the Cherokee east and west is another of the animal myths of wide
distribution, being found with almost every tribe from Maine to the
Pacific. Beans and peas in several varieties were indigenous among
the agricultural tribes.
In the Creek version, in the Tuggle manuscript, "The Bear invited the
Rabbit to dinner. When he came the Bear called his wife and said,
'Have peas for dinner: the Rabbit loves peas.' 'But there is no
grease,' said the Bear's wife, 'to cook them with.' 'O,' said the Bear,
'that's no trouble, bring me a knife.' So she brought the knife and
the Bear took it and split between his toes, while the Rabbit looked
on in wonder. 'No grease between my toes! Well, I know where there
is some,' so he cut a gash in his side and out, ran the grease. His
wife took it and cooked the peas and they had a fine dinner and vowed
always to be good friends," etc. The wounded Rabbit is put under the
care of the Buzzard, who winds up by eating his patient.
In the Passamaquoddy version, "The Rabbit's Adventure with Mooin,
the Bear," the Bear cuts a slice from his foot and puts it into the
pot. The Rabbit invites the Bear to dinner and attempts to do the
same thing, but comes to grief. [542] In a Jicarilla myth a somewhat
similar incident is related of the Fox (Coyote?) and the Prairie-dog
(Russell, Myths of the Jicarilla, in Journal of American Folk-Lore,
October, 1898). In a British Columbian myth, nearly the same thing
happens when the Coyote undertakes to return the hospitality of the
Black Bear (Teit, Thompson River Indian Traditions, p. 40).