SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION--BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 

 J. W. POWELL, DIRECTOR. 

 SKETCH

 OF THE

 MYTHOLOGY OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 

 BY

 J. W. POWELL. 

 SKETCH OF THE MYTHOLOGY

 OF THE

 NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 

 BY J. W. POWELL. 

 _THE GENESIS OF PHILOSOPHY. _

The wonders of the course of nature have ever challenged attention. Insavagery, in barbarism, and in civilization alike, the mind of man hassought the explanation of things. The movements of the heavenly bodies, the change of seasons, the succession of night and day, the powers ofthe air, majestic mountains, ever-flowing rivers, perennial springs, theflight of birds, the gliding of serpents, the growth of trees, theblooming of flowers, the forms of storm-carved rocks, the mysteries oflife and death, the institutions of society--many are the things to beexplained. The yearning to know is universal. _How_ and _why_ areeverlasting interrogatories profoundly instinct in humanity. In theevolution of the human mind, the instinct of cosmic interrogationfollows hard upon the instinct of self-preservation. 

In all the operations of nature, man's weal and woe are involved. A coldwave sweeps from the north--rivers and lakes are frozen, forests areburied under snows, and the fierce winds almost congeal the life-fluidsof man himself, and indeed man's sources of supply are buried under therocks of water. At another time the heavens are as brass, and the cloudscome and go with mockery of unfulfilled promises of rain, the fiercemidsummer sun pours its beams upon the sands, and blasts heated in thefurnace of the desert sear the vegetation; and the fruits, which in morecongenial seasons are subsistence and luxury, shrivel before the eyes offamishing men. A river rages and destroys the adjacent valley with itsflood. A mountain bursts forth with its rivers of fire, the land isburied and the people are swept away. Lightning shivers a tree and rendsa skull. The silent, unseen powers of nature, too, are at work bringingpain or joy, health or sickness, life or death, to mankind. In likemanner man's welfare is involved in all the institutions of society. _How_and _why_ are the questions asked about all these things--questionsspringing from the deepest instinct of self-preservation. 

In all stages of savage, barbaric, and civilized inquiry, every questionhas found an answer, every _how_ has had its _thus_, every _why_ its_because_. The sum of the answers to the questions raised by any peopleconstitute its philosophy; hence all peoples have had philosophiesconsisting of their accepted explanation of things. Such a philosophymust necessarily result from the primary instincts developed in man inthe early progress of his differentiation from the beast. This Ipostulate: if demonstration is necessary, demonstration is at hand. Notonly has every people a philosophy, but every stage of culture ischaracterized by its stage of philosophy. Philosophy has been unfoldedwith the evolution of the human understanding. The history of philosophyis the history of human opinions from the earlier to the laterdays--from the lower to the higher culture. 

In the production of a philosophy, phenomena must be _discerned_, _discriminated_, _classified_. Discernment, discrimination, andclassification are the processes by which a philosophy is developed. Instudying the philosophy of a people at any stage of culture, tounderstand what such a people entertain as the sum of their knowledge, it is necessary that we should understand what phenomena they saw, heard, felt, discerned; what discriminations they made, and whatresemblances they seized upon as a basis for the classification on whichtheir explanations rested. A philosophy will be higher in the scale, nearer the truth, as the discernment is wider, the discrimination nicer, and the classification better. 

The sense of the savage is dull compared with the sense of the civilizedman. There is a myth current in civilization to the effect that thebarbarian has highly developed perceptive faculties. It has no morefoundation than the myth of the wisdom of the owl. A savage sees but fewsights, hears but few sounds, tastes but few flavors, smells but fewodors; his whole sensuous life is narrow and blunt, and his facts thatare made up of the combination of sensuous impressions are few. Incomparison, the civilized man has his vision extended away toward theinfinitesimal and away toward the infinite; his perception of sound ismultiplied to the comprehension of rapturous symphonies; his perceptionof taste is increased to the enjoyment of delicious viands; hisperception of smell is developed to the appreciation of most exquisiteperfumes; and his facts that are made up of the combination of sensuousimpressions are multiplied beyond enumeration. The stages of discernmentfrom the lowest savage to the highest civilized man constitute a seriesthe end of which is far from the beginning. 

If the discernment of the savage is little, his discrimination is less. All his sensuous perceptions are confused; but the confusion ofconfusion is that universal habit of savagery--the confusion of theobjective with the subjective--so that the savage sees, hears, tastes, smells, feels the imaginings of his own mind. Subjectively determinedsensuous processes are diseases in civilization, but normal, functionalmethods in savagery. 

The savage philosopher classifies by obvious resemblances--analogiccharacters. The civilized philosopher classifies by essentialaffinitives--homologic characteristics--and the progress of philosophyis marked by changes from analogic categories to homologic categories. 

 _TWO GRAND STAGES OF PHILOSOPHY. _

There are two grand stages of philosophy--the mythologic and scientific. In the first, all phenomena are explained by analogies derived fromsubjective human experiences; in the latter, phenomena are explained asorderly successions of events. 

In sublime egotism, man first interprets the cosmos as an extension ofhimself; he classifies the phenomena of the outer word by theiranalogies with subjective phenomena; his measure of distance is his ownpace, his measure of time his own sleep, for he says, "It is a thousandpaces to the great rock, " or, "It is a hundred sleeps to the greatfeast. " Noises are voices, powers are hands, movements are made afoot. By subjective examination discovering in himself will and design, and byinductive reason discovering will and design in his fellow men and inanimals, he extends the induction to all the cosmos, and there discoversin all things will and design. All phenomena are supposed to be the actsof some one, and that some one having will and purpose. In mythologicphilosophy the phenomena of the outer physical world are supposed to bethe acts of living, willing, designing personages. The simple arecompared with and explained by the complex. In scientific philosophy, phenomena are supposed to be children of antecedent phenomena, and sofar as science goes with its explanation they are thus interpreted. Manwith the subjective phenomena gathered about him is studied from anobjective point of view, and the phenomena of subjective life arerelegated to the categories established in the classification of thephenomena of the outer world; thus the complex is studied by resolvingit into its simple constituents. 

There is an unknown known, and there is a known unknown. The unknownknown is the philosophy of savagery; the known unknown is the philosophyof civilization. In those stages of culture that we call savagery andbarbarism, all things are known--supposed to be known; but when at lastsomething is known, understood, explained, then to those who have thatknowledge in full comprehension all other things become unknown. Then isushered in the era of investigation and discovery; then science is born;then is the beginning of civilization. The philosophy of savagery iscomplete; the philosophy of civilization fragmentary. Ye men of science, ye wise fools, ye have discovered the law of gravity, but ye cannottell what gravity is. But savagery has a cause and a method for allthings; nothing is left unexplained. 

In the lower stages of savagery the cosmos is bounded by the great plainof land and sea on which we tread, and the firmament, the azure surfaceabove, set with brilliants; and beyond is an abyss of--nothing. Withinthese bounds all things are known, all things are explained; there areno mysteries but the whims of the gods. But when the plain on which wetread becomes a portion of the surface of a great globe, and the domedfirmament becomes the heavens, stretching beyond Alcyone and Sirius, with this enlargement of the realm of philosophy the verity ofphilosophy is questioned. The savage is a positive man; the scientist isa doubting man. 

The opinions of a savage people are childish. Society grows! Some saysociety develops; others that society evolves; but, somehow, I like tosay it grows. The history of the discovery of growth is a large part ofthe history of human culture. That individuals grow, that the childgrows to be a man, the colt a horse, the scion a tree, is easilyrecognized, though with unassisted eye the processes of growth are notdiscovered. But that races grow--races of men, races of animals, racesof plants, races or groups of worlds--is a very late discovery, and yetall of us do not grasp so great a thought. Consider that stage ofculture where the growth of individuals is not fully recognized. Thatstage is savagery. To-day the native races of North America are agitatedby discussions over that great philosophic question, "Do the trees growor were they created?" That the grass grows they admit, but the orthodoxphilosophers stoutly assert that the forest pines and the great_sequoias_ were created as they are. 

Thus in savagery the philosophers dispute over the immediate creation ordevelopment of individuals--in civilization over the immediate creationor development of races. I know of no single fact that betterillustrates the wide difference between these two stages of culture. Butlet us look for other terms of comparison. The scalping scene is no morethe true picture of savagery than the bayonet charge of civilization. Savagery is sylvan life. Contrast _Ka-ni-ga_ with New York. _Ka-ni-ga_is an Indian village in the Rocky Mountains. New York is, well--NewYork. The home in the forest is a shelter of boughs; the home in NewYork is a palace of granite. The dwellers in _Ka-ni-ga_ are clothed inthe skins of animals, rudely tanned, rudely wrought, and colored withdaubs of clay. For the garments of New York, flocks are tended, fieldsare cultivated, ships sail on the sea, and men dig in the mountains fordye-stuffs stored in the rocks. The industries of _Ka-ni-ga_ employstone knives, bone awls, and human muscle; the industries of New Yorkemploy the tools of the trades, the machinery of the manufactories, andthe power of the sun--for water-power is but sunshine, and the coal mineis but a pot of pickeled sunbeams. 

Even the nursery rhymes are in contrast; the prattler in New York says:

 Daffy down dilly Has come up to town, With a green petticoat And a blue gown;

but in savagery the outer and nether garments are not yetdifferentiated; and more: blue and green are not differentiated, for theIndian has but one name for the two; the green grass and the blueheavens are of the same hue in the Indian tongue. But the nursery talesof _Ka-ni-ga_ are of the animals, for the savages associate with theanimals on terms of recognized equality; and this is what the prattlerin _Ka-ni-ga_ says:

 The poor little bee That lives in the tree, The poor little bee That lives in the tree, Has only one arrow In his quiver. 

The arts and industries of savagery and civilization are not in greatercontrast than their philosophy. To fully present to you the condition ofsavagery, as illustrated in their philosophy, three obstacles appear. After all the years I have spent among the Indians in their mountainvillages, I am not certain that I have sufficiently divorced myself fromthe thoughts and ways of civilization to properly appreciate theirchildish beliefs. The second obstacle subsists in your own knowledge ofthe methods and powers of nature, and the ways of civilized society; andwhen I attempt to tell you what an Indian thinks, I fear you will neverfully forget what you know, and thus you will be led to give too deep ameaning to a savage explanation; or, on the other hand, contrasting anIndian concept with your own, the manifest absurdity will sound to youas an idle tale too simple to deserve mention, or too false to deservecredence. The third difficulty lies in the attempt to put savagethoughts into civilized language; our words are so full of meaning, carry with them so many great thoughts and collateral ideas. 

Some examples of the philosophic methods belonging to widely separatedgrades of culture may serve to make the previous statements clearer. 

_Wind. _--The _Ute_ philosopher discerns that men and animals breathe. Herecognizes vaguely the phenomena of the wind, and discovers itsresemblance to breath, and explains the winds by relegating them to theclass of breathings. He declares that there is a monster beast in thenorth that breathes the winter winds, and another in the south, andanother in the east, and another in the west. The facts relating towinds are but partially discerned; the philosopher has not yetdiscovered that there is an earth-surrounding atmosphere. He fails inmaking the proper discriminations. His relegation of the winds to theclass of breathings is analogic, but not homologic. The basis of hisphilosophy is personality, and hence he has four wind-gods. 

