INTRODUCING SPIDERS 7 



pursued can descend; it is on such a "sky rope" that the Algonkin 

 maiden, fallen from grace as wife of the Morning Star, is sent back 

 to earth. 



In many interesting myths of the Pueblos the main role in the 

 Creation is assigned to the spider. According to the Sia Indians, in 

 the beginning there was only one personage, a spider, living in a 

 world sterile of life and lacking many material things. From each 

 of two little packages possessed by the spider was conjured, in re- 

 sponse to its magical singing, a woman. From the first woman thus 

 created have descended all the Indians, and from the second all the 

 other races of men. 



Some of the virtues attributed to spiders are industry, patience, 

 and persistence. Well known is the legend of Robert Bruce who 

 gained new courage by watching a spider finally reach its cobweb 

 home after many unsuccessful attempts. In a delightful Cherokee 

 myth the little spider appears as a successful agent when all other 

 animals fail. In the beginning the world was cold. Then fire ap- 

 peared on the earth, having been placed in a hollow tree on an 

 island by thunder and lightning. The shivering animals gazed across 

 the waters and resolved to secure the warmth of the fire for their 

 own purposes. After consultation, the raven was dispatched to 

 secure the bright embers, but was unsuccessful and soon returned 

 with blackened feathers, which it wears to this day. One by one 

 the birds, snakes, and other animals risked a trial, but all brought 

 back only scars from the fiery furnace in the tree. Finally, the 

 spider alone was left to brave the waters. She prepared herself by 

 spinning a little tusti-bovsl of her silk, which was then fastened to 

 her back. Skating across the surface of the water, she crept through 

 the grasses to the site of the fire, caught a little ember in the tusti- 

 bowl, and delivered the priceless jewel to the waiting animals. This 

 successful venture is usually attributed to one of the amphibious 

 wolf spiders, which drags its egg sac behind it, attached to the 

 spinnerets. 



A legend of great antiquity is that of the Spider Woman of the 

 American Southwest, who is credited with being the inventor of 

 weaving and the teacher of all textile art to the various Indian tribes. 

 She is an earth goddess and usually lives in a burrow deep in the 

 soil with the Spider Man, her husband. According to Navajo legend, 

 the art of blanket- and basket-weaving was brought to them by an 

 unhappy Pueblo girl from Blue House, near Pueblo Bonito, who 

 came to the hogans of the Navajos to earn her living. One day the 



