afraid of Nothing" is a great warrior. She visits the earth now and then, but when she does, her visits cause sickness and death.

Under the world where she lives is the House of the Sun. Our own earth is an island swimming in the ocean.

Next: Creation of the World

(400 words)

BNA: Creation of the World

The Wyandot, or Wendat, people are also sometimes called Hurons. Today the Wyandot have a reserve located in Quebec, along with settlements in the United States. You can find out more about the Wyandot people at Wikipedia.

[Notes by LKG]

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Creation of the World

Wyandot

THE people were living beyond the sky. They were Wyandots.

One day the shaman told the people to dig around the roots of the wild apple tree standing by the chief's lodge, and Indians at once began to dig. The chief's daughter was lying near by. As the men dug, a sudden noise startled them. They jumped back. They had broken through the floor of the Sky Land, and the tree and the chief's daughter fell through.

Now the world beneath was a great sheet of water. There was no land anywhere. Swans swimming about on the water heard a peal of thunder. It was the first peal ever heard in this world. When they looked upward, they saw the tree and the strange woman falling from the Sky Land.

One of them said, "What strange thing is falling down?" Then he added, "The water will not hold her up. Let us swim together so she will fall upon our backs."

So the chief's daughter fell upon their backs and rested there.

After a while one swan said, "What shall we do with her? We cannot swim about this way very long."

The other said, "Let us ask Big Turtle. He will probably call a council. Then we shall know what to do."

They swam around to Big Turtle and asked him what to do with the woman on their backs. Big Turtle at once sent a runner with a moccasin to the animals, so they came at once for a great council. The council talked a long while.

Then someone stood up and asked about the tree. He said perhaps divers might go down and get just a little earth from its roots, if they knew where it had sunk. Big Turtle said, "Yes. If we can get earth, perhaps we might make an island for this woman."

So the swans took them all to the place where the tree had fallen in the waste of waters. Big Turtle called for divers. First down went Otter, the best of them all. He sank at once out of sight. He was gone a long, long while. At last he came up, but he gasped and was dead. Then Muskrat was sent down. He also was gone a long, long while. Muskrat also died. Next Beaver was sent down to get earth from the roots of the tree. Beaver also was drowned. Many animals were drowned.

Big Turtle called, "Who will offer to go down for the earth?"

No one offered himself, until at last Old Toad said she would try. All the animals laughed. Old Toad was very small and very ugly.

(toad)

Big Turtle looked her over, but he said, "Well, you try then."

Down went Old Toad. At last they could not see her at all, though she went down slowly. Then they waited for her to come back. They waited, and waited, and waited. They began to say, "She will never come back."

Then they saw a little bubble break on the water. Big Turtle said, "Let us swim there. That is where Old Toad is coming up."

So it was done. Then Old Toad came slowly to the surface, close to Big Turtle. She opened her mouth and spat out a few grains of earth that fell on Big Turtle's shell. Old Toad was done for too.

Small Turtle at once began to rub the earth around the edge of Big Turtle's shell. It began to grow into an island. The animals were looking on as it grew. Then the island became large enough for the woman to live on, so she stepped onto the earth.

The island grew larger and larger, until it became as large as the world is today. When an earthquake occurs, it is because Big Turtle moves his foot. Sometimes he gets tired.

Next: How the Earth Was Formed

(700 words)

BNA: How the Earth Was Formed

The character you will meet in this Cree legend, Wisagatcak, is the "crane spirit" of Algonquian myth and legend. The Cree people are one of the largest First Nation populations in Canada, and there are Cree who also live in Montana, sharing a reservation with the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people. You can read more about the Cree people at Wikipedia, and also more about Wisakedjak.

[Notes by LKG]

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

How the Earth Was Formed

Cree

ONE winter day Wisagatcak was chiseling the ice, trying to catch Big Beaver. At last he caught him by shutting up the creek with stakes, leaving only an opening in the center of the stream. Then Wisagatcak stood there, waiting for Big Beaver to attempt an escape in that way. He stood there a long while.

Just as evening came, Wisagatcak saw a beaver coming along, but just as he was about to kill him, Muskrat came up quietly behind him and scratched him. Wisagatcak was so startled he did not catch the beaver.

At last it became dark, so he went ashore and built a fire, but he had nothing to eat. He said to himself, "Tomorrow I will try to break the dam down and dry up the creek."

Early next morning Wisagatcak made a pointed stick from juniper wood. Then he broke the dam down, but yet the creek did not dry up. The water rose, and rose, and rose, until Wisagatcak no longer stood on dry ground. So he at once made a raft and got on that. He took on the raft with him two of every kind of animal, and stayed there with them for two weeks. So they drifted about because there was no chance to land anywhere. And while he drifted, Big Beaver was making medicine against him for breaking the dam.

Now after two weeks, Wisagatcak wished to know the depth of water under the raft. He tied a long string to the feet of Muskrat and asked him to dive down and bring up some mud.

(muskrat)

Muskrat went down, down, down! He could not even reach the bottom, and drowned before Wisagatcak could bring him up.

Then he waited three days and told Crow to go and see if he could find any moss. Crow came back without anything in his bill. When Crow came back without any moss, Wisagatcak was frightened. He had a little moss on his raft, so he took that and began to make medicine.

