STEVENSON. 



COYOTE MYTH. 153 



coyote was very angry when he parted from the ka'wate. After travel- 

 ing a little way he saw a small bird. The bird was hopping abont 

 contentedly and the coyote thought, "What a beautiful bird, it 

 moves about so gracefully. I guess I will work awhile with that 

 bird," and drawing nearer to the bird, he asked, " What beautiful things 

 are you working at ?" but the bird could not understand the coyote, and 

 he could only stand and admire the bird. He saw the bird take out his 

 two eyes and throw them straight up, like two stones, to ti'nia, and then 

 look uiiward, but he had no eyes in his head; presently the bird said, 

 " Come my eyes, come quickly, down into my head," and immediately 

 the eyes fell into the sockets of the bird, and the bird was apparently 

 pleased, and the eyes appeared much brighter than before. The coyote 

 discovering how improved the bird's eyes were, he asked the bird to take 

 out his eyes and throw them up that they might become brighter, and 

 the bird took out the coyote's eyes and held an eye in either hand for a 

 little while, then threw them to ti'nia, and the coyote looked upward, 

 but lie had no eyes, and he cried, "Come back, my eyes, come quickly," 

 and the eyes fell into the coyote's head. He was delighted with the 

 improvement in his eyes, and, thinking that they might be made still 

 more brilliant and penetrating by throwing them up a second time, he 

 asked the bird to repeat the performance. The bird did not care to 

 work any more for the coyote and told him so, but the coj'ote persist- 

 ently urged the bird to throw his eyes up once more. The bird, grow- 

 ing a little angry, said, "Why should I work for you, coyote? jSTo, I 

 work no more for you," but the coyote was persistent, and the bird a 

 second time took out his eyes, this time causing the coyote such pain that 

 he cried. As the bird threw up the eyes the coyote looked up to ti'nia 

 and cried, "Come my eyes come to me!" but the eyes continued to 

 ascend and did not return. The coyote was much grieved and moved 

 about slowly and awkwardly, for he could not see, and he wept bitterly 

 over the loss of his eyes. 



The bird was very much annoyed to be thus bothered with the 

 coyote, and said to him, "Go away now; I am tired of you, go ottand 

 hunt for other eyes, do not remain to weep and bother me," but the 

 coyote refused to leave and begged and entreated the bird to find eyes 

 for him. Finally the bird gathered gum from a pifion tree and rolled 

 two small bits between the palms of his hands, and, when they were 

 round, he placed the two balls into the eye sockets of the coyote, who 

 was then able to see, but not clearly as before, and these eyes, instead 

 of being black like his other eyes, were slightly yellow. "Now," said 

 the bird, "you can remain no longer." 



After traveling some little distance the coyote met a deer with two 

 fawns; the fawns were beautifully spotted, and he said to the deer, 

 "How did you paint your children, they are so beautiful f The deer 

 replied, "I painted them with fire from the cedar." "And how did 

 you do the work?" inquired the coyote. "I put my children into a 



