SOME OF CHICO’S CURIOUS IDEAS. 395 
tent in their birthplace. In the folds of his great blankets he carried around 
an immense number of gifts, with which he endowed every man according 
to his will, and every tribe according to his pleasure, with which gifts every 
one ought to be content. 
Long ago the sun was a man, and was bad, but the moon was good. 
The sun’s rays are arrows, and he has a quiver full of them. These arrows 
are deadly, for the sun wishes to kill all things. He gave an arrow to 
every animal according to his power; to the lion the greatest; to the 
grizzly bear the next, and so on, though no animal received an arrow that 
would kill a man. . The man is lord of all. 
The sun has two daughters (Venus and Mercury), and twenty men 
kill them; but after fifty days they return to life again. ° 
The rainbow is the sister of Pokoh, and her breast is covered with 
flowers. Other Indians say, whenever they see a rainbow, that at that very 
hour some maiden has reached that first mysterious and momentous event 
which marks her transition from girlhood to womanhood. 
Lightning strikes the ground and fills the flints with fire, which is the 
source of fire. A ‘California diamond” will be found wherever it strikes 
the ground. Some say the beaver brought fire from the east, hauling it on 
his broad, flat tail, and that is the reason why it has no hair on it to this day. 
The carved stone mortars found in many parts of California were made 
by a race of men that lived long ago. There is one book for the father, 
and another for the son. Men pass away, and others come in their places. 
There are many worlds, some that have passed, and some that are to 
come. In one world the Indians all creep, in another they all walk, in 
another they all fly, ete. They may even begin by swimming in the water 
like fish; in the next, they may walk on four legs; in the next, on two, 
ete. Other men may walk in this world, and in another crawl like a snake 
or swim like afish. These are bad men. 
THE SUN AND THE COYOTE. 
A long time ago the coyote wanted to go to the sun. He asked Pokoh 
the road, and he showed him. He went straight out on this road, and 
traveled in it all day, but the sun went round, so that the coyote came back 
