_From Copyright Photograph 1903 by E.S. Curtis_
Kuterastan, as if waking from a long sleep, sat up and rubbed his face and
eyes with both hands. Then bending forward, he looked up into the endless
darkness, and lo! light appeared everywhere above him. He then looked
down, and all below became a sea of light. A glance to the east created
yellow streaks of dawn, another to the west the saffron tints of the dying
day, both soon becoming obscured by numerous clouds of many hues, formed
by his looking around and about in all directions.
Again with both hands Kuterastan wiped his eyes and sweating face and,
rubbing his hands together as if he were rolling a small pebble between
the palms, suddenly parted them with a quick downward fling, and there
before him on a shining, vaporless, mirage-like cloud sat a little girl no
larger than a doll. Kuterastan directed her to stand up, asking where she
intended to go, but she replied not. He cleared his vision once more with
his hands, then proffered his right hand to the girl, Stenatlihan, Woman
Without Parents, who grasped it, with the greeting "Whence came you?"
For reply Kuterastan merely repeated her question, adding, "Look to the
east, it is light! There will be light in the south, in the west, and in
the north." And as she looked she saw light. He then came out upon the
cloud.
"Where is the earth?" asked Stenatlihan, to which Kuterastan replied by
asking:
"Where is the sky?" Then requesting that he be not disturbed, he began to
sing: "I am thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking what shall I do next."
Four times he thus sang, at the end of the fourth time brushing his face
with his hands, which he rubbed briskly together and parted quickly; and
there before him stood Chuganaai, the Sun. Raising his left hand to his
brow, from the sweat thereon, which he rolled in his hands as before,
Kuterastan let drop from his right palm a small boy, Hadintin Skhin.
The four sat upon that still cloud for a time as if in reverie, the first
to break the silence being he who commenced the creation: "What shall we
do next? I do not like this cloud to live upon, but we are to rule and
must stay together. How dreary it is here! I wish we had some place to
go." And then he set to work again, creating Nacholecho, the Tarantula,
who was later to help in completing the earth, and Nokuse, the Big Dipper,
whose duty it would be to befriend and to guide. The creation of
Nilchidilhkizn, the Wind, Ndidilhkizn, the Lightning Maker, and the clouds
in the west to house Ndisagochan, Lightning Rumbler, whom he placed in
them at the same time, next occupied his attention. Then turning to
Stenatlihan, Kuterastan said, "Truly this is not a fit place in which to
live; let us make the earth." And so saying he at once began to sing, "I
am thinking of the earth, the earth, the earth; I am thinking of the
earth," which he repeated four times. As he ceased, Stenatlihan,
Chuganaai, and Hadintin Skhin each shook hands with him. Sweat from their
hands adhered to his. He at once began rubbing his palms, when suddenly
there slipped from between them a small brown body, no larger than a bean.
Kuterastan kicked it and it expanded; Stenatlihan then kicked it and its
size further increased; Chuganaai next gave it a severe blow with his foot
and it became larger still; a kick from Hadintin Skhin made it greater
yet. Nilchidilhkizn, the Wind, was told to go inside and blow outward in
all directions. This he did, greatly expanding the dimensions of that
body, now so wide that they could hardly see its edge. The Lightning was
next directed to exert his strength, so with a terrific flash and roar he
penetrated the body to its centre, spreading it still wider. Then
Tarantula was called on to assist, and accordingly he started off to the
east, spinning a strong black cord, on which he pulled with all his might;
another cord of blue was spun out to the south, a third of yellow to the
west, and a fourth of glistening white to the north. A mighty pull on each
of these stretched the surface of that dark brown body to almost
immeasurable size. Finally Kuterastan directed all to cover their eyes
with their hands, and when they opened them a moment later they beheld
Nigostu{~COMBINING BREVE~}n, the Earth, complete in extent. No hills or mountains were there
in sight, nothing but a smooth, treeless, reddish-brown plain.
Nilchidilhkizn, the Wind, scratched his chest and rubbed his fingers
together, when out from between them flew Datilye, the Humming-bird.
Datilye was told to make a circuit of the earth and report what he saw. He
started off toward the east, circled south, west, north, and back from the
east. All was well; the earth was most beautiful, very smooth, and covered
with water on the western side.
But the Earth was not still; it kept shifting and rolling and dancing up
and down, so Kuterastan made four great posts--colored black, blue, yellow,
and white--to support it. Then he directed Stenatlihan to sing a song. She
sang, "The world is made and will soon sit still." These two then stood
and faced Chuganaai and Hadintin Skhin, when into their midst came
Nilchidilhkizn, who dashed away to the cardinal points with the four
posts, which he placed under the sides of the earth; and upon them it sat
and was still. This pleased Kuterastan, so he sang a song, repeating, "The
world is now made and sits still."
Then Kuterastan began another song, referring to the sky. None existed as
yet, and he felt there ought to be one. Four times he chanted the song, at
the end of the fourth time spreading his hands wide before him, when lo!
there stood twenty-eight men and women ready to help make a sky to cover
the earth. He next chanted a song for the purpose of making chiefs for the
sky and the earth, and at its close sent Ndidilhkizn, the Lightning Maker,
to encircle the world. Ndidilhkizn departed at once, but returned in a
short time with three very uncouth persons, two girls and a boy, whom he
had found in the sky in a large turquoise bowl. Not one of them had eyes,
ears, hair, mouth, nose, or teeth, and though they had arms and legs, they
had neither fingers nor toes.
Chuganaai at once sent for Doh, the Fly, to come and erect a _kache{~COMBINING BREVE~}_, or
sweat-house. It took but a short time to put up the framework, which
Stenatlihan covered closely with four heavy clouds: a black cloud on the
east, a blue one on the south, a yellow one on the west, and a white one
on the north. Out in front of the doorway, at the east, she spread a soft
red cloud for a foot-blanket after the sweat. Twelve stones were heated in
a fire, and four of them placed in the _kache{~COMBINING BREVE~}_. Kuterastan, Stenatlihan,
Chuganaai, and Hadintin Skhin each inspected the sweat-house and
pronounced it well made. The three newcomers were bidden to enter and were
followed by Chuganaai, Nilchidilhkizn, Ndidilhkizn, Nokuse, and Doh. The
eight sang songs as their sweat began. Chuganaai led, singing four songs,
and each of the others followed in turn with the same number. They had had
a good sweat by the time the songs were finished, so Stenatlihan removed
the black cloud and all came out. She then placed the three strangers on
the red-cloud blanket, and under the direction of Kuterastan made for them
fingers, toes, mouth, eyes, ears, hair, and nose. Then Kuterastan bade
them welcome, making the boy, whom he called Yadilhkih Skhin, Sky Boy,
chief of the sky and its people. The second he named Nigostu{~COMBINING BREVE~}n Nali{~COMBINING BREVE~}n,
Earth Daughter, and placed her in charge of the earth and its crops; while
to the third, Hadinin Nali{~COMBINING BREVE~}n, Pollen Girl, was assigned the care of the
health of the earth's people. This duty also devolved upon Hadintin Skhin,
but each looks more to the welfare of his own sex than to that of the
other.
[Illustration: Among the Oaks - Apache]