Sacred Texts Native American Southeast Index Previous Next
A man traveling along met a pygmy. An old man said, "Whoever first kills a very big bad elk which pursues people in order to kill them will be able to slay anything." The pygmy, the man, the Panther, and the Wildcat, all four, sat down and waited. For four days all stayed there looking for it. Then the elk made a noise. They heard something coming toward them. Then all stood up prepared to shoot. The human being stood in front, the pygmy next, the Panther
third, the Wildcat last. Then the big thing came on trumpeting. When they saw it the Wildcat was very much scared. When the big creature got very close the Wildcat was so scared that he said, "Oh, I want to defecate," and he ran off. But the man who stood in front aimed at it and the pygmy standing next aimed at it. Then the creature came out of the woods. When it got near, the man tried to shoot it but could not. Then the one who stood behind, the pygmy, shot. And when the elk began to fall over, the Panther who was behind jumped upon it and threw it down. Then the Wildcat came running, and when it died he jumped upon it and chewed its throat. And the Wildcat said, "I was not through defecating, but I stopped and ran back here." The pygmy got all kinds of game because he had beaten the others.