to the
bottom and came up with some soft mud. which began to grow and
spread on every side until it became the island which we call the
earth. It was afterward fastened to the sky with four cords, but no
one remembers who did this.
At first the earth was Hat and very soft and wet. The animals were
anxious to get down, and sent out different birds to see if it was yet
dry, but they found no place to alight and came back again to Galun'-
lati. At last it seemed to be time, and they sent out the Buzzard and
told him to go and make ready for them. This was the Great Buz-
zard, the father of all the buzzards we see now. He flew all over the
earth, low down near the ground,and it was still soft. When he
reached the Cherokee country, he was very tired, and his wings began
to flap and strike the ground, and wherever they struck the earth
there was a valley, and where they turned up again then' was a
mountain. When the animals above saw this, they were afraid that
the whole world would he mountains, so they called him back, bul I lie
Cherokee country remains full of mountains to this day.
When the earth was dry and the animals came down, it was still
dark, so they got the sun and set it in a track to go every day across
the island from east to west, just overhead. It was too hot this way,
and T.siska'gili'. the Red Crawfish, had his shell scorched a bright red,
so that his meat was