The birds were tired and frightened. The
larger one cried and cried, but the little bird held on tight and said,
"Don't cry. I 'm littler than you are, but I 'm very brave."
Legend of the Flood
Ashochimi (Coast Indians, Cal.)
Long ago there was a great flood which destroyed all the people in the
world. Only Coyote was saved. When the waters subsided, the earth was
empty. Coyote thought about it a long time.
Then Coyote collected a great bundle of tail feathers from owls, hawks,
eagles, and buzzards. He journeyed over the whole earth and carefully
located the site of each Indian village. Where the tepees had stood, he
planted a feather in the ground and scraped up the dirt around it. The
feathers sprouted like trees, and grew up and branched. At last they
turned into men and women. So the world was inhabited with people again.
The Great Flood
Sia (New Mexico)
For a long time after the fight, the people were very happy, but the
ninth year was very bad. The whole earth was filled with water. The
water did not fall in rain, but came in as rivers between the mesas. It
continued to flow in from all sides until the people and the animals
fled to the mesa tops. The water continued to rise until nearly level
with the tops of the mesas. Then Sussistinnako cried, "Where shall my
people go? Where is the road to the north?" He looked to the north.
"Where is the road to the west? Where is the road to the east? Where is
the road to the south?" He looked in each direction.
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