 best western outfit. I have mythology series, and it's called Spirits, Heroes, and Hunters from North American. Collected here in one volume is a selection of fascinating tales. 26 stories, major tribes. More like a shaman. He appears to be pretty mystical. Right before me suggested I do. So many of the natives were wiped out diseases when Columbus initially came over here. Many of the settlers actually didn't really need any of these different nice little introductory glossary of the lives and a very very condensed history of many of the different tribes from the arctic all the way down south to let's go to the the tale I wanted to. There really are some knee three to seventy accorded considerable respect to the spirits of the plants which they grew in the fields or gathered in the surrounding. The most important of these were the three sisters who brought corn beans and squash and numerous festival numerous festivals were held to celebrate the ripening and the harvesting of these crops. For many of the tribes the gathering of the first corn in summer marked the start of the new year. It was a time for dancing and games and for ceremonies and thanksgiving from the harvest. It was also a time for fasting, cleansing, houses were, houses were swept clean, fires extinguished, utensils thrown away in favor of new ones, debts were settled, quarrels resolved, and misdeeds. Forgive. Other ceremonies were held to invoke the help of the spirits and to drive away the harmful forces. These were often conducted by secret secret societies. The Iroquois false face society whose members wore a grotesque wooden masks and carried turtle shell rattles. The masks represented the faces horrible bodyless heads which spread disease by adopting the appearance of the faces and by performing special there were other evil demons besides the faces dwarves lurking in the caves or in hollow trees took delight in leading travelers astray or luring forests were inhabited by fierce monsters like the Nocos Oma a bear-like creature with long sharp tusks and horned serpents infested lakes and the rivers the Niagara Falls were said to have been formed by the huge body of one such serpents was generally regarded powerful spirits who controlled the earth chicks all linked their chief spirit with the Sun and called him Luak Ishto Olaba the great sacred fire above which they called the spirit path or sometimes the dog's trail because of the legend that it had formed it had been formed by a dog dragging a sack of flour which spilt the souls of the wicked remained below the creatures and creation of the world are very similar throughout the eastern woodland it is said that in the beginning the first people lived in the sky for the earth was covered by water world was usually thought as a flat plane close some sides by a great dome of the sky which of course does make sense if you are in the pre-scientific world without proper tools for measuring the curvature of the earth usually what it appears to be is indeed a flat flat you know it'd be a disc because you can see equally as you see that the horizon is where the dome so the Cherokee however soil has a floating island suspended from the sky by four the story goes the corns will break and the earth will sink back into the ocean as master for example explains the important in the days when water still covered the earth in the days when the water still covered lands wisdom and knowledge of feeling could do nothing to make her well and at last he said the girl's father and brothers carried her to the place in the skyland where the wild apple tree grew so that if the medicine were found it could be given to her without they begin to scrape away the earth but there was no medicine to be seen and they took deeper and deeper until nearly all the roots were exposed but still they found it and ejected they climbed out of the hole they had dug and sat on the edge just for a moment to rest thunder the edges of the hole and as they did so the tree began to slip down through the tree and the woman falling from the sky fearing that she might drown in the water the swans quickly drew together the wild apple tree splashed to the water beside them and sank without a trace so the swans bent their long graceful necks and gazed at their burden and wonder we'd better call a council set his companion and see what the other animals can suggest all the birds and the animals that lived in the water assembled presided and for a long time they debated the matter but without coming to a satisfactory a big turtle impatiently and last the otter said idea cried the turtle if we can indeed make an island this way it will support I will support it on my back acknowledged as the best swimmer offered to go first and plunged into the depths he was gone for a very very they saw him coming back through the clear water or broke the surface of the water coughing and wheezing but to everyone's disappointment he had found no trace of the tree in spite of all his searching beaver went down then muskrat then all the other diving animals each was gone as long as the otter some even longer so it seemed as if the plan was doomed big turtle looked around them in despair and there were no more animals to send suddenly a voice popped up let me go let me try to find some earth it was Toskway the toad Toskway the toad was so small and insignificant that no one had even