Coyote and the Money Tree

Chiricahua Apache

Coyote was walking [along] a road. He sat down under a tree that was standing by the road. There he sat for some time.

Then he put several [silver] dollars upon the tree that was standing there.

 
Then two white men came along the road driving a pack [train]. There, under a tree that was standing by the side of the road, he sat. They drove the pack [train] to him. The white men spoke thus to him: "Why are you sitting in this lonely place?" they said to him.

"Well," he said. "I sit guarding this tree that stands here." he said.  "Money grows on this tree. For that reason, it is valuable to me." he said.

The white men spoke thus to him: "We will buy it from you." they said to him.

Then he spoke thus: "No, it is worth a great deal." he said to them.

Then the white men spoke thus to him: "We will give you both these horses with their burdens and all of these pack [animals] that we are driving if you will give us that tree." they said to him. "But shake the tree; let's see if money will fall." they said to him.

Then Coyote spoke thus to them: "Yes, I'll shake the tree." And then he shook the tree. Some of the money he had put upon it fell down.

Then they gave him all of that with which they had been traveling.

Then Coyote spoke thus to them: "When I have driven [the pack train] across that big mountain that lies at that place yonder, then you shake the tree. Then pick up the money that has fallen off." he said to them.

And now he began to drive [the pack train] away from them. He drove it across [the mountain] as he had said.

Then the white men got up. They shook the tree for a long time. Nothing fell down. In a pitiable state, they stood about under the tree that was standing there. They became angry. They started to go after [Coyote].

But he had long ago driven [the pack train] far away. He had driven it to a camp of many Coyotes. He had distributed all of it among them.

Now those white men were coming to that place. That Coyote who had done so to them met them first. They asked him: "You haven't seen over here someone who was driving a pack [train]?" they said to him.

Coyote spoke thus to them: "I was walking over here a while ago but I saw no one. [I don't know] where they went." he said to them.

Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache Texts,1938, Harry Hoijer, principal author. Ethnological Notes by Morris Opler. Told by Sam Kenoi.

Submitted by Blue Panther Keeper of Stories

 

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Coyote and the Rock Rabbit

Chiricahua Apache

Coyote was walking [along] a road. He saw a Rabbit lying on the edge of the road. Rocks were lying inside that Rabbit.

[Coyote] jumped toward it. He bit at the center of it.

"Ow... ! I thought it was Rabbit!" he said.

Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache Texts,1938, Harry Hoijer, principal author. Ethnological Notes by Morris Opler.  Told by Sam Kenoi
Submitted by Blue Panther Keeper of Stories

 

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