The Good and the Bad Brother
1A long time ago they
say there were many people living at a certain place. There were two
brothers who agreed to go to this settlement. As they were going
along they came upon a bull snake. The older brother said he was
going to kill it and the younger told him it was a bad thing to do
and that he should not do it. Each reiterated his statement three
times and then the elder brother ran to the snake but the younger
brother ran after him and catching him, held him while the snake
escaped.
They went on for some distance until they came where a hawk sat on a
tree. The elder brother said he would kill it and the younger
brother said, "No." The older brother repeated his intention and the
younger again said, "No." The first ran toward the hawk but the
second one caught him saying the hawk was a poor thing and should be
spared. He shouted to the hawk and it flew up. The elder brother
asked why he had caused the hawk to get away when he was about to
kill it. The younger one said just because it was a poor thing he
should not kill it and urged that they should hurry on.
As they were going along they came to a horse which was very thin.
When the elder brother said he was going to kill it, the younger one
objected, saying it was a pitiful animal through which one could
even see the grass on the hillside beyond. Each of the brothers
repeated his statement the third time and then the younger brother
drove the horse away. The elder brother reproached him for driving
the horse away when he had said he was going to kill it. They went
on and came where a man was living with whom they stayed and worked
for the food they ate. The larger boy did not work but the smaller
one worked for the rich man who gave them their food. The big boy
who didn't work was lazy but the boy lived well.
The larger boy talked to the chief saying that the
smaller boy bragged that he could do whatever the chief told him to
do. "What boy?" the chief asked. "The small boy I live with," the
other replied. "He says he can do that. `Well I will jump in the red
boiling metal down the hill, and the next morning I will be inside
sitting on something,' he says and if he says so he can do it."
The chief sent the older boy home and next day sent for the younger
boy who when he came was told that he was reported to have said that
he could remain over night in boiling metal. The boy said that he
had not said it but was nevertheless commanded to be ready in four
days to undergo the ordeal.
The boy returned to the place where he was living and sat there
unhappily wondering why his brother was making such reports about
him. So he sat as the days passed until three days were gone. When
he realized that the next day he must go for the ordeal he felt
distressed and wondered what he should do. Just then the horse he
had saved came to him and spoke. "Boy, why are you unhappy?" he
asked. The boy replied that the next day he was commanded to get
into a pot of boiling lead. " Well, do not be disturbed by that. You
saved my life over there and I will save yours," the horse said to
him. He directed him to take four pails and a knife saying he would
come to the boy who was to lead him to the place designated. The boy
was to cut off the horse's head and fill the four pails with the
blood. He was to wash himself with one of these pails of blood,
drink one, and pour the remaining two into the pot of lead before he
jumped in. The remains of the horse were to be placed to the east.
When the days were all passed the chief called all the people
together and commanded that on that day the boy was to do this. When
the boy led the horse there the people laughed for one could see the
grass through the emaciated sides of the horse. The boy cut off the
horse's head with the sharp knife he had brought and filled four
buckets with the blood. He then took the horse to the east. He
washed himself with the contents of one pail, drank one, and poured
the other two into the boiling lead. Having done this he jumped in.
The people all went back to their homes. The next morning they came
there and opened the kettle of lead. The boy was not dead but sat
inside alive. He got up and came out. He returned to his home and
continued to live there happily.
When considerable time had passed the older brother informed on him
again. He came to the chief and said the boy who lived with him said
that he could cut the cottonwood which, if one cuts it down, stands
next morning as it was before so that it can put out leaves again.
The chief said the boy should do this. The next day he sent for the
boy and told him that it had been reported that he said he was able
to cut the cottonwood so that it would remain dead. The boy denied
having said this, but the chief said that while it might be he had
not said it, he must nevertheless do it. Four days were specified as
the time before this must be accomplished.
The boy went back to his home where he sat about thinking what he
should do, quite unhappy. When there were two days of the four
remaining and he was wondering how he would cut the tree the
bullsnake came to him and asked why he was so unhappy. The boy told
him of the cottonwood tree which, if cut down, was the next morning
always the same as before. This he said he had been ordered to cut
down. The snake, saying that the boy had once helped him and saved
his life, agreed to save the boy's life in return. He asked how long
before the task must be attempted. The boy replied in two days. The
snake then said he would go there the next day and eat off all the
leaves so they could not grow out again, after which the tree might
be cut.
The chief sent for the boy and told him the day had arrived. They
went with the boy where the tree stood, getting there about sunset.
The boy alone saw the snake as it came down the tree. The boy
chopped the tree down and returned to his home. The next morning the
tree was not growing; it still lay there a dead tree. The chief said
the boy had saved his life and gave him suitable rewards. The boy
lived happily again.