The philosopher of the ancient Northland discovered that he could coolhis brow with a fan, or kindle a flame, or sweep away the dust with thewafted air. The winds also cooled his brow, the winds also swept awaythe dust and kindled the fire into a great conflagration, and when thewind blew he said, "Somebody is fanning the waters of the fiord, " or"Somebody is fanning the evergreen forests, " and he relegated the windsto the class of fannings, and he said, "The god Hræsvelger, clothedwith eagle-plumes, is spreading his wings for flight, and the winds risefrom under them. "

The early Greek philosopher discovered that air may be imprisoned invessels or move in the ventilation of caves, and he recognized wind assomething more than breath, something more than fanning, something thatcan be gathered up and scattered abroad, and so when the winds blew hesaid, "The sacks have been untied, " or "The caves have been opened. "

The philosopher of civilization, has discovered that breath, thefan-wafted breeze, the air confined in vessels, the air moving inventilation, that these are all parts of the great body of air whichsurrounds the earth, all in motion, swung by the revolving earth, heatedat the tropics, cooled at the poles, and thus turned intocounter-currents and again deflected by a thousand geographic features, so that the winds sweep down valleys, eddy among mountain crags, or waftthe spray from the crested billows of the sea, all in obedience tocosmic laws. The facts discerned are many, the discriminations made arenice, and the classifications based on true homologies, and we have thescience of meteorology, which exhibits an orderly succession of eventseven in the fickle winds. 

_Sun and Moon. _--The _Ute_ philosopher declares the sun to be a livingpersonage, and explains his passage across the heavens along anappointed way by giving an account of a fierce personal conflict between_Tä-vi_, the sun-god, and _Ta-wăts_, one of the supreme gods of hismythology. 

In that long ago, the time to which all mythology refers, the sun roamedthe earth at will. When he came too near with his fierce heat the peoplewere scorched, and when he hid away in his cave for a long time, tooidle to come forth, the night was long and the earth cold. Once upon atime _Ta-wăts_, the hare-god, was sitting with his family by thecamp-fire in the solemn woods, anxiously waiting for the return of_Tä-vi_, the wayward sun-god. Wearied with long watching, the hare-godfell asleep, and the sun-god came so near that he scorched the nakedshoulder of _Ta-wăts_. Foreseeing the vengeance which would be thusprovoked, he fled back to his cave beneath the earth. _Ta-wăts_ awokein great anger, and speedily determined to go and fight the sun-god. After a long journey of many adventures the hare-god came to the brinkof the earth, and there watched long and patiently, till at last thesun-god coming out he shot an arrow at his face, but the fierce heatconsumed the arrow ere it had finished its intended course; then anotherarrow was sped, but that was also consumed; and another, and stillanother, till only one remained in his quiver, but this was the magicalarrow that had never failed its mark. _Ta-wăts_, holding it inhis hand, lifted the barb to his eye and baptized it in a divine tear;then the arrow was sped and struck the sun-god full in the face, and thesun was shivered into a thousand fragments, which fell to the earth, causing a general conflagration. Then _Ta-wăts_, the hare-god, fled before the destruction he had wrought, and as he fled the burningearth consumed his feet, consumed his legs, consumed his body, consumedhis hands and his arms--all were consumed but the head alone, whichbowled across valleys and over mountains, fleeing destruction from theburning earth until at last, swollen with heat, the eyes of the godburst and the tears gushed forth in a flood which spread over the earthand extinguished the fire. The sun-god was now conquered, and heappeared before a council of the gods to await sentence. In that longcouncil were established the days and the nights, the seasons and theyears, with the length thereof, and the sun was condemned to travelacross the firmament by the same trail day after day till the end oftime. 

In this same philosophy we learn that in that ancient time a council ofthe gods was held to consider the propriety of making a moon, and atlast the task was given to Whippoorwill, a god of the night, and a frogyielded himself a willing sacrifice for this purpose, and theWhippoorwill, by incantations, and other magical means, transformed thefrog into the new moon. The truth of this origin of the moon is madeevident to our very senses; for do we not see the frog riding the moonat night, and the moon is cold, because the frog from which it was madewas cold?

The philosopher of _Oraibi_ tells us that when the people ascended bymeans of the magical tree which constituted the ladder from the lowerworld to this, they found the firmament, the ceiling of this world, lowdown upon the earth--the floor of this world, _Matcito_, one of theirgods, raised the firmament on his shoulders to where it is now seen. Still the world was dark, as there was no sun, no moon, and no stars. Sothe people murmured because of the darkness and the cold. _Matcito_said, "Bring me seven maidens, " and they brought him seven maidens; andhe said, "Bring me seven baskets of cotton-bolls, " and they brought himseven baskets of cotton-bolls; and he taught the seven maidens to weavea magical fabric from the cotton, and when they had finished it he heldit aloft, and the breeze carried it away toward the firmament, and inthe twinkling of an eye it was transformed into a beautiful full-orbedmoon, and the same breeze caught the remnants of flocculent cotton whichthe maidens had scattered during their work, and carried them aloft, and they were transformed into bright stars. But still it was cold andthe people murmured again, and _Matcito_ said, "Bring me seven buffalorobes, " and they brought him seven buffalo robes, and from the denselymatted hair of the robes he wove another wonderful fabric, which thestorm carried away into the sky, and it was transformed into thefull-orbed sun. Then _Matcito_ appointed times and seasons and ways forthe heavenly bodies, and the gods of the firmament have obeyed theinjunctions of _Matcito_ from the day of their creation to the present. 

The Norse philosopher tells us that Night and Day, each, has a horse anda car, and they drive successively one after the other around the worldin twenty-four hours. Night rides first with her steed named Dew-hair, and every morning as he ends his course he bedews the earth with foamfrom his bit. The steed driven by Day is Shining-hair. All the sky andearth glisten with the light of his mane. Jarnved, the great iron-woodforest lying to the east of Midgard, is the abode of a race of witches. One monster witch is the mother of many sons in the form of wolves, twoof which are Skol and Hate. Skol is the wolf that would devour themaiden Sun, and she daily flies from the maw of the terrible beast, andthe moon-man flies from the wolf Hate. 

The philosopher of Samos tells us that the earth is surrounded by hollowcrystalline spheres set one within another, and all revolving atdifferent rates from east to west about the earth, and that the sun isset in one of these spheres and the moon in another. 

The philosopher of civilization tells us that the sun is an incandescentglobe, one of the millions afloat in space. About this globe the planetsrevolve, and the sun and planets and moons were formed from nebulousmatter by the gradual segregation of their particles controlled by thelaws of gravity, motion, and affinity. 

The sun, traveling by an appointed way across the heavens with thenever-ending succession of day and night, and the ever-recurring trainof seasons, is one of the subjects of every philosophy. Among allpeoples, in all times, there is an explanation of these phenomena, butin the lowest stage, way down in savagery, how few the facts discerned, how vague the discriminations made, how superficial the resemblances bywhich the phenomena are classified! In this stage of culture, all thedaily and monthly and yearly phenomena which come as the direct resultof the movements of the heavenly bodies are interpreted as the doings ofsome one--some god acts. In civilization the philosopher presents us thescience of astronomy with all its accumulated facts of magnitude, andweights, and orbits, and distances, and velocities--with all the nicediscriminations of absolute, relative, and apparent motions; and allthese facts he is endeavoring to classify in homologic categories, andthe evolutions and revolutions of the heavenly bodies are explained asan orderly succession of events. 

_Rain. _--The _Shoshoni_ philosopher believes the domed firmament to beice, and surely it is the very color of ice, and he believes furtherthat a monster serpent-god coils his huge back to the firmament and withhis scales abrades its face and causes the ice-dust to fall upon theearth. In the winter-time it falls as snow, but in the summer-time itmelts and falls as rain, and the Shoshoni philosopher actually sees theserpent of the storm in the rainbow of many colors. 

The _Oraibi_ philosopher who lives in a _pueblo_ is acquainted witharchitecture, and so his world is seven-storied. There is a world belowand five worlds above this one. _Muĭñwa_, the rain-god, who lives inthe world immediately above, dips his great brush, made of feathers ofthe birds of the heavens, into the lakes of the skies and sprinkles theearth with refreshing rain for the irrigation of the crops tilled bythese curious Indians who live on the cliffs of Arizona. In winter, _Muĭñwa_ crushes the ice of the lakes of the heavens and scatters itover the earth, and we have a snow-fall. 

The Hindoo philosopher says that the lightning-bearded Indra breaks thevessels that hold the waters of the skies with his thunder-bolts, andthe rains descend to irrigate the earth. 

The philosopher of civilization expounds to us the methods by which thewaters are evaporated from the land and the surface of the sea, andcarried away by the winds, and gathered into clouds to be dischargedagain upon the earth, keeping up forever that wonderful circulation ofwater from the heavens to the earth and from the earth to theheavens--that orderly succession of events in which the waters travel byriver, by sea, and by cloud. 

_Rainbow. _--In _Shoshoni_, the rainbow is a beautiful serpent thatabrades the firmament of ice to give us snow and rain. In Norse, therainbow is the bridge Bifrost spanning the space between heaven andearth. In the Iliad, the rainbow is the goddess Iris, the messenger ofthe King of Olympus. In Hebrew, the rainbow is the witness to acovenant. In science, the rainbow is an analysis of white light into itsconstituent colors by the refraction of raindrops. 

_Falling stars. _--In _Ute_, falling stars are the excrements of dirtylittle star-gods. In science--well, I do not know what falling stars arein science. I think they are cinders from the furnace where the worldsare forged. You may call this mythologic or scientific, as you please. 

_Migration of birds. _--The _Algonkian_ philosopher explains themigration of birds by relating the myth of the combat between_Ka-bĭ-bo-no-kĭ_ and _Shiñgapis_, the prototype or progenitor of thewater-hen, one of their animal gods. A fierce battle raged between_Ka-bĭ-bo-no-kĭ_ and _Shiñgapis_, but the latter could not beconquered. All the birds were driven from the land but _Shiñgapis_; andthen was it established that whenever in the future Winter-maker shouldcome with his cold winds, fierce snows, and frozen waters, all the birdsshould leave for the south except _Shiñgapis_ and his friends. So thebirds that spend their winters north are called by the _Algonkian_philosophers "the friends of _Shiñgapis_. "

In contrast to this explanation of the flight of birds may be placed theexplanation of the modern evolutionist, who says that the birds migratein quest of abundance of food and a genial climate, guided by aninstinct of migration, which is an accumulation of inherited memories. 

_Diversity of languages. _--The _Kaibäbĭt_ philosopher accounts forthe diversity of languages in this manner: _Sĭ-tcom'-paMa-só-ĭts_, the grandmother goddess of the sea, brought up mankindfrom beneath the waves in a sack, which she delivered to the_Cĭn-aú-äv_ brothers, the great wolf-gods of his mythology, and toldthem, to carry it from the shores of the sea to the Kaibab Plateau, andthen to open it; but they were by no means to open the package ere theirarrival, lest some great disaster should befall. The curiosity of theyounger _Cĭn-aú-äv_ overcame him, and he untied the sack, and thepeople swarmed out; but the elder _Cĭn-aú-äv_, the wiser god, ranback and closed the sack while yet not all the people had escaped, andthey carried the sack, with its remaining contents, to the plateau, andthere opened it. Those that remained in the sack found a beautifulland--a great plateau covered with mighty forests, through which elk, deer, and antelope roamed in abundance, and many mountain-sheep werefound on the bordering crags; _piv_, the nuts of the edible pine, theyfound on the foot-hills, and _us_, the fruit of the yucca, in sunnyglades; and _nänt_, the meschal crowns, for their feasts; and _tcu-ar_, the cactus-apple, from which to make their wine; reeds grew about thelakes for their arrow-shafts; the rocks were full of flints for theirbarbs and knives, and away down, in the cañon they found a pipe-stonequarry, and on the hills they found _är-a-ûm-pĭv_, their tobacco. O, it was a beautiful land that was given to these, the favorites of thegods! The descendants of these people are the present _Kaibäbĭts_ ofnorthern Arizona. Those who escaped by the way, through the wickedcuriosity of the younger _Cĭn-aú-äv_, scattered over the country andbecame _Navajos_, _Mokis_, _Sioux_, _Comanches_, Spaniards, Americans--poor, sorry fragments of people without the original languageof the gods, and only able to talk in imperfect jargons. 

