Indians of North America -- Folklore; Modoc Indians -- Folklore; Modoc Indians -- Religion; Modoc mythology
When Wus came with mice his mother cooked them for him. He ate the
bodies and gave her the heads. While she crunched the heads, she ate
meat, too.
Wus listened; he thought that his mother was eating something besides
mouse heads. Right away he jumped up and asked: “What are you eating?”
“I am eating mouse heads. How could I get anything else to eat?” Again
she ate heads and meat.
Wus searched till he found the piece of cooked meat.
“Where did you get this?” asked he.
“Your uncles were here a little while ago, they have plenty of deer
meat.”
“Why didn’t they give you more?”
“They are near here now. If you look out, you will see their camp. They
couldn’t go far, for they had a heavy load.”
Wus looked out; he saw the fire and heard people talking. “I am going
over there!” said he, and he started off on a run. When he thought he
was almost there, the fire and the talking were farther off. He ran
very fast, but couldn’t get to the fire; it was always a little ahead
of him. Each time he said: “Now I shall jump right down by it,” but he
never got any nearer than he was when he started.
Wus was a fast runner; from a flat, with one jump, he reached the top
of a high mountain. When he wanted to run very fast, he called: “Wich!
wich!” When he wanted to go slow, he said: “Hach! hach!” In one night
he got near the great water. When the sun came up, he was on a high
mountain. Looking down, he saw a fire, and men roasting meat and
talking, and throwing knives at one another. Wus said: “Now I shall be
there!” He called: “Wich! wich!” and made a running leap. He came down
where he thought the camp was, but he found only sand; the fire was far
off on the water. He turned back, but he was too weak to walk; he lay
down on the ground, and began to cry.
Tciwididik heard him; she was his aunt. She came, pushed him with her
foot, and said: “Your mother fooled you; she wanted to kill you. You
shouldn’t always do what people tell you to.” She put Wus in her basket
and took him to her house. When he was almost well, she carried him
part way home. He traveled many days, camping each night. He spent the
last night in Kaltsik’s house.
Wus’ mother had cut her hair off and covered her head with pitch; she
was mourning. When she saw Wus, she screamed, she was so glad. She
rubbed deer marrow on his body and cured him; he got fat. They moved to
a new place where there were lots of black crickets. Sometimes Wus
killed a basketful in a day, and he and his mother had plenty to eat.
WAR BETWEEN BEASTS AND BIRDS
Once there was a war between beasts and birds. Bat was on birds’ side.
In the first battle, the birds were badly beaten. As soon as Bat saw
that the battle was going against them, he crept away, hid under a log,
and stayed there till the fight was over.
When the animals were going home, Bat slipped in among them.
After they had gone some distance, they saw him, and asked one another:
“How is this? Bat is one of the men who fought against us?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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