Children Of The Coyote
A History of the Fug-a-we
Introduction
Some one in our group of Buckskiner friends one day decide to
refer to us as a band of the lost Fug-a-we tribe, after the very old,
marginally humorous story. We all more or less accepted the name, and have had many a
chuckle because of it.
About two years ago I was officiating at the wedding of two of our
friends.
This was a Rendezvous wedding, with the participants and many of guests
dressed in full mountainman regalia, and a three cannon salute.
"Shinin Times."
Some time in the afternoon the bride came to me with a woman in toe who
she introduced as her aunt.
"My aunt wants to know the meaning of Fug-a-we." Little One
said, with a mischievous smile and a wink.
"Well okay" says I, rubbing my hands and dove right in to the story
you are about to read.
Some months later Little One approached me to write something for the
news letter she was putting together so I decided to commit the Fu-a-we creation story to
print.
Before I go any further I know what you are thinking.
"Creation story? What the hell does creation have to do with
Darwinism?"
The answer is simple, "nothing."
The following story is what I like to label a "Palio Fantasy
Adventure, with a sense of humor." The emphasis on Fantasy.
This is a work in progress and will be published here in serial form at
one chapter per month or so depending on how the work goes.
In writing this I have borrowed heavily from Native American legend
especially the character of The Great Coyote and other figures. If I offend any one it is
not intentional and I apologize.
T Foot
And so with out further adieu I present
Children of the Coyote
A History of the Fug-a-we
Chapter 1
Out of the Dark
Long ago when our Mother the
Earth was only populated by the four legged people.Coyote was hunting for prairie dogs for
his breakfast. He was thinking to himself, "how dull life is."
The other people of the world were all aware of
his tricks. When he would try some foolish prank they would simply shrug and sigh and say
"oh, it's only Little Yellow Wolf up to his tiresome tricks again," and go on
about their daily routine of munching grass or hunting grass eaters.
Oh yes, there were the close calls when Coyote would try to steal
something from Cougar or the buffalo shepherd, Gray Wolf, or run-ins with the Great Bear
but these people were easy enough to fool. There were also the times when he and Bobcat
would play 'tag or I hide from you, you hide from me.'
Then there were the pleasurable times when Mrs. coyote would come into
season. This was distracting enough for a time, but this kind of game only led to
squealing, nipping pups, and eventually his leaving the den for some peace and quiet. No!
He was bored and it appeared there was nothing he could do to liven up his life. He was
even tired of hunting prairie dogs.
As he sauntered along he saw that he was nearing a stream bordered by
some large cottonwood trees. He decided to rest a while in the shade and ponder his
dilemma. He moved to the creek, took a drink of the cool fresh water then looked for a
place in the shade to sit, and watch the prairie for signs of life.
He found a spot near the edge of the trees on a knoll where he could
view the land and think. After a short time he began to doze. Odd spirits swirled in his
head. He dreamed of foxes and porcupines mating and the shadows of absurd birds flying
through the night and other creatures too strange to comprehend. Then a noise brought him
out of his daydream.
At first he thought it might be the whoosh of the wings of the
featherless birds from his fantasies. As he looked around, he noticed the grass moving not
far away. Slowly he rose to his feet ear's forward nose testing the breeze he peered in
the direction of the movement. Then he saw the long ears. His stomach rumbled slightly as
he recognized his favorite prey (everyone's favorite prey) the long eared, long legged,
Jack Rabbit.
True, the Jack Rabbit was not as easy to catch as say, a field mouse,
or the stupid prairie hen But, the chase would be exhilarating and the prize would keep
him fed for the rest of the day. Ever so slowly Coyote crept forward.
Now mister hair is not very smart, but he has excellent hearing, and
fast reflexes. Coyote took but a few steps before the rabbit took flight. Down along the
edge of the cottonwoods he ran. Darting to the right Jack rabbit entered the woods.
If you have ever tried running through a cottonwood thicket, you know
that there are many dead falls and briers and such to trip you up. This is not a problem
for a rabbit and only slightly more so for Little Yellow Wolf.