The Hebrew philosopher tells us that on the plains of Shinar the peopleof the world were gathered to build a city and erect a tower, the summitof which should reach above the waves of any flood Jehovah might send. But their tongues were confused as a punishment for their impiety. Thephilosopher of science tells us that mankind was widely scattered overthe earth anterior to the development of articulate speech, that thelanguages of which we are cognizant sprang from innumerable centers aseach little tribe developed its own language, and that in the study ofany language an orderly succession of events may be discovered in itsevolution from a few simple holophrastic locutions to a complex languagewith a multiplicity of words and an elaborate grammatic structure, bythe differentiation of the parts of speech and the integration of thesentence. 

_A cough. _--A man coughs. In explanation the _Ute_ philosopher wouldtell us that an _u-nú-pĭts_--a pygmy spirit of evil--had entered thepoor man's stomach, and he would charge the invalid with having whistledat night; for in their philosophy it is taught that if a man whistles atnight, when the pygmy spirits are abroad, one is sure to go through theopen door into the stomach, and the evidence of this disaster is foundin the cough which the _u-nú-pĭts_ causes. Then the evil spirit mustbe driven out, and the medicine-man stretches his patient on the groundand scarifies him with the claws of eagles from head to heel, and whileperforming the scarification a group of men and women stand about, forming a chorus, and medicine-man and chorus perform a fugue in gloomyululation, for these wicked spirits will depart only by incantations andscarifications. 

In our folk-lore philosophy a cough is caused by a "cold, " whatever thatmay be--a vague entity--that must be treated first according to themaxim "Feed a cold and starve a fever, " and the "cold" is driven away bypotations of bitter teas. 

In our medical philosophy a cough may be the result of a clogging of thepores of the skin, and is relieved by clearing those flues that carryaway the waste products of vital combustion. 

These illustrations are perhaps sufficient to exhibit the principalcharacteristics of the two methods of philosophy, and, though they coverbut narrow fields, it should be remembered that every philosophy dealswith the whole cosmos. An explanation of all things is sought--not alonethe great movements of the heavens, or the phenomena that startle eventhe unthinking, but every particular which is observed. Abstractly, theplane of demarkation between the two methods of philosophy can besharply drawn, but practically we find them strangely mixed; mythologicmethods prevail in savagery and barbarism, and scientific methodsprevail in civilization. Mythologic philosophies antedate scientificphilosophies. The thaumaturgic phases of mythology are the embryonicstages of philosophy, science being the fully developed form. Withoutmythology there could be no science, as without childhood there could beno manhood, or without embryonic conditions there could be no ultimateforms. 

 _MYTHOLOGIC PHILOSOPHY HAS FOUR STAGES. _

Mythologic philosophy is the subject with which we deal. Its method, asstated in general terms, is this: All phenomena of the outer objectiveworld are interpreted by comparison with those of the inner subjectiveworld Whatever happens, some one does it; that some one has a will andworks as he wills. The basis of the philosophy is personality. Thepersons who do the things which we observe in the phenomena of theuniverse are the gods of mythology--_the cosmos is a pantheon_. Underthis system, whatever may be the phenomenon observed, the philosopherasks, "Who does it?" and "Why?" and the answer comes, "A god with hisdesign. " The winds blow, and the interrogatory is answered, "Æolus freesthem from the cave to speed the ship of a friend, or destroy the vesselof a foe. " The actors in mythologic philosophy are gods. 

In the character of these gods four stages of philosophy may bediscovered. In the lowest and earliest stage everything has life;everything is endowed with personality, will, and design; animals areendowed with all the wonderful attributes of mankind; all inanimateobjects are believed to be animate; trees think and speak; stones haveloves and hates; hills and mountains, springs and rivers, and all thebright stars, have life--everything discovered objectively by the sensesis looked upon subjectively by the philosopher and endowed with all theattributes supposed to be inherent in himself. In this stage ofphilosophy everything is a god. Let us call it _hecastotheism_. 

In the second stage men no longer attribute life indiscriminately toinanimate things; but the same powers and attributes recognized bysubjective vision in man are attributed to the animals by which he issurrounded. No line of demarkation is drawn between man and beast; allare great beings endowed with wonderful attributes. Let us call thisstage _zoötheism_, when men worship beasts. All the phenomena of natureare the doings of these animal gods; all the facts of nature, all thephenomena of the known universe, all the institutions of humanity knownto the philosophers of this stage, are accounted for in the mythologichistory of these zoömorphic gods. 

In the third stage a wide gulf is placed between man and the loweranimals. The animal gods are dethroned, and the powers and phenomena ofnature are personified and deified. Let us call this stage_physitheism_. The gods are strictly anthropomorphic, having the form aswell as the mental, moral, and social attributes of men. Thus we have agod of the sun, a god of the moon, a god of the air, a god of dawn, anda deity of the night. 

In the fourth stage, mental, moral, and social characteristics arepersonified and deified. Thus we have a god of war, a god of love, a godof revelry, a god of plenty, and like personages who preside over theinstitutions and occupations of mankind. Let us call this_psychotheism_. With the mental, moral, and social characteristics inthese gods are associated the powers of nature; and they differ fromnature-gods chiefly in that they have more distinct psychiccharacteristics. 

Psychotheism, by the processes of mental integration, developes in onedirection into monotheism, and in the other into pantheism. When thepowers of nature are held predominant in the minds of the philosophersthrough whose cogitations this evolution of theism is carried on, pantheism, as the highest form of psychotheism, is the final result; butwhen the moral qualities are held in highest regard in the minds of themen in whom this process of evolution is carried on, _monotheism_, or agod whose essential characteristics are moral qualities, is the finalproduct. The monotheistic god is not nature, but presides over andoperates through, nature. Psychotheism has long been recognized. All ofthe earlier literature of mankind treats largely of these gods, for itis an interesting fact that in the history of any civilized people, theevolution of psychotheism is approximately synchronous with theinvention of an alphabet. In the earliest writings of the Egyptians, theHindoos, and the Greeks, this stage is discovered, and Osiris, Indra, and Zeus are characteristic representatives. As psychotheism and writtenlanguage appear together in the evolution of culture, this stage oftheism is consciously or unconsciously a part of the theme of allwritten history. 

The paleontologist, in studying the rocks of the hill and the cliffs ofthe mountain, discovers, in inanimate stones, the life-forms of theancient earth. The geologist, in the study of the structure of valleysand mountains, discovers groups of facts that lead him to a knowledge ofmore ancient mountains and valleys and seas, of geographic features longago buried, and followed by a new land with new mountains and valleys, and new seas. The philologist, in studying the earliest writings of apeople, not only discovers the thoughts purposely recorded in thosewritings, but is able to go back in the history of the people manygenerations, and discover with even greater certainty the thoughts ofthe more ancient people who made the words. Thus the writings of theGreeks, the Hindoos, and the Egyptians, that give an account of theirpsychic gods, also contain a description of an earlier theismunconsciously recorded by the writers themselves. Psychotheism prevailedwhen the sentences were coined, physitheism when the words were coined. So the philologist discovers physitheism in all ancient literature. Butthe verity of that stage of philosophy does not rest alone upon theevidence derived from the study of fossil philosophies through thescience of philology. In the folk-lore of every civilized people havinga psychotheistic philosophy, an earlier philosophy with nature-gods isdiscovered. 

The different stages of philosophy which I have attempted tocharacterize have never been found in purity. We always observedifferent methods of explanation existing side by side, and the type ofa philosophy is determined by the prevailing characteristics of itsexplanation of phenomena. Fragments of the earlier are always found sideby side with, the greater body of the later philosophy. Man has neverclothed himself in new garments of wisdom, but has ever been patchingthe old, and the old and the new are blended in the same pattern, andthus we have atavism in philosophy. So in the study of any philosophywhich has reached the psychotheistic age, patches of the earlierphilosophy are always seen. Ancient nature-gods are found to be livingand associating with the supreme psychic deities. Thus in anthropologicscience there are three ways by which, to go back in the history of anycivilized people and learn of its barbaric physitheism. But of theverity of this stage we have further evidence. When Christianity wascarried north from Central Europe, the champions of the new philosophy, and its consequent religion, discovered, among those who dwelt by theglaciers of the north, a barbaric philosophy which they have preservedto history in the Eddas and Sagas, and Norse literature is full of aphilosophy in a transition state, from physitheism to psychotheism; and, mark! the people discovered in this transition state were inventing analphabet--they were carving Runes. Then a pure physitheism wasdiscovered in the Aztec barbarism of Mexico; and elsewhere on the globemany people were found in that stage of culture to which this philosophyproperly belongs. Thus the existence of physitheism as a stage ofphilosophy is abundantly attested. Comparative mythologists are agreedin recognizing these two stages. They might not agree to throw all ofthe higher and later philosophies into one group, as I have done, butall recognize the plane of demarkation between the higher and the lowergroups as I have drawn it. Scholars, too, have come essentially to anagreement that physitheism is earlier and older than psychotheism. Perhaps there may be left a "doubting Thomas" who believes that thehighest stage of psychotheism--that is, monotheism--was the originalbasis for the philosophy of the world, and that all other forms aredegeneracies from that primitive and perfect state. If there be such aman left, to him what I have to say about philosophy is blasphemy. 

Again, all students of comparative philosophy, or comparative mythology, or comparative religion, as you may please to approach this subject fromdifferent points of view, recognize that there is something else; thatthere are philosophies, or mythologies, or religions, not included inthe two great groups. All that something else has been vaguely calledfetichism. I have divided it into two parts, _hecastotheism_ and_zoötheism_. The verity of zoötheism as a stage of philosophy rests onabundant evidence. In psychotheism it appears as _devilism_ in obedienceto a well-known law of comparative theology, viz, that the gods of alower and superseded stage of culture oftentimes become the devils of ahigher stage. So in the very highest stages of psychotheism we findbeast-devils. In Norse mythology, we have Fenris the wolf, andJormungandur the serpent. Dragons appear in Greek mythology, the bull isan Egyptian god, a serpent is found in the Zendavesta; and was there nota scaly fellow in the garden of Eden? So common are these beast-demonsin the higher mythologies that they are used in every literature asrhetorical figures. So we find, as a figure of speech, the great reddragon with seven heads and ten horns, with tail that with one brushsweeps away a third of the stars of heaven. And where-ever we findnature-worship we find it accompanied with beast-worship. In the studyof higher philosophies, having learned that lower philosophies oftenexist side by side with them, we might legitimately conclude that aphilosophy based upon animal gods had existed previous to thedevelopment of physitheism; and philologic research, leads to the sameconclusion. But we are not left to base this conclusion upon, aninduction only, for in the examination of savage philosophies weactually discover zoötheism in all its proportions. Many of the Indiansof North America, and many of South America, and many of the tribes ofAfrica, are found to be zoötheists. Their supreme gods areanimals--tigers, bears, wolves, serpents, birds. Having discovered this, with a vast accumulation of evidence, we are enabled to carry philosophyback one stage beyond physitheism, and we can confidently assert thatall the philosophies of civilization have come up through these threestages. 

And yet, there are fragments of philosophy discovered which are notzoötheistic, physitheistic, nor psychotheistic. What are they? We findrunning through all three stages of higher philosophy that phenomena aresometimes explained by regarding them as the acts of persons who do notbelong to any of the classes of gods found in the higher stages. We findfragments of philosophy everywhere which seem to assume that allinanimate nature is animate; that mountains and hills, and rivers andsprings, that trees and grasses, that stones, and all fragments ofthings are endowed with life and with will, and act for a purpose. Thesefragments of philosophy lead to the discovery of hecastotheism. Philology also leads us back to that state when the animate and theinanimate were confounded, for the holophrastic roots into which wordsare finally resolved show us that all inanimate things were representedin language as actors. Such is the evidence on which we predicate theexistence of hecastotheism as a veritable stage of philosophy. Unlikethe three higher stages, it has no people extant on the face of theglobe, known to be in this stage of culture. The philosophies of many ofthe lowest tribes of mankind are yet unknown, and hecastotheism may bediscovered; but at the present time we are not warranted in saying thatany tribe entertains this philosophy as its highest wisdom. 

