Creation Myths of Primitive America Part 56

"Bring meat and we will try how it tastes when 'tis roasted," said the chief.

He cut some venison and roasted it. One and another tasted the meat.

"It is very good," said they; a third one said, "I'll try it," and Gagi took a taste. "Oh, it is sweet, very good," said Gagi.

Each one roasted meat and ate heartily. Next day all went to hunt, and had a great feast in the evening. A chief from another place came to the feast and got fire, took it home with him. Soon all people had fire; every one had fire in all parts of the country.

HAKA KAINA

PERSONAGES

After their transformation the personages in "=Haka Kaina=" were mainly birds. I have not been able to identify the majority of them, and would refer to the notes to this myth. =Hwipajusi=, the father of the three girls, is a whistling swan; we find among the characters =Gowila=, a lizard, =Malwila=, meadow-lark, and =Maibyu=, wood dove.

The only way to identify such characters surely is to hire men to shoot them in the woods and mountains. This I have done as often as possible, but in the present case the specimens were lost before I could fix their ident.i.ty. All the information at my disposal now will be found in the notes.

Haka Kaina was the greatest chief in this country; his very large and beautiful sweat-house was Wahkalu.

One time Haka Kaina stole the three daughters of Hwipajusi, a chief who lived down in the far south, beyond the valley of the Daha. When Haka Kaina had brought the three girls home, he said,--

"I must find a good man, a careful man, now, to guard these three girls, a man who never sleeps in the night-time. Hwipajusi will send people here to steal them back; we must be ready for his men."

At last the chief chose Hohwitina because he whistled all night. Every one thought that he never slept, for he whistled all the time, whistled without stopping from evening till daylight. Hohwitina watched the three girls a good many nights; he never looked after them during daylight, for he rested at that time. They were brought to him at dusk every evening to the central pillar of the sweat-house.

The arms of each girl were tied together; one girl was tied to Hohwitina's left arm, the second to his right arm, and the third behind to his waist.

After a time old Hwipajusi sent ten of the best southern men to bring back his three daughters; the names of these men were Pusi Tena, Wija Lala, Chami Nuri, Malwila, Gowila, Grana Rana, Dekkech, Pus.h.i.+ Chowa, Manu Rana, Taki Lapiki. These men were called Yolaina,--that is, the bravest, men who feared nothing.

These men painted their arms and faces black before starting, took good bows and arrows, and went to Wahkalu.

Hwipajusi had kept his three daughters always hidden away in his sweat-house, rolled up in otter-skin carefully; but Haka Kaina, the chief of Wahkalu, had stolen in while all were sleeping and carried away the three maidens.

Hwipajusi's ten men came near Wahkalu one evening between dusk and darkness, and were right there near the sweat-house. Haka Kaina, the chief, saw them coming, and prepared all his forces to fight.

"These are people," said he, "sent by Hwipajusi, very brave and strong men. You must not let them come near the three girls; you must not let them go from here; you must not let them take the girls nor go away themselves; you must kill these ten enemies."

One of the Haka Kaina's men had a great hammer. He put a block of flint at the point which the ten men attacked when they came near; he struck the flint with his hammer; small sharp bits flew off from it like rain, fell on the attackers, and cut them terribly. The ten men had no fear of flint nor of other things. They rushed on until five were killed; the five others were not frightened and they went forward. The man with the hammer struck away on the flint block till five more were killed.

Now Hwipajusi's ten brave men who feared nothing were dead.

Hwipajusi waited for his men to come back, looked for them, hoped to see them bring his daughters, but the men could not come; they were dead. They had promised their chief to bring the girls surely, but they could not bring them; the ten were dead at Wahkalu.

Hwipajusi sent ten other men, men who were very wise and cunning.

These ten were Itchi Watibila, Chini Pachuna, Maibyu, Tsigaga, Maltama, Howichi Laina, Aichuch Hisipa, Tsawila, Haiyude Maupa, Tarku Wana. These ten men came near the sweat-house, sat down, and hid there in the evening.

"I will go up first on the sweat-house," said Maibyu; "you are too heavy, your tread is heavy. If you go, they will hear you, they will wake up; we shall be killed, like the ten who came before us."

