The Chief above made the earth. It was small at first, and he let it increase in size. He continued to enlarge it, and rolled it out until it was very large. Then he covered it with a white dust, which became the soil. He made three worlds, one above another, --the sky world, the earth we live on, and the underworld. All are connected by a pole or tree which passes through the middle of each. Then he created the animals. At last he made a man, who, however, was also a wolf. From this man's tail he made a woman. These were the first people. They were called "Tai’en"2 by the old people, who knew the story well, and they were the ancestors of all the Indians.3
The Chief (or God) made seven worlds, of which the earth is the central one. There are three worlds above, and three below. Maybe the first priests or white people told us this, but some of us believe it now. When the Chief made the earth, he stretched it out with its head to the west, therefore the west is the head of the earth. Heaven, or the place of the dead, is in that direction, and the great rivers all flow westward. West is the direction the souls take. Some say they follow the course the waters take. Perhaps in the beginning the earth was a woman. Some Indians say so, and state that the Chief stretched her body across the world (probably the water), and that she lay with her feet east and her head west. He transformed her into the earth we live on, and he made the first Indians out of her flesh (which is the soil). Thus the first Indians were made by him from balls of red earth or mud, and this is why we are reddish- colored. Other races were made from soil of different colors. Afterwards some of these different races met at certain points and intermingled, and thus the intermediate shades of color have arisen. As red earth is more nearly related to gold and copper than other kinds of earth, therefore the Indians are nearer to gold, and finer than other races.
Once upon a time the people wanted to make war on the Sky People.5 Grizzly-Bear, who was chief, called all the people together to shoot arrows at the sky. Each animal and bird shot, but all the arrows fell short. The Fish, Snakes, and Toads also tried. At last only Chickadee (or Wren?)was left, and no one expected that he could hit the sky. Coyote said he did not need to try, when he himself had failed. However, Chickadee's arrow hit the sky. The others all shot in turn again, and Chickadee shot an arrow which stuck in the nock of the first one. They kept on shooting until a chain of arrows had been made which reached the ground. On this they climbed to the sky. Grizzly-Bear and Black-Bear only remained. They quarrelled as to who should climb next. Black-Bear said Grizzly was too heavy and would break the ladder. They chased each other around the ladder, and finally knocked it down. Meanwhile the people who had reached the sky had attacked the people there, and had been defeated. They fled; and when the first ones reached the hole in the sky, they descended one after another. When they reached half way down, they found the lower part gone, and hesitated to drop so far. Meanwhile the people crowded so thickly on the ladder above, that their weight broke it, and they all fell down. Those left above threw themselves down, and killed or hurt themselves, while the remainder were killed by the Sky people. The Fish, who had no wings, fared worst. Sucker broke all his bones.
The people of a certain region were living together in a very large camp. Their chief had two beautiful daughters of marriageable age. Many young men had proposed to them, but all had been refused. The chief said, "Whom do my daughters wish to marry? They have refused all the men." Sun and Star, who were brother and sister, lived in the sky, and had seen all that had happened. Sun said to his sister, "The chief's daughters have rejected the suits of all our friends. Let us go down and arrange this matter! Let us try these girls!" They made clothes, and at night they descended to earth. During the darkness they erected a lodge on the outskirts of the camp. It had the appearance of being very old, and of belonging to poor people. The poles were old and badly selected. The covering was tattered and patched, and made of tule mats. The floor was strewn with old dried brush and grass, and the bells were of the same material.
1 JE 8: 320.
2 The narrator did not know the meaning of this word. He said it was used by Thompson and Okanagon as a name for these earliest ancestors of the Indian races.
3 The narrator said the whites were of different ancestry, he thought. This story was a long one as told by the old people, but he had forgotten most of it.
4 BBAE 59 : 288 (note 1).
5 Some informants say they wanted to procure fire from there.
6 BBAE 59 : 292.
