ator. One of the names by which they call the Sun is Napi--Old
Man. This is how they tell of the creation:

In the beginning there was water everywhere; nothing else was to be
seen. There was something floating on the water, and on this raft
were Old Man and all the animals.

Old Man wished to make land, and he told the beaver to dive down to
the bottom of the water and to try to bring up a little mud. The
beaver dived and was under water for a long time, but he could not
reach the bottom. Then the loon tried, and after him the otter, but
the water was too deep for them. At last the muskrat was sent down,
and he was gone for a long time; so long that they thought he must
be drowned, but at last he came up and floated almost dead on the
water, and when they pulled him up on the raft and looked at his
paws, they found a little mud in them. When Old Man had dried this
mud, he scattered it over the water and land was formed. This is the
story told by the Blackfeet. It is very much like one told by some
Eastern Indians, who are related to the Blackfeet.

After the land had been made, Old Man travelled about on it, making
things and fixing up the earth so as to suit him. First, he marked
out places where he wished the rivers to run, sometimes making them
run smoothly, and again, in some places, putting falls on them. He
made the mountains and the prairie, the timber and the small trees
and bushes, and sometimes he carried along with him a lot of rocks,
from which he built some of the mountains--as the Sweet Grass
Hills--which stand out on the prairie by themselves.

Old Man caused grass to grow on the plains, so that the animals
might have something to feed on. He marked off certain pieces of
land, where he caused different kinds of roots and berries to
grow--a place for camas; and one for wild carrots; one for wild
turnips, sweet root and bitter root; one for service berries,
bullberries, cherries, plums, and rosebuds.

He made all kinds of animals that travel on the ground. When he made
the big-horn with its great horns, he put it out on the prairie. It
did not seem to travel easily there; it was awkward and could not go
fast, so he took it by one of its horns and led it up into the rough
hills and among the rocks, and let it go there, and it skipped about
among the cliffs and easily went up fearful places. So Old Man said
to the big-horn, "This is the place for you; this is what you are
fitted for; the rough country