Coyote and Fox were short of food, and Coyote said, "Let us plan to get married to some man!"1 Fox answered, "But how can we marry men when we are men ourselves?" Coyote said, "That is easy enough! We will just put on women's clothes, and the rest will only be good talking." So Fox agreed that it was a fine plan to marry some one that way. They dressed up in women's dresses, and went to see two young unmarried Wolves. They told these Wolf brothers that their parents had sent them out to try and find good husbands. Then the Wolves agreed to marry them.
Then with good talking Coyote told the Wolves, "For five days you cannot really marry us, but instead must give us food to take home to our parents." The Wolf brothers believed what Coyote said, because they did not recognize him in that disguise. So for five days Coyote and Fox pretended to take a supply of food home to their parents. At the end of this time Coyote did not know how to get out of the difficulty. On the evening of the sixth day he said to Fox, "Be ready all the time, we shall leave for home to-night. Now, the Wolves had two sisters who were dwelling near their brothers' camp. After dark Coyote went to the house of the girls; and when one of them went outside, he seized the other and violated her. This girl made a great cry; and when Fox heard the cry, he jumped up and ran off. Coyote ran away also, and the Wolves never caught him.
Coyote was a wise man, and Fox was slow-witted. Coyote said to Fox, "Now we shall have to get up some scheme to procure food. You are slow-witted, just like your father. My father was not that way: he was wise. I have taken after my father."
They were in their camp; and Coyote said to Fox, "If you keep perfectly still and do not move, we shall get some food." Then Coyote began thus: "I wish that I and my friend could hear the sound of five packs of food falling at the door!" Then they heard five sounds: "tlitluk, tlitluk, tlitluk, tlitluk, tlitluk!" Coyote jumped up and ran out, and there he saw five packs lying at the door. He took the three largest ones for his share, and left the two smallest ones for Fox. The large packs that Coyote got were all dry meat without any fat, but the two little packs contained fine meat. In three days Coyote had eaten all his poor meat; while Fox had a great deal left, because his was so very rich. On the fourth morning Coyote was hungry, and kept his eye on Fox to see if he had eaten all his share. Now, Fox had eaten only one of his packs, so Coyote jumped over and took the other. Then he said to Fox, "You are a fine fellow never to divide up with your friend!"
Five times they repeated the magic act and got food, but the sixth time Coyote wanted to see who brought them the meat. So he said to Fox, "I am going to see the man who gives us meat." Fox replied, "You had better not try to do that, because this is the only way we can get food." But Coyote was determined to see. He stood at the door, and cut a peep-hole so that he could look out with one eye. Then he repeated the wish; and when the packs fell, he saw a man going up over the ridge who wore long hair in a wig. This man was Deer Tick (piskyeye). Coyote shouted after him, "Oh, you man with the wig! you go over the mountain!" Think you they got food again from the man Coyote had shamed?3
The Mountain-Sheep (tinum), the Elk (wewukie), the Black-Tailed Deer (ye'emes), the White Tailed Deer (tatapaix), and the Mountain Goat (tax'isxis) outran all other animals. The wager was that those who were beaten should lose their heads. These five animals always won. Now, Coyote and Fox happened to come to that place; and Coyote said to Fox, "Partner, we also shall give them a race, we two against those five." They made a challenge, and arranged a race with five Black Tailed Deer. So they ran a long way, crossing gulches and hills; but when the race was about half over, Coyote gave out, and Fox was left to finish. Pretty soon the five Black Tailed Deer gave out also, and so Fox won the race. Then the five Black-Tailed Deer were beheaded in a gulch, and Coyote and Fox devoured the bodies and rested. After this, Coyote and Fox ran races with each of the other four kinds of animals. They won all the races, and killed the defeated runners.
No other animals dared to run with Coyote and Fox. Soon, however, these two got fat from eating too much meat. Then Jack-Rabbit (wilali'k) and White Mountain-Rabbit (palxts), and Bald-Headed Eagle (wèptis), and Golden Eagle (soxontaix), and Magpie (èkex) decided to challenge them. Coyote said to Fox, "We have beaten all the good runners; let us beat these as well!" The race was a long one, as before; and Coyote gave out, and every one on the other side gave out but Magpie. Magpie was behind Fox when they came to a steep hill at the end of the course. Then Magpie swooped down and won the race.
1 The institution of the berdache was known to the Nez Percé, and the perversion was usually the result of a dream. Some of these men were normally married.
2 See pp. 103, 170.
3 When this rhetorical question is asked, the chorus is "No!"
4 See p. 171.
