The Native American Experience

The World on the Turtle’s Back

Iroquois Creation Myth

  named Hiawatha (hFQE-wJthPE) to end the

“[Native American] stories fighting. Sometime between 1570 and
. . . remind the people of 1600, they formed the Iroquois League,
who and what they are, why a confederacy empowered to negotiate
they are in this particular treaties with foreign nations and to resolve
place, and how they should conflicts among the five nations. In 1722,
continue to live here.” the Tuscarora, from North Carolina,
 joined the league. For the next 175 to 200
Did you know that . . . years, the Iroquois managed to dominate
• both the U.S.
other Native American groups and to
Constitution and the remain free of both British and French rule.
founding charter of the The Iroquois Way of Life The league’s
United Nations are based
effectiveness stemmed in part from the
on ideas found in the The totem, or tribal symbol, of the Iroquois
Iroquois constitution,
nations’ shared culture. The groups spoke
known as “The Great similar languages, held similar beliefs, and
“The World on the Turtle’s Back” is an
Binding Law”? followed similar ways of life. They lived in
Iroquois (GrPE-kwoiQ) creation story filled
• Iroquois women had longhouses made of pole frames covered
with conflict and compelling characters.
many more rights than with elm bark, and they built fences
The Iroquois passed down this story from
colonial American around their villages for protection. Up to
women? one generation to the next by telling it
50 people occupied each longhouse, and
in elaborate performances. In the 1800s,
• more than 50,000 300 to 600 people lived in each village.
Iroquois live in the David Cusick, an Iroquois author,
Villages were governed by a chief or chiefs,
United States today? recorded one version of the story in print.
who received advice from a council of
Today, more than 25 written versions of
adult males. Groups of women gathered
building the story exist.
wild fruits and nuts and cultivated corn,
background
The Power of Unity The term Iroquois beans, and squash. In addition to waging
To learn more about
the Iroquois, visit the refers to six separate Native American war, the men traded, hunted, fished, and
Literature Center at groups—the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, built the longhouses.
ClassZone.com.
Onondaga, Mohawk, and Tuscarora. Five
The Iroquois Through Time During the
of these groups—all but the Tuscarora—
American Revolution, the Iroquois nations
once resided in what is now New York
disagreed about whether to support the
State. They continually waged war with
rebelling colonists or Great Britain. This
one another, putting themselves at risk
dispute severely weakened the Iroquois
of attack from neighboring Algonquin
League. Today, the league shows renewed
tribes. Troubled by the bloodshed, a Huron
vigor as it fights for environmental
named Deganawidah (dE-gäQnE-wCP-dE)
protection and increased recognition
joined forces with an Onondaga chief
by the U.S. government.

32
literary analysis: creation myths Explore the Key Idea
A myth is a traditional story, usually involving supernatural
beings or events, that explains how some aspect of human
nature or the natural world came to be. Creation myths are
How do we make
a specific kind of myth that typically sense
• describes how the universe, the earth, and life began of our world?
• explains the workings of the natural world
KEY IDEA Since the beginning of time,
• supports and validates social customs and values
people of all cultures have gathered to
• guides people through the trials of living discuss one of life’s biggest questions:
As you read “The World on the Turtle’s Back,” note the how was the world created? The
supernatural explanation it offers of the world’s origin. Iroquois creation myth you’re about to
Think about how this myth serves the functions listed here. read offers one answer to this question
about the origin of the world.
reading strategy: reading folk literature DISCUSS What different accounts of
You’re probably already familiar with different types of creation—biblical narratives, scientific
folk literature, which includes folk tales, myths, fables, and theories, or stories from other cultures,
legends passed orally from one generation to the next. The for example—have you heard or read?
creation myth you are about to read is another example of folk With a small group of classmates,
literature. Using the following strategies as you read will help summarize as many of these accounts
you not only understand and appreciate the myth’s message as you know.
but also glean information about the culture it comes from:
• Read the myth aloud, or imagine a storyteller’s voice as
you read silently.
• Note mysteries of nature and details about creation that
the myth explains.
• Make inferences about the social values or customs taught
through the characters and situations.
• Look for details that reveal other aspects of Iroquois culture.
As you read, use a chart like the one shown to record your
notes and observations about the three kinds of information
you find in this myth.

