Witsduk by Jeremiah Curtin (1912)
"Witsduk," collected by Jeremiah Curtin, is a Modoc myth explaining the eternal presence of blizzard winds in the world. In a primordial time when natural forces existed as people, the Witsduk family embodied the dangerous, drifting snow driven by wind. Wherever they traveled, they blinded people, stole their breath, and caused them to shiver. The human community grew desperate to be rid of them. An old medicine woman named Tcutûk, who is Rock Squirrel, declared that she possessed the power to capture all the Witsduks and seal them away permanently beneath heavy rocks. Her only fear was Wus, Fox, a meddlesome and untrustworthy figure who delighted in teasing and interfering with others. She warned the people that if Wus encountered her while she carried the captured Witsduks in her bag, he would manipulate her into opening it, releasing the imprisoned spirits and dooming everyone. The people promised to stand guard and kill Wus should he appear. Tcutûk traveled to the mountain where the Witsduks lived, enduring near-freezing cold as she waited in hiding. Using magic words, she compelled the entire Witsduk family into her bag against their will, packed them tightly, tied the bag shut with a buckskin string, and set off swiftly toward the rocks where she planned to seal them forever. She urged the people to accompany her, repeating her fear of Wus, but despite their promises they grew afraid and turned back, leaving her to travel alone. Before she could reach her destination, Tcutûk encountered Wus at a fallen log, where he was hunting mice. The moment he saw her, he began pestering her relentlessly, demanding to know what was in the bag and insisting she open it. He boasted that he could eat anything in existence, including Wind, Air, Clouds, and Rain, and claimed there was nothing she could be carrying that he could not consume. When Tcutûk revealed she was transporting the Witsduks, Wus only pressed harder, insisting he would eat them immediately. She resisted as long as she could, but Wus seized her carrying strap and pulled on it so violently that it cut into her forehead. Unable to hold on any longer, she surrendered the bag on the condition that he not open it until she had crossed the flat ground ahead. Tcutûk ran as fast as she could, but Wus broke his promise almost immediately, loosening the string before she had crossed even half the distance. He began snatching the Witsduks as they emerged one by one, eating them at great speed. He loosened the string further, and they poured out faster. He ran in every direction, snapping them up ravenously, eating until he could eat no more. Then the bag came fully open, and the remaining Witsduks burst out in a furious mass. Enraged, they spread across the entire world. They overtook Wus and killed him, and every Witsduk he had managed to swallow came back out through his mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. Every person Tcutûk had tried to save perished. Tcutûk herself transformed into a squirrel and hid among the rocks. The Witsduks scattered to every corner of the world and, because they were never sealed away, they live there still. The myth closes with the observation that the place where Wus was killed remains uninhabitable to this day, gripped by cold and starvation, because old woman Witsduk has never left. The story thus accounts for the permanence of killing winter storms as the direct consequence of Fox's boastfulness and inability to keep his word.
By Jeremiah Curtin · First published 1912 · Genre: Folklore, Mythology, Native American Literature · 1,071 words
First lines
CHARACTERS / Tcutûk Rock Squirrel / Witsduk Snow that the Wind Blows and Drifts / Wus Fox
When Witsduk was a person, her home was in the Modoc country; she and her family were that snow which the wind carries in every direction. Wherever they went, they made people shiver, blinded them, and took their breath away. Everybody was tired of the Witsduks and wanted to get rid of them.
What this Textopian page supports
Witsduk is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jeremiah Curtin, dated 1912 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Fable
- Author: Jeremiah Curtin
- Date: 1912 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Folklore, Mythology, Native American Literature, Fantasy, Fable
- Length: 1,071 words
- Structure: 1 section, 17 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Witsduk by Jeremiah Curtin
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Folklore — The narrative is structured as a traditional origin myth explaining a natural phenomenon (snow and blizzards) through personified characters and magical elements, characteristic of indigenous storytelling traditions.
- Mythology — The story features supernatural beings with magical powers, transformation of humans into animals, and explains the eternal existence of natural forces through mythological narrative conventions.
- Native American Literature — Collected by Jeremiah Curtin, a noted ethnologist of Native American cultures, and featuring Modoc country setting, indigenous characters, and traditional narrative structures reflective of Modoc tribal storytelling.
- Fantasy — Contains magical transformations, supernatural creatures with extraordinary abilities, and a world where personified natural forces interact with humans and animals in fantastical ways.
Tags
Native American folklore · Indigenous mythology · Wintun traditions · California Indian stories · oral tradition · mythic narratives · traditional tales · ethnography · cultural anthropology · trickster figures · spiritual beliefs · creation myths