There is a suggestion of Thor in the Story of Wayhohm, and also of
Prometheus. Wayhohm's house must have been the hall of the clouds.
How true to nature, here, is the touch describing the Coyote-person,
Toehahvs. The excessive caution of the coyote, making it impossible for
him, however eager, to force himself into any position he suspects,
here stands out before us, contrasted in the most dramatic way with
the dashing boldness of the road-runner.
When we reached the end of this story Comalk Hawk-Kih took two
pieces of wood to rub them together to make fire. But he was old and
breathless, and "Sparkling-Soft-Feather," the mother of my interpreter,
took them and made the fire for me. I have the implements yet.
There were two parts to the apparatus. Gee-uh-toe-dah, the socket
stick was of a soft dry piece of giant cactus rib, and a notch was
whittled in one side of this with a small socket at the apex, that
is on the upper side.
This was placed flat on the ground, with a bit of corn husk under the
notch, and held firmly in position by the bare feet. The twirling
stick, eev-a-dah-kote, was a hard arrow weed, very dry and scraped
smooth. The end of this was engaged in the little socket, at the
top of the cactus rib, and then, held perpendicularly, was twirled
between the two hands till the friction rubbed off a powder which
crowded out of the socket, and fell down the notch at its side to
the corn-husk. This little increasing pile of powder was the tinder,
and, as the twirling continued, grew black, smelled like burned wood,
smoked and finally glowed like punk. It was now picked up on the corn
husk and placed in dry horse dung, a bunch of dry grass, or some such
inflammable material, and blown into flame.
It looked very simple, and took little time, but I never could do it.