358 THE MIWOK. 
generally are, they are often quite pretty ; but when they diverge into im- 
purity they contain the most gratuitous and abominable obscenity ever 
conceived by the mind of man. 
The following isa fable told at Little Gap: 
CREATION OF MAN. 
After the coyote had finished all the work of the world and the inferior 
creatures he called a council of them to deliberate on the creation of man. 
They sat down in an open space in the forest, all in a circle, with the lion at the 
head. On his right sat the grizzly bear, next the cinnamon bear, and so on 
around according to the rank, ending with the little mouse, which sat at the 
lion’s left. 
The lion was the first to speak, and he declared he should like to see 
man created with a mighty voice like himself, wherewith he could frighten 
all animals. For the rest he would have him well covered with hair, terri- 
ble fangs in his claws, strong talons, ete. ; 
The grizzly bear said it was ridiculous to have such a voice as his 
neighbor, for he was always roaring with it and scared away the very prey 
he wished to capture. He said the man ought to have prodigious strength, 
and move about silently but very swiftly if necessary, and be able to grip 
his prey without making a noise. 
The buck said the man would look very foolish, in his way of thinking, 
unless he had a magnificent pair of antlers on his head to fight with. He 
also thought it was very absurd to roar so loudly, and he would pay less 
attention to the man’s throat than he would to his ears and his eyes, for he 
would have the first like a spider’s web and the second like fire. 
The mountain sheep protested he never could see what sense there was. 
in such antlers, branching every way, only to get caught in the thickets. 
If the man had horns mostly rolled up, they would be like a stone on each 
side of his head, giving it weight, and enabling him to butt a great deal 
harder. 
When it came the coyote’s turn to speak, he declared all these were 
the stupidest speeches he ever heard, and that he could hardly keep awake 
while listening to such a pack of noodles and nincompoops. Every one of 
