The Project Gutenberg eBook of Haida texts and myths
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: Haida texts and myths
Skidegate dialect
Compiler: John Reed Swanton
Release date: August 1, 2024 [eBook #74172]
Language: English
Original publication: Washington: Bureau of American Ethnology, 1905
Credits: Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg.
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAIDA TEXTS AND MYTHS ***
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY: W. H. HOLMES, CHIEF
BULLETIN 29
HAIDA TEXTS AND MYTHS
SKIDEGATE DIALECT
RECORDED BY
JOHN R. SWANTON
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1905
CONTENTS
Page.
Introduction 5
Texts with free and interlinear translations:
Moldy-forehead (Skidegate dialect) 7
Îłdī′nī (Masset dialect) 15
Stories accompanied by texts:
How Shining-heavens caused himself to be born 26
How Master-carpenter began making a canoe to war with
Southeast 32
Canoe people who wear headdresses 36
Tcꜝîñ qā′-idjît 44
The girl who fed a raven 48
Sounding-gambling-sticks 52
Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa 58
Story of the Food-giving-town people 70
Story of Those-born-at-Skedans 86
Story told to accompany bear songs 94
Fight at the town of Da′x̣ua 100
War between the West Coast Haida and the Tlingit 104
Myths in English:
Raven traveling 110
A-slender-one-who-was-given-away 151
The one abandoned for eating the flipper of a hair seal 173
Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and Upward 190
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked 210
He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side 227
He-who-travels-behind-us (or Qonā′ts) 235
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger 238
Łᴀguadjî′na, or Łg̣añā′ʻogaña 252
He who hunted birds in his father’s village 264
The story of him whose sister brought him food from the
land otters 269
How something pulled a row of eagles into the water 271
The story about him who destroyed his nine nephews 277
The story of one who saw an eagle town 281
The one they abandoned because he was the first to spear
sea lions 282
The man who married a killer-whale woman 286
He who was abandoned by his uncles 288
The story of those who were abandoned at Stasqa′os 290
He who married the daughter of the devilfish chief 292
Those who were fasting to become shamans 294
Big-tail 296
The story of him through whom Łᴀ′gua spoke 305
Cloud-watcher 308
Story of the shaman, G̣ᴀ′ndox’s-father 311
Djila′qons 316
Story of the House-point families 318
How the Seaward-sqoā′ładas obtained the names of their
gambling sticks 322
How one of the Stasa′os-lā′nas became wealthy 325
Stories of the Pitch people 327
How a red feather pulled up some people in the town of Gunwa 330
How one was helped by a little wolf 333
Gunanasî′mgît 336
Story of the two towns that stood on opposite sides of
Nass river 341
Slaughter-lover 348
The woman at Nass who fled from her husband 352
The rejected lover 354
He who gathered food for an eagle 356
Qō′łkꜝē 358
Two children’s stories 362
A raid on the Tlingit 364
War between the West Coast and Ninstints Haida and the
Gîtî′sda 371
Raid by the Ninstints Haida on those of the West Coast 373
Fight between the Kaigani and West Coast Haida 375
Wars between the Stikine and Sitka Tlingit 377
Fights between the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał-gîtî′ns and the
Middle-gîtî′ns 380
Fights between the Tsimshian and Haida and among the
northern Haida 384
War between the Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao and the Inlet-rear-town
people 391
Wars with the Niska and Tsimshian and conflicts between
Haida families 393
Fight between Those-born-at-Qā′gials and
Those-born-at-Skedans 401
War between the Pebble-town people and the Slaves 404
War between the people of Kloo and the people of Ninstints 408
A fight between the Xā′gi-town people and Sand-town people 413
Wars between the people of Ninstints and the people of
Skidegate 415
Wars between the peoples of Skidegate and Kloo 418
Wars between the towns of Kloo and Kitkatla and between
the Kloo families 425
War between the people of Kloo and the Tsimshian 429
War between the people of Kloo and the Bellabella 434
War between the people of Kloo and the Gîtî′sda 444
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page.
Fig. 1. Diagram of bear deadfall 69
2. Plan of large salmon trap 188
3. Drying frame for fish; horizontal and vertical plans 189
4. Traditional device used in the capture of the wā′sg̣o 207
5. Diagram of marten deadfall 262
HAIDA TEXTS AND MYTHS
Skidegate Dialect
Recorded by
John R. Swanton
INTRODUCTION
The following texts and myths were obtained on the Queen Charlotte
islands, British Columbia, during the winter of 1900–01. They comprise
all those procured at Skidegate, the more southern of the two towns on
these islands still regularly occupied, which is made up of people from
a number of towns that formerly existed along the eastern and western
coasts, whose speech differed in certain particulars from that of the
Haida on the northern coast. Since, however, all now live at Skidegate,
their language is conveniently called the Skidegate dialect. For a
similar reason the language of the northern Haida is called the Masset
dialect, although it is spoken also in three Alaskan towns—Howkan,
Klinkwan, and Kasaan. For study and comparison one text in each dialect
has been given with interlinear translation, and twelve others with
translations on the page opposite. Although the remaining stories were
also obtained in Haida, English versions only are given, but they are
kept as close to the original as possible.
I have tried to handle the translations in such a way as to assist the
philologist without too far obscuring the meaning. Where obscure
passages occur the notes will usually clear them up.
My interpreter was Henry Moody, who belongs to the principal family of
Skedans, Those-born-at-Qā′gials, and has since become its chief.
For identifications of many of the plants and animals named in these
stories I am indebted to Dr. C. F. Newcombe, of Victoria, British
Columbia.
ALPHABET
For convenience in study phonetic signs have been adopted similar to
those employed in the publications of the Jesup North Pacific
Expedition on the tribes of the northwest coast of America, and for a
more particular explanation of them the reader is referred to those
publications. The vowels are ā, a, ä, ᴀ, ē, e, ê, ī, i, î, ō, o, ū, u,
pronounced in the continental manner. There is, however, no real
distinction between corresponding e and i vowels on the one hand and o
and u vowels on the other. Apparently, two continental sounds answer to
one Haida sound that lies midway between them. Very slight u- or a-
sounds accompanying consonants occur in the Masset dialect and in
Tlingit words, and are indicated by u and a. Â (English aw) and ô (like
o in stop) sometimes occur in songs. The consonants are the following:
-------------------+--------+------+--------+---------+-------
| Sonans | Surd | Fortis | Spirans | Nasal
-------------------+--------+------+--------+---------+-------
Velar | g̣ (ʻ) | q | qꜝ | x | ...
Palatal | g | k | kꜝ | x̣ | ñ
Alveolar | d | t | tꜝ | s | n
Dental | dj | tc | tcꜝ | ... | ...
Labial | b | p | ... | ... | m
Lateral | ʟ̣ | ʟ | ʟꜝ | ł | ...
-------------------+--------+------+--------+---------+-------
and l, h, y, w.
--------------------------------------------------------------
A laryngeal catch (ʻ) takes the place of g̣ in the Masset dialect: x is
also pronounced softer, more like h. The fortes are accompanied by a
slight pause or explosion in utterance, and the laterals are related to
l’s, coming nearest in intonation, however, to the combinations dl and
tl or kl; x is like German ch in ach; x̣ is formed farther forward; ñ is
identical with ng in thing. The remaining sounds are similar to the
English sounds which their signs represent. Prolongation of a sound is
indicated by ⁺. Hyphens are used to separate some compound words, but
more often to mark that two successive vowel sounds do not form a
diphthong. A pause or the omission of a vowel is indicated by an
apostrophe.
TEXTS WITH FREE AND INTERLINEAR TRANSLATION
MOLDY-FOREHEAD
[Told by Tom Stevens, chief of Those-born-at-House-point]
During a famine a child asked his mother for something to eat. Then his
mother cut off the upper part of a dog salmon for him, and he thought
it was not enough. He said it was too small and began to cry.
After he had cried for a while he went out with it. He chewed it up and
put it into a swampy place by the beach. Then the dog salmon swelled up
there, and there was a great quantity of it. He was sorry at having
lost it. Then he began to cry.
After he had cried for a while two persons came and stopped there in a
narrow canoe and invited him to get in. Then he got into it. After he
had gone along with them for a while the town came in sight, and they
landed in its very middle, before the chief’s house, and he went up
with them. Then they had him sit in the rear of the house and gave him
some food. A person sitting in the corner of the house, who was half
rock, [1] said to him: “Do not eat that. I am half rock because I ate
it.” So he did not eat.
He went out to play with the children. One day there was such a great
quantity of salmon eggs about that he sat down and, inside of his
blanket, put them into his mouth. Then a child looked at him and
shouted, “Moldy-forehead is eating our excrement.”
Then the one who was half rock said to him: “When you are hungry go
over to the stream that flows by one end of the town. Then take out one
of the salmon that come up into it. Cut it open, and, when you have
made a stick for it, roast it and eat up all the parts. Put its bones
into the fire. [2] Look about the place carefully [to see that none are
left out].”
Then he went thither and did as he was directed; and, after he came
away, the eye of the chief’s son became diseased. Then the one who was
part rock told him to look around in the place where he had eaten
salmon, and when he did so he found the hard part surrounding the
salmon’s eye with the stick stuck through it. He put it into the fire;
and when he came back not the least thing was ailing the one whose eye
had been diseased. It had become well. The souls of the Salmon people
were what came into the creeks there.
Then the person who was half rock said to him: “When you become hungry,
go thither. Take care of the bones. Put all into the fire.” And, when
he became weak from hunger, he went to it as directed, took salmon,
made a fire for them, and ate them there. One day the rib of some one
became diseased. Then he again searched there. He found a rib. That he
also burned. When he returned the sick person had become well.
One day, after he had been there for some time, people came dancing on
their canoes. [3] Then they landed and began to dance in a house, and
the one who was half rock said to him: “Now go behind the town. Then
break off a young hemlock bough. [4] Shove it into the corner of the
house over there where they are dancing. Do not look in after it.”
Then he did so, and when he felt strange (curious) about it, he looked
in. His head got stuck there. He barely could pull it away. His face
was half covered with eggs. He scraped them off with his fingers. And
he pulled out the hemlock bough. The eggs were thick on it. Then he
went to the end of the town and ate them at the creek.
Then the Herring people started off. Some time after that the Salmon
people also began to move. They started off in one canoe toward the
surface of the earth. [5] They loaded the canoe. Some stood about with
injured feet and eyes bound up, wanting to go. The people refused to
let them. After the provisions had been put on board they hunted about
among these, found some one, pulled him up, and threw him ashore. They
did not handle such carefully. One of these had hidden himself. In the
fall many of them have sore feet and their eyes are sore. [6]
Then Moldy-forehead also got in with them. After they had gone along
for a while they saw floating charcoal. [7] Part of them were lost
there. After that they also came to where foam was floating. There some
of them were also lost.
After they had gone along for a while from that place they came to the
edge of the sky and, standing near it, they counted the number of times
it descended. After it had closed five times they passed under it, and
the canoe was broken in halves. It was split in two. [8] Then few were
left, they say.
After they had gone on for a while longer they saw what looked like
many stars. Those were the salmon inlets, they say. Then three, four,
or five got off the canoe. Where the inlets were large ten got off.
Then they came to where people stood at the mouth of the creek. After
they had been there for a while they stood up and the people said
“Ē′yo.” [9] Then they made them ashamed, and they sat down. People kept
saying “Ē′yo” to them.
When it was evening he saw his mother with pitch on her face [10]
weeping. He also saw his father walking about. After they had gone
along for a while they said they had built a fort for them. Two went up
to see it and said it was not quite finished. After that they went up
again to see it. They said it was not quite finished; but the next time
they went up to see it they said it was finished.
Then it was fine weather, and they pulled off a pole from inside the
edges of the canoe and shook the sky with it. At once rain began to
fall. Those in the canoe were happy. They prepared themselves. They
shook their insides with anger, because they were going to fight the
fort. That [the fort] was a fish trap, they say. At once they started
up in a crowd.
He recognized his mother and swam ashore in front of her. Then his
mother tried to club him, and he escaped into the creek. And when he
did the same thing again he let his mother club him to death.
And when his mother started to cut off his head for immediate cooking
the knife clicked upon something on his neck, and she looked. She
recognized the copper necklace her son used to have around his neck.
[11] Then she put him upon a clean board. And his father stayed in the
house [instead of going fishing]. She put him on the top of the house.
After four nights had passed over him a slight noise began in his
throat. The top of his head came out. As the nights passed, he
continued to come out. By and by the salmon skin was washed off him by
the rain, [12] and he entered the house. Then he became a shaman. They
sang for him.
They moved away, and the next year they came to the same place to get
salmon. When the salmon came again and ran up a shining one was on top.
Then he told them not to spear it, but it was the very one they tried
to spear. By and by he made a spear for himself and speared it. When he
had pulled it ashore, and the salmon died, he, too, died. He did not
know that it was his own soul.
Then they made him sit up and sat above his head. They dressed some one
to look like him, who went round the fire while they sang. [13] They
also beat his drum. At the same time they sang for him. After four
nights were passed they put him into a pool where salt and fresh water
mingled, where he had directed that he should be placed. They laid him
upon the plank on which he used to lie. Then they put him there (in the
pool). They also put his drum there. After this had turned around to
the right for a while it vanished into a deep hole in the bottom. And
now, when there is going to be plenty of salmon, they hear his drum
sound in the deep place.
Here the story ends.
As might have been expected, this story was a very popular one along
the salmon-frequented North Pacific coast, and several different
versions of it have been already recorded. An excellent one was
obtained by myself in English from an old Kaigani, derived from the
Tlingit, among whom it appears to have originated. This will be found
in volume V of the Memoirs of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, part
I, pages 243 to 245. Apart from linguistics, the story is interesting
from the point of view of Indian psychology. It was related by the
present chief of Those-born-at-House-point (Na-iku′n qe′ig̣awa-i), once
the leading family of Rose Spit and Cape Ball, on the eastern coast of
Graham island.
QOL-Qꜝᴀ′LG̣ODA-I
Moldy-forehead
[Skidegate dialect]
Nañ g̣axā′hao qꜝodᴀ′s giên awu′ñ at
A certain child this [there] was a famine when his mother of
qꜝosigwā′ñag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao 1 sqā′gi qul l’
asked for something to eat And then dog salmon upper part of his
a′og̣a lᴀ gi qꜝeitʟai′yag̣ᴀn giên g̣a lᴀ łtꜝē′gᴀñᴀsi. 2
mother him for had cut off and in he thought it was not enough.
Kꜝaᴀ′ng̣adᴀñ lᴀ sī′usi giên l’ sg̣ā′-iłx̣idᴀs. 3
It was too small he said and he began to cry.
Lʼ sg̣ā′-ił qa′odihao lᴀ dᴀ′ñat lᴀ qā′x̣ułs. Giên
He wept after it with he went out. And
sug̣ā′g̣odia g̣ei lᴀ 4 la abā′gies. Giên wa
swampy place on beach lay into it he put the chewed [salmon]. And it
g̣a sqagia′-i g̣a tcᴀ′tsg̣asʟasi giên qoā′nasi. 5 Si′łg̣a lʼ
in the dog salmon in swelled up and there was much. Afterward he
gū′łsi. Giê′nhao lᴀ sg̣ā′-iłx̣idañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. 6
was sorry on account of it. And then he began to cry they say.
Lʼ sū′di qa′odi lʼ xē′tgu ga tcꜝaastiā′ñga ʟū tᴀ′mdju gug̣a′ 7
He cried after him before some two companions canoe narrow in
ga-isʟʟꜝxa′s giên la g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ g̣agoyî′nʟ̣g̣as. Wai′giên gū′g̣ei lᴀ
came and floated and him for they invited in. And into there he
8 qaʟ̣′g̣asi. Giên lᴀ dᴀ′ñat ʟꜝ ʟuqā′ qa′odi lnagā′-i
went. And him with they went by canoe after the town
qea′ñgag̣eiłsi 9 giên ya′ku tā′djîg̣a ʟꜝ î′sg̣oas nᴀñ qꜝō′las
came in sight and middle very they landed the chief
xē′tgu ᴀ giên ʟꜝa at 10 lᴀ qa′îłs. Giên tadjx̣uā′
in front of landed and them with he went up. And rear part of
house
lᴀ ʟꜝ qꜝā′otcꜝidas giên lᴀ ʟꜝa ga 1
him they had sit and him they something
tā′dax̣idaiyas. Na-i ku′ngida′-i g̣a nᴀñ tꜝē′djî
had begun to give to eat. The house the corner in a certain one half
łg̣ā′ga qꜝaoa′wasi 2 hᴀn lʼ sū′udas: “Gᴀm ha′osi tā′g̣ᴀñ. Łᴀ
rock sat as follows him said to: “Not those eat. I
ga tā′gᴀn hao dī 3 tꜝē′djî gîñłg̣ā′gaga.” Gañā′xᴀn gᴀm lᴀ
things ate for this me half am rock.” So not he
tā′g̣ᴀñᴀsi. 4
was eating.
Ḷꜝa ał lᴀ nā′ñgasg̣agᴀñᴀs. Gaatxᴀ′nhao
Them (the children) with he was going down to play. One time
kꜝā′wa-i qꜝoldjū′g̣adasi 5 giên lʼ qꜝā′was giên g̣olᴀ′ñałañ
salmon eggs was a great heap and he sat and inside his blanket
lā′g̣a xag̣ā′tcꜝas. Giên 6 nᴀñ g̣ā′xa lʼ qêns giên la g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ
his put into his mouth. And a child him saw and him at
kia′gañas: “A Qolqꜝᴀ′lg̣oda-i īʟꜝ 7 nā′g̣ē tagā′⁺.” 8
shouted: “This Moldy-forehead our dung eats.”
Giên nᴀñ tꜝē′djî łg̣ā′gas hᴀn lʼ sū′udas: “Dᴀñ qꜝō′da
And the one part was rock as follows him said to: “You are hungry
giê′nᴀ 9 lnagā′-i gia′ogi g̣ᴀnʟ̣ koaʼtꜝᴀ′mdᴀgasi g̣a qā′-idᴀn. Ḷū
when the town at end of stream flows narrow to start over. When
g̣ei tcī′na 10 skug̣a′si sg̣oā′na ʟ̣′stagiłîn ʟ̣ū lʼ qꜝā′dañ giên la
into salmon come up one of bring ashore when it cut open and him
g̣ᴀn ʟ̣gwa-i 11 ʟ′g̣ołg̣añ giê′nᴀ lʼ kî′tsgîłîn giên lʼ ʟ′gusi
for stick make when it roast at the fire and its parts
wa′ʟ̣uxᴀn ᴀ tā′gᴀñ. 12 Tcꜝā′nuwa-i g̣ei łᴀ lʼ skū′djî
all of them eat. The fire into you (imp.) its bones
sī′sgañ. Qo′nxᴀnᴀ sila′-i g̣ei dā′yiñᴀñ.” 13
put on fire. More than do it (carefully) the place into search around.”
Giê′nhao g̣a lᴀ qa′-idesi giên gañā′xᴀn lᴀ wa′gañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. 14 Giên
And then to he started and as directed he did they say. And
stᴀ lᴀ qā′ʟꜝxaga-i ʟ̣ū giên nᴀñ ē′ʟꜝxagidas gi′tg̣a xᴀ′ñē stꜝē′g̣ias.
from he came when and the chief(’s) son’s eye became sick.
15 Giên nᴀñ tꜝē′djî łg̣ā′gas tcī′na lᴀ tā′gᴀs sila′-i g̣ei lᴀ la
And the one part was rock salmon he ate the place into it him
daiyā′ñg̣axałs 16 giên gañā′xᴀn lᴀ îsî′si giên tcī′na xᴀ′ñē
told to hunt around and so he did and salmon eye
g̣ada′oxa ga stagī′dᴀñᴀs 1 ʟ̣gwa-i gīdjiga′-i sila′-i g̣a la
around something is ring-shaped the stick shoved in the place in he
qē′xas. Giên lᴀ la îsg̣ā′sg̣as. Giên 2 siłgiā′ñ lʼ qā′ʟꜝxaga′-i
found. And it he put into the fire. And back he came
ʟ̣ū nᴀñ xᴀ′ñē stꜝīʟdjā′was gᴀm gī gī′nᴀ 3 x̣ᴀ′tᴀsg̣ᴀñᴀs.
when an eye was very sick not to thing smallest was [matter with].
Lā′g̣a lʼg̣ea′lasi. Tcī′nᴀs xā′-idᴀg̣a-i g̣ā′łᴀnda-i hao 4 ʟꜝdᴀg̣ᴀn
His became well. Salmon people the souls these there
skū′g̣adaiyañ wᴀnsū′ga. 5
came into the creeks they say.
Giên nᴀñ tꜝē′djî łg̣ā′gas hᴀn î′sîñ lʼ sū′udas: “Dᴀñ
And one part was rock as follows also him addressed: “You
qꜝō′dᴀłs 6 kꜝiäł łᴀ g̣a qā′-idᴀñᴀñ. Skū′dji łᴀ da′-ixᴀn
become hungry every time you to set out. Bones you carefully
qē′iñᴀñ. Tcꜝā′nuwa-i 7 g̣ei łᴀ sî′sg̣aʟ̣g̣ā′gᴀñᴀñ.” Giên gañā′xᴀn lʼ
look after. The fire into you put into the fire.” And so he
qꜝotg̣ā′xag̣îłs giên g̣a 8 lᴀ qā′-idesi giên tcī′na-i lᴀ
was made weak by hunger when to he started and the salmon he
ʟ̣′sʟgîłsi giên g̣ᴀn lᴀ tcꜝā′naoda′si giên 9 wᴀ gu lᴀ tā′gᴀñᴀsi.
took and for he made a fire and it at he was eating.
Gaatxᴀ′nhao nᴀñ xē′wē stꜝēg̣ia′lañ wᴀnsū′ga. 10 Ḷū ê′sîñ g̣a
One time one’s rib became sick they say. At that time too to
lᴀ la dayā′ñg̣axałsi. Nᴀñ xē′wē gu lᴀ qē′xas. 11 La ê′sîñ lᴀ
it he told to seek. A rib at he found. It too he
sqꜝag̣ā′sg̣as. Siłgiā′ñ lʼ qā′ʟꜝxaga-i ʟ̣ū la ê′sîñ lʼgīłs. 12
put into the fire. Back he came when he too became well.
Gu lᴀ î′sdi qa′⁺odi gaatxᴀ′n gū g̣a x̣iä′łʟꜝdālʟꜝxas.
There he was after one time there to [some] came dancing.
Ḷū wᴀ gu 13 ʟꜝ′skîtsi giên na êsî′ñ
At that time it at landed and [in the] house too
x̣iä′łx̣idie′s. Giên nᴀñ tꜝē′dji łg̣ā′gas lʼ sū′udas: 14 “Djā dī′tgi
began to dance. And one part was rock him addressed “Say behind
łᴀ qa-îłî′n ʟ̣ū łgᴀ′ñwal ʟā′dji gī xā′ʟ̣añ. Wa′djx̣ua 15 na
you go when young hemlock branch to break off. Over there
house
g̣a ʟꜝ x̣iä′łdies ku′ngida-i g̣ei łᴀ daxā′djîłtcꜝañ. Gᴀm ʟ̣g̣a
in they dance the corner into you (imp.) shove [it] in. Not after
1 qē′xatcꜝig̣ᴀñᴀñ.” 2
look in.”
Giên gañā′xᴀn lᴀ wā′gasi. Giên lᴀ qꜝala′si giên g̣ei lᴀ
And like it he did. And he felt strange about it and into he
qē′xatcꜝas. 3 Gī lʼ tcꜝałᴀ′nskidᴀsi. Xa-inā′ñxan ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ
looked in. To he had his head stick. Barely his he
dᴀñqꜝā′-iʟas. Lʼ xᴀñ 4 inag̣wa′-i lag̣a kꜝawagux̣iā′ñas. Lᴀ stᴀ
pulled off. His face half it to was covered with eggs. It from
ᴀ′ñg̣a la xā′x̣unᴀñᴀs. 5 Giên łgᴀ′ñula-i ê′sîñ lᴀ
his own he scraped off with fingers. And the hemlock limb too he
dᴀñłg̣ā′-stagwa′gasi. Kꜝā′wa-i gañā′gasi. 6 Giên lnagā′-i
pulled out. The eggs were thick on it. And the town
gia′og̣a la qa′-idesi giên g̣ᴀnʟ̣a′-i g̣a lᴀ tā′gᴀsi. 7
at the end of he started and the creek to (at) he ate.
Giê′nhao ī′nans xā′-idᴀg̣a-i ʟꜝdax̣idā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. Ga′-istᴀ
And then herring people came they say. After that
ga′g̣et 8 qa′⁺odi tcī′nᴀs xa-idᴀg̣a′-i î′sîñ qasā′gix̣idies. ʟū
time passed after salmon people too started to move. Canoe
g̣asg̣oā′nsîñ 9 gū′g̣ahao ʟꜝ qasā′g̣ax̣idaiyañ wᴀnsū′ga
one in there they started to go they say
xa-iʟ̣ᴀ′gui ᴀ. ʟꜝ ʟ′g̣aʟ̣. 10 ʟꜝa g̣a ga
earth’s surface toward started. They loaded [the canoe]. Them to some
stꜝa-iku′ndjidag̣a xᴀ′ñē stꜝē′gᴀsi wa′g̣a ʟꜝ′djida at stꜝē′gᴀsi
had their feet tied up eyes were sick theirs bound up with were sick
11 agᴀ′ñ qî′ñg̣ogīxañasi. Gī ʟꜝ gwa′was. ʟg̣awa′-i
themselves stood around to go. For they refused. The provisions
g̣e′iłgīʟ̣ qa′odi 12 sū′g̣ei ʟꜝ dā′yiñasī′ giên sg̣oā′na ʟꜝ
were finished after among they hunted around and one they
qē′xasi giên ʟꜝ dᴀñgia′xasi 13 giên ʟꜝ qꜝatatꜝᴀ′lgᴀñasi. Gᴀm ga
found and they pulled him up and they threw him ashore. Not those
ʟꜝ ʟgudā′g̣ᴀñasi. A′sʟda sg̣oā′na 14 agᴀ′ñ sg̣ᴀ′lgaʟ̣s.
they handled carefully. These one [thereof] himself hid.
Giê′nhao tanū′tga′s giên ʟꜝ stꜝa-i stꜝeqoā′ngᴀñᴀñ 15
And then it was fall and they the feet are sore to many of them
wᴀnsū′ga at xᴀ′ñē stꜝē′gᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga. 16
they say with eyes are sore they say.
Giên Qolqꜝᴀ′lg̣oda-i î′sîñ ʟꜝa at qaʟ̣′gas. Wᴀ stᴀ qā′gîñ qa′⁺odi 1
And Moldy-forehead too them with got in. It from went after
stᴀn ga′-igîñ ga-i ʟꜝ qēxai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. ʟꜝ tꜝē′dji gu
charcoal floating that they saw they say. Them part of there
hā′-iluasi. 2 Ga′-istᴀ sg̣ol ga′-igîñ g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ î′sîñ qā′ʟꜝxasi.
were destroyed. From that foam floating to also came.
Ga′-igu î′sîñ ʟꜝ tꜝē′dji 3 ha′-iluᴀs. 4
There too them part of were destroyed.
Ga′-istᴀ qā qa′⁺odi qwēsdjî′ngoas g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ qā′ʟꜝxas giên lʼ łgî′tg̣a 5
From that went after edges of sky to came and it near
ga′-isʟ lʼ qꜝō′g̣ołdaga-i ʟꜝ kꜝwa-i-î′ndas. Lʼ qꜝō′ułdaʟe′iłiya′-i ʟ̣ū
floated it came together they counted. It shut when
6 lʼ xē′txa ʟꜝ ʟuqaga′-i ʟ̣ū ʟuwa′-i taʟ̣djū′ g̣a qꜝoa′dᴀsi. Lᴀ
it under they passed when the canoe half in was broken. It
ga 7 qꜝō′gadᴀs. Giê′nhao taga′ogᴀñᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga. 8
something crushed. And then few were left they say.
G̣e′istᴀ qā′gîñ qa′⁺odi qꜝa′-idjig̣aos qꜝaogᴀ′ns gañā′ñ
Into from (out of) went after many stars sit like
gī′nᴀ g̣e′ida 9 g̣ei ʟꜝ qē′xas. G̣a′og̣ax̣ig̣atx̣iā′ hao īdja′ñ
something was like into they saw. Inlet mouths those were
wᴀnsū′ga. Giên ʟꜝ 10 łg̣u′nułxa at ʟꜝ stᴀnsî′ñxa at ʟꜝ ʟe′iłxa
they say. And three persons with four persons with five persons
g̣ei qꜝaoxā′ñasi. G̣a′og̣aga-i 11 yū′ᴀnsi′ giên ʟꜝ ʟaa′łxa g̣ei
into got off. The inlets were large and (when) them ten of into
qꜝa′oxañasi. Giên Qꜝā′da-g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i 12 tꜝa′gi ʟꜝ ga′-isʟas
got off. And Seaward creek mouth of they (people) floated
la g̣a hao ʟꜝ idja′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. ʟꜝ ga′-iyiñgîñ 13 qa′odi
it to they came they say. They floated there after [a while]
ʟꜝ gia′xas giên ʟꜝᴀ ʟꜝ ē′⁺yo-dā′gᴀñ. Giên ʟꜝᴀ ʟꜝ 14
they stood up and them they said “ē′yō” to. And them they
kîlg̣e′idaxā′s giên ʟꜝ qꜝa′otꜝᴀ′lgᴀñᴀs. Xā′-idᴀs hao ʟꜝ
made ashamed by saying and they sat down. People these then
ē′⁺yodaga′ñañ 15 wᴀnsū′ga. 16
kept saying ē′yō too often they say.
Sîñx̣ia′s giên lʼ a′og̣a xᴀndᴀwā′gas sg̣ā′-iłgᴀñᴀs lᴀ qe′iñᴀs. 1
It was evening and his mother in mourning was weeping he saw.
G̣ō′ñg̣añ î′sîñ la qîñqā′g̣oñᴀs. ʟꜝ qā′yîñ qa′odi ʟꜝ
His father too he saw walking about. They went after [a while] them
kꜝia′og̣a 2 tꜝa′odji ʟꜝ ʟ′g̣ołg̣añ ʟꜝ sī′wus. G̣astî′ñ
on account of fort they built they said. Two
qê′ñgałas giên ha′oxᴀn 3 tꜝē′wan ʟꜝ sī′wus. Ga′istᴀ
went up to look at and not quite finished they said. After that
î′sîñ ʟꜝ qî′ñgałasi. Ha′oxᴀn tꜝē′wan ʟꜝ 4 sū′usi.
again they went up to look. It was not quite finished they said.
Wai′giên î′sîñ ʟꜝ qê′ñgałasi giên g̣eiłgī′gᴀñ ʟꜝ
And again they went up to look at it and it was finished they
sī′wusi. 5
said.
Giên x̣îlga′owas giên ʟuwa′-i djîn qā′łi g̣e′istᴀ tꜝā′skꜝi
And it was fine weather and the canoe edges inside out of pole
djiñ ʟꜝ 6 dᴀñsqꜝā′sdᴀsi giên qō′yaqā′g̣ᴀn la at ʟꜝ kîtx̣idᴀsʟa′si.
long they pulled off and sky it with they shook.
Gañā′xᴀn 7 dālag̣e′îłsi. ʟū′goasi kꜝū′iñᴀsi. Gu′tat
At once rain fell. Those in the canoe were happy. Themselves
ʟ̣′nanᴀñᴀs. Tꜝa′odjiga-i 8 ʟꜝ x̣îtgidᴀñgasäsi g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ qā′łi
[they] fixed. The fort they went up to fight for they shook
hî′ldᴀñᴀs. Gīga′o hao īdja′ñ 9 wᴀnsū′ga. Gañā′xᴀn ʟꜝ
insides. Fish trap this was they say. So they
skꜝū′x̣idᴀsi. 10
started up in a crowd.
Ā′wuñ lᴀ sqā′dᴀs giên xē′tgu lᴀ sqū′g̣agatgîłs. Giên lʼ
His mother he recognized and in front of he swam ashore. And his
a′og̣a 11 lᴀ gi ski′djiwus giên agᴀ′ñ lᴀ gīgoyî′ñʟ̣stasg̣as. Giên
mother him to tried to club and himself he saved to seaward. And
î′sîñ gañā′ñ 12 lᴀ īdjiga′-i ʟ̣ū hᴀ′nxᴀn awu′ñ agᴀ′ñ lᴀ
again like he did when right there his mother himself he
skîtkꜝō′tułdas. 13
let club to death.
Giên g̣aoʟ̣ g̣ᴀn lʼ a′og̣a lʼ qā′dji qꜝeitqꜝā′-iʟx̣idia′-i
And immediate cooking for his mother his head started to cut off
ʟ̣ū sqā′wa-i 14 hayî′ñ lʼ x̣îl gut qꜝa′onanᴀnsi giên lᴀ
when the knife instead his neck upon clicked and she
qea′ñasi. Lʼ gi′tg̣a 15 x̣ālxełgīstagia′ñas lᴀ
looked [in]. Her son copper used to have around his neck she
sqā′dᴀs. Giê′nhao tcꜝū sku′nxa gu lᴀ la 16 ʟ̣łinā′gas. Giên lʼ
recognized. And then plank clean at it she put. And his
g̣ō′ñg̣a ga′g̣a tā′nadaiyes. Na-i u′ngu lᴀ 1 la
father in it (the house) stayed. The house on top of him she
g̣ałînā′gᴀs. 2
put.
Lᴀ gi g̣ālstᴀ′nsîñg̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū lʼ qag̣ᴀ′ñ g̣a qa′g̣otcꜝî′lg̣ax̣idies. 3
Him to four nights passed when his throat in a slight noise started.
Lʼ ʟꜝ′xadjî lā′g̣a qea′ñg̣ag̣eiłs. Lᴀ gi g̣ā′la i g̣ā′tsg̣aʟ̣asi 4
His top of head his came in sight. Him to the nights passed
kꜝiä′ł lʼ ʟ̣dā′lʟꜝxas. Qᴀ′odi lᴀ stᴀ tcī′na-i qꜝᴀl
all that time he was coming out. By and by him from the salmon skin
dā′lʟg̣oyasi giên 5 na gi lʼ g̣ē′tg̣attcꜝas. Giên lʼ
was washed off by the rain and house to he went in. And he
sg̣ā′g̣adᴀs. La g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ sū. 6
became a shaman. Him for they sang.
Giên stᴀ ʟꜝ tcꜝī′g̣ax̣unañasi giên anawa′-ig̣a î′sîñ gu ʟꜝ
And from they moved away and next season again at they
tcꜝigoa′gidᴀñesi. 7 Î′sîñ tcī′nag̣ea′lga-i ʟ̣ū giên tcī′na-i
came to get salmon. Again salmon came when and the salmon
skux̣ida′-i ʟ̣ū 8 u′ngut nᴀñ x̣āł ʟ̣łîñgwa′ñasi. Giên lʼ
came up when on top of one shining one was. And it
kidaga′-i stᴀ lᴀ sī′wus giên 9 la gi sg̣un ʟꜝ kîtdjū′gᴀñᴀs.
the spearing from he said and it to only they tried to spear.
Qa′odihao la g̣ᴀ′n kī′tao lᴀ ʟg̣ołg̣ai′yañ 10 wᴀnsū′ga giên lᴀ la ki′dᴀS.
By and by it for spear he made they say and it he speared.
Lᴀ la dᴀñʟ̣′sʟgila′-i ʟ̣ū tcī′na-i 11 kꜝotula′-i at gu ʟ̣ū la
It he pulled ashore when the salmon was dead at the same time he
êsî′ñ kꜝotwā′lañ wᴀnsū′ga. Lʼ g̣ała′nda-i 12 î′sîs g̣ᴀn gᴀm lʼ
too died they say. His soul was for not he
u′nsᴀᴀtg̣añañ wᴀnsū′ga. 13
knew they say.
Giên lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ′g̣ołg̣aqꜝawasi giên lᴀ qoa′gi ʟꜝ ʟłînā′gᴀs.
And him they made sit up and him over the head of they sat.
Giên 14 lᴀ gañā′ñ nᴀñ ʟꜝ ʟ′g̣ołg̣aʟ̣sʟas giên tcꜝā′nuwa-i djî′nxa lʼ
And him like one they made (dressed) and the fire near he
15 skîtqā′g̣oñᴀsi. Ga′odjiwa-i î′sîñ lā′g̣a ʟꜝ
went around while they beat time. The drum too his they
skī′dᴀñasi. ʟā′guda la 16 g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ sī′wus. G̣ā′la-i
beat. At the same time him for they sang. The nights
stᴀ′nsîñg̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū nᴀñ tᴀ′ñgīlaga g̣ei 17 agᴀ′ñ lᴀ
four passed when a tidal inlet into himself he
gā′sʟgīxᴀlgā′ñas g̣e′ihao lᴀ ʟꜝ g̣asʟgai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. 1
used to tell them to put into this him they had put they say.
ʟā′łda u′ngu lᴀ tā′-idigañas u′ngu lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟta′-is. Giê′nhao
Plank on top of he always lay on top of him they laid. And then
lᴀ ʟꜝ 2 îsdai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Ga′odjiwa-i ê′sîñ lā′g̣a ʟꜝ
him they put there (in water) they say. The drum too his they
qꜝa′-isʟgiasi. Gu 3 sg̣ō′łgułg̣añ g̣adā′ñ lʼ g̣atg̣ā′łgᴀłgîñ
put. There toward the right around he turned
qa′odihao gīla′-i sʟꜝîñga′-i 4 xᴀn lʼ gāgū′giesi.
after [a while] the deep place the bottom even he vanished at.
Uiê′dhao ta-inᴀ′ñg̣asas giên ga′odjiwa-i
Now there are going to be plenty of salmon when the drum
gīla′-i 5 g̣a lā′g̣a ʟꜝ gudᴀ′ñxēgᴀ′ñgᴀñᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga. 6
the deep place in his they hear the noise of they say.
Hao ʟan lʼ g̣e′ida. 7
Here finished it becomes.
ÎŁDĪ′NĪ
[Told by Isaac, of the Łi′elᴀñ qē′awai family.]
Îłdī′nī lived at End-of-trail town. [14] All of his friends also lived
there. And he went out to fish. And, the wind blowing from the shore,
he was blown away. He was unable to get to land. He was blown about in
the sea all day. And while he was being blown about evening came upon
him. He was also blown about during the night. And morning again dawned
upon him. He did not see land. And he was again blown about all day.
But the wind did not blow hard. Therefore he did not capsize. While he
was being blown about evening again came upon him. He was again blown
about all night. He was blown about for a long time. And morning again
dawned upon him. During all that time he saw no land.
Then Îłdī′nī sang because he wanted the wind to become fair. And he
stood in the canoe. He began to sing: “Lake (i.e., Ocean) spirit, calm
the waves for me. Get close to me, my Power. My heart is tired. Make
the sea very calm for me, ye hō yē hō′ lō!” etc. [15] While he was
still being blown about evening came upon him. And again morning dawned
upon him. Although it was foggy in the morning the wind was not strong.
He floated about at random. Every evening shut down foggy. And he was
unable to stand up. His legs were weak, because he had been long in the
canoe. Then he again sang the same song. And morning came again. He
could see no land. And, while it was still foggy evening came upon him.
All that time the wind was not strong. Again morning dawned upon him.
Then he floated near to land. He remained floating there. He did not
get off for his legs were bent together. During all that time they did
not see him. Although he was very near where people lived they did not
see him.
Then he saw a child playing about, one not grown but big enough to
talk. And the child did not see him for his canoe was floating close to
a rock. Then Îłdī′nī called to the child because he wished them to know
about him. And, when he called, the child was afraid to go to him.
After it had been afraid for some time [Îłdī′nī] said: “I am Îłdī′nī.”
It was a male child. And it went out to him. And it came and stood near
him. And he said to it: “My name is Îłdī′nī.” “Now you, too, say
‘Îłdī′nī,’” said he to it. And the child said “Îłdī′nī,” but said it
wrong because it did not yet know how to talk very well. He pronounced
his name again. And the child also pronounced his name. It said it
right. And the child started away from him.
Then it turned away from him. It began saying, “Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī,
Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī.” It was afraid of forgetting his
[name]. And when it got some distance away it forgot his name again.
Then it returned to him. And, when it came to him he again told it his
name. “Say ‘Îłdī′nī’,” said Îłdī′nī to this child. And the child in
turn said so. And again it said it right. Then, as it went away from
him, it began repeating his name. “Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī,” it began
saying. While it was saying “Îłdī′nī” it entered the house. That time
it did not forget the name.
And, even while opening the door, it kept repeating “Îłdī′nī.” The
child said to its grandfather: “Grandfather, find Îłdī′nī; grandfather,
find Îłdī′nī.” And it led its grandfather to the place from whence it
had come. They came to where he floated. The wife was also with them.
And, being at once much troubled at the sight of him, they quickly got
into his canoe. They came in front of their house with him.
When they got out they wanted to take him up to the house quickly. Then
he showed them his legs. He also showed them that he was unable to
stand. He merely made signs with his fingers. He did not know their
language. And the man ran up for his mat. And, when he brought it down,
they placed him upon the mat. Then they carried him into the house.
They placed him near the fire.
Then they put warm things upon him. And they also warmed him at the
fire. They also put warm things on his head. They also warmed water for
his legs. And, when the water became warmed a little, the woman began
putting it upon his legs. At the same time the man also kept warm
things on his head. And, as he sat there, he tried to straighten his
legs a little. They became well. They stopped putting hot water on
them.
And, when he asked for a stick, they gave it to him. And, after they
gave it to him, he raised himself up. He tried to go outside. And,
after he had sat outside for a while, he came back again with the help
of his stick. They did not give him food because they saw that
something was the matter with him. Although they had not seen him
before they saw that he was a chief.
Then they warmed water for him. They also cooked food for him. And,
when the water was warm, she put a great deal of grease into it, and
they set it before him. She also gave him a spoon. This is how the
ancient people did. And after he had drunk the broth she also set food
before him. She let him eat grease with it. And after he was through
eating she put another kind of food before him. When she saw that he
ate his food as if he were well she gave him another kind of food.
And he (the husband) saw that he had become well, and he said to his
wife: “When the wind is fair we will go with him to the town.” It was
evening. And they did not sleep during the night because they wanted to
go to the town with him. But the chief slept soundly. And while he
slept they put their things on the beach. They also launched their
canoe. And they put their things into the canoe. They did not live far
from the town. And when he awoke they told him they were going away
with him.
Then the woman went in their canoe. The man went with him in his canoe.
They came to the town with him. And the people were astonished at them.
Before that they had one canoe. And when [they saw] that they had two
they were surprised at them. They were a great crowd waiting outside
for them. Then they saw another person sitting in their [canoe].
And when they came ashore the whole town went to them, for they had
never seen him before. They came with him to the Stikine town. They
quickly took him into the house. And the house was full of Stikine
people, men, women, and children. They were surprised to see him.
Although they had never seen him before, they saw that he was a chief.
And now the one who came to the town with him said to the crowd: “When
my grandchild went out to play it found this person. It went to play.
After it had been gone for a while it came in. Then, as it opened the
door, it came in saying ‘Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī. Grandfather, Îłdī′nī found,’
it said. So we went to see him. And we took him into the house. He was
unable to stand. His legs were bent together. And we carried him up in
a mat to the house. We worked over him all day [to make him well]. And
after he did stand up he went outside with the help of a cane. Then we
gave him food. When he got well we came this way with him. I came
hither with him because I did not want to remain alone with him in an
uninhabited place,” [16] he said.
While they were telling about him the people observed that he was
feeling of his skin with his teeth. And they told one another about
what he did. Then the chiefs of the Stikine people said: “Taste the
chief’s blood.” Then one felt of his skin with his teeth. And when he
lifted his head he said: “The chief’s blood is salt.” Then the chiefs
of the Stikine people were very much astonished. Then they knew that he
had been blown about for a very long time. And the town people went
outside. Then they knew what had happened to him, but they did not know
whence he had come.
And they began to care for him. He was there for many years. And he
remained there always. He did not go back, because he did not know
where his town was. He had four children. Two were boys and two were
girls. And all the time he was at the Stikine he wept for his children.
But he did not weep for his wife. [17] And the one who had found him
made him his friend (i.e., took him into his family and clan).
And after he had lived there for a long time he came to understand
their language. After he had wept for a while he sang a crying song. He
began the following crying song: 𝄆 “Hēg̣ōnōnē′ ʟa′gwaiyē djū′qoqołtēdj.
𝄇 Ha gūsē′, ha gūsē′ łē′nī gîta′nī hagūsē′.” [18] And he joined that
tribe. Then he told them that he had belonged to the Fish-eggs and they
all gave themselves to him because they saw that he was a chief. And
his friends, the Fish-eggs, lost him.
And by and by his friends heard that he was a chief of the Stikine. In
old times people did not go to other places. They fastened a feather to
the end of a stick, and they raised it. If the feather was not moved by
the wind they went out. [19] Therefore his people did not learn about
him quickly. But afterward they heard about him. And when he knew that
his friends had heard about him he sent down the songs for his friends.
By and by, when they heard his [songs], his friends were very glad.
“Although I want to go to you, there is no way to do so. I am very well
off. But there I was not happy. My friends, the women and men of the
Fish-eggs, are very numerous.” [20] Then his friends ceased to be sad
for him, because they knew he was happy. But his wife was married to
another man, for they had thought that he was dead.
This is the end.
The almost complete absence of a mythic element in this story suggests
that it may be founded on fact. At least it must have been used to
explain a relationship supposed to exist between the Fish-eggs, a
branch of the great Stᴀ′stas family of Masset, which belonged to the
Eagle clan, and some family among the Stikine Indians.
ÎŁDĪ′NĪ
[Masset dialect]
Kꜝiū′sta gu Îłdī′nī na′gan. Lʼ ta′olᴀñ wa′ʟ̣uᴀn î′sîn gu
End of Trail (town) at Îłdī′nī lived. His friends all too there
nā′ñᴀn. 1 Wᴀ′giên stᴀ lʼ xa′oyiênanê. Wᴀ′giên dī′dastᴀ tadja′o
lived. And from he went fishing. And off shore wind
ʻa′dōsa′s giên 2 lʼ x̣u′deîdan. Dītga ʟūqagalē′
blew and he started to blow away. Ashore to go by canoe
ʻadō′ lʼ ʻêsgai′an. Sîn sʻaskꜝu sī′sgut 3 lʼ x̣utgᴀ′ñgwañan.
he was unable. Day whole upon the sea he was blown about.
Wᴀ′giên hawa′n lʼ x̣utgᴀ′ñgwᴀñgᴀndan la da 4 sîñiai′an. Wᴀ′giên
And while he was blown about him for was evening. And
ʻa′lgua î′sîn lʼ x̣ū′tgᴀñgwañgañan giê′nhao î′sîn laga 5
in the night too he was blown about and then too to him
sanʟ̣a′nan. Wᴀ′giên gᴀm ʟᴀga lʼ qê′ñʻᴀñgañan. Wᴀ′giên ha′osîn sîn 6
was morning. And not land he was seeing. And again day
sʻaskꜝu lʼ x̣ū′tgᴀñgwañgañan. Ta′djuē gᴀm hī′kꜝan ʻa′dowañgañanî. 7
whole he was blown about. The wind not but was blowing hard.
Ałdjī′ᴀłū gᴀm lʼ xa′sʟʻañgañan. Hawa′n lʼ x̣ugᴀñgwᴀ′ñgᴀndan 8
Therefore not he capsized. While he was being blown about
ha′osîn la ga sîñia′-iᴀn. Ha′osîn ʻāl sʻasgu lʼ
again him to was evening. Again night whole he
x̣ū′tgᴀñgwañan. 9 Djī′⁺iña lʼ x̣ū′tgᴀñgwañgañan. Wᴀ′giên
was being blown about. Long time he was being blown about. And
ha′osîn laga sa′nʟ̣anan. 10 Wᴀ′kꜝiäł ʟᴀga gᴀm lʼ qê′ñʻañgañan. 11
again to him was morning. All that time land not he was seeing.
Wᴀ′giên Îłdī′nī hîn kꜝᴀdjūłdjawan tadjuwē′ lᴀgala′-i dᴀ lʼ 12
gudᴀ′ns
And Îłdī′nī like sang the wind become good to he wanted
ʟ̣ū ᴀ. Wᴀ′giên ʟuē′gua lʼ gia′gᴀn. Wᴀ′giên sʻā′lanē dᴀ 1 lʼ
when sang. And in the canoe he stood. And the song to he
kîłā′wan: “Sū sg̣ā′na gîtg̣ā′lᴀnsʟ. Dī
put his voice to: “Lake (= ocean) spirit make waves calm (for me). My
sg̣ā′nawē qᴀ′nskidagî′ñga. 2 Dī qaiî′nsʟa. Adī′ ga
supernatural power got close to in canoe. I became tired. Me for
ʟꜝnawa′ʻagᴀsʟa yēhō yēhō′lō, etc.” 3 Hawa′n lʼ
make the sea milk (i.e., calm) yēhō yēhō′lō, etc.” Yet he
x̣ū′tgᴀñgwa′ñgañan. Ha′osîn laga sî′ñiyēyᴀn. Wᴀ′kꜝiên 4 gᴀm
was being blown about. Again to him was evening. But still not
laga tadja′o ʻā′dawangañan. Wᴀ′giên ha′osîn laga sa′nʟ̣anᴀn. 5
to him wind was blowing hard. And again to him was morning.
Yä′nañaūłai′an. Wᴀkꜝie′n gᴀm tadja′o ʻatawā′ñan. Wᴀ′giên
It was foggy in the morning. But still not wind was strong. And
sîn 6 sʻasgu ha′osîn ʟᴀgua′nan lʼ gī′gīgᴀñgwañgañan. Wᴀ′kꜝiäł
day whole again aimlessly he was floating about. All that time
yä′nᴀñʻagᴀndan 7 sîñiai′ᴀn. Wᴀ′giên gia′ga-i ʻadō′ lʼ
while it was foggy evening came. And to stand up around he
ʻê′sgasʟaian. Lʼ qꜝo′lū 8 lā ʻagā′lan ʟū′guʻa lʼ
got (he was unable). His legs his were weak in the canoe he
îsxᴀ′nsqadan ᴀła′. Wᴀ′giên ha′osîn sʻā′lᴀñē 9 ʻa′hᴀn lʼ
was for a long time because. And again the song same he
kꜝᴀ′djūgañan. Wᴀ′giên ha′osîn sanʟ̣a′nan. Wᴀ′giên gᴀm 10 ʟᴀga lʼ
was singing. And again was morning. And not land he
qê′ñʻᴀñgañan. Wᴀ′giên ha′osîn yä′nᴀñʻagᴀndan lᴀ da 11 sîñiai′an.
was seeing. And again while it was foggy him for was
evening.
Wᴀkꜝiê′ł gᴀm tadjuwē′ ʻa′dōwañga′ñan. Wᴀ′giên ha′osîn 12 laga
All that time not the wind was strong. And again to him
sanʟ̣a′nan. 13
was morning.
Wa′ʟ̣u ʟᴀga gu lʼ gā′-iîñułaiyan. Wᴀ′giên hawa′n gu lʼ
At that time land at he floated in the morning. And yet at he
gā′-iîñ 14 gañganê. Gᴀm xetgu lʼ qā′łᴀñgañan lʼ qꜝo′lū
was floating. Not below (ashore) he was getting his legs
gu′tga lā łgᴀkꜝᴀdā′ñan 15 ᴀ′ła. Ałdjī′ᴀłu gᴀm xetga lʼ
together his were bent because. Therefore not off he
qā′łʻᴀñgañan. Wᴀ′kꜝiêł gᴀm la ʟꜝ 16 qê′ñʻañgañan. Ḷꜝ na′ᴀñ
was getting. All that time not him they were seeing. They lived
qꜝoł djiłī′ lʼ îs kꜝiên gᴀm lᴀ ʟꜝ qê′ñʻᴀñgañan. 17
near very he was although not him they were seeing.
Wᴀ′giên nᴀñ ʻa′a gūsaʻai′ya gᴀm ʟ̣ᴀqō′nan nā′ñgwans lʼ qä′ñan.
And a child knew how to talk not big played about he saw.
1 Wᴀ′giên gᴀm anᴀ′ñ ʻa′as lʼ qêñʻā′ñan tꜝē′dja-i ga ʟuē′
And not this child him saw the rock against the canoe
lā′ña gī′tasi 2 ᴀła′. Gᴀm la lʼ qêñʻā′ñan. Wᴀ′giên Îłdī′nī nᴀñ
his floated because. Not him it saw. And Îłdī′nī the
ʻā′xᴀdjūs ga 3 kiägā′ñan la ʻᴀn ʟꜝ u′nsᴀdē dᴀ
child to was calling him for they know (that they might know) to
lʼ gudᴀ′ns ᴀ′ła. Wᴀ′giên la ʻᴀn lʼ 4 ʻa′yîns giên la ʻa qagē′ ga lʼ
he wanted because. And it for he called and him to go to it
łʻwa′gagañan. La ga lʼ łʻwagaxᴀ′nsgats 5 ʟ̣ū “Îłdī′nī
were afraid. Him of it was afraid for a long time when, “Îłdī′nī
ła-ō īdjî′ngua” hîn anᴀ′ñ ʻa′as lʼ sudai′an. Nᴀñ īłña′-o 6
I that am” as precedes this child he said to. A male this
idja′n. Wᴀ′giên la lʼ qasʻai′an. Wᴀ′giên la qꜝoł lʼ gia′ʟꜝagan.
was. And him it went out to. And him near it came and stood.
7 Wᴀ′giên hîn la lʼ sudai′an, “Îłdī′nī hîn ō dī kiʻa′ñgua.
And as follows it he said to, “Îłdī′nī like this I am named.
Hai 8 dā îsî′n ł Îłdī′nī hîn sū,” hîn la lʼ sudai′an. Wᴀ′giên
Now you too (imp.) Îłdī′nī like say,” like it he said to. And
anᴀ′ñ 9 ʻa′xᴀdjūs, “Îłdī′nī” hîn sā′wan. Wᴀ′giên lʼ kî′lsgudaiani,
this child, “Îłdī′nī,” like said. And it said it wrong,
a′nᴀñ 10 ʻa′xadjūs gᴀm yê′nkꜝe gū′saoʻaiyā′ñan ᴀ′ła. Wᴀ′giên
this child not very well knew how to talk because. And
ha′osîn kiä′ñ 11 lʼ kꜝwai′an. Wᴀ′giên a′nᴀñ ʻa′xᴀdjūs hᴀnîsî′n lʼ
again his name he mentioned. And this child again his
kiē kꜝwai′an. 12 Wᴀ′giên lā lʼ kî′łyêdaian. Wᴀ′giên a′nᴀñ ʻa′xadjūs
name mentioned. And his it said right. And this child
lᴀ stᴀ qā′-idan. 13
him from started.
Wᴀ′giên lᴀ stᴀ ʻᴀñ lʼ ʟ̣sʟa′s-qałīya′n. 𝄆 “Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī, 14
And him from himself it turned around. “Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī,
Îłdī′nī,” 𝄇 hîn lʼ sū′îdan. Da lᴀ lʼ qꜝē′sdadē ga lʼ łʻwa′gas
Îłdī′nī,” like it began saying. For his it forget to it was afraid
15 ᴀłū′ lʼ sā′wan. Wᴀ′giên lᴀ stᴀ lʼ djiîñē′ʻełs ʟ̣ū ha′osîn
therefore it said. And from him it got far when again
lʼ kiē 16 da lʼ qꜝē′sgadan. Wᴀ′giên ha′osîn la gui lʼ staʻē′lan.
his name for it forgot. And again him toward it returned.
Wᴀ′giên 1 la ʻᴀn lʼ qā′ʟꜝas ʟ̣ū ha′osîn kiʻa′ñ laga lʼ sudai′an.
And him to it came when again his name to it he told.
“Îłdī′nī hîn 2 ł sū,” hîn anᴀ′ñ ʻa′as ha′osîn Îłdī′nī sudai′an.
“Îłdī′nī like (imp.) say,” like this child again Îłdī′nī said to.
Wᴀ′giên anᴀ′ñ 3 a′as ha′osîn gîña′n sā′wani. Wᴀ′giên ha′osîn lʼ
And this child again like said. And again he
kîłyê′daiane. 4 Wa′ʟ̣ū ha′osîn lᴀ stᴀ lʼ qā′-its-qałīyan lʼ kiē′ lʼ
said it right. Then again from him it as it went away his name it
kꜝwī′dᴀñîdan. 5 𝄆 “Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī,” 𝄇 hîn lʼ
began to repeat. “Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī,” like it
sū′-idan. Hawa′n “Îłdī′nī” hîn 6 lʼ sū′gᴀndan na ga lʼ
began to say. Yet “Îłdī′nī” like while it was saying house to it
qatcꜝai′an. Wa′ʟ̣ū ʟꜝao gᴀm kiē′ da lʼ 7 qꜝē′sgadañan. 8
entered. Then, however, not the name for it forgot.
Wᴀ′giên kꜝiwē′ lʼ daʻa′sʟtcꜝasi ʻai′yan “Îłdī′nī,” lʼ
And the door it opened right through “Îłdī′nī,” he
sū′daltcꜝaian: 9 “Tcîna′-i, Îłdī′nī qeigᴀ′ña,” hîn a′nᴀñ ʻa′as
went in saying: “Grandfather, Îłdī′nī find,” like this child
tcī′nᴀñ sudai′an. 10 Wᴀ′giên giê′stᴀ lʼ qa′gan ʻa lʼ
its grandfather said to. And from whence it went to its
tcî′na lā lʼ ʻalqa′-idan. Wᴀ′giên 11 ga-î′ns gu la ʻᴀn
grandfather its it led. And floated at him to
lʼ îsʟꜝaʻā′wan. Lʼ djā î′sîn la ᴀł idja′n. Wᴀ′giên 12
they came. His wife too him with was. And
na′ʻaistᴀgañan lʼ łkꜝwī′dᴀsʟyua′nʻwas ʟ̣ū lā′guʻē
as soon as (they saw him) they were much troubled when into his (canoe)
lʼ xū′stᴀʟiawan. 13 Wᴀ′giên nē xetgu lᴀ dᴀ′ñᴀł
they got quickly. And the house in front of him with
lʼ ʻā′sgadaʻwan. 14
they arrived.
Lʼ îstꜝała′ʻwas giên hawī′dan na ga lʼ îsdē′yē da 15
They got off when quickly house to him take up to
la lʼgudᴀña′ʻwan. Wᴀ′giên qꜝo′lawūñ la lʼ qêndā′ʻwan. Gia′ga-i
they wanted to do to him. And his legs he showed to them. To stand
16 ʻadō′ lʼ ʻêsga′si î′sîn la lʼ qêndā′ʻwan. Hî′ñan
he was unable too he showed them. Only
ʻa-i la sʟꜝî′silᴀñgañan. 17 Gᴀm ʟꜝ kîl lʼ gudᴀñʻā′ñan.
he made signs with his fingers. Not their language he knew.
Wᴀ′giên nᴀñ ī′łiñas lgūs dō ʻatᴀgā′lan. 1 Wᴀ′giên tcꜝā′nuē djîngu
And the man mat for this ran up. And the fire near
la lʼ ʻā′waʻwan. 2
him they put.
Wa′ʟ̣ū gîn kꜝī′na la gui lʼ î′sdałaʻwan. Wᴀ′giên tcꜝā′anuē 3 ʻa
Then things warm him upon they put. And the fire in
îsî′n la lʼ ʟᴀkꜝî′nᴀñidaʻwan. Wᴀ′giên lʼ qadjî′ñ gu î′sîn gîn 4
too him they made warm. And his head at too things
kꜝī′na la lʼ î′sdaʻōgañan. Wᴀ′giên lʼ kꜝial hᴀn îsî′n xao
warm him they put on. And his legs too liquid (water)
lā 5 lʼ ʟîkꜝī′nᴀsʟaʻwan. Wᴀ′giên xao łñan kꜝīnîsʟa′s
his they warmed for. And liquid (water) a little became warm
ʟ̣ū lʼ kꜝia′l gui 6 nᴀñ djā′adas îsda′idan. Wᴀ′tał
when his legs upon the woman began putting it. At the same time
nᴀñ ī′łiñas hᴀn îsî′n lʼ qᴀ′dji ga gîn 7 kꜝî′ndagañan. Wᴀ′giên
the man too his head to things kept putting warm. And
łña′n lʼ qꜝa′oas gu hᴀn qꜝolᴀwu′ñ lʼ 8 ya′gᴀłdaian.
a little he sat there even his legs he tried to straighten.
Wᴀ′giên lā′ña lā′gane. Wa′ʟ̣ū ʟan lā′ña lʼ
And his were good (well). Then stopped his he
ʻā′łdaʻwane. 9
put hot water on.
Wᴀ′giên sqꜝā′ñu lʼ gīnᴀ′ns giên la ga ʟꜝsqꜝasʟai′an. Wᴀ′giên
And stick he asked to be given when him to they gave it. And
la ga ʟꜝ 10 sqꜝasʟa′s ʟ̣ū ʻᴀñ lʼ kîtgia′gan. Wᴀ′giên
him to they gave it when himself he stood up by means of. And
kiaga agᴀ′ñ lʼ kī′ʟ̣sʟîwagudañan. 11 Wᴀ′giên kia lʼ
to the outside of himself he tried to go. And outside he
qꜝao qaod ha′osîn siłgā′ñan
sat after a while again back
agᴀ′ñ lʼ kī′ʟ̣sʟtcꜝaian. 12 Lʼ
he came in with the assistance of the stick. He
ʻā′dagas lā lʼ qê′ñʻwas ᴀłū′ gᴀm tao la ga
was different (i.e., sick) his they saw therefore not food him to
lʼ îsdā′ʻañʻugañan. 13 Gᴀm la lʼ qêñʻā′ñʻugañan kꜝiên lʼ ī′ʟꜝ-adas
they gave. Not him they saw (before) although he was a
chief
lā lʼ qêñā′ʻwan. 14
his they saw.
Wᴀ′giên xao laʻᴀn lʼ qê′nîsʟdaʻwan. Ila′ î′sîn tao la ʻᴀn
And liquid (water) for him they warmed. Besides food him for
15 lʼ ʟî′ñʻalᴀñaʻwan. ʟ̣ī′sʟ̣ūan xao kꜝī′nᴀsʟᴀs ʟ̣ū tō
they cooked. By and by liquid (water) was warm when grease
ʻē lʼ qoa′ndᴀyūanan. 1 Wᴀ′giên la xetgu lʼ tcꜝîsā′ʻwane. Wᴀ′giên
into she put very much. And him before they put it. And
sʟagu′l îsî′n 2 la gu lʼ tꜝa′osʟaian. Ao ʟᴀgu ʟʟ̣ū′ xadē′
spoon too him to she gave. This how the ancient people
wᴀgā′ñan. Wᴀ′giên 3 wa′ʟ̣ʻa xao lʼ nîłgī′s ʟ̣ū tā′wē
were doing. And after it broth he had done drinking when the food
îsî′n la xetgu lʼ îsdai′ani. Tō 4 xᴀn î′sîn wᴀsūwē′t la lʼ
too him before she put. Grease too with it him she
tadai′an. Wᴀ′giên lʼ tagī′s giên tao qꜝᴀ′lat 5 hᴀn îsî′n
let eat. And he finished eating when food another kind too
la xetgu lʼ îsdai′an. Wᴀ′giên dᴀ′man la ga tās lā lʼ 6 qêns
him before she put. And well he something ate his she saw
ᴀł gîn tā′wa qꜝᴀ′lat î′sîn la ga lʼ îsdai′an. 7
with some food another kind of too him to she gave.
Wᴀ′giên dᴀ′man lʼ ʻēłs la lʼ qä′ñan giên hîn djā′ʻᴀñ lʼ 8
And well he became him she saw and like his wife he
sudai′an, “Tadja′o las ʟ̣ū lnaga′-i ʻa lᴀ dᴀ′ñᴀł tꜝalᴀ′ñ
said to, “Wind is good when the town to him with we
ʟūqā′-idasañ.” 9 Wᴀ′giên sîñiai′yᴀn. Wᴀ′giên gᴀm ʻā′lgua
will go by canoe.” And it was evening. And not in the night
lʼ qꜝᴀsʟʻā′ñʻūgañan 10 lᴀ dᴀ′ñᴀł lnaga′-i ʻa ʟūqā′-idē dᴀ
they were sleeping him with the town to go to
lʼ gudᴀñʻā′wan ᴀ′ła. A′nᴀñ 11 ī′ʟꜝagidas ʟꜝao qꜝayū′anan.
Wᴀ′giên
they wanted because. This chief, however, slept much. And
lʼ qꜝas tꜝał ʟʻā′wē 12 qꜝᴀ′tᴀgaña lʼ îsdā′ʻwan. ʟuē′
he slept while the property on the beach they put. The canoe
îsî′n tcānga ᴀ′ña lʼ îsdā′ʻwan. 13 Wᴀ′giên ʟū′gue gîn
too into the sea theirs they put. And into the canoe things
ᴀ′ña lʼ îsdā′ʻwan. Gᴀm lnaga′-i stᴀ lʼ 14 djī′îñʻañaʻwan. Wᴀ′giên
theirs they put. Not the town from they lived far. And
lʼ skī′nas ʟ̣ū lᴀ dᴀ′ñᴀł lʼ ʟuqā′-idaʻwasîs 15 la ga lʼ
he awoke when him with they would go off by canoe him to they
sudā′ʻwan. 16
said.
Wᴀ′giên la′gia ʟū′e guʻa nᴀñ djā′das ʟuqā′gan. Nᴀñ î′łiñas 1
And his canoe in the woman went by canoe. The man
hᴀn îsî′n gia ʟuē′guʻa lᴀ dᴀ′ñał ʟuqā′gan. Wᴀ′giên lᴀ dᴀ′ñᴀł
too his canoe in him with went by canoe. And him with
lnaga′-i 2 gu lʼ ʟuî′sʟꜝaʻawan. Wᴀ′giên lᴀ ʟꜝ qꜝᴀlā′ʻwan.
the town at they came by canoe. And they were surprised at them.
Wᴀ′kunastʼ ʟuē′ 3 lā ʻasʻwā′nsîñaʻwani. Wᴀ′giên wēd ʟꜝao
Before it the canoe theirs was one. And now, however,
lā ʻā′stᴀñʻwasi ʟ̣ū 4 la ʟꜝ qꜝᴀlā′ʻwan. Kia lᴀ
theirs were two when they were surprised at them. Outside them
kꜝiū′ ʟꜝ skꜝūlyū′anaʻwan. Wᴀ′giên nᴀñ 5 xā′da qꜝᴀ′lat lā′guʻa
for they were in a great crowd. And a person another in theirs
tcꜝā′ñwas ʟꜝ qä′ñan. 6
sat they saw.
Wᴀ′giên lʼ kîtʟꜝ′djagᴀłʻwas ʟ̣ū lnaga′-i ʻaskꜝu hᴀn lʼ 7 dō′îtʻawane
And they came ashore when the town whole very them went to
gᴀm wᴀ′kunastʼ lᴀ ʟꜝ qêñʻā′ñgañan ᴀ′ła. Stᴀkꜝᴀ′n 8 lnaga′-i gu la
not before it him they saw because. Stikine town at
him
dᴀ′ñᴀł lʼ ʟuîsʟꜝaʻa′wan. Wᴀ′giên hawī′dan na ga 9 la ʟꜝ îsdā′ʻwan.
with they came by canoe. And quickly house to they took them.
Wᴀ′giên Stᴀkꜝᴀ′n xadē′ īła′ndjidē îsgiê′n djā′dē 10 dᴀñᴀła′n
And the Stikine people the men and the women with
îsî′n ʻa′aga-i dᴀ′ñᴀłan îsî′n na-i stagā′ne. Lᴀ ʟꜝ 11
too the children with too the house was full. Them they
gusʻā′naʻwagan. Gᴀm wᴀ′kunastʼ lᴀ ʟꜝ qê′ñʻañgañan kꜝiä′nan 12 lʼ
were surprised at. Not before it him they saw although he
ī′ʟadas lā′ña ʟꜝ qä′ñan. 13
was a chief his they saw.
Wᴀ′giên ao la dᴀ′ñał lʼ ʟuqā′ʟ̣agan. Hîn ga skꜝū′lasga-i 14 ga lʼ
And now him with they came home. Like the crowd to he
sā′wan, “Dī tꜝakꜝᴀ′n nañʻā′gᴀn ʟ̣ū a′nᴀñ xā′das lʼ 15 qe′igᴀn.
said, “My grandchild went out to play when this person it found.
Lʼ nañʻā′gᴀn. Lʼ gō qaod lʼ qā′tcꜝîgᴀn. Hitꜝᴀ′n 16
It went to play. It was after gone a while it came in. Then
kꜝiwē′ lʼ daʻā′sʟtcꜝîgᴀndan, “Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī” hîn lʼ
the door it as opened, “Îłdī′nī, Îłdī′nī,” like it
sudā′ltcꜝîgᴀn. 1 “Tcî′na Îłdī′nī qeigᴀ′na,” hîn lʼ sū′gᴀn.
came in saying. “Grandfather Îłdī′nī (I) found,” like it said.
Ałdjī′ᴀłū la tꜝalᴀ′ñ 2 qêñʻā′gᴀn. Wᴀ′giên na ga la tꜝalᴀ′ñ
Therefore him we went to see. And house to him we
î′sdagᴀn. Gia′ga-i ʻadō′ lʼ 3 ʻê′sgagᴀn. Lʼ qꜝolū′ gutga
took. To stand around he got (was unable). His legs together
lā′ña łgakꜝᴀ′dᴀñagᴀn. Wᴀ′giên lgūs 4 ʻā′ñᴀł na ga la tꜝalᴀ′ñ
his were bent. And mat in house to him we
ʻā′sʟtcꜝîgᴀn. Wᴀ′giên sîn sʻasgu la ʻadō′ tꜝalᴀ′ñ 5
carried up. And day whole him around we
ʟeî′ldᴀñgᴀn. Wᴀ′giên lʼ gia′gᴀn ʟ̣ū kia′ga
tried to make (well). And he stood up when outside
agᴀ′ñ lʼ kiʟ̣′sʟuwagᴀn. 6 Wa′ʟ̣ū la tꜝalᴀ′ñ ga ga tā′dagᴀn. Lʼ lᴀ′gas
he went with a cane. Then him we gave to eat. He was well
ʟ̣ū hā′łgui ga la dᴀ′ñᴀł 7 tꜝalᴀ′ñ ʟuî′stꜝeidᴀn.
when hither to him with we went by canoe.
ʟigᴀ′nłañan ła sʻun la dᴀ′ñᴀł idjiga′-i ga dī 8 gwa′was
In an uninhabited place I alone him with stay to I disliked
ᴀłū′ hałguī′ la dᴀ′ñᴀł ł ʟuqā′-idᴀn,” hîn lʼ sā′wan. 9
therefore hither him with I came by canoe,” like he said.
La ᴀł lʼ giała′ndawa′s tꜝał qꜝā′lᴀñ lʼ qꜝogudᴀ′ns
Him of he (they) related while his skin he felt with his teeth
lā′ña ʟꜝ qê′ñqꜝołdaian. 10 Wᴀ′giên gu′tgᴀ la ʟꜝ
his they saw him secretly. And to each other him they
sudai′an. Wᴀ′giên Stᴀkꜝᴀ′n xadē′ 11 ī′ʟꜝadē hîn sā′wan: “Nᴀñ
told about. And Stikine people the chief like said: “The
ī′ʟꜝadas ʻa-i ł qꜝogudᴀ′ñʻō.” Wᴀ′giên 12 lʼ qꜝᴀl lā′ña nᴀñ
chief blood (imp.) taste ye.” And his skin his one
qꜝo′tsgiłdaian. Wᴀ′giên stᴀ lʼ ʻᴀ′nstᴀʟꜝas ʟ̣ū 13 “Nᴀñ
felt with his teeth. And from he lifted his head when “The
ī′ʟꜝadas ʻa′-iyū tᴀñā′gᴀñgua,” hîn lʼ sā′wan. Wa′ʟ̣u Stᴀkꜝᴀ′n 14
chief’s blood that is salt,” like he said. Then the Stikine
xadē′ qꜝᴀ′ldᴀñayuā′nan. Djī′ña lʼ x̣ū′tgᴀñgwañan ʻᴀn
people were very much surprised. A long time he was blown about for
wa′Ḷū lā′ña 15 ʟꜝ u′nsᴀdʻelan. Wᴀ′giên lnaga′-i xa′dē kia′ga
then his they came to know. And the town the people outside
īdjā′ne. ʟᴀgu lʼ 1 ʻets ʻᴀn la ʟꜝ u′nsᴀdᴀłs ʟ̣ū ʟī′djîstᴀ lʼ îs
went. How he was like for him they knew when whence he
was
gᴀm ʻᴀn ʟꜝ u′nsᴀdaʻañan. 2
not for they knew.
Wᴀ′giên gu hᴀn dᴀma′n la ʟꜝᴀ qê′ñidan. Wᴀ′giên
And there right carefully him they began to look after. And
ʻᴀ′na 3 qoan gut gu lʼ īdjā′ni. Wᴀ′giên gu hᴀn lʼ
years many during there he was. And there right he
ʟîgaiʻe′lane. Gᴀm 4 siłgā′ñ stᴀ lʼ îsʻā′ñane gᴀm
stayed always (joined the tribe). Not back from he went not
ʟī′djan lʼ ʟᴀga îs ʻᴀn lʼ u′nsᴀdʻañan ᴀ′ła. 5 Lʼ gī′dalᴀñ
where his land was for he knew because. His children
stᴀnsā′ñan. Stᴀñ lā īła′ndjidagan giên stᴀñ îsî′n 6 lā djadā′gan.
were four. Two his were men and two too his were women.
Wᴀ′giên Stᴀkꜝᴀ′n gu lʼ îs kꜝīäł gī′dalᴀñ da lʼ 7 sʻā′-iłgañan.
And Stikine at he was while his children for he was weeping.
Dja′ʻᴀñ dᴀ ʟꜝao gᴀm lʼ sʻa-iłʻā′ñgañan. Wᴀ′giên la 8 nᴀñ qē′yaiyan
His wife for however not he was weeping. And him one found
lʼ taodī′łgīgan. 9
him took for his friend forever.
Wᴀ′giên gu lʼ îsxᴀ′nsgats ʟ̣ū ʟꜝ kîl lʼ gwa′lan.
And there he lived a long time when their language he understood.
Wᴀ′giên lʼ 10 sʻā′-iłgᴀñ qaod ʻᴀñ lʼ
And he wept after a while for he
kî′lkꜝᴀdjū-idan. Wᴀ′giên hîn lʼ kꜝᴀdjū′idan:
began to sing a crying song. And like he began singing:
11 𝄆 “Hēg̣ōnōnē′ ʟa′gwaiyē djū′qoqołtēdj 𝄇 𝄆 Hagūsē′ 𝄇 Łē′ni gîta′nī
hagusē′.” 12
Wᴀ′giên gu hᴀn lʼ ʟîgai′ʻelane. Wᴀ′giên lʼ Kꜝā′ogᴀs
And there right he joined the tribe. And he was of the
Fish-eggs
ʻᴀ′nstᴀ 13 ᴀ′ña lʼ sā′wan giên la ga agᴀ′ñ ʟꜝ î′sdaʻodjawan lʼ
about his he told and him to themselves they all gave he
ī′ʟꜝagidas lā′ña 14 ʟꜝ qêñgā′ñan ᴀła′. Wᴀ′giên lʼ
was a chief his they saw because. And his
ta′olᴀñ Kꜝā′was lʼ gōdiagā′ñan. 15
friends the Fish-eggs him lost.
ʟī′sʟ̣uᴀn wᴀ′giên, Stᴀkꜝᴀ′n ᴀł ta′olᴀñ ʻᴀn lʼ ī′ʟꜝadas lā′ña ʟꜝ
By and by however Stikine of his friends for he was chief his they
1 kî′ñgudañan. Gᴀm ʟꜝᴀkꜝwā′nan ʟʟ̣ū′ ʟᴀ′gui ʟꜝ
heard. Not any time in old times to any places they
ʟuqā′-idᴀñgañan. 2 Sqꜝā′ñ-kunē łtᴀ′nʻu ʟꜝ kiū′łgudjîlgañan.
started by canoe. End of a stick feather they fastened.
Wᴀ′giên sa ʟꜝ 3 kîłgudjîlgā′ñane. Gᴀm łtanuē′
And up they lifted it. Not the feather
x̣ū′łkꜝwesîłdansi ʟ̣ū hitꜝᴀ′n ʟꜝ 4 ʟūqā′-idañan.
was moved by the wind when then they started out by canoe.
Ałdjī′ᴀłū gᴀm la ʻᴀn hawī′dan ʟꜝ u′nsadᴀłʻañan. 5 Wᴀ′giên silē′t
Therefore not him for quickly they knew. And afterward
la ʟꜝ kî′ñgudañan. Wᴀ′giên lʼ ta′olᴀñ lʼ kî′ñgudᴀns 6 ʻᴀn lʼ
him they heard about. And his friends him heard about for he
u′nsᴀdʻelan ʟ̣ū sʻā′lañē ta′olᴀñ dᴀ lʼ xᴀ′ndjutꜝā′lane. 7 Wᴀ′giên
came to know when the song his friends for he sent down. And
ʟī′sʟ̣ūᴀn lā ʟꜝ gudā′ñan ʟ̣ū lʼ ta′olᴀñ gu′dᴀñē layuā′nan:
by and by his they heard when his friends the minds were very good:
8 “Dalᴀ′ñ ʻa dī gutqa′o skꜝiä′nan gᴀm ʟᴀgu dalᴀ′ñ ʻa dī ʻē′tłîñē 9
“You to I want to go although not how you to I can go
qā′ʻᴀñgañgᴀñ. Dī layuā′ngᴀñ. Ha′oʟ̣n ʟꜝao gᴀm dī lā′ʻᴀñgᴀn.
is to be seen. I am very well off. There however not I was happy.
10 Dī ta′olᴀñ Kꜝā′was djadē′ îsgiê′n īła′ndjidē î′sîn qoanyuā′ngᴀñ.”
My friends Fish-eggs women and men too are very many.”
11 Wᴀ′giên ʟan lʼ tawē′ la ᴀł gudᴀñē′ stꜝē′gan lʼ
And stopped his friends him for their minds were sick he
lās ʻᴀn ʟꜝ 12 u′nsᴀdaʻelan ᴀ′ła. Lʼ djā ʟꜝao nᴀñ ī′łiña
was happy for they came to know because. His wife however a man
qꜝᴀ′lat īnʻē′lan lʼ kꜝō′tᴀłs 13 ʻᴀn lā ʟꜝ u′nsᴀdan ᴀ′ła. 14
other came to marry he was dead for his they thought because.
Hao ʟan ʻê′lgᴀñ. 15
Here end becomes.
STORIES ACCOMPANIED BY TEXTS
HOW SHINING-HEAVENS CAUSED HIMSELF TO BE BORN
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people]
She was a chief’s daughter at Djū. [21] Her father had a slave he owned
watch her. Then she said to the slave: “Tell a certain one that I say I
am in love with him.” And, when she went out with him to defecate next
day, she asked the slave if he had told him. And he said to the chief’s
daughter: “He says he is afraid of your father.” He had not told him,
and he lied.
She told the slave to tell another that she was in love with him, and
again he did not tell him. He told her he feared her father. When she
was unable to get any of her father’s ten nephews she went with the
slave. And her father discovered it.
Then they abandoned her. Only the wife of her youngest uncle left some
food for her.
She went down on the beach to dig. After she had worked for some time
she dug out a cockleshell. In it a baby cried. Then she looked at it. A
small child was in it. Then she took it to the house. She put something
soft around it, and, although she did not nurse it, it grew fast. Soon
it began to creep. Not a long time after that it walked about.
One time the child said: “Here, mother, like this.” He moved his hand
as if drawing a bowstring. When he said the same thing again she
understood what he meant. Then she hammered out a copper bracelet she
wore into a bow for him, and another she hammered into arrows. When she
had finished [the bow] she gave it to him along with the two arrows. He
was pleased with them.
Then he went out to hunt birds. When he came back, he brought his
mother a cormorant. His mother ate it. The day after he went hunting
again. He brought in a goose to his mother. His mother ate it. And next
day he again went hunting. He brought in a wren. Then he skinned it. He
dried [the skin]. He treasured it. And next day also he brought in a
kꜝu′tcꜝix̣u. [22] That, too, he skinned. That too, he dried. And the
next day he brought in a blue jay. He skinned and dried that also. The
day after that he brought in a woodpecker. That he also skinned. That
he also dried.
One time some one was talking to his mother. The house creaked
moreover. And when day broke he awoke in a fine house. The carvings on
the house posts winked with their eyes. [23] Master Carpenter let
himself become his father. He got up and said to him: “Come, chief, my
child, let me dress you up.” Then he went to him and he put
fair-weather clouds [24] upon his face. “Now, chief, my son, come and
sit idle seaward.” As soon as he did so, the weather was good.
One time he asked to go fishing with his father. “We will pull out
Devilfish-fished-for.” And on their way to fish they pulled it out.
[25] Then they stopped at House-fishing-ground. [26] He seated his
father in the bow. After he had looked at the rising sun for a while he
said: “Now, father, say ‘The chief among them thinks he will take it.’”
This his father said. “Say ‘The one who comes around the island thinks
he will take it,’ father.” And he said so. “Father, say ‘The shadow
increases upon Tcꜝi′nła-i; hasten, chief.’” And so he said. “Father,
say ‘The great one coming up against the current begins thinking of
it.’” So he said. “Father, say ‘The great one coming putting gravel in
his mouth thinks of it.’” So he said. And again, “Father, say ‘You look
at it with white-stone eyes (i.e., good eyes).’ Father, say ‘Great
eater begins thinking of it.’” So he said. [27]
After he had finished saying these things it seized the hook. At once
it pulled him round this island. He struck the edges of the canoe with
his hands. He said to it: “Master Carpenter made you. Hold yourself
up.” The thing that pulled him about in the fishing ground again pulled
him round the island.
And when it stopped he tried to pull in the lines. He pulled out
something wonderful, head first. Broad seaweeds grew upon its lips. It
lay with halibut nests piled together [around it]. [28] He began to put
the halibut into the canoe. When the canoe was full he pulled the canoe
out to make it larger. After he had put them in for a while longer his
canoe was full, and he released it.
Then they went away. He brought halibut to his wife. She dried them.
Then he again called for his son, and when he had finished painting him
up he said to him: “Now, chief, my son, go over there and see your
uncles.” So he started thither. He came and sat down at the end of the
town. After he had sat there for a while they discovered him. They came
running to him. They then found out who he was. And they again moved
over to where his mother lived.
After they had lived there for a while he went out wearing his wren
skin. He said: “Mother, look at me.” Then his mother went out after
him. He sat as broad, high, cumulus clouds over the ocean. [29] His
mother looked. Then he came in and asked his mother: “Did I look well?”
“Yes, chief, my son, you looked well.” Then he also took the blue-jay
skin, and he said to his mother: “Look at me.” Then she went out after
him. Her son sat blue, broad, and high over the sea. Then he came in
and said: “Mother, did I look well?” “Yes, chief, my son, you looked
well.” And he also went out with the woodpecker and said: “Mother, look
at me.” Then she went out after him. He sat over the sea, the upper
part of him being red. She smiled at her son, and when he came in he
said: “Mother, did I look well?” “Yes, chief, my son, the supernatural
beings will not tire of looking at you.”
Then he said: “Mother, I shall see you no more. I am going away from
you. When I sit in front of Qꜝanᴀ′ñ [30] in the morning, there will be
no breeze. No one can touch me. [31] When the sky looks like my face as
my father painted it there will be no wind. In me (i.e., in my days)
people will get their food.” [32] “Now, chief, my son, when you sit
there in the morning I will send out feathers for you.”
Then he started off from his mother. His father also went off from her,
and said: “I also am going away from you. Settle yourself at the head
of the creek. I shall see you sometimes and I shall also see my son.”
Then he, too, went off.
And at evening she called for her youngest uncle. She said to him:
“When you go fishing to-morrow wear a new hat and have a new paddle.”
And early next day they went fishing. Then she sat down at the end of
the town with her knees together. And when she pulled up her dress the
wind blew out of the inlet. Every time she raised it higher more wind
came. When she had raised it to a level with her knees a very strong
wind blew. And she stretched her arm to the thread of life [33] of him
only who wore the new hat, and she saved him, because his wife left
something for her. That was Fine-weather-woman, [34] they say.
Then she took her mat and property and started into the woods up the
bed of the creek. And she fixed herself there. And a trail ran over
her. She said that they tickled her by walking upon it, and she moved
farther up. There she settled for good. When her son sits [over the
ocean] in the morning, she lets small flakes of snow fall for [him].
Those are the feathers.
This is one of the most important of all Haida stories, telling as it
does of the incarnation of the sky god, the highest deity anciently
recognized by them. Sîñ, the name by which he is known, is the ordinary
word for day as distinguished from night and from an entire period of
twenty-four hours, which also is called “night;” but it seems to be
more strictly applied to the sky above as it is illuminated by
sunshine. Hence I have chosen to translate the word “Shining-heavens.”
A similar conception is found among the Tsimshian of the neighboring
mainland, where the sky god is known as Laxha′. It would be interesting
to learn whether it also obtains among the related Tlingit of Alaska.
SÎÑ AGA′Ñ QEIDAG̣Ā′G̣AN
Lʼ gidā′gañ wᴀnsū′ga Djū gu ᴀ. L’ xā′tg̣a nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀña dag̣ai′as l’
qā′-idjîtdāg̣ᴀñᴀs. Giê′nhao nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀñᴀs hᴀn lᴀ la sū′udas “Ha′lᴀ
ałā′na at ł tā′-idisîñᴀñ gī sī′wuñ.” Giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a lᴀ dᴀ′ñat la
qax̣ua′lgaga′-i ʟ̣ū nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀñᴀs lᴀ gi lᴀ suudaga′-i gi la at la
kia′nᴀñᴀs. Giên hᴀn nᴀñ gida′s gi lᴀ sī′wus “Dᴀñ xā′tg̣a gi l’ łg̣oa′gañ
l’ sū′ugᴀn.” Gᴀm lᴀ sū′udag̣ᴀñᴀsi skꜝiä′xᴀn la kꜝū′gadañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Nᴀñ sg̣oā′na at ê′sîñ la tā′-isîñᴀs nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀñᴀs gī lᴀ nī′djîñxa′łsi
giên î′sîñ gᴀm lᴀ sū′udag̣ᴀñᴀsi. Giên l’ xā′tg̣a gi l’ łg̣oa′gañ lᴀgi la
sī′wus. L’ xā′tga nā′tg̣alᴀñ ʟā′alᴀs g̣adō′ la kîłg̣etsgaiya′-i ʟ̣ū nᴀñ
gida′s nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀñᴀs at tā′iyañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên l’ xā′tg̣a g̣ᴀn
u′nsᴀtdᴀłsi.
Giê′nhao lᴀ stᴀ ʟꜝ tcꜝa′sdaiyañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ qā′g̣alᴀñ sg̣oā′na djā′ag̣a
daog̣anā′gas sg̣u′nxᴀn gatā′ lᴀ gi înxai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
L’ djig̣ā′gasg̣agā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. Gañā′ñ lᴀ ī′djîñ qa′odi skia′l qꜝal lᴀ
łg̣eg̣ā′-istaiyas. G̣a nᴀñ g̣ā′xa sg̣ā′-iłas. Giên lᴀ qeā′ñᴀsi. G̣a nᴀñ g̣ā′xa
kꜝᴀ′tdju ʟdᴀ′sdiasi. Giên na gi lᴀ la ʟ̣′x̣idᴀs. Lᴀ g̣adō′ gī′nᴀ łtā′nawa
lᴀ îsdai′yas, giên gᴀm lᴀ la ʟꜝî′ndag̣ᴀns skꜝiä′xᴀn l’ īnag̣a′-i
x̣ā′ñalas. A′asîñ l’ ʟx̣uqā′g̣uñx̣idᴀs. Gᴀm stᴀ ga djī′iñag̣ᴀñg̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn l’
qag̣ō′ñx̣idᴀs.
Gaatxᴀ′n nᴀñ g̣ā′xas hᴀn sī′wus “Ña, ā′wa-i hᴀn ᴀ.” Sʟꜝañ lᴀ
ī′djig̣onā′das. Ga′-istᴀ î′sîñ gañā′ñ la sa′oga′-i ʟ̣ū gī′nᴀ lᴀ sū′udas
g̣ᴀn l’ u′nsᴀtdᴀłs. Giên x̣āl lᴀ sʟꜝgᴀtx̣ai′as la g̣ᴀn łg̣ēt g̣ᴀn lᴀ
qꜝā′dᴀñᴀ′s giên nᴀñ sg̣oā′na î′sîñ tcꜝidalᴀ′ñ g̣ᴀn la qꜝā′dᴀñᴀs. La
g̣e′iłgīdaga′-i ʟ̣ū tcꜝidalᴀña′-i sqꜝa′stîñ dᴀ′ñat lᴀ gi lᴀ xasʟa′si. At
l’ gudᴀña′-i lā′gasi.
Giên l’ xē′tet-tcꜝî′nłgoañgas. L’ stī′łʟꜝxaga′-i ʟ̣ū kꜝia′lu a-u′ñ gi lᴀ
kꜝu′sʟtcꜝias. L’ a′og̣a l’ tā′gᴀs. Ga-i dag̣ala′-ig̣a î′sîn l’
xetî′t-tcꜝînłgoañgai′yas. Łgitg̣u′n awu′ñ gi lᴀ ʟ̣sʟtcꜝai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
L’ a′og̣a l’ tā′gᴀs. Giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a î′sîñ l’ xete′t-tcꜝînłgoa′ñgaias.
Dā′tcꜝî lᴀ ʟ̣′sʟtcꜝas. Giên ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ la ʟꜝsta′si. Lᴀ la qꜝā′g̣adas. Lᴀ la
qoyā′das. Giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a ê′sîñ kꜝū′tcꜝix̣u lᴀ ʟ̣′sʟtcꜝias. La ê′sîñ
ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ ʟꜝ′stas. La ê′sîñ lᴀ qꜝa′g̣adas. Giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a î′sîñ
ʟꜝai′ʟꜝai lᴀ ʟ̣′sʟtcꜝias. La ê′sîñ lᴀ ʟꜝ′stas giên lᴀ la qꜝa′g̣adas. Ga-i
dag̣ala′-ig̣a î′sîñ sʟū′djag̣ada′ñ lᴀ ʟ̣′sʟtcꜝias. La ê′sîñ lᴀ ʟꜝ′stas. La
ê′sîñ la qꜝa′g̣adas.
Gaatxᴀ′nhao l’ a′og̣a g̣a nᴀñ kiłgula′s. Nā′ga-i î′sîñ łqeg̣otcꜝî′lgasi.
Giên sîñg̣aʟ̣a′nas giên nā′ga-i lā′gasi g̣ei lᴀ skî′nxaasi. Nā′ga-i
kꜝuxa′oxᴀña-i qꜝeida′-i qeauldā′ñᴀsi. Wᴀtg̣adagā′ñ hao la g̣ᴀn agᴀ′ñ
g̣ōñag̣ā′g̣aʟꜝxadai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ qꜝałā′was giên hᴀn lᴀ la sū′udas
“Ha-i ʟ̣ag̣ᴀ′l kî′lsʟa-i łqên halᴀ′ dᴀ′ñgi ł gî′ñg̣atdjañ.” Giê′nhao la g̣a
lᴀ qā′gᴀs giên l’ xā′ña la yanxā′gīda′das. “Ha-i, kî′lsʟa-i łqên,
qꜝadᴀx̣uā′ ła sā′anaqꜝa′osg̣a.” Giên gañā′xᴀn lᴀ isî′si gañā′xᴀn
sîn-laa′was.
Gaatxᴀ′nhao g̣ō′ñg̣añ dᴀ′ñat la xa′o-însā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga.
“Na′o-gixa′ogaiyas tꜝalᴀ′ñ dᴀñtcꜝīstā′sga.” Giên l’ xa′o-îns gut lᴀ la
dᴀñtcꜝîstᴀtꜝālas. Giên Na-giū′ g̣a lᴀ gei′sʟg̣eiłgīgᴀs. G̣ō′ñg̣añ
sqe′ugug̣awasī′ g̣a lᴀ tcꜝā′ñgîñgîñᴀs. Tcꜝī′g̣oya-i la qea′qꜝa′-idā′ldi
qa′odi hᴀn l’ sī′wus “Ha-i, g̣ō′ñga-i, ‘Wasū′g̣a qꜝola′-i ū
gudał′dadiañ,’ hᴀn ᴀ sū.” Gañā′xᴀn l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a sī′wusi. “‘Gwai′îs g̣adō′
gudā′lskiänᴀsi gudał′dadiañ,’ hᴀn ᴀ sū, g̣ō′ñga-i.” Giên gañā′xᴀn lᴀ
sī′wusi. “‘Tcꜝî′nła-i-xā′stᴀwañ, ī′ʟꜝgas. G̣a ła gūdᴀña′ñ łg̣ā′gîñ,’ hᴀn
ᴀ sū, g̣ō′ñga-i.” Giên gañā′xᴀn lᴀ sī′wusi. “‘Djū tꜝā′x̣ustᴀ qayū′djiwa-i
ū gudał′dadiañ’, hᴀn ᴀ sū, g̣ō′ñga-i.” Gañā′xᴀn lᴀ sū′daiyag̣ᴀni.
“‘Łg̣ā′xets nᴀñ xatā′ndals yū′djiwa-i gudał′dadiañ,’ hᴀn ᴀ sū g̣ō′ñga-i.”
Gañā′xᴀn lᴀ sū. Giên hᴀn î′sîñ “‘G̣ō′dansda-xᴀ′ñadas a′thao dā
qea′tcigīdiᴀñ,’ hᴀn ᴀ sū, g̣ō′ñga-i.” “‘X̣ā′mᴀłtᴀgoañ yū′djiwa-i ū
gūdał′dadiañ,’ hᴀn ᴀ sū, g̣ō′ñga-i.” Gañā′xᴀn lᴀ sū′usi.
Ā′sga-i gañā′ñ lᴀ sugī′ga-i ʟ̣ū lᴀ gu lᴀ qꜝa′oʟꜝxai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. A′asîñ
a′si gwai′ya-i g̣adō′ lᴀ la g̣ᴀlg̣ā′łgᴀłdā′asi. ʟua′-i djī′ina ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ
sqotskidā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. “Wᴀtg̣adagā′ñ dᴀñ ʟ′g̣ołg̣ag̣ᴀn. Si′a ła agᴀ′ñ
xaᴀ′ndju” hᴀn lᴀ la sū′udas. Giwa′i g̣a lᴀ ga g̣ᴀlgā′isʟasi. Î′sîñê′sîñ
gwai′a-i g̣adō′xa lᴀ ga g̣ᴀlgā′łg̣ᴀldaasi.
Giên î′sîñ gā′-isʟia-i ʟ̣ū lᴀ gi lᴀ dᴀ′ñg̣aawas. Gū′gus tꜝag̣anē′ la
dᴀñᴀ′ndjîʟꜝxas. L’ kꜝū′dᴀ gut ñā′lagᴀs. L’ łtᴀ′lgaga′-i gutg̣ᴀ′n
qꜝa′-idasi. Xagwa′-i lᴀ īʟ̣x̣idā′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. ʟua′-i lā′g̣a sta′ʼgasi giên
gutg̣e′istᴀ lᴀ dᴀñgī′djiʟꜝxagᴀ′ñᴀsi. Lᴀ īʟ̣ qa′o⁺di ʟua′-i lā′g̣a
sta′ʼgasi giên lᴀ la ʟ′sʟgias.
Giên stᴀ lᴀ ʟuqā′-ig̣oasi. Djā′g̣ᴀñ gi xagwa′-i lᴀ ʟgua′si. L’ djā′g̣a
qꜝā′gada′si. Giê′nhao î′sîñ gitg̣ᴀ′ñ g̣ᴀn lᴀ g̣ag̣oyā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên
î′sîñ lᴀ gi lᴀ gî′ñg̣atgī′ga-i ʟ̣ū lᴀ la sū′udas “Ha-i, kî′lsʟa-i łqên,
adjx̣uā′ dᴀñ qā′g̣alᴀñ naxa′ns ła qî′ñg̣a.” Giê′nhao g̣a lᴀ qā′-idᴀñ
wᴀnsū′ga. Lnagā′-i gia′ogi lᴀ qꜝa′oʟꜝxasi. L’ qꜝa′o-u qa′odi la g̣ei ʟꜝ
qē′xas. Lᴀ ʟꜝ da′ox̣ides. Ā′hao ʟꜝ lag̣ᴀ′n ʟꜝ u′nsᴀtdaalañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên
gagū′ l’ a′og̣a nā′gᴀs g̣a î′sîñ ʟꜝ tcꜝig̣ahū′nᴀñᴀs.
Gu lᴀ naxā′ñg̣o qao′⁺di datcꜝa′-i qꜝᴀl dᴀ′ñat ᴀ′ñg̣a la qax̣uā′lañ
wᴀnsū′ga. “Ā′wa-i, dī łᴀ qē′xañ” hᴀn l’ sī′wus. Giên l’ a′og̣a l’ ʟ̣g̣a
qax̣uā′las. Tᴀñg̣ ona′-i g̣a l’ qwē′g̣awa-qꜝō′łdjiwas. L’ a′og̣a qe′iñᴀs.
Giên l’ qatcꜝai′as giên a-u′ñ at lᴀ kiä′nᴀñᴀs “Dī gua lā′ga.” “Ā′ña,
kî′lsʟa-i łqên, dᴀñ lā′gᴀñ.” Giê′nhao ʟꜝai′ʟꜝga-i qꜝᴀl î′sîñ lᴀ
îsdai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên hᴀn ā′wuñ lᴀ sū′udas “Dī ła qē′xᴀñ.” Giên l’
g̣ō′ʟ̣ag̣a la qax̣uā′lasi. Tᴀñg̣ona′-i g̣a l’ gī′tg̣a g̣ō′łg̣ał qꜝo′łdjiwasi.
Giên l’ qatcꜝai′as giên hᴀn l’ sī′wus “Ā′wa-i dī gua lā′ga.” “Ā′ña,
kîlsʟa′-i łqên, dᴀñ lā′gᴀñ.” Giên sʟudjā′g̣adᴀña-i î′sîñ dᴀ′ñat lᴀ
qā′x̣ułs giên hᴀn l’ sī′wus “Ā′wa-i dī łᴀ qē′xᴀñ.” Giên l’ ʟ̣g̣a lᴀ
qā′x̣ułs. “Tᴀñg̣ona′-i g̣a sᴀ′gui l’ sg̣ētłtᴀ′px̣iañwas.” Gitg̣ᴀ′ñ g̣a agᴀ′ñ
lᴀ dᴀ′ñgidᴀs. Giên l’ qatcꜝia′-i ʟ̣ū l’ sī′wus “Ā′wa-i, dī′gua lā′ga.”
“Ā′ña, kîlsʟa′-i łqên, sg̣ā′na-qeda′s dᴀ′ñg̣a qea′xolgîlgā′nsga.”
Giên hᴀn l’ sī′wus “Ā′wa-i ʟan dᴀñ ł qî′ñga. Dᴀñ stᴀ ł qā′-ida. Qꜝanᴀ′ñ
tꜝa′g̣a ł qꜝa′o-uła′s giên gᴀm ʟgu stᴀ x̣utskîtg̣ᴀñgā′nsga. Dīgi
siîñā′g̣asga. Dī g̣ō′ñg̣a dī gi gîñg̣e′idᴀñ gañā′ñ g̣etuła′s giên gᴀm ʟgu
stᴀ x̣ū′tskîtg̣ᴀñgā′nsga. Xā′-ides dī g̣ei xełā′ñ g̣egīdᴀg̣ā′nsga.” “Haku,
kîlsʟa′-i łqên, dā qꜝa′o-ułas giên łtᴀ′ng̣o dᴀñ gi ł
gug̣a′osgadag̣ā′nsga.”
Giên awu′ñstᴀ l’ qā′-idañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ g̣ō′ñg̣a ê′sîñ lᴀ stᴀ
qā′-itx̣idie′s giên hᴀn sī′wus: “Ła ê′sîñ dᴀ′ñstᴀ qā′-ida. G̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i
qā′sg̣a łᴀ agᴀ′ñ ʟg̣ag̣e′iłdañ. Dᴀñ ł qîñg̣ā′nsga giên gī′tg̣ᴀñ î′sîñ ł
qîñg̣ā′-nsga.” Giên la ê′sîñ qā′-idañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên sîñx̣ia′s giên l’ qā′g̣a da′og̣anagas g̣ᴀn lᴀ g̣ā′g̣oyîñᴀs. Giên hᴀn lᴀ
la sū′udas “Da′g̣ał ʟꜝ xa′og̣agia′-i giê′nᴀ dadjî′ñ ʟa′ʼga gut êsî′ñ
giê′nᴀ ā′la-i î′sîñ ᴀ′ñg̣a ʟa′ʼdañ.” Giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a sîñg̣a′-ixᴀn ʟꜝ
xa′og̣agiäsi. Giên lnagā′-i gia′ogi lᴀ qꜝaokū′djîłsi. Giên łqēdaga′-i
ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ dᴀñgī′stałia′-i ʟ̣ū tā′djîłsg̣as. Sa′nᴀñ lᴀ îstag̣ᴀ′nsi kꜝea′ł
tadja′-i wai′gi qä′skidesi. Kꜝō′lᴀñ ʟ̣ū lᴀ dᴀñgī′stᴀłia′-i ʟ̣ū yan
djiłī′xᴀn l’ xā′sʟsg̣a′si. Giên nᴀñ dadjî′ñg̣aʟa′ʼgas wa′nwa-i gi
sg̣u′nxᴀn lᴀ xā′g̣atsg̣as giên lᴀ la qā′g̣ᴀndag̣a′ñ wᴀnsū′ga l’ djā′g̣a lᴀ gi
giaî′nxaiyag̣ᴀn g̣aga′n ᴀ. Ḷla′-djat hao idjā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao lgudja′-i at ʟāwa′-i ᴀ′ñg̣a la îsta′si giên l’ qax̣iagiā′lᴀñ
wᴀnsū′ga g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i qā′łi g̣ei ᴀ. Giê′nhao gu agᴀ′ñ lᴀ ʟg̣ā′g̣eiłda′asi.
Giên lᴀ gut kꜝīwā′gas. Lᴀ ʟꜝ tꜝasê′lgᴀñᴀñ l’ sū′us giên dī′tgi ê′sîñ l’
g̣ō′dalgialañ wᴀnsū′ga. Ga′-iguhao l’ tcī′ag̣eiłsg̣oā′nañañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’
gī′tg̣a qꜝa′o-ułas giên tꜝa′g̣ao kꜝᴀ′mdᴀla gī lᴀ gug̣a′oskadagᴀ′ñᴀs.
Ga′-ihao łtᴀ′ng̣o īdjā′g̣ᴀn.
Hao ʟan l’ g̣e′ida.