The next day he asked Wolf to take the moss in his mouth and run around the raft with it. Wolf did so, and as he ran around, earth began to appear and grow on the raft. Wolf ran around the raft for a week, and the land grew larger and larger. It continued to grow for two weeks. By that time the earth had grown so large that Wolf never came back. This is how the earth came to be built over water. And this is why there are springs in the earth.

When Wolf had been gone for a week, Wisagatcak said to the other animals, "I guess now the land must be large enough for us all to live on."

Beaver asked, "How are we going to live? We are eating willows and poplars here, but there are no trees on earth yet."

Wisagatcak said, "Um-m-m-m! Yes, you will need a little creek to live in also."

Beaver said, "Why, yes, of course."

Wisagatcak said, "I'll do something tonight."

That night Wisagatcak made magic again. He tried to dig down through the earth to his raft to get a log from it, but the earth was so thick and the pressure of it so great, he could not even find a trace of a log. When he failed to get even a stick, he said to Beaver, "I'll make a creek for you, and you will have to live on grass roots until trees grow up."

That is why, even today, Beaver eats certain white roots as well as bark. When Wisagatcak came back, he found that Beaver had dug ditches in every direction in his search for roots.

Next: Creation of the Earth

(600 words)

BNA: Creation of the Earth

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

(Thompson River, photo by A. Bowden)

Creation of the Earth

Thompson River

LONG, long ago, everything was a blank. There was nothing at all, anywhere, except a number of people who lived together in a camp. They were Sun and his wife Earth. There were also Moon and Stars living there in that camp.

Now Earth scolded Sun all the time. She kept saying, "Oh, you're so hot! Go out of doors; you make the house too hot!"

She kept telling Sun how cross he was. Then Sun got tired of it. He moved away, and as Stars and Moon were his relatives, they went with him. So Earth Woman was left all alone in the camp. Then Earth Woman wept because she was alone.

Old Man came around just then, and he asked what was the matter. He asked all about it and Earth Woman told him everything.

Then he went to Sun's camp. He talked to Sun. Then Old Man said, "This will never do. There'll be people after a while. Something has to be done for them."

So Old Man sent Sun, Moon, and the Stars up into the sky. He made them just what they are now. He said to them, "Henceforth you shall not desert people nor hide yourselves; you shall remain where everybody can see you, either by day or by night."

Then Old One changed Earth Woman into the earth upon which we live. Her hair became flowers and grass. Her bones are the rocks. Earth is never alone now, because she can always see Sun. When people came, Old Man taught them how to spear fish and shoot deer with bows and arrows, how to cook the meat and dress the skins. Old Man taught people all they know.

Next: Origin of Rivers in Queen Charlotte Islands

(300 words)

BNA: Origin of Rivers in Queen Charlotte Islands

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

(Queen Charlotte Islands)

Origin of Rivers in Queen Charlotte Islands

Haida

BEAVER lived in a beautiful house on the shore of a large lake. In the lake were salmon and on the shores were berries of all kinds.

One day Raven disguised himself as a poor, hungry person. He went to Beaver's house.

Beaver was just coming home with a fish and berries. Beaver said, "What are you doing here?"

Raven said, "My father has just died. We have the same ancestors. He told me to visit you and ask for food."

Beaver believed Raven and pitied him. He told Raven to stay at home, promising to give him much food. There were always fish in the lake and ripe berries on the shores.

The next day Raven went to the lake. He rolled up the water like a blanket. He took it in his beak and flew away. He alighted on the top of a large cedar tree.

When Beaver went out to fish, he found his lake was gone. Then Beaver called all the Beavers to help him, all the Wolves and Bears. He called also a monster Talat-adega, which has a long body, a long tail, and many legs. He asked them to throw the tree down. The Wolves dug up the roots of the tree, Beavers gnawed the trunk of the tree. All the animals worked until the tree fell; then Raven flew to another tree. All the animals of the forest worked hard. They tried to throw this tree down. But when it fell down, Raven flew to another tree.

After they had felled four trees, the animals said, "Please give us our chief's water. Don't make us unhappy."

But Raven only flew away. He spilled some of the water on the ground as he flew along. Thus originated all the rivers on Queen Charlotte Islands. Raven also made the Skeena and Stikine rivers.

There was a man named Kilkun at Skidegate. Kilkun said to Raven, "Give me some water!"

Raven gave him only a few drops. Then Kilkun became angry and fell dead. He forms the long point of land at Skidegate.

Next: Origin of Haida Land

(400 words)

BNA: Origin of Haida Land

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

(Haida Raven Rattle)

Origin of Haida Land

Haida

BEFORE the days of the grandfathers there was nothing but water. All was water, except a single reef. Here lived the supernatural beings. They were much crowded. They all lay heaped together.

Then Raven flew all about trying to get a footing, but he could alight nowhere. Then Raven looked at the sky. It was solid. It was very beautiful and Raven was fascinated by it. He said, "I'll go up there," so he ran his beak into the sky and climbed up.

Now in the Sky Land was a large town. The chief lived there and in the chief's house was a baby. When night came, Raven took the baby by the heel and shook all his bones out. Then he crept into the skin and pretended to be the baby. But at night he stole out of the baby's skin and became Raven. He flew into all the houses and made much mischief.

Then at last a woman saw him and told all the people. Then the chief called all the people together and they sang a song for Raven. It was a magic song, and in the midst of it, the one holding Raven let him fall, and he dropped down out of the Sky Country until he fell upon the great waters. Now the cradle drifted about on the water for a long time. Raven cried; then he cried himself to sleep, but as Raven slept, something said, "Your powerful grandfather invites you in."

