>This actually causes more problems, I think. Such an event would lead to
>the depopulation of one city, or even a handful of cities, but it's
>difficult to see how that story could work itself into the myths of an
>entire region, and spread as far away as North America (if the Choctaw
>story is truly related.) The diaspora of our hypothetical city might
>retain the story, but why would their contemporaries adopt it if no such
>event ever occurred in their history?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Choctaw story developed after
English colonialism. Maybe it has older roots, but I think it was probably
influenced much by the Christian missionaries.