After entering the thicket, Rabbit turned left, then right, then left
again, and left again, then spun around and streaked back the way it had come, right
between Coyotes legs. Trying to turn, Coyote tripped on a dead branch and rolled. Turning
in mid roll he was once more on Jack Rabbits trail all be it a little further behind. Jack
Rabbit made a leap to the left and disappeared into a hole in an old burned out cottonwood
stump.
Skidding to a stop Coyote stuck his nose into the opening and sniffed,
snorted, backed up a step, turned his head sideways and stared stupidly at the stump. He
stepped forward again, stuck his nose back in the hole, and sniffed again. Presently he
backed off a few steps and lay down with his muzzle on his forepaws, he watched, ears
erect listening.
Puzzled, he considered what had just happened. Rabbit had escaped
him. That was not such a novel occurrence. Jack Rabbit was fast and tricky and had often
eluded him before. No, what confused him was the odor from the hole. There was the scent
of rabbit of course. He could smell fear and exertion and rabbit.
There was another scent, like nothing he had ever smelled before.
Sweet, but at the same time sour, not the smell of carrion but not that of fresh meat
either.
"Puzzling" he thought. "Very puzzling." He
sat and listened and watched and waited to see what would emerge from that hole. Presently
he heard a sound, a very small sound, not the sound of a rabbit. More like the sound of a
brook, but coming from the hole.
Coyote stood ears forward he took a step toward the stump. Cocking his
head sideways, he listened. There was that noise again. This time he heard what might have
been words, but with a very strange accent. He took another step closer to hear better.
There it was again, and now he was sure he heard words.
"It is so dark, we can not see. It is so cold, we are freezing.
There is no food, we are starving. Someone please help us"
Backing up Coyote turned around twice and came back to sit on his
haunches before the hole with his head cocked to the side. He listened. Again the words
(for they were words he was sure) came to him.
"It's so dark, we cannot see. It's so cold, we are freezing. There
is no food, we are starving." "Some one pleas help us" the voice said.
Looking around, Coyote saw a stick on the ground. He picked up the stick and rapped on the
hollow stump with it.
"What was that sound ?" A voice said.
Again Coyote rapped on the stump.
"Over here, I see light." The voice cried.
Then came the sound of several voices murmuring.
"What shall we do?" asked one voice.
"We must climb up" said another
"What if there are monsters and we are eaten?" Moaned
another.
"Then our suffering will be at an end. Here we will starve or
freeze. Either way we will die.
I would rather die quickly in the light than to starve or freeze in darkness. I will climb
up. If I am eaten then you can stay here and freeze."
Presently there was a scratching, scrambling sound from the hole in the
stump. Coyote backed away a short distance and waited. Then, after much noise and shaking
the stump burst apart and there appeared the strangest creature Coyote had ever seen. It
was almost completely furless except for an unruly tangle on top of the head and a small
patch in the area of the genitals. The skin was sickly pale, the muzzle was short and the
teeth small and blunt. The creature had no fangs or claws but the strangest thing was that
it stood not on four legs like every other person Coyote had ever seen, but on only two.
"How could this be? What kept this thing from falling over?"
Coyote backed away, not sure whether to attack or flee. He bared his teeth to let the
creature know he was not helpless, and watched.
The being seemed to be dazzled by the light, for it rubbed its eyes and
blinked several times. Finally it began to look around. When it detected Coyote it stepped
back and stared. Then sensing that Coyote was not going to eat him, he relaxed. Then the
man (for that is what he was) uttered the first words spoken by his race in the light of
the world. In his strange accent he asked
"WHERE THE FUG-A-WE"?
Coyote said nothing. He simply sat with his head cocked sideways and
watched.
The man turned and called the others from inside the stump. The next
one to climb out was a female. She wiped at the soot on her knees, turned to the man, and
with hands on hips asked "where's the bathroom"?
And that, my children, is the story of how the true human beings, the
Fug-a-we, came to be in the world.
Coyote was very pleased for now, he had a whole new race to play his
tricks on. He would no longer be bored.
After writing chapter one I got to thinking about how these people from under the earth
might develop (EVOLVE ) so I decided to continue the story and investigate some
possibilities. I will add more as time goes on. If you wish to continue, follow the
links to the next chapters.
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
counter reset (09/20/98)