Raven sat up quickly. He looked toward the sound, but there was nothing there. Soon the voice said the same words. Raven looked through the hole in his marten's-skin blanket. Presently up through the water came a grebe saying, "Your powerful grandfather invites you in."

Then Raven stood up. His cradle was floating against a kelp with two heads. He stepped upon it, and behold! it was really a two-headed house pole made of stone. When Raven climbed down, he found he could breathe as easily as in the air above. Beneath the house pole was a house. Someone said, "Come inside, my son; I hear that you come to borrow something from me."

Raven entered. In the back part of the house sat old Sea-Gull Man. The old man sent him for a box which hung in the corner. There were four others inside of this. Raven pulled them all apart and took out two long pieces of something. One was black and the other was covered with shining points.

Sea-Gull Man took the two pieces and showed them to Raven. He said, "Lay this speckled stone in the water first, and this black one last. Then bite off a piece of each, and spit it out and the pieces will reunite," so he said.

When Raven went out, he put the black piece into the water first. When he had bitten off part of the rock with shining points and laid it in the water, the points rebounded. He had not done as he had been told.

Now he went back to the black one, and bit off part of it, and spit it out again. Then the pieces stuck. These were going to become land. He put this into the water, and it stretched itself out and became the Haida Country. Of the other piece he made the Seaward Country — the mainland.

Next: Raven and Moon Woman

(600 words)

BNA: Raven and Moon Woman

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Raven and Moon Woman

Haida

RAVEN became the son of Moon Woman. He cried a great deal. When he cried, he said, "Boo-hoo, moon!"

Then his mother said, "He talks about a thing beyond his reach which the supernatural beings own."

So Raven began to cry again, "Boo-hoo, moon!"

Then, when Moon Woman's mind was tired out with his noise, she stopped up all the holes in the house. She stopped up the smoke hole, and all the small holes as well.

Then she untied the strings of the box. Although they were very strong, she untied them. She did this because the moon was inside the box. Then she took the moon out and let Raven play with it. She did not give it to him; she only let him play with it to quiet him.

After his mother had gone out, Raven took up the moon in his beak. He turned himself into a raven and flew about the house with it. He made himself small. Just before his mother returned, he made himself a child again. Then he again played with the moon. Then Raven again began crying loudly, when his mother returned.

He cried, "Boo-hoo, boo-hoo, smoke hole!" So he cried, "Boo-hoo, boo-hoo, smoke hole!" He cried this way for a long time. Then he tired his mother's mind with his crying, and she opened the smoke hole a little. Raven cried, "Boo-hoo, more! Boo-hoo, more!" for a long time. Then she made the opening in the smoke hole larger, and he kept crying, "Boo-hoo, more!" until she had made it quite large.

Then again Raven played with the moon. Raven cried because he wanted the moon, and his mother did not want to give it to him. When he cried very much, she gave it to him and made that large opening in the smoke hole.

Now at that time it was always dark. Raven did not like darkness. Now after she had made the smoke hole larger, his mother again went out, and Raven was playing with the moon. Then he put the moon in his beak and flew through the smoke hole with it. Immediately he put the moon under his wing. He perched up on top of the house with the moon under his arm and called like a raven.

Then Raven flew to the bank of the Nass River, where they were taking olachen. And it was dark. Raven called, "If you will bring me your spruce needles, I will make it light for you." He called the olachen spruce needles. He said that same thing again.

The fishermen replied, "One who always talks is talking about something which the supernatural beings own and which is beyond his reach."

Thus they made him angry, and he let them see a little of the moon. It became light. Then they all went to him and gave him a great many olachen.

Raven again put the moon under his arm. Flying up with it, he sat on the top of a high mountain. He took the moon out and threw it down so it broke. He took half of it and threw it up into the sky, and said, "You shall be the moon and shall give light in the middle of the night. He then threw the other half upward and said, "You shall shine in the middle of the day."

Then he threw upward the small fragments, and said, "You shall be the stars; when it is clear, they shall see you all during the night."

Next: Creation of Light

(moon and stars)

(700 words)

BNA: Creation of Light

The Dakelh people, also called Carrier, live in British Columbia. The name "Dakelh" means "people who go around by boat." You can read more about the Dakelh people at Wikipedia.

[Notes by LKG]

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Creation of Light

Carrier

IN THE days of the animal people, there was darkness everywhere except in the tepee of an old chief. He owned all the light, fire, and water; therefore men were very miserable and sighed always. Men pleaded with the old chief for light, but he would give them none. Therefore they tried to get it by craft.

Now all the animals put on their masks and their dancing aprons and went to the old chief's lodge for a dance. He did not invite them. They went. They were going to get light by craft.

Now each one sang his own song. Fox kept singing, "Khain, khain, khain" because he thought in that way he would gain light. Therefore the animals call him Khain, which means, "He cries for daylight."

Now the old chief steadily refused to give them light. Yet the animal people were each singing his own song, and each singing, "Light, light, light, light." Thus they sang. And they sang so loudly and so steadily that light began to steal up into the sky, like a faint dawn.

The old chief saw it. At once he shouted, "Let there not be! Let there not be!" Had he said "light" as the last word, light would have come. But at once the light disappeared below the edge of the sky.

Now young Fox kept on conjuring and crying, "Khain, khain, khain, khain!" and the animals kept on dancing and singing for light, because they wanted to tire the old chief. And again light began to steal into the sky.