 _OUTGROWTH FROM MYTHOLOGIC PHILOSOPHY. _

The three stages of mythologic philosophy that are still extant in theworld must be more thoroughly characterized, and the course of theirevolution indicated. But in order to do this clearly, certain outgrowthsfrom mythologic philosophy must be explained--certain theories andpractices that necessarily result from, this philosophy, and that areintricately woven into the institutions of mankind. 

_Ancientism. _--The first I denominate ancientism. Yesterday was betterthan to-day. The ancients were wiser that we. This belief in a betterday and a better people in the elder time is almost universal amongmankind. A belief so widely spread, so profoundly entertained, must havefor its origin some important facts in the constitution or history ofmankind. Let us see what they are. 

In the history of every individual the sports and joys of childhood arecompared and contrasted with the toils and pains of old age. Greatlyprotracted life, in savagery and barbarism, is not a boon to be craved. In that stage of society where the days and the years go by with littleor no provision for a time other than that which is passing, the oldmust go down to the grave through poverty and suffering. In that stageof culture to-morrow's bread is not certain, and to-day's bread is oftenscarce. In civilization plenty and poverty live side by side; the palaceand the hovel are on the same landscape; the rich and poor elbow eachother on the same street; but in savagery plenty and poverty come withrecurring days to the same man, and the tribe is rich to-day and poorto-morrow, and the days of want come in every man's history; and whenthey come the old suffer most, and the burden of old age is oppressive. In youth activity is joy; in old age activity is pain. So wonder, then, that old age loves youth, or that to-day loves yesterday, for theinstinct is born of the inherited experiences of mankind. 

But there is yet another and more potent reason for ancientism. Thattale is the most wonderful that has been most repeated, for the breathof speech is the fertilizer of story. Hence, the older the story thegreater its thaumaturgics. Thus, yesterday is greater than to-day bynatural processes of human exaggeration. Again, that is held to be mostcertain, and hence most sacred, which has been most often affirmed. ABrahman was carrying a goat to the altar. Three thieves would steal it. So they placed themselves at intervals along the way by which the piousBrahman would travel. When the venerable man came to the first thief hewas accosted: "Brahman, why do you carry a dog?" Now, a dog is anunclean beast which no Brahman must touch. And the Brahman, afterlooking at his goat, said: "You do err; this is a goat. " And when theold man reached the second thief, again he was accosted: "Brahman, whydo you carry a dog?" So the Brahman put his goat on the ground, andafter narrowly scrutinizing it, he said: "Surely this is a goat, " andwent on his way. When he came to the third thief he was once moreaccosted: "Brahman, why do you carry a dog?" Then the Brahman, havingthrice heard that his goat was a dog, was convinced, and throwing itdown, he fled to the temple for ablution, and the thieves had a feast. 

The child learns not for himself, but is taught, and accepts as truethat which is told, and a propensity to believe the affirmed isimplanted in his mind. In every society some are wise and some arefoolish, and the wise are revered, and their affirmations are accepted. Thus, the few lead the multitude in knowledge, and the propensity tobelieve the affirmed started in childhood is increased in manhood in thegreat average of persons constituting society, and these propensitiesare inherited from generation to generation, until we have a cumulationof effects. 

The propagation of opinions by affirmation, the cultivation of thepropensity to believe that which has been affirmed many times, let uscall _affirmatization_. If the world's opinions were governed only bythe principles of mythologic philosophy, affirmatization would become sopowerful that nothing would be believed but the anciently affirmed. Menwould come to no new knowledge. Society would stand still listening tothe wisdom of the fathers. But the power of affirmatization is steadilyundermined by science. 

And, still again, the institutions of society conform to its philosophy. The explanations of things always includes the origin of humaninstitutions. So the welfare of society is based on philosophy, and thevenerable sayings which constitute philosophy are thus held as sacred. So ancientism is developed from accumulated life-experiences; by thegrowth of story in repeated narration; by the steadily increasing powerof affirmatization, and by respect for the authority upon which theinstitutions of society are based; all accumulating as they come downthe generations. That we do thus inherit effects we know, for has it notbeen affirmed in the Book that "the fathers have eaten grapes, and thechildren's teeth are set on edge"? As men come to believe that the "longago" was better than the "now, " and the dead were better than theliving, then philosophy must necessarily include a theory of degeneracy, which is a part of ancientism. 

_Theistic Society. _--Again, the actors in mythologic philosophy arepersonages, and we always find them organized in societies. The socialorganization of mythology is always found to be essentially identicalwith the social organization of the people who entertain the philosophy. The gods are husbands and wives, and parents and children, and the godshave an organized government. This gives us theistic society, and wecannot properly characterize a theism without taking its mythic societyinto consideration. 

_Spiritism. _--In the earliest stages of society of which we havepractical knowledge by acquaintance with the people themselves, a beliefin the existence of spirits prevails--a shade, an immaterial existence, which is the duplicate of the material personage. The genesis of thisbelief is complex. The workings of the human mind during periods ofunconsciousness lead to opinions that are enforced by many physicalphenomena. 

First, we have the activities of the mind during sleep, when the manseems to go out from himself, to converse with his friends, to witnessstrange scenes, and to have many wonderful experiences. Thus the manseems to have lived an eventful life, when his body was, in fact, quiescent and unconscious. Memories of scenes and activities in formerdays, and the inherited memories of scenes witnessed and actionsperformed by ancestors, are blended in strange confusion by broken andinverted sequences. Now and then the dream-scenes are enacted in reallife, and the infrequent coincidence or apparent verification makes deepimpression on the mind, while unfulfilled dreams are forgotten. Thus thedreams of sleepers are attributed to their immaterial duplicates theirspirits. In many diseases, also, the mind seems to wander, to see sightsand to hear sounds, and to have many wonderful experiences, while thebody itself is apparently unconscious. Sometimes, on restored health, the person may recall these wonderful experiences, and during theiroccurrence the subject talks to unseen persons, and seems to havereplies, and to act, to those who witness, in such a manner that asecond self--a spirit independent of the body--is suggested. Whendisease amounts to long-continued insanity all of these effects aregreatly exaggerated, and make a deep impression upon all who witness thephenomena. Thus the hallucinations of fever-racked brains, and madminds, are attributed to spirits. 

The same conditions of apparent severance of mind and body witnessed indreams and hallucinations are often produced artificially in thepractice of _ecstasism_. In the vicissitudes of savage life, whilelittle or no provision is made for the future, there are times when thesavage resorts to almost anything at hand as a means of subsistence, andthus all plants and all parts of plants, seed, fruit, flowers, leaves, bark, roots--anything in times of extreme want--may be used as food. Butexperience soon teaches the various effects upon the human system whichare produced by the several vegetable substances with which he meets, and thus the effect of narcotics is early discovered, and the savage inthe practice of his religion oftentimes resorts to these native drugsfor the purpose of producing an ecstatic state under which divinationmay be performed. The practice of ecstasism is universal in the lowerstages of culture. In times of great anxiety, every savage and barbarianseeks to know of the future. Through all the earlier generations ofmankind, ecstasism has been practiced, and civilized man has thus aninherited appetite for narcotics, to which the enormous propensity todrunkenness existing in all nations bears witness. When the great actorin his personation of Rip Van Winkle holds his goblet aloft and says, "Here's to your health and to your family's, and may they live long andprosper, " he connects the act of drinking with a prayer, andunconsciously demonstrates the origin of the use of stimulants. It maybe that when the jolly companion has become a loathsome sot, and hismind is ablaze with the fire of drink, and he sees uncouth beasts inhorrid presence, that inherited memories haunt him with visions of thebeast-gods worshipped by his ancestors at the very time when theappetite for stimulants was created. 

But ecstasism is produced in other ways, and for this purpose the savageand barbarian often resorts to fasting and bodily torture. In many wayshe produces the wonderful state, and the visions of ecstasy areinterpreted as the evidence of spirits. 

Many physical phenomena serve to confirm this opinion. It is very latein philosophy when shadows are referred to the interception of the raysof the sun. In savagery and barbarism, shadows are supposed to beemanations from or duplicates of the bodies causing the shadows. Andwhat savage understands the reflection of the rays of the sun by whichimages are produced? They also are supposed to be emanations orduplications of the object reflected. No savage or barbarian couldunderstand that the waves of the air are turned back, and sound isduplicated in an echo. He knows not that there is an atmosphere, and tohim the echo is the voice of an unseen, personage--a spirit. There is notheory more profoundly implanted in early mankind than that ofspiritism. 

_Thaumaturgics. _--The gods of mythologic philosophies are created toaccount for the wonders of nature. Necessarily they are a wonder-workingfolk, and, having been endowed with these magical powers in all thehistories given in mythic tales of their doings on the earth, we findthem performing most wonderful feats. They can transform themselves;they can disappear and reappear; all their senses are magical; some areendowed with a multiplicity of eyes, others have a multiplicity of ears;in Norse mythology the watchman on the rainbow bridge could hear thegrass grow, and wool on the backs of sheep; arms can stretch out tograsp the distance, tails can coil about mountains, and all powersbecome magical. But the most wonderful power with which the gods areendowed is the power of will, for we find that they can think theirarrows to the hearts of their enemies; mountains are overthrown bythought, and thoughts are projected into other minds. Such are thethaumaturgics of mythologic philosophy. 

_Mythic tales. _--Early man having created through the development of hisphilosophy a host of personages, these gods must have a history. A partof that history, and the most important part to us as students ofphilosophy, is created in the very act of creating the gods themselves. I mean that portion of their history which relates to the operations ofnature, for the gods were created to account for those things. But tothis is added much else of adventure. The gods love as men love, and goin quest of mates. The gods hate as men hate, and fight in single combator engage in mythic battles; and the history of these adventuresimpelled by love and hate, and all other passions and purposes withwhich men are endowed, all woven into a complex tissue with their doingsin carrying out the operations of nature, constitutes the web and woofof mythology. 

_Religion. _--Again, as human welfare is deeply involved in theoperations of nature, man's chief interest is in the gods. In thisinterest religion originates. Man, impelled by his own volition, guidedby his own purposes, aspires to a greater happiness, and endeavorfollows endeavor, but at every step his progress is impeded; his ownpowers fail before the greater powers of nature; his powers are pygmies, nature's powers are giants, and to him these giants are gods with willsand purposes of their own, and he sees that man in his weakness cansucceed only by allying himself with the gods. Hence, impelled by thisphilosophy, man must have communion with the gods, and in this communionhe must influence them to work for himself. Hence, religion, which hasto do with the relations which exist between the gods and man, is thelegitimate offspring of mythologic philosophy. 

Thus we see that out of mythologic philosophy, as branches of the greattree itself, there grow ancientism, theistic society, spiritism, thaumaturgics, mythic tales, and religion. 

 _THE COURSE OF EVOLUTION IN MYTHOLOGIC PHILOSOPHY. _

I shall now give a summary characterization of zoötheism, then callattention to some of the relics of hecastotheism found therein, andproceed with a brief statement of the higher stages of theism. Theapparent and easily accessible is studied first. In botany, the treesand the conspicuous flowering plants of garden, field, and plain werefirst known, and then all other plants were vaguely grouped as weeds;but, since the most conspicuous phenogamous plants were first studied, what vast numbers of new orders, new genera, and new species have beendiscovered, in the progress of research, to the lowest cryptogams!

