Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber's Note:

Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Italics in the footnote citations were inconsistently applied by the
typesetter.

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

^a represents a superscripted character (a for example).
{_v} represents a subscripted v.
[_c_] represents a backwards c.

Footnote II-11: "Reads" should possibly be "Reade."
Footnote VI-43: "por bien de abirle los ojos, y darle luz, y
abridle ... " should possibly be "por bien de abrirle los ojos,
y darle luz, y abrirle ..."
Footnote IX-7 is missing a starting quote.
Footnote X-65: "rook" should possibly be "rock."
Footnote XI-5 is missing a starting quote.
Footnote II'-29: "queer" should possibly be "quer."
Footnote II'-60 is missing a starting quote.
Footnote III'-2: "îsles" should possibly be "îles."
Footnote III'-7: "Kaigáni" or "Kaigani" may be spelled incorrectly.
Footnote IV'-16: "Entferten" should possibly be "Entfernten."
Footnote V'-7: "Schlusstein" should possibly be "Schlussstein."
Footnote XII-75: The ending page should possibly be 302.
Page 569: "Irritilia" should possibly be "Irritila."
Page 634: The periods after "from us", and "masahchie" are possibly
typos.
Page 703: "kiokame" is a possible typo for "hiokame."
_Erman_, _Archiv_ is variously numbered with Roman and Arabic numbers.

THE WORKS
OF
HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT.

VOLUME III.
THE NATIVE RACES.

VOL. III. MYTHS AND LANGUAGES.

SAN FRANCISCO:
A. L. BANCROFT & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.
1883.

Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1882, by
HUBERT H. BANCROFT,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

_All Rights Reserved._

CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME.

MYTHOLOGY.

CHAPTER I.

SPEECH AND SPECULATION.
PAGE.

Difference between Man and Brutes -- Mind-Language and
Soul-Language -- Origin of Language: A Gift of the Creator, a
Human Invention, or an Evolution -- Nature and Value of Myth --
Origin of Myth: The Divine Idea, a Fiction of Sorcery, the
Creation of a Designing Priesthood -- Origin of Worship, of
Prayer, of Sacrifice -- Fetichism and the Origin of
Animal-Worship -- Religion and Mythology 1

CHAPTER II.

ORIGIN AND END OF THINGS.

Quiché Creation-Myth -- Aztec Origin-Myths -- The Papagos --
Montezuma and the Coyote -- The Moquis -- The Great Spider's
Web of the Pimas -- Navajo and Pueblo Creations -- Origin of
Clear Lake and Lake Tahoe -- Chareya of the Cahrocs -- Mount
Shasta, the Wigwam of the Great Spirit -- Idaho Springs and
Water Falls -- How Differences in Language Occurred -- Yehl,
the Creator of the Thlinkeets -- The Raven and the Dog 42

CHAPTER III.

PHYSICAL MYTHS.

Sun, Moon, and Stars -- Eclipses -- The Moon Personified in the
Land of the Crescent -- Fire -- How the Coyote Stole Fire for
the Cahrocs -- How the Frog Lost His Tail -- How the Coyote
Stole Fire for the Navajos -- Wind and Thunder -- The Four
Winds and the Cross -- Water, the First of Elemental Things --
Its Sacred and Cleansing Power -- Earth and Sky -- Earthquakes
and Volcanoes -- Mountains -- How the Hawk and Crow Built the
Coast Range -- The Mountains of Yosemite 108

CHAPTER IV.

ANIMAL MYTHOLOGY.

Rôles Assigned to Animals -- Auguries from their Movements --
The Ill-omened Owl -- Tutelary Animals -- Metamorphosed Men --
The Ogress-Squirrel of Vancouver Island -- Monkeys and Beavers
-- Fallen Men -- The Sacred Animals -- Prominence of the Bird
-- An Emblem of the Wind -- The Serpent, an Emblem of the
Lightning -- Not Specially connected with Evil -- The Serpent
of the Pueblos -- The Water-Snake -- Ophiolatry -- Prominence
of the Dog, or the Coyote -- Generally though not always a
Benevolent Power -- How the Coyote let Salmon up the Klamath --
Danse Macabre and Sad Death of the Coyote 127

CHAPTER V.

GODS, SUPERNATURAL BEINGS, AND WORSHIP.

Eskimo Witchcraft -- The Tinneh and the Koniagas -- Kugans of
the Aleuts -- The Thlinkeets, the Haidahs, and the Nootkas --
Paradise Lost of the Okanagans -- The Salish, the Clallams, the
Chinooks, the Cayuses, the Walla Wallas, and the Nez Percés --
Shoshone Ghouls -- Northern California -- The Sun at Monterey
-- Ouiot and Chinigchinich -- Antagonistic Gods of Lower
California -- Comanches, Apaches, and Navajos -- Montezuma of
the Pueblos -- Moquis and Mojaves -- Primeval Race of Northern
California 140

CHAPTER VI.

GODS, SUPERNATURAL BEINGS, AND WORSHIP.

Gods and Religious Rites of Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, and
Sinaloa -- The Mexican Religion, received with different
degrees of credulity by different classes of the people --
Opinions of different Writers as to its Nature -- Monotheism
of Nezahualcoyotl -- Present condition of the Study of Mexican
Mythology -- Tezcatlipoca -- Prayers to Him in the time of
Pestilence, of War, for those in Authority -- Prayer used by
an Absolving Priest -- Genuineness of the foregoing Prayers --
Character and Works of Sahagun 178