The Lake of the Sky Part 5

Tucking his prize in his hunting s.h.i.+rt and hugging it close, Little Brother now went on, murmuring to himself, "Oh, my brother like this, my brother like this beautiful golden-suns.h.i.+ne-hair!"

But suddenly, as he was climbing upward, he noticed the water lapping at his heels, and when he turned to see whence it came, he found that the big lake behind him was rapidly rising, and even as he stood wondering, it arose above his ankles.

Then he remembered what he had heard of revengeful water-babies, but frightened though he was, he could not bear to throw away his prize. However, he knew he must do something, so he plucked out a few hairs from the scalp and threw them into the ascending waves. For a minute the water ceased to rise and he sped onward, but before long he felt the water at his heels again, and knew that once more he must gain a short respite by throwing out a few of the golden-suns.h.i.+ne-hairs.

And ever and again he had to do this until at last he spied his brother ahead of him. "Ah, brother," he cried, drawing the scalp from his blouse, "see what a beautiful present I have for you!"

But when his brother turned toward him he saw only the angry, rising waters, and rus.h.i.+ng forward he s.n.a.t.c.hed the beautiful suns.h.i.+ne-golden-hair and cast it back into the waters, crying, "How you dare meddle with water-babies? Don't you know water surely come up and get you?"

And poor Little Brother felt very sad; but the danger he had been in seemed to have endeared him once more to Hunter Brother and they stood arm-in-arm and watched the waters recede.

But there were hollows in the land and when the waters went back they held the water and so were formed that chain of lakes on the other side of Tallac and Emerald Bay, the Velmas, Kalmia, Cascade, and others.

The rest of the story is confused and full of repet.i.tions.

The gist of it is that Little Brother was ever getting into trouble from which Hunter Brother had to rescue him, for which Little Brother was most grateful and would go off seeking for a present to give to the Big Brother who was so kind to him.

Once he got a young bear cub. He thought it was a dog. He petted it and brought it to his brother as a hunting-dog.

Finally, after Hunter Brother had made a first-cla.s.s hunter of Little Brother so that he could use his bow and arrows with great success, they went down toward the Sacramento Valley hunting deer. They followed a fine buck over hill and dale but could not get a good shot at him. At last worn out by running and suffering greatly, the Little Brother lay down and died.

When his brother found him, he did not attempt to bring him to life again but buried him under a pile of rocks and leaves.

THE "WILD-GRUB" HOLE AT GARDNERVILLE

Once upon a time there was an old Indian who lived over in Hope Valley with his two grand-daughters. He was a mean old man. He made the girls work very hard all day long. They had to gather wild gra.s.s seeds and acorns and grind them into flour all the time. The old man caught plenty of fish and frogs which he took off for his own eating, but he gave the girls none.

One day he came in with a woodchuck skin and told the girls to fill it with wild wheat flour. He did not tell them what he wanted it for. When the skin was full he left the _campoodie_ without a word as to where he was going. But the bag leaked and a little stream of flour trickled out and marked his path. He went away off to a lake where he caught plenty of fish and frogs on which he feasted until he could eat no more. Then he lay down by his fire and was soon fast asleep.

Meanwhile in the _campoodie_ the two girls were talking about the old man's meanness. "He makes us work so hard and we never have any fish to eat. He keeps it all himself," said the older girl.

"I wonder where he's gone now?" said the younger one, going to the door-way and looking out. Suddenly she noticed the little line of flour trailing off through the woods. "Ah, now I'll find him!" And just calling to her sister that she would be back soon, she darted off.

It was dark when she came back weeping. She threw herself on the ground outside the _campoodie_ and poured out her story. She had found the old man lying there fast asleep, gorged with fish. The remnants of his feast lay all about him.

She had not dared to waken him or speak to him, but coming home, had made up her mind to run away and not work for the mean old man any more.

To this the sister agreed, and at daybreak they were scurrying off through the forest.

All day they traveled and when night came they were still in the wilds far from any Indian camp.

Worn out, they lay down under a great pine and looked up at the stars.

"Oh," said the older girl, "see that fine Star-man up there!

I'd like to marry him!"

"Oh, no!" said the younger, "he belongs to me. I'd like to marry him!"

They lay there telling what each would do could she only marry the Star-man, until they fell asleep.