Details About Social Values or Other Cultural

Creation/Nature Customs Details
Before the earth was
created, humans and
animals “of the kind
that are around us
now” did not exist.

33
 Native American Literary Movement 1490-1700’s

This movement is based mostly on oral tradition – which can give us a

hint as to why there is very little written material.

Those stories, fables, tales, myths and chants were written down later
for preservation, not because that was typical for Native Americans of
the time.

Nature and elements of nature are the most common aspect of Native
American writings.

“The World on the Turtle’s Back”

Iroquois Myth

In the beginning there was no world, no land, no creatures of the kind

that are around us now, and there were no men. But there was a great ocean
which occupied space as far as anyone could see. Above the ocean was a great
void of air. And in the air there lived the birds of the sea; in the ocean
lived the fish and the creatures of the deep. Far above this unpeopled world,
there was a Sky World. Here lived gods who were like people—like Iroquois.

In the Sky World there was a man who had a wife, and the wife was
expecting a child. The woman became hungry for all kinds of strange delicacies,
as women do when they are with child. She kept her husband busy almost to
distraction finding delicious things for her to eat. In the middle of the Sky
World there grew a Great Tree which was not like any of the trees that we know.
It was tremendous; it had grown there forever. It had enormous roots that
spread out from the floor of the Sky World. And on its branches there were many
different kinds of leaves and different kinds of fruits and flowers. The tree
was not supposed to be marked or mutilated by any of the beings who dwelt in
the Sky World. It was a sacred tree that stood at the center of the universe.

The woman decided that she wanted some bark from one of the roots of the
Great

Tree—perhaps as a food or as a medicine, we don’t know. She told her husband

this. He didn’t like the idea. He knew it was wrong. But she insisted, and he
gave in. So he dug a hole among the roots of this great sky tree, and he bared
some of its roots. But the floor of the Sky World wasn’t very thick, and he
broke a hole through it. He was terrified, for he had never expected to find
empty space underneath the world.

But his wife was filled with curiosity. He wouldn’t get any of the roots
for her, so she set out to do it herself. She bent over and she looked down,
and she saw the ocean far below. She leaned down and stuck her head through the
hole and looked all around. No one knows just what happened next. Some say she
slipped. Some say that her husband, fed up with all the demands she had made on
him, pushed her.
 So she fell through the hole. As she fell, she frantically grabbed at its
edges, but her hands slipped. However, between her fingers there clung bits of
things that were growing on the floor of the Sky World and bits of the root
tips of the Great Tree. And so she began to fall toward the great ocean far
below.

The birds of the sea saw the woman falling, and they immediately
consulted with each other as to what they could do to help her. Flying wingtip
to wingtip they made a great feathery raft in the sky to support her, and thus
they broke her fall. But of course it was not possible for them to carry the
woman very long. Some of the other birds of the sky flew down to the surface of
the ocean and called up the ocean creatures to see what they could do to help.
The great sea turtle came and agreed to receive her on his back. The birds
placed her gently on the shell of the turtle, and now the turtle floated about
on the huge ocean with the woman safely on his back.

The beings up in the Sky World paid no attention to this. They knew what
was happening, but they chose to ignore it.

When the woman recovered from her shock and terror, she looked around
her.

All that she could see were the birds and the sea creatures and the sky and the
ocean.

And the woman said to herself that she would die. But the creatures of
the sea came to her and said that they would try to help her and asked her what
they could do.

She told them that if they could find some soil, she could plant the roots
stuck between her fingers, and from them plants would grow. The sea animals
said perhaps there was dirt at the bottom of the ocean, but no one had ever
been down there so they could not be sure.

If there was dirt at the bottom of the ocean, it was far, far, below the
surface in the cold deeps. But the animals said they would try to get some. One
by one the diving birds and animals tried and failed. They went to the limits
of their endurance, but they could not get to the bottom of the ocean. Finally,
the muskrat said he would try. He dived and disappeared. All the creatures
waited, holding their breath, but he did not return. After a long time, his
little body floated up to the surface of the ocean, a tiny crumb of earth
clutched in his paw. He seemed to be dead. They pulled him up on the turtle’s
back and they sang and prayed over him and breathed air into his mouth, and
finally, he stirred. Thus it was the muskrat, the Earth-Diver, who brought from
the bottom of the ocean the soil from which the earth was to grow.

