SURVEY OF THE COLORADO OF THE WEST. 29 
often engaged as watclimen and defenders of other gods, especially of 
Ta-ywots, Shin-au'-av, and Si-kor'. 
There are many other of these personages who take a greater or less 
part in the stories, but these are perhaps the most important. Of the 
original form and appearance of these people there seems to be a strange 
uncertainty and indefiniteness in the mind of the Indian. Sometimes 
they are represented as having the forms of men 5 at others as having 
the forms of animals, and of assuming temporarily many other shapes ; 
yet they all spoke the Indian language, though somewhat modified in 
tone, for the grizzly-bear growled his words, the wolf howled his lan- 
guage, to-go'-av, the rattlesnake, hissed his speech, and a'-rum-pats, the 
grasshopper, had a buzzing tongue. Such are the gods of the Numas. 
The Indian was a hunter ; he depended in part, at least, on the ani- 
mals by which he was surrounded for his food and clothing. Not sup- 
plied with fire-arms as now, but using rude and imperfect hunting-tools, 
the wild animals were much more abundant than they are at present. 
These hunting implements were also noiseless, and it is probable that 
the game was less shy than at present. His food, clothing, and most 
valuable ornaments came from these animals, and his greatest skill 
was employed in their capture. He studied carefully their habits, and 
watched closely all their movements, and doubtless became more famil- 
iar with them than with any other objects or phenomena of nature. He 
witnessed their wonderful instinctive skill, and saw that for which his 
simple philosophy gave no account. 
The powers, too, of these animals was a source of wonderment. The 
badger lived in mysterious underground compartments ; the squirrel 
made his home in the trees, and could pass from branch to branch, and 
from tree to tree, with a celerity which he could not understand ; the 
lizard made its way over the face of the rocks and cliffs with an ease and 
swiftness that he could not comprehend ; then he saw the serpent swift 
without legs ; the rapid darting of the trout in the waters 5 the soaring 
of the eagle in the heavens ; the art of the spider to make his snare, and 
all the wonderful feats of the hosts of animals with which he could 
never vie, and which he could not explain, and from admiration he 
grew into adoration, and these animals became his gods. 
Then another principle or sentiment, which seems to exist almost 
universally in the minds of men, appears to exert a modifying influence 
on his mythological beliefs. The men of to-day are never esteemed as 
the men of yesterday ; we can see their weaknesses, their foibles, their 
faults, and their sins. Only the men of yesterday or yesterday’s yester- 
day are great men ; the perspective haze of time covers all that was un- 
lovely. If this sentiment prevails with civilized nations, it is entertained 
to a much greater extent by savage people. 
Everywhere they bitterly mourn the degeneracy of the present time, 
and speak with pride of their fathers and grandfathers. And this same 
