Wishram texts / by Edward Sapir ; together with Wasco tales and myths, collected by Jeremiah Curtin and edited by Edward Sapir.
- Edward Sapir
- Date:
- 1909
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Wishram texts / by Edward Sapir ; together with Wasco tales and myths, collected by Jeremiah Curtin and edited by Edward Sapir. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![TEXTS. I. Coyote and Eagle.^ Coyote and his younger brother Eagle were living to- gether. Now Eagle used to go out to hunt, but Coyote was left at home, Coyote used to be in the house. And then Eagle always killed deer, and he carried the deer on his back, (bringing) about two or three to the house. Now there they always lay outside of the house. And then he used to go inside in the house. Now then Coyote used to arrive, (but) he always brought merely mice. And then he used to roast them in the ashes in the house, but Eagle used to boil meat. Now then Coyote always got angry. So Coyote just secretly killed his younger brother, they slew Eagle. Then he never used to stay long in any place. And then he said to himself: “Never mind! I shall go to the woods. Very soon the Indians will come here.”® This omission of i- seems to be phonetically parallel to the not infrequent drop- ping of the i- in the neuter, dual, and plural prefixes of the noun (1-, c-, and t- instead of ii-, ic-, and it-). 3 Very probably an error for nigiq'.wo'lalEmnil, as [the -Em- is a mere connective between the continuative -lal- and the frequentative -nil or non-frequentative -tck. 4 It is possible that ma'ga is a stereotyped rapid pronunciation of k!m’ a'ga • • (“but now, and now”). Compare ga'ngadix (as well as a'ngadix), “long ago” (from • • * ag’ a'ngadix, “now long ago”). ^ This form seens to involve the word wi'lxam (“village”). ® For (i)t-tcla'nk, plural of i-tc!a'nk. ’ I am entirely unable to explain this word, if indeed it is a single word. ® Notice the typical “Transformer motive” in the last sentence. The idea im- plied is; “When the Indians come to inhabit the country, things will be as told in the myth. Eagles will always get large game, but coyotes will have to wander about and content themselves with rodents.” [233]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24877852_0253.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
