|
当阿帕切族人从下界出现时，徒步向南走了四天。他们没有别的食物，只有两种植物的种子，一种被他们称为“卡套泰依”，另一种是"卡套泰依尔祖钰”，他们用石头把种子磨成面粉来吃。 他们第四次宿营时，其中一个帐篷（称之为：卡革苟海斯卡因德耶）离其他帐篷稍远一些。当帐篷的主人和他的妻子不在帐篷中的时候，一只乌鸦带来一张弓和一箭袋子箭挂在他们帐篷的杆子上。帐篷里的孩子们取下箭袋，发现里面有一些肉，就把肉吃了，身体立刻就胖了起来。 妈妈回来时看到了孩子们手上脸上沾着的油脂，孩子们告诉妈妈这“伊塔祖尔特”(阿帕切族人对肉的称呼）是怎么来的，女人连忙把这事告诉了她丈夫。人们对孩子们的外貌变化感到非常惊奇，聚在一起等待着以如此神奇的食物为生的乌鸦再次出现。 乌鸦发现自己放在箭袋里的"伊塔祖尔特”被偷了，就朝东飞走了，他的目的地是印第安人视野之外的一座山。然而一只蝙蝠跟踪了乌鸦的飞行路线，把乌鸦落脚的地点告诉了印第安人。那天晚上，全部落的人们举行了一次会议，并决定他们应该去乌鸦家，争取从他那里得到这种神奇的食物，因为分享了神奇食物的人都会发生不可思议的变化。第四天快结束时，他们来到一个地方，许多原木横七竖八地堆积在那儿。印第安人看见许多乌鸦，但是乌鸦都回避他们，他们什么信息也没有得到。他们在一个地方发现了一大堆灰烬，乌鸦们习惯在那儿做饭。于是他们又召开了一次会议，讨论如何侦察乌鸦以刺探他们从哪里获得了宝贵的动物食物。那天晚上，巫医们把一个男孩变成了一条小狗，藏在帐篷附近的灌木丛中。 第二天，印第安人离开后，乌鸦们来了，按照习惯他们检查了一下那个被弃的营地。一只小乌鸦发现了那条小狗，他非常高兴，大叫道：“辞嗔尼扎塔(这将是我的小狗)。他把战利品带回家，父母让他把小狗扔掉。他请求父母允许他留着小狗，但他同意如果燃烧着的木片在小狗眼前晃，小狗会眨眼的话，就放弃它。这只小狗的智力当然比普通犬类的智力高多了，测试时，他盯着木片眼皮都没动一下。这样小乌鸦的父母就同意他养着小狗了。小乌鸦把小狗放在自己的毯子下面，小狗在那儿一直呆到晚上。日落时，小狗从他盖着的毯子往外窥视，看见一只大乌鸦清扫掉火灶上的灰烬，搬开一块扁平的大石头，露出了下面的一个大洞，大乌鸦钻进洞里消失了，钻出来时带了一头野牛，乌鸦们杀死野牛吃掉了。小狗在乌鸦的营地里呆了四天，每天晚上都看见一头野牛被从地下深处带上来吞吃掉。 小狗发现了乌鸦获取食物的来源，非常满意。第五天早上，小狗恢复了男孩的原貌，一手拿一支白色的鹰羽毛，一手拿一支黑色的，从火灶下的洞口钻了下去，就像他看见乌鸦做的那样。在地下他发现了四头野牛，他把白色的羽毛放到离他最近的野牛嘴里，命令它跟他走。但这头野牛让他继续走到最后，带第四头野牛走。男孩试图照第一头野牛说的做，但第四头野牛又让他回到第一头野牛那儿，男孩再次猛地把羽毛插入第一头野牛嘴里，并宣布它是百兽之王。然后他回到了地面上，除了那些后面专门创造出来的动物，比如马和水生动物，现在地球上所有的动物都跟在他身后。当这么大群动物穿过洞口时，一只乌鸦醒来了，它匆忙放下盖同口的大石头，但为时已晚，动物们都逃掉了。眼看自己对动物们的控制权就要转移到人类手中，乌鸦大叫道：“你们杀掉任何动物时都必须至少把他们的眼睛留给我。” 在许多种不同野兽组成的大军陪伴下，男孩沿着离开的阿帕切族人留下的记号前进。在他们留下的第一个营地里，男孩找到一根火棍，或者叫做拨火棍，印第安人称为“顾斯塞那依提斯"。男孩问道“我们的人什么时候离开这里的？” "三天前。"火棍回答道。下一个营地有一架废弃了的梯子，印第安人称为‘‘海斯艾依"，男孩问道“我们的人什么时候离开这里的？”"两天前。”梯子回答道。男孩继续走着，很快到了第三个营地，在那里他问另一根火棍，了解到他们的人是一天前离开的。在第四个营地，另一架梯子回答了他的问题，说印第安人早上才离开。当天晚上男孩赶上了他们，进入了营地，动物们像一大群羊一样跟在他的身后。一位老妇人住在用灌木搭成的房子里，看到鹿在吃自己那简陋的房子上盖着的灌木，她大为恼火，从篝火上拿起一根棍子朝小鹿的鼻子打去，白色的灰烬粘在小鹿鼻子上，留下了我们今天在这种动物的鼻子上看到的白色斑点。“从今以后，你们要避开人类，你的鼻子会告诉你靠近我们是什么样的结果。"老妇说道。就这样，人类与野兽之间短暂的和谐被打断了。动物们立刻离开了营地，每天都走得更远一些，到第四天他们在人类的视野中消失了踪迹。 那天晚上，阿帕切族人祈祷动物们回到他们身边，那样他们就可以用动物做食物。这就是为什么现在动物们在夜间而不是在任何别的时间靠近人类营地的原因。他们永远不会靠得太近，因为那位老妇人告诉过他们要以鼻子为戒，避免靠近印第安人。 When the Apaches emerged from the underworld, they traveled southward on foot for four days. They had no other food than the seeds of the two plants, k’atl’-tai-i，and k’atl-tai- il-tsu-yu, from which they made a sort of flour by grinding between stones. When they camped for the fourth time, one of the tipis, called ka-ge-go-has-ka-in-de- ye, stood somewhat apart from the others. While the owner and his wife were absent from his lodge, a Raven brought a bow and a quiver1 of arrows, and hung them upon the lodge poles. The children within took down the quiver, and found some meat in it; they ate this, and at once became very fat. When the mother returned, she saw the grease on the hands and cheeks of the children, and was told how the it-tsil-te had been obtained. The woman hastened to her husband with the tale. Marvelling at the appearance of the children, the people gathered to await the reappearance of the Raven which subsisted upon2 such remarkable food. When the Raven found the it-tsil-te had been stolen from the quiver, he flew away toward the eastward, his destination was a mountain just beyond the range of vision of the Indians. A bat, however, followed the flight of the Raven, and informed them where the Raven had alighted3. That night, a council of the whole tribe was held, and it was decided that they should go to the home of the Raven, and try to obtain from him the food which had wrought4 such a miraculous change in those who had partaken5 of it. At the end of four day they came to a place where a large number of logs were lying in irregular heaps. Many ravens were seen, but they avoided the Indians, and no information could be obtained from them. At one point they discovered a great circle of ashes where the ravens were accustomed to cook their meals. Again a council was held, and they talked over the problem of how to spy upon the ravens, and learn whence they obtained the precious animal food. That night the medicine-men transformed a boy into a puppy, and concealed him in the bushes near the camp. After the