HOW MASTER-CARPENTER BEGAN MAKING A CANOE TO WAR WITH SOUTHEAST
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o-creek.]
Master-carpenter at a steep place at one end of the town of Sqa-i began
making a canoe in which to war with Southeast. [35] The first one that
he finished at the edge of the steep place he threw down into the
water. It split. After that he made another. He made the measurement of
thickness of this one greater than for the one he had made before. And
when he finished it he threw it into the water. That, too, split apart.
After that he made another one and had it thick. When he threw that in
it also split apart. After that he made still another and had that also
very thick. When he threw that in it broke also.
Before all this happened he tried to wedge apart two canoes from one
log. Then Greatest Fool came to him. And he told him how to use his
wedges. He told him to use bent ones. When he did so, they came apart.
In that way he made two [at once]. [36]
When he could not accomplish it (i.e., make a canoe that would not
break) he let the limbs stay on one and threw it off from the cliff. It
went down safely. Then he thought it good and set out to find him
(Southeast). He knew where he lived.
Then he came floating above him. And he challenged him. After he had
called to him for a while a current flowed out rapidly. A large amount
of seaweed came floating with it. After it came his matted hair. When
he came to the surface he seized him. When he started off with him
(Southeast) he called for his nephews.
First he called Red-storm-cloud. The neighboring sky became red. This
passed away from it quickly. At once the wind blew strong. [37] While
this wind was blowing very hard he called for
Taker-off-of-the-tree-tops. The wind immediately blew harder. The tree
tops that were blown about fell close to him. All that time he spit
medicine upon himself.
For the next one he called Pebble-rattler. At once the wind was further
increased. The waves came rolling in. The stones made a noise. The sand
blew about. All that time he spit medicine upon the things he had in
his canoe. At that time he called for Maker-of-the-thick-sea-mist.
There were many of them (the nephews). Part have been forgotten. [38]
By and by he called for Tidal-wave. And when he came he
(Master-carpenter) was covered with water. All that time he spit
medicine upon his things. At that time they were too much for him.
Then he got him ashore. Some of the old people said that he (Southeast)
[39] died.
His mother was named “To-morrow” (Dā′g̣ał). [40] For that reason they
were accustomed not to say dā′g̣ał; else they said there would be bad
weather, so they called dā′g̣ał, ałg̣alā′g̣a.
The end.
This little story seems to have been very well known throughout the
Queen Charlotte islands. What seems to have been a longer version was
known to old Chief Edenshaw at Masset. This one was related to my
informant by an old man of the Ninstints people, now dead.
WATG̣ADAGĀ′Ñ XE-Ū′GI QA-IDA′O G̣AN LUDĀ′ÑGAX̣IDAG̣AN
Sqa-i lnagā′-i gia′ogi nᴀñ stā′las gū′hao Wᴀtg̣adagā′ñ Xeū gi qa-ida′o
g̣ᴀn ʟuʟ′g̣ołg̣ax̣idag̣ᴀn. Stā′la-i qo′lgi nᴀñ la g̣eiłgī′gaʟā′gañas
stā′la-i gū′stᴀ lᴀ kidagai′yag̣ᴀn. Gu′tstᴀ l’ g̣atg̣adatcꜝā′g̣ᴀn. Ga′-istᴀ
î′sîñ nᴀñ lᴀ ʟ′g̣ołg̣asi. Ku′ng̣ada lā′na la łkiä′gag̣ᴀn ī′la lᴀ la
kꜝwidai′yag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao la êsî′ñ lᴀ g̣eiłgīdā′asi giên lᴀ la
kidagai′yag̣ᴀn. La ê′sîñ gu′tstᴀ g̣ā′tsqadᴀtcꜝag̣ᴀn. Ga′-istᴀ î′sîñ nᴀñ lᴀ
ʟ′g̣ołg̣asi giên lᴀ la gañadai′yag̣ᴀn. La êsî′ñ lᴀ kī′dagaiya′-i ʟ̣ū
gu′tstᴀ g̣atsqā′dᴀtcꜝag̣ᴀn. Ga′-istᴀ î′sîñ nᴀñ lᴀ ʟ′g̣ołg̣asi giên la êsî′ñ
lᴀ gā′ñayū′ᴀndaiyag̣ᴀn. La êsî′ñ lᴀ kꜝā′dᴀgaiya-i ʟ̣ū la êsî′ñ
xosdai′yag̣ᴀn.
Ku′ng̣ᴀstᴀhao gutg̣e′istᴀ nᴀñ lᴀ djîtgī′stᴀtꜝadjî′ndies. Ḷū′hao
Sʟi′ñgutg̣a-sg̣ā′na lag̣ᴀ′nstᴀ qaʟꜝxai′yag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao ʟꜝua′-i lā′g̣a lᴀ
kîlg̣ołg̣ai′yag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao ga skᴀ′pdᴀla at lᴀ la waxā′lag̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀn lᴀ
ūga′-i ʟ̣ū′hao gutg̣e′istᴀ l’ g̣astai′yag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao lā′g̣a l’
g̣astî′ñg̣ea′lag̣ᴀn.
ʟ′g̣ołg̣aga-i g̣adō′ la g̣etsgia′-i ʟ̣ū nᴀñ ʟā′dji wa g̣ei lᴀ qꜝa′oda dᴀ′ñat
stā′la-i qu′lgustᴀ lᴀ la kī′dagaiyag̣ᴀn. Gī′nᴀ tcꜝā′łłg̣asgidᴀs gañā′ñ l’
îsgai′yag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao lᴀ la lā′daiyag̣ᴀn giên lᴀ gū′g̣a lᴀ la
tā′ng̣ax̣idag̣ᴀn. Gia′gu lᴀ na′as g̣ᴀn l’ u′nsᴀdag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao lᴀ sī′g̣a lᴀ gā′-isʟʟꜝxaiyag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao lᴀ la
gīnᴀ′ñx̣îtgiañag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ la gīnᴀ′ñgîñ qa′o⁺dihao tcī′wa-i ʟꜝa
koaʼg̣ā′ʟꜝxaʟāgañag̣ᴀn. Ga′-ihao ñalg̣aᴀ′nda yū′dᴀla
dā′lłg̣ᴀłdᴀʟꜝxaiyag̣ᴀn. Ḷg̣a skatcꜝigila′-i î′sîñ lā′g̣a
dā′lłgᴀłdaʟꜝxaiyag̣ᴀni. L’ ᴀ′ntcꜝîʟꜝxaga-i ʟ̣ū′hao lᴀ lᴀ g̣ē′tg̣aʟ̣daiyag̣ᴀn.
Ḷū′hao lᴀ dᴀ′ñat lᴀ ʟuqāʼ-itx̣îtgiañga-i ʟ̣ū tā′x̣ulᴀñ gi lᴀ kiä′gañag̣ᴀn.
Sg̣etxaa′łda gi lᴀ kia′gañʟā′gañag̣ᴀn. A′txᴀn qōyaqag̣ᴀ′n sg̣ē′dułdaiasi.
Wa′guxᴀn g̣ā′gugag̣ᴀni. Gañā′xᴀn tā′djwa-i sqag̣adā′g̣ᴀni. Ā′sga-i ʟ̣ū
haoxᴀ′n tā′djiwa-i sg̣ag̣adā′g̣ᴀndixᴀn Qā′-itqā′dji-x̣āʟ gi lᴀ
kiä′gañag̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀn g̣eigia′ñxᴀn tadjiwa′-i sg̣ag̣adā′g̣ᴀni. Qa-ida′-i
qā′dji x̣utgā′si la gutxᴀ′n x̣a′odjig̣agīgā′ñag̣ᴀni. Kꜝiä′łhao x̣ila′-i
gu′dañ lᴀ tcꜝî′ñułg̣adᴀñgāñag̣ᴀni.
Lagū′stᴀ Łg̣ā′xet-ʟdag̣a gī lᴀ kiägā′ñag̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀn î′sîñ tadjiwa′-i wᴀ
gi qasgidā′g̣ᴀni. Lūa′-i g̣atā′-idᴀldañᴀsi. Łg̣ā′ga-i łg̣ā′-idagagañag̣ᴀni.
Tā′dja-i î′sîñ x̣ū′tga. Kꜝiä′łhao gī′nᴀ gū′g̣a lᴀ î′sîs gui x̣ila′-i lᴀ
tcꜝî′ñułg̣adᴀñgañag̣ᴀni. Asga-i ʟ̣ū′ îsî′ñ
Nᴀñ-skēstā′igîsʟgᴀñᴀs-yä′nᴀña-ta-igî′ñgᴀñᴀs gi lᴀ kiagā′ñag̣ᴀn.
Qoa′nag̣ᴀni. Tꜝē′dji gi ʟꜝ qꜝa-iskī′dᴀñ. Qa′odihao Ta-idᴀ′l gi lᴀ
kiägā′ñag̣ᴀn. Ga-iʟ̣ū′hao l’ qatꜝa-idā′las giên l’ qasā′g̣agusʟg̣ᴀñdalag̣ᴀn.
Kꜝiä′łhao x̣ila′-i gī′nᴀ gū′g̣a lᴀ î′sîs gui lᴀ tcꜝî′ñułgadᴀñgañag̣ᴀn.
Ga-iʟ̣ū′hao l’ xᴀn tꜝᴀ′lgi ga g̣e′iłgiañag̣ᴀn. Ga-iʟ̣ū′hao lᴀ ʟꜝ
g̣ē′tg̣atgîłdaiyag̣ᴀni. ʟ̣! qꜝaya′hao ʟ xā′-idᴀg̣a sū′g̣a l’ kꜝotwā′lag̣ᴀn
sū′gᴀñga.
L’ a′og̣ahao Dā′g̣ał hᴀn kī′g̣añ wᴀnsū′ga. A′thao gᴀm dā′g̣ał hᴀn ʟꜝ
sū′g̣ᴀñgᴀñgîn giên sîndā′g̣añaasañ ʟꜝ sugā′ñag̣ᴀni. A′thao ałg̣alā′g̣a hᴀn
dā′g̣ał ʟꜝ kī′g̣adagᴀñgᴀñgîn.
A′hao ʟan l’ g̣e′idᴀñ.
THE CANOE PEOPLE WHO WEAR HEADDRESSES
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people]
There were ten of them, and they went to hunt with dogs. After they had
gone along for some time it became misty about them, and they came to a
steep mountain [41] and sat there. Their dogs walked about on the
ground below. They yelped up at them.
Then they started a fire on top of the mountain, and one among them who
was full of mischief put his bow into the fire. But, when it was
consumed, it lay on the level ground below. Then he also put himself
in. After he had burned for a while and was consumed, lo, he stood on
the level ground below. Then he told his elder brothers to do the same
thing. “Come, do the same thing. I did not feel it.” So they threw
themselves into the fire. They were consumed and stood at once on the
level ground.
And when they put the next to the eldest in, his skin drew together as
he burned. His eyes were also swollen by the fire. That happened to him
because he was afraid to be put in. When he was consumed he also stood
below. The same thing happened to the eldest. This mountain was called
“Slender-rock.”
Then they left it. After they had traveled about for a while a wren
made a noise near them. They saw a blue hole in the heart of the one
who was traveling nearest to it. And after they had gone on a while
longer they came to the inner end of Masset inlet. When they had
traveled on still farther (they found) a hawk [42] feather floated
ashore. This they tied in the hair of the youngest. He put feathers
from the neck of a mallard around the lower part of it. It was pretty.
Now they came to a temporary village. They camped in a house in the
middle which had a roof. They began eating mussels which were to be
found at one end of the town. He who was mischievous made fun of the
mussels. He kept spitting them out upward. By and by they set out to
see who could blow them highest [through the smoke hole]. One went up
on the top of the house and held out his blanket, which was over his
shoulder. By and by he looked at it. His blanket was covered with
feathers. They did not know that this was caused by their having broken
their fast.
And after they had walked about for a while in the town they found an
old canoe. Moss grew on it. Nettles were also on it. They pulled these
off, threw them away, and repaired it. Then the mischievous one made a
bark bailer for it. On the handle he carved a figure like a bird. He
carved it in a sitting posture. They tied a bunch of feathers in the
hair of one of their number, and he got in forward with a pole. Another
went in and lay on his back in the stern. They poled along.
After they had gone along for a while they came to a village where a
drum was sounding. A shaman was performing there. The glow [of the
fire] shone out as far as the beach. Then they landed in front of the
place, bow first, and the bow man got off to look. When he got near
[the shaman said]: “Now, the chief
Supernatural-being-who-keeps-the-bow-off is going to get off.” He was
made ashamed and went directly back.
And the next one got off to look. When he got near [the shaman said]:
“Chief Hawk-hole [43] is going to get off.” And he looked at himself.
There was a blue hole in him. He became ashamed and went back.
The next one also got off to look. When he got near he heard the shaman
say again: “Now the chief Supernatural-being-on-whom-the-daylight-rests
is going to get off.” And he went back.
Then the next one got off. He (the shaman) said, as before: “Now the
chief Supernatural-being-on-the-water-on-whom-is-sunshine is going to
get off.”
And another one got off to look. When he got near [he said]: “Now the
chief Supernatural-puffin-on-the-water [44] is going to get off.” He
was also ashamed and went back.
And another got off. He (the shaman) said to him: “Now the chief
Hawk-with-one-feather-sticking-out-of-the-water [45] is going to get
off.” He looked at the shaman from near. He had a costume like his own.
Then he also went back.
Still another got off. When he, too, got near [the shaman said]: “Now
the chief Wearing-clouds-around-his-neck [46] is going to get off.” And
he, too, went back.
And another got off. When he came near [the shaman said]: “Now the
chief Supernatural-being-with-the-big-eyes is going to get off.” He
remembered that he had been thus. [47]
And yet another got off. When he, too, came near the door [the shaman
said]: “Now the chief Supernatural-being-lying-on-his-back-in-the-canoe
is going to get off.”
Then he got on again, and the oldest got off to look. When he came near
[the shaman said]: “Now the chief who owns the canoe,
Supernatural-being-half-of-whose-words-are-raven, is going to get off.”
Then the eldest brother said: “Truly, we have become supernatural
beings. Now, brothers, arrange yourselves in the canoe.” Then they took
on board some boys who were playing about the town. They put them in a
crack in the bottom of the canoe. And they pulled up grass growing at
one end of the town for nests. They arranged it around themselves where
they sat.
Then they started round the west coast. When the one who had a pole
slipped his hands along it, its surface became red. He alone pushed the
canoe along with his staff.
As they floated along, when they found any feathers floating about,
they put them into a small box. If they found flicker feathers floating
about, they were particularly pleased and kept them.
Then they came to a town. A woman went about crying near it. They took
her in with them. When this woman’s husband came from fishing with a
net [he thought] some man had his arms around his wife. Then he put
burning coals on the arms about her. But it was his wife who got up
crying. [48] It was she who was going about crying, whom they took in.
Then they made a crack in the bottom of the canoe for her and put her
hand into it, whereupon it ceased paining her. They made her their
sister. They placed her above the bailing hole.
Then they came in front of Kaisun. And the woman at the head of Djū,
Fine-weather-woman, [49] came to them. [She said]: “Come near, my
brothers, while I give you directions. The eldest brother in the middle
will own the canoe. His name shall be
‘Supernatural-being-half-of-whose-words-are-Raven.’ [50] Part of the
canoe shall be Eagle; part of it shall be Raven. Part of the dancing
hats shall be black; part of them shall be white. The next one’s name
shall be ‘Supernatural-being-with-the-big-eyes.’ The one next to him
will be called ‘Hawk-hole.’ The next one will be called
‘Supernatural-being-on-whom-the-daylight-rests.’ The next one will be
called ‘Supernatural-being-on-the-water-on-whom-is-sunshine.’ The next
one will be called ‘Puffin-putting-his-head-out-of-the-water.’ The next
will be called ‘Wearing-clouds-around-his-neck.’ The next will be
called ‘Supernatural-being-lying-on-his-back-in-the-canoe.’ The next
will be called ‘Supernatural-being-who-keeps-the-bow-off.’ He will give
orders. Wherever you give people supernatural power he will push the
canoe. And the next younger brother will be called
‘Hawk-with-one-feather-sticking-out-of-the-water.’ And the sister
sitting in the stern will be called
‘Supernatural-woman-who-does-the-bailing.’ Now, brothers, set
yourselves in the canoe. Paddle to Stā′ngwai. [51] It is he who paints
up those who are going to be supernatural beings. He will paint you up.
Dance four short nights in your canoe. Then you will be finished.” That
was how she spoke of four years.
Immediately, he (Stā′ngwai) dressed them up. He dressed them up with
dancing hats, dancing skirts, and puffins’-beak rattles. He pulled a
skin of cloud round the outside of the canoe. He arranged them inside
of it. Where they sat he arranged their nests. All was finished.
This is the end.
Compare with this the conclusion of the story of
The-supernatural-being-who-went-naked and a story in the Masset series
(Memoirs of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1905, volume 5, part 1,
page 213). It tells the origin of certain supernatural beings who were
supposed to speak through shamans, how they received their names, etc.
The headdresses here referred to are the elaborate structures with
carved wooden fronts, sea-lion bristles around the tops, and rows of
weasel skins down the backs. Things thrown into the fire were supposed
to go to the land of souls, hence the idea of sending men thither in
that way is perfectly natural.
QꜝADAX̣UĀ′ GA DJÎ′ŁG̣EIDA LGÎNS
Giê′nhao l’ ʟā′ałg̣o xa g̣ō′ʟ̣ᴀg̣a lᴀ gᴀ′ndax̣îtg̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’
gᴀndā′lg̣o qa′odihao lᴀ gi yä′nᴀñᴀg̣eiłg̣oas giên nᴀñ ʟ′dag̣awa stala′
g̣a′-iłgᴀłda gu la gᴀ′nłinaʟꜝxag̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao xā′ga-i lā′g̣a
xē′daxa ʟga′-i lga-i g̣ei lā′g̣a gᴀnłgałg̣wa′asi. La g̣a sqē′nanłg̣ogā′ñañ
wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao ʟdag̣awa′-i u′ngu lᴀ tcꜝaanō′g̣adag̣wasī′ giên l’ sū′ug̣a nᴀñ
giūgā′was łg̣ē′da-i ᴀ′ñg̣a tcꜝā′anawa-i g̣ei xag̣ā′sg̣aiyañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên
lā′g̣a g̣oha-ilua′-i ʟ̣ū xē′dᴀ ʟga-l’ga-i gu ʟꜝa lā′g̣a xag̣odie′si.
Giê′nhao la ê′sîñ agᴀ′ñ ʟ̣g̣ā′sg̣as. L’ g̣oxagᴀ′ñdi qa′odi l’ x̣ᴀlhā′ilua-i
ʟ̣ū xē′dᴀ ʟga-l’ga-i gu ʟꜝ lᴀ giā′gᴀñᴀsi. Giê′nhao kꜝwai′g̣alᴀñ ê′sîñ
gañā′ñ lᴀ î′sxałsi. “Halᴀ′ dalᴀ′ñ î′sîñ gañā′ñ î′sg̣o stᴀ. Gᴀm gu łᴀ
qꜝałag̣ᴀ′ñgᴀñ.” Giê′nhao tcꜝaanua′-i g̣ei gu ʟꜝ ʟîsg̣ā′asi. X̣ᴀlhā′-iluᴀsi
giên ʟga-l’ga′-i gu ʟꜝa giagᴀ′ñgᴀñᴀsi.
Giên nᴀñ kꜝwai′as gū′stᴀ nᴀñ qā′g̣agas ê′sîñ lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ̣g̣ā′sg̣aga-i ʟ̣ū l’
qꜝᴀl gū′tg̣a x̣ᴀlłgᴀ′mdax̣ide′s. L’ xᴀ′ñe g̣a ê′sîñ x̣ᴀlsqā′sg̣asʟas.
Ḷg̣ā′sg̣aga-i gī l’ łg̣oagaiyā′g̣ᴀni g̣agā′nhao l’ īdjā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. L’
x̣ᴀlhā′-ilua-i ʟ̣ū la ê′sîñ xē′dᴀ giā′gᴀñᴀs. Giên nᴀñ kꜝwai′yas ê′sîñ
gañā′xᴀn agᴀ′ñ îstā′si. Łg̣atꜝā′djiwas hᴀ′nhao ʟdag̣awa′-i kig̣ā′ñ
wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao stᴀ lᴀ gᴀ′ndax̣îtg̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ gᴀndā′ldig̣o qa′odihao
da′tcꜝi l’ dagwu′lgi łkiā′g̣was. Ga-igū′stᴀ nᴀñ ʟ̣′dadjia′s kꜝū′g̣a gu l’
g̣ō′łg̣ał xē′łsu la qî′ñg̣awañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao ga′-istᴀ lᴀ gᴀndā′lg̣o
qa′odihao G̣ao sʟꜝî′ñ g̣a lᴀ gᴀ′ndalʟꜝxag̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ gᴀndā′lg̣o
qa′odihao skiä′mskun tꜝā′g̣un gā′-itꜝaoga′ogadie′s. A′hao nᴀñ dā′og̣ᴀnas
la kiug̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. Xā′xa x̣îl tꜝā′g̣ona-i qꜝol g̣adō′ lā′g̣a la
îstag̣wā′si. Lā′g̣a lā′gasi.
Giê′nhao gū′g̣a lā′na sî′ldiyagas gu lᴀ gᴀ′ndalʟꜝxag̣was. Giê′nhao
ya′kug̣a ga ta′-iîs sg̣oā′nsᴀñ g̣ā′gîłiagas g̣aha′o lᴀ îsg̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao lnagā′-i gia′ogi g̣ᴀl qꜝā′awasi lᴀ tā′x̣idig̣oasi. ʟꜝ sū′ug̣a nᴀñ
giūgā′was g̣ala′-i g̣ᴀn la qꜝa′ʼgasi. Lᴀ x̣utqꜝā′tꜝałgᴀñᴀsi. Qa′odihao nᴀñ
x̣utcꜝiya′-i ʟꜝ qî′ñx̣idiya′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. Na u′ngui nᴀñ qā′ałas giên
kꜝia′og̣a lᴀ skiū′djîłsi giên l’ skiū g̣ei īdjî′ñᴀsi. Qa′odihao gī lᴀ
qexai′asi. Łtᴀ′ng̣o sg̣u′nxᴀn la skiū′gîñgiā′gᴀñᴀs. A′hao ʟꜝ
gutg̣ā′tgodax̣idia hao gᴀm g̣ᴀn l’ u′nsᴀtg̣ᴀñg̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao lnagā′-i gut la gᴀ′nłᴀłg̣o qao′dihao ʟū-gᴀnsilā′ga la
qē′xag̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. Lᴀ gut kî′nxanā′agas. At lᴀ gut g̣odᴀ′ñx̣al īdja′s.
La dᴀñdā′ñg̣og̣awas giên lᴀ la ʟ′g̣ołg̣agā′g̣was. Giên nᴀñ giūgā′was
kꜝō′dji-x̣ū′dao g̣ᴀn ʟ′g̣ołg̣as. Gidjigī′da gu gī′nᴀ lᴀ
qꜝa′it-xete′t-dag̣ᴀñā′gas. Qꜝa-itqꜝā′was. Giên tꜝā′g̣un g̣a ê′sîñ nᴀñ ʟꜝ
kiūłqā′-idjalas giên sqeux̣uā′ sqꜝā′ño lᴀ sqꜝagî′ns dᴀ′ñat la qaʟ̣′gas.
Giên l’ sg̣oā′na ê′sîñ tꜝā′ñg̣a ta-ig̣aʟ̣′naʟ̣gᴀs. Giê′nhao l’
kîtgī′dax̣îtg̣ā′awañ wᴀnsū′ga.
L’ gīdā′lgîñg̣o qa′odi lā′na g̣ag̣odī′a gu gaodja′o xegᴀ′ndia g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ lᴀ
ʟūqā′ʟꜝxag̣oas. Gu nᴀñ sg̣ag̣adia′si. Kꜝī′wa-i g̣ē′stᴀ qꜝā′tgi xᴀn
g̣og̣ā′adaga łgidjū′usg̣adia′s. Giê′nhao xē′tgu lᴀ kung̣a′ogîłg̣wasi giên
nᴀñ sqē′wagas qeā′ñg̣atꜝałsi. G̣ᴀn l’ ā′xᴀnag̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū “Hᴀku īʟꜝga′-i
qatꜝałsa′-o ī′djîñ Sg̣ā′na-kîtg̣adjū′gîns.” Giê′nhao lᴀ ʟꜝ
kîlg̣e′idaxā′sʟaiya′s giên siłgiā′ñ xᴀn l’ qāʟ̣′gas.
Giên gū′stᴀ lā′na ê′sîñ qîñg̣atꜝā′lᴀsi. G̣ᴀn l’ ā′xᴀnag̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū
“Ī′ʟꜝga-i qatꜝᴀ′lsa-o ī′djîñ Skiä′mskun-xē′lᴀ.” Giên gudᴀ′ñ l’
qē′xaiyas. L’ g̣ō′łg̣ałxē′las. Giên lᴀ ʟꜝ kîlg̣ē′daxasʟa’s giên l’
stīłʟ̣′gas.
Giên gū′stᴀ lā′na ê′sîñ qeā′ñgatꜝᴀłsî′ñᴀsi. Lᴀ ê′sîñ g̣ᴀn ā′xᴀnag̣elā′-i
ʟ̣ū î′sîñ nᴀñ sg̣ā′gas î′sîñ hᴀn sī′wus lᴀ gū′dᴀñᴀs “Hᴀku ē′ʟꜝga-i
qaatꜝā′lsa-o ē′djîñ Sg̣ā′na-sa′nʟ̣ina-ᴀ′ndjugîns.” Giên la êsî′ñ stᴀ
stiłsg̣ā′sa.
Giên gū′stᴀ lā′na ê′sîñ qatꜝā′las. Î′sîñ gañā′xᴀn ʟꜝ sī′wusi “Hᴀku
ī′ʟꜝga-i qatꜝᴀ′lsᴀñ Sg̣ā′na-x̣a′-iaᴀ′ndjugîns.”
Giên î′sîñ nᴀñ qeā′ñgatꜝa′lᴀsi. G̣ᴀn l’ ā′xᴀnag̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū “Hᴀku ī′ʟꜝga-i
qatꜝᴀ′łsa-o ē′djîñ Sg̣āna-qoxᴀn-a′ndjugîns.” Giên la êsî′ñ ʟꜝ
kîlg̣e′idaxāsʟa′s giên l’ stīłʟ̣′gas.
Giên î′sîñ nᴀñ qatꜝā′lᴀs. La ê′sîñ gañā′xᴀn ʟꜝ suudā′si “Hᴀku ī′ʟꜝga-i
qatꜝᴀ′lsa-o ī′djîñ Skiä′mskun-tꜝa′odjugîns.” Giên ā′xᴀn nᴀñ sg̣ā′gas la
qē′iñᴀs. ʟgu gī′nᴀ la giā′gîns gañā′ñ gī′nᴀ g̣e′ida la giā′giñᴀs. Giên
la ê′sîñ stiłʟ̣′gas.
Giên î′sîñê′sîñ nᴀñ qatꜝᴀ′łs. La ê′sîñ g̣ᴀn ā′xᴀnag̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū “Hᴀku
ī′ʟꜝga-i qātꜝᴀ′lsa-o ī′djᴀñ Yên-xē′łgîñ.” Giên la ê′sîñ stiłʟ̣′gas.
Giên î′sîñ nᴀñ qatꜝā′lᴀs. G̣ᴀn l’ ā′xᴀnag̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū “Hᴀku ī′ʟꜝga-i
qatꜝā′lsa-o ē′djᴀñ Sg̣ā′na sqā′sg̣etgîns.” Ḷū ʟgu l’ ī′djas g̣ᴀn lᴀ
gutskidā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên î′sîñê′sîñ nᴀñ qatꜝā′las. La ê′sîñ kꜝiwa′-i g̣ᴀn ā′xᴀnag-ela′-i ʟ̣ū
“Hᴀku ī′ʟꜝga-i qatꜝā′lsa-o ē′djîñ Sg̣ā′na-tā′-ig̣aʟ̣î′ngîns.”
Giên l’ qaʟ̣′gas giên nᴀñ kꜝwai′yas ê′sîñ qeā′ñg̣atꜝᴀłsi. G̣ᴀn l’
ā′xᴀnag̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū “Hᴀku ī′ʟꜝga-i ʟua′-i dag̣ā′si qatꜝᴀ′lgᴀnqasag̣a′-o
ē′djîñ Sg̣ā′na-kîl-tꜝē′dji-ya′lᴀgîns.”
Giê′nhao l’ kꜝwai′ᴀg̣a hᴀn sī′wus “Ya′nhao īʟꜝ sg̣ā′nag̣wag̣eā′lᴀg̣ᴀn. Hᴀku
stᴀ, agᴀ′ñ łᴀ ʟ′g̣ołg̣a-ga′-isʟug̣o.” Giên lnagā′-i g̣ei ʟ g̣axā′ nā′ñᴀsi lᴀ
īʟ̣g̣oa′si. ʟua′-i sʟꜝî′ña ʟudā′lᴀsi g̣a lᴀ dā′sgîtg̣oasi. Giên lnagā′-i
gia′ogi qꜝᴀn łtᴀ′lg̣a g̣ᴀn lᴀ kīʟ̣′g̣oas. ʟg̣et l’ tcꜝixā′ñg̣oas g̣ei
g̣adō′xałg̣añ lᴀ ʟꜝ ta′-iłgᴀłdag̣oasi.
Giê′nhao daosgua′ gut lᴀ gī′dax̣îtg̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. Sqꜝā′ño la
sqꜝagiā′ñᴀs gut lᴀ ʟłiya′-i ʟ̣ū tꜝā′skꜝi-qꜝᴀl sg̣ē′da ʟꜝᴀ la sqꜝā′gîñᴀs.
La sg̣u′nxᴀnhao tꜝaskꜝia′-i at ʟua′-i kitgīdā′lᴀsi.
L’ gidā′lgîñg̣oas gut tꜝā′g̣un ga-itꜝa′ogîñdā′las giên g̣o′da kꜝu′dala lᴀ
î′stag̣ā′was g̣ei lᴀ î′stag̣ō′gᴀñᴀs. Qañg̣ā′sg̣a sg̣ā′ltcꜝît tꜝā′ag̣un
ga-itꜝa′ogîñdā′lᴀs giên la î′stagᴀñᴀs.
Giên lā′na g̣ā′g̣odia g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ lᴀ gīdā′lʟꜝxag̣ā′was. L’ ʟā′g̣ei nᴀñ djā′ada
sg̣ā′-iłqā′g̣oñᴀs. Giê′nhao qꜝadᴀ′ñ lᴀ la qaʟ̣′dag̣was. A′hao nᴀñ djā′ada
ʟā′lg̣a wᴀ stᴀ ā′xada-în l’ îsg̣ā′was ʟ̣ū l’ djā′g̣a tꜝᴀ′lgi nᴀñ ī′łiña
ʟx̣iā′ndies. Ḷū′hao g̣otx̣ā′l dā′djag̣a tꜝa′łg̣a lᴀ la ʟʟū′łdaiyas. L’
djā′ag̣a ʟꜝa kꜝᴀ′ñgîñañ g̣atū′łdaiyas. Hao ᴀ sg̣ā′-iłgwañ qꜝa′dᴀñ lᴀ
qaʟ̣′dag̣awañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao ʟua′-i sʟî′ña la g̣ᴀn lᴀ kīdag̣wā′si giên g̣a l’ sʟꜝa-i la
dadjî′sgîtg̣wa′si, giên ʟan lā′g̣a stꜝeigā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. Lᴀ la
djā′asidag̣e′iłg̣was. Qā′tᴀnxᴀla′-i sī′ᴀg̣a lᴀ la g̣e′iłdag̣oas.
Qa′-isun xē′tgu lᴀ ga-i′sʟʟꜝaxā′g̣aawañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên Djū qā′sg̣a djī′na
ʟla-djat la g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ qā′ʟꜝxasg̣as. “Hā′łgwa dag̣aig̣ā′ña halᴀ′ da′lᴀñ dī
kîñgugᴀ′ndᴀ Ya′kug̣a kꜝwai′ya-i g̣ēts hao ʟua′-i dag̣ā′sa.
Sg̣ā′na-kîl-tꜝē′dji-ya′lagîns hᴀ′nhao l’ kig̣ā′sga. ʟua′-i tꜝē′dji
g̣ō′da-gi-x̣iā′ñqasañ. L’ tꜝē′dji êsî′ñ xoeg̣ā′gᴀsga. Djī′łkꜝia-i tꜝē′dji
łg̣ā′łqaasañ; l’ īnag̣wa′-i ê′sîñ g̣adā′sga. Lagū′stᴀ nᴀñ qaas
Sg̣ā′na-sqā′sg̣etgîns hᴀn kiᴀg̣ā′sga. Lagū′stᴀ nᴀñ qaas êsî′ñ
Skiä′mskun-xē′lᴀ hᴀn kīᴀg̣ā′sga. Lagū′stᴀ nᴀñ qaas êsî′ñ
Sg̣ā′na-sa′nʟ̣na-ᴀndjū′gîns hᴀn kīᴀg̣ā′sga. Lagū′stᴀ nᴀñ qaas êsî′ñ
Sg̣ā′na-x̣a′-iya-ᴀndjū′gîns hᴀn kīᴀg̣ā′sga. La′gustᴀ nᴀñ qaas êsî′ñ
Qoxᴀ′n-ᴀ′ndjugîns hᴀn kīᴀg̣ā′sga. Lagū′stᴀ nᴀñ qaas ê′sîñ Yan-xē′łgîñ
hᴀn kīᴀg̣ā′sga. Lagū′stᴀ nᴀñ qaas êsî′ñ Sg̣ā′na-ta′-ig̣aʟ̣î′ngîns hᴀn
kīᴀg̣ā′sga. Lagū′stᴀ nᴀñ qaas ê′sîñ Sg̣ā′na-kîtg̣adjū′gîns hᴀn kīᴀg̣ā′sga.
La′hao ʟua′-i g̣a kîłhᴀ′ndaasañ. ʟgu dalᴀ′ñ sg̣akꜝui′sux̣idie′s giên wᴀ
gui lᴀ kîtgī′sʟgā′nsga. Wai′giên lagū′stᴀ da′g̣ona-i g̣eidᴀ′s ê′sîñ
Skiä′mskun-tꜝa′odjugîns hᴀn kīᴀg̣ā′sga. Giên djā′asa-i tꜝā′ñax̣ua g̣e′idᴀs
ê′sîñ Sg̣ā′na-djat-x̣ū′dagîns hᴀn kīᴀg̣ā′sga. Ha-i dā′g̣a-ig̣ā′ña agᴀ′ñ łᴀ
ʟ′g̣ołg̣a-ga′-isʟg̣o. Stā′ngwai łᴀ tā′ngax̣îtg̣o. La′hao sg̣ā′na-qeda′s agᴀ′ñ
łî′ñgas giên gī gîñgēdᴀ′ñga. La′hao dalᴀ′ñ gi gîñg̣atgā′sga. G̣āl gîts
stᴀ′nsîñ ła x̣iä′łgîñgwᴀñ. Hao ʟ dalᴀ′ñ g̣e′iłgī-ga′-isʟasas ī′dji.”
Tā′da stᴀ′nsiñhao lᴀ kīg̣adai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Gañā′xᴀnhao lᴀ la ʟ′g̣ołg̣asi. Dji′łkꜝia-i at gᴀndtcꜝîłg̣ā′gîga-i
qꜝa-ix̣itᴀg̣ā′ñwa-i lᴀ ʟ′g̣ołg̣asi. ʟua′-i g̣ᴀ′lg̣ado yan-qꜝᴀl lᴀ
dᴀñgułgᴀłdā′asi. Qałī′ᴀg̣a ʟꜝᴀ lᴀ ʟ′g̣ołg̣a-ga′-isʟas. ʟg̣et L! tcꜝixā′ñᴀs
g̣ei ʟꜝ tᴀ′lg̣ag̣ei lᴀ ʟ′g̣ołg̣as. Ā′hao g̣eiłgīgā′g̣ᴀni.
Hao ʟan l’ g̣e′ida.
TCꜝÎÑ QĀ′-IDJÎT
[Told by Richard of the Middle-Gîtî′ns]
Beaver’s store of food was plentiful. While he was away hunting
Porcupine stole his food. But instead of going away he sat there. Then
Beaver came and asked him: “Did you eat my food?” And [he said]: “No,
indeed; how can the food of supernatural beings be taken? You have
supernatural power and I have supernatural power.” [52] He told him he
had stolen his food. Then they started to fight.
Beaver was going to seize him with his teeth, but when he threw himself
at his face the spines struck him. After he had fought him for a while
Beaver went to the place where his parents lived. He was all covered
with spines.
Then his father called the people together. And the Beaver people came
in a crowd. Then they went along to fight him. And at that time he used
angry words to them. Now they pushed down his house upon him. They
seized him. Then they took him to an island lying out at sea, upon
which two trees stood.
And when he was almost starved he called upon the animals which were
his friends. [53] He called upon his father. He called upon all of his
friends. It was in vain.
By and by something said to him: “Call upon Cold-weather. Call upon
North-wind.” [54] He did not understand what the thing said to him [and
it continued]: “Sing North songs. Then you will be saved.” So he began
singing: “X̣unē′ qā′sa x̣unē′, let the sky clear altogether, hū⁺n hū⁺n
hūn hūn.” After that he sat on the rock and, after he had sung
“X̣unisä′⁺, let it be cold weather; gaiyä′ʟisä′⁺, let it be smooth on
the water” for a while North weather set in. The wind accompanying it
was strong. Then he began to sing for smooth water. And, when it became
smooth, the surface of the sea froze. When the ice became thick his
friends came and got him. But he was not able to walk.
Now after he had been taken into the house of his parents his father
called all the Forest people. And he gave them food. In the house they
asked him why they (the beavers) did this to him. And he said they did
it to him because he ate Beaver’s food. Then the Porcupine people
started to war with the Beaver people. But they did not defeat the
Beaver people. After they had fought for a while they stopped.
After that, while they were gathering food, they seized Beaver. The
porcupines did. They were always plotting against him. Then they took
him up upon a tall tree. And after he had been there a while he began
eating the tree from the top. He finally got down and went away. He
could not climb trees.
Tcꜝîñ is the Haida word for beaver, but I do not know the meaning of
qā′-idjît. This probably was originally a Tlingit story.
TCꜝÎÑ QĀ′-IDJÎT
Tcꜝîñ gatā′g̣ahao qoā′nañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao stᴀ lᴀ giaałga′-isi
sila′-ig̣ahao lā′g̣a A′oda gataga′-i lā′g̣a lᴀ q′ołdai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao stᴀ qā′-idag̣aatxᴀn gu lᴀ qꜝao-uā′wag̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao Tcꜝîñ
qā′ʟꜝxas giên la at gī lᴀ kiänā′ñag̣ᴀni “Ała′na-i dā gua gatagā′-i nā′g̣a
îsdai′yañ.” Giên “Ga′oano, ʟî′ñgua ʟꜝ sg̣ā′nag̣was gatā′ga ʟꜝ î′sdañ. Dᴀñ
sg̣ā′nag̣wag̣a wai′giên dī ê′sîñ sg̣ā′nag̣wag̣a.” Lā′g̣a lᴀ qꜝołdā′ñ lᴀ la
sū′udas. Giê′nhao la g̣ᴀn lᴀ g̣ax̣iłtᴀx̣idā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao Tcꜝîñ l’ qꜝox̣î′tg̣aʟꜝxas giên gui agᴀ′ñ lᴀ qꜝadā′s giên l’
xᴀ′ñat ī′ma-i tꜝatsgīdā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. Lᴀ lᴀ î′sdadi qa′odi Tcꜝīña′-i
yā′g̣alᴀñ naxā′ñᴀsi g̣a ū qā′idag̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao gᴀm ʟgu ʟꜝa lā′g̣a ī′ma-i
ga′og̣ᴀñᴀsi.
Giê′nhao l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a la g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ ītgîdai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao Tcꜝîns
xā′-idᴀg̣a-i skꜝulg̣ē′iłs. Giê′nhao lᴀ ʟꜝ da′ox̣idag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao ga′-iʟ̣ū
î′sîñ kī′lᴀñ lᴀ dā′g̣ᴀñdaasi. Giê′nhao lᴀ gui lā′g̣a na′ga-i lᴀ gui ʟꜝ
dadjîtꜝᴀłdai′yag̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao lᴀ ʟꜝ gīdjigī′łdas. Giê′nhao qꜝā′da nᴀñ
gwai′ya gu qa′-it stîñ gīxā′ña g̣a lᴀ ʟꜝ qꜝa-isʟsg̣ai′yag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao gu l’ ʟ̣′tcꜝîdala′-i ʟ̣ū la at giā′g̣oañ qē′g̣awas gī lᴀ
kiä′gañx̣idā′g̣ᴀn. G̣ō′ñg̣añ gī lᴀ kiä′gañ. ʟgusī′îñ wa′ʟ̣uxᴀn gī lᴀ
kiä′gañ. G̣adō′ la g̣ē′tsgi qa′odihao hᴀn gī′nᴀ l’ sudai′yag̣ᴀn “Djā tā′da
gi łᴀ kiä′gañ. X̣ā′g̣og̣a gi łᴀ kiä′gañ.” Hᴀn gī′nᴀ l’ sū′udas gᴀm lᴀ
gudᴀ′ñg̣ᴀñᴀs. “X̣a′oga sg̣ala′ñg̣a ga łᴀ sū giê′nhao dᴀñ qagā′nsga.”
Giê′nhao lᴀ gi lᴀ kîłgā′wag̣ᴀn 𝄆 𝄆 “X̣ūnē′⁺ 𝄇 qā′sa x̣ūnē′⁺ 𝄇
dax̣ūnᴀñag̣askī′g̣a hū⁺n hū⁺n hūn hūn.” Ga′-istᴀ tꜝedja′-i lᴀ qꜝa′osi giên
𝄆 “X̣ūnisä′⁺ 𝄇 𝄆 tadag̣ełā′⁺ 𝄇 𝄆 gaiyä′ʟisä′⁺ 𝄇 𝄆 ʟ̣a-i łā⁺ 𝄇 l’ sū
qa′odihao Qꜝa′gᴀñ-tadax̣idai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Ta′djiwa-i dᴀ′ñat
g̣ā′tg̣oyū′ᴀnᴀsi. Giê′nhao ʟ̣ai′ya-i î′sîñ lᴀ sū′dax̣idai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao l’ ʟ̣a-ig̣ea′las atguʟ̣ū′ g̣ā′iyawa-i qꜝᴀl qałsg̣ai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Qᴀ′lg̣a-i gañā′g̣ela-i ʟ̣ū′hao l’ łtā′x̣ui l’ da′oʟꜝxasg̣aiyag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ ʟꜝa
qā′g̣ōña-i g̣adō′ g̣ē′tskix̣idag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao l’ yā′g̣alᴀñ naxā′ñᴀs g̣ei lᴀ ʟꜝ îsdᴀg̣a′-i ʟ̣ū l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a Łkꜝiê′ns
xā′-idᴀg̣a-i gīdā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao lᴀ ga tā′das. Na′-ig̣ahao gī′nᴀ
g̣aga′n lᴀ ʟꜝ îsdag̣a′-i gī la at ʟꜝ kiä′nañag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao Tcꜝîñ gatā′ga
lᴀ tā′gas g̣aga′n lᴀ ʟꜝ îsdai′yañ l’ sā′wag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao Tcꜝîñs
xā′-idᴀg̣a-i at A′oda xā′-idᴀg̣a-i gut î′sdax̣idā′g̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao Tcꜝîñ gᴀm
ʟꜝ ʟlā′⁺g̣añag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao gu ʟꜝ î′sda qa′⁺odi ʟan gu ʟꜝ g̣eiłdai′yag̣ᴀn.
Ga′-istᴀhao gatā′ gi ʟꜝ hᴀ′lxa qa′odihao Tcꜝîñ ʟꜝ gīdjîg̣iłdai′yag̣ᴀn.
A′oda lᴀ îsdai′yag̣ᴀn. La g̣a ʟꜝ ʟgutgiā′ñag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao qa′-it djīñ⁺ gui
lᴀ ʟꜝ qꜝa-isʟłai′yag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao gu l’ îs qa′odi qa′-ida-i qā′dji
gu′stᴀ lᴀ tax̣idai′yag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao l’ g̣ē′tg̣atʟꜝxatꜝᴀłs giên la êsî′ñ
qā′-idag̣ᴀn. L’ stꜝalā′ñg̣alg̣ā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Hao ʟan l’ g̣e′ida.
THE GIRL WHO FED A RAVEN
[Told by Wī′nats, chief of the Seaward Gîti′ns]
Her father came in from fishing. Then her mother cut up the fish, and
she tore up the liver and fat of the halibut and gave it to a raven.
After she had done this for some time spring came, and they were
hungry. Then they began to get things that were exposed at low tide.
[55]
One time the raven sat in front of her and made motions as if it were
eating something. Then she went to it. Chitons were piled up there. She
picked them up and gave them to her uncles’ wives. And next day she
again went after things that were exposed at low tide and gave the
things to one to whom she had not given them before. The raven had
begun helping her in return for what she had done.
After that they went out with her again. She found the tail of a spring
salmon. She took that to the house also. The pieces became larger and
larger each time until finally she found a whole one. Then she went
again for things that were exposed at low tide. She found a porpoise’s
tail. She came in after finding it. During all that time she gave food
to her uncles’ wives.
One day she was coming in after getting things with them. As she was
walking along last in the trail in front of Tow hill two good-looking
men came to her. One came up on each side of her, and they took her
home with them. They came to a town and led her into the house of the
town chief.
After she had stayed there a while she heard them say: “The one hunting
for things at North cape [56] stays away a long time.” She understood
their language plainly. After some time had passed they said: “He is
coming. Now he comes along, turning over at intervals.” She went out
with them to look at him. “He comes walking,” they said. Still the
raven came flying. It turned around as it came. They call it “taking a
basket off one’s back.” In that way it communicated news every now and
then. It came in and said: “I cut up a whale which had floated ashore
at North cape.”
Then the town chief said: “Give the woman you brought food in exchange
for the help she gave you.” At once all of the town people gave her
food. They gathered for food halibuts’ tails and heads and berries.
They gave these to the woman.
At the time when she went with them for things that were exposed at low
tide she was lost for a long time. Her father did not know where she
was. One day she [was found] sitting in front of her father’s house in
the morning surrounded by the food. Then she gave food to her uncles.
She gave them a part. By trading with the rest her father became a rich
man.
After that she told her father what she had heard at the Raven town:
“Father, a black whale lies at House point,[56] they say. He who went
hunting cut it all up. You would better go to it, father.” Then he went
thither. In truth, a whale lay there. Not one part of it was gone. Only
a little had been taken off the upper side of it. Then they began
cutting it up.
After he had cut up the whole upper part of it he was tired out. Then
he made a little house of driftwood and steamed himself. He became
stronger. Next he went away and told the town people about it. Then all
the town people went out and cut it up. That time they finished it.
This is all.
Some refer to this story for the origin of the Raven crest.
XŌ′YĀ GĪ NAÑ DJĀ′ADA G̣Ā′XA GĪ′DAX̣IDĀ′G̣AN
L’ xā′tg̣a xao-î′ntcꜝus. Giê′nhao l’ a′og̣a taqꜝā′dᴀs giên xagwa′-i ʟgwul
at g̣a′-iasi g̣ei lᴀ dᴀ′nnanᴀ′ñasi giên xō′-iga-i gī lᴀ gī′dagañañ
wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Hᴀn l’ wā′gᴀñ qa′odihao qꜝenʟ̣g̣ā′g̣ada′-i ʟ̣u ʟꜝ qꜝodā′lañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao ʟꜝ wa′nx̣idañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên xo-iga′-i l’ ku′ng̣ᴀstᴀ qꜝā′wosi′ giên gī′nᴀ sqasałā′ñgᴀñasi.
Giê′nhao g̣a lᴀ qā′gasi. Gu tꜝa īg̣awa′dies. Giê′nhao la xā′x̣idesi giên
qāñ djā′g̣alᴀñ gī lᴀ isdā′si. Giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a î′sîñ ʟꜝ wā′ng̣asi giên
nᴀñ gī lᴀ ga î′sdag̣a-i gā′was gī lᴀ ga îsda′s. Xo-iga′-i xᴀ′ñgiañ lᴀ gi
kꜝᴀñx̣idai′yañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Giên î′sîñ la at lᴀ wa′ng̣ag̣as. Tꜝag̣u′n łgia′da lᴀ qē′xas. Ga-i ê′sîñ
nagi la îsda′si. Ga-i ê′sîñ wᴀ gi g̣asgidᴀ′ndixᴀn l’ ʟ̣′sgug̣eiłs. Giên
î′sîñ l’ wā′ng̣aias. Sqol łgiä′da ê′sîñ lᴀ qē′xas. Lᴀ qē′xatcꜝusi.
Kꜝiä′ł qā′g̣alᴀñ djā′g̣alᴀñ gī lᴀ isdagᴀ′ñasi.
Giên gaatxᴀ′n ʟꜝa at lᴀ wā′ng̣atcꜝī′wus. Tao xē′tg̣a kꜝiū kida′s gut lᴀ
g̣odᴀx̣uā′ l’ qā′giagᴀña′-i ʟ̣ū la g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ ga īłî′ndjida hā′na stîñ
gᴀndā′lʟꜝxas. Giê′nhao gutłg̣ᴀ′stᴀ lᴀ gi ʟꜝ gᴀ′nsgîts giên qꜝadᴀ′ñ lᴀ ʟꜝ
qa-idai′yañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Giên lā′na g̣ā′g̣odia g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ ʟꜝ gᴀndā′lʟꜝxas giên
nᴀñ lā′na aog̣ā′gas na′-ig̣ei lᴀ ʟꜝ g̣ᴀ′lqatcꜝas.
Giên gu lᴀ îsugwā′ñ qa′odi hᴀn ʟꜝ sī′wus lᴀ gū′dᴀñᴀs. “Qꜝaku′n g̣a nᴀñ
sîng̣ā′g̣agᴀn gaosg̣oā′nᴀñga.” Da′-ixᴀn ʟꜝ kîl lᴀ gū′dᴀñᴀs. G̣ē′di qa′o⁺di,
“l’ qā′gᴀñ,” ʟꜝ sī′wus, “Haku kꜝiā′ñ lᴀ qagî′tx̣îsg̣ᴀ′łdag̣ᴀñdalga.” Giên
ʟꜝa atxᴀn lᴀ gi lᴀ anagoā′ñg̣agoa′g̣as. “L’ qagiagᴀñᴀ′ñ” ʟꜝ sā′was. I′lᴀ
xō′yā x̣ida′las. Agᴀ′ñ lᴀ gᴀ′ñałdagᴀñdā′las. “Xêng̣ᴀ′lsʟa” hᴀ′nhao ʟꜝ
kī′g̣adagᴀñgᴀñ. Gī′ałg̣ala′ñ hao lᴀ g̣ᴀlsʟgᴀ′ñdaalañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’
qatcꜝai′yas giên hᴀn l’ sī′wus, “Qꜝaku′n gu kungᴀn ł qꜝeitʟ′sʟgᴀn.”
Giê′nhao lnagā′-i g̣a nᴀñ ē′ʟꜝxagidagasi hᴀn sā′wañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ “Nᴀñ
djā′ada dalᴀ′ñ î′stᴀgᴀn dalᴀ′ñ gi qꜝᴀ′ngᴀñgîn gī łᴀ xᴀ′ñgiañ gī′dag̣ao.”
Giên gañā′xᴀn lnagā′-i xā′-idᴀg̣a-i wa′ʟ̣uxᴀn lᴀ gi gatā′ isdā′si. Xā′gu
łkia′da qadjî′l xō′ya tā′ga at g̣ān ʟꜝ tā′ga ga′-ihao ʟꜝ tā′na î′sîñ
wᴀnsū′ga. Gā′-ihao nᴀñ dj′ā′das gī ʟꜝ gī′daiyañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Ḷꜝa at lᴀ wā′ng̣aiyas gū′hao l’ gaosg̣oā′nañañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ xā′tg̣a gᴀm
ʟgui′ l’ ta-ig̣aga′-i g̣ᴀn u′nsᴀtgā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. Sîñg̣ᴀ′lg̣ada xadᴀ′ñ
nā′g̣a qꜝe-u′ gi ʟg̣ao sū′ug̣a lᴀ qꜝa′o-ułai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên qā′g̣alᴀñ
gī gataga′-i lᴀ îsda′asi. Tꜝē′djî at lᴀ giä′dag̣awañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Sqa′og̣ahao l’ xā′tg̣a ī′ʟꜝxagidag̣ea′lañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Giê′nhao xō′ya lanā′g̣a gu ki′łgu lᴀ gūdā′ñag̣ᴀn xadᴀ′ñ gi lᴀ
nīdjā′ñag̣ᴀn. “Ha′da-i. Na-iku′n gu hao kun ʟ̣g̣ō′diañ wᴀnsū′ga. Nᴀñ
sî′ng̣ag̣aiya′g̣ᴀn hao l’ qꜝeitʟsʟai′yag̣ᴀn. G̣a ła qa′-it, ha′da-i.”
Giê′nhao g̣a lᴀ qā′-idañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Yan kuna′-i wᴀ gu ʟ̣′g̣odiasi. Gᴀm l’
ʟ′gusi wᴀ stᴀ ga′o-ug̣ᴀñᴀs. L’ ū′na gī′nᴀ sg̣u′nxᴀn sqasqꜝā′x̣unᴀñagᴀs.
Giê′nhao lᴀ la qꜝa′-itx̣idañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên l’ ū′na lᴀ qꜝa-itʟ̣′sʟas giên l’ g̣ā′xag̣îłs. Giên gu lᴀ
qasqꜝā′gidasi giên g̣a agᴀ′ñ lᴀ sîłu′ng̣alᴀñesi. L’ dagwī′g̣asʟas. Giên
stᴀ lᴀ qā′-idesi giên lnagā′-i xā′-idᴀg̣a-i gī la g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ lᴀ sā′wañ
wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Giên lnagā′-i xā′-idᴀg̣a-i wa′ʟ̣uxᴀn l’ qꜝe′itg̣aasi.
Ga-iʟ̣ū′hao lᴀ ʟꜝ ha′-iludayañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Hao ʟan l’ g̣e′ida.
SOUNDING-GAMBLING-STICKS
[Told by Tom Stevens, chief of Those-born-at-House-point]
One whose father was a chief made gambling sticks. And one day he sent
out his father’s slave to call any one who might choose to gamble.
“Hū⁺” [he shouted]. [57] He did the same thing every day.
One morning some one spread out gambling sticks. Only his hands were
visible. The upper part of him was enveloped in clouds. And he (the
chief’s son) came and sat opposite him. After they had talked about
what property they would stake they began gambling together, and he
lost. Afterward he staked more. He continued to lose until he lost all
of his father’s property. Then he lost the slaves, and when those were
all gone he staked the rear row of the town. That, too, went. And [he
staked] the next row. That, too, was lost. There were five rows of
houses in his father’s town. And again he wagered a row. That was also
lost. He lost all five rows of the town. Then he staked his father,
mother, and sisters. And they were lost.
The people immediately made ready their canoes and got on board. It was
foggy. Then they went off, and after a while the voices of the crowd
became lost in the distance. [58]
And after he had gone about in the town for a while he began to push
along with a pole a cedar beam owned by his father, and he got it down
to the water. [59] Then he used his gambling-stick bag for a pillow,
put on his marten-skin blanket, and lay down upon it.
Now he floated about. Many nights passed over him. During all that time
it was calm weather. By and by something said to him: “Your powerful
grandfather asks you to come in.” He looked in the direction of the
sound. Nothing was to be seen. He saw only the ripples where it had
gone down. He was floating against a two-headed kelp.
Then he again covered his face, and something spoke to him as before.
Now he looked through the eyeholes in his marten-skin blanket. After he
had looked for a while toward the place whence the voice proceeded a
grebe’s [60] beak came out and [the bird said] at the same time: “Your
powerful grandfather asks you to come in.”
Then he took his gambling-stick bag, grasped the kelp head, and went
down on it. It was a two-headed house pole on which he started down. He
saw it when he passed into the water.
When he stood in front of the house his grandfather invited him inside:
“Come in, grandchild. I have news, grandson, that you came floating
about in search of me as soon as you had lost your father’s town.” Then
he entered, and he gave him food. He had fasted ever since he lost his
father’s town in gambling.
And when he was full [the man] said to him: “Break off a bunch of
gambling-stick wood for me which [you will find] at a corner outside.”
He went out to it and broke some pieces off a bunch of sîn. [61] Then
he sent him to get something else, and he broke off yew wood. He also
refused that. Then he said to him: “A bunch of it is by that corner.”
And after he had taken all sorts of sticks, he broke some limbs from a
bunch of Raven’s-berry bushes [62] and handed them to him, and he said:
“That is it.” Then [the man] made it into gambling sticks, and when he
had finished them he touched two with coals. He put the figure of a sea
otter on one and he put the figure of a young sea otter on the other.
Then he had designs made on five large clam shells. They had figures of
cumulus clouds. And he had five mats woven for him. He had these made
for him to stake.
He then said to him: “I will let you float away from here. When one
night has passed you will be in front of the town, and you will go to
the front of the town and sit there, ready to gamble with the one who
won your property.” And he also gave him tobacco seeds. “When you begin
to gamble, put the stick that has the figure of a sea otter upon your
right shoulder. Put the one that has the figure of a young sea otter
upon the left shoulder. Divide the tobacco seeds equally among those
who come and sit on both sides of you to watch you. They might say that
you do not play fair, but the tobacco seeds are so sweet that they will
not say it.”
When he had finished giving him directions he brought out a small box,
and he opened successively five boxes that were one inside of another.
Then from the innermost one he brought out a hawk feather, put it into
the corner of [the chief’s son’s] eye, and turned it round. And when he
pulled it out, it was full of blood. Then he squeezed this off, washed
it, and pushed it in again. After he had done the thing again it was
clean, and he did the same thing to the one on the other side. And when
that had also become clean he put it also into his mouth. Thence he
pulled out dead lice that he had eaten. He pulled them out stuck to the
hawk feather. His eyes had become full of blood from seeing his
sister’s bloody heel. That was why he lost.
And he again gave him directions: “When you gamble with him pick up the
pile that has the longest smoke, and when you have almost lost pick up
the one that has short smoke.”
He did so. When the man was opposite he took the one with the long
smoke. During all that time he lost. After they had almost beaten him
he took the pile with the light smoke. He took the djîl. [63]
At the time when he missed one of his father’s slaves laughed at him.
“Hi hi hi hi hi, Sounding-gambling-sticks is beginning to lose his clam
shells also. He is also beginning to lose his mats.” At this time he
discovered his name, they say.
Then he handled the gambling sticks, and the stick on his right
shoulder pulled out his djîl. [64] And the tobacco was too sweet for
those watching him on either side who saw it to tell.
So [his opponent] missed, and when he had finished the counts ten
points remained to him. They then again talked about what property they
should stake. He staked both the clam shells and the mats, after which
his opponent handled the sticks. Then he picked out the one with fine
smoke first. He picked the djîl. Now he handled them in turn, and when
he pulled the cedar bark apart he handed it to the stick with the
figure of a young sea otter on it, which pulled out the djîl. He missed
again. He was again left with ten points.
Then they again talked about what they should stake. When that was
arranged, his opponent handled the sticks, and he again chose the pile
with fine smoke. Again, he picked the djîl. And when he had again got
through shuffling the sticks and pulling them apart he presented them
to the stick on the right side, which pulled out his djîl. That also
made ten counts for him.
Then he tried to win back the people of his father’s town. He won the
five towns. And after those were all rewon, and he had won his mother,
his sister, and his father, they started home. He won them back from
Great-moving-cloud’s son, who had won them from him. This was the son
of the one who owns the dog salmon, they say. [65]
This is the end.
This is related as having taken place at the Ninstints town of
Sʟîndagwa-i, which was on the southwest coast of Moresby Island.
SÎNXĒ′GAÑO
Sounding-gambling-sticks
Nᴀñ g̣ō′ñg̣a ēʟꜝxagidā′hao sî′nhao la ʟ′g̣ołg̣akꜝusʟai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên
gaatxᴀ′n g̣ō′ñg̣añ qꜝołg̣a′og̣a lᴀ taginā′ñg̣agoᴀʼda. “Hū⁺” Sîñg̣aʟ̣a′n
skꜝiä′ł gañā′ñ lᴀ sū′ugᴀñasi.
Gaatxᴀ′n gī′nᴀ taqō′łdjuułas. Sʟꜝa-i sg̣un qeā′ñgagasi. Sa′gui l’
yä′nañʟ̣x̣ia′ñwas. Giên la xᴀ′nłag̣a lᴀ qꜝā′g̣oʟꜝxas. Gīnᴀgī′nᴀga gutg̣ᴀ′n
î′sîs wā′sg̣oga-i ʟꜝ kî′lg̣ołg̣a qa′odi gu′tgi ʟꜝ wa′x̣idies, giên lᴀ ʟꜝ
tcꜝī′gᴀs. Giên g̣ō′ʟ̣ag̣a î′sîñ lᴀ wa′gas. Lᴀ ʟꜝ tcꜝī′di qa′odihao
g̣oñg̣ā′ñg̣a ginagī′nagaga-i lᴀ tcꜝī′daʟ̣g̣agᴀs. Giên qꜝołg̣awa′-i g̣ei î′sîñ
ga sqā′dax̣i′dᴀsi giên ga-i ê′sîñ ha-ilua′-i ʟ̣ū dīdᴀx̣ū′stᴀ ga g̣ā′g̣eidas
g̣e′istᴀ lᴀ ga wā′sg̣oas. Ga-i î′sîñ qa-îłha′-ilusi. Giên gū′stᴀ ga
g̣ag̣odai′asi. Ga-i î′sîñ qa′-îłsi. L’ g̣ō′ñg̣a lanā′g̣a gu′tg̣a
staʟe′iłdaiyañ wᴀnsū′ga. Ḷg̣a î′sîñ lᴀ ga g̣ā′g̣odasi. Ga-i ê′sîñ
qa′-îłsi. Giên lnagā′-i staʟe′îłxᴀn lᴀ tcꜝidā′asi. Giên g̣ō′ñg̣añ at a′uñ
at djā′asîñ lᴀ wā′sg̣oas. Giên ga-i î′sîñ qa′-îłsi.
Gañā′xᴀnhao ʟū ʟꜝ dag̣agā′ñas gī ʟꜝ ʟ̣′łgałdas giên gū′g̣a ʟꜝ qasā′gias.
Yä′nᴀñagᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga. Wai′giên daʟ′sdaiyasi giên
kî′łgulqꜝa-idalsg̣ag̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn kîlga′o-usg̣asi.
Giên lnagā′-i gu la qā′⁺g̣oñgwañ qa′odi l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a tcꜝū dā′g̣agas lᴀ
kîtx̣unᴀ′nsg̣as giên lᴀ la g̣ē′tg̣atsg̣adas. Giên sîn-qa′oda-i ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ
tcꜝiłā′dag̣eiłsi giên kꜝu′x̣u lᴀ tꜝałgū′łs giên l’ ta′-iʟ̣gas.
Giên l’ ga-igā′gīgwā′⁺ñas. G̣ei lᴀ gi g̣ā′łdjūgᴀñgwā′ñas. Kꜝiä′ł lᴀ gi
ʟ̣a′-iyas. Qa′odi gī′nᴀ l’ sū′udas “Dᴀñ tcî′ng̣a qō′niga-i dᴀñ
qā′tcꜝi-xᴀ′lga.” Gī lᴀ qē′xaʟꜝxaiyasi. Gᴀm gī′nᴀ gut qꜝałg̣ā′g̣ᴀñᴀs.
Sqᴀ′lg̣a sg̣u′nxᴀn lᴀ qe′iñasi. Łqea′ma qā′dji sg̣astî′ñ łg̣ēt l’
ga-ig̣ā′dᴀsgîñ.
Giên î′sîñ tcag̣ᴀ′ñ l’ ᴀ′nskides giên î′sîñ gañā′ñ gī′nᴀ l’ sū-udas.
Giên kꜝux̣ua′-i xᴀ′ñē g̣e′istᴀ lᴀ qîñqꜝo′łdaʟꜝxasi. Ga′gu sā′wasi ya′si
lᴀ qîndiᴀg̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn ya′ʼxōdada kꜝū′da kꜝᴀ′tdjîʟꜝxaga′-i atguʟ̣ū′ “Dᴀñ
tcî′ng̣a qō′niga-i dᴀñ qa′tcꜝixᴀlga.”
Giê′nhao sîn-qa′oda-i gi ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ xā′g̣atsi giên łqeā′maga-i qā′dji lᴀ
gīdjig̣ī′łdasi giên gu lᴀ qā′gias. Gia′g̣ᴀñ qā′dji stîñ gut lᴀ
qā′x̣iatꜝᴀłs. G̣ayuwa′-i g̣ei l’ ga′og̣aiya-i ʟ̣ū′hao lᴀ qea′ñañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Na-i qꜝe-ū′gi lᴀ giā′xaʟꜝxaga′-i ʟ̣ū l’ tcî′ng̣a l’ qā′djixałs. “Qā′tcꜝi
łᴀ tꜝakꜝî′ng̣a. G̣ō′ñg̣añ lanā′g̣a dā tcꜝidag̣ā′sʟa atxᴀ′n dī goa′di agᴀ′ñ
dā ga′-igīx̣idas dᴀ′ñat kꜝiîñā′gᴀn, tꜝakꜝî′ng̣a.” Giên lᴀ qatcꜝa′si giên
lᴀ la ga tā′das. A′hao ʟg̣a l’ qa′-isalañ wᴀnsū′ga g̣ō′ñg̣añ lanā′g̣a lᴀ
tcꜝī′dag̣asʟaiyes sta ᴀ.
Giên l’ ūgī′ga-i ʟ̣ū hᴀn lᴀ la sū′udas “Halᴀ′ kungida′-ig̣a kiä
sînqꜝōłdjū′gᴀn gū′stᴀ dīgi ga taxā′ʟ.” Giên g̣a lᴀ qā′x̣ułsi giên sîn gu
qꜝołdjā′wasi g̣e′istᴀ lᴀ ga gī′xaʟas. Giên gī′nᴀ adā′asi lᴀ la
daogoᴀ′das giên łg̣ēt êsî′ñ lᴀ tꜝaxā′ʟ̣as. Giên ga-i gi î′sîñ lā′g̣a lᴀ
goa′was. Giên hᴀn lᴀ la sū′udas “Akungida′-ig̣a hao l’ qꜝołdjū′gani.”
Giên gī′nᴀ łkꜝiä′na wa′ʟ̣uxᴀn lᴀ î′sdaiya′-i ʟ̣ū kungida′-ig̣a
xō′yag̣ā′ng̣a łg̣a-i qꜝołdjā′was g̣e′istᴀ lᴀ ga gīxā′ʟas giên lᴀ gi lᴀ
xā′sʟtcꜝas. Giên “Ga-i î′sîñ” lᴀ gi lᴀ sī′wus. Giên lā′g̣a sî′ng̣ᴀn lᴀ
ʟ′g̣ołg̣asi giên lā′g̣a lᴀ g̣eiłgī′daga′-i ʟ̣ū lā′g̣a ga sqꜝa′stîñ lᴀ
x̣ūtx̣u′ldas. Lᴀ la qō-dā′g̣añadas giên nᴀñ lᴀ sqetsg̣adja′o dā′g̣ᴀñadas.
Giên sqa′ola-i g̣aʟe′ił la g̣ᴀn lᴀ qꜝalᴀnda′asi. Qwē′g̣ao dāg̣ᴀñā′gasi.
Giên lgūs gīʟe′ił î′sîñ la g̣ᴀn la xa′-idas. Wa′sg̣oag̣a g̣ᴀ′nhao la g̣ᴀn lᴀ
wa′daiyañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên hᴀn lᴀ la sū′udas “Ā′sistᴀ dᴀñ ł ga-ig̣ā′gix̣idagîn. Dᴀñ gi g̣āl
sg̣oa′nsîñ g̣e′ił giên lnagā′-i xē′tgu dᴀñ ga-ig̣ā′sgît giên dᴀñ nᴀñ
tcꜝigā′gᴀn gī lnagā′-i qꜝaxā′g̣a dā tꜝaqꜝołtcꜝa′og̣aʟꜝxāsañ.” Giên
gul-mā′łga-i ê′sîñ lᴀ gi lᴀ î′sdas. “Dā sî′ndax̣ît waigiê′nᴀ nᴀñ
qōdā′g̣añas sg̣ō′lᴀgi sqalᴀ′ñgu dasqꜝā′sgidᴀñ. Sʟä′nagi î′sîñ nᴀñ
sqetsg̣adja′o dā′g̣añas dasqꜝā′sgidᴀñ. Giên gu′tłg̣ᴀstᴀ dᴀñ gi ga
g̣etgadā′ña dᴀñ g̣ᴀn sîndag̣ō′dᴀña xē′łi g̣ei ła gu′lg̣aga-i gutg̣a′atg̣a
î′sdañ. Giên dā îsdī′gutgaña g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ saog̣e′iga. Gula′-i mā′łga-i
xa′ołg̣ada giên gᴀm g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ lᴀ sū′ug̣ᴀñg̣oasᴀñ.”
Lᴀ la kî′ñgugᴀñg̣e′iłgīga′-i ʟ̣ū g̣o′da x̣ᴀ′tdju lᴀ tcꜝî′sʟsg̣as giên lᴀ la
dᴀñgū′sʟᴀʟeiłas. Giên sʟꜝî′ñg̣eistᴀ skiä′mskun tꜝa′g̣un g̣adā′ lᴀ
tꜝa′ostas giên l’ xᴀ′ña ku′ng̣ei lᴀ gī′dax̣idᴀs giên g̣a lᴀ łg̣a′-iłgalasi.
Giên lᴀ dᴀñtꜝa′osdaiyasi giên g̣ā′-iya tꜝa′odjiwᴀsi. Giên gut lᴀ
sʟꜝʟa′si giên lᴀ ʟ̣î′nasi giên î′sîñ wa g̣ei lā′g̣a lᴀ gītcꜝa′si. Giên
î′sîñ wᴀgañā′xᴀn g̣e′idᴀsi giên sku′nxag̣îłsi giên xᴀ′nłag̣a lanā′ ê′sîñ
gañā′ñ la g̣a lᴀ î′sdas. Giên la ê′sîñ sku′nxag̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū l’ xē′łᴀg̣ei
î′sîñ lᴀ gī′dax̣idᴀsi. Ga-i g̣e′istᴀ êsî′ñ tꜝᴀm lᴀ qꜝotꜝa′ogañas
g̣ā′lᴀñodᴀ. Skiä′mskuna-i tꜝag̣u′n gi tcꜝā′łskidesi wᴀ dᴀ′ñat lᴀ
dᴀñtꜝa′ostasi. L’ djā′sg̣a stꜝagwa′-i g̣a-iyā′gas lᴀ qea′ñas hao l’ xᴀ′ñē
g̣a-i at stꜝaxog̣ā′gañ wᴀnsū′ga. G̣aga′nhao lᴀ ʟꜝ tcꜝix̣idā′g̣ani.
Giên hᴀn î′sîñ lᴀ la kiñgugā′ñag̣ᴀn. “Lᴀ gi dā wa′aʟꜝxa giê′nᴀ nᴀñ
g̣aiyawa′-i djîns djînłgoā′ñañ giê′nᴀ dᴀñ ga ʟstî′nda giê′nᴀ nᴀñ
g̣ā′yawa-i kꜝuᴀ′nstcꜝiguñ.”
Ā′si gañā′xᴀn la wa′gasi. L’ xᴀ′nłag̣a lā′na î′sdisg̣aias giên nᴀñ
g̣ayawa′-i djîns lᴀ djinłgoā′ñas. Kꜝiä′ł lᴀ g̣aʟ̣ā′gas. La ga ʟstîndawa′-i
ʟ̣ū nᴀñ g̣ayawa′-i łtā′nᴀns lᴀ tcꜝī′igᴀs. Djila′-i lᴀ tcꜝī′gᴀsi.
L’ g̣aʟ̣ō′dias ʟ̣ū′hao l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a qꜝołg̣ā′wag̣alᴀñ sg̣oa′na la g̣ᴀn kꜝᴀga′ñ
wᴀnsū′ga. “Hi hi hi hi hi Sînxē′gᴀño sqa′oala-i î′sîñ lᴀ tcꜝī′dax̣idiañ.
Lgudja′-i î′sîñ lᴀ tcꜝīdax̣idia′ñ.” A′hao ʟ kīg̣ā′ñ lᴀ gwā′lᴀñ wᴀnsū′us
ī′djî.
Giên la ê′sîñ îsdī′gᴀs giên djila′-i sg̣ō′lagi lā′na gi lā′g̣a djila′-i
lᴀ dᴀñsqꜝasta′si. Giên gutłg̣ᴀ′stᴀ la g̣ᴀn ga sîndag̣ō′dᴀñagas la ga
qe′iñᴀsi g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ saog̣e′ig̣a gula′-i xa′ołg̣atsi.
Giên l’ xaʟ̣g̣ā′das giên tcꜝiwa′-i lᴀ gī′gas giên sila′-ig̣ei lᴀ gui
ʟa′ałs. Giên î′sîñ gwā′sgaoga-i l’ kî′lg̣ołg̣asi. Sqa′oala-i at lgudja′-i
dᴀ′ñat xᴀn lᴀ wasg̣oa′si. Giên g̣eiłgīga′-i ʟ̣ū l’ xᴀ′nłag̣a ʟꜝ îsdī′gus.
Giên nag̣astᴀgā′ñxᴀn nᴀñ g̣aiyawa′-i łtā′nᴀns lᴀ tcꜝī′sg̣a. Djila′-i lᴀ
tcꜝī. Giên la ê′sîñ îsdī′s giên lᴀ ʟqᴀ′nskîtgīga-i ʟ̣ū nᴀñ sqetsg̣adja′o
dā′g̣añas gī lᴀ dakꜝō′djîłsi giên djila′-i lᴀ dᴀ′ñsqꜝastas. Giên î′sîñ
l’ xaʟ̣gā′dᴀs. Î′sîñ lᴀ gui ʟa′ał.
Giên î′sîñ wa′sg̣oga-i kîlg̣ołg̣ā′si. G̣eiłgī′ga-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ l’ xᴀ′ñłaga ʟꜝ
î′sdī giên î′sîñ nᴀñ g̣aiyawa′-i łtā′⁺nᴀns lᴀ tcꜝī′gᴀs. Djila′-i î′sîñ
lᴀ tcꜝī. Giên î′sîñ lᴀ ʟꜝ qᴀ′nskîtgī′ga-i ʟ̣ū sg̣ō′lᴀgi lā′na gi lᴀ
daqō′djîʟ giên djila′-i lā′g̣a lᴀ dᴀ′ñsqꜝastasi. Ga-i î′sîñ lᴀ gui
ʟa′ałsi.
Giên g̣ō′ñg̣añ lanā′g̣a xa′-idᴀg̣a-i î′sîñ lᴀ djî′nłgoañᴀs. Lnagā′-i
staʟe′ił lᴀ tcꜝis. Giên ʟꜝg̣aga′-i ʟ̣ū a-u′ñ at djā′āsîñ at g̣ō′ñg̣añ lᴀ
tcꜝî′sgîna-i ʟ̣ū ʟꜝ qasagai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. “Qwē′ig̣aqons” gī′tg̣a hao l’
tcꜝix̣ida′shao lᴀ tcꜝîskiä′nañ wᴀnsū′ga. Sqa′gi nᴀñ dā′g̣as gī′tg̣a hao
īdja′ñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Hao ʟan l’ g̣e′ida.
TCꜝAAWU′NKꜝA
[Told by Jimmy Sterling of the Stᴀ′stas family]
After the parents of a certain child, which was in the cradle, had gone
about for a while with him they landed to get mussels. There they
forgot about him. And they started away. When they had gone some
distance from him they remembered him. They came back toward him. When
they came near they heard some one singing for him. Crows sat above him
in flocks. And when they got off to get him he acted in the cradle like
a shaman. They took him aboard. Then his parents came to the town with
him.
After some time had passed and he had grown to be a boy people began to
die off on account of him. But his elder brothers and his uncles were
numerous. His uncles’ wives did not love him. Only the wife of the
youngest gave him food. His old grandmother was the only one who looked
after him. After they had been in the town for a while, and his friends
were entirely gone, he and his grandmother made a house out of old
cedar bark by a creek flowing down near the town. And he went there
with his grandmother to live.
Afterward he went to the town, and the wife of his youngest uncle gave
him food. When he grew old enough he hunted birds. All the time they
lived there his grandmother got food for him. And he also made a bow
for himself. He continually hunted birds. He continually whittled.
After he had hunted birds for a while he saw a heron sitting with a
broken beak. He told his grandmother about it. And his grandmother said
to him: “When you again see it sharpen its bill. When people sharpen
its bill it helps them, they say.” [66] When he again saw it he
sharpened its bill. And after he started away and had gone some
distance it said to him: “I will help you, grandchild.”
After that his grandmother began to teach him how to make deadfalls.
[67] And then he began to set them at the head of the creek for black
bears. They ceased to see him at the town. Sometimes he went to the
town, received food from his youngest uncle’s wife alone, and started
off with it. They refused to have him at the town. There was no house
into which he could go. His youngest uncle’s wife gave him food because
they refused to have him. He kept going there.
After he had set deadfalls for a while one fell on a black bear. He
carried it to the house. He did not waste the smallest bit of its fat.
He smoked it and ate it. At this time they began to live well for the
first time. As he became stronger he increased the number of his
deadfalls. Now he again went to get [bears], and he killed another. He
did not waste the smallest piece of the fat of that other one. And they
also enlarged the house. He smoked the meat in it. He also put meat
into boxes [to keep it]. Now he began [regularly] to get bears. Every
time he went to look at his deadfalls bears lay in them. They lay in
all ten deadfalls. They then made their house bigger.
When it was thought that they were dead of starvation his youngest
uncle’s wife had them go to look, because she thought that they had
died. Instead, his house was full of fat food. And the one she sent to
look came back and told her how he was situated. They then kept it
secret.
One night, after they had lived there for a while, his grandmother,
having remained awake, thought that her son was acting like a shaman.
She did not ask her son about it on the morrow. All this time he took
black bears from the deadfalls. Another time, when his grandmother lay
awake at midnight, her son again acted like a shaman. At this time he
started off with the end [of an unseen rope]. After some time had
passed he again acted like a shaman at midnight. His grandmother also
perceived that. During all that time his grandmother did not question
him. After he had acted like a shaman for a while Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa named
himself through him. They had forgotten that he had acted like a shaman
at the time when they abandoned him in the cradle. It now happened
again. Now Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa mentioned his name through him.
In the morning his grandmother questioned him for the first time. His
grandmother then asked him: “Tell me, child, why did one whose name the
supernatural beings never [dare to] think of mention his name through
you?” Then he explained to his grandmother: “I began dreaming about him
at the time when I sharpened the heron’s bill. On account of him it is
easy for me to gather things.” This was the reason why his friends were
gone. When Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa speaks through one his friends die, they say.
His grandmother then made him a dancing skirt out of an old mat. She
took off the edge on one side and fastened something to it. [68] She
also made a shaman’s bone for him. In the evening he performed like a
shaman. His grandmother led the songs for him. She sang for him. Now he
began to perform regularly. At this time people began to come secretly
from the town to look at him. But he still concealed their condition as
much as possible. They did not know how the inside of his house looked.
At that time food had begun to give out at the town. They were starving
there. He then began to give food in return to the wife of his youngest
uncle who had given him food. They came thus to know about him.
Then a chief’s son became sick in the town, and they began to get
shamans for him. In the evening they began to dance around him. He who
was going to be Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa heard the noise of the drum and went over.
He then looked into the place where they were performing. He saw that
he could be saved. The thing that caused his sickness was plain to his
eyes. But those who were performing around him did not see it. They
were unable to save him. During all that time he was acting like a
shaman in the place where he lived.
After some time had passed he sent his grandmother. He sent over his
grandmother to say that he would try to cure the sick man, but when she
repeated it (his words) to them they thought he could do nothing. They
even laughed at him. Those who had stolen a look at him while he acted
like a shaman then told the people about it. They said they had better
get him, and they got him.
As he was about to start he dressed himself in his own house. He wore
the shaman’s dancing skirt and the shaman’s bone that his grandmother
had made for him. He then started thither. He came through the doorway
performing like a shaman. Now he started to perform around the sick
man. And he saved the sick man. At this time he ceased to try to hide
himself. He came to the town. When he was there they began buying the
meat of him. And he got a great deal of property in exchange, and the
property that he received for being called to the sick was also much.
At this time he grew prosperous. He began to provide in turn for the
one who had given him food. During all this time they employed him as
shaman. The fame of him spread everywhere.
After some time had passed he saw that the Land-otter people were
coming to get him. During all that time he drank sea water. He had many
nephews. As soon as he saw that they were coming to get him he asked
his nephews which of them would go with him. He began at once to
collect urine. He also put blue hellebore into it.
Before this, [69] whenever many shamans were gathered together, they
made fun of him. Afterward, he had his nephews sink him in the ocean.
They went out to let him down. And they let him down. They tied a rope
to him, and they floated above him for a long space of time. They were
right over the deep place waiting for him to jerk the rope. By and by,
when he jerked the rope, they pulled him up. At this time he saw the
bottom of the Tlingits’ island. He was under water there for many
nights. He saw of the shamans’ houses, the one that lay deepest. At
this time he came to have more shamanistic power.
When he came back from this [adventure] he saw that the Land-otter
people were coming to get him. Thereupon he asked of his nephews which
one would go with him. They tried to get ahead of one another. “I am
the one who will go with you,” each said to him. The very youngest, who
was good for nothing, was always near the door. He used to urinate in
bed. “I will go,” he said. But his elder brothers laughed at him. After
some time had passed they came after him. At midnight they came by sea
and got him. He told his nephews that they were coming to get him that
night, and he told all of his nephews to keep a sharp lookout. “Let the
one who thinks of going with me remain awake. They will come to get me
to-night.” Now the one that urinated in bed slept near the door.
There was the picture of a mallard on the rattle that he owned. He had
it made for himself when he became a shaman. On this night they came
and got him.
They came in and took him out. He was unable to awaken his nephews. The
Land-otter people placed sleep [70] upon them. But when he tried to
awaken the worthless one, he awoke him. And Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa took him by
the arm. They got him for the son of the chief among the Land-otter
people who was sick. It was the Land-otter people who put his nephews
to sleep. From the youngest only they could not pull away [the soul].
He now took his drum and the urine he had let rot, and they started off
with him. They had him lie on his face in the bottom of the canoe. They
did the same thing to his nephew. After they had gone along for some
time they said that the bottom of the canoe had become foul, and they
landed to clean it. This meant that their fur had become wet. The
cleaning of the canoe was done by their twisting about. They then got
in again, put them on the bottom, and started off. After they had gone
along for a while longer something touched their heads. This, they
felt, was the kelp under which [the otters] were diving with them.
After they had gone along for a while longer they said that they were
near the town.
They then took the coverings off them. When they came in front of the
town sparks were coming out of the house standing in the middle. A
large crowd of people waiting in that house also made a huge volume of
sound. Landing, they said to him: “Get off, Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa.” Now he got
off with the rattle which had the picture of a mallard on it and let it
walk up in front of him. When it went up before him it entered a
different house from the one where the crowd of people awaited him, and
he entered after it. And he held his nephew tightly. They said then
that they were glad to have him. “Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa,” they said of him,
“truly he is a shaman.” In this one lay the person for whom they had
brought him, but they waited in a crowd for him in a different one.
This was the way in which they tested him to see how much power he had.
When he entered he saw many shamans gathered in the house. He plainly
saw a bone spear on the surface of the body of the sick man. Just
before this some persons had gone hunting from the town where
Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa lived. They speared a white land otter with a bone spear.
The creature that carried it away in him was sick here. Then he tried
to cure him. Now he had given the following directions to his nephew:
“Even if they push you away from the drum hung on the side toward the
door, make motions with your head in that direction. It will still
sound.” And he also thought, “I wonder what will sing for me.” In the
front part of the house were always two persons with big bellies and
black skins. These said to him as follows: “They know about it, great
shaman. They will sing for you.”
He began at once to act like a shaman. After he had danced round the
fire for a while he pulled out the spear, and [the sick otter] stopped
moaning. After he had again acted for a while he pushed it back into
the same place. They were anxious to see him when he acted like a
shaman, hence the house was full. They pushed him (his nephew) from the
drum, and even then he used his head to beat it. The drum still
sounded. At that time they said good things about him: “Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa,
great shaman, Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa.” He now stopped performing.
Then they went to bed. He awoke in the night and tried to stretch
himself. He pushed his feet against something that was near him. It was
the crooked root of a tree. He felt large roots running in every
direction. On the next day, when morning came, they again got up.
He looked toward the door. In the corners of the house on either side
hung halibut hooks. One having the picture of a halibut had a halibut
hanging down from it. One having the picture of a land otter on it had
a red cod hanging down from it. They gave those [fish] to him to eat
when they fed him. All the shamans around the ocean were in that house.
The next evening he again began performing. They gave him many elk
skins. There was a big pile on the side near the door. Many boxes of
grease also lay near it. After he had danced round the fire for a while
he pulled out the spear. He pushed it in again. He pulled it out, and
he stopped performing. He again put it in, and [the otter] again began
to suffer.
During all that time he had the urine mixed with blue hellebore, which
he had let decay together, hung by him in a water-tight basket. After
he had performed for a while the great shamans that were around the
house made fun of him. After he had gone round the fire for a while he
was doubled up as he moved, and they imitated him near the fire. He
then called for his power, and by its help stood upright. The people in
the house made a great noise at this. He then again ran round the fire,
took urine in the hollow of his hand, and, as he ran about, threw it at
them. All the shamans around the ocean were nearly choked by the bad
stench and said to him: “Don’t, Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa. You do not treat us
well.” Large clams spurted water at him. Small clams spurted water
toward him. Everything was different (i.e., hostile) toward him, owing
to those people whom they had got as shamans. As he ran he pointed the
spear that he had pulled out at the faces of the shamans of all
countries who were about the house. They did not see it.
Now he thought, “I wish they would give me the halibut hooks. I might
then save the chief’s son.” Then the broad, black men reported what he
thought: “If you give him those halibut hooks he says that he might
save the chief’s son.” Throughout the long time during which he
performed he thought in this way. During all that time they did not
want to give them to him. Every morning halibut and red cod hung from
them. He was there many nights. By and by they gave him the halibut
hooks. He now performed again, and he pulled out the spear for the last
time. The chief’s son was saved.
On the next day they took him back. They launched a big canoe. At once,
they began to put the elk skins into it, with the boxes of grease. The
halibut hooks he also had under his arms as he lay there. They now
started back with him. They arrived with him during the night at the
place whence they had fetched him. They put off the elk skins and the
boxes of grease. On the following day, when it was light, although he
had held the halibut hooks firmly, there was no trace of them. This was
the first time that people learned about halibut hooks. Where they had
landed the elk skins on the beach only seaweeds were piled up. The
boxes of grease, too, were nothing but kelp heads in which was a large
quantity of liquid. The canoe was a large rotten log lying there.
This is the end.
Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa is both the name of a supernatural being and the name of
any shaman through whom the supernatural being spoke. It is a Tlingit
name and the story is evidently Tlingit also, though Tlingit spirits
often “spoke through” Haida shamans.
TCꜝAAWU′NKꜝA
Nᴀñ g̣ā′xa g̣agwā′ñkꜝiaʟ̣das hao a′og̣alᴀñ wᴀ dᴀ′ñat tcꜝīdā′l qa′odihao lᴀ
dᴀ′ñat g̣ᴀl gi lᴀ qā′gaskîtg̣awas. Guha′o lᴀ gi lᴀ qꜝā′-iskîtg̣awañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Giên lᴀ stᴀ lᴀ ʟūqā′-itg̣oas. ʟg̣ēt l’ g̣ē′tg̣atg̣awa′-i ʟ̣ū la
g̣ei lᴀ gūtg̣atg̣oa′sgîñ. Lᴀ gui lᴀ stī′łg̣oas. La g̣ᴀn l’
ā′xᴀna-g̣ē′łg̣awa′-i ʟ̣ū la g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ sū′dies lᴀ gūdᴀ′ñg̣oas. Kꜝā′ldjîda lᴀ
sī′g̣a tꜝā′tg̣ōdies. Giên lᴀ la da′otꜝᴀłg̣awa′-i ʟ̣ū g̣ag̣wā′ñkꜝia-i g̣a lᴀ gu
ga qā′wādies. Giên lᴀ la qā′g̣aʟ̣g̣oas. Giên lnaga′-i gu l’ yā′g̣alᴀñ lᴀ
dᴀ′ñat îsg̣oa′si.
Ga′-istᴀ g̣ā′g̣ēt qa′⁺odi l’ ʟ̣ā′g̣ag̣ea′lga-i ʟ̣ū la g̣a ga gā′gux̣idag̣ᴀn. L’
kꜝwai′g̣alᴀñ at l’ qā′g̣alᴀñ ʟꜝᴀ qoa′nag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ qā′g̣a djā′g̣alᴀñ gᴀm la g̣a
kꜝū′gagᴀñgā′ñag̣ᴀn. Nᴀñ da′og̣anᴀs djā′g̣a sg̣u′nxᴀn lᴀ gi gīdagā′ñāg̣ᴀn. L’
nā′ng̣a qꜝa′-iyas sg̣u′nxᴀn la g̣a ʟxā′ndas. Lnaga′-i g̣a lᴀ î′sg̣ō
qa′odihao la gᴀ gā′gūdjîłī′ga-i ʟ̣ū nā′nᴀñ dᴀ′ñat lnaga′-i qꜝō′łga nᴀñ
g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a koa′ʼdᴀgai′esi djî′ngî gā′łda na lᴀ ʟg̣ō′łg̣ag̣āwag̣ᴀn. Giên g̣a
nā′nᴀñ dᴀ′ñat lᴀ nāg̣ē′łsi.
Ga′-istᴀhao lnaga′-i g̣a lᴀ qā′-itsi giên l’ qā′g̣a djā′g̣a daog̣ᴀnā′gas lᴀ
gi gī′dagāñāg̣ᴀn. L’ xetî′t tcꜝî′nłg̣oañg̣aiyag̣ēla′-i ʟ̣ū ᴀ. Gu lᴀ
nāxā′ñg̣oasi kꜝiä′łhao l’ nā′ng̣a lᴀ xēłī′wangā′ñagîn. Giên la ê′sîñ łg̣ēt
qꜝēnᴀ′ñ ʟ′g̣ōłg̣aiyas. L’ xetî′t tcꜝî′nłgoañgī⁺gᴀnᴀs. L’ ła′oatgīgᴀs.
L’ xetî′t tcꜝînłg̣oā′ñgᴀñ qa′⁺odihao łg̣ō kꜝū′da gwā′ñga lᴀ
qî′ñqꜝaoawag̣ᴀn. Giên nānᴀ′ñ gi lᴀ la sū′udas. Giên hᴀn l’ nā′ng̣a l’
sū′udas, “Î′sîñ lᴀ dā qē′îña giê′nᴀ l’ kꜝū′da qꜝā′ʟ̣añ. Hakꜝoa′ng̣ētsi
kꜝū′da ʟꜝ qaʟa′si giên ʟꜝᴀ gi qꜝᴀ′ñgᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga.” Gañā′xᴀn î′sîñ lᴀ la
qeā′ñga-i ʟ̣ū l’ kꜝū′da lā′g̣a lᴀ qaʟ̣ai′yāg̣ᴀn. Giên lᴀ stᴀ lᴀ qā′-idaga-i
ʟ̣ū ʟg̣ēt lᴀ stᴀ l’ g̣ētg̣ada′-i ʟ̣ū lᴀ la sūdai′yāg̣ᴀn “Dᴀñ gi ł qꜝᴀ′ñgasga,
tꜝakꜝî′ng̣a.”
Giên ga′-istᴀ l’ nā′ng̣a sqā′ba l’ sqā′tgadax̣idāg̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i
qās g̣ei tān gi lᴀ sqā′badᴀx̣idā′g̣ᴀn. ʟan lnaga′-i gu lᴀ ʟꜝ qîñx̣idā′g̣ani.
Gia′atg̣axᴀn lnaga′-i g̣a lᴀ qā′-idᴀsi giên l’ qā′g̣a djā′g̣a daog̣anā′gas
sg̣un lᴀ gi gī′das giên dᴀ′ñat lᴀ qā′-idᴀñᴀs. Lnaga′-i gu ʟga-i gu lᴀ gi
gwa′ūgañagᴀni. Gᴀm ʟgu g̣ei l’ g̣ētłiñē′ gō′g̣añasi. Lᴀ gi ʟꜝ
gwa′ūgīlā′gas. G̣aga′na l’ qā′g̣a da′og̣ᴀnᴀs djā′g̣a lᴀ gi gī′dagᴀñᴀs.
Ga′gi hao lᴀ ēdjañā′g̣ᴀn.
L’ sqā′badagᴀñ qa′odihao tān la g̣a ga kꜝādā′g̣ᴀn. Lᴀ la
qꜝa-iłgalᴀ′nʟꜝxaiyag̣ᴀn. Gᴀm l’ g̣ā-i kꜝᴀ′tdjū xᴀn lᴀ dā′ñg̣ᴀñᴀs. Lā′g̣a lᴀ
qꜝa-ix̣î′lg̣adasi giên î′sîñ lā′g̣a lᴀ tā′g̣was. Hao ʟꜝ l’
djia′lāg̣îłʟā′gᴀñg̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. L’ dā′guiag̣ēłs kꜝia′łhao sqā′ba-i wᴀ gi lᴀ
qā′sgidaiyāg̣ᴀni. Hao î′sîñ l’ daodā′gāñgas giên î′sîñ nᴀñ lᴀ tia′gañ
wᴀnsū′ga. La ê′sîñ g̣ā-i x̣ᴀ′tdjū xᴀn gᴀm lᴀ dañgā′ñagîn. Giên nā′ga-i
ê′sîñ lᴀ ʟꜝdag̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. Ga-i g̣a lᴀ qꜝa-ix̣î′lg̣adasi. Î′sîñ lᴀ
qꜝa′-iūgiasi. A′hao gī lᴀ hᴀ′lxax̣idīgāwag̣ᴀni. L’ da′otꜝagañgas kꜝiäł
sqābaga′-i g̣a lā′g̣ā ʟ̣′g̣ōdīx̣idag̣ani. Sqā′baga-i sqꜝaʟa′ᴀł g̣a xᴀn lā′g̣a
gᴀ′nłg̣oañx̣idag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao nā′ga-i î′sîñ lᴀ yū′ᴀng̣eiłdag̣awā′g̣ani.
ʟꜝʟ̣ū′xᴀn l’ gᴀ′ntcꜝig̣wañ la g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ gūdᴀ′ns ʟ̣ū l’ qā′g̣a daog̣anā′gas
djā′g̣a l’ qeā′ñg̣adaiyāg̣ᴀn, l’ kꜝōtu′lg̣ag̣wañ la g̣ᴀn lᴀ gū′dᴀns ʟ̣ū ᴀ.
Hayî′ñ lā′g̣a nā′ga-i kꜝatkꜝā′-i⁺dᴀlagā′wag̣ᴀn gī′na gia g̣ā′-iya at ᴀ.
Giên nᴀñ lᴀ qeā′ñg̣adaiyag̣ani stīłʟꜝxa′si giên ʟgu l’ g̣ēts lᴀ gi lᴀ
sūdagā′wag̣ᴀn. Waigiê′nhao lā′g̣a lᴀ qolgî′ndag̣ā′wag̣ani.
Gaatxᴀ′n l’ naxā′ndihao qa′odihao g̣āl ya′ku l’ nā′ng̣a skiä′⁺nadies ʟ̣ū
l’ gī′tg̣a gu ga qā′was lᴀ g̣āndā′ñag̣ᴀn. Wai′giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a gᴀm gītg̣ᴀ′ñ
at gī lᴀ kiä′ñañgañā′g̣ani. Waikꜝiä′łhao tā′na-i lᴀ
qꜝāi′łgalᴀñgāñañgīni. Gaatxᴀ′nhao î′sîñ g̣ā′lx̣ua l’ nā′ng̣a skꜝiä′nadias
ʟ̣ū î′sîñ l’ gī′tg̣a gu ga qā′wag̣ᴀn. A′hao ʟꜝ kun dᴀ′ñat la qā′-idag̣ᴀn.
G̣ā′g̣ēt qa′⁺odihao î′sîñ g̣āl ya′ku lᴀ gu ga qā′awag̣ᴀn. Ga-i î′sîñ l’
nā′ng̣a g̣ā′ndañag̣ani. Wᴀkꜝiä′łhao gᴀm tꜝā′kꜝînᴀñ at gi lᴀ
kiä′nᴀñg̣ᴀñgañagīni. Lᴀ gu ga qā′ūgᴀñ qa′odihao Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa la g̣ei
kīg̣ā′ñ kꜝwiʟꜝxai′yag̣ᴀn. Ha′ohao ʟ ku′ng̣ag̣agoā′ñkꜝī g̣a lᴀ gī ʟꜝ
qꜝā′-isgidāg̣ᴀn ʟ̣ū lᴀ gu ga qā′awag̣ᴀn. Ga′-igi l’ qꜝā′-iskîtg̣āwag̣ani.
Hao ʟ g̣ᴀ′nstᴀg̣añ qā′ʟꜝxaiyag̣ani. Hai a′hao Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa la g̣ei kīg̣ā′ñ
kꜝwīʟꜝxagai′yag̣ᴀni.
Sîñgaʟ̣ana′-i ʟ̣ū′hao ʟnaot l’ nā′ng̣a la gi kiä′nañāg̣ani. Giê′nhao l’
nā′ng̣a hᴀn la at kiä′nañag̣ᴀn, “Djā łqên gāsî′ñhao gᴀm sg̣ā′na gut
gūtgawā′g̣ᴀn dᴀñ g̣ei g̣ā′lx̣ua kīg̣ā′ñ kꜝwī′ʟꜝxaūdjañ.” ʟū′hao nānᴀ′ñ gi lᴀ
giałg̣alᴀ′ndaiyāg̣ᴀn. “Hao łg̣ō kꜝū′da ł qꜝaʟꜝa′ atxᴀ′nhao lᴀ xē′tgu ł
qᴀ′ñgax̣īdᴀn. La g̣aga′nhao gī′na gī ł hᴀ′lxas dī g̣ᴀn ʟ̣a′olg̣ᴀn.”
G̣aga′nhao lā′g̣a ga gā′gūgag̣ani. Hao ʟgu ʟꜝa′g̣ei lᴀ sū′us giên ʟꜝā′g̣a ga
gagū′gᴀñᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa ᴀ.
Giê′nhao lgūsa′l g̣ᴀntcꜝîłg̣ā′gia g̣ᴀn l’ nā′ng̣a la g̣ᴀn ʟ′g̣ōłg̣aiyāg̣ᴀn. L’
kꜝīa′-i ku′ng̣eistᴀ lᴀ sqā′x̣istas giên g̣e′istᴀ la g̣a gī′na lᴀ
kiū′x̣aiyag̣ani. Wai′giên sg̣ā-skū′djî î′sîñ la g̣ᴀn lᴀ ʟ′g̣ōłdaiya′g̣ani.
Uiê′dhao sîñx̣aia′-i g̣a lᴀ sg̣āg̣agā′g̣ᴀn. L’ nā′ng̣a hao la g̣ᴀn giū′gī
ʟ̣′gīgagag̣ᴀn. Giên la g̣ᴀn lᴀ sā′wag̣ᴀn. A′hao ʟ sg̣ā′g̣aga-i lᴀ
îsku′nstaiyag̣ani. Lnaga′-i stᴀ hao lᴀ ʟꜝ qîñqꜝō′łdaʟꜝxagīx̣idag̣ᴀn asʟ̣ū′
ᴀ. Wᴀskꜝie′n ᴀ′ñg̣a tā′łg̣a la g̣ētdjūg̣oa′si ʟgu l’ g̣ētg̣oa′s ᴀ. Gᴀm lā′g̣a
nagoa′si g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ u′nsᴀtg̣añag̣ani.
Giê′nhao lnaga′-i gu ga taga′-i ha′-ilūx̣idai′yag̣ani. Giê′nhao gu ʟꜝ
kꜝōdā′lag̣ani. Giê′nhao l’ qā′g̣a da′og̣ᴀnas djā′g̣a lᴀ gi gī′dagañag̣ᴀn,
gī′hao xᴀ′ñgiañ la ê′sîñ gī′dax̣idag̣ᴀn. A′hao ʟ lᴀ g̣ei ʟꜝ
g̣ałqē′xaiyag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao lnaga′-i g̣a nᴀñ gīdā′g̣a stꜝēg̣iā′lag̣ani. Giê′nhao la g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ
sg̣aʟ̣′g̣ax̣idag̣ᴀn nᴀñ stꜝē′g̣îłs g̣ᴀn ᴀ. Sîñx̣ia′s giên lᴀ g̣ada′o ʟꜝ
g̣ē′tx̣idies. Ga′odjîwa-i xē′g̣îłs lᴀ gūdᴀ′ns giên g̣a lᴀ qā′-idag̣ᴀni
Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa-łiña′-i ᴀ. Waigiê′nhao g̣ei lᴀ qî′ntcꜝaiyāg̣ᴀn gia′g̣a ʟꜝ gia
g̣ada′o g̣ē′das g̣ei ᴀ. Waigiê′nhao l’ qagᴀ′nda-łiña′s lā′g̣a lᴀ
qîntcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn. Gī′na g̣aga′n l’ stꜝē′gᴀs l’ xᴀnā′g̣a tca′olaiyag̣ᴀn.
Waigiê′n lᴀ g̣ada′o g̣ēts ga-i ʟꜝa gᴀm lā′g̣a qîñg̣ā′ñag̣ᴀni. L’
qagᴀ′ndag̣a-i g̣ada′o ʟꜝ g̣ētsgai′yāg̣ᴀn. Wᴀkꜝiä′ł ū l’ nawā′s g̣a lᴀ
sg̣ā′g̣agī⁺gā′ñagîn.
