THE FIVE BROTHERS OF LÁTKAKÁWAS
The five brothers marry and nothing more is known about them. Gáukos, the orphan boy, becomes the principal character.
At sunset Gáukos—the moon—is thrown out of his sister’s house. He is a little boy, but as soon as he is outside he increases in size. He enters a ravine, and when he comes out at the opposite end he is a full-grown man. Later every one sees him; his body is bright and beautiful. When pursued by his sister, he crosses a valley at a step, springs from one mountain to another, and early in the morning reaches the first house, the home of two women, who have the power of making themselves young.
The Modocs have lost the name of Gáukos’ elder sister, and they do not know the meaning of the name of the younger sister, Lĭsgaga. The elder sister is, probably, Daylight; she travels as Gáukos does, a valley at a step. In a Wintu creation myth, Sanihas (Daylight) is one of the principal characters. [[382]]In a Gaelic myth, the son of the King of Light is Day or Daylight, the Lady of Green Insh is Night, and her yellow-haired son is Dawn.
In this Modoc myth the power of the word was with Gäk. He said to Lóluk: “Hereafter, you will be kin to no man, you will burn all alike,” and as he spoke Lóluk became common fire.
ISIS AND YAULILIK’S DAUGHTERS
Isis, the son of Látkakáwas, is the son of Kumush because Kumush has the disk, and the disk is Isis’ father. The Indians do not know the meaning of the word Isis—or Áisis, as pronounced by some of the Modocs—or of Látkakáwas.—These names occur only in the myths connected with the disk.—Isis is the greatest hunter and the greatest runner in the world. He has long, bright red hair. When he builds a fire the smoke from it goes straight up; it does not scatter, or waver. Isis has some of the attributes of his father, the sun.
Kumush personates Isis and deceives Yaulilik’s elder daughter. In mythology one character frequently personates another.—There is an example of this in Wintu: Klakherrit (Lightning) personates Pitis (Quail), deceives Pitis’ family, and kills every member of it.