The woman took the tiny clod of dirt and placed it on the middle of the
great sea turtle’s back. Then the woman began to walk in a circle around it,
moving in the direction that the sun goes. The earth began to grow. When the
earth was big enough, she planted the roots she had clutched between her
fingers when she fell from the Sky World. Thus the plants grew on the earth.
 To keep the earth growing, the woman walked as the sun goes, moving in
the direction that the people still move in the dance rituals. She gathered
roots and plants to eat and built herself a little hut. After a while, the
woman’s time came, and she was delivered of a daughter. The woman and her
daughter kept walking in a circle around the earth, so that the earth and
plants would continue to grow. They lived on the plants and roots they
gathered. The girl grew up with her mother, cut off forever from the Sky

World above, knowing only the birds and the creatures of the sea, seeing no
other beings like herself. One day, when the girl had grown to womanhood, a man
appeared. No one knows for sure who this man was. He had something to do with
the gods above. Perhaps he was the West Wind. As the girl looked at him, she
was filled with terror, and amazement, and warmth, and she fainted dead away.
As she lay on the ground, the man reached into his quiver, and he took out two
arrows, one sharp and one blunt, and he laid them across the body of the girl,
and quietly went away.

When the girl awoke from her faint, she and her mother continued to walk
around the earth. After a while, they knew that the girl was to bear a child.
They did not know it, but the girl was to bear twins.

Within the girl’s body, the twins began to argue and quarrel with one
another.

There could be no peace between them. As the time approached for them to be
born, the twins fought about their birth. The right-handed twin wanted to be
born in the normal way, as all children are born. But the left-handed twin said
no. He said he saw light in another direction, and said he would be born that
way. The right-handed twin beseeched him not to, saying that he would kill
their mother. But the left-handed twin was stubborn. He went in the direction
where he saw light. But he could not be born through his mother’s mouth or her
nose. He was born through her left armpit, and killed her. And meanwhile, the
right-handed twin was born in the normal way, as all children are born.

The twins met in the world outside, and the right-handed twin accused his
brother of murdering their mother. But the grandmother told them to stop their
quarreling. They buried their mother. And from her grave grew the plants which
the people still use.

From her head grew the corn, the beans, and the squash—“our supporters, the
three sisters.” And from her heart grew the sacred tobacco, which the people
still use in the ceremonies and by whose upward floating smoke they send
thanks. The women call her “our mother,” and they dance and sing in the rituals
so that the corn, the beans, and the squash may grow to feed the people.

But the conflict of the twins did not end at the grave of their mother.
And, strangely enough, the grandmother favored the left-handed twin.

The right-handed twin was angry, and he grew more angry as he thought how
his brother had killed their mother. The right-handed twin was the one who did
everything just as he should. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said.
He always told the truth, and he always tried to accomplish what seemed to be
right and reasonable. The left-handed twin never said what he meant or meant
what he said. He always lied, and he always did things backward. You could
never tell what he was trying to do because he always made it look as if he
were doing the opposite. He was the devious one.

These two brothers, as they grew up, represented two ways of the world
which are in all people. The Indians did not call these the right and the
wrong. They called them the straight mind and the crooked mind, the upright man
and the devious man, the right and the left.

The twins had creative powers. They took clay and modeled it into
animals, and they gave these animals life. And in this they contended with one
another. The righthanded twin made the deer and the left-handed twin made the
mountain lion which kills the deer. But the right-handed twin knew there would
always be more deer than mountain lions. And he made another animal. He made
the ground squirrel. The lefthanded twin saw that the mountain lion could not
get to the ground squirrel, who digs a hold, so he made the weasel. And
although the weasel can go into the ground squirrel’s hole and kill him, there
are lots of ground squirrels and not so many weasels. Next the right-handed
twin decided he would make an animal that the weasel could not kill, so he made
the porcupine. But the left-handed twin made the bear, who flips the porcupine
over on his back and tears out his belly.