G̣ēt qa′odihao nā′nᴀñ g̣a lᴀ kîlqā′-idāg̣ani. Nᴀñ stꜝē′igᴀs g̣ada′o lᴀ
g̣ē′tsiîñᴀs nā′nᴀñ lᴀ sū′dag̣adaiyāg̣ᴀn. Giên gī lᴀ nī′djîñᴀsi giên la g̣ᴀn
ʟꜝ nā′ñagag̣ᴀn. Hayî′ñ la g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ kꜝaʼg̣ā′g̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao l’ sg̣ā′ga ʟ̣ū lᴀ ga
qî′ñqꜝōłdagañag̣ᴀn xa-idg̣a′-i la g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ sā′wag̣ᴀn. Giên hᴀn xᴀn lᴀ ʟꜝ
î′sdagudᴀ′ñxalag̣ᴀn. Giên lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ̣′x̣idag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao g̣a lᴀ qā′-itx̣idia′si ʟ̣ū na′xᴀn agᴀ′ñ lᴀ ʟ′g̣ōłg̣aʟ̣sʟaiyāg̣ᴀn. L’
nā′ng̣a kᴀ′ndcꜝîłg̣agia at sg̣a-skū′djî la g̣ᴀn ʟ′g̣ōłg̣aiyag̣ᴀn lᴀ
gia′gīgag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao g̣a lᴀ qā′-idag̣ᴀn. Kꜝīwa′-i g̣ei xᴀn lᴀ gu ga
qā′ūdalʟꜝxatcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn. Hai uiê′dhao lᴀ g̣ada′o lᴀ g̣ētxidā′g̣ᴀn. Giên nᴀñ
stꜝē′gᴀs lᴀ qagᴀ′ndaiyag̣ᴀn. Hao ʟ agᴀ′ñ lᴀ g̣ᴀlgoē′ʟꜝxasg̣oā′nᴀñāgᴀn.
Hao ʟ lnaga′-i g̣a l’ g̣ē′tgadag̣ᴀn. A′si gia′g̣a-iya-i lᴀ gi lā′g̣a ʟꜝ
da′ʼg̣ōx̣idag̣ani. Giên sqao lā′g̣a qoa′nag̣ani. Giên ʟꜝ stꜝē′ga g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ lᴀ
ʟꜝ ʟ̣g̣a gī′naga-i ê′sîñ qoa′nag̣ᴀn. Hao ʟ l’ g̣iā′lag̣ᴀn. A′hao ʟꜝ xᴀn l’
g̣ā′ñasgīda′-i ga ʟ̣ū lᴀ gi nᴀñ gīdagā′ñag̣ᴀn, la ê′sîñ xᴀ′ñgiañ l’
qeā′ñga-i la x̣idā′g̣ᴀn. Wᴀkꜝiä′łhao lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ̣′g̣agāñag̣ᴀn. ʟg̣ē′txᴀn l’
kīîñā′gāg̣ᴀn.
G̣ēt qa′odihao sʟgūs xa′-idᴀg̣a-i l’ ʟ̣′x̣îtî′ng̣asas lᴀ qeā′ñag̣ᴀn. Sa′nʟ̣ans
kꜝiäł l’ tāñāgā′ñag̣ᴀn. L’ nā′tg̣alᴀñ skꜝū′laiyag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ̣′x̣îtîng̣oasas
lᴀ qeā′ñ atxᴀ′nhao nᴀñ la at īdjiga′-i gi nā′dalᴀñ at lᴀ
kiä′nᴀñgañāg̣ᴀn. Gaatxᴀ′nhao tcigᴀ′nsgan lᴀ xā′xagātax̣ida′g̣ᴀn. Gwai′kꜝia
ê′sîñ g̣ei lᴀ îsdagā′ñāg̣ᴀni.
Ku′ng̣a ʟꜝ sg̣agīʟda′os ʟ̣ū′hao la at ʟꜝ nᴀ′ñx̣īsg̣alañag̣ᴀn. Ga′-istahao
nā′dᴀlᴀñ agᴀ′ñ lᴀ x̣ī′da-îndaiyāg̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀnhao lᴀ la x̣ī′da-îndaiyāg̣an.
Giên lᴀ la x̣idag̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ la tꜝā′łādāg̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao djī′iña gut
lᴀ sī′g̣a lᴀ gā′yîñg̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. Qwai′ya-i lᴀ dᴀ′ñx̣īdᴀsʟia′-i kꜝia′og̣a
ʟg̣ałdai ya gu hao lᴀ la îsdag̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. Qa′odihao qwai lᴀ dᴀñx̣ī′desʟasi
ʟ̣ū′hao lᴀ la dᴀ′ñʟ̣x̣îtg̣āwag̣ᴀn. A′hao ʟ łnagwai′g̣a g̣wa′ul lᴀ qeā′ñāg̣ᴀn.
G̣āl qoan hao l’ x̣ī′dag̣agāg̣ᴀn. Sg̣ās-na-i ta′-ig̣ō gia′watꜝᴀłs hao lᴀ
qeā′ñāg̣ᴀn. Ā′hao ʟ g̣ētgiā′ñxᴀn l’ sg̣ā′g̣a tcꜝīg̣ea′lāg̣ᴀn.
Asga′-istᴀ lᴀ stī′łʟꜝxas ʟ̣ū′hao sʟgūs xa-idᴀg̣a′-i l’ ʟ̣′x̣itîng̣oasas lᴀ
qeā′ñag̣ᴀn. Wᴀkꜝiä′łhao nā′dᴀlᴀñ at lᴀ kiä′nᴀñgāñāg̣ᴀn, nᴀñ la at
īdjiga′-i gī ᴀ. Gut ku′ng̣asgañ. “Ła hao dᴀ′ñat î′sg̣asga” lᴀ ʟꜝ
sū′dagāñag̣ᴀn. Waigiê′nhao nᴀñ da′og̣ana g̣agwī′g̣ag̣ᴀn gᴀm dā′⁺lskîdāg̣ᴀñ
łkiā′gua sg̣u′nhao l’ ʟ′g̣agāñag̣ᴀn. Î′sîñ l’ tcīgᴀ′ndaiyaiag̣ᴀn. “Ła hao
î′sg̣asga,” hᴀn hao l’ sūugā′ñag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao l’ kꜝwai′g̣alᴀñ hayî′ñ la
g̣ᴀn qꜝᴀgā′ñag̣ᴀn. G̣ā′g̣ēt qa′odihao lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ̣′x̣itîngā′wag̣ᴀn. G̣āl ya′ku hao
lᴀ ʟꜝ tā′ng̣a-îng̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. A′gia g̣āla′-i g̣a lᴀ ʟꜝ tā′ng̣a-îng̣oasês g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ
xᴀ′nhao nādᴀlᴀ′ñ gī lᴀ sā′wag̣ᴀn. Giên nā′dᴀlᴀñ wa′ʟ̣ūxᴀn agᴀ′ñ lᴀ
qꜝadᴀña′-i daxā′lag̣ᴀn. “Dī at nᴀñ î′sgūda łᴀ g̣ā′lx̣ua skiä′nagwañ.
G̣ā′lx̣ua hao dī ʟꜝ tā′ng̣a-îng̣oa′sga.” Wᴀi′giên nᴀñ tcīgᴀ′ñdies a′hao
kꜝīwa′-i tꜝa′og̣ᴀn łkiā′gua ta-idai′yag̣ᴀn.
Xā′xa gi nī′djîña sī′sa g̣a′hao lᴀ dag̣ai′yāg̣ᴀn. La′hao qꜝēnᴀ′ñ l’
ʟ′g̣ōłg̣adaiyāg̣ᴀn l’ sg̣ā′g̣adᴀs ʟ̣ū ᴀ. Gañaxᴀ′nhao asga′-i g̣āla′-i g̣a lᴀ ʟꜝ
ʟ̣′x̣îtîng̣āwag̣ᴀn.
Waigiê′nhao lᴀ ʟꜝ da′otcꜝaiyag̣ᴀn. Nā′dᴀlᴀñ ʟskī′nᴀña-i g̣ada′o lᴀ
g̣ētsg̣ai′yāg̣ᴀn. Sʟgūs xa-idᴀg̣a′-i hao gui qᴀñ ʟꜝ djīdai′yañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Waigiê′nhao nᴀñ ā′łdjiwa-i dāg̣ᴀñai′as lᴀ ʟ′gadañas. Lᴀ ʟꜝa lᴀ
ʟskî′nxaiyag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa lᴀ gi sqō′tg̣ādāg̣ᴀn. Sʟgūs
xa-idᴀg̣a′-i sū′ug̣a nᴀñ lā′na lg̣a′-ig̣agagas gī′tg̣a hao stꜝē′gᴀs g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ
hao lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ̣′x̣idag̣ᴀn. A′hao l’ nā′tg̣alᴀñ sʟgūs xa′-idᴀg̣a-i ʟꜝ ʟkꜝasʟas.
Nᴀñ da′og̣anagas sg̣unxᴀ′nhao lᴀ stᴀ dᴀñʟ̣ʟᴀg̣a-i g̣ada′o ʟꜝ g̣ētsg̣ai′yāg̣ᴀn.
Giên ga′odjiwa-i ᴀ′ñg̣a la îsdai′yag̣ᴀni giên tcīgᴀ′nsgᴀn lᴀ
xā′xadai′yag̣ᴀn î′sîñ. Giê′nhao lᴀ dᴀ′ñat ʟꜝ ʟūqā′-idag-ᴀni. Tcꜝā′g̣ᴀn
lᴀ ʟꜝ tā′-iguʟ̣nādaiyag̣ᴀn. L’ nā′tg̣a î′sîñ gañā′xᴀn ʟꜝ îsdai′yag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ
dᴀ′ñat ʟūqā′ qa′⁺odi ʟūwa′-i sʟꜝîñ dā′g̣ᴀñgadᴀñ ʟꜝ sū′usi giên ʟꜝ
skū′g̣alᴀñîng̣ōgañag̣ᴀni. A′hao ʟꜝ g̣a′og̣ē djī′ga hao īdjā′ñag̣ᴀn. ʟūwa′-i
ʟꜝ skū′g̣alᴀñ hao ʟꜝ qꜝō′x̣ūnᴀñgāñag̣ᴀn. Hao î′sîñ îsʟsī′ giên tcag̣ᴀ′n lᴀ
ʟꜝ ᴀ′ñgadā′ndag̣was giên ʟꜝ ʟūqā′-idāñāg̣ᴀn. ʟꜝ ʟūqā′ qa′⁺odi qās gut
gī′na łgałg̣ā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. A′hao qꜝa-i xē′txa lᴀ dᴀ′ñat ʟꜝ tꜝa′g̣ag̣oa′s
hao lᴀ g̣āndᴀ′ñg̣ōgañag̣ᴀn. ʟūqā′ qa′⁺odihao lnaga′-i ā′xᴀnag̣ēłîñ ʟꜝ
sā′wag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao xa-iʟ̣a′g̣a lᴀ ʟꜝ ᴀñxa′osʟdag̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. Lnaga′-i xētg̣ᴀ′n
ā′xᴀnag̣ea′lga-i ʟ̣ū ya′kug̣a ga tā′-ig̣ōdies g̣e′istᴀ g̣ōsqalō′tx̣a
łgīdjū′dai′yag̣ᴀn. Î′sîñ na′-i g̣a lᴀ kꜝia′og̣a ʟꜝ skꜝūlyū′ᴀndies
qag̣ᴀ′ng̣āxē′gᴀñdaiyag̣ᴀn. Wᴀxē′tgu gīg̣a′ogīga-i ʟ̣ū hao lᴀ ʟꜝ
sūdai′yag̣ᴀn, “Qā′tꜝᴀłda, Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa.” Wai′giên sī′sᴀ xā′xa
dā′g̣añagag̣ᴀn. L’ qā′tꜝᴀłs giên ku′ng̣ᴀstᴀg̣añ la qā′-idaiyag̣ᴀn. L’
ku′ng̣ᴀstᴀ lᴀ qa′îł qa′odihao agia′g̣a lᴀ kꜝia′og̣a skꜝū′laiyā′g̣ᴀn. Ī′lᴀ
ʟꜝa′hao lᴀ ku′ng̣ᴀstᴀ sīsᴀg̣a′-i lā′g̣a qatcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn. Giên g̣ōʟ̣g̣axa′n la
ê′sîñ qatcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn. Giên nā′dᴀñ gî′ñg̣añ lᴀ dᴀñʟ̣′dasgī′⁺gag̣ᴀn. A′hao ʟ
la ʟꜝ x̣ūnᴀñā′g̣ag̣ᴀn. Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa hᴀn hao lᴀ ʟꜝ sū′dagāñag̣ᴀn. Ya′ngua a
l’ sg̣agag̣ā′g̣ᴀn. A′hao gia′g̣a nᴀñ g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ̣x̣îtîñg̣ā′wag̣ᴀn g̣a
ʟ̣′g̣ōdies īla′ ʟꜝa′hao lᴀ kꜝia′og̣a g̣a ʟꜝ skꜝūldai′yag̣ᴀn. A′hao ʟgu lᴀ ʟꜝ
sg̣ā′nag̣ᴀñʟdjā′wag̣ᴀn.
L’ qatcꜝīya′-i ʟ̣ū nā′xa ʟꜝ sg̣ā′ga skꜝū′las lᴀ qeā′ñag̣ᴀn. Tadjx̣uā′ nᴀñ
stꜝē′gᴀs ʟ̣′g̣ōdies skū′dji qꜝa qꜝała′t tā′djig̣a la g̣ei kꜝūdjū′dies lā′g̣a
la qeā′ñag̣ᴀn. A′hao ʟ sta Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa gia′gu i′sîs ga-i lnaga′-i stᴀ
ga saiyä′nag̣ᴀn. Sʟgū g̣ā′dᴀg̣a skū′djî qꜝa at ʟꜝ kīdā′g̣ᴀn. Wa g̣ēi ga
kꜝūʟai′yag̣ᴀn. La′hao a stꜝēdai′yag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao lᴀ g̣ada′o lᴀ
g̣ētx̣idai′yag̣ᴀn. Wai′giên hᴀn nā′dᴀñ lᴀ kîñgūgā′ñag̣ᴀn. Łkiā′gua
ga′odjiwa-i ʟꜝ kiū′tcꜝîsx̣iāwag̣ani. “Gaodjiwa′-i stᴀ dᴀñ ʟꜝ x̣îtqꜝadā′dao
xᴀn ᴀ qadjî′ñ ʟꜝ qā′-itqꜝa′-igadañga. Wᴀ′skꜝiên xēigᴀ′ñgasañ.” Wai′giên
hᴀn î′sîñ l’ gūdā′ñag̣ᴀn “Gū′gus hao dī g̣ᴀn gwīgoa′saani.” Wai′giên
łkiā′gua g̣a kꜝī′djî dᴀ′mxao qꜝᴀl łg̣ał ʟgaigī′gas. Ga-i hao hᴀn l’
sū′daiyañ wᴀnsū′ga. “Dᴀ′ñg̣a ʟꜝ u′nsīdᴀn sg̣ā qun dᴀñ g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ
kꜝadjū′g̣asga.”
Gañaxᴀ′nhao lᴀ g̣ada′o lᴀ g̣ētx̣idai′yāg̣ᴀn. Tcꜝā′anuwa-i g̣ada′oxa lᴀ
sg̣ag̣ag̣u′ndī qa′odi lā′g̣a qꜝa′ga-i lᴀ dᴀñkꜝōsta′si giên agᴀ′ñ lᴀ
łîñᴀñai′gagūgañag̣ᴀn. Î′sîñ l’ sg̣ag̣ag̣u′ndī qa′⁺odi sīłgiā′ñxᴀn wa g̣ei
lā′g̣a lᴀ gīdjîgā′ñag̣ani. Gwa′łᴀñ xᴀn l’ sg̣ā′g̣ax̣idīya′-i ʟ̣ū lᴀ gī ʟꜝ
ā′naguñas na′si skꜝūtcꜝa′s gaodjiwa′-i stᴀ lᴀ ʟꜝ x̣itg̣āda′si giên
g̣e′ixᴀn qā′djîñ lᴀ ga′odjîwa′das ga′odjiwa-i wᴀ′skꜝien xē′gañag̣ani.
Ga-i ʟ̣ū la at ʟꜝ x̣ū′nᴀñaga′ñagēni. “Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa, sg̣a yū′djao,
Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa.” A′hao ʟan l’ sg̣ā′g̣agañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao ʟꜝ ta-isʟai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên g̣ālx̣ua′ l’ qaskî′nxaiyas giên
l’ hīxa′og̣aʟꜝxaiyasi. Axᴀ′n gī′na g̣ᴀn lᴀ tꜝā′sgidᴀs. Skūsqā′ndᴀg̣a-i.
ʟg̣ē′txᴀn ʟꜝūgītxā′ñasi lᴀ ʟgu dā′ñag̣ani. Dag̣ala′-ig̣a î′sîñ
sî′ñg̣aʟ̣a′nesi′ giên l’ qꜝa′ołūg̣awag̣ᴀn.
Łkiä′gui l’ qē′xaias. Na-i ku′ngida g̣a gutxᴀ′nłag̣a ta-ū xā′x̣īwas. Nᴀñ
sg̣oa′na xā′gu dag̣ᴀñā′gas g̣e′istᴀ xā′gu gux̣iā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. Nᴀñ sg̣oā′na
ê′sîñ sʟgū dā′g̣ᴀñagas g̣e′istᴀ ê′sîñ sg̣ᴀn gū′x̣iwas. Ałsī′ hao lᴀ ʟꜝ
tadagā′ñañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ la at ʟꜝ dai′îns giê′nᴀ. Sūs g̣ada′o sg̣a′a-i hao
na-i g̣a sg̣un ta-ig̣ōdai′yag̣ᴀni.
Hao î′sîñ sîñx̣ia′s giên lᴀ g̣ada′o la g̣ē′tx̣idias. Tcꜝî′sgu qoa⁺n at lᴀ
ʟꜝ ʟ̣′x̣idᴀs. Łkiā′gua a sʟūłgī′djiwas. Gaiyîña′-i î′sîñ wᴀ qꜝō′łg̣a
qꜝu′ldjūwesi. Tcꜝā′anuwa-i djî′nxa lᴀ sg̣aqag̣u′ndi qa′odi lā′g̣a qꜝā′g̣a
lᴀ dᴀñkꜝūstai′yasi. Sîłgiā′ñxᴀn wa g̣ei î′sîñ lā′g̣a lᴀ gītcꜝa′si. Lā′g̣a
lᴀ dᴀ′ñkꜝūstasi giên ʟan agᴀ′ñ la łîñā′ñgañag̣ani. Hao î′sîñ wᴀ g̣ei
lā′g̣a lᴀ gītcꜝa′si giên î′sîñ l’ g̣ō′xagîlgañagîn.
Wᴀkꜝiä′łhao tcīgᴀ′nsgᴀn g̣ei gwaikꜝia′ la îsdai′yas. Wᴀ dᴀ′ñat lᴀ
xā′xag̣adaiyas. ᴀ′ñg̣a qē′gu g̣a lᴀ qᴀ′nsīgîñgī⁺gas. L’ sg̣aqag̣u′ndi
qa′⁺odi nā′xa sg̣ā yū′dᴀla īdja′s la at nᴀñx̣īsgalā′ñag̣ᴀn. Tcꜝaanūwa′-i
g̣ada′oxa la qā′g̣ōñ qa′odi gu′tgī l’ kꜝū′sʟga′s giên tcꜝā′anuwa-i
djî′nxa lᴀ ʟꜝ kꜝiā′ñkꜝasiāñdai′yag̣ᴀn. Giên sg̣ā′nag̣wañ gī lᴀ kiä′gans
giên l’ giā′xaʟꜝxagāñag̣ᴀn. Giên na′asi la g̣a hūgᴀñgā′ñagîn. Giên
hitꜝᴀg̣ᴀ′n tcꜝā′nuwa-i g̣ada′oxa la g̣adᴀsī′ giên tcīgᴀ′nsganā-i lᴀ
łkūʟ̣a′si giên l’ ʟ̣x̣iê′ndals īna′atxᴀn wᴀ gui lᴀ qałkūx̣ūstᴀdālgā′ñag̣ᴀni.
Ḷꜝ nā′xa sūs g̣ada′o sg̣a′a-i agᴀ′ñ gī′łgalas tcînqa-itaog̣atꜝā′djîñas
giên hᴀn lᴀ ʟꜝ sū′dagañas, “I Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa gᴀm dᴀñ lāg̣ᴀ′ñga.” Sqaos lᴀ
gui tcꜝî′nułsg̣a′gūdᴀñ. Kꜝiū′ lᴀ gui tcꜝîñu′łañ. Gī′naxᴀ′nhao la g̣ᴀn
agᴀ′ñ agīg̣ā′dagañag̣ᴀn. Ałsī′ wā′ʟ̣ūxᴀn ʟꜝ ʟ̣′g̣agañagīni. Hao î′sîñ
ʟ̣x̣iê′ndals gut qꜝā′ga-i lā′g̣a lᴀ dᴀñkꜝū′stᴀasi giên sūs g̣ada′oxa
sg̣a′a-i nā′xa agᴀ′ñ gī′łgᴀls xᴀ′ñgut lᴀ la dakꜝūdjūdā′lgañagîn. Gᴀm lᴀ
ʟꜝ qîñg̣ā′ñag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao hᴀn la gūdā′ñag̣ᴀni. “Tā′wa-i at gua dī ʟꜝ ʟx̣ît-łiña. Ga-i ʟ̣ū
ʟꜝa′hao nᴀñ gīda′s ła qagᴀ′ndā-łî′ña.” Giê′nhao ga qꜝᴀl łg̣ałdᴀ′mdīlas
l’ gūdā′ñag̣ᴀn g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ lā′g̣a sā′wag̣ᴀn. “Ha′osi tā′wa-i lᴀ dalᴀ′ñ ʟx̣î′tsi
ʟ̣ū′hao nᴀñ gīda′s lᴀ qag̣ᴀ′ndałiñañ l’ sū′ga.” Djī′îña gut l’ sg̣ā′gas
kꜝiä′łhao hᴀn l’ gūdā′ñag̣ᴀn. Kꜝiä′łhao la g̣a ʟꜝ qō′yadai′yāg̣ᴀni.
Wᴀkꜝiä′łhao g̣e′istᴀ xagwa′-i at sg̣ana′-i kꜝiā′ga-ūłgīgañāg̣ani. G̣al
qoan hao gu lᴀ īdja′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Qa′odihao hᴀn xᴀn lᴀ gi tā′wa-i ʟꜝ
îsdai′yag̣ᴀni. Hai asga′-i ʟ̣ū′hao î′sîñ l’ sg̣ag̣ā′gas giên qꜝaga′-i lā′g̣a
lᴀ dᴀñkꜝūstᴀsg̣oā′ñañāg̣ani. A′hao nᴀñ gīdā′gas qagā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Dag̣ala′-ig̣a hao sîłgiā′ñ lᴀ ʟꜝ qa-isʟai′yag̣ᴀn. ʟū yū′ᴀn ʟꜝ
gīłᴀgai′yag̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀn tci′sgwa-i wᴀ gug̣ei ʟꜝ ʟg̣aʟ̣x̣idā′g̣ani gā′yîña-i
dᴀ′ñat xᴀn ᴀ. Tā′wa-i ê′sîñ l’ tā′-idies g̣e′ixᴀn la sqōtxagiā′ñag̣ani.
Hao sîłgiā′ñ lᴀ dᴀ′ñat ʟūqā′-idañ wᴀnsū′ga. Ḷū′hao giê′stᴀ lᴀ ʟꜝ
ʟ̣x̣ida′s gu g̣ā′lx̣ua lᴀ dᴀ′ñat ʟꜝ îsg̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. Tcꜝî′sgwa-i ʟꜝ
ʟ′g̣atꜝᴀłsi at gā′yîña-i ʟꜝ ī′tꜝᴀłsi.
Dag̣ala′-ig̣a sîñgaʟ̣a′nasi giên tā′wa-i ʟgu gī′na lᴀ gī′djîgîtʟdjawas gᴀm
gut qꜝałgag̣ā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. Hao ʟ xā′gu tā′wa-i ʟꜝ sqā′tg̣aʟāgā′ñag̣ᴀn.
Qꜝā′da tcꜝî′sgu ʟꜝ ītꜝā′łas ñalga-ᴀ′nda sg̣u′nxᴀn gu łgī′djîawañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Gā′yîña-i î′sîñ łqeā′ma qā′dji ga xao g̣ei stᴀ′mgīlañ sg̣u′nxᴀn
īdjā′g̣ᴀn. ʟūwa′-i ê′sîñ skᴀnskwᴀn yū′⁺ᴀn gu łgī′g̣ōdaiyag̣ᴀni.
Hao ʟan l’ g̣e′ida.
STORY OF THE FOOD-GIVING-TOWN PEOPLE
[Told by Edward of the Food-giving-town people]
The town of Sqē′na [71] was in existence. And
Supernatural-woman-in-whom-is-thunder [72] came to be settled [there],
[along with] the Middle-town people, [73] Sand-town people, [74]
Point-town people, [75] Rear-town people, [76] Witch people, [77]
Food-giving-town people, Mud-town people. [78]
After the town had stood there for some time some boys split pieces of
cedar with their teeth, put the ends into the fire, and made them hard
and sharp. They then fastened small stones to the ends, and went from
house to house, trying to shoot the dogfish roe through holes in the
corners of the houses by means of bows. They burst them in this way and
then laughed.
After they had shot for a while they burst the skins full of dogfish
roe belonging to the mother of the town chief. Then trouble arose, and
the people fought each other with arrows and war spears.
Now, after they had fought for a while they went away on their canoes.
The Middle-town people went; the Point-town people went; the Rear-town
people went; the Witch people went; and only the Food-giving-town
people remained in the place. After they had lived there for a while
they, too, moved off to Lanai′ya. [79]
They continued to live there. They liked the place. And the Witch
people came to have a town, Falling-forward town, on the other side of
them. They were good friends to each other.
After they had lived a while at Lanai′ya the wife of a man of the
Food-giving-town people became sick. When she fell sick she suffered
all night. And she directed her husband as follows: “When I die, have
them put four dogfish on top of me, because I used to like them as
food. Do not put ropes around me. I am afraid to have ropes put around
me.”
And, after she had suffered for four nights, she died at nightfall.
Then they had his wife sit up. When two nights were passed they put her
into the box. Her husband put his head into the fire [for grief] and
some others pulled him out. He then put four dogfish into her box, and
did not put a rope around it. After many nights had passed he went to
see his wife. There were large maggots in the box, and he wept, at the
same time striking his head against the box.
One morning, after he had wept for some time, the fire was out, and he
sent one of his slaves to the town of Falling-forward for live coals.
He then entered the town chief’s house [and discovered] that his
master’s wife, who was supposed to be dead, had married there. She and
the town chief’s son were in love with each other.
He then thought that his eyes deceived him, and he looked toward her
again. After that he took the live coals and went in to his master. He
did not speak plainly [being a foreigner]. And he said: “Stop your
crying. She has married on the other side.” But his master whipped him.
He then went thither again. He saw that they were still playing with
each other. And, when he again reported it to his master, he whipped
him again. After this had happened four times [his master] came to
believe what he said. He then related to his master all he had seen.
Now he (his master) went thither. He looked in. His wife, he saw, had
in truth married some one there. They were playing with each other.
They were laughing at each other.
He then went away. After he had kept watch for a while that evening he
went over. He hid himself inside behind a post. And after they had sat
up for a while they went to bed. When the people in the house snored he
went to [the place where his wife and her lover were]. They were
talking together. And, when they were asleep, he went away.
Very early in the morning he was gone. He was away. He was away. He was
away. Some time after dark he came home. He felt happy. He looked at
the box. Only dogfish were in it.
Next morning he was gone early. He broke knots into pieces. He scraped,
greased, and polished them. That was why he was away. He then brought
them home. He did not let any one see. He alone knew about it. He
ceased to cry. He sat about happy.
And in the evening he went over and hid himself in the house. Then all
fell asleep. He went to the place where they were sleeping. When, after
talking for a while, they slept he stretched his hand to the rectum of
the man and drove a knot sliver into it. The man did not move. And he
did the same thing to the woman. She, however, moved and muttered. He
then went away.
When day broke there was a noise of wailing in the town of
Falling-forward. They said that the chief’s son and his wife lay dead
in the morning. But he felt happy. He at once washed his head in urine,
oiled it, and put on Haida paint. The woman’s love made her sick, and
as soon as her husband put her into the box she went to the one with
whom she was in love.
After the town had continued there for some time a certain person left
it and went up the inlet. After he had traveled for a while he came to
a narrow creek running amid water grasses. [80] His name was Ḷ′xakuns.
Near the creek a person was walking about. He laid down something he
held in his hand and stretched it out. He threw wooden floats over the
creek. They became sawbill ducks. [81] They flapped across with it.
When they got across they became wood once more. They floated about.
Then the man pulled it toward himself. One saw him take two bright
salmon out of it. He then laid the net to dry on two alders standing
there, took the two salmon, and went toward the woods with them.
Now he (the on-looker) went down to the net. He counted its meshes.
[82] There were seventeen (ten and seven), and he repeated the number:
“Fifteen and two.” Then he started away. “Fifteen and two,” he said. He
kept falling down; so he went back and counted them again each time and
started off anew. “Fifteen and two,” he said. Then he fell down and
went back again. Again he counted them, and he started off. He fell
down. Then he forgot. That is why, when one goes along over ground with
which he is not familiar, he always falls there.
At last he came away with the information, and the Food-giving-town
people came to own the net.
After this the people moved back to the town of Sqē′na. And they made
forms around which the meshes are twined. They made them in preparation
for making nets. And they also took the bark of the ʟᴀl. [83] When they
had finished gathering these the Food-giving-town women began to make
nets.
At Gwī′gwᴀnsʟꜝî′ñ, [84] near the town of Sqē′na, spring salmon ran into
a certain creek at that time. A man of the Food-giving-town people
owned the creek, but he gave it to his son. For that reason his sisters
began to put dirty things into the creek. [85] The supernatural being
of the creek then put on his clothing and his black-bear hat. [86] He
had four dorsal fins. He started seaward along the bed of the creek.
And he became a rock close in front of it, and remained there, and the
creek was gone. The supernatural being of this creek was named
“Supernatural-being-of-the-four-days.”
After that they moved to Tcꜝig̣ogī′ga. [87] Then, when spring came, they
began to fish for flounders. One day they killed one of these. They
roasted it. When some persons quarreled in the town, and all ran to
see, a boy remained sitting by the flounder. [88] Lo, something ran out
of it. It came out quickly. The boy cried, saying that the food had
flown away.
And after they had fished for another space of time, one day, when they
were out fishing, something pulled hard against them. Then they pulled
it up. They did not know what it was. They came home, and they carried
the flounders on their backs. Then they handed the thing they had
pulled up back and forth. And a certain person came to them. He looked.
He said, “A-a-a aidja′si kꜝūda′-i gua īdjā′.” [89]
They moved back again to the town of Sqē′na. After they had lived there
for a while a woman of the Food-giving-town people became pregnant. She
gave birth to a girl. And when spring returned some supernatural being
came out of the ground and swallowed [the people] together with their
canoes. That was Cave-supernatural-being, [90] they say.
Then she, too, went to Skidegate creek. While they were going along by
canoe it came after them. When it got near she threw her child, which
had just begun to creep about, into its mouth. It then went under
water, and they landed there. That is why the place is named
“Landing-of-many-canoes.”
Then she and her husband went about crying. By and by, when day began
to break, they fell asleep. Very early in the morning they heard a
child cry. Then they looked where it cried. The child was creeping
about on top of a whale floating in a woodland lake and crying. He then
took away his child. She did right when she threw her child into the
mouth of the supernatural being.
The child grew up as rapidly as a dog. Now they went over to Skidegate
creek, and the girls walked along on shore. As she walked along she
sang. They tried to stop her. She did not listen. After she had gone
along for a time the supernatural being came after them out of the
woods with open mouth. She did not run away from it.
When it came near her, she seized it. The children found out that her
finger nails were made of copper. She then tore it in pieces and threw
it round about. “Even future people will see you lying about,” she
said. She threw its head down. It is the one (rock) that they call
“Chief.” The Food-giving-town people were then glad because she had
killed it.
After that they lived at Skidegate creek. They did not know that she
had power within herself disproportionate to her size. She played for a
while and brought in a salmon. She came in from playing on a board. All
that time she looked at it. By and by the youngest of her brothers, who
was full of mischief, ate her fish. And he laid a bright humpback in
its place.
When she came in from playing she looked in the place. “My child,
Taxē′t,” [91] she said. She was sad on account of her salmon. She
started it, that future people would be stingy. [92]
After they had lived there for a while her eldest [brother] lay dead in
the morning. On the next morning the next to the eldest lay dead. On
the day after that another one was dead. This went on until seven had
been found dead.
One night, while the youngest was in bed, his sister came and sat at
his feet. He drew himself together. His sister felt for his buttocks.
He was astonished. He then drew in his belly closer, and when his
sister [tried to] shove something into his anus it passed up along the
surface of his belly. She then pulled it out and smelt of it. She did
the same thing again. Again he drew in, and when she had pulled it out
she looked at it.
And when she pulled it out the last time he rose quickly, took his
quiver, and ran out from his sister. His sister went after him. She
chased her brother about this island. After she had chased him about
for a while he ran from his sister into the house of Many-ledges. [93]
She stretched in her arm and drove him out again.
And after she had pursued him for another space of time he came to Tree
island. [94] He then shot an arrow into the sky, and shot again into
the notch of that arrow. After he had done this for a while [the chain]
almost reached the ground, and he laid his bow upon [the end of] it. It
became a ladder upon which he climbed up. The ladder drew itself up
after him, and she only touched him.
Where he escaped in fright they call Tā′xet’s trail. [95] She had the
first tā′xet. That is why they so name it. “Thunder in your own dress
as you sit” [she sang]. “Thunder in your own dress as you sit.”
She then returned to Skidegate creek. And she began to tell [the
people] their names: “Thundering-in-his-ascent,”
“Supernatural-woman-upon-whom-property-burst-down,”
“Supernatural-woman-upon-whose-house-screen-a-hawk-sits,”
“Into-her-house-the-tide-comes,”
“Her-house-is-kept-up-to-heaven-by-the-wind.” [96] She called her
sister “Supernatural-woman-the-edges-of-whose-skirts-thunder.” She
called herself “Supernatural-woman-in-whom-is-thunder.”
She then took one of the Gîtî′ns’-servants [97] with her. Her younger
sister started seaward from her. She is the one over whom the water
breaks in front of Skidegate creek. Then she herself settled down at
the head of the creek. She is the one who owns the tā′xet. One who does
not handle them carefully (i.e., in accordance with the tabus) is
killed. The salmon are also found with cuts.
After the woman went up they began to fish with nets. The women of the
Food-giving-town people made nets. And, after they had fished with them
for a while, one night they saw Supernatural-woman-in-whom-is-thunder.
Underneath she wore a rainbow blanket. Over it she wore a flicker
blanket. They saw it. While they fished they put words into a song
about this: “Going up grandfather’s creek, moving about, and going up
it to land as the tide comes in [she appeared].”
A cedar stood behind the town of Tcꜝig̣ogī′g̣a, called
“Young-cedar-woman.” Above that [on the creek] lived a certain woman.
She was unable to twist twine for a net because her skin was covered
with hair. Then she found a surf scoter [98] which had floated ashore,
and she skinned it. She fitted it to her head. Its neck and head were
both intact. She put it on and swam about in it where they were
fishing. There she took salmon out of the net, strung them up, and cut
them open.
She did the same thing again. The owners of the net picked up gravel
and threw it seaward at the net [exclaiming:] “Sand-fleas’ insides.”
[99] One night when she swam out some one threw a stone at her. [The
scoter] gave forth a dull sound and disappeared from sight. On the next
day a woman lay there with a string of salmon.
After that some time passed. There was a certain man who had many elder
brothers, all of whom were married. They fished at night. One after the
other came home, and they roasted the salmon. They ate with their
wives. He wanted to do the same thing, and he also married.
After he had brought home his wife he went fishing with them, and he
came back in the night and roasted a salmon. When it was cooked he
awoke their wives. “Come and eat,” he said to her (his own wife). “Land
otters eat at night” [she said], and she made her husband ashamed.
The next night he went to fish with them again. And when they came home
they roasted another. When it was cooked, she kicked her husband in the
back with her feet, but he said to his wife: “Land otters eat in the
night.” He made her ashamed also.
They then built a house in the town. They had the front of it covered
with feathers. When it was finished they called it Feather-house.
Afterward, although it stood back from the shore, the tide rose to it.
When it got even with it it began to fall. They told each other that on
account of that house they had almost had a flood. [100]
One day, after they had been fishing, they came in. The wife of one of
them lay with her back to the fire. A man had his arms around her. Then
he cut his hand off. But it was his wife who got up crying. He did it
by accident to her. [101]
One autumn a person went to Falling-forward to fish for silver salmon.
And at night his daughter fell asleep in the bow. He was afraid then to
awaken his child and ran the bow into the clay. He, too, fell asleep.
When he awoke in the morning he called to his child. His child was
gone. He then saw the tracks of a black bear leading inland from the
canoe.
At that time the town people became angry with the Black-bear people.
They reared a large number of dogs, and they made many deadfalls. [102]
There was not a trail without its deadfall. Immediately they began to
kill them.
After they had killed them in this way for a while the dogs started
after the bears. One day the dogs started right from the houses after
something. The people followed them. The bear climbed a tree standing
near. Her two young ones were with her.
They then spanned their bows. When they were ready to shoot her she
made a motion outward from herself and from side to side across her
nose. [103] They then tied the mouths of their dogs.
Then they called them to come down from the tree. And, when they came
down, the bear licked her friends. They then led them home, and they
liked the house. They gave them something raw to eat. They did not
speak. But after the cubs had played about for a while the dogs killed
them. And the sorrow of their mother for their death killed her.
After they had killed bears for some time one of them went to see his
deadfall. It had fallen upon some creature like a human being, and he
had copper on his back. He brought it home.
After that a certain person went from the town. He entered
Salmon-point’s house. When the supernatural beings went past they let
themselves float into the house and ate all his food. Because he was
old they were not afraid of him.
Then his nephew [104] found a bullhead, skinned it, and dried the skin.
And one day, when the supernatural beings came by, he called to them to
come. On account of it his uncle became angry with him. All the more he
called them. By and by some turned thither. He placed himself in the
doorway. He made his needles stand up and, when the supernatural beings
floated in, he cut them. When they went out he did the same thing
again. The supernatural beings were afraid of him.
One day he went to the house of Heaven-holder. [105] And
[Heaven-holder] said to him: “Human beings will ask me for pleasant
weather.”
Now the Head-of-creek woman of Skidegate creek had spoken as follows:
“I will remember you. After the Food-giving-town people are all gone
they shall become numerous again,” she said.
There they cut down a cedar. They split it up and carried it out of the
woods. Then they began to make a fish trap. And when they had finished
it they named it “Small-hole-in-the-ground fish trap.” [The maker of
this] gave the fish trap to his son. His wife belonged to the Gîtî′ns
and he (the son) was the first of the Big-house people.
The people of the Raven clan own the thunder. [106] Therefore, when one
of the Raven clan is about to die, it thunders.
This is the end.
This story consists of a number of mythic or half mythic episodes
detailing supposed early doings of a Haida family which used to occupy
the east shore of Moresby island, between Skidegate inlet and Cumshewa
point. Skidegate creek runs through the middle of their territory and
was their most important stream. This fact accounts for the prominence
of the Creek-woman of Skidegate creek in the legends. Food-giving-town
(Daiyū′) was on Shingle bay, on the south side of Skidegate inlet. In
1901 there were said to be but four survivors of the family, although
the Haida declared they had formerly been a large and prominent
division, and they themselves claim that their chief was town chief of
Sqē′na.
DAIYŪ′-AŁ-LĀ′NAS
Sqē′na lnagā′-i g̣ag̣odai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao Sg̣ā′na-djat-g̣aga-xē′gᴀñ
u tcīag̣eā′lāg̣ᴀni giên Ya′ku-lā′nas, Tās-lā′nas, Ku′na-lā′nas,
Sʟꜝê′ña-lā′nas, Stꜝawa′s-xā′-idᴀg̣a-i, Daiyū′-ał-lā′nas, Tcān-lā′nas.
Lnagā′-i g̣ā′g̣odi qa′⁺odi ʟ g̣ā′xa tcꜝū g̣ei ʟꜝ qꜝonanᴀ′ns giên
tcꜝā′nawa-i g̣ei kū′na ʟꜝ dałg̣ai′g̣anᴀ′nsi giên gī′nᴀ qā′ʟ̣g̣ᴀns gañā′ñ
g̣eiłgaña′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Giên ku′ngi łg̣a kꜝᴀ′dᴀla ʟꜝ kiūqꜝā′-ig̣ada′ñasi
giên g̣axaga′-i lnagā′-i gut gᴀ′ndax̣îtsī′ giên na-i ku′ngida xēlxā′nsi
g̣ei qꜝā′xᴀda qꜝoa′lu gī ʟꜝ tcꜝidjū′djag̣adañag̣ᴀn łg̣ēt at ᴀ. ʟꜝ
tcꜝidᴀłsī′ giên g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ qꜝᴀgā′ñag̣ᴀni.
Gañā′ñ ʟꜝ watcꜝag̣ā′dᴀñ qa′odihao lnagā′-i g̣a nᴀñ lā′na-a′og̣asi a′og̣a
gui qꜝā′xada qꜝoa′lu ʟꜝ tcꜝī′dᴀłtcꜝai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Ha-i ʟ̣ū′hao
ku′nag̣ēłsī′ giên tcꜝidalᴀ′ñ at tca′aʟ a′thao gut ʟꜝ îsdai′yag̣ᴀn.
Hai uiê′dhao gut ʟꜝ î′sda gut ʟꜝ î′sda qa′⁺odihao ʟꜝ qasag̣ai′yag̣ᴀn.
Ya′ku-lā′nas qasā′g̣a. Ku′na-lā′nas qasā′g̣a, Sʟꜝê′ña-lā′nas qasā′g̣a,
Stꜝawa′s-xā′-idᴀg̣a-i qasā′g̣a, giên Daiyū′-ał-lā′nas sg̣u′nxᴀn sila′iᴀg̣a
g̣ā′g̣odaiyā′g̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao gu ʟꜝ naxa′ñ qa′⁺odi Lanai′ya g̣a ê′sîñ ʟꜝ
tcꜝig̣ax̣unā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Gu ʟꜝ naxā′ndiasi. Gu ʟga ʟꜝ gutlā′gᴀs. Giên xᴀ′nłag̣a Ku′ndji lnagā′-i
gu êsî′ñ Stꜝawā′s-xa-idᴀg̣a′-i lā′na-dag̣ag̣eā′lañ wᴀnsū′ga. Gut łtā′x̣ua
lādai′yañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
ʟꜝ nā′xa qa′odihao Lanai′ya gu nᴀñ Daiyū′-ał-lnaga′ djā′g̣a stꜝeg̣eā′lañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao l’ stꜝeg̣iā′las g̣ala′-i g̣a l’ g̣oxagᴀ′ñsîñ⁺g̣as. Giên
hᴀn ʟā′lᴀñ lᴀ kî′ñgugᴀns: “Dī kꜝō′tᴀł giê′nᴀ qꜝā′xada stᴀ′nsîñ dī
qꜝe-ū′g̣ei xā′sʟdañ taga′-i dī gutlagᴀ′ñgīnî g̣aga′n ᴀ. Giê′nᴀ gᴀm dī
tcꜝîsdjigū′sʟg̣ᴀñᴀñ. ʟꜝᴀ ʟꜝ tcꜝî′sdjigūsʟa′s gī dī łg̣oā′g̣agᴀñga.”
Giên g̣ā′la-i stᴀ′nsîñ l’ g̣ō′xagᴀña-i ʟ̣ū′hao g̣ā′lx̣ua l’ kꜝotwā′lañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao djā′ag̣ᴀñ lᴀ tcꜝîtg̣ā′wasi. G̣āl stîñ g̣ea′las giên lᴀ
ʟꜝ ʟ̣sʟtcꜝai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ ʟā′lg̣a qadjî′ñ łg̣ᴀ′mg̣alᴀ′ñᴀs giên ʟ
qꜝᴀ′lg̣at l’ dᴀñʟ̣′sʟgîlgā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên l’ qꜝeū′g̣ei qꜝā′xada
stᴀ′nsîñ la xasʟa′s giên gᴀm lᴀ la tcꜝîsdjigū′sʟg̣ᴀñᴀs. G̣āla′-i
qoa′ng̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū djā′g̣ᴀñ lᴀ qeā′ñg̣aiyes. G̣oda′-i g̣ei g̣ā′-isgîł yū′ᴀnᴀsi
giên l’ sg̣ā′-iłas dᴀ′ñat qadjî′ñ g̣oda′-i at lᴀ qꜝa-itg̣a-ig̣adā′ñgᴀñasi.
L’ sg̣ā′-iłgᴀñ qa′⁺odihao gaatxᴀ′n sîñgaʟ̣a′nas tcꜝā′nuwa-i kꜝī′luła′si
giên nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀña lᴀ dag̣ai′yas Ku′ndjî lnagā′-i g̣a ga sʟx̣î′tg̣ᴀtꜝadja′ñ
wᴀnsū′ga. Giên nᴀñ lā′na-aog̣a′gas gia′g̣ei lᴀ qatcꜝai′yas l’ qꜝo′lg̣a
djā′g̣a kꜝotwā′las g̣a l’ īnā′was. Nᴀñ lā′na-a′og̣as gi′tg̣a at gu′tg̣a l’
kꜝū′g̣adies.
Giê′nhao g̣a xᴀña′ñ lᴀ gîñkꜝū′g̣adasi giên î′sîñ gui lᴀ qē′xagᴀñasi.
Giê′nhao dā′dja-i lᴀ îsda′si giên qꜝolg̣ᴀ′ñ gu lᴀ qā′tcꜝas. L’
ki′łdiyañ-qꜝa′-idadja′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên hᴀn l’ sī′wus: “ʟan hao
sg̣ā′-iłgaña. Inax̣uā′ l’ īna′og̣a.” Giên l’ qꜝo′lg̣a hā′yiñ l’
tia’djî′ñᴀs.
Giên î′sîñ g̣a lᴀ qā′dᴀsi. Ha′oxᴀn gu′tg̣a ʟꜝ gug̣ā′dies lᴀ qe′iñas. Giên
î′sîñ qꜝolg̣ᴀ′ñ gi gi lᴀ nī′djiña′-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ lᴀ ʟꜝ tia’djî′ñᴀs. Gañā′ñ
lᴀ isstᴀ′nsîña′-i ʟ̣ū l’ kîl lā′g̣a la ya′ʼdasʟai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên
qꜝolg̣ᴀ′ñ gi dā′-ixᴀn gī lᴀ nī′djîñᴀsi.
Giê′nhao g̣a lᴀ qā′dᴀsi. G̣ei lᴀ qintcꜝai′yasi. Yan l’ djā′g̣a l’ īnā′was
lᴀ qe′iñᴀs. Guta′t ʟꜝ nā′ñgᴀñᴀs. Gutg̣ᴀ′ñ agᴀ′ñ ʟꜝ ʟqꜝᴀ′gᴀs.
Giê′nhao stᴀ lᴀ qā′-idesi. Sî′ñx̣aiya-i g̣a lᴀ qea′ʼtcꜝidi qa′⁺odi g̣a lᴀ
qā′atꜝadjañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Giê′nhao na-i g̣ei g̣atcꜝigā′ñg̣o tꜝa′łg̣a agᴀ′ñ lᴀ
sg̣ᴀ′lg̣attcꜝias. Giê′nhao ʟꜝ skî′nudi qa′⁺odi ʟꜝ tā′-isʟaiyas. Na-i
xā′-idᴀg̣a-i qꜝaxō′gᴀña-i ʟ̣ū g̣a lᴀ qā′gᴀsi. Gu′tg̣a kî′lgūldia′si. Giên
qꜝasʟia′-i ʟ̣ū stᴀ lᴀ qā′-idesi.
Giên sîñgaʟ̣a′n xē′tg̣a l’ ga′o-ułas. L’ ga′owas. L’ ga′owas. L’ ga′owas.
Sî′ñx̣ī stᴀ g̣a′tg̣a l’ qaʟꜝ′xas. L’ gū′dᴀña-i la′ogwañᴀs. G̣oda′-i lᴀ
qea′ñasi. Qꜝaxada′-i sg̣un wa g̣a īdjā′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Dāg̣ala′-ig̣a sîñg̣aʟ̣a′n xē′tg̣a l’ ga′o-ułas. Tꜝᴀn g̣ei lᴀ qꜝa′-itnanᴀ′ñᴀs.
Lᴀ g̣ā′łgas at lᴀ ta′odas at lᴀ skî′ndas. G̣e′ihao lᴀ qā′-itgoañañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Giên lᴀ xā′g̣aʟꜝxai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Gᴀm ʟ xā′-idᴀg̣a lᴀ
qîndagᴀ′ñasi. La sg̣u′nxᴀn g̣ᴀn ᴀ′ñg̣a u′nsᴀdᴀsi. ʟan l’ sg̣ā′-iłas. L’
gūdᴀña′-i lᴀ ūgoā′ñᴀs.
Giê′nhao sî′ñx̣aiya′s giên g̣a lᴀ qā′atꜝadjañ wᴀnsū′ga, giên naga′-i g̣ei
agᴀ′ñ lᴀ sqᴀ′lg̣attcꜝa′si. Giê′nhao ʟꜝ qā′sʟʟꜝg̣a′gᴀs. Giê′nhao gia′gu ʟꜝ
ta-ixā′ñᴀs g̣a la qā′gᴀs. Î′sîñ gu′tg̣a ʟꜝ kî′łguldi qa′odi ʟꜝ
qꜝa′sʟia′-i ʟ̣ū nᴀñ īłiñā′gᴀs g̣ō′tg̣a lᴀ xā′dax̣îts giên l’ g̣ō′tg̣ei
tꜝana′-i lᴀ gītcꜝa′si. Gᴀm l’ îłdā′g̣ᴀñᴀs. Giên nᴀñ djādā′gᴀs î′sîñ
gañā′ñ lᴀ isdā′si. Lᴀ ʟꜝa qꜝakꜝu′ñu-î′ñg̣asʟas. Giên stᴀ lᴀ qā′-idesi.
Sîñg̣aʟ̣ana′-i ʟ̣ū Ku′ndjî lnagā′-i gu ʟꜝ sg̣ā′-igaxē′gᴀñᴀs. Nᴀñ gīdā′ga
djatīnā′gas djā′g̣ᴀñ dᴀ′ñat kꜝōdaxā′go-uła′ñ ʟꜝ sī′wus. Giên lᴀ ʟꜝa
gūdᴀña′-i lā′gᴀs. La ʟꜝa tcig̣ᴀ′nsg̣an g̣a qadjî′ñ lᴀ ʟ̣ā′nas giên lᴀ
taodai′yas giên xā′-ida-mā′sg̣a gut ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ îsda′si. Nᴀñ djā′adas g̣ō′ga
hao agᴀ′ñ gîñstꜝē′g̣îłdaiyañ wᴀnsū′ga, giên l’ ʟā′lg̣a l’ ʟ̣′sʟtcꜝas
gañā′xᴀnhao nᴀñ lᴀ qatā′-idaiyas g̣a lᴀ qā′gᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên lnagā′-i g̣ā′g̣odi qa′odi Qā′łgui lnagā′-i stᴀ nᴀñ qā′-idañ
wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. L’ qagiagᴀ′ñ qa′odi yêłsqa′og̣a-i sū′ug̣ei nᴀñ g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣ᴀ
tᴀmx̣iê′nʟꜝxa′si g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ lᴀ qā′ʟꜝxas. Ḷ′xakuns hᴀ′nhao l’ kig̣ai′yañ
wᴀnsū′ga.
G̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i djî′nxa nᴀñ xā′-idᴀg̣a qā′g̣oñᴀsi. Gī′nᴀ kꜝū′gîñᴀsi ū kꜝug̣ā′wasi
giên ū hī′g̣agîłda′si. Giên kīgayā′ñwa-i g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i īnax̣ui′ ū
qꜝā′datꜝadjasi. ʟłgiag̣a-g̣ea′lasi. X̣īʟ′x̣ug̣ā′dᴀsi. Īnax̣uā′g̣ea′lga-i ʟ̣ū
łkꜝiā′na-g̣ea′lasi. Gā′-ikꜝugîñdā′ldᴀłsi. Giên nᴀñ ē′łiñᴀs gui′g̣añ
îsdai′yasi. Tcī′na x̣āł stîñ g̣e′istᴀ lᴀ îsda′si lᴀ qe′iñasi. Giên
ā′xada-i gu qᴀl stîñ gīxā′ñᴀs gu lᴀ qag̣adā′si giên tcī′na-i stîñ ū
xā′x̣idasi giên dī′tgi wᴀ dᴀ′ñat qa′îłsi.
Giê′nhao āxada′-i g̣a lᴀ qā′g̣asi. Xᴀ′ñada lᴀ kꜝoa′îndasi. ʟa′łîñgī
djī′guagasi giên “gatꜝag̣a′-i īnᴀ′ñgī g̣astî′ñ” hᴀn lᴀ kīg̣ada′si. Giên
stᴀ lᴀ qā′-idesi. “Gatꜝaga′-i īnᴀ′ñgī g̣astî′ñ,” hᴀn l’ sū′us. Giên l’
ʟ̣′tꜝᴀłdagᴀñᴀs giên î′sîñ gui lᴀ stī′łsi. Giên î′sîñ lᴀ kꜝoa-î′ndagīsi
giên î′sîñ stᴀ lᴀ qā′-idesi. “Gatꜝag̣a′i-īnᴀ′ñgī g̣astî′ñ” hᴀn l’ sū′us.
Giên l’ ʟ̣′tꜝᴀłda′s giên î′sîñ gui lᴀ stī′łgᴀñᴀsi. Î′sîñê′sîñ lᴀ
kꜝoaî′nda′si giên l’ qā′-ides. L’ ʟ̣′tꜝᴀłdas. Giê′nhao gī l’
qꜝā′-isgīdā′ñañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Ga-i g̣aga′nhao ʟga′-i gi gī′nᴀ qꜝa′-idesi wᴀ
gut qā′gᴀsi giên wᴀ gu ʟ̣′tꜝᴀłdagī′gᴀñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Giê′nhao lᴀ sqatg̣ā′g̣atcꜝuusi giên Daiyū′-ał-lā′nas ā′xada-i
dag̣ag̣ea′lañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Giê′nhao ga′-istᴀ Sqē′na lnagā′-i g̣a ʟꜝ tcꜝīsdiā′lañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao
sqꜝā′sta gu ʟꜝ ʟ′g̣ołg̣asi. Ā′xada-i g̣ᴀ′nhao ʟꜝ wa′gañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên ʟᴀl
qꜝᴀl ê′sîñ ʟꜝ î′sdas. ʟꜝ î′sdagī′ga-i ʟ̣ū ā′xada-i î′sîñ
Daiyū′-ał-djina′s xai′g̣ox̣ida′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Giê′nhao Sqē′na lnagā′-i qꜝō′łg̣a Gwī′gwᴀn-sʟꜝîñ gu nᴀñ g̣ᴀnʟ̣ā′gᴀs
g̣e′ihao tꜝag̣onā′g̣añ wᴀnsū′ga. Nᴀñ Daiyū′-ał-lnaga′ g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i dag̣ā′si,
gi′tg̣ᴀñ ʟꜝa lᴀ lᴀ dag̣adai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Tꜝā′g̣ahao l’ djā′sg̣alᴀñ
g̣ᴀnʟ̣a′-i g̣ei gī′nᴀ sqē′lᴀ î′sdax̣idā′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Giê′nhao g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i
sg̣ā′nag̣wa-i qꜝalᴀ′ñ g̣ei qatcꜝa′s giên tān-dadjî′ndag̣e′iłs. Giên l’
łg̣ā′na sqꜝastᴀ′nsîñᴀs. Giên g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i qā′łi gut lᴀ ʟ̣′dax̣îtsg̣ai′yañ
wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Giê′nhao qꜝā′tgu xᴀn l’ łg̣ā′ga qꜝaig̣ā′wag̣ᴀni giên g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i
ga′ogūg̣ā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. G̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i sg̣ā′nag̣wa-i hao Sg̣ā′na-sa′nʟ̣ina-stᴀ′nsîns
hᴀn kig̣ai′yāg̣ᴀni.
Giê′nhao ga′-istᴀ Tcꜝig̣ogī′ga g̣a ê′sîñ ʟꜝ tcꜝī′g̣ax̣una′ñag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao
qꜝê′nʟ̣g̣ā′g̣ada′-i ʟ̣ū skᴀntā′l gi ʟꜝ xa′ox̣ida′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. Qa′odihao
g̣aatxᴀ′n nᴀñ ʟꜝ tia′-întcꜝawas. Lᴀ ʟꜝ kidjā′was. Lnagā′-i gu gu′tg̣a ga
gwi′siwus ʟꜝ da′ox̣ida′si tꜝā′łg̣a nᴀñ g̣ā′xa skᴀ′ndᴀla-i qā′-idjîtwasi.
Skᴀ′ndᴀla-i g̣e′istᴀ tꜝā′g̣ane gî′nᴀ g̣aʟꜝxai′yasi. G̣atgua′gañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Nᴀñ g̣axā′s sg̣ā′-iłas ī′naat “Adā′adaga-i g̣a-ix̣i′dᴀñ” hᴀ′nhao l’ sā′wañ
wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao î′sîñ ʟꜝ xa′odi qa′odi gaatxᴀ′n ʟꜝ xaoyä′nᴀs gu gī′nᴀ g̣ei ʟꜝ
dᴀndadjañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên ʟꜝ dᴀ′ñîsʟłasi. Gᴀm gī′nᴀ īdjᴀga′-i g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ
u′nsᴀtg̣ᴀñᴀs. ʟꜝ īsg̣oa′gîda′ñas giên skᴀ′ndᴀla-i ʟꜝ u′nxᴀtgîłsi. Giên
gī′nᴀ ʟꜝ dᴀ′ñsqꜝaʟî′ndjiwᴀs gu′tgi ʟꜝ qê′ñsqꜝag̣ā′gᴀña. Giê′nhao g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ
nᴀñ qaʟꜝxai′yas qea′ñasi. Hᴀn l’ sī′wus “A-a-a aidja′si kꜝuda′-i gua
īdjā′” hᴀn sā′wañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Sqē′na lnagā′-i g̣a î′sîñ ʟꜝ tcꜝig̣ax̣ū′nᴀñᴀs. Gu ʟꜝ naxā′ñ qa′odihao gu
nᴀñ Daiyū′-ał-djī′naga gu dałgidā′lañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ qe′igᴀs giên nᴀñ
djā′da la qe′igᴀs. Giên î′sîñ qꜝê′nʟ̣g̣ag̣ada′-i ʟ̣ū ʟga-i g̣e′istᴀ gī′nᴀ
sg̣ā′nag̣wa ʟꜝ g̣ᴀn ʟ̣′stas giên ʟꜝ g̣ag̣ā′tcꜝig̣ā′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
G̣a′odan-sg̣ā′nag̣wa-i hao īdjā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao la ê′sîñ Qꜝā′stᴀ g̣a îsg̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ ʟuqā′gîñg̣og̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn
la g̣ᴀn lᴀ ʟ̣stᴀgā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ ā′xᴀnag̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū′hao l’ gī′tg̣a
ʟx̣uqā′goañg̣ā′yagᴀs. L’ xē′łiᴀg̣ei la qꜝādai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. ʟ̣ū l’
g̣agugia′si giên gu lᴀ î′sg̣ug̣oasi. G̣agᴀ′nhao “ʟua′stadjîgî′lgaña” hᴀn
ʟga-i kig̣ᴀ′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Giên ʟā′lᴀñ dᴀ′ñat xᴀn gu lᴀ sg̣ā′-igadixā′ñg̣oas. Qa′odihao
sî′ñgaʟ̣andāla′-i ʟ̣ū l’ qꜝā′sʟg̣oas. Sî′ñg̣aʟ̣an xē′txa l’ giū′g̣a nᴀñ g̣ā′xa
sg̣ā′-iłas. Giê′nhao ʟgu sa′oga-i gī lᴀ qîñg̣ā′was. Sū łkꜝî′nxa g̣ag̣odia′
g̣a kun gā′-iʟ̣gî′ñ u′ngut nᴀñ g̣ā′xas ʟx̣uqā′g̣u′ndias. Î′sîñ sg̣ā′-iłdias.
Giên gī′tg̣ᴀñ lᴀ ʟ̣x̣idā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. Gī′nᴀ sg̣ā′nag̣oa xēłī′ᴀg̣ei gītg̣ᴀ′ñ lᴀ
qꜝatai′yas ałha′o lᴀ ga ʟia′ʼdaiyañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao nᴀñ g̣axā′gᴀs xa īna′gᴀns gañā′ñ l’ î′sîs. Giên gaatxᴀ′n î′sîñ
Qꜝā′stᴀ g̣a ʟꜝ tcꜝig̣ax̣unā′ñᴀs. Giên ʟ g̣ā′xa djā′da dᴀ′ñat ʟgoa′t l’
gᴀ′ndalg̣āwañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ qā′giagᴀns gut lᴀ kꜝudjudā′las. Lᴀ ʟꜝ
ste′idas. Gᴀm lᴀ gudᴀ′ñg̣ᴀñasi. L’ gᴀndā′ldi qa′odihao łkꜝî′nxᴀstᴀ gī′nᴀ
sg̣ā′nag̣was ʟꜝa g̣a xēłā′ñ gī łg̣ᴀ′pdᴀldaalañ wᴀnsū′ga. Gᴀm stᴀ lᴀ
qagᴀ′ñqā′g̣ᴀñasi.
Giê′nhao la g̣ᴀn l’ āxᴀnā′g̣ila′-i ʟ̣ū lᴀ la gīdjigī′łdas. Nᴀñ djā′das
sʟꜝg̣u′ñ x̣iā′lāgᴀs g̣axaga′-i g̣ei qē′xaiyañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Giên la g̣ei lᴀ
dᴀ′ñnanᴀñᴀs giên lᴀ la xā′gudjañas. “G̣ō′tgūł xā′-idᴀg̣a-i xᴀn dᴀñ
qîñīg̣awa′gᴀsga” hᴀn l’ sī′wus. L’ qā′dji lā′g̣a lᴀ qꜝadai′yag̣ᴀn. La′hao
Ī′ʟꜝgᴀs hᴀn ʟꜝ kī′g̣adagᴀ′ñga.” Giê′nhao Daiyū′-ał-lā′nas lᴀ la tia′ʼgas
at gūdᴀña′-i lā′gᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên Qꜝā′stᴀ gu ʟꜝ naxā′ndies. ʟ l’ ʟ̣ā′g̣agᴀs g̣a′g̣añ lᴀ i′sîs g̣ᴀn gᴀm ʟꜝ
u′nsᴀtg̣añañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ nā′ñgᴀñ qa′odihao tcī′na lᴀ ʟ̣′sʟtcꜝai′yañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Tcꜝū u′ngua l’ nā′ñg̣atcꜝus. Kꜝiäł la gi la qē′xagᴀñᴀs.
Qa′odihao l’ dā′g̣alᴀñ stā′nsîñxai′yas nᴀñ da′og̣anagas giūga′was lā′g̣a
l’ tā′agañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên lᴀ si′łg̣a tcꜝidᴀ′n x̣āł lᴀ gañā′ñ g̣e′ida lᴀ
sila′-iᴀg̣a lᴀ ʟ̣łinā′gañ wᴀnsū′ga.
L’ nā′ñg̣atcꜝiwa′-i ʟ̣ū l’ sila′-iᴀg̣ei lᴀ qē′xas. “Tā′xetg̣añ dina′ñ,” hᴀn
l’ sī′wus. Tcī′na-i si′łg̣a ᴀ′ñg̣a l’ gū′dᴀñasi. L’ sila′-isi xag̣ā′gases
hao lᴀ łiñg̣ai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Gut l’ naxā′ñ qa′odihao nᴀñ kꜝwai′yagas kꜝodaʟ̣′g̣o-ułaiyañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a la gū′stᴀ nᴀñ qagā′gas kꜝōdaʟ̣′g̣o-ułas. Giên
dag̣ala′-ig̣a î′sîñ nᴀñ kꜝodaʟ̣′g̣o-ułas. Hᴀn ēdjî′ndixᴀn djī′guag̣a
kꜝō′daxā′g̣o-ułasi.
Giên gaatxᴀ′n g̣ālx̣uā′ nᴀñ da′og̣anas ta′-idig̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn l’ djā′sg̣a l’ tꜝa
gi qꜝa′oʟꜝxas. L’ sqᴀnsg̣ā′djudie′s. L’ djā′sg̣a l’ g̣ō′da ʟ′gūdᴀñᴀs. Lᴀ
qāłai′yasi. Giên l’ dā′łułda′s giên l’ g̣ō′tg̣ei l’ djā′sg̣a gī′nᴀ
gītcꜝai′yas l’ dᴀlqꜝᴀ′lgutsg̣ā′łas. Giên lᴀ dᴀñsqꜝasdai′yasi giên lᴀ
squ′ngudᴀñasi. Giên î′sîñ gañā′ñ lᴀ la isda′s. Î′sîñ l’ dałulda′s. Giên
lᴀ dᴀñsqꜝasdai′yasi giên lᴀ qîñsqā′gîñᴀsi.
Giê′nhao g̣ō′dᴀx̣uaga-i lᴀ dᴀñsqꜝasdᴀga′-i ʟ̣ū′hao l’ g̣atuła′s giên
g̣ᴀ′ltaxaga-i gī lᴀ xada′si giên djā′asîñ stᴀ lᴀ qā′gᴀñg̣ada′gᴀs. Giên l’
djā′sg̣a lᴀ ʟ̣g̣a dā′awas. A′nᴀñ qꜝā′-ig̣odies g̣adō′xa dā′g̣ᴀñ lᴀ
x̣îtqag̣oñgoa′ñas. Lᴀ x̣îtgî′ndal qa′odihao Tꜝēs-qoa′naiya nā′g̣a g̣ei
djā′asîñ stᴀ lᴀ qā′gᴀng̣atcꜝai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. G̣e′istᴀ ê′sîñ dā′g̣ᴀñ lᴀ
xagada′ʼgas.
Giê′nhao î′sîñ lᴀ lᴀ x̣îtgî′ndal qa′odihao Qa-it-gwa′-ig̣a gu lᴀ
qaʟꜝxai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên qō′ya-iqā′gᴀn lᴀ tcꜝiła′si giên sʟ′xodjî g̣ei
î′sîñ lᴀ tcꜝiła′si. Hᴀn l’ wag̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn łiña′xᴀn ʟga-i g̣a kꜝi-ᴀ′ng̣adasi
giên łg̣ē′da-i wa g̣a l’ dastā′sgidesi. Kꜝī′wag̣eiłsi gut lᴀ qała′si.
Kꜝiwa′-i lᴀ dᴀ′ñat agᴀ′ñ dᴀñgᴀmstᴀła′si, giên dag̣ᴀ′ñ gut l’ xagūłai′yañ
wᴀnsū′ga.
Gagū′t lᴀ qag̣ᴀ′ngaʟai′yag̣ᴀn hao Tꜝā′xet-kꜝiū′ᴀg̣a hᴀn ʟꜝ kī′g̣adagᴀ.
Taxeda′-i nᴀñ łî′ñg̣aiya′g̣ᴀni. Atha′o kꜝiwa′-i ʟꜝ kīg̣adagᴀ′ñgᴀñ.
“Łgîtgia′g̣ᴀñ g̣a łᴀ ga xē′giłū′da Łgîtgia′g̣ᴀñ g̣a łᴀ ga xē′gᴀñū′da.”
Giê′nhao Qꜝā′stᴀ g̣a î′sîñ lᴀ qā′-idañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên gu kī′g̣a ʟꜝᴀ gi lᴀ
sū′udax̣idag̣ᴀn, “Xē′gîndā′lłas,” “Sg̣ā′na-djat-ʟg̣a′okꜝoa′nsg̣as,”
“Sg̣ā′na-djat-lalā′g̣a-gut-skiä′mskun-nā′was,” “Na′g̣ei-ga′iłas,”
“Sîns-g̣a-na-x̣utā′-ix̣iwas.” Giê′nhao “Sg̣ā′na-djat-kꜝia′g̣a-ga-xē′gᴀns”
hᴀn da′og̣anᴀñ lᴀ kī′g̣adas. “Sg̣ā′na-djat-g̣a-ga-xē′gᴀns” hᴀn agᴀ′ñ lᴀ
kī′g̣adas.
Giên Gîtîngī′djats sg̣oā′na qꜝadᴀ′ñ lᴀ qā′łdas. Giên l’ daog̣ᴀ′ng̣a î′sîñ
lᴀ stᴀ qā′x̣iasg̣as. La′hao Qꜝā′stᴀ qꜝā′tgu gu ga kꜝoā′nʟꜝxagᴀñᴀñ
wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i qā′sg̣a agᴀ′ñ lᴀ ʟg̣ā′g̣eiłdaiyañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
La′hao tā′xeda-i dag̣ā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. Gᴀm ʟꜝ ʟā′skîtgū′tg̣añgᴀñgā′ñagîn nᴀñ
ʟꜝ tia′ʼg̣ases. Giê′nhao taxeda′-i qꜝā′si-lāgā′ñañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Nᴀñ djā′adas qała′s sila′-ig̣a hao ʟꜝ ā′xadax̣ida′ñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Daiyū′ał-djina′s ā′xada-i xai′wasi. Giên l’ ā′xada qa′odihao gaatxᴀ′n
Sg̣ā′na-djat-g̣a-ga-xē′gᴀns g̣ā′lx̣ua ʟꜝ qea′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. Taol gia′at
xē′dᴀx̣ustᴀ lᴀ tā′dᴀs. U′ngu sg̣ā′ltcꜝît gia′at lᴀ tā′dᴀs. Lā′g̣a ʟꜝ
qea′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. ʟꜝ ā′xadadi qa′odihao sg̣ā′lᴀña-i wᴀ gu lᴀ
sg̣ax̣idā′g̣ᴀni. “A tcinā′ g̣aog̣ā′ gut łᴀ. Kudjū′giagᴀñdāl wᴀ gut ē
kū′łgᴀłdā′lgîł.”
Tcꜝig̣ogī′g̣a lnagā′-i dī′tgu tcꜝū gia′gᴀñasi′hao ʟꜝdjat hᴀn kig̣ai′yañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Lᴀ sagū′stᴀ nᴀñ djā′da nā′gᴀs. Gᴀm ʟgu ā′xᴀt łā′ña-i lᴀ
łgia′l łiña′-i ga′og̣āñañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. L’ qꜝᴀl lā′g̣a g̣ā′awa ʟ′djiwus.
Giê′nhao sg̣îl gā′-ikꜝugāwas lᴀ qēxa′s giên lᴀ ʟstai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Lᴀ gi
lᴀ ᴀ′nłᴀg̣adas. L’ x̣êl wa g̣ei sg̣ā′djiwus. La g̣ei lᴀ ᴀ′nłas giên ʟꜝ
ā′xadas g̣ei lᴀ xē′tgu lᴀ ʟ̣gî′ñgoañᴀs. Wᴀ gu taxeda′-i āxada′-i g̣e′istᴀ
lᴀ sʟꜝsta′si giên la qai′îsi giên ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ qꜝā′dagᴀñasi.
Î′sîñê′sîñ gañā′ñ lᴀ ī′djiñᴀsi. Axada′-i ga dag̣ā′si tās xax̣idesī′ giên
axada′-i at ʟꜝ xaskîtsg̣a′si giên “Ku′ndᴀx̣ūñ wā′dᴀg̣a-i.” Giên gaatxᴀ′n
g̣ā′lx̣ua g̣ei lᴀ ʟ̣gî′ñgūña′-i ʟ̣ū łg̣a at la nᴀñ qꜝatsg̣a′s. Lᴀ gi
qa′osgîtsg̣a′si. Gᴀm lᴀ gu g̣ałg̣ā′g̣ᴀñᴀs. Sîñgaʟ̣ana′-i gu nᴀñ djā′da
tꜝē′stᴀ tā′xet kꜝu′ng̣odia gu ʟ̣′g̣o-ułasi.
Ga′-istᴀ lnagā′-i g̣ā′g̣odi qa′odihao nᴀñ kꜝwai′g̣alᴀñ qoa′nas wa′ʟ̣uxᴀn
djatinā′g̣añ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên g̣ā′lx̣ua ʟꜝ ā′xadas. ʟꜝ gᴀ′nłg̣alᴀñʟꜝxas giên
taxeda′-i ʟꜝ gūsgî′łsi. Djā′g̣alᴀñ dᴀ′ñat ʟꜝ tā′gᴀñesi. Gī l’ stała′si
giê′nhao la ê′sîñ djating̣a′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên l’ djatia′ngatcꜝiwa′-i ʟ̣ū ʟꜝa at lᴀ ā′xadas giên g̣ā′lx̣ua l’
qā′ʟꜝxas giên tā′xet lᴀ gūdjiā′was. G̣alᴀ′nsʟia′-i ʟ̣ū djā′g̣alᴀñ lᴀ
ʟskî′nxas. “Halᴀ′ gatā′” hᴀn lᴀ lᴀ sū′das. “Sʟgūs hao g̣ā′lx̣ua gatā′ga”
giên ʟā′lᴀñ lᴀ kîlg̣e′idᴀxasʟa′s.
Giên dag̣ala′-ig̣a g̣ā′lx̣ua î′sîñ ʟꜝa at la axadā′gas. Giên ʟꜝ
gᴀndā′lʟꜝxaga-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ ʟꜝᴀ ga kitsgî′łs. G̣alᴀ′nsʟia′-i ʟ̣ū ʟā′lᴀñ
skwa-i lᴀ tꜝā′ʟ̣gᴀñᴀs giên hᴀn djā′g̣ᴀñ lᴀ sū′udas “Sʟgus hao g̣ā′lx̣ua
gatā′ga.” Giên la ê′sîñ lᴀ kîlg̣e′idaxasʟas.
Giên lnagā′-i g̣a na ʟꜝ ʟ′g̣ołg̣asi. Xā′ña ʟꜝ tꜝag̣onadai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’
g̣eiłgīga′-i ʟ̣ū Tꜝa′g̣un-naas hᴀn lᴀ ʟꜝ kī′g̣adas. Ḷū′hao dī′da l’ ī′djas
skꜝiä′xᴀn la g̣a gā′-iłx̣ida′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. La at ʟ̣ū ga′isʟia′-i ʟ̣ū
kꜝîłg̣ax̣ida′ñ wᴀnsū′ga. Lᴀ tꜝa′g̣a ʟꜝᴀ gi gā′-iłx̣îtskiā′ñ ʟꜝ sūgā′ñañ
wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên gaatxᴀ′n î′sîñ ʟꜝ ā′xada qa′odi g̣ā′lx̣ua ʟꜝ axadā′gatcꜝa′was. Nᴀñ
djā′g̣a skudjū′dies. Tꜝᴀ′lgi nᴀñ ē′łiña ʟx̣iā′ndies. Giê′nhao l’ sʟꜝa-i
lā′g̣a lᴀ qꜝa-itkꜝuʟai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ djā′g̣a ʟꜝa gᴀ′ñgîñañ g̣ā′tułas.
Lᴀ lᴀ ʟdadjā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên tā′not Ku′ndji g̣a tā-i gi nᴀñ ā′xadayä′nañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên g̣alx̣uā′
l’ gi′tg̣a djadā′g̣a sqe′ux̣ua l’ qꜝadiʟ̣′gañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên gī′tg̣ᴀñ
ʟskī′nᴀña-i gi l’ łg̣oā′gas giên g̣āla′-ig̣a lᴀ ku′ndjigiä′lañ wᴀnsū′ga.
La ê′sîñ qꜝadī′gᴀs. Siñg̣a′-i l’ skî′nxaiyas gitg̣ᴀ′ñ gi lᴀ kiagā′ñas.
Gᴀm l’ gi′tg̣a ga′og̣ᴀñᴀs. Giên ʟua′-i stᴀ tān stꜝa′sᴀl kîtgî′łsi lᴀ
qe′iñᴀsi.
Giê′nhao lnagā′-i xā′-idᴀg̣a-i tāns xā′-idᴀg̣a-i g̣ᴀn stꜝē′xag̣iłx̣idai′yañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Xā ʟꜝ gî′ñ-īna′ʼqoa′nᴀs giên sqā′ba qoa′na î′sîñ ʟꜝ ʟ′g̣ołg̣as.
Gᴀm ʟgu kꜝiū kī′da g̣a ʟꜝa gia′gᴀña-i ga′og̣ᴀñesi. Gañā′xᴀn ʟꜝ
ʟꜝdax̣î′tsi.
Wᴀgañā′ñ ʟꜝ î′sda qa′⁺odihao xā′ga-i î′sîñ tā′na-i dōx̣idā′ñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Gaatxᴀ′nhao na stᴀ xᴀn xā′ga-i ga da′wasi. Giê′nhao ʟ̣g̣a ga dā′wasi.
A′xᴀnxᴀn tana′-i g̣atła′si. L’ gī′tg̣alᴀñ stîñ lᴀgi xā′dᴀsîs.
Łg̣ē′da-i ʟꜝ tꜝaqꜝā′-iłaiyasi. La g̣ᴀn gī ʟꜝ g̣ā′łg̣awa-i ʟ̣ū stag̣a′ñ lᴀ
ʟg̣adā′ñasi giên kunᴀ′ñ tꜝᴀ′lgi la ʟłᴀskiä′gᴀñᴀsi. Giê′nhao xā′ga-i ʟꜝ
ku′ntcꜝidañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ.
Giê′nhao qā′-ida-i gū′stᴀ la g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ g̣agoyî′ñg̣oasi. Giên l’ î′stꜝałg̣oas
giên łtā′x̣ulᴀñ gut tāna′-i tꜝanā′nᴀñasi. Giê′nhao lᴀ ʟꜝ
g̣ᴀlgᴀ′ndax̣îtg̣ā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga, giên na′si l’ gutlā′g̣oasi. Gī′nᴀ kꜝā′na
lᴀ ʟꜝ tadag̣ogā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. Gᴀm l’ kîłgūlg̣ᴀ′ñg̣oas. Giê′nhao tā′na-i
gī′tg̣ei nāñ qa′odi xā l’ qꜝokꜝotu′łgag̣a′wañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên l’ a′og̣a
ê′sîñ l’ sî′łg̣a gūdᴀ′ñg̣oas gîñkꜝotwā′lañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao tā′na-i ʟꜝ ʟꜝda qa′odihao sqā′ba ᴀ′ñg̣a nᴀñ qî′ñg̣agiä′lañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Gī′nᴀ xā′-idᴀg̣a la g̣a ga qꜝadag̣ā′dies giên tꜝa′g̣o lᴀ
g̣ᴀlqꜝā′-igîñᴀs. Giê′nhao lᴀ la qꜝa-ig̣aʟꜝxai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao lnagā′-i stᴀ nᴀñ qā′-idañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Tcī′na-kun nā′g̣a g̣ei lᴀ
qā′tcꜝas. Sg̣ā′na-qeda′s ʟꜝdā′las giên Tcī′na-kun nā g̣ei
dā′lx̣unᴀñtcꜝī′gᴀñasi giên gatā′ga-i lā′g̣a ʟꜝ tā′gᴀñᴀsi. L’ qꜝaiya′s
g̣aga′n la g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ nā′ñagᴀs.
Giê′nhao l’ nā′tg̣a łā′ma qē′xas giên lᴀ la ʟsta′s giên lᴀ la
qꜝag̣adai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên gaatxᴀ′n sg̣ā′na-qeda′s ʟꜝdala′-i ʟ̣ū lᴀ
hałgoa′das. L’ qā′g̣a tꜝā′g̣a la g̣ᴀn stꜝexagᴀ′nsi. Tꜝᴀ′lgi lᴀ
xałgoa′dagᴀñasi. Qa′odihao lᴀ gui ga ʟ′sʟgîłs. Kꜝiwa′-i g̣a lᴀ
qꜝog̣ā′wasi. Sʟnᴀñ lᴀ gia′ʼłdas giên sg̣ā′na-qeda′s dā′lx̣unᴀñtcꜝia′-i ʟ̣ū
lᴀ kîtqꜝa′iadi′gas. Kiägī īdjiga′-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ gañā′ñ lᴀ isda′si. Lᴀ
g̣aga′nhao sg̣ā′na-qeda′s lᴀ gi ʟꜝ łg̣oā′g̣adañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giê′nhao gaatxᴀ′n Sî′ñgidjigît nā g̣a lᴀ qā′-idañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên hᴀn lᴀ
la sū′das “Xā′-ides sîñ lā dī at gīnᴀ′ñg̣ansga” hᴀn lᴀ gi lᴀ sī′wus.
Waigiê′nhao Qꜝā′stᴀ qā′sg̣a djinā′ hᴀn kī′łgulʟdjā′wañ wᴀnsū′ga
“Dalᴀ′ñg̣a ł gūdagīdᴀ′ñg̣asga. Daiyū′-ał-lā′nas ha-ilū′ qa′odi î′sîñ
skꜝū′lg̣ilg̣ā′nses” hao la sūdai′yag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao gu tcꜝū ʟꜝ skîtg̣ā′g̣añ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên la g̣ei ʟꜝ qꜝā′tnanᴀñas
giên lᴀ ʟꜝ g̣a-iłgalᴀ′ñʟꜝxas. Giê′nhao gī′g̣awa-i ʟꜝ ʟ′g̣ołg̣ai′yañ
wᴀnsū′gᴀñ. Giên l’ g̣e′iłgīga-i ʟ̣ū Gīg̣a′o-ᴀ′ldᴀloas hᴀn lᴀ ʟꜝ
kig̣adai′yañ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao gitg̣ᴀ′ñ gī′g̣awa-i lᴀ dag̣adai′yañ
wᴀnsū′ga. L’ djā′g̣a Gîtînā′g̣añ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ Nayū′ᴀns-xā′-idᴀg̣a-i ku′nī
hao idjā′ñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Giên ga Xo-iga′sga-i ga xē′gᴀñ ᴀ′ñg̣a dā′g̣añ wᴀnsū′ga. A′thao nᴀñ
xo-igā′ kꜝotwā′lgᴀnqasā′gas giên ga xēgᴀ′ñgᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga.
Hao ʟ g̣e′idᴀñ.
STORY OF THOSE-BORN-AT-SKEDANS
[Told by John Sky of Those-born-at-Skedans]
There lay Flat-slope [107] town. At that time there was sickness in the
place. Da′tcꜝi-kî′lsʟas’s [108] daughter,
Woman-whose-feet-make-a-thunderous-noise, owned a knife that shut up.
[109] Then Woman-whose-feet-make-a-thunderous-noise died at
Tcixodᴀ′lx̣a. [110] They said that something carried her off on account
of the knife. They then took the body of
Woman-whose-feet-make-a-thunderous-noise to Flat-slope town. They also
said that the knife belonged to Pestilence, [111] and they took it to
the middle of the inlet. They then put feathers on it and let it sink
easily into the water. On account of the knife they owned the sea
water. [112]
Some time after that Tꜝā′giao began hunting with dogs. One time, while
he was going after his dogs, the bear turned upon him. Then the bear
pulled the skin of his head from him. They went out and got him. And
they brought him away. They laid his body away, and again they owned
the sea, the land, and all the inlets. [113]
Then the Common-food-steamers [114] gave them a plate of copper for
their inlet. He was Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn’s son. [115] He was the one [the bear]
killed at Kꜝial. And a woman of the Town-of-Cumshewa people [116] also
gave a plate of copper to Those-born-at-Skedans for her inlet.
After that Skî′ltꜝakîñañ [117] began to hunt with dogs. And his dogs
began barking at something at Łg̣a-i. [118] While he was following them
his leg slipped into some [crevice]. His leg was scraped to the bone.
He died there. And again they claimed the sea water, the inlets, and
the land. The Common-food-steamers put out another copper plate for
G̣ałî′ns, [119] and the Town-of-Cumshewa woman put out another copper
plate for Qa′na.[119] They claimed all the islands along with them.
There was no land lying vacant.
Some time after that Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn again came there (to Skedans) to live.
And he had a daughter, Flowing-property, [120] when they settled at
Skedans. After that Flowing-property went to Skedans bay for something.
And a woman of the Witch people [121] went with her. A woman of the
Common-food-steamers[114] also went with her. While they were going
along they upset. Then Flowing-property, with the woman of the Witch
people, was drowned. Then the people wept, wept, wept. Presently they
sent food to them through the fire, and in the same house laid claim to
the sea and the islands. [122] Those-born-at-Skedans owned them.
After the death of Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn another Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn who came to live in his
place had Gîtko′na [123] as his son. It was he who built [the house]
Gutkwa′-ida. [124] Gîtko′na married a woman of
Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o-creek. [125]
One day he went out to hunt seal on Gwai′ya. [126] When he went with
his spear for some hair seal that lay on the rocks, outside of the hair
seal lay a small killer whale with two dorsal fins and white stripes.
It looked pretty. And he speared it.
And, when the killer whale wriggled away from the spear, it went along
the surface of the sea blowing. It went under at Corner-of-mouth. [127]
They fled at once. When they came abreast of Gwī′g̣ᴀl [128] all the
broad water was crowded with killer whales. They were jumping over the
canoes. He looked southward. The surface of the sea was covered. He
looked northward. It was the same. The mats [129] rolled toward him and
stopped near by. The stringers[129] also stood up on end and fell close
to them. Tcꜝa′g̣ᴀnsqꜝa′gida-i[129] also fell near by.
After they had fled for some time they landed at Gwī′g̣ᴀl. They then
turned over the canoe among the driftwood. At that time the killer
whales were jumping about upon their tails on the dry land. By and by
they (his comrades) said to Gîtko′na: “Come, let us try to do
something.” Big killer whales lay in the canoe cove. At that time they
took out tobacco for them. When they laid it down with calcined shells
behind it the g̣ō′tgadugᴀmłg̣al [130] took it into its mouth. The big
creature at once moved seaward. Immediately, all vanished into the
ocean.
When they got home the shamans did not say anything good about him.
They said he had better not go anywhere on the ocean for four years. He
had struck the son of Corner-of-mouth. The shamans told his father and
himself that the supernatural beings were talking about him—whether
they would let him fall from a steep place, or let him fell a tree upon
himself, or let him capsize. The shamans said that they would give him
up at the end of four years. During all that time he did not go out to
sea for anything. During all that time he did not go after anything at
all.
Skilanʟî′nda spoke to him as follows: “I see something strange near
you, and I will break something you love.” [131] One day they made a
box for him. He kicked it. The box then burst. Gîtko′na at once lay
down in bed [for sorrow].
While he still lay there a white animal [132] swam into Skedans harbor.
He at once told his father not to allow anyone to go to it. So his
father directed. Then he set out after it with three canoe companions.
They pursued it. After he had shot at it in the inside of the harbor
for a while it led him out. At the same time a fog enveloped him. They
then beat drums for him and they threw skids one against another. After
two foggy nights had passed it cleared in the morning. Then some went
toward Lake inlet. [133] Some also went to Rock-point. [134] They
picked up his paddle. They again owned the sea. They again owned the
land.
After that his father died, and G̣oa′łdao took his place. [135] His son
was Lg̣akꜝia′o. At that time they went to Gwai′ya to fish. He (the son)
begged some boys to accompany him thither. And they went out in a
crowd. Then, as soon as they had taken out hadja, [136] they plucked
off their feathers and made fun of them.
After they had been doing this for some time they went to
I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as [137] after ʟꜝkꜝia′o. [138] They then let down
Lg̣akꜝia′o into a crevice. After he had taken off ʟꜝkꜝia′o and given
them to the children for a while he tried to get out. The walls were
jammed in against his head. The tide was coming up to him.
They at once carried the news to his parents. His parents immediately
took hides, paints, and feathers and went thither. They then started a
fire there and put these into it, and talked [through the fire] to
I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as. [139] They asked to have him let out. When all the
property was destroyed the crevice became large and they pulled him out
of it. They (supernatural beings) started to take him because he made
fun of the hadja of I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as.
After that they again went for birds. Then again, as soon as they had
plucked the hadja, they let them fly away. They made fun of them. While
they were going along the edge of a cliff Lg̣akꜝia′o fell down. And he
fell from the cliff. When he was caught halfway down they told him not
to move. But still he did move, and fell again. That time he was
smashed to pieces below.
Then, when the children went home, his father told them not to enter
their houses. At once the parents of the children gave him property.
They paid him many moose skins. They then set him (i.e., his body) up
there. They made four posts for his grave. [140] It is the one on [a
post of] which there is a tree. After that boys stopped playing with
boys of Those-born-at-Skedans, because they had paid for this injury.
[141]
Before that a woman of Those-born-at-Skedans became a shaman. When she
began to perform she told her father to tie a dancing skirt upon her.
Her father did so. The supernatural power spoke to her. He promised her
ten whales.
After she had fasted for a while she went out, and something made a
noise near by, such as a person makes between his lips. When she looked
toward the noise she saw some mussels. Those were the souls of whales.
She said they were going to be in Skedans creek. After ten nights had
passed they went to look. Whales floated there. There was a row of
them. They found ten whales in the creek. Even at this day their
vertebræ are to be seen there.
They said something against a supernatural power which was walking on
the seaweed [on an island owned by Those-born-at-Skedans]. One day a
certain person entered Gutkwā′-ida and said: “Some one is walking about
on Island-that-turns-about-with-the-tide.” [142] She then went out and
called toward it: “Who is it on that island, A′wiya kūdā′lła.” [143]
Then, they launched a canoe quickly, and went over to look. There was
nothing on it to be seen. And when they got back they wept much in
Gutkwā′-ida.[124] She had spoken against the supernatural being. She
died.
This was told by the best story-teller in Skidegate, himself a member
of that family. It was that division to which the town chief of Kloo
belonged, and was reputed to be one of the most powerful Eagle families
on the islands. Part of the family lived at Skedans, and, as may be
inferred from the story itself, the town chief of that place was
generally father of the town chief of Kloo, who therefore lived at
Skedans before assuming his position at Kloo itself.
QꜝŌ′NA-QĒ′G̣AWA-I
ʟꜝ′x̣îñᴀs lnagā′-ihao g̣ag̣odai′yag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣uhao gu stꜝeqa′gag̣ᴀn.
Ga′-iʟ̣uhao Datcꜝi-kî′lsʟas gudjā′ñg̣a, Djat-stꜝag̣a-ga-xē′gᴀns,
sqao-qꜝō′dax̣uñ dag̣ai′yag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao Tcixodᴀ′lx̣a gu
Djat-stꜝag̣a-ga-xē′gᴀns kꜝotwā′lag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao sqa′oqꜝodax̣uña-i ga′gi lᴀ
gi ga stalᴀ′nsʟañ ʟꜝ sā′wag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao ʟꜝ′x̣îñᴀs lnagā′-i g̣a
Djat-stꜝag̣a-ga-xē′gᴀns kꜝō′da ʟꜝ qꜝa-isʟai′yag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao
sqa′oqꜝodax̣uña-i Ha-iłī′las gia′g̣a î′sîñ ʟꜝ sūs giên siga′-i g̣a lᴀ ʟꜝ
qꜝā′-isʟsg̣aiyag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao lᴀ ʟꜝ łtᴀng̣oa′das giên lᴀ ʟꜝ
hagᴀñg̣asʟgai′yag̣ᴀn. Sqa′-oqꜝodax̣uña-i tꜝa′gu g̣ayuwa′-i g̣a ʟꜝ
kî′lskidag̣ᴀni.
Ga′-istᴀ ga′g̣et qa′odi Tꜝā′giao xagī′g̣ax̣idag̣ᴀn. Ga-iʟ̣ū′hao gaatxᴀ′n
xā′ga-i ʟ̣g̣a ᴀ′ñg̣a la qā′giagᴀñgᴀndixᴀn lᴀ gui tā′ng̣a-i
qꜝa′-iłg̣ᴀłdaiyag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣uhao tā′ng̣a-i l’ qā′dji qꜝᴀl wᴀ stᴀ
dᴀñʟꜝʟai′yag̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao g̣a lᴀ ʟꜝ tang̣ai′yag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao stᴀ lᴀ ʟꜝ
ʟgā′wag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟꜝnsgułgīgas giên hitꜝᴀg̣ᴀ′n g̣ā′yuwa-i g̣a ʟꜝ
kî′lskidag̣ᴀni ʟga-i î′sîñ g̣a′oaga-i wa′ʟ̣uxᴀn î′sîñ.
Ḷū′hao ga Dā′g̣aña-sê′lga tꜝa′g̣o ᴀ′ñg̣a g̣a′oag̣a-i sqa′ogu ᴀ′ñg̣a tꜝa′g̣o
qꜝā′-isʟaiyag̣ᴀni. Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn gi′tg̣a hao īdjā′g̣ᴀn. Kꜝia′l gu′hao lᴀ ga
isdai′yag̣ᴀn. Giên nᴀñ Łqê′nuł-djī′naga î′sîñ g̣a′og̣as sqa′ogu ᴀ′ñg̣a
tꜝa′g̣o Qꜝō′na-qē′g̣awa-i gi qꜝa-isʟai′yag̣ᴀn.
Ga′-istᴀhao î′sîñ Skî′ltꜝakîñañ xagī′ᴀg̣ax̣idag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣uhao Łg̣a-i gu
lā′g̣a xā′ga-i gada′osi. G̣ō′ʟ̣ᴀg̣a lᴀ qagᴀ′ndixᴀn l’ yäłtcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn. L’
kꜝial skū′dji sg̣u′nxᴀnhao lā′g̣a wa g̣ei sqꜝadjā′wag̣ᴀn. G̣ei l’ kꜝotᴀłsī′
giên î′sîñ g̣ā′yuwa-i g̣a′og̣a-i wai′giên ʟga-i î′sîñ g̣a ʟꜝ kî′lskidag̣ᴀni.
Ga Dā′g̣aña-sê′lgas î′sîñ tꜝa′g̣o kîtqꜝā′idjîłgwagag̣ᴀn G̣ałî′ns sqa′ogu
ᴀ, giên nᴀñ Łqê′nuł djī′naga î′sîñ Qā′na sqa′ogu tꜝa′g̣o
kitqꜝā′-idjîłgwagag̣ᴀn. Gwai′tcꜝida-i dᴀ′ñat xᴀ′nhao ga ʟꜝ kî′lskidag̣ᴀn.
Gᴀm ʟgu ʟga′-i g̣a ga ā′gīxanag̣a′ñag̣ᴀn.
Ga′-istᴀ ga′g̣et qa′⁺odi î′sîñ Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn tcia′xaʟꜝxaiyag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao
Tꜝaogwa′g̣anat lᴀ qe′igag̣ᴀn Qꜝō′na ʟꜝ łg̣ā′sʟas ʟ̣ū ᴀ. Ga′-istᴀhao Łg̣a-i
g̣a Tꜝaogwā′g̣anat gī′nᴀ tā′ng̣aiyag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao nᴀñ Stꜝa′o-djidᴀga la at
īdjā′g̣ᴀn. Giên nᴀñ Dā′g̣aña-sê′lga î′sîñ la at īdjā′g̣ᴀn. Qagîñg̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn
l’ xasʟg̣ā′wag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao Tꜝaogwa′g̣anat nᴀñ Stꜝa′o-djidᴀgas dᴀ′ñat l’
tcā′ʟ̣g̣adag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣ū sg̣ā′-igaga-i îs, îs, îs. Qa′odi lᴀ gi ʟꜝ ūga′-i
na′-ig̣ahao î′sîñ g̣ā′yuwa-i at gwai′tcꜝida-i ga ʟꜝ kî′lskidag̣ᴀni. Qꜝō′na
qē′g̣awa-i ᴀ′ñg̣a dag̣ag̣ea′lag̣ᴀni.
Ga′-istᴀ Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn. kꜝotula′-i sî′łg̣a î′sîñ Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn hᴀn kī′g̣a
nag̣ea′lga-i ʟ̣ū Gîtko′na lᴀ qe′igag̣ᴀn. La′hao Gutkwai′daxełdaiyag̣ᴀn.
Nᴀñ Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o-qē′g̣ao djī′daga Gîtko′na ī′nagag̣ᴀn.
Gaatxᴀ′nhao Gwai′ya g̣a xōt gi lᴀ saiyā′nag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao xō′da-i tā′-isʟg̣a
qꜝa dᴀ′ñat lᴀ qā′giagᴀña-i ʟ̣ū xō′da-i qꜝadax̣ū′stᴀ sg̣ā′na łg̣a′na
sqꜝastî′ñ qꜝa′lᴀñag̣a kꜝᴀ′tdju ʟ̣łî′ndaiyag̣ᴀn. L’ hā′nagadᴀs. Giê′nhao
qꜝa′ga-i at lᴀ lᴀ kidā′g̣ᴀni.
Ḷū′hao qꜝa′ga-i la g̣e′istᴀ łkū′stᴀga-i ʟ̣ū sg̣ā′naga-i g̣ā′yuwa-i qꜝā′łgut
lᴀ stᴀ kwaskᴀ′ñgîñañdalag̣ᴀni. Xē′łag̣ot gu′hao l’ gayugai′yag̣ᴀn.
Gañā′xᴀnhao stᴀ lᴀ ga-itg̣oqa-itg̣ā′wag̣ᴀni. Gwī′gᴀl ʟ̣ū l’ g̣eiłg̣awa′-i ʟ̣ū
ʟ g̣ā′yao qꜝā′gas sg̣ā′na at skꜝulʟꜝxai′yag̣ᴀn. ʟua′-i tꜝᴀ′lgi
kwax̣a′otcꜝigagañag̣ᴀni. G̣ᴀ′ñxet gui l’ qē′xaiyas. G̣ā′yuwa-i
qꜝᴀl-skꜝū′daga. Qꜝa gui î′sîñ l’ qē′xaiyas. Ga-i î′sîñ wᴀgañā′xᴀn g̣ēt.
Lgudja′-i la g̣a skꜝax̣unᴀ′ñdalasi giên l’ xᴀ′ñg̣astᴀ xᴀn ʟan idjā′ñag̣ᴀni.
Sqꜝag̣awa′-i î′sîñ l’ gia′xaʟꜝxasi giên l’ xᴀ′ñg̣astᴀxᴀn qꜝagā′ñag̣ᴀni.
Tcꜝa′g̣ᴀnsqꜝa′gida-i î′sîñ qꜝaʟꜝxagā′ñag̣ᴀni.
Ga′-iʟ̣uhao l’ ga-itg̣ogî′ñg̣o qa′odi Gwī′g̣ᴀl gu lᴀ ga-itg̣og̣ā′sgidag̣ᴀni.
Ḷū′hao ga′-ina-i sū′g̣a ʟua′-i lᴀ dagū′tꜝᴀłdag̣awag̣ᴀni. Ga′-iʟ̣uhao
sg̣ā′naga-i kꜝidᴀ′ñ at ʟga-i qꜝa′g̣aga-i gut agᴀ′ñ kîtqadadjî′ñgañag̣ᴀni.
Qa′odihao Gîtko′na hᴀn ʟꜝ sūdai′yag̣ᴀn “Ha′lᴀ tꜝalᴀ′ñ ū gudᴀ′ntcꜝañ.”
G̣agaga′-i g̣a′hao sg̣ā′na yū′ᴀnda ʟ̣g̣oxā′ñgialag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣uhao gū′la-i wa
g̣a ʟꜝ gia′lgasg̣aiyag̣ᴀni. Wᴀ dī′tgu gwa′ga-i dᴀ′ñat ʟꜝ î′sdag̣a-i ʟ̣ū
g̣ō′tgadugᴀmłgala-i wᴀ xełī′g̣ei ū îsdai′yag̣ᴀni. Gañā′xᴀnhao nᴀñ yū′ᴀns
ʟ̣′dax̣îtsg̣aiyag̣ᴀni. Gañā′xᴀnhao ʟ gī′na na′odᴀgas gagugai′yag̣ᴀn.
Ḷū′hao l’ îsg̣oa′s giên ʟꜝ sg̣ā′ga l’ qî′ñgutg̣añx̣idag̣ᴀn. Ḷū tā′da
stᴀ′nsîñ g̣ᴀn lᴀ ʟꜝ gī′na tā′ng̣axałga′ñag̣ᴀn. Xē′łᴀg̣ot gī′tg̣a hao lᴀ
ki′tadjag̣ᴀn. Sg̣ā′na-qeda′s l’ xᴀ′nsgu ga kî′lłas ʟꜝ sg̣ā′ga l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a gi
at la gi sūdagā′ñag̣ᴀn lᴀ ʟꜝ ʟ̣goē′xałîñ at gwī′g̣añ lᴀ ʟꜝ xa′-ixałiñ at
lᴀ ʟꜝ xā′sʟxałañ. Tā′da stᴀ′nsîñg̣eił giên lᴀ gi ʟꜝ qa-î′nsʟaasañ ʟꜝ
sg̣ā′ga lᴀ gi sū′gañag̣ᴀn. Kꜝiä′łhao gᴀm l’ gī′na tā′ng̣ag̣añag̣ᴀn.
Kꜝiä′łhao gᴀm gī′na lᴀ da′og̣añag̣ᴀni.
Skilanʟî′nda hao hᴀn l’ kî′ñgugᴀñadaiyag̣ᴀn: “Dᴀñ gwa′di gī′na ł
qêñakꜝi′g̣a giên gī′naga dᴀñ kꜝū′g̣a ł qā′-itgusʟasga.” Gañaxᴀ′nhao la
g̣ᴀn g̣o′da la ʟꜝ ʟg̣ołg̣ai′yag̣ᴀn. Lā′g̣a lᴀ la stꜝaqadai′yag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao
g̣oda′-i g̣ei g̣atłai′yag̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀnhao Gîtko′na ta-iqā′wag̣ᴀn.
Ha′oxᴀn l’ ta-idig̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn Qꜝō′na-g̣ag̣aga-i g̣ei g̣adagᴀ′ndjao
ʟ̣gīʟꜝxatcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn Gañā′xᴀnhao g̣ō′ñg̣añ gᴀm la g̣a nᴀñ lᴀ
ʟuqā′sg̣axałg̣a′ñag̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀnhao l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a sā′wag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao tcꜝa′ał
łg̣unwā′lgu lᴀ ʟ̣g̣a lᴀ tcꜝix̣iā′ñag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ gi g̣ag̣aga′-i g̣ei lᴀ tcꜝī′dju
qa′odi lᴀ ga g̣ᴀ′lgastᴀgwa’gag̣ᴀn. Atguʟ̣ū′ yä′nᴀña-i lᴀ gi
qa′ogusʟaiyag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao Qꜝō′na gu gaodja′o lᴀ gi ʟꜝ sqotxē′gᴀns at
tꜝakꜝu′nxēt guta′t ʟꜝ qꜝā′-itg̣ag̣adañgañag̣ᴀn. G̣āl stîñ yä′nañag̣ea′lga-i
ʟ̣ū l’ qadjī′sʟia-ułaiyag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao Sū-qā′łi gui ga qa′-it. Tꜝēs-ku′n
gui î′sîñ ga qa′-it. Ga-iʟ̣ū′hao ā′la-i lā′g̣a ʟꜝ qî′nstᴀ-îndjā′wag̣ᴀn.
Ga′-iʟ̣u î′sîñ g̣ayuwa′-i ga ʟꜝ kî′lskît. ʟga-i ga î′sîñ ʟꜝ kî′lskît.
Ga′-istᴀ l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a kꜝotwā′lasi giên lᴀ sî′łg̣a G̣oa′łdao nag̣ea′lag̣ᴀn.
