One hot summer day, Napi -the supernatural Trickster of
the Blackfoot - sat upon the Rock to rest. Because it was so hot,
Napi thre w his robe over the rock saying "here, I give you my robe,
because you are poor and have let me rest on you. Keep it
always." Napi walked on and it began to rain. Napi sent
to the rock and asked it to lend him the
robe. As he walked away, he heard a loud noise. The Rock was
chasing him!
Napi was scared and ran. His friends, the buffalo, the deer and
the antelope, tried to stop the Rock but were crushed. Nearly
exhausted, Napi called upon some bats for help. The bats dove at
the Rock and one hit it in the middle and split it in two.
The split Rock could not chase Napi and he was safe.
(This Blackfoot legend not only reveals how the Rock was split but
how bats got their flat faces.)
(From a plaque at Head Bashed In Buffalo
Jump,
Alberta)
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