Then the old chief saw it, and he became much excited. The noise confused him and he shouted, "Let there be — light!" And immediately the light came up into the sky. Ever since then men have had light. But the old chief did not mean to say that.

Next: Grizzly Bear and Coyote

(fox photo by Minette Layne)

(300 words)

BNA: Grizzly Bear and Coyote

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Grizzly Bear and Coyote

Shuswap

ONE day Grizzly Bear met Coyote and said to him, "I am great in magic, greater than all of the people. When I wish a thing to be so, it has to be so. Now, I do not like having it dark so short a time. I intended to make it dark all the time."

Coyote said, "Oh, no! That would inconvenience the people too much."

Grizzly Bear said, "I intend to have it my way."

Coyote said, "No, you can't!"

At once Grizzly Bear began to dance, singing, "Darkness! darkness! darkness! Let it always be dark!" That was his song.

Coyote also danced and sang, "Light! light! light! light! Let it always be light!" Thus Coyote sang. They danced and sang a long, long time. Sometimes it was dark, when Grizzly sang loudest, and sometimes it was light when Coyote sang loudest. But neither won.

At last Grizzly Bear became tired. He said, "Let's have it dark half the time, and light half the time."

Coyote agreed. He said, "Hereafter it shall be light from the time that the sun prepares to follow the trail through the Sky Land until he reaches the edge of the Darkening Land. The rest of the time shall be night. Thus every day shall Sun travel. When he leaves the Earth Plain, the darkness shall follow him."

After a while, Grizzly Bear said, "I do not like the length of the year. Winter is far too short. Let winter be as many moons long as there are feathers in the tail of Blue Grouse."

So they counted and found twenty-two feathers in the tail of Blue Grouse. Grizzly Bear wanted winter to be twenty-two moons long! Coyote said at once, "Oh, no! The people would die. Let winter be half that number."

Grizzly Bear objected. Then Coyote said, "Let there be as many moons in the year as there are feathers in Flicker's tail."

Grizzly Bear agreed, because he thought there were many feathers in Flicker's tail. Now, when they counted, there were only twelve feathers in Flicker's tail. But it was too late to make any change. So Coyote said, "Hereafter in a year there shall be six months of warm weather and six months in which it may snow and be cold."

Thus Coyote saved the people from living in darkness, and from very long, cold winters.

Next: Origin of Light and Fire

(400 words)

BNA: Origin of Light and Fire

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Origin of Light and Fire

Lillooet

RAVEN and Sea Gull were friends. Their houses were close together in the Lillooet country. It was dark all over the world at this time, because Sea Gull owned the daylight, which he kept in a box. He never let any of it out except for his own use.

Raven said, "It isn't fair that Sea Gull should have all the daylight. People should have some of it."

Therefore Raven planned to get the daylight. One night he placed thorn branches on the trail between Sea Gull's house and the place where his canoe was fastened. Then he ran to Sea Gull, shouting, "Your canoe has gone adrift! Your canoe has gone adrift!"

Sea Gull heard Raven and rushed out of the house in haste. He did not even put on his moccasins; he ran in his bare feet and stepped on the thorns. Then Sea Gull screamed, "Ah-ah!" just as sea gulls do now. He shouted to Raven, "Get my canoe! Save my canoe!"

Then he went back to his house. He was much excited. Raven pulled up the canoe and went to the house. Gull spoke of those thorns in his feet. Raven said, "Oh, I can pull them out, if you will let a little daylight out of your box."

So Gull sat down beside the box and opened it a little with one hand. Raven began to pull out the thorns with an awl. Soon he said, "I can't see well. Give me more light."

Gull opened the box a little more. Raven pulled out all the thorns but one. He said, "This last one is hard to get out. I shall need more light."

When Gull opened the box a little more, Raven gave his arm a push. Thus he knocked down the box and broke it. Then all the daylight rolled out and spread all over the world. Sea Gull was unable to collect it again. Raven took out the last thorn and went home chuckling.

Now Raven could see very well indeed, and one day he cleaned himself nicely. He combed and oiled his hair, and put on his best robe, and painted his face black. Then he sat on the top of his underground house and looked all over the world. He saw nothing. The third day he changed the paint on his face. That evening he saw signs of smoke. The fourth day Raven changed his face paint again. Now he located the smoke. It was far away to the south, on the shore of the sea.

Raven had four servants. They all at once entered a small canoe, but it was swamped. Then he tried another. Then he said to his wife, "Go to Sea Gull's house and tell him I need to borrow his canoe."

So he started off in Sea Gull's canoe. Now they paddled downstream until they were close to the house of the people who owned the fire. They planned very quietly. That night they bored a hole under where the baby board hung and stole the baby. Then they ran away.

Now early in the morning the people missed the baby. They knew what had happened. But Raven was too far ahead. They sent out men. Sturgeon, Whale, and Seal searched for Raven's boat, but they could not find him. Other men searched, but only one small fish found Raven's canoe. He tried to stop the runaways by sticking to the paddle, but after a while he got tired and went home.

Now Raven reached his own country. Then the Fire People visited Raven with presents. Four times they came; Raven refused all their gifts.

Then they said, "What do you wish?"

Raven said, "Fire."

Then they said, "Well, why didn't you say that before?" And they were glad, because they had plenty of fire and thought little of its value. So they brought Raven fire, and he gave them back their baby. These Fire People showed Raven how to make fire with dry cottonwood roots.

