ORIGIN OF FIRE. 3 
and sniffed the heat, and felt very snug and comfortable. Finally he 
stretched his nose out along his fore-paws, and pretended to go to sleep, 
though he kept the corner of one eye open watching the old hags. But they 
never slept, day or night, and he spent the whole night watching and think- 
inz to no purpose. : 
So next morning he went out and told the Indian whom he had hidden 
under the hill that he must make an attack on the hags’ cabin, as if he were 
about to steal some fire, while he (the coyote) was in it. He then went 
back and asked the hags to let him in again, which they did, as they did 
not think a coyote could steal any fire. He stood close by the casket of 
fire, and when the Indian made a rush on the cabin, and the hags dashed 
out after him at one door, the coyote seized a brand in his teeth and ran 
out at the other door. He almost flew over the ground, but the hags saw 
the sparks flying and gave chase, and gained on him fast. But by the 
time he was out of breath he reached the lion, who took the brand and 
ran with it to the next animal, and so on, each animal barely having time 
to give it to the next before the hags came up. 
The next to the last in the line was the ground-squirrel. He took the 
brand and ran so fast with it that his tail got afire, and he curled it up 
over his back, and so burned the black spot we see to this day just behind 
his fore-shoulders. Last of all was the frog, but he, poor brute! couldn't 
run at all, so he opened his mouth wide and the squirrel chucked the fire 
into it, and he swallowed it down with a gulp. Then he turned and gave 
a great jump, but the hags were so close in pursuit that one of them seized 
him by the tail (he was a tadpole then) and tweaked it off, and that is the 
reason why frogs have no tails to this day. He swam under water a long 
distance, as long as he could hold his breath, then came up and spit out 
the fire into a log of driftwood, and there it has staid safe ever since, so 
that when an Indian rubs two pieces of wood together the fire comes 
forth. 
THE COYOTES DANCING WITH THE STARS. 
After Kareya gave the coyote so much cunning he became very 
ambitious, and wanted to do many things which were very much too hard 
for him, and which Kareya never intended he should do. One of them 
