Yee-na-pah

A beautiful mountain devil girl who was chosen by In-nard-dooah, a young man of the porcupine tribe, to be his wife. After their marriage to traveled west, but along the way Yee-na-pah wanted to return to their own country. Her husband said he would look for a suitable place to make a home and told her to wait for him until he returned, which made her angry. The next morning she gave birth to five boys and five girls. She decided that the following day she would set out on a journey that would take her away from her husband.

When In-nard-dooah returned he found his wife gone. He followed her tracks until he came upon her camp. He hid in a porcupine bush and watched her. During that time he was so given over to evil thoughts that although the sharp points of the grass began to stick into his flesh and cling to his body, he would not leave his hiding place. He noticed that the sparks of his wife's fire were constantly settling on her body, but she was so engrossed in her own evil thoughts that she took no notice. Every spark that rested on her body left a mark that remained. He himself remained covered in pointy sticks.

Eventually he tried to plead with her to be his wife again but she refused. She told him that she wanted him to explore a cave in a nearby mountain. She had dreamed of the cave and thought a monster dwelt there. If she could entice her husband to enter she would get the monster kill him. When they arrived at the cave they entered. She traveled along until she came upon a place which, according to her dream, led upward through the mountain to the open air. Having not had the dream, In-nard-dooah groped about until he found a passage upward. He dug he way up until he made it outside. He had come upon right beneath an overhanging cliff. Since he could not get out he went back in the hole and started to dig another passage. But when he came out he was still saw the precipice. He rolled himself into a ball and started his way down to the valley below, where he made his home.

The high mountain with its steep, jagged sides, has from that day been the barrier between Yee-na-pah and In-nard-dooah. They have never tried to renew their association, and the disfigurement that arose from their evil thoughts are still plainly visible until today.

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