--- title: How the Cave People Found Dry Land on the Earth — Wigwam stories told by North American Indians · full text with trees description: How the Cave People Found Dry Land on the Earth, «Wigwam stories told by North American Indians» by Mary Catherine Judd: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: (Zuñi Chant) --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/24/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Wigwam stories told by North American…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/) / How the Cave People Found Dry Land on… # How the Cave People Found Dry Land on the Earth How the Cave People Found Dry Land on the Earth of «Wigwam stories told by North American Indians» by Mary Catherine Judd: the whole text, 48 sentences and 590 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. (Zuñi Chant)[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") In the old days all men lived in caves in the center of the earth.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") There were four caves, one over the other.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") Men first lived in the lowest cave.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") It was dark.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") There was no light, and the cave was crowded.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") All men were full of sorrow.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") “The Holder of the Paths of Life, the Sun-father, heard the people cry.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") He created two children for himself, and they fell to the earth to help the cave people.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") “The Sun-father gave his two children eternal youth.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") He gave them power to do things as he would do them.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") He gave them gifts.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") One gift was a painted bow that reached from one end of the sky to the farther end.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") It was the rainbow.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") He gave them an arrow of fire.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") It was the lightning.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") He gave them a great shield like his own.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") The shield was a net of cotton cords on a hoop of wood, and the last gift, a great magic war knife of flint, was fastened to the center of the shield.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") “After the two children had cut the face of the earth with the stone war knife, they rode on the magic shield to the lowest cave where men lived.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") There they lived with mankind as leaders.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") “The priests prayed to the Sun-children for help in the darkness.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") The Sun-children led mankind into the second cave; it was still all darkness.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") Men asked the priests to pray for more help.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") They came to the Sun-children, and the people were led into the third world or cave.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") “This was a larger world than the other two.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") It was like twilight in this cave, but at first all thought that they had reached the blazing sun, it was so light.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") “After a thousand years this cave became crowded.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") Men sought the priests and prayed them to find some way to help them.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") “The two Sun-children cut their way through the cave above them, and led the people out upon the earth.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") It was only a small island, for all the rest was water.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") “Men covered their faces with their hands, for the light made them blind.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") They fell down and tried to hide in the sand, they were so hot.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") The people were taught to make clothing of yucca fiber.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") Their eyes were like owls’ eyes, and they covered them with their hands till they were strong.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") “The Sun-children led the people over the quaking earth to the east, where the Sun-father had his home.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") “The Sun-children were told to dry the earth.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") They put the magic shield upon the earth and laid the rainbow upon it.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") They put arrows of lightning to the north, south, east, and west, and the arrows crossed each other.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") The older brother shot with an arrow the lightning arrows where they crossed upon the rainbow.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") “Thlu-tchu! the lightning arrows shot toward every point.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") Fire rolled over the face of the earth.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") The earth was dried when the fire storm was over.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") “The earth was then full of great beasts that had lived in the water.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") The Sun-children shot the beasts with their arrows; then the beasts became stone.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") The people were free to go on the earth wherever they wanted to go.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") “Thus the people were led out of the deep caves; thus the land became dry, and men came to live on the earth.”[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") From report by F.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") H. Cushing, who was adopted by the Zuñis.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [A Navajo Medicine Chant](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/23/) - next →: [Introductory—indian Stories](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/25/) - ↑ back to [Wigwam stories told by North American Indians](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/)