And the right-handed twin made berries and fruits of other kinds for his
creatures to live on. The left-handed twin made briars and poison ivy, and the
poisonous plants like the baneberry and the dogberry, and the suicide root with
which people kill themselves when they go out of their minds. And the
left-handed twin made medicines, for good and for evil, for doctoring and for
witchcraft.

And finally, the right-handed twin made man. The people do not know just
how much the left-handed twin had to do with making man. Man was made of clay,
like pottery, and baked in the fire….

The world the twins made was a balanced and orderly world, and this was
good. The plant-eating animals created by the right-handed twin would eat up
all the vegetation if their number was not kept down by the meat-eating animals
which the left-handed twin created. But if these carnivorous animals ate too
many other animals, then they would starve, for they would run out of meat. So
the right and the left-handed twins built balance into the world.

As the twins became men full grown, they still contested with one
another. No one had won, and no one had lost. And they knew that the conflict
was becoming sharper and sharper and one of them would have to vanquish the
other.

And so they came to the duel. They started with gambling. They took a
wooden bowl, and in it they put wild plum pits. One side of the pits was burned
black, and by tossing the pits in the bowl, and betting on how these would
fall, they gambled against one another, as the people still do in the New
Year’s rites. All through the morning they gambled at this game, and all
through the afternoon, and the sun went down. And when the sun went down, the
game was done, and neither one had won.

So they went on to battle one another at the lacrosse game. And they
contested all day, and the sun went down, and the game was done. And neither
had won.

And now the battled with clubs, and they fought all day, and the sun went
down, and the fight was done. But neither had won.

And they went from one duel to another to see which one would succumb.
Each one knew in his deepest mind that there was something, somewhere, that
would vanquish the other. But what was it? Where to find it?

Each knew somewhere in his mind what it was that was his own weak point.
They talked about this as they contested in these duels, day after day, and
somehow the deep mind of each entered into the other. And the deep mind of the
right-handed twin lied to his brother, and the deep mind of the left-handed
twin told the truth.

On the last day of the duel, as they stood, they at last knew how the
right-handed twin was to kill his brother. Each selected his weapon. The
left-handed twin chose a mere stick that would do him no good. But the
right-handed twin picked out the deer antler, and with one touch he destroyed
his brother. And the left-handed twin died, but he died and he didn’t die. The
right-handed twin picked up the body and cast it off the edge of the earth. And
some place below the world, the left-handed twin still lives and reigns.

When the sun rises from the east and travels in a huge arc along the sky
dome, which rests like a great upside-down cup on the saucer of the earth, the
people are in the daylight realm of the right-handed twin. But when the sun
slips down in the west at nightfall and the dome lifts to let it escape at the
western rim, the people are again in the domain of the left-handed twin—the
fearful realm of night.

Having killed his brother, the right-handed twin returned home to his
grandmother. And she met him in anger. She threw the food out of the cabin onto
the ground, and said that he was a murderer, for he had killed his brother. He
grew angry and told her she had always helped his brother, who had killed their
mother. In his anger, he grabbed her by the throat and cut her head off. Her
body he threw into the ocean, and her head, into the sky. There “Our
Grandmother, the Moon,” still keeps watch at night over the realm of her
favorite grandson.

The right-handed twin has many names. One of them is Sapling. It means
smooth, young, green and fresh and innocent, straightforward, straight-growing,
soft and pliable, teachable and trainable. These are the old ways of describing
him. But since he has gone away, he has other names. He is called “He Holds Up
the Skies,” “Master of Life,” and “Great Creator.”
 The left-handed twin also has many names. One of them is Flint. He is
called the devious one, the one covered with boils. Old Warty. He is stubborn.
He is thought of as being dark in color.

These two being rule the world and keep an eye on the affairs of men. The
righthanded twin, the Master of Life, lives in the Sky World. He is content
with the world he helped to create and with his favorite creatures, the humans.
The scent of sacred tobacco rising from the earth comes gloriously to his
nostrils.

In the world below lives the left-handed twin. He knows the world of men,
and he finds contentment in it. He hears the sounds of warfare and torture, and
he finds them good.

