Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Unknown
page 122 of 123 (99%)
page 122 of 123 (99%)
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The Spirit Land
Gallinomero (Russian River, Cal.) When the flames burn low on the funeral pyres of the Gallinomero, Indian mourners gather up handfuls of ashes and scatter them high in air. Thus the good mount up into the air, or go to the Happy Western Land beyond the Big Water. But the bad Indians go to an island in the Bitter Waters, an island naked and barren and desolate, covered only with brine-spattered stone, swept with cold winds and the biting sea-spray. Here they live always, breaking stone upon one another, with no food but the broken stones and no drink but the salt sea water. Song of the Ghost Dance Pai Ute (Kern River, Cal.) The snow lies there - ro-rani! The snow lies there - ro-rani! The snow lies there - ro-rani! The snow lies there - ro-rani! The Milky Way lies there. The Milky Way lies there. "This is one of the favorite songs of the Paiute Ghost dance. . . . It must be remembered that the dance is held in the open air at night, with the stars shining down on the wide-extending plain walled in by the giant Sierras, fringed at the base with dark pines, and with their peaks white with eternal snows. Under such circumstances this song of the snow |
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