Indians had departed, next morning, the ravens came, as is their habit, to examine the abandoned camp. One of the young ravens found the puppy, and was so pleased with it that he exclaimed “Ci-chin-ni-ja-ta”（“This shall be my puppy”). When he carried home his prize, his parents told him to throw it away. He begged permission to keep it, but agreed to give it up if the puppy winked when a splinter of burning wood was waved before its eyes. As the puppy possessed much more than canine6 intelligence, it stared during the test without the quiver of an eyelid. So the young raven won consent to keep the puppy, which he placed under his own blanket, where it remained until evening. At sunset the puppy peeped from his cover, and saw an old raven brush aside the ashes of the fireplace, and take up a large flat stone which disclosed an opening beneath; through this he disappeared, but arose again with a buffalo, which was killed and eaten by the ravens. For four days the puppy remained at the camp of the ravens, and each evening he saw a buffalo brought up from the depths and devoured. Satisfied that he had discovered the source from which the ravens derived their food, the puppy resumed the form of a boy on the morning of the fifth day, and, with a white eagle feather in one hand and a black one in the other, descended through the opening beneath the fireplace, as he had seen the ravens do. In the underworld in which he found four buffaloes. He placed the white eagle-feather in the mouth of the nearest Buffalo，and commanded it to follow him, but the Buffalo told him to go on to the last of the four and take it. This the boy tried to do, but the fourth Buffalo sent him back to the first, in whose mouth the boy again thrust the feather, declaring it to be the king of animals. He then returned to the world above, followed by all the animals at present upon the surface of the earth, except those specially created later, such, for example, as the horse and aquatic7 animals. As the large herd of animals passed through the hole, one of the ravens awoke, and hastened to clap down the stone covering the opening, but he was too late to prevent their escape. Seeing that they had passed from his control into that of man, he exclaimed, “When you kill any of these animals you must at least leave their eyes for me.” Attended by the troop of beasts of many species, the boy followed the track made by the departing Apaches. On the site of their first camp he found a firestick or poker, gos- se-na-it-tsi，of which he inquired, “When did my people leave here?” “Three days ago,” was the reply. At the next camping-place was an abandoned ladder, has-ai-i, of which he asked, “When did my people leave here?” 4Two days ago，” replied the ladder. Continuing his journey the boy soon reached the third camping-place, where he questioned a second firestick, and learned that the people had been gone but one day. At the fourth camp another ladder answered his question, with the news that the Indians had left there that morning. That evening he overtook them and entered the camp, the herd of animals following him like a flock of sheep. One old woman who lived in a brush lodge became vexed8 at the deer which ate the covering of her rude shelter. Snatching up a stick from the fire, she struck the deer over the nose, to which the white ashes adhered, causing the white mark which we see on the nose of that animal at the present time. “Hereafter you shall avoid mankind; your nose will tell you when you are near them,” said she. Thus terminated9 the brief period of harmony between man and the beast: they left the camp at once，going farther each day, until on the fourth they disappeared from sight. That night the Apaches prayed for the return of the animals, that they might use them for food, and that is why animals approach nearer the camps now at night than at any other time. They never come very close, because the old woman told them to be guided by their noses and avoid the Indians. |
