160 BULLETIN 139, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



can cook food, and with which they can burn things. ' When Sweet 

 Root had brought the stick he said, ' Rest the point of the stick in 

 the middle of the (buffalo) chip and hold it between your hands. ' 

 When Sweet Root had done this Thunder said, 'Rub it between 

 your hands and twirl it fast. ' Sweet Root did so a few times and 

 the chip caught fire."^^ 



A fire myth of the Mohave Indians relates that: "The Blue Fly 

 learned the art of rubbing fire out of sticks." (Observation on flies 

 twirling their legs?)" 



4. CAUSA.TIONAL MTTHS 



A class of myths cognate with those explaining the origin of things 

 and which relate the supernatural way in which fire was implanted in 

 substances from which it may be elicited by man. 



A fire myth of the Fox Indians assigns the source to supernatural 

 beings: "Our fire comes from the manitous who live in the world 

 under the earth. They created the fire and it is theirs. All their time 

 they spend watching after and caring for it. The fire that people 

 use first came from this place under the earth. Even the Thunderers 

 who keep watch over the people obtain their fire from the manitous 

 of the underworld. This is the fire one sees flashing from their 

 mouths as they pass across the sky. "^^ 



A Teton Sioux song frequently used as opening song of the Sioux 

 Ghost Dance concerns the origin of fire: 



"It was the father who gave us these things, 



It was the father who gave us these things, 



It was the father who gave us fire. 



It was the father who gave us fire. 



The father gave it to us. 



The father gave it to us."^^ 

 The Menomini Indians of Wisconsin have a rather involved myth 

 which is of the causational type. It relates that "the daughter of 

 Nokomis, the Earth, is the mother of Manabush, who is also the 

 fire. The Flint grew up out of Nokomis and was alone. Then the 

 Flint made a bowl and dipped it into the earth; slowly the bowlful 

 of earth became blood, and it began to change its form. So the 

 blood was changed to Wabus, the rabbit. The rabbit grew into 

 human form, and in time became a man, and thus was Manabush" 

 formed. Manabush was angry because he was alone on the earth, 

 and because his enemies, the An a maq kiu, who dwelt beneath the 

 earth were constantly annoying him and trying to destroy him."*^ 



« O. B. Orinnell. Some Early Cheyenne Tales, Joum. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. 20, July-September 

 1907, p. 171. 

 « J. Q. Bourke, in Journ. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. 2, July-September, 1889, p. 189. 

 M William Jones, Notes on the Fox Indians, Journ. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. 24, April-June, 1911, p. 214. 

 "James Mooney. The Ghost Dance Religion, 14th (pt. 1) Ann. Rept., Bur. Amer. Ethnol., p. 1070. 

 '• Masha great, and wabus, rabbit. 

 i^' W. J. Hoflfman. The Menomini Indians, 14th (pt. 2) Ann. Rept., Bur. Amer. Ethnol., 1892, p. 87. 