In the study of ethnology we first recognized the more civilized races. The Aryan, Hamites, Shemites, and Chinese, and the rest were the weedsof humanity--the barbarian and savage, sometimes called Turanians. But, when we come carefully to study these lower people, what numbers ofraces are discovered! In North America alone we have more thanseventy-five--seventy-five stocks of people speaking seventy-five stocksof language, and some single stocks embracing many distinct languagesand dialects. The languages of the Algonkian family are as diverse asthe Indo-European tongues. So are the languages of the Dakotans, theShoshonians, the Tinnéans, and others; so that in North America we havemore than five hundred languages spoken to-day. Each linguistic stock isfound to have a philosophy of its own, and each stock as many branchesof philosophy as it has languages and dialects. North America presents amagnificent field for the study of savage and barbaric philosophies. 

This vast region of thought has been explored only by a few adventuroustravelers in the world of science. No thorough survey of any part hasbeen made. Yet the general outlines of North American philosophy areknown, but the exact positions, the details, are all yet to be filledin--as the geography of the general outline of North America is known byexploration, but the exact positions and details of topography are yetto be filled in as the result of careful survey. Myths of the Algonkianstock are found in many a volume of _Americana_, the best of which wererecorded by the early missionaries who came from Europe, though we findsome of them, mixed with turbid speculations, in the writings ofSchoolcraft. Many of the myths of the Indians of the south, in thatregion stretching back from the great Gulf, are known; some collected bytravelers, others by educated Indians. 

Many of the myths of the Iroquois are known. The best of these are inthe writings of Morgan, America's greatest anthropologist. Missionaries, travelers, and linguists have given us a great store of the myths of theDakotan stock. Many myths of the Tinnéan also have been collected. Petitot has recorded a number of those found at the north, and we havein manuscript some of the myths of a southern branch--the Navajos. Perhaps the myths of the Shoshonians have been collected more thoroughlythan those of any other stock. These are yet unpublished, but themanuscripts are in the library of the Bureau of Ethnology. Powers hasrecorded many of the myths of various stocks in California, and the oldSpanish writings give us a fair collection of the Nahuatlan myths ofMexico, and Rink has presented an interesting volume on the mythology ofthe Innuits; and, finally, fragments of mythology have been collectedfrom nearly all the tribes of North America, and they are scatteredthrough thousands of volumes, so that the literature is vast. The briefdescription which I shall give of zoötheism is founded on a study of thematerials which I have thus indicated. 

All these tribes are found in the higher stages of savagery, or thelower stages of barbarism, and their mythologies are found to bezoötheistic among the lowest, physitheistic among the highest, and agreat number of tribes are found in a transition state: for zoötheism isfound to be a characteristic of savagery, and physitheism of barbarism, using the terms as they have been defined by Morgan. The supreme gods ofthis stage are animals. The savage is intimately associated withanimals. From them he obtains the larger part of his clothing, and muchof his food, and he carefully studies their habits and finds manywonderful things. Their knowledge and skill and power appear to him tobe superior to his own. He sees the mountain-sheep fleet among thecrags, the eagle soaring in the heavens, the humming-bird poised overits blossom-cup of nectar, the serpents swift without legs, the salmonscaling the rapids, the spider weaving its gossamer web, the antbuilding a play-house mountain--in all animal nature he sees things toowonderful for him, and from admiration he grows to adoration, and theanimals become his gods. 

Ancientism plays an important part in this zoötheism. It is not theanimals of to-day whom the Indians worship, but their progenitors--theirprototypes. The wolf of to-day is a howling pest, but that wolf'sancestor--the first of the line--was a god. The individuals of everyspecies are supposed to have descended from an ancient being--aprogenitor of the race; and so they have a grizzly-bear god, aneagle-god, a rattlesnake-god, a trout-god, a spider-god--a god for everyspecies and variety of animal. 

By these animal gods all things were established. The heavenly bodieswere created and their ways appointed, and when the powers andphenomena of nature are personified the personages are beasts, and allhuman institutions also were established by the ancient animal-gods. 

The ancient animals of any philosophy of this stage are found toconstitute a clan or _gens_--a body of relatives, or _consanguinei_ withgrandfathers, fathers, sons, and brothers. In _Ute_ theism, the ancient_To-gó-äv_, the first rattlesnake is the grandfather, and all theanimal-gods are assigned to their relationships. Grandfather _To-gó-äv_, the wise, was the chief of the council, but _Cĭn-aú-äv_, the ancientwolf, was the chief of the clan. 

There were many other clans and tribes of ancient gods with whom thesesupreme gods had dealings, of which hereafter; and, finally, each ofthese ancient gods became the progenitor of a new tribe, so that we havea tribe of bears, a tribe of eagles, a tribe of rattlesnakes, a tribe ofspiders, and many other tribes, as we have tribes of Utes, tribes ofSioux, tribes of Navajos; and in that philosophy tribes of animals areconsidered to be coördinate with tribes of men. All of these gods haveinvisible duplicates--spirits--and they have often visited the earth. All of the wonderful things seen in nature are done by the animal-gods. That elder life was a magic life; but the descendants of the gods aredegenerate. Now and then as a medicine-man by practicing sorcery canperform great feats, so now and then there is a medicine-bear, amedicine-wolf, or a medicine-snake that can work magic. 

On winter nights the Indians gather about the camp-fire, and then thedoings of the gods are recounted in many a mythic tale. I have heard thevenerable and impassioned orator on the camp-meeting stand rehearse thestory of the crucifixion, and have seen the thousands gathered thereweep in contemplation of the story of divine suffering, and heard theirshouts roll down the forest aisles as they gave vent to their joy at thecontemplation of redemption. But the scene was not a whit more dramaticthan another I have witnessed in an evergreen forest of the RockyMountain region, where a tribe was gathered under the great pines, andthe temple of light from the blazing fire was walled by the darkness ofmidnight, and in the midst of the temple stood the wise old man, telling, in simple savage language, the story of _Ta-wăts_, when heconquered the sun and established the seasons and the days. In thatpre-Columbian time, before the advent of white men, all the Indiantribes of North America gathered on winter nights by the shores of theseas where the tides beat in solemn rhythm, by the shores of the greatlakes where the waves dashed against frozen beaches, and by the banks ofthe rivers flowing ever in solemn mystery--each in its own temple ofillumined space--and listened to the story of its own supreme gods, theancients of time. 

Religion, in this stage of theism, is sorcery. Incantation, dancing, fasting, bodily torture, and ecstasism are practiced. Every tribe hasits potion or vegetable drug, by which the ecstatic state is produced, and their venerable medicine-men see visions and dream dreams. Noenterprise is undertaken without consulting the gods, and no evilimpends but they seek to propitiate the gods. All daily life, to theminutest particular, is religious. This stage of religion ischaracterized by fetichism. Every Indian is provided with his charm orfetich, revealed to him in some awful hour of ecstasy produced byfasting, or feasting, or drunkenness, and that fetich he carries withhim to bring good luck, in love or in combat, in the hunt or on thejourney. He carries a fetich suspended to his neck, he ties a fetich tohis bow, he buries a fetich under his tent, he places a fetich under hispillow of wild-cat skins, he prays to his fetich, he praises it, orchides it; if successful, his fetich receives glory; if he fail, hisfetich is disgraced. These fetiches may be fragments of bone or shell, the tips of the tails of animals, the claws of birds or beasts, perhapsdried hearts of little warblers, shards of beetles, leaves powdered andheld in bags, or crystals from the rocks--anything curious may become afetich. Fetichism, then, is a religious means, not a philosophic ormythologic state. Such are the supreme gods of the savage, and such theinstitutions which belong to their theism. But they have many otherinferior gods. Mountains, hills, valleys, and great rocks have their ownspecial deities--invisible spirits--and lakes, rivers, and springs arethe homes of spirits. But all these have animal forms when in proper_personæ_. Yet some of the medicine-spirits can transform themselves, and work magic as do medicine-men. The heavenly bodies are eithercreated personages or ancient men or animals translated to the sky. And, last, we find that ancestors are worshipped as gods. 

Among all the tribes of North America with which we are acquaintedtutelarism prevails. Every tribe and every clan has its own protectinggod, and every individual has his _my god_. It is a curious fact thatevery Indian seeks to conceal the knowledge of his _my god_ from allother persons, for he fears that, if his enemy should know of histutelar deity, he might by extraordinary magic succeed in estranginghim, and be able to compass his destruction through his own god. 

In this summary characterization of zoötheism, I have necessarilysystematized my statements. This, of course, could not be done by thesavage himself. He could give you its particulars, but could not groupthose particulars in any logical way. He does not recognize any system, but talks indiscriminately, now of one, now of another god, and with himthe whole theory as a system is vague and shadowy, but its particularsare vividly before his mind, and the certainty with which he entertainshis opinions leaves no room to doubt his sincerity. 

But there is yet another phase of theism discovered. Sometimes aparticular mountain, or hill, or some great rock, some waterfall, somelake, or some spring receives special worship, and is itself believed tobe a deity. This seems to be a relic of hecastotheism. Fetichism, also, seems to have come from that lower grade, and all the minor deities, thespirits of mountains and hills and forest, seem to have been derivedfrom that same stage, but with this development, that the thingsthemselves are not worshipped, but their essential spirits. 

From zoötheism, as described, to physitheism the way is long. Gradually, in the progress of philosophy, animal gods are dethroned and becomeinferior gods or are forgotten; and gradually the gods of thefirmament--the sun, the moon, the stars--are advanced to supremacy; theclouds, the storms, the winds, day and night, dawn and gloaming, thesky, the earth, the sea, and all the various phases of nature perceivedby the barbaric mind, are personified and deified and exalted to asupremacy coordinate with the firmament gods; and all the gods of thelower stage that remain--animals, demons, and all men--belong toinferior tribes. The gods of the sky--the shining ones, those that soaron bright wings, those that are clothed in gorgeous colors, those thatcame from we know not where, those that vanish to the unknown--are thesupreme gods. We always find these gods organized in great tribes, withmighty chieftains who fight in great combats or lead their hosts inbattle, and return with much booty. Such is the theism of ancientMexico, such the theism of the Northland, and such the theism discoveredamong the ancient Aryans. 

From this stage to psychotheism the way is long, for evolution is slow. Gradually men come to differentiate more carefully between good andevil, and the ethic character of their gods becomes the subject ofconsideration, and the good gods grow in virtue, and the bad gods growin vice. Their identity with physical objects and phenomena is graduallylost. The different phases or conditions of the same object orphenomenon are severed, and each is personified. The bad gods arebanished to underground homes, or live in concealment, from which theyissue on their expeditions of evil. Still, all powers exist in thesegods, and all things were established by them. With the growth of theirmoral qualities no physical powers are lost, and the sports of thephysical bodies and phenomena become demons, subordinate to the greatgods who preside over nature and human institutions. 

We find, also, that these superior gods are organized in societies. Ihave said the Norse mythology was in a transition state from physitheismto psychotheism. The Asas, or gods, lived in Asgard, a mythic communalvillage, with its Thing or Council, the very counterpart of the communalvillage of Iceland. Olympus was a Greek city. 

Still further in the study of mythologic philosophy we see that more andmore supremacy falls into the hands of the few, until monotheism isestablished on the plan of the empire. Then all of the inferior deitieswhose characters are pure become ministering angels, and the inferiordeities whose characters are evil become devils, and the differentiationof good and evil is perfected in the gulf between heaven and hell. Inall this time from zoötheism to monotheism, ancientism becomes moreancient, and the times and dynasties are multiplied. Spiritism is moreclearly defined, and spirits become eternal; mythologic tales arecodified, and sacred books are written; divination for the result ofamorous intrigue has become the prophecy of immortality, andthaumaturgics is formulated as the omnipresent, the omnipotent, theomniscient--the infinite. 

