Myths and Legends of the Great Plains | Page 6

trying to get off the ashes,
and at last managed to escape through the same hole by which he had
entered. But his body had been burned black. Therefore he is now the
black racer. And that is why the black racer darts around and doubles
on his track as if trying to escape.
Then great Blacksnake, "The Climber," offered to go for fire. He was
much larger than the black racer. Blacksnake swam over to the island
and climbed up the tree on the outside, as the blacksnake always does,
but when he put his head down into the hole the smoke choked him so
that he fell into the burning stump. Before he could climb out, he, too,
was burned black.
So the birds, and the animals, and the snakes held another council. The
world was still very cold. There was no fire. But all the birds, and the
snakes, and all the four-footed animals refused to go for fire. They were
all afraid of the burning sycamore.
Then Water Spider said she would go. This is not the water spider that
looks like a mosquito, but the other one--the one with black downy hair
and red stripes on her body. She could run on top of the water, or dive
to the bottom.
The animals said, "How can you bring back fire?"
But Water Spider spun a thread from her body and wove it into a tusti
bowl which she fastened on her back. Then she swam over to the island
and through the grass to the fire. Water Spider put one little coal of fire
into her bowl, and then swam back with it.
That is how fire came to the world. And that is why Water Spider has a
tusti bowl on her back.

THE ANCESTORS OF PEOPLE
Osage

There are people who come from under the water. They lived in the
water weeds that hang down, all green, into the water. They have leaves
upon their stems. Now the water people lived in shells. The shells were
their houses and kept the water out.
There were other animals who lived under the earth. Cougar lived
under the earth, and bear, and buffalo. These creatures came up out of
the ground. Then the shell people came up to the earth also; and the sky
people came down. So all these three peoples lived together. They are
the fathers of the people who live on the earth today.

[Illustration: WOMAN'S COSTUME
(Omaha)
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution]
[Illustration: AN ELDERLY OMAHA BEAU
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution]

ORIGIN OF STRAWBERRIES
Cherokee
When the world was new, there was one man and one woman. They
were happy; then they quarreled. At last the woman left the man and
began to walk away toward the Sunland, the Eastland. The man
followed. He felt sorry, but the woman walked straight on. She did not
look back.
Then Sun, the great Apportioner, was sorry for the man. He said,
"Are you still angry with your wife?"
The man said, "No."

Sun said, "Would you like to have her come back to you?"
"Yes," said the man.
So Sun made a great patch of huckleberries which he placed in front of
the woman's trail. She passed them without paying any attention to
them. Then Sun made a clump of blackberry bushes and put those in
front of her trail. The woman walked on. Then Sun created beautiful
service-berry bushes which stood beside the trail. Still the woman
walked on.
So Sun made other fruits and berries. But the woman did not look at
them.
Then Sun created a patch of beautiful ripe strawberries. They were the
first strawberries. When the woman saw those, she stopped to gather a
few. As she gathered them, she turned her face toward the west. Then
she remembered the man. She turned to the Sunland but could not go
on. She could not go any further.
Then the woman picked some of the strawberries and started back on
her trail, away from the Sunland. So her husband met her, and they
went back together.

SACRED LEGEND
Omaha
In the beginning the people were in water. They opened their eyes, but
they could see nothing. As the people came out of the water, they first
saw the daylight. They had no clothing. Then they took weeds and
grasses and from them wove clothing.
The people lived near a large body of water; it was in a wooded country
where there was game. The men hunted the deer with clubs; they did
not know the use of the bow. The people wandered about the shores of
the great water. They were poor and cold. The people thought, "What

shall we do to help ourselves?" So they began