The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1872-06-07
Young Folks.
IndIan Fable Of the ORIGIN of Fire.

indian Fable Of the Origin OF Fire.
Cahrocs now had food enough, but
they had no fire TO cook II with. Far
away toward the rising sun, somewhere
in q land where no Cahroc had ever
seen, Chareya had made fire and hidden
1t In a casket, which he gave to two old
hags to keep, lest some Cahroc should
steal 1t. SO now the Coyote again be.
friended the Cahrocs, promising TO
bring them some fire.
He went out and got together great
company of animals, one of every kind,
from the cougar down to the frog. These
he stationed in line along the road,
from the home of the Cahrocs to the far
distant land where the fire was, the
weakest animal nearest home, and the
strongest nearest the fire. Then he
took an Indian with him and hid him
under hill, and went to the cabin of
the hags who kept the fire, and raped
on the door. One of them came out,
and he said "Good EVENING"; and they
replied, "Good evening"" Then he said,
| ~ " piCttS COlu hlShb Cdh yOu iSt
me sit by your fire ?' And they said,
"Yes; come in.n So he went in and
stretched himself out before the fire, and
reached out his snout towards the blaze,
and shifted the heat, and felt very snug
and comfortable. Finally, he stretched
his nose out along his fore.paws and
pretended to go to sleep, though he
kept the corner of one eye open, watch
ing the old hags. But they never slept,
day or night, and he spent the whole
night watching and thinking to no pur-
pose.
:, So next morning he went out and told
the Irdian whom he had hidden under
the hill that he must make an attack on
the hags cabin, as if he were about to
steal some fire while (the coyote) was in
it. He then went back and asked the
hags to admit him again, which they
did, as they did not think coyote could
steal any fire. He stood close by the
casket Of fire, and when the Indian
made rush on the cabin, and the
hags dashed out after him at the door,
the coyote seized brand in his teeth
and ran out at the other. He almost
flew over the ground; but the hags saw
the sparks flying and gave chase, and
gained on him fast. But by the time
he was out of breath he reached the
cougar, who took the brand and ran
with it to the bear, and so on, each ami
NAL barely having time to give it to the
next before the hags came up.
, The next to the last in the line was
the ground squirrel. He took the brand
f and ran so fast with it that his tail got
, afire and he curled it up over his back
and so burned the black spot we see to
this day just behind his fore.shoul-
ders. Last OF all was the frog; but he,
, poor brute could not run at all so he
opened his mouth wide, and the squir-
rel chucked the fire into it and he swal
lowed it down with gulp. Then he
turned and gave great jump but the
hags were so close in pursuit that one
of them seized him by the tail (he was
tadpole them and tweaked it off, and
that is the reason that frogs have no
tails to this day. He swan under wa
ter long distance-as long as he could
hold his breath-then came up and spit
out the fire into a log of drift wood, and
! there it has stayed safe ever since; so
, that when an Indian rubs two pieces OF
| wood together the fire comes forth