FOREWORD
My friends have asked me many times to write the songs and stories of my people. This I have never done.
But now the older ones of our tribes are slowly passing away. The churches and schools of the new American people are teaching our children. We find that the beliefs of the Indian people are being forgotten.
Even now there is much that will never be remembered again; and so, before I, too, pass into the world of spirit which is around and about us, but which we do not often see, I now write this book for the ones who have interest in new things, for the ones who like to hear new stories, and for the men of science who study the world. But most of all I write the songs and stories for my own people, our children and our childrens children, and those yet to come, that when the Indian customs are forgotten, they may read and know and remember in their hearts the ways and thoughts of their own people.
Some things I will explain that are not in the stories, that will help you to understand.
In the first time, when all things were new made, all creatures and things were very large. The common fly which is about us today was a very large animal.
There were many creatures living in those times that are not any more. This was once not believed, and because of that the Indian people do not speak. But now, the head white men who search all the world have discovered that the words my people spoke were true words.
In the San Bernardino Mission, much time ago, there were bones of animals so large that the joints of the back bones were used for seats by the Indian People. Very large, very light, so light that the children could lift them.
Some of these animals of the past, their bones have been dug out of the tar pits near Los Angeles City, and their skeletons are hung up in the museum building at Exposition Park.
These animals were of the later animals. They were very small, not large like the creation in the first beginningno.
No one knew of the camels and elephants, the great snakes and giant lizards that stood many times higher than any animals of today; the fierce tigers with the long teeth; many kinds of animals that once lived in this America; no one knewno one but the Indiansand they did not speak.
The Indians (or Americans, as we are) kept the records of their people, but they did not keep the records of time, and so I explain that one story may cover a thousand years or two thousand years, or five thousand years; we do not know.
The migration from the north took much time, and many generations were born until they became only legends of the first, and yet they had not gone all of the way.
All creatures lived very long, the people and the animals, and especially the head men who could of their own power become young again.
In the first time the Great Spirit took care of his people. He gave them power, and took care of them with his power.
Both the people and the animals, they lived near together and understood each other. But after much time had passed, the power became less and less, until only a very little remains to a few of the medicine men today.
People, animals and all things became much smaller, had less power, until the Great Spirit took away all power from his people. He does not help us any more. We can only help ourselves. The Great Spirit did not take his power away from his children to punish them, no. They lost the power because they had power so long themselves, that they began making their own songs and forgot to ask for more power from the Great Spirit.
When I speak of the songs of the people being against them, it means that the songs were the laws of the people. These songs were remembered. They could not forget, because they were always singing at the ceremonial houses. Always now, the large house, often called by the Indians the big house, has been called the fiesta house by the early Spanish, who first explored this country. Because there was singing and dancing, they must have thought it was like their own fiestaseverything play.
Now, everyone says the fiestas at the fiesta houses. But this is not right. Our big houses are ceremonial houses, for prayer, for sacred rites. They should be called ceremonial houses.
When anyone did something that was not in the law, the Indian people would say that the song is against them. Their own people would not recognize them if the songs were against them. That was our law.
For instance: The songs of the corn maidens. These songs were very finemuch better than the people could make. But the people having so much power of their own, they became foolish and thought they did not need the songs (laws) of these fine people any more. They became disrespectful to them. Then the corn maidens set down the basket of corn seed.
The corn maiden of the east, she set down the basket of white corn seed.
The corn maiden of the west, she set down the basket of blue corn seed.
The corn maiden of the north, she set down the basket of yellow corn seed.
The corn maiden of the south, she set down the basket of red corn seed.
But in the center the corn maiden set down the basket of all-colored corn seed.
Then they went away.
After much time these foolish people wished for these corn maidens to come to them again. But they did not come any more forever.
And so it was that the people were losing their power, and never could get it again. They had not obeyed their own songs.
Our white friends may not understand our use of the word brother. Among the Indian people it takes four generations to make what is known among the white people as one generation. For instance, the brothers and sisters of parents are not called aunt or uncle.
