Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-18
LORE OF SAL|SH
INDIANS SAVED
FROM OBLIVION
James A. Teit Collects Prim-
tive MythoIogies for Smith
sonian Institution.
TALES CENTER ABOUT
COYOTE, CULTURAL HERO
Believed Heat and Cold Were
Brothers, and That Heat
Killed Cold.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY.

Remnants of one OF the most mag
NATIVE primitive mythologies has been
saved from oblivion by the. Bureau Of
American Ethnology Of the Smithsonian
Institution.
This consists of the folklore, crea-
ton stories and astronomical phantasies
OF the Salish tribes of Indians of the
Northwest, collected by James A. Teit,
and Just issued as an annual report
by the bureau.
Much OF the mythology csnters about
q cultural hero, Coyote, who captured
the winds with snares and so made
the earth habitable for human beings.
He also killed the monsters which
roamed the earth.
The winds. varying from season TO
season and bringing good and evil with
them, took notable part In the In
depreciation Of nature by the primi-
tive mind, according to the report. A
belief was held that hot and cold winds,
or heat and cold themselves, were
brothers. The first was q handsome
fellow and the other ugly.
Heat Killed Cold.
Once when his brother was away
Cold got angry at the people and said
he would kill them. He made such cold
weather that everybody began to freeze
to death. Heat, hearing that the peo-
pie we're dying, hurried home to save
them He made the weather so hot
that he killed his brother. Since then
heat can always kill cold. Ice, frost
and snow melt away and die at his
coming
In the beginning. according to this
Wa n
people chose the robin to NY up in the
sky and be the sun. But he made it so
hot that everybody was in danger of
burning up, so they deposed him and
put one-eyed man in his place. Since
then it never has been too hot.
When the cultural hero, Coyote, nm
ished his work on earth the people chose
him to go up in the sky and become
the moon. He was rather urlsstisfac-
tory because he always diyuiged what
he saw on earth.
Stars COnsidered Transformed.
Most of the stars are considered to
have been transformed people of the
mythic period. The Great Bear, for
instance, is explained as follows:
Once there were three brothers who
had a brother-in-lsw, grizzly bear.
The youngest brother loved the brother
in-law, but the two elders hated him.
They set out one day to kill him and
the youngest brother followed to warn
him. All three found him at the same
time. Just as they were about TO shoot
they were changed into stars,
A group of stars forming a circle Is
said to have been in the beginning
group OF women cooking. Skunk came
to destroy the cooking. To keep him
away the women formed . circle around
the oven and in this position were
changed into stars. Another group of
stars is called the Canoe. Five men
were making the canoe and another
directing the work when they were
transformed.
The people, according to the report,
believe In a race Of red dwarfs which
live in the trees and carry their babies
upside down on board carriers. People
whom they approach lose their senses
When they come out of their stupor
they find themselves leaning against q
tree upside down.
Another race of dwarfs are the size
OF small boys, who dress in squirrel
skins, carry small bows and arrows and
live In cliffs In the mountains. The
people know they exist because one was
found dead as late as 1895.
Tree Men" Mythical Group.
Still another group of mythical be-
ings are the tree men," who dress In
buffalo skins, have a strong odor and
have the power of transforming them
selves into trees and bushes. Thus they
remain invisible to human beings, but
the Indians know they exist because
sometimes bushes mysteriously disap-
pear or change places, they say.
Giants formerly were common. They
have a strong odor. like the smell OF
burning horn. They dress in bear
skins and live in caves in the rocks.
Somewhat akin to the giants are the
land and water mysteries" located in
waterfalls, lakes and mountain peaks
A person who sees one of them dies
Indians say. have underground passages
tops Of high mountains, for the conven-
fence OF the mysteries"
Hair-raiSing ghost stories were COM
mon. A person might have one or two
ghosts, one OF which remained near the
body. The other went away TO a mys-
terious land where all ghosts lived to-
Rether. The one that remained on
earth wandered about the places the
person had frequented in HIS lifetime,
but finally disappeared and nobody
knew where 1t went
Ghosts Of drowned people haunted
the water for a time. Ghosts OF the
newly dead liked to visit their old
acquaintance. II repealed they gave
up their attempts and afterward APP
peared only in lonely places and near
graves.
In the beginning. according to this
mythology. people did not die, but death
was finally brought into the world by
a woman and since then everybody has