Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1868-06-18

the antelope, the elk, the buffalo an
the wild sheep. The four fierc
fbeasts that bored through the cart
were the lien, the bear, the wolf an
a great olizard. But there came u
again, another beast, that lroote
through with his. nose, that was har
as iron, and he bore in one of hi
fore paws long and sharp stick
This beast crawled on his belly, tha
was black and covered with beautifu
and fipeo black hair. Finding th
earth still flooded with water an,
d mud, he stretched forth his stick an,
drew it from the North to the South
and from the East to.the West, and th
water and the mud parted and wen
away to their places, leaving him DIR,
land to crawl, upon. He then estab
flished the North and the South, tn
East and the West with lines, ant
set bounds to the mud and waters
and dry lands were made; yet many
holes were in the mountains, ont O
which clear and-pure water ran
This badger then returned to the in
ner world and told there, that there
was dry land above, flowers and trees
fruit and grain, birds and beasts, and
that man only was wanted. That
there were also running fresh streams
and lakes of clear water.
After this man and woman came
up out of the ground, full grown
and strong, and very swift, but moi
perfect and beautiful as the pure
white woman of light on the noun
/ tain. They made their house of the
willows of reeds that grew on the
borders of a river of very pure wa.
ter, and all the birds and beasts knew
them, and lived near by them; but
they ate them not, and lived on the
fruits and corn that grew from the
seeds strewn by the birds, and were
contented.
In time they had one child, very
beautiful girl, that grew daily more
beautiful, and caused one very wick
ed beast. like the lizards with the
VOLTS head AMI arms, to be envious
of this only child of the Navajo man
and woman, that was wanted. SO
the beast hid himself in the tall canes
by the bank of the stream, and
waited for the child to come to the
water, and when it came the beast
stole the child, aud carried it away
to the inner world. This was the
first sorrow that visited our Navajo
parents. They sought the daughter,
the beautiful daughter first born of
son, but it could not be found; and
in their grief there was no one to
comfort, them, and they mourned
many days, until the voice of their
lamentations reached the pure wo-
man up in her own light in the noun
tain, and she came down to com fort
them, InfouSn Lne dazzling hight OF
her presence they could not see her,
but her voice was like the music of
the birds, and it fell upon their
hearts as the spirit of peace, and
they ceased to mourn. .r.a.
The beast with the body of the
lizard and the head and arms of the
wolf, now came up through cavern
to the upper world, and water fol
lowed after him, and wherever he
went it rose up and walled around
him up to his arms, so that he could
get no food, and-was tired and wea-
ried of his life. Other animals fed
away from him, fo: he wss a monster
and belonged to no family of the
upper world. None would associate
with him 50 unearthly was his appear
ance and so malicious and fierce were
his eyes. He was declared by the
NaYajo's in a great~council, to be
possessed of an evil spirit, and that
the waters were enwrapped around
him as chains, that he should not
harm the Navajo Indians. He was
accused by the Oldest Navajo, the IA
ther of the beautiful daughter stolen
away from the bank of the river, of
being one evil spirit, and the old man
besought him to return back to the in
ner world, and leave them in peace.
He told the old man, if the good wo-
man in the mountain would cause
the water 70 cease to follew him, and
weary him, he would restore back to
him his lost child, for it was he that
laid in the rushes by the riverside
and stole her away. The father then
turned up his eyes to the woman in
the mountain and said: "Holy and
pure light, pity the poor old Navajo
and restore to him his first born and
lost child" And while speaking the
beast with sharp knife opened the
skin under his arm and out sprang
the child, still beautiful as when first
born: for the perfect and beautiful
woman in the mountain had said,
that the beauty of woman should not
fade or perish while she remained
pure, and this first fair and radiant
daughter, the first born of man and
woma an had not sinned, and the years
of her life under the skin of the
evil beast had not touched her per-
feet beauty, and she was the fairest
and loveliest of Navajo women.--
The water there became great and
exceedingly hot fire, and burned up
the beast, for the woman il the noun
tain said: "Monsters shall no longer
live upon the earth" Thus the first
beast that sinned was burned, and
none have since been created like
him.
In time other daughters and sons
were born unto them, but not in joy:
for the spirit of hatred had taken
root in their natures, and they drove
away the birds and the beasts out OF
their presence: for the beast had
stolen their first bern and brought
woe to the heart of the Navajo.
Men and women lived at this time
to be very old, and none had yet
died. Death had not yet been born,
and the Navsjos filled all the world;
but no sun or moon had been made,
aud there was no great light but that
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