Raven said to Sea Gull, "If I had not got the light from you, I could not have seen where the fire was kept."

Next: The Burning of the World

(700 words)

BNA: The Burning of the World

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

The Burning of the World

Cree

ONCE all the world was burned. Only a man and his mother and his sister were saved. Before the fire there were many people on earth. Then the young man fell out with his father, and they became enemies. The young man had heard that all the world was to be burned, but his father did not believe it.

Now the young man made a bow and arrows. He shot one arrow to the west, and one to the east, and one to the north, and one to the south. The places where the arrows fell were the four corners of a bit of ground which would not burn. The young man told everybody who wanted to be saved from the fire to come onto that square of land. Many did not believe the world would be burned, so they would not come.

After a while the fire came. They could hear it. They were encamped by the side of a big lake. By and by all the birds and animals came running to that bit of ground marked out by the arrows. The old man had quarreled with his son, so he would not come.

The fire was very hot. All the water boiled because it was so hot. After a while the fire was put out, and the water had settled down. Everything had to be started over again.

Now there were many animals on this patch of ground, and the man named some of them and told them what to do.

He put Beaver in the water, but Rabbit wanted to live in the water. The man said, "No."

Then Rabbit jumped into the water and the man had to pull him out. He said to Rabbit, "Your legs are too long. Even if you do eat willow like Beaver, you don't go about in the water properly."

Squirrel wanted to be Bear. He did all he could to be Bear. He argued and chattered a great deal about it. The man said, "Oh, you're too noisy. You wouldn't be a good Bear." He said also, "If you are Bear, you are so noisy that when people come again, they will kill too many of you. A bear must keep quiet. He has many enemies."

Then Squirrel began to weep. He wept until his eyes were white. Even today Squirrel has eyes bright and swollen from weeping.

The man made Bear then, because he was nice and wise and quiet.

Somebody wanted to be Caribou—nobody remembers just who wanted that.

Then Deer was made, and made so swift that he could outrun all pursuers.

After the man had finished making all the animals, he put a mark on them, so people would know what they were. Then the man had to give all the people new names. His mother he called Robin, because she was friendly. His sister he called Golden-winged Woodpecker, because she was beautiful. He called himself Blackbird because he would only come every spring.

Next: Why the Sun is Bright

(500 words)

BNA: Why the Sun is Bright

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Why the Sun is Bright

Lillooet

ONCE a whole village moved away. They were angry with a boy, so they left him behind with his grandmother. Now it looked as though they would starve. Grandmother said, "Snare small animals. Shoot the birds."

So the boy snared rabbits and squirrels and many small animals. He shot many birds with bright plumage. Grandmother cooked the animals and birds, but she made him a robe from the skins of the birds. The robe was very large and bright. The boy wore it when he went to spear fish.

Now Sun, when he followed the trail in the Sky Land, saw the robe when the boy was spearing fish. He saw that robe many times. One day Sun left the trail and came to visit the boy. Sun always dressed in a goatskin robe, with long fringe. Sun said to the boy, "I will exchange blankets with you."

The boy looked at the goatskin robe, and said, "Oh, no!"

Sun said, "You do not know the value of my robe. It can catch more fish than you can spear."

Sun placed the fringe of his blanket in the water, and at once a fish caught on each tip of the fringe. When the boy saw that, he exchanged blankets at once.

Before Sun traded for the boy's robe of birds' plumage, he was pale, and his light was like the light of the moon. Therefore people could look at him. Now he became bright and dazzling as he is today, because of his bright robe. People can no longer look at him.

Next: The Man in the Moon

(300 words)

BNA: The Man in the Moon

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

The Man in the Moon

Central Eskimo

ONCE an Eskimo visited the Moon. He put out all the lamps in his house and sat down with his back to them, and at once his guardian spirit carried him through the air.

Moon's house was not very large. It is white because it is covered with white deerskins, which Moon always has drying there. On each side of the entrance is the upper half of a walrus's body, with very long teeth. It is very dangerous to pass here, because the teeth try to bite you.

Moon's dog is dappled red and white. He lives in the passage, and is the only dog in the moon.

Moon always sits in the outer room, but in an inside room, the Eskimo saw Sun. She is Moon's wife. The moment she saw the Eskimo, she brightened her fire and got behind the glow of it; therefore the Eskimo could not look at her for the brightness.

Moon had great piles of deer meat lying about and piled up, yet he did not offer any to the Eskimo until he and Sun had danced a very strange dance.

There are great plains in Moon Land, and large herds of deer roaming over them.

Moon allowed the Eskimo to choose one animal, which at once fell through a hole in Moon Land to the earth below. In a large house were many seals swimming. The Eskimo chose one seal and it at once fell to the earth and into the ocean. That is why the Eskimo have deer and seals. If this Eskimo had not visited Moon, they would not have them.

Next: Origin of the Chinook Wind

(300 words)

BNA: Origin of the Chinook Wind

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Origin of the Chinook Wind

Shuswap

FOX and Hare were brothers. They lived together with many other people. This was in the days of the grandfathers when there was no fire and the earth was very cold. The Cold People of the north delighted in making icy winds sweep down over the Indian country. The people shivered, shivered always.

One morning Fox smoked his pipe and muttered, "Last night I dreamed. I gained much knowledge."