Ga′-iʟ̣u Lg̣akꜝia′o lᴀ qē′gag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣uhao Gwai′yᴀ g̣a ʟꜝ
xaonaî′nsg̣aiyag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iguhao ʟ g̣ā′xa lᴀ tcꜝag̣ᴀ′nłiñasi. Giê′nhao ʟꜝ
qꜝoa′łdax̣idag̣ᴀni. Ga′-iʟ̣ū hadjiga′-i ʟꜝ ʟ̣′īʟꜝxa ʟā′guda ʟꜝ gadā′si at
ʟꜝ nᴀ′ñx̣îsg̣alᴀñgā′ñag̣ᴀn.
ʟꜝ îsdadjā′gadᴀñ qa′⁺odi I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as g̣a ʟꜝ
qꜝō′skꜝax̣una′ñgaiyag̣ᴀn. Ga-iʟ̣ū′hao nᴀñ ʟꜝadanā′ g̣ei Lg̣akꜝia′o ʟꜝ
x̣idatcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn. ʟꜝkꜝiwa′-i lᴀ kîtx̣unᴀ′nsi kꜝiäł g̣axaga′-i gi la
isdag̣ᴀ′ndi qa′odi l’ qax̣uā′lg̣aʟꜝxaiyas. L’ qā′dji ga qꜝoqꜝā′-isgidag̣ᴀn.
Lᴀ g̣a gᴀ-iłdai′yag̣ᴀn.
Gañaxa′nhao l’ yā′g̣alᴀñ gi ʟꜝ kî′ndaiyag̣ᴀn. Gañaxᴀ′nhao yā′g̣alᴀñ
qꜝētqꜝā′mal at xa′-idᴀ-ma′sg̣a wai′giên łtᴀ′ng̣o îsda′si giên g̣a ʟꜝ
gᴀnłg̣alā′ñag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao gu ʟꜝ tcꜝanū′g̣adasi giên wa g̣ei ā′si ʟꜝ sîsg̣ā′si
ʟā′guda I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as g̣a ʟꜝ kîłgulgā′ñag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ ʟꜝ qā′x̣ułxałs.
Gī′naga′-ixᴀn ha′-ilusg̣aga-i ʟ̣ū ʟꜝā′dana-i yū′xałsi giên g̣e′istᴀ lᴀ ʟꜝ
dᴀñʟꜝstai′yag̣ᴀni. I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as hadjiga′-i at la nᴀ′ñx̣isg̣alᴀñᴀsi
tꜝa′g̣a lᴀ gi stalᴀ′ñx̣idag̣ᴀn.
Ga′-istᴀhao î′sîñ ʟꜝ ʟꜝx̣îtgai′yag̣ᴀn. Ga-iʟ̣ū′ î′sîñ hadjiga′-i ʟꜝ
gadā′si ʟā′guda ʟꜝ ñā′łgalᴀñsg̣adagā′ñag̣ᴀni. Ga′-iʟ̣u ga ʟꜝ
sī′kꜝiagañag̣ᴀni. Nᴀñ stala′-i qo′lgut ʟꜝ gᴀndalg̣ᴀ′ndixᴀn Lg̣akꜝia′o
ʟ̣tꜝᴀłdai′yag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao sta′la-i gū′stᴀ l’ ʟ̣g̣awai′ag̣ᴀn. Taʟ̣djū′ l’
ʟ̣łinaga′-i ʟ̣ū gᴀm lᴀ ʟꜝ hî′ldᴀñxałgᴀñᴀs. Tꜝᴀ′lgi xᴀn lᴀ hî′ldᴀña-i ʟ̣ū
î′sîñ l’ ʟ̣′goe-lg̣ai′yag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣uhao xē′da la g̣ei g̣atłai′yag̣ᴀn.
Ga′-iʟ̣u g̣axaga′-i gᴀndax̣ida′-i ʟ̣ū l’ g̣ō′ñg̣a gᴀm
gᴀ′ndalʟꜝxaxᴀłg̣ā′ñag̣ᴀn. Gañaxᴀ′nhao ʟ̣ū′hao g̣axaga′-i yā′g̣alᴀñ l’
ʟ′skuʟꜝxax̣idag̣ᴀn. Tcꜝî′sgu qoan ʟꜝ wā′łaiyag̣ᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣uhao gu l’ ʟꜝ
tcꜝî′słnagag̣ᴀn. L’ xā′da lā′g̣a ʟꜝ łgī′stᴀnsîñdai′yag̣ᴀn. Haoxᴀ′nhao gu
nᴀñ u′ngu qa′-it gia′gᴀñ gu ī′djîñ. Ga′-istᴀ hao ʟan Qꜝō′na-qē′g̣awa-i
at ʟ g̣ā′xa nᴀñx̣idā′g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ wałai′yag̣ᴀn g̣aga′n ᴀ.
Ku′ng̣ᴀstᴀhao nᴀñ Qꜝō′na-qē′g̣ao djī′daga sg̣ā′g̣adag̣ᴀn. La′hao
sg̣ā′g̣ax̣idies giên xā′dᴀñ gî′ñg̣añ gᴀntcꜝiłg̣ā′giga-i lᴀ
kiūdjî′skitxalag̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀnhao l’ xā′tg̣a wagā′ñag̣ᴀn. Sg̣ā′na hao lᴀ gi
sā′wag̣ᴀn. Kun ʟa′ał gī lᴀ kî′ñgugañag̣ᴀn.
L’ qꜝa-isa′ldi qa′odi l’ qax̣uā′lg̣aga-i ʟ̣ū la g̣ei gī′na
kꜝutʟū′ʟdaiyag̣ᴀn. Gī lᴀ qēxaga′-i ʟ̣ū tā′xao lᴀ qea′ñag̣ᴀni. A′hao
kuna′-i g̣ā′łanda-i īdjā′g̣ᴀn. Łg̣a-i-g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i qałī′ᴀg̣ei î′sgasañ lᴀ
sā′wag̣ᴀn. Gañā′xᴀnhao g̣ala′-i ʟa′ałg̣ea′lga-i ʟ̣ū ʟꜝ qeā′ñgagasi. Wa g̣ei
kuna′-i g̣ei ʟ̣′gīlañdalag̣ᴀni. Ga-iʟ̣gilañdā′lag̣ᴀni. Ku′na-i ʟa′ał
g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣a-i qałī′g̣a ʟꜝ qî′nstaiyag̣ᴀni. Haoxᴀ′nhao wa g̣ei qā′maqamiga-i ʟꜝ
qîñgᴀ′ñgᴀñ.
Sg̣ā′na î′sîñ lᴀ kî′ldᴀsg̣awañ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ, sqe′ua-g̣ea′lañ wᴀnsū′ga.
Gaatxᴀ′n Gutkwā′-ida g̣ei hᴀn nᴀñ suqatcꜝa′s. “Dalqꜝā′-iłgᴀłgîñ gut nᴀñ
qag̣ō′ñga, auwiyā′, auwiyā′,” hᴀn l’ sī′wus. Giê′nhao l’ qax̣uā′las giên
gī lᴀ kî′ñgusg̣asi, “Gī′sto ʟgu îsʟdjū′gᴀñ ā′wiya kūda′lła.” Ḷū′hao ʟū
î′sîñ ʟꜝ qꜝā′dagias giên ʟꜝ qîñyä′nasi. Gᴀm gī′na gut g̣ałgā′gᴀñᴀs. Giên
wᴀ stᴀ î′sg̣ogila-i ʟ̣ū Gutkwā′ida g̣a ʟꜝ sg̣a′-igayūᴀnᴀs. Sg̣ā′na hao lᴀ
kî′ldadjañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ kꜝotwā′lag̣ᴀn.
Hao ʟ ku′ndju.
A STORY TOLD TO ACCOMPANY BEAR SONGS
[Told by Job Moody of the Witch people]
A man began to set deadfalls. His son was always with him. Whenever he
went out to see them he found that in some way or another they had got
away from the deadfalls. And he now became angry. He became angry with
himself because he could not get the black bears. Now he began fasting.
After eight nights had passed he became weak. In the ninth night his
son lay by him, and some time before daylight he pushed against his
father with his feet. Then his father did not move, and he looked at
his father. He was already dead. He saw foam piled up in front of his
mouth.
Now, although his father was dead, he went to see his father’s
deadfalls. There was one in the first deadfall he looked into. Then he
pulled the bear out of the deadfall. He laid it face up to skin it.
Now, when he took his knife the bear’s body began to sing through him:
Chief, [144] chief [that I am], be careful how you pull your
grandfather around.
Be careful how you pull around your grandfather as you sit beside
him.
I am too much of a boy for you (i.e., too old). Chief, chief [that
I am].
After he had skinned it he looked at one (a deadfall) farther inland.
One also lay in that. He pulled it out to skin it. Now he took his
knife. [It then sang through him]:
Chief, chief [that I am], I am already far away.
At the cliff, coming from my passage through the mountains, [145] I
hold up my head grandly.
Chief, chief [that I am], I am already far away from it.
From my blue mountain I am now far away.
On the island I travel, led about proudly. From it I am far away.
Chief, chief [that I am].
He started for one still farther inland. One was also in that. He
pulled it out. When he laid his hand on his knife to skin it, that one
also sang through him:
Chief, chief [that I am], they say [that I have] green mountains.
They say that I went into the creek I own which stretches its
length afar. [146] Chief, chief [that I am].
His younger brother having disappeared, Marten traveled around this
island rapidly. [147] He then heard people singing [these songs]. And
he sent word back quickly. He said: “The human beings have already
finished singing.” He immediately turned his marten-skin upside down
and held his beating stick to dance for his younger brother. And they
now made the words of the songs we are singing. Then he acted as if he
were choked. They then said: “Go and get the chief.” And they held him
up. Marten was Black-bear’s elder brother.
One fall both had been gathering salmon, and he said to Black-bear:
“Younger brother, stand in the creek downstream. I will stand above in
the creek. I will float down to you the bodies of those I kill.”
They did it at once, and his younger brother, Black-bear, went into the
creek below and stood there. Now, as soon as Marten got into the creek
above he floated one down, and his younger brother below threw it out.
He was at some distance from where they lived. After he had been gone
for some time he came in to his wife and children, and as he caressed
his children he said: “Fresh salmon, my daughter, fresh salmon.” Now,
she went out to get them and saw nothing. Then she came in and said to
her father: “Father, I saw nothing there.” And he said to his daughter:
“They lie just outside, my daughter.” Now, she again went out. Again
she could not find them. “Father, only gills [with entrails attached]
lie outside.” “Those are the things, my daughter.” She then brought
them in and roasted them. And he went opposite to where they were being
cooked and said: “[Give me] the milt of a salmon.” [148].
He (the hunter) then went up to one farther inland. When he came in
sight of it one also lay in that. He pulled it out. Now, when he took
his knife they also sang through him:
Chief, chief [that I am],
When the sun rises I start traveling about.
[Now] I am lying under the deadfall. Chief, chief [that I am].
When he had gone farther back he came to still another in a deadfall.
He also pulled that out. When he took out his knife that also sang
through him:
Chief, chief [that I am], my power is all taken away,
My power is all taken away.
Chief, chief [that I am], my power is all taken away,
My power is all taken away. Chief, chief [that I am].
After he had sung this song through he went still farther up. One lay
in that also. He pulled it out. When he began to skin it it began to
sing as before:
Chief, chief, whither did my great brother [149] wander proudly?
My mind shakes as I go about. Chief, chief.
When he went up from that place he came to where another was caught. He
pulled it out. This was the seventh. When he again took his knife it
began singing as before:
Chief, chief, tell me where he fell. [150] I do not know the place.
Chief, chief, chief.
That day he took out ten black bears. But his father died of thirst.
Ten black bears were taken in the deadfalls, and each of these sang a
song through the mouth of the human being. My informant, however, knew
only seven of these.
A STORY TOLD TO ACCOMPANY BEAR SONGS
Nᴀñ ī′łiña hao sqā′badax̣idag̣ᴀn. L’ gī′tg̣a ī′łiña lᴀ gi ʟ̣′dadjag̣ᴀn.
Uiê′dhao l’ daotꜝagā′ñgas kꜝiäł lā′g̣a sqā′baga-i lā′g̣a ʟguxᴀ′n⁺ga
î′sdagᴀñas. Giê′nhao uiê′dhao l’ stꜝexag̣ia′lag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao qꜝenᴀ′ñ hao
l’ stꜝē′xag̣ia′lag̣ᴀn tana′-i g̣adō′ lᴀ g̣etsgia′si g̣aga′n ᴀ. Uiê′dhao
agᴀ′ñ la g̣e′idax̣idag̣ᴀn.
Lᴀ gi g̣ā′la-i stā′nsîñxag̣ea′lga-i ʟ̣ū l’ qada′og̣ā′xag̣ia′lag̣ᴀn. G̣ā′la-i
ʟaałî′ñgīsg̣oa′nsîñgao g̣ala′-i′g̣a l’ gī′tg̣a la at tā′-idaiyag̣ᴀn, giên
sî′ñgaʟ̣an stᴀ g̣adjī′iñag̣ela-i ʟ̣ū g̣ō′ñg̣añ lᴀ ʟg̣adā′ñag̣ᴀn. Giên gᴀm l’
g̣ō′ñg̣a hiłdᴀg̣ᴀ′ns giên xᴀ′ñgustᴀ ū lᴀ qea′ñagᴀn. L’ g̣ō′ñg̣a ʟʟ̣ū′xᴀn
kꜝotwā′las. Xēłᴀg̣e′istᴀ sqol qꜝa′-idjuʟꜝxadies lᴀ qea′ñag̣ᴀn.
Uiê′dhao g̣ō′ñg̣añ kꜝotulā′gas skꜝiä′xᴀn g̣ō′ñg̣añg̣a sqabaga′-i lᴀ
qîñgai′yag̣ᴀni. Uiê′dhao sqā′ba lᴀ qênʟā′gañas g̣a xᴀn nᴀñ g̣a
qꜝā′dag̣adai′yag̣ᴀn. Uiê′dhao sqā′baga-i g̣e′istᴀ tā′na-i lᴀ
dᴀñʟ̣stai′yag̣ani. Uiê′dhao l’ ʟꜝstaga′-i g̣ᴀn xᴀ′ñagi lᴀ la dag̣ag̣ā′wag̣ᴀn.
Uiê′dhao sqawa′-i la g̣ᴀn lᴀ qagī′ga-i ʟ̣ū tā′na-i kꜝō′da la g̣ei
sg̣alᴀ′ñʟꜝxax̣idaiyag̣ᴀn.
𝄆 𝄆 “O′ho hâ hâlī′x̣ia′â 𝄇 gū′stᴀlasxa′n ła tcī′nañ
Chief (in bear language) be careful your grandfather
dᴀñʟ̣g̣ō′skinᴀñ.
[you] pull around.
“Gū′stᴀlasxa′n ła tcī′nᴀñ
Be careful your grandfather
g̣eiʟ̣g̣ō′sginᴀñ,
[you] pull him around sitting beside him.
“Dᴀñ g̣a dĪ g̣axā′ g̣e′ida, 𝄇 𝄆 o hâlī′īx̣iēâ 𝄇 𝄆 â hâlī′x̣ias 𝄇
You for I am too much of a boy chief chief
[Â hâlī′x̣ias was sometimes replaced by Suwayē′.]
Uiê′dhao lᴀ la ʟstagī′ga-i ʟ̣ū didᴀx̣ū′stᴀ lana′ î′sîñ lᴀ
qea′ñgag̣ealag̣ᴀn. Lᴀ g̣a î′sîñ nᴀñ ʟ̣′g̣odi la ê′sîñ ʟꜝstaga′-i g̣ᴀn lᴀ
dᴀñʟ̣stai′yag̣ᴀn. Uiê′dhao sqawa′-i la g̣ᴀn lᴀ g̣agī′gag̣ᴀn.
𝄆 “Â hâlī′x̣ias sâ′hâhaiyē, 𝄇 𝄆 hâ stᴀ dī gai′xââgīwañ 𝄇
Chief from I am already far away
ʟdag̣a′oxē′lagᴀñ stᴀ stᴀls gu ł
My passage through the mountains from cliff at I
ᴀ′ndjudala-i 𝄆 â hâlī′x̣ias 𝄇
hold up my head greatly chief
A′hao stᴀ dī qꜝaixā′gĪwañ ʟdag̣a′o g̣ō′łg̣ałg̣ᴀ′ñ stᴀ
Now from I am far away my mountain blue from
A′hao stᴀ dī qꜝaixagī′wañ gwa-is gut ł ᴀ′ndjudala-i 𝄆 hâ
Now from I am far away island upon I travel about proudly
stᴀ dī qꜝaixā′giwañ 𝄇 𝄆 hâlī′x̣ias. 𝄇
from I am far away chief.
Hao î′sîñ dī′dᴀ nᴀñ īdja′s g̣a lᴀ qā′x̣iagîł. La g̣a î′sîñ nᴀñ ga
qꜝadag̣ā′di. La î′sîñ wa g̣e′istᴀ lᴀ dᴀñʟ̣′stᴀʟꜝxa. La î′sîñ ʟꜝstaga′-i
g̣ᴀn sqawa′-i lᴀ qagī′ga-i ʟ̣ū la î′sîñ la g̣ei sg̣alᴀ′nʟꜝxa.
𝄆 Halīx̣iâ′â hâ â hâlix̣iē′ 𝄇 ʟdag̣a′o-g̣ᴀñ g̣ołg̣a′lañ su g̣ᴀnʟ̣g̣ā′ñ
Chief chief my mountain green they say my creek
hao x̣iê′nłg̣ᴀłdalan sū g̣a ᴀ′ñg̣a ł ʟ̣′gisʟi
flowing along in a long stream they say in mine I went
halix̣iâ′â hâlisū′yē.
chief.
(L’ daog̣ᴀ′ng̣a gaosg̣oa′nᴀñᴀs giê′nhao asi gwai′ya-i g̣ada′oxa
Kꜝux̣ugina′gîts g̣a′-idᴀñᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga. Giê′nhao ʟgu ʟga-i g̣a xᴀn ʟꜝ
xā′-idᴀg̣a ga sū′diesi lᴀ gudᴀ′ñᴀsi. Giê′nhao siłgia′n l’ kî′ndgāñañ
wᴀnsū′ga. Giên hᴀn l’ sī′wus “Xa′-iʟ̣a xā′-idᴀg̣a-i ʟꜝa sī′gaiya-i
g̣eiłgīdai′yagᴀn.” Gañā′xᴀnhao kꜝux̣ua′-i sa′ʼgui ᴀ′ñg̣a lᴀ
kꜝig̣ā′g̣eiłdasi giên tꜝa′skꜝia-i lᴀ sqꜝagī′gᴀñ wᴀnsū′gᴀñ da′og̣ᴀnᴀñ gi
sī′gia g̣ᴀn ᴀ. Giên uiêd sg̣alᴀ′ñ ga tꜝalᴀ′ñ sū′ugᴀñ ʟꜝ gia′ʼgoyîñas.
Giê′nhao l’ x̣ā′łdax̣idᴀñᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên hᴀn lᴀ ʟꜝ sū′dag̣ᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga,
“I′ʟꜝga-i ła dao.” Giên g̣ei lᴀ ʟꜝ sqatgiā′⁺xᴀ′ñgwañ.
Kꜝū′x̣u hao tān g̣ᴀn kꜝwai′yᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga. Tꜝā′nutgāgas giê′nhao stî′ñxᴀn
tcī′na gī la hᴀ′lxag̣ogᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga. Giên hᴀn tān lᴀ sū′dagᴀñᴀñ wᴀnsū′ga
“Dō′na-i tꜝā′x̣ua ła g̣ᴀnʟ̣a′-i g̣a gia′gᴀñᴀñ. Ła ê′sîñ sia′ g̣ᴀnʟ̣a′-i g̣a
gia′gᴀñasi. Tcī′na-i ła ʟꜝda′ hao dᴀñ g̣a kꜝō′da łᴀ
dā′łx̣unᴀñtꜝałda′asañ.”
Gañā′xᴀn lᴀ g̣etg̣oa′si giên tān daog̣anā′gas g̣ᴀnʟ̣a′-i g̣a xē′da ʟ̣′łagi
giên gu lᴀ giagᴀ′ñgiᴀgᴀñ. Kꜝux̣ua′-i ê′sîñ sa hitꜝᴀg̣ᴀ′n g̣ᴀnʟ̣a′-i g̣ei lᴀ
ʟ̣łagia′ atxᴀ′n l’ dā′lʟ̣łas giên l’ daog̣ᴀ′ng̣a tꜝā′x̣ua l’ kꜝatagî′lgᴀñas.
Naxā′ñg̣oas stᴀ hao lᴀ īdjā′ñañ wᴀnsū′ga. L’ gaodjī′iñagas stᴀ djā′g̣ᴀñ
at gitg̣alᴀ′ñ gu lᴀ qatcꜝa′s giên gitg̣alᴀ′ñ g̣a lᴀ kꜝū′g̣adies gu la
sū′dagañag̣ᴀn: “G̣a′oʟ̣łîñ djat łqên, g̣a′oʟ̣łîñ.” Uiê′dhao lᴀ la daogoa′ʼga
giên gᴀm gī′na gut qꜝałgā′gᴀñas. Giên l’ qatcꜝa′s giên xadᴀ′ñ gi lᴀ
suuda′si: “Hā′da-i, gᴀm gī′na gut qꜝałg̣ᴀ′ñga.” Giên hᴀn la ê′sîñ
gī′tg̣ᴀñ sū′udas “Kia axᴀ′nhao xā′g̣odigᴀni, djat łqên.” Uiê′dhao î′sîñ
g̣a lᴀ qā′x̣uł. Î′sîñ gī lᴀ qî′nskiasi. “Hā′da-i, djixu′l sg̣u′nhao kiä
xā′g̣odiga.” “Hao ī′djîn, djat łqên.” Giên la xā′sʟtcꜝasi giên
kīdjia′osi. Giên wa′g̣alᴀña-i xᴀ′nłgui lᴀ g̣ā′dᴀsi giên hᴀn l’ sī′wus
“Ga-i g̣e′istᴀ qꜝadjā′wa-i djat łqên.”)
Giên didᴀx̣ū′stᴀ lā′na g̣a ê′sîñ lᴀ qa′-îł. La g̣ᴀn lᴀ g̣atqea′sgida-i ʟ̣ū
lᴀ g̣a î′sîñ nᴀñ ʟ̣′g̣odi. La ê′sîñ lᴀ dᴀñʟ̣′stᴀ uiêd la g̣ᴀn î′sîñ sqā′wa-i
lᴀ g̣agī′ga-i ʟ̣ū la g̣ei î′sîñ lᴀ sg̣alᴀ′nʟꜝxa.
𝄆 “Ha la ye he ha la hala′ñ ha lâ yâ hâ lâ hâ li ha 𝄆 hâlī′x̣iesi 𝄇 |
chief,
hali 𝄆 x̣ie′sahalañ 𝄇 𝄇 Ha ha djigwi′s hao qag̣a′-i stᴀ ga hagū′thao
chief sun rises then about
ł qa′sgut gīgiê′nhūs xē′txa dī ʟ̣g̣a′ogwañ. Halâ′yi hē yē 𝄆
start I traveling dead falls under I am lying about.
hâlī′x̣ias. 𝄇
chief.
Ga′-istᴀ didᴀx̣ui′ lᴀ qa-ila′-i gu î′sîñ nᴀñ ga qā′dagadi. La ê′sîñ lᴀ
dᴀñʟ̣′stᴀ. La g̣ᴀn sqawa′-i lᴀ g̣agī′ga-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ la g̣ei lᴀ sg̣alᴀ′nʟꜝxa.
𝄆 𝄆 “Ha ē⁺līx̣ia 𝄇 hēlē 𝄇 𝄆 dī gut gī′łdjiwa-i
Chief. (repeated four times) my bravery, strength, etc.,
ga qî′nx̣it-hatꜝᴀ′lgañ. 𝄇 𝄆 ha ē⁺līx̣ia 𝄇
is all taken away. chief. (repeated five times)
𝄆 Dī gut gī′łdjiwa-i ga qînx̣it-hatꜝᴀ′lgañ 𝄇 hâlīx̣iâsâwa-i⁺ 𝄇
My power is all taken away. chief,
hâlī′x̣ias. 𝄇
chief.
A′nis sg̣ā′lᴀña-i ga lᴀ sugī′ga-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ didᴀx̣ui′ lᴀ qa′-îł. Lᴀ g̣a
î′sîñ nᴀñ ʟ̣′g̣odi. La ê′sîñ lᴀ dᴀñʟ̣′stᴀ. Lᴀ la ʟ̣′stᴀx̣idia′-i ʟ̣ū
ałgwᴀ′nxᴀn l’ sg̣alᴀ′ñx̣idi.
𝄆 “Hâlīx̣iâ hâ hâ hâ hâ 𝄇 gīdjā′x̣ui gī′hao dī dā′ga qō′naiya-i
Chief, which way my brother great
qaᴀ′ndju⁺dal hē lē.
proudly travels about
Dī qꜝā′ñᴀłg̣a g̣a hî′ldᴀñda′lgᴀñ. 𝄆
My mind in while I go around is shaking.
Hâlīx̣iâ hâ hâ hâ hâ 𝄇 𝄆 Hâlī′xias. 𝄇
Chief. (repeated three times) Chief. (recited)
Ga′-istᴀ ê′sîñ dī′tgi lᴀ qa-ila′-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ tān xᴀn ga qꜝadaga′dies.
Giên lᴀ la dᴀ′ñʟ̣stas. Lᴀ dᴀ′ñat djī′guaga-g̣eił. Î′sîñ la g̣ᴀn sqawa′-i
lᴀ g̣agī′ga-i ʟ̣ū ałgwᴀ′nxᴀn l’ sg̣alᴀ′nx̣idi.
𝄆 “Halīx̣iâsē ē 𝄇 gīdjax̣ui′gī⁺ kugwaiya
Chief, (repeated six or seven times) which way (where) [did he]
fall
da′og̣o si′la-i ga′odiañ â 𝄆
for the place absent from (or is wanting)
Halīx̣iâsē ē 𝄇 𝄆
Chief. (repeated four times, voice falling at the end)
Hâlīx̣ias. 𝄇
Chief. (recited)
Tā′na-i ʟa′ałao wᴀ g̣e′igi lᴀ iʟꜝxai′yag̣ᴀn. L’ g̣ō′ñg̣a ʟꜝᴀ
qadao′kꜝotwā′lag̣ᴀn.
Hao ʟ g̣e′idᴀñ.
FIGHT AT THE TOWN OF DA′X̣UA
[Told by Moses McKay, sole survivor of the Seaward-Sqoā′ładas]
From Da′x̣ua Ya′ʼgît sent to Masset inlet for a canoe. He belonged to
the Seaward-Sqoā′ładas. [151] He was town chief at Da′x̣ua. After some
time had passed they brought the canoe to him. Then, although Ya′ʼgît
owned it, while it was being brought Sg̣agᴀ′ño [152] bought the canoe,
his (Ya′ʼgît’s) head slave being then away fishing. [153] His (the
slave’s) name was Yū′lᴀñ.
He now came in from fishing. Then they said to him: “Yū′lᴀñ, Sg̣agᴀ′ño
has bought the canoe.” He at once became angry because they had taken
away the canoe from his master. Then he chewed native tobacco. After
that he tried to mix calcined shells with it, but he was so angry he
shoved it outside [of his mouth] against his cheek. [154]
And at night he went to the place where the canoe lay. He then said:
“Are you awake in the canoe?” And the one in the bow and the one in the
stern replied. “We are,” they said to him. And he further said to them:
“It is well that you are. They say that Yū′lañ says that he is going to
break up this canoe.”
And after he had waited some time longer, and it was midnight, he went
there again. And he spoke as before. And again they answered him. He
again went away.
And just before dawn, at the hour when it is always dark, he went
thither once more. He again asked: “Are you awake?” And they did not
answer him. He then struck upon the bow with his stone ax, and one who
was with him struck upon the stern. They split the canoe into pieces.
They then went away to the house.
When daylight came and people knew that he had smashed the canoe they
all moved at once. They put on their armor to fight one another. After
they had put on their gorgets, helmets, and hide coats they went out to
fight one another with spears and bows.
Now, after they had fought for a while, they shot Yū′lᴀñ in one eye and
put it out. He went to the house. And after he had sat in the house for
a while news came to him: “Yū′lᴀñ, we are being worsted.” At once he
again went out to fight. And after he had begun to drive them back they
put out his other eye.
He then crept to the house. While he was creeping along he fell into a
deep hole into which they used to defecate. Then he was creeping into
[the house] all covered with ordure. And his master’s wife said to him:
“Yū′lᴀñ, you never used to ask how an affair was started. [155] Look at
yourself.” “Well, noble woman, it is not so bad as if I sat below by
the creek.” [156]
Yū′lᴀñ could then do nothing. And his friends G̣a′nqꜝatxa and Sa′diya
passed. They alone fought. But still the Seaward-sqoā′ładas won the
day. [157]
Then Sg̣agᴀ′ño and his family fled to the woods. They were not then
called Pebble-town people. Sg̣agᴀ′ño’s family came to Pebble-town and
bought it. And the Sea-otter people [158] sold the town. Then they had
a town there.
The interest of this story lies in the fact that it tells of the first
civil disturbance among the people of Skidegate inlet, which ultimately
led a part of them to move to the west coast. This version was obtained
from the last survivor of the Seaward-Sqoā′ładas. Another, differing in
some particulars, was obtained in English from Wī′nats, chief of the
Seaward Gîtî′ns, also an inlet family, and may be found in Publications
of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, volume V, part I, page 80. The
town of Da′x̣ua stood just north of Lawn hill, at the entrance of
Skidegate inlet.
FIGHT AT THE TOWN OF DA′X̣UA
Da′x̣ua lnaga′-i g̣e′istᴀ hao Ya′ʼgît G̣ao g̣a ʟ̣ū da′ʼg̣ag̣ᴀ′n gi
kiñgugā′ñag̣ᴀn. Djax̣ui′ sqoā′ładagag̣ᴀn. La′hao Da′x̣ua lnaga′-i gu
lā′na-aog̣agā′g̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao ga′-istᴀ g̣a′g̣et qa′odihao ʟua′-i lᴀ gi ʟꜝ
qꜝā′-isʟʟꜝxatcꜝai′yag̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao ha′oxᴀn Ya′ʼgît l’ daʼg̣a′-i wa g̣a
qā′gᴀndixᴀn Sg̣agᴀ′ño ʟuwa′-i daʼg̣ā′g̣ani hā′lgui sū′g̣a lā′g̣a nᴀñ
ku′ndjaowaga′g̣ani xaoya′nag̣ani sila′-ig̣a ᴀ. Yū′lᴀñ hᴀ′nhao l’
kig̣ai′ag̣ᴀn.
Uiê′dhao l’ xaoî′ntcꜝawag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao hᴀn lᴀ gi ʟꜝ sā′wag̣ᴀn “Yū′lᴀñ,
Sg̣agᴀ′ño ʟuwa′-i da’′gani.” Gañā′xᴀnhao l’ stꜝexag̣ia′lag̣ani l’ qꜝo′lg̣ᴀ
stᴀ ʟuwa′-i ʟꜝ da-isda′si g̣aga′n ᴀ. Giê′nhao xā′-ida gu′lg̣a la
xagadjai′yag̣ᴀn. Wᴀ ʟ̣g̣a gwa′ga-i lᴀ sʟtcꜝā′-i kia′ʼgustᴀ ʟꜝa tcꜝidᴀ′ñ lᴀ
sʟꜝî′ñałañdigoañag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao sî′ñx̣ias giên gia′gu ʟuwa′-i gīg̣odia′si g̣a lᴀ qā′-idag̣ani.
Giê′nhao hᴀn l’ sā′wag̣ᴀn: “Dalᴀ′ñ gua ʟuwa′-i gū′g̣a skiä′na-igiñ.” Giên
sqꜝeū′x̣ua lᴀ gi nᴀñ ā′⁺ñas giên tꜝā′ng̣a î′sîñ gañā′ñ. “Tꜝalᴀ′ñ g̣e′idᴀñ”
hᴀn hao lᴀ gi ʟꜝ sā′wag̣ᴀn. Giên “Dalᴀ′ñ g̣e′idag̣a-i lā′ga. Yū′lañ
ʟuwa′-i g̣ei dalᴀ′ñg̣a qꜝatnanᴀ′ñsîñᴀ′ñ ʟꜝ sū′gᴀñ,” hᴀn hao la xᴀn
sā′wag̣ᴀn.
Giên ga′-istᴀ lᴀ gū′tg̣a qa′odi g̣al-ya′ku la g̣ela′-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ g̣a lᴀ
qā′-idag̣ani. Giên ku′ng̣ada l’ sā′wag̣ᴀn gañā′ñ î′sîñ l’ sā′wag̣ᴀn. Giên
î′sîñ lᴀ gi ʟꜝ kîłg̣adā′g̣ᴀn. Giên î′sîñ stᴀ lᴀ qā′-idag̣ani.
Giê′nhao ga′-istᴀ sî′ñg̣aʟ̣an kꜝiū′stᴀ g̣alg̣agî′lgᴀñᴀs ʟ̣ū′hao î′sîñ g̣a lᴀ
qa-idā′g̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao î′sîñ l’ kiäna′ñag̣ᴀn: “Dalᴀ′ñ gua skiä′nadia?”
Giê′nhao gᴀm xᴀ′ñgiañ lᴀ gi ʟꜝ sug̣ā′ñag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao sqꜝe′ux̣ua
łg̣ā-ʟꜝua′-i lᴀ skîtkꜝū′dju giên lᴀ gi nᴀñ ʟ̣dadjā′g̣ᴀn î′sîñ tꜝā′ñg̣a nᴀñ
skîtgudjā′wag̣ᴀn. ʟua′-i lᴀ skîtskꜝā′mᴀłg̣o. Giê′nhao na gi stᴀ lᴀ
gᴀ′ndax̣îtg̣āwag̣ᴀn.
Uiê′dhao siñg̣aʟ̣ana′-i ʟ̣ū ʟuwa′-i g̣ei lᴀ skitłaga′-i g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ
u′nsᴀtdala′-i ʟ̣ū tꜝa′łg̣awai′yag̣ᴀn. Gañaxᴀ′nhao gutxᴀ′nłag̣a gut g̣ᴀn ʟꜝ
gia′-îłaiyag̣ᴀn. Qꜝōg̣ā′gīga-i sqē′łdadjiña-i kꜝî′tg̣agīga-i g̣eiłgīga′-i
ʟ̣ū′hao tca′aʟ at łg̣ēt at gut ʟꜝ daowa′ʼgag̣ᴀn.
Uiê′dhao gut ʟꜝ î′sdadi qa′⁺odihao Yū′lañ xᴀ′ñē sg̣oa′na ʟꜝ
tcꜝidā′lag̣ᴀn. Uiê′dhao na gi l’ qā′-idag̣ᴀn. Giên na l’ qꜝao-u qa′odi
î′sîñ lᴀ gi ʟꜝ kindatcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn: “Yū′lañ, ʟꜝᴀ ʟꜝ
qatꜝa′g̣o-gutg̣a′ndax̣idig̣a.” Gañaxᴀ′nhao î′sîñ l’ da′ox̣idag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao
lᴀ x̣îtstatax̣îtx̣idaiya′-i ʟ̣ū l’ xᴀ′ñē sg̣oa′na î′sîñ lā′g̣a ʟꜝ
tcꜝidā′lag̣ᴀn.
Giê′nhao na gi agᴀ′ñ l’ ʟx̣uqā′-idag̣ᴀn. L’ qagīg̣ᴀñᴀ′ndixᴀn
qoa′nłg̣agiᴀ′ñ g̣ei l’ ʟ̣g̣oetcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn. Giên l’ na′g̣a-ʟ̣djus dᴀ′ñat agᴀ′ñ
lᴀ ʟx̣uqatcꜝai′yag̣ᴀn. Ḷū′hao l’ qꜝo′lg̣a djā′g̣a l’ sū′daiyag̣ᴀn: “Yū′lañ,
gᴀm gī′na g̣ēt ku′nłg̣ala-i gī dā kiä′nᴀñg̣ᴀ′ñgᴀñgîn. Gu dā qîñ.” “A
î′ldjao, gī′na dā′g̣ᴀña tꜝa′g̣a qꜝa′o-uwa-i gañā′ñ ʟguag̣ē da′ogus.”
Giê′nhao gᴀm ʟgu g̣e′itłiña-i Yū′lañ g̣ᴀn qea′ñg̣agag̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao l’
djī′gîn G̣ā′nqꜝatxa qā wai′giên Sadiyā′ ê′sîñ. Ga-i sg̣u′nxᴀnhao g̣agā′lañ
îsdadai′yag̣ᴀni. Skiä′xᴀnhao Djax̣ui′-sqoa′ładaga-i gui ga-i g̣e′igî
qayä′lag̣ani.
Giê′nhao Sg̣ag̣ᴀ′ño gwai′giagᴀñᴀñ dᴀ′ñat gᴀ′nstaiyag̣ᴀn. Gᴀm xᴀn wa′ʟ̣u
Łg̣ā′xet-gu-lā′nas hᴀn ʟꜝ kig̣adagā′ñag̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao Łg̣ā′xet lnaga′-i gi
Sg̣ag̣ᴀ′ñogaña wa′daxaʟꜝxaiyāg̣ᴀn. Giê′nhao Qogā′ñas lnaga′-i at
giê′tagā′g̣ᴀni. Giê′nhao gu lᴀ lanadag̣eiłg̣ā′wag̣ᴀn.
WAR BETWEEN THE WEST COAST HAIDA AND THE TLINGIT
[Told by Richard of the Middle-Gîtî′ns]
The Tlingit destroyed Those-born-at-Stasaos [159] in Skidegate channel.
For that reason ten canoes went to war from Gū′dᴀl, [160] and three
canoes of us came apart from the rest [when we were] among the Tlingit.
Then they (the others) plundered. They destroyed a fort. On that
account they had many slaves.
Then we landed on a fine beach, not knowing where the Tlingit lived,
and we started a fire. We acted as if we were visitors. And after we
had had a big fire there for some time seven Tlingit came to us in a
canoe. They asked us: “What warriors are these?” Then Skᴀ′ngwai’s
father said: “We are not warriors. We come to buy food of you.” And
they said: “No; you are warriors.” Then we denied it. We told them to
come near shore, and they entered the mouth of the inlet.
And after he (one of them) had talked for a while, he said: “Get [into]
the canoe. I do not understand their pronunciation.” [161] As soon as
they got [into] the canoe they went off in fright. Then we pursued.
[The other canoes] shot at them, one from each side, and we were
behind. And after we had shot for a while we upset them near an island.
One whom we had shot lay there, having fallen out into the water. Then
Xᴀ′ñxogutg̣as [162] and his brothers started to get out to fight, and I
stopped them.
After that we went away and started across [to the Queen Charlotte
islands]. The wind blew strong from the north. In the middle of the
night a great wind arose. The canoe was split. I nailed the parts
together with some staples I had. We also tied ropes round the canoe.
Some of us cried from fright. We thought the other canoes had capsized.
This was the first time I experienced a strong wind since I was grown.
At daybreak we were in front of Paint mountain. [163] And after we had
sailed from there for a while I shouted: “He he he he he; chiefs’
nephews whom I have for sons-in-law, do not let your minds be downcast.
We go out to have a warm time. Make your minds strong.” Then they
stopped weeping.
Some time after that our canoe came to Gwi′gwᴀñ-bay, [164] and there
was one canoe there. There we spent the night. When we left next day
another sail came in sight from Skidegate. Then we saw each other. And
we were glad to see each other. And when we came to Gū′dᴀl the [other]
warriors had taken thirty-eight slaves. We were ashamed. Then it was
reported that a woman said of us: “What open place do they keep going
out for, I wonder?” [165] We immediately prepared for war.
The people went then to the camps from Gū′dᴀl. And after they had
fished for some time the fish were dried. Then we went to war in four
canoes. We started across from North island. [166] We went against the
Klawak [167] people.
We pulled up our canoes at the mouth of the inlet. The next day we
again went up the inlet. We went, went, went for a while and landed
where there was a strong tidal current. In one [stream] there were
plenty of dog salmon. After we had been there a while [we saw] some
broad sails coming from above. And it (the canoe) landed below the
place where we had pulled up our canoes.
He (the owner) had his wife and two slaves. Then he got off and put on
his cartridge box. And he passed up near the place where we were
watching. After he had gone a slave killed dog salmon in the creek with
stones. During all that time they talked Tlingit to one another. And
they started a fire at the foot of a tree which stood near them.
By and by, when evening came, he came down. From afar he spoke Tlingit
to them. Three persons presently came along behind him. When two
reports were heard the people ran down. The slaves already had their
hands in it (the canoe). The gun box was untouched. There were five
[guns] in it. Since he had come there he had lain down on his back and
spoken in the Tlingit language. The roasted salmon was still stuck in
the ground. [168]
Then they shot him from in front. And then he exclaimed: “What people
have done this to me? Save me.” [169] Then he (the assailant) shot him
again with a pistol. A male slave, however, escaped into the woods. And
when they ran down to his canoe there were cuts of whale in it. By that
time they were speaking Kaigani [170] together. I then said to them:
“Why did you, who are Haida, talk Tlingit? We would not have touched
you.” Then she (his wife) said: “We did not think anything like this
would happen.”
And when they got ready to start she said: “Those who came with us have
a fire on the other side. They are Klawak people.” In the night we went
over to them. And we landed near. We ran toward them. The fire there
was large. And after we had gone toward it for a while we peeped over a
log. They lay asleep around the fire.
Just before daybreak we ran upon them. Then we seized a man to enslave
him. He resisted more fiercely than was expected. Then I shot him. He
fell. Afterward he rose. When he ran they shot him again. After that he
ran into the woods. We took all the property of the men. We took six
slaves. Many, too, we killed.
Then we got into our canoes. We prepared to go. And we arrived over
against Gᴀsqo. [171] In the night a south wind came suddenly upon us,
accompanied by rain. And after we had thrown over some of the property
we went back. [By and by] we sailed over [to Gᴀsqo]. There was no place
to land. But after we had gone on for a while we found a landing place.
Much rain fell.
After we had been there for a while a slave stood up in the canoe. He
called for his uncle’s supernatural helper. He did so because the rain
chilled him. By and by the rain stopped and a north wind set in.
At once we started across [Dixon entrance]. We reached the islands the
same day. The day after we sang war songs there. After we had remained
there for a while we came to Tcꜝā′ał. [172]
Here is the end of this.
WAR BETWEEN THE WEST COAST HAIDA AND THE TLINGIT
Sta′saos qē′g̣awa-i hao Łî′nagîts kꜝē′djîs g̣a ha-ilū′dasg̣aiyagᴀn. Ga-i
tꜝa′guhao Gudᴀ′l stᴀ ʟū g̣aʟa′ał gu ʟꜝ qa′-idaogᴀn. Giê′nhao Łî′nagîts
sū′g̣a ʟꜝᴀ′stᴀ iʟꜝ g̣ałg̣u′nuł g̣atxadī′djîñ. Giê′nhao ga-i taskidā′ñagᴀni.
Tꜝa′odjî hao ʟꜝ qꜝai′yuwaidaiyagᴀn. Wa′athao tā′gidjîgida-i qoa′ngᴀni.
Giên ga tā′djia lā gu Łî′nagîts gᴀm ʟgu naxᴀña′-i g̣ᴀn iʟꜝ u′nsᴀtg̣ᴀñgᴀn
giên tꜝalᴀ′ñ tcꜝā′nug̣adagᴀn. Agᴀ′ñ tꜝalᴀ′ñ qaʟū′īdjiña′g̣eiłdigᴀn.
Giê′nhao gu gîndja′oga-i î′sdi qa′odihao ʟꜝa g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ ga Łî′nagîda
tcꜝadjī′guag̣aga g̣a ʟuqā′ʟꜝxagᴀn. Giê′nhao hᴀn iʟꜝ at kiänᴀ′ñgᴀn:
“Gī′ʟ̣g̣ᴀn qa-idawa′-i hao ē′djîn.” Giê′nhao Skᴀ′ngwai g̣ō′ñg̣a hᴀn sū′gᴀñ:
“Gᴀm tꜝalᴀ′ñ qa′idaog̣ᴀñgᴀn. Gatā′hao dalᴀ′ñ gi tꜝalᴀ′ñ dā′xo-î′ngᴀn.”
Giên hᴀn sū′gᴀni “Ga′oano dalᴀ′ñ qa-idā′wagᴀn.” Giê′nhao gī ʟꜝ
qā′dagᴀne. Giên dia′nᴀñ ʟꜝ gā′yiñxᴀlgᴀni giên g̣ag̣aga′-i g̣ei
qā′x̣iatcꜝigᴀni.
Giên g̣a lᴀ kîłgu′ldi qa′odi hᴀn l’ sū′gᴀn: “ʟua′-i łᴀ da′og̣o.
Kî′łgulia-i ł kî′lsgudaiyagᴀni.” Gañā′xᴀnhao ʟua′-i ʟꜝ da′oga-i ʟ̣ū
ga′-itg̣oqa-idᴀni. Giê′nhao g̣ō′ʟ̣ag̣a ʟꜝ djîskī′dᴀni. Dagwu′lgî ga g̣astî′ñ
xā′dasi ā′xᴀn tcꜝînłg̣oa′ñgᴀni. Giên tꜝalᴀ′ñ î′sîñ g̣ō′tgi g̣atꜝē′djᴀni.
Giê′nhao ʟꜝ tcꜝî′nłg̣oañgîn qa′odi nᴀñ gwai′ya gu ʟꜝ
tcꜝîtgutꜝᴀ′łdagîlgᴀn. Gū′g̣a nᴀñ ʟꜝ tcꜝigā′gᴀni ʟua′-i gug̣e′istᴀ
g̣ā′yuwa-i g̣ei ʟ̣x̣ia′ñgāgîñgᴀn. Giê′nhao Xᴀ′ñxogutg̣as-gā′ña l’
da′otꜝᴀłx̣idigᴀn giên g̣a ł qꜝa-igidᴀ′lgᴀn.
Giê′nhao wᴀ stᴀ îsdax̣ī′dᴀni gañā′xᴀn ʟuda′ogᴀni. Qꜝa′ʼgustᴀ tā′dju
yuᴀ′ngᴀn. G̣āl ya′ku ʟꜝᴀ gi tadja′o g̣ā′tg̣oyuᴀ′ngᴀn. ʟua′-i g̣a
ʟgū′sʟgᴀni. Dī ga kꜝᴀtłg̣askiä′lu ī′djîn at łᴀ qā′tgogᴀni. Îsîñ ʟuᴀ′-i
ʟꜝ łg̣adjigū′sʟgᴀni. ʟꜝ īłī′ łg̣osg̣ā′-igagᴀñgîn. Djigî′n xā′txatgwañ
tꜝalᴀ′ñ gudᴀ′ñgᴀni. A′hao ʟnōt dī inā′sʟ g̣ᴀ′nstᴀ tadja′o ʟā′djîga ł
g̣ā′ndᴀñgᴀn.
G̣a-iʟ̣ū′hao sîñgaʟ̣ana′-i gu Mas-ʟdag̣a′os xē′tgu lᴀ gi sîñgaʟ̣a′nga.
Giê′nhao wᴀ stᴀ x̣uqa′-îłgîñ qa′odi qagᴀ′ndjūñ ła g̣atgadā′gᴀni: “He he
he he he ē′ʟꜝxagît nā′tg̣alᴀñ ł qō′nᴀldᴀgᴀn gᴀm xē′da gudᴀñā′ñ
g̣eidᴀg̣ᴀ′ñg̣o. Gī′hao tꜝalᴀ′ñ îsx̣iā′gᴀni a′hao ga kꜝī′na tꜝalᴀ′ñ
g̣ā′ndᴀñgîñga. Gudᴀñā′ña ʟā′djîgadᴀg̣o.” Ḷū′hao sg̣a′-iłia-i ʟan g̣î′lgᴀni.
Giên ga′istᴀ qā qa′odi Gwī′gwᴀñ-sʟꜝîñ gu ē′ʟꜝg̣a qaʟꜝxagî′lgᴀni giên
ʟua′-i ga sg̣oa′na ê′sîñ wᴀ gu īdjā′gᴀni. Gu ʟꜝ g̣ā′ldagᴀne. Dag̣ala′-ig̣a
stᴀ ʟꜝ qasā′g̣aga-i ʟ̣ū ga g̣asg̣oa′na î′sîñ Łg̣agî′lda stᴀ gīx̣iawa′-i
gī′sdagani. Giên gu ʟꜝ qî′ñgᴀn. Giên guta′t agᴀ′ñ ʟꜝ xᴀña′lgᴀn. Giên
Gudᴀ′l gu ʟꜝ î′sʟꜝxaga-i ʟ̣ū ʟꜝ qa′ido-î′ndjawagᴀn xᴀ′ldañ ʟa′ala-i
łg̣u′nuł wᴀ gi stā′nsᴀñxa ʟꜝ î′sdagialagᴀn. Iʟꜝ g̣e′idaxagᴀn. Ḷū′hao nᴀñ
djā′da hᴀn iʟꜝ sudā′ñ ʟꜝ sū′gᴀñ: “Gī′ʟg̣ᴀn gadjā′wasi gī′hao lᴀ
ga′-itax̣uñgwa′-ani.” Ḷū′hao g̣eidā′ñ xᴀn tꜝalᴀ′ñ qa′idox̣idigᴀn.
Giê′nhao Gudᴀ′l stᴀ ʟgᴀnła′ñ g̣ei ʟꜝ qasā′gīgᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣u ʟꜝ xao qa′odi
qꜝā′g̣asʟgᴀni. Giên ʟū g̣astᴀ′nsîñ gu ʟꜝ qa′-idogᴀn. Giê′nhao
Qꜝā-its-gwai′ya-i stᴀ tꜝalᴀ′ñ ʟuda′⁺ogᴀn. Łᴀwa′k xā′-idag̣a-i hao
tꜝalᴀ′ñ tā′ng̣agᴀn.
Ga′iʟ̣uhao g̣a′oga-i qꜝe-ū′g̣a ʟua′-i ʟꜝ ʟꜝstagî′lgᴀni. Dag̣ala′-ig̣a î′sîñ
ʟꜝ ʟu-î′sdax̣îtłgᴀn. Isdā′lgᴀni. Qa′odi nᴀñ djī′wa-i djē′gᴀs gu ʟuwa′-i
ʟꜝ ʟstagî′lgᴀni, nᴀñ g̣a sqā′gî qoa′na gu ᴀ. ʟ̣! g̣ētg̣ᴀ′ndi qa′⁺odi sa′stᴀ
ga gīx̣ia′wa-i gaostᴀtꜝᴀ′lgᴀn. Giê′nhao ga′gu ʟua′-i ʟꜝ ʟstagilā′digᴀni
gu ʟꜝ xē′tgu lᴀ g̣askī′dᴀn. L’ djā′g̣a îsî′s giên xᴀ′ldᴀña-i î′sîñ lā′g̣a
stî′ñgᴀni. L’ qatꜝᴀ′lgᴀn giên g̣eiga′ñ g̣ᴀlqa′-igiga-i lᴀ daqa′-iłgᴀni.
Giê′nhao ʟꜝ g̣ētg̣ᴀ′ndies ʟꜝa gut lᴀ qā′łgᴀn. Giê′nhao nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀñas l’
sila′-ig̣a sqā′gi gī g̣ᴀ′nʟa-i g̣ei lᴀ qꜝadjū′gᴀni. Kꜝiä′łhao Łî′nagît
kî′łg̣agî gutg̣ā′ lᴀ kîłgulg̣ō′gᴀn. Giên ʟꜝ qꜝō′łg̣a qa-it giagᴀ′ñgᴀn
qꜝo′lgî lᴀ tcꜝā′nog̣adag̣ogᴀn.
Qa′odi sîñx̣aiya′-i ʟ̣ū la qaʟꜝxā′sgag̣ᴀni. Wā′djx̣ui xᴀn g̣a lᴀ
djîłgita′ogadalgᴀni. Qa′odihao l’ dī′tg̣a ga łg̣u′nuł gᴀndax̣ī′dᴀn.
Djigwa′-i sqꜝastî′ñ wᴀ gu qꜝadō′gaga′-i ʟ̣ū g̣a ʟꜝ x̣a′ostagᴀni.
Tagī′djigida-i ʟgī′xᴀn wa g̣ei ʟꜝ qᴀngixā′ñgᴀni. Djī′gu g̣oda′-i wa g̣a
gᴀm gīdjigî′łdag̣agᴀn. Sqꜝaʟe′ił wa g̣a īdjā′gᴀni. L’ qā′ʟꜝxas gu lᴀ
ta-ig̣ā′gîtwas gu Łî′nagît kî′łg̣agî lᴀ kiłgulai′agᴀn. Ha′oxᴀn
wa′g̣alᴀña-i kîtsgîlagā′gᴀni.
Ḷū′hao l’ qᴀn g̣ei lᴀ ʟꜝ tcꜝigā′gᴀn. Ḷū⁺ ʟꜝa hᴀn l’ sā′wagᴀn: “Giʟg̣ᴀ′n
xa-idᴀg̣a′-i hao dī î′sdañ. Dī łᴀ qagᴀ′ndᴀ-kuxa′ogu.” Giê′nhao djī′gu
kꜝudja′o at î′sîñ lᴀ la tcꜝigā′gᴀn. Nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀña īłinagā′gᴀn ʟꜝa agᴀ′ñ
tꜝaqagᴀ′ngîlgᴀn. Giên ʟua′-i lā′g̣a ʟꜝ da′ox̣îtsg̣agᴀna-i kun lᴀ
qꜝeidā′gᴀn lā′g̣a gā′yiñgîñgᴀn. ʟʟ̣a la ê′sîñ gu′tg̣a Qꜝeits xā′-idᴀg̣a-i
kî′łg̣agî gu′tg̣a lᴀ kîłgu′lg̣ogᴀn. Ḷū′hao hᴀn lᴀ ł sudag̣ō′gᴀn: “Gasî′nʟao
dalᴀ′ñ Xā′-idᴀg̣as skꜝiä′xᴀn gu′tg̣a Łî′nagît kî′łg̣agî dalᴀ′ñ
kîłgulā′-udjañ. Gᴀm dalᴀ′ñ g̣a tꜝalᴀ′ñ ʟā′gaskig̣ā′ñaxᴀñga.” Ḷū′hao hᴀn
l’ sūgᴀn “Hᴀ′nʟgua gī′na g̣ā′-itgasañ tꜝalᴀ′ñ gudᴀñō′-udjî.”
Ḷū′hao ʟꜝ dag̣a-ilansʟia′-i ʟ̣ū hᴀn l’ sū′gᴀn: “Inax̣ua′hao iʟꜝ ta′ogᴀn ga
ē′djîn tcꜝā′nudig̣a. Łᴀwa′k xa-idᴀg̣a′-i hao ī′djî.” Giê′nhao g̣ā′lx̣ua
tꜝalᴀ′ñ tā′ng̣ax̣îttꜝē′djîni. Giê′nhao qꜝō′łg̣a tꜝalᴀ′ñ g̣agadā′ñgᴀnî. Giên
tꜝalᴀ′ñ da′ox̣idᴀnî. Tcꜝā′nuwa-i wᴀ gu yug̣odī′gᴀnî. Giên g̣a agᴀ′ñ
łkꜝî′nxet tꜝalᴀ′ñ gᴀndā′ldi qā′odi qꜝā′xo łgī′g̣odia tꜝᴀ′lgî gi tꜝalᴀ′ñ
gwasqā′ñgᴀnî. Tcꜝā′nuwa-i djî′nxa qꜝaxasʟg̣awā′gᴀnî.
Giê′nhao sîñg̣aʟ̣andala′-i ʟ̣ū tꜝalᴀ′ñ daoʟꜝxa′gᴀni. Ḷū′hao nᴀñ ī′łiña ʟꜝ
xᴀldā′ñg̣atda′gᴀnî. ʟꜝᴀ lᴀ qꜝaixagū′łdagᴀn. Giê′nhao lᴀ ł tcꜝī′gᴀn. L’
g̣atʟ̣skī′dᴀn. Ga′-istᴀ lᴀ gia′xaʟꜝxagᴀnî. L’ g̣adaga′-i ʟ̣ū î′sîñ lᴀ ʟꜝ
tcꜝī′gᴀn. Ga′-istᴀ l’ g̣atgî′lgᴀn. Iłî′ndjîda-i gī′nag̣a waʟ̣uxᴀ′nhao
tꜝalᴀ′ñ gī′⁺gᴀn. Ga ʟg̣u′nuł hao tꜝalᴀ′ñ tagī′djîgîda′dᴀgᴀn. Qoan ê′sîñ
ʟꜝ ʟꜝ′dagᴀnî.
Giê′nhao ʟꜝ qa′-idawa-qaʟ̣′gᴀn. Giê′nhao stᴀ ʟꜝ ʟu-îsdax̣ī′dᴀnî. Giên
Gᴀsqo ʟā′stᴀxᴀn ʟꜝʟuda′ogᴀni. Ga-i g̣ala′-i g̣a īʟꜝ gi xe-u′ dala′ñ
dᴀ′ñat sqꜝag̣e′idᴀnî. Giên ʟꜝ tadā′ñgî qa′odi ʟꜝ stī′łsg̣agᴀn. Ga′-iʟ̣u ʟꜝ
x̣ūtî′sʟꜝxagîlgᴀn. Gᴀm ʟgu g̣a ʟꜝ gig̣a′ogial-łiña′-i ga′og̣ᴀñgᴀn. Giê′nhao
ʟꜝ ʟu-îsdā′l qa′odihao gia′gu ī′sʟîña ʟꜝ qē′xagᴀn. Dala′-i
gug̣oyū′ᴀngᴀn.
Giên gut ʟꜝ î′sdi qa′odi ʟūgoag̣a nᴀñ xᴀ′ldᴀña gā′yiñgîñgᴀn. Qāñ
sg̣ā′nag̣wa-i gī lᴀ kiägā′ñgᴀn. Dala′-i l’ gîñx̣uaiga′-i hao l’ gîñsū′gᴀn.
Qa′odi l’ x̣îlgā′g̣ada-i gañā′xᴀn qꜝa′gustᴀ kwē′ʼg̣ax̣idigᴀn.
Gañā′xᴀnhao ʟꜝ ʟuda′ogᴀn. G̣ē′gixᴀn ʟꜝ ʟuda′oʟꜝxagîlgᴀn. Dag̣ala′-ig̣a gᴀ
stᴀ ʟꜝ ī′djîñ gu ʟꜝ qa-idjū′ʟꜝxagᴀn. Ga′-igu ʟꜝ naxā′ñ qa′odi Tcꜝā′ał
g̣a ʟꜝ ī′djîn.
A′hao ʟan ā′sga-i g̣e′ida.
ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
RAVEN TRAVELING
[Told by John Sky of Those-born-at-Skedans] [173]
Over this island [174] salt water extended, they say. Raven flew about.
He looked for a place upon which to sit. After a while he flew away to
sit upon a flat rock which lay toward the south end of the island. All
the supernatural creatures lay on it like Genō′, [175] with their necks
laid across one another. The feebler supernatural beings were stretched
out from it in this, that, and every direction, asleep. It was light
then, and yet dark, they say.
[Told by Job Moody of the Witch People [176]]
The Loon’s place [177] was in the house of Nᴀñkî′lsʟas. One day he went
out and called. Then he came running in and sat down in the place he
always occupied. And an old man was lying down there, but never looking
toward him. By and by he went out a second time, cried, came in, and
sat down. He continued to act in this manner.
One day the person whose back was turned to the fire asked: “Why do you
call so often?” “Ah, chief, I am not calling on my own account. The
supernatural ones tell me that they have no place in which to settle.
That is why I am calling.” And he said: “I will attend to it
(literally, ‘make’).”
[Continued by John Sky]
After having flown about for a while Raven was attracted by the
neighboring clear sky. Then he flew up thither. And running his beak
into it from beneath he drew himself up. A five-row town lay there, and
in the front row the chief’s daughter had just given birth to a child.
In the evening they all slept. He then skinned the child from the foot
and entered [the skin]. He lay down in its place.
On the morrow its grandfather asked for it, and it was given to him. He
washed it, and he put his feet against the baby’s feet and pulled up.
He then put it back. On the next day he did the same thing and handed
it back to its mother. He was now hungry. They had not begun to chew up
food to put into his mouth.
One evening, after they had all gone to bed and were asleep, Raven
raised his head and looked about upon everything inside the house. All
slept in the same position. Then by wriggling continually he loosened
himself from the cradle in which he was fastened and went out. In the
corner of the house lived a Half-rock being, [178] who watched him.
After she had watched for a while he came in, holding something under
his blanket, and, pushing aside the fire which was always kept burning
before his mother, he dug a hole in the cleared place and emptied what
he held into it. As soon as he had kneaded it with the ashes he ate it.
It gave forth a popping sound. He laughed while he ate. She saw all
that from the corner.
Again, when it was evening and they were asleep, he went out. After he
had been gone for a while he again brought in something under his
blanket, put it into the ashes and stirred it up with them. He poked it
out and laughed as he ate it. From the corner of the house the
Half-rock one looked on. He got through, went back, and lay down in the
cradle. On the next morning all the five villages talked about it. He
heard them.
The inhabitants of four of the five towns had each lost one eye. Then
the old woman reported what she had seen. “Behold what that chief’s
daughter’s child does. Watch him. As soon as they sleep he stands up
out of himself.” His grandfather then gave him a marten-skin blanket,
and they put him into the cradle. At his grandfather’s word some one
went out. “Come to sing a song for the chief’s daughter’s baby
outsi-i-ide, outsi-i-ide.” As they sang for him one in the line, which
extended along the entire village front, held him. By and by he let him
fall, and they watched him as he went. Turning around to the right as
he went, he struck the water.
And as he drifted about he cried without ceasing. By and by, wearied
out with crying, he fell asleep. After he had slept a while something
said: “Your mighty grandfather says he wants you to come into his
house.” He turned around quickly and looked out from under his blanket,
but saw nothing. Again, as he floated about, something repeated the
same words. He looked quickly around toward it. He saw nothing. The
next time he looked through the eyehole in his marten-skin. A
pied-billed grebe came out from under the water, saying “Your mighty
grandfather invites you in,” and dived immediately.
He then got up. He was floating against a kelp with two heads. He
stepped upon it. Lo! he stepped upon a house pole of rock having two
heads. He climbed down it. The sea was just as good as the world above.
[179]
He then stood in front of a house. And some one called him in: “Enter,
my son. Word has arrived that you come to borrow something from me.” He
then went in. An old man, white as a sea gull, sat in the rear part of
the house. He sent him for a box that hung in the corner, and, as soon
as he had handed it to him, he successively pulled out five boxes. And
out of the innermost box he handed him two cylindrical objects, one
covered with shining spots, the other black, saying “I am you. That
[also] is you.” He referred to something blue and slim that was walking
around on the screens whose ends point toward each other in the rear of
the house. And he said to him: “Lay this round [speckled] thing in the
water, and after you have laid this black one in the water, bite off a
part of each and spit it upon the rest.”
But when he took them out he placed the black one in the water first
and, biting off part of the speckled stone, spit it upon the rest,
whereupon it bounded off. Because he did differently from the way he
was told it came off. He now went back to the black one, bit a part of
it off and spit it upon the rest, where it stuck. Then he bit off a
part of the pebble with shiny points and spit it upon the rest. It
stuck to it. These were to be trees, they say. [180]
When he put the second one into the water it stretched itself out. And
the supernatural beings at once swam over to it from their places on
the sea. In the same way Mainland [181] was finished and lay quite
round on the water.
He floated first in front of this island (i.e., the Queen Charlotte
islands), they say. And he shouted landward: “Gū′sga wag̣elai′dx̣ᴀn
hā-ō-ō” (Tsimshian words meaning “Come along quickly”) [but he saw
nothing]. Then [he shouted]: “Ha′lᴀ gudᴀñā′ñ łg̣ā′gîñ gwā′-ā-ā” (Haida
equivalent of the preceding). Some one came toward the water. Then he
went toward Mainland. He called to them to hurry, [saying] “Hurry up in
your minds,” but he saw nothing. He spoke in the Tsimshian tongue. Then
one with an old-fashioned cape and a paddle over his shoulder came
seaward. This is how he started it that the Mainland people would be
industrious.
Pushing off again toward this country, he disembarked near the south
end of the island. On a ledge a certain person was walking. Toward the
woods, too, among fallen trees, walked another. Then he knocked him who
was walking along the shore into the water. Yet he floated, face up.
When he again knocked him in the same thing was repeated. He was unable
to drown him. This was because the Ninstints people were going to
practise witchcraft. And he who was walking among the trees had his
face cut by the limbs. He did not wipe it. This was Greatest-crazy-one
(Qōnā′ñ-sg̣ā′na), they say.
He then turned seaward and started for the Heiltsuk coast (ʟdjîñ).
[182] As he walked along he came to a spring salmon that was jumping
about and said to it: “Spring-salmon, strike me over the heart.” Then
it turned toward him. It struck him. Just as he recovered from his
insensibility it went into the sea. Then he built a stone wall close to
the sea and behind it made another. When he told it to do the same
thing again the spring salmon hit him, and, while he was on the ground,
after jumping along for a while, it knocked over the nearer wall. But
while it was yet moving along inside the farther wall he got up, hit it
with a club, killed it, and took it up. [183]
He then called in the crows to help him eat it. They made a fire and
roasted it [on hot stones]. He afterward lay down with his back to the
fire. He told them to wake him when it was cooked. He then overslept.
And they took everything off from the fire and ate. They ate
everything. They then poked some of the salmon between his teeth. And
he awoke after he had slept a while and told them to take the covering
off the roast. And they said to him: “You ate it. After that you went
to sleep.” “No, indeed, you have not taken the coverings off yet.”
“Well, poke a stick between your teeth.” He then poked a stick between
his teeth. He poked out some from his teeth. He thereupon spit into the
crows’ faces and said: “Future people shall not see you flying about
looking as you do now.” They were white, they say, but since that time
they have been black.
And walking away from that place he sat down near the end of a trail.
After he had wept there for a while some people with feathers on their
heads and gambling-stick bags on their backs came to him and asked him
what the matter was. “Oh, my mother and my father are dead. Because
they told me I was born [in the same place] as you I wander about
seeking you.” They then started home with him. Lo, they came to a
house. Then they made him sit down. One of the men went around behind
the screens by the wall passage. After staying away for a while [he
came in and] his legs were wet. He brought a salmon with its back just
broken. They rubbed white stones against each other to make a fire.
Near it they cut the salmon open. They put stones into the fire,
roasted the salmon, and, when it was cooked, made him sit down in the
middle. There they ate it. These were the Beavers, they say. They were
going out to gamble, but turned back on account of him.
One of them again went behind the screens. He brought out a dish of
cranberries, and that, too, they finished. Again he went in. He brought
out the inside parts of a mountain goat, and they divided them into
three portions, and made Raven’s portion big. Then they said to him:
“You had better not go away. Live with us always.” They then put their
gambling-stick bags upon their backs and started off.
When it was near evening they came home. He was sitting in the place
[where they had left him]. Again one went in. He again brought out a
salmon. They steamed it. And they also brought out cranberries. They
also brought out the inside parts of a mountain goat. After they had
eaten they went to bed. On the next day, early in the morning, after
they had eaten three sorts of food, they put the gambling-stick bags
upon their backs and started off again.
He then went behind the screen. Lo, a lake lay there. From it a creek
flowed away in which was a fish trap. The fish trap was so full that it
looked as if some one were shaking it. There were plenty of salmon in
it, and in the lake very many small canoes were passing one another.
Several points were red with cranberries. Lēn [184] and women’s songs
[185] resounded.
Then he pulled out the fish trap, folded it together, and laid it down
at the edge of the lake. He rolled it up with the lake and house, put
them under his arm, and pulled himself up into a tree that stood close
by. They were not heavy for his arm.
He then came down and straightened them out. And he lighted a fire, ran
back quickly, brought out a salmon, and cooked it hurriedly. He ate it
quickly and put the fire out again. Then, sitting beside it, he cried.
As he sat there, without having wiped away his tears, they came in.
“Well, why are you crying?” “I am crying because the fire went out some
time ago.” They then talked to each other, and one of them said to him:
“That is always the way with it.”
They then lighted the fire. One of them brought out a salmon from
behind [the screens] and they cut it across, steamed, and ate it. After
they had finished eating cranberries and the inside parts of a mountain
goat they went to bed. The next morning, very early, after they had
again eaten the three kinds of food, they took their gambling-stick
bags upon their backs and went off.
He at once ran inside. He brought out a salmon, cooked it, and ate it
with cranberries and the inside parts of a mountain goat. He then went
in and pulled up the fish trap. He flattened it together with the
house.
After he had laid them down he rolled the lake up with them and put all
into his armpit. He pulled himself up into a tree standing beside the
lake. Halfway up he sat down.
And after he had sat there for a while some one came. His house and
lake were gone from their accustomed place. After he had looked about
the place for some time he glanced up. Lo, he (Raven) sat there with
their property. Then he went back, and both came toward him. They went
quickly to the tree. They began working upon it with their teeth. When
it began to fall, he (Raven) went to another one. When that, too, began
to fall he sat down with his [burden] on one that stood near it. After
he had gone ahead of them upon many trees in the same way they gave it
up. They then traveled about for a long time, they say. After having
had no place for a long time they found a lake and settled down in it.
Then, after he (Raven) had traveled around inland for a while, he came
to a large open place. He unrolled the lake there. There it lay. He did
not let the fish trap or the house go. He kept them to teach the
Seaward (Mainland) people and the Shoreward (Queen Charlotte islands)
people, they say.
While he was walking along near the edge of the water [he saw] a part
of some creature looking like a woman sticking out of the water at the
mouth of Lalgī′mi. [186] He was fascinated by her, made a canoe, and
went to her. When he got near she went under the water in front of him.
After he had made a canoe of something different he went to her again.
When he got near to her she sank into the water. He made one of
something still different. Again she sank into the water before him.
Now, after he had searched about for a while, he opened a wild pea
(xō′ya ʟū′g̣a, “Raven’s canoe”) with a stick and went out to her in it.
When he came near to get her that time she did not go under the water.
He came alongside of her and took her in. She wore a dancing skirt and
dancing leggings. He then got the canoe ashore, untied her dancing
leggings and dancing skirt, and wiped her all over. He ran to the
woods, got a tcā′łg̣a, [187] and drew it over her for a blanket.
He then launched the canoe and put her in it, and they started
landward. [188] He set her ashore on the west arm of Cumshewa inlet
(G̣a′oqons) and also took out the house for her, but kept the fish trap
in his armpit. He did so because he was going to teach [some one] about
it.
He then went back again. After he had passed along Seaward land (the
mainland) in his canoe for some time, behold, a person came along by
canoe. The hair on the top of his head was gathered in a pointed tuft.
And he (Raven) held his canoe off at arm’s length for a while. The
canoe was full of hair seal. Then he questioned him: “Tell me, where
did you gather the things you have?” “Why, there are plenty of them”
[he replied], and he picked up his hunting spear. After he had looked
between the canoes he speared something. He pulled out a hair seal.
“Look in” [he said], and he (Raven) looked in. He could see nothing. “I
say, I am this way (i.e., have bad eyesight) because a clam spit upon
me. Since then I have been unable to see anything.” He then stretched
his head over. He stretched it to him. And, having pulled a blood clot
out of his eye with his finger nails, he put it back again. He used bad
words to him, therefore he did not take it out for good. Now, he
(Raven) treated him well. He made many advances to him, but he could
not get [what he wanted] and started off.
After he had gone along for some time, lo, Eagle [189] was coming; and
he said to him: “Comrade, I have been drinking sea water. You, too, had
better drink sea water.” And he drank some in his sight. At once he
defecated as he went along. Then Eagle, too, drank some. He also
defecated as he went, and he said: “Cousin, come, let us build a fire.”
“Wait, I am looking for the place.” Then Eagle pulled a water-tight
basket out from under his armpit and drank from it. At once what he had
drunk spurted from his mouth as he went along. After they had gone
along for a while they landed upon certain flat rocks extending into
the sea.
Then Raven went up first and lighted a fire. He again watched Eagle as
he kept taking out his basket and drinking water. He intended to take
it, but he did not have an opportunity. Eagle also let the contents of
his stomach run into the ground, and they went out of sight. Then he
(Raven) took a walk. “I am going to drink,” he said, and passed into
the woods. Having taken roots and put root sap into the hat he wore, he
went to him. While coming back he drank of it on the way. And he asked
Eagle to taste it. He handed it to him. He looked into it. He sniffed
at it. “Tell me, cousin, why does your water smell like pitch?” “Well,
cousin, the water hole was in clay.”
He then broke off tips of branches from a hemlock that had clusters of
twigs sticking out all round them and gave them to him. “Cousin, put
these upon the fire.” And he put them upon the fire. Wā-ā-ā, it burned
brightly. And after he had done this a while, lo, Eagle pulled out his
basket. As soon as he saw that, he (Raven) ran to the end of a clump of
limbs and stepped heavily upon it to break it. “Clump of branches, fall
down, fall down” [he said], and it broke and was coming down. Then he
said to Eagle, “Hukukukuk.” [190] Eagle ran from his water in terror.
Then Raven put on his feather clothing and flew away with it. Eagle,
too, put on his feather clothing and flew after him. He tried to hook
his claws into him, and water was jerked out of [the basket]. As this
happened the salmon streams were formed. Eagle gave up the pursuit, and
he (Raven) continued scattering water out of his mouth. After a while
he emptied the last where he had stretched out the first [lake]. He
treated this island in the same manner. After that he emptied [the
last] at the head of Skeena. [191]
Eagle was also called Lā′g̣ałᴀm. [192]
Raven finished this. He then traveled northward. After he had traveled
for a while he came to where a village lay. He then put himself in the
form of a conifer needle into a water hole behind the chief’s house and
floated about there awaiting the chief’s daughter.
The chief’s child then went thither for water, and he floated in the
water that she dipped up. She threw this out and dipped a second time,
but he was still there. And when close to her he said: “Drink it.”
Not a long time after that she became pregnant. Then she gave birth [to
a child], and its grandfather washed the child all over and put his
feet to its feet. It began to creep about. After it had crept about for
a while it cried so violently that no one could stop it. “Boo hoo,
moon,” it kept saying. After it had tired them out with its crying they
stopped up the smoke hole, and, having pulled one box out of another
four times, they gave it a round thing. There came light throughout the
house. After it had played with this for a while it let it go and again
started to cry. “Boo hoo, smoke hole,” it cried. They then opened the
smoke hole, and it cried again and said: “Boo hoo, more.” And they made
the space larger. Then he flew away with it. Marten [193] pursued him
below. Tā′ʟᴀtg̣ā′dᴀla, [194] too, chased him above. They gave it up and
returned.
He then put the moon into his armpit. And, after he had traveled about
for a while, he came to where Sea-gull and Cormorant sat. He made them
quarrel with each other. And he said to Cormorant: “People tell me to
brace myself on the ground with my tongue this way [when fighting].” He
then did it, and [Raven] went quickly to him. He bit off his tongue.
Then he made it into an eulachon. And he put on his cape and rubbed
this all over it, and he rubbed it on the inside of the canoe as well.
Then he also put rocks in and went in front of Qadadjâ′n. [195] And he
entered his house. “Hī, I, too, have become cold.” Qadadjâ′n was lying
with his back to the fire and, looking toward him, saw his canoe,
covered with slime, lying on the water as if full. He then became angry
and pulled the screen down toward the fire. Eulachon immediately poured
forth. He then threw the stones out of the canoe and put them into it.
When it was full, he went off with them.
After he had distributed the eulachon along the mainland in the places
where they now are and had put some in Nass inlet, he left a few in the
canoe.
He then placed ten paddles under these, of which the bottom one had a
knot hole running through it. And he shouted landward to where a
certain person lived. She then brought out a basket [196] on her back,
and he said to her: “Help yourself, chieftainess.” After she had put
them into [the basket] a while, and her basket was nearly full, he
stepped upon a stalk of łqeā′ma [197] which he had provided and said:
“Ā-ā-ā, I feel my canoe cracking.” He then pushed it from the land, and
when she stretched out her arm for more [eulachon] he pulled out the
hairs under her armpit.
Fern-woman (Snᴀndjā′ñ-djat) at once called for her sons. Both her sons
knew how to throw objects by means of a stick, they say. [198] He
immediately fled. And one of them shot at him and broke his paddle. And
after they had broken ten he paddled with the one that had a knot hole.
When they shot after him again he said “Through the knot hole,” and
through the knot hole went the stone. Thus he was saved. He had
dexterously got her armpit hair.
He then left the canoe. He came to a shore opposite some people who
were fishing with fish rakes in Nass. And he said: “Hallo, throw one
over to me. I will give you light.” But they said: “Hᴀ hā′-ā-ā, he who
is speaking is the one who is always playing tricks.” He then let a
small part shine and put it away again. They forthwith emptied their
canoe in front of him several times.
He then called a dog and said to it: “Shall I make (or ordain) four
moons?” The dog said that would not do. The dog wanted six. He (Raven)
then said to him: “What will you do when it is spring?” “When I am
hungry I will move my feet in front of my face.” And he made it as he
(the dog) told him to do, they say.
He then bit off a part of the moon. After he had chewed it for a while
he threw it up [into the sky]. “Future people are going to see you
there in fragments forever.” He then broke the moon into halves by
throwing it down hard and threw [half of] it up hard into the air, the
sun as well.
Thence he traveled northward. The smoke of House-point was near him. He
then pulled off his hair ribbon and threw one end of it over here. He
at once ran across on it. And he walked about the town, peering in
[through the cracks]. The wife of the town chief of House-point had
given birth to a child. And he waited until evening. Then, at the time
when they went to bed, he entered [the child’s] skin and himself became
newly born.
Every morning they washed him, and his father held him on his knee.
After a while his aunt came down to the fire. They handed him to his
aunt. After she had held him for a while he pinched her teats.
“Ha′oia,” she said. “Why do you say that, ʟ̣a?” [199] “Why, he nearly
fell from me.” The town chief was named “Hole-in-his-fin,” and his
nephew was named “Fin-turned-back.”
After a while he thought: “I wish the village children would go
picnicking.” And on the next day the children of the town went
picnicking. They brought along all sorts of good food. And his aunt
brought him to the same place. When they had played for a while they
went away. After they had all gone his aunt sat there alone. He looked
about, entered his own skin quickly, and seized his aunt. And his aunt
said: “Do not take hold of me. I am single because your father is going
to eat my gifts.” [200]
Then, as soon as she started off, he became a baby again. His aunt was
crying and as she went had it on her mind to tell what had happened. He
wished his aunt would forget it when she went in. And she went in.
After her brother had looked at her a while he asked: “What is the
cause of those tear marks?” “Why, I discovered him eating sand. That is
why I am crying.”
He then started along by the sea and, having punched holes in the
shells brought up by the tide, he made two dancing rattles. And he ran
toward the woods. He took grave mats, frayed out the ends, and fastened
shells upon these. He made them into a dancing skirt. And he said to
the ghost: “Are you awake?” It got up for him, and he tied the dancing
skirt upon it. He also put the rattle into its hand. And he said to it:
“Walk in front of the town. When you reach the middle wave the rattle
in front of you toward the houses. A deep sleep will fall then upon
them.”
Now it began to dance, they say. When it waved the rattle toward the
town, just as he had told it to do, they began to mumble in their
sleep. They had nightmares. He then went into the first house and,
roughly pulling out a good-looking woman, lay there with her. And he
entered the next one. There, too, he lay with somebody. As he went
along doing this he entered his father’s house, went to where his aunt
slept, and lay with her.
And a certain old woman living in the house corner did not have a
nightmare. She had been observing the chief’s son in the cradle come
out of himself. Then he went out again. After he had been away for a
while he came in and lay down to sleep in the cradle. He made the ghost
lie down again.
The town people told one another in whispers that he had lain with his
aunt, and his mother, Flood-tide-woman, as well. This went on for a
while; then, all at once, there was an outbreak. Then they drove
Flood-tide-woman away with abusive language. Her boy, too, they drove
off with her with abusive words. She was the sister of Great-breakers,
[201] belonging to the Strait people, they say.
And they came along in this direction (i.e., toward Skidegate). After
they had come along for a while they found a young sea otter opposite
the trail that runs across Rose Spit (G̣o′łgustᴀ). His mother then
skinned it and sewed it together. Now she stretched it and, having
scraped it, laid it out to dry. When it was dried she made it into a
blanket for her son. He was Nᴀñkî′lsʟ̣as-łiña′-i, [202] they say.
And after they had traveled for a while she stood with her child in
front of her brother’s house. By and by somebody put his head out. “Ah,
Flood-tide-woman stands without.” “N-n-n, she has done as she always
does (i.e., been unfaithful to her husband), and for that reason comes
back again,” said her brother. And again he spoke: “With her is a boy.
Come, come, come, let her in.”
Then she came in with her son. And her brother’s wife gave them
something to eat. By and by he asked of her: “Flood-tide-woman, what
are you going to name the child?” And she moved her hand over the back
of her head. She scratched it [in embarrassment]. “Why, I am going to
name your nephew Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łiña′-i.” As she spoke she held back her
words hesitatingly. “I tell you, name him differently, lest the
supernatural beings who are afraid to think of him (the bearer of that
name) hear that a common child is so called.”
While she was staying with her brother her child walked about. He
banged the swinging door roughly. “Flood-tide-woman, stop that child
from continually opening the door in that way.” “Why, chief, I never
can stop him.” “Just hear what she says. What a common child is
continually doing the supernatural beings ever fear to do.” On another
day, while Great-breakers was lying down, he banged the door again. He
said to the mother: “Flood-tide-woman, a common child is doing the same
thing again. Try to stop him.” “Why, chief, I can never stop your slave
nephew.”
And where he was sitting with his mother by the fire, on the side
toward the door, right there he defecated. And his uncle’s wife made a
pooping sound at him. “I shall indeed go with that husband’s nephew,”
he heard his uncle’s wife say. [203]
On the next day, very, very early in the morning, he started off. After
he had gone along for some time he came to some persons who burst into
singing sweet songs and danced. They then asked him: “Tell us, what are
you doing hereabout?” “I am gathering woman’s medicine.” “Well, what do
you call woman’s medicine? Is woman’s medicine each other’s medicine?”
“Yes; it is each other’s medicine.” Those women chewed gum as they
sang. Then one of these gave him a piece. “This is woman’s medicine.”
And one of them gave him directions: “Now, when you enter the house,
pass round to the right. Chew the gum as you go in. And when your
uncle’s wife asks it of you, by no means give it to her. Ask of her the
thing her husband owns. When it is in your hands give the gum to her.”
And he went away from the singers. When he entered the gum stuck out
red from his mouth. Then his uncle’s wife said to him: “I say,
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i, come, give me the gum.” He paid no attention to
her. He then sat down beside his mother, and to his mother he said:
“Tell her to give me the thing my uncle owns. I will then give her the
gum.” Then his mother went to her. She told it her. And to her she gave
something white and round. He then handed her the gum. While his
uncle’s wife chewed it and swallowed the juice he saw that her mind was
changed.
Some time after that his fathers [204] went by on the sea. And he said
to a dog sitting near the door: “Nᴀñki′lsʟas-łîña′-i says he desires
the place where his fathers now are to dry up and leave them.” And
immediately it went out and said so. The tide left them high and dry,
and they were in great numbers. They made a scraping sound in their
efforts to move. He then said to his mother: “I say, go and pour water
upon my fathers.” She then went down to them, and she did not look upon
her husband. She poured it only upon Fin-turned-back. And he went to
his mother and told her to pour water upon his father. She acted as if
she did not hear his voice. They were going to the supernatural beings
of Da′osgên [205] to buy a whale, they say.
Then he came in and said to the dog again: “Go and say,
‘Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i says he desires the tide to come in to his
parents.’” He then went out quickly and said it. X̣ū-ū-ū-ū-ū (noise of
the waves coming in), and they at once were moving along far off on the
water.
And, after they had been gone a while, they returned to that place. And
again he said to the dog: “Go and say, ‘Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i says he
wishes his parents to leave something for him.’” He then went out
quickly and said so. Something black was sent to one end of the town.
He went thither. A whale floated there.
After he had made a house of hemlock boughs he shot all kinds of birds
there. By and by a bufflehead came and ate of the whale. He then wanted
it. And he aimed just above the top of its head. When it flew it struck
its head. He then skinned it and entered [the skin]. And he wished for
a heavy swell, and it became rough, and he walked toward the water. And
when a wave came toward him he quickly dived under it. After he had
done the same thing repeatedly he flopped up from the water, took the
skin off, and dried it in his branch house. He thus came to own it,
they say. He kept it in the fork of a tree.
After he had shot there all kinds of birds something blue and slender
came and ate of it. It flew down from above. It ate sitting upon it. He
then shot it. He shot [only] through its wings. He (Raven) was sad. And
on the next day, early in the morning, he entered his branch house.
After he had sat there for a while it again came down from above,
making a noise as it came. And after it stood upon it and had begun to
eat he shot it. The arrow again passed quickly through its wings. His
mind was sad.
And on the next day, very early in the morning, he again went into the
branch house. It came by and by and ate. And he now shot over it. As it
started to fly it was struck in the head. He then went down to get it.
He brought it into the branch house.
When he had skinned it, he entered it. He then flew up. After he had
flown for a while he turned quickly and came down. He then ran his beak
into a rocky point at the end of the town. At the same time he cried
out: “G̣ao” (Raven’s croak). Though the rock was strong, he split it by
his voice. After he had dried it in the branch house he put it where he
kept the bufflehead.
He then started off, they say. He went in and sat down by the side of
his mother. By and by his aunt said to her husband: “Why do you remain
seated so long? Go and hunt,” she said to him. And they brought out a
war spear and a box of arrows, and they put pitch on [the cord wound
round the arrow point] for him. And at midnight he went off in a canoe,
and his place was vacant in the morning.
He (Raven) then went out and stood up out of himself (i.e., changed
himself). He put on two sky blankets and painted his face. And, as soon
as he entered, his uncle’s wife turned her head. He went around behind
the screens. And, after some time had passed, it thundered on the
underground side of the island.
And her husband came back and asked his wife: “My child’s mother, what
noise was that, sounding like the one that is heard when I go to bed
with you?” And she laughed and said: “Why, I guess I am the same with
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i, your nephew.”
On the next day, early in the morning, Great-breakers sat in the place
where the fire was. On the top of the chief’s hat (dadjî′ñ skîl) that
he wore a round fleck of foam swirled rapidly. Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i
began to look around. And he went out, got his two skins, put on his
two sky blankets, and came in. His uncle had his hair tied in two
braids. Something on his head began turning around very rapidly.
Then a strong current of sea water poured from the corner of the house.
And he put his mother in his armpit, quickly entered his bufflehead
skin, and swam about in the current. He dived many times and again swam
about. And when the sea water came up to the roof of the house he
floated out with it through the smoke hole.
He then quickly entered the raven’s skin. He at once flew up. He then
ran his beak into the sky. And his tail was afloat on the water. Then
he kicked against the water. “Enough. You, too, belong to me.” There it
stopped (lit., “came to a point”). It began to melt downward.
And he looked down. The smoke of his uncle’s house looked pleasing. He
then became angry with him, at the sight, and started to fly down.
After he had flown for a while he ran his beak into it from above,
crying as he did so, “G̣ao.” “Oh, you shall own the title of
Chief-of-chiefs (Kî′lsʟekun)” [said his uncle].
He then became what he had been before. He entered with his mother.
From that time he often set out to hunt birds. When he came in one day
he said to his mother: “Mother, Qî′ñgi [206] says he is coming to adopt
me.” And his uncle said to her: “Qꜝā′la īdjā′xᴀn, [207]
Flood-tide-woman, stop that child from talking. We are, indeed, fit to
be adopted.”
After this had happened many times they saw something wonderful, they
say. People came dancing on ten canoes. He then went out, put on two
sky blankets, and walked around on the retaining planks. Said his
uncle: “What he brought on by his talking has happened. I wonder how we
are going to supply people and food.”
And, after he had walked about for a while, he kicked upon the ground
in the front part of the house on the right side. There the ground
cracked open. Out of it one threw up a drum from his shoulder. They
came pouring out. He went to the other side as well. There he also
kicked. “Earth, even, become people” [he said]. Thence, too, one threw
up a drum from his shoulder. And he did the same thing to the ground in
one of the rear corners. Out of that, too, some one threw up a drum
from his shoulder. He did as before on the other side. And they danced
in four lines toward the beach. Out of his uncle’s house Tsimshian,
Haida, Kwakiutl, Tlingit [came] singing different songs. [208] Yet his
uncle said [sarcastically]: “We shall indeed have lots to eat.” They
sat down in lines, and around the door was a crowd to serve the food.
Then Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i said: “Now go to my sister Sî′ndjugwañ to get
food for me.” [209] And a crowd of young men went to get it. They came
back with silver salmon and cranberries. And [he said]: “Go to
Yał-kīñā′ñg̣o, [210] too, to beg some for me.” Her house was also full
of silver salmon, cranberries, and sockeye salmon. They also brought
some from the woman at the head of Skidegate creek, [211] and they
brought some from the woman at the head of Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o creek. It mounted
up level with the roof. The distribution of food was still going on
when daylight came. On the next day, too, and on the next day [it went
on]. At the end of ten days they went off in a crowd. These [days] were
ten winters, they say.
And he went off with his father Qî′ñgi. Soon after they arrived at his
village he invited the people to come. He called them for a feast. He
(Nᴀñkî′lsʟas) did not eat the smallest bit. And on the next day he
called them in to a feast for his son. Again he did not eat. Two
big-bellied fellows had come in. People took up cranberries by the box,
and when one of these opened his mouth they emptied a boxful into it.
They also emptied boxes into the mouth of the other.
On the next day his father invited them again, and they (the
big-bellies) came in and stood there. And again cranberries were
emptied into their mouths. Then Nᴀñkî′lsʟas went quickly toward the end
of the town. As he was going along he came to open ground where
cranberries were being blown out. He stopped up this hole with moss,
and he did the same to another. After he had entered he questioned the
big-bellied ones, who stood near the door: “I say, tell me the reason
why you eat [so much].” “Don’t ask it, chief. We are always afflicted
in this way.” “Yes; tell me. When my father calls in the people, and
you are going to eat, if you do not tell me I will make you always
full.” “Well, chief, sit close to me while I tell you. Early in the
morning take a bath, and when you lie down [after it] scratch yourself
over your heart, and when scabs have formed on the next day swallow
them.”
He did at once as he was told. After he had sat still for a while [he
said]: “Father, I have become hungry.” Upon this his father sent to
call the people. [The big-bellied persons] again came in and stood
there. Again was [food] emptied into their mouths. It did them no good.
And he again became hungry. He again called them in. Day after day, for
many days, he called them in. One day he went out [to defecate]. They
saw him eating the cranberries that had floated ashore upon the beach
[from peoples’ dung]. Thereupon they shut the door upon him.
He now started off. By and by he came [back] and sat behind his
father’s house. “Father, please let me in.” They did not want him.
“Father, please let me in. I will put grizzly bears upon you. I will
put mountain goats upon you.” [212] He offered him all the mainland
animals. “No, chief, my son, they might wake me up by walking over me.”
He then began to sing a certain song. He beat time by striking his head
against the house. The house began to fall over. And at that time he
nearly let him in, they say. And when he went away they snatched off
from him the black bear and marten [skins] he wore.
That time he went away for a long period. By and by they saw him
floating on the sea in front of the town in a hair-seal canoe. [213] He
wore his uncle’s hat. On top of it the foam was swirling around as he
floated. As soon as they saw he had become changed in some unknown
manner the town people all entered Qîñgi’s house. And after they had
talked over what they should do for a while he dressed himself up. The
town people put themselves between the joints of his tall hat. After
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas had remained there a while the sea water continued to
increase. And Qîñgi, too, grew up. Then he became angry and broke the
hat by pulling it downward. Half the people of his town were lost.
After he had been gone for a while he came and stopped in front of the
town. “Nᴀñkî′lsʟas is in front on a canoe.” And his father said: “Go
and get him that I may see his face.” They then spread out mats, and
his comrades came in and sat there. His father continually gave him
food. His father was glad to see him.
After food had been given out for a long time and evening was come, his
father sat down near the door. By and by he said: “My son, chief’s
child, let one of your companions tell me a story.” He then asked the
one who sat next to him: “Don’t you know a story?” [214] “No,” they all
said, and he turned in the other direction also. “Don’t you know one
story?” “No; we do not.” He then said to his father: “They do not know
any stories.” And his father, Qîñgi, said, “Ītꜝē′i, let one of your
companions relate to me ‘Raven traveling,’” by which he made
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas so ashamed that he hung his head.
By and by, lo, a small, dark person, who sat on the right side, threw
himself backward where he sat. “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the village of the
master of stories, Qîñgi.” When he said this the people in the house
were [startled], as if something were thrown down violently.
“Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings came to look at a
ten-jointed łqeā′ma [215] growing in front of the village of the master
of stories, Qîñgi. There they were destroyed.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the
supernatural beings came and looked at a rainbow [216] (a story name)
moving up and down in front of the village of the master of stories,
Qîñgi. There they were destroyed [said the next].” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō,
the supernatural beings once came to look at Greatest-sea-gull and
Greatest-white-crested-cormorant throw a whale’s tail back and forth on
a reef that first came up in front of Qîñgi’s town. There they were
destroyed.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings came to see
Harlequin-duck and Blue-jay run a race with each other on the property
of the master of stories, Qîñgi. There they were destroyed.”
“Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings once came to look at the
lower section of a wooden rattle lying around which used to sing of
itself. [217] There they were lost.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the
supernatural beings once came to look at an inlet, which broke suddenly
through white rocks at the end of Qîñgi’s town, out of which Djila′qons
came knitting. There they were destroyed.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the
supernatural beings once came to see Tā′dᴀlᴀt-g̣ā′dᴀla and Marten run a
race with each other in front of the village of the master of stories,
Qîñgi. There they were destroyed.” [What the other three said has been
forgotten. [218]]
Then Nᴀñkî′lsʟas started off afoot. After he had traveled for a while
he came to the town of Ku′ndji. In front of it many canoes floated.
They were fishing for flounders. [219] They used for bait salmon roe
that had been put up in boxes. He then desired some, and changed
himself into a flounder. And he went out. After he had been stealing
the salmon roe for a while they pulled out his beak.
Those people, who then sat gambling in rows in the town, looked at the
beak one after another. They handed it back and forth for the purpose.
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas looked at it, and said: “It is made of salmon roe.” He then
went toward the woods and called Screech-owl. And he pulled its beak
out, put it upon himself, and put some common thing into [the owl] in
its stead.
By and by they went out again to fish and again he went out. And after
he had jerked off many pieces of salmon roe a hook entered one of his
lips. They then pulled him to the surface and came ashore, and [the
owner] gave it to his child, and they ran a stick through it [to put it
over the fire]. And when his back became too warm he thought: “I wish
something would make them run over toward the end of the town.” After
some time had passed the whole town (i.e., the people of the town)
suddenly moved. And right before the child, who sat alone near by, he
put on his feather clothing and flew out through the smoke hole. The
child then called to its mother: “My food flew away, mother.”
He did not go away from the town, they say. On another day they
prepared some food in the morning. Crow invited the people to a feast
of cakes made of the inner bark of the hemlock and cranberries mixed
together. Among them they called him (Raven). And he refused. “No; you
only call each other for mussels.” Afterward he sent Eagle out to see
what they did call each other for. And after he had gone thither he
said to him: “They call each other for cakes of hemlock bark and
cranberries.” “Now, cousin, be my messenger.” Eagle then said: “The
chief is coming.” “No; we call each other for mussels.”
Before they had begun eating he ran into the woods. After he had made
rotten trees into ten canoes he put in spruce cones, standing them up
along the middle. Grass tops he put into their hands for spears. They
then came around the point, and he walked near them with his blanket
wrapped tightly around him. Terrible to behold, they came around the
point, men standing in lines along the middle of the canoes. Leaving
their food, the people fled at once. He then went into the house and
ate the cakes. He ate. He ate. Where the canoes landed they were washed
about by the waves.
He then started off. He traveled about. On the way he got his sister
neatly, they say. He then left his sister with his wife. And he started
off by canoe. He begged Snowbird [220] to go along with him, and took
him for company. He also took along a spear. And short objects [221]
lay one upon another on a certain reef. Then, when they came near to
it, the bird became different. [222] He took him back. And he begged
Blue-jay also to go, and he started with him. But when they got near
he, too, flapped his wings helplessly in the canoe. And, after he had
tried all creatures in vain, he made a drawing on a toadstool with a
stick, placed it in the stern, and said to it: “Bestir yourself and
reverse the stroke” [to stop the canoe]. He then started off with him.
But when he got near it shook its head [so strong was the influence].
He then speared a big one and a small one and took them back. And when
he came home he called his wife and placed the thing he had gone for
upon her. And he put one upon his sister as well. Then Sīwa′s (his
sister) cried, and he said to her: “But yours will be safe.” [223]
After he left that place he married Cloud-woman. And, as Cloud-woman
had predicted, a multitude of salmon came up for him. But, when they
were on the point of moving and he went through the middle passage of
the smokehouse, salmon bones stuck in his hair, and he used bad
language that made his wife angry. [224] She then said to the dog
salmon: “Swim away.” From all the places where they lay they began to
swim off. And a box of salmon roe on which his sister sat was the only
food left in the house.
They then moved the camp empty-handed. And he made himself sick. He
went along in the bow beside the salmon roe. After he had gone along
for a while his sister smelt something, and he said it was a scab he
had pulled off with his finger nails. After she had spoken about it
many times as they went along he threw Sīwa′s’s box empty ashore.
And after they had gone along for a while they built a camp fire. He
then put yellow cedar upon the fire. After it had given forth sparks
for a while one flew between Sīwa′s’s legs. He then told her a remedy:
“Now, go around in the woods exclaiming, ‘I call for medicine.’ When
something says ‘Yes,’ go over to it and sit down where a short red
thing sticks up.” And after he had spoken to her, and she had called
about for a while, something said “Yes.” And after she had looked for
it [she saw] something red sticking up. Then she sat down there. Lo,
she discovered her brother lying on the ground under her.
He then became ashamed, and drew something with the tip of his finger.
Right there a child cried. And he took it out [of the ground]. And he
put boards round it as people were going to do in the future. Then the
child became old enough to play. And he went around after [the child].
One time when it went out to play it vanished forever.
Then he started to search for it. He put on his feather clothing and
flew over the whole of this country. He did the same upon Mainland.
When he could by no means find it, he heard that the supernatural
beings had taken it because he (Raven) used to fool them. He then
stopped searching. When the boy stood up, lightning used to flash
around his knee-joints. He was named Sᴀqaiyū′ł.
One day some one with disheveled hair came in. “Father, I come in to
you.” Then he (Raven) spat upon his face. “Sᴀqaiyū′ł was not like
that.” And when he went out, lightning played around his knee-joints.
He vanished at once. Then he cried; he cried.
Then he put his sister into his armpit and started off with her. And
after Siwa′s had finished her planting at Ramsey island he came, stood
on the inner side of Ramsey island, and begged all kinds of birds to
accompany him. They went after cedar-bark roofing in preparation for a
potlatch. They soon got this out upon the open ground. He then caused
the cedar bark to be left there. [225]
And, when they became hungry, he called all kinds of animals. And,
after they came floating in front of him on their canoes, he came out
wearing black, shabby clothing. He then spoke. They did not understand.
And they sent for Porpoise-woman. And when she came he (Raven) said: “I
am the sides and I am the ends, between which I qᴀlaastī′s.” [226] Then
she said: “How would they get along if I were absent? He wants them to
fight him with abalones and sea eggs.” They then threw these at him.
And he ate. And, since the house was too small, he started to potlatch
outside. All the supernatural beings whom he had invited came by canoe.
Then he made holes in the beaks of all kinds of birds. And Eagle, too,
asked to have his pierced. He became wearied by his importunities and
made them anyhow. That is why his nasal openings now run upward.
[Told by Abraham of the Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o qē′g̣awa-i]
When he first started he decked out the birds. They were made of
different varieties, as they now appear to us, in one house. Then, as
soon as he had dressed up the birds, they went out together. At that
time he refused to adorn two of them. When the house was too full they
said to those who sat next to the walls: “Let your heads be as thin as
the place where you sit.” Those have thin heads.
The two he had refused to adorn went crying to the [various]
supernatural beings and came to Rose Spit, where they heard a drum
sound toward the woods. They went thither. When they came and stood
before Master Carpenter [227] with tear marks on their faces, he asked:
“What causes your tear marks?” They then answered: “Raven [228] decked
out the other birds. He said we were not worth adorning.” “And yet you
are going to be handsomer than all others” [he said], and, having let
them in, he painted them up. He put designs on their skins (feathers).
Those were the Qꜝē′da-kꜝō′xawa. [229]
[Continued by John Sky]
He went thence by canoe, and came to where herring had been spawning.
He then filled the canoe with herring, dipped them out of the place
where the bilge water settles and threw them toward the shore. “Future
people will not see the place where you are.” [230]
[Continued by the chief of Kloo of Those-born-at-Skedans]
And when he went away he came to where a spider crab sat. And he said
to it: “Comrade, do you sit here? Don’t you know that we used to play
together as children?” He then put his wings into its mouth and took
them out again. “A little farther off, spider crab,” he said to it, and
it closed its jaws together. It began at once to move seaward. And he
(Raven) said to it: “Comrade, let me go. When about to let me go you
used to look at me with eyes partly closed [as you are doing] now. Let
me go. It will be better for us to play with each other differently.
Let me go.” By and by the sea water flowed over him. Then it let him
go.
And after he had traveled for a while he pulled off leaves from the
salal-berry bushes, stuck spruce needles into them, and came to where
an old man lay with his back to the fire. And he entered and sat down
on the side opposite him. “Hē,” he said, as if he, too, were cold from
going after something. Then the old man looked over to him and said:
“Have I stretched out my legs, that one keeps saying he is getting
cold?” He then stretched out his legs, and it became low tide. And,
with Eagle, he brought up sea eggs to the woods. [Raven also brought up
a red cod, but Eagle brought up a black cod.]
They then made a camp fire. And Eagle roasted his. [231] It began to
drop fat into the fire. Then Raven roasted his, but it became dry. And
he asked to taste of Eagle’s. “Cousin, why does yours taste like cedar?
Cousin, I will bring you a small bundle of bark from the woods. When a
stump comes to you, rub this [black cod] upon its face.” As soon as he
went off Eagle put some stones into the fire. When they became red-hot,
the stump came toward him. He then picked up a stone with the tongs and
rubbed it upon the stump, and the stump went back into the woods out of
sight. By and by, lo, he came to him with bark on his shoulder. His
face was blackened all over. “Why, cousin, what has happened to your
face?” “Well, cousin, I pulled some bark down upon my face.” “Why,
cousin, it is as if something had burned it.” “No, indeed, cousin, bark
dropped upon me.”
[Continued by John Sky]
On the way from this place he begged for canoe companions. [232] He
begged all kinds of birds to come. Then Blue-jay offered himself to
him, and he said: “No: you are too old to come.” But he insisted. He
then seized him by the top of his head and pulled him into the canoe.
For that reason the top of his head is flattish. And he completed his
begging for comrades.
They all got then into the canoe. And it set off. It went. It went. It
went. It went. They stopped in front of the Halibut people.
Hu-hu-hu-hu-hu, [233] they came down to the beach in crowds. “Raven is
going to war,” they said one to another as they came down to meet him.
