Chapter III: Part 3

The next day he saw some women standing on the Hurricane Cliff, and as he approached he heard them say to each other that they would roll rocks down upon his head and kill him as he passed; and drawing near he pretended to be eating something, and enjoying it with great gusto; so they asked him what it was, and he said it was something very sweet, and they begged that they might be allowed to taste of it also. "I will throw it up to you," said he; "come to the brink and catch it." When they 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 to secure 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 way to kill the Sun. _A'-nier ti-tik'-a-nump kaiwk-ai'-gar_." And sounding the war-whoop he passed on.

The following day he saw two women fashioning water-jugs, which are made of willow-ware like baskets and afterwards lined with pitch. When afar off he could hear them converse, for he had a wonderful ear. "Here comes that bad _Ta-vwots'_," said they; "how shall we destroy him?" When he came 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 that all?" replied _Ta-vwots'_, and looking around, he said, "Let me get into your 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 great glee, for they supposed he was entrapped. But with his magic breath he burst the jug, and stood up before them; and they exclaimed, "You must be a ghost!" but he answered, "I am no ghost. Do you not know that jugs were made to hold water, but cannot hold men and women?" At this they wondered greatly, and said he was wise. Then he proposed to put them in jugs in the same manner, in order to demonstrate to them the truth of what he had said; and they consented. When he had made the necks of the jugs and filled them with pitch, he said, "Now, jump out," but they could not. It was now his turn to deride; so he rolled them about and laughed greatly, while their half-stifled screams rent the air. When he had sported with them in this way until he was tired, he killed them with his magical ball. "Aha," said he, "you are bottled in your own jugs. I am on my way to kill the Sun; in good time I shall learn how. _A'-nier ti-tik'-a-nump kaiwk-ai'-gar._" And sounding the war-whoop he passed on.

The next day he came upon _Kwi'-ats_, the bear, who was digging a hole in which to hide, for he had heard of the fame of _Ta-vwots'_, and was afraid. 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 little fellow like me kill so many people?" And the bear was assured. "Let me help you dig," said _Ta-vwots'_, that we may hide together, for I also am fleeing from the great destroyer. So they made a den deep in the ground, with its entrance concealed by a great rock. Now, _Ta-vwots'_ secretly made a private passage from the den out to the side of the mountain, and when the work was completed the two went out together to the 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 the den. The little one outran the greater, and going into the den, hastened out 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 friend he searched for him for some time, and still not finding him, he supposed that he must have passed him on the way, and went out again to see if he had stopped or been killed. By this time _Ta-vwots'_ had perched himself on the rock at the entrance of the den, and when the head of the bear protruded through the hole below he hurled his _pa-rum'-o-kwi_ and killed him. "Aha," said _Ta-vwots'_, "I greatly feared this renowned warrior, but now he is dead in his own den. I am going to kill the Sun. _A'-nier ti'-tik'-a'-nump kwaik-ai'-gar_." And sounding the war-whoop he went on his way.

The next day he met _Ku-mi'-a-poets_, the tarantula. Now this knowing personage had heard of the fame of _Ta-vwots'_, and determined to outwit him. He was possessed of a club with such properties that, although it was a deadly weapon when used against others, it could not be made to hurt himself, though wielded by a powerful arm.

As _Ta-vwots'_ came near, _Ku-mi'-a-poets_ complained of having a headache; moaning and groaning, he said there was an _u-nu'-pits_, or little evil spirit, in his head, and he asked _Ta-vwots'_ to take the club and beat it out. _Ta-vwots'_ obeyed, and struck with all his power, and wondered that _Ku-mi'-a-poets_ was not killed; but he urged _Ta-vwots'_ to strike harder. At last _Ta-vwots'_ understood the nature of the club, and guessed the wiles of _Ku-mi'-a-poets_, and raising the weapon as if to strike again, he dexterously substituted his magic ball and slew him. "Aha," said he, "that is a blow of your own seeking, _Ku-mi'-a-poets_. I am on my way to kill the Sun; now I know that I can do it. _A'-nier ti'-tik'-a'-nump kwaik-ai'-gar._" And sounding the war-whoop he went on his way.

The next day he came to a cliff which is the edge or boundary of the world on the east, where careless persons have fallen into unknown depths below. Now to come to the summit of this cliff it is necessary to climb a mountain, and _Ta-vwots'_ could see three gaps or notches in the mountain, and he went up into the one on the left; and he demanded to 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 every case was its value as fuel.[3] _Ta-vwots'_ shook his head and went into the center gap and had another conversation with the trees, receiving the same answer. Finally he went into the third gap--that on the right. After he had questioned all the trees and bushes, he came at last to a little one called _yu'-i-nump_, which modestly said it had no use, that it was not even fit for fuel. "Good," said _Ta-vwots'_, and under 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 brink overhanging the abyss from which the Sun was about to rise. The instant it appeared he hurled his _pa-rum'-o-kwi_, and, striking it full in the face, shattered it into innumerable fragments, and these fragments were 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 were burned 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 on the stumps of his arms, and these were burned, until there was nothing left but his head. And now, having no other means of progression, his head rolled along the ground until his eyes, which were much swollen, burst by striking against a rock, and the tears gushed out in a great flood which spread out over all the land and extinguished the conflagration.

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

Those animals which are considered as the descendants of _Ta-vwots'_ are characterized by a brown patch back of the neck and shoulders, which is attributed 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-1 equivalents; for the accurate representation please see the HTML or 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