Mysteries of Mount Shasta (Electronic Book)

There are many sacred sites located throughout the world.

The Jews and Christians have their Jerusalem.
The Moslems have their Mecca.
New Agers flock to Sedona.
And everyone loves Mount Shasta.

For there is no place-certainly not in North America-that is more shrouded in mystery, so cloaked in enigma, to be found anywhere else in the world. With stories of the lost continent of Lemuria, to a landing base for UFOs, to the capital of the underworld known as Telos-this magical mountain attracts thousands each year. Some come just for the scenic beauty, others for a spiritual experience.

From the Preface

Excerpt:

To the Indian, a legend was simply an oral way in which to record their history. In olden days, they had no paper on which to record that which had taken place among them throughout their history, so instead, they told their tales orally, over the campfires, and each and every Indian was required to learn the tales in all their accuracy. The storyteller, or official historian of the tribe, was required to repeat these legends verbatim; to deviate in any form was forbidden. The legends had to be related word for word as learned from the elders, and their authenticity was never doubted.

The Indians have a term which they use in reference to the telling of their legends, "Yease Nicopesh." The interpretation means simply, "The truth and nothing but the truth."

Joaquin Miller, a noted writer of the late 1800s, lived for a period of time with the Indians of the Mt. Shasta region, and he recorded several of their legends. One particular legend was quite interesting in that it told how the mountain was created and of the creation of the Indian race. In Joaquin's own pen, the following tale was recorded:

"The Indians say the Great Spirit made this mountain first of all. He first pushed down snow and ice from the skies through a hole which he made in the blue heavens by turning a stone around and around till he made this great mountain, then he stepped down out of the clouds on to the mountaintop and descended and planted the trees all around by putting his finger on the ground. The sun melted the snow and the water ran down and nurtured the trees and made the rivers. After that he made the fish for the rivers out of the small end of his staff. He made the birds by blowing some leaves which he took from the ground among the trees. After he made the beasts out of the remainder of his stick, but made the grizzly bear out of the end, and made him master over all the others.

He made the grizzly so strong that he feared him himself and would have to go up on top of the mountain out of sight of the forest to sleep at night. Lest the grizzly, who was, as will be seen, much more strong and cunning than now, should assail him in his sleep. Afterwards, the Great Spirit, wishing to remain on earth, and make the sea and some more land, converted Mt. Shasta by a great deal of labor into a wigwam, and built a fire in the center of it and made it a pleasant home. After that, his family came down, and they all have lived in the mountain ever since. They say that before the white man came they could see the fire ascending from the mountain at night and the smoke by day, every time they chose to look in that direction.

"The old Indians tell us that a storyteller is held in great repute; but he is not permitted to lie or romance under any circumstances. All he says must bear the stamp of truth or he is disgraced forever. Telling stories, their history, traditions, travels and giving and receiving lessons in geography are their chief diversions around the their camp and wigwam fires; except the popular and never-exhausted subject of their wars with the white men.

"There is a story published that these Indians will not ascend Mt. Shasta for fear of the Great Spirit there. This is only partly true. They will not ascend the mountain above the timberline under any circumstances; but it is not fear of either good or evil that restrains them. It is their profound veneration of the Great Spirit, the Great Spirit who dwells in this mountain with his people as a tent.

"One late and severe springtime many thousand snows ago, there was a great storm about the summit of Shasta, and the Great Spirit sent his youngest and fairest daughter, of whom he was very fond, up to the hole in the top, bidding her speak to the storm that came up from the sea, and tell it to be more gentle or it would blow the mountain over. He bade her do this hastily, and not put her head out, lest the wind would catch her in the hair and blow her away. He told her she should only thrust out her long red arm and make a sign, and then speak to the storm without.

"The child hastened to the top, and did as she was bid, and was about to return, but having never yet seen the ocean, where the wind was born and made his home, when it was white with storm, she stopped, turned and put her head out to look that way, when lo, the storm caught in her long hair and blew her out and away down and down the mountainside. Here she could not fix her feet in the hard, smooth ice and snow, and so slid on and on down to the dark belt of firs below the snow rim.

"Now, the grizzly bears possessed all the wood and all the land, even the sea at that time, and were very numerous and very powerful. They were not exactly beasts then, although they were covered with hair and lived in caves, and had sharp claws; but walked on two legs, and talked and used clubs to fight with, instead of their teeth and claws as they do now.

"At the time, there was a family of grizzlies living close up to the snow. The mother had lately brought forth and the father was out in quest of food for the young, when as he returned with his club on his shoulder and a young elk in his left hand, he saw this little child, red like fire, hid under a fir-bush, with her long hair trailing in the snow, and shivering with fright and cold. Not knowing what to make of her, he took her to the old mother, who was very learned in all things, and asked her what this fair and frail thing was that he found shivering under a fir-bush in the snow. The old mother grizzly, who had things pretty much her own way, bade him leave the child with her, but never mentioned it to anyone, and she would share her breast with her and bring her up with the other children, and maybe some great good would come of it.

"The old mother reared her as she promised to do, and the old hairy father went out every day with his club on his shoulder to get food for his family till they were all grown and able to do for themselves.

"'Now,' said the old mother grizzly to the old father, as he stood his club by the door and sat down one day, 'our oldest son is quite grown up, and must have a wife. Now, who shall it be but the little red creature you found in the snow under the black fir-bush.' So the old grizzly father kissed her, said she was very wise, then took up his club on his shoulder and went out and killed some meat for the marriage feast. "They married and were very happy, and many children were born to them. But, being part of the Great Spirit and part grizzly bear, these children did not exactly resemble either of their parents, but partook somewhat of the likeness of both. Thus was the red man created; for these children were the first Indians.

"All the other grizzlies throughout the black forests, even down to the sea, were very proud and very kind, and met together, and with their united strength, built the lovely red princess a wigwam close to that of her father, the Great Spirit. This is now called 'Little Mount Shasta' (Black Butte).

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