Cottontail and Wind (Saline Valley, California. Shoshoni)

COTTONTAIL AND WIND

(Saline Valley, California. Shoshoni)

Cottontail lived with the people on the side of Olancha Peak. The people had no wind; there was none in the whole valley. They could hear it up on the top of the mountain, but it never came down.

Cottontail said, "I can bring the wind down the valley." He took a flute and went way up on the mountain side, blowing it "tu hú du dù du dù, mi áh" and singing "tavotsikita wo bü hai yuvü" (in effect, "I am Cottontail"). ³¹

By means of his flute playing and his singing, Cottontail brought the wind down to the people in the valley.

Footnotes

285:31 The tune is approximately that of Cottontail's song in "Coyote and Cottontail," by T. S. (See footnote 2, Steward, J. H., Myths of the Owens Valley Paiute, p. 437, 1936.)