Then, before Coyote could put the lid back on the box, Moon jumped out and flew away to the outer rim of the sky, and at once snow fell down from heaven and covered the plains and the mountains.
Eagle said: “I should have known better. I should not have let you persuade me. I knew what kind of low, cunning, stupid creature you are. I should have remembered that you never keep a promise. Now we have winter. If you had not opened the box, then we could have kept Sun and Moon always close to us. Then there would be no winter. Then we would have summer all the time.”
COYOTE STEALS THE SUN
{Miwok}
There are manydifferent tales of Coyote creating Sun and Moon, or simply stealing them from somebody else.
Coyote is an adventurous fellow. He goes where nobody else dares to go. Coyote lived in the Village of Darkness, on one side of a mountain range. On the other side was the Village of Light. No one had ever gone over the mountains to the other side. They were afraid of what they might find there.
Coyote said to himself: “I want to find out what it is like on the far side. It might be dangerous, but I am curious. Curiosity is always getting the better of me.” So Coyote went up one side of the mountains and came down on the other. The land there was bright. It almost blinded him. He was not used to it. There were people there. They were different from the kind of people Coyote knew. They had wondrous things that the people in the Village of Darkness lacked. The people Coyote knew had never heard of such things.
Coyote crept up to the strange people’s camp. This was the Village of Light. Coyote crept unseen into the home of a chief. The chief took something out of a basket. It was Sun. At once everything was bright. The chief sent Sun on its path. After a while Sun came back. The chief put Sun back in its basket. Then, at once, everything was dark. The chief took something out of another basket. It was Moon. At once everything was bright again, but not as bright as when Sun was out of its basket. Moon made things much less bright. Moon went on its path and came back. Then Sun came out again. Coyote watched it all with astonishment. He had never believed that such things could be.
Coyote went back to his own Village of Darkness. He told the chief what he had seen. The chief would not believe him. He called Coyote a liar. Coyote said: “They have two wonderful things over there. They call them Sun and Moon. They make things bright.”
“You are dreaming,” said the chief. “You have lost your senses.”
“I will steal Sun and Moon from those strangers on the other side,” said Coyote.
The chief mocked Coyote: “We do not need those things. They are of no use to us.”
“I will find some use for them,” said Coyote.
Coyote again walked over the mountains to the Village of Light. He laid himself across the path that he knew the chief of that village would take whenever he went hunting. Then Coyote transformed himself into a dry branch. The village chief came walking along, just as Coyote had expected. He stumbled over the branch. He looked at what had tripped him. “Ah, this will go on my woodpile,” said the chief as he picked up the branch. He took it to his village.
Back at his home, the chief made a fire. He threw the dry branch into it, the branch that was Coyote. At once the branch jumped out of the fire. The chief put it back. The branch formed itself into a hoop going around the fire so that it could not be burned. The chief grabbed the branch a third time and threw it across the fire. The branch quickly stood itself on end at the side of the fire to save itself. “This is a very strange piece of wood,” said the chief. “It will not burn. We will see about that.”
Coyote used his powerful magic to make the chief drowsy. The chief had just put Sun back into its basket, but had not yet taken Moon out for its nightly journey. The chief fell asleep. He snored. His eyes were shut fast. Coyote quickly assumed his natural form. He seized both baskets and ran away with them. The chief awoke and raised the alarm. Then all his people ran after Coyote to get Sun and Moon back. Coyote is a fast runner. He managed to keep just ahead of his pursuers in spite of his heavy burden. He ran up the mountain slope and over the crest. Then he ran down to his own side.
When his pursuers reached the crest and looked down, they stopped. Before them spread the Land of Darkness. It made them afraid. “This blackness is frightful,” they said. “This land is darker than dark. How can one see in such a country? The people there must all be blind. No, we are not used to that kind of thing. We will not go down there.” So they gave up.
Coyote came back to his Village of Darkness. He went to the chief’s home. All the people followed him. He put the two baskets down in front of the chief. The chief poked them with his feet. He kicked them around a little bit. He said: “I do not trust anything coming from the other side. Everything there is bad.”
Coyote opened one bag and let Sun come out. Then everything was bright. The chief said: “I don’t like this strange thing. It is bad for the eyes. It could make us blind. We have no use for this.” But nobody paid any attention to him. All the people were happy to have light.
Then Coyote took out Moon from its bag. “This will shine in the night,” he told the people.
The chief kept grumbling: “This useless thing is also bad, though not quite as bad as the thing called ‘Sun.’ This will make people go out at night making love instead of sleeping. Then they will be too lazy to hunt or to gather food.”
But nobody listened to him. “You have done well,” the people told Coyote. Then they made him the chief.
ORIGIN OF THE MOON AND THE SUN
{Kalispel}
Here is a moon-stealing story.
Long ago, when the world was very young, the moon was a plaything of a certain tribe of animal people. One day Coyote said to Antelope, “Let our sons go out and learn how to steal the moon.”
He and Antelope lived together, and each of them had four sons. Following their fathers’ instructions, the eight young men went up into the mountains, each in a place by himself, to fast and to obtain the help of his spirit. Again and again they were sent out. At last Coyote said, “Our boys should be wise enough now to steal the moon.”