After considerable time had passed his brother informed on him
again, telling the chief the boy had said he could make the rich
man's daughter well again. The chief, saying he would find out, sent
for the boy. He told the boy it had been reported that he had said
that he could produce a child from the rich man's daughter in one
night and have her well again the next morning. The boy denied
saying it but the chief said that nevertheless in four days be must
do it or his head would be cut off.
The boy went back to his home and sat about for three days, unhappy,
thinking how he should do it. When there was only one day left the
hawk flew to him and asked why he was unhappy. The boy told what he
was expected to do, to cure the sick daughter of the rich man and
produce a child. The hawk said that since the boy had once saved his
life he would save the boy's life. The man's daughter's illness was
due to a screw in the crown of her head. The screwing down of this
piece of iron had nearly killed her. It was being forced down by the
dancing of some people by the river's edge. The boy was to screw it
up again and the girl would get well. The boy thanked him for this
information. The hawk also promised to come to the house in the
middle of the night. A black rattlesnake would make a noise and then
there would be a baby.
When the four days had passed he came where all the men-were
gathered to look on. He raised the screw in the head of the sick
girl who sat there and she was well again. He went back to his home.
In the middle of the night the hawk sat on the house. A black
rattlesnake made a noise and just then the baby was born. When
daylight came the chief said the boy had made good and saved his
life. The boy went home and lived happily.
When some time had elapsed the older brother again went to the chief
and said that the boy had used words that were not good. He had said
that he could kill Delgit and bring his tongue and hide. The chief
said that the boy should do it and sent for him. When the boy came
he asked him if he had said he would kill Delgit and then told him
to do it on the fourth day and bring the tongue and hide. If he did
not do it his head was to be cut off.
The boy went to his home and sat around, unhappy and wondering how
he should do this. When three days had passed and only one day
remained the white horse through which one could see grass came to
him again. The horse asked why the boy was unhappy. The boy replied
that it was because it had been said that he had claimed he could
kill Delgit. The horse said the boy had once saved his life and that
he would save the boy's life. Telling the boy to take a long knife
and a short one, he proposed they should go to Delgit since he knew
where he lived. At the horse's suggestion the boy mounted him and
the horse ran with him to the far distant place near which Delgit
lived.
When they were near the place the boy dismounted and the horse gave
him instructions, "Yonder is the one called Delgit," he said.
"Sharpen the knives well. That one will not be able to see us. You
must mount me holding the long knife and I will run under him four
times back and forth. When I run under the fourth time you must stab
upward. When you have killed him cut out his tongue and prepare the
skin." The boy sharpened the knife and mounted the horse which ran
under Delgit. When Delgit turned that way the horse ran back under
to the other side. This he did four times, Delgit whirling from side
to side in vain. When the horse ran under the fourth time, the boy,
striking upward, stabbed the monster which,. shaking from side to
side, fell dead.
They came up to the body which the boy cut open. He removed the skin
and -the tongue. The skin was so heavy the boy could not lift it but
dragged it to the bank of a ravine in which the horse stood while
the boy pulled the skin across his back. The boy then sat on the
load and rode back to the settlement near which he deposited the
hide and tongue. When the appointed days were passed, he came to the
chief, bringing the tongue. "This, which I am bringing you, is the
thing you spoke of," he said. The chief said that later he would
determine the matter. The boy having said the skin was lying at a
distance, the chief sent some men to drag it there.
The boy was then told to go to his home and eat and afterward to
return. The chief sent out for all of the people to come together to
see if anyone knew Delgit's- tongue. When the people were assembled,
the chief began asking them what was the color of Delgit's tongue.
When not one of them knew it, he sent for an old man who was living
below, that he might ask him. When the old man had come, the chief
asked him what kind of a.. tongue Delgit had. The old man replied
that the tongue was forked, saying, that when he was a young man he
once saw it. "That is the one," the chief said, "for it is forked,"
and then he sent the boy home.
The boy remained there a long time happily. After a time, he began
to think about his brother - how he seemed not to like him. He
concluded he would report on his brother.
He went to the chief and said that a man who was living at a certain
place had said that he could do what he, the boy, had done. The
chief replied that he would determine the matter and sent the boy
home again. He sent for the man and asked if he had said he could do
what the boy had done. Although the man denied he had made the
boast, the chief told him he must do as he was reported to have said
in four days.
The man went home and sat for three days very much disturbed. When
there was only a day left, he went where the poor white horse was
and led him back. He brought there four vessels and a knife. When
the time was up, he led the horse to the appointed place and cut his
throat. The blood was only sufficient to fill one of the vessels. He
drank some of this blood, washed in part of it, and poured the small
remainder into the metal. He jumped in and the cover was replaced.
