TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
Containing The Pima Indians and Social Condition, Beliefs, and Linguistic Relationship of the Tlingit Indians
Frank Russell · John R. Swanton
Government Printing Office · Washington · 1908 · First Edition
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 206
“In the beginning there was nothing where now are earth, sun, moon, stars, and all that we see. Ages long the darkness was gathering, until it formed a great mass in which developed the spirit of Earth Doctor…”
“Conscious of his power, he determined to build an abiding place, so he took from his breast a little dust and flattened it into a cake.”
“Earth Magician shapes this world.”
The Creation — Earth Doctor Shapes the World
The Pima creation story begins before the present world exists. From the darkness, Earth Doctor appears with nowhere to stand. He takes dust from his own body and begins shaping the earth, creating the land and forming its mountains and seas.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 207
“Next Earth Doctor created some black insects… Then he made hiapit, the termite, which worked upon and increased the small beginning until it grew to the proportions of our present earth.”
“But the earth shook and stretched so that it was unfit for habitation. So Earth Doctor made a gray spider, which he commanded to spin a web around the unconnected edges of earth and sky.”
“When this was done the earth grew firm and solid.”
“At once the ice shone forth as the brilliant disk we now know as the sun.”
The Sun and Moon — Earth Doctor Completes the World
Earth Doctor enlarges the new earth but it was unstable. He secures its edges to the sky with a spider’s web, making the world firm enough for habitation. He then establishes its waters and landscape before creating the sun and moon and setting them on their courses across the sky.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 208
“When the earth was thus prepared for habitation, Earth Doctor created all manner of birds and creeping things. Next he formed images of clay, which he commanded to become animate human beings, and they obeyed him.”
“Of sickness and death they knew nothing, and their numbers grew apace. Hungering, they began to kill one another and to eat human flesh.”
“Earth Doctor pitied them in their extremity, but could devise no plan for relieving their distress, except to destroy all, and this he at length felt forced to do.”
“Thrusting his stick through the earth, Earth Doctor went through the hole and came out alone on the other side.”
Humanity is Created — The First Human Civilization is Destroyed.
Earth Doctor molds the first humans from clay and animates them. They reproduce until the earth can no longer sustain them, and hunger sets in. They turn to killing and cannibalism. Earth Doctor ultimately destroys the population himself. After passing alone through the earth, he creates a new race of humans — the Rsâsanate.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 209
“The people increased in numbers, but Elder Brother shortened their lives, and they did not overrun the earth as they had done before.”
“But this did not satisfy Elder Brother, who announced to Earth Doctor that he would destroy the latter’s people, and this is how he accomplished the second destruction of the world.”
“This was the child that caused the flood which destroyed the people and fulfilled the plans of Elder Brother.”
The Second Destruction — Elder Brother Brings the Flood
After Earth Doctor creates a new humanity, Elder Brother deliberately sets out to destroy them. He first shortens their lives, then begins a plan that will end in a flood. The destruction is presented as intentional. The coming deluge is arranged specifically to eliminate Earth Doctor’s people.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 210
“Earth Doctor then called his people together and told them there would be a great flood.”
“For the waters will overwhelm the land.”
“The waters will overwhelm the mountains.”
“He thrust his staff into the ground, and with it bored a hole quite through to the other side of the earth. Some of the people went into the hole, while others appealed to Elder Brother.”
“Coyote asked his assistance, and he was told to find a big log and sit upon it. This would carry him safely on the surface of the water along with the driftwood.”
The Flood — Earth Doctor Warns the People
The coming flood is known in advance. Earth Doctor warns his people and provides a way for some to escape, ensuring that the destruction will not consume everyone.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 211
“When the child had been taken from them, South Doctor called the people to him and announced that a flood was coming to destroy the earth and all things thereon.”
“The waters dissolve the land. The waters dissolve the land. The mighty magician tests his strength. The waters dissolve the mountain.”
“Some of the people came to him and were saved from the flood by passing through to the other side of the earth by means of the hole which he had made with his cane.”
“Earth Doctor told them that they were too late in coming, that he had already sent all that he could save to the other side of the earth.”
Destruction Begins — The Waters Consume the Land
The flood begins and overwhelms even the mountains, while groups of survivors escape underground. The account makes survival selective. Some are already out of the waters' reach, while others arrive too late to join them.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 212
“As the flood rose toward the top of the mountain, South Doctor sang a song which caused the mountain itself to rise higher and ever higher above the waters…”
“When he ceased singing he traced a line around the mountain and this marked the limit of the flood for a time, but it soon rose again and threatened to overflow the summit.”
“Four times he sang and raised the mountain above the rising waters and then declared that he could do so no more, for his power was exhausted.”
“I shall become as stone.”
Survivors — Humanity Preserved Above the Flood
The attempt to preserve humanity continues as the Flood reaches its height. South Doctor uses his power to keep a group of people above the rising waters as the destruction reaches the mountaintops.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 213
“Coyote came out of the drift after the water had fallen.”
“Earth Doctor escaped destruction by inclosing himself in his reed staff, which floated upon the surface of the water.”
“Elder Brother was rolled along on the ground under the waters in his olla and finally came to rest beyond Sonoita, near the mouth of the Colorado river.”
“At length he met Coyote and Earth Doctor. Each claimed to have been the first to appear after the flood…”
A Reunion — The World Begins Again
Coyote, Earth Doctor, and Elder Brother each survive by different means and come together after the waters recede. Their reunion marks the transition from destruction into the world that follows.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 214
“Then they all sat down to create the various animals that had lived before the flood.”
“Coyote had made all the web-footed animals, snakes, and birds.”
“Earth Doctor had made creatures resembling human beings…”
“Elder Brother told Coyote to throw the animals which he had created into the water. He told Earth Doctor to place his creatures in the west. Both obeyed.”
The New World — Creation
The Flood marks a divide. The beings of the earlier world are gone, and those who survived begin creating the populations of the world that follows.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 215
“These were the Indian people of which there were four tribes: The Wâ-âkî Âp, the Apaches, the Maricopas, and, lastly, the Pimas, though they were given superior qualities—such as a knowledge of the seasons, the power to bring down rain from the sky, the ability to cure sickness, and the like.”
“These people occupied this country from that time forward and multiplied in numbers.”
The New People — Knowledge and Power
The new humanity enters the world possessing knowledge and abilities specifically described as having been given to them. Knowledge of the seasons and powers connected with rain and healing.
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — The Pima Indians, p. 225
“Vulture, who had been saved with Elder Brother at the time of the flood…”
“Vulture was a man who transformed himself into a bird with his own magic power and had gone through the openings in the sky and thus saved himself from destruction during the flood.”
“After he came down from the sky he wandered about the country…”
VULTURE — ESCAPE THROUGH THE SKY
Vulture survives the destruction by leaving the earth itself. Originally a man, he transforms into a bird and passes through “the openings in the sky.”
RUSSELL’S ACCOUNT — pp. 259–260
“The stranger never reaches him but will be seen to disappear; then if the Si’atcokam searches about the spot where the man was last seen, he will find a transparent crystal… which contains a spirit that will aid him in all his subsequent undertakings…”
THE DISAPPEARING STRANGER
The account describes an encounter that resists an ordinary explanation. A humanlike figure appears and approaches without ever arriving, then vanishes. A supernatural crystal is said to be left at the site.