When the eight young men reached the open space on which the animal people were rolling the great shining ball, they hid themselves at one end of the play field. Now the owners of the moon knew that the boys were coming to steal it. They rolled it toward the boys, sure that it was too heavy for anyone to take away. But the Coyote brothers, one at a time, rolled it toward their home. The owners of the moon caught up with the Coyote brothers and killed them, one at a time. The Antelope brothers took the moon from the youngest Coyote, and they ran so swiftly that no one could catch them.
When they reached home and told Coyote that his four sons had been killed, Coyote began to cry loudly. “Put out the fire and give me that moon,” he said to the Antelope brothers. They obeyed him. He took the moon back to its owners, and they gave him his sons, restored to life.
One day Sapsucker said to his grandmother, “Let me go and steal the moon.” So he set out. When the moon people saw him coming, they knew his purpose and began to laugh.
“Roll the moon toward little Sapsucker,” said one of them. “Let’s see what he can do with such a big thing.”
When it reached him, he lifted it with difficulty and staggered off with it. Again the people laughed. “Let him go as far as that ridge. But if he passes over it, we will kill him.”
They did not know that Sapsucker was very clever. When they reached the top of the ridge, they saw him and the moon at the top of the next hill. He had rolled the moon down the first slope, and its momentum had carried it almost to the top of the second slope. Sapsucker flew over the valley and pushed the ball the rest of the way. The people ran after him until they were tired out, and Sapsucker rolled the moon to his home.
Sadly the people started home without the moon. “Let us make a new moon,” they said. “And let us place it in the sky.”
“Who will be the new moon?” someone asked.
The people discussed and discussed the matter. Finally they decided that Yellow Fox should be the new moon, and Yellow Fox agreed. They put him in the sky, where he was to shine by day as well as by night. But he made the days so hot that they took him down.
Then they asked Coyote, “Do you think that you would be a good moon?”
“Yes, of course,” he replied. “I would like to be the moon, for then I can see everything.”
So they placed Coyote in the sky. He did not make the days too hot, but he did see everything. And whenever he saw anything wrong being done, he called out loudly the name of the person and the wrong thing he was doing. The people who wished to do things in secret demanded that Coyote be taken from the sky.
Two young men from the tribe—nicely dressed young men—were desired by four Frogs. The Frogs wanted the two young fellows as their husbands but did not know how to get them. One Frog made a plan. She made everything in the forest wet, so that the young men could only find one dry place in which to sit. That was inside the cedar-bark lodge of Frogs. Instantly one Frog jumped on the face of one of the men and stuck there so fast that he could not remove her. The other Frogs blinded the other young man in one eye.
When the people tried to help the young men, they could do nothing. The blinded one said, “I think I should be the sun. I am ashamed to go about as a man with only one eye.”
“I will be the moon,” the other man said. “I do not want to go among people with this Frog on my face.”
So the people placed the two up in the sky, to be the sun and the moon. The spots we see on the moon are the Frog still sticking to the young man’s face. The sun, as we all know, has only one eye.
HOW PEOPLE WERE MADE
{Miwok}
At one time, quite a while ago, the animals were like people. Falcon said to Coyote: “You have great magic powers. Why don’t you make some human beings?”
“It is too much work,” said Coyote.
“No matter,” said Falcon. “You must do it, because you can do it.”
“Well, all right,” said Coyote.
Coyote laid down and played dead. Then many crows and buzzards came. They pecked at Coyote’s backside. They made a big hole in Coyote’s left buttock. They worked their way inside. Then Coyote quickly closed the hole, trapping the scavengers. He went back to his home. He opened the hole in the buttock. He told Falcon to pick the crows and buzzards out. Then he told Falcon to pluck them.
“Now,” said Coyote, “we will stick their feathers into various places in all the four directions.”
Coyote and Falcon went to work. On every hill they planted one crow and one buzzard feather. The crow feathers became just people. The buzzard feathers became chiefs. As Coyote planted the feathers he gave every site a name, and the next day there were human beings living in all those places.
Coyote said to Falcon: “These new human beings look exactly like us. So now we must assume a different shape. We must become animals. It is your fault. You forced me into making those humans. So now you shall have wings and a beak, and I shall have a tail and fur all over. I shall be Coyote and creep around hunting. You will fly about. You can be the chief if you want.”
At once all the original people were transformed into animals and birds. Coyote named them all. “Now I’m tired,” he said. “I will rest.”
COYOTE STEALS THE SUMMER
{Crow}
At the beginning of time Old Man Coyote was cold. He was almost frozen to death. This was because in those days of old there was no summer. Old Man Coyote was shivering. His tail was frozen stiff, with icicles hanging from it. Then he heard Raven cackling on a branch above him: “Old Man Coyote, I know how you can get warm. I will lead you to the huge tipi of an Old Woman who has many children. This woman is very powerful. She has something that is called ‘Summer.’ It could make you warm. It could make the whole country around here warm.”
“How can I get it?” Old Man Coyote asked.
