Therefore Coyote went away out
on the eastern edge of the world with his flint-stone knife. He heated
stones to keep his hands warm, and as the Moons arose, he killed one
after another with his flint-stone knife, until he had slain nine of
them. Thus the people were saved from freezing at night.
When it rains, some Indian, sick in heaven, is weeping. Long, long ago,
there was a good young Indian on earth. When he died the Indians wept so
that a flood came upon the earth, and drowned all people except one
couple.
The Creation of the World
Pima (Arizona)
In the beginning there was nothing at all except darkness. All was
darkness and emptiness. For a long, long while, the darkness gathered
until it became a great mass. Over this the spirit of Earth Doctor
drifted to and fro like a fluffy bit of cotton in the breeze. Then Earth
Doctor decided to make for himself an abiding place. So he thought
within himself, "Come forth, some kind of plant," and there appeared the
creosote bush. He placed this before him and set it upright. But it at
once fell over. He set it upright again; again it fell. So it fell until
the fourth time it remained upright. Then Earth Doctor took from his
breast a little dust and flattened it into a cake. When the dust cake
was still, he danced upon it, singing a magic song.
Next he created some black insects which made black gum on the creosote
bush. Then he made a termite which worked with the small earth cake
until it grew very large.
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