In the lower world four gods were created by Etseastin and Etseasun. These
gods were so annoyed by ants that they said, "Let us go to the four points
of the world." A spring was found at each of the cardinal points, and each
god took possession of a spring, which he jealously guarded.
Etseastin and Etseasun were jealous because they had no water and they
needed some to produce nourishment. The old man finally obtained a little
water from each of the gods and planted it, and from it he raised a spring
such as the gods had. From this spring came corn and other vegetation.
Etseastin and Etseasun sat on opposite sides of the spring facing each
other, and sang and prayed and talked to somebody about themselves, and
thus they originated worship. One day the old man saw some kind of fruit
in the middle of the spring. He tried to reach it but he could not, and
asked the spider woman (a member of his family) to get it for him. She
spun a web across the water and by its use procured the fruit, which
proved to be a large white shell, quite as large as a Tusayan basket. The
following day Etseastin discovered another kind of fruit in the spring
which the spider woman also brought him; this fruit was the turquoise. The
third day still another kind of fruit was discovered by him and obtained
by the spider woman; this was the abalone shell. The fourth day produced
the black stone bead, which was also procured.
After ascending into the upper world Etseastin visited the four corners to
see what he could find. (They had brought a bit of everything from the
lower world with them). From the east he brought eagle feathers; from the
south feathers from the bluejay; in the west he found hawk feathers, and
in the north speckled night bird (whippoorwill) feathers. Etseastin and
Etseasun carried these to a spring, placing them toward the cardinal
points. The eagle plumes were laid to the east and near by them white corn
and white shell; the blue feathers were laid to the south with blue corn
and turquoise; the hawk feathers were laid to the west with yellow corn
and abalone shell; and to the north were laid the whippoorwill feathers
with black beads and corn of all the several colors. The old man and woman
sang and prayed as they had done at the spring in the lower world. They
prayed to the east, and the white wolf was created; to the south, and the
otter appeared; to the west, and the mountain lion came; and to the north,
the beaver. Etseastin made these animals rulers over the several points
from which they came.
When the white of daylight met the yellow of sunset in mid-heavens they
embraced, and white gave birth to the coyote; yellow to the yellow fox.
Blue of the south and black of the north similarly met, giving birth, blue
to blue fox and north to badger.
Blue and yellow foxes were given to the Pueblos; coyote and badger remain
with the Navajo; but Great Wolf is ruler over them all. Great Wolf was the
chief who counseled separation of the sexes.