5. A Story of the Origin of Corn and Tobacco

5. A STORY OF THE ORIGIN OF CORN AND TOBACCO

Six Indian brothers traveled about. The youngest did not have enough to eat, so he left the people and went off by himself. He took nothing with him except an earthen pot which he carried on his back. He went on, camping each night and traveling in the daytime. Going on camping in this way he settled at a certain place near which he saw that two persons had built a fire. But he stayed by his own fire watching it. In the morning the two persons saw him and called to him to come over. When he got there they said, "Cook and eat," and they gave him food which he cooked and ate. He remained to watch the camp, but when day came those two men started out to hunt. After they were gone that Indian took the little earthen pot, made it grow large by snapping his fingers against it, set it in the fireplace filled with water in which he had placed some food, and kept up a fire beneath until it boiled.

The two persons traveled about and came back. When they got there he said, "I am cooking for you." "Alas! (Hīha)," they said, "it is spoiled for us. Now we must leave you." ¹

"To-morrow I will drive bear," said one of them. Together they went on to drive the game toward him. They went on and camped four nights driving bear, and saying to him, "You must drive bear this way." Then he himself went along the trail. The Indian went. When he got where the men were standing together they said, "We shot in this direction. The ground is bloody." Following the trail for a while, they saw some red corn dropped on the ground. The Indian took it and went on with it. Again they found two ears (or kernels) of corn in the trail. He picked them up and carried them on. Again they found two or three lying in the trail which he picked up and carried along. Presently it was bright in front of them because there was a big field there. When they reached it, it was something ripe (grain). The men said, "You must stay here," and they went off. They showed him how to make corncribs before they went. Then they left him alone. But they also gave him tobacco seed, saying, "Plant some of this tobacco and smoke it."

Footnotes

167:1 This is not clear. Perhaps he should not have cooked the food for them because they were supernatural beings. They leave him after showing him how to hunt bear and giving him corn and tobacco.