384 THE YOKUTS. 
while the crow made the west one. Little by little, as they dropped in the 
earth, these great mountains grew athwart the face of the waters, pushing 
porth. It was a work of many years, but finally they met together at 
Mount Shasta, and their labors were ended. But, behold, when they com- 
pared their mountains, it was found that the crow’s was a great deal the 
larger. Then the hawk said to the crow, ‘‘ How did this happen, you rascal? 
I warrant you have been stealing some of the earth from my Dill, and that 
is why your mountains are the biggest.” It was a fact, and the crow 
laughed in his claws. Then the hawk went and got some Indian tobacco 
and chewed it, and it made him exceedingly wise. So he took hold of the 
mountains and turned them round in a circle, putting his range in place of 
the crow’s; and that is why the Sierra Nevada is larger than the Coast 
Range. 
This legend is of value as showing the aboriginal notions of geography. 
In explaining the story, the Indian drew in the sand a long ellipse, repre- 
senting quite accurately the shape of the two ranges; and he had never 
traveled away from King’s River. 
While in Coarse Gold Gulch, it was my good fortune to witness the 
great dance for the dead (ko-ti’-wa-chil), which was one of the most extraor- 
dinary human spectacles I ever beheld. It was not the regular annual 
dance, but a special one, held by request of Ko-lo’-mus-nim, a subchief of 
the Chukchansi; but it was in all respects as strange, as awful, as imposing 
an exhibition of barbaric superstition and barbaric affection as is afforded 
by the formal anniversary. Not to my dying hour will the recollection of 
that frightful midnight pageant be effaced. 
First, it will be well to explain that among the Yokuts the dance for 
the dead is protracted nearly a week. The first two or three nights, while 
they are waiting for the assembling of ihe tardy delegations, are occupied 
only in speech-making, story-telling, ete., until a late hour; but during the 
last three nights they dance throughout the night until morning, and on the 
third night, about daybreak, they burn the offerings consecrated to the 
dead. This happened to be the first of the last three nights, hence no 
burning occurred, but in every other respect it was complete, and all the 
