Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians: Title Page

opposite bank. The Alligator let them land and disappeared under the water before their pursuer caught sight of him. Then the monster
said to the boys, "You had a very narrow escape. Who set you over?"
When the boys brought their tobacco in to their father, who had thought they were killed and eaten by that time, he said to them, "Well,
did you make the trade?" "Yes, here is the tobacco," they said, and upon this their father got up and started off.
Then Fåtcasigo said to his brother again, "Our father is very angry with us. He is going to get some one to help him kill us. We will also be
prepared." So they collected quantities of bees
p. 7
and stinging insects of all sorts and filled the house with them. When it is time for him to come back we will set watches for him," they
said, and they did so. The outermost picket was the Blue Crane (watula). The next was the Wild Goose (ahakwa). The next was the
Pelican (saså'kwa h'gi). 1 The last and nearest were Quails (kowaigi). The Crane was stationed farthest out because it has the loudest
voice. The Wild Goose was next because it has the next loudest voice. The Pelican was next because its voice is third in strength. Quails
were placed last because they make a noise with their wings when they fly up. After making these arrangements the boys lay down and
listened.
By and by the boys heard the voice of the Crane and they said, "He is coming." A little later they heard the voice of the Goose, and they
said, "He has gotten that far." Then the Pelican shouted and they said, "He is getting closer." And finally the Quails flew up with a whirr
and they said, "He is right here; let us make ready." So they climbed up on a beam inside of the house and began throwing down bees,
wasps, and other stinging things, and they kept this up until the house and yard were full of them. These settled all over their father and his
warriors until they had stung them to death.
Then the boys stood up on the beam and said, "Our father must be lying somewhere about; let us go down and hunt for him." By and by
they found him and said, "Our father is lying here." The boys had their bows and arrows with them, and when they found their father they
took off his breechclout and rubbed an arrow over his buttocks. At once he flew up in the form of a crow, shouting "Ga ga ga ga." Thus
the crow was once a human being. It eats watermelons and corn and is very destructive. It is very much afraid of a bow and arrow because
its buttocks were once rubbed with an arrow. For this reason people used to keep a bow and arrows about to scare it away.
After that the boys said, "We must be bad boys. We had better separate." "Do you want to go to the east or west?" said Fåtcasigo to his
elder brother, and the latter answered, "I will go toward the east." The younger said, "I will go to the west, and whenever you see a red
cloud in the west you will know that I am there." The elder brother replied, "And whenever you see a red cloud in the east you will know
that I am there." That is the end.
Footnotes
2:2 This story was "made into a parable" by the Indians, i. e., it was referred to in speeches and used to point morals, etc.
7:1 So my interpreter. Loughridge and Hodge call the pelican, as well as the seagull, nok-su'ktca, "throat-bag." Saså'kwa h'gi means
"made like a goose."
3. THE ORPHAN (43)
An orphan was walking about shooting arrows. One day he came to the lower end of a creek where the water was deep and heard a noise
like thunder. Looking closely he discovered a Tie-snake
p. 8
Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians: Title Page
and the Thunder-being fighting, and when they saw him both asked him to help them. The Tie-snake spoke first, saying, "My friend, help
me, and I will tell you what I have learned." The boy was about to aim at his antagonist when the Thunder said, "Don't shoot me. Kill the
Tie-snake. There is a spot under his throat and it is there that his heart is. If you shoot him there you will kill him." Upon hearing this the
boy aimed at the white spot and killed the Tie-snake. In this way he obtained all of the Thunder's power, but the Thunder told him not to
tell anyone where he was getting it.
Some time after this some people went bear hunting, taking the orphan with them. It was in winter when the bears were hibernating. Two
camps were formed, one consisting of the boy's uncles. While they were there an owl was heard to hoot and the orphan said, "The hooting
of that owl is the sign of a bear." His uncles said they did not believe it. "He doesn't know anything," said one of them, but the boy
declared, "I am right." His brother-in-law believed him, so he said that they two would go out after it. They set out next morning and, sure
enough, discovered a bear in a hole in the ground. They killed it and brought it back to camp. The Thunder gave this orphan such power
that all that he foretold came to pass. If he told the hunters a certain kind of game animal was in a tree it was actually there and they got it.
Some time later war broke out. The orphan said he could fight without help from anyone, and they told him to go ahead by himself. "I will
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