Another squaw named Isabel says that the
stubs of trees, which are still plainly visible deep down in the
pellucid waters, are considered by the old superstitious Indians to be
evil spirits, the demons of the place, reaching up their arms, and that
they fear them greatly.
(4) (Vol. 3, Part 2, U. S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the
Rocky Mountain region: Contributions to North American Ethnology, 1877.)
California Big Trees
Pai Utes (near Kern River, Cal.)
The California big trees are sacred to the Monos, who call them
"woh-woh-nau," a word formed in imitation of the hoot of the owl. The
owl is the guardian spirit and the god of the big trees. Bad luck comes
to those who cut down the big trees, or shoot at an owl, or shoot in the
presence of the owl.
In old days the Indians tried to persuade the white men not to cut down
the big trees. When they see the trees cut down they call after the
white men. They say the owl will bring them evil.
The Children of Cloud
Pima (Arizona)
When the Hohokam dwelt on the Gila River and tilled their farms around
the great temple which we call Casa Grande, there was a beautiful young
woman in the pueblo who had two twin sons. Their father was Cloud, and
he lived far away.
One day the boys came to their mother, as she was weaving mats. "Who is.
our father?" they asked. "We have no one to run to when he returns from
the hunt, or from war, to shout to him.
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