Native American Legends
Why there are no snakes on Takhoma
A Cowlitz Legend
A long, long time. ago, Tyhee Sahale became angry with the people.
Sahale ordered a medicine man to take his bow and arrow and shoot
into the cloud which hung low over Takhoma. The medicine man shot
the arrow, and it stuck fast in the cloud. Then he shot another
into the lower end of the first. He shot arrows until he had made
a chain which reached from the cloud to the earth. The medicine
man told his klootchman and his children to climb up the arrow trail.
Then he told the good animals to climb up the arrow trail. Then
the medicine man climbed up himself.
Just as he was climbing into the cloud, he looked back. A long
line of bad animals and snakes were also climbing up the arrow trail.
Therefore the medicine man broke the chain of arrows. Thus the snakes
and bad animals fell down on the mountain side. Then at once it
began to rain. It rained until all the land was flooded. Water reached
even to the snow line of Takhoma. When all the bad animals and snakes
were drowned, it stopped raining.
After a while the waters sank again. Then the medicine man, and
his klootchman, and the children climbed out of the cloud and came
down the mountain side. The good animals also climbed out of the
cloud. Thus there are now no snakes or bad animals on Takhoma.
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