Piqua Central High School - Piquonian Yearbook (Piqua, OH)

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' ...EX . .. . gfwl ra Old Indian Myths N traveling through an Indian reservation I came upon a friendly old Indian chief, who told me some old legends handed down by his forefathers. As these myths impressed me very much I shall try to tell them to you as they were told to me. Two little Indian boys went swimming. After their swim, they lay down on a huge boulder to dry themselves in the sunshine. It was such a beautiful day that they soon fell asleep. As they slept the boulder grew and grew until it reached high into the sky and out of sight of their tribe who looked for them in vain. Finally the animals gathered for a council to find a way to bring the boys down. Each animal jumped, leaped, and climbed as high as he could but none could reach the top. Then tiny Measuring XYorm began to creep and finally reached the top. He awoke theboys and led them back to their tribe. There- fore the Indians called the great rock after the little Measuring lYorm which was Tutckanula, but white men call it El Capitan. According to an Old Indian myth the first part of the earth to be created was Mount Shasta. The Indians believed the great spirit broke a hole through heaven with a rock, and where the rock landed he Hung more rocks until he could step from the sky to the summit. He created the forest by running his hand over the sides of the hills, then plucked some leaves from the trees, breathed on them, tossed them into the air and they were birds. In this manner the world was created. The powerful beings dwelled in the Catskill and Adirondacks while the Highlands of the Hudson confined the rebellious spirits. The White Mountains were the home of the great and blessed spirits and the great spirit lived there and looked down upon his children. The red men were afraid to tread upon this high and holy ground. The White Mountains were created in a different manner from the others. An Indian hunter, exhausted from his fruitless hunt, lay down in the snow to die. He dreamed of a wonderful hunting ground. Vllhen he awoke from his dream he called to the Great Spirit, VVhere is this country I have seen? The Great Spirit gave him a coal and a spear. He dropped the coal, and fire and smoke spread from it. A wonderful hunting ground was created and a voice sounded the promise, Here shall the Great Spirit live and watch over his children. As the smoke cleared, the hunter gazed upon the mighty peaks. God stood upon their crest. The great valley known as Yosemite, but which meant to the Indians 'fGrizzly Bear , has many beautiful falls. In this valley a great chief fell in love with beautiful Tisayac, spirit of the valley. As he was about to win her she vanished as a bird of the sky. The chief left his tribe after she had vanished. The members of his tribe were soon scattered and Yosemite became a desert. When Tisayac returned she wept bitterly and called on the Great Spirit to return life to the valley: this he did. He also smote the mountain and let the 93