And he asked them to go, too, as companions, and they went. They fixed
themselves along the bottom of the canoe like skids [234] and started.
They went. They went. And before daylight they landed at the end of his
(the enemy’s) town. Then his Halibut people lay [in two rows], with
their heads outward, along the path which extended down from the house.
Outside of them the birds also stood in lines. They hid themselves
behind the halibut. After they had been there a while he came out
wearing his dancing hat. When he came out one of the halibut flopped
his tail at him. He fell down. The next one, too, wriggled his tail. So
they continued to do until they brought him in. [235] Then he asked
them why they did this to him. And they said they did it because he
blew too long. They then let him go. And they started back. This was
Southeast-wind, they say. After they had gone along for a while they
set down the halibut at their homes, and the birds also went away.
And after he had traveled about for a while he came to some children
playing and offered to join them. “I say-y-y, playing children, let me
play with you-ou-ou.” “No-o-o; you would eat all of our hair
se-e-e-al.” And he said: “My grandfather has gone after some for me. My
father has gone after some for me.” They then let him play with them.
Then he devoured all of the children’s hair seals, and they were all
crying for them.
He also started away from that place. After he had gone along for a
while he found a flicker’s feather floating near the shore and said to
it: “Become a flicker.” It at once flapped its wings.
And after he had traveled thence for a while he came to the place where
Master Fisherman [236] and his wife lived. He wanted Raven’s flicker;
so he gave it to him. “Things like this are found on an island that I
own.” And he said he would show it to him. And after he said he would
show it to him Master Fisherman baited a halibut hook taken from among
those hanging in bunches on the wall. When he had let it down into the
hole into which they used to vomit sea water he pulled out a halibut,
and his wife split it open and steamed it. When it was cooked the three
ate it.
They went to bed, and next day he took him (Master Fisherman) to see
the flicker island. Then he arrived there and said to Master Fisherman:
“Do not get off.” Then he (Raven) landed. He broke off the ends of
cedar limbs. And he wounded his nose. As he went along he let the blood
run down into his hands. And he threw around the cedar twigs with blood
upon them. “Change to flickers,” he repeated. Then they flew in a
flock. And he brought some in. “Now, get off. There are plenty of
them,” he said to him. Then he landed.
[Continued by the Chief of Kloo.]
And he (Raven) lay down in the canoe and began to drift away with the
wind, and he (Master Fisherman) shouted to him: “Say, you are drifting
away. You are drifting away.” He paid no attention to him. [237] He got
far off. Then he started away [by paddling]. Then he made himself
appear like Master Fisherman, and landed in front of his wife’s
[house]. And he said: “Behold, it was the one always doing such things.
There is not a sign of the things he went to show me.” And after he had
had her as his wife a while he said: “My child’s mother, differently
from my former state, I am hungry.” Then she steamed a fat halibut for
him, and he ate it. After he had remained sitting for a while, he said:
“My child’s mother, differently from my former state, I would like it.”
[238] Then he again drank salt water. And after he had drunk salt water
he baited the halibut hook and let it down into the hole where sea
water was vomited out. The same thing as before happened. He pulled a
halibut out.
And when his wife went after some water, lo, her husband sat near the
creek and said to her: “That was the same one who is always doing such
things. Stop all the holes in the house. As soon as he drifted away
from it (the island) I wished my hair-seal club would swim over to me.”
And to him it swam out. Then it brought him to the land, they say.
Then he ran in with the hair-seal club. And he (Raven) ran squawking
about the house. By and by he knocked him down with his club. Then he
threw him down into the latrine. And after he had lain there a while he
spoke up out of it. [239] Then he took him out and pounded him up
again. He even pounded up his bones. And he went down to the beach at
low tide and rolled a big rock over upon him.
[End of so-called “old man’s story” and beginning of “young man’s” part
[240]]
Then he was nearly covered by the tide. And he changed himself in
different ways. By and by, when only his beak showed above water, his
ten supernatural helpers came to him. Then they rolled the rock off
from him, and he drifted away. The first to smell him among his
supernatural helpers was a Tlingit, who wore a bone in his nose [like
the shamans.]
After he had drifted away for a while, some people came along in a
canoe. “Why does the chief float about upon the water?” And when they
got within a short distance he said: “He has a hard time for going
after a woman.”
And after he had drifted about a while longer, a black whale came along
blowing. And he thought, “I wish it would swallow me.” And, as he
wished, it swallowed him. Then he ate up its insides. After he had
eaten all he thought: “I wish it would drift ashore with me in front of
a town.” And in front of a town it drifted ashore with him.
After they had spent some time in cutting it up, they cut a hole
through right where he was, and he flew out. Then he flew straight up.
And he turned down at the end of the town, pulled off the skin of an
old man living there, threw away his bones, went into his skin, and
lived in his place instead of him. By and by they asked him about the
something that came out of the whale’s belly. Then he said: “When
something similar happened a long time ago they fled from each other in
fear.” At once they fled from each other in fear. And afterward he ate
the whale they were bringing up. This was why he had changed himself.
[Told by Tom Stevens, chief of Those-born-at-House-Point.]
And one time he had Hair-seal as his wife. Then they had a child. And
one day he went after firewood with him. His son was fat, and, pleased
at the sight of him, he wanted to eat him. Then he said to him: “I am
within a little of eating you.” And after they had come home, and had
got through eating, he said to his mother: “Ha ha⁺, mama, my father
said to me: ‘I am within a little of eating you.’” And Raven said:
“Stop the child.” He made him ashamed. After that he devoured him.
[241]
[Continued by the Chief of Kloo.]
And after he had traveled about a while from that place he came to
another town. And he was eating the leavings cut off of the salmon they
brought in. By and by some of the milt [242] hung out of his nose. Then
he said to his cousin [Eagle]: “When I pass in front of the town,
cousin, say: ‘Wā-ā-ā [243], one goes along in front of the town with a
weasel hanging from his nose.’” And when he passed in front of the
village [he said], “Wā-ā-ā, one passes in front of the town with the
milt of a salmon hanging from his nose.” Then he went back to him and
said: “Cousin, say, ‘Weasel, weasel.’” But when he went again he said
the same thing. Then he made him ashamed, and he went right along
[without stopping].
And after he had gone along for a while he met some people coming back
from the hunt with many hair seals. Then he changed himself into a
woman. And he found a long, slender rock and said to it: “Change into a
child,” and it became a human being. “Say, you who are coming, come and
marry me.” Then the canoe was pointed toward her. And she picked up
stones, too, they say. After they had gone along for a while she said:
“The child wants hair seal. He is crying for it.” Then one cut off a
piece for it. Then she wished a mist to fall, and it happened. Then
they put mats over her, under which she ate it. And she put grease on
the stones and threw them overboard. And she kept saying that it was
the hair seal. Then they gave some to her again.
Then they gave her as wife to one of them. Some time after he had
married her they gave her salmon roe to eat. And she saw where they
kept it. Then she went to the place at night. And she ate in it. But
when she lay down afterward she found that her labret was lost. And
when they went [to the box] to get some again in the morning they found
her labret in it. Upon this she touched it quickly with her lips and
said: “Lg̣ᴀ′nsal stā′-is [244] was flapping her wings all night in my
lip as she always does when she wants something that smells bad.” Then
they handed it to her, and she put it back into her lip.
And one day, when she went out with others to defecate, and stood up,
the tail coming from her buttocks was visible a moment. “Ai-ī, what is
that sticking from my son’s wife’s buttocks?” “Why, this is not the
first time a Tlingit woman’s tail stuck out from her buttocks.”
By and by she told her husband they were about to come after her, and
she made them bring together firewood in preparation for it. Then she
changed excrement into people and made them come by canoe. Then they
landed; but when they came in and sat down they began to perspire.
Right there they were melted. And she became ashamed. Then they were
completely melted. And she flew away.
And after he (Raven) had traveled on from that place he came to where
Water-ousel [245] lived. And he (the bird) gave him food. By and by he
drove a stick into his leg, out of which salmon roe [such as has lain
some days after hatching] ran in a stream. He gave it to him to eat.
Then he started from that place. After he had traveled for a while he
came to where Sea-lion lived. And after he had given him some food he
roasted his hand, out of which grease dropped. That he gave him to eat.
He started off, and when he had traveled a while came to where
Hair-seal lived. Then he, too, roasted his hand in the fire, and grease
came out. He gave it to him to eat.
Then he went away and lived in one place for a while. After he had
lived there for a time Water-ousel came in to him. Then he drove
something into his leg, but only made himself faint away. And he (the
bird) was ashamed. While he was in the faint he went off. Then he came
to himself. And after he had continued living there for a while
Sea-lion and Hair-seal came in. [246] Then he roasted his hand, but it
was burned. And they left him. Afterward he came to life again.
[Parts of the young man’s story told by Walter McGregor of the
Qā′-i-ał-lā′nas]
He began to offer his sister in marriage, and when any creature came in
to him he looked at its buttocks. When they were lean he refused it.
After he had done [lit., said] this for a while Sea-lion wanted to many
his sister. Then he looked at his buttocks. They were fat, and he let
him marry his sister. They had two children. G̣ē′noa [247] was the
elder. Iwā′ldjida was the younger. Once Raven went out fishing with his
brother-in-law and thought: “I wish halibut would come to me only.”
Then he only caught halibut. And his brother-in-law, Sea-lion, asked
him: “Say, why do they come to you?” “That is something people are not
brave enough to ask for.” Then he again asked him, and he said to him:
“Well, they like me, because I use a piece of skin cut from my testes
for bait.” And he told him to do the same to his. When he just touched
them with a knife, “Wā-wa-wa-wā′, it hurts,” he said to him. “Don’t you
see you are not brave enough for it?” Then he told him to do as before.
Then he cut off the whole of his testes and ate the fat part of his
brother-in-law. After he had consumed it he put stones in him in its
place, and came to his sister singing a crying song: “Siwa′s’s husband,
my sister’s husband. Siwa′s’s husband, my sister’s husband.” Then his
sister asked him: “What has happened, brother?” He paid no attention to
her. He sang the crying song. “What is it?” she kept saying. By and by
she asked her brother: “What has happened, my brother Raven?” And he
said to her: “Where they always do so, [the enemy] stood at
House-point. With my great brother-in-law I met them. My great
brother-in-law fell without speaking a word. I, however, went around
and around them calling.” Then his sister, too, sang a crying song. She
had G̣ē′noa on her back and held Iwā′ldjida in her hands. Then she sang
the crying song: “G̣ē′noa’s father, Iwā′ldjida’s father. G̣ē′noa’s
father, Iwā′ldjida’s father.” At once they carried him up in a mat. And
Siwa′s said: “Say, chief, why is your brother-in-law so heavy?” Then
Raven said: “You always talk nonsense. This is not the first time a
chief who has been killed is heavy.” The rocks put into him made him
heavy.
After they got him into the house they had Mallard-duck [248] doctor
him, and when he came in, and had gone around the fire for a while, he
said: “Hăn hăn hăn hăn (quacking of duck), his brother-in-law, his
brother-in-law.” And Raven said: “[Speak] differently, great doctor.
[Speak] differently.” Then again he said, “Hăn hăn hăn hăn, his
brother-in-law took out his insides.” Then he kicked him into the fire.
And just before he flew out he said the same thing. So they came to
know that he had killed his brother-in-law.
One time he let Cormorant marry Siwa′s, because he was the best
fisherman. And he went out fishing with him, and Cormorant alone caught
halibut. He (Raven) caught only a small one. Then he went toward the
bow to Cormorant and said to him: “Let me see what is upon your
tongue.” And when he ran his tongue out he pulled it out, and his voice
was gone. That is why the cormorant has no voice.
Then he pulled the halibut round toward himself [so that their heads
lay in his direction] and turned the small one toward him (Cormorant).
[249] Then they went home, and he pulled off the halibut. Cormorant
motioned his wife to the halibut, and his sister asked: “Say, chief,
why does he motion me to the halibut?” Then Raven said: “He is trying
to say he wants the head of a big one.” And she asked her brother
again: “Say, chief, what has happened to your brother-in-law?” “Why,
while I was fishing with him his voice left him.” He wanted to eat all
the halibut. That is why he took it out.
After he had gone on for some distance a sea anemone (?) looked out
from under a rock. He became fascinated at the sight of the corners of
its eyes, which were bluish, and said to it: “Say, cousin, come and let
me kiss you.” And the sea anemone said: “I know your words, Raven,” and
made him angry. Then he threw aside the stones from it and steamed it
[in the ground]. When it was cooked he ate it while it was still hot.
Then his heart was burst with the burning. That is why ravens do not
eat sea anemones.
After he had gone along from there for a while he came to a town.
Having looked into the house [he saw] no people there. Then he entered.
Halibut and slices of smoked hair seal lay on the drying frame. Only
old wedges lay near the fire. But when he started to carry off the
halibut and slices of seal a wedge threw itself at his ankle bone; on
the other side the same thing happened, and he fainted with the pain.
Then he threw them from his shoulders and went out. And he looked into
a house near by. And he entered that, too. There were plenty of hair
seals and halibut there. On the wall was some design drawn with finger
nails. Then he started to carry some out. When he came to the door
something pulled his hair. He saw nothing. After they had pulled his
hair until they made him weak, he went out. These were the Shadow
people, they say.
After he had traveled thence for a while he came to a house in which
the Herring people were dancing. The air (weather or sky) [250] even
shook above them. And when he looked in the Herring people spawned upon
his mustache. Then he ate the fish eggs. They tasted bad, and he threw
away his mustache. [251] Then, having pushed in a young hemlock he had
broken off, he drew it out. The fish eggs were thick upon it, and he
ate them. They tasted good. He started the use [of these limbs].
After he had gone on for a while he came to one who had a fire in his
house. And he did not know how to get his live coals. And [the man] had
bought a deerskin. “Say, cousin, I want to borrow your skin a while.”
And he lent it to him. It had a long tail, they say, and he tied a
bundle of pitch wood to the end of the tail. Then he came in and danced
before him. As he danced his face was turned toward the fire only.
After he had danced for a time he struck his tail into the fire and the
pitch wood burned. Then his tail was burned off. That is why the deer’s
tail is short. Then he went into his own skin and flew away with the
live coals. His beak, too, was burned off. And they pursued him. They
could not catch him and came back. He got the coals neatly.
On traveling thence he found a devilfish’s nose (i.e., mouth) drifted
ashore. And he took it and came to Screech-owl. And he said to him:
“Say, cousin, let me borrow your beak a while,” and he lent it to him.
Then he stuck the devilfish nose he had found in its place and said to
him: “Say, cousin, yours looks nice. You are fit to travel about with
the supernatural beings.”
After he had traveled on for a while his cousin (Eagle) came to him.
And, after they had traveled together for a while they came to an
abundance of berries, which Eagle consumed before he got there. On that
account he was angry with him. And he went quickly to the beach, found
a sharp fish bone, and stuck it into the moss ahead of him (Eagle).
“Run into Eagle’s foot,” he said to the bone. And he said to Eagle:
“Now, cousin, go right on here before me.” And as he went along there
the bone stuck into his foot. “Cousin, let me see it,” and he pretended
to take it out with his teeth, but instead commenced to push it in
farther. “Wā-wā-wā, cousin, you are pushing it in.” “No, cousin, it is
because I am trying to pull it out with my teeth.” By and by he pulled
it out and said to him: “Cousin, wait right here.” Then he examined the
ground before him [to select an easy path]. And he ordered a chasm to
form. It did so. And, breaking off a stalk of łqeā′ma, [252] he laid it
across the gulf and put moss upon it. He made it like a dead, fallen
tree. Then he went back toward Eagle, carried him on his back, and
started over with him upon the dead tree. When he got halfway over he
let him go. “Yauwaiyā′, what I carry on my back is heavy.” He burst
open below. Then he went down to him and ate his berries. He ate all
and started off.
After he had traveled for a while he came to a woman with a good-sized
labret weaving a water-tight basket, and he asked her: “Say, skᴀñ,
[253] have you seen my cousin?” She paid no attention to him, and he
again said to her: “Say, skᴀñ, have you seen my cousin?” Again she paid
no attention to him. “Skᴀñ, I can knock out your labret.” “Don’t. Over
yonder is a qꜝa′ła [254] point, beyond which is a spruce point, beyond
which is a hemlock point, beyond which is an alder point. At that point
in front of the shell of a sqā′djix̣ū [255] on which he is drawing is
your cousin.” Then he started over, and it was as she said. “Say,
cousin, is that you?” [he said], and he pulled him up straight, and
they started off together.
After they had gone on they came to a town. They (the people) were glad
to see them. Then they began giving them food. When they gave them
berries to eat they asked Eagle: “Does the chief eat these?” And Raven
said: “Say that I like them very much.” But Eagle said: “The chief says
he never eats them.” And they only gave them to him (Eagle). And again
they gave him good berries to eat, and he said: “Those, too, the chief
does not like.”[255]
When he was going on from there he came to a town in which the chief’s
son, who was the strongest man, had had his arm pulled out. A shaman
came to try to cure him. The chief’s son was the strongest man. In
trying strength with people of all ages by locking hands with them he
could beat them. By and by, through the smoke hole came a small pale
hand, and [they heard its owner] say: “Gū′sg̣a gᴀ′msiwa” (Tsimshian
words meaning “Let us have a try”). And he put his fingers to it. It
pulled off his arm. They did not know what it was. And he (Raven) alone
knew that one of Gū′g̣ał’s [256] sons had pulled his arm off. Then he
flew to Gū′g̣ał’s town, went to an old man who lived at the end of the
town and asked him: “Say, old man, do you ever gamble?” And he said he
did. “They say they pulled off the arm of a chief’s son. I wonder where
the person who did it belongs.” And he said: “Why, don’t you know? It
was done by the one of Gū′g̣ał’s sons who is always doing those things.
The chief’s son’s arm is in a box behind the screen in his father’s
house.” And he (Raven) said: “Well, although everybody knows those
things, I was asking this.” Then he pulled off his (the old man’s) skin
and entered it. And next day he took a gambling-stick bag and walked
with a cane to the middle of the town. When he sat down he heard
Gū′g̣ał’s sons say: “You are always on hand, old man; we will gamble
with you.” The eldest wagered him his hair ribbon, and they gambled
with him. They lost the ribbon to him. Then it was too late to go home,
and he said: “I will stay right in your house.” And they said to him:
“All right, old man, sleep in our house so that we may gamble with each
other in the morning.” Then he entered, and they seated him near two
good-looking women. They gave him something to eat. “Old man, you are
always ready,” they said to him, and they went to bed. Then he broke
wind. The women laughed at him every time as they whispered together.
By and by, when they were asleep, [257] he flew lightly toward the
screen and felt of the chief’s son’s arm which was in a box. Then he
waited for daylight and flew over it. As he did so the ends of his
claws touched the top of the screen. It sounded like a drum. Then he
lay down quickly. “Alas! it is the one who is always doing such things.
Does the old man lie there as before?” And the women said: “Yes; he
lies here. He has been breaking wind all the time. Now, he is snoring.”
And he asked again: “Is the chief’s son’s arm in the box?” And the
women said: “Yes; it is here.” Then when they were asleep again and day
had begun to break he flew up easily behind the screen and seized the
chief’s son’s arm in his mouth. And when he flew away with it the ends
of his claws touched the top of the screen. When it gave forth a
drumming sound all looked up. He flew through the smoke hole. The chief
said: “Alas! it is he who is always doing such things.” Then he came
flying to the chief’s son’s father’s town and began to act as shaman
around the chief’s son. He washed the arm, which had begun to smell
badly [from decomposition]. Then they handed him a new mat [and he
laid] the chief’s son’s arm in place under it. At once his arm was
restored. They gave many things to him and much food as well.
He started from that place also. After he had gone along for a while he
came to a town. The town people were glad to see him, and he went into
a house. A good looking woman lived in the house. Then they went to
bed, and he went over to the woman. When he came to her she asked him,
“Who are you?” “I am one who came to this place for you.” But the woman
absolutely repulsed him. Then he went away from her. And when the woman
slept he went to her again and put dung inside of her blanket. Then he
cried: “I went to the chief’s daughter, but, finding something terrible
there, changed my mind.” And the woman awoke and said: “A′-a-a a-a′,
don’t tell anybody about it. I will give you a substance that my father
owns but always keeps secret.” And he said: “[Give me] some.” Then she
gave all to him. And the woman said to him: “Don’t lose it. With that
you will have good luck. And when you see anyone, you can adorn him
with it,” she said to him. This is what causes people to be
good-looking.
After that his sister Siwa′s planted Indian tobacco in front of White
inlet. And, while it was yet in the garden, he calcined shells. But
before he pulled the tobacco out he became angry with the calcined
shells and threw them away. Where the calcined shells were the surface
of the rocks is white.
There he went out fishing for his sister. He threw the halibut ashore.
There is high, level land there called “Halibut’s place.” He named
places, too, as he went along. “Your name will be like this; you will
be called so-and-so,” he said as he went. Then he passed over one
place, and it called after him: “What shall my name be?” Then he said
to it in the Ninstints dialect: “Your name will be ‘Salt Stone,’ you
common object.”
Then he set out to spear Bad Weather (Tcꜝī′g̣a). He made a spear with a
detachable point. He used strong gut for cord. And he saw its head
pass. Then he speared it. And it tugged him about in a sitting posture.
He kept hold of the cord and was pulled out to a reef lying in front.
After he had been pulled about there a while the spear point broke.
[The string] struck on the face of a declivity. There the rocks show a
white streak.
When he went away he stuck an eagle’s tail feather [into a certain
place]. That is called “Eagle’s-tail-feather-stuck-in.”
After that he was love-sick for his uncle’s wife. Then he sat there
singing a song, at the same time striking his head upon the rocks for a
drum. There he made a hole. That place is called
“Moving-the-back-part-of-the-head-about-while-singing.”
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o]
One time, when he was going along with his cousin, he came to an island
of ʟꜝkꜝia′o. [258] At once he went out and ate them. After he got
through eating, he went back toward shore with his cousin. And when
they became thirsty he said to his cousin: “Take one stroke in the
water, cousin.” As soon as he did so they came to Standing-water creek,
which was very far away. Where he drank there, there is a water hole of
the shape of his bill.
This is why, when people travel by canoe on the west coast, the country
is easy for them (i.e., they travel about easily). The place where he
and his cousin ate ʟꜝkꜝia′o is called “Pulled-off-with-the-teeth.”
[259]
[Told by Tom Stevens, chief of Those-born-at-House-point]
When he (Raven) first started traveling about, numbers of persons lay
along the ground, acting as if ashamed. Then he pulled them upright as
he ran along. These were the mountains.
Another version
[Told to Prof. Franz Boas by Charlie Edenshaw, chief of the Stᴀ′stas]
Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai’s [260] mother was Gēʟîk·ᴇdzā′t (“Flood-tide-woman”).
His father was ʟg̣ang̣ag·îñ (“Dorsal-fin”), [261] whose sister’s son was
called ʟg̣anxē′la (“Hole-in-dorsal fin”). He was born in Naēku′n. Now,
Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai was crying all the time. The people tried to quiet
him, and they gave him various things to play with, but he was not
satisfied. There was a young girl, Qalgaitsadas (“Ice-woman”). [262]
She also tried to quiet him. She took him in her arms, and he at once
ceased crying. He touched her breasts and was quiet. After a little
while she returned him to his mother. At once he began to cry again,
but when she took him again he quieted down when he touched her breast.
The boy was growing up very rapidly. Now he was able to walk. ʟg̣anxē′la
was his mother’s lover. When his father, ʟg̣ang̣ag·îñ, found this out he
became jealous, and he sent his wife back to her uncle, Nenk·îlsʟas.
Then she took her boy on her back and went to her uncle’s house. About
noon she felt hungry. She was going to start a fire, but she did not
succeed. She turned the fire drill until her hands were sore, but she
did not succeed in making a fire. Then Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai went into the
woods, where he took two large sticks. He struck the ends together, and
at once there was a great fire. His mother was surprised to see it, but
she did not make any remark.
In the evening they lay down and slept. Early the next morning they
proceeded on their journey. In the evening the mother tried again to
start a fire, but she did not succeed. Then the boy went to the woods
and started the fire in the same manner as on the preceding day.
Finally they reached the house of Nenk·îlsʟas, which was located in
ʟg̣aē′xa. [263] A large pole was standing in front of his house.
Nenk·îlsʟas’s slaves were outside the house when Gēʟîk·ᴇdzā′t was
approaching, carrying her child. They entered the house and told
Nenk·îlsʟas that she was approaching. He remarked: “She is always
acting foolishly, therefore she has been sent back.” He told his slaves
to call her into the house. She entered and remained sitting near the
doorway. She did not go to the rear of the house. Her uncle gave her
food. The boy was defecating in the house all the time. His excrements
were very thin and spread over the floor, so that the house smelled
very badly.
The boy was staying with his mother. In the night, when everybody was
asleep, he arose from the side of his mother, left the house, taking
bow and arrows, and shot woodpeckers (sʟō′ts’ada). He gave them to his
mother and asked her to make a blanket of their skins. His mother dried
these skins and sewed them up. Then he began to shoot whales, which he
took to a little river near ʟgaē′xa, named Xagusiua′s. [264] Then Raven
came right down from the sky, intending to eat the whales. The boy
tried to shoot it, but he was unable to kill it. Raven flew away, but
soon returned. Again the boy tried to shoot it, but did not hit it.
Finally, however, he succeeded in killing Raven. He hid its skin
between the branches of a large tree.
One day the boy said to his uncle: “My fathers are going to come from
Naēku′n to look for my mother.” Then his uncle remarked: “I am afraid
that boy is going to cause us trouble. Stop your talking.” But
Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai repeated his former statement. The following day he
said again: “My fathers are going to come from Naēku′n to see me.”
Again his uncle begged him to be silent, but he did not obey.
After a few days the people from Naēku′n arrived. The beach was covered
with canoes. Then his uncle felt greatly troubled. He had many slaves.
The boy said to one of the slaves: “Go out and tell them to come
ashore.” His fathers were the Killer-whales. Then they came ashore and
fell down. His father and his cousin ʟganxē′la were among those whales.
Then his mother took a bailer and sprinkled some water over ʟganxē′la,
while she left her husband to perish. After some time the boy said to a
slave: “Go out and call the water to cover my fathers.” Then the tide
returned, and the whales returned to Naēku′n. The boy continued to
shoot birds.
His uncle’s wife was making mats all the time. The boy was very
beautiful, but he continued to defecate in the house. His uncle’s wife
was sitting in the rear of the house. The boy had collected much red
gum, which he was chewing. One day he returned home just at the time
when his uncle had finished his dinner and was washing his face. Then
his uncle’s wife asked him for some gum which was hanging out of the
boy’s mouth. The boy fell in love with his uncle’s wife, who was
sitting on the highest platform of the house. The boy crept silently up
to the woman and encircled her, placing his head under her left arm,
his body over her back, and his feet under her right arm. When the
woman looked down she saw that he was very pretty. His uncle did not
notice it. He (the uncle) was a great hunter, and he always brought
back a great quantity of food. Every evening, when his uncle had gone
out hunting, he visited the woman. [The boy was staying in the house
all the time; his soul went out hunting birds and visiting the woman.]
As soon as he reached the woman it thundered, and he was much
frightened. He defecated, and the house was so full of excrements that
the slaves had to carry them out in buckets. When his uncle
Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai came home he was about to give the game to his wife.
He asked her why it had thundered that day. “It is a sign that my
nephew cohabits with you [he said].”
In the village T’ano [265] there was a chief whose name was Qîng·. The
boy said: “I want Qîng· to come here to be my father.” His uncle, who
was sitting in the rear of the house, heard what he was saying. He
asked his sister to command the boy to be silent, but he continued to
say it. One day many canoes arrived on the beach. Then the boy said to
his uncle: “The chiefs are coming. What are you going to do?” His uncle
did not reply because he was afraid. When they approached the house the
boy threw off his skin, and he was beautiful.
The chief who arrived here was called Qoēqqu′ns. [266] He lived in the
middle of the ocean. He was his mother’s father. The boy had visited
him and had borrowed his people, whom he took to his uncle’s house. He
had put on his woodpecker blanket, and he flew to his grandfather’s
house. He painted his face with a design of Ts’agul [267] and made
himself very beautiful. When he returned he walked about inside the
house scolding his uncle: “Why is there nobody staying with you? Now,
all the chiefs are coming, and there is nobody to receive them.” Then
Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai stamped his feet, and immediately the house was full
of people. He had transformed the dirt on the floor of the house into
people by stamping once. In one corner of his house were Qoēqqu′ns’s
people, who spoke the Tsimshian language. When he stamped with his foot
in another corner of the house people appeared who spoke Heiltsuk (or
Wakashan). In the next corner, when he stamped the ground, the Haida
arose, and in the last corner he also created Haida.
After a while Qîng· arrived. They performed a dance, and
Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai gave them to eat. Then Qîng· returned to his own
country. The boy accompanied him. When he made the Tsimshian he wore a
flicker [268] (Sqaldzit) blanket. Then he changed and wore a woodpecker
(sʟodz’adang) blanket. Afterward he used a Sixasʟdᴀlgang [269]
blanket. This is a large bird with yellow head, which flies very
rapidly. Finally he used a T’in [270] blanket. This is a bird that is
eaten in Victoria. When they arrived in Qîng·’s house Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai
sat between Qîng· and his wife. The chief asked him: “Are you hungry?”
But he did not want to eat. He was chewing gum all the time. In the
house there were many people. Two youths were standing on one side of
the door when the chief was eating. The chief sent some food to them.
Their skin was quite black. Their name was Squl (“Porpoise”). They were
eating ravenously. The boy asked: “How is it that you can eat so much?”
They replied: “Don’t ask us. We are very poor because we are hungry all
the time.” But he insisted. He said: “I can not eat, and I must learn
how to eat. You must assist me to learn.” They refused, but
Nenk·îlsʟasʟiñgai insisted. They said: “We are afraid of your father.
If we tell you, you will have bad luck.” But the boy would not accept
their statements. Then they became angry and said: “Go and bathe, and
when you do so scratch your skin and eat what you scratch off. Do so
twice.” The youth did so, and then he became very hungry. He told his
father: “I am a little hungry.” Then the old man was very glad. He
called all the people to see how his child was eating. The people came,
and when they had seen it they returned. After a very short time the
youth was hungry again. His father invited the people, and after they
had eaten they went away. It was not long before the boy was hungry
again. He could not get enough to eat. He ate all the provisions that
were stored in the house. Then Qîng· turned the boy out of his house
and he was very poor. He asked to be admitted again, but Qîng· did not
allow him to enter. Then he took his raven skin and put it on. He
knocked the walls of the house with his beak, asking admission, but he
was refused.
He promised to give them fox, mountain goat, and other kinds of
animals. Then he went down to the beach, where he ate some excrements.
After a while he returned to the house and asked again for admission.
Then the boy grew angry, and wished the waters to rise. The waters
began to rise, and rose up to Qîng·’s throat. Then Qîng·’s sister and
her ten children began to climb up his hat, which was transformed into
a mountain, which may still be seen near the village. There is another
mountain near by which is called Qîñg·i xa′ñginᴇñ gutas’wa′s.
Then the boy returned to his uncle, and the people returned to their
villages. The boy was in love with his uncle’s wife, and his uncle was
jealous. Then he called upon the waters to rise, intending to kill his
nephew. The waters were coming out of Nenk·îlsʟas’s hat. Then the boy
took the skin of a waterfowl (Q’ē′sq’ut), [271] which he put on. The
house began to fill with water. Then he swam about on the water. He was
carrying the raven skin under his arm. When the water rose still
higher, he flew up through the smoke hole and reached the sky. He shot
an arrow up to the sky, which stuck in it. Then he continued to shoot,
hitting the nock of the first arrow; and thus he proceeded, making a
chain which reached almost down into the waters. Finally he fastened
his bow to the lowest arrow and climbed upward. When he reached the
sky, he broke it, went through, and saw five countries above. First he
came to an open place in which many berries were growing. There were
salmon in the rivers, and the people were singing. He was chewing gum.
He tried to find the singers, but he could not discover them. He passed
the place whence the noise proceeded, and turned back again. Finally,
after a long time, he found them. He saw a number of women who were
singing. He asked them, “Where did you obtain this song? I like it very
much.” Then they laughed at him, and said, “Did you never hear that
there are five countries up here, and that the inhabitants use this
song? They are singing about Nenk·îlsʟasʟîñgai′, who is in love with
his uncle’s wife.” At that time he received the name
Nenk·îlsʟasʟîñgai′. He wandered about in heaven for many years, singing
all the time.
He came to a large river, where he heard the people singing. He came to
a town near which he saw a pond. The chief’s daughter went out to fetch
water. Then Nenk·îlsʟasʟîñgai′ transformed himself into the leaf of a
hemlock, and dropped into the bucket of water which the chief’s
daughter dipped from the pond. When she attempted to drink, the hemlock
leaf was in her way, and she tried to blow it away, but did not
succeed. Finally she grew impatient and swallowed it with the water.
After two months she had a child, and her father was very glad. The
child slept at his mother’s side, but at midnight, when all were
asleep, he traveled all over the country and came to a town. The people
were all asleep, and during the night he ate their eyes. When the
people awoke in the morning, they found that they were blind. They
asked one another, “Did not you hear a story about such a thing
happening?” But the old people said they never had heard of such a
thing. The next night he proceeded to another town, where he also ate
the eyes of all the people. Then he did the same in a third town. The
people did not know how they lost their eyesight. Finally he went to a
fourth town and ate the eyes of the people.
There was an old man in the corner of the chief’s house. He did not
sleep because he wished to discover how the people in the various towns
were blinded. One night he saw the boy arise from the side of his
mother and return early in the morning. He returned with his skin
blanket filled with something. The old man saw him sitting down near
his mother’s fire and taking out something round from his blanket.
While doing so he was laughing. Then the old man knew that he had taken
the eyes of the people.
When, the next morning, the people heard that the inhabitants of
another town had lost their eyes the old man said that he had seen how
the young man ate the eyes while his mother was asleep, that he had
carried them back to the house in his blanket, and that he had eaten
them sitting near the fire.
The floor of the house was made of stone. The chief then broke it, took
the boy, and threw him down to our earth. At that time the water was
still high, and only the top of his totem pole was seen above the
surface of the water. The boy dropped upon the top of the totem pole,
crying “Qa!” and assumed the shape of a raven. The pole split in two
when he dropped down upon it. Then the waters began to subside, and he
began his migrations.
He went to a rock from which the wind was blowing all the time. He
intended to kill the [s. e.] wind, Xēiō′. He tried to make canoes from
various kinds of wood, but they did not satisfy him. Then he asked the
birds to carry him there, but they could not do it. Finally he took the
maple tree, and he succeeded in making a good canoe. He vanquished the
wind and made him his slave.
Xāusgana [272] was fishing for halibut. The Raven went to visit him. He
was kindly received, because Xāusgana did not know that he was trying
to steal food wherever he went. One morning when he went out fishing
Raven said: “On my travels I saw a large island on which there are a
great many woodpeckers.” Xāusgana believed him. He said: “Let us go and
see it.” One day, when the water was calm, they started, accompanied by
Xāusgana’s wife. They paddled toward the island, and Raven said: “Stay
here in the canoe while I go ashore to hunt woodpeckers in the woods.”
There were many sʟāskʼᴇma (a plant bearing something resembling
berries) in the woods. Raven took one of these and struck his nose
until it bled. Then he transformed the blood into woodpeckers. Then he
went back to the canoe and said: “Did you see the woodpeckers coming
out of the woods?” By this time many woodpeckers had come out from
under the trees, and Xāusgana became eager to hunt them. Fishermen are
in the habit of tying the red feathers of the woodpeckers to their
hooks in order to secure good luck. [273]
As soon as Xāusgana had gone a hunting Raven went back to the canoe. He
lay down in it and thought: “I wish that a wind would start from the
island and that the canoe would drift away!” He pulled his blanket over
his head and pretended to sleep. Now a wind arose, and the canoe
drifted away. When Xāusgana saw this he shouted: “Wake up! You are
drifting out to sea!” but Raven did not stir. Then Xāusgana was greatly
troubled because he had lost his canoe. As soon as Raven was out of
sight he assumed the shape of Xāusgana and turned the canoe toward his
house. He went up to the house and said to Xāusgana’s wife: [274] “That
man who came visiting us is Raven. He is a liar.” Then the woman gave
him to eat, and after he had finished the food he asked for more. The
woman remarked: “How does it happen that you are so hungry now?
Formerly you never ate as much as you do to-day.” She was unable to
satisfy his hunger. At night he lay down with her. He lived in the
house, and people believed that he was Xāusgana.
The latter was staying on the island, unable to leave it. After a while
he thought: “I wish my rattle would come here!” The rattle obeyed his
summons. Then he wished his bow to come. Then he walked home over the
surface of the water as though it were firm land. He reached his
village. After a while he saw his wife coming out of the house. He
called her and told her: “The Raven has cheated you. Let us take
revenge. Close all the chinks of our house and lock the door. When
everything is done shut the smoke hole; then I will appear and take
revenge.” The woman reentered the house and acted as though nothing had
happened. She prepared food for him, and he ate. While he was eating he
said all the time: “It is strange how much I have changed. Formerly I
was never as hungry as I am now.”
Meanwhile the woman closed all the chinks of the house. Then Xāusgana
entered. Raven put on his skin and tried to escape, but Xāusgana caught
him and killed him. He broke his bones to pieces and threw him into the
latrine. On the following day when his wife went to defecate Raven spit
upward at her genitalia. He took the body and struck it again, and he
took a large stone and pounded it to jelly. Then he threw it into the
sea. It drifted about on the water. One day many people went out in
their canoe. When they saw the body they remarked: “Why is that chief
drifting about on the water?” And the body replied, “A woman is the
cause of this.”
After a while he thought, “I wish that a whale would come and swallow
me!” Then the whale came and swallowed him.
Here follows the story of the Raven in the Whale.
The whale stranded and was discovered by the people. They came and cut
it. Then Raven thought: “I wish that the chief’s son would open the
whale’s stomach, that I may get out again!” At once the chief’s son cut
open the whale’s stomach. Then Raven flew out right against the young
man’s chest. The youth fell down dead. Then the people were afraid, and
ran away.
Raven flew into the woods, and assumed the shape of an old man. He came
back, leaning on a staff, and asked the people: “Why are you running
away?” They told him what had happened. Then he said, “I heard that the
same events happened long ago. At that time the people left the town,
leaving all their property behind. I think it would be best for you to
do the same.” Then the people, who were much afraid, left the village
at once. Raven stayed behind, and ate all their provisions.
Beaver [275] was a chief who had his room in the rear of a very
beautiful house. Behind the house there was a large lake, where Beaver
went to play. Then he returned to his house. In the lake there were
many salmon, and on the shores were growing all kinds of berries. When
he returned home he carried a fish, which he boiled.
One day Raven, who desired to rob Beaver of his treasures, disguised
himself as a poor, ugly person. In this shape he went to Beaver’s
house. In the evening Beaver came home, bringing a fish and berries,
which he intended to boil. Raven arranged it so that he should meet
him. Then Beaver asked: “What are you doing here?” Raven replied: “My
father has just died. He said that you are my brother. We have the same
ancestors. He told me to go to visit you and to ask you for food.” Then
Beaver invited him to his house. He boiled his fish, and when it was
cooked he let Raven partake of the meal. He believed him and pitied
him.
Next day Beaver went to the lake. He told Raven to stay at home. Toward
noon he returned, carrying a salmon, and he spoke kindly to Raven,
promising to feed him all the time. He told him that there were always
fish in the lake and ripe berries on its shores.
On the following day Raven went out to the lake. He rolled up the water
like a blanket, took a number of fish out, boiled them, and ate them.
When Beaver came home he found Raven crying and pretending to be
hungry. On the following day Raven went out again. He rolled up the
water, took it in his beak, and flew away. He alighted on the top of a
large cedar tree.
When Beaver went out in order to fish in his lake he found that it was
gone, and he saw Raven sitting on a tree, holding the water. Then
Beaver called the monster Tā′ʟat’adᴇga, [276] which has a long body, a
long tail, and many legs; and he called all the beavers and the bears
and asked them to throw the tree down. The wolves dug up its roots, the
beavers gnawed the trunk of the tree, and all the animals tried to do
what was in their power. Finally the tree fell. Then Raven flew off to
another tree. They tried to throw this tree down. All the animals of
the forest helped Beaver. After they had thrown down four trees they
asked a favor of Raven: “Please give us our chief’s water. Don’t make
us unhappy!” But he did not comply with their request. He flew away,
and spit some of the water on the ground as he flew along. Thus
originated all the rivers on Queen Charlotte islands. He also made the
Skeena and Stikine rivers.
There was a man named K·ʼî′lkun, who lived at Skidegate. He asked Raven
to give him some water. Raven complied with his request, but gave him
very little only. This annoyed him so much that he fell down dead. He
forms the long point of land near Skidegate. [277] The same thing
happened at Naēku′n. [278] For this reason there is a long point of
land at that place.
This is the best known, as it is the longest, of all stories told on
the upper northwest coast, and many writers have given fragments of it.
Although often spoken of as the creation legend, it would be more
correct to say that it explains how things were altered from one state
or condition into that in which we now find them. Thus topographic
features, natural phenomena, the tastes, passions, habits, and customs
of animals and human beings are mainly explained by referring to
something that Raven did in ancient times. He was not the only
originator of all these things, but he was the principal, and for that
reason he was known as Nᴀñkî′lsʟas (“He-whose-voice-is-obeyed”). Until
Qî′ñgî adopted him he was called Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i
(“The-potential-Nᴀñkî′lsʟas”). Some even said that Nᴀñkî′lsʟas was a
great chief who put on the skin of a raven only when he wanted to act
like a buffoon. Among the three peoples who have developed this story
most—Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian—the Raven clan is also of very great
importance, and it is evident to me that there is a causal relation
between the two facts. I have, however, discussed the singular
prominence of the Raven clan among the people in this region in volume
V, part 1, of the Memoirs of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, page
104.
Aware of the important position held by this myth, I made a special
endeavor to secure as much of it as possible and consulted several
different story-tellers. The main portion of the story was given me by
John Sky, a Kloo man, who also related the five next and that on page
86. A long section was added by Walter McGregor, who belonged to the
people of the west-coast town of Kaisun, and fragments were contributed
by Abraham, an old man of Kloo, by Tom Stevens, chief of
Those-born-at-House-point, the ancient people of Rose spit, and by Job
Moody, a man of the Witch people of Cumshewa and father of my
interpreter. A second version is appended. This was obtained in English
by Prof. Franz Boas from Charlie Edenshaw, chief of the great Masset
family Stᴀ′stas. He spent his earlier years at Skidegate, so I am not
certain whether it is more like the story as told at Skidegate or as
told at Masset. I am inclined to think, however, that it approaches the
form in which it was told by the people of Rose spit. While at Masset I
secured several additional texts bearing on events in the life of
Raven, some of them differing considerably from the above. An abstract
of these texts will be found on pages 207–211 of volume V, part 1, of
the Memoirs of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition. On pages 233–238 of
the same memoir will be found two sections of the story obtained from
two old Kaigani. They probably contain much of the Tlingit Raven story.
Finally, it must be stated that Raven is brought forward to explain so
many local phenomena that an absolutely complete Raven story is neither
practicable nor necessary.
A-SLENDER-ONE-WHO-WAS-GIVEN-AWAY
[Told by John Sky of Those-born-at-Skedans]
Once there was a chief’s child, they say, a girl, for whom they often
hung out hawk down on the end of a pole. [279] Her father loved her.
She had two brothers; one was large and the other had just begun
growing.
Once people came in front of her father’s town in ten canoes, danced
while coming and stopped in front of the town. Then one of her father’s
slaves inquired: “What are these come for?” “They are come to get the
chief’s child.” And when they said “The woman refuses,” they went away
weeping.
The next day others came dancing on ten canoes. Then again they asked:
“What are these come for?” “They are come to get the chief’s daughter.”
And those, too, they refused, and they went weeping away.
Now, the day after a certain one in a hair-seal canoe, [280] wearing a
broad hat, stood there early in the morning. He had a surf-bird for a
hat. After they had looked at him in his hair-seal canoe for a while,
they asked him: “Why does the canoe come?” He said nothing. They did
not want him. They said to him: “The woman refuses.” A round white
thing was on top of his hat. This was a foamy wave. The foam was
turning round and round rapidly. As soon as they had refused him the
earth changed. Out of the earth water boiled up. Then, when this island
was half covered, the frightened town people thought of giving the
woman up. She had ten servants, they say. And they dressed up one of
these just like her. And they painted her. And they put red cirrus
clouds on her and two clear-sky blankets [281] and sent her down to the
chief. Then he absolutely refused her. He would take none but the
chief’s child. They dressed up still another [slave] with dark mottled
clouds which lie seaward, and they put two marten-skin blankets on her
and had her go down. Her, too, he refused. He refused all ten in the
same way.
Now, all of the town people with their children had gone into her
father’s house. Then they all cried, and, without painting her, let her
go. And the ten servants all went with her. When she stood near the
salt water the canoe came quickly to her of itself. [Then the stranger
gave them his father’s hat covered with surf-birds (tcꜝîgᴀ′ldᴀx̣uañ),
which would keep flying out from it and back again.] Now, when she got
in, the ten servants got in with her. What caused the canoe to move
could not be seen. When the chief’s child had got in they discovered
him floating at the place where he had been before.
And they made holes in the front of the whole house by pulling off
planks. Through these they were looking to see which way his canoe
went. After they had looked for a while [it vanished and] they did not
see in which direction. And they did not see that it had sunk. And the
direction in which the chief’s daughter had vanished was unknown.
At times her father turned to the wall and cried, cried, cried. And her
mother turned to the wall and cried, cried, cried. One day he stopped
crying and said to his head slave: [282] “Find out whither my child
went.” “Wait, I will find out the proper time to go. I will go to see
whither your [child] went.”
One morning, as day began to break and when it was a propitious day for
him, he started the fire, and, while the people of the house whom he
feared to have see him, slept, he took a bath. Now after his skin
became dry he turned toward the wall and brought out the tackle he used
for fishing. He untied it, and he took out blue hellebore, and he put
it into the fire. And after he had watched it burn a while, he took it
out of the fire, and he rubbed it on the stone floor-planks and made a
mark with it on his face.
Then he got ready to start. He was going to search for the chief’s
child. The chief’s child’s mother was with him.
And he was a good hunter. He had a sea-otter spear. When he pushed off
he threw the sea-otter spear into the water, and, throwing its tail
about, it went along forming ripples in its passage, and he went with
it.
By and by the canoe stuck. The same thing happened to the sea-otter
spear, they say. Then he pulled the canoe ashore. The chief’s wife got
off, and he turned the canoe over. Long seaweeds were growing on it.
These were the things that stopped the canoe. He had been moving along
for a whole year. Then he took off his cape and rubbed it on the bottom
of the canoe and on the chief’s wife. And he rubbed it on himself as
well and became clean.
Again he shoved off the canoe. Then he threw the sea-otter spear into
the water again, and it moved on anew. He followed it. After he had
gone on, on, on, on for a long while, the canoe again stuck. Then he
pulled the canoe ashore still again. And he turned it over again. [A
kind of] long seaweed had grown on it, and on the chief’s wife, too,
and on himself. Then, as before, he took the cape off. And he rubbed it
on the canoe and on the chief’s wife as well. Then he rubbed it also on
himself. And after they had become clean he launched the canoe again.
Again he threw the sea-otter spear in, and again they followed it.
After he had been towed along by it for a while he came to floating
charcoal. There was no way for him to pass through this, they say. He
had brought along his fishing-tackle box, and he looked into it. And in
it he used to keep the [old spruce roots] taken off when he repaired
his halibut hooks. When he put these roots into the water, [the
charcoal] divided, and he was towed through. Not far away the canoe
came to another place where it (the passage) had closed together. And
when he put some [roots] into the water, as before, that also parted.
Then he was towed out of it and was brought to the edge of the sky.
Now, after it had shut together four times, he braced the spear under
it. [283] He went under. Then he pulled his spear out and put it into
the canoe. He took the paddle and began paddling.
By and by he could see the smoke of a great town. And he pulled the
canoe ashore some distance to one side of the town, they say. After he
had turned the canoe over he made the chief’s wife sit under it. Then
he walked to the town. When he came to the end of the town it was low
tide. A certain woman, with her infant on her back, had come down to
the uncovered beach. She held a basket in her hand, and she had a
digging stick and moved it before her as if hunting for something.
While putting something into the basket she looked up to where he was
seated. And, after she had looked for a while, she did the same thing
again. And, after she had rolled away the stones, she put sea cucumbers
into the basket. That was Property-woman. [284]
When she again fastened her eyes on the place where he sat, she said:
“I know you.” And then he stood up. And he went down on the beach and
stood near her. Then she said to him: “Do you travel hither expecting
to see the chief’s child?” He said “Yes.” “You see this town. He
thought grease into his son’s wife’s mind [285] because he gave away
his father’s hat as soon as he married the chief’s child. [286] She is
lying over there in a cave. When you have entered pass along by the
right side of the chief’s house and go behind the screen. There you
will hear news.”
Then he started away from Property-woman and went into the cave to the
chief’s child. And as she lay there she was winking her eyes. He took
his coat off and rubbed it upon her. And he tried to make her sit up.
In vain. And he became angry because he was unsuccessful. And, since he
could not succeed, he started off.
He put on his two yellow-cedar blankets and walked about among them
(the people). And they did not see him. Then he went into the chief’s
house and to the right. It had ten tiers of retaining planks. On the
upper one, in the middle of the sides, one sat weaving a chief’s
dancing-blanket. Then from the blanket she was weaving something said:
“To-morrow, too, one of my eyes [will still be] unfinished,
unfinished.” [287]
Then, contrary to the expectations of those in the house, he went round
behind the screen and a wonderful sight met his eyes, they say. A large
lake with several gravel points running into it lay there. The points
were red with cranberries. Canoe songs [288] resounded across it. Near
the stream which flowed out of this large lake they had a fire for
[drinking] salt water. [289]
Then some people came in from picking berries. As she walked past the
last one snuffed with her nose. “I smell a human being” [she said]. And
he said to her, “Say! it is I you are speaking about.” “It was the
yellow cedar-bark blankets of the chief’s child’s ten servants whom
they ate, which I am wearing that I smelt.” That was Mink-woman.[289]
And now he turned himself toward the fire which they had made [to warm]
salt water. When he got near, one among those sitting there in a group
said: “What will happen when they (her family) look for the chief’s
daughter?” “Why, what are you saying? When they look for the chief’s
child and return his father’s hat which he (the son) gave away, he (the
father) will make her sit down (i.e., restore her).”
After he had heard all the news he turned round. He remembered the
chief’s wife, ran back to the canoe and turned it over, but only the
chief’s wife’s bones lay there. Then he drew his coat off and rubbed it
upon her, and she awoke as if from sleep. She had been perspiring. He
put his arm into the canoe and pulled it into the water. After he had
let the chief’s wife in he came to the village. He tied her into the
canoe. He tied himself in the same way as the chief’s wife. He tied
himself as Property-woman had told him to do. They were there tied in
front of the chief’s house. As they floated there one came out of the
chief’s house and said: “Wait; they want the chief’s wife to remain
there. They are going to dance near by.” After she had remained there
for a while a thunderbolt [appeared to] drop in the house, they say.
By and by feathers came out of the smoke hole in a point. After it rose
into the air it broke off. Then it came to them in a point and struck
them, and they both forgot themselves.
They came to themselves lying on the retaining timbers. And then he
untied himself and the chief’s wife as well. When he could walk he
untied her. Her son-in-law sat opposite the door, and they spread out
mats for her below. Then they came down and sat in the middle of the
side. [290] Then one brought food in a small basket. In it were large
clam shells, small clam shells, and two mussel shells. They gave some
to the chief’s wife. They let her eat. After different kinds of food
had been brought out and eaten and all was gone, they brought a basket
to the fire, poured water into it, and put stones into the fire. When
these were red-hot they put them into the basket with wooden tongs.
It boiled. Then the chief said something to a youth who was walking
around the basket. Then he went into a storeroom in one corner and
brought out a whale on the end of a sharpened stick. He put it into the
basket. Now, when he had tried it with a stick and it had become soft,
he put the whale into a dish the shape of a chiton and laid it down
before them.
Now he again said something, and he (the youth) gave her old clam
shells to drink the soup out of. She was unable to drink with these.
Now she got her own basket and took out two large clam shells and two
mussel shells, whereupon the people all stopped in a moment as when
something is dropped. [291] And the chief, too, looked at nothing but
those mussel shells. When his eyes were fastened upon them she noticed
it and stopped.
Then she handed the shells to her husband’s slave and had him give them
to her son-in-law. He made a place for them [on his blanket]. Now,
after he had looked at them for a while, he said something, whereupon
they went to him to get them and put them away behind the screen.
In the evening those in the house went to sleep, and they (the
visitors) also went to sleep.
When day broke a young hair seal was crying in the corner of the house,
they say. At daylight they started off by canoe.
Now the canoe lay on top of the retaining planks. There he fastened the
chief’s wife, and he fastened himself in the stern. The thunderbolt
dropped behind the screens which pointed toward each other. When the
feathers came out from it in a point toward the fire and struck them
they forgot themselves. When they came to themselves they were on the
ocean.
Now he untied himself, went to the chief’s wife, and untied her. And
when they went off it was the middle of summer when the young hair seal
cry. He picked up his paddle and started paddling. After he had made
two strokes he reached his master’s town.
The chief’s wife went in and sat down. She related to her husband how
his daughter was situated. Then the slave also went to his master and
told him what those thought who had had a fire for salt water. He
repeated what they said to him word for word.
At once he spoke to the one who had charge of the fire. Two persons
went through the town summoning the people. Immediately they entered.
The house was full. Then he opened supplies of good food. He fed them.
He fed them all. When the food was all gone he told the town people
what he had in mind. He told the town people that he was going to look
for his daughter. All were well pleased. He told all the chiefs to
start in ten canoes. They agreed.
But the next morning his oldest boy had disappeared. When they began to
get ready the next day the youngest also was gone.
For the chief and the chief’s wife each they drew the figures of
cumulus clouds upon ten clam shells. As many mussel shells were inside
of these. He had ten drawn for the elder [son] and he had ten drawn for
the younger. The town people who were going away all gathered ten
apiece [for the men] and five apiece for the women. And after they had
got through gathering them they waited for the two sons who had gone
off to marry. They got tired of waiting for them because they wanted to
restore their sister. The town people had everything ready and were
awaiting them.
The elder got home at midday. His hair was fastened with cedar limbs.
“Mother, I have brought a wife to you. She stands outside. Go out and
get her.” So he spoke to his mother: “Oh! my child has come.” She
looked outside, and a woman stood there having curly hair parted and
large eyes. This was Mouse-woman.
After the youngest had been away for a while, he, too, came back at
midday. He came in, his hair fastened with a small fern. Hai hi hi hi
hi⁺⁺⁺. [292] “Mother, I bring a wife to you. She stands outside. Go out
and get her.” A wonderful person stood there. She was too powerful to
look at. Something short with curly hair and a copper blanket [stood
there]. “Chief-woman, come in.” She did not wish to enter. “She does
not wish to come in. She positively refuses, my child; your wife
positively refuses.” “Why! she goes by contraries,” he said to her as
he stood up. He went out to his wife, came in with her, and sat down.
Next day, very early, they went off. The town people all started out
together upon the ocean. The elder son’s wife sat up on one of the
seats, and the younger one’s wife concealed herself inside. She (the
former) sat up high to look after those who were starting off. She
always kept her small wooden box with her wherever she turned. When
they were all afloat she hunted in it and took out a bone awl. And she
put it into the water. The water rushed aside as it cut through. In
behind it they placed the canoe. The bone awl began to tow them along.
After they had been towed along, along, along, along, along for a
while, they came in sight of a broad band of smoke from a town. Some
distance from the town the elder brother’s wife told them all to land.
She talked to them. The elder brother had married Mouse-woman so that
they might follow her directions.
They stopped at this place, and she had them cut long sticks. They got
two poles at this place. The younger brother’s wife hid herself, but
the elder brother’s wife commanded the voyagers. The ten canoes were
still, and along the front of the bows and midway of the canoes they
put the sticks. They fastened them to thwarts by winding ropes around
them. [293] That was finished. Then they started for the front of the
town.
They stopped in front of the chief’s house, and one came out of the
chief’s house. “Wait, they direct you to remain still. They are going
to dance in front of you.” After they had remained there for a while,
they forgot themselves. Then they came to themselves lying on top of
the retaining planks. In the place where they woke up they untied
themselves. They also untied the poles that had been fastened upon the
canoes.
On top of the retaining planks they spread out mats. There were crowds
of people there on each side on the ten retaining planks. The chief’s
child was not there, the one they came after. Only her husband sat
there. Then they spread out two mats in front of the place where he
sat. In front of him the ten canoe loads of people laid their clam
shells. They filled the house up to the very roof. Now they laid the
hat on top of all. They gave it back to him.
“Come! send for my father. Tell him to hurry.” Then a youth started on
the run. “Is he coming?” “He is close by.” Whiu-u-u-u (sound of wind).
The house moved. The earth, too, shook. Of all the visitors who sat in
circles not one looked up. But, while they hung their heads, the
younger brother’s wife raised hers up. Then she looked toward the rear
of the house and toward the door. “Hold up your heads. Have you, also,
no power?” she said.
By and by the house shook again, and the ground with it. X̣u-u-u. The
people in the house again hung their heads. Now she said again “Hold
your heads up. Have you, too, no supernatural power?” At the same time
he came in and stood there. Something wonderful came in and stood
there. His large eyelids were too powerful to look at. Where he placed
his foot he stood for awhile. When he took another step the earth and
the house shook. When he took another step and the house and the earth
shook, all of the people hung their heads; but she (the youngest’s
wife) said to them, “Hold your heads up.” When she said it louder the
supernatural power that had entered took hold of his head. “Stop!
mighty supernatural woman that you are.” After that he came in. Nothing
happened. [294] He sat down near his son.
But when he first came in and sat down he laid his hands at once on his
hat.
With his father’s staff he divided the clam shells. He kept the smaller
part for himself. He made his father’s part large. “Did you send for
your wife, chief, my son?” “No, indeed; I have been waiting for you.”
“Send someone for your wife, chief, my son.” Then a youth went to call
her. “Is she coming?” “Yes; she approaches.” By and by the one whom
they were after came in from the cave where she had lain, and stood
there. But she went to her mother first. She did not go down to her
husband.
Then his father began to dance. After he had done so for a while, he
fell down. At once he broke in two in the middle. Out of his buttocks
feathers blew, and out of his trunk as well. One of the servants stood
up out of his buttocks, one out of his trunk, another out of his
buttocks, another out of his trunk. All ten whom he had eaten he
restored. [295] That was why he danced. On account of the hat he had
devoured the servants. He had put grease, too, into the mind of the
chief’s daughter by thinking. On account of the hat they put her in the
cave. By and by he came together. He stopped dancing. He sat down.
Now they put more wood on the fire, made them sit down in a circle, and
began to give them something to eat. The feast went on even until
midnight, when they stopped. They stopped. They went to bed.
When day began to break the young hair seals cried in the very place
where they had cried before. Then they prepared to start from the top
of the retaining timbers, where their canoes were lying.
Then her father-in-law called her. “Noble woman, [296] wait until I
give you directions.” And he whispered to her. He gave her directions
as she sat near him. “Chief-woman, I will come forth from your womb. Do
not be afraid of me.” And to her he gave a round plate of copper, to
which some strings and a chain were fastened. It was named X̣īłūtꜝā′ła
(Property chain (?)). “Have Master Carpenter make my cradle, chief’s
daughter. Let lofty cumulus clouds be around the upper edges,
chief-woman, and around its lower edges short ones. In those days human
servants (i.e., human beings) will gather food through me. When they
see me sitting in the morning the surface birds will gather food while
I am governing the weather (i.e., while I am in sight).” [297]
Her parents (“fathers”) were waiting for her on top of the retaining
timbers, but, below, her father-in-law was giving her directions, to
which she was listening. After he had ceased talking, she got into the
canoe with her father. They fastened the canoes to each other; they all
fastened themselves. After the chief’s child got in, all forgot
themselves. When they came to, they were afloat upon the ocean.
At once they started off. In a short time he came to his village. After
it had lain still for a long time the chief’s daughter became pregnant.
When she began to labor they made a house for her outside. They drove
in a stake, had her take hold of it, and went in. Now he came forth,
and, when she looked at him, she saw something wonderful. Something
flat stuck out from his eyelids. She rose quickly and ran away from him
in fright. “Awaiyā′,” she said, and the town was nearly overturned.
Then she quickly turned back toward him, laid her hands upon him, and
exclaimed as she picked him up: “Oh! my grandfather, it is I.” The town
was as still as when something is suddenly thrown down. She brought him
to the house. Her father put hot stones into a urinal he owned, and
they washed him. [298]
As soon as they went out for [Master Carpenter], he came on the run. He
held in his hand what he had taken off (i.e., cut out) [299] in the
woods. As soon as he came in he put the drawing on it, as the chief’s
daughter told him. He pictured the clouds upon it. There were two rows
of them. He made holes in the cradle for fastening the rope alongside
of his legs.
Then they put him in. They brought out two sky blankets and wrapped
them round him in the cradle. After that was done they launched the
canoe. Five persons and the chief’s daughter went with her son. Then
they started seaward. They went, they went, they went. When they found
by looking about that they were midway between the Haida country and
the mainland they let him down into the water. When they let him go he
turned around to the right four times and became like something flat
thrown down. Then they went away from him, and settled down at the
place where they had been before.
[He was the one who has his place in the middle of the sea. Sometimes
when sickness was about to break out they saw him. Nᴀñʟ̣da′ sʟas [300]
was a reef.]
[What follows is really a second story, but it was told as part of the
same. Its true name is said to be
“He-who-had-Panther-woman-for-his-mother.”]
Here on the Nass lay the town of Gu′nwa. Four slaves of the owner of
the town came down [the inlet] after wood. They cut the wood at a sandy
beach below the town and saw young cedars. They found them for the
chief’s wife. They did not believe their eyes [for joy at finding them
growing so conveniently to the water]. They finished cutting the wood,
loaded it on their canoe, and went up with the tide. At evening they
got back. The town people brought in the wood, and he (the chief)
called them in.
Then, after they had given away food for a while, he reported that they
had seen young cedars. At once the chief’s wife planned to go for the
bark. They went to sleep, and early in the morning she had her
husband’s canoe brought out. People of the town, the chief’s daughters
and young men, all went with her. At once they floated down with the
current. Hu hu hu hu hu, much food,—cranberries and salmon,—[they took
with them]. Then they went down.
When they landed by the young cedars all the women pulled off and
dragged down [the bark] from those [trees] near by. They pulled it off
and dragged it out to her. When they had taken all from those near at
hand they became scattered.
She (the chief’s wife) sat with her back to the sunshine, pulling cedar
bark apart. She was not in the habit of eating much. Her fingers were
slender. She did not care for food.
After the sounds of the voices of women and men had died away inland a
person wearing a bearskin blanket with the hair side out came and stood
near her. He held something like a pole. It had a sharp point. It was
half red, half blue. He was looking at the chief’s wife, but she did
not even glance toward him. He asked the chief’s wife: “How do you act
when your husband calls the people [for a feast]?” “When my husband
calls the people, I empty the whole dish placed in front of the one
sitting next to me into my mouth.”
She had children. One of the two boys she had could not creep.
“How do you act when your husband calls the people again?” “As soon as
my husband calls the people I put food into the dishes and, bending
down, eat out of them.” “How do you act when your husband comes in from
fishing?” “I go down, pull up my dress, swim out to him, and swallow
the two spring salmon which are on top.”
He drove the thing he had in his hand into her forehead, and, when it
stuck out at the back of her head and he had raised her arm, all of her
flesh dropped off. Then he sat down and entered it (her skin). And he
picked up her flesh and buried it in the sand at the foot of the tree.
After he had seated herself in the place of the chief’s wife, they came
down to her in crowds with the cedar bark.
All of them pulled their cedar bark apart. Among the crowds of people
that were there the chief woman did it. “Woman, I am hungry.” “Well,
there is a piece of white food in [my box].” “In mine, too.” “In mine,
too.” This [they said] because they wanted to have her eat.
The one who was quickest broke up the piece of food and placed it in
front of her. She ate all of the little they gave her. While she was
doing it, at which they were very much pleased, they started out. Later
than the usual time for going to sleep they reached home. They
explained that they had started back in the night because the chief’s
wife had begun to eat.
The chief commanded wood to be put on the fire. Then he called the
people. One of her children had nearly cried itself to death when she
reached home. When they handed it to her she pulled her teats out and
put one into her child’s mouth, but it ran away from her. It was
sucking a man. That is why it ran off crying.
The town people came in and sat down in a circle. After they had
roasted the salmon, had broken it up into small pieces, and had placed
some in a dish in front of the one sitting next to her she emptied it
all [into her mouth]. She did not chew it. When she emptied it into her
mouth the town people looked at her instead of eating. They were
astonished at the way in which she handled the food. But it was the
chief’s wife [they thought].
Next day his wife was again hungry, and again he called the people.
While they were in astonishment at her [actions], the elder brother
carried his younger brother along in front of the town. Both went
crying along. He called the people. Then they let her pour the berries
into a dish. To their surprise instead of doing so she bent over the
tray. The youths came back in a crowd with the empty trays. They were
astonished at what she did. It was not the chief’s wife that they saw.
Next day, very early, he (the elder brother) launched one of his
father’s canoes and put his younger brother in the bow. He paddled off
aimlessly out of Nass inlet, away from the town of Gu′nwa. After he had
gone down with the tide for a while a woman leaned halfway out from a
certain house and said: “Come hither.” The house had a front sewed
together with cedar limbs. [301] It was painted.
Then he directed his course toward it. After he had landed she said to
him: “Stop with me. To-morrow you shall go on.” She spread out mats
woven in many colors for them. The chief-woman sat on one side, the
elder brother next to her, and the younger lay on the other side of
him. Then she said to him: “Let your younger brother sit next to me.”
He picked him up and made him sit next to her.
For a long time he had had nothing to eat, since the time when they
were astonished at the actions of his mother. He was going to eat for
the first time with this woman. She turned round. Then she looked into
her box, took a dish out of it with the carving of a mouse on it, and
placed before him a single piece of salmon.
He bent down his head and thought: “After I have gone hungry for so
long this is very little for me to eat. What part will my brother eat?”
She was looking at his face and said to him: “Why, just as it is, the
supernatural beings are never able to pick it up and eat it.” He picked
it up, and his younger brother also picked it up. Yet it was still
there. After they had eaten it for a while they had enough and put [the
dish] back.
After the dry fish was finished she put down a cranberry for them as
well. As soon as he thought about that, too, she looked into his face
again and said to him: “Eat it. The supernatural beings are unable to
consume it.” Then he picked it up with a spoon and ate it. When they
were filled she put it back.
After it became dark she spread out the mat. There the chief-woman lay
down. The elder brother was going to lie next to her, but she said:
“Lay your younger brother next me.” He picked him up and laid him next
her. As soon as he laid him down he lay as still as one killed by a
club. For the first time after he had cried so long he slept.
While he (the elder brother) was asleep he heard a woman laugh, and it
awoke him. To his surprise his younger brother was playing with the
chief-woman. When his younger brother did a certain thing to the chief
woman [she exclaimed]: “Yu-ī′, now see how
He-who-came-to-have-Panther-woman-for-his-mother plays with me.” As
soon as the elder brother understood this he began to cry [from
jealousy]. At the same time day broke.
At daybreak he began to get ready to go somewhere without knowing
whither. Then she made him sit down. “Stop! let me tell you something.”
She brought her box out to the fire, took something blue out of it, and
bit off part for him. “Now, my grandson, if anything has too much power
for you, swallow this and spit it upon yourself.” Then she said to him:
“Right down the inlet lives the one whom you came to see, the one for
whose daughter you came. But your younger brother shall remain with me,
and after a while I will marry him.”
Then he went down with the current alone. He was expecting to meet
Sqä′g̣ał’s daughter. There lay the large town in which lived the woman
he came to marry. After he had walked about in the town for a while it
became dark. Then he entered Sqä′g̣ał’s house. He went in and sat down
close to the door. The chief’s child sat between the screens at the
rear of the house. Around her walked some women with their hair stuck
together in bunches. Her father set them to watch her so that she might
do nothing foolish. When day began to break, instead of going in to
her, he went outside.
He went round the front of the house and followed a narrow trail. At an
open place near water holes human bones were piled up, and a bull pine
stood there. In the branches of this he sat down. After he had been
sitting there for some time red spots from the rising sun appeared on
the open ground. Then the chief’s child came thither. The servant who
came in advance had a bone stuck in her nose. [302] She had a crooked
war club. The one who came behind was dressed in the same way. The
leader had a human scalp in her hands. Their hair was stuck together in
bunches. She was a Tlingit woman. The one behind was a Bellabella.
[303]
She sat down, untied her blanket, and was naked. Then she went into the
water, turned round four times, and came out. Then the Tlingit woman
rubbed her back. The Bellabella woman, too, rubbed her breast. After
they had finished rubbing her she went into the water a second time.
After she had turned round to the right she sat down on dry ground and
turned her back to the sunshine.
When her skin had begun to dry he came out and seized her. The moment
that he seized her he quickly touched noses. [304] One servant picked
up her weapons with the scalp, ready to strike him, and the other one,
too, was ready to strike him with the bone club. But she stopped them.
“Do not kill him. I will marry him.” The human bones lying around
belonged to those who, having become fascinated at the sight of her,
had seized her, and had presently been killed by the servants.
At the same place, beside the bull pine, they lay with each other. The
Tlingit woman sat down at her feet. The Kwakiutl woman sat at her head.
There they kept looking at her. When the sun was set all four went
home. Then she entered her father’s house. As she went in she concealed
her husband under her blankets. Her father had his eyes fixed upon her
and [said]: “My child, what makes you lame?” “Father, a shell made my
foot sore by cutting into it.” Then they went in together behind the
screens.
And in the evening the chief’s child lay behind the screens. Then he
lay with her, and he (her father) heard someone talking with his
daughter in the night. When day broke the chief commanded them to put
wood on the fire, and two slaves put wood on the fire. After it had
begun to burn up he said: “Come! look to see who is talking with my
child.” Then a young man went thither and said: “Someone is lying here
with her.” And her father said: “Alas! I wonder what roaming
supernatural being it is! Perhaps it is
‘He-who-had-Panther-woman-for-his-mother,’ whom I wanted my child to
marry.” “He says he is the one, father [said his daughter].”
Then he spread out a mat next to himself and said: “My child, come and
sit down near the fire with your husband.” Shortly she came down and
sat there with him. They put four hard stones into the fire. When they
became red-hot he put them into a dish standing near the wall with the
tongs. Then he had it set before his son-in-law. A spoon made out of
white rock was stuck into it. She was crying. “Hᴀ hᴀ hᴀ!” she wept, “he
is going to do again as he always does when I try to get married. That
is how he kills them.” Then he said to his wife, “Do not utter a word.”
Now he took the spoon, picked up one of the red-hot stones and
swallowed it. His insides were not affected. He handled all four in the
same way. He finished with them.
This was because his supernatural power was strong. If his supernatural
power had been weak, he would have been killed. Because his
supernatural power was strong he let him marry his daughter.
While he was living with this woman he and his younger brother, who had
become the husband of Mouse-woman, forgot how their mother had begun to
act strangely.
One day he lay abed a long time. He lay until evening. He was there
when they went to sleep. Next day he again lay abed. Again he was there
till they went to sleep. He lay abed two days. “My child” [said his
father-in-law], “why is your husband feeling badly?” She said: “I do
not know.” Then she went over to her husband, sat down at the head of
his bed, and talked a while to him. Then she said to her father: “He
has suddenly become desirous to see his younger brother, whom he left
just above here.” “Now, chief-woman, go with your husband to the common
canoe I own over there in the woods.”
And they went thither. To their surprise they did not find the canoe.
Only the bones of a whale lay there among the salmon-berry bushes. Its
tail bones lay [with the rest]. Then they returned and she said to her
father: “Father, we could not find it. Only a whale’s head lies there.”
Then he said to her: “Chief-woman, my daughter, that was it. Say to it
‘Go seaward, father’s canoe.’”
When she went back to it with her husband she kicked it. “Go seaward,
father’s canoe,” she said to it. Now a whale canoe floated upon the
water. The lines cut on the edges [305] were pictures of geese, which
almost moved their wings. And they carried their stuff down to it. The
canoe was all filled with good food, with cranberries, berries in
cakes, soapberries, and the fat of all kinds of animals, grizzly-bear
fat, mountain-goat fat, deer fat, ground-hog fat, beaver fat—the fat
parts of all mainland animals; and he got into the canoe and pressed it
down with his feet toward the bow. When the canoe was nearly full those
who were loading it went up to the house and laid pieces of whale meat,
with most of the grease taken out, in a basket. When it was full they
took it down. And they laid it on the top.
When they were ready to start, her father came out; [he said]: “My
child, when the creatures seated on both sides call throw cranberries
into their mouths. When they become hungry they keep calling.”
As soon as they moved their wings the canoe started. While they did so
the canoe went along. By and by, when his brother’s wife’s house came
in sight, they shoved off Mouse-woman’s canoe also. They also loaded
her’s with good food. When it was filled they pressed it toward the bow
with their feet. By and by it was filled, and they started off
together.
As soon as the geese along the edges of the elder brother’s canoe began
to call he took out cranberries and put them into their mouths. Along
the edges of the younger one’s canoe sat rows of small human figures.
All had small painted paddles in their hands. With these they paddled.
As soon as they began to move their lips as if hungry he fed them.
When they came near to the place where they had gone to get cedar bark,
the younger brother’s wife and the elder brother’s wife sat upright.
And they said: “Move shoreward.” Now they got off there. They had
sticks in their hands, and they hunted in the sand with them from the
sea inland. By and by they dug out the bones of a human being in front
of a tree at the edges of the grass. The canoes floated on the water in
front of them. Their husbands were looking at them.
Mouse-woman took out her box. Sqäg̣ał’s daughter, too, took out her box.
Sqäg̣ał’s daughter brought out of her box a mat with edges like clouds.
Mouse-woman took out something from her box also and bit off a part.
Now they put the mat over her and began to rattle her bones under it.
Underneath this Mouse-woman spit many times. Then they (i.e.,
Mouse-woman) told Sqäg̣ał’s daughter to hurry: “Quick, hasten your mind,
noble woman.” Then she, too, said: “It is [for you to do so], noble
woman. You had better hurry yourself; it is getting late.” Then she
pulled off the mat. Ah! their mother-in-law got up. He looked at his
mother; both [boys], in fact, [did so].
They had her get into the canoe of the younger and went up with the
tide to Gunwa, their father’s town. The younger brother’s wife hid her
mother-in-law. They were anxious to see how their [supposed] mother
would act when they arrived. When they got near the town, the wife of
the younger ordered the canoes to be brought close together. The town
was thrown into commotion. They reported to each other that the chief’s
son and his younger brother, who had gone away, had both married. The
people who came down to meet them were like warriors going to fight. In
front came his mother putting her belt on as she ran to carry up the
things. She acted differently from the others.
Then the elder brother’s canoe landed first, and Sqäg̣ał’s daughter
stood near the basket. “Come hither, woman. Carry up my basket.” Then
she went to it and was going to carry it with the strings around her
head. Sqäg̣ał’s daughter prevented her. She wished her to carry it the
right way [with the straps around her breast]. When she carried it, the
weight made her stagger as she went up. She got into the house with it.
How huge it was! Afterward they at once carried up the other things.
After they had pulled up the canoe, the younger one’s canoe also came
to the shore. A big basket was in it, the strings on which were just
like a knife. Mouse-woman stood near it. Then she called her
mother-in-law from the place where she was carrying things up. “Come
hither, woman. Carry up my basket.” Then her mother-in-law came to her,
and was about to put the basket strings around her head. But [the
other] forbade her. And she did as she was told.
When she started to carry it up the strings cut her head off. Her head
lay at some distance. At once Mouse-woman took a whetstone out of her
box, quickly got ashore, and put it between her head and her trunk,
which were drawing together. After she had ground herself to pieces
foam was piled up on either side.
Now she let out her mother-in-law. At that time they came down in a
crowd and got her. They did it because they were glad to see her. To
kill her mother-in-law was the purpose for which Mouse-woman let
herself marry the boy. A crowd of people carried the property up. Then
she said to her husband: “Leave me. I married you to restore your
mother to life.” At once she pushed the canoe off and vanished
downstream with the current. There was no trace of her left.
After that the elder brother’s wife lived as a chief’s wife. Then she
became pregnant, Sqäg̣ał’s daughter did. She bore a boy. Again she was
pregnant. She bore another boy. [She bore seven boys.] There was one
girl.
Sqäg̣ał’s children made their town at Qꜝadō′, opposite Metlakahtla.
Their mother and their sister lived with them. All eight went out to a
beaver pond to hunt. When they had at length come to the lake, and had
made a hole in one end of the dam, a stick was carried into the
shoulder of the eldest by the force of the current. He died there.
Then they went away. And at midnight they came behind the house. Then
they sent out the youngest and gave him the following directions:
“Speak to our mother. And also watch your elder brother’s wife. She
must be unfaithful to him. She must be going with another man. That is
why our brother is [dead].”
He went off, entered his mother’s side of the house, laid his hand on
his mother’s head, and said to his mother: “The beaver dam drifted down
upon my elder brother. One piece drifted into his neck. He dropped dead
without speaking a word.” Then she said: “Alas! my child.” “Stop! we do
not want him spoken of before the people. Do not say a word.”
When she had wakened the people in the house by her exclamation, they
asked her: “What made you say that?” and she said, “I dreamed of
something terrible. I dreamed that a beaver dam floated into my eldest
son and he dropped dead without saying a word. That was what made me
cry out.”
After he had lain flat on the floor near his mother, and midnight had
come, he heard some one talking with his elder brother’s wife. When it
was near daylight, they stopped whispering. Then he crept over to them.
And as the man slept he cut off his head.
After they had sat there in the woods for a while day came, and they
went home. They had a real human head in their hands. The youngest
brother put his head above the door. Out of it blood oozed in drops.
The chief’s son [in Metlakahtla] was lost, and they were looking for
him everywhere. They stopped inquiring for him. The town of Metlakahtla
lay there. By and by a north wind began to blow. The sea surface froze,
even to Qꜝadō′. They began to walk to and fro to each other on the ice.
Very early one morning a slave went to the town of Qꜝadō′ for live
coals. “Enter the middle house,” they said to him. And when he went in
blood dropped upon his feet. When he pushed the charcoal into the fire,
he turned his head around from looking at the side opposite the door.
Above the door, to his astonishment, he saw the head of the chief’s son
who had disappeared. He recognized him by the abalone-shell earrings he
wore.
He picked up the live coals and started away with them. When he came to
the ice he threw the coals away. Then he returned. Though he had looked
right at it, he did not believe himself. And he went in again, and
again he put the coals into the fire. After he had looked about the
house for a while he fastened his eyes upon it again. It was really the
chief’s son. Then he went away with the burning coals.
When he was halfway back he also threw those coals away. He thought: “I
must have been mistaken.” Then he went back again. He entered, and he
put [fresh charcoal] into the fire. And as soon as he had done so, he
looked. It was truly he. He saw with his eyes. Then he started off with
the burning coals.
Just outside he threw them away. At once he ran off shouting. “The head
of the chief’s son who disappeared forever is stuck up in this house,”
he shouted out as he ran. As soon as they heard his voice from the town
they did not delay. They put on their armor, shields, helmets. And they
ran to fight with war spears and bows and arrows. At once they fought
with Sqäg̣ał’s children.
She and her mother were the only ones from among her kindred who were
saved. Her brothers, however, they destroyed. They (the two women) came
to live in a branch house in front of a hill behind the town. She lived
there some time with her daughter. Every evening she cried. They went
to bed, and they continued to lie there.
One day she offered her daughter in marriage: “Djīnâ′-â-â, nałgū-ū-ūs
Ga′oax (Tsimshian words).” [306] A large creature came running in at
the side toward the door. “I will marry your daughter.” “What will you
do when you marry my daughter?” “Oh, bother! after I have married your
daughter I will come out at one end of the town and eat them all up
from the end. I will eat them all.” That was Grizzly-bear.
At once she said the same thing again: “Djīnâ′-â-â, djīnâ′-â-â
nałgū-ū-ūs Ga′oax.” Something with crooked legs came in. “I will marry
your daughter.” “After you have married my daughter what will you do
for us?” “I will tip the town over by digging it up with my teeth.”
That was Beaver.
“Djīnâ′-â-â, djīnâ′-â-â nałgū′-ū-ūs Ga′oax.” “What will you do after
you have married my daughter?” “I [will] run into the water at the end
of the town. Then they [will] take me into some canoe, and I [will]
make them quarrel. Then all the townspeople will kill each other.” That
was Deer.
Still another time [she cried]: “Djīnâ′-â-â, djīnâ′-â-â nałgū-ū-ūs
Ga′oax.” [307] Someone came in and stood there. He had a bow for a
staff. Feathers were around it in one place. He held arrows with it in
his hand. He had a quiver on his back. He had dancing leggings. He had
a gable-crowned hat. He did not say a word. “What are you going to do
if you marry my daughter?” He took a heavy step with his right foot.
The earth cracked. “Stop! stop! great chief, you are the one.” Then the
earth closed again. “Indeed, I thought that you had your daughter for
me.”
He took off his hat. He laid aside his quiver. He started off with only
two arrows and his bow. He rolled a grizzly bear down from a steep
place with his foot. There he also rolled down a deer and a beaver.
Again he started off. He brought a post out on his shoulder. He put it
into the ground, and without waiting, pulled it out. He went to the
other side and did the same thing there, also toward the door, and on
the other side. There he let it stay.
Again he went off. He brought out a wall post. In the rear of the house
he stuck it in, in the other corner, on the side toward the door, in
the corner opposite to that.
He went off. He brought out a stringer. He put it up and, after he had
moved it backward and forward a while, he took it over to the other
side. He put it up on the wall posts, too, and on the opposite side.
There he let it stay.
Again he went off. He brought a plank out on his shoulder. He set it up
on edge above the side opposite the door, and he rolled it over. By
doing this again and again he completed half [of the roof]. He did the
same to the other half of the roof. He filled up that, too.
Again he went away. He brought out a wall plank. He stood it up, shoved
it along, and one side of the front was filled. He treated the other
side and the side opposite the door in the same way. He treated both
sides of the house in the same way. [308]
The house was finished. He went away. He brought two white rocks. He
rubbed them against each other and laid them down under the smoke hole.
The fire burned continually. It was never extinguished.
After that his mother-in-law kept cutting up and bringing in mountain
goats and grizzly bears. Afterward she cooked them. He took his quiver
and his bow. He put on his hat, took up his wife, and went away with
her. He was the son of One-who-goes-along-above (i.e., the moon).
After he had lived with her in his father’s house for a while he had a
child by her. She bore a boy. Again she gave birth to a boy. [She gave
birth to eight.] Again she gave birth. She gave birth to [two] girls.
The eldest son was called “Puncher” (X̣ᴀtagī′a). [309] The youngest girl
was called “One-who-sucks-arrow-points-from-wounds.” The next one he
named “One-who-heals-the-place-where-the-arrows-strike.” His
grandfather called the eldest boy to him, took out his bones, and put
stones in in place of them. He filled up all parts of his body with
stones.
One day he gave ten slaves to the eldest. To the next he also gave ten
slaves. He gave ten apiece to all eight. He made a row of houses for
them, all sewed together with cedar limbs. On the house front of the
eldest he put the figure of a thunder-bird. On that of the next one he
put the figure of a sculpin. On that of the next he put the figure of a
rainbow. On that of the next he put the figure of a killer whale. On
that of the next he put the figure of a human being. On that of the
next one he figured stars. On that of the next he put the figure of a
cormorant. On that of the next he put the figure of a sea gull. To the
eldest brother he gave a spear box. Along with it he gave an arrow box.
He gave to all eight of them in the same way. Then he put two
marten-skin blankets around each of their two sisters.
He sat in front of his grandchildren’s town and called for them. Then
they picked up their weapons and practised fighting each other. By and
by one was shot. Then the elder sister went out and sucked the arrow
out of him. The younger sister went thither, spit on her palms, and
rubbed them on him. Immediately he was fighting among the ten. Both [of
the women] walked about among them. They tried particularly to shoot
them. Instead of penetrating, the weapons rebounded from the blankets.
That was why he gave the blankets to them. Thus they turned out good
[warriors], and he had them cease fighting.
One day he began to let his grandchildren’s town down. He pulled apart
the heavy floor planks, looked down, and saw the houses of Metlakahtla
and [the site of] Qꜝadō′ among human beings. At midnight he let down
the house of the eldest. When it struck the ground there was a sound of
rattling planks. From the town of Metlakahtla one cried “Wā-ā-ā-ā-ā,
ghosts are settling down”. So he heard some one cry. He let down two of
them. He let down three.
The youngest received the following directions from his grandfather:
“When you run away because they are too much for you put a wooden wedge
having a drawing on it into the fire for me. Say to it ‘Tell my
grandfather.’”
All that time the Metlakahtla people shouted “Wā-ā-ā-ā-ā, ghosts are
coming down.” Eight had come down. It was wonderful to see smoke
rolling from them in the daylight. In front of the town people walked
about in crowds. They wore feathers in their hair. They longed much to
see them. Then they sent a slave across in a canoe for live coals. They
told him to go into the middle house, which had the figure of a
thunder-bird on it.
He landed in front and shoved his coals into the fire. To his surprise
he recognized Ga′oax there cooking parts of an animal. It was she whose
sons they had killed. From rear to front gambling was in progress.
Those watching the gambling stood about in crowds. He looked on. She
(i.e., Ga′oax) threw a fat piece of meat to him [saying]: “Here is some
ghosts’ food for you to taste.”
He went out. Then he threw away the burning coals and paddled across.
He reached home, but instead of eating the fat he carried it up. He
entered his master’s house and said: “Say! did you kill Ga′oax?” At
once they called all the town people, and they questioned one another:
“Did you kill Ga′oax?” Some said “Yes;” some, “No.” Some thought that
she had got safely into the woods.
While they were still in the house one, full of mischief, [310] bit off
some of the mountain goat meat. They looked to see him drop dead where
he stood. Presently he said: “Why, it passed into me all right. All of
you taste it. Swallow it. This is human beings’ food.”
One among them said: “Well! let us gamble with them. Then you can see
whether Ga′oax got safely into the woods.” With that intention they
went to bed, and next day, early in the morning, the town chief
launched his canoe. The town, the chiefs and the middle-aged, all went.
They went across.
After they had landed there they went into the middle house, and those
who were gambling put away their gambling sticks. At once they began
gambling with these instead. The town chief started to gamble with the
elder brother. But Ga′oax spread out grizzly bear skins around the
inside of the house. She and the young people began to give them food.
The elder brother was left-handed. He had laid the gambling-sticks down
on that side. On the same side lay his bone club. After gambling had
gone on for some time he stopped the town chief, who was handling the
sticks. “You are cheating me” [he said]. And he replied: “No, indeed; I
am not cheating you.” In spite of that he insisted upon it for a long
time. After they had disputed for some time, the town chief threw fine
cedar bark into his face. Then he struck him on the head with his war
club. He killed him.
The house was in an uproar. They picked up their weapons, and the
Metlakahtla people as well. They began to fight. While the fighting
went on the two sisters walked about among them. Although they were
struck with the spears, the latter always broke upon them. After the
fight had gone on for a while one had an arrow point break off in him.
He was wounded badly. When he was about to lie down the elder sister
sucked his wound and sucked it out. Then the other sucked it, spit upon
her hand, and rubbed on the wound. Then he got up again and fought with
them.
The fight went on until the dawn of the next day, and continued then
and the day after. Now they began to drive the people of Qꜝadō′ back.
When that happened the youngest brother ran over to the house, drew
something upon a partly used wooden wedge, said to it: “Carry the news
to my grandfather,” and threw it into the fire. [311]
Then it at once came into the front part of the house and said: “Your
grandchildren are beginning to be hard pressed.” Now he looked down
between the floor planks. To his surprise his grandchildren, who were
fighting for revenge, were being driven back. The eldest brother was
naked. He fought among them with his fists. When he struck one, he did
not get up again. He looked down upon all this. He turned around, went
to get his small, square box and, when he had opened five boxes, one
within the other, he took from the last something [shaped like skeins
of yarn], covered with the sky and tied up with rope. After he had
looked down for a while, he threw it down upon the people of
Metlakahtla. Then their legs only were visible. At these they struck,
and they killed all. These were called Clouds-of-the-Killer. [312]
Although this is the second story of the Skedans series, it was the
first of them that I took down, my informant choosing to tell the Raven
story last, and it is the second Haida story recorded by me. In
consequence, the form in which it appears is rougher than that of most
of the others, and certain points will seem obscure at the first
reading. As noted in the text and translation, there are really two
stories combined under one head. To the first the name properly
belongs, and this may be a real Haida story, but the second,
“He-who-had-Panther-woman-for-his-mother,” is a well-known Tsimshian
tale. Nevertheless, my informant stoutly maintained that the story was
always told in this combined form. Probably, the common episode of the
marriage of two chiefs’ sons to women having supernatural power was the
occasion for placing them together. The name given for Panther-woman,
Sîmn’â′sᴀm, is Tsimshian.
THE ONE ABANDONED FOR EATING THE FLIPPER OF A HAIR SEAL
[Told by John Sky of Those-born-at-Skedans]
He was a chief’s son. He was always in the back part of his father’s
house whittling. He did not care to eat anything. [His father] owned
the town of Metlakahtla. [313] He was “town-mother.” [314]
Then someone in the town killed a hair seal. Then they cooked it and
called the people in for it. And the father of the boy who sat up
whittling went thither. All the town people went in for it. There they
ate.
As soon as they had stopped they carried some over to the chief’s wife.
When they brought it in a flipper lay upon the top. Now, he who sat up
whittling looked down. Then he came down and called to his mother:
“Come, give me a wash basin. Let me wash my hands.” Then he said “Come,
push that over to me,” and he ate it. He ate it all and pushed [the
dish] back.
Now he (the chief) came in and said to his wife “My child’s mother,
come let me eat the hair-seal flipper I sent home.” “My child has eaten
that,” she said to her husband. From the high place where he was
whittling he heard what his mother said.
After she had said this to her husband, he did not say a word.
Presently he said “Well, say that I want them to move from this place
to-morrow.” At once a slave went out and said, “To-morrow the chief
says he is going to abandon his son.”
Then evening came and he (the boy) went to the wife of one of his ten
uncles with whom he was in love. As he lay with her, she gave him the
following directions: “When they are ready to start, I will get off to
defecate, and dig around with your feet in the place where I sit. I
will leave something for you there.”
His younger brother was just big enough to sit up. He also had a dog.
When morning came the noise of their departure was heard. Then, when
they were ready to go, he brought out his younger brother. He also took
his dog, which he treated like his child. When they were ready to
start, his uncle’s wife got off to defecate. She sat down behind the
sea-weeds which were drifted ashore. As soon as she got in again, they
started off.
After the crowd of canoes had gone round the point, he went to [the
place where his uncle’s wife had sat]. Only a broken stick lay there.
Then he dug around. He dug up a small box. It had ropes round it. He
laid the box down near his younger brother, gathered planks together,
and made a house. He made it just large enough. When it was finished,
he again sat down near his younger brother and untied the strings of
the box. In it was a grease-box and two mussel-shells fastened together
by a string, which he untied. To his astonishment he found burning
coals within.
He looked into the grease-box. It was half full of grease. Cranberries
were also in it, and ten salmon were on the bottom of the box. He did
not eat one of them. He kept them all winter for his younger brother.
But he whittled continually.
Then only one salmon was left with a small amount of grease and
cranberries. His mind was greatly troubled. There was nothing for his
younger brother to eat. He used to give part to the dog. That is why
his food was nearly gone. The last bits of the salmon, grease, and
cranberries were nearly gone. By and by a small piece [of fish] was
left, and he gave it to his younger brother along with all of the
grease.
In the evening he went to bed and wept, wept, wept. He kept thinking
all night of how nothing was left for his younger brother to eat.
Presently his dog went out. It barked behind the house. From where he
lay by his younger brother he rose quickly and at once seized his bow.
While still in the house he wet the arrows with his mouth, prepared his
bow ready to shoot when outside, and stepped lightly in that direction.
It was barking at something in the space between the roots of a cedar
bent over toward the sea. After he had gone toward it for a while he
saw nothing near it. It was barking at something in the ground. When he
stood over it [he found] that it was barking at something in a pool of
water. To his surprise a salmon lay in it. He speared it with an arrow.
He twisted its neck off.
He took it up, laid it down on a piece of board near the house, cut it
open, and steamed its head, its backbone, its milt, and its heart (?).
[315] He gave its backbone and its head to his younger brother to eat.
To the dog he gave its milt and its heart (?) to eat. He, however, ate
nothing.
They went to bed and at daybreak the dog was barking there again. Again
he went thither with his bow and [found] it barking at something in the
water. Two salmon lay there. Then he speared them with an arrow. And
after he had taken them to the house he steamed the two backbones, the
two heads, the milt of both, and he gave them to his younger brother
and the dog. He, however, again ate nothing.
Next day it was barking there again. Then he got his bow. He wet the
arrows with his lips just outside. He went over and [found] three lying
there. Every morning there was one more. Finally ten lay there, and he
speared them and pulled them out. He dragged them out in a bunch and
cut them open. He threw the gills away. Those he had obtained the day
before he split a second time. This is why it happens that mainland
chiefs cut fish open [instead of letting the women do it]. He was the
one who started [that custom].
When it barked there the next day he stopped taking his bow. He only
took the arrows. Again there was one more. Next day there was also one
more. In this way the number reached twenty. Those he had cut open for
the first time the day before he cut open farther. Then he split planks
and hung them up there. He fixed a place overhead. Some food entered
his belly for the first time since they left him, for his younger
brother now had enough to eat.
The next day the dog barked there again. He went thither. There was one
more than before. The day after one more was added. In that way the
number reached thirty.
Next day the dog barked there. He went thither, and again there was one
added. The day after one more was added, and the number increased to
forty.
He and his younger brother again went to bed, and when day broke he
heard the dog go out. After he had listened to its barking for a while
[he found] that it was barking differently from the way in which it
used to bark. After it had barked for a while it yelped differently.
Then he picked up his bow and two arrows and just outside wet them with
his lips. Having his bow in readiness he walked slowly toward [the
sound].
It was barking at something in the same pool of water, and he looked
into it. He saw not a sign of anything. But it dug for something near
the water. After it had done so for a while its teeth stuck fast in the
roots, and after it had yelped a while they slipped off. Then [the boy]
helped dig behind it. The dog dug along ahead of him. Ah! they dug into
the marks of salt water, and a salmon creek came to be there. [316] At
that time a great shoal of salmon came up. He stood near them. Then he
went away, collected the town people’s planks, and split them up. He
planed them. He made notches for ropes. All that time the salmon were
coming steadily up. He made this for them.
He stretched his arms on these. Each [of these horizontal pieces] was
two fathoms long. Some were one fathom long [for uprights]. There were
twenty poles of each sort. All had notches on the ends. Toward the top,
which he worked down small, he placed a design. He put figures of
salmon there. These parts were the łg̣aiyî′ñgadadjî. [317]
While he was making this thing he never forgot his younger brother and
the dog, they say. He cooked for them continually, and they ate. When
he had those things all together he went away and dug some roots. Then
he came back, made a large fire of dead branches, and put them in.
After it he split [twigs] with his teeth. After he had finished doing
this, he shaped young and slender hemlocks so that they should be flat
on one side and rounded on the other. When he had finished he fastened
these together. He had four horizontal crosspieces on each half of the
gī′g̣awai. On each half of the gīgwᴀ′ñgīda, too, he had three
crosspieces. On each of the łg̣aiyî′ñgadadjî he had three crosspieces.
He also split up pieces for the “wings” (weir). After that he put them
together and finished all the same day.
He went back of the house, cut piles, sharpened them, and put rings of
bark around them [to keep them from splitting when they were driven
into the stream bed]. Now he went into the water and drove piles into
the place where the fish trap was to stand. Then he put the fish trap
into the water. He fastened the horizontal pieces with twisted cedar
limbs. He treated the gīgwᴀ′ñgīda in the same way. Now he stood up the
łg̣aiyî′ñgadadjî in place. Out of it all he made something roundish.
[318]
After he had put the fish trap in place he gathered planks together.
Then he split them in two. He also split some planks into poles. Then
he enlarged the house. He set the drying frames for salmon over each
other. He also put up the large poles (qꜝa′idagilai). They had notches
[to prevent the smaller kꜝia′sᴀnai from slipping off]. The taxasgā′gida
lay beneath the ridgepole of the house (djansgā′gida), itself supported
front and back by the crossed house-timbers. [319]
Although he used to eat, he was so busy working that he stopped doing
so. Still he never forgot his younger brother and the dog. He fed them
all the time. As soon as the fish trap and all things were finished,
and day came, he went to the fish trap. He kept taking them (the
salmon) out. As soon as he had done so he strung them together. He
finished ten strings and laid them in the water. Then he roasted some
for his younger brother for that evening, and that night he remained
awake. Again he kept taking them out. He strung up the same number as
on the day before and let them lie in the water. All that time they
never ceased to run, hu hu hu hu hu. Where had their hunger gone to?
One day, when the house was filled and he had fully enough and had cut
them up for more than ten nights, before he went out to remain awake,
he roasted some for his younger brother by the fire. He took out more
and more salmon. He came back, and the two rows of roasted fish which
had been there were gone. Then he went over to his younger brother,
cried near him, and went out to cut up the fish.
When it was evening he again roasted some. Again he had more and again
he stayed up to watch. He took some out. He did it repeatedly. When he
went home what he had roasted had again disappeared. Then he again wept
near his younger brother and went out to cut up his fish. He cut up the
fish and again remained awake. Now he had three rows of roasted fish.
He took out still more salmon. He came in, and lo! all was gone. Part
of those above were also gone. Then he called his younger brother, and
said: “Say! brother, [320] did you eat all the things I roasted?” “No;
shortly after you went out someone came in, gathered them up in his
hands, with those above, and put them into his mouth.” “I thought it
was you.”
Now, he did not care about the salmon. Nor did he go out to cut up the
fish. He felt badly. He sat waiting. He was going to watch. He wanted
to see who this person was. In the evening he brought out his bow,
spanned it, brought out two arrow-boxes, put one on the left side near
the door, and sat over the right-hand one with his bow.
After he had sat there in the dark for a while he saw two pieces of
burning pitchwood side of the house. When they came around to the front
of the house something wonderful entered and stood there. Something
with fire burning in its eyes came in and stood there. After it had
stood there for a while it gathered the roasted salmon together and
swallowed all. After he had stood looking at those above for a while he
gathered them also together and swallowed them. As he turned away from
this he (the boy) shot him under the armpit and from the other side as
well. That was Ga′ogila. [321]
When he turned about he shot him repeatedly. He shot him repeatedly.
When one arrow-box was exhausted, as the animal turned around, he went
to the other also, and after he had shot from it for a while midnight
came and he went out.
At once he pursued him. He stuck the arrows into his quiver, and kept
shooting him through his back and his breast. After some time had
passed, lo! he had passed to the other side of a mountain as quickly as
if it had been thrown back from him. Then he returned.
He entered and took his younger brother on his knee. He also called the
dog to him, and the latter licked his lips. Then he turned over the
drum that had belonged to his father and placed it over his younger
brother and the dog. And he went away.
As he went he picked up the shafts of his arrows [which had fallen from
the heads]. After he had run along for a while he heard a noise. Then
he stood still. After he had listened for a while he heard a sound like
that of a hammer. Now, he went in that direction. Lo! some one was
working out the inside of a canoe. Only the top of his head was
visible. He looked at it fixedly.
He walked slowly in that direction. His head entirely disappeared
within the canoe while his hammer lay outside of the canoe. Then he
reached for it and took it with him under a bunch of ferns near by.
After he (the boy) had looked at him for a while he stood up in the
midst of his work and looked about for something. He cleared away the
chips. [The boy] was looking at him stealthily.
He sat still and put his finger-nails between his teeth. By and by he
said: “My grandson, come to me. News of you has come. News has come,
grandson, that they abandoned you because you ate the hair seal’s
flipper, which your father sent home from the feast. If it is you, come
to me.”
He went out quickly and stood there. And he handed his hammer to him.
At once he stepped out to take it. That was Master Carpenter [322]
making a canoe.
“Say! go and get four bent wooden wedges. Put two rings of cedar bark
in the front part of the canoe and two in the stern. Then your canoes
will come apart.” He was unable to make two canoes as he was trying to
do, one inside the other, because his wedges were too straight.
He went to get the wedges, and while he was away the other had already
put rings on the canoe. He brought them (the wedges) along. Then he
told him to put them in the bow and the stern. Then he began hammering
on them. After he had busied himself going back and forth from one to
another for a while, lo! they started to separate. After doing so for a
while, he hammered them apart. He thought: “I wonder where the salmon
are for which he wants these.” He did not think about his younger
brother. Then [the man] said to him: “Now, grandson, come with me. You
shall marry my daughter.”
Now he went with him. Wā, the smoke they came in sight of was like a
comb. That was his town. He went with him into the middle house, which
belonged to Master Carpenter. Between the screens, in the rear of the
house, sat a wonderful creature, as beautiful as a daughter of one of
the supernatural beings. Then her father said to her, “Chief-woman,
[323] my daughter, come and sit near your husband.” At once she arose
and sat down near him.
After his father-in-law had given him something to eat repeatedly,
evening came and she said to him, “Let us go out [to defecate].” “I do
not know where they go out.” Then she said to him, “Why! do you not
know where they go out?” She said to him, “I will go with you.” It was
evening, and she went out with him. She went seaward with him, and they
defecated. They came in and sat down. Straight across from the town a
drum sounded.
His father-in-law treated him well. Every evening he went out with his
wife, and the drum kept sounding there. He became tired of hearing it
and once, after he had gone out and was seated with his wife, he
questioned his wife, “Say! why is that drum always beating?” “They are
trying to cure the town chief.” Then he said to his wife, “Come! let us
go over and look.”
Then they came in, and she asked her father: “Father, do you own a
small canoe?” “Yes, chief-woman, my daughter, one is lying down on the
beach.” Then two youths carried the canoe down on their shoulders, but
they (the man and his wife) walked. They got into it, and only the
youths paddled, while he and his wife sat in the middle.
They landed and pulled up the canoe. Then he and his wife went up and,
when they saw him, the crowd of spectators standing in front of the
house before the door opened up a passage for him, and he and his wife
looked in.
To his surprise the one he had shot sat doubled up over wooden bars
which were fastened between ropes hung from the ridge-pole, touching
the lower one with his feet and holding the upper one in his hands.
[324] The arrows stuck out of him all over. He was suffering greatly.
After he had looked at him for a while, he thought: “I wonder why the
shaman does not see what is sticking out of him.” Then one standing
near him looked at his face and said: “I wish you could hear what the
person standing here says, ‘I wonder why the shaman trying to cure him
does not see what is sticking out of him.’” The one who announced his
thought was mind-reader among the Land-otter people. And a shaman from
among the Land-otter people was trying to cure him. He did not see what
was sticking out of him.
