KUMUSH (Old Man) Modoc The CREATOR of the California tribes. According to the traditional account, Kumush and his daughter went to visit the UNDERWORLD home of the spirits, which was reached by descending a steep road. During the night, the spirits danced and sang on a great plain, but when morning came they returned to their underground home and became dry bones. After six days in the underworld, Kumush decided to return to the upper world and to take some of the spirits with him to create humans, because he was lonesome. He filled a basket with bones that he thought would be good for creating the various tribes of people. On the way up the steep road, Kumush slipped and stumbled twice, spilling the bones. When he refilled the basket for the third time, he told the spirits that they would be happier in his land, where the Sun shone. This time, he was able to reach the upper world. He threw out the bones, naming the different tribes as he did so. Last of all, he threw the bones that became the Modoc. Kumush told the Modoc that they were his chosen people and would be the bravest of all. Then he named all of the ANIMALS, PLANTS, and other foods that people could eat, and these appeared. When he had finished his work and instructed the people in the way to live, Kumush and his daughter traveled along the Sun’s road until they reached the middle of the SKY. There they made their home.