In the daytime, the people have rituals which honor the right-handed
twin. Through the daytime rituals they thank the Master of Life. In the
nighttime, the people dance and sing for the left-handed twin.
After Reading

Comprehension
1. Recall How do the animals help the woman who fell from the sky?
2. Recall What roles do the grandmother and her daughter play in the earth’s
creation?
3. Summarize What is the outcome of the battles between the twins?

Literary Analysis
4. Compare and Contrast How does this “The World on the Another Creation
myth compare with the accounts of the Turtle’s Back” Account
world’s origin you summarized before
you read? Use a Venn diagram to
record the differences and similarities
between “The World on the Turtle’s
Back” and one of the accounts you
discussed.
5. Analyze a Creation Myth Reread lines 105–112. Summarize the differences
between the right-handed twin and the left-handed twin. Why do you
think the Iroquois honor both twins? What elements of human nature are
explained by “The World on the Turtle’s Back”?
6. Draw Conclusions from Folk Literature Folk literature often transmits
information about a people’s culture and way of life. Review the details you
noted in your chart as you read. From this myth, what did you learn about
the Iroquois’
• attitude toward nature?
• view of their gods?
• important food, games, and rituals?
• beliefs about good and evil?
7. Synthesize Cultural Ideas How would you relate the Iroquois reverence for
both the right-handed and left-handed twins to your own concept of good
and evil? Explain your response, citing details and description from the text.

Literary Criticism
8. Critical Interpretations Creation stories often serve many purposes.
According to Larry Evers and Paul Pavich, scholars of Native American
literature, such stories “remind the people of who and what they are, why
they are in this particular place, and how they should continue to live here.”
Do you think that “The World on the Turtle’s Back” fulfills these functions?
Explain, citing evidence from the text to support your interpretation.

the world on the turtle’s back 41

 The Native American Experience

Coyote and the Buffalo

Folk Tale Retold by Mourning Dove

notable uote
skills. She drafted a novel in 1912 but
“Everything on the earth
put it away for several years until she met
has a purpose, every disease
Lucullus McWhorter, a Native American–
an herb to cure it, and
rights activist, who offered to edit it.
every person a mission.
This is the Indian theory Battling Stereotypes Published in 1927,
of existence.” Mourning Dove’s novel, Cogewea, the
Half-Blood, is credited with breaking
fyi
down the stereotype of Native Americans
Did you know that
Mourning Dove . . . as stoic, or unfeeling. “It is all wrong, this
FPO saying that Indians do not feel as deeply
• was born in a canoe
while her mother was as whites,” the author asserted. “We do
crossing a river in Idaho? feel, and by and by some of us are going
• learned to read to make our feelings appreciated, and then
English by poring over will the true Indian character be revealed.”
melodramatic dime-
Mourning Dove
c. 1885–1936 Chronicling Her Culture After Cogewea
store novels?
was published, Mourning Dove began to
• was the first woman
Mourning Dove is the pen name of record traditional stories of the Okanogan
ever elected to the
and other Colville tribes. A migrant
Colville tribal council? Christine Quintasket (kwEn-tBsPkEt), who
triumphed over adversity to become one of worker, she picked fruit ten hours a day
the first female Native American novelists. but managed to do her writing at night.
As a child, Quintasket was enthralled by Coyote Stories, from which “Coyote and
For more on Mourning the Buffalo” is taken, was published in
Dove, visit the Literature the traditional stories told by her elders.
Center at ClassZone.com. As an adult, she worked to preserve these 1933. “Coyote and the Buffalo” is a folk
tales. By publishing stories that recount tale once told by Okanogan storytellers in
the history of her people, she carried on Salish, their native language. Mourning
the work of the storytellers she so admired. Dove’s retelling includes Salish words
and place names. This story and others
Determined to Write Quintasket grew up like it help keep the Okanogan culture
on the Colville Reservation in Washington alive today.
State with her mother, the daughter
of a Colville chief, and her father, an Mourning Dove’s Legacy In addition to
Okanogan. When Quintasket was 14, preserving her people’s culture, Mourning
her mother died, leaving her to run the Dove worked hard to promote their
household and help raise her younger welfare. She fought for their rights in
siblings. Despite her many responsibilities, court, started organizations supporting
Quintasket pushed herself to learn to write Native American crafts, and paved the way
in English. She later attended secretarial for female participation on tribal councils.
school to learn how to type and business Worn down by chronic illness and fatigue,
school to hone her grammar and writing the writer and activist died in 1936.