By and by some one rose and spoke to him who offered the blankets in
return for the cure. Then he went away with his wife, came home, and
told her to ask something of her mother. “Mother, have you any
cedar-bark?” “Yes, chief-woman, my daughter.” Then she gave him some.
They dried it around the fire, went to work upon it, and pounded it up
for cedar-bark rings. These were finished.
Then they intended to bring him over. While yet in the house he bound
himself [with the bark]. He bound his arms, the front of his body and
his legs. Then they came and offered him ten moose-skins. Then they had
him brought over. When he entered, the sick man was still hanging in
the rear of the house.
And, after he had gone around him for a while, he pulled the arrows out
of his buttocks. As soon as he had done so he stuck them into the bands
around his own arms. He suffered ceaselessly where he hung. Then he
pulled them out from the other side of him and from his legs. He stuck
them into the rings around his body and back. Then he picked him up and
seated him on the floor-planks. So he who had been unable to sit up now
did sit up. Then he asked for a pillow and laid him on it. Ah! he lay
there comfortably.
But, when he looked up, he beheld his (Ga′ogila’s) daughter, who was
wonderful to look upon. He beheld her. Then, picking the sick man up
again, he made him lay his feet upon the lower cross stick and seize
the upper one with both hands. Then he put the arrows back into his
buttocks and his side, so that he again suffered severely. Then he
started away. He ceased looking at him, and they took him away on the
canoe.
After he came in and sat down two more persons came in and stood there.
They offered him twenty moose-skins and two coppers. He refused them.
Then they came to offer him all the things in the town one after
another. But he kept refusing them. Now he saw that his mind had become
fixed. His future father-in-law wanted to keep his daughter by means of
the many things he owned. And, after he had refused the property, he
offered his daughter in marriage.
Immediately he turned around and started off. Then he again bound
[bark] around himself. And they took him across. He entered and went
round the man who was hung doubled up. By and by, while he was doing
it, he pulled the arrows out of his buttocks, and he also pulled the
arrow points out from the left side of his body. Then he took hold of
him and made him sit up. He sat there; and, when he had finished
pulling the arrow points out of his sides, back, and breast, not one
was left in him. He sat up.
Then he said to his daughter: “Chief-woman, my daughter, come hither
and sit down near your husband.” He married the chief’s daughter. At
once Master Carpenter’s daughter came over. Now he had two wives.
After he had lived with his wives for a while, one day he lay abed.
When the people went to bed again he was still there. Next day he did
the same thing. His two wives said not a word to him. As he lay abed he
wept.
Then he (his father-in-law) asked his daughter: [325] “Chief-woman, my
daughter, why does your husband lie abed?” Then she went to her husband
and talked with him a while. And she said to her father: “He lies abed
because he is homesick for his younger brother whom he left.” “Now,
chief-woman, my daughter, go away at once with your husband. You and
your husband go and look for the canoe I own which lies at the end of
the town.”
Then they went there together. They arrived. Only a whale’s head lay
there. Then they went home. She said to her father: “Father, there is
only a whale’s head there.” “That is it. Go and say to it ‘Seaward,
father’s canoe.’”
Lo! it floated on the water. Hu hu hu hu hu, it was a big canoe. Its
edges were broad. They had cross lines. Then they put good food into
it, launched another for Master Carpenter’s daughter, and into it put
good food. They filled it with cranberries, berry cakes, mountain-goat
fat, all kinds of berries. Then they pulled the canoes alongside and
started off. Both wives accompanied him.
When they got near the town site he spanned his bow. He held two arrows
in readiness. Then he jumped out of his canoe at a rocky point near the
town, and he ran to his own house. When he entered he pushed off the
drum which he had placed over his younger brother. The bones of his
younger brother and the dog lay under it, held together only by their
joints.
And, when the canoes landed, he went down to them. He held his bow
ready to shoot the daughter of Ga′ogila. Then she said to him, “Do not
kill us. We are going to look at your younger brother.” Then he
stopped.
They went up together and sat over his younger brother, Ga′ogila’s
daughter took something out of her box and bit off the end of it. It
was blue. Then Master Carpenter’s daughter brought out a mat with edges
like cumulus clouds, and they laid his younger brother upon it.
Ga′ogila’s daughter spit under it many times.
Then she told Ga′ogila’s daughter to hurry. Her copartner in marriage
[326] said to her: “Do so yourself, woman. Hurry your own mind.” Then
she pulled off the mat. He rose out of the place [where he had been
lying]. The dog, too, was glad to see him.
Then they unloaded both canoes. There were plenty of canoe men. There
were a crowd of those whom his fathers-in-law had given to him. And
next day they enlarged the house. They finished a large house for him.
The front was sewn together [in the old style].
In his house they ate nothing but good food day after day. When they
were through eating deer fat, mountain-goat fat was brought out, cut
up, and distributed. They held this by the fire to roast. They ate it.
One day they said to their husband: “Go and get digging sticks for us.”
Then he was glad. And he climbed a tree. He cut off limbs. He made
them, and they were finished. The digging sticks he made while still in
the woods were partly bloody looking [where the inside bark was
reached]. When he came in with them, instead of being pleased, they
laughed at him and said, “Get a real digging stick like father’s.” He
went away again and used cedar limbs. Those the women also rejected. He
got all sorts of sticks. He was unsuccessful. Then he got the side
shoot of a yellow cedar. He finished it roughly on the spot. Then he
brought it home and worked it up. The women said to him: “Make the
lower part red; make the upper part blue.” They were hung in the rear
of the house. The upper ends were made like round knobs.
Next morning they ate. The crowd of people was like stirred up salmon
eggs. The young people played with his wives. But he said nothing. Then
the two women put the digging sticks on their shoulders, but they did
not take baskets.
Then he also went with them. The clams were shooting water. And he
said, “Dig right here.” When the women went there, he heard them
laughing, and they made him ashamed. But, after they had moved about
for a while, they separated and started inland. Then they stood still
opposite each other at the ends of the town. They ran their digging
sticks into the ground. When they pried up they made the town larger
than it was before. They brought up his father-in-law’s village.
Lo and behold! people walked about in front of the town in great
numbers. He was “town mother” in his father-in-law’s town. His wives
were two. Next day they again went down on the beach. When he spoke to
them as before they laughed at him. They made him ashamed again.
After they had gone along for a while they struck their digging sticks
into the ground. They dug out two whales, and the town people went down
and cut them up. Next day they went down again. Again they dug two out.
They went down for five days in succession and dug out ten. On each
side they dug out five.
He wore ornaments of twisted copper wire coiled round his legs.
The chief’s son gave five whales to the town people. Next day they cut
them up. But he left five. They were all fastened to his house with
ropes. The sea-gulls eating the whale meat lying around looked like
smoke.
Then he took his bow and arrows, and after he had looked at them for a
while, he shot a small sea-gull. He shot it through the head. Now he
brought it in, split it open at the tail, and skinned it. He dried the
skin. When it was partly dried, he got into it. He walked about on the
floor-planks with it. Then he stretched his wings to fly. He flew out.
He left the town behind. His wives, too, did not have a trace of him.
He flew up into Nass inlet, they say. Then he looked about for the
place where his father’s town was located. They were vainly trying to
catch eulachon with fish-rakes. In the canoe belonging to his father’s
slaves was only one fish. Then he took it up with his beak; one of them
saw him and said: “Alas! he has carried off my eulachon.” They looked
up at him. They saw around his leg the thing that used to be around the
leg of the chief’s son whom they abandoned.
Then they paddled off and landed bow first [in their haste]. [327] The
chief’s son whom they had abandoned had become a sea-gull. He had flown
about among them. This is what they said. Then his father and his
mother turned around from the fire, and, when they had stopped crying,
he (the father) said to the slaves: “To-morrow go to dig for the bones
of my child.”
Now the slaves went away, and, after they had gone down with the
current for a while, they found decayed pieces of whales floating about
upon the water. When they had gone on farther, they found two whales.
After they had looked along a while for a place to hide this, they left
it there. In Nass inlet they were starving in the period before the
eulachon become thick. They left it until later. [328]
They went away from it and came in sight of their master’s town. The
town had become larger. In front of the houses were crowds of people.
They were boneless with astonishment. Only the man in the stern paddled
along.
He (the chief) came out. Lo! four of his father’s slaves were coming.
Then he went in and spanned his bow. He also took four arrows. He came
out in a rough manner. He was prepared to shoot at them, but the
daughters of Ga′ogila and Master Carpenter seized him by the shoulders.
“Stop! let them land. Let them come into your house. It is also well
for you to let them go again.” Then his two wives took his bow from
him. He remained standing in the same place.
When they landed he went down to them and said: “All four of you come
ashore. After you have taken off your clothing, come up with me.” So
they stripped there and went up with him. And he had them sit down at
one side of the house and gave them food. When the food was almost
consumed he gave them some whale to eat. They ate it ravenously. He had
them strip because he was afraid they would take some [food] home.
When they started off, one of them was so bent over as nearly to touch
the ground. Then he went over to him and asked him, “Say! why do you
walk so bent over?” and he replied, “Chief, I act that way because I am
too full.” And when he (the head slave) was ready to start, he gave him
the following directions: “Say! do not touch the rotten whale which is
floating about. I shall watch it.” Then he said to them: “Say that you
could not find my bones.”
Then they started off and landed in the night. And they said: “We could
not find the bones.” Then his parents wept. When they stopped, they
went to sleep. [That night] to their surprise the child of the head
slave began to cry. He cried as people do when things are lodged in
their throats. Then the chief’s wife asked to have him handed to her,
and she held him on her knee. She put her finger into his mouth and
found something. Then they looked at it. They did not know what sort of
thing it was.
[The head slave] said: “I wish you could see what kind of house he
lives in. What used to be your town has become larger. His two wives
brought out the town. They dug it up, and they also dug out ten whales.
Five are still floating there where they were fastened.”
Then, although it was midnight, the chief told them to put wood on the
fire, and they went out and called in the people. Immediately they came
in. Then, after they had consumed one salmon with the few last
cranberries, [he said]: “I wish you to hear what I think. I think you
should go toward your son whom I left and to whom I will give this
town.” And all the town chiefs thought it good.
Then his ten uncles planned like this: they would offer their daughters
to him in marriage. Their fathers were going to make marriage-gifts to
them. Next day the town was broken up. Hu, hu, hu, hu, hu! the canoes
that they launched were large. They painted up his uncles’ daughters.
They paddled the canoes along together with planks laid across the tops
of them, on top of which they had their daughters sit.
After they had gone along with the tide for a while they came to where
the decayed whale-meat was floating. They landed, steamed some, and ate
it. Then they gave some to their daughters, who sat in the canoes. But
the daughter of the youngest uncle had not had her face painted.
Because she was [considered] good for nothing, he left her so. Then he
gave her a small piece of the inner layer of the bark of the hemlock.
He told her to chew part, and she did.
Then they went on and came in sight of the town. It was most wonderful
to behold. The whales floated about it. But as soon as the chief
discovered them he got his bow. Then his two wives spoke to him, and he
stopped.
They stopped in front of him, and a good looking woman went shoreward
first. He told her to open her mouth. Her mouth smelt strong and he
refused to have her. He refused all nine in the same way. Now the
youngest got off. She opened her mouth. It smelt clean, and he smiled,
and let her come in with him.
When they landed [his father] gave the town people to his son, and they
made their homes on each side of those who were already there. Now he
gave five whales to those who had just come in. The next day they went
down and cut them up. They ate these ravenously.
After some time had passed one started out from the town to hunt with
dogs. After he had been hunting for some time his dog barked at
something. Then he went near it, and lo! his dog was barking at a
grizzly bear.
Then he went to him. He threw him into his den. His wife sat at home.
He was thrown against her breast. Then she dug up the earth for him,
and put him in the hole, leaving only his cape outside.
Now he (her husband) came in and asked her: “Where is the human being I
threw in to you?” “Here is the only thing you threw in to me, which I
tore in pieces.” Then he again went after him and could not find him.
And again he asked her, but she [said she] did not know.
Now, at daybreak, he went hunting. He carried a big basket, and his
wife let out his thread of life. [329] It ran out irregularly. Then she
let him (the man) out and gave him something to eat, and they lay down
together. When it began to jerk again, she pulled up a plank, put him
under, and sat on top.
He entered. There were a few crabs in the bottom of the basket. He used
to fill it, but now it was different. He came in and sat down, but he
did not know why he came home empty. [330] Next day she again fastened
the thread upon him, and he started off. But, while it was unrolling,
she cut it. Then she let the man out and married him. And she showed
him the trail upon which her husband used to hunt, explaining
everything.
Next day he took the basket and went inland. After he had gone up for a
while, he came upon a lake in an open space. In the middle of this was
a shoal. Now he swam over to it and put crabs into the basket. When his
basket was full he went away. His wife was very glad to see him,
because his basket was full. He lived with her a while. All that time
he continued hunting in the same way.
By and by she became pregnant. She gave birth to a boy. She became
pregnant again and bore another boy. She had two. Now he worked harder.
By and by he stopped getting crabs and hunted hair seal.
One time he gathered them for four nights so that there were many and
prepared to go away. Then she gave him the following directions: “When
you hunt, leave some for my children. I will sit waiting at the upper
end of the inlet.” And she said to him: “Do not talk with another
woman.” She gave him a small water-tight basket in which was some
water. A hawk feather also floated in it. Then she said to him: “Do not
trifle with other women. In this I shall see it. When you have finished
eating, drink from it.” So she directed him. [331]
Then he went away from her and came to his father’s town. And, after he
had sat near a water hole behind it for a while, his mother came
thither. Then he told her who he was. His mother went home crying. Then
his father spread out a Gī′na-g̣ā′da-skin [332] he owned for him, and he
walked [into the house] upon it.
Then they made a bed for him and he lay down there. They kept trying to
get him to eat something. He did not eat. By and by two went with him,
and he hunted. He speared hair seal. When the canoe was full he started
for the inlet. Instead of objecting, those with him looked on in
silence.
When he came to the end of the inlet there sat a grizzly bear. Then
those who were with him turned their backs to the bear (paddling in the
opposite direction), but, after he had paddled for a while facing her,
he got off. Then he went to the grizzly bear and sat down near her. The
two young grizzly bears were glad to see him. They licked him.
He went down to the canoe and threw off a hair seal. Then he went away.
And after many nights had passed he went hunting again. The same ones
were with him who had been with him before. And he speared hair seal.
When the canoe was full they made a camp fire, and he steamed the hair
seal there. Then they put it into the canoe and went into the inlet
again. When they had almost come to land those with him again paddled
in the opposite direction.
Again he got off and sat near the grizzly bear. The young ones licked
him. Their mother, however, did not look toward him. After he had sat
near her for a while, he stood up, threw off a hair seal, and went off
by canoe.
But one time he went for water for himself. At that time he went with
the one he used to be in love with. Then he went home.
After some space of time had passed he went hunting again, cooked some
hair seal, and went into the inlet. Now, differently from the way she
used to act, the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. Then
his companions said to him: “Let us go back. The hair on the back part
of her neck stands up, differently from the way in which it used to
be.” Still he paddled on. He landed and sat near her. She did not look
toward him. His children, however, were glad to see him.
After he had sat there a while, she went to him and threw him about. As
she did so she tore his limbs off. Then the cubs quickly went at their
mother and tore her to pieces. Then they felt sorry on account of their
mother. They acted as dogs do when one puts medicine into their noses.
Then they went away.
Now, just as some people were starting a camp fire, [the cubs] came and
killed them. They went away again, and they killed some others. And,
while they were continuing to do this and were traveling about, they
came and sat behind some people who had lighted a fire, and a woman’s
child cried. Then she said to it: “Do not cry. Your uncle’s children
might come and destroy us.” Upon hearing those things they went away.
This island was once all covered with grass, they say. Woodpecker was
traveling about upon it. He had no feathers. And in the middle of the
islands stood a large tree without bark, on which he began hammering.
Now, after he had done this for a while, something said to him: “Your
powerful grandfather says he wants you to come in.” He looked in the
direction of the sound. There was nothing to be seen.
And when something said the same thing to him again, he looked into a
hole at the foot of the tree and [saw] an old man sitting far back,
white as a sea gull. Then he entered.
The old man looked into his small box. After he had pulled one box from
another four times he took out a wing-feather. Wā-ā-ā-ā. [333] And he
also stuck his tail into him and dressed him up. He made him red above,
and he said to him: “Now, grandson, go out and start life anew. This is
what you came in to me for.” Then he went out and flew. And, as he was
going to do in the future, he took hold of the tree with his claws and
hammered on it. [334]
[Another version of the third section of this story, told to Professor
Boas to explain the carvings on the pole of “Nasʟᴇʟzu′s’s house” in
Masset.]
There was a man of the Eagle clan, a great hunter. For a whole year he
was unsuccessful. His name was Gāts. [335] He had two dogs. One day he
saw a bear. He took his bow to shoot it. Then the bear turned back and
took hold of the man and carried him to his den. After they reached
there he gave the man to his wife, who hid him between her legs.
The bear went hunting again. When he returned he asked his wife, “What
became of the man whom I caught?” She replied, “I think you did not
bring a man; you only brought his belt. Here it is.”
Every time when the he-bear went hunting she took the man out of his
hiding place, and he became her lover. The two dogs had returned to the
village. The people followed them, discovered the bear, and killed him.
Then the she-bear married the man. They had a child.
One day Gāts recalled his friends, and he asked his wife to let him
return to his own village. She agreed and said: “I am going hunting all
the time, I will go and give food to my child.” Then Gāts returned to
his own village, where he had left a wife. But before he returned the
bear told him not to look at his former wife, else she would kill him.
One day the man went hunting with his two sons. On the hills he met the
bear. He went to meet her, and gave her some food. The people were
afraid to accompany him on his visit to the bear. When she saw him
approaching she raised her ears and was glad to see him.
One day he went to a pond to fetch some water. While doing so he met
his former wife and smiled at her. Then he went hunting and caught many
seals. In the evening he went up the hill to meet the she-bear. Then
her ears were turned forward like those of an angry bear. She jumped
into the water before the man had reached the shore, attacked him, and
killed him and his two sons.
Like the preceding, this story is compound, there being in reality
three distinct tales. The first and longest is that to which the title
properly belongs, and the main theme, the story of the person abandoned
to die who was supernaturally helped and became a great chief. It is
popular from Yakutat bay to the Columbia river. The second part, the
story of the man who married a grizzly bear, was appended because the
hero is said to have belonged to the same town as the principal
character in the first part. It is a favorite Tsimshian story, and is
referred to for the origin of the secret societies. Another version,
obtained by Professor Boas from Charlie Edenshaw, chief of the
Stᴀ′stas, is appended. The concluding section, telling how the
woodpecker obtained its brilliant plumage, seems to be altogether out
of place here, but my informant asserted that it was always told in
this connection at Skedans. It is the only part of the story manifestly
Haida.
SACRED-ONE-STANDING-AND-MOVING, STONE-RIBS, AND UPWARD
[Told by John Sky of Those-born-at-Skedans]
In Sealion-town [336] one began to bathe for supernatural power. All
sorts of weak things came through him [making him worthless]. He stayed
with his eight younger brothers and his mother.
By and by his younger brothers disappeared. It was not known whither
they had gone. Morning came and his mother wept. Again when day broke
she wept. One day, when she stopped crying, she said: “My eldest boy is
as if he did not exist. When morning comes my mind is always the same”
(i.e., without gladness).
After she had said this to him for some time he got tired of hearing it
and said to his sister: “Sister, pour salt water into the box my mother
owns so that I may bathe in it.” Then she put on her belt. She laid her
mother’s stone box down near the door and poured water into it.
Then her brother crept over to it and just managed to crawl into it.
After he had stayed in it for a while he could not keep his buttocks
under water. Then his sister pressed down on his back with the poker
which lay near the fire. After she had pressed down upon him for a
while she took away the stick. There was a small depth of water over
his back. Now she pressed him down again, and, when she removed it from
him, his back was well under the water. Then he broke the sides of the
box by stretching.
And again he called to his sister: “Sister, pour some water into
another of your mother’s boxes.” Then she again poured some into one.
He got into it and stretched his knees out in it. He broke that, too,
at the joints.
And again he called to his sister: “Sister, pour some water into
another.” Then he broke that also at the joints. He did the same thing
to another one. He broke four with his knees.
Then he went into the sea. After he had remained there for a while
something just touched him. He reached for it. He seized the tail of a
flounder. Now he called to his sister: “Sister, roast and eat this.”
And after he had been in the water a while longer something again
touched him. He reached for it. He seized half a halibut and threw it
over to his sister. Then he said to his sister: “Roast that. Do not
steam it.”
He seized a porpoise tail and a white porpoise [337] tail. After he had
taken all kinds of sea animals he also threw up a whale’s tail. And he
said to his sister: “Steam that one however.”
After he had been in the water a while longer something touched him. He
reached for it. He felt nothing. And, when the same thing happened
again, he grasped farther away. Then his hand nearly slipped off from
[the something], and he seized it in both hands. When the something had
pulled him out of Skidegate inlet he tried to stop at Łg̣a′-ixa, [338]
but then something cracked at the bottom of the island. He held
something nice which was almost transparent, and put it around his
head. That was Łg̣o′tg̣o-g̣ao [339] (the hair of him who tries the
supernatural powers of men).
After he had put it around his head he swam up the inlet. He swam in
front of Gū′łga [340] and passed over to Xā′na. [341] The water was
shallow and broad like a lake, and he traced a channel in it with his
hand and remained at its mouth.
After he had remained in the water for a while something came walking
toward him, making a booming sound as it advanced. Some one stood on
the shore opposite him. On the right side he held a knot and a branch
of g̣ōdañxō′sgî. [342] On the other side he carried a piece of common
seaweed and some kwē′aogia′g̣adañ. [343]
“Come hither, grandson.” At once he went to him. Then he said to him:
“Now, grandson, turn your breast (or ‘face’) to me.” Immediately he
turned his breast to him. He struck him with the knot. It was as when
something is rubbed into fine pieces. And he struck him with the
g̣ōdañxō′sgî. It became like the other. Then he said to him: “Now,
grandson, turn your back to me.” And so he did. He struck him with the
kwē′aogia′g̣adañ. He did not feel it. Then he struck him with the
seaweed. He nearly knocked him over. Far off he recovered his balance.
“Wait a while, grandson. We will wrestle with (lit., “feel”) each
other,” he said to him. “Now, grandson, let us try each other.” And
they laid hold of each other. After he (the man) had shoved him about
he almost threw him down. Then he turned away smiling. “Grandson, yours
has more strength. Swim down the inlet.”
He went along; he went along and presently swam ashore at Sealion-town.
Then he dried himself by the fire and went to bed. After he had been in
bed for a while, and day had begun to break, he went out.
Then he followed an indistinct trail. After he had gone along for a
while, he saw a shrew [344] trying vainly to cross an old log. Then he
put her across and kept his eyes upon her. She entered a bunch of ferns
lying some distance away.
Now he went to it. He moved it aside with his hand. To his astonishment
there was a painted house front there with the planks sewed together.
And she said to him, “Come in to me, grandson. News has come that you
want to borrow something of me.”
Then she hunted in her box. She bit off part of something for him.
“Now, my son, here it is.” And she said to him: “When you get home and
go up to Gū′łga lake, take along your bow. There you will shoot a
mallard. Blow up its stomach and put its grease into it. I know that
what destroyed your younger brothers lives there. You are going to
restore your younger brothers. Eat some [of the grease].”
He went home and entered the house. After he had remained seated there
for a while, he went to bed. And next day early in the morning he went
up to Gū′łga lake. [345] Male and female mallards [346] were there.
They were pretty. He prepared his bow and shot just over the head of
one of them. It fell as when something is dropped. Then he got it
ashore, made a fire for it, plucked and steamed it. He saved its
entrails.
Then he went down upon the beach and picked up a big clam shell. Then
he steamed the duck and put the duck grease into the clam shell. He
took out the duck meat to eat. Then he put a [hot] stone into the duck
grease. At that time the duck grease boiled over. All the things that
live in the forest said: “Be careful! the duck grease might spill.”
Thus they made him ashamed. He did not eat the duck meat. When the duck
grease settled down, he put it into the entrails.
This is why, when the earth quakes, the Raven people tell [him] to be
careful of the duck grease. They say so because
Sacred-one-standing-and-moving was a Raven.
Then he went away. He saved the feathers and the duck grease. And he
came home. Then he went to bed.
When next morning tore itself, he went to Gū′łga, took two children
thence, and went into the woods at the end of Sealion-town. When he
came to the lake, he looked about, pulled up two cedars entire,
fastened them at the butt end with twisted cedar limbs, did the same at
the top, and held the two trunks apart by means of a stick. He laid it
in the lake, bound the legs of the two children, and placed them
between. [347]
When they moved, a wā′sg̣o [348] came out on the surface in the space
between. Then he knocked out the stick and his head was caught, but he
pulled [his trap] under. The cedar came to the surface broken as when
something is thrown upward.
Then he went home and stood up the dead children with the pole in front
of the house. He kept them for the next day. And again he went thither
and took the two children. After he had looked around for a while, he
pulled out a large two-headed cedar, stump and all. After he had split
it, a wren jumped around him chirping: “Tcꜝê tcꜝê, my sinews.”
Then he went to get it, pulled out its sinews, spliced them together,
and fastened the butt end and the top with them. And he put it all into
the water. After the children had been again suspended above it for a
while, the wā′sg̣o came up and got them. Then he knocked out the cross
stick and he (the wā′sg̣o) carried it down. After he had carried it
down, he floated up dead with it. Then he went to him and pulled him
out.
He pulled him up on the shore and was going to cut him on the top of
his head when it thundered. It also lightened. And the same thing
happened when he started upon his back. But, when he started at the
lower part of his back, nothing happened, and he cut him open along the
belly. His younger brothers’ bones burst out from it.
Then he fitted together his younger brothers’ bones and spit the
medicine Mouse-woman [349] had given him upon them. Immediately they
got up. And then he said: “Sit down where you used to.” They were glad
to see each other.
After they had been there for a long time one disappeared. The next day
another disappeared. All eight of them disappeared in the same manner,
and he felt sad.
Then he went to Gū′łga, passed along to the point on the side toward
the upper end of the inlet, and to his surprise heard the buzzing of
distant conversation on the other side. Then he pulled off the ribbon
with which he used to tie his hair and threw [one end of] it across.
Upon this he walked over and [found] a crowd of spectators at the door
of the middle house, in which people were talking. Then he passed
through them and looked in.
In the rear of the house a certain thing hung, under which one lay face
up. Out of it flames played at intervals. It was sizzling there. While
he looked on the person was driven out by the fire. The supernatural
beings filled the whole space in the rear of the house.
After he had sat there for a while, one stood up. He said: “Get
Stone-ribs, and settle him under it (the earth) forever.” He heard what
they said. By and by one went out. After a while he came back, and they
asked him: “Is he coming?” And he said: “He is near.”
Presently he came in. Like a son of one of the supernatural beings, he
wore a copper coat. He also had on a marten-skin coat. And as soon as
he had entered he lay under [the fire]. It was burning upon his breast.
Out from it sparks went.
A certain one stood near the door and another on the other side. In the
rear of the house sat his mother, Djila′qons. The one standing on the
side toward the door said: “They are talking about it. They are talking
about it.” [350] The one on the opposite side also said: “The
supernatural beings who talk about the places which they are going to
inhabit in the future also talk about this.”
She called for one of the servants who sat among them.
“One-who-moves-heaven-by-the-rapidity-of-his-motion, go and call
Swimming-russet-backed-thrush. I want to ask whether I went with him.”
He said that he went with the chieftainess. She asked to have him
called so that she might cross-question him about it.
There was no one to have his seat under this island. Then one day
passed for Stone-ribs. Another day was about to pass for him. The
supernatural beings acted as if shivering. They were afraid. They
feared that he, belonging to the wrong side, was going to settle
beneath them. [351]
Again those standing near the door spoke. They spoke as they had done
before. And One-who-moves-heaven-by-the-rapidity-of-his-motion went to
call Swimming-russet-backed-thrush. By and by he came back. Then she
asked him if he were coming, and he said: “He is coming.” “Perhaps I
went with him at Goose creek, where I dug out wild-clover roots, or
perhaps I went with him at Łg̣ē′djîs.” At that instant he came in. He
was good-looking. He had been gambling. He held his hand to his face
with fine cedar bark in it. He wiped part of his face clean. As soon as
he went over to the chief woman he pushed himself into her blanket. She
was looking at him. She looked longer than was necessary. [352]
Another day dawned for Stone-ribs. It was broad daylight for him, and
the supernatural beings were as if shivering with fear at the prospect
of having him settle down beneath them. Just before daylight he was
driven out by the burning.
Now, after they had thought for a while, one stood up, saying: “Let
them send for Sacred-one-standing-and-moving. They say that he bathed
in the ocean so much in order to settle down under it.”
Then he went out of the house, threw his ribbon across again, and ran
over upon it. And he said to his mother: “They are setting out to get
me. You will go with me. She-upon-whose-feet-property-makes-a-noise
will also go with me.” As soon as he had finished saying this, they
came for him. And he said he would come by canoe by himself.
Then he went to get his wā′sg̣o skin, which he kept between the two
heads of a cedar, and he put it on while he was still in the house. He
walked about, too pretty to be looked at by anyone. Then they started
across. His mother steered, and his sister was in the bow. He stood in
the middle as they went. And his sister got off, then his mother, last
himself.
They went up. His sister went ahead. She held the [duck] entrails in
her hands. His mother had the feathers inside of her blanket. When he
entered, the supernatural beings held their heads down to him. He
looked grand. He entered wearing the wā′sg̣o skin.
And as soon as he entered he lay down underneath. He was sizzling from
the fire. Again it burned at intervals. When it stopped burning, his
sister greased [his skin] with the duck grease. His mother put feathers
upon it.
By and by one night was counted for him. Then the supernatural beings
fastened their eyes upon him. Lo, another night was about to be counted
for him. At this time the supernatural beings talked about the places
where they were going to settle. They divided themselves up. At that
time one among them stood up. He said: “Where is the sister of the
supernatural beings, Woman-people-want-to-have, going to have her
place?” “I do not know. I do not know. I shall have my place with my
children a little way behind the chiefs among the trees.” [353]
By and by, when day began to break, they were looking on. Presently the
Raven called. It was daylight. But then they discovered him enter and
lie down under it. [354] Then he came to have his place under it (the
island).
Then they went for Fast-rainbow-trout [355] and Marten. And they put a
string on him (Fast-rainbow-trout) and sent him up with it. Then it was
not long enough. He spliced hemlock roots to it. Marten went down with
the lower end. [356]
Now the supernatural beings separated, leaving the town of X̣ᴀ′ina
[357] for the various places they had already talked about settling in.
Now Stone-ribs traveled about upon this island. After he had traveled
for some time he entered the house and said to his mother: “Mother,
toward Cape G̣ᴀ′ñxet [358] some one calls for me, weeping.” And next day
he went about upon this island hunting birds. He went about upon it as
one does upon something small.
And again he said to his mother: “Mother, she calls, wailing for me as
if she would never cease.” Then he said to her: “I will go and help
her.” And she said to her son: “Don’t, chief, don’t; they might call
you skᴀ′mdal.” [359] “That is all right, mother; I am going to help
her.” [360]
Then, very early next day, he started off again, passed Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o,
[361] went around Skedans point, and came to
Broken-shells-of-the-supernatural-beings. At that time he took quicker
steps. Then he ran over to Village-that-stretches-itself-out. And he
went along down the inlet. Then he came near some white shells.
Seaward, to his surprise, an eagle was trying to catch something and
almost succeeded several times.
Then he looked at it. Again it almost caught it in its flight. And
after he had thought about it he went down to it. And, when he got
there, a halibut was swimming about in the standing water. There were
stripes of copper along its edges. Out of its nose hung a weasel. Now
he caught the halibut in his hands. He was very glad to have it. And
when he was going to split it around the edges with his finger nails it
thundered; and when he was about to do the same thing along the under
side it again thundered; and when he was about to split it along its
upper surface it again thundered and lightning shot about. Then he
[split] it along its tail; and when he had finished skinning it he put
it on.
Then he went into the pond before him. Bullheads shot away from him.
When he opened his mouth, lo! the bullheads all went into it. And he
opened his mouth. From his mouth they came strongly and quickly. They
floated about dead. He got out of it and put it in his armpit.
He had two coats. He had a copper coat and he had a marten-skin coat.
Before he started off, he practiced before his mother with them on,
and, when he nearly burst his mother’s house by swelling up, she cried
to him to stop.
He started and came to Łg̣adᴀ′n village. [362] Then he skinned the
woman’s child, and lo! he was born instead. He grew up as rapidly as a
dog. Immediately he began to walk. One day, as soon as he came in from
out of doors, he wept so hard that they could not stop him. She tried
to stop him in every way. He would not be satisfied.
After he had cried for a while, he said: “Ha, bow-shaped object; ha,
bow-shaped object.” At that time she tried to stop him all the harder.
As he wept he made the motion of handling a bow. By and by his mother
pounded up some copper ornament she wore and she also finished arrows
for him.
He was hunting birds. He did not sleep. And, one day when it was fine
weather, they went for shellfish. They did not take his mother with
them. Then, after it had been stormy for a while, it was again calm,
and they went for shellfish.
Then he asked his mother if she owned a canoe. And, when his mother
said that she did own one, he went along with them and his mother to
get shellfish. While they were still going along the leading canoes had
already landed. He landed his mother among the canoes which were
floating about and remained floating back of them.
Now, when the baskets of those who had gone first were full, he lay
down in his canoe, and, using the canoe as a drum, beat upon it with
his bow. Then they made motions toward his face from the shore. They
spoke in low voices. And they loaded their canoes and went off in
terror. Before they had reached the village he told his mother to hurry
up. Then she put the mussels in the bow. His mother seated him at the
very stern, and they went landward from Qꜝā′g̣awa-i.
As they went along in fright, he (Qꜝā′g̣awa-i) [363] came after them.
And, when he came near, he opened his mouth for them. But, as he was
carrying them into his mouth in a current, [the boy] took his bow,
pushed his lips together, and shoved him back, and he went under the
water. They went on.
When they came to her, his mother said she was saved by blowing through
her labret hole and putting her feet into the water. He listened.
After they had lived there for a while, it became stormy weather again.
It was bad weather. When the mussels became spoiled for food, it was
again calm, and they again went out after mussels. Some time after, he
and his mother went out. After the baskets of those ahead had been
filled, he struck upon the edges of the canoe. And again they opened
and closed their hands to him for him to stop. After he had watched
them for a while, they went away in fright, and he too went after them.
After they had gone on for a while, [Qꜝā′g̣awa-i] again pursued. He had
five fins. Again, as soon as the current flowed into his mouth, they
floated inward. Then he (the boy) closed his lips with his hands and
shoved him back.
And, when they landed, they came down to meet her. They asked whether
he came to the surface, and she said that she blew through her labret
and put her foot into the sea. That was how she was saved, she said.
And again it was bad weather. After bad weather had lasted for some
time, he went to a point toward the end of the town, entered his
halibut skin, and went into the water. Presently he came to a broad
trail, and, having traveled upon it for a while, arrived at the town of
Qꜝā′g̣awa-i.
After he had peered into the houses, he looked into his (Qꜝā′g̣awa-i’s).
In the rear of the house between the screens, which pointed toward each
other, sat his daughter. He fell in love with her, so that he shook
with desire.
Then, after he had gone around the town for a while, evening came, and
he entered his house. He sat down in the rear of his house. His skin
clothing had five fins upon it. He looked at it. Then they went to bed.
And, as soon as he went to her, they lay together.
Then day broke and the town people went fishing. After the sounds had
lasted for some time, he rose. To his surprise they were fishing right
in front of the town. Then he went into his halibut skin. And, after he
had swum around the edges of the canoes for a while, he opened his
mouth for them and closed it quickly. They went quickly into his mouth.
And, after he had kept his lips closed around them for a while, he
opened his mouth.
Now he went up and went toward the place he started from. Then he went
in. After he had sat there for a while, it was again evening, and he
again went to meet the woman. He was very fond of her. He went to her
and came back often. And as he lay with [Qꜝā′g̣awa-i’s] daughter, he
listened to them talking about himself and nothing else.
When they were out fishing, he entered his skin. He opened his mouth
for two [canoes] and spit them out shoreward.
And again he went away, and, after he had sat in the house for a while,
evening came, and he went down to her. And he lay with [the chief’s]
daughter.
He (the chief) was preparing to go out fishing with the others. They
brought out his skin clothing, and they brought out his war spear and
his arrow box. They put pitch on the points of these [arrows] in case
he (Stone-ribs) had too much power for him. And he heard him say he was
going to break his head with his teeth.
Presently day came, and he heard the sound they made as they went out
fishing. When it stopped, he arose, swam off again, and came out on the
surface near two canoes at one end. Then one waved a paddle. They did
this for Qꜝā′g̣awa-i. He had not let out fishing lines. Instead his
canoe floated quietly among them.
He went thither, and those who were there pointed into the water with
their paddles. “It is lying right there,” they said to him. Then he
seized his spear. He looked at it. It was too small, however, and he
picked up an arrow instead. Then he speared it. He struck it in the
side and pulled it up. Then he said: “Is this the thing that destroyed
you?” and they said to him: “Do not speak like that. That is it.”
Now he told them to begin fishing, and they pulled halibut in and
clubbed them. He was lying in the canoe. The skin of the Qꜝā′g̣awa-i had
already been lying there for some time. After he had swelled up so as
to fill this, they found it out. Then [Qꜝā′g̣awa-i] took his spear and
speared him. Instead of being harmed he stretched it more and the canoe
became covered with water. Immediately the salt water boiled. He
captured his skin. He opened his mouth for them. As many as were
fishing came fast into his mouth, but for some purpose he let two
persons go home. Then he came away with the rest. He let them out
toward the shore at a bay at one end of the town. From the very shore
they fell over landward like a pile of wood. They lay near the shore
without skins. Fins were on them. [364] Then he went in to his mother.
Next day he said to his mother: “Mother, I intend to go away from you.
I am not really your son. I came and helped you because you called for
me as you wept. My mother’s place is in the middle of this island.”
At once his mother sang crying songs. And on account of her crying he
thought he would stay a day more, and he stayed near her one night, but
next day he went away.
As soon as he went out he put on his copper coat. Over this he put his
marten-skin coat. Over both he put his Qꜝā′g̣awa-i skin and started
around the west coast wearing them. The supernatural beings living
there opened their doors for him. After he had traveled about for some
time [he came to] one living in the middle of the island whose door was
shut, and, as he passed by, reaching out sidewise he took hold of him,
and his house fell flat toward the sea.
And after he had traveled on he came to one fishing for black cod. When
he came opposite to him he said to him: “Now, great chief, Stone-ribs,
that you are, going along carefully, let me have the head. For that I
am waiting here.” [365]
Then he turned back toward him. He pushed his arm into a rocky cave
there, moved his arm about to make it larger, and gathered black cod
together in his arms. When there were many in his arms he threw them
into the cave. And he pushed him into the cave afterward. He (the man
put into the cave) strung the fishing line with them, put some also
into his canoe, and went away. He towed the string of black cod behind
him.
Thence he wandered on for a while and entered Tcꜝā′ał inlet. [366]
Where the inlet almost closes together, lo! something lay face up
waiting for him. Its arms were half copper. It lay in wait for him.
Then he lay still in front of it for a while and looked at it. It had
five fins.
By and by, however, he let himself go on over its belly, and it seized
him. Even his insides it squeezed. Its claws even went through his
copper coat. He tried to swell up. In vain. Then he entered the halibut
skin and escaped between its claws. It got its skin back because it
belonged to the same clan [as Qꜝā′g̣awa-i].
Then he passed through the strait. When he came to Spit-point he (the
point) let himself dry up on account of him. Then he remained still for
a while. After he had stood still for a time he jumped up and flopped
his way across it. After he had done so he entered the water on the
other side. That is the Qꜝoas. [367]
After he had traveled on a while he came to where Rock-point’s house
stood. Swim-far-off [368] placed himself half out of the door. He was
afraid at the sight of his spines. He was looking at him, and he said
to him: “Go around far from me, chief. I shall kill you.” On account of
what he said he went around close to the island on the other side from
him.
After he had traveled farther [he came to where] two persons were
fishing from a canoe at the Cumshewa inlet fishing ground, in front of
Ta′og̣ał bay. The bow man was making guesses as follows: “I wonder
whether he who they say has been traveling around the west coast has
passed this point.” Then the one in the stern said: “Horrors! what
terrible thing will happen for what you have said. Let us go home.” And
he himself cut the anchor line, and they went off in fright. Then he
bit off half of their canoe and pushed the man in the stern along
toward the shore. Near Ta′og̣ał he threw [the other] up from his mouth.
He was changed into a rock there.
Then he went away. He stood up at Skedans bay, and inland, near the
trees, he turned his back to the sunshine. Lo! he felt sleepy and lost
consciousness. While he was in that condition [he heard] a noise like
x̣ū. He looked toward it. Lo! he (an eagle) had his skin in his claws.
Then he put on his copper coat and went after it.
The eagle flew inland and perched there. [A supernatural being] stood
waiting for him. He had a war spear. He had a war helmet. Then he
(Stone-ribs) passed behind him on the run. When he was at some distance
he grasped him. His head was in his hand. Then he threw it toward the
head of the creek. [369]
There lay the town of Skedans. [370] And the town chief there owned
Sand-reef.[370] One day he went thither for hair seal and called the
people in [to eat them]. They kept taking them over by canoe. All that
time they called in the people for them. The town chief was named
Upward. [371]
One day he went thither. At the landward end of Gwai-djātc[370] in
front of Qî′ñgiłu some people in a canoe sang something. They used the
edges of their canoe as a drum. He went to them. He [arrived] there,
and lo! the song was about him. The song they composed was: “Upward’s
wife is always fooling with somebody.” [372]
Then he pulled them in. He asked them why they clubbed seals on his
reef. Hair seals were in their canoe. Then he fastened them to two
canoe seats. And he started homeward with them. When they got even with
Mallard-grease-in-hand on the north side of
Island-that-wheels-around-with-the-current[370] one said to his younger
brother: “Younger brother, take him, take him.” Then both seized him at
once. They fastened him to the canoe. Then they took in his hair seal
and went back.
Now they took him into their father’s house. Those that he pulled in
were Farthest-one-out’s sons.[370] They laid him down in the middle of
the side of their father’s house [373] and told their adventures to
their father. And they said: “Father, he spoke to us about what you
gave to us as a chief’s children. He pulled us into his canoe. He
fastened us in the canoe.” And their father said: “My child, chief, my
son, it is not as your slave father has said, but as common surface
birds shall say.” [374] He spoke like this, as if speaking to a slave.
Then they brought him in. And they brought in a large, water-tight
basket, put stones into the fire, and, when they became red hot, put
them into the water in the basket with tongs. When it boiled, they put
him in, canoe and all. Then they shook up the basket with him in it,
and, when it began to swell up, he held fast to the cross-seats. Then
they went to him. They laughed at him because he was afraid.
After they had laughed at him for a while, his wife sat down hard upon
the top of the house. She was crying aloud. At the same time she made
holes in the top of the house with her fingers. Water dropped into it.
She asked what they were doing to her husband. But just then he began
to think of a copper drum he owned, [and it came to him]. When he began
drumming on it with the tips of his fingers, the chief said: “Take him
and throw him out, chiefs, my children.” Then they took him, and they
threw him out along with the canoe. Immediately she took her husband
and went away with him.
And, after he had stayed with his wife a while, he thought of the words
that Farthest-one-out’s sons put into [their songs] about him. Then he
slept apart from his wife. After he had done this for some time, he
woke up one night. Lo! he heard his wife talking with some one. But he
did not disturb himself, and, when day broke, he sharpened a mussel
shell knife he owned. And, when they went to bed, he remained awake.
The moon rose. When it became light, the end of a rainbow came through
the smoke-hole. He looked at it. It extended to his wife’s [room]. Then
the rainbow again drew itself out through the smoke-hole.
After some time had elapsed, he heard some one talking to his wife.
When the talking ceased, he crept over thither. He seized the man’s
hair and cut his head off. Then he went out and fastened his head over
the door.
After many nights had passed, a woman came by canoe and stopped in
front of him. After she had remained there for a while, she said:
“Come, chief, throw down your nephew’s head to me.” He paid no
attention to her. It was Djila′qons’ son, who had been in love with his
wife, whose head he had cut off.
Again she said landward: “Come, chief, put your nephew’s head into my
canoe.” He absolutely refused. Then she became angry and almost struck
the town with something that was half red, half blue. [375] And the
town of Skedans almost tipped over. Then he went out and pushed it back
again as he walked along.
The woman said the same thing again, and again he refused her. When she
almost struck the town with her stick, it almost turned over again. And
again he straightened it with his feet. Then he took the head and threw
it out. And the hair-seal canoe [376] in which she came started off of
itself, while he stood still there and looked on.
Then he went along upon Trail-inland [377] and entered the water at
[point] Lying-seaward. [378] And he got his arms ready for her in the
salt water. Her servants were doing the paddling. When they got above
him, he laid hold of [the canoe]. Then they paddled backward. They were
unsuccessful.
Then the chief-woman said, “Come in, chief, if it is you. Things shall
not be different from the way you want them.” And lo! Upward rolled in
through the bailing-hole. At once he went to the middle where the
chief-woman sat. He stretched his arm across, and they lay there with
each other. [379]
When they got home, she put her son’s head in its place, and he was
restored. After he had had her as his wife for some time, and it was
toward the end of autumn, the chief-woman began digging roots with the
servants. One day, after they had come home, they appeared happy. He
listened to them. He did not know why they acted that way. He got
firewood in readiness for their return from digging roots. They came
home together, and every time they were happy.
By and by, when they started off again, he went behind them. As they
went along in a line, they beat upon thin boards held in their hands.
They sang as they went. It sounded nice and sharp. The chief woman went
in advance. He observed them stealthily.
Then they sat down at a certain point down the inlet, and sang there.
The chief woman sat near the water. This he saw. By and by something
having thick eyebrows came flying from above and sat near her. He was
good looking. They lay with each other.
Then he went home, and, when they came home, he said to his wife, “Say!
to-morrow you better not go. I will go. I will get a great quantity of
roots of all kinds.” And next day he borrowed her belt and dress, and
had his hair parted while still in the house. Now they sang as they
walked. He went ahead of them.
He went to the edge of the water. He rolled away a rock with his hands
and picked a sea-cucumber from the place where it had rested. Then he
sat in the place where the chief woman used to sit. Shoreward the
servants were also singing. By and by the person came flying down from
above, sat near him, and lay down. And he cut off his penis. He put the
sea-cucumber in its place. He went up from him making a noise.
Then he was happy, and he came home. He gave back the chief woman’s
labret to her. Next day very early the servants rose, and, after they
had eaten, they went outside. Just outside they sang the song. Again
they went off in a crowd singing.
Now he again went along behind them. After the chief woman had seated
herself, he came flying down again. They lay down. When the chief woman
turned toward him, lo! a sea cucumber had been put into him. Then she
wept. The servants also wept.
Then he went home and cut up firewood. And in the evening, when they
came home, instead of being happy, the servants had tear marks on their
faces. Then he asked them, “Why are you all sad? I guess you have
become witches.” That was Snowy-owl with which the chief woman lay. For
that reason he used these words.
After he had lived with his wife a while longer, some one said “The
chief is coming.” Immediately they sent Marten into the woods. Then he
pulled up a bunch of fern by the roots. He tied the stalks together and
sat down by the edge of the fire toward the door. Five Land-otter-women
sat in the corner of the house and one of them had Upward inside of her
blanket.
Presently [the strangers] came in and sat in a circle. Then Raven [380]
called for one of the young boys who moved in a crowd on the side of
the house toward the door. And, after he had whispered into his ear,
[the boy] went out. [381] And, after he had been away for a while, they
spread out a mat in the middle of the side of the house, and five
persons with matted hair sat upon it. After they had sat there for a
while, one of them began acting as a shaman, and they sang a song for
him as he acted. After he had done this for a while, he pointed at the
one who held Upward hidden. When they all went to her, he (Marten)
pushed the ferns on the fire. Immediately it became dark, and he was
handed to another. After they had pulled her up straight, they found
nothing at all upon her.
Then another acted as shaman and pointed at the one who was hiding him.
Then they started for her. Again Marten shoved the ferns into the fire.
While it was dark they passed him to another one. She, too, they had
stand up. There was nothing whatever upon her.
Again one acted as shaman. Again he pointed at one of them. There was
not a sign of a thing upon her. Still another acted as shaman. When he
pointed at the one who held him, they went for her. Then Upward changed
himself into a cinder and hid himself at the edge of the smoke-hole.
Then the one who sat at the end of those who came by canoe with Raven
acted as shaman. And, after they had sung a song for him for a while,
he pointed up at him, and they went to get him. [He floated up] and
after he had kept coming down for a while, lo! they brought Upward in.
Then they brought him before Wī′gît, and he pulled his arm off. And,
after he had pulled his other arm off, he gave them to the one (shaman)
who sat next to him. Now he pulled out both of his legs and gave them
to the shamans. And his body, too, he cut in pieces and gave to them.
Then they ate it. They consumed it all. And, after they had sat there
for a while, they became sick in the stomach. They died. Their bodies
were pulled away and thrown outside.
[The story of Stone-ribs as told by Tom Price of
Those-born-in-the-Ninstints-country]
From the town of Łg̣adᴀ′n they began to go out fishing for black cod.
Then a creature having five fins at an island lying seaward called
Qꜝā′g̣awa-i pursued them. And canoes were rapidly carried into his mouth
by a current of water. But still they feared that they were going to
starve to death and went out fishing. Many escaped. Mussels grew upon
that island only. That is why they went to it. And they would not touch
their paddles to the edges of their canoes [for fear of making a
noise].
When he had nearly destroyed them all, Djila′qons’ son said: “I will go
to the south country. I will kill Qꜝā′g̣awa-i.” Then his mother said to
him: “Do not do it, chief; they will say Łᴀ′ndal to you.” [382] After
she had said so for some time, she told him he might go.
And, after he had gone along for a while, [when he reached] point Skwai
he became tired of walking and lay with his back against a rock. Then a
sound like the rushing of wind came to his ears, and he looked in the
direction of it. [An eagle] was almost touching a salt water pool in
front of him in its flight.
Then he went thither, and, when he looked into the pool, [he saw] a
small halibut floating there. Now he took it out. And, when he tried to
cut it open along the side, all the supernatural beings protested. It
also thundered. In whatever way he tried it, he was unsuccessful until
he cut it open from its tail when nothing happened. Now he skinned it
and dried the skin in the sunshine. He was glad to have it. And he went
away with it.
By and by he came to the town of Łg̣adᴀ′n. It was evening and he looked
about among the houses. He looked for a place where a child had just
been born. By and by he saw a child lying in the cradle. When they were
asleep, he destroyed it. But he became born in its place. His [new]
mother was named Gwā′g̣anat.
And, after he had grown somewhat, he asked to have a copper bow and
copper arrows made for him. All the time he was growing up they went
out fishing and he (Qꜝā′g̣awa-i) swallowed them. And, when they came in
from fishing, Supernatural-sparrow [383] living in front of the town
ate all of their uncut halibut.
Then he began to shoot birds. He shot robins, the feathers of which
along with those of the flicker were on his cradle. After he had become
quite strong he killed geese and wild swans. His mother asked him
whence he got them, and he said: “I am [getting them] from ʟdas.” [384]
After that he also killed the big sparrow that lived there.
After he had shot birds for some time longer he said he had lost a
black bird which he attempted to kill. He was sad about it. The next
time he went out he brought it in skinned. That was the raven. Again he
went out and flew around the island with its skin on. He flew down from
above. He shot it in the country he called ʟdas.
After he was able to fly to some height he said: “I am going to kill
Qꜝā′g̣awa-i.” Then his uncle said to his mother: “Put charcoal on the
lips of that boy who is talking.” At once his mother did so to him.
They were afraid to mention the name of Qꜝā′g̣awa-i near the fire. They
were afraid that “Woman-under-the-fire” would take over to him the
boy’s words. He sat around with charcoal upon his lips. [385]
After that the town people went to Qꜝā′g̣awa-i to get shell-fish, and
his mother was with them. Then he cried after them. He was faint from
crying. Now he told them plainly that he was going to kill Qꜝā′g̣awa-i.
Then they took him with them. They fastened a weasel skin in his hair,
and he took his copper bow and arrows.
After they had gathered mussels at the island for a while, they went
off home from him. In that place he sang songs, and he beat upon the
edges of his canoe with his bow, in lieu of a drum. They were unable to
stop him. And when they went off from him he again sang the song.
At that time Qꜝā′g̣awa-i came after them. Then the canoe went into its
mouth. And he came to himself in its belly, put on his halibut skin,
and swelled up in its stomach. He killed it.
All of its five fins had the figures of human beings at the base. At
that time he showed himself to be Stone-ribs. He told them that he was
the son of Djila′qons. At that time he told them the crests they would
use.
Then he traveled around the west coast, wearing the halibut skin. Now a
big mountain called “Looking-at-his-own-shadow” called him in. He
entered his house, and he was glad to meet him. After he had given him
some dried food he gave him half of a whale to eat. When he had
finished eating and was about to go out Looking-at-his-own-shadow
laughed at him. Then he said: “Door, shut yourself.” And the stone
hanging door fell. Now there was no way for him to go out.
Then, right in the house, he put on his halibut skin. And, after he had
flopped around for a while, he got his fins under the edges of the
hanging door and threw it up with his tail. When it fell back it broke.
He shut all sorts of supernatural beings in, and they were entirely
unable to get out. Only he (Stone-ribs) did it.
After that he entered the house of “Sunshine-on-his-breast.” He,
however, treated him well. After he had been given something to eat, he
went out of his house.
After that he entered Tcꜝī′da’s house. [386] He, too, was good to him.
Then he had on the Qꜝā′g̣awa-i skin and let himself be seen by the town
people. That is why those born at Kaisun wear the Qꜝā′g̣awa-i as a
crest.
When he started to leave that place, they told him that Greatest-crab
lived in the channel between the two islands. Still he went thither.
Just as he had heard, it opened its claws for him. And, when he passed
over it, it cut through the fins along the edges of his halibut skin
with its teeth. Then Stone-ribs was sorry for this and went back to it.
He swallowed the crab.
After that he let himself be seen upon this island. The supernatural
beings were glad to see him because he saved the people from the thing
that made the south end of the island empty. Only two treated him
differently.
He went into Nastō′’s house, [387] also. After the latter had given him
food, he let him go feeling happy. After that he let out the crab in
Naden harbor. That is why there are so many crabs there.
After that Na-iku′n let himself dry up before him. [388] Then he
entered his halibut skin and flopped his way across overland. That is
the inside passage used by canoes. And, after he had gone on farther,
Spit-point also dried itself up in front of him. Then he entered his
halibut skin and passed it in the same way. That is the place through
which they pass by canoe.
Then he entered the house of Many-ledges. After he, too, had given him
something to eat, he went on. [Many-ledges] was pleased to see him.
Afterward Qî′ñgi [389] asked him to come in. The supernatural beings
invited him in because they wanted to see Qꜝā′g̣awa-i’s skin. All that
time he let them see his skin.
After that he went inland and sat down at point Skwai. After he had sat
there for some time something occurred like the quick passage of a
strong wind. When he looked toward it an eagle had his halibut skin.
But when he said “Alas!” all the forest beings told him not to go after
it. “It was not yours. Your mighty grandfather, ‘Chief,’ [390] let you
have his skin. It was he who took his own back.” It was an islet lying
in front of point Skwai that lent him his clothing so that he might use
it to kill Qꜝā′g̣awa-i.
And after that he again arrived at the town of Łg̣adᴀ′n. Now he left his
Qꜝā′g̣awa-i skin there. He took his copper bow and four arrows, but the
weasel skin he tied in his hair. He wanted to show them to his mother
so that she would be pleased. [Because he wore them]
Those-born-at-Skedans have them as crests.
Then he went to his mother. And his mother was pleased with him. Now he
showed the copper arrows and the [skin of] Qꜝā′g̣awa-i he had killed to
his mother and said that future generations coming out from her should
wear them as crests, besides possessing the songs.
And his mother asked him: “Did they call you lakꜝî′l?”[382] And he said
they did. Then he explained to her. “When I was of some height, and had
been killing all sorts of birds, I said I would kill Qꜝā′g̣awa-i,”
whereupon they used to say of me: “Put coals on the lips of that common
person.” Instead [of being angry] his mother laughed at him. His mother
foretold what they would say to him when he set out to help them.
This story, which practically includes three, is one of the most
important and interesting of all Haida stories, for, while two of the
preceding are largely Tsimshian and the Raven story is by no means
confined to the Queen Charlotte islands, here we have heroes and places
dealt with which are strictly insular, forming true Haida “hero tales.”
The first two sections are of particular importance and were especially
well known. The second version of the story of Stone-ribs is of
peculiar interest as coming from a man of the town of Ninstints, where
the descendants of the people of Łg̣adᴀ′n afterward lived, and where
this particular myth appears to have been especially treasured. Sī′xa,
the word which I have translated “Upward,” means more strictly
“About-in-the-air,” referring perhaps to the escape of this hero from
his house in the form of a cinder. “Stone-ribs” was the translation
given me for G̣odᴀñxē′wat by my interpreter, but g̣ō′dᴀñ is also applied
to one who discovers hidden things. The word for rib is xē′wī.
SUPERNATURAL-BEING-WHO-WENT-NAKED
[Told by John Sky of Those-born-at-Skedans]
Including their mother and their sister there were ten of them. Bad
things came through the eldest. [391] His younger brothers were like
the supernatural beings. One day one of his younger brothers went out
and shouted “Hū-ū-ū-ū-ī.” [392] Then a cloud came out of the ocean. It
came down in front of Gū′łg̣a. [393] One stood in the place [which it
touched] and they wrestled with each other. After they had wrestled for
a while the younger brother of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked was
pushed down, and he bewitched him. “Go to the flint point which sticks
out in the rear of my father’s house,” [he said], and he went thither
with noise (i.e., quickly).
By and by the one who was born next to him also went out and shouted.
He called in the same way as the other had done, and again the cloud
came into the inlet. Again a person stood in the place [which it
touched] and wrestled with him. After they had wrestled together for a
while, he again knocked him down and said as before: “Go to the flint
point which sticks out in the rear of my father’s house.” Then he went
up into the air with noise.
Now he treated all seven in the same way. Afterward their mother wept.
When she was through weeping, she blew her nose out (i.e., cleared her
throat) and said: “My eldest son is nothing. My mind is so (i.e., sad)
all of the time.”
Her daughter always took care of the fire. Every time they went to bed
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked slept in the place where the fire had
been. He was weak. He was unable to sit up.
Now he heard what his mother kept saying about him. Then he called to
his sister: “Sister, come and bring out one of your mother’s stone
boxes.” His sister poured some [water] into one, and, as he crept
thither, he fell on his side and almost fainted. After he had lain
there for a while he started to creep to it again, and he crept into
it.
Then his buttocks were floating, and his sister picked up a poker and
pressed on his buttocks. After his sister had pressed upon him for a
while, she took away the stick from him. Lo, his buttocks were covered
with water. And, after he had been in the water for a while, he
stretched himself in it. He burst it.
Then his sister poured some water into another one, and he got into it.
After he had been in it a short time (lit., the length of a hand), he
burst it by stretching. Then he got into another. That, too, he burst
with his knees.
Now his sister poured some water into the remaining one. As soon as he
had got into it he stretched himself. He burst that also.
Then he went into the sea in front of Gū′łg̣a. And after he had been in
the water for a while something touched him lightly. When he grasped
for it he pulled off the tail of a flounder and threw it ashore. After
he had been in the sea a while longer he seized the tail of a halibut.
He also seized the tail of a porpoise and the tail of a white porpoise.
[394] And after he had been in the sea a while longer he seized a
whale’s tail. “But steam those,” said he to his sister.
After he had been in the sea a very much longer time something touched
him. He grasped for it. He felt nothing. After he had been in the sea
for another space of time something again touched him, and he reached
quickly ahead of it. Something slender was in his hand. Then his hand
began to slip off, and he seized it with both hands. Now something
pulled him away. At Łg̣a′-ixa [395] he got a new foothold. After some
time the bottom of the island cracked. Then he fastened it around his
head and came back up the inlet. He passed close in front of Gū′łg̣a and
lay still at the mouth of Xā′nᴀ. [396]
After he had been in the water there for a while something came down
from the head of the creek, making a noise as it descended, and he
listened as he stood there. Then the sound came near to him. Now he
looked in that direction. Fallen trees came down toward him, striking
against each other as they came. They came near him. They came straight
toward him. Then he ran ashore from them.
Upon this all the vegetation in the forest and all kinds of birds in
the woods called him a coward. “Is this the one who is trying to obtain
power for himself? His power is weak.” Then he jumped into the water
again, and they came upon him, striking together. When they struck him
he felt nothing. What had become old rotten trees floated away from
him.
And after he had been in the sea a while longer ice came down, striking
together on the way. And again he ran away from it, and they said he
was a coward. Then he again jumped into the water to meet them. After
they had struck on each side of him they floated away, transformed into
some soft substance.
After he had been in the water for another space of time rocks came
floating down, striking together, and he ran away from them. They again
told him he was a coward, and he again went into the water. And they
struck upon him. They became brittle rock and floated away from him.
After he had been in the sea still longer he heard some one walking
toward him. He looked in that direction. Someone short and broad with
red skin was coming toward him. He held a knot in one hand and some
g̣ōdañxō′sgî boughs. [397] On the other side he held some
kwē′aogia′gadañ twigs [398] and some seaweed.
And he said to him: “Come, let me whip you, grandson.” He went to him
and faced him. Then he struck him with the knot. He did not feel it.
Instead, it broke in pieces. And he struck him also with the
g̣ōdañxō′sgî. He did not feel it. And he also struck him on his back
with the kwē′aogia′gadañ. He did not feel it. Then he struck him with
the seaweed. He almost touched the earth with his head.
Then they seized each other. He pushed Greatest-strong-man down. Then
he smiled at him, and went toward the woods upon the ice. Landward
stood a dead tree on the sea side of which a dead limb stood out which
he tried to pull off. He could not do it. But he (the human being) went
over to it and pulled it out. And he said to him: “Now, grandson, go
home, for your things are there.” And he went down the inlet.
After he had swum along for a while, he stood up at Gū′łg̣a. And, after
he had stood near the door for a while, he entered and dried himself
near the fire. He asked of his mother, who was weaving near the wall:
“Mother, have you any?” “Yes, chief, my son; when something made you
and shut you in the womb I had some made for you. They are here.” Then
his mother hunted in a box, brought out two sky blankets, [399] and
gave them to him.
Then he sat down on one of the bedsteads belonging to his younger
brothers. He broke it by sitting. And he broke another by sitting on
it. After he had broken all by sitting on them he made one for himself.
And he also broke that by sitting on it. And, after a stronger one with
yellow cedar corner posts was finished, that, too, broke down. And he
gave it up. Then he fastened the pokers lying near the fire together in
the shape of a cross, laid dead salmon-berry bushes across them, laid
the planks on top of these, and sat down upon them. That, however, was
strong. Then he went to bed.
Very early next day he went out toward the woods. After he had traveled
along for a while upon a faint trail, [he came to] a dead fallen tree
lying across the trail. There a shrew [400] with cranberries in her
mouth was vainly endeavoring to climb over it. Then he put her over and
passed by her.
He came to a mountain covered with devil’s-club and began eating it.
And when he was half through evening came upon him, and he stayed there
over night. And next day he again began eating. When evening came he
had eaten all.
And the last he ate he spit out and said: “Perhaps I shall become a
wā′sg̣o if I swim about so much.” Then something up the inlet said to
him: “Ah! Red-backed-grouse [401] hears your voice.” From down the
inlet something else said: “Ah! ʟꜝuqaᴀ′ndas [402] hears your voice.”
Then he went home.
Next day he again went toward the woods. There the mouse[400] was
trying to climb over. Again he put her across. And, after he had
traveled for a while, he came to a mountain covered with x̣î′lg̣oga.
[403] Then he ate it, stayed there all night, and continued eating next
day. When he swallowed the last of it, he spit out part. He spoke the
same words as before. And beings spoke to him as they had done before.
Then he went home and went to bed.
Very early next day he went out to challenge some one to a wrestling
match. When he started to wrestle with the thing which had destroyed
his younger brothers, he said: “Now, when you throw me down, stand
awaiting me.” Immediately they seized each other. Then he was thrown
down. As soon as that happened, he (the opponent) pronounced the words.
And after he had gone through the air for a while, he came to the
flint. At once he rubbed a medicine Mouse-woman had given him upon
himself. Now, when he struck on it, he pulled it down. At that time his
younger brothers’ bones burst out of it. Then he spit medicine upon
them. And as soon as he got down [he found] the other still standing
there waiting for him. Then he threw him down. “Future people will see
you.” He became a kind of brittle rock. [404]
After that his younger brothers again disappeared.
After he had lain in bed awhile day broke, and he began to think of the
animal he had put over [the log]. Then he went thither. Lo, she was
again trying to climb over. He put her across. And he watched to see
which way she went. Then she went in at the butt end of a clump of
ferns. And a house stood there.
Then she said to him: “Come in, my son; news has come that you are
going to borrow something from me.” Then he entered to her, and she let
him sit down next to her. Then she turned to the wall. She took a tray
out of one of her boxes. On both sides of it sat [carved] mice. She
placed a piece of dried salmon which was in it before him. And he
thought: “I have been fasting a long time. What a small thing I am
going to eat.” Then she said to him: “Eat it. However small it looks,
it can never be consumed.” He took it. While doing so he looked. It was
still there. And he again picked it up. He was unable to consume it,
and she put [the tray] back.
Then she again turned round toward the wall. She put a single cranberry
in front of him. Then he picked it up with a spoon. That, too, he was
unable to consume.
Then she turned round again. And she took something blue out of the
box. [405] Then she bit off part for him. “Here is something for you
when you think of eating medicine, Go up to Gū′łg̣a lake. There lives
Among-the-hemlock-boughs, who destroyed your younger brothers. When you
come to the shore opposite him where the ground is trodden down by many
feet, whistle for him, and when he comes out to you and has nearly
reached you drop on the ground quickly. Then you will come to yourself
sitting in his belly. Put medicine upon yourself. Then you will restore
your younger brothers. And when your younger brothers are gone again
run quickly to Sealion-town. Then climb into the tree which lies
seaward at the end of the trail running inland. When [a creature] comes
to you from the sea push the thing you are going to make into his ear,
and when he staggers about wounded climb into the tree again. At that
place you will restore your younger brothers again. After all have
disappeared again and you start after them you will keep on going
forever as one with supernatural power.”
Then he went away. After he had been in bed for a while, day began to
break, and he went up to the woods and reached his destination. There
was a place there trodden bare by many feet. The footprints of human
beings were in it.
Then, just as day began to break, he whistled. After he had done this
for a while something like a person with his hair floating upon the
water came along. When it got near him, he dropped flat, and, after
some space of time had elapsed, lo, he came to himself in its belly.
Then he put the medicine upon himself and stretched himself in its
belly. His younger brothers’ bones poured out. He, too, was thrown out
on top of them.
Then the hemlock was moving there. And he went to get it. He struck it.
It was as when something is split up fine. Then he laid aside two
branches and took two short ones. Then he threw one [of the latter] so
that it went into a tree. And he threw another one. It stuck endwise
into a hemlock. He spit after it. And he said: “Future people will use
these as fishhooks in getting food.” [406]
Then he spit the medicine upon his younger brothers. They arose. And he
said: “Go together to the place where you used to sit.” Then he, too,
followed them, and, after they had enjoyed seeing each other for a
while, again one was gone. One after the other all seven disappeared.
Then he whittled the hemlock limbs. He sharpened the ends and put them
over the fire. Then he took these at midnight and went to Sealion-town.
And he climbed up into a tree which stood at the end of the trail.
After he had sat there for a while two pieces of pitchwood came burning
out of the ocean like lanterns. They came below him like lanterns.
Wonderful to see, a wā′sg̣o [407] came and stood there. At the tree
lying seaward it sat. It was coming to him. It had a whale in its
mouth. It had another one in the curl of its tail.
And, when it got just under him, he sat down between its ears. And he
pushed the hemlock limbs into its ears. Then he again pulled himself up
into the tree. It staggered around underneath. At daybreak, when the
raven called, it fell as if thrown down. [408]
Then he pushed it about [preparing to skin it] and was going to cut it
open. But it thundered and lightened. Then he skinned it and cut it
open. He caused his younger brothers’ bones to burst out and spit
medicine upon them. They rose, and he said: “Go to the place where you
used to sit.” The next day one was again missing and the day after
another. It went on in this way until all seven were again gone.
And, after he had sat around for a while, he started off aimlessly.
After he had gone along for a while he heard something in the middle of
the island which sounded like a drum. Then he went to it. Lo! he came
to a trail. It had been recently trodden upon. After he had traveled on
this for a while he came to a house. The door was on one side of the
front. Inside of the house something made a noise like a drum.
Then he looked in. A woman, wearing a brownish red cedar-bark blanket,
twisted threads. The doing of that caused the noise like a drum. He sat
outside of the door which was much trodden about. Then he went along
and looked down. There was a salmon-berry bush newly broken off. And he
took it up. He punched her buttocks with it as she sat working turned
toward the wall. Then she turned round and smiled upon him, and he
talked with her for a while.
While he was still talking he heard a voice [saying]: “Huk, huk, huk,
huk, huk, huk, huk, huk.” Then he looked toward it. Lo! his younger
brothers were trying to run apart from each other. Then he went to them
and spit medicine upon them. He put some on himself as well and tried
to pull them away. He was unable to do it. Then he tried it again.
Again he was unable to do it. That was Gā′gix̣it-woman, they say.” [409]
Being unsuccessful he went home. Then he came to Gū′łg̣a. He was going
to enter his mother’s house, yet in spite of himself he passed by in
front. Then he turned toward it again and, when he was near the door,
he seized a pole which was in front of the house. But it came away in
his hand.
When he could not succeed in entering he wandered off aimlessly. Soon
he arrived at the middle of the top of the island. After he had
traveled about a while he came to an open space. Then he sat down
there. After he had sat there for a while he looked at himself. Lo! he
sat there naked, deprived of both his blankets. Some thick bushes were
there.
Then he turned his back to the sunshine. He held his head down with his
forehead in his hands. While he was sitting thus something touched him.
He looked for it but saw nothing. Then he got ready for it, and, when
this happened again, he grasped in front of it. It was in his hand. It
was soft. It felt like fur. It was like something phosphorescent.
Then he skinned it and used salmon-berry bushes on which to stretch it.
But lo! it was slack in the middle. Then he put it on a larger one. And
he laid it out in the sunshine. He was going to make blankets out of
it. It became nearly dry. He was glad. And, when it was nearly dry,
things from the north end of the island and the south end of the island
shouted “Wā-ā-ā-ā-ā, Supernatural-being-who-went-naked is stretching
his sky blankets.” They laughed at him. Then he bent down his head.
After he had sat there ashamed for a while he left his blankets.[409]
Now he started on. He traveled around and around this island. One time,
after he had traveled for a while, he heard some one sobbing bitterly.
He went thither. A house stood there. He ran to it so fast that he kept
falling. Then he looked in. In the rear of the house stood one with
tears running down and pitch on his face. His earrings were long. From
the ends of them small human beings hung. Their throats hung downward.
Their arms were moving as they hung.
He struck the ground with his baton and cried hard. “Thinking to
restore his younger brothers again as he had twice revived them, the
supernatural being started after them. While he was going, the
supernatural being went on forever.” So he heard him put words into the
song about himself as he wept.
And his boxes all had their ends toward the fire. There were four tiers
of them. Then he wanted to look into them. And he ran about. After he
had run around looking for something for a while he found a big rock,
long and narrow, and he put it on his shoulder. Then he threw it up on
top of the house. He pulled himself up after it. Now he made a hole
above him and let the stone fall in. It struck his head. He dropped
dead without moving.
Then he jumped down. He entered the door. He opened the box lying
nearest to him. It was all full of moose hides. [410] Then he went to
the rear of the house also. There, too, he opened some. Then he put
five [hides] upon his back and went away. After he had run along for a
while, lo! he heard his baton sound. Then he came near him and took one
of his hides back. He put it on his shoulder. He did the same to all
five and went away from him. And he looked in the place where he had
been. He had vanished.
Then he went after him. Lo! he was crying out the same words as before.
Then he turned back quickly and picked up a larger stone than the one
he had before taken upon his shoulders. Now he put it on top of the
house and pulled himself up after it. Then he made a hole right above
him. He dropped the stone in. He fell down.
At once he jumped in, piled five blankets one over the other, and went
away with them. Before he had gone far, however, he took these also
from him. He remained in the same place looking at him. Now he was
unable to kill him. That was Master Weeper.
And, after he had traveled about for a while, he came to a swampy place
where skunk cabbage grew and jumped across it. [411] Then, after he had
gone on for a while, he came to a deserted town. A little smoke came
out of the house in the middle. He went to it and entered. And an old
man lay there, back to the fire. [412] He looked at him. Then he arose
and gave him something to eat. But he did not give him anything to
drink.
By and by he said: “Hū; I am thirsty. I will go after some water for
myself.” “Don’t do it, chief; those that destroyed my village live
there. Go over to the corner and drink there like me, your mighty
grandfather, who am doing without anything else.”
Then he went thither. It was a swampy place, full of skunk cabbage. And
he turned around and defecated into it. And, after he had defecated
into it, he said to him: “Manure is floating about here in it.” Then he
said: “Alas! I wonder what I shall do.”
Then he said to him: “Hū; I am thirsty.” And he said to him: “Don’t go,
chief; the things that destroyed my village are there.” But, without
heeding him, he took the bucket and went for some. And, after the water
had flowed down four times, he took some.
He did not know what happened to him. To his astonishment he came to
himself sitting in its belly. Then he stretched himself in its belly.
He burst it, and bones burst out of its belly. He put the bones
together. If one leg was lost he repaired it with salmon-berry bushes.
He spit medicine upon them. At once they got up. He revived the right
side of the town.
Immediately after that the water flowed down continuously. Then he got
some in the bucket, went in, and said: “Grandfather, drink.” Then he
stretched his hand toward it. After he had looked at it for a while, he
turned away from it. He did not drink.
After [Supernatural-being-who-went-naked] had sat there for a while, he
said: “Hū, everywhere people eat things found at low tide. I want some
devilfish. I am going to get some devilfish.” “Do not do it, chief; the
thing that destroyed my village lives there.” But, without listening to
what was said, he started off.
In the corner of the house on the side toward the door were two sticks
for hunting devilfish. Then he took both. And he gave him the following
directions: “After he has shot water from his mouth four times, punch
in at him. That is the way to endeavor to kill him.”
Then he went. Something wonderful lived there. The supernatural
devilfish shot water at him, and it went right to the sky. After it had
shot out water four times, he punched it with a stick. But he found
himself in its belly. Then he spit medicine upon himself and stretched
out in its belly. He burst it. The mother of outbursts of human bones
took place. Then he put the bones together, and part were missing. And
he repaired them with any common material. Then he repaired their eyes
in the same way and spit medicine upon them. At once all went away. And
he said: “When you get home, walk about there.”
Then he dragged [the devilfish] along with the devilfish stick and
threw it inside the door. When he came in and sat down, Nᴀñkî′lsʟas
looked at him. As he was looking at him,
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked said: “Now, grandfather, look about
upon your town.”
Now he took his cane and went out with it. He looked to the right. To
his great surprise something wonderful had happened. People decorated
with feathers and having their faces painted walked about in rows. Then
he also looked to the left. There things were in the same condition.
Then he entered.
When he came in he brought out a urinal. And he threw some white, hard
rock from a box on which his head rested into the fire. After he had
looked at it a while, and it had become red-hot, he put it into the
urinal. Then he put the end of a sharp-pointed thing, half blue, half
red,[405] into this and held part of the clothing he wore over his
nose.
Then he called for him. “This way, my son; come and sit near me.” Then
he went to him, and he pressed on his nose with the stick and pressed
it down. Now he took off the sea-bass, bullhead, and tomcod spines from
him. After he had finished doing it he fixed him up. Then he brought
out a comb and combed him from the top of his head. And he looked down.
Lo! land-otter fur was piled up below. He did the same thing on the
other side of him. Nᴀñkî′lsʟas pressed something upon his nose with his
fingers because Supernatural-being-who-went-naked had the gā′gix̣īt
smell.
Then he combed his hair. He made it long, and he made two knots of hair
at his neck. He fastened them with a ribbon. He fixed him up with the
blue part [of his stick]. After he had been at it for a while he poured
water into a wash basin he owned and said to
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked: “Now, grandson, look at yourself.”
[413]
Then he looked at himself. He had put on [a painting of] red mottled
[clouds] spotted with black, such as lie out on the sea. [414] He
looked at it and said “This is bad.” Then he wiped it off and put it
into his armpit. And, after he had put paint upon him for a while, he
looked at himself again. He had put on his face a red, striped [cloud],
such as lie toward the north.[414] And he did not like that. Now he put
more paint on him. He put broad stripes upon his face, like those on
the breast of a mallard. But he said that was good. He fixed him up,
because he had restored his town to life. And he gave him two sky
blankets.
Then Nᴀñkî′lsʟas said to Supernatural-being-who-went-naked: “Now you
better go. The one your mind is troubled about lives near by. When the
servants come for water throw yourself into the water and make yourself
appear like one through whom worthless things come. The ones coming
first will not want to touch you; the last one will take good care of
you.”
Then he started and sat down by a water hole near Kaisun, [415] on the
west coast. After he had sat there a while they came after water. Then
they landed. They picked up the bucket. They came near him. And, when
they got near him, he made himself like those into whom worthless
things come and threw himself into the water. And he lay floating about
in it.
Then the one who came first threw herself backward. “Yuwai′yᴀ,
something is floating about in her water (i.e., the chief-woman’s).”
Then the middle one said: “Throw him out with a stick.” Now the last
one, who was lame, said: “Handle him carefully. After he has drunk
whale soup he will become stronger.”
Then they broke off the stalk of a salmon-berry bush and took him out
carefully. Now they got the water, and, after they had taken it down to
the canoe, they remembered him. The lame one brought him in with a
stick and put him in the bailing hole.
And after they had landed they carried up the water. They steamed the
whale. Again they forgot about him. Then she who was lame thought of
him and said: “We have forgotten about a crooked thing which floated
about in the chief-woman’s drinking water.”
Then the daughter of The-one-in-the-sea said: “Hurry and get him.” And
the lame one went and got him. She brought him up with a stick. He was
bent across the salmon-berry stalk. Then they had him sit on the side
toward the door. He warmed his hands at the fire. Then they handed him
whale soup, but, while he was reaching for it and was moving it toward
his mouth, he spilled it all. Then they all laughed at him and gave him
some more. The same thing happened to that.
The chief-woman lived at Tcꜝī′da. [416] And next day they went fishing
with a net. They pulled in a whale. And they cut it up.
While they were away he warmed himself on the side of the house toward
the door a while and said: “Chief-woman, you [let me get something].”
Then she said to him: “Go and get what you are talking about.” But he
crept over to her. He touched the chief-woman. Then she seized him on
each side of his head near his ears and knocked him against the floor
planks, holding him by the hair. And she said to him: “Go and sit on
the side toward the door, you common thing.” And he crept over there.
Again he sat near the door.
After he had sat there for a while the chief-woman said to him, making
the sound of throwing out saliva between her teeth: “Gîtgît, [417] the
slave they say I am without, go and get firewood.” Then he crept out
and came out of his skin outside. Then he seized with both hands a
spruce, good for burning and covered with dead limbs mingled with green
ones, which stood upon a knoll, and he pulled it up, roots and all.
Then he threw it down from the knoll. It was broken in pieces below.
Then he collected the pieces. And he carried up the bark, crept in, and
put it into the fire. He piled [the wood] there, end up [in the usual
way].
The servants had pulled in a whale. They were happy. Then, after he had
tried to communicate with the lame one for a while, he told her about
himself. “I have firewood for you back here. Go and get it. I am
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked. Do not tell any one about me.”
Then the slaves were told to get firewood, and they brought it in. And
[the chief-woman] again made a noise with her lips. “I guess it must
have been Gîtgît who chopped down this firewood,” she [418] said to
him.
One day he crept out. He got out of his skin. Then he stopped making
himself old. He determined to marry the chief-woman.
Then he put upon his face the painting that Nᴀñkî′lsʟas had placed
there first. He put on his two sky blankets. And, after he had stood
there for a while, one of the servants came out. As soon as she had
looked at him, although still at a distance, she came toward him with
her arms stretched out. “No, no, no,” he said to her, and she went in
from him crying.
Then she said: “Come! look at Supernatural-being-who-went-naked who
stands just outside.” And another went out to him. He also refused her.
He refused ten. Then she who was lame went to him. But he put his arm
around her, and they stood there together.
By and by he entered and married the chief-woman. He stayed with her
for some time. Every evening there was a star at the rear of the house.
He thought nothing about it. One day something passing under his pillow
said: “Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, does the eating of black cod
stick you here?” [419] After some time had passed without his having
thought anything about this, it said the same thing again.
One morning, as he still lay in bed with his wife, he asked to set a
net. And his wife said to him: “Wait until I explain to you. You have
not strength enough to let it out farther. They never let out more than
one.” [420]
Then he took the net which was hung in a corner and went to the point.
Whales swam about in the water. He let out two [meshes]. Two were in
it. And he could not pull it in. The other [meshes] were also pulled
into the water. All five were pulled in. Then he went away. And where
he lay he breathed hard [from the exertion].
Then his wife asked him: “Were the meshes of the net pulled out?”
“Yes,” said he. Instead [of being angry] his wife laughed at him. “That
is all right, for I will go to my father and get it.” [421]
The day after she went to her father by canoe. All of the servants went
along with the chief-woman. Supernatural-being-who-went-naked also
went. They started. After they had gone along for a while, they came in
sight of the town. Then they landed, and her father came down to meet
her. And he asked his daughter: “Why do you come, chief-woman, my
daughter?” “Why, father, we came after the net.” “It is there in the
house, chief-woman, my daughter.”
And he was glad to see Supernatural-being-who-went-naked. Then they
went in, and four hard white stones were put into the fire. When they
became red hot, they brought a tray made of white rock out from the
corner. They put them into it and placed it in front of him.
Then his wife cried, “Hᴀn! hᴀn! every time I try to be happy (i.e., to
be married) you use this sort of weapon.” Then he told his wife not to
say a word. And, after he had swallowed his medicine, he picked up one
with a spoon and swallowed it. It even went through the floor planks.
He did the same with all four.
Then they gave him a wash basin. After his wife had also washed her
hands, they brought out five black cod. And she told her husband not to
eat them. “It is something different,” she said to him. Then they put
these in front of him, and, after he had sat there for a while, she
said: “He says that is not what it is.” Then [the servant] put it back
and they threw them out.
Then they put some more in front of him. Those, too, he did not eat.
And she said: “He says that that is also something different, father.”
Then they threw away the steaming box and brought another out, and they
brought out five more black cod. Then she said to her husband: “They
are black cod.” They cut them crosswise and steamed them. When they
were cooked, they put them into a dish. And before they had taken
these, she picked one up. “Take care of the head and bones of this.”
And she gave him another. She gave him those parts of all five black
cod.
And she said to her husband: “Do not let them go. He will take them out
from inside your clothing so that you will not feel it.” And she asked
him many times: “Have you the heads still?” “Yes, here they are.” Next
day they started off. Again she asked her husband: “Have you the
heads?” “Yes, here they are.” “Have you the black-cod heads?” “Yes,
here they are.” “Have you the black-cod heads?” “No-o-o I wonder why
He-who-has-spines-for-earrings turned round smiling.” [422]
Hu hu hu hu hu, great quantities of black cod were put into the canoe.
Then they landed and unloaded the black cod. And it was evening, and
they went to bed.
After many nights had passed, the something which had spoken under his
pillow before he again heard going along and saying:
“Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, does the black cod stick you here?
Because you made Nᴀñkî′lsʟas’ town alive, he restored your younger
brothers to life by letting himself be born from your mother. He sat
early in the morning between rocks with white and black bands. [423]
Being in love with part of you, he has also come to you.” And he looked
out. Lo! he saw the tail of a marten pass in through the star. [424]
Then he went thither. To his surprise there lay a woman asleep with
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas with the upper part of her blanket fallen away leaving her
uncovered. Then he pressed upon her with his hands and she said to him:
“I used to want you, but lo! you got around late.”
And after that he sat down near the fire feeling unhappy. Then his wife
asked him: “Why are you so sad?” “I am sad because I left my mother not
far from here,” he said, deceiving her. Then he started. He put black
cod into his canoe and started off. Then he came into Skidegate channel
and reached his [younger] brothers’ town. Lo! his eight younger
brothers came down to meet him.
Then they went in. And his younger brothers only cared to have
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas for an elder brother. They did not care about
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked. Before they even gave food,
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked began to give them something to eat.
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas had a bedstead in the rear of the house. Clouds were over
his head. They could not see his face. She (the wife of
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked) cut the black cod crosswise and
steamed them. Then they told Nᴀñkî′lsʟas to sit near the fire and put
down a wash basin for him. And the cloud upon his face crossed [the
room]. He sat there washing his hands. Then they set black cod before
him. They saw only his hands.
His younger brothers ate with him, but
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked sat with his wife on the side of the
house toward the door. Nᴀñkî′lsʟas did not walk down. The clouds rose.
He was fastened to them. Then the clouds rested with him behind the
place where the wash basin was.
Now, when they were through, the cloud rose with him, and his body was
again to be seen on the bedstead. Then he (Nᴀñkî′lsʟas) called to his
sister. After she had gone to him and he had talked with her for a
while, she went out. She brought in cranberries. The tray had the
figure of a gā′gix̣īt upon it. After he had sat eating for a while he
stopped, and his younger brothers ate the rest.
Then she again put stones into the fire. Then they laid the wash basin
down again, and the clouds again rose with him. Again he came down
there and sat down, and they put black cod in front of him. Then he ate
with his younger brothers. At that time they did not see his face. Then
the wife of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked was sad.
They say that Nᴀñkî′lsʟas was in love with Gā′gix̣īt woman in order to
restore the brothers of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked. In order to
restore the town of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked to life he had
let himself be born from the mother of
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked. Then the clouds rose. Again he sat
up high.
Again [Nᴀñkî′lsʟas] called to his sister: “Sister, come to me,” and his
sister said: “Hū hū, always, when you send me after a thing, you are
going to give me something. By and by you take it away from me again.”
Upon that he threw something down to her. It fell with a noise like
that of a drum. At once she went to get it. She covered it up with her
blanket. Then the wife of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked recognized
the thing she used to let her daughter have. [425]
Then she cried: “Han-a han-a, I thought that I let only my daughter
have that.” Then her mother-in-law said to her: “Stop, chief-woman;
wherever the supernatural beings are settled they always wear it as a
crest. Chief-woman, it belonged to your husband’s sister and her
brother (Nᴀñkî′lsʟas). He is simply fooling her with the thing you are
talking about.” At once she stopped crying. She really saw it. But
still she believed what her mother-in-law said.
On the next day his brother’s wife again gave them black cod to eat.
When he sat up again he called to his sister. After he had talked to
her for a while she came down and sat near
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, who sat with his wife. And she said:
“He wants something that he says your husband owns.” Then he did not
know what [Nᴀñkî′lsʟas] referred to.
By and by he thought of the skin of the wā′sg̣o he had killed. Then he
ran toward the mouth of the inlet. And he pulled himself up to the two
cedar tops, between which he kept it, and pulled off the wā′sg̣o’s tail.
Then he started back with it. He returned at once.
Then he said to his wife: “This must be the thing they speak about.”
Then she called her sister-in-law and gave the wā′sg̣o tail to
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas. After he had looked at it for a while he put it on top of
his hat. It looked nice there. [426]
At that time they again steamed black cod. And lo! the clouds again
arose. Then his younger brothers ate the black cod. Then his mind was
sick. Now she turned around and began weaving. After she had done this
for a while, lo! her brother-in-law had put himself around her. He
looked out at her from her clothing. She looked toward the rear of the
house for her brother-in-law. The form of Nᴀñkî′lsʟas still sat up
there. Then they lay there together. [427]
But still she told her husband, Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, not
to be in love with anyone. “Do not go with anyone, or I will go down to
my father.”
Then her husband began getting water in a water-tight basket in which
floated a hawk feather. Every time he came back she pulled out the
feather. Globular drops of water fell off, and she drank. One time he
lay with one he was in love with. And, when he came home, his wife
pulled out the feather. The water adhered to it.
Immediately she became angry. Her labret moved as if some one had
shaken it. Then she hunted in her box. At the same time her tears fell
as if something were poured out. Taking something out of it she put it
into her mouth. It was a white powder. She spit it upon her hands and
rubbed it on the soles of her feet. Then her husband, who sat near her,
took some that fell about. He at once rubbed it upon the soles of his
feet. She did this because she was going to leave him.
Then she went down to the beach, and he followed her and went away with
her on the surface of the sea. She did not look at him. Then she said
to Supernatural-being-who-went-naked: “You better go back from me
before I look at you.” And he said: “What kind of look is this
dangerous look?” Then she looked toward him, and he went right under
water. There was not a sign of him. And she entered her father’s house.
Then she said to her father: “Father, I made him fall in by looking. I
looked toward him. Come! try to fish him out.” Then her father pulled
apart the stone floor planks. He fished for him between them. Then he
pulled him out, with nothing but his joints holding together. Then he
spit medicine upon him, and he got up and went toward his place.
And, after he arrived there, they sent for Master Carpenter. Then he
had a mountain placed upon ten canoes. And his younger brothers were
settled there one after the other. Then he put a sky blanket upon his
sister and seated her on the mainland. And he seated his mother on the
Haida country. [428]
Now, he put on a dancing blanket and dancing leggings and started along
on land near his younger brothers [who were going along in their
canoe]. He bent over as he ran, and farther off he stood up straight.
In that way Supernatural-being-who-went-naked became the Swamp-robin.
[429] And his younger brothers lay still on the water out at sea.
People sometimes become shamans [by getting power] out of that canoe.
Like the preceding this seems to be a strictly Haida story, although
the gā′gix̣īt idea was also popular among the Tlingit of Alaska. This
fact, together with its length and complication and the insight it
gives into the mythology of the Haida people, render it one of the most
interesting of all. One of the myths obtained by me at Masset bore this
same name, but resembled it only in the concluding portion, the first
part being like that of
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger.
HE-WHO-WAS-BORN-FROM-HIS-MOTHER’S-SIDE
[Told by John Sky of Those-born-at-Skedans]
She was a chief’s child. She was a woman. [430] When she went out, they
braced the hanging door open for her, and she went out frequently.
[431] One day, when she came in, the stick slipped off, and the edge of
the door touched her upon the side and made her sore there. By and by a
hole appeared there, and, when the town people came to know that, her
father gave orders to abandon her. Next day they left her.
Then she went down to the saltwater and washed her [sore]. There she
put medicine upon it. One day, when she was washing, some bloody
looking matter stuck out. And she was unable to pull it out. Then she
again put medicine upon it and crept up to the house.
Next day she crept down to the water again, and, while she was washing
it, she again pulled at it with her finger nails. Lo, she pulled it
out. Then she laid it upon a stone, and, after she had put medicine on
herself, picked it up and moved toward the house. Then she bent pieces
of cedar bark, placed it in them, and put it side of the house outside.
Now she went to bed. While her back was turned to the fire a child
cried. Then she rose quickly and, without standing up, ran out. And
something inside the thing she had bent together was crying. She
looked. A child lay in it. And, after she had taken it out, she washed
it. Then she reared it. She had it as a companion.
And very soon he began to creep. Before he had eaten anything he began
to walk. One day he started to cry. He said: “Ha ʟ̣” [432] Then she made
a bow for him. She used a young hemlock limb. When it was finished, she
gave it to him. After he had looked at it he put it into the fire. She
made them for him out of all kinds of wood. Each time he did the same
thing.
By and by she made one for him out of real yew. Wā-ā-ā-ā-ā′, it looked
red. It was pretty. After he had looked at that, too, for a while he
threw it into the fire, and the blunt-pointed arrows along with it.
Then she pounded out copper for him. She hammered a string on so that
it could not be removed. She also hammered out two arrows. One had the
figure of a weasel. The other had the figure of a mouse on it. When she
handed these to him he did not look at them. He at once went off.
After he had been gone for some time, he brought in some wrens [433]
and said to his mother: “Pick and eat them.” Then his mother picked
them and steamed them. When they were cooked she ate them. His mother
tried to have him eat some. But he shook his head. He absolutely
refused.
Then he again went off. He came back. He brought many song sparrows,
[434] and his mother steamed them and ate. But he did not eat. Next day
he went off again. He brought in a number of mallard, [435] and his
mother plucked and singed them. She pulled them apart and ate one.
And next day he started off again. He brought in a number of geese.
[436] He went off the next day. He brought a white porpoise, [437] and
he brought a hair seal. [438] The day after he brought a whale. [439]
He had stopped hunting birds.
Then he started off again. He stayed away longer than usual and brought
in many flickers. [440] Then he said to his mother: “After you have
skinned these, lay the sinews on one side.” Then his mother skinned
them and laid the sinews on one side. And, after she had finished, she
placed them together. She made five rows, and she sewed them together
with their own sinews. After she had finished he shook it. The flickers
upon it went flying back and forth.
Then he stretched his mother’s house. He set up two planks in the rear
of the house. Between them he hung the blanket.
Next day he went out and brought home woodpeckers. [441] Then she
treated those in the same way in order to make a blanket. After she had
finished he went to it and shook it. Upon that, too, the birds flew
about in a flock. Then he went to bed. He ate nothing all that time.
All that time he fasted.
Then he again set out. After he had stayed away longer than before he
brought in a bunch of tanagers. [442] Those, too, his mother made [into
a blanket]. When it was finished, he also went to that. He shook it.
Those also flew about upon it. He laid that, too, on top of [the
planks] in the rear of the house.
Next day he started off again and brought home a bunch of
sixᴀsʟdᴀ′lgaña. [443] Those his mother also sewed into a blanket. And,
when it was finished, he shook it. They flew about upon it. He laid
that upon [the planks] also.
The next day he went out again. [He got] blue jays, [444] and his
mother sewed those together.
After that he again started off. After he had been absent for some time
he returned with the daughter of He-who-travels-behind-us, [445] whom
he had married.
After he had lived with her a while, one morning he continued to lie
abed. While he was still in bed, something went along under his pillow
talking. “He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side, are you awake? Do you
not feel that the supernatural beings, whom people are afraid even to
think of, are gathering together against you?”
Then he ran out. He saw nothing. And he went out again. He pulled along
an old man and made him sit at the end of the town. That was Heron,
[446] they say.
One day he was again lying in bed. Then something passed under his
pillow saying the same words as before. Then he seized his bow and went
out. After he had looked about on the surface of the salt water he
glanced upward. A thunderbird flew about above the town. It carried
[his grandfather’s] town in its claws.
Then he went to the old man and said to him: “Grandfather, they are
coming after me.” “What is the bow of the canoe like?” “A thunderbird
is flying about above the town. He carries a town in his talons.” And
the old man said to him: “Now, brave man, shoot it with arrows.”
Now he shot it with the one that had the figure of a mouse upon it, and
it dropped the town. Lo and behold! he (the thunderbird) burst. [447]
He put together their bones. If any of them was wanting, he repaired it
with salmon-berry bushes. Then he went home. He had restored his
grandfather’s town.
Again he lay in bed in the morning. Again something, passing beneath
his pillow, said: “He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side, are you
awake? Do you not feel that the supernatural beings, whom people are
afraid even to think of, are coming together against you?” Then he
seized his bow quickly and ran out. And around a point at one end of
the town came ten canoes with red bows.
Then he went over to his grandfather. “Grandfather, they are coming to
fight with me by sea.” And his grandfather asked him what the bows of
the canoes looked like. He told him that the bows of the canoes were
red. “Now, brave man, have the town people pull î′nłîñ [448] out of the
ground and spread it before them.” And he did as he had said. In a
short time they rolled their eyes upward. Those were the silver salmon,
[449] they say.
Still another time, while he was lying down, something passing under
his pillow spoke the same words as before. Then he picked up his bow
and ran out. And he looked at those who were coming. The bows of their
canoes had vertical stripes.
Then he again went to his grandfather. “They are coming by sea to fight
with me.” And he said: “Stop! brave man, what are the bows of their
canoes like?” “The bows of their canoes have vertical stripes on them.”
“Now, brave man, have the town pull up î′nłîñ and throw it about before
them.” And so he had it done. At once their eyes were rolled upward.
They were the dog salmon, [450] they say.
He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side made them cowards by putting
î′nłîñ-teeth[448] into their mouths.
After another space of time had elapsed, something again said as it had
said before: “He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side, are you awake? Do
you not feel that the supernatural beings, whom people are afraid even
to think of, are coming together against you?” Then he picked up his
bow and ran out. Again there were ten canoes with red paintings on
their bows.
Then he went to his grandfather. “They are coming after me by sea,
grandfather.” “Stop! brave man, what are the bows of their canoes
like?” “They have red paintings upon them.” Then he said to him: “Have
the urine in this town gathered together and hot stones put into it.
Then have it spilled about in front of them.” And so he did. Those were
the sand fleas, [451] they say.
By and by, something went along under his pillow, saying the same thing
it had said before, and he again laid hold of his bow. Again ten canoes
with their bows painted red were coming along.
Then he started off to his grandfather. “They are coming against me by
sea.” “What, brave man, what do the bows of their canoes look like?”
“The canoe bows have red paintings on them.” “Do the same way you did
when you destroyed the others.” Then he again spilled urine around in
front of them. Again their dead bodies lay around thickly. These were
the fleas,[451] they say.
And he again lay in bed. Something passed hurriedly under his pillow.
“He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side, are you awake? Do you not feel
that the supernatural beings, whom people do not even like to think of,
are assembled against you?” He quickly took his bow. He looked in the
direction from whence they had always come. Nothing was to be seen.
Then he also looked upward. There was nothing in sight. Then he looked
toward the edges of the sky. Lo! a great fire came toward him upon the
surface of the ocean. [452]
Then he went to the old man. “Grandfather, they are coming to me by
sea.” “What do the canoe bows look like?” “The edges of the sky come
burning.” “Alas! Alas! I wonder what will happen. Now, brave man,
scatter the bones of the town people about in front of the town and
stand the sides and ends of the grave boxes on their edges in front of
the houses. People always endeavor to stop it that way, brave man.”
And, after it had come along burning for a while, it came to the human
bones. After some time had passed it burned through. It burned through
in another place. By and by it came landward faster, without having
been stopped. When it reached the sides and ends of the grave boxes it
stopped there also.
He put on his five blankets and put his mother in his armpit. His wife
he put in the knot in his hair. Then he walked about behind [the
boxes]. After some time those were also thrown down by the fire.
Immediately he started off.
After he had gone toward the middle of this island for a while,
something said to him: “This way, grandson; my house is strong.” At
once he turned thither. He entered the house and sat down. While he sat
there the noise of burning sounded on top of his house. After a while a
red hole was burned through the roof of his house. Then they pulled him
up. They struck him from behind with their fists. When he bent over to
go out one of his blankets was burned off. That was
Fallen-tree-lying-with-one-end-in-the-water whose house he was in.
After he had gone on for a while [something said]: “This way, grandson;
my house is strong.” Then he entered and sat down. The roof of that was
also burned through. Then they pushed him out. When he was burned
another blanket was burned off. That was Yellow-cedar’s house, they
say.
After he had run for some time longer something else called to him,
“This way, grandson; my house is strong.” He entered and sat down.
After it had burned on the roof of the house for a while there was
again a red hole there. Then they pushed him out. Another one was lost.
That was Yew’s house, they say.
After he had run about something else called him in. “Come in,
grandson; my house is strong.” And he went in and sat down. After he
had sat there a while there was again a red hole in the house. Then
they pushed him out. Another blanket was burned off. This was Spruce’s
[453] house, they say.
And, after he had gone some time longer, something called him in. “This
way, grandson; my house is strong.” He entered and sat down. After he
had sat there for a while there was another red hole in the roof of the
house. Then they drove him out with their fists. When he bent down to
go out, a blanket was burned off. His mother was also burned away. That
was Rock’s house, they say.
And, after he had gone on a while longer, something else called him in,
“This way, grandson; my house is very strong.” Then he went in and sat
down. The noise of fire was heard on the roof for a while, and, when it
stopped, he went out. That was Swamp’s house, they say.
After he had wandered about upon this island for a while he heard the
sound of a hammer. He went thither. Lo! an old man was repairing a
canoe with cedar limbs. Where it had not had a crack he split it with
his wedge. He made holes about this with his gimlet and sewed the place
together again.
After he had looked at him a while, he stole his gimlet and went under
a clump of ferns with it. Then the old man hunted for his gimlet. Then
he put his finger nails into his mouth. Presently he said: “Grandson,
if it is you, come to me. News has come about you that Burning-sky
pursued you for your five blankets.”
Then he went to him. He gave him his gimlet. It was old and rotten,
they say. Then he made one for him. He also gave him a whetstone. Then
he picked up two creeks near the town and told him to look on
attentively. “Now, grandfather, act as you are going to when common
surface birds [454] get food for themselves.” Then he made him a beak
out of the creeks. He also gave him some feather clothing. And he said
to him: “Now, grandfather, practice.” [455]
So [Heron] flew away. He sat on a kelp floating about in front of the
burned town. After he had sat watching for a while he speared something
with his beak. An eel was moving in his mouth. He swallowed it. Then he
flew away again and sat near the canoe.
Then he said to him: “Now, grandson, come with me. Go out and look for
your blankets again. Those on the other side are not chiefs. Now,
grandson, go and get the canoe. You are going to see your blankets.”
The old man got into the stern also, and they went oceanward.
They went, went, went a while and came to his town, to Burning-sky’s
town. Then they came down to meet him. Part of them also filled the
house as if something had poured into it. And they said to one another:
“They say he has brought his nephew, Sandhill-crane, [456] to dance.”
And he gave him these directions: “When I go in look toward the rear of
the house. After your poor nephew has danced go over and get your
blankets. And you will also get your mother neatly.”
Then he landed. He went up. And he had a little box in his hand. He had
a baton. When he got inside, he stretched himself. Lo! his blankets
were hung in the rear of the house. His mother also sat in front of
them. He sat down in the middle of the side of the house. The house had
ten rows of retaining timbers.
Then he hunted in his small box. He took his nephew out of it,
wā-ā-ā-ā-ā. And he stood him up. He began dancing. He took the end of
his wing in his mouth. After he had moved backward a while, the people
in the house [said] “S-s-s-s-s-s” [with pleasure]. Those on the top
step went to sleep at the sight.
After he had danced a while, he stuck his baton up, took [his nephew]
and threw him at it. At once he was a weasel [457] climbing up on it.
Again they said “S-s-s-s-s-s.” The next row went to sleep.
And he again picked him up and threw him at the baton. He became a
woodpecker[441] and climbed up it. Again those in the house said,
“S-s-s-s-s-s.” The next row below went to sleep.
By and by he picked him up again. He threw him at it. He climbed up as
a California creeper. [458] Again [they said], “S-s-s-s-s-s.” Again [a
row] went to sleep.
