Creation Myths of Primitive America: In relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of MankindCurtin, Jeremiah
Religion
Creation Myths of Primitive America: In relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind
Curtin, Jeremiah
Creation -- Mythology; Indian mythology -- North America; Indians of North America -- Folklore
The elder brother was on the ridge near the western slope, and the
younger on the ridge near the eastern slope. The brothers made the
snare and set it on the western slope. Both watched and waited for the
clouds to come.
"Now, my brother," said Olelbis, when he saw this work, "watch these
people well, frighten them into the trap, and I will go back to
Olelpanti."
Next morning early the two brothers were watching, and very soon they
saw a great many cloud people coming. Both brothers were lying flat on
the middle of the ridge, so that the clouds could not see them. The
clouds watched closely. They came to the place where they had always
turned east to go past little Katkatchila; they ran against the fence
and could not pass. They turned and went toward the west to pass
northward along the central ridge; but when both brothers stood up,
the clouds rushed to the western slope and fell into the trap.
Olelbis saw this and said: "Now, my brothers are driving them in. I
must go and see!" And he ran off quickly.
"Oh, my brother," said the Katkatchilas when he came, "we have caught
one cloud. All the rest went through the fence. They broke it--we
caught one; the others burst away."
Olelbis looked at the cloud and said,--
"This is a black one! They broke down the fence and ran away! They are
a strong people."
"Now, my brother," said the elder Katkatchila, "we will skin this
cloud, and you may have the skin. We will give it to you."
"I shall be glad to have it," said Olelbis.
They stripped the skin from the cloud, and, when giving it to Olelbis,
the elder one said, "You must tan this carefully."
"Make another fence," said Olelbis, "but make it stronger. You will
catch more of these people."
"A great many clouds have broken through our fence to-day and gone
north. Others went before we made the fence. We shall see these people
by and by," said Katkatchila. (He meant that clouds would stay in the
north and become another people; stay there always.)
Olelbis took the skin, turned toward home, and travelled on. He was
rubbing it in his hands, tanning it as he went. The brothers put the
body in a hole and buried it, not caring for the flesh. They wanted
only the skin.
Olelbis went along tanning the skin of the black cloud, and he walked
around everywhere as he tanned. He went away west, then north, then
south, then east. At last he came home with the skin well tanned. He
spread it and stretched it smooth. The two Katkatchila brothers had
not been able yet to catch another of the cloud people, but they were
working at it all the time. After Olelbis spread the skin on the
ground, he took it up and said to one of the old women,--
"My grandmother is always cold; let us give her this skin;" and he
gave it to her. Each of the two old women said,--
"My grandson, we are glad to have this skin. We shall sleep warm now."
"I must go," said Olelbis, "and see my brothers drive in more of the
cloud people." And he went.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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