Contents
Editor’s Introduction by James A. Gardner
Acknowledgments and Dedication
Preface and Personal History
Legends of the Northern Paiute
1. The Creation Story and the Malheur Cave
2. The Creation of the Human People
3. The Bridge of the Gods, the Great Floods, and the Human People
4. How the Seasons Came to Be
5. When the Animals Were Still People and Starvation Hit the Land
6. Wolf Makes Pine Nut Trees
7. “Animal Village,” Lady Bighorn Sheep, and a Mother Turned into Stone
8. The Epic Battle of the Giant Nuwuzo’ho and Coyote—Fort Rock and Monkey Face
9. A Story of Hunting and the Patience of the Hunter
10. Old Lady Jackrabbit, Little Fat Jackrabbit Girl,and the Ants
11. Why the Badger Has Long Claws and Digs
12. A Big Dance in the Village—the Vanity of Coyote and Why Badger Is Flat and Mean
13. How the Stars Got Their Twinkle and Why Coyote Howls to the Sky
14. Why Porcupines Eat Willows and Cottonwood Saplings
15. Black Bear’s Gift of Roots and Medicine
16. Coyote and the Escape of Mouse
17. Why the Rat’s Tail Has No Hair
18. The Deer and the Antelope as Brothers
19. Obsidian and Rock, Deer and Coyote
20. First Woman Travels in Search of Her Husband . . . and Is Followed by a Skull and Bones
21. A Legend of Darker- and Lighter-Skinned Children—and Prophecies of White People Coming Out of the East
Comments on Rock Art—“Coyote Writing” and “Spiritual Writing” in Paiute Country
Glossary
Recommended Reading