Then he took his baton and put it back into the box. “Enough. I think
he has danced a long time.” He put him away. Then
He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side went to the rear of the house,
put on his blankets, and took his mother. Then the old man went out
quickly. They got into the canoe and went off.
When they were halfway home it came burning after them again. When it
got near, he breathed toward it, and it stopped. Then they came home,
and he went up.
Again his five blankets were burned off, and his mother as well. He
reached for his wife. She, too, was gone. They took her away from him
to marry her, they say.
Then he wandered on aimlessly. After he had gone along a while he let
himself fall to the ground and wept. He looked toward the forest. All
the trees wept with him. Then he looked seaward. All the fishes beneath
its surface wept with him. Now he had his fill of crying and went on
again.
After he had wandered on for a while [he heard] some people laughing
and talking. And he went thither. They were trying to shoot leaves off
of a big tree. As soon as they had shot one down they ate it. When he
got there they moved back from it.
“He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side is going to shoot,” they said.
Then he shot at it. He shot it near the base. It began to fall. He made
the supernatural beings rejoice by his shot. And he said, “Take care of
its eggs (seeds). I will let my cousin, Cloud-woman, take off the head
[of seeds].” [459] That was tobacco, they say.
Then they sent for her, and she came by canoe. She took all of its
eggs. These she began to plant. They were spread all over this island.
This short story is given as if it were a purely Haida myth, but from
an abstract of another version obtained in 1878 by Dr. G. M. Dawson it
would seem possible that it came originally from the mainland. The
abstract referred to runs as follows:
“Long ago the Indians (first people or ancient people—thlin-thloo-hait)
had no tobacco, and one plant only existed, growing somewhere far
inland in the interior of the Stickeen country. This plant was caused
to grow by the deity, and was like a tree, very large and tall. With a
bow and arrows a man shot at its summit, where the seed was, and at
last brought down one or two seeds, which he carried away, carefully
preserved, and sowed in the following spring. From the plants thus
procured all the tobacco afterward cultivated sprung.” (Dawson’s Report
on the Queen Charlotte Islands, Montreal, 1880.)
HE-WHO-TRAVELS-BEHIND-US (OR QONĀ′TS)
[Told by the Chief of Kloo of Those-born-at-Skedans]
There lay Pebble-town. [460] At times the town people fished for
herring with nets. Sometimes they got a porpoise in their nets. And,
when they reached home, the town chief sent a slave into the house of
him who had killed it and had him say: “The chief says you are not to
spill the blood of the porpoise upon the ground.” [461] In this way the
porpoises were often taken away. The chief treated the town people as
if they were his slaves.
And his nephew was a child. He saw that his uncles were treated like
slaves. He saw that, although they had been nearly starved for some
time, the chief took away the porpoises in the town from them. One day
he and his grandmother went away. After they had gone on for some time
they arrived at Telel. [462]
Then they built a house there. And there he began to bathe for
strength. After he had bathed for some time he became strong. Then he
made a bow for himself. And he shot a goose with his arrows. Then he
skinned it and cut a hole on its under surface. He put it on his head,
and it fitted well. Then he dried it.
The geese being plentiful on the water, he put his head into [the skin]
and swam to them. From beneath he pulled them under water. At once he
twisted off their necks. He did the same thing to their wings. Then he
carried them to his grandmother, and his grandmother plucked them. He
at once dried them.
And one time he punched his nose with broken pieces of basket work and
let [the blood] run upon these. He used them to bait his halibut hooks,
and he took along wooden floats, laid his halibut hooks upon them, and
pushed them out into the sea. When they were some distance out to sea,
he jerked, the halibut hooks fell into the water, and he pulled in
halibut. He kept giving them to his grandmother. [463]
And one day he went down the inlet in search of something. After he had
gone on for a while some creature wearing a broad, blue hat came to
him. Then he asked him: “Where did you come from?” He paid no attention
to him. And again he asked him: “Where did you come from?” Then he said
to him: “[I came] From Qꜝᴀ′kun.” [464]
And he had two duck skins [465] on his back, one of which had the top
of its head spotted with white. He seized one of them. He did not know
what happened to him. Lo! he came to himself lying upon the edges of
the retaining timbers in some house.
Then some one in the house said concerning him: “Throw him out. Throw
the thing he wants out along with him.” Then he again lost
consciousness. When he came to himself he was lying near the ocean. A
whale lay near him.
Then he cut it open, twisted a young tree, and fastened it to it. And
he dragged it along and brought it before his grandmother’s house, and
his grandmother cut it up. After she had cut it all up she steamed it.
After she had got through hanging it up he had his grandmother make a
big basket. She finished it.
Then she put the food into it. She put in all kinds of berries, salmon,
roots, [466] and kinnikinic berries. And it was finished. Then he and
his grandmother went up the inlet. And he hid the basket near the town.
Then he entered his uncles’ house.
And, after his uncles had fished for herring for some time, they killed
another porpoise. Then a slave again came in and commanded that they
should spill none of the blood. Then [the chief] came in and seized it,
and he carried it off. As he was going out with it, he took it away. He
became so angry where he sat in the rear of the house that the floor
planks were as if split into slivers by the finger nails.
Then he pulled it away from him again. And, when he picked it up again,
he let him go outside with it. Then he twisted [the chief’s] neck round
outside. And he said: “Wā-ā-ā, wā-ā-ā.” When he came near the end of
the town [he said]: “Wā-ā-ā, he has killed me.” Then his voice was lost
in the woods.
Now he had a crowd of people go over for the basket. And they could not
lift it. Then he went to get it. And he brought it in. Then he began to
call the people. Next day he called the people again, and the day
after.
And he became town mother [instead of the old chief]. The one he sent
off killed is He-who-travels-behind-us. [467]
[Sequel to the above, told by Edward of the Food-giving-town people]
Her brother (i.e., the old town-chief) was killed. Then she started
from the town. And she put the two bracelets she wore into the middle
of ʟgidō′ [468]. And she said: “Through you future people shall see a
portent.” When something terrible was going to happen, they saw them.
Broad seaweeds lay upon them. They paddled off in terror. Although they
(the people) had before been living quietly, they moved from that place
at once. And she went up into the woods opposite. She became a mountain
there. They call it Sea-otter-woman.
This is also one of the most esteemed Haida myths. The version here
presented was obtained from the present chief of Kloo with the
exception of the portion about Sea-otter-woman, which was contributed
by an old man of the nearly extinct Daiyū′ał-lā′nas or People of
Skidegate creek. Qonā′ts, the hero of the story, was one of the
Sea-otters (Qogā′ñas), and, were any of those people still living, a
much longer version might perhaps have been secured.
HE-WHO-GOT-SUPERNATURAL-POWER-FROM-HIS-LITTLE-FINGER
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people]
At White-slope [469] a certain person and his mother were disliked.
They made a house out of branches at one end of the town in which they
lived. When it was low tide he went down and brought up something for
his mother to eat.
After he had done this for some time he came to a heron with a broken
bill. Then he sharpened it. And it said to him: “Grandson, you helped
[470] me nicely. I will also help[470] you. Keep this medicine in your
mouth.” Then it also gave him the feather on the tip of its wing, and
it said to him: “Blow this under the armpit of the son of the town
chief. Even the supernatural beings will not know it.”
The child often played at having supernatural power. He had a mat as a
dancing skirt. He fastened shells upon it. Others he used as a rattle.
He had feathers he found as a dancing hat. He used old cedar bark as a
drum. One evening he went around the town. He looked into some of the
houses. A chief’s son sat in one of them. Then he pushed the feather in
between the side planks. When the point was turned toward his armpit,
he blew it in. As soon as it went into the chief’s son’s armpit, he had
a pain.
Then he went home. They got a shaman for [the chief’s son]. He went
over to see him practice. Some persons with black skins on the side
toward the door held burning pitchwood. Then he thought: “I wonder why
they do not see the thing sticking out of him.” They dropped their
torches and ran out after him. He ran from them. Those were
The-ones-who-have-spines-for-earrings. [471]
The day after he went again. He wanted to see the shaman. When he
thought the same thing as he had thought before they ran out after him
again. At that time they discovered that it was the boy.
Then they set out to get him. He spit medicine upon the things he had
been playing with. [472] The dancing skirt had a drawing on it. The
drum had the picture of a wā′sg̣o. The dancing hat, too, was finished.
They hung up five moose skins for him. He went thither, and the beating
plank beat itself as it came in. They had opened the door for him.
While they were looking through it for him, his dancing hat came out
back of the fire. [473] It did the same thing on the other side, on the
side toward the door, and on the opposite side. After it had come up in
all four corners he stood up. He took his feather. When he pulled it
out the pain ceased, and the sickness was gone. Just before he went out
he blew it in again. He did not think he had received enough. Then he
went away.
Next day they made the number of his moose skins ten, and he again went
there. Again the drum and the beating board went in of themselves.
After he had entered as before he stood up. After he had danced around
for a while he pulled his feather out for good. The chief’s child
slept.
He had many uncles. They kept their daughters for him. Among these one
was short on one side. That was the youngest’s daughter. One time, when
they were going on a picnic, he started. And he changed himself into a
salmon-berry bush near the trail and waited there.
When the lame one came along behind he tangled himself up in her hair.
While she was trying to untie it, all left her. Instead, he came and
stood near her. Then he said to her: “I will marry you. Go with me.”
Then she went with him. After he had entered the house with her he spit
medicine on her. He stretched her leg out. It became well. He married
her.
Then he threw away the house of branches and built a regular house for
himself. He made a bedstead which he and his wife always used. One
night, while he slept, the house moved with him, and he awoke. He heard
some one talking with his mother. When day broke he opened his eyes.
Something wonderful lay there into which he awoke. The carvings inside
of the house winked their eyes. The carvings on the corner posts of the
bedstead moved their tongues at each other. In a rear corner of the
house something stood making a noise. That was Greatest Hopper, [474]
they say. Master Carpenter [475] had become his father, they say.
When he arose [the latter] said: “Come! my child, let me fix you up.”
Then he went to him. He combed his hair. It hung down broad and glossy
even beyond his buttocks. He painted his face. He was very handsome.
After he had lived a while with his father in that house he set out to
marry the daughter of Many-ledges. Then his father told him that he
destroyed the sons of the supernatural beings. And he let him take his
arrows. “They fly around,” [476] he said to him. One bore the figure of
a weasel. The other bore the figure of a mouse. He also gave him some
knots. “In his town driftwood never floats ashore,” he said to him.
He had Greatest Hopper take him over. After he had gone along for a
while with him the capes before him were burning. Then he spit medicine
upon them, and he hopped quickly over with him. When he got close in
front of Mā′g̣ᴀn [477] he felt extremely sweet. There were very many
stick-potatoes there. That made him so, they say. After he had brought
him to the end of Many-ledges’ town, Greatest Hopper went back.
Then he changed himself into knots and at evening floated ashore in
front of the town, awaiting until his children came down to defecate.
By and by they came down. “See the driftwood which has floated ashore.
It is wonderful, because driftwood never floats ashore in father’s
village.” Then they picked it up and laid it down near the door. Then
they forgot it.
And, when they were going to bed, they thought of it and brought it in.
He (Many-ledges) started to cut it up with one of his five stone adzes.
It broke. Then he took another. He struck it with that, too. That, too,
broke. After the same thing had happened to four, he split it in pieces
with the last one. Then he was glad. And he put it into the fire.
When the daughters went to bed he shot in as a spark. Then he sat at
the head of the bed and laid his hands on them. “Who are you?” [they
said]. And he said, “It is I.” “Who is I?” “I am
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger.” When he was a
boy and was whittling, something stuck into his little finger. [478]
That is why he was so called. Then the woman [479] said: “For him alone
my father has kept me.”
And, when she replied to him, he married her. When day broke her father
said: “I wonder what supernatural being was talking to my daughter last
night. I had her for
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger.” Then she said to
her father: “Father, he is the one, he says.”
“Now, my child, come down and sit by the fire with your husband.” And
they came down and sat there. They spread out a mat for him, and he
gave him food. They brought out berries and grease. Flames came out of
them. They put some into a tray and set it before him. The woman told
him not to eat it. After he had swallowed medicine four times he took
some. When he had taken two mouthfuls he stopped. It passed quickly
through his insides burning. He stood up and, where he had sat, smoke
rose.
Next day he said to his daughter: “Let your husband go and get an alder
for me which stands behind the house.” And he got up quickly. Then she
clung to her husband crying. “Alas! the supernatural beings think they
can do everything. They have me marry their sons. By and by he begins
to do this way.” Then he said to his wife: “Let me go. I will see what
he is going to do to me.” And she said to her husband: “Go to it after
it has come together and lightning has flashed in it four times.”
Then his father-in-law gave him a stone wedge, and he went along a
trail running inland side of the house. After he had gone in some
distance [he saw] it standing far off. After it had come together and
lightning had shot in it four times he spit medicine before him and
went to it. After he had chopped at it a while and it had fallen, he
found himself inside of its mouth (lit.). There was no way to get out.
Something held him tight.
Then his father’s supernatural powers came to him. Four having their
hair tied in bunches with cedar limbs came quickly to him. Two had
wedges in their hands. Two had big hammers. Then they worked at the
alder, and they split it. They pulled him out. He rubbed medicine upon
himself and became as he had been before.
When he pulled it apart human bones burst out of it. Some of these were
like whole human bodies; some were just held together by the ligaments.
Then he trod the alder into bits and threw them around. “Those will be
useful to the very last people.” Then he carried half of it off on his
shoulder, let one end down on the ground in front of the house, and
struck the house front hard. Then his father-in-law said: “Alas! he has
killed my supernatural helper.” Then he went in and lay by his wife
behind the screens. His father-in-law had the fire quenched, they say.
[480]
Next day he again said to his daughter, “Come, my child, let your
husband go for a small devilfish of mine which lives toward the point.”
Then he again got up quickly. Again his wife clung to him. And his wife
said: “They let me marry the sons of the supernatural beings who think
themselves powerful. By and by he begins to do this way.” Then he said
to his wife: “Let me go. I will see the thing he uses against me.” Then
she gave her husband directions. “After it has spit upward and it has
lightened four times go to it.”
Then he went to it. He shot it twice with the arrows his father had
given to him. After it had shot up water four times he spit medicine in
front of himself and went to it. After he had struck it with a stick
[481] he was in its mouth.
When he was almost drowned in its slime he thought of his father’s
supernatural helpers. Again the four came to him. They had clubs in
their hands, and they clubbed it in the eyes. They pulled him out. He
was covered with slime. Then he spit medicine upon himself. He became
as he had been before. The bones in it were also many.
He pulled it apart and tore half of it in pieces and threw them around.
“These will be useful to all future people.” And he carried half of it
off with a stick. He threw it in on the side toward the door. Then his
father-in-law said: “Alas! he has killed my supernatural helper.” Then
he entered and lay behind the screens with his wife.
Next day he again said to his daughter: “Come! my child, let your
husband go after my little sea lion yonder.” At once he got up. Again
she clung to her husband while she cried. “He always lets them marry
the sons of the supernatural beings who think they are strong. By and
by he begins to do this way.” Then he again said to his wife: “Let me
go. I will see the thing with which he is going to do [harm] to me.”
And his wife gave him directions. “After it has looked at you and
growled four times go to it.”
Then he started for it. He was going to kill it with a club which his
father-in-law gave him. After he had gone toward it for a while he saw
it lying there. After it had looked at him and growled four times he
went to it. When he came near it it breathed in. He went into its
mouth.
And again he thought of his father’s supernatural helpers. Again they
came to him bearing bone clubs. They clubbed the sea lion on the head.
They killed it. When he (the youth) was almost dead they pulled him out
of its mouth. Then he put medicine upon himself and was restored.
Then he pulled the sea lion apart. The bones of three persons fell out
of it. Then he tore half of it in pieces and threw them around. “You
will be useful to all future people.” And he carried off half of the
sea lion and threw it in through the doorway. His father-in-law said:
“Alas! he has killed my supernatural helper.” Then he lay behind the
screen again with his wife.
Next day he again said to his daughter: “Come! my child, let your
husband go for my little hair seal yonder.” And at once he arose. Again
his wife clung weeping to him. “He always lets me marry the sons of the
supernatural beings who think themselves powerful. By and by he begins
to treat them this way.” And he said to his wife: “Let me go. I will
see the thing with which he does it.” “After it growls and looks toward
you four times go to it,” she said to him.
Then his father-in-law gave him a bone club, and he set out to it.
After he reached it, and the hair seal had looked at him and growled
four times he went thither, and it breathed in. He was in its mouth.
Again he thought of his father’s supernatural helpers, and again they
came to him bearing bone clubs. They struck the hair seal on the head
and killed it. Then they pulled him out, and he rubbed medicine upon
himself.
Then he pulled the hair seal apart. Half of the hair seal he pulled in
pieces and scattered around. “This will be useful to all future
people.” Out of this, also, poured the bones of two persons. Then he
carried off half of the hair seal upon his shoulder and threw it down
in the house. His father-in-law said: “Alas! he has killed my
supernatural helper.” Again he lay with his wife behind the screens.
The day after that he said to his daughter: “Come! let your husband go
and get my little eagle sitting yonder.” Again she did not want her
husband to go, and he said to his wife: “Let me go as before. I will
see the thing with which he is going to do it to me.” Then she said to
her husband: “Go to it after its eye mucus has dropped four times.”
Then he took his arrows. His father-in-law said that they pushed the
eagle down with a pole. Then he went thither. After its eye mucus had
dropped four times he shot it up through the belly. He went to the
other side also and shot it from that side as well. But it did not do
anything, they say.
Then he scattered half of it around. “All future people will make use
of you.” And he carried half of it off on his shoulders. The bones of
two persons came out. Then he threw it into the house. His
father-in-law said: “Alas! he has killed my supernatural helper.” And
again he lay with his wife.
Next day he said to his daughter as before: “Come! my child, let your
husband go and get my little clam on the point.” And again she went to
her husband. Still he started thither. And she gave her husband
directions: “Go to it after it has spit out water four times.” And his
father-in-law said: “They get it by means of a stick.”
Then he gave him a digging stick, and he went thither. After it had
spit up water four times, he went to it and started to get it with a
stick; he suddenly found himself in its mouth.
When he thought of his father’s supernatural helpers, they came to him
holding flat, broad clubs. They struck on its ligaments (lit., “eyes”),
[482] and they pulled him out. Then he scattered half of it around.
“All future people will make use of these,” he said. He took half of
it, went home with it, and threw it down in the house. “Alas! he has
killed my supernatural helper.” Again he lay with his wife.
The day after that he had a fire lighted. They rubbed hard, white
stones together, and it burned. [483] He told them to put stones into
it. At once they did so. When they became hot they put them into a
stone box lying near the door. Then his father-in-law told him to get
in. At once he stood up and, after he had spit medicine upon himself
four times, he sat in it. It was cold.
Then they put the box cover over it. After he had sat there for a while
he tapped upon the side of it. Then he (his father-in-law) made a noise
at him with his lips. He said: “I guess I have killed him.”
By and by he stood up, throwing his hair back out of it. And he kicked
the box to pieces and threw the pieces around the side of the house
toward the door. His father-in-law became ashamed. He had destroyed his
ten supernatural helpers. After that his mind became good toward him.
[484]
The devilfish he killed was in the cave at Skedans point, they say. And
his father-in-law, Many-ledges, was a cliff behind the town of Skedans.
His mind had become changed toward him. After he had stayed with his
wife for a while he told his wife he wanted to return home. Then she
told her father, and her father said: “Now, my child, go with your
husband. Just outside is a canoe.” Then her husband went out. There lay
an old canoe out from between the cracks of which grass was growing.
Then he went in and told his wife, and she said to her father: “Father,
he hunted in vain for the canoe. He says there is only an old one
there.” “That is it.” Then she went to it with her husband. She kicked
it on the edges and [said]: “Go seaward, father’s canoe.” At once it
was floating there. It went of itself either way. The carving on the
bow paddled. Then he told it to come near. It came before him.
And he had his daughter take along all kinds of food. There was a great
quantity of it. He sent five slaves to take care of the canoe. He had
five boxes of berries and grease put in for the canoe. And he said to
his daughter: “My child, when it is hungry it will point its bow
backward. Then let your husband throw one box at its face.”
Then they started. He sat high in the bow with his wife, and the bow
carving paddled the canoe. After it had gone along for some time the
canoe turned its bow back. Then they pulled out one of the boxes of
grease and berries, and he threw it at its face. Again it went on.
After it had gone along for a while the canoe turned its bow back
again, and again he threw the grease and berries at its face with a
spoon. Then the canoe again went on. [485]
After they had gone on a while longer they saw the town. The whole town
was alight with fires. They wanted to see the daughter of Many-ledges.
They asked: “Who is it?” “It is
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger coming with his
wife.”
And they came down in a great crowd to the shore opposite. He came
ashore, and they took the food off. Then the five canoe slaves went
back. They took along the three boxes of berries and grease which were
left for the canoe.
Then his wife sat among the things, and he went up to the house and
told his mother to call her up. Immediately his mother went down. She
saw nothing there. There was only a cloud among the boxes. Then she
went up and said to her son: “I saw nothing there. Only a cloud was
there resting upon the things.” He said to his mother: “That is she.”
Again she went down, and she called her up. The cloud came up after
her. The cloud went near the place where her husband sat. They wanted
to see her. A great crowd awaited her. By and by he said to his wife:
“Take off your hat.” Then she told her husband to take it off, and he
took it off. He put it behind himself. There the cloud lay. A wonderful
creature sat where it had been. She was pretty, like a daughter of the
supernatural beings. The ones they had wanted him to marry looked in at
her and wept as they did so.
And, after he had had his wife for a while, a whitish sea otter came
swimming in front of the town. After they had shot at it for a while he
also launched his canoe. He shot at it with his arrows. He shot it in
the end of the tail. [486] After it had flopped about there for some
time he got it into his canoe. He came home. Then he skinned it.
There were spots of blood upon it. On account of these his wife washed
it. After she had done this for a while she slipped seaward upon it.
When the water was as high as her knees a killer whale went away with
her blowing. She was stuck between its fins. Killer whales went out to
sea with her in a crowd.
He got into a canoe and went after his wife. They disappeared under the
water in front of him. Then he came back and went crying around the
town. By and by he questioned an old man who lived at one end of the
town. “What supernatural being is it that took away my wife?” he asked
of him. “Supernatural-being-always-in-the-cradle took your wife away.”
Then he gave him all sorts of things. He gave him all kinds of things
that would be useful to him. “Now, chief, I will let you have my canoe.
I will go with you. I will stand at the end of the trail, and you shall
get your wife,” he said to him.
He lent him his short canoe which lay outside. “Raise it, chief. Burn
the bottom of it. Take twisted cedar limbs, Indian tobacco, and
tallow.” Then he did as directed.
When it was a fine day he went to him, but he said it was a bad day.
One day, when it was cloudy, he went to him not expecting anything. He
sat outside with his mat over his shoulder. He also had on his hat. “It
is a good day, chief. When we come to the middle of the sea the
sunshine will be upon us only.” Then he launched the canoe. He got in
the stern of his canoe. Immediately they set off.
After they had gone on for a while the sunshine came out, as he had
said. Then the old man said to him: “Look for a kelp with two heads.”
And they came to one. “Now fasten [the canoe and leave] me right here.
This is his trail.”
Then he gave him directions. “Right in the trail at the end of the town
Heron always repairs a canoe. He never lets a strange supernatural
being pass in. When he shouts, quickly put Indian tobacco into his
mouth. Also give him twisted cedar limbs. Then he will conceal you.”
And he went down upon the kelp. He went along for a while upon a trail
in which were footprints and heard the sound of a hammer. And he came
to him. After he had looked at him for a while he shouted. Then he put
tobacco into his mouth. He also gave him twisted cedar branches. Now he
put him into his mouth.
Then the town people came to him in a crowd. “Why did you shout like
that?” “I cried out because my awl slipped.” Then they said to him:
“No; you smell of human beings.” They hunted about him. They did not
find him. They went home from him.
Then he took him out and gave him directions.
“Supernatural-being-always-in-the-cradle took your wife. His
three-headed house pole [487] is always on the watch. Hide yourself
from it. Did you bring tallow?” And he said to him “Yes.” “Two persons
covered with sores will come to get wood. Make their skins well. Rub
the tallow on them.”
He went back of the houses. After he had sat there for a while they
came to him. They called out to him. “Do not tickle us by looking at
us,” said they to him, and they told him to come out to them. Then he
went to them. And he rubbed the tallow upon them and healed their
scabs.
Then they said to him: “To-day they are going to put fins upon your
wife. That is why we came after firewood. When it is evening, and we go
after water we will cause the strings of our buckets to break. We will
let the water run into the fire. Go and get your wife quickly in the
midst of the steam.” So they spoke to him.
As soon as evening came they came after water with two large buckets.
He met them there, and they said to him: “Prepare yourself.” And, when
they went in, he looked through the doorway and saw that his wife had
tears on her cheeks. They had Supernatural-being-always-in-a-cradle,
the one who married her, hung up as if in a cradle.
When they got in near the fire, and on each side of it, with the water
the bucket strings were broken. While the house was filled with steam,
he went in quickly and got his wife. Then he put her under his arm and
ran away with her. The house pole heads shouted:
“He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger has taken his
wife back.”
At once they pursued him. They ran after him in a great crowd.
Supernatural-being-always-in-the-cradle ran after them crying. He came
with his wife to the old man. Then he again put them into his mouth.
When the crowd came to him they asked him: “Old man, did not
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger pass by upon this
trail? He has taken his wife back.” Then he said: “I felt nothing.” And
they hunted about a little farther. When they found nothing they asked
him again: “Did not you feel anything upon it?” “No,” he said. Then
they said to him: “You smell of a human being.” And they pushed him
down. They felt all over him. Then he said: “You make me tired by your
handling. You better stop searching me.” Then they went home from him.
And afterward he took them out. And he said: “Go along carefully with
your wife upon this trail.” Then they went along the trail. After they
had gone along for a while they came to the place where the old man
was. They got in with him and started off. After they had gone on a
while longer he came with her to the town. He had got his wife back,
and he stayed there with her always.
[The following excellent version of this story was obtained by
Professor Boas from Charlie Edenshaw, chief of the Stᴀ′stas, a Masset
family.]
In the village T’ī [on the west coast of Graham island] there was a boy
who lived with his grandmother. His parents were dead. While he was
still living in his little house with his grandmother, he used to make
wands with a little shell knife. While doing so he ran a splint under
his finger nail, which made his finger swell to an enormous size.
Therefore he received the name Sʟᴇg̣otsg̣ā′noē.
One day the boy met a crane whose beak was broken. He carved a new beak
for him out of wood. They were living in the last house of the village.
He had ten uncles who were all chiefs. One of his uncles had a boy who
was sick all the time. Now, the boy who had healed the crane, took a
small mat, which he tied round his waist like a shaman’s apron. He made
a rattle of cockleshell and carved a shaman’s wand for his own use. He
tried to imitate the shamans who were trying to heal his cousin. One
day the youth went to his uncle’s house, which was full of people. He
looked into it and saw a bone sticking in his sick cousin’s side. A
black man was standing on each side of the door. They were the
porpoises. The boy thought: “If I am able to remove that bone my cousin
will recover.” The two black men said at once: “This boy says a bone is
in the sick boy’s side, and that he is able to pull it out.” Then the
people laughed at him, but they allowed him to try. The crane had given
him a shaman’s powers, although he did not know it. Then he pulled out
the bone, and his cousin arose, healed and well. Then he put it back
again, and he was sick again. Now the boy returned to his house. He
said to his grandmother: “I am able to save my cousin.” She struck him,
saying: “Don’t say so, else they will punish you.” But he was able to
see the bone in his cousin’s side, although nobody else was able to
discover it.
Now the chief sent for his nephew. One of his slaves went to call him.
Then his grandmother said: “Surely, the chief is going to kill us.”
Then the boy took his mat apron, his rattle, and his wand and went to
his uncle’s house. There were many shamans inside. He went around the
fire, keeping the fireplace to his left. Then he pulled the bone out of
his cousin’s body, blew upon him, while the people were beating time,
and the sick boy recovered. Then he put it in again, and he felt sick
again. The sick boy said that he had felt better for a little while,
but that he was sick again. The other shamans tried again to cure him,
but they were unable to do so. Then the sick boy asked them to send
once more for his cousin. They sent for him, and, when he came, they
offered him all kinds of property, but he refused it. But the two
porpoises knew his thoughts, and said: “Lk·anqēosʼg̣a′noe (=
Jumping-on-one-leg, name of the poor boy) wishes to have the
paraphernalia which his father wore when dancing.” His uncle promised
to give them to him. Then he pulled out the bone and healed his cousin.
Now he wore a beautiful apron instead of his mat apron; he used a
wooden rattle instead of his shell rattle, and a bone wand instead of
his wooden wand. Now he was a great shaman.
After some time he heard about a great chief whose name was
T’êckoa′nayē. He wished to visit him. He had a beautiful daughter whom
all the chiefs desired to marry, but he did not accept them. He killed
all her suitors. He invited them to a meal and made them sit down near
the fire. Then he put four stones into his fire, and, when they were
red-hot, he put them into a dish. Then he made them swallow the stones.
Now, Sʟᴇg̣otsg̣ā′noē intended to marry this girl. Before he went there
the crane visited him. He gave him a medicine which caused water to
gather in his mouth so that it cooled the stones. When he reached the
chief’s house he chewed this medicine and was able to swallow the
stones without any injury.
He came to a place where there were rock slides all the time. Then he
chewed a medicine called xu′ntsd’ala, and he came to a place near
Skidegate. Then he took his strap of mountain-goat wool. He threw it
over Skidegate straits and stepped across it, using it as a bridge.
Then he threw it down once more, and thus reached her house. He
thought: “I wish the girl would come outside to-night.”
Then she went out of the house and sat down on the beach to defecate.
The boy assumed the shape of a burl, which lay on the beach in front of
the house. The girl said to her slave: “Carry the burl into the house,”
because she wished her father to make a hook from it. The slave carried
it home and told the chief that his daughter wished him to make a hook
out of the wood. Then the chief asked for his ax, intending to split
the wood. When he hit it his ax broke. Then the chief was sad. He took
another ax, but it broke also. Then he threw the wood into the fire.
In the evening the chief’s daughter retired to her room, which was
separated from the main room by a large plank. When the wood was burned
the boy in the shape of ashes flew into the girl’s room. There he
assumed his human shape. She asked him: “Who are you? I want to marry
no one but Sʟᴇg̣otsg̣ā′noē.” Then he replied: “I am Sʟᴇg̣otsg̣ā′noē.” Then
she was glad and allowed him to lie down with her. They talked all
night. Early the next morning the chief rose. He spat and he thought:
“Who is talking to my daughter? I don’t want anyone to become my
son-in-law except Sʟᴇg̣otsg̣ā′noē.” Then his daughter shouted: “He has
arrived!” Then the old chief was glad. He spread mats on the floor of
the house and put four stones into the fire. When the stones were hot
he took a dish and ordered his slaves to put the stones into the dish.
They placed it before the young man, who sat down on the mat. Then the
girl said: “You always try to kill my suitors by means of the red-hot
stones.” The youth chewed the medicine which he had received from the
crane and rubbed his body with it. Then he took the stones up in a
ladle and swallowed them one after the other. They fell right through
his body. The floor of the house was made of stone, and the stones
broke it. The young man was not dead. Then they fed him with salmon and
berries.
On the following day the chief said to his daughter: “There is a
devilfish at the point of land just beyond our village. I have tried
often to kill it, but I can not do so. Tell your husband to try to kill
it.” The young man started in his canoe, and reached the place where
the devilfish was living. Four times he chewed his medicine and rubbed
it over his body. Then he threw his harpoon at the eye of the
devilfish. As soon as he had done so he fainted, and the monster
swallowed him. But he was not dead. He merely thought: “I wish your
stomach would burst,” and at once the stomach of the devilfish burst,
and it was dead. The bones of many people were inside. They dropped to
the ground when the monster died. Those who had been killed recently
were still partly covered with flesh, while those who had been killed
long ago were only bones. He chewed some of his medicine and spat on
the remains. Thus he resuscitated them. He took the devilfish and
carried it to his father-in-law. He threw it down in front of the
house. It was so heavy that the house almost fell down.
On the following morning the chief said to his daughter: “There is a
tree not far from here. Let your husband go and fetch its bark.” The
young man took his stone ax and went to the tree. Then he saw that the
bark was sliding up and down all the time. Again he chewed his
medicine. Then he spat at the tree three times. Now he struck it with
his ax. He fainted right away. When he recovered his senses he found
that he was inside the tree. Then he only thought: “I wish the tree
would break.” At once the tree burst, and with him the bones of many
people which the tree had killed fell to the ground. He resuscitated
them. Then he took the bark and carried it to the house. He threw it
down in front of the house and almost destroyed it.
Then his father-in-law was very sad because he could not overcome his
son-in-law. He did not speak a word. On the following day he said: “Go
and cut some alder wood for my fire.” He gave him an ax, and the young
man went. As soon as he struck the alder he fainted. When he recovered
his senses he found that he was inside the tree. Again he thought: “I
wish the tree would burst,” and he himself and many people whom it had
killed came out of it. He resuscitated them. Then he took one-half of
the tree on his shoulder and carried it home.
On the following morning the chief said to his daughter: “Let your
husband catch the sea otter which lives not far from here.” He gave him
a harpoon. Then the young man went out. Soon he reached a cave in which
the sea otter was living. He chewed the medicine and rubbed his body
four times. Then he threw his harpoon. He fainted right away. When he
recovered his senses he found that he was in the stomach of the sea
otter, and he only thought: “I wish it would burst,” and the sea
otter’s stomach burst, and with him the bones of many people dropped
out, whom he resuscitated.
The old chief had not been able to overcome Sʟᴇg̣otsg̣ā′noē. After a
while the latter became homesick. He lay down and did not say a word.
Then the old chief asked his daughter: “Why is your husband sad?” She
replied: “He is homesick. He wishes to return to Tʼī.” “Hm!” replied
the chief. After a while he continued: “Take my large canoe and
accompany him to his home.” The young man went out to look for the
canoe, but he could not find it. He only saw an old rotten tree with
long roots. When he returned to the house, the old man asked: “Did you
find my canoe?” “No,” the young man replied, “we have only seen an old
rotten tree.” “That’s it, that’s it!” said the old man. They returned,
but when they reached the place they could not find the canoe. They saw
nothing but an old rotten tree. They returned to the house; and, when
they informed the old chief that they had not been able to find the
canoe, he told them: “When you reach the tree again, say, ‘Go into the
water.’” They turned back, and, on reaching the tree, said: “Go into
the water, canoe of my father.” At once it was transformed into a large
canoe. It was full of geese (x·īt) which were crying all the time. They
were the oarsmen. The old chief gave them vast quantities of
provisions, and they started, the geese paddling the canoe.
During all this time the youth’s finger was very thick and sore. In the
evening they camped. While they were asleep a great many spirits which
the crane had held captive in his finger by means of sorcery escaped,
killed his wife, and scattered over the whole world. From that time the
whole country of the Haida has been filled with spirits. Then the boy
said: “Future generations shall always see the spirits which were
living in my finger.” Sʟᴇg̣otsg̣ā′noē traveled on, and nobody knew what
became of him. If he had not visited the old chief, he (the latter)
would still continue to kill people.
This is a popular story known both at Skidegate and Masset. A version
obtained by Professor Boas from Charlie Edenshaw at Masset is appended
to the story I myself obtained. It differs from that in several
interesting particulars. That two such distant points as Masset and
Skedans should be combined in one myth seems rather singular. The Haida
equivalent of He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger is
Sʟō′g̣ot-sg̣ā′nag̣wa-i.
ŁAGUADJÎ′NA OR ŁG̣AÑĀ′ʻOGAÑA
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sea-lion-town people]
He and his wife were the only two in the town. An eel had destroyed the
town people. A big dog also stayed with them. Her husband went fishing
and always stopped at a fishing ground right in front of the town. In
his absence his wife went digging spruce roots, and the dog always went
with her. When her husband came home she steamed a lot of halibut for
him, putting it in a big tray. And he sat above it. And, when he began
to eat, his wife looked toward the door. She was afraid to look at him.
When her husband went fishing again she did the same thing.
One day, as she bent down to dig roots, something startled her by
touching her buttocks. She looked toward it. Lo! he (the dog) came to
her, and she cried hard. And, when her husband again came from fishing,
she steamed food for him again, set it before him, and turned round
toward the door. Shortly she became pregnant.
One day, while her husband was out fishing, she gave birth. She gave
birth to a dog. A second one came forth and another. It went on this
way until there were nine. The middle one always showed its teeth. That
was the one that was going to be brave. The youngest came forth with
medicine in its mouth. Last of all a bitch came forth. Counting that
one there were ten.
Then her heart was not strong enough to kill them, and she put grass
into the cellar and put them into it together. And, when her husband
came home, she did not look as if anything had happened. And next day,
when her husband went fishing, she again went to dig roots.
As soon as she had gone out from the house, a noise arose inside of it.
They were wrestling with each other there. The bitch was talking. Then
she went back. She peeped in at the door. Upon a pole in the rear of
the house hung their skins. In another place they were playing with one
another. And, when she made a noise with the door, they quickly took
down their clothing. In a short time they were lying near the fire with
their feet drawn together. Then she put them into the cellar again.
And, when her husband came home, he asked her: “My child’s mother, what
made the noise in this town?” “The dog was playing. He was running over
the floor planks.”
Next day her husband again went fishing. Afterward she went after roots
again. No sooner had she got out than a noise arose inside of the
house. At that time she did not return so soon. Then she gathered a
quantity of dry firewood and looked in again. Again the skins hung upon
the pole in the rear of the house. And, when she made a noise with the
door again, they went over quickly and pulled their skins down. They
lay around the fire. And again she put them into the cellar. When
Łᴀguadjî′na came home again he asked her: “My child’s mother, what made
the noise in the town?” “The dog was playing with himself and made a
noise on the floor planks.”
When he went fishing again, the dog lay on the opposite side of the
fire. Then she threw a stone at him and said to him: “Who does not get
wood for the mother of his children?” And he got up. He shook himself
and went out. Then there was a noise behind the house, and she looked
at him between the house planks. One with a big knot of hair which fell
below his buttocks and a striped skin rolled the firewood about. After
the noise had gone on for a while outside, he came in. He shook himself
and lay down again on the opposite side of the fire.
When her husband came home he asked her: “Where did that good firewood
come from?” “Why, that is [from a tree] which fell behind us and which
I rolled out to an open place.”
Next day her husband went fishing again, and she went after roots. Just
before she went out, she put wood on the fire. Soon after she went out
a noise arose in the house. Then she crept quietly thither. She had
shut the door to easily. When she looked in [she saw that] the skins
were again hung in the rear of the house. They were pushing each other
about.
After she had looked for a while they pushed each other toward the
corner, and she ran in quickly. She gathered the skins together quickly
and put them into the fire. At once they burned up. Then they sat in a
row on the other side from her. One among them was a woman.
Then she said to them: “My children, when your father comes home and
eats, do not look toward him. After he is through eating I will let you
eat also. People never look him in the face.”
Then Sawałī′xa ran out. His father was fishing seaward. He said, “Hō
hū′-u-u-u hū. [488]” The more his mother tried to stop him, the more he
shouted. When he (her husband) came home she again steamed food for
him. After she had laid it before him she turned her face from him
toward the door. Before he had eaten Sawałī′xa arose, picked up a fat
piece from the edge of a split fish, and stood around eating it. After
he had finished it, he picked up another. When he had finished that as
well he pushed away the tray.
And he called to his wife: “My child’s mother, bring my cape to me.”
Then she brought it to him, and he put it on. Then he called for the
eldest: “Come here, my child, while I sing a song for you.” Then he
went to him. After he had sung for a while he pulled him closer to his
breast. He was as one who has gone to sleep. “My child is asleep. Let
me lay him down.”
And he called for another. He also went to him, and, after he had sung
for him for a while, he pulled him close to himself. He acted like the
other. “My child is asleep.”
After he had done this for a while, he got through with eight. Then he
called the last one, who had medicine in his mouth. After he had sung
to him for a while and pulled him closer to himself, he spit the
medicine upon his chest. Something sharp, like glass, fell from him and
stuck into the floor planks. Then he brought the back of his cloak
round in front. And, after he had sung for him again and pulled him
closer to himself, he again spat medicine upon his breast. From that
also the needles fell off. [489]
Now he became angry with him, and he was pushing him toward his
whetstone, which stood on edge in the rear of the house pointing toward
the fire. When he touched it, it ground the skin off of his side. He
put the medicine upon his palms and rubbed it upon himself, and it
became well. After they had wrestled for a while he threw his father
down there. It ground away, and he was ground to pieces. He killed his
father quickly.
Then he went to his elder brothers, who were lying about, laid them
together, and spit medicine upon them. They all got up. [Each said] “I
guess I must have been sleeping here.” All got up, and they continued
to live in that house.
Their names are as follows: The eldest was called G̣osg̣aʟ̣ē′kꜝa; [the
next] He-whose-skin-is-of-white-rock, the next one, The-left-handed. He
was a brave fellow. He who was full of mischief was named Sawałī′xa,
and one was called Łg̣añā′ʼo. He who had medicine in his mouth was
called ʟā′ga-na′qatî. [490]
Then they asked their mother: “Say! mother, why is this town empty?”
“My child, a supernatural being at the south end of the island
destroyed your uncles. Since then it has remained this way.” Then they
said to each other: “To-morrow we will go and look at it.” And next day
they went and looked at it. It lived in a cave. In front of it was a
pile of human bones. They looked and went away.
Then they made something with which to kill it. All nine twisted cedar
limbs. Afterward they spliced them. And then they twisted them
together. They made it long. It was also stout. Next day they went to
it. When they arrived they strangled their sister and fastened her on
the end of a pole. They used her as bait. They set the snare in front
of its den. After they had held their sister in front of it for a
while, it came out, and they drew her out before it.
When the snare was even with its middle they pulled it up. They also
pulled in their sister quickly and spit medicine upon her. At once
their sister seized the end of the rope. After they had pulled against
it for a while and began to be pulled down on top of each other the
cord broke, and they fell backward in a heap. Then they went home.
And after they had thought for a while what they could use with which
to catch it they began digging roots. They traveled around upon the
island of Gᴀsqo. [491] Upon it they got roots. And they also twisted
those. When the rope was long, they went to it again. They again used
their sister as bait. Again they put the snare in front of it. When it
put its head through, they slipped the knot down to its middle. Again
they pulled their sister in quickly, again they spat medicine upon her,
and again she seized the end of the rope. After they had been pulled
down many times, as they held this, it broke, and they fell backward in
a heap. Then they went away again.
And they took dry strings lying upon the beach. As they went around the
island they carried them along. After that they spliced them. At once
they twisted them. When it (the rope) became long, they went over there
again. Again they used their sister as bait. When that also broke, they
gave it up. Nothing was left that they could use.
And, after they had lived there for a while, a wren chirped in the
corner of the house. It said “Guda′dixa-i” (“sinews”). [492] Then they
felt strange about what it said, and all made blunt-pointed arrows and
bows. Then they began traveling about upon the island. Each kept coming
in with three or four [wrens]. At once their sister pulled out the
sinews, after which they twisted them together. It was slender.
When this was long they went to it again. They set the snare in front
of it. Again they used their sister as bait. When he again came out
they slipped the knot over him. They pulled their sister away quickly
and spit medicine upon her. At once she was pulling along with them.
All pulled upon it. It stretched out smaller. But when it touched the
face of a rock, that fell over. They were saying: “Think yourself wren
sinews.” [493]
After they had pulled at it for a while, something cracked at the
bottom of the island, and they pulled it up. They cut its belly open.
They cut human bones out. Then they laid the bones together. If one
part were missing, they broke off pieces of old limbs of trees and put
them in instead. Immediately ʟā′ga-na′qatî spit upon it. And they said
to them: “Go to the places where you used to live.” They killed him,
and they went home. That was Supernatural-eel, they say.
And, after they had lived there for a while, their sister became
menstruant for the first time. By and by [they heard] some one talking
to their sister. They did not know who it was that talked. And again
some one talked to their sister. Then they put pitch on the mat. And
again some one was talking with their sister. In the morning they
bathed in the sea. [494] When they came in from it, there were spots of
pitch on the side of him who was mischievous. Then they pushed him from
one to another. They laughed at him. [495]
Then their mother said to them: “I guess they are laughing because the
Djugî′tg̣a’s head is going to be hung up in front of their menstruant
sister.” [496] At once they inquired of an old man who lived at one end
of the town. They asked about the thing their mother spoke of. And they
gave him twisted cedar limbs. They also gave him strong bones to make
gimlets out of and Indian tobacco. He told them where its place was. He
told them that it slept there, and he said it was easy to approach it.
Immediately they borrowed a fast canoe. They borrowed
Fast-rainbow-trout’s [497] canoe. Then he stood in the middle, and,
when they paddled all together, he shot an arrow [forward]. It fell
into the water abreast of the middle of the canoe. Then they also
borrowed Steel-head’s canoe, and, as he shot an arrow, they paddled. It
fell near the stern of the canoe. But still they did not think it was
fast enough.
Then they also borrowed Jellyfish’s canoe. It had a stern at each end.
They could pull it either way. It was not good looking. But they
borrowed it. He said: “I will go along with you.” They burned the
bottom of it. Then they put it into the water. One stood in the middle
and he (the jellyfish) stuck in his tentacles far off. When they used
their paddles he shot an arrow. It fell far back in their wake.
Then they pulled it up and prepared to go in it. Presently, when it was
smooth at sea, they went to the old man. He was Heron, they say. “It is
a fine day” [they said]. And he said to them: “No, brave men, it is a
bad day.”
By and by there was a foggy morning. The mist was falling on the water.
Then he went to them. He sat outside. “Launch your canoe. It is a fine
day. At noon the mist will melt away under the sunshine.” Then he gave
them directions. “When it sleeps phosphorescent light shines in its
eyes. Then go to it. When there is no phosphorescent light in its eyes
do not go to it.”
Then they started off. After they had gone along for a while [they] saw
the phosphorescent light in its eyes. They had blue hellebore and
urine, which they had let rot, in their canoe. They took its hair into
their canoe noiselessly. Presently they cut off its head and put it in.
Jellyfish stuck his tentacles into the land. Their paddles they also
plied together. Under their bow the current flowed so fast as to make
cracks [in the sea]. Into it they poured the blue hellebore and urine.
On the other side the current also cracked itself by its passage. They
treated that in the same way. At once they were in front of the town.
In a short time they had hung its head up in front of their sister.
Long hair hung down from it.
Next day some one came singing out of the ocean. [498] He had a cane.
It was red. He came in front of the town and stood there. “Give me my
son’s head or I will tip over your town,” he said. [499] Then two ran
quickly over to the old man. “Old man, what shall we do? He says he
will upset the town.” “After you have gone to the end of the town,
cover it with hard white stones. Cover it from bottom to top.”
Immediately they ran over and did so. And again he said: “Give me my
son’s head or I will upset the town.” Then Sawałī′xa said: “Tip it
over.” He struck the end of the town with the red thing he held.
Instead of falling it sounded like a drum. He struck it in front and
from above. But it only sounded like a drum. Then he gave it up and
went out to sea. He vanished into the ocean.
Next day he again came singing some songs. After him came a crowd of
red things. Those were fleas, they say. Then they went quickly to the
old man and asked him: “What shall we do?” “Steam urine and pour it out
toward them.” Then they did as he said. “Give me my son’s head.” Then
the fleas came toward the house, and they poured urine around upon
them. After they had killed half of them he again started seaward. He
disappeared into the ocean.
Next day he came again. He carried his staff. Some objects flew in a
crowd after him. Those were sīxasʟtꜝᴀ′lgaña, [500] they say. Again they
inquired of the old man, and he told them to make blunt arrows. And
they did as directed. When he had said “Give me my son’s head,” they
came quickly to the houses. Then they went out to them and shot them.
After they had destroyed half of those also he went off.
The day after this he again sang some songs. Behind him the surface of
the ocean came burning. At this time they again ran over to the old
man. He said to them (lit. “him”): “Now, brave men, nothing at all can
be done. Save yourselves by flight.” At once they fled away with his
head. The land burned after them. When one of them was burned up, he
threw it to another. This went on until only he who had medicine in his
mouth was left. When his side was partly burned he rubbed the medicine
upon it, and it became as it had been before. By and by he threw it
(the head) into the fire. It stopped there and went back.
Afterward he started along. He hunted where his brothers had been
burned. There was not a sign of their bones there. After he had gone on
for a while he called to the one who was mischievous “Sawałī′hū′⁺.”
“Here.” And where it sounded he went. Their bones lay there all
together. Then he spit medicine upon them. They got up. Each said: “I
guess I must have slept a long time.” Then they went seaward toward the
open ground again.
And they rebuilt their house, which was all burned. They restored their
mother and their sister, and again they began living there.
One time [they heard] some one talking to their sister. He was lying
with her in the morning. That was North, they say. When he warmed
himself before the fire he warmed only his side. And the one who was
full of mischief was surprised at it and began making shavings. He
dried them. He whittled up pitchwood among them. He put it with the
rest.
One day, very early, his brother-in-law warmed himself. He stretched
his blanket over the fire. Then he also reached over the fire and threw
the shavings into it. When it blazed up, he threw himself backward. Lo!
his penis struck upon his belly. Then they laughed at him. And he said
to them: “You are laughing at me. You will indeed stand against me.”
[501] And next day he went off.
Then he hung blackly about the head of the Stikine river. Snow fell
from him. Then one went out to look. He was lost. Then another went to
look, and he, too, was lost. It went on in this way until all of them
had disappeared. Only he who had medicine in his mouth was saved. Then
he also went to look.
As he went he saw that his elder brothers had been frozen to death. He,
too, got stuck on freezing ice but spit medicine upon himself, and the
ice fell from him. He made straight for the black place in the sky. And
he arrived. Out of his (North’s) anus ice hung. He wet the points of
his arrows with medicine and shot the ice. He ran away, and ice fell in
the place where he had been. He did the same thing again. Then he went
away.
As he went along he spit medicine upon his elder brothers who had been
frozen in their tracks. At once they walked along with him. All went
along together.
And, after they had gone along for a while, they came to where a
certain person lived. He gave them food, as was usual, and they slept
there that night. Then Sawałī′xa remained awake. The one to whom they
had come in lay in a corner. He got up, tied fine cedar bark upon the
end of a stick which hung above him, and let them breathe on it. Then
he went out with it, and Sawałī′xa went out after him. Near a rill of
water was a piece of cedar full of holes, out of one of which he pulled
a plug. Into it he pushed the cedar bark. Sawałī′xa was looking at him.
And before him he came in, and he pretended to be asleep. Presently he
also came in.
Then he, in turn, put the cedar bark to his breath. And he went out,
and Sawałī′xa pulled out the thing that had been stuck in and pushed
his in. Then he went to bed. The next day, after he had given them some
food, he took a bath. Afterward he became sick. He said that his back
and his head were sick. “I must have done it to myself.” Presently he
was dead. That was Greatest Wizard, they say. Then they went off. They
came to their house.
By and by they started traveling again. They hunted birds. Then one
disappeared. It went on that way until all were gone. He who had
medicine in his mouth let himself be last. He followed the footprints
of his elder brothers. When he saw his elder brothers sitting upon a
broad stump he did not feel how he got there, but he was sitting among
them.
Then they broke their bows and arrows in pieces on top of it, and they
built a fire. And, after they had put them into it, they lay at once on
the level ground below. Then they also put themselves into it and stood
below. [502] It was North who did this to them. Then they went home.
They came to their house.
When they had traveled about a while after that they found a mountain
of ground hogs. They built a house there and made dead falls [503] for
them. When cold weather began to come on they came out. They made
trousers out of ground-hog skins.
And, after they got back there, the next to the youngest could not
catch any ground hogs in his dead falls. He did not kill even one. And,
when they went home, he refused to go. Each gave him two. He refused
them. Each offered to give him five. He also refused those. Then they
left him.
After he had lived there for a while a woman came to him one night and
lay down, and he married her. Then she asked him why he did not succeed
in taking them in dead falls, and he said to her: “I could in no way
get them.” “To-morrow make ten” [she said]. And next day he did as he
was directed. The day after he went out to look at them. Ten ground
hogs were in them.
And, after he had done this for a while, he had many, and early one
morning he went to see them. Then a whitish one went in before him. His
wife told him not to put a dead fall near it. Then he longed for it and
set one in front of it. The very next day it fell on it. And he feared
his wife and hung it on the outside of the house.
But, even from where his wife sat, [she said]: “My mother says, ‘Alas!
my child.’” At once she started off. He tried to hold his wife. He
could not. When she got to the door she said: “Come to life again.”
Immediately they began running off in a crowd. He tried to club them,
and he tried to stop them at the door. He could not accomplish that,
either. Then he went along among them. After he had followed his wife
along he went in at the same place where she went in.
Then he stayed with his wife there again. They brought in all kinds of
things, among them łkꜝiê′nkunᴀn. [504] And, after it began to snow,
they went to bed. After they had lain in bed for a long time day came.
He stood at the door outside and shouted “Daylight⁺.” They jumped up
without the things they used for blankets. “What is it daylight from?
Is it daylight from the łkꜝiê′nkunᴀn?” [505] they asked each other.
They looked at the snow and went to bed again. After he had said this
twice he gave it up and went to bed also.
By and by, when the snow melted, they put on their skins, and they
began bringing in roots. He, also, went with them. Presently one called
out “People are coming,” and they went into the house.
Again they (his brothers) set dead falls. The posts for these dead
falls had figures of ground hogs upon them. They only saw the shadow of
the hands [setting them]. The figures were to call them. One went
thither and was caught. They pulled him out. The ground hog looked out
of the house. He almost went to it. His wife held him back.
By and by he went thither, and it fell on him. Then they brought him
into the house and hung him up. And after they had begun to skin him
and had cut his neck open they struck something hard. And. when they
looked, lo! it was the copper from around the neck of the younger
brother they had left. [506] Then they told each other, and they put
his clothing upon him, and, after they had spit the medicine upon him,
he got up. He got up, saying: “I must have slept a long time.” His
elder brothers were glad to see him. And they started home with him.
Anew they began living in their house.
And, after they had again traveled about for a while, the eldest again
disappeared. Next day another was gone. One went after him, and he,
too, vanished. By and by he who had medicine in his mouth was the only
one left. Then he took his bow and followed his elder brothers’
footprints from the side of the house.
After he had gone up the trail for a while [he came to where] a feather
hung. He found himself in a snare. Suddenly he was hung up in the air.
When he got tired he rubbed medicine upon his neck.
Very early next day one with vertical lines of paint upon his face came
to him upon the trail inland. “My snare is always lucky” [he said].
Then he pulled him down. He heard him talk to the snare.
“Do not let anything pass by you,” he said to it. Then he thought: “I
wish he would carry me face up.” And he seized him by both legs and
carried him face up. And, when he stepped under a fallen tree with him,
he took hold of it. After he had tried to pull him away for a while he
let go. By and by he came to his house with him. He came in and took
him off. His elder brothers were cut up and hung in the rear of the
house.
When they were in bed he gathered together his elder brothers and went
away with them. After he had traveled on for a while he did not see a
sign of them. He had forgotten the medicine he had in his mouth. Then
he went back and spit medicine upon them, and they became alive and
started home with him. And next day they came to their town.
Then they again started off. After they had traveled for a while they
disappeared from the one who had medicine in his mouth. And, after he
had hunted for them a while, he came to some one who was using his head
as a drum. Then he asked him: “Did my elder brothers pass by here?”
“Did my elder brothers pass here?” he also said. “I have a notion to
kill you.” He, too, said the same thing. “I have a notion to cut off
your head.” He, also, said the same thing. That was Greatest Echo, they
say.
In whatever way he spoke he could get no answer. By and by, when he
said he would break wind at him, he became afraid. “Don’t do it, chief;
don’t do it.” When he broke wind at him he disappeared. He killed him,
they say.
After that, when he hunted for his elder brothers again, [he came to] a
large, round stone with a slippery top on which a feather was stuck,
and on the side of which lay the bones of his elder brothers. They died
while they were trying to pull off the feather. Then he again spit
medicine upon his elder brothers, and they got up. Then they went away
with him.
After they had gone along for a while they came to where a woman lived.
She gave them all kinds of good food in the usual way. Her dish had the
figure of a mouse upon it. Then they went to bed in her house. There
were scratchings in her house all night. They could not sleep. And,
while it was still night, they went away. They came to the house where
their mother and their sister always stayed.
Then they started off again, and they gave their mother directions.
“Settle yourself in this house. We shall see you no more.” And they
took their sister away with them.
Then they went toward the head of the Stikine river. And, when they
started to swim across, although ten years had passed since their
sister had begun to menstruate, they told her not to look at them. Then
they took each other by the arm and swam across. He who had medicine in
his mouth was the last to enter the water. At that time their sister
looked toward them and all [except the eldest] became rocks.
And their elder brother sang some songs and looked at them. He put the
following words into the song: “Even ʟā′ga-na′qatî did not swim
across.” [507] They settled in this place. [508]
The names of the heroes of this story, together with the localities in
which the actions are said to have occurred, mark it plainly as
Tlingit. At the same time it is well known and very popular among the
Haida. I have a Masset version of the story as yet unpublished.
Łᴀguadjî′na is a Tlingit name (Łᴀ′ki-tcine′); Łg̣añā′ʻogaña is from the
name of one of the brothers, Łg̣añā′ʻo, and means “Łg̣añā′ʻo’s people” or
“Łg̣añā′ʻo and his brothers.” One episode, telling how a gigantic mouse
was killed, has been omitted.
HE WHO HUNTED BIRDS IN HIS FATHER’S VILLAGE
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people]
He was a chief’s son. He wore two marten-skin blankets, one over the
other. [509] After he had shot birds for some time he went along among
some bull pines, which stood in an open space behind the town and
presently heard geese [510] calling. Then he went thither. Two women
were bathing in a lake. On the shore opposite two goose skins hung over
a stick. The roots of their tails were spotted with white.
After he had looked a while he ran quickly [to them]. He sat down on
the two skins. Then they asked him for their [skins]. He asked the best
looking to marry him. The other said to him: “Do not marry my younger
sister. I am smarter. Marry me.” “No; I am going to marry your younger
sister.” Now she agreed. “Even so, marry my younger sister. You caught
us swimming in the lake our father owns. Come, give me my skin.” Then
he gave it to her. She put her head into it as she swam in the lake.
Lo, a goose swam about in the lake. It swam about in it making a noise.
Then she flew. She was unwilling to fly away from her younger sister.
After she had flown about above her for a while, she flew up. She
vanished through the sky. Then he gave her (the other) one marten-skin
blanket and went home with her. He put his wife’s skin between the two
heads of a cedar standing at one end of the town. He entered his
father’s house with her.
The chief’s son had a wife. So his father called the people together
for the marriage feast. They gave her food. Instead [of eating it] she
merely smelled it. She ate no kind of human food.
By and by her mother-in-law steamed some tcꜝāl. [511] But she liked
that. While her mother-in-law was yet cooking them she told her husband
to tell her to hurry. They put some before her. She ate it all. Then
they began giving her that only to eat.
One day, when he was asleep, he was surprised to find that his wife’s
skin, after she came in and lay down, was cold. And, when the same
thing happened again, he began watching her. He lay as if asleep. He
felt her get up quietly. Then she went out, and he also went out just
after her. She passed in front of the town. She went to the place where
her skin was kept. Thence she flew away. She alighted on the farther
side of a point at one end of the town.
Then he went thither quickly. She was eating the stalks of the sea
grass which grew there. As the waves broke in they moved her shoreward.
He saw it. Then she flew up to the place where her [feather] skin had
been kept. And he entered the house before her. Then he lay down where
they had their bed, after which his wife lay down cold beside him.
They became nearly starved in the town. One day the woman said to him
from the place where she was sitting: “Now my father has sent down food
to me.” Behind the town geese were coming down making a great noise,
and she went thither. They went with her. All kinds of good food lay
there, such as tcꜝāl[511] and wild clover roots. They brought them
away. For this her father-in-law called in the people.
When this was gone she said the same thing again: “Now my father is
bringing food down to me.” Geese again made a great noise coming down
behind the town, and she went thither. Again heaps of food of all kinds
lay around, and they carried that also out. For that, too, her
father-in-law called together the people.
At that time some one in the town said: “They think a great deal of
goose food.” The woman heard it. Immediately she went off. Her husband
in vain tried to stop her. She went off as one of a strange family
would. In the same way he tried to stop her in front of the town. She
went to the place where her skin was. She flew up. She flew around
above the town for a while. Her heart was not strong to fly away from
her husband. By and by she vanished through the sky.
Then her husband began to walk about the town wailing. By and by he
entered the house of an old man at one end of the town and asked him:
“Do you not know the trail that leads to my wife?” “Why, brave man, you
married the daughter of a supernatural being too great for people even
to think of.” At once he began bringing over all sorts of things to
him. After he had given him twisted cedar limbs, a gimlet, and bones,
[512] he said to him: “Now, brave man, take oil. Take two wooden wedges
also. Take, as well, a comb, thongs, boxes of salmon eggs, the skin of
a silver salmon, the point of a salmon spear.” After he had got all
these he came to him. “Old man, here are all the things you told me to
take.” “Now, brave man, go on. The trail runs inland behind my house.”
Then he started in on it. After he had gone on for a while he came to
some one who was looking upon himself for lice. Every time he turned
around the lice fell off from him. After he had looked at him
unobserved for a while he said to him: “Now, brave man, do not tickle
me by looking at me. [513] It was in my mind that you were coming.”
Then he came out to him and combed his head. He also put oil on it. He
cleared him of lice. He gave the comb and the hair oil to him. Then he
said to him: “This trail leads to the place where your wife is.”
He again started along the trail. After he had gone on for a while [he
saw] a mouse with cranberries in its mouth going along before him. She
came to a fallen tree. She could not get over it. Then he took her by
the back with his fingers and put her across. Her tail was bent up
between her ears [for joy], and she went on before him. Presently she
went among the stalks of a clump of ferns.
Now he rested himself there. Something said to him: “The chief-woman
asks you to come in.” Then he raised the ferns. He stood in front of a
big house. He entered. The chief-woman was steaming cranberries. She
talked as she did so. Her voice sounded sharp. And, after she had given
him something to eat, Mouse-woman said to him: “You helped me when I
went to get some poor cranberries from a patch I own. I will lend you
what I wore when I went hunting when I was young.”
Then she brought out a box. After she had opened a nest of five boxes,
she took out of the inmost a mouse skin with small, bent claws. And she
said to him: “Practice wearing this.” And, although it was so small, he
entered it. It went on easily. Then he climbed around upon the roof of
the house inside. And Mouse-woman said to him again: “You know how to
use it. Now go on.”
Again he set out upon the trail. After he had gone along for a while he
heard some one grunting under a heavy burden. Then he came to the
place. A woman was trying to carry off a pile of large, flat stones
upon her back. The twisted cedar limbs she had kept breaking. After he
had looked at her for a while he went out to her. “Say, what are you
doing?” Then the woman said: “They got me to carry the mountains of the
Haida island. I am doing it.”
Then he took out his thongs and said to her: “Let me fix it.” And he
bound the thongs around it. He said to her “Now carry it on your back,”
and she carried it. It did not break. Then the woman said to him: “Now,
brave man, thank you for helping me. The trail to your wife’s place
runs here.”
Then he set out upon it. After he had gone on for a while he came to a
hill in an open place on top of which rose something red. [514] Then he
went to it. Around the bottom of this something lay human bones. There
was no way in which one could go up. Then he entered the mouse skin and
rubbed salmon eggs before him [on the pole]. He went up after it. When
he stood on top of this he clambered up on the sky.
There, too, there ran a trail, and he started off upon it. After he had
gone on for a while he heard the noise of laughter and singing. After
he had gone on a while longer [he came to where] a big stream flowed
down. Near it sat Eagle. On the other side also sat Heron. Above sat
Kingfisher. On the other side sat Black Bear. He (black bear) had no
claws. He said to Eagle: “Grandfather, lend me some claws.” Then he
lent him some. At that time he came to have claws.
After he had sat there for a while a half man came vaulting along.
[515] He had only one leg and one arm. He had but half a head. He
speared silver salmon in the river and pulled them in. Then he entered
his silver salmon skin and swam up to meet him. When he speared him he
could not pull him down. Then he cut his string. And the half man said:
“What did it is like a human being.”
Now he came to him. “Say, did something pull off your spear point?”
“Yes,” he said to him. Then he gave him the one he had. That was Master
Hopper, they say. After he had gone up [he came upon] two large old men
who had come after firewood. They were cutting at the trunks of rotten
trees and throwing the chips into the water, when silver salmon went
down in a shoal.
He went behind and put stones in from behind, and their wedges were
broken off. Then he (one) said: “Alas, they will make trouble for us.”
Then he went to them and gave them his two wedges. They were glad and
said to him: “This house is your wife’s.”
Then he went out [to it]. He went and stood in front of the house. His
wife came out to him. Then he went in with her. She was glad to see her
husband. She was the town chief’s daughter. He remained in the town as
her husband. And all the things they gathered he, too, gathered along
with them.
After he had been there for some time he came to dislike the place. And
his wife told her father. Then his father-in-law called the people. In
the house he asked them: “Who will take my son-in-law down?” And Loon
said: “I will take down your son-in-law.” And he said to him: “How will
you do it?” And he said: “I will put him near my tail, dive into the
water right in front with him, come up at the end of his father’s
village, and let him off.” Then they thought he was not strong enough
for it.
Then he asked again. Grebe said the same thing. Him, too, they thought
not strong enough to do it. Then Raven said that he would take him
down. And they asked him: “How are you going to do it?” “I will put him
into my armpit and fly down with him from the end of the town. When I
get tired I will fall over and over with him.” Then they thought he
could do it.
They stood in a crowd at the end of the town looking at him. He did
with him as he had said. When he became very tired and was nearly down
he threw him off upon a reef which lay there. “Yuwaiyā′, what a heavy
thing I am taking down.” Shortly he (the man) was making a noise there
as a sea gull. [516]
The interest of this story lies in the fact that it resembles
well-known Eskimo myths in certain details. The episode with which it
opens is told all the way round the world.
THE STORY OF HIM WHOSE SISTER BROUGHT HIM FOOD FROM THE LAND OTTERS
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o, as related to him by an
old Ninstints man]
He went out from the town to make a canoe. He had two children. His
wife was also with him. When he came in from making the canoe he said:
“Would that I had a sister to bring in food to me.”
One time at evening burning pitchwood came toward him. [517] His
sister, who had long ago been carried away by something [518] in the
woods, came in to him with good food. She talked to him as she used to.
Then she said to him: “Your brother-in-law is going to watch your canoe
[to see when it is time to move it]. When you are ready to turn it over
do not go to it for some time after daybreak.” So she spoke to her
brother.
When he was ready to turn it over he did not go to it for some time.
When he did go to it his canoe had been turned over. Then he worked the
bottom of it.
After that his sister again brought him food. Then his wife wanted to
give her something. She refused it. And they saw her put one of the
arms of a crab [519] they had eaten which was lying near the fire
inside of her blanket. Then they gathered some for her, and, when she
again brought food, they gave them to her. She even took their hands
along with them [for joy]. Every evening his sister came in to him with
food.
Then she said to her brother: “When you are going to launch the canoe
your brother-in-law says that you had better not go out to it for some
time after daybreak. [520] Your brother-in-law says he and his friends
will bring it out. When he has brought it out, your brother-in-law says
he wants you to bring it to him.” She also told him whither he should
go.
As soon as he had it ready for launching he did not go to it. When some
time had passed after daybreak he saw it sticking half out of the woods
near him. Immediately he and his wife launched it. Then he went to the
place whither his sister had directed him.
Soon he came to a town. They landed in front of those who had come out
of the houses to meet him. They placed his canoe where he was going to
finish it, and his sister led them into the house.
After she had given them food they went to bed. When he awoke in the
night [he found] he was pressed in by something. He could in no way
stretch out. Those were the roots of a large tree. When it was day, a
good house again stood there.
Now, he lived there for a long time. All the while he worked on his
canoe. Every night the earth changed for him. In the morning the house
stood there just as it ought to appear.
By and by four persons went out by canoe to hunt coots. They called
bullheads coots. After they had been gone for a while only three came
back. He (the fourth) was killed because he forgot the mat to cover his
knees. When they forgot this they never escaped. [521]
When his canoe was finished he steamed and spread it. At that time his
brothers-in-law helped him. After that he started to go out in it. All
that time she (his sister) made the child dance. Already it began to
have a tail. Then she gave them directions. She said that when they
went outward they should not look back. She said that the child, who
was just able to talk, must not speak about that country. And she also
gave the same directions to him.
One time, after that, they started off. When they were some distance
away the child remembered the town. And, when he said “How [well] we
lived among them,” they were back again in front of the town. When they
again started and had passed beyond the place where the boy first spoke
he repeated the same thing, and again they were back in front of the
town. When they went away again they kept straight on. Then they came
to [their own] town.
Here it draws to an end. [522]
This is one of the numerous and popular land-otter stories and the only
type of story in which that animal appears in a rôle at all benevolent.
Usually he is represented as trying to steal away some human being and
make a slave of him, to deprive one of his senses or turn him into a
gā′gix̣īt (see story of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, note 19).
Nevertheless, his peculiar nature brought him into intimate relations
with the shamans, especially among the Tlingit.
HOW SOMETHING PULLED A ROW OF EAGLES INTO THE WATER
[Told by the chief of Kloo, of Those-born-at-Skedans]
There lay the town of Skedans. The nephew of the town chief there sat
around whittling. He came to have many boxes of arrows. And one day he
put shavings into the fire in front of his uncle’s wife. Then he saw
her genitals.
Then he looked on as they were gambling. His uncle also sat there. By
and by a flicker came flying about. It showed red when it spread its
wings. Then he said “Just now I saw something in the house exactly like
that,” whereupon his uncle became ashamed.
Then his uncle had a block of cedar cut out, and they shaped it like a
canoe. Then they scraped off some pitch, put it into the cedar, warmed
it, and made him sit on it. Then they went out with him to the open sea
and put him in it. He was crying. He cried himself to sleep.
By and by the wind blew from the ocean. After he had floated for a time
he floated ashore at Broken-shells-of-the-supernatural-beings. [523]
Then he put his back to the sunshine, and the heat melted him off.
Now he rose and came to a town. And at evening he peered into the
houses. After he had looked about for a while he looked into the
chief’s house and [saw] a woman sitting between the screens which
pointed toward each other. She was pretty. He looked in at her.
And, when they all were gone to bed, he went in to her. And the woman
asked him: “Who are you? My father keeps me for him alone whom his
uncle had taken toward the open sea.” And he said to her: “I am he.”
Then she let him lie with her. While he was lying with her her father
overheard.
Next day her father said: “Come! let us see who was talking with my
child.” Then he said: “I wonder what supernatural being got in that
way. I was keeping my daughter for him whom they said his uncle had
carried toward the open sea.” “It is he, father, he says.” “Come down
to the fire with your husband, child.” Then she went down with him, and
his father-in-law gave him food.
And, after he had stayed with her for a while, he told his wife that he
wanted to see his uncle’s town. Then his wife told her father. And he
told his son-in-law to bring him a box which was near the wall. And,
when he brought it over to him, he took four out of it in succession,
and began pulling from the inmost the feather clothing of an eagle.
Then he gave him one among them in which fine black feathers were mixed
with white.
Then he went outside, put it on (lit., went into it), and flew up to a
high frame in front of the house. He flew easily. Then he flew down.
Soon he looked down upon his uncle’s town. Then he sat at Skedans
point. He looked from where he sat at his uncle’s town.
By and by some children came to him. And the children shot up at him
with blunt arrows. But every time they shot at him he sat lower down.
In the inside of [the skin] he made himself small. He changed himself
many times in a way his father-in-law had given him directions. [524]
For that purpose he had given him one all of fine feathers.
Presently the boys were forbidden to shoot, and the grown people began
shooting at him. Every time they shot at him he came lower. When a big
crowd was about him, he seized one person by the top of his head. And,
when he flew up with him, some one else seized his feet. When he also
went up another seized his feet. In the same way they all seized one
another’s feet until he flew up with the whole town. Then he flew
seaward with them and let them fall there. They became islands. [525]
The town of Skedans became empty. Then he flew up.
And all the time he was at this town they entered their feather
clothing just before daybreak and sat in line upon a kind of pole,
which was in front of the town. After they had discussed the place they
should go to they flew away. In the evening they flew back. They
returned with all kinds of things. They took whale tails, white
porpoises, porpoises; and halibut, red cod, spring salmon—everything
one can think of.
One time he told his wife he wanted to go out for food with them. He
wanted to go for the things they brought in. Then his father-in-law
again gave him a [skin]. He gave him one that belonged to a young
person. Then he put it on, flew seaward with them, and caught spring
salmon. His father-in-law was pleased with him.
And at daybreak his father-in-law warned him. He told him not to touch
a thing which stuck out of the water at Skedans point. And one day,
when he flew out with them, he looked at a whale, thought it easy, and
seized it in his talons. He did not feel it. At that time his
father-in-law was still more pleased with him.
And when day broke he told him all the places upon this island where
they get things. Then he sat with them in front of the house, and even
to the south end of the island the things under the waters, fish and
sea mammals, [526] were plainly visible to him.
One day he flew downward and nearly touched the thing sticking out.
And, when he did the same thing again, he seized it. He flapped his
wings to pull it up. It acted like a solid object and nearly carried
him under the water. Another took hold of the end of his wing. He, too,
was drawn under, and another seized his wing. As soon as they saw him
they flew toward him from the south end of the island and from the
north end of the island. All flew about above him. They also saw him
from the town. The first were drawn in. They were nearly all pulled in
one after the other, holding each other’s wings, when the town people,
too, came flying thither. Those, too, were at once drawn in.
Then his father-in-law and his wife dressed themselves. And, when those
also were almost drawn under, and his wife was nearly drawn under with
them, his wife’s grandmother also dressed herself. She sharpened her
claws which were dull. At the same time she said: “Ha-i ha-i, what
things happen by means of the claws of my child’s husband, ha-i ha-i.”
She was very old, they say.
By and by she flew out and seized her. After she had flapped her wings
for a while she saw one coming up. As she saw another one come up
something cracked at the bottom of the island. Then she pulled them
out. The thing came up with them. That was Greatest-clam (stᴀn), [527]
they say.
Then the town was restored. And he again began getting food for his
father-in-law as formerly. But Skedans continued to lie empty. That is
why the same thing keeps happening to it, they say. [528]
[Another version of this story, obtained by Prof. Franz Boas from
Charlie Edenshaw, chief of the Stᴀ′stas, a prominent Masset family.]
At Lāltg·iwas, [529] near Skidā′ns, lived a chief and his sister, who
had a son. This young man loved the chief’s wife. When the chief
discovered this he became jealous and thought of killing his nephew. He
sent his slaves to fetch gum. The slaves went and bought a canoe load
of gum, which the chief boiled. Then he covered the board which covers
the bow of the canoe with the gum. After this was done he sent his
slaves to shoot eagles, and he spread the down over the gum so as to
make it invisible. After he had thus prepared his canoe he called his
nephew. His slaves went into his house to call him. He obeyed their
summons, and went to his uncle’s house, who requested him to go out to
sea, hunting. The young man took his quiver, which contained two bows
and many arrows. The young man asked his uncle: “What kind of a blanket
shall I wear when I go hunting?” Then the chief gave him two marten
blankets. He continued: “What kind of ear ornament shall I wear when I
go hunting?” His uncle gave him ear ornaments made of caribou skin
(tsʼᴇnʟqal = caribou).
When the weather was clear and calm he started hunting seals (xōt).
Before they started the chief said to his slaves: “When he harpoons a
seal push him so that he will fall on the board in the bow of the
canoe. He will stick to it, and then throw him overboard.” They went
out to sea, and, when the young man was about to harpoon a seal, the
slave pushed him so that he fell down on the board. He was unable to
free himself because the gum was holding him. Then the slaves took the
board, threw it overboard, and returned home. They said that the young
man had fallen overboard and that they had been unable to save him.
Then all the people were sad.
The young man drifted about on the sea, and the wind drifted the board
ashore near a town. He crawled up toward the houses, but, when the sun
was shining warmly, the gum softened, and he was able to free himself.
He dried his blankets in the warm sunshine.
Now he heard two women singing. Their voices were very beautiful. After
a while they approached him. They were very beautiful. They addressed
him, saying: “We know that your uncle is jealous of you, and therefore
he ordered his slaves to throw you into the sea. Accompany us to our
father’s country. It is not far from here. We will look after you.”
Then he accompanied them, and soon they arrived at a large town. One of
the girls was the chief’s daughter, while the other one was her slave.
She was the daughter of the Eagle.
Now they entered the chief’s house. He was offered a seat and was given
to eat. The chief was glad to see him. The girl’s mother, whose name
was G̣ōtsō′na, was very old. She was quite bald. Early every morning the
Eagles went out hunting whales. When they returned they gave the whales
to the old woman. One day the youth desired to accompany the hunters.
He said to his wife: “Tell your father that I wish to see how he hunts
whales.” The young woman told her father, who replied: “Here is an
eagle skin. Give it to your husband.” He put it on and flew out with
the Eagles. Before he started, the old woman warned him, saying: “Don’t
try to catch a clam. Its head looks just like that of a sea otter. A
long time ago one of our hunters tried to catch it, and it drowned him.
For this reason we are afraid of it.”
They went out to sea and saw many whales. The young man caught one. He
did not find it difficult to lift it. The eagle skin which he had on
was one the chief had used when he was a young man. For that reason it
made him very strong. In the evening they returned, and he gave his
whale to the old woman. He was so eager to go out again whaling that he
was unable to sleep. Early next morning he started and continued to
catch whales. Thus he continued to do for many years. The old woman
warned him frequently, saying: “Don’t try to catch that small black
animal whose head looks like that of a sea otter.”
One morning, when he started, he thought: “To-day I shall try to catch
two whales, one in each hand.” When he saw two whales he swooped down
and took one in each talon. He did not find them too heavy and carried
them home. He gave them to the old woman. When he found that he was
strong enough to lift two whales, he thought he would be able to
conquer the animal of which the old woman had warned him. He started
early in the morning, and, as soon as he saw the clam, he swooped down
on it and succeeded in lifting it. But soon he felt his strength
leaving him, and he began to sink down lower and lower. Now the clam
had dragged him down to the surface of the water. Then one of the
Eagles came to his assistance. He took hold of his wings and tried to
pull him up, but in vain. The clam pulled him down. Another Eagle came
to their help, but they were unable to overcome the clam. All the whale
hunters came to their assistance, but all of them were dragged down
under the water.
Now only one of the Eagles was left. He returned home and told the old
woman what had happened. Then she said: “Ngai, ngai, ngai!” She
sharpened her nails and put on her skin, which looked very old and
ragged. Now she was an old Eagle, who had lost many feathers. She flew
out to sea, and sang: “Why did my son-in-law disobey me? Ngai, ngai,
ngai!” When she came to the place where the clam had drowned the
Eagles, she saw the wings of one Eagle only above the surface of the
water. She took hold of them and tried to lift them. She was almost
dragged under water; but gradually she began to rise. She tried three
times. The fourth time she succeeded in raising the Eagle. Again she
sang: “Why did my son-in-law disobey me? Ngai, ngai, ngai!” Then she
heard a noise under water, “Ox!” Then she lifted all the Eagles, and
took them back home.
Now the young man resolved to take revenge on the people who had killed
him. He put on his eagle skin and flew to his uncle’s village. There he
alighted on the top of a tree. When the people saw him they attempted
to shoot him, because they were desirous of obtaining the Eagle’s
feathers for winging their arrows; but they were unable to hit him. Now
his uncle’s son attempted to shoot him. At once he swooped down,
grasped him, and carried him upward. One of the men of the village
tried to hold the boy, but he also was lifted upward; and thus he
raised all the men of the village. He carried them out to sea and
dropped them into the water, where they were drowned.
The young man continued to live there for many years, but finally he
became homesick. He did not laugh and stayed at home all the time. Then
the old woman asked her daughter: “Why is your husband sad?” His wife
replied: “He wishes to return to his uncle’s village.” Then the old
woman gave him the skin of the bird tʼᴇn. [It has a red throat, and is
eaten by the whites]. [530] He put it on and flew back. The village was
entirely deserted, because he had killed all the people. Only his two
younger sisters remained, who had been hidden at the time of his former
visit. They were crying all the time. When they saw the bird they made
a noose of their own hair, and he allowed himself to be caught.
THE STORY ABOUT HIM WHO DESTROYED HIS NINE NEPHEWS
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sea-lion-town people.]
A town chief began letting his nephews have his wife. [531] Every time
he led one away, and he never came back. He had them go and get an old
dead tree which he said he owned, and they never came back from it. He
let them [go after] bark and set a net for a cormorant which he said he
owned, and they never came back. After he had done this way for a
while, nine were destroyed.
And their younger brother came to know it. Then he began bathing in the
sea. After he had bathed for a while he became strong. He smashed
anything he took hold of. He also twisted and pulled out spruce limbs.
When he had become truly strong he began to make various things. He
finished two wedges. And he also took a sg̣u′nskaxaua shell. [532] He
sharpened it. And he took a weasel skin and feathers. And he pressed
mud taken from the woods hard together in his hands and made a hole
within it. He made it large enough to get into.
Then he put paint upon his face and sat on top of the house. After he
had sat there for a while his uncle came out. When he saw him he went
back. His uncle was always jealous. One came out to call him in to his
uncle. Then he went thither.
When he entered a mat was spread out for him. And, after he had given
him some food, he said to him: “Nephew, you shall marry my wife.” Then
he lay with her.
Next day he said to him: “Nephew, go and get a rotten tree I own behind
the town.” He had his two wedges hidden about him. His uncle went ahead
of him. He followed. He opened a crack where it lay. Something braced
it apart. Then his uncle dropped a wedge in and asked him to get it.
Then he went in and got it. He knocked out the brace. The crack came
close together. Then he heard his uncle rejoice [saying]: “Look at him
whom I killed because he wanted to marry my wife.” Then his uncle
started off.
Then he began to cut it from the place where he was. And he cut a hole
and came out. Then he split it open. He took his elder brothers out.
Then he broke half of [the log] by jumping on it and threw it around.
And half of it he carried home on his shoulder and threw it down hard
in front of the house. That was his uncle’s supernatural power, they
say. Again he slept with his [uncle’s] wife.
Next day his uncle said to him: “Come! nephew, go with me to get the
cormorant I own which is sitting over yonder.” Then he took his weasel
and feather and went with him to get it. His uncle set a net where some
sticks stuck out on top of a very high cliff. A cormorant got into it.
Then he said to him: “Now, nephew, get it.” And, when he started down
upon the pole, he pushed his nephew over. Then he put himself into the
feather and dropped easily. He heard his uncle rejoice. “Look at the
one whom I killed because he wanted to marry my wife.” Then he started
off.
Now he entered his weasel skin and climbed up the cliff. And he
stretched the net across. In it he caught a number of cormorants. After
he had taken them out he tore his uncle’s net to pieces and threw the
pieces about. Then he took the cormorants on his back and brought them
into the house. They were his uncle’s supernatural helpers.
The day after that his uncle went with him to get bark. He concealed
the thing he had made. He followed his uncle. By and by [they came to]
the bark which was burning, and his uncle took some of it. Then he told
him to get some also. When he did so he pushed him into it. And he got
inside of the mud he had pressed together. He did not feel the burning.
Then his uncle said he was glad. His uncle said: “Look at the man whom
I killed because he wanted to marry my wife. He will try it no longer.”
When his uncle started away from him, he went to the place, pushed the
bark down, and threw it around. Then he carried some home on his
shoulder and threw it down inside. That was his uncle’s supernatural
helper, they say. And again he slept with his [uncle’s] wife.
Next day he again said to his nephew: “Come! nephew and go with me for
a small cockle I own, which is just over yonder.” Then he started
thither with him. He took his knife. The cockle opened its mouth. Then
his uncle told him to get it and, when he went to get it, he pushed him
into its mouth. Again his uncle rejoiced. “Look at the one whom I
killed because he wanted to marry my wife.”
When his uncle started off he cut the ligaments [533] with the knife
and pushed it open. Then he threw half of it around and carried half of
it off on his shoulders and threw it down in the house. He had
destroyed all of his supernatural helpers, they say.
Then he spread out a bearskin for them and had them lie there. While he
slept his uncle and his friends took him up and put him into a box.
Then his uncle put cords around it. And they took him far out to sea
toward the middle of the ocean. And there they threw him into the
water. Again he rejoiced and went home.
After he had floated about for some time he felt himself float ashore
upon the sand. When he was about to burst the cover by stretching he
heard two women talking together, saying as follows: “Cloud-watcher,
[534] a box has floated ashore.” And, when he heard it, he did not
burst the box.
The two women removed the lid and pulled him up. Then Cloud-watcher’s
elder sister said as follows: “I will marry him because I saw him
first.” Then they led him home, and they led him into their father’s
house. They were glad to see him.
After they had given him something to eat he went out. And, after he
had walked about in the town for a while, he entered the middle house.
Numbers of eagle skins were hung there, and he entered one made of fine
feathers. He flapped his wings. He almost went through the doorway. He
seized the boards along the side of the door. Then he came out of it
quickly. And he entered his father’s house. His father-in-law said: “I
wonder why my skin tickles as if they were playing with my feather
clothing.” He was town mother, they say.
Next day, very early, he heard eagles making a noise. Then he went out
to look. The eagles sat in rows upon something raised high up in front
of the house. [535] On it they made a noise. After they had spent some
time sharpening their talons they went hunting. After they had been
gone for a while and evening was come they returned with spring salmon
in their talons. Some of them had red cod and pieces of whale.
Next day he heard them scream again in front of the house, and he told
his wife he wanted to learn to hunt. Then she also told her father. And
his father-in-law said: “Now, my child, I will lend your husband the
one I used to go out fishing in when I was a youth.” Then he brought
out a box. He picked one out of it covered with small, fine feathers.
And, when he gave it to her, he said to her: “Tell your husband not to
go toward something small which sticks out near by.”
Then he flew seaward with them and got a whale jaw. He came in before
them. They caught all kinds of things. His father-in-law was pleased
with him. Then they cooked the whale. When they began to eat it they
pulled an old woman shaking with age out and said to her: “Drink whale
broth, old woman.” And she did as they told her.
The day after that he flew out again with them. And he felt different
(i.e., powerful). And he took a whale jaw. On the other side he took a
spring salmon. He flew home before all. They got all sorts of things.
And, when they again began to eat the whale, they led in the old woman,
and she drank whale broth.
When he went to hunt with them the day after he nearly touched the
thing which stuck out of the water with his claws and finally seized
it. After he had flapped his wings, as he held it, for a while he
vanished under the water. Then another seized his wings. He, too, was
nearly dragged under. And one brought news to the town that he had
seized the wrong thing.
Then the old woman sharpened her claws which were dull, saying
meanwhile: “Ha-i ha-i, what wrong thing did my child’s (i.e.,
grandchild’s) husband get hold of?” Her wings had lost feathers [from
age]. She flew down. She was unable to fly in a straight line. She flew
hither and thither. When about five were left she got there, and, when
those were nearly covered, she seized them with her claws. After she
had flapped her wings for a while, tugging at them, she drew one of
them to the surface. She was at the end of them. Something cracked at
the bottom where the thing was. She pulled it out.
Then they said: “Put it far from the place where human beings are going
to get food.” And they dropped it far out at sea. Then he seized the
jaw of a whale and a spring salmon. He flew home with them. He killed
the thing they were afraid of. That was Supernatural-clam, [536] they
say.
And, after he had lived with his wife for some time, he went to see his
uncle’s town. He flew to the town wearing his eagle skin. And, after he
had sat at the end of the town for a while, he saw his uncle come out.
Then he flew away.
And early next day he flew seaward, picked up a whale, and dropped it
in front of his uncle’s house while they slept. Then he sat on a dead
tree that stood at one end of the town. After he had sat there for a
while some one came out. He called them to the whale, and they went to
it. His uncle said he would keep it for himself. He stood on top of the
whale.
Then he flew. He flew about above the place where his uncle was walking
about. And they laughed at him. They said “He wants the whale meat.”
And again he sat on the tree. After he had sat there for a while his
uncle said he wanted all of the whale for himself. He said that as he
stood around. Presently he flew over to him. He seized him by the knot
in his hair and flew away with him.
After he had flown along for a while he discovered that it was his
nephew, and he said: “Nephew, carry me back. You shall marry my wife. I
will give the town to you.” After he had flown on with him a while
longer he said the same thing to his nephew again. After he had flown
on still farther with him he dropped him in the open sea. [537]
Then he flew landward, reached his uncle’s village, married his uncle’s
wife, and came to own the town. His uncle became a supernatural being
in the open sea.
THE STORY OF ONE WHO SAW AN EAGLE TOWN
[Told by Abraham, of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o, to whom it was related by
an old man of Ninstints.]
He began gambling. After he had lost for some time he lost all of his
property. Then he began to bid the property of his clansmen. [538] When
he had lost a great deal of that as well he was ashamed to enter the
house.
By and by he went to the end of the town. It occurred to him to go into
the woods. Then he did so. Then he thought of climbing a mountain. At
once he went thither. Before him eagles wheeled about upon the
mountain. Presently he came to a big town.
He saw eagles sitting upon something like a pole in front of the town.
They were looking into the sea for something. [539] Then he began to
live with them. With the feather on the very tip of his wing one of
them wiped something common out of his eyes. And in the evening they
said they were going fishing. Then they killed a whale. Every evening
they killed one whale.
By and by he started out fishing with a net. Then they told him not to
put the whole net into the sea. And, when he fished with them, he let
out two meshes. When he got something in it that time, it carried it
away. He did not worry about it. Some time after this he descended to
his home. Then he again began gambling. At that time he won. At once he
paid all his debts.
Originally this story must have been considerably longer.
THE ONE THEY ABANDONED BECAUSE HE WAS THE FIRST TO SPEAR SEA LIONS
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people.]
A good carpenter had two children. People went to a reef to hunt, and
he made spears for this. And he fastened them with cords. He used any
sort of strong thing for this purpose. He fastened a point on the
spear. Then they drove the sea lions into a pool of water on top of the
reef. He speared the sea lions. And he pulled in the spear handle and
put another point into it. He killed the sea lions in this way.
And, after he had done this for a while, one day they went thither, let
him off first, and abandoned him. But his youngest brother-in-law
paddled toward him. When he was far off he (the youngest
brother-in-law) tried to take away their paddles. He was fighting to do
so. He saw it. He called after them. They paid no attention to him.
They were unable to kill the sea lions. He only could kill them. That
is why they left him.
Then he cried for his children on top of the island. After he had cried
for a time he lay down near the pond. As he slept there something said
to him: “The chief asks you to come in.” He looked for the cause of it.
He saw not a sign of a thing. He saw something dive into the lake. And,
after he had lain a while longer, something spoke to him as before.
Then he looked through the eyeholes in his marten-skin blanket. He saw
a grebe [540] come to the surface of the pond. After it had swum about
for a while it said: “The chief asks you to come in.” Then it dove.
Then he took a whetstone he had and jumped into the pond. He stood in
front of a big house, and they asked him to come in. He entered, and
they inquired of him: “Why did you kill my servants?” And he said: “I
did it to feed my two children.”
And he saw two small killer whales blowing about in a pool of water in
the corner of the house. Those were the chief’s two children at play.
He saw killer-whale fins hung up in bunches in the four corners.
Then they gave him something to eat. They dragged a sea lion sitting on
the side toward the door to the fire and put hot stones that were in
the fire into its mouth. And they also put halibut into its mouth. When
[the latter] was cooked they gave it to him to eat.
And after he was through eating they brought one of the fins which were
in the corner. And they warmed the lower end of it. And, after they had
bent him over, he put a whetstone on his back. When they struck it on
it fell off. On top of the stone floor planks the fin lay shaking. They
went to get another. After they had warmed that in the same way at the
fire they had him bend over. And he placed the whetstone on his back.
When they struck it upon him that also slipped off. That, too, fell
upon the stone floor planks.
And they got another one. When the same thing happened to that they got
a long one. After they had warmed that, also, for a while they bent him
over. He again placed the whetstone on his back. When they struck that
one on, it also fell to the stone floor planks. After four attempts
they gave it up.
Then the chief said: “Let him out. He refuses the fins. Put him into a
sea lion’s stomach.” And the chief said to him: “After you have floated
about and have struck against land four times, get out. You will have
floated ashore on good ground.” At once they put him into a sea lion’s
stomach, and he tied it together from inside. They threw him out.
And, after he had floated shoreward and had floated against the land
four times, he got out. He had floated ashore upon a nice beach. Then
he again tied up the sea lion’s stomach air-tight and threw it out. The
stomach vanished seaward against the wind.
Then he started toward the town and stayed at the end of it until
evening. And in the evening he looked in at his wife. He saw that his
wife’s hair was burnt short and pitch was upon her face. He also saw
his two children sitting there. Then he tapped on the wall opposite his
wife, and his wife went out. Then he said to his wife: “Bring me my
tools.” Then she gave them to him. And he said: “Do not let anyone know
about me. Conceal it even from my children.”
And, when he started off from there, he took one from among some
children who were playing about and started inland with him. After he
had gone on for some time he came to where a big lake lay. Then he cut
on the lakeward side of a large cedar standing near it. And, after he
had cut it on the back side, it fell across the lake. Then he split it
from the butt end, and, as soon as he had split it, he put a crosspiece
in.
Then he twisted cedar limbs. He spliced them together. When the rope
became long he fastened the child to it. Then he let it down between.
After it struck the bottom, and he had held it for a while it began
jerking, and he pulled it toward himself. The lake was also boiling.
Its hands came out first. And when its head followed them to the
surface, he knocked out the brace quickly. It struggled in it. After he
had struck it several times it died.
Then he pulled it out. He was going to cut it open in front. Lightning
shot about. So he cut it open, beginning at the lower part of its back.
Then he skinned it. Its tail was nice. It was bent over. Then he
lighted a fire and dried it. That was a Wā′sg̣o, they say. When it was
dry he rolled it up and brought it out.
Then he hid it in a forked cedar tree at the end of the town. He put
moss over it. Then he started for the end of the town and made killer
whales out of cedar. He put fins on them and kicked them into the
water. But they only blew bubbles close to the kelps. Then he said: “Go
where you are to be settled.” Those were the porpoises, they say. And
he also worked hemlock into killer whales. When ten of those were also
finished he kicked them into water. After they had been gone for some
time bubbles like steam arose seaward. And he thought they were unable
to do anything. And he said: “Go where your place is to be.” Those were
the white porpoises, [541] they say.
Fine weather continued. All that time the people were fishing.
And the next day, after he had thought what he would use, he made ten
killer whales out of yew wood. The surfaces were variegated, striped
with white. Their bellies were white. The corners of their mouths were
also striped with white. The fin of one of them had a hole in it, and
one fin was bent over toward the tail. While he was making them they
moved. For them he laid a log down [horizontally]. There he placed
them, and he kicked them about. Presently bubbles of air rose far out
at sea. Then he told them to come in, and he pulled them up again. They
had red cod, spring salmon, and halibut in their mouths.
And in the evening he went to his wife. He looked in again. He tapped
opposite his wife, and his wife came out to him. And he said to her:
“When they go out fishing again to-morrow tell your youngest brother to
fasten a feather in his hair.”
The next day they went fishing, and he gave directions to the killer
whales. “Destroy all the people out fishing. Break up their canoes with
your fins. Save only the one who has a feather in his hair.” Then he
kicked them off. After they had been gone for a while bubbles rose
beyond the place where the canoes were anchored. Then the killer whales
came back to the canoes. Bubbles of air rose among them. The killer
whales broke up the canoes with their fins. They chewed up the bodies
of the people. Only the one who had a feather in his hair was left
swimming about. And, when they were destroyed, he got into the broken
canoe, and the killer whales came landward with him in a school. Then
he got off in front of the town.
And he again called the killer whales. Then he gave them directions.
And he said to the one that had a hole in its fin: “You shall be
called: ‘Hole-in-his-fin.’” And he said to the one with the fin bent
back: “You shall be called: ‘Fin-turned-back.’” Then he said: “Go to
Na-iku′n. Settle down there. That land is good. You shall be called
‘Strait people.’” [542]
And he went to his wife with the things the killer whales had caught in
their mouths. His two children were glad to see him.
And, after he had stayed at the town for a while, he went out while
they slept and put on his wā′sg̣o skin. Then with his hands he merely
reached for something at the end of the town. He got half a spring
salmon.
And his mother-in-law always hated him. She always got up very early.
He laid it down for her in front of the house. Then his mother-in-law
went out very early. She found half a spring salmon. She was glad to
have it.
The same night he put on his wā′sg̣o skin. He let the water come up even
with his elbow. He took out half a halibut. Then he laid it down for
his mother-in-law, and in the morning she found it. The town people had
become hungry.
And in the night he again entered his wā′sg̣o skin and plunged his whole
arm into the water. He seized a whole spring salmon. Then he again left
it for the woman, and she found it in the morning.
That night he again entered his wā′sg̣o skin. And he let the water come
up as far as his shoulders. Then he took a whale jaw and put it down
for his mother-in-law. And she found that also.
Then his mother-in-law began acting like a shaman. And they fasted with
her for four nights. He was with them. His mother-in-law was going to
get power from him.
In the night he put on the wā′sg̣o skin. He swam seaward. He killed a
whale. A spear stuck out of the nostrils of the wā′sg̣o. [543] He killed
the whale with that. Then he put it between his ears and swam landward
with it. And he laid it in front of the house, because she said a whale
would float ashore.
And again, while they slept, he swam out in the wā′sg̣o skin. And he
took two whales. He swam landward with them. He put one between his
ears, and he also put one near his tail. Swimming landward, he placed
those also in front of the house.
The next night he swam far out to sea with the wā′sg̣o skin on, and he
took ten whales. He had them on each side of his head between his ears.
He also had some lying crosswise near his tail. And he piled them upon
himself and had one in his mouth. Then he came shoreward.
While he was still out at sea daylight came. When he reached shore his
mother-in-law came down to him wearing a dancing hat. Then he stood up
out of the wā′sg̣o skin and said to her: “Why is your face hard? Does
some supernatural power come through you by my help?” And he made her
die of shame. The wā′sg̣o skin went off of itself. Then he gathered his
ten whales and told no one to cut them. What he received from the sale
of the whales made him rich. He potlatched ten times for his youngest
brother-in-law. He kept him like a chief’s son.
THE MAN WHO MARRIED A KILLER-WHALE WOMAN
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo, who learned it from an old
Ninstints man.]
A man and his wife were abandoned at the town of Sqa-i [544]. After
they had lived there together for a while, his wife began getting
mussels at Stasqa′os[544]. Every day she went there for mussels.
After a while he became suspicious of her. And one time, when she went
after mussels, he followed her stealthily. When she got near the place
where she was going to get mussels she went along singing. She beat
upon her mat with her digging stick in lieu of a drum. When she got
near the place where the mussels were a whale jumped ashore sideways
just in front of her. Then she went to it, and she lay with it. And the
whale went off blowing. He saw it.
Then he knew, and he went away. Then he began to sharpen a mussel-shell
at some place where she could not see him. It became sharp, and one
day, when it was low tide, he sent his wife to get spruce roots for
him.
Then he made clothing for himself like his wife’s, took the basket, and
wore the mat as a blanket. Then he went along the beach of Stasqa′os.
And, when he approached the place where his wife was in the habit of
getting mussels, he used his mat as a drum. When he sang the same
words, the black whale came ashore on its side in front of him. Then he
went to it and cut off its penis. Then it got up quickly and went into
the water making a noise. Its cries died away into the ocean.
Then he came home and built a fire. And he put stones into the fire.
Then he sliced it up, and, when the stones were hot, he steamed it.
After it was cooked his wife came home.
Then she asked her husband: “What things are you steaming?” “I found
some things which had floated ashore. I am steaming them for you. They
are cooked. Take the covers off.” Then they took the covers off. Before
they had even put them into the tray she took the piece off of the top
and ate it.
After she had taken one bite he said to her: “Is your husband’s penis
sweet?” She dropped it at once. Immediately she turned toward the door.
Right where she sat she shook. Even the ground shook.
And, when his wife started off, he tried to hold her. He could not.
Then she went out, and he went out after her. And, after he had
followed her closely for a while, she went up in the bed of a creek at
the end of Stasqa′os. All that time he kept looking at her. And, when
she got up toward the mountain, she again recalled her husband’s words.
Now she sat on top of the mountain, and she again remembered what her
husband had said. And, while sitting there, she became ashamed. Then
she played in the earth with the tip of her finger. She made a hole
with her finger far into the island. She did not feel how she did it.
When she stood up she picked up some dirt and threw it into it. “All
future people will do this way to you.” [545]
Then she went away and came to the west coast. And she went out on one
side of Elderberry point. Then she jumped into the water in front of
her. He did not know that he had married a female killer whale that had
been born of a woman. [546] Then she settled herself down before him.
She became a reef. It is called “Woman.” When people get off from a
canoe upon it, it shakes with them, they say. [547]
And there she again recalled her husband’s words, and she went away
from there also. Where she again settled down on the west coast as a
reef, they also call it “Woman.”
Stories of this type are told throughout the Haida country.
HE WHO WAS ABANDONED BY HIS UNCLES
[Told by Abraham, of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o, to whom it was related by
an old Ninstints man.]
A man, along with his sister, was abandoned by his nine uncles. They
built a small house under a tree. He lived in this with his sister.
After they had lived there for a while two ravens came flying from the
west coast. Then they sat on a branch of the tree below which they
lived and wiped their bills. Afterward they flew back in the direction
from which they had come. They disappeared over the mountain.
After this had happened many times while they were living there they
began to be suspicious. Then they conferred with each other. He asked
his sister to go with him in the direction the ravens always took when
they flew over. Immediately they started up in the bed of Stasqa′os
creek.
When they got far up they came to the end of a trail. And they went up
upon it. When they got to the top of the mountain [they found] a hole
there. The bottom could not be seen. And when they started to leave it
they came back to it again. They kept doing so all day. A short time
after they had started from it they came back to it.
Then the man became angry, took dirt in his hand and threw it in.
“Yawaiyā′⁺, it makes people come back who try to go away from it,” said
he. [548] Then, when they started away, they came to the town-site of
Ku′ndi. [549]
Three rows of whales had floated ashore there. Those in the row nearest
land were rotten. Those in the next row were a little rotten. Those
next the sea were fresh. Killer whales came out to sleep on a reef
which ran out into the strait. They made a noise, touching each other.
Then he and his sister constructed a house. When it was finished he cut
up some fresh whales. At the same time he steamed them.
And one night he heard something whispering to his sister. He did not
ask her about it. The night after that he again heard something talking
to his sister. Then in the morning he asked his sister: “What talked to
you in the night?” “Brother, [550] they tell me a strange thing.
Kꜝū′dᴀña-point will marry me. If you agree, they say they will give you
much food. If you agree, they direct you to make a strong club. When
the house is full they direct you to stand outside the door. Then they
direct you to break their heads with your club.” He agreed. Evening
came again, and his sister was gone in the morning.
He finished his club. Then good-looking people came in to him. Some had
curly hair. When there was a great crowd in the house he stood outside.