Time has failed me to tell of the evolution of idolatry from fetichism, priestcraft from sorcery, and of their overthrow by the doctrines thatwere uttered by that voice on the Mount. Religion, that was fetichismand ecstasism and sorcery, is now the yearning for something better, something purer, and the means by which this highest state for humanitymay be reached, the ideal worship of the highest monotheism, is "inspirit and in truth. " The steps are long from _Cĭn-aú-äv_, theancient of wolves, by Zeus, the ancient of skies, to Jehovah, the"Ancient of Days. "

 _MYTHIC TALES. _

In every Indian tribe there is a great body of story lore--talespurporting to be the sayings and doings, the history, of the gods. Everytribe has one or more persons skilled in the relation of thesestories--preachers. The long winter evenings are set apart for thispurpose. Then the men and women, the boys and girls, gather about thecamp-fire to listen to the history of the ancients, to a chapter in theunwritten bible of savagery. Such a scene is of the deepest interest. Acamp-fire of blazing pine or sage boughs illumines a group of duskyfaces intent with expectation, and the old man begins his story, talkingand acting; the elders receiving his words with reverence, while theyounger persons are played upon by the actor until they shiver with fearor dance with delight. An Indian is a great actor. The conditions ofIndian life train them in natural sign language. Among the two hundredand fifty or three hundred thousand Indians in the United States, thereare scores of languages, so that often a language is spoken by only afew hundred or a few score of people; and as a means of communicationbetween tribes speaking different languages, a sign language has grownup, so that an Indian is able to talk all over--with the features of hisface, his hands and feet, the muscles of his body; and thus a skillfulpreacher talks and acts; and, inspired by a theme which treats of thegods, he sways his savage audience at will. And ever as he tells hisstory he points a moral--the mythology, theology, religion, history, andall human duties are taught. This preaching is one of the most importantinstitutions of savagery. The whole body of myths current in a tribe isthe sum total of their lore--their philosophy, their miraculous history, their authority for their governmental institutions, their socialinstitutions, their habits and customs. It is their unwritten bible. 

 _THE CĬN-AÚ-ÄV BROTHERS DISCUSS MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE TO THE PEOPLE. _

Once upon a time the _Cĭn-aú-äv_ brothers met to consult about thedestiny of the _U-ĭn-ká-rĕts_. At this meeting the younger said:"Brother, how shall these people obtain their food? Let us devise somegood plan for them. I was thinking about it all night, but could not seewhat would be best, and when the dawn came into the sky I went to amountain and sat on its summit, and thought a long time; and now I cantell you a good plan by which they can live. Listen to your youngerbrother. Look at these pine trees; their nuts are sweet; and there isthe _us_, very rich; and there is the apple of the cactus, full of juice;on the plain you see the sunflower, bearing many seeds--they will begood for the nation. Let them have all these things for their food, andwhen they have gathered a store they shall put them in the ground, orhide them in the rocks, and when they return they shall find abundance, and having taken of them as they may need, shall go on, and yet whenthey return a second time there shall still be plenty; and though theyreturn many times, as long as they live the store shall never fail; andthus they will be supplied with abundance of food without toil. " "Notso, " said the elder brother, "for then will the people, idle andworthless, and having no labor to perform, engage in quarrels, andfighting will ensue, and they will destroy each other, and the peoplewill be lost to the earth; they must work for all they receive. " Thenthe younger brother answered not, but went away sorrowing. 

The next day he met the elder brother and accosted him thus: "Brother, your words were wise; let the _U-ĭn-ká-rĕts_ work for their food. But how shall they be furnished with honey-dew? I have thought all nightabout this, and when the dawn came into the sky I sat on the summit ofthe mountain and did think, and now I will tell you how to give themhoney-dew: Let it fall like a great snow upon the rocks, and the womenshall go early in the morning and gather all they may desire, and theyshall be glad. " "No, " replied the elder brother, "it will not be good, my little brother, for them to have much and find it without toil; forthey will deem it of no more value than dung, and what we give them fortheir pleasure will only be wasted. In the night it shall fall in smalldrops on the reeds, which they shall gather and beat with clubs, andthen will it taste very sweet, and having but little they will prize itthe more. " And the younger brother went away sorrowing, but returned thenext day and said: "My brother, your words are wise; let the womengather the honey-dew with much toil, by beating the reeds with flails. Brother, when a man or a woman, or a boy or a girl, or a little onedies, where shall he go? I have thought all night about this, and whenthe dawn came into the sky I sat on the top of the mountain and didthink. Let me tell you what to do: When a man dies, send him back whenthe morning returns, and then will all his friends rejoice. " "Not so, "said the elder; "the dead shall return no more. " The little brotheranswered him not, but, bending his head in sorrow, went away. 

One day the younger _Cĭn-aú-äv_ was walking in the forest, and sawhis brother's son at play, and taking an arrow from his quiver slew theboy, and when he returned he did not mention what he had done. Thefather supposed that his boy was lost, and wandered around in the woodsfor many days, and at last found the dead child, and mourned his lossfor a long time. 

One day the younger _Cĭn-aú-äv_ said to the elder, "You made the lawthat the dead should never return. I am glad that you were the first tosuffer. " Then the elder knew that the younger had killed his child, andhe was very angry and sought to destroy him, and as his wrath increasedthe earth rocked, subterraneous groanings were heard, darkness came on, fierce storms raged, lightning flashed, thunder reverberated through theheavens, and the younger brother fled in great terror to his father, _Ta-vwots'_, for protection. 

 _ORIGIN OF THE ECHO. _

_I'-o-wi_ (the turtle dove) was gathering seeds in the valley, and herlittle babe slept. Wearied with carrying it on her back, she laid itunder the _tĭ-hó-pĭ_ (sage bush) in care of its sister, _O-hó-tcu_(the summer yellow bird). Engaged in her labors, the mother wanderedaway to a distance, when a _tsó-a-vwĭts_ (a witch) came and said tothe little girl, "Is that your brother?" and _O-hó-tcu_ answered, "Thisis my sister, " for she had heard that witches preferred to steal boys, and did not care for girls. Then the _tsó-a-vwĭts_ was angry andchided her, saying that it was very naughty for girls to lie; and sheput on a strange and horrid appearance, so that _O-hó-tcu_ was stupefiedwith fright; then the _tsó-a-vwĭts_ ran away with the boy, carryinghim, to her home on a distant mountain. Then she laid him down on theground, and, taking hold of his right foot, stretched the baby's leguntil it was as long as that of a man, and she did the same to the otherleg; then his body was elongated; she stretched his arms, and, behold, the baby was as large as a man. And the _tsó-a-vwĭts_ married him andhad a husband, which she had long desired; but, though he had the bodyof a man, he had the heart of a babe, and knew no better than to marry awitch. 

Now, when _I'-o-wi_ returned and found not her babe under the_tĭ-hó-pĭ_, but learned from _O-hó-tcu_ that it had been stolen bya _tsó-a-vwĭts_, she was very angry, and punished her daughter veryseverely. Then she went in search of the babe for a long time, mourningas she went, and crying and still crying, refusing to be comforted, though all her friends joined her in the search, and promised to revengeher wrongs. 

Chief among her friends was her brother, _Kwi'-na_, (the eagle), whotraveled far and wide over all the land, until one day he heard astrange noise, and coming near he saw the _tsó-a-vwĭts_ and _U'-ja_(the sage cock), her husband, but he did not know that this large manwas indeed the little boy who had been stolen. Yet he returned andrelated to _I'-o-wi_ what he had seen, who said: "If that is indeed myboy, he will know my voice. " So the mother came near to where the_tsó-a-vwĭts_ and _U'-ja_ were living, and climbed into a cedar tree, and mourned and cried continually. _Kwi'-na_ placed himself near by onanother tree to observe what effect the voice of the mother would haveon _U'-ja_, the _tsó-a-vwĭts'_ husband. When he heard the cry of hismother, _U'-ja_ knew the voice, and said to the _tsó-a-vwĭts_, "Ihear my mother, I hear my mother, I hear my mother, " but she laughed athim, and persuaded him to hide. 

Now, the _tsó-a-vwĭts_ had taught _U'-ja_ to hunt, and a short timebefore he had killed a mountain sheep, which was lying in camp. Thewitch emptied the contents of the stomach, and with her husband tookrefuge within; for she said to herself, "Surely, _I'-o-wi_ will neverlook in the paunch of a mountain sheep for my husband. " In this retreatthey were safe for a long time, so that they who were searching weresorely puzzled at the strange disappearance. At last _Kwi'-na_ said, "They are hid somewhere in the ground, maybe, or under the rocks; aftera long time they will be very hungry and will search for food; I willput some in a tree so as to tempt them. " So he killed a rabbit and putit on the top of a tall pine, from which he trimmed the branches andpeeled the bark, so that it would be very difficult to climb; and hesaid, "When these hungry people come out they will try to climb thattree for food, and it will take much time, and while the_tsó-a-vwĭts_ is thus engaged we will carry _U'-ja_ away. " So theywatched some days, until the _tsó-a-vwĭts_ was very hungry, and herbaby-hearted husband cried for food; and she came out from their hidingplace and sought for something to eat. The odor of the meat placed onthe tree came to her nostrils, and she saw where it was and tried toclimb up, but fell back many times; and while so doing _Kwi'-na_, whohad been sitting on a rock near by and had seen from where she came, ranto the paunch which had been their house, and taking the man carried himaway and laid him down under the very same _tĭ-hó-pĭ_ from whichhe had been stolen; and behold! he was the same beautiful little babethat _I'-o-wi_ had lost. 

And _Kwi'-na_ went off into the sky and brought back a storm, and causedthe wind to blow, and the rain to beat upon the ground, so that histracks were covered, and the _tsó-a-vwĭts_ could not follow him; butshe saw lying upon the ground near by some eagle feathers, and knew wellwho it was that had deprived her of her husband, and she said toherself, "Well, I know _Kwi'-na_ is the brother of _I'-o-wi_; he is agreat warrior and a terrible man; I will go to _To-go'-a_ (therattlesnake), my grandfather, who will protect me and kill my enemies. "

_To-go'-a_ was enjoying his midday sleep on a rock, and as the_tsó-a-vwĭts_ came near her grandfather awoke and called out to her, "Go back, go back; you are not wanted here; go back!" But she came onbegging his protection; and while they were still parleying they heard_Kwi'-na_ coming, and _To-go'-a_ said, "Hide, hide!" But she knew notwhere to hide, and he opened his mouth and the _tsó-a-vwĭts_ crawledinto his stomach. This made _To-go'-a_ very sick and he entreated her tocrawl out, but she refused, for she was in great fear. Then he tried tothrow her up, but could not, and he was sick nigh unto death. At last, in his terrible retchings, he crawled out of his own skin, and left the_tsó-a-vwĭts_ in it, and she, imprisoned there, rolled about and hidin the rocks. When _Kwi'-na_ came near he shouted, "Where are you, old_tsó-a-vwĭts_? where are you, old _tsó-a-vwĭts_?" She repeated hiswords in mockery. 

Ever since that day witches have lived in snake skins, and hide amongthe rocks, and take great delight in repeating the words of passers by. 

The white man, who has lost the history of these ancient people, callsthese mocking cries of witches domiciliated in snake skins "echoes, " butthe Indians know the voices of the old hags. 

This is the origin of the echo. 

 _THE SO'-KÛS WAI'-ÛN-ÄTS. _

_Tûm-pwĭ-nai'-ro-gwĭ-nûmp_, he who had a stone shirt, killed_Sĭ-kor'_, (the crane, ) and stole his wife, and seeing that she hada child, and thinking it would be an incumbrance to them on theirtravels, he ordered her to kill it. But the mother, loving the babe, hidit under her dress, and carried it away to its grandmother. And StoneShirt carried his captured bride to his own land. 

In a few years the child grew to be a fine lad, under the care of hisgrandmother, and was her companion wherever she went. 

