Indians of North America -- Folklore; Modoc Indians -- Folklore; Modoc Indians -- Religion; Modoc mythology
One day, when the eldest Wus brother was hunting, he took his drill out
of his quiver to start a fire. He put the drill on the ground and the
next minute it was gone; he couldn’t find it anywhere. That night he
said to his brothers: “I was alone all day, but when I put down my fire
drill it went away. I hunted everywhere, but I couldn’t find it. That
means trouble is coming to us; I don’t think we will live long.”
The next morning when some of the brothers wanted to track deer, the
eldest Wus brother said: “We must stay at home to-day. I feel scared
about my drill; something bad is going to happen.”
Old woman Kaiutois was sick in a little straw house near the big house
where her sons lived. She called to them, and said: “I hear people
around in the mountains; I think that they are coming to kill us. They
are people from the north. I don’t know what they say, but they are
coming nearer and nearer all the time.”
Just then a crowd of men with bows and arrows came down from the
mountain. They came to fight the Wus brothers. There were so many that
they filled the house, and the brothers couldn’t do anything; they were
all killed except the youngest Wus brother. He got on the top of the
house, made a long leap, then ran as fast as he could.
The strangers killed old woman Kaiutois, but they left Wus’ mother
alive. They said: “She is old, she won’t have any more children; let
her stay here.”
They cut each man open and took out his heart. They put the hearts on
the end of a long pole, burned the house, and started off, taking all
the women with them except Wus’ mother. When they were out of sight,
Wus came home. He found his mother, and asked: “Did they leave the
bodies?”
“Yes, but they cut them open and carried the hearts away.”
“Don’t feel lonesome,” said Wus. “I have two minds; I can do anything.
I will pay those people for killing my brothers.”
The old woman had covered her head with pitch and ashes. Wus told her
to go to the river and wash it off. While she was gone, he thought hard
and right away there was a new house where the old one had been. It was
large and nice, and was full of baskets and mats. He told his mother to
make him ten pairs of moccasins.
“Why do you want moccasins?” asked the old woman. “I don’t know where
to get skin to make them with.” She had a rabbit-skin dress on and he
told her to cut ten pieces out of it. Right away the ten pieces were
ten pairs of beautiful, beaded moccasins.
The old woman said: “You must be careful. Those men are strong. Maybe
they will kill you.”
“I am not afraid,” said Wus. “I have more power than they have. I am
going to find my sister. Maybe I will be gone a long time. Every day
you must put down new mats and throw away the old ones.” Then he said
to the mats: “There must be new mats here each day.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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