42
literary analysis: trickster tales Explore the Key Idea
You already know that a folk tale is a simple story passed
orally from one generation to the next. Trickster tales are a
type of folk tale that features an animal or human character
Why do we root for the
who typically engages in deceit, violence, and magic. Often,
trickster tales are mythic, explaining how some aspect of
“bad guy ” ?
human nature or the natural world came to be. The opening KEY IDEA Wherever they go, they
lines of “Coyote and the Buffalo” announce what this trickster ignore the rules. They stir up trouble.
tale will explain. And yet we admire and love them
despite—or maybe because of—their
No buffalo ever lived in the Swah-netk’-qhu country. That was
bad behavior. Many societies have
Coyote’s fault.
famous villains or trickster figures,
Tricksters are archetypal characters—character types that can who both infuriate and inspire the
be found in literary works from different cultures throughout people around them.
the ages. As you read this tale, notice how the coyote QUICKWRITE Think about movies
demonstrates the trickster’s contradictory qualities: he is or books in which the villain is more
foolish yet clever, greedy yet helpful, immoral yet moral. compelling than the hero. What
qualities does such a villain typically
reading strategy: predict display? Which of these traits
Tricksters are often schemers or scoundrels—they don’t usually contribute most to his or her appeal?
act as other characters do. Using your background knowledge Record your responses in a short
of this character’s contradictory qualities, as well as text clues, paragraph.
can help you predict upcoming story events. As you read, use
a chart like the one shown to record Coyote’s key traits and
unusual behavior. Pause occasionally to predict what will
happen next.

Coyote’s Traits and Behavior My Predictions

Coyote is “foolish and greedy”; it This story will reveal that
is his fault there are no buffalo Coyote did something reckless
in Swah-netk’-qhu country. or unwise to scare away the
buffalo.

43
 o t e
Coy and the
Buffalo Retold by Mourning Dove

background “Coyote and the Buffalo” is one of many traditional stories featuring ANALYZE VISUALS
the Animal People, a race of supernatural beings believed by the Okanogan to have Describe the painting on
been the first inhabitants of the world. The Animal People had magical powers and page 45. How is the use
could alter their shapes. When human beings appeared on the earth, the Animal of color significant? Does
People were changed into different animal species. Coyote, one of the most important the color treatment cause
Animal People, is thought to have made the world habitable for humans by killing this coyote to reflect
monsters and bringing fire and salmon. the traits of a trickster?
Explain your answer.

No buffalo ever lived in the Swah-netk’-qhu1 country. That was Coyote’s fault. If he
had not been so foolish and greedy, the people beside the Swah-netk’-qhu would
not have had to cross the Rockies to hunt the quas-peet-za2 (curled-hairs).
This is the way it happened:
Coyote was traveling over the plains beyond the big mountains. He came to a
flat. There he found an old buffalo skull. It was the skull of Buffalo Bull. Coyote a TRICKSTER TALES
always had been afraid of Buffalo Bull. He remembered the many times Bull In the first paragraph,
Buffalo had scared him, and he laughed upon seeing the old skull there on the flat. the tale’s narrator
“Now I will have some fun,” Coyote remarked. “I will have revenge for the pronounces Coyote
“foolish and greedy.”
10 times Buffalo made me run.”
Based on lines 5–13, what
He picked up the skull and threw it into the air; he kicked it and spat on it; he other character traits
threw dust in the eye sockets. He did these things many times, until he grew tired. would you attribute to
Then he went his way. Soon he heard a rumbling behind him. He thought it a this trickster?
was thunder, and he looked at the sky. The sky was clear. Thinking he must have
imagined the sound, he walked on, singing. He heard the rumbling again, only

1. Swah-netk’-qhu (shwE-nGtPkwE): the Salish name for the Columbia River and its waterfall.
2. quas-peet-za (kwEs-pCtPzä): a Salish word for buffalo.

Coyote Survivor, John Nieto.

