Myths and Legends of the Great Plains | Page 4

was
drowned. Then Crawfish dived into the water. He was gone a long time.
When he came up there was a little mud in his claws. Crawfish was so
tired he died. But the people took the mud out of his claws and made
the land.

HOW THE WORLD WAS MADE
Cherokee
The earth is a great floating island in a sea of water. At each of the four
corners there is a cord hanging down from the sky. The sky is of solid

rock. When the world grows old and worn out, the cords will break,
and then the earth will sink down into the ocean. Everything will be
water again. All the people will be dead. The Indians are much afraid of
this.
In the long time ago, when everything was all water, all the animals
lived up above in Galun'lati, beyond the stone arch that made the sky.
But it was very much crowded. All the animals wanted more room. The
animals began to wonder what was below the water and at last Beaver's
grandchild, little Water Beetle, offered to go and find out. Water Beetle
darted in every direction over the surface of the water, but it could find
no place to rest. There was no land at all. Then Water Beetle dived to
the bottom of the water and brought up some soft mud. This began to
grow and to spread out on every side until it became the island which
we call the earth. Afterwards this earth was fastened to the sky with
four cords, but no one remembers who did this.
At first the earth was flat and soft and wet. The animals were anxious to
get down, and they sent out different birds to see if it was yet dry, but
there was no place to alight; so the birds came back to Galun'lati. Then
at last it seemed to be time again, so they sent out Buzzard; they told
him to go and make ready for them. This was the Great Buzzard, the
father of all the buzzards we see now. He flew all over the earth, low
down near the ground, and it was still soft. When he reached the
Cherokee country, he was very tired; his wings began to flap and strike
the ground. Wherever they struck the earth there was a valley;
whenever the wings turned upwards again, there was a mountain. When
the animals above saw this, they were afraid that the whole world
would be mountains, so they called him back, but the Cherokee country
remains full of mountains to this day. [This was the original home, in
North Carolina.]
When the earth was dry and the animals came down, it was still dark.
Therefore they got the sun and set it in a track to go every day across
the island from east to west, just overhead. It was too hot this way. Red
Crawfish had his shell scorched a bright red, so that his meat was
spoiled. Therefore the Cherokees do not eat it.

Then the medicine men raised the sun a handsbreadth in the air, but it
was still too hot. They raised it another time; and then another time; at
last they had raised it seven handsbreadths so that it was just under the
sky arch. Then it was right and they left it so. That is why the medicine
men called the high place "the seventh height." Every day the sun goes
along under this arch on the under side; it returns at night on the upper
side of the arch to its starting place.
There is another world under this earth. It is like this one in every way.
The animals, the plants, and the people are the same, but the seasons
are different. The streams that come down from the mountains are the
trails by which we reach this underworld. The springs at their head are
the doorways by which we enter it. But in order to enter the other world,
one must fast and then go to the water, and have one of the
underground people for a guide. We know that the seasons in the
underground world are different, because the water in the spring is
always warmer in winter than the air in this world; and in summer the
water is cooler.
We do not know who made the first plants and animals. But when they
were first made, they were told to watch and keep awake for seven
nights. This is the way young men do now when they fast and pray to
their medicine. They tried to do this. The first night, nearly all the
animals stayed awake. The next night several of them dropped asleep.
The third night still more went to sleep. At