Deer and Coyote

DEER AND COYOTE ¹¹

Somewhere on a mountain dwelt Deer and Coyote. Deer spoke thus. To Coyote he said thus, "Come and visit my house." "All right," said Coyote. Then she visited the place where Deer dwelt. They were good friends. She arrived there. She entered. "How are things, friend?" "It is good," said Deer. "Sit down and eat. There is wafer bread and I will kill my two children. Please put down the bones carefully. After you have finished eating I shall take them down to the river." Then she finished eating. Then Coyote stayed there. "Friend, I will carry these bones down to the river." Then she carried them down. She arrived below at the river and put them into the river, into the water. Then her children came up and they all went. They arrived (at the house). Next Coyote wanted to imitate her. "Next you, my friend, visit my house!" Then Coyote killed her children. The deer went there. She arrived. She entered Coyote's house. "How are things, friend?" said she. "It is well, sit down! Eat! Here is wafer bread and I have also killed my children. Put down the bones carefully. Later on I shall carry them to the river." Then Deer finished eating. Coyote carried the bones down to the river. She arrived at the river and put them into the water. She waited, but not at all did her children come out. She had killed them forever. Then she went to the place where she dwelt. She arrived there and she told Deer that her children had not come out. Coyote became angry and pursued Deer. The little Deer had already gone ahead. From there eastward they went. They went and crossed the river from there to the northeast side. The deer arrived at some place where there was a buck. The little. deer were there already. Then she told the buck: "Coyote pursues me. She became angry because her children did not come out of the river." Then Coyote could not cross the river. There was a big flood. She said to Beaver, "Take me across!" she said to him. "Please, I am pursuing the deer. I will kill her wherever I overtake her." Then Beaver took Coyote across. To some place in the northeast went Coyote. She arrived

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at the place where the buck was. "Where did the Deer Woman go?" said she. "I shall kill her. She killed my children." Then the buck said, "You will not kill her. Now you are going to die." He gored her and took out her intestines. Then he had killed her.

VARIANT: "BEAVER" ¹

A deer and a coyote lived at White Bank. They each had two children, and they used to visit each other every evening. One day Old Mother Deer and Old Mother Coyote were smoking together. Old Mother Deer said, "Shall we have a great feast and invite each other?" "All right, we shall have a great feast." "I will come and call you for the feast." Then Deer said to herself, "To-morrow I shall kill my poor dear little children to serve up at the feast." That evening she called her little children. She took hold of them and killed them. She cut them up and put them in a great pot to boil.

In the morning she called the Coyotes. They all came, Grandfather Coyote and Mother Coyote and the two children. The Father Deer said, "I'll smoke first with old Coyote." They smoked a while. They went in. "Good morning," they said to each other. "Sit down," said Deer. They rolled the cigarettes and they smoked. The Mother Deer set out food. When everything was ready she called them to eat. They sat up and had the feast. Mother Deer went into the other room and brought out a big white manta and spread it on the floor beside them. She said, "Every little bone you find, put on this manta. Don't let them drop." They ate and ate and ate. Mother Deer said, "Don't leave any meat on the bones, eat them clean." She watched the bones carefully to see that no harm came to them. When they were finished they all said, "Thank you." Mother Coyote asked Mother Deer, "Where are your children?" "My children?" said Deer, "You ate them all up."

When they moved back from the feast they sat down against the wall and the, two men began to smoke again. Mother Deer took up the white manta with all the little bones in it, and put it on her back. She said, "I shall take them down to the river and throw them into the water. Do not go home till I come back from the river." They sat and waited for her. The father heard her coming and said, "Here she comes." Mother Deer came in first and behind her came the two fawns. When she threw the bones into the river the fawns came to life again. Mother Coyote was frightened to see the fawns alive again. When they went out Mother Coyote said to Deer Mother, "To-morrow it is my turn to make the great feast."

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When she got home, she told Old Man Coyote to bring the little Coyote children in and kill them for the feast. She put them in a great pot. When they were cooked she said, "My poor little children are cooked now. I will go and call my neighbors." She went for them and brought them all at once. As they went in they said good morning to each other. Mother Coyote said, "Sit down." Old Man Coyote and Old Man Deer smoked together, and Mother Coyote set out food and said, "Come and enjoy yourselves. I have killed my two little children." When they began to eat Mother Coyote said, "Eat it all up and leave no meat on the bones." She went in and brought a white manta and spread it on the floor and told them, "Put all the bones on the manta. Let none drop." When they finished eating they thanked her. Mother Coyote said, "Wait a while till I go to the river and throw these bones into the water." But Deer had thought already that Coyote could not bring her children back to life and she didn't wait for her to come back. Mother Coyote threw her children's bones into the river and waited, but no little coyotes came up. She cried as hard as she could.

When she got home the Deer had gone already. They ran as fast as they could. Coyote was very angry and cried, "They will see what they will get!" She ran after them. The Deer came running down the arroyo (just north of Cochiti) and crossed the river near Whirlpool Place. On the other side of the river there was an old Beaver who lived in a hole. When Coyote came to the river she couldn't get across. She called to Beaver, "Will you set me across the river?" Beaver came to ferry her over. Old Coyote got into the little boat. As soon as she got in Old Beaver began to tickle Old Coyote. They played with each other. They got to the middle of the river and they had intercourse. Old Coyote asked, "Is the boat getting across the river?"--"Almost across, just wait a minute. It is close." Already they were way down by Santo Domingo (two miles). Coyote jumped out and said, "I won't let the Deer go free." She ran on after them. She ran as fast as she could. As she got on top of La Bajada hill, she saw Deer ahead. She was close to them. The fawns were tired; they lagged. Coyote was tired out too, but she ran on. She said, "Now I'll catch you!" Father Deer was lying under a big cedar. He said, "Let her come up and I'll gore her." She came on, running to get to the fawns. Father Deer put his antlers through her chest from side to side and threw her on top of the cedar. "You shall stay up there till you are dried up." So there the Deer were saved. Father Deer went back to his home, and Mother Deer and the two children came back from Blue Shell Mountain to their village and they are still living at Cochiti.

Footnotes

160:11 Recorded in text by Franz Boas. Informant 8. Notes, pp. 239, 243.

161:1 Informant 1.