"[1]
We read in the legends of Oraibi, hereafter quoted more fully, that
the people climbed up a ladder from a lower world to this--that is,
they ascended from the cave in which they had taken refuge. This was
in an age of cold and darkness; there was yet no sun or moon.
The natives in the neighborhood of Mount Shasta, in Northern
California, have a strange legend which refers to the age of Caves
and Ice.
They say the Great Spirit made Mount Shasta first:
"_Boring a hole in the sky_," (the heavens cleft in twain of the
Edda?) "using a _large stone_ as an auger," (the fall of stones and
pebbles?) "he pushed down _snow and ice until they reached the
desired height;_ then he stepped from cloud to cloud down to _the
great icy pile_, and from it to the earth, where he planted the first
trees by merely putting his finger into the soil here and there. _The
sun began to melt the snow; the snow produced water; the water ran
down the sides of the mountains_, refreshed the trees, and made
rivers. The Creator gathered the leaves that fell from the trees,
blew upon them, and they became birds," etc.
Pages:
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291