When Fox had finished smoking, he said to the people, "The People of the Cold have had power over us for a long time. Do you like the cold?"

The Indians at once said, "No. We hate the cold, but we do not know what to do."

After a while Fox said to Hare, "Come with me. We will find warm weather."

Now Fox and Hare were great warriors. They took their bows and arrows and traveled south many days. They reached the mouths of the large rivers where dwelt the People of the Heat. They owned all the heat, and they were enemy to the Cold People. Their chief was Sun, and they lived always in warm weather, sunshine, and mild winds.

Fox knew just what to do because his dream had told him. When Fox and Hare entered the House of Sunshine, they saw a large round bag hanging on a post. It contained the chinook wind. Fox at once ran and struck the bag with his fist, trying to burst it. At once the Heat People jumped up to stop him, but Hare held his bow with arrow drawn on them so that they were afraid. Again Fox ran at the bag and struck it. The fourth time he tried, the bag burst and the chinook wind rushed out. Then Fox and Hare ran along with the wind, and the Heat People made the weather exceedingly hot so as to overcome them.

At last the heat became so intense that the country took fire, and the Heat People made the fire run with the wind so as to overtake Fox and Hare. But Fox and Hare were great warriors. They were very swift-footed, so they kept ahead. Thus the earth burned up for a long distance north and many trees and people were destroyed.

Hare kept just far enough ahead of the fire to have time, every now and then, to sit down and smoke his pipe. Hare was a great smoker. When Fox told Hare to hurry, Hare would sit right down and smoke his pipe.

Fox was much annoyed with Hare. So Fox went on alone and soon left Hare and the fire far behind. He was also swifter than the wind, but wind kept right after him. So when Fox reached his own people, he said, "I bring the warm chinook wind. You will be cold no longer."

At first his people did not believe him. But soon the chinook wind began to blow. The ice and snow melted. The people felt the cold no more. Then Fox said, "Henceforth the chinook wind shall no longer belong only to the Heat People of the south. Warm winds shall blow over the north and the rest of the world. They shall melt the snow and dry the earth. Only sometimes may they be followed by fire. Henceforth the Cold People shall not always rule the weather and plague the Indians with their icy winds."

Now the wind had left the fire far behind, and without wind the fire soon died out. A long time afterward Hare arrived home and met Fox. Fox was smoking a fine stone pipe, all carved with many strange figures. Hare's pipe was only of wood.

Fox said to Hare, "You and I are the greatest smokers of all the people. Let us run a race. The one who wins shall have both pipes, and the one who loses shall smoke no more at all."

Hare agreed to that.

Then Fox said, "We will run on flat, open ground!"

Hare said, "Oh, no! I like to run where there are fallen logs and much brush."

Well, Fox assented to that, so they began to run through a brushy piece of country, full of fallen logs. Fox had to jump over the logs, while Hare always ran underneath them and so easily kept ahead.

Then Fox got angry. He gave a great spring, and seized Hare as he came out from underneath a log, and said, "Hereafter you shall be only an ordinary hare. As you like to run in the brush, you shall always live in that kind of a country. You shall no longer be the greatest smoker of all the people."

Then Fox took Hare's pipe and went home.

Next: Origin of the Pleiades

(800 words)

BNA: Origin of the Pleiades

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Origin of the Pleiades

Wyandot

A YOUNG man was out fasting. His fasting lodge stood at the end of a lake, where no one ever came. There was a broad bench on both sides.

Now, one evening he heard something. Sounds of songs, faint and distant, came to his ear. He did not know what it was. He looked everywhere. There was no one to be seen.

Then the sounds were clearer. They came from the sky over the lake. The young man listened. Now he thought the voices came from the beach near by. He crept slowly down to the lake, through the reeds and grasses. The singing grew more distant.

Then through the reeds he saw seven maidens, dancing about in the light of the stars. Then a pebble slipped under his foot. The maidens sprang into a large basket, and vanished into the sky.

Now the young man went back to his fasting lodge. The next evening he listened. The air was very still. The water was very quiet. The stars were shining. Then he heard again the sound of far-away voices. He heard distant songs. So he crept to the edge of the lake, through the reeds and grasses.

He saw a great basket come down with the seven maidens. They danced together, under the light of the stars. The air was very quiet as they sang. Then they danced along, each dancing in turn. And one maiden was more beautiful than her sisters. Then the young man forgot; he made a sound with his voice and the maidens vanished into the sky.

Now every evening the maidens came down to dance on the beach. It was a broad beach. No one ever came to that end of the lake. They danced under the stars, when the air was still, and they sang their songs. So the young man watched them.

Now they came again, and the young man rushed among them — rushed among them as they danced when the air was quiet, and seized the most beautiful sister. Then the maidens sprang into the basket, and the young man caught the maiden, and held the basket edge with one hand. Then they fell to the earth together, and the maiden was grieved.

The maiden said, "We are seven sisters. We live in the Sky Land. Often you see us when you look into the sky. But at this season, when the air is still and the lake is quiet, we come here to dance in the starlight."

She said also, "I cannot marry you until you come and live with me in the Sky Land."

So the young man went into the Sky Land with her. Everything there happened just as one wished it. We know this is true, because even today the seven sisters are in the sky. Six are clearly seen, but the seventh sits back in the shadow with her husband.