When they awoke in the morning, lo, they found themselves up in the sky, and the elder girl had a baby already--a star-baby! At first the girls were very good to the star-baby but it cried a great deal. One day the younger girl was very cross and put it outside of the _campoodie_. The poor baby cried all the more until the elder sister took pity on it, but when she had fed it and it still cried, the younger sister became very angry and told her sister to put that "brat" outside. The sister was tired too, so she put the poor baby outside.

When the baby could not make them come to him, he got up and went to find his grandfather, the Moon. He told him how mean his mother and aunt were to him. The old Moon was very angry.

He took the star-baby by the hand and went tramping back through the sky to find the cruel mother and her sister.

Now, the girls had been getting rather tired of their sky-_campoodie_ and they longed for their home on the earth. They used to go to a hole in the sky and look down on the earth, wis.h.i.+ng they were there again. Indeed, at the time the star-baby went off to find his grandfather, the Moon, they were at the hole in the sky, amusing themselves by looking through and indulging in vain regrets that they were no longer there.

"Oh, sister," suddenly said the elder, "there goes our old grandfather! Poor old man! I wish we were with him! See, he's carrying big bags of wild wheat-flour and acorns!"

Just then the old Moon came tramping up, and the whole sky trembled. The people on earth said it was thundering. He grabbed the two girls by their hair and shaking them till they were almost dead, he hurled them down through the hole.

Down, down, they went, straight down to where their old grandfather was walking along, little suspecting what was coming. They both hit him and, coming as they did with such force, they made a deep hole in the earth in which they were almost buried.

That hole is over by Gardnerville. In that hole Indians can always find plenty of wild-grub--wild-wheat, wild potato, wild acorn--plenty there. Snow very deep. No difference. Always plenty wild grub there. I see that hole. I believe that story!

THE ORIGIN OF THE DIFFERENT INDIAN TRIBES

Long, long ago, away over in Paiuti-land there were some young boys and girls playing. They played all sorts of games, but they liked hand-ball best. And as they played, they sang songs of gladness.

There was one old woman, their grandmother, who would not play with them. She had a little baby, her youngest grandchild, whom she was trying to quiet, but the little one cried and cried continuously.

By-and-by the old woman heard a noise outside. She was frightened and called to the young folks. "Some one's coming!

You better stop! Better hide! Maybe Evil One, devil, coming!"

But the young folks paid no attention to her warning. They kept on playing harder than ever. The old woman covered the baby with a big basket and hid her own face in her shawl.

Then the Evil One came in. All the young folks turned to see who was coming in and as soon as they looked upon his face they fell dead. Only the old woman and the baby were left; for the Evil One did not see them.

When he was gone, the old woman s.n.a.t.c.hed up the baby and hurried off down to the river. As she was hurrying along she met an old man.

"Where are you going?" said he. Then the old woman saw that it was the Evil One himself. She was afraid but she did not want him to know it. She kept the baby covered in the basket and answered, "I'm going to the river to get wild potatoes!"

"Where are all the girls?" asked the Evil One.

"Oh, they are all over behind the big mountain, playing ball!"

The Evil One went off to find them, because he thought there were still some left, and the old woman quickly dug a big hole and hid herself and the baby away in it.

When the Evil One found that the old woman had told him a lie, he was very angry. He came back and hunted all day long till sundown for her that he might kill her. But he could not find any trace of her. He finally went home and then the old woman took the baby and hid on the top of a big rock, over near where Sheridan now is.

In the morning the Evil One came back to hunt further, but without success.

"I guess that the old woman is dead," said he, "or maybe she's gone across the river." But the Evil One loses his power if he touches water, so he dare not cross the river to follow her.

The old woman watched him from the top of the rock. Many times she feared lest he should find her, and she covered the baby more closely.

At last when he had given up the hunt, she saw him take a great basket and set it down in the road. Into this basket he put great bunches of elderberry roots, and as he put each bunch in, he gave it a name--Washoe, Digger, Paiuti, and so on. Then he put the lid on tightly and went off through the forest.

The old woman watched till the Evil One had gone. Creeping quietly down, she came with the child--she was a little girl now, not a wee baby any more--and sat down near the basket.

Presently there was a murmuring in the basket. "Oh, grandmother, what's that noise?" said the little girl.