One day they were digging flag roots, on the margin of the river, andputting them in a heap on the bank. When they had been at work a littlewhile, the boy perceived that the roots came up with greater ease thanwas customary, and he asked the old woman the cause of this, but she didnot know; and, as they continued their work, still the reeds came upwith less effort, at which their wonder increased, until the grandmothersaid, "Surely, some strange thing is about to transpire. " Then the boywent to the heap where they had been placing the roots, and found thatsome one had taken them away, and he ran back, exclaiming, "Grandmother, did you take the roots away?" And she answered, "No, my child; perhapssome ghost has taken them off; let us dig no more; come away. "

But the boy was not satisfied, as he greatly desired to know what allthis meant; so he searched about for a time, and at length found a mansitting under a tree, whom he taunted with being a thief, and threw mudand stones at him, until he broke the stranger's leg, who answered notthe boy, nor resented the injuries he received, but remained silent andsorrowful and, when his leg was broken, he tied it up in sticks, andbathed it in the river, and sat down again under the tree, and beckonedthe boy to approach. 

When the lad came near, the stranger told him he had something of greatimportance to reveal. "My son, " said he, "did that old woman ever tellyou about your father and mother?" "No, " answered the boy; "I have neverheard of them. " "My son, do you see these bones scattered on the ground?Whose bones are these?" "How should I know?" answered the boy. "It maybe that some elk or deer has been killed here. " "No, " said the old man. "Perhaps they are the bones of a bear;" but the old man shook his head. So the boy mentioned many other animals, but the stranger still shookhis head, and finally said, "These are the bones of your father; StoneShirt killed him, and left him to rot here on the ground, like a wolf. "And the boy was filled with indignation against the slayer of hisfather. Then the stranger asked, "Is your mother in yonder lodge?" andthe boy replied, "No. " "Does your mother live on the banks of thisriver?" and the boy answered, "I don't know my mother; I have never seenher; she is dead. " "My son, " replied the stranger, "Stone Shirt, whokilled your father, stole your mother, and took her away to the shore ofa distant lake, and there she is his wife to-day. " And the boy weptbitterly, and while the tears filled his eyes so that he could not see, the stranger disappeared. 

Then the boy was filled with wonder at what he had seen and heard, andmalice grew in his heart against his father's enemy. He returned to theold woman, and said, "Grandmother, why have you lied to me about myfather and mother?" and she answered not, for she knew that a ghost hadtold all to the boy. And the boy fell upon the ground weeping andsobbing, until he fell into a deep sleep, when strange things were toldhim. 

His slumber continued three days and three nights, and when he awoke hesaid to his grandmother, "I am going away to enlist all nations in myfight, " and straightway he departed. 

(Here the boy's travels are related with many circumstances concerningthe way he was received by the people, all given in a series ofconversations, very lengthy; so they will be omitted. )

Finally, he returned in advance of the people whom he had enlisted, bringing with him _Cĭn-au'-äv_, the wolf, and _To-go'-a_, therattlesnake. When the three had eaten food, the boy said to the oldwoman: "Grandmother, cut me in two. " But she demurred, saying she didnot wish to kill one whom she loved so dearly. "Cut me in two, " demandedthe boy, and he gave her a stone ax which he had brought from a distantcountry, and with a manner of great authority he again commanded her tocut him in two. So she stood before him, and severed him in twain, andfled in terror. And lo! each part took the form of an entire man, andthe one beautiful boy appeared as two, and they were so much alike noone could tell them apart. 

When the people or natives whom the boy had enlisted came pouring intothe camp, _Cĭn-au'-äv_ and _To-go'-a_ were engaged in telling them ofthe wonderful thing that had happened to the boy, and that now therewere two; and they all held it to be an augury of a successfulexpedition to the land of Stone Shirt. And they started on theirjourney. 

Now the boy had been told in the dream of his three days' slumber of amagical cup, and he had brought it home with him from his journey amongthe nations, and the _So'-kûs Wai'-ûn-äts_ carried it betweenthem, filled with water. _Cĭn-au'-äv_ walked on their right and_To-go'-a_ on their left, and the nations followed in the order in whichthey had been enlisted. There was a vast number of them, so that whenthey were stretched out in line it was one day's journey from the frontto the rear of the column. 

When they had journeyed two days and were far out on the desert all thepeople thirsted, for they found no water, and they fell down upon thesand groaning, and murmuring that they had been deceived, and theycursed the One-Two. 

But the _So'-kûs Wai'-ûn-äts_ had been told in the wonderful dreamof the suffering which would be endured and that the water which theycarried in the cup was only to be used in dire necessity, and thebrothers said to each other: "Now the time has come for us to drink thewater. " And when one had quaffed of the magical bowl, he found it stillfull, and he gave it to the other to drink, and still it was full; andthe One-Two gave it to the people, and one after another did they alldrink, and still the cap was full to the brim. 

But _Cĭn-au'-äv_ was dead, and all the people mourned, for he was agreat man. The brothers held the cup over him, and sprinkled him withwater, when he arose and said: "Why do you disturb me? I did have avision of mountain brooks and meadows, of cane where honey-dew wasplenty. " They gave him the cup, and he drank also; but when he hadfinished there was none left. Refreshed and rejoicing they proceeded ontheir journey. 

The next day, being without food, they were hungry, and all were aboutto perish; and again they murmured at the brothers, and cursed them. Butthe _So'-kûs Wai'-ûn-äts_ saw in the distance an antelope, standing on an eminence in the plain, in bold relief against the sky;and _Cĭn-au'-äv_ knew it was the wonderful antelope with many eyes, which Stone Shirt kept for his watchman; and he proposed to go and killit, but _To-go'-a_ demurred, and said: "It were better that I should go, for he will see you and run away. " But the _So'-kûs Wai'-ûn-äts_told Cĭn'-au'-äv to go; and he started in a direction away to the leftof where the antelope was standing, that he might make a long detourabout some hills, and come upon him from the other side. _To-go'-a_ wenta little way from camp, and called to the brothers: "Do you see me?" andthey answered they did not. "Hunt for me;" and while they were huntingfor him, the rattlesnake said: "I can see you; you are doing"--so andso, telling them what they were doing; but they could not find him. 

Then, the rattlesnake came forth, declaring: "Now you know I can seeothers, and that I cannot be seen when I so desire. _Cin-au'-äv_ cannotkill that antelope, for he has many eyes, and is the wonderful watchmanof Stone Shirt; but I can kill him, for I can go where he is and hecannot see me. " So the brothers were convinced, and permitted him to go;and he went and killed the antelope. When _Cin-au'-äv_ saw it fall, hewas very angry, for he was extremely proud of his fame as a hunter, andanxious to have the honor of killing this famous antelope, and he ran upwith the intention of killing _To-go'-a_; but when he drew near, and sawthe antelope was fat, and would make a rich feast for the people, hisanger was appeased. "What matters it, " said he, "who kills the game, when we can all eat it?"

So all the people were fed in abundance, and they proceeded on theirjourney. 

The next day the people again suffered for water, and the magical cupwas empty; but the _So'-kûs Wai'-ûn-äts_, having been told intheir dream what to do, transformed themselves into doves, and flew awayto a lake, on the margin of which was the home of Stone Shirt. 

Coming near to the shore, they saw two maidens bathing in the water; andthe birds stood and looked, for the maidens were very beautiful. Thenthey flew into some bushes, near by, to have a nearer view, and werecaught in a snare which the girls had placed for intrusive birds. Thebeautiful maidens came up, and, taking the birds out of the snare, admired them very much, for they had never seen such birds before. Theycarried them to their father, Stone Shirt, who said: "My daughters, Ivery much fear these are spies from my enemies, for such birds do notlive in our land"; and he was about to throw them into the fire, whenthe maidens besought him, with tears, that he would not destroy theirbeautiful birds; but he yielded to their entreaties with much misgiving. Then they took the birds to the shore of the lake, and set them free. 

When the birds were at liberty once more, they flew around among thebushes, until they found the magical cup which they had lost, and takingit up, they carried it out into the middle of the lake and settled downupon the water, and the maidens supposed they were drowned. 

The birds, when they had filled their cup, rose again, and went back tothe people in the desert, where they arrived just at the right time tosave them with the cup of water, from which each drank; and yet it wasfull until the last was satisfied, and then not a drop remained. 

The brothers reported that they had seen Stone Shirt and his daughters. 

The next day they came near to the home of the enemy, and the brothers, in proper person, went out to reconnoiter. Seeing a woman gleaningseeds, they drew near, and knew it was their mother, whom Stone Shirthad stolen from _Sĭ-kor'_, the crane. They told her they were hersons, but she denied it, and said she had never had but one son; but theboys related to her their history, with the origin of the two from one, and she was convinced. She tried to dissuade them from making war uponStone Shirt, and told them that no arrow could possibly penetrate hisarmor, and that he was a great warrior, and had no other delight than inkilling his enemies, and that his daughters also were furnished withmagical bows and arrows, which they could shoot so fast that the arrowswould fill the air like a cloud, and that it was not necessary for themto take aim, for their missiles went where they willed; they _thought_ thearrows to the hearts of their enemies; and thus the maidens could killthe whole of the people before a common arrow could be shot by a commonperson. But the boys told her what the spirit had said in the longdream, and had promised that Stone Shirt should be killed. They told herto go down to the lake at dawn, so as not to be endangered by thebattle. 

During the night, the _So'-kûs Wai'-ûn-äts_ transformed themselvesinto mice, and proceeded to the home of Stone Shirt, and found themagical bows and arrows that belonged to the maidens, and with theirsharp teeth they cut the sinew on the backs of the bows, and nibbled thebowstrings, so that they were worthless, while _To-go'-a_ hid himselfunder a rock near by. 

When dawn came into the sky, _Tûm-pwĭ-nai'-ro-gwĭ-nûmp_, theStone Shirt man, arose and walked out of his tent, exulting in hisstrength and security, and sat down upon the rock under which _To-go'-a_was hiding; and he, seeing his opportunity, sunk his fangs into theflesh of the hero. Stone Shirt sprang high into the air, and called tohis daughters that they were betrayed, and that the enemy was near; andthey seized their magical bows, and their quivers filled with magicalarrows, and hurried to his defense. At the same time, all the nationswho were surrounding the camp rushed down to battle. But the beautifulmaidens, finding their weapons were destroyed, waved back their enemies, as if they would parley; and, standing for a few moments over the bodyof their slain father, sang the death-song, and danced the death-dance, whirling in giddy circles about the dead hero, and wailing with despair, until they sank down and expired. 

The conquerers buried the maidens by the shores of the lake; but_Tûm-pwĭ-nai'-ro-gwĭ-nûmp_ was left to rot, and his bones tobleach on the sands, as he had left _Sĭ-kor'_. 

 _TA-VWOTS' HAS A FIGHT WITH THE SUN. _

_Ta-vwots'_, the little rabbit, was wont to lie with his back to the sunwhen he slept. One day he thus slept in camp while his children playedaround him. After a time they saw that his back was smoking, and theycried out "What is the matter with your back, father?" Startled from hissleep, he demanded to know the cause of the uproar. "Your back iscovered with sores and full of holes, " they replied. Then _Ta-vwots'_was very angry, for he knew that _Ta'-vĭ_, the sun, had burned him;and he sat down by the fire for a long time in solemn mood, pondering onthe injury and insult he had received. At last rising to his feet, hesaid, "My children I must go and make war upon _Ta'-vĭ_. " Andstraightway he departed. 

Now his camp was in the valley of the Mo-a-pa. [1] On his journey he cameto a hill, and standing on its summit he saw in a valley to the east abeautiful stretch of verdure, and he greatly marveled at the sight anddesired to know what it was. On going down to the valley he found acorn-field, something he had never before seen, and the ears were readyfor roasting. When he examined them, he saw that they were covered withbeautiful hair, and he was much astonished. Then he opened the husk andfound within soft white grains of corn, which he tasted. Then he knewthat it was corn and good to eat. Plucking his arms full he carried themaway, roasted them on a fire, and ate until he was filled. 