Next: Turtle and Thunder

(500 words)

BNA: Turtle and Thunder

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Turtle and Thunder

Ojibwa

ONCE Turtle was living all alone in a lake. Several times he was hit by something. When he came out to see what it was, he could see nothing at all. One day he was struck again. He thought he would ask someone to help him. When he came out of the water, he went into the woods. He cried, "Who will help me? Who will help me?"

Deer ran out from among the shrubs and said, "I will help you."

"Come on," said Turtle, "let me see how you can fight."

Deer started to fight a tree and broke his horns. Turtle said, "Oh, you will not last long enough."

He left Deer and again called out, "Who will help me?"

Bear came out and said, "I will help you."

Turtle said, "Let me see how you can fight."

Bear started to fight a tree, but he was so clumsy jumping around, that Turtle said, "Oh, you won't last long if you have to fight the giant I am after."

Turtle again began to call, "Who will help me?"

He called this as he came to a little swamp, and he heard small voices saying, "We will."

"Come out and show me how you can fight," said Turtle.

And behold! a crowd of little Turtles came out and began to fight him. Soon Turtle cried, "You're the very people I am looking for."

So he led them to the lake where he lived and left them just outside. Then he went home. Soon a big stone fell down upon the little turtles and killed them all.

When Turtle ran out to see what had happened, he saw a big bird overhead.

Turtle ran to his neighbor who had ducked into the water. He asked, "What bird was that?"

Muskrat answered, "That is the Thunder Bird, and I am very much afraid of him."

Ever since that day Turtle has stayed in the water when there was a thunderstorm.

Next: The Making of Lakes and Mountains

(400 words)

BNA: The Making of Lakes and Mountains

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

The Making of Lakes and Mountains

Haida

ONCE the Bears stole a woman. Now she wanted to escape, and she remembered to do as she was told. When she combed her hair, she gathered the combings together. She prepared some hair oil and she made ready also a whetstone and some red ochre. Then the woman went out to get wood.

Bear was watching her. He went with her. So she piled much wood upon him and tied the bundle. Now she took a little wood herself and ran to the house with it. She threw it down outside. Then she took the things she had made ready and ran away.

After the woman had gone on awhile, the one who watched her came and called out. After she had run awhile longer, she heard them making a great noise in pursuit. When they got very close to her, she poured out some of the hair oil. It became a big lake.

And after she had run on awhile longer, she broke off a piece of the whetstone. It became a mountain.

Now after she had run on again, snowbirds almost surrounded her. Then she poured out some red ochre and the birds all went back to it and painted their faces with it.

Now she ran on again, and after a while when they had almost overtaken her, she threw down the hair combings. They at once became a mass of fallen trees. And while the Bears struggled through these, she went on a long distance.

When she was almost overtaken again, she broke off part of the whetstone and put it in the ground. It became a great mountain. Then as she ran on, she threw down her hair combings and again they became great masses of fallen trees.

Now as she ran on, she saw they had almost overtaken her. She stuck the whole comb into the ground. "Become a mountain!"she said. It became a great mass of mountains which they could not cross. They had to go around.

Then again the snowbirds almost came up with her. She poured out all her red ochre and they began again to paint their faces.

When again she heard the noise of pursuit, she stuck the remainder of the whetstone in the ground. It became a great mountain. And as the birds pursued her, she poured out all the hair oil, and put combings around it, and it became a large lake with masses of fallen trees about it.

She ran on. Then she ran to the shore of the great sea. A man in a canoe paddled near her. She cried, "Let me go with you!"

At first he paid no attention to her, then he said, "Get in."

He let her get into his canoe. Just at that moment, in a great crowd, the Bears came after her. They crowded about the shore and then began to swim out to her. The man put a carved club into the water, and this club of itself killed all the Bears.

The man said to her, "Look out here," and the woman saw the Bears were all dead.

Next: Coyote's Gifts

(500 words)

BNA: Coyote's Gifts

The word "Skookum" is a word of Chinook jargon language (more about that at Wikipedia) which refers to a monster, something like Sasquatch, a.k.a. Bigfoot.

You can learn more about the Nicola people and the Stolo people (Fraser River) at Wikipedia.

[Notes by LKG]

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

Coyote's Gifts

Nicola Valley and Fraser River

COYOTE was powerful in magic, and therefore he was sent into the world by Old One. He spent much time traveling in the Shuswap and Okanogan countries.

It is said that he lived with Old One before coming to earth, and that after he finished his work—as some say — he went back to Old One. But others say that Old One built him a house of transparent ice and put inside of it a log of wood which burns forever. The aurora is the light of Coyote's fire, shining through the ice, or the reflection of it cast up by the ice.

Coyote can hear when people speak his name.

When he rolls over in his sleep, it creates the sharp wind which makes the earth so cold.

Coyote lived for many years in Nicola Valley. He hunted elk and deer in the winter time, and in the early fall he fished for salmon about six miles above Spence's Bridge where he had a weir across the Thompson River. Even yet it is called "Coyote's Weir."

Now when Coyote was traveling about on earth, he gave names to all parts of the country. He changed many things. He made hills and plains wherever he saw fit. He placed bushes and trees here and there, and narrowed or widened the river, and made canons and waterfalls and rapids just as he pleased. Coyote even made the various tribes to speak different languages.

Formerly there were no salmon in the interior of the country because the coast people kept them all. There was a dam across both the Fraser and the Columbia rivers. When Coyote had traveled through the Shuswap country, he went down the Fraser and changed himself into a piece of wood in the canon and floated downstream until stopped by the fish dam. Then he broke down the dam of the four skookums who prevented the salmon from coming up the river. Then he went ashore. Now Coyote led the salmon up the main waters of the Fraser and through the tributary streams. He traveled along the river banks and they followed him. He went up the Thompson River and the North Thompson.