Early next morning, the cover was lifted but he was not there. There
was nothing left and the people all laughed about it.
The boy continued to live happily.
Magic Flight2
They say there were people living long ago. A man
said to himself, "I will go on a journey." When he had traveled far
he came where people were living and sat there. When he had been
there a long time without anything to eat, he came to the house and
walked by without speaking. He then turned about and went home.
After a month he returned again. The man who lived there wondered
who he was and whence. he had come. As the stranger was standing
nearby, the man who lived there said to himself, " I will speak to
him." Going up to him he asked him where he was from. The stranger
replied that he came from a distant country. When asked why he had
come he replied that he was about to return but that he would come
again in a month. "Then I will have something to say," the other man
remarked as the stranger left.
When he came back at the end of a month he was riding a horse. When
he approached the man who lived there he was greeted: "Have you
returned?" "I have come back here," he replied. "I told you I would
go there." "All right, come," he said. The man said he thought he
wanted to live with the stranger. The visitor said he was going back
and the man said he would follow in fifteen days. The man told him
his name and he knew it. The stranger told him to follow the horse's
track and he would find the way.
He took some food with him and started on the journey. He walked
along, following the track until he had gone a long way. The man had
thought the visitor lived close by but he went on until he climbed a
high mountain where he sat down. The horse's track was gone. There
was nothing to be seen. While he sat there thinking what he should
do, a raven lit on a tree and shouting at him asked where he was
going. The man heard the raven3 who flew
down to him and asked again where he was going. The man said he had
been following a horse's track for he wished to visit the man who
was riding on the horse. The raven said the country where the man
lived was far away; that four mountains stood across the way and
that he would go with great difficulty. He added that the man he was
seeking was not good,4 and it was
dangerous to go to him.
The man insisted that he wished to go nevertheless, and offered the
raven the supply of food he had for the journey. The raven consented
to carry the man close to his destination but said he would bind the
man's eyes with a white something he had. He cautioned the man not
to raise the bandage.
"I will carry you there and put you down on that mountain ridge
where I will rest awhile," the raven said. He took the man on his
back and carried him to the ridge where he put him down. They sat
there a short time and then the raven carried him to the second
mountain ridge where they rested and talked a short time. He carried
the man to the third ridge where again they sat and rested. They
then went to the fourth ridge in a similar manner. While sitting
there the raven pointed out a mountain peak on which the man he was
seeking lived. The raven agreed to carry the man close to the
mountain and when he had done so he put him down and left him. The
man went on by himself and when he came near the mountain he walked
along and came where a hole had been dug for water by the river. He
sat here a short time until two girls came for water. He threw a
small stone from where he sat at some distance and the girls looked
there and saw him.3 The girls went quickly back to the camp and
said: "Father, the man who said he would come to you sits over
there." The man told his daughters to invite the man to come to the
camp, adding that he would do much of their work for them. When the
girls came to the visitor they told him their father had asked him
to come to him.
The man got up and went to the camp and talked to his host during
the evening. "I saw you," he said, "and I have come here to you."
"That is well," the host replied. "You will work for me." To this
the visitor assented.
The next morning the man who lived there said to his guest: "You
said you would work for me. Level down the mountain which stands
down there, plant the ground, cause the crop to grow in one day, and
bring some of the corn home with you tonight."
The man having made an ax and shovel of wood carried them with him
to the mountain where he sat leaning against it, doing nothing until
midday. The youngest daughter then told her father that she was
carrying some food to the man who was working for them. Her father
gave his consent and she set out with the food. When she came there
and saw the man sitting there idle she said: "Well, you came here to
work. I am bringing you food." " But I shall not eat. I am not going
to save my life." " Eat, I tell you," the girl said. " I cannot do
anything with the mountain," the man replied. The girl urged him
again to eat and he did so. When he had finished she offered to
examine his head. He put his head down to be relieved of his vermin.5
The girl feeling over his head breathed over it and he went to
sleep. She lifted his head from her lap to the ground and got up.
With motions of her hands in four directions she leveled the
mountain and planted corn. The corn came up and tassels appeared on
it. When one of them was becoming white she woke the man up. "Get
up," she said, "your work is done." He got up and looked hard with
his eyes. "Get some of that you came after," she said to him. He
gathered some of the corn, tied it up, and took it home. When the
two came to the camp the old man was pleased. " Well, this is some
kind of a man who said he wanted to work." The sun set. The old man
said that the next day he wanted some horses broken.