“You must take five animals with you,” said Raven. “A He-Wolf, a Bull Moose, an Elk, a Stag, and a Buck Antelope. When we get to the tipi in which this powerful Old Woman lives, and her many children live, the He-Wolf must bark. Then all of the Old Woman’s children will come out of the tipi to see what is going on. Wolf must show himself. Then Old Woman’s children will try to catch him, skin him, cook him, and eat him. So Wolf must run away and entice them to follow him. This is the moment for you to act, because you are very smart.”
“What must I do?” asked Old Man Coyote.
“While Old Woman’s children are pursuing Wolf, you must creep into Old Woman’s tipi.”
“What do I do when I am inside?”
“I have a powerful herb to give you,” said Raven. “This you must smear on Old Woman’s lips. You will see two bags in the back of the tipi. One is white and the other is black. You must steal the black one; it contains summer. Under no circumstances take the white one. It contains winter. You do not want it. Grab the bag and run!”
Old Man Coyote did as he was told. He crept into the tipi. Old Woman was sitting there, making moccasins. Old Man Coyote quickly smeared some of the powerful medicine across Old Woman’s mouth. It made her voiceless, so that she could not call her children. Old Man Coyote saw the two bags. He grabbed the black one. Old Woman’s children saw him, running as fast as he could. They stopped pursuing Wolf and tore after Old Man Coyote. When Old Man Coyote got tired he passed the bag on to Bull Moose, who was waiting for him at some distance. Bull Moose was lumbering along with his precious burden, Old Woman’s children hard on his heels, trying to get the stolen bag. They almost caught Bull Moose, but he was able, just in time, to pass on the bag to Elk, who was waiting for him along the way. So Old Woman’s children went after Elk. Just when Elk was on the point of exhaustion, there was Stag, waiting to carry the bag farther. Stag was very fast and Old Woman’s children were panting, trying to keep up. When Stag, finally, was about done in, he managed to pass the bag on to Buck Antelope, who was the fastest of them all. Old Woman’s children were left far behind. They gave up. Buck Antelope arrived at Old Man Coyote’s village. Raven was already there. They waited for their friends to come, for He-Wolf, Bull Moose, Elk, Stag, and Buck Antelope. Old Man Coyote was the last to arrive. He was given the honor to open the bag. As he opened it, summer jumped out.
At once there was warmth. Flowers bloomed, green grass was shooting up. Leaves appeared upon the naked tree branches. The earth rejoiced.
Then Old Woman’s children appeared before Old Man Coyote’s tipi. “You evil thief,” they said. “You have stolen our mother’s bag, you and your evil friends. You have robbed us. You have stolen Summer. Give it back!”
“I will not,” said Old Man Coyote. “I like it too much!”
“Then we will make war upon you,” said Old Woman’s children.
“We shall fight to the death!”
Old Man Coyote did not want to have a war on his hands. He was a peaceful fellow. He thought that fighting to the death was a very bad idea. He said: “Oh, Old Woman’s children, there is nothing to be gained by killing each other. Let us agree on this: You shall have summer for half a year, and then we will have winter for the other half.”
“That is fair,” said Old Woman’s children, and they all agreed to do it this way.
COYOTE AND EAGLE VISIT THE LAND OF THE DEAD
{Yakima}
In the days of the animal people, Coyote was sad because people died and went away to the lands of the spirits. All around him was the sound of mourning. He wondered and wondered how he could bring the dead back to the land of the living.
Coyote’s sister had died. Some of his friends had died. Eagle’s wife had died and Eagle was mourning for her. To comfort him, Coyote said, “The dead shall not remain in the land of the dead forever. They are like the leaves that fall, brown and dead in the autumn. They shall come back again. When the grass grows and the birds sing, when the leaf buds open and the flowers bloom, t
he dead come back again.”
But Eagle did not want to wait until spring. He thought that the dead should be brought back without delay. So Coyote and Eagle started out together to the land of the dead, Eagle flying along over Coyote‘s, head. After several days they came to a big body of water, on the other shore of which were a great many houses.
“Bring a boat and take us across the water!” shouted Coyote. But there was no answer—no sound and no movement.
“There is no one there,” said Eagle. “We have come all the way for nothing.”
“They are asleep,” explained Coyote. “They sleep during the day and come out at night. We will wait here until dark.”
After sunset, Coyote began to sing. In a short time four spirit men came out of the houses, got into a boat, and started toward Coyote and Eagle. Coyote kept on singing and soon the spirits joined him, keeping time with their paddles. But the boat moved without them. It skimmed over the water by itself.
When the spirits reached the shore, Eagle and Coyote stepped into the boat and started back with them. As they drew near the island of the dead, the sound of drums and of dancing met them across the water.
“Do not go into the house,” warned the spirits as they were landing. “Do not look at the things around you. Keep your eyes closed, for this is a sacred place.”
“But we are hungry and cold. Do let us go in,” begged Eagle and Coyote.
So they were allowed to go into a large lodge made of tule mats, where the spirits were dancing and singing to the beating of the drums. An old woman brought to them some seal oil in a basket bottle. Dipping a feather into it, she fed them from the oil until their hunger was gone.
American Indian Trickster Tales (Myths and Legends) Page 3