Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/52

obeyed. One of their arrows fell to the eastward in the Klickitat country, and the other to the westward in the Willamette Valley; and each son made his home where his arrow fell. But the descendants of these sons grew wicked, and the Good Spirit was sorely grieved. So to punish them he brought about a period of cold and hunger lasting many seasons, and among all the people only one woman had fire in her wigwam. No one could take it from her, for she alone had proved faithful. Then the people became frightened and repented of their wrong-doing and besought the Great Spirit to send them fire. He heard their cry and bade the old woman give them fire, promising as a reward any favor she might desire. Being a woman, she asked for youth and beauty, which were granted upon the condition that she would keep a fire forever burning upon the bridge which the Great Spirit had built across the river that flowed etween the two tribes. The people were so happy over the return of fire and warmth that they made all manner of promises to live better. Then the old woman gathered sticks and kindled a fire upon a flat stone on the bridge, and straightway she became a beautiful maiden. With the re turn of youth and beauty came suitors; and, like many another so gifted, she kept them in suspense-particularly two, one from the south and the other from the north. Growing jealous of each other these swains quarreled, and their respective tribes engaged in warfare. Then the Great Spirit became angry and broke down the bridge which had been a symbol of peace; and he changed the two warriors into Mount Hood and Mount Adams; and the enraged mountains shot fire and rocks at each other. The maid, Loo-wit, was also transformed into a mountain; but she retained her loveliness as Mt. St. Helens, which is regarded by many as the most beautiful among the snow-capped peaks of the Cascade Range.