38 KAROK FABLES. 
he did, and after he had warmed himself a while he commenced nibbling 
his piece of alder-bark. One of the hags seeing this said to the other, ‘See, 
he has some salmon!” So they were deceived and thrown off their guard, 
and presently one of them rose, took down the key and went to get some 
salmon to cook for themselves. Thus the coyote saw where the key was 
kept, but he was not much better off than before for it was too high for 
him to reach it. The hags cooked some salmon for supper and ate it, but 
they gave the coyote none. 
So he staid in the cabin all night with the hags pretending to sleep, 
but he was thinking how to get the key. He could think of no plan at all, 
but in the morning one of the hags took down the key and started to get 
some salmon again, and then the coyote happened to think of a way as 
quick as a flash. He jumped up and darted under the hag, which threw 
her down, and caused her to fling the key a long way off. The coyote 
quickly seized it in his teeth and ran and opened the fish-dam before the 
hags could catch him. Thus the salmon were allowed to go up the Kla- 
math, and the Karok had plenty of food. 
ORIGIN OF FIRE. 
The Karok now had food enough, but they had no fire to cook it with. 
Far away toward the rising sun, somewhere in a land which no Karok had 
ever seen, Kareya had made fire and hidden it in a casket, which he gave 
to two old hags to keep, lest some Karok should steal it. So now the 
coyote befriended the Karok again, and promised to bring them some fire. 
He went out and got together a great company of animals, one of every 
kind from the lion down to the frog. These he stationed in a line all 
along the road, from the home of the Karok to the far-distant land where 
the fire was, the weakest animal nearest home and the strongest near the 
fire. Then he took an Indian with him and hid him under a hill, and went 
to the cabin of the hags who kept the casket, and rapped on the door. One 
of them came out, and he said, “Good evening”, and they replied, ‘‘Good 
evening”. Then he said, ‘It’s a pretty cold night; can you let me sit by 
your fire?” And they said, “Yes, come in”. So he went in and stretched 
himself out before the fire, and reached his snout out toward the blaze, 