"I know the man who watches the girls," said Maibyu; "he whistles all night, but he sleeps; no one in the sweat-house sleeps more soundly than he does. Now, when he is asleep, I will go down and take the girls from him."

"I will go myself," said Itchi Watibila.

Haka Kaina's people danced that evening, and played till late at night. Hwipajusi's ten men crept near and watched the people dancing, but no one saw them. Haka Kaina sat inside the sweat-house, smoking and talking, talking loud; the ten heard his voice. At last, when it was late, all the men went into the sweat-house and other houses, and in time they were asleep everywhere. All were silent except Hohwitina, who sat watching the girls at the central pillar; and he whistled all the time.

The ten went around the sweat-house; saw that all were sleeping. They heard no noise but the whistling of Hohwitina.

"I know that he is asleep now," said Itchi Watibila.

Four men went to the top of the sweat-house. The watcher was whistling not so loudly, but whistling. Itchi Watibila gave his arrows to Chini Pachuna, and Chini Pachuna gave them to Maibyu, for he had to lift up the girls.

"That man sleeps, I know," said Itchi Watibila; and he went down slowly along the pillar, reached the bottom, and sat a while to listen. He looked closely at Hohwitina, and saw that he was whistling with his eyes shut. Itchi Watibila laughed to himself. He saw that one girl was tied to each of Hohwitina's arms and one to his waist from behind. The girls were awake, all three of them.

Itchi Watibila untied the right-hand girl carefully; raised her to Chini Pachuna, who gave her to Maibyu at the top of the sweat-house.

Hohwitina whistled on, and Itchi Watibila took the left-hand girl, raised her to the other man; at last he took the third, the youngest daughter of Hwipajusi, made no noise, raised her to the others, then climbed up himself, rested a moment on the top of the sweat-house, looked down. Hohwitina was whistling away and asleep all the time. The ten slipped down without noise and started home; hurried off toward the south with Hwipajusi's three daughters.

Old Haka Kaina rose up at daylight, walked around the sweat-house, went to the central pillar to look at Hohwitina and the three girls he was guarding. He saw Hohwitina, heard how he was whistling, saw n.o.body near him,--no girls tied to his arms or his waist.

"He has let the girls go," thought Haka Kaina. "You whistle all night, but don't watch," said Haka Kaina, pus.h.i.+ng him. He woke him.

Hohwitina looked at his right arm, no girl; looked at his left, the second was gone; felt at his back, there was no one there.

"Where are the girls?" asked Haka Kaina.

"I cannot tell," said Hohwitina.

Haka Kaina looked around and saw tracks in the ashes.

"You said that you never sleep at night; now look at those tracks; those are somebody's tracks, somebody came here last night. What were you doing? Were you awake? were you sleeping? Did you let the girls go because you were willing, or did somebody take them while you were sleeping?"

Hohwitina said nothing, held down his head. Haka Kaina went out, and saw tracks on the sweat-house, then he saw tracks below at some distance away from the sweat-house.

"People came from the south and took the three girls," said he; "of course they were sent by Hwipajusi."

Haka Kaina talked all the next night to his people, told how sorry he was that the girls had been taken, and to two men he said, "You must go and bring back the girls to us."

The two were Bohkwi and Simu Nupchowa; they could run fast, and were very wise persons.

Now, on the top of his sweat-house, at the central pillar, Hwipajusi had posted Matsklila as a sentry, and he watched carefully to see who would come. Hwipajusi knew that Haka Kaina would try to get the girls back again. Matsklila had a knife in his nose and one in each arm.

Bohkwi and Simu Nupchowa set out to bring the girls back from the south. Just at sunset one evening they came near the village; they saw crowds of people everywhere, young men and women at play in the great village.

Old Hwipajusi sat talking; and a great many people, old and young, men and women, sat around him and listened. Haka Kaina's two men went near the sweat-house.

"I am going in," said Bohkwi.

"No, I am going," said Simu Nupchowa. "You cannot run fast. You stand near, and when I come out you run ahead, and I can carry the three girls easily. I will catch up with you."