44 unit 1: early american writing Serigraph, 29˝ × 22˝.
 much closer and louder. Turning around, he saw Buffalo Bull pounding along
after him, chasing him. His old enemy had come to life!
Coyote ran, faster than he thought he could run, but Buffalo gained steadily. Soon
Buffalo was right at his heels. Coyote felt his hot breath.
20 “Oh, Squas-tenk’,3 help me!” Coyote begged, and his power answered by putting
three trees in front of him. They were there in the wink of an eye. Coyote jumped
and caught a branch of the first tree and swung out of Buffalo’s way. Buffalo
rammed the tree hard, and it shook as if in a strong wind. Then Buffalo chopped at
the trunk with his horns, first with one horn and then the other. He chopped fast,
and in a little while over went the tree, and with it went Coyote. But he was up and
into the second tree before Buffalo Bull could reach him. Buffalo soon laid that tree
low, but he was not quick enough to catch Coyote, who scrambled into the third
and last tree.
“Buffalo, my friend, let me talk with you,” said Coyote, as his enemy hacked
30 away at the tree’s trunk. “Let me smoke my pipe. I like the kinnikinnick.4 Let me
smoke. Then I can die more content.”
“You may have time for one smoke,” grunted Bull Buffalo, resting from his
chopping.
Coyote spoke to his medicine-power, and a pipe, loaded and lighted, was given
to him. He puffed on it once and held out the pipe to Buffalo Bull.
“No, I will not smoke with you,” said that one. “You made fun of my bones.
I have enough enemies without you. Young Buffalo is one of them. He killed me
and stole all my fine herd.”
“My uncle,”5 said Coyote, “you need new horns. Let me make new horns for
40 you. Then you can kill Young Buffalo. Those old horns are dull and worn.”
Bull Buffalo was pleased with that talk. He decided he did not want to kill
Coyote. He told Coyote to get down out of the tree and make the new horns.
Coyote jumped down and called to his power. It scolded him for getting into
trouble, but it gave him a flint knife and a stump of pitchwood.6 From this stump
Coyote carved a pair of fine heavy horns with sharp points. He gave them to
Buffalo Bull. All buffalo bulls have worn the same kind of horns since. b b TRICKSTER TALES
Buffalo Bull was very proud of his new horns. He liked their sharpness and This trickster tale is
mythic in that it explains
weight and their pitch-black color. He tried them out on what was left of the
how something came
pitchwood stump. He made one toss and the stump flew high in the air, and he to be—in this case,
50 forgave Coyote for his mischief. They became good friends right there. Coyote said the lack of buffalo in a
he would go along with Buffalo Bull to find Young Buffalo. certain geographic area.
They soon came upon Young Buffalo and the big herd he had won from Buffalo What second mythic
explanation is offered
Bull. Young Buffalo laughed when he saw his old enemy, and he walked out to meet in lines 39–46?
him. He did not know, of course, about the new horns. It was not much of a fight,

3. Squas-tenk’ (skwEs-tGnkP): a Salish word referring to Coyote’s spirit helper.

4. kinnikinnick (kGnQG-kG-nGkP): the Salish word for the bearberry shrub. The Okanogan toasted bearberry
leaves and then crumbled them and mixed them with tobacco for pipe smoking.
5. my uncle: Terms like uncle, brother, sister, and cousin were sometimes used as a sign of respect. Here,
Coyote is using the term to flatter Buffalo Bull.
6. pitchwood: the sap-filled wood of a pine or fir tree.

46 unit 1: early american writing

 that fight between Young Buffalo and Buffalo Bull. With the fine new horns, Buffalo
Bull killed the other easily, and then he took back his herd, all his former wives and
their children. He gave Coyote a young cow, the youngest cow, and he said: c PREDICT
Consider what you know
“Never kill her, Sin-ka-lip’! 7 Take good care of her and she will supply you with
about the archetypal
meat forever. When you get hungry, just slice off some choice fat with a flint trickster character and
60 knife. Then rub ashes on the wound and the cut will heal at once.” c think about Coyote’s
Coyote promised to remember that, and they parted. Coyote started back to behavior thus far. How
his own country, and the cow followed. For a few suns he ate only the fat when he do you think Coyote
will respond to Buffalo
was hungry. But after awhile he became tired of eating fat, and he began to long Bull’s instructions?
for the sweet marrow-bones and the other good parts of the buffalo. He smacked Give reasons for your
his lips at the thought of having some warm liver. prediction.

