II
The flood, and the origin of the mountains.—One year when the rainy season should have come it did not. Month after month passed by and no rain fell. The river grew smaller and smaller day by day until at last it disappeared entirely. The people began to die, and at last the old men said: “If we do not soon get water, we shall all die. Let us dig down into the grave of the river, for the river is dead and has sunk into his grave, and perhaps we may find the soul of the river and it will save us from dying.” So they began to dig, and they dug for three days. On the third day the hole was very large, and suddenly they struck a great spring and the water gushed forth. It came so fast that some of them were drowned before they could get out of the pit.
Then the people were happy, for there was plenty of water; and they brought much food and made a great feast. But while they were feasting it grew dark and began to rain. The river also kept rising until at last it overflowed its bank. Then the people became frightened and they tried to stop up the spring in the river, but they could not do so. Then the old men said: “We must flee to the mountains, for the river gods are angry and we shall all be drowned.” So the people fled toward the mountains and all but two of them were overtaken by the water and drowned. The two who escaped were a brother and sister named Wígan and Búgan—Wígan on Mt. Amúyao and Búgan on Kalauítan. And the water continued to rise until all the Earth World was covered excepting only the peaks of these two mountains.
The water remained on the earth for a whole season or from rice planting to rice harvest.[63] During that time Wígan and Búgan lived on fruits and nuts from the forests that covered the tops of the two mountains. Búgan had fire which at night lit up the peak of Kalauítan, and Wígan knew that there was someone else alive besides himself. He had no fire, and suffered much from the cold.
At last the waters receded from the earth and left it covered with the rugged mountains and deep valleys that exist to-day; and the solitary brother and sister, looking down from their respective peaks, were filled with wonder at the sight.