A long, long time ago there was no death. When people died, their relatives would haul the body up the mountain and throw it into a lake there. Next morning that person would come out young and whole again.

Coyote argued with the Worldmaker that this should not be! People should learn to weep and mourn, everyone should die forever - to make room for a new person.

Coyote argued and argued, but the Worldmaker never argued. He just got madder and madder the more Coyote argued. Finally they settled the issue. But trickster Coyote beat the Big Man that time.

The Big Man grew madder. He walked down toward a spring and pulled up a shoot of joint grass. He coiled it around into the shape of a rattlesnake and placed it down next to the water.

Old Man Coyote had a son who was a big Captain too. Young Coyote’s wife sent her husband down to that spring to get some water. When he knelt down to dip the water, Rattlesnake struck out and bit him.

Old Man Coyote found his son’s body at the spring, and dragged his boy up to that lake in the mountains. He threw him into the water. The body just floated on the surface. "I don’t want it this way. I would rather have it the other way," old Coyote cried. He got together a big buckskin bag full of all his beads, and gave it to Worldmaker. He begged the Big Man to bring his boy back. The Big Man said nothing. He turned his back on Coyote that time and walked away.

Young Coyote’s wife buried her husband on Pitch-off Mountain. She rubbed ashes on her face, and burned all his things there, all his clothes and baskets. She howled and mourned for her dead husband.

We all have to die, Coyote said. We have to make way for new people, or Earth will be too crowded
 
 
 
 
 
 

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