There was an Indian village down near the place where the sun sets. The people there had the moon. Other Indians wanted to go and steal the moon and put it back up. They were going to hide and try to steal it. The Indians who had it knew the others were coming to get the moon. They were  going to run after them and kill them. Then two antelope came and decided they would steal the moon.  They knew they were so fast the people wouldn't be able to catch them. They stole the moon, and sure enough, the people couldn't keep up because the antelope ran so fast. When the antelope came to the other village they put the moon  outside a teepee and went in. Coyote heard about it and ran out and saw the moon outside by the teepee. He took the moon and ran away with it. The antelope heard him, and they ran after Coyote as he raced toward the river. They were going to catch Coyote, but he gave the moon a mighty heave and threw it in the pool below the falls  in the Spokane River. It is still there.  salmon goes to war In the days when the Inland Empire was peopled by animals, birds, reptiles and fish - before human beings had been thought of - the banks of the Spokane River were the scene of a battle between the denizens of the water and the land. Two beautiful maidens were the cause of the war. Both the land and the water people desired to have the maidens married into their respective ranks. Open hostilities were declared, and a short time later the maidens disappeared. At the same time Old Man Wolf and his family disappeared. Mud Turtle led the first charge of the water people. The land people grew tired of watching his slow progress, and soon he was among them destroying them right and left. Bald Eagle finally shot an arrow between his shells, killing him. Long Jump, the frog, struck down many of the animal people before being killed. Salmon was then chosen. His armor of scales deflected the arrows and he made long leaps, inflicting great damage with his wicked tail and strong jaws. Finally, a flight of arrows fired from behind found their way under his scales, and he was killed. Mrs. Mouse, the salmon's cousin, had a dam across the river. She and her children rescued the bodies from the war as they floated down the river. When Salmon's body drifted down, the mice dragged it carefully from the river. She bound his wounds and made a little sweat house. Mrs. Mouse's power was great, and Salmon lived again. Rattlesnake had betrayed Salmon and told how he could be killed. He was worried and went to the rocky country near Long Lake where he lives today. Salmon fought and defeated Rattlesnake and placed a curse on him and his family. This is why they always crawl in the dust and dirt and why they are hated and will be as long as the mountains stand and the rivers run. Salmon built a sweat house and danced and sang. Finally, he knew who had taken the girls - the Wolf! Salmon defeated the Wolf and sent the girls back to their families. And so ended the tragic war between the water people and the land people. It has never been resumed.  how Coyote started a ditch for the salmon around Spokane falls When I first saw where the falls in the Spokane River are, many years ago, there were some houses started in town. The Coyote dog caught a lot of salmon there at the falls because the salmon couldn't get over them. The Indians used to camp at Peaceful Valley and catch salmon at the falls, too. They would dry the fish after spearing or hooking them. Coyote went up to Coeur d'Alene, for the Spokane River runs from Coeur d' Alene Lake. He found a nice looking woman and said he wanted to marry her. She said, "I think I will marry you." Coyote said, "If you do, I will go and dig around the falls so the salmon can come up the river to Coeur d' Alene. Her folks were glad the salmon would be coming up the river. Coyote came back and dug and dug around the falls so the salmon could come up the river. (I saw where he dug around them.) Coyote decided to go back again and ask if the maiden would really marry him. So he went. She told him, "No, I don't want you. " So Coyote went back and he quit digging. And that's how he left it there. And no salmon can come up the river.  the historical legend of Spokane Many, many years ago the Spokane area was a large lake which took several days to cross. There were great villages around the lake and also on the various islands. The woods abounded in game and the water was full of fish. There was plenty for all. One bright morning tragedy struck. The earth started rumbling and shaking. The startled Indians fled before the waters as huge waves pitched into the air, overturning boats and engulfing villages. The game suffocated as they tried to escape to higher ground. Many died of starvation and thirst. Mount Spokane, the Little Mountain that grew big overnight, gathered some to her care. Then the earth sucked the whole lake into the "Below World." The lake was gone. When the sun shone again, the few people that remained alive came down from the "Little Sun Mountain," and followed a tiny trickle of water to what is now Spokane. The earth reeked with the smell of dead fish and game. Too weak to flee, and not knowing where to go, the Indians eked out a meager existence until spring. When spring came the mountains looked kindly upon the suffering people. The winter snows melted and soon a roaring river cut its way over the rocks, bringing new life to the country. The river made a falls and the spray of the waters held a rainbow. The people said, "This will be our home. " Ever since that time, there has been a rainbow in the spray of the rushing water. Some say, "It is a promise of blessing as long as we are a blessing to others ... in the Friendly City, Spokane.  how chipmunk got her stripes There was an old woman who had a granddaughter. Her name was Chipmunk. One day she told her grandma, "I'm hungry. Give me something to eat. " Her grandma gave her camas, but she didn't want that. She didn't want dried meat or roots. She saw a service berry bush, so she ran to that and climbed up. She had a little bag to put the berries in. The berries were really ripe, so she picked and ate and picked and ate. She put some in the bag. All of a sudden she heard someone down by the bush. It was Dirty Face, an animal. Dirty Face asked her if her family had prayed for the berries to be so ripe. Chipmunk said she didn't have any family. Dirty Face said, "Come here and I will be your family. " Chipmunk made Dirty Face close his eyes first and then she jumped down. Just as she was getting on the ground Dirty Face was going to catch her, but he just scratched her back. He ate her skin under his fingernails. It was so good he was going to kill her and eat her. Chipmunk ran to her grandma. "Hide me, hide me. Run run!" she cried. Grandma bid her in the back of the teepee where the people squat. Meadowlark told Dirty Face where Chipmunk was. He went in the teepee and killed her. He put Chipmunk on the fire and grandma started to cry. He let grandma have the hind legs, the forelegs, the backbone and the head. He put the heart in his mouth and ate it. Grandma put the backbone, the legs, and the head together, but there was no heart. She went out and she looked around and there she saw the kinni-ki-nic berry. She put it in for a heart. Chipmunk came alive. The stripes are where the monkey scratched her back, and her heart really is red and round like a kinni-ki-nic berry.  Coyote and the spring at Plante's Ferry There is a spring at Plante's Ferry on the other side of the Spokane river north of Millwood. The Indians have always feared that spring because of the evil that would befall them if they touched a certain plant that grows there. Anyone going there would have a terrible itching for many days and might even die. Many years ago there was a tent up on the hill above the spring. There lived an old woman who had a real pretty granddaughter. Everyone wanted to marry her, but the grandmother refused. Coyote heard about the beautiful girl, so he asked the grandma if he could marry her. Grandma told him, "No." Coyote asked twice more if he could marry the granddaughter, but Grandma again told him, "No." So Coyote went down to the spring and broke a branch off the itching bush. He went back up and went in and said he would marry the granddaughter. If not, he would touch her with the branch. "