Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/54

Rh He went to the dam which the Skookums had built; and with the craftiness of his cousin, the fox, he waited till one of the Skookums approached to guard the place, and e sprang upon her. When she fell, the coyote instantly opened the gate, letting the swarming salmon pass through on their way up the river. He then broke down the dam, and since that time fish have gone every year to the upper stream, so that all the people may be fed.

The North Wind, the South Wind and the Five Thunders were ancient gods. They were very fierce and killed people. They tore up trees also. But one day Skel (Marten) put on the North Wind's hat and the Five Thunders fought each other, tied together by the hair, until each of the Thunders' hearts exploded with a terrific noise. Then the combatants vanished into the sky with a bright flash of light where sometimes we can hear them roar even yet; but they do not often destroy, nor kill.

One time Tallapus, the friend of man, went on a journey from the country of the Tillamooks to the country of the Clatsops. He walked along through the forest looking at the trees and plants, and suddenly came to a big hollow cedar. There was an opening in one side of the tree and he thought, what an amusing thing it would be to get within. So he gave the command, "Open, O Cedar Tree!" and the tree opened and he stepped inside and said, Shut, O Cedar Tree!" The tree closed again and the Tallapus laughed to himself, thinking it a good joke for a man to live in a tree. Pretty soon he wished to resume his journey, so he commanded the tree to open, and he stepped out. But he thought, "Maybe I'1l never come this way again I'd like to go inside once more." So he went in a second