to appear after the flood, but at last they admitted Elder Brother was
the first, so he became ruler of the world.


The Birds and the Flood
Pima (Arizona)

Once upon a time, when all the earth was flooded, two birds were hanging
above the water. They were clinging to the sky with their beaks. The
larger bird was gray with a long tail and beak, but the smaller one was
the tiny bird that builds a nest shaped like an olla, with only a very
small opening at the top. The birds were tired and frightened. The
larger one cried and cried, but the little bird held on tight and said,
"Don't cry. I 'm littler than you are, but I 'm very brave."


Legend of the Flood
Ashochimi (Coast Indians, Cal.)

Long ago there was a great flood which destroyed all the people in the
world. Only Coyote was saved. When the waters subsided, the earth was
empty. Coyote thought about it a long time.

Then Coyote collected a great bundle of tail feathers from owls, hawks,
eagles, and buzzards. He journeyed over the whole earth and carefully
located the site of each Indian village. Where the tepees had stood, he
planted a feather in the ground and scraped up the dirt around it. The
feathers sprouted like trees, and grew up and branched. At last they
turned into men and women. So the world was inhabited with people again.