Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-12-18
Ute Traditions.
ORIGIN OF THE GRAND CANON.

ORIGIN OF THE GRAND CANON.
OF the vast collection of Indian
myths and legends laboriously gather
ed by the intrepid, one armed ooyageur,
Major Powell. few are more interesting
than that which describes, iu the myth
ology of,the Utes, the origin of the
Grand Canon of the Colorado, "a mar
vel worthy to rank with the Seven
Wonders 1t tells how, in the olden
time, the wife of the great war-chief of
the Utes died, and the chief simeon
solable, and called upon his god Tawota
to take pity on him and lead him to
his wife. And the god looked upon
him and saw that he was unhappy, and
taking his huge magic ball in his hand.
he rolled It before him on the ground;
and where it rolled it cut far down into
the earth and opened the Grand Canon.
thousands of feet deep. And through
it the god led the heavy-hearted chief
of the Utes, and showed him his wife
in the happy hunting grounds; and
leading him back. he poured mighty
river through the canon, and along
their trail, that no one might be able
to follow after Their and the river
has continued to run ever since.
THE ORIGIN OF FIRE.
Once upon time bright spark fell
from the point Of a reed upon the
ground, and the nightingale picked it
up in its beak and found it was fire.
And the mighty chief of the Utes
asked what it was, and the nightingale
said it was fire. And the chief asked
! if there were any more in the world.
and the nightingale said, that far off
in the south was people dancing ever
about great fire, with songs and shouts.
So the mighty chief of the Utes made
ready, and put on fine cap, with long
eagle feathers upon it, and started for
the people of the South. And, as he
went, he stationed nimble runners of
his tribe all the way from the land of
the Utes to the Fire People, at inter-
walls of mile And journeying. he
came, after many days. to the Fire
People, dancing with songs and shouts
about great FIRE. And he mingled
with them; but they saw he was a
stranger and looked askaht at him.
But he danced and Sang and shouted
with them, and suddenly STOPPING,
thrust the end of his eagle plumes iii
the fire, and they blazei up nightly.
And the Fire People would have caught
him, but he. leaped over their heads
and ran to the first man of his tribe,
and falling exhausted; handed HIM the
blazing torch of plumes and told him
to run. And he ran and fell exhaust
ed by the second man, handing him
the plumes, And SO they ran, each
man catching the fire plumes from the
hand of the runner, until the last man
brought it to the land of the Utes.
And they were so rejoiced, they put
/ the torch to the roots of mighty tree
on the edge Of the forest, and shouted
as it burned. But great wind sptang
up and carried the fire into the forest,
and it spread in every direction and all
the woods were destroyed. And the
people of the Utes prayed long and
loud to the god Tawotz, and at length
he sent mighty rain, which quenched
the fire. But turtle sat upon spark
of fire and kept it alive during the
rain. And this waa the origin of fire:
The myths combined give a not unin-
teresting barbaric history of the origin
OF the Grand Canon and the river Of
the Colorado and cf the absence of
forests in this part of Arizona. old
and New.