Creation And Longevity
: Myths And Legends Of California And The Old SouthwestAchomawi (Pit River, Cal.)
Coyote began the creation of the earth, but Eagle completed it. Coyote
scratched it up with his paws out of nothingness, but Eagle complained
there were no mountains for him to perch on. So Coyote made hills, but
they were not high enough. Therefore Eagle scratched up great ridges.
When Eagle flew over them, his feathers dropped down, took root, and
became trees. The pin feather
Coyote and Fox together created man. They quarrelled as to whether they
should let men live always or not. Coyote said, "If they want to die,
let them die." Fox said, "If they want to come back, let them come
back." But Coyote's medicine was stronger, and nobody ever came back.
Coyote also brought fire into the world, for the Indians were freezing.
He journeyed far to the west, to a place where there was fire, stole
some of it, and brought it home in his ears. He kindled a fire in the
mountains, and the Indians saw the smoke of it, and went up and got
fire.
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Coel Ede Wlan Or The Yarn Test
Two young women took a ball of yarn and doubled the threads, and then tied tiny pieces of wood along these threads so as to form a miniature ladder. Then they went upstairs together, and opening the window threw this artificial ladder to the grou... Coinnach Oer
Coinnach Oer, which means Dun Kenneth, was a celebrated man in his generation. He has been called the Isaiah of the North. The prophecies of this man are very frequently alluded to and quoted in various parts of the Highlands; although little is... Coition
The Ainos think it very unlucky for the woman to move ever so slightly during the act of coition. If she does so, she brings disasters upon her husband, who is sure to become a poor man. For this reason, the woman remains absolutely quiet, and the m... Comorre
In the old times, it is said that the city of Vannes was far larger and finer than it is in our days, and that instead of a prefect, it was ruled by a king, whose will was law. I do not know what his name was; but from all I have heard, it seems t... Concealment
We will now return to the quiet dwelling-place of Hadassah, where Lycidas day by day was becoming more hopelessly entangled in the silken meshes which kept him a willing captive in the Hebrew home. The very danger of his position served to add to i... Condemned To The Noose
Ralph Sutherland, who, early in the last century, occupied a stone house a mile from Leeds, in the Catskills, was a man of morose and violent disposition, whose servant, a Scotch girl, was virtually a slave, inasmuch as she was bound to work for him... Conjurors
1. It was formerly believed that men could sell themselves to the devil, and thus become the possessors of supernatural power. These men were looked upon as malicious conjurors. 2. Another species of conjurors practised magical arts, having o... Corwrion Changeling Legend
Once on a time, in the fourteenth century, the wife of a man at Corwrion had twins, and she complained one day to the witch who lived close by, at Tyddyn y Barcut, that the children were not getting on, but that they were always crying, day and ni... Count Roland Of France
The trumpets sounded and the army went on its way to France. The next day King Charles called his lords together. "You see," said he, "these narrow passes. Whom shall I place to command the rear-guard? Choose you a man yourselves." Said Ganelon... Cows
Cows Kneeling on Christmas Morn. In the upland parishes of Wales, particularly those in Montgomeryshire, it was said, and that not so long ago, that cows knelt at midnight on Christmas eve, to adore the infant Saviour. This has been affirmed ... Cows And Horses Witched
The writer was told the name of the farm where the following events were said to have taken place, but he is not quite sure that his memory has not deceived him, so he will only relate the facts without giving them a locality. A farmer had a go... Coyote And Sun
Pai Ute (near Kern River, Cal.) Along time ago, Coyote wanted to go to the sun. He asked Pokoh, Old Man, to show him the trail. Coyote went straight out on this trail and he travelled it all day. But Sun went round so that Coyote came back at night... Coyote And The Fawns
Sia (New Mexico) Another day when he was travelling around, Coyote met a deer with two fawns. The fawns were beautifully spotted, and he said to the deer, "How did you paint your children? They are so beautiful!" Deer replied, "I painted them wit... Coyote And The Hare
Sia (New Mexico) One day Coyote was passing about when he saw Hare sitting before his house. Coyote thought, "In a minute I will catch you," and he sprang and caught Hare. Hare cried, "Man Coyote, do not eat me. Wait just a minute; I have someth... Coyote And The Mesquite Beans
Pima (Arizona) After the waters of the flood had gone down, Elder Brother said to Coyote, "Do not touch that black bug; and do not eat the mesquite beans. It is dangerous to harm anything that came safe through the flood." So Coyote went on, but ... Coyote And The Quails
Pima (Arizona) Once upon a time, long ago, Coyote was sleeping so soundly that a covey of quails came along and cut pieces of fat meat out of his flesh without arousing him. Then they went on. After they had camped for the evening, and were cooking... Coyote And The Rattlesnake
Sia (New Mexico) Coyote's house was not far from Rattlesnake's home. One morning when they were out walking together, Coyote said to Rattlesnake, "To-morrow come to my house." In the morning Rattlesnake went to Coyote's house. He moved slowly a... Coyote And The Tortillas
Pima (Arizona) Once upon a time, a river rose very high and spread all over the land. An Indian woman was going along the trail by the river side with a basket of tortillas on her head, but she was wading in water up to her waist. Now Coyote was af... Coyote As A Hunter