Then Coyote went down to the mouth of the Columbia River where four skookums had dammed the river. He changed himself to a piece of wood, as he had at the Fraser River, and floated down against the dam. They picked it up, saying, "This will make a fine dish."

They shaped it into a salmon dish. Then they put salmon on it. But all the salmon they put on it disappeared. The skookums became afraid of the dish, and they threw it into the fire. Suddenly, in just a moment, the skookums heard a baby's wail from the fire. There it was. They picked up the little thing hastily. They said, "How did it get there?"

Now Coyote grew very rapidly. Soon he was running about. The skookums told him not to touch four baskets which stood there. But Coyote grew very rapidly indeed, and one day when they went out to get firewood, he opened them all. Out of the four baskets came flies, wasps, wind, and smoke. That is why flies and wasps always appear during the salmon season, and why the winds at that season always blow up river. When Coyote had opened the baskets, he went out to the fish dam. He said, "Henceforth, there shall be no dam here, and the salmon shall ascend the river!"

Coyote led the salmon up the Columbia. Hair Seal went almost as far as the Falls of the Columbia with him. The Coyote pushed him in the water and told him that sometimes he could come up as far as that point. Then Coyote sent the salmon into all the tributaries of the Columbia. The broken dam at the mouth of the Fraser River now forms the canyon.

Next: The Coming of the Salmon

(700 words)

BNA: The Coming of the Salmon

You can see a Winwina mask by Nuxalk artist Skip Saunders at the Petroglyph Gallery online.

[Notes by LKG]

This story is part of the British North America unit. Story source: Myths and Legends of British North America by Katharine Berry Judson (1917).

The Coming of the Salmon

Bella Coola

A LONG time ago, a man named Winwina lived on the Bella Coola River, and he often sat in front of his house looking at the river. One day he thought, "I wish fish would ascend this river." At that time not a single salmon visited the Bella Coola River. He thought much about it.

One night Winwina had a dream. He dreamed that with the help of all the animals he had made war upon the Salmon People and had defeated them. At once Winwina invited all the animals to his house, and told them his dream.

When they came, he said, "I wish something. You shall help me obtain what I desire."

Mink said, "What are we to do?" Mink always talked a great deal.

Winwina said, "I want to go to Mialtoa. There is not a single salmon in this river. Let us make war upon the Salmon People. I shall certainly take some slaves and we will place them in this river."

Mink sputtered. He said, "I'm glad you're speaking in regard to this matter. I asked my father, Sun, to give us salmon and I think he gave you the dream you have just told us."

But all the tribes agreed. The animals all wanted to start at once. Winwina asked a person to make a canoe for them. He at once made a self-moving canoe. In the third moon after the winter solstice the canoe was completed.

At once Winwina started. With him went the clouds, the birds, and all the animals.

When they passed the village of Bella Bella, Cormorant was sitting on the beach. He asked to be taken along as passenger.

So they followed the trail of Sun for a long time. At last they reached the country of the Salmon People. The country was a great plain, and there were no trees at all. A large sun was shining in the sky.

Soon the warriors saw the Salmon village, and they sent Raven out to spy. Raven was not gone very long. When he returned, he said, "The Salmon People play on the beach every evening."

Mink at once said, "That would be a good time to carry them off."

Crane said, "I will carry away Sockeye Salmon."

Winwina said, "I will carry off the Humpback Salmon."

Kingfisher said, "And I will look after the Dog Salmon."

Raven said, "You can depend upon me for the Silver Salmon."

Fish Hawk said, "I will capture the Salmon Trout and Olachen."

Fish Hawk was undertaking a good deal, but the olachen and salmon trout were not so large, nor so warlike as the Salmon People.

Cloud said, "I will capture the Spring Salmon."

But Cormorant said, after everyone else had spoken, "Well, I'm only a passenger. I'll take whatever I can get."

Mink answered, "I won't tell what I am going to take! Now start! The Salmon People cannot see you, just as we cannot see ghosts."

At once they went on the warpath. They each seized a boy and a girl of the various Salmon tribes, and the Salmon People could not see them at all. They only saw that their children were fainting, as though their ghosts had gone away.

Then the bird and animal warriors went back to the canoe with their slaves. They were about to start home, when someone said, "Let us go and see what is beyond this country of the Salmon People."

The canoe at once went on, and they came to the Berry Country. One of the birds went ashore and picked up a great many of the Berry People and put them in the canoe. Then they returned home. For seven moons they had remained in the Land of the Salmon People.

When they passed Bella Bella, Cormorant said, "This is my town. I will go ashore here."

The birds and animals traveled on and came to the mouth of the Bella Coola River. There they threw all their Salmon slaves into the water. The Salmon people jumped and began to ascend the river.

Then Winwina arose in his canoe and told each one—the silver salmon, the hump-back salmon — told each one at what season he was to arrive. Ever since that time there have been salmon in the Bella Coola River.

Winwina also scattered the Berry People all over the mountains, and through the valleys, and told each one at what season it was to ripen. After all this was done, Winwina invited everyone to his house. He gave them a great feast.

Next: Coyote and the Salmon

(salmon, by Haida artist John Cross)

(800 words)

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