Reading Notes: California and the Old Southwest (Part B)

(Pexels)

The Origin of the Sierra Nevadas and Coast Range: 

• On a pole that stood out from a lake sat Hawk and Crow
• They would take turns knocking each other off the pole 
• They created the birds that prey on fish 
• They also created Duck 
• They began making mountains 
• Hawk made the east range and Crow made the west but when they were done they noticed that Crow’s was much larger than Hawks
• Hawk chewed Indian tobacco and it made him wise so he took hold of the mountains and turned them around 

The Legend of El Capitan: 

• There were two boys who lived in the valley and went to the river to swim 
• They laid in the sun to dry but fell asleep 
• The slept so long they did not notice the boulder growing every day 
• They slept for years as they were lifted higher and higher 
• The animals held a council to talk about getting the boys down 
• They all tried to jump to the top of the boulder but none could make it 
• A small worm climbed up to the top and woke up the boys and brought them safely to the ground 

The Children of Cloud: 

• There were two twin brothers whose father was Cloud and one day they asked their mother who their father was 
• She told them and said they could visit him if they made the trip without stopping 
• Cloud made them prove they were his sons by showing him their powers 
• Soon they boys missed their mother and wanted to see her so Cloud told them to go straight home and not to stop and talk to anyone 
• On the way, they met Raven and Hawk who decided to scare the boys 
• Coyote was messing around with the kids but Cloud sent down lightning to chase him away 
• This is why lighting jumps from place to place 

Origin of the Raven and the Macaw: 

• A priest carried a staff covered in yellow, blue, green, red, white, and black feathers
• He struck the ground hard with the staff and four round eggs appeared
• He presented the eggs and told the people to choose which they would follow 
• Two of them would be evil beings
• The people chose the two blue eggs and carried it away 
• Those who chose the blue became the Raven people who were strong winter people 
• Those who chose the others became the Macaw people who were not as strong but were wise 

Coyote and the Hare/Coyote and the Fawns:

• Coyote came across Hare and said he was going to eat him but Hare distracted Coyote by talking and running away to hide in his stone home 
• Coyote said he would set fire to Hare’s home and kill him because he was angry 
• Coyote got boiling gum and placed it near the Hare’s home 
• Hare pretended to be burring and when Coyote got close he blew the boiling gun in Coyote’s face and ran 
• Coyote met a deer and two fawns and he asked how the deer painted the children 
• The deer said it painted its children with fire so Coyote decided that he would do the same 
• He burnt his children to death trying to paint them like the fawn

Coyote and the Quails: 

• Coyote slept so soundly that a covey of quails cut pieces of his fat meat and left 
• As they were cooking it Coyote approached and asked where they got the meat 
• They gave him some and once he ate they told him he was eating his own flesh 
• Every time he questioned them they pretended they did not tell him what he was eating 
• Finally, he realized where he had been cut and what he was eating and he tried to eat them but they ran and flew above ground out of his reach 
• They placed a cactus in their burrow and after Coyote had let every quail he questioned go he ate the cactus and died 

How the Bluebird Got its Color: 

• The bluebird used to be an ugly color 
• One morning he came out to the lake and was covered in blue feathers 
• Coyote was hunting bluebird until he saw how beautiful he was and wanted to be blue as well 
• Bluebird told coyote how he came to be blue by going to the lake and singing and coyote did the same and came out blue 
• He was so excited he ran into a stump and got covered in dust 
• That is why Coyote’s eyes are the color of dirt

Coyote’s Eyes: 

• Coyote spoke to a bird who took out its eyes and threw them in the air and fell back into his head 
• The coyote wanted to brighten his eyes so he had the bird take them out and throw them into the air and when they returned to him they were brighter than before 
• Coyote wanted to do it again but the bird refused 
• Coyote removed his eyes and threw them but they did not return so he told the bird to help him get them back 
• The bird gathered gum from a tree and put them into Coyote’s head so he could see. 
• That is why his eyes are yellow now 

How the Rattlesnake Learned to Bite: 

• The people liked to hear Rattlesnake rattle his tail and he got little rest because they always made him rattle 
• He went to Elder Brother for help and Elder brother told him to bite those who bothered him 
• Rabbit came to make him rattle so Rattlesnake bite him and killed Rabbit 
• People were upset about Rabbit’s death and they burnt the body of Rabbit 
• As Rabbit began to burn he tried to take the heart but he burnt his mouth and that is why it is black to this day

Story Source: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson (1912).