Sia (New Mexico) Coyote travelled a long distance and in the middle of the day it was very hot. He sat down and rested, and thought, as he looked up to Tinia, "How I wish the Cloud People would freshen my path and make it cool." In just a little ... Coyote's Eyes
Pima (Arizona) When Coyote was travelling about one day, he saw a small bird. The bird was hopping about contentedly and Coyote thought, "What a beautiful bird. It moves about so gracefully." He drew nearer to the bird and asked, "What beautifu... Crane
The crane is often mistaken for the heron. When the crane flies against the stream, she asks for rain, when with the stream she asks for fair weather. This bird is said to be thin when the moon wanes, and fat at the waxing of the moon. ... Creation And Longevity
Achomawi (Pit River, Cal.) Coyote began the creation of the earth, but Eagle completed it. Coyote scratched it up with his paws out of nothingness, but Eagle complained there were no mountains for him to perch on. So Coyote made hills, but they wer... Creation Of Man
Miwok (San Joaquin Valley, Cal.) After Coyote had completed making the world, he began to think about creating man. He called a council of all the animals. The animals sat in a circle, just as the Indians do, with Lion at the head, in an open space... Crickets
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Crocodile was, in the days when animals still could talk, the acknowledged foreman of all water creatures and if one should judge from appearances one would say that he still is. But in those days it was his especial duty to have a general care of... Crosby The Patriot Spy
It was at the Jay house, in Westchester, New York, that Enoch Crosby met Washington and offered his services to the patriot army. Crosby was a cobbler, and not a very thriving one, but after the outbreak of hostilities he took a peddler's outfit on ... Crows' Feathers
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There was once a young prince who was, perhaps, not quite twenty-five years old, tall, and his slim figure was like a pine tree; his forehead was sorrowful, like the dark pine; his thunder-like voice made his eyes flash; his dress and his armour w... Cwn Annwn Or Dogs Of The Abyss
The words Cwn Annwn are variously translated as Dogs of Hell, Dogs of Elfinland. In some parts of Wales they are called Cwn Wybir, Dogs of the Sky, and in other places Cwn Bendith Y Mamau. We have seen that Bendith y Mamau is a name given to the... Cyhyraeth Death Sound
This was thought to be a sound made by a crying spirit. It was plaintive, yet loud and terrible. It made the hair stand on end and the blood become cold; and a whole neighbourhood became depressed whenever the awful sound was heard. It was unli... Cynon's Ghost
One of the wicked Spirits which plagued the secluded Valley of Llanwddyn long before it was converted into a vast reservoir to supply Liverpool with water was that of Cynon. Of this Spirit Mr. Evans writes thus:--Yspryd Cynon was a mischievous go... Daikoku And The Oni
A long while ago, when the idols of Buddha and his host of disciples came to Japan, after traveling through China from India, they were very much vexed because the people still liked the little black fellow named Daikoku. Even when they became Bud... Dame Pridgett And The Fairies
Dame Pridgett was a fat, comfortable, good-natured old body, and her business in life was to go about nursing sick folk and making them well again. One day she was sitting by the window, rocking herself and resting after a hard week of nursing.... Dance In A Buffalo Skull
IT was night upon the prairie. Overhead the stars were twinkling bright their red and yellow lights. The moon was young. A silvery thread among the stars, it soon drifted low beneath the horizon. Upon the ground the land was pitchy black. There ... Daoine Shie Or The Men Of Peace
They are, though not absolutely malevolent, believed to be a peevish, repining, and envious race, who enjoy, in the subterranean recesses, a kind of shadowy splendour. The Highlanders are at all times unwilling to speak of them, but especially on... David Salisbury's Ghost
I will quote from Bye-Gones, vol. iii., p. 211, an account of this Spirit. There was an old Welsh tradition in vogue some fifty years ago, that one David Salisbury, son of Harri Goch of Llanrhaiadr, near Denbigh, and grandson to Tho... Death And The Woodman
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Wild was the life led by Mattathias and his followers in the mountains--a life of danger and hardship; danger met manfully, hardship endured cheerfully. Amongst wild rocks, heaped together like the fragments of an elder world torn asunder by some f... Death Watch
This is a sound, like the ticking of a watch, made by a small insect. It is considered a sign of death, and hence its name, Death Watch. A working man's wife, whose uncle was ill in bed, told the writer, that she had no hopes of his recovery, b... Decision
Tossed backwards and forwards on a wild sea of doubt--a vessel without ballast, compass, or rudder--was the mind of the miserable Pollux. The courtier paced for hours up and down a verandah where the cool breeze of heaven could fan him, and where h... Deegeenboyah The Soldier-bird
Deegeenboyah was an old man, and getting past hunting much for himself; and he found it hard to keep his two wives and his two daughters supplied with food. He camped with his family away from the other tribes, but he used to join the men of the M... Deep Things
When Abishai re-entered the dwelling of Hadassah, he found her drawing forth, from a secret receptacle in the wall, a long roll of parchment, covered with writing in Hebrew characters within and without. The lady pressed it reverentially to her lip...