The Dawn of the World, by C. Hart Merriam, [1910], at sacred-texts.com
The Dawn of the World, by C. Hart Merriam, [1910], at sacred-texts.com
FRAGMENT OF A TALE OF THE NORTHERN MEWUK
PERSONAGES
Kah'-kah-loo the Ravens
Me'-wuk the People
WHEN water covered the world only the top of the highest mountain rose above it. The people had climbed up on this mountain, but could find no food and were starving. They wanted to go off and get something to eat. When the water went down all the ground was soft mud. After a while the people rolled rocks down to see if the mud were hard enough to hold them. When the rocks stayed on top, the people went down to search for food.
But the mud was not hard enough to hold them and they sank out of sight, leaving deep holes where they had gone down. Then Kah'-kah-loo the Ravens came and stood at the holes, one at each hole where a man had gone down. After a while, when the ground hardened, the Ravens turned into people. That is the reason the Mewuk are so dark.