realized she was there the other animals gaped gaped at her by the presumption of the little creature a big turtle quieted them and said to the toad very well then go instead the spot where she had vanished they did not really expect to see her again yet still they watched they waited for such a long time that they began to whisper to each other that it might be over an air bubble came up to the water bubbles appeared to be followed at last by the small ugly faced toad she opened her mouth and their last breath spat out a few grains of earth onto the edge of the big turn after spitting out those grains of sand in watching them tumble down onto the turtles back Toskway the toad rubbing and spreading the earth around the big turtles as they did so the earth grew large enough for the woman to live on the swans carry the woman to it and she stepped ashore still the earth continued the Indians say that the world still rests upon the big shell of a big turtle sometimes when he becomes tired he moves his feet his position as for the toad who gave her life to fetch earth from the root she is not forgotten by the eastern Indians our grandmother and no one is allowed to harm her story ascribes the turtles supremacy to his bravery and cunning and tells of a time after the world was formed but while still only a very few people inhabited it one of these people was an old man called guy who lived with his young nephew each day the young man went in search of food and on his return his uncle would ask him what he had done what he had seen what he had found sometimes the young man brought back berries and nuts sometimes nothing at all for then the animals were not so easily caught as usual well nephew what did you see today and what have you brought the young man replied I found the eagle asleep in a tree I crept up crept up on him and tried to catch him but he was too quick for me nevertheless one of his tail feathers look K.A. was horrified for eagle was the chief of all bird not easily broke such an insult was still what have you done you stupid boy in his hands you have put us in a very very tight spot in very great the old man rushed to the door of the lodge and looked up at the sky in the distance he saw eagle winging his way swiftly towards him he ran back inside and shouted to his nephew make haste hang the feather up in the smoke hole perhaps when the eagle sees it there he will take it away without causing trembling they crouched in a corner the eagle must be hovering directly over there was a long terrible silence and they scarcely dared he has gone away without taking this feather we are safe but his uncle groaned this makes it all the worse for he means to punish us so we're invited to the council the strong and powerful animals like the bear and the wolf and the fleet footed like deer were turned away for K.A. he told them you have no need to fear eagle only those who like ourselves are weak and slow only those like ourselves who are weak and slow thus it was the creatures who had the most to fear like otter skunk told them what had happened and warned them that the eagle would return for his revenge by bringing his nephew said I will throw stones at them and drive them off skunk said I will spray my scent at them and tear out their eyes for Cabine said I will run my turtle said nothing he just sat down and looked about him blinking sleepily as turtles do while they were discussing their courses of action eagle and his friends appeared in the sky overhead immediately everyone forgot his brave resolve and fled towards a tall tree growing nearby each scrambling over the other in haste to reach the uppermost branches once more the eagle swooped down on K.A. his lodge and hovered over the smoke hole no longer there the animals looked around in surprise and saw that in the confusion the turtle had carried it away they watched the turtle plotting off through the woods with the eagle's feather clamped firmly in his jaws Bine was in a great quandary since he will not give back the feather as they traveled along this way porcupine scattered ashes in an attempt unfortunately the ashes had quite the opposite bearing for his own safety but that of course had no effect on gathering some dry leaves and the built of fire and through turtle pretended that it was all a game to him as if he were enjoying himself tremendously does not worry you he shouted we will throw you in the river instead to be very oh no he shrieked not the river to anything else you want but the birds to ragged turtle struggling wildly and pleading for mercy down to the turtle floundered about howling as if it at last put an end to this troublesome creature flew away in great no sooner had they gone than turtles who am across the river and hauled himself up onto a log he pulled eagle's feather from his shell and waving at a loft shouted which is the cry defeated his enemies the animals hiding in the tree heard turtles cry of triumph and rushed down to see still had possession persuaded and swam across the river to where the turtle sat proudly flourishing the eagle's feather as Otter climbed on to the log turtle dropped into the water and dived to this none of the other animals dared to challenge turtle in the eagle feather remained remained in his possession ever afterwards as a token of his superiority overall to this day the Indians claim the turtle cannot be overpowered