Indians of North America -- Folklore; Modoc Indians -- Folklore; Modoc Indians -- Religion; Modoc mythology
Gáhga’s sister said: “You shouldn’t get mad and act in this way; you
will kill everybody.”
He didn’t listen to what she said; he called, “Ho! ho! ho!” and danced
faster and faster. The people were almost drowned; the water was up to
their arms. Still Gáhga kept shaking himself and dancing and calling:
“Ho! ho! ho!”
When the people saw that Gáhga and his sister were dry, they said to
his brother: “You have done this. You have made Gáhga mad. You have
taken your brother’s wife,” and they threatened to kill him.
He said: “I don’t want her. I am going to die; I am freezing.”
The people caught hold of the woman, dragged her along in the water,
and threw her down in front of her husband. He stopped dancing, and
right away it stopped raining.
The people said: “You shouldn’t be mad at us. We didn’t do this. We
don’t want to die; we want to go home. You should feel sorry for us and
dry up the water.”
Gáhga was sorry for them. He danced on the plate, but he didn’t call:
“Ho! ho! ho!” The water began to go away, and soon the ground was as
dry as it had been before the rain, and every one went home except
Gáhga and his wife and his brother.
Gáhga sat on his plate; he wouldn’t get up or he wouldn’t speak. His
wife got mad. She pushed him, and asked: “Why don’t you get ready to go
home?” He didn’t answer: then she took hold of his arm, jerked him up,
threw him on top of the load of meat on her back, and went home.
His brother went off on the mountains; he was afraid of Gáhga, and
afraid of the people; for they hated him, and the woman didn’t care for
him any longer.
Gáhga was so jealous and cross that he drove his wife away. His sister
took the little boy, and Gáhga stayed alone. Maybe he is dead and maybe
he is living. Doctors who have him for their medicine can make rain
whenever they want to. It is a good medicine. When any one has it, they
can look through a man’s body just as we look through a window.
OLD MAN LULUS-DEWIEAS OR EARTHQUAKE OLD MAN
CHARACTER
Lulus-Dewieas A Sweet Root; Dewieas means a Great Eater, a
Glutton
Old man Lulus-Dewieas and his son and daughter-in-law lived in the
country where the lava beds are now. They ate a great deal of sweet
lulus; it was the old man’s medicine. Always when the son went to hunt
for deer, he told his wife to take good care of his father, and be sure
to give him food before she ate herself, or gave any food to the
children. If she didn’t, she would bring misfortune on herself and the
children. The woman remembered what her husband said, and she always
gave the old man food first; he was glad and fed his grandchildren.
One day, early in winter, the son said to his wife: “There is plenty of
game now. I want to kill a good many deer before deep snow comes. While
I am gone, you mustn’t forget to feed my father before any one else.”
The old man was white as snow; he was very old and was almost blind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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