Long ago, the earth was barren. The heavenly god stood alone in the sky, feeling terribly lonely. He bored a great hole through the heavens with his staff. Then he kept scattering snowflakes and blocks of ice into it until they piled into a mountain that reached all the way to the sky. Later, people called that mountain Mount Shasta.
The heavenly god descended from the sea of clouds to Mount Shasta's summit, then walked down its slopes. When he reached the mountainside, he thought, There should be some trees on this mountain.
Thus, wherever his fingers touched, trees, flowers, and grass grew. The snow beneath his feet melted into rushing rivers.
The heavenly god also broke apart the staff he carried, ground it into wood chips of every size, and scattered them through the forests and rivers. They became beavers, otters, fish, and the beasts of the mountain woods.
He gathered the fallen branches and leaves from the trees, blew upon them, and transformed them into birds and insects.
The largest of the beasts were the grizzly bears. Their bodies were covered in gray fur, and they had sharp claws and teeth. Not only did they walk on two legs, but they could also speak. The grizzly bears looked terrifying, so the heavenly god had them live in the forests at the foot of the mountain, far away from him.
At this time, the heavenly god decided to move down to earth with his family. He lit a huge bonfire inside the mountain and bored an opening at its peak, allowing smoke and sparks to fly out. Whenever he added wood to the fire, the earth would tremble, and sparks and thick smoke would burst from the opening.
One spring, the heavenly god and his family were chatting around