The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1908-08-19
STORY Of THE FLOOD
One Of the Strange Legends of
the Yuma Indians.
CAUSE OF THE GREAT STORM.

the Oeluse Which EnsuIfed the
Wor|d-The Mysterious Ark and the
Escape Of the Chosen Few.
To this day the great deluge recorded
In the Bible is a mystery to the North
American Indian. He will not be led
to believe that the food was brought
about by the sins Of a He Is
equally unwilling to believe that it was
the work Of an angry God, al he could
not see how the Almighty should be SO
unjust as to punish the Indians of
America for the naughty things Of a
race Of people cross the ocean. An
other reason which makes It still more
difficult for the Indian to believe that
the food was a punishment to the
world Is the fact that with him there
IS no sin. In his language there IS no
such word, nor does he expect to be
punished for any Of his acts.
But though there is no equivalent to
the word sin in the Indian language
(nor in the Indian mind until the
Christians came), the Indians have
their philosophy in regard to what Is
commonly SO termed. Some Of their
teachers (most Of whom claimed to
have been taught the philosophy Of
life and its laws directly by disem-
bodied spirits or by ethereal beings
from other planets) taught that as
nan lives here SO is his life hereafter.
If he is quarrelsome or warlike here,
so he will be in the more spiritual life.
If he Is serene and contented here, so
he will be there, etc.
The deluge, al described by the few
who were m~iraculously saved, was the
more grandly terrible in that it came
on suddenly. From the highlands &C.
cupied by the Indians they saw the
waves Of the sea sweep in upon the
land and recede, only to advance with
immensely increased volume and stu
pendously huge breakers. Then there
came a terrific storm that seemed to
blow from all and in all directions.
which appeared over the wild ocean
as far as the eye could see. The terri
fed people fled to the mountains, but
these were all o o to be submerged,
with the exception of one. This noun
tain which alone remained uncovered
by the food is called Avee-heilah
(Mountain Of the Moon), yet today 1t is
not a very high mountain.
For awhile before the mountains be-
came submerged there was a great
calm, and a dense fog covered the
earth. Then suddenly a mighty boat
appeared to the awed view Of the In
dams. It approached and stopped at
the several mountains still uncovered
by the waters, and at each point where
It touched, as If guided by invisible in
telligence, the Indians, as if obeying
an unspoken but potent command. en-
tered the boat.
The boat rested first at a place called
Avee-qua-lul (mountain peak, now ri
lot Knob, on the border of Mexico.
There was a mesa on the top Of this
mountain, though at this day it does
not exist, and on this mesa the Indians
first celebrated their delivery. This
they did by playing sacred games.
chanting sacred songs, etc. On rocks
at the foot Of this peak there are hero
glyphics In an unknown language,
which some of the Indians believe were
made by those who survived the food.
Petrifled driftwood is still to be seen
two-thirds the distance up the sides OF
Avee-heilah, which drift, the Indians
say. was deposited by the ave- Of the
great food.
The Indians, having rested for a time
on the mountain peak. again entered
the boat and were carried eastward
eventually to a small valley. Here
they again rested, and then, leaving
the boat, they wandered from one place
to another, after a time returning to
the valley. To their surprise, the boat
a gone. It could not have foated
away, for the land was dry Wherein
they had left 1t. the food having sub.
sided after a great calm Of its waters
The boat could not have crumbled t.
pieces, for there had not been time FOL
its decay. They could only conclude
that the mysterious boat, having full
filed its mission Of preserving a few
of their race, had disappeared as mi
raculously as It had appeared.
The spot where the mysterious boat
or ark. had rested was marked by the
Indians placing there a huge log. They
called the place Qual-jo-para boat'f
resting place.. This spot is held sacred
by the Indians, who will seldom point
II out to strangers. Not many hundred
years ago, 1t Is said, some Indian war
rtors were passing the spot, and one Of
them to show bis skeptcism shot ar
arrow into the side Of the great log
Immediately a stream Of blood gushed
from the spot pierced. and the skeptit
fell dead. The story Of the event wal
carried to all the near tribes. and since
then Indians passing the place fear t
even look leisurely at the log.
A reason given by the Indians as tn.
probable cause Of the food was tina
there was a tribe of Indians who, lik'
Columbus, believed that the earth wa!
not fat, but round, and to prove wheth
Liz A---