7. Sin-ka-lip’ (sGngPkE-lGpQ): the Salish name for Coyote; it means “imitator.”

Buffalo, John Nieto. Acrylic, 30˝× 40˝.

coyote and the buffalo 47

 “Buffalo Bull will never know,” Coyote told himself, and he took his young
cow down beside a creek and killed her.
As he peeled off the hide, crows and magpies came from all directions. They
settled on the carcass and picked at the meat. Coyote tried to chase them away,
70 but there were too many of them. While he was chasing some, others returned
and ate the meat. It was not long until they had devoured every bit of the meat.
“Well, I can get some good from the bones and marrow-fat,” Coyote remarked,
and he built a fire to cook the bones. Then he saw an old woman walking toward
him. She came up to the fire.
“Sin-ka-lip’,” she said, “you are a brave warrior, a great chief. Why should you
do woman’s work? Let me cook the bones while you rest.”
Vain Coyote! He was flattered. He believed she spoke her true mind. He
stretched out to rest and he fell asleep. In his sleep he had a bad dream. It awoke
him, and he saw the old woman running away with the marrow-fat and the boiled
80 grease. He looked into the cooking-basket. There was not a drop of soup left in
it. He chased the old woman. He would punish her! But she could run, too, and
she easily kept ahead of him. Every once in awhile she stopped and held up the
marrow-fat and shouted: “Sin-ka-lip’, do you want this?” d d TRICKSTER TALES
Finally Coyote gave up trying to catch her. He went back to get the bones. He Who else, besides
Coyote, plays the role of
thought he would boil them again. He found the bones scattered all around, so
a trickster in this tale?
he gathered them up and put them into the cooking-basket. Needing some more Explain which of the
water to boil them in, he went to the creek for it, and when he got back, there trickster’s qualities this
were no bones in the basket! In place of the bones was a little pile of tree limbs! character exhibits.
Coyote thought he might be able to get another cow from Buffalo Bull, so he
90 set out to find him. When he came to the herd, he was astonished to see the cow
he had killed. She was there with the others! She refused to go with Coyote again,
and Buffalo Bull would not give him another cow. Coyote had to return to his
own country without a buffalo.
That is why there never have been any buffalo along the Swah-netk’-qhu. !

48 unit 1: early american writing

After Reading

Comprehension
1. Recall Why is Buffalo Bull so enraged at Coyote at the beginning of the story?
2. Recall How does Coyote convince Buffalo Bull to spare his life?
3. Summarize According to the story, why don’t buffalo live in the
Swah-netk’-qhu country?

Literary Analysis
4. Analyze Predictions Review the chart you completed as you read. How
accurate were your predictions? Did the fact that the trickster is a somewhat
familiar archetypal character make it easier to predict Coyote’s actions, or did
his behavior surprise you? Explain your answer, referring to both your chart
and the selection.
5. Interpret Trickster Tales Trickster tales endure, in part, simply because they
are fun to read. But they also often serve to teach a lesson or moral. What
does “Coyote and the Buffalo” teach or explain? Support your answer with
specific lines from the story.
6. Draw Conclusions Trickster tales, like other forms of folk literature, offer
readers insight into a society’s way of life. What information about the
following aspects of Okanogan culture did you glean from this tale?
• traits or qualities the Okanogan admired as well as those they disapproved of
• the traditional role of women in Okanogan society
• Okanogan rituals and religious beliefs
7. Make Judgments Review the paragraph you wrote earlier about famous
or compelling villains and tricksters. What qualities does Coyote have in
common with these characters? In your opinion, is Coyote an admirable
character? Explain, citing evidence from the text to support your opinion.

Literary Criticism
8. Critical Interpretations Critic Paul Rodin has argued that a trickster “is at one
and the same time creator and destroyer, giver and negator, he who dupes
others and who is always duped himself. . . . He possesses no values, moral
or social, is at the mercy of his passions and appetites.” Identify the ways
in which Coyote fits this definition of a trickster. Cite evidence from the
selection to support your answer.

coyote and the buffalo 49