FIEE AS AN AGENT IN HUMAN CULTURE 159 



be made to steal it. The theft of fire, which in all cases was stolen 

 from people or divinities living at a great distance. The preservation 

 of this stolen fire by implanting it in the "oo noo" or buckeye tree, 

 where it was and still is accessible to all. The power of certain person- 

 ages or divinities as Ki lok, the North Giant, Sah te, the Weasel 

 man, and 0-wah to, the Bigheaded Lizard, to use fire as a weapon by 

 sending it to pursue and overwhelm their enemies." ^' 



The Maidu fire myth recounts that after the people had found 

 fire Thunder seized it away from them and kept it for himself under 

 the care of a little bird. The people were thus compelled to re- 

 sume the conditions of primitive times, but succeeded in stealing the 

 fire by strategy of Mouse, Deer, Dog, Coyote, and Skunk. The 

 Mouse crept in Thunder's lodge, placed fire in a flute, a portion in 

 Dog's ear, and some on the hock of deer's leg, and raced back pur- 

 sued by Thunder, ^^ 



Beaver and Eagle had a sister who wept because she had no fire. 

 Brothers trained fom* years and journeyed to the house of the people 

 who possessed fire. (House said to be underground, near the sea.) 

 Put on beaver and eagle skin. Beaver made a dam and tunnel under 

 the house. They shot him and were skinning him when they saw an 

 eagle. Went to shoot it and Beaver escaped with fire in a clamshell.'*' 



3. ARTIFACTURAL MYTHS 



This myth is comparatively rare, the myths of acquisition and 

 preservation preponderating. The tale of the fire keeper carelessly 

 letting the fire go out and in desperation inventing the wood frictional 

 apparatus is ingenious, but is probably of recent invention. 



The fire-origin myth of the Eskimo of Kegitareik is as follows: 

 After the creation of the coast men, who were born from a bean pod, 

 Raven taught them how to live. "He taught them how to make a 

 fire drill and bow from a piece of dry wood and a cord, taking the 

 wood from the bushes and small trees he had caused to grow in hol- 

 lows and sheltered places on the hillsides." He retiu-ned then and 

 taught the first man who lived inland "to make fire with the fire drill 

 and place the spark of tinder in a bunch of dry grass and wave it 

 about until it blazed, and then to place dry wood upon it." Also to 

 roast fish on a stick.'*^ 



The Cheyenne Indians have the following fire-origin legend: 

 " Thunder turned to Sweet Root Standing and said 'Get a stick; I 

 will teach you something by which the people can warm themselves, 



« The Dawn of the World. Cleveland, 1910, pp. 18, 19. 



<s R. B. Dixon. Maidu Myths. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 17, pt. 2, New York, Juno 30, 1 902, 

 pp. 6M)7. Compare Curtin, Creation Myths, p. 365, Boston, 1898, and Kroeber, Utes Tales, Journ. Amer. 

 Folk-Lore, vol. 14, 1901, p. 252. 



"J. Teit. Traditions of the Lillooet Indians of British Columbia, Journ. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. 25, 

 October-December, 1912, pp. 299-300. 



*^ E. W. Nelson. The E.skimo About Bering Strait, 18th Ann. Rept., Bur. Amer. Ethnol., 1900, p. 456. 