In the morning they saddled a horse for him and he mounted. The girl
gave him a tough stick with which the man hit the horse on the neck
and back when he tried to kick. The horse kept jumping around until
he was tired and fell over. The horse then spoke saying: " Well, my
daughter has caused me to be tired out. He could not do it by
himself?6 " " I have twelve daughters
and you may marry one of them," he said to the man. " He has beaten
me and he may have his choice of the daughters. Tomorrow have my
daughters stand in line for him. He will marry one of them and then
he will work well." The next morning they put the twelve girls in a
line and blindfolded the man. The youngest daughter had a small
prominence on the palm of her hand. The man passed along the line
three times and when it would be the fourth time he drew the
youngest girl from the line. The old man exclaimed, "My kinfolk, he
has taken from me my favorite daughter." The man married the girl
and lived with her. The girl proposed that they should go back to
his people because her father would try to kill her husband. The man
consented to this. His wife told him to catch a horse. He brought
back a black one. "Not that one, get the poor sorrel horse." He
brought that one.7 "You spit here and I
will spit here,"8 she said. " This old
man, his daughters, and his wife have all died. They are not living
beings. He will try to kill you but I will help you many times so we
may go back where you live."
They mounted the horse one behind the other and rode away. When they
had been gone a day the old man told one of his daughters to look in
his son-in-law's house. When she came to the house the man was not
there. She told her father this, who said, "Very well, I will go
after him and kill him." He started away, traveling in the middle of
the red wind. He rode after them on his horse. The girl saw him and
said, "My father is riding over there and he is angry and it is
red."
They two dismounted. The woman sat in an old house which she put
there and the man sat in a black stump. The old man rode up and when
he came to the old woman asked where the man was who stole his
daughter. The old woman said she had not seen anyone around there.
The old man got up and went back to his camp.9
The next day they all started and came where a wide stream of water
was flowing across. His daughter and son-in-law were there in the
middle of the stream sitting on a long large tree which was floating
with them.' The girl had her head down. "My daughter, look at me
once," the father called. "My child, look at me once," her mother
said. "My sister, look at me once," her sister called. The girl did
not look and told the man not to look for if they looked the log
would float back. It floated across the water with them and she did
not look back at them. They started back and returned to the camp.10
The girl and her husband went on and stayed some distance from where
the man lived. The girl told her husband to go back to his people
but not to permit them to embrace him. If they were to embrace him
he would never think of her again. The man started back and when he
was coming his relatives saw him and started toward him. He told
them not to do so but one of them held out his arms. The man's mind
was lost and he forgot the one who had been his wife. He lived there
while much time passed. Another man's daughter fell in love with him
and gave him a cloth and her beads. She said she would marry him and
he consented. The people were talking of the coming wedding and of
the mutual attachment of the parties. The people all came there and
were told by the father that his daughter was about to be married.
There were two turtle doves sitting in a tree who
said, "Wait, people, I will speak to you." " Very well," they
replied and they all listened. The doves talked to each other. " We
were traveling together for a long time. One day we traveled from a
place called inł'a11
and the old man with his wife and daughters came after us to fight.
Then I became an old woman and you became a black log. Over this way
there was a body of water in the middle of which we floated on a
log. They called in vain, `My daughter, my child, my sister, look at
me once more.' They turned back and we two came over here where your
people live. You went home and some one of your folks embraced you
although I warned you that if you were so embraced you would forget
me. I was that one and you were the other."
"Oh, yes, I remember now," he said. "You were my sweetheart. We will
go back now. All will be well. I know you now." He gave back the one
he was to marry and the one he had married long before became his
wife again. They separated from each other and he married the girl
who was the turtle dove. They lived together happily.
1 This story resembles in a general
way a European tale entitled "Boots and the Troll" in Popular
Tales from the Norse, Sir Geo. Webbe Dasent, 1904
2 Eagle in the Portuguese, (Cape Verde Island)
account.
3 The narrator explained that a tc'i dn or
ghost was meant. The Apache use the same word for their old
conception ghost and the European concept devil. The Portuguese and
Negro versions have the devil or equivalents.
4 An Indian method of approach (p. 20 above) not
European.
5 The European stories are less definite as to this
point.
6 The European accounts have other ordeals but less
suited to Indian appreciation.
7 This was that their spittle might converse so that
the father would not know of their flight.
8 The man goes four times in the European versions
and then the wife goes alone.
9 The girl becomes a ship and the man the pilot. The
Apache do not know boats or ships and have no word for them.
10 The mother puts a curse on her daughter that she
shall be forgotten by her husband for a period of years.
11 "Gets ripe."
San
Carlos Apache Mythology
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some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes
reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place.
These items are presented as part of the historical record and
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Myths And Tales From The San Carlos Apache, 1918
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