e of the smoking and refilling of my pipe Zachook was
silent, then with eyes gazing deep into the fire, began:

"Before there was a North or South, when Time was not,
Klingatona-Kla, the Earth Mother, was blind, and all the world
was dark. No man had seen the sun, moon, or stars, for they
were kept hidden by Yakootsekaya-ka, the Wise Man. Locked in a
great chest were they, in a chest that stood in the corner of
the lodge of the Wise Man, in Tskekowani, the place that
always was and ever will be. Carefully were they guarded, many
locks had the chest, curious, secret locks, beyond the fingers
of a thief. To outwit the cunning of Yaeethl were the locks
made. Yaeethl the God, Yaeethl the Raven, Yaeethl the Great
Thief, of whom the Wise Man was most afraid.

"The Earth Mother needed light that her eyes might be opened,
that she might bear children and escape the disgrace of her
barrenness. To Yaeethl the Clever, Yaeethl the Cunning, went
Klingatona-Kla, weeping, and of the Raven begged aid. And
Yaeethl took pity on her and promised that she should have
Kayah, the Light, to father her children.

"Many times had Yaeethl, because of his promise, tried to
steal the Worlds of Light, and as many times had he failed.
But with each attempt his desire grew, grew until it filled
his belly and his brain.

"Was he not Yaeethl, the Great White Raven, the Father of
Thieves? What if the Wise Man put new and heavier locks upon
the chest after each attempt? Were locks greater than the
cunning of the Raven?

"Now Yakootsekaya-ka, the Wise Man, and his wife had a
daughter. Of their marriage was she, a young girl, beautiful
and good. No man had ever seen her face. On no one, god or
man, had the eyes of the young girl ever rested, save only her
father and mother, the Wise Ones. Ye-see-et, a virgin, was
she.

"Yaeethl, of his wisdom knowing that the weakness of men is
the strength of children, that a babe may enter where a
warrior may not cast his shadow, bethought him of this virgin,
this daughter of Yakootsekaya-ka. As the thought and its
children made camp in his brain Yaeethl spread wide his
snow-white wings.

[Illustration]

"Thrice he circled high in air, then took flight towards
Tskekowani, the meeting place of Memory and Hope. Lik