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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1887)
MYTHS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER INDIANS. MO it finally swelled and burst, when tho children, and the head of a family, ha tears gushed forth and flooded tho earth, seldom entered our thought. The In putting out tho fire, Tho sua god was dians at home, around their camp fire, conquered, and tho gods, in grand coun- aro a cheerful, and in many respect a cil, made a law that ho should forever social, people, am! aro very fond of sto travel around tho heavens, making day ry telling, (lathered In a largo lodge, and night ami tho seasons. A similar a family, or several families, lUien for myth is related by tho Indians of ICant- hours to tho wonderful stories of tho old em Washington territory. Each tribe, men and women, or of tho prophet am! or clan, baa iU own version; but among dreamers. These stories consist, largo all, there is a similarity. ly, of tho sayings and doings of the Tho moon, according to the Snake In. god ncl 11)0 cvonU l,,a occurred M dian astronomers, was manufactured by long timo ago." They bavo numerous the whippoorwill. Tho bird was a gal fairy stories, some of which are a won. of the night, and needed the light as a derful as tho famous Arabian Night, matter of business. Ry somo sort of wherein genii, fairies and wizards aro magic, or witch power, tho whippoorwill represents as having formed tho transformed a frog into a full moon, and mot marvelous feats. At tho touch or hung it up, frog side out, for tho in- will of a god, or enchanter, natural ob. spection of tho people of tho succeeding jecta or lyings wero transformed into ages. Tho Indian says the " frog in tho anything, largo or small, animate or in. moon," instead of the " man m tho animate, Vast distance wrro skimmed moolL over in a moment of timo. A child was This may remiud the reader of tho transformed into a little sprite, so small Grecian myth, which says that Iz-to, that it could kid under a lily, or bo wandering with her children from place neath a mussel shell. Mountains, rocks to place, halted in Lycia by a pool of and tree wero mado to play active parts water. She was parching with thirst, in their stories. No audience ever lis. but a lot of rude lxxrs would not permit tened, with more rapt attention, to a her to drink, but jumped into tho water campaign speech, or a camp-meMing and stirred it up into mud, whereupon sermon, than did these children of tho the goddess, in anger, pronounced a forest and plain, to their old ln-la and curse upon them, saying, M May you live myths. forever in that muddy pod " when, Up the Natchez river, on the writ forthwith, the churls were turned into side, there is a high, M mountain, warty frogs. Tho Indians philosophy which, with tho surrounding country, is as good as that of the barbarous Ore. has, in times past, Wn a famous hunU cians, for, if a woman maid turn a lot in ground for the Indiana. Hero on of men into frogs, tho whippoorwill this mountain, in the nnnent time, ought to bo able to take one of the frogs lived old Upsha, the H of tho ticks, and of it make a respectable rnoon. according to the Yakima logy. 1 Wo have ln accustomed to think of had a largo band of lr, motuUin the Indian, only a a bloubthirsty sav. sheop, elk, and other kinds of gam ml. age, delighting alone in cruelty and vir. mala, and all were as tame as dairy ows. lencc Wo have Uen taught to nasncU When old LU wantM vrnin or dk ate him, in our minU, with tho tmna. meat, he could have it without tho lal-.r hawk and sealping knife. His relation of a tMious and uncertain hunt Hr, m husband of a wife, as father of little thouU of ymrs ago, h living in