Chitimacha

(map)

Long ago, a great storm came. The people baked a great earthen pot, in which two people saved themselves. Since rattlesnakes were then the friends of man, two rattlesnakes were saved in the pot, too. The red-headed woodpecker clung to the sky, but the waters rose so high they wet and marked his tail. When the waters sank, the woodpecker was sent to find land, but he could find none. The dove was sent next and came back with a grain of sand. When this grain was placed on the water, it spread out and became dry land.

Judson, Katharine B. Myths and Legends of the Missippi Valley and the Great Lakes (Chicago: A.C. McClurg, 1914), 19.

When the earth was first made, all was under water. The Creator sent Crawfish to bring up a little earth. The mud he brought up spread out, and dry earth appeared.

Judson, Katharine B. Myths and Legends of the Missippi Valley and the Great Lakes (Chicago: A.C. McClurg, 1914), 5.