And, as soon as they went out, he struck them on their heads. Right
there they fell dead. They became sea otters and hair seals. They say
that Kꜝū′dᴀña-point owns the west coast sea otters.
After some time had passed away, two of his uncles’ slaves hunted for
him. They came to him. Then, after he had given them food, he told them
that they should not say how he was situated. He did not give them food
to take home, but one slave concealed a small piece under his tongue
for his child. Then they went home.
After some time had passed, his uncles came around Sqa-i-point. The
slaves had told about him. That is why they were there. When they
abandoned him at Sqa-i his youngest uncle’s wife, although they were
watching each other, left him food enough in a neat way to last him for
some time.
As they came along his uncles’ daughters were dressed up and sat high
in the canoes. Near them coppers were raised upon poles. Then he called
in the youngest. But he refused the others. And they started back.
Then he married the daughter of the youngest. And after that a town
arose there. They bought food from him. He became a chief there.
See notes to preceding story.
THE STORY OF THOSE WHO WERE ABANDONED AT STASQA′OS
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo, to whom it was related by
an old Ninstints man]
Some people were abandoned at Stasqa′os, including a man, his wife, and
his mother-in-law. The latter owned some salmon eggs. When it became
cold and he was very hungry he wished his mother-in-law would cut them
open, and he brought in firewood. After he had built a large fire he
thought he would get something from his mother-in-law. He was
unsuccessful. He was hungry many mornings and brought firewood to his
mother-in-law, all the time expecting to get the salmon eggs.
By and by, when the snow was gone, he sent his wife out to get spruce
roots for himself. While his wife was digging spruce roots she heard a
puppy bark within the earth. Then she started to dig it out. She dug
out a little puppy. And she went home with it. Then they reared it. It
grew up very fast.
One morning, when they got up, two large fish lay outside. They ate
them. Next morning some lay there again. The number increased. After
the fish had been found there in this way for a while half a halibut
lay there. Another time a whole halibut lay there. After there had been
halibut for some time porpoises began lying there. After that had
happened for a while hair seal began lying there. After they had been
found lying there for a time a whale’s tail lay there. Again half of a
whale lay there. The dog also became large.
After this, when they became tired of eating grease, she cut open the
salmon eggs. His mother-in-law gave some to him. He did not look at
them.
When his mother-in-law had become tired of eating grease she went after
things found at low tide. Then he covered all the chitons with rotten
whale. Instead of eating them his mother-in-law went in and sat down.
There came to be whole whales [lying on the beach]. Stasqa′os beach was
all covered with whales.
Then, unbeknown to her son-in-law, she collected urine. She put hot
stones into it, and, while the dog was out at sea and her son-in-law
was sleeping with his wife, she poured it into the sea. At once a great
east wind arose. When daylight came the wind increased.
Then he saw the dog’s ears show at intervals above the water in front
of Stasqa′os. [551] After he had looked for a while they disappeared
around Gᴀ′ñxet-point. [552] After that the waves carried it along the
west coast out to sea. Presently it tried to climb ashore at a steep
place near Qꜝā′łgwa-i. [553] Its claws scratched great marks upon the
rocks. They call that place “Dog-slipping-back.” The waves carried it
away from that also. After it had become very tired, The-one-in-the-sea
[554] called it in. [555] It settled down in his house.
See notes to two preceding stories. Compare story of How one of the
Stasa′os-lā′nas became wealthy.
HE WHO MARRIED THE DAUGHTER OF THE DEVILFISH CHIEF
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sea-lion-town people]
He was going along in his canoe with his two children and his wife. It
was low tide. After he had gone along for a while [he came to a place]
where devilfish stones lay. A great quantity of leavings from its (the
devilfish’s) food were piled up there. He got off to kill it. Then,
while he was punching it with a stick the devilfish came out.
Immediately it wound itself around him and pulled him into its hole.
And, after his wife and children had remained there for a while, the
rocks were covered with water, and they went away from him. Then the
woman went home. She expected never to get him back.
The [devilfish] woman took him to her father’s town. At that time he
heard them use bad words [556] to the hair seals. When day broke he
hunted about for food among the waves below the capes, they used to
say. He remained with her in her father’s town.
After many years had passed he remained in bed two mornings. At that
time the chief asked his daughter: “Why does your husband feel badly?”
Then she said to her father: “He says he is homesick for his mother and
his sister.” Then he was going to let him go home with his daughter.
Now he said: “Two canoes are lying at the end of the town. Have them
launched for yourselves.” At once they launched two canoes in front of
the house, and they began to put things, with which the inside of the
house was full, into them. Before they had taken even a little the
canoes were filled. Then she went in one and her husband in the other.
Although there were no paddlers the canoes went along.
He came to his father’s town long after they had ceased to think of
him. Hu hu hu hu hu, his father’s town moved at once. Then they carried
the things up into his father’s house. And then they sliced up the
things he brought in sacks. He traded with this property. He became a
great chief. It consisted in food of all kinds such as is found at low
tide.
At that time his children, who had grown large, came in to him. Then he
took a slice of food, cut it in two, and handed it to them, and they
went out with it, the woman also. Her husband lived more years among
human beings than he had among the devilfish people. With what he got
by trading with the food her husband potlatched five times.
After he had lived there for some time he one day came to feel badly
over something. Right where he sat, in the back part of his father’s
house, with his wife he began to melt. She stretched her arms down
between the planks. She pulled her head in after them. Her husband was
left sitting there. Afterward her husband also went in between the
planks. She went back to her father’s town. And they never saw them
again.
The hero of this story was a shaman.
THOSE WHO WERE FASTING TO BECOME SHAMANS
[Told by Tom Stevens, chief of Those-born-at-House-point.]
At the town of Skedans two own brothers fasted to become shamans. After
they had fasted for many years, the elder went out when the time came
for them to go to bed. And, when he entered, he said he had come in
from lying with a woman. He was telling a lie. He let him feel between
his legs. It was wet [as if washed]. That was how he fooled him. Then
his younger brother also went out, but he really lay with a woman. When
day came, he lay dead.
Then they put him into a box, and they placed him on a point, [557] and
he (the second) kept crying near his younger brother. After he had sat
there for a while he heard the sound of a drum proceeding from the
ocean. Presently it got nearer. The canoe came in sight and landed bow
[558] first in front of Skedans.
Then two paddling in the bow wearing shamans’ hats [559] jumped off.
And they went toward the light coming from the doorway of the house
they used to inhabit. They ran inside. They came back. When they got
into their canoe they turned around. “They are not in the house,” they
said.
And, when they started off, one saw where the body was laid. He said:
“One of those we spoke through lies there dead.” Then the two with
shamans’ hats got off quickly and took off the cover. He really lay
there. His elder brother did not see that they pulled off his skin.
Then they went down to the canoe, and he got in with them. When they
got in he got into the stern. They did not see him. And with him they
started seaward. Something round hung from the armpit of the one who
sat next to him. He saw that all had the same.
Then he squeezed that belonging to the one nearest to him strongly. He
almost died and acted as shaman for himself. When he blew [560] on
himself he let it go. At once he sat up in the canoe. There was not the
least thing the matter with him.
Then he moved slowly to the one in the middle and squeezed his also.
Then he, too, was about to die and acted as his own shaman. After he
had blown on himself for a while, he also let his go. The chief had his
nest [561] in the middle. He sat in it.
After he had done this to all in the canoe he also seized the chief’s.
He, too, began to die. His canoe companions acted as shamans for him.
They blew upon him. But he did not let his go. They tried to hurry each
other. “Quick, paddle away with the chief to get a shaman for him.”
Then they landed, and they got shamans for him. And they acted around
him, but he squeezed it all the more. All the shamans could not heal
him. Instead he squeezed it tighter. Then he began to die, and they
said “Quick, go and get the chief,” and they went for him.
Then they went to get him, and they landed. But he was a great shaman,
and, as soon as he put his head in, he saw the one who had seized him.
And he said to him: “Look out for yourself, grandson. Those on the
other side are not chiefs.” [562] He was chief among the shamans, they
say. His name was Sîndjā′ña-i.
And, when he began to perform around him, he slackened his hold. But,
when another shaman began to act around him he squeezed it harder, and
he was dying. And, when still another acted around him he squeezed it
more again, and again he almost died.
And, when the chief shaman again performed, he let go his hold. Then he
got strong. All the time he said the same thing to him: “Take care,
grandson. They are not chiefs on the other side.”[562] And, when a
different one performed around him he squeezed it harder, and he began
to die.
Then he acted around him again, and they said to each other: “Give the
chief whatever he wants.” Then they brought a box from near the wall
and took his younger brother’s skin out of it. Not a part of it was
lost. His finger-nails and toe-nails were all there.
Then they put it before the big shaman and turned over to him all kinds
of property. These and the human being he put inside of his blanket and
went out. Immediately he took him over to Skedans, and he gave him
directions: “I will cause sickness at Skedans. When one first falls
sick and they do not get you, do not pay any attention to him. He will
die. And, when another is sick and they take property to you, save him.
And, when another is sick and they do not take you, pay no attention to
him. He, too, will die. When one again falls sick, you will receive two
pieces of property. When another falls sick, yours will become three,
then four. It will increase until you receive ten pieces. When there
are many sick, every time one falls sick they will go for you alone. On
the other side they are not chiefs.”
Then they landed, and he put his younger brother’s skin on him. He
became alive. And what he told him happened. When many fell sick they
employed him only. In exchange for what he got he became a chief. With
it he potlatched.
I also obtained versions of this story at Masset and in Alaska.
BIG-TAIL.
[Told by Job Moody of the Witch people.]
Mouse-woman adopted him. [563] Presently, after she had lived at
Skidegate for a while, supernatural powers began to try him. After some
time he began to be a shaman. By and by he became a real shaman.
Then he prepared to dance upon the surface of the ocean. He was going
out after whales. Then they began to observe the regulations. [564]
[They did so for] five nights. The old people were afraid to let it
become ten nights. If the number of nights were even, they said his
supernatural power would be spoiled. For that reason they said they
wanted it uneven. When some said there were ten nights, and some, too,
said there were nine, the supernatural power came through him.
Then he asked them for his name. “What kind of supernatural being am
I?” he said. Then they guessed at his name. By and by an old man said:
“Great shaman, you are
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea.” [565]
Then he jumped up and ran around the fire four times. And he named
himself as follows: “I am he, grandson. I am he.”
While he was speaking through him he said to him: “How many whales are
there going to be?” He said to him: “One floats at Point-tꜝā′łᴀs.”
[566] And he said to him, “One is floating below Ku′nga-i.” [567] Then
he (the shaman) looked there and the whale floated there. Then he sent
a person thither. He saw nothing. Only coots floated there. And, since
he did not find it there, he (the shaman) again looked, and it was
still floating there. Then he became angry, because he (the spirit)
kept fooling him.
Now he put tobacco into his mouth. After it he put in calcined shells.
Then he went down to the house of
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea. And he
entered his house. And
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea said to
him: “Big-tail, bring that box of mine to me.” Then he put his box
before him. They sat at either end.
Then he took out a dancing hat with sea gulls carved upon it. And at
the very edges of the box Big-tail stopped him as he held it. And he
asked Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea:
“What will happen when one sings for it?” [568] And he said to him:
“There will be two whales.” Then he absolutely refused it.
And he reached his hand into the box for another one. When he took that
out he also seized that. “What will happen when you sing for it?”
“There will be two whales.” That, too, he refused.
Then Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea became
angry. Now he said to him: “This he also refuses. What can you do,
Big-tail? I will destroy you with a strong current of water.” And he
said to him: “Let it flow at me. Human beings will laugh at you.”
And, when they talked well to each other again, he took another out.
While they yet held this one between them, he saw it was a chief’s
dancing headdress with the carving of a hawk upon it. [569] And he
reached right into the box for it. And they held it between them in the
box.
Then he again asked him: “What will happen when one sings for it?” And
he said to him: “There will be ten whales.” He also refused that. While
they held the dancing hat between them, some handsome persons with
curly hair over their foreheads and large eyes kept coming out from
behind the screens and going back again. He wanted them and pointed at
them. “Let those persons sing.” And he refused to give them away. All
that time he also held the dance hat. By and by he let him have [these
along with] the headdress. Then they struck the two persons on the nose
and pushed them out.
In that house he learned how to tie on the strings of the headdress.
When he had finished learning how the flicker feathers were going to be
placed upon it, he went away from him again.
Then he imitated the headdress. And, when it was finished, he danced
with it on. And he began to say: “The sea otter will come floating.”
And he said: “One is floating on the seaward side of Sqai′yas.” [570]
Then they went to get it. It was really floating there. As he had seen
already, blood was running out of its nose. After that, as he sat in
the house, he told them where another one was floating. And when they
went there it was really so.
Afterward they kept on being found in this way. When one was out in a
good place where currents met, he did not count whether there were
fifteen, twenty, or ten. [571] Then he said if they would give him and
his mother some of them, he would always have them found floating in
this way.
Then they began finding whales in the place where he had told them
there were whales, although they had not found them. They now found
them, although he did not say [again] that they were there. [572] They
ceased getting sea otter.
Afterward, when he had acted as a shaman does for a while, he said: “I
wonder what is going on in the house of
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea. I wonder
why a drum sounds.” Then he chewed tobacco and said he would go down
and see. And he fell asleep. After he had slept for a while, tcōxō′xō
(noise of waking up) [was heard], [573] and he called to his wife. He
had married a woman he owned (i.e., a slave). “Middle, [574] help me to
sit up.” Then she pulled him up.
And, after he had sat there looking unhappy for a while, he said:
“Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea is going
to give a feast. The drum sounded because they are practicing songs. He
is going to invite all the supernatural beings. I will go down again
and look on.”
Some time after that his drum sounded again, he said, and he went down
to him again. Then he entered his door, and
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea said to
him, “Big-tail, I am going to invite the supernatural beings to a
feast. Come and sit near me so that we may both look on.” Invitation
had already been sent out.
After some time had passed, they began to come in. At that time he put
Big-tail in his armpit. The killer whales came in through the doorway.
The ends of their dorsal fins touched the roof of the house. And, where
they were to sit, they came out of their skins and sat.
After they had continued to come in in this way for a while, a certain
one who had to cramp his fins to enter came in and sat down.
After that the house creaked. A strong current flowed in through the
doorway. In it a great amount of seaweed was mingled. Through the
doorway there also came a black cloud. Rain blew on their faces. All
the supernatural beings held their heads down. Some time afterward a
small being stood up where it had been. He wore a four-crowned dancing
hat. And he began to ask them: “What will you do with human beings? Are
you going to save the human beings?” Then there were again black
showers. Snow also fell about the house. And he again stood in his
place. And he again asked them what was going to be done with the human
beings. Then there were again black clouds. Hailstones also flew about
the house and into their faces. Again the supernatural beings held
their heads down. And he stood up in place of these and went in where
he was to sit. Nothing happened. That was South-east, they say. [575]
During that time
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea held him in
his armpit. He let him look at the supernatural beings. But the
supernatural beings did not know it.
As before the house began to shake. Presently the feet of someone
appeared coming in through the doorway. After some time had passed he
stepped in, and the house shook. Then the supernatural beings said:
“A”. He took a step with the other foot. Something with large, broad
eyelids entered. Nothing happened.
Some time after that something came along making a rattling noise. By
and by she came in with a crowd of female servants. Djila′qons [576] it
was who came in among them. She had her eyebrows painted with red
paint. They entered. Something about her sounded like a rattle.
Big-tail kept his eyes upon her all the time.
But Woman-sitting-and-smelling [577] walked in before her. After having
sat there for a while she raised herself up. She began to talk to
Djila′qons. She asked her why she had painted her eyebrows red, and
Djila′qons answered: “I had it done on your account.” Then she turned
toward the wall and wiped it off. And she turned toward the fire and
sat down.
Some time after they say that Pestilence [578] came in. His canoe was
like a white man’s vessel. Sparks flew out of it. They went through the
house. For that reason the supernatural beings were afraid. The things
that came out of it are what cause sickness. The supernatural beings
feared they would strike them. He refused to enter. He went back.
Then the nephew of
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea went out
and said: “You are not the only one who has supernatural power. I have
supernatural power. My uncle also has supernatural power. So you better
not come in.” Then he (the nephew) entered, and, when he untied a
little something against the roof of the house, which was like a hollow
tube closed with knots at both ends, Pestilence’s canoe was quickly
turned about. Then he said he would enter. “I will go in.” Presently he
entered. Nothing happened. [They say it was Tidal-wave [579] who owned
that.] All that time a space was left vacant in the rear of the house.
No one sat there. By and by the one who came in first sang. And, after
he had finished singing, he acted with a mask on from behind the screen
they had stretched across. After he had acted with the mask on for a
while, it split crosswise [580] on his face, and snow came out of it in
a broad sheet. Then it fell first by the vacant seat. After that it
fell in front of the chief’s house. And after that his face also split
vertically.[580] Out of the split the same substance fell. That was
property, they say.
Big-tail was guessing. “I guess it is he on whom we live [for whom the
vacant space is left]. It is for The-one-below.” [581]
The next one who came in also started to sing. Afterward he also came
out from behind the screen wearing a mask. After they had sung a
“Power-song” for him a while and put words into it, his face also split
open. Something white and broad fell down around the house in front of
the chiefs. Again it fell first by the vacant seat. When they put words
into it again it split vertically. Then it again fell first by the
vacant seat. After that it fell in front of the chiefs.
All the supernatural beings did the same thing. Sometimes one stood up
with his fins on. In that way the sleight-of-hand performances went on.
After some time had passed
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea also began
to dance. Then he made a good speech to the supernatural beings, after
which he also sang. When he had got through singing he, too, came out
wearing a big mask. He also wore a big fin. When they put words into
the power song his mask also split. Out of that, too, something white
fell. Some fell first by the vacant seat. Then they stopped singing the
power song.
There was a great pile of property for those in the house. Before they
entered their provisions came rolling in before them through the door.
They had two [boxes] or, if chiefs, four. Now they began to eat. It was
a whale. And they cut it around and around right from its head and
stretched it around in front of the supernatural beings. They spliced
another to that also, and then they all began to eat. [582] After all
had eaten for some time they stopped. All the big beings went off.
Then Big-tail also went to Skidegate. After he had performed for a time
in the same way as formerly, and, when they were starving, all began
giving him the food they had saved up. Cranberries, wild crabapples,
sīg̣ā′n, [583] roots put up in cakes, [584] berries put up in cakes, and
grease, they gave him. They gave these quietly to him while he slept.
There was also a quantity of Indian tobacco with them.
And, after he had slept for a while, he spoke again in the same way as
formerly, “Tcōxō′.”[573] Then he got up carefully and gave away all off
of the top into the fire. [585] Then he also spilled out fresh water
around the fire. He gave these to
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea. After that
he ate all of it. That night he performed.
And next day he said: “Go out to hunt.” Then they found a whale floated
ashore near by. And on account of that the Skidegate people ceased
being hungry.
Some time later Supernatural-being-people-always-go-to begged him to
accompany him. “Big-tail, go with me to see my elder brother.” And he
did not know where he wanted him to go. Then he went with him as he
requested. Then he launched a square canoe, he put Big-tail inside of
his clothing, and they started off.
They went, went, went for a while, after which they came in sight of
something white in the ocean like a mountain, and he let him look out
at it. He said to him: “Big-tail, there is the house of my elder
brother,” whereupon a strong wind arose, and they returned. They barely
got home safe.
Then they dried themselves around the fire in the house of
Supernatural-being-people-always-go-to. They talked with one another
about it. He was among them. Then he said to him: “Big-tail, when
another good day comes, come to go with me again.”
Some time afterward he went to his town again. And, when he entered, he
asked him: “Big-tail, will you go with me again?” “Yes,” he said to
him. At once they started off again. After they had paddled seaward for
a while he said his house had again come in sight. He let him look out.
In truth his great white house appeared at intervals over the waves.
And again a strong wind arose from the house. It drove them back again.
And, when they again got into the house, he called to him: “Big-tail,
do not go with me again. My elder brother refuses to let you see the
inside of his house. That is why the wind is high for us. Do not go
with me again.” That was the only one among the supernatural beings
whose house he was unable to see. His name was “Chief.” [586]
Some time after he got back Yä′yū [587] spoke through him. He made
things happen by speaking through him. Four whales floated about. He
did the same thing to him as the neighboring supernatural being had
done. “Let me go, for I want to see why a drum sounds in the house of
Supernatural-being-looking-landward (another name for Yä′yū).”
Then he lay down. He lay there for a while and entered his house. Then
some persons, with their fins together, stirred up soapberries in
something made of great boards painted on the outside, they used to
say.[587] They looked like Peninsula-point [588] soapberries, yet they
were different. Now he came home.
He spoke through him for a while longer. Then he became lame. And,
after he had sat in the house for a while, he said: “Let me go down to
see why a drum is sounding in the house of
Supernatural-being-looking-landward.” Then he chewed tobacco, lay down,
and continued there for a while.
Now, when he entered his house, Supernatural-being-looking-landward
said to him: “I am glad to see you, Big-tail.” In those words he said
he was glad to see him. At this time they raised up the stuff they were
stirring up with a stick, and it stuck to it. Before he had eaten of
that he went up, and, when he awoke, he said: “Why did I come away so
soon? I ought to have eaten whale tongue with them.”
After he had sat there for another space of time, he said: “I wonder
why a drum has been sounding in the house of
Supernatural-being-looking-landward. Let me go down again.”
Then he chewed tobacco, and, while he lay there, he got into his house.
Even while he was in the doorway he called to him: “Wait, Big-tail, you
better not go up from me. I will invite the supernatural beings.”
Immediately he invited the people. They came in at once. When all got
in he began to dance before them. They who came in wore fins. He
dressed himself up and came in, and lay down in the rear of the house,
wearing a full killer-whale suit. His fins touched the roof of the
house. Then he came out of it, and, as he held it in his hands, he
said: “Real dorsal fin. Real dorsal fin. What human beings call in a
common way a dorsal fin (łg̣ᴀn). Real dorsal fin.” After he had stood
around a while, he said: “Human beings keep saying this about me. They
keep saying that I used to be a human being.” [589] All in the house
laughed at him. It was as if things moved the house.
Now they began eating what they had stirred up. They say they were
whales’ tongues. Now, when this was over, the coast between Skidegate
inlet and House-point [590] was strewn with whale jaws which had
floated ashore. The things they ate in the house of
Supernatural-being-looking-landward really floated ashore.
A long time after that they again began to starve. And there was
nothing to eat at Skidegate. Then they took him to Da′x̣ua [591], and
they lived there with him. And they were starving there. Then they
gathered edible fern stumps right behind them. Those they ate. They
hunted outward and inward. [592] Sometimes one found the body of a
coot. They ate all these things.
One time he performed all night. Then
Supernatural-being-looking-landward said to him: “Big-tail, have them
stop making the little supernatural women living along the shore cry.
[593] Say that I will give the human beings something.”
And next day he repeated it to the people. “Let no one go anywhere.
Supernatural-being-looking-landward says he will give some food to the
human beings.” But still they all went out to look for food again up
and down the inlet.
That night he again sang a song for himself. In the night the wind blew
in from the sea. At daybreak he stopped singing. The day after that one
went out very early. Astonishing! He came in and he said, “Get up
quickly. It lies near Eagle-rock. [594] Astonishing!” All moved at
once. He did not eat of it because he was a shaman. Now they were
saved. They stopped starving.
At that time the slaves at Skidegate starved to death. Then a man of
the Seaward-sqoā′ładas set snares at ʟā′stᴀlañ [595] for cormorants.
His slaves alone did not die. Then one tried to set snares near him,
and he refused to have him there. He obeyed and went off. He was named
Gū′stas. He killed people by means of witchcraft. That is why they did
what he told them to.
After another long space of time had elapsed, Welcome-point’s[567] son
spoke through him. He put words into his song inside of his father’s
house. He sang to get his father’s things he had promised. He was
unsuccessful. He sang for the spring salmon his father owns. He was
unable to get them. His father was stingy.
Now an old man in the house said: “The chief’s son would do it if he
could. Even I will put out a few sea-eggs.” The first time he promised
not the least thing happened. Because the old man said he would put out
a little, they had more sea-eggs than they needed in Skidegate inlet.
Some time after this people went to Skedans, and he wanted to go with
them; and he went. And he arrived there with them. And the day after
they went to ʟi′nsū, [596] and he went with them. Then they landed at
Kꜝū′dᴀsʟꜝxa, [597] and he crept ashore. Then he lay in the sunshine.
Then they said to him: “Hurry, Big-tail, and come.” And he entered the
house of Ku′ndjîgit. [598] “Is it you, Big-tail?” And he said it was,
and he was glad to see him. And now he saw the inside of his house. He
saw whale tails lying piled one over another in all four corners. He
was proud of the inside of his house. He had the most whales of all the
supernatural beings. That is why he showed it to him. He did not speak
through him.
This story is one of the most important for an understanding of
shamanism among the Haida. The word used for “tail” here is applied to
the tail of a fish or whale, and the word for “big,” qō′na, also
involves the idea of great power.
THE STORY OF HIM THROUGH WHOM Łᴀ′GUA SPOKE
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o, to whom it was related by
an old man of Ninstints]
At Middle-town [599] Łᴀ′gua spoke through a certain one. After he had
acted as shaman for a time, while they sang for him, he began to whip
something. At once he began to fast. All that time he whipped it. The
town people wanted to see it. They wanted to see the thing he spoke
about. [600]
After a while he sang that he held his supernatural power, Łᴀ′gua, in
his teeth at the end of the town. His supernatural power also made the
water smooth for some time. All that time they fished for black cod.
Every time they came in from fishing those who handled the lines gave
him two black cod. His wife had a great quantity.
By and by Łᴀ′gua told him to go out fishing with them. He went with
them at once. After they had fished for black cod for a while and had
started away, they came to a point of iron sticking out of the water.
Then the shaman sat upon it. [601] And he gave them directions. “Go in,
and then come out to meet me,” he said to him.
As soon as they had unloaded their black cod, they went out to meet
him. It was evening. They called out to one another. Then they
approached each other. When they called out after it had become dark he
answered them. At once they went to him. Immediately all the canoes
began to tow it ashore. They used a black-cod fish-line for the
purpose.
After they had paddled for a while, it became broad daylight, and they
towed it in at the end of the town. It was only for
Those-born-at-Sa′ki.[599]
After they were through eating they began to split off iron wedges.
When they got through with that they began to hammer out the iron. They
made spears and knives of it. The news of this iron passed over the
island. At once people started to come for the iron. They exchanged a
slave for one piece of iron. They kept selling it. They worked this
into war spears throughout all of the villages.
After they had traded with this iron for a while, Inlet people [602]
came in ten canoes. After they had been there for a while, news came
from the towns up the inlet that they would try to make trouble for
them during the gambling. Then the Middle-town people said they would
not let them do it at their town. They were on the side of the Inlet
people. Secretly they made different arrangements. They deceived [their
visitors] by saying they were on their side.
One morning they came to gamble. As soon as they landed they spread out
their gambling mats. They formed a line on the side toward the sea. The
Middle-town people told the Inlet people not to be afraid. At once they
began to gamble. And after the town people had put on their weapons
they stood behind them. They held their spears, and they held their
knives.
After they had talked for a while over the betting and had begun to
gamble they stood with their spear points upward. Then they turned
around at once and speared all. They killed all. The others did not
scratch a skin in return. All their wives and their children who were
in the houses they enslaved. Not one escaped.
Then the news that they had destroyed them went over this island and
the news also reached the Inlet.[602]
After that one for whom they were going to get a grave post slept
alone. His mother-in-law, who was a widow, stayed with him. When winter
came he told them to make a pole in the shape of a killer whale’s
dorsal fin, the lower part with the carving of a grizzly bear upon it.
He belonged to the Slaves. [603]
At once they went out to get it. They came to tell him. They pulled it
ashore, and, after they had carved it for a while, it was finished. And
the day before the one on which they were to raise the grave post he
pounded up tobacco and gave it to a shaman there.
Then his supernatural power entered him. They sang for him. Very soon
he got through. Then he said: “There are many eyes of strangers upon
me. Over there, too, lies my trunk.”
Now it was night. In the night the Inlet people came to the town and
killed all the people. They enslaved all the women and the children.
All the time that he who got the grave post was supposed to be sleeping
alone he was in love with his mother-in-law. His name was
“Sealion’s-neck.”
Łᴀ′gua was a Tlingit spirit, and there were several stories told about
him. The following was taken down by me in English:
Łᴀ′gua once “came through” a Tlingit. He was a poor man, but his Power
told him that some day he would be rich. By and by enemies came and
carried him off as a slave. While he was still a slave, his Power came
to him again, and told him that he would be a chief. He said: “No, how
can I be a chief, when I am a slave sitting near the door? You better
stop talking to me.” “No, by and by you shall be a chief.” He was a
slave for five or six years, and during all of that time his Power kept
promising him that he should be a chief. One night, when he was acting
as a shaman, his Power threw something called Lā′nas ya′mᴀg̣a, which
makes people love each other, on the whole village, and everyone fell
into a deep sleep. Then he and some of his fellow slaves filled two
canoes with children whom they were going to enslave, and the canoes
went off without a paddle being used. Long after day came the parents
awoke and pursued, but, when the pursuers came near them, the slaves’
canoes became islands covered with trees, and they were passed by. When
the pursuers passed on their way back, the same thing happened again.
Finally he reached his own town and, from the sale of the children he
had taken off and from the property received from the relatives of the
slaves he had liberated, he became a great chief.
CLOUD-WATCHER
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo]
A Tlingit supernatural power spoke through him. After he had acted as
shaman for a while, and, when all were at Tꜝā′łdi, the son of the chief
of the salmon spoke through him. At that time there were no salmon on
this island. Then the salmon came like a strong wind.
At that time he used to go into a deep place. His moose-skin blankets
had pictures of salmon on them. He also wore a dance hat. He had a
dancing skirt. He had rattles of puffin beaks.
At that time the chiefs refused to allow him [to go down]. They told
him he would swim away forever. Then he became disgusted, so they said
the salmon would be lost, and they let him go down. They let one who
was always truthful go with him.
Then they sang for him in the way he told them. “When I go down, do not
stop singing the spirit song until I get back.” Just at evening he
prepared to go, and, after he had danced around the fire for a while,
he went down. Immediately Lā′ma [604] went after him. After he had gone
they sang for him, and he went into a deep place.
Then he lay still in the creek like a dog salmon. Lā′ma thought he
would swim away, and he held the lower edge of his moose-skin blanket
in his hand. After he had stayed in the water for a while, he jerked
like a dog salmon sending out eggs. After he had done this four times
he stood up. He was not wet in a single spot. All that time they sang
for him in the house.
Then there were great numbers of dog salmon in the creek. When he stood
up in the house all looked at him. He was not wet in the least. Then
dog salmon nearly surrounded the coasts of this island. Before that
there were few salmon, but a strong man dried three dog salmon during a
season. The strongest man got five. They put two away, and, taking one
along as provisions, they spent the winter in the neighborhood of
mussels.
He had them get a large drum off of the east side of a big cedar. They
used to hang that up.
After that Sᴀqaiyū′ł [605] spoke through Cloud-watcher at Łg̣ō′gi. When
his voice came through him he ran into the sea. Then he started around
the town begging. He came into a house and held out his blanket. “Djū
x̣undâ′-î.” [606] They did not understand his words. By and by in one
house he entered Djat-gitcꜝî′ñgaga guessed what he meant and put five
plugs [of tobacco] into his blanket. At once all in the town gave to
him. They each gave him five plugs.
Some time after this they were all at Sea-grass town. [607] Then there
was much sickness. And an old woman went to the end of Sea-grass Town.
Then she held her hands up. She wanted Power-of-the-shining-heavens
[608] to look upon her. From above they saw what she did.
After that, when autumn came, three towns were gathered together at
ʟgakîtsgalā′ña. [609] They were there on account of A′nkustᴀ. [610]
After that, when they went to get provisions, a Town-of-Djī′gua [611]
man named Waters became a shaman at Łg̣ā′g̣a. [612] At once they built a
large house for dancing. All the time they were dancing there he did
not mention his name. He was left-handed. He held a club on the left
side. On his right side he held a war knife, wearing it point outward.
They sang for him. He also had a grizzly bear head.
After they had sung a while for him he ceased to use these things and
wore different ones. At once he again stood up for the dance. After
this dance had gone on for a while there, they came to Sea-grass town.
After the dance had gone on at Sea-grass town for a while, he told them
where an eagle was sitting. He foretold that there would be two blue
feathers on either side of its tail. At once they went to get it, and,
when they had got it, although they did not speak to him, where he lay
in the house he struck the roof in his joy. Then he mentioned his two
names. “I am Wu′ltcꜝixaiya. I am Ūdagiā′g̣ᴀñ.” That was the Moon’s
youngest grandchild. [613]
When they went to Metlakahtla to gamble he became angry with one
opposite him, and, when he stood up, he became ten. For that reason his
elder brothers were afraid of him.
Because they had mercy upon the one who held up her hands, he (the
Moon’s son) came down to Sea-grass town. He still had the eagle in his
possession and used the bone club and the knife. At that time
He-with-only-one-fin [614] talked to him. “Chief, I know you. You are
Ha′ostī. The people are afraid of the things you use. The chiefs’ sons
among the people, when they dance, use good rattles.” At that time he
stopped using the knife and the club. His words pleased him. He held a
puffin-beak rattle and a large rattle in his hands. On the left side he
also held a chief’s rattle. He began to act in two different ways.
When he first started to perform they sang a spirit song for him: 𝄆
Gilâ′dᴀm ga′dani gia â gīlâ 𝄇 𝄆 âmaiyâ ga wīnâxnôx nâ gaa 𝄇. [615]
Before they sang he sang alone. “Who is the great supernatural power?”
This is the spirit song that they used to sing for him. At this time,
after he had acted as shaman for a while, he stopped using those
articles.
And he also used to wear fine cedar bark hanging from around his neck.
He held one end of these hanging in a bunch over the fire and then
acted as a shaman. Then burning coals flew round upon them. At once
they began to dance. All wore fine cedar bark hanging down from their
necks. They had two strings of it around their arms. They also had some
around their heads. On top of this [small] trees were stuck in. They
used to dance with these. 𝄆 “Yâ hô ē ahēhaiya 𝄇 come hither great
power.”[615] They all danced, singing this.
They came in dancing. Then, when they came in, he looked at them from
where he stood in the rear of the house. He looked to see if anyone
were sick. If one smiled a little, he said: “The people have untroubled
minds.”
While that was still going on, summer came. When they were going off to
the lonely places (i.e., camps) he started to sing another song. [616]
This was the song. When he got through singing he stood up, and he
said: “People, you are safe. Wherever you go in your canoes, sing this
song. You are safe.” He came down and helped them. While he (the
spirit) was still speaking in him (the man), he died.
Here is all of this.
The name Cloud-watcher occurs in one other place, in “The story about
Him who destroyed his nine nephews.” He belonged to the Town-of-Djī′gua
people, an important Eagle family at the old town of Kloo.
STORY OF THE SHAMAN, G̣A′NDOX’S-FATHER
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo.]
G̣ᴀ′ndox’s father was making a canoe inland from one end of Sea-grass
town. [617] One evening, when he came home, he dropped dead [618] on
the sand at the end of the town. Then they ran to him, and carried him
over to his house.
Qołdai′yêk [619] spoke through him first. Whenever his uncles became
shamans, he always made a hole in their minds first. He did not tell
his name. Instead he turned about around the house. After they had
taken him in and came to know that it was Qołdai′yêk, they began to
sing a song for him. After they had carried him around the fire four
times he began turning around.
Afterward Hū′dᴀgiag̣ᴀñ also spoke through him. He acted like the former
one. When he had ceased to act Sᴀqaiyū′ł [620] spoke through him. When
they sang for him he walked about entirely on the ends of his toes.
After he had spoken through him for a while, a certain person fell
sick. When he was almost dead they got him. Then he fasted four nights.
At the end of that time, just before daybreak, he went out to look for
his soul. Two other persons went with him. He went round the town on
both sides of the houses. By and by he seized his soul. He made a noise
like that of a young sea otter.
At once his companions seized him and carried him toward the house.
When they carried them (shamans) so, they were very careful, because
the shaman had the soul between his hands.
While they were carrying him along the trail, a
Smaller-part-of-village’s-stomach [621] came out of the ground. Then
Sᴀqaiyū′ł said to him: “Get it, master. Throw the man’s soul away.”
“No, I am afraid they would laugh at me. I am also afraid of being put
to shame.” Then Sᴀqaiyū′ł said to him: “You will not sit among the
chiefs in the rear of the house. You will sit among the slaves near the
door.”
All that time they were singing for him in the house he had left.
Presently, after they had carried him into the house, they put a mat
over him and the sick man. There he put his soul into his mouth.
Immediately he was saved.
Pestilence [622] married one of the daughters [623] of the Moon. When
he heard the news about his sister in some way, Wu′ltcꜝixaiya [624]
went to get his sister. He put on a steel coat and launched his canoe.
His canoe was covered with boards. Then he knocked down the rock front
of the house of Pestilence with a bone club. Afterward he went in and
got his sister. For that reason there was much sickness.
Then Wu′ltcꜝixaiya had mercy on Sea-grass town and went down there
along with Dilᴀgiâ′. [625] When many people were dying he (Dilᴀgiâ′)
went in to dance before Pestilence. He held a long cane the surface of
which was painted red. He stuck it up slantwise, stood upon it, and
danced. Then he made him feel good, and the sickness ceased. He spoke
through Gᴀ′ndox’s father. Then he told him these things. Sᴀqaiyū′ł
stopped speaking through him.
After he had spoken through him for a while, he wanted some turnips,
and all in the town gave him some. Through these he became more of a
chief in the country of the supernatural beings. When his (Dilᴀgiâ′’s)
voice first struck him, he sang in all the houses of the town for
himself. After that he went into his own house. He was also always
dancing there. “Yâ â â yâ â′aiya nagun dâ â hai i ya Dīlagiâ ahai i
yâ.” [626] This is what they sang when he danced. It is a spirit song.
After that one of the Pebble-town people [627] came to invite them.
Then one through whom Property-woman [628] spoke came by himself in a
canoe. At that time Dilᴀgiâ′ told him he had stretched some bad thing
(or spirit) over the town. Then he danced before him. [629] And he made
him feel good.
Some time after this, after they had gone to the mainland, a different
one spoke through him. His name was Bᴀlê′la. [630] Then they returned
to Sea-grass town with him. Then they sang for Gᴀ′ndox’s father in the
canoe. He danced as they came. And when they landed he asked for a
plank in the Tsimshian language. Then they had one rest on the edges of
the canoe. He came down upon it to the shore. [631]
And, when he got into the house, the house cover only was open (i.e.,
it was crowded with people). He danced the way Wu′ltcꜝixaiya used to.
When he began to dance he was proud, and he had himself pulled upright.
After that was done he began to dance.
After he had danced for a while he would say: “Stop and throw away the
cedar-bark roofing. Destroy also the indoor latrine. Use cedar planks
for your houses. When you go to bed leave your smoke holes open. Boxes
of property will soon fall upon you. Iron people [632] will come among
you.” He said that. He said there would be plenty of property for them.
Then all in the town danced very much again. The Kitkatla people also
brought over Bī′ni’s[630] songs to Skedans. They sang his also very
much as they danced. At this time a schooner was wrecked [in Cumshewa
inlet]. Then blankets were gradually distributed in quantities. This
went on for a long time. Then, according to his word, they used cedar
planks for house roofs. They also stopped using indoor latrines.
Then he wanted fire drills. Now all the town people gave fire drills to
him. When they came in with them he let them all drill together. Then
he looked on. After all had done the same thing they put them into the
fire. That was why he had them give them to himself.
When they stopped dancing they waved their hats. He sang a song. When
all stopped he whistled. Then they stopped singing his [song, which
sounded like this]: “Tcô′lōhô′ldīdôlgîts.” [633]
Afterward Sᴀqaiyū′ł again spoke through him. And, after the dancing had
gone on a while longer, he wanted to sleep. At that time the Sea-grass
town chiefs would not let him. By and by, since they feared the
supernatural beings might say something different from what they wanted
if they refused, they let him sleep.
When they agreed they made a sail house [634] for him in the corner.
And just at evening he went in and lay down. Next day, very early,
before the raven cried he awoke (lit., departed). After that they again
came in dancing. When they stopped dancing he had me sit near him. Then
he began to tell me quietly [what had happened].
At that time he (Sᴀqaiyū′ł) stood on top of the mountain on Qꜝᴀ′ñga
with him. Then he took a handkerchief [635] out of his pocket, put it
over his face, and wept. His clothes were all white. But he had no
coat. Something with wheels [636] stood near him, and presently he put
him into his pocket on the right side. Then he got into this, and he
struck it. It went right along. After he had gone along slowly he came
to a city with him and took him out of his pocket. And he stood up.
A big being with a black skin stood there. He also had a big gun. He
stood pointing it downward at the earth. Sᴀqaiyū′ł handed something to
him out of his pocket. After a while he took it without looking at him
and put it into his mouth. He did not know what it was. He thought it
was Indian tobacco.
Then Sᴀqaiyū′ł said to him: “Do not be afraid, master. Even the
supernatural beings die. Where my three sets of clothing hang up, I
have lived a long time. I died three times, but my body never dies.”
When he went thither with him, he saw a large kettle boiling out of
doors. He said he did not see what made it boil. Near it was a long
thing, the lower end of which was square, on which the Kwakiutl who had
killed a certain one along with a Haida were nailed. [637] They had put
them into the kettle. There they remained.
There he saw his uncle. Then his uncle asked him: “Did you see the one
standing there with a black skin? He shoots down on those people below
who treat each other badly. Then the land below is also full of smoke,
and there is sickness everywhere.”
Then his uncle [638] spoke to him through the doorway. “Why are you
here?” “Sᴀqaiyū′ł brought me around in that thing.” “Be watchful. If
one always watches, he, too, will live here. The black man always keeps
watch on those who are foolish.”
At that time his uncle said to him: “Some time ago one came down
through me. And he lived in this town. Now he lives far inland. They
fear to mention his name.” His uncle talked with him for a while. Again
he said to him: “Do not let his name be mentioned again below. You can
not mention his name [for it is too great]. If a child mentions his
name tell him to stop.” [639]
Then he went down again with him in the thing with wheels. At that time
he awoke in the sail house. Not a long time afterward he died.
This is the end of it.
This story is of exceptional interest, both from the insight it gives
into native beliefs generally and for the picture presented of the
influence exerted on those beliefs and over the external life of the
people also by the coming of white men. G̣ᴀ′ndox was evidently this
shaman’s daughter, and the name appears to be Tsimshian. After he
became a shaman, however, he was known, as was customary, by the name
of the spirit who was speaking through him at the time. He belonged,
like two of the shamans in the preceding story, to the
Town-of-Djī′gua-People of Old Kloo.
I was fortunate in having obtained information regarding this shaman
from one who knew him intimately, and to whom, it appears, he confided
some of his spiritual experiences. The shaman is well known to all
Skidegate Haida, and many other stories are told regarding his
predictions. For some of these, see Memoirs of the Jesup North Pacific
Expedition, volume V, part I, page 39.
DJILA′QONS
[Version obtained by Prof. Franz Boas.]
Ten men intended to catch fish near Q’a′daso near ʟō [New Kloo]. They
went there in their canoe and caught the fish by means of snares which
were attached to the points of poles. One of these men wore a hat
showing a design of a cormorant (k·ʼā′lo) belonging to the Eagle clan.
Whenever he caught a fish his hat fell down into the water, so that he
did not catch any thing more. Finally he grew angry and scolded the
water. He took his hat and said: “I strike your vulva with this hat,
Djila′qons.” Finally the people went ashore, where they made a large
fire, intending to eat the fish. [The name of the fish was Tā′ʟat, the
charr (or rainbow-trout)]. They roasted them. After a little while a
large frog came up to the fire. They took it and threw it into the
flames, and laughed when they saw it burn. After a short while there
was a clap of thunder, and the frog burst. After a little while the
same frog came back. They put more wood upon the fire, and threw the
frog into it; but when it was red-hot it jumped out of the fire.
Now they returned to their village. They saw a man walking along the
beach, following them. He shouted: “When your canoe reaches yonder
point of land, one of you shall die. At the next point of land the
second one of the number shall die, until you are all dead. Only the
steersman shall reach your village, where he shall tell what has
befallen you, and then he, too, shall die.”
After a little while they heard a large man coming, who struck his
abdomen, and the sound was like that of a drum. Then they laughed at
him. They struck his abdomen with sticks in order to hear the noise. He
said: “I wish to help you,” but they did not listen to him. He said: “A
fire is coming. It is going to burn everything.” After a while they saw
an animal coming, with a beak like that of a mosquito.
Another day a few men went out hunting seals. They met a seal which
looked up at the sky and said: “This cloud looks as though all the
people were going to die. The same thing happened long ago.” [All these
were prophesies of the general destruction of the tribe.] Then the man
returned without killing the seal.
Now the whole town was burned. The fire came from the water, burning
everything. All the people were killed. Only a young girl who had just
reached maturity hid in a cellar near the doorway where the people used
to urinate. She alone was saved. Her name was Yēʟʼukx·īna′ng. Then
Djila′qons came from out of the water. She took her staff, beat time
with it, and sang a mourning song. She found the young girl, who became
the mother of the Djʼēguaʟlānas.
This is one of the most important Haida family stories, Djila′qons
being considered the ancestress, or at all events special patroness, of
all those of the Eagle clan, while from Sounding-property, the sole
survivor of the town of Djī′gua, were descended the following four
great groups of Eagles: Those-born-at-Skedans and the
Town-of-Djī′gua-people of Old Kloo, the Witch people of Cumshewa, and
the Sealion town people of Kaisun. Besides these several claim to have
branched off from the above, and the Lā′na tcꜝā′adᴀs claim her as their
ancestress because a man of their family took her over to the
Tsimshian. They are not, of course, regularly entitled to the
distinction.
A version of this story obtained by myself was printed in the Memoirs
of the American Museum of Natural History, Jesup North Pacific
Expedition, V, part I, pages 94–96, and another was printed by
Professor Boas in his Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste
Amerikas, Berlin, 1895, pp. 310, 311. My story-teller gave the
following as one of the crying songs used by Djila′qons at this time:
Wâ â hâ â g̣adā′g̣a-łîña′-i⁺hēyē, etc., the whole being accompanied by
weeping, sobbing, and the labored breathing that accompanies. The two
words mean “those who were going to have property,” the thought being
“Oh! those that would have had property if I had let them alone!”
STORY OF THE HOUSE-POINT FAMILIES
[Told by Tom Stevens, chief of Those-born-at-House-point]
The son of the town chief of House-point was half crazy. The children
of the town played at G̣ałna′s, [640] and all went home, and he came
after them. And in the place where they had been playing something with
four faces was rolling around, [exclaiming]: “Great-crazy-days,
Great-crazy-days.” Then he ran to catch it, but he did did not see
whither it went.
One time he threw stones at it. After he had done this several times he
saw whither it went. Then he chased it. He chased it, chased it a
while, and it went into the ocean before him. And he also jumped right
in after it. After he had pursued it along upon a trail in the ocean
for a while, he chased it out in front of “Upset-canoe” [641] and it
sat waiting for him on the beach. Then he sat near it. It talked to him
there.
Then it took a bag off of its back, laid it near by, took out of it a
partly finished canoe and taught him how they were going to make them.
It told him how they would stretch it and would build a fire inside.
Then it took cedar bark out of its bag. It told him its name was g̣a-i.
[642] It told him they would use this for houses. And it told him they
would sew together the canoes with the cedar limbs and fasten the cross
seats in place with them.
After it was through telling him, it struck the man with its elbow.
Yū′iyā′⁺. It pushed him down. It became a bird and walked down from him
flapping its wings. It dived and came up far out. But then he saw a
Redhead [643] floating on the water out at sea. That it was that was
helping the people to settle at House-point.
And afterward he came home. And he told his friends. Then they began to
make a canoe. As he told them, they fastened down the seats with cedar
limbs. When it was broken, they sewed it together with them. And, when
he explained to them about the cedar bark, they also took that. They
put cross sticks [644] in the pieces and made houses. This is how they
began to live under cedar barks. And at that time they also began
fishing in the ocean.
And it also taught him other things in the same way. It told him how
they were going to fasten halibut hooks with roots. And it told him
that they should pull off cedar bark and weave mats out of it. It also
told him that they should twist it into ropes and use it that way in
fishing.
After some time had passed, they had snares set for eagles. And they
sat in holes under these. When any were caught in them they broke their
wings, and at evening they took as many as they knew were theirs.
One day a man caught one with slender claws. And, when he went for all
at evening, one of his eagles was lost. The Tsimshian bought the
feathers. That was why they gathered them. Then they reported to one
another that one had a hawk. [645] And he who missed one of his own
heard it was his and went to ask for it. Then they would not give it to
him, and some quarrels took place.
Then they put on their weapons. They put on ta′oga-i, [646] gorgets,
helmets, war coats, and two thick hides, one over another. [They had]
war spears. The young men had bows. And they came together. After they
had fought there with each other for a while, they stopped and moved
apart. [647]
After a long, quiet interval, a person went to Peoples’ town [648] to
gamble and [saw] another come out from Peoples’ town wearing
marten-skin blankets with the fur turned out. His gambling-stick bag
hung from a wooden float. He reported it to them, and they ran thither.
Then he kept crying: “G̣ᴀngūdā′ñ. My seed. My seed.” [649]
From the town one went to sell a copper worth ten slaves called
“Upsetter-of-the-town.” And, when they were on their way back, there
was a great smoke at the town, and they ventured guesses about it. One
said that the town was being burned. Another said that some kind of
clam was being put into the fire.
When they got close in front of the town of Łgīła-a′la, [650] they were
pushing one [prisoner] down to the beach. His name was
Letting-go-of-each-other. The Inlet people [651] had burned the town.
The war chief was called Burnt-forest. [652]
And, when they saw them coming, they chased them seaward. And they
paddled toward Cape Ball to escape. Then they got near it and fastened
the copper to the paddle. And, when they held it up high, they tried to
catch them all the harder. Then they upset themselves and swam
downward. Chief Points-meeting-in-the-water and chief
Going-after-property were drowned at the bottom. Afterward Burnt-forest
dove after the copper and recovered it neatly.
Then they (the people who were drowned) went and sat in front of
Chief’s [653] house. They begged him for a flood. He asked them to come
in. They refused. The warriors started home and camped beyond Raven
creek. [654] The weather was calm. Toward evening two tidal waves
rolled in out of the ocean. The first one came in and broke. The canoes
with their skids even drifted away. The last one even washed away the
trees by their roots. Half of the warriors were lost. And he
(Burnt-forest) escaped along with his copper into the woods and carried
it off on his back.
Then, by washing away the front of Tow hill, [655] the waves washed
dentalium shells to the surface. The Inlet [people] dug them. They
paddled north [656] with them to sell them for slaves. They bought
slaves.
After that, when they quarreled with one of Those-born-at-House-point,
he would say in answer: “Well! Inlet people ceased moving their own
bucket handles because my uncles drowned themselves.” The Inlet people
had plenty of slaves.
And a man of Those-born-at-House-point made figures of the supernatural
beings on his house. The ends of the roof poles had images of human
beings on them face up. This house was washed away five times. Then he
named himself Chief-who-renews-his-property.
[The following short story, obtained by Professor Boas from Charlie
Edenshaw, chief of the Stᴀ′stas at Masset, is added for purposes of
comparison and as containing supplementary material.]
After the deluge, Naēku′n was the first place to emerge from the
waters. People were holding a council to determine which way to go.
While they were still deliberating a two-faced man came and asked them
why they could not make up their minds, and told them which way to go.
At that time the Raven traveled all over the earth, and one day he
found a cockle which was being thrown about by the waves. He heard a
noise inside the shell. He went near to see what it was. He hid near by
and discovered many children in the cockleshell. He opened it and found
many people. Then he made towns. One of these he called Yaku lanas,
another one Kuna lanas, and he gave all the families of the Haida their
names. On the beach he made a town, Tas lanas; and in the woods he made
one which he called Sʟeng lanas (“rear part of the house”). [657]
My informant, who is now chief of Those-born-at-House-point, began by
saying that when the flood raised by Raven’s uncle subsided a woman was
sitting upon House-point (i.e., Nekoon or Rose spit). This woman had
four teats, each of which was owned by one of the Raven families of
House-point, the Eggs of Skî′tg̣ao Rear-town people, Point-town people,
Those-born-at-House-point. After her people had begun to increase they
pulled grass over themselves, began to twirl one stick upon another to
light fires and, since they had no canoes, floated their fishing lines
off from the great spit. The story-teller probably intended these
particulars to be included as part of his relation. I also have a
Masset version of that part of the story which deals with the war at
House-point.
HOW THE SEAWARD-SQOĀ′ŁADAS OBTAINED THE NAMES OF THEIR GAMBLING STICKS
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people]
His father was a chief in Sealion-town. [658] His name was
Poor-chief’s-son. [659] One time his father was going to have a
potlatch. Then his father went to invite the Tsimshian. While he was
gone, Gasî′na-ᴀ′ndju [660] began to gamble. After he had gambled for
some time, he lost all of his father’s property. Then he put a bladder
full of grease into his gambling-stick bag. And he put it on his back
and went away.
After he had traveled for a while, he went in [661] at White-rocks. As
he went he ate all kinds of leaves. [662] Presently he wanted to
defecate, and he defecated at a rotten stump. And after that he again
went about eating leaves. After he had gone along for a while, he
passed over the bones of two human beings upon which moss was growing.
And, after he had gone on a while longer, he came to where two streams
flowed down from Djū′tcꜝîtga, [663] near which lay the fresh bones of
two persons. One stream was red. The other was blue. Djū′tcꜝîtga’s
manure made it red, they say, and his medicine made it blue. Those who
drank from the red one died there.
Then he took the grease out of his bladder, and he greased his insides.
Then he put his head into the blue one. After he had drunk for a while,
he lost consciousness. When he came to himself he was standing in front
of a big house with a two-headed house pole. And they told him to come
in. At once he entered.
The chief [664] in the house said to him: “News of you has come,
grandson. You gambled away all of your father’s potlatch property.”
Then the chief had a small box brought to him, and he took a hawk
feather out of it. Then he put it into the corner of his (the youth’s)
eye. After he had twisted it around there for a while, he pulled it out
and took out blood [665] and moss from it.
After he had finished both he said to him “Let me see your gambling
sticks,” and he gave them to him. He squeezed them. Then blood[665]
came out. And, after he had touched his lips to his hands, he cut
around the middle of one of them with his finger nail. It was red. And
he said to him: “Its name shall be Coming-out-ten-times.” And, after he
had touched his lips to his hands again, he cut around on another of
them near the end. The end of it was red. Then he said: “Its name shall
be Sticking-into-the-clouds.”
As soon as he brought out his gambling sticks to him, he named them. He
continued to name them: “Thing-always-carried-along,”
“Always-running-off,” “Bloody-nose,”
“Shaking-his-head-as-he-goes-along,” “Common-one,” “Rattling-bone,”
“Elderberry-roots,” and “Russet-backed-thrush” (?). [666]
Large canoes were piled up in the corner of his house. That meant that
the Tsimshian had come during his absence. And two young fellows who
looked transparent were in his house. He said that one should go with
him. “This one will go with you. He will take away your djîl when you
gamble first. [667] Do not choose the fine cedar bark out of which
smoke comes. Take that that has no smoke. After you have counted seven,
take the one out of which smoke comes. Then begin with
‘Coming-out-ten-times.’” After he had got through telling this to him,
he said to him: “Go home.” Lo! he awoke.
Then he went out at the same place where he had started in. Below the
stump from which he had defecated lay a sea otter. He looked at the
sea. The sea otter was drifting shoreward. Then he went down to it,
took it, and dried it. And he went from there to Sealion-town.
When he had almost reached it, he came to some dogs fighting with each
other for a gambling-stick bag which lay on the left side of the place
where the broad, red trail came out. The dogs fought for the fat which
was in it. And he looked into it. A small copper was in it. He took it,
and he came home.
And he came to the ten canoes of the Tsimshian who had arrived. He went
in to his mother and ate as usual. He also drank water.
Next day gambling began. He went out and staked the sea otter. They
tried to get ahead of one another in playing for it. The Tsimshian
wanted to gamble with him. Then one came to gamble with him. The
Tsimshian handled the sticks first. And he did not take the one which
smoked. After he had counted seven he took the one which smoked. He got
the djîl.
Then he took up “Coming-out-ten-times” as they had told him. [They
said] “He is losing as he always does.” Then he handled the sticks. He
counted ten. He had “Sticking-into-the-clouds” and this one [besides
his blank] left. [668] With them he won. He stopped missing it. He
handled the sticks. Then he held the blank over his shoulder. He took
it away. [669] They did not see it.
He won every single thing from the Tsimshian. After he had all of their
property he also won their canoes. By and by a little old man behind
the crowd of his opponents, who had just bathed and had the right side
of his face marked with paint, wanted to gamble with him. And, after
they had staked property, the Tsimshian handled the sticks. Smoke came
out of both heaps of cedar bark. Then he selected that which smoked the
most. He got one of those with many marks. [670] And he handled them
again. He took the one with the smaller smoke. Again he got one of
those with many marks. It was a good day for him (the Tsimshian). That
was why he (Gasî′na-ᴀ′ndju) could not see his djîl. He was the only one
who beat him.
Then his father’s potlatch was over. They gave the Tsimshian their
canoes. Then he had the breast of his son tattooed. He had the figure
of a cormorant put on him. He had its neck run through him. He had its
wings laid on each side of his shoulders. He had its beak put on his
breast. On his back he had its tail put. He was the only Raven who had
the cormorant for a crest. No one had it that way afterward. The
Tsimshian went home.
He had his father’s house pole made like Djū′tcꜝîtga’s. At that time he
named the house “Two-headed-house.” The Seaward-Sqoā′ładas own the
gambling-stick names.
All Haida families do not have distinctive family myths as is the case
among the Kwakiutl and Bella Coola. Some, however, have stories telling
how they obtained the right to certain names, crests, etc., and the
following is one of that number. It explains the origin of the names
employed by the Seaward-Sqoā′ładas, a Raven family of Skidegate inlet,
for the sticks in their gambling sets, and at the same time how the
Sealion-town people, an Eagle family, obtained the right to a certain
style of house pole with two heads. One of the old Kaisun houses,
Na-qā′dji-stîns, “Two-headed-house,” was named from a pole of this kind
which stood in front of it.
HOW ONE OF THE STASA′OS-LĀ′NAS BECAME WEALTHY
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people.]
His name was Sqî′lg̣aᴀlᴀn. [671] His wife belonged to the
Seaward-sqoā′ładas, and her name was A′łg̣a-sīwa′t. They were camping at
Djiłū′.
And, when the tide was low, he went seaward. He heard some puppies
yelping. He looked for them. He could not find them. Then he began to
eat medicine. After he had eaten medicine for a while, he went seaward
again. Again he heard the puppies yelping.
After he had gone toward the place where they were yelping the yelping
sounded behind him. After he had done this for a while he found two
small pups among some stones lying in a pool of salt water. Then he
pick them up and stood up planks on edge for them around a hollow
between the roots of a tree behind the house. And he had them live
there. He hid them. He named one of them Found and the other Helper. He
fed them secretly.
When they became larger they went into the water early one morning.
They came shoreward together. They had a tomcod in their mouths. They
gave it to him. He said he had gone out to look for it very early. And
he brought it into the house.
Again they swam seaward. They brought in a red cod in their mouths.
When they started off again they brought back a halibut in their
mouths. When they became larger they brought in a piece bitten out of a
whale. All that time he said he had found the things. When he had a
quantity of food he carried the whale to his brothers-in-law [672] at
Skidegate as a gift.
They were nearly starved at Skidegate when he came and gave them what
he had. The day after he arrived he went for firewood. When he brought
it in the food was all gone. He wished to eat some salmon eggs put up
in bladders which his mother-in-law owned. She did not give them to
him. At that time he kept repeating: “I guess there will be plenty in
the dogs’ house.” Then his mother-in-law said: “I wonder what sort of
dogs have grease all over their house.” His mother-in-law was stingy.
Next day he again came in from getting wood and said the same thing as
before. And his mother-in-law again said: “I wonder what sort of dogs
have grease all over their house.”
Next day he started for Djiłū′, and his mother-in-law went with him.
After they had gone along for a while they came to a porpoise floating
about, and his mother-in-law wanted it. He paid no attention to her.
After they had gone on for a while longer, they came to a hair seal
floating about. His mother-in-law also wanted that. He paid no
attention to her.
After they had gone on for a while from there, they came to pieces
bitten out of a whale floating about. Those his mother-in-law also
wanted, and he said: “Nasty! that is my dogs’ manure.” And after they
had gone on for another space of time, they came to a jaw good on both
sides. Then he cut off two pieces from it and took them in.
Now he landed at Djiłū′, and he would let his mother-in-law eat nothing
but fat food. When his mother-in-law went down to get sea eggs he spilt
whale grease around before her upon the sea eggs. He also spilt whale
grease around in the water. He was killing his mother-in-law with
mental weariness. [673]
Then the dogs brought in two whales apiece. He (each) had one laid
between his ears and one laid near his tail.
His wife became two-faced (i.e., treacherous) to him. She discovered
that the dogs always went out at daybreak. Then she allowed urine and
blue hellebore to rot together.
One day, when the dogs were coming in together, she put hot stones into
this mixture. And, when it was boiling, she poured it into the ocean.
At once the wind raised big waves. There was no place where the dogs
could come ashore. The dogs carried some islands out to sea in trying
to scramble up them. One is called Sea-eggs, the other G̣agu′n.
Then they swam southward. He watched them from the shore. They tried to
climb ashore on the south side of the entrance of Skidegate channel.
[674] But they only made marks with their claws on the rocks instead.
They could not do it. Then they swam away. On that account they call
this place “Where-dogs-tried-to-crawl-up-and-slid-back.” Then they swam
together to the channel.[674] They lie in front of Da′x̣ua. [675] They
call them “The Dogs.” [676]
He had many whales. He filled up “Whale-creek.” He bent boxes for them,
and he put the whale grease into them. By selling these he became a
chief. [677]
Compare “The story of those who were abandoned at Stasqa′os.”
STORIES OF THE PITCH-PEOPLE
[Told by Walter McGregor, of the Sealion-town people]
Some persons went out hunting from Songs-of-victory town. [678] And one
of them put on the skin of a hair seal and lay on a reef. Then some
went hunting from Food-steamer’s [679] town. One of them speared the
hair seal lying on the reef with his bone spear. But a human being
screamed.
They used to put on the skin of a hair seal, lie on a reef and make the
cry of a hair seal, and, when a hair seal came up, one sitting behind
him speared it. They speared him (the man) while he was doing that way.
Then they went off in terror.
And then they began fighting with one another. The Songs-of-victory
people went out first, and they killed Food-steamer’s wife with arrows.
Then they fought continually with one another. At that time they killed
each other off.
Falling-tide was a brave man among the people of Songs-of-victory town.
One time, when he got back from fighting, he threw his kelp fish line
into the fire. Then he occupied a fort. At that time he had nothing to
eat. He spoiled himself. [680] After that they also killed him, and
only the town of Kaisun was left.
One day they stretched out a black-cod fishing line upon the beach in
front of Kaisun with the intention of seeing how far down the house of
The-one-in-the-sea was. But, when they went out fishing, they never
came back. Then that town was also gone. [681]
They used to go fishing at night, because they said that the black cod
came to the surface of the sea during the night.
Before this, when the town people were still there, a child refused to
touch some black cod. And, after he had cried for a while, something
moving burning coals about called him through the doorway; [682] “Come
here, my child; grandmother has some roots mixed with grease which she
put away for you.”
Then his parents told him to go out, and he went thither. It stretched
its arm in to him into the house, and the child said: “Horrors, [683]
something with large, cold hands grasped me.” Then it said:
“Grandfather has just come in from fishing. I have been washing gills.
That is why he says my hands are cold.”
Then his parents again told him to go out, and he went out to it. It
threw him into a basket made of twisted boughs. Then the child cried,
and they went out to look at him. He was crying within the earth.
Then they began to dig. They dug after the sound of his crying in the
earth. By and by they dug out the tail of the marten he wore as a
blanket. There are now ditches in that place.
The chief’s children in the town of Kaisun went on a picnic. They had a
picnic behind Narrow-cave. [684] Then all went out of the cave from the
town chief’s daughter. Some of them went to drink water. Part of them
went after food. Some of them also went to get fallen limbs [for
firewood].
Then she thought “I wish these rocks would fall upon me,” and toward
her they fell. Then she heard them talking and weeping outside. And,
after she had also cried for a while, she started a fire. Then she felt
sleepy and slept. She awoke. A man lay back to the fire on the opposite
side. That was Narrow-cave, they say.
Then he looked at her, and he asked her: “Say! noble woman, [685] what
sort of things have they put into your ears?” And the child said to
him: “They drove sharp knots into them and put mountain sheep wool into
them.” Then he took sharp knots out of a little box he used as a
pillow. Now Narrow-cave laid his head on some planks for her, and she
pushed them into his ears. “Wa wa wa wa wa, it hurts too much.” Then
she at once stopped. And, when he asked her to do it again, she again
had him put his head on the plank. It hurt him, but still she drove it
into his ear. His buttocks moved a while, and then he was dead.
Then she again cried for a while. She heard the noise of some teeth at
work and presently saw light through a small hole. Then she put some
grease around it, and the next day it got larger. Every morning the
hole was larger, until she came out. It was Mouse who nibbled through
the rock.
Then she was ashamed to come out, and, when it was evening, she came
and stood in front of her father’s house. And one of her father’s
slaves said she was standing outside. They told him he lied. They
whipped him for it.
Then her father’s nephew went out to look for her. She was really
standing there. And her father brought out moose hides for her. She
came in upon them. They laid down moose hides for her in the rear of
the house. She came in and sat there.
Then her father called in the people. She recounted in the house the
things that had happened. When she had finished she became as one who
falls asleep. They guessed that she had gone into his (Narrow-cave’s)
house to live.
One moonlight night they (the children) went to Tcꜝixodᴀ′ñqꜝēt [686] to
play. And two persons came to a boy who was walking far behind, took
him off with them, and led him to a fine house.
Then they asked each other: “What shall we give him to eat?” “Give him
the fat of bullheads’ heads.” And they gave him food. In the night he
awoke. He was lying upon some large roots. And in the morning he heard
them say: “There are fine [weather] clouds.” Then they went fishing,
and, when it was evening, they built a large fire. He saw them put
their tails into the fire, and it was quenched. And next day, after
they had gone out fishing, he ran away.
Then they came after him. And he climbed up into a tree standing by a
pond in the open ground. They hunted for him. Then he moved on the
tree, and they jumped into the pond after his shadow.
Then they saw him sitting up there, and they called to him to come
down. “Probably, [687] drop down upon my knees.” And they could not get
him. They left him.
Then he started off. He came in to his parents. He came in after having
been lost, and his mother gave him a ground-hog blanket to wear.
Then he went out to play with the others one day, and something said to
him from among the woods: “Probably is proud of his ground-hog blanket.
He does not care for me as he moves about.” He did not act differently
on account of this. [688] Those who took him away were the Land-otter
people.
The Pitch-people (Qꜝās lā′nas) occupied much of the northwestern coast
of Moresby island between Tas-oo harbor and Kaisun, but, when the
Sealion-town people moved to the west coast, they seem to have driven
the Pitch-people out of their northern towns. They were always looked
upon as an uncultivated branch of Haida, and are said not to have
possessed any crests. Later they intermarried with the Cumshewa people.
Some of the Cumshewa people claim descent from them, but none of the
true Pitch-people are in existence. The relationship of their culture
to that of the other Haida would be an interesting problem for
archeologists. The following stories regarding these people were
obtained from a man of the Sealion-town people who supplanted them.
HOW A RED FEATHER PULLED UP SOME PEOPLE IN THE TOWN OF GU′NWA
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people]
The town children were knocking a woody excrescence [689] back and
forth. After they had played for a while they began saying “Haskwä′.”
[690] The niece of the town chief was menstruant for the first time.
She sat behind the screens. [691]
After they had played for a while a red feather floated along in the
air above them. By and by a child seized the feather. His hand stuck to
it. Something pulled him up. And one seized him by the feet. When he
was also pulled up another grasped his feet in turn. After this had
gone on for a while all the people in the town were pulled up.
Then the one who was menstruant did not hear them talking in the house.
She was surprised, and looked toward the door. There was no one in the
house. Then she went outside. There were no people about the town. Then
she went into the houses. She saw that they were all empty.
Then she began to walk about weeping. She put her belt on. Then she
blew her nose and wiped it on her shoulder. And she put shavings her
brothers had been playing with inside of her blanket. Feathers and wild
crab apple wood, pieces of cedar bark, [692] and mud from her brothers’
footprints she put into her blanket.
By and by, without having been married, she became pregnant. Soon she
gave birth. Again she became pregnant. Again she bore a boy. After this
had gone on for some time, the youngest came out with medicine in his
mouth. He had a blue hole in his cheek. With a girl they were ten.
And she started to rear them. She brought home all kinds of food that
was in the town. She gave this to her children to eat. Very soon they
grew up. They began playing about the house.
By and by one of them asked their mother: “Say! mother, what town lies
here empty?” And his mother said to him: “Why! my child, your uncles’
town lies here empty.” Then she began telling the story. “The children
of this town used to go out playing skîtqꜝ′ā′-ig̣adañ. Then a red
feather floated around above them. I sat behind the planks. There I
discovered that the town lay empty, and I was the only one left. There
I bore you.” Like this she spoke to them.
Then they asked their mother what was called “skîtqꜝā′-ig̣adᴀñ.” Then
she said to them: “They smoothed the surface of a woody excrescence,
and they played with it here.”
Then they went to get one. They worked it, and, after they had finished
it, they played about on the floor planks of the house with it. While
they were still playing daylight came. And next day they also played
outside. The feather again floated about above them. Their mother told
them not to take hold of the feather.
After they had played for a while the eldest, who was heedless, seized
the feather. His hand stuck to it. When he was pulled up he turned into
mucus. After it had been stretched out five times the end was pulled
up. Another one seized it. He became a shaving. After he had been
stretched out five times he, too, was pulled away.
Another one grasped it. He became a feather. After something had pulled
him up five times he also left the ground. Another one seized it. He
became a strip of cedar bark. After something had pulled him up five
times he also left the ground. And again one seized it. He became mud.
After he had been stretched out five times he left the ground. And
another seized it. The same thing happened to him; and after this had
gone on for a while they were nearly all gone.
Then again one seized it. He became a wild crab-apple tree. He was
strong. And, while he was being stretched up, his sister went around
him. She sharpened her hands. “Make yourself strong; [be] a man,” she
said to her brother. When he had but one root left his sister climbed
quickly up upon him. After she had reached the feather, and had cut at
it for a while, she cut it down. A string of them fell down.
He who had medicine in his mouth stood over his elder brothers. Upon
his elder brothers he spit medicine. Then they got up. And the bones of
those in the town who had been first pulled up lay around in a heap. He
also spit medicine upon them. They also got up, and the town became
inhabited.
They played with the feather. They went around the town with it. By and
by it began to snow. Then they rubbed the feather on the fronts of the
houses of the town, and the snow was gone. [693] After they had done so
for a while the snow surmounted the house.
After some time a blue jay dropped a ripe elderberry through the smoke
hole. By and by they went out through the smoke hole. They went to see
Bill-of-heaven. [694]
After they had gone along for a while, they came to a djo′lgi [695]
walking around. Then he who was full of mischief tore the animal in
pieces and threw them about. After they had gone on some distance from
there, they came to a woman living in a big house. Her labret was
large. When she began to give them something to eat the woman asked
them: “Was my child playing over there when you passed?” And one said
to her: “No, only a djo′lgi played there. We tore it in pieces, and we
threw it around.” “Alas! my child,” said the woman. “Door, shut
yourself.” Xō-ō, it sounded.
Then he who knew the medicine became a cinder, and he let himself go
through the smoke hole. When he got outside, “Smoke hole, shut
yourself” [she said]. That also sounded Xō-ō. Then he ran quickly to
the place where they had torn up the djo′lgi and, gathering up the
pieces, put them together and spit medicine upon them. The djo′lgi
shook itself, and started for the house with him.
The djo′lgi tapped upon the door. “Grandmother, here I am.” And when
she had said “Door, unlock yourself; smoke hole, open yourself,” so it
happened. Then she began giving them food. She gave them all kinds of
good food to eat. That was Cliff’s house, they say. She is the
djo′lgi’s grandmother.
And they stayed all night in her house, and next day she again gave
them something to eat. Then they started off. After they had traveled
for a while, they came to where another woman lived. And, after she had
given them food, they stayed in her house all night as well.
And, after he who was full of mischief saw that the woman was asleep,
he went to her daughter who lay behind the screen. And he put her belt
around himself. After he had lain for a while with her her mother saw
him. Then she took out the man’s heart and swallowed it. [696] Then he
put her belt around her, went from her, and lay down.
Next morning, after she had given them something to eat there, she
called her daughter. She paid no attention to her, and she went to her.
She lay dead. Then she began to weep. She composed a crying song, “My
daughter I mistook.” Then they left her.
After they had gone on for a while they came to where a big thing
stood. When they pushed it down it fell upon two of them. Seven escaped
and went off.
After they had gone on for a long space of time they came to a small
dog lying in the trail. One jumped over it. Right above it it seized
him with its teeth. Another jumped over it. He was treated in the same
way. It killed three and four escaped.
After they had gone on for a while longer they came to the edge of the
sky. It shut down many times. Then they ran under. Two of them were cut
in two and two escaped. They, however, saw Bill-of-heaven.
Gunwa being one of the Nass towns, this story would appear to be an
importation. It is paralleled, however, by a Masset myth, the scene of
which is laid in a Haida town.
HOW ONE WAS HELPED BY A LITTLE WOLF
[Told by Tom Stevens, chief of Those-born-at-House-point.]
A certain person was a good hunter with dogs. He also knew other kinds
of hunting, but still he could not get anything. They were starving at
the town. And one time, when he went to hunt, he landed below a
mountain. And when he started up some wolves ran away from him out of a
cave near the water. In the place they had left a small wolf rose up.
Then he tried to catch it, and the wolf tried to fight him. Then he
said to it “I adopt you,” and it stopped fighting.
Then he put it into a bag he had and went home with it, and he hid it
in a dry place near the town. After that he dreamed that it talked to
him. It said to him: “Go with me. Put me off under a great mountain
where there are grizzly bears and sit below. Then I will climb up from
you toward the mountain and, when a big grizzly bear rolls down, cut it
up. And, when another one comes down, split it open, but do not touch
it.”
At once he took it away and put it off under a mountain. Then he went
up, and, while he sat beneath, a big grizzly bear came rolling down.
While he was cutting it up another came rolling down, and he split it
open.
Immediately afterward the small, wet wolf came down. It yelped for joy.
It shook itself and went inside the one that was split open. At once it
made a noise chewing it. It ate it, even to the bones. Although it was
so big it consumed it all. Only its skin lay there.
Then he put the parts into the canoe and brought them to the town. And
they bought them of him. When they were gone he took it (the wolf) off
again. They kept buying from him.
When his property was fully sufficient his brother-in-law borrowed it.
Then he gave him directions. “Cut up the one that rolls down first, but
the last one that rolls down only cut open.” Then he gave it to him in
the sack in which he kept it.
Then he started with it and put it off beneath the mountain. Soon after
it had gone up a grizzly bear rolled down, and he cut it up. Afterward
another one rolled down, and he cut that up also. Then the wolf came
down. After it had walked about for a while it began to howl. Then it
started away, so that he was unable to catch it. It went along on a
light fall of snow.
And, when he got home and he (the owner) asked for it, he told him it
got away. He handed him only the empty bag.
At once he bought hide trousers. He also bought moccasins. Immediately
he started off. He put the hides into a sack. Then he landed where he
used to put it (the wolf) off and followed its tracks. He followed its
footprints upon the snow lying on the ground.
Now, as he went, went, went, he spent many nights. He wore out his
moccasins and threw them away. All the while he followed his son’s
footprints upon the snow. He went and went, and, when his moccasins and
trousers were almost used up, he heard many people talking and came to
the end of a town.
Then he hid himself near the creek, and, when one came after water, he
smelt him. Then he saw him and shouted to him: “So-and-so’s father has
come after him.” At once they ran to get him. His son came in the lead.
They were like human beings. Then he called to his father. He led him
into the house in the middle. The son of the chief among the wolf
people had helped him. The house had a house pole.
Then they gave him food. They steamed fresh salmon for him, and, when
they set it before him, his son told him he better eat. Then he ate.
And, after they had fed him for a while, they brought the hind quarter
of a grizzly bear, already cooked, out of a corner. Then they cut off
slices from it and gave them to him to eat.
He kept picking them up, but still they remained there. They set the
whole of it before him with the slices on top. He did not consume it.
It is called: “That-which-is-not-consumed.”
After he had been there for a while they steamed in the ground deer
bones with lichens [697] on them. And next day they began to give them
to him to eat. Then he did not pick them up, but he said to his father:
“Eat them, father.” He was afraid to eat them because they were bones.
Then he picked one up. But, when he touched it to his lips, it was
soft.
Every morning they went after salmon. They put on their skins. Then
they came home and brought three or four salmon on the backs of each.
They shook themselves, took off their skins, and hung them up.
Presently he told his son that he wanted to go away. Then they brought
out a sack and put grizzly-bear fat into it. When the bottom of it was
covered they put in mountain-goat fat. There was a layer of that also.
After that they put in deer fat, as well as moose fat. They put in meat
of all the mainland animals.
After it was filled, and they had laced it up they gave him a cane. It
was so large he did not think he could carry it. And, when he started
to put it on his back, his son said to him: “Push yourself up from the
ground with your cane.” Then he did as directed. He got up easily.
Then he gave other directions to his father. “You will travel four
nights. When you camp for the night stick the cane into the ground and
in the morning go in the direction toward which it points. Stick the
cane into the ground where you come out. After you have taken those
things out of the sack, take that over also and lay it near the cane.
Those things are only lent you.”
At once he set out. And, when evening came, he stuck the cane into the
ground. But the cane pointed in the direction from which he had come,
and he went toward it. And, when evening again came, he stuck the cane
in, and in the morning the cane was again pointing backward; and again
he followed it.
After he had camped four nights he came out. And he stuck in the cane
at the edge of the woods. And, while they were again in a starving
condition, he came home. They were unable to bring out his sack. And,
when a crowd took hold of it, they got it off [the canoe], and, after
they had taken the best parts of all kinds of animals out of it, he
took the sack back to the cane and laid it near by.
Then they also began to buy that. With what he got in exchange he
became a chief. [698] With what he got in exchange he also potlatched.
After two nights had passed he went to see the place where he had left
the sack. He saw that they had taken it away.
Since wolves are not found upon the Queen Charlotte islands, this is
necessarily a mainland story, probably Tsimshian.
GUNANASÎ′MGÎT
[Told by Jackson, late chief of Skidegate.]
A certain woman of the upper class, whose father was a chief, was
squeamish about stepping on the dung of grizzly bears. They went with
her to pick berries, and then she started back. At that time her basket
strap broke. Now her basket upset. It upset four times.
In the evening, when her basket upset for the last time, two
good-looking fellows came to her and asked her to go with them. The two
persons begged her to go, and they said to her: “A little way inland
are berries.”
Then she went back with them. And she said: “Where are they?” They said
to the woman: “A little farther inland.” Now it was evening. And they
led her into a big town. Now they led her into a big house in the
middle of the town which had a painting on the front. A woman who was
half rock sat in the corner of the house.
When they gave her something to eat [this woman said]: “When you eat
it, eat only the shadow. [699] Only eat the cranberries they give you
to eat. Drink nothing but water. Do not eat the black, round things
they give you to eat. I have been eating them. That is why I am here. I
am half rock. When you go to defecate dig deeply into the ground. Cover
it over.”
Now she went to defecate as directed. And, when she went to defecate,
she laid copper bracelets on top and copper wire. She finished. Now,
after she was gone, a man went and looked at the place. He saw copper
wire and bracelets. Then the man shouted. A crowd of people looked at
it. Truly that was why she did not want to step on dung. Now she became
used to [her surroundings].
Now all in the town went out to fish for salmon. Afterward the woman
went after wood. Those who went after salmon came back making a noise.
Then the woman put wood on the fire. Those who had gone after salmon
came in. Now those who went after salmon shook themselves. The fire was
quenched. Next day they again went after salmon. Then the half-rock
woman said to her: “Take knots.” The woman did so. Now they came back
again with noise. She put knots on the fire. They came in. Again they
began shaking themselves. Then the fire was not quenched. Now her
husband’s mind was good toward her.
Then the woman began to dislike the place. Now they went out again to
get salmon. Then she told the woman who was half rock that she wanted
to go away. And she thought that that was good.
Then she gave her a comb. She also gave her some hairs. She also gave
her some hair oil. She also gave her a whetstone. While they were out
after salmon she started off.
Now she heard them pursuing her. They came near her. Then she stuck the
comb into the ground. And she looked back. She saw great masses of
fallen trees. Now those behind her had trouble in getting through.
While they were getting through with difficulty she got a long distance
away.
Again they got near her. She also laid the hair on the ground. Again
she looked back. There was a great amount of brush there. Now they
again had trouble behind that. Again she got a long distance away from
them.
Now the pursuers again came near her. She also poured out the hair oil.
And she looked back. There was a large lake there. They had to skirt
its edges. Again the woman ran hard.
Now they came near her again. She stuck the whetstone [into the
ground]. And the woman looked back. There was a great cliff there. They
could not climb over it. And she came out of the woods near the sea.
There one sat in a canoe seaward from her. The woman wanted to get in
with him. The chief wore a large hat. Upon the hat birds flew around in
a flock. His name was Sag̣adila′ʻo. “Let me get in with you. My father
will give you ten coppers,” said the woman, trying to persuade the
chief.
Now the chief struck the edge of his canoe with his club. It came in
front of the woman. The woman got in. He struck the edges of his canoe.
Now it floated out at sea again.
Then the grizzly bears came out in a crowd. Close to them the wolves
also came out in a crowd. He struck the edges of his canoe. The canoe
bit off the heads of the grizzly bears. It also bit off the heads of
the wolves. He destroyed them all.
Now he let the woman look into his hair. She picked frogs out of his
hair. She was afraid to kill them with her teeth. So she bit upon her
finger-nails. [700]
Now he went home with his canoe full of hair seal. He came to his wife,
who was in front of the house. And his wife came to meet him. His wife
was glad that he had married another wife. The woman’s name (i.e., his
first wife’s name) was Ła′g̣ał-djat. Now he brought her to the house.
He went to hunt again next day, and he gave the following directions to
his [new] wife: “When she eats do not steal a look at her. One always
makes her choke by doing so.” But still she stole a look at her when
she ate. And she saw her swallow a whole hair seal. She saw her spit
out the bones toward the door. Then she caused her to choke by looking
at her. For that she killed the woman. Ła′g̣ał-djat did it.
While her corpse was still lying in the house, Sag̣adila′ʻo came home.
Sag̣adila′ʻo saw his wife’s dead body. Now Sag̣adila′ʻo also killed his
older wife. He cut her in two. Then he put a whetstone between the two
parts. They ground themselves into nothing. Then he awoke the woman. He
married her again.
Now she had a child by him. It was a boy. He kept putting his feet on
his (the boy’s) feet. By pulling he made him grow up. Now he came to
maturity. He made him a small canoe like his own, and he also made a
club for him like his own. When he played with it in the salt-water
ponds it picked up small bull-heads with its teeth.
Then the woman came to dislike the place. And she went to her own place
with her boy. So he came to his own country. And her son married his
uncle’s daughter. Then he began to hunt. The name of the town was
Qꜝadō′. [701]
Now, after he had been hunting for some time, a white sea otter came
swimming about in front of the town. And he launched his canoe. He shot
it in the tip of the tail. Then his wife skinned it, and he told her
not to let any blood get on it. So she did not leave any blood on it.
Now his wife asked for it. He gave it to his wife. The woman washed it
in the sea water. She put it into the sea. Then it slipped off seaward
from her. She took a step after it. It again slipped down from her. She
took another step after it.
Now she got stuck between the two dorsal fins of a killer whale. It
swam away with her. Then her husband launched his canoe. He went after
the killer whale. He paddled hard after it. Now he went far off into
the Nass after it. Then his wife disappeared under the water in front
of Killer-whale-always-blowing. [702]
Then he went back. And he came to Qꜝadō′. He kept blue hellebore until
it had rotted. He also saved urine. And he also saved the blood of
those menstruating for the first time. And he saved the blood of [any]
menstruant women. He put them into a box.
Then he started off. He [came to the place] where his wife had passed
in. Then he took twisted cedar limbs, a gimlet, and a whetstone. Where
his wife had passed in he came to a kelp with two heads. He went into
the water there upon the kelp. Marten remained upon the water behind
him.
Now he came upon a broad trail. He started along. He came to Lᴀ′mas.
[703] Then he came to some women digging wild-clover roots. The women
said: “I smell Nanasî′mgît.” One of the women said so. Then the other
one said: “I also smell him.” Now he went to one of them and opened her
eyes. “My eyes are opened. My eyes are opened.” She said that because
she felt happy. Then he opened the eyes of the other. Then, for the
first time, he learned his name.
Now the women asked him what he came for. “I am looking for my wife
whom they carried away from me.” “They passed right by here with your
wife. Isnē′g̣ał’s [704] son married your wife. The one who married her
is named ‘Gîtgidᴀ′mtcꜝēx.’ When you come to the town be on the watch. A
supernatural heron lives at the end of the town. He is always watching.
He is always repairing a canoe.”
Then he started. He came to the end of the town. Now the heron
discovered him. And the heron cried out. So he put the twisted cedar
limbs, the gimlet, and the whetstone into his hands. And he put him
into his armpit.
Now the town people came to see what terrible thing had happened. They
asked him: “Old man, why do you say that?” “My sight deceived me. That
is why I shouted.” And they went away from him.
Then he let him out from his armpit. [He said]: “The one who married
your wife lives in the middle house in the town, and to-morrow two
slaves are going for dead hemlocks standing behind the house. One of
the slaves is named Raven. One is named Crow. They are going to steam
the fin to put it on your wife.”
In the evening he started from him to the town. He looked into the
house where his wife was, in which there were retaining timbers. [705]
And he saw his wife sitting near her husband. He returned to the old
man. And he spent the night in his house.
Next day he went behind the town. He came to where the dead hemlocks
stood. He sat down there. Now two slaves came there. Then he went
inside of the dead hemlock. Then they started to chop down the
firewood. And he bit off the end of the stone wedge. They began to cry.
One of the slaves said: “My master will talk to me as he usually does.”
Now Gunanasî′mgît came out of the firewood. He took the end of the
stone wedge out of his mouth. It became as it had been before. Then he
cut down their firewood for them. He chopped it up for them.
Then they said to him: “When evening comes they are going to steam your
wife’s fin in the ground. We are going out after water. Now, when
evening approaches, stand in front of the house. After we have gone
back and forth with water for a while, we will let you in. After we
have brought water a while we will let ourselves fall with the water
into the bottom of the house excavation. While we turn the water into
steam in the fire, pick up your wife.”
As soon as evening came he stood in front of the house. At once they
let him in. They went for water. Now the stones became red hot. Then
they had her fins ready. They had a stone box in readiness on the side
toward the door.
Now they went after water again, and the last to come in fell down with
the water. A big stream ran into the fire. Then a great steam arose.
And he ran over for his wife. He took her up in his arms. Then he ran
back with her.
[The house pole had three heads. Their voices sounded an alarm. They
say they were always watching.] [706]
Then they found out that she was gone, and they went after her, all the
people in the town. Fast-rainbow-trout pursued him above. Marten
pursued him below. [707] The two slaves ran in advance. Now they almost
caught him, when one slave let himself fall. He let his belly swell up.
Then Mouse [708] gnawed through his belly.
Again they pursued him. When they had nearly caught him again the other
slave let himself fall. Then Weasel [709] burst his belly with his
teeth.
Now he came to the place where he had gone down. He entered his canoe.
The one left to take care of the canoe had become an old man. Now he
fled. And the killer whales came in a crowd to his stern. They pursued
him. Then they almost upset him. And then he spilled out the blue
hellebore. They sank down from him. Now they again came near him, and
he again spilled some out. Now he came with her to Qꜝadō′.
Then he came to the house with his wife. And he kept his wife in the
bottom of a box. There were five boxes fitting one inside the other.
Day broke. Now he watched his wife closely. One day, when he looked for
his wife, she was gone from the box. There was a hole in the bottom of
the box.
This is part of the famous Tsimshian story of Gunaqanē′semgyet or
Tsag·atilâ′o (see Boas in Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen
Küste Amerikas, pp. 294–300). The same episodes occur in one or two of
my Masset stories, and in the story of
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger of the present
series, and it is noteworthy that in all Haida versions the adventure
with the killer whale occupies a disproportionately large space. That
is also the section which is always taken for artistic representation.
STORY OF THE TWO TOWNS THAT STOOD ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF NASS RIVER
[Told by Jimmy Sterling of the Stᴀ′stas]
The people of these towns used to visit back and forth. They also
gambled together. From one of these several brothers went to hunt
beaver at the beaver lakes where they were in the habit of getting
them. They counted the days. [710]
When they came there and began to destroy the dam this was carried over
by the current, and they floated down in it. They barely saved
themselves far below. Now they knew that some regulation had been
broken. But still they continued to live where they were. And there,
too, they did not kill a single thing. Then they went away. Now they
were certain that the wife of one of them was indeed going with some
one else. [711]
They camped at night near the town, and just before daylight the eldest
went to the town. He went to his wife. Some one lay with his wife, and
he cut off his head. Then he awoke his wife, and he put the head above
the door. At once he went out.
At once she began to dig a hole for the body, which was left in her
bed. Then her child was crying. At that time they asked her why it
cried. And she said it cried because it had defecated in bed, and she
was wiping it. Right there she buried [the body].
When day came she lay as she used to. Then her husband came in with his
younger brother. He acted as if he knew nothing about having killed
anyone. It was the son of the town chief on the other side.
When day came the chief’s son was missing. They visited each other
across the ice upon the river. They hunted about the town in which he
was missing. And they also hunted for him where he had been killed.
Then they let a slave look for him secretly. They sent him after fire.
And he took his live coals and went away. When he went out blood
dropped upon his feet. And he did not look for the cause. When he came
to the middle of the river he let himself fall with his live coals.
Then he returned. He reentered the house where he had got the live
coals. Again he pushed charcoal into the fire on the side toward the
door. And when he went out he looked. He saw the head stuck up on the
side toward the door. When he got back he told them he had seen his
head.
At once they ran thither. Then they began to fight. And, after the
fight had gone on for a while, all the people of the town where the
person had been unfaithful to her husband were destroyed. They also
burned the town.
One woman, who was behind the screens when the town burned, escaped to
the woods with her mother. Then the town was entirely burned. Only the
woman and her mother were saved.
At once they traveled far inland aimlessly. While they were traveling
about aimlessly they came to a high mountain, and she called aimlessly
concerning her child. “Who will marry my daughter?” she shouted loud
and long. By and by Grouse [712] came flying to her. “Why not I?” he
said to her. “What can you do?” Then he said: “When summer comes, and I
drum on the tops of the trees, they can hear my voice everywhere.” Then
she told him he was not good, and he flew away from her.
By and by she spoke as she had spoken before: “Who will marry my
child?” Then Sparrow [713] flew to her. And she asked him: “What can
you do?” And he answered her: “I will make summer and winter succeed
each other by my singing, and they will hear my voice everywhere.” Then
she said to him: “You are not good.” And he flew from her.
When she called for her again, Kꜝū′djix̣u [714] came flying to her. Then
she asked him what he could do, and he told her that when it was summer
they always liked to listen to his singing. Then she told him he was
not good, and he flew from her.
All kinds of birds, which she called for her daughter, wanted to marry
her daughter. She kept asking them what they could do, and she refused
them.
After that she again called for her daughter. She said: “Who will marry
my daughter?” And Deer came to her. “Why not I?” “What can you do?”
“After I have traveled about I scatter earth with my horns.” Then she
refused him.
When she called again Black-bear also came to her. She asked him: “What
can you do?” “I know how to catch fish. When I get angry with anything
I strike it with my paws.” “You are not good.” Then he also left her.
When she again called Grizzly-bear also came to her. “Why not I?” “What
can you do?” “I am powerful. When I become angry with any sort of thing
I tear it in pieces.” And she said that he, too, was not good.
When she shouted again Beaver came to her, and she asked him what he
could do. Then he told her he could fell trees, and he knew how to make
a house in a lake. Then she said to him also: “You are not good,” and
he, too, left her.
All the time she was asking for her daughter, all the forest animals
wanted to marry her daughter. Meanwhile she kept asking them what they
could do. All that time she refused them.
After that she again asked for her daughter: “Who will marry my
daughter?” Then a handsome man came and stood near her. “Why not I”
“What can you do?” “I will help you. I hear that they burned your
uncle’s town.” Then she thought he was good.
Immediately he took them up on either side. He said: “Let neither of
you look out.” Then he tried to climb a lofty mountain with them. After
he had climbed for a while with them, the mother looked out. She made
him slide back. Again they stood below.
After that he again told them not to look out. And again he started up
with them. Again the mother looked out, and they stood below. Every
time he went up she looked out and made him slide back. After he had
tried many times, he pulled a limb out of a tree and pushed her in in
its place. “Future people will hear your voice” [he said], and he left
her, whereupon her voice sounded behind him. She is the creaking caused
by limbs rubbing together, they say.
Then he went off with her (the daughter). And he brought her to his
father’s house. She had married the son of
Supernatural-being-of-the-shining-heavens. [715] When he came in to his
father with her, his father was very glad to see his wife.
After he had lived with her for a while, she had a child by him. Again
she brought forth. Now she began to have children by him. She bore five
boys and she bore one girl.
After she had reared them for a while, and they got to be of some
height, their grandfather taught them to gamble. After they had gambled
for a while, they fought together, and their sister put a belt on and
tried to stop them by seizing their weapons. He kept making them fight
together all the time they were growing up.
After they had been there for a while, their grandfather let them
return home. Then their grandfather brought out a box, and, after he
had opened a nest of five boxes, he gave them the innermost one. He
directed them: “When you come to the place where your uncle’s town used
to stand, cover up your faces and pull off the cover from this box.
Even if you hear a great noise near you while you lie with your faces
covered over, do not look out. After the noise has ceased, look in that
direction. And, when a fight becomes too hard for you, pull off the box
cover,” he said to them.
Anew they started down. The five and their sister went down. But their
mother still remained with her husband. Then they came to the place
where the town had been. Then they lay under something, and they pulled
the cover from the box. Although something sounded near them they did
not look out. When the noise ceased, they looked in the direction
whence it had proceeded. Six houses stood in a line.
Then they started fires in all of these and began to live there. And
those who had burned the town saw people. Then they said: “In the place
on the other side where you burned up the town there is another town
with smoke coming out of all the houses. Let us go over and look at
it.” Then one went over and looked at it. In truth, people were living
there.
After they had lived on either side for a while, one went over to
gamble. All that time they were whittling. The youngest was
left-handed. His grandfather had given him a small wedge. He took good
care of it. He also had a knife. And to his sister her grandfather had
given medicine. When her brothers were killed, he had told her to spit
medicine upon them.
His elder brothers gambled, but he whittled near the fire. They kept
asking him to gamble. All that time he said: “I have nothing to stake.”
“Stake against me the stone wedge you own,” they said to him, and they
laughed at him.
By and by he started gambling. At once his sister put on her belt. For
she knew he would fight. He was the one who always started the fights
when they lived with their grandfather. After he had gambled for a
while, lo! he began to fight with the one he was gambling against. He
had staked his stone wedge. Then he killed the one he fought with.
At once they ran apart. Those on the other side came to fight in a
great crowd. After they had fought with them for a while and were tired
out, they went to get the box and pulled off the cover. Then the town
on the other side burned. They also destroyed the people. They burned
their town completely. When they killed her brothers she spit medicine
upon them, and they got up. She always had medicine in her mouth.
When the fight was over they at once started down the valley of Nass
river. After they had traveled for a while, they came to a town at the
mouth of the river. After they had been there for a while, they began
to make war toward the Tlingit country. They destroyed some people, and
they returned. That was the beginning of their wars.
By and by they went to war regularly. Every time people pursued them
they pulled the box cover off, a strong wind arose, and the water
burned. This was how they destroyed people.
After they had done this for a while, they went to the Stikine to make
war. When they pursued them that time, and a crowd of canoes was very
near them, they pulled off the box cover, but nothing happened. When
they had started out to war, they took a box like the right one. They
left the one by means of which they destroyed people.
Then all were destroyed there. Their bodies were thrown into the sea.
The youngest, who used to make people grieve by his deeds, they took to
the shore, pushed a stick through his anus, and stuck him up at the end
of the town upon a point. In the evening his voice sounded, but still
he was dead. This time they went to war they disappeared for a long
time.
As soon as they had gone, their sister saw that they had forgotten the
box. By means of that they used to destroy many people. They had
disappeared.
Then they brought out the box, and his sister, along with their wives,
went after them. After they had gone on for a while, [they came to
where] cedar bark grew, and they pulled it off; and they forgot they
had gone out to give assistance. And, after they had gone on for a
while longer, they remembered they had come out to help them. That is
why women talk themselves into forgetfulness.
After that they went back. But now they went straight along. Then
people came out from the town to kill them. And, when they got close to
them, they pulled off the box cover, a strong wind arose, and the sea
burned. So she destroyed the people. Then they went away, and she
pulled her brother off from where he was stuck in the ground, spit
medicine upon him, and brought him to life. At that time he went away
with them. There was no way of knowing where to look for the other
brothers.
After they had returned he who was left-handed went far inland.
Something also took away the box from them. After he had gone on for a
while, he came to a lake far inland. After having sat near it for a
while, he saw something come out of it. It made a noise, and its voice
sounded loud. It always came to the surface at one spot.
He had a stone ax with him. He chopped down a cedar and split it
between its two heads. Then he put a crosspiece in it and tied a
twisted cedar rope to it. [716] And he pushed it out to the place where
it (the creature) came out. After he had looked at it for a while, he
pulled the crosspiece out with the twisted cedar rope, and something
was caught in it. He pulled it ashore.
Then he began to skin it. Every time he tried, the Forest-people [717]
[said] he had better not do it. By and by he cut it open upon the
breast and skinned it. And he dried it. This was Loon, they say.
Then he put it on. When he dived under water with it on, he saw all the
things far out under water. He came up, got out of it, put it into his
armpit, and came out with it toward the sea.
After he had gone along for a while, he came to a town. After he had
been there for a while, he married a woman of the place. When they had
lived there for a while, they went up the Nass for eulachon. He also
went with his father-in-law. On the way they camped for a while. They
were very hungry.
Then he went behind the place where they were camping, entered his loon
skin, and went under water with it on. Under water were two hair seals.
He took one and brought it up. Then he stowed it away.
Very early next day he went after firewood. Then he brought it in and
took it up to the camp. His father-in-law was very glad on account of
it, and he called the people for it.
After that he again went after firewood, took his loon skin out from
between the two tree tops where he kept it, and put it on. Then he saw
a halibut swimming along and threw it ashore; and he brought it in.
Again his father-in-law called the people for it. Every time he went
for firewood he brought in hair seal or halibut. Each time his
father-in-law called the people for them. By and by they went away.
At that time some copper stuck out toward the sea from a cliff on Mount
Qātcꜝig̣ᴀ′n. [718] Every time they went by there was a crowd of people
below. All that time they wanted to get it, and tried to bring it down
with their arrows. When they did the same thing below it this time,
they (the hero and his people) were also among them.
At that time a slave owned by his father-in-law shot at the copper with
his sling. Then he struck his master’s wife with the sling. And the
slave became ashamed. That is why slaves are ashamed when they make
mistakes.
But he (the hero) hit it with the sling. And when it came down his
mother-in-law became frightened and said something about having it go
to the north. Thither it at once went. That is why there is much copper
to the north. If she had not been frightened, there would have been
very much copper in the Nass.
Afterward they set out and camped again. And from there his wife, the
slave, and himself went after something. When they moved on they always
wore their best clothes. Then he left his good clothes in the canoe in
order to get something. When he came back the slave had put on his
clothing and was sitting near his wife on the broad thwart in the
middle of the canoe. Then he did not want to make him ashamed, so he
got in at the stern and paddled them away. Because this chief’s son did
so to them chiefs’ sons now do not like to make people ashamed.
Here he again hid his skin in the fork of a tree. Then he again went
for something. And he put it on and saw spring salmon swimming about at
the other side of the river. He took one and brought it ashore. He
brought it to the camp. His father-in-law also called the people for
that.
Again he went for something, entered his loon skin, and brought out
two. He also brought those to camp. His father-in-law also invited the
people for those. Every time the slave went with him and saw how he
used the skin.
After he had done so at this place for a time he began to gamble. After
he had lost for a while he stopped and went to the house. His wife was
gone from the house. [719] Then he went to where he kept his loon skin,
and that too had disappeared.
Then he went down to the river. He looked into the water and saw his
wife wearing the loon skin lying with her arm round an old log in the
river. After she had put this [skin] on she thought she saw a spring
salmon. She seized it. But [instead] she seized an old log lying under
water. There she was drowned.
Then he pulled out his wife’s body and started inland in shame right
opposite. She alone knew what her husband did. And, after he was gone,
the slave began doing the same thing. Before he had done it for a long
time, in going out to a spring salmon which was swimming about, he
disappeared for ever.
This is why women always spoil things by meddling with them and by
talking; [why] slaves, too, are always ashamed when they make mistakes.
This is another story of the rival towns so popular among Tsimshian and
Haida alike. Compare the story of A-slender-one-who-was-given-away and
notes to same.
SLAUGHTER-LOVER.
[Told by Richard of the Middle-Gîtî′ns.]
A chief in a certain town was married. Then he asked a good-looking
woman in a neighboring town in marriage. After a while he married her.
On her account he rejected the one he had first married, and she sat
around in the corner of the house weeping.
Then the uncles and the brothers of the one he had just married came to
him, and he gave them food. They were unable to consume the cranberries
and berries of all kinds which he gave them to eat. During the same
time, his brothers-in-law [720] gave him much property.
Once, when they went to bed, the one he disliked was weeping in the
corner for her dead child with pitch on her face. And in the night she
went to one of the chief’s brothers-in-law of medium age who had paint
on his face and feathers on his head. Then the woman rubbed herself
against the paint upon his face, and she rubbed herself upon his hair.
Then she went to where she had been lying.
Next morning the woman’s nose and face had paint upon them, and her
face had feathers upon it. And the man’s face also had spots of pitch
upon it. Then the chief took to his bed [with grief]. She did this
because she wanted to see whether he had really rejected her. Then his
brothers-in-law went away.
Some time after that he sent out to call his brothers-in-law, and his
brothers-in-law came to him. Then he gave them food. And they went to
bed. All slept. Then he put water on the fire, and he spilled it on
them. And their bodies lay there motionless. Then he dragged the dead
bodies of his wife’s brothers[720] and uncles[720] to the bases of the
trees. And he again refused to have her.
Now her mother (the mother of his second wife) was saved and cried
about. She wept continually, holding her arms toward the sky. Then the
chief went to the town and killed all the old people in it. