The wind used to blow hard all the time. The people had no peace, and many were hurt. Then Coyote made a snare and tried to catch the Wind, but Wind always passed through his snare. He made his snare smaller and smaller, and finally caught the Wind. Then he took away his power of hurting the people, and released it. Since then the wind has been as we know it today.
Formerly the Earth was vexed with hot and cold winds, caused by the Wind people, who were striving with each other. The Cold Wind people lived in the far north, and the Hot Wind people in the south. The Cold Wind people would press the bag in which they kept the wind in their house, and immediately a cold wind would rush out, and blow over the country. When it reached the Hot Wind people, they became cold, and at once pressed their wind bag, and a hot wind rushed north. When it reached the Cold Wind people, they became sick, and they pressed their bag. Thus the conflict continued constantly between the two. Some one made peace between these people, or curtailed their powers. Therefore cold and warm winds blow as they do now.
Heat and Cold were two brothers, the former good-looking, and the latter ugly. One fall Heat travelled south, and then Cold made up his mind to kill the people. He made the weather so cold that most of the people died. Heat hurried back to save them, and made the weather so hot that he killed his brother, and the frost and ice and snow which he had made disappeared. It was then ordained that cold should not prevail long at a time, and should always be driven away by heat. We see the killing of Cold by his brother every spring.
Thunder used to kill many people by shooting down large arrow stones. When he wanted rain, he sang. A man went to his house in the high mountains, and tore up his dress, which was made of feathers. After this the thunder was only able to thunder when it was about to rain, and could not kill people any more.
Once a woman had twin children4 who fainted away. Possibly they only slept. Their mother left them in the morning; and when she returned in the evening, they were still lying there. She noticed tracks like theirs around the house: therefore she thought they must come to life and play during her absence. One day she stole on them unseen, and found them arguing with each other inside the lodge. One said, "It is better to be dead;" and the other said, "It is better to be alive." When they saw her, they stopped talking; and since then people die from time to time. There are always some being born and some dying at the same time, always some living ones and some dead ones. Had she remained hidden, and allowed them to finish their argument, one would have prevailed over the other, and there would have been either no life or no death.
15. STAR MYTHS.
Once Badger stole Coyote's favorite child. Coyote chased them; and as he was nearly overtaking them, they became transformed into stars.6 Coyote thus lost his child. A group of people who were looking on were also transformed into stars.
Some women were cooking camas in an earth oven. The roots were nearly done, and the women sat down in a circle round the pit. Skunk went there to spoil the camas, but could not reach it, because the women encircled the pit. He sat down a little distance off to wait. As they were thus seated, they were transformed into stars.
Three brothers had a brother-in-law who was a Grizzly Bear. The youngest brother was a good friend of the Bear; but the other two brothers disliked him, and said they would kill him. The Bear went off hunting one day, and the youngest brother was following him. The other brothers overtook them, and were about to shoot the Bear. The youngest brother called out, "Brother-in-law, they are going to shoot you!" Just as they were in the act of shooting, they were transformed into stars.
1 JE 8 : 330.
2 RBAE 31 : 732.
3 BBAE 59 : 303 (note 1).
4 Some say brother and sister.
5 Name of a group of stars, probably the Pleiades, and two stars near them. The Thompson consider the Pleiades to have been a group of people. Some Thompson Indians say they are Coyote's children.
6 It is supposed they transformed themselves.
7 SgwElkai'len, a group of stars; seems to be the same as those called by the Thompson "The Women Cooking Roots." I think they are the large stars of Auriga and Perseus.
8 TEmExa'.tcasqat, a group of stars, evidently the Great Bear, called by the Thompson "The Grizzly-Bear" or "The Grizzly-Bear and Hunters."
