There was a time when the world was an unbroken waste of rocks, hills,
and mountains, save only one small valley, which was distinguished for
its luxuriance, and where reigned a perpetual summer. At that time, too,
the only human being who inhabited the earth was a woman, whose
knowledge was confined to this valley, and who is remembered among the
Catawbas as the mother of mankind. She lived in a cavern, and her food
consisted of the honey of flowers, and the sweet berries and other
fruits of the wilderness. Birds without number, and the wild streams
which found a resting place in the valley, made the only music which she
ever heard. Among the wild animals, which were very numerous about her
home, she wandered without any danger; but the beaver and the doe were
her favorite companions. In personal appearance she was eminently
beautiful, and the lapse of years only had a tendency to increase the
brightness of her eyes and the grace of her movements. The dress she
wore was made of those bright green leaves which enfold the water
lilies, and her hair was as long as the grass which fringed the waters
of her native vale. She was the ruling spirit of a perennial world, for
even the very flowers which bloomed about her sylvan home were never
known to wither or die. In spite of her lonely condition, she knew not
what it was to be lonely; but ever and anon a strange desire found its
way to her heart, which impelled her to explore the wild country which
surrounded her home. For many days had she resisted the temptation to
become a wanderer from her charming valley, until it so happened, on a
certain morning, that a scarlet butterfly made its appearance before the
door of her cave, and by the hum of its wings invited her away. She
obeyed the summons, and followed the butterfly far up a rocky ravine,
until she came to the foot of a huge waterfall, when she was deserted by
her mysterious pilot, and first became acquainted with the emotion of
fear. Her passage of the ravine had been comparatively smooth; but when
she endeavored, in her consternation, to retrace her steps, she found
her efforts unavailing, and fell to the ground in despair. A deep sleep
then overcame her senses, from which she was not awakened until the
night was far spent; and then the dampness of the dew had fallen upon
her soft limbs, and for the first time in her life did she feel the pang
of a bodily pain. Forlorn and desolate indeed was her condition, and she
felt that some great event was about to happen, when, as she uncovered
her face and turned it to the sky, she beheld, bending over her
prostrate form, and clothed in a cloud-like robe, the image of a being
somewhat resembling herself, only that he was more stoutly made, and of
a much fiercer aspect. Her first emotion at this strange discovery was
that of terror; but as the mysterious being looked upon her in kindness,
and raised her lovingly from the ground, she confided in his protection,
and listened to his words until the break of day.
He told her that he was a native of the far off sky, and that he had
discovered her in her forlorn condition while traveling from the evening
to the morning star. He told her also that he had never before seen a
being so soft and beautifully formed as she. In coming to her rescue he
had broken a command of the Great Spirit, or the Master of Life, and, as
he was afraid to return to the sky, he desired to spend his days in her
society upon earth. With joy did she accept this proposal; and, as the
sun rose above the distant mountains, the twain returned in safety to
the luxuriant vale, where, as man and woman, for many moons, they lived
and loved in perfect tranquillity and joy.
In process of time the woman became a mother; from which time the
happiness of the twain became more intense, but they at the same time
endured more troubles than they had ever known before. The man was
unhappy because he had offended the Master of Life, and the mother was
anxious about the comfort and happiness of her newly-born child. Many
and devout were the prayers they offered to the Great Spirit for his
guidance and protection, for they felt that from them were to be
descended a race of beings more numerous than the stars of heaven. The
Great Spirit had compassion on these lone inhabitants of the earth; and,
in answer to their prayers, he caused a mighty wind to pass over the
world, making the mountains crowd closely together, and rendering the
world more useful and beautiful by the prairies and valleys and rivers
which now cover it, from the rising to the setting sun. The Master of
Life also told his children that he would give them the earth and all
that it contained as their inheritance; but that they should never enjoy
their food without labor, should be annually exposed to a season of
bitter cold, and that their existence should be limited by that period
of time when their heads should become as white as the plumage of the
swan. And so endeth the words of the Catawba.