Now, when he had done all this, he reflected that he had been stealing, and he was afraid; so he dug a hole in which to hide himself. 

_Cĭn-au'-äv_ was the owner of this field, and when he walkedthrough and saw that his corn had been stolen, he was exceedingly wroth, and said, "I will slay this thief _Ta-vwots'_; I will kill him, I willkill him. " And straightway he called his warriors to him and made searchfor the thief, but could not find him, for he was hid in the ground. After a long time they discovered the hole and tried to shoot_Ta-vwots'_ as he was standing in the entrance, but he blew their arrowsback. This made _Cĭn-au'-äv's_ people very angry and they shotmany arrows, but _Ta-vwots'_' breath as a warder, against them all. Then, with one accord, they ran to snatch him up with their hands, but, all inconfusion, they only caught each others fists, for with agile steps_Ta-vwots'_ dodged into his retreat. Then they began to dig, and saidthey would drag him out. And they labored with great energy, all thetime taunting him with shouts and jeers. But _Ta-vwots'_ had a secretpassage from the main chamber of his retreat which opened by a holeabove the rock overhanging the entrance where they were at work. 

 [1] A stream in Southeastern Nevada. 

When they had proceeded with this digging until they were quite underground, _Ta-vwots'_, standing on the rock above, hurled the magical ballwhich he was accustomed to carry with him, and striking the ground abovethe diggers, it caved the earth in, and they were all buried. "Aha, "said he, "why do you wish to hinder me on my way to kill the Sun?_A'-nier ti-tĭk'-a-nûmp kwaik-ai'-gar_" (fighting is my eatingtool I say; that's so!), and he proceeded on his way musing. "I havestarted out to kill; vengeance is my work; every one I meet will be anenemy. It is well; no one shall escape my wrath. "

The next day he saw two men making arrow-heads of hot rocks, and drawingnear he observed their work for a time from a position where he couldnot be seen. Then stepping forth, he said: "Let me help you"; and whenthe rocks were on the fire again and were hot to redness he said: "Hotrocks will not burn me. " And they laughed at him. "May be you would haveus believe that you are a ghost?" "I am not a ghost, " said he, "but I ama better man than you are. Hold me on these hot rocks, and if I do notburn you must let me do the same to you. " To this they readily agreed, and when they had tried to burn him on the rocks, with his magic breathhe kept them away at a distance so slight they could not see but thatthe rocks did really touch him. When they perceived that he was notburned they were greatly amazed and trembled with fear. But having madethe promise that he should treat them in like manner, they submittedthemselves to the torture, and the hot rocks burned them until withgreat cries they struggled to get free but unrelenting _Ta-vwots'_ heldthem until the rocks had burned through their flesh into their entrails, and so they died. "Aha, " said _Ta-vwots'_, "lie there until you can getup again. I am on my way to kill the Sun. _A'-nier ti-tĭk'-a-nûmpkwaik-ai'-gar. _" And sounding the war-whoop he proceeded on his way. 

The next day he came to where two women were gathering berries inbaskets, and when he sat down they brought him some of the fruit andplaced it before him. He saw there were many leaves and thorns among theberries, and he said, "Blow these leaves and thorns into my eyes, " andthey did so, hoping to blind him; but with his magic breath he kept themaway, so that they did not hurt him. 

Then the women averred that he was a ghost. "I am no ghost, " said he, "but a common person; do you not know that leaves and thorns cannot hurtthe eye? Let me show you;" and they consented and were made blind. Then_Ta-vwots'_ slew them with his _pa-rûm'-o-kwi_. "Aha, " said he, "youare caught with your own chaff. I am on my way to kill the Sun. This isgood practice. I must learn how. _A'-nier ti-tĭk'-a-nûmpkwaik-ai'-gar_. " And sounding the war-whoop he proceeded on his way. 

The next day he saw some women standing on the Hurricane Cliff, and ashe approached he heard them say to each other that they would roll rocksdown upon his head and kill him as he passed; and drawing near hepretended to be eating something, and enjoying it with great gusto; sothey asked him what it was, and he said it was something very sweet, andthey begged that they might be allowed to taste of it also. "I willthrow it up to you, " said he; "come to the brink and catch it. " Whenthey had done so, he threw it up so that they could not quite reach it, and he threw it in this way many times, until, in their eagerness tosecure it, they all crowded too near the brink, fell, and were killed. "Aha, " said he, "you were killed by your own eagerness. I am on my wayto kill the Sun. _A'-nier ti-tĭk'-a-nûmp kaiwk-ai'-gar_. " Andsounding the war-whoop he passed on. 

The following day he saw two women fashioning water-jugs, which are madeof willow-ware like baskets and afterwards lined with pitch. When afaroff he could hear them converse, for he had a wonderful ear. "Here comesthat bad _Ta-vwots'_, " said they; "how shall we destroy him?" When hecame near, he said, "What was that you were saying when I came up?" "Oh, we were only saying, 'here comes our grandson, '"[2] said they. "Is thatall?" replied _Ta-vwots'_, and looking around, he said, "Let me get intoyour water-jug"; and they allowed him to do so. "Now braid the neck. "This they did, making the neck very small; then they laughed with greatglee, for they supposed he was entrapped. But with his magic breath heburst the jug, and stood up before them; and they exclaimed, "You mustbe a ghost!" but he answered, "I am no ghost. Do you not know that jugswere made to hold water, but cannot hold men and women?" At this theywondered greatly, and said he was wise. Then he proposed to put them injugs in the same manner, in order to demonstrate to them the truth ofwhat he had said; and they consented. When he had made the necks of thejugs and filled them with pitch, he said, "Now, jump out, " but theycould not. It was now his turn to deride; so he rolled them about andlaughed greatly, while their half-stifled screams rent the air. When hehad sported with them in this way until he was tired, he killed themwith his magical ball. "Aha, " said he, "you are bottled in your ownjugs. I am on my way to kill the Sun; in good time I shall learn how. _A'-nier ti-tĭk'-a-nûmp kaiwk-ai'-gar. _" And sounding the war-whoophe passed on. 

The next day he came upon _Kwi'-ats_, the bear, who was digging a holein which to hide, for he had heard of the fame of _Ta-vwots'_, and wasafraid. When the great slayer came to _Kwi'-ats_ he said, "Don't fear, my great friend; I am not the man from whom to hide. Could a littlefellow like me kill so many people?" And the bear was assured. "Let mehelp you dig, " said _Ta-vwots'_, that we may hide together, for I alsoam fleeing from the great destroyer. So they made a den deep in theground, with its entrance concealed by a great rock. Now, _Ta-vwots'_secretly made a private passage from the den out to the side of themountain, and when the work was completed the two went out together tothe hill-top to watch for the coming of the enemy. Soon _Ta-vwots'_pretended that he saw him coming, and they ran in great haste to theden. The little one outran the greater, and going into the den, hastenedout again through his secret passage. 

 [2] This is a very common term of endearment used by elder to younger persons. 

When _Kwi'-ats_ entered he looked about, and not seeing his little friendhe searched for him for some time, and still not finding him, hesupposed that he must have passed him on the way, and went out again tosee if he had stopped or been killed. By this time _Ta-vwots'_ hadperched himself on the rock at the entrance of the den, and when thehead of the bear protruded through the hole below he hurled his_pa-rûm'-o-kwi_ and killed him. "Aha, " said _Ta-vwots'_, "I greatlyfeared this renowned warrior, but now he is dead in his own den. I amgoing to kill the Sun. _A'-nier ti'-tĭk'-a'-nûmp kwaik-ai'-gar_. " Andsounding the war-whoop he went on his way. 

The next day he met _Ku-mi'-a-pöts_, the tarantula. Now this knowingpersonage had heard of the fame of _Ta-vwots'_, and determined tooutwit him. He was possessed of a club with such properties that, although it was a deadly weapon when used against others, it could notbe made to hurt himself, though wielded by a powerful arm. 

As _Ta-vwots'_ came near, _Ku-mi'-a-pöts_ complained of having aheadache; moaning and groaning, he said there was an _u-nu'-pĭts_, orlittle evil spirit, in his head, and he asked _Ta-vwots'_ to take theclub and beat it out. _Ta-vwots'_ obeyed, and struck with all hispower, and wondered that _Ku-mi'-a-pöts_ was not killed; but he urged_Ta-vwots'_ to strike harder. At last _Ta-vwots'_ understood thenature of the club, and guessed the wiles of _Ku-mi'-a-pöts_, and raisingthe weapon as if to strike again, he dexterously substituted his magicball and slew him. "Aha, " said he, "that is a blow of your own seeking, _Ku-mi'-a-pöts_. I am on my way to kill the Sun; now I know that I can doit. _A'-nier ti'-tĭk'-a'-nûmp kwaik-ai'-gar. _" And sounding thewar-whoop he went on his way. 

The next day he came to a cliff which is the edge or boundary of theworld on the east, where careless persons have fallen into unknowndepths below. Now to come to the summit of this cliff it is necessary toclimb a mountain, and _Ta-vwots'_ could see three gaps or notches inthe mountain, and he went up into the one on the left; and he demandedto know of all the trees which where standing by of what use they were. Each one in turn praised its own qualities, the chief of which in everycase was its value as fuel. [3] _Ta-vwots'_ shook his head and wentinto the center gap and had another conversation with the trees, receiving the same answer. Finally he went into the third gap--that onthe right. After he had questioned all the trees and bushes, he came atlast to a little one called _yu'-i-nump_, which modestly said it had nouse, that it was not even fit for fuel. "Good, " said _Ta-vwots'_, andunder it he lay down to sleep. 

 [3] Several times I have heard this story, and invariably the dialogues held by _Ta-vwots'_ with the trees are long and tedious, though, the trees evince some skill in their own praise. 

When the dawn came into the sky _Ta-vwots'_ arose and stood on the brinkoverhanging the abyss from which the Sun was about to rise. The instantit appeared he hurled his _pa-rûm'-o-kwi_, and, striking it full inthe face, shattered it into innumerable fragments, and these fragmentswere scattered over all the world and kindled a great conflagration. _Ta-vwots'_ ran and crept under the _yu'-i-nump_ to obtain protection. At last the fire waxed very hot over all the world, and soon _Ta-vwots_began to suffer and tried to ran away, but as he ran his toes wereburned off, and then slowly, inch by inch, his legs, and then his body, so that he walked on his hands, and these were burned, and he walked onthe stumps of his arms, and these were burned, until there was nothingleft but his head. And now, having no other means of progression, hishead rolled along the ground until his eyes, which were much swollen, burst by striking against a rock, and the tears gushed out in a greatflood which spread out over all the land and extinguished theconflagration. 

The _Uinta Utes_ add something more to this story, namely, that theflood from his eyes bore out new seeds, which were scattered over allthe world. The _Ute_ name for seed is the same as for eye. 

Those animals which are considered as the descendants of _Ta-vwots'_ arecharacterized by a brown patch back of the neck and shoulders, which isattributed to the singeing received by him in the great fire. 

The following apothegms are derived from this story:

"You are buried in the hole which you dug for yourself. "

"When you go to war every one you meet is an enemy; kill all. "

"You were caught with your own chaff. "

"Don't get so anxious that you kill yourself. "

"You are bottled in your own jugs. "

"He is dead in his own den. "

"That is a blow of your own seeking. "

 TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Some UTF-8 characters have been downgraded to their Latin-1equivalents; for the accurate representation please see the HTMLor UTF-8 file. 

 PRINTER'S ERRORS FIXED:

"dext" changed to "next"--The next day, being without food. .. "decedents" changed to "descendants"--The descendants of these people. .. "philosopic" changed to "philosophic"--. .. Great philosophic question