The flood, and the origin of the mountains.--One year when the
rainy season should have come it did not. Month after month passed
by and no rain fell. The river grew smaller and smaller day by
day until at last it disappeared entirely. The people began to
die, and at last the old men said: "If we do not soon get water,
we shall all die. Let us dig down into the grave of the river,
for the river is dead and has sunk into his grave, and perhaps we
may find the soul of the river and it will save us from dying." So
they began to dig, and they dug for three days. On the third day
the hole was very large, and suddenly they struck a great spring
and the water gushed forth. It came so fast that some of them
were drowned before they could get out of the pit.
Then the people were happy, for there was plenty of water;
and they brought much food and made a great feast. But while
they were feasting it grew dark and began to rain. The river
also kept rising until at last it overflowed its bank. Then the
people became frightened and they tried to stop up the spring
in the river, but they could not do so. Then the old men said:
"We must flee to the mountains, for the river gods are angry
and we shall all be drowned." So the people fled toward the
mountains and all but two of them were overtaken by the water
and drowned. The two who escaped were a brother and sister named
Wígan and Búgan--Wígan on Mt. Amúyao and Búgan on Kalauítan. And
the water continued to rise until all the Earth World was covered
excepting only the peaks of these two mountains.
The water remained on the earth for a whole season or from rice
planting to rice harvest. [63] During that time Wígan and Búgan
lived on fruits and nuts from the forests that covered the tops of
the two mountains. Búgan had fire which at night lit up the peak
of Kalauítan, and Wígan knew that there was someone else alive
besides himself. He had no fire, and suffered much from the cold.
At last the waters receded from the earth and left it covered
with the rugged mountains and deep valleys that exist to-day;
and the solitary brother and sister, looking down from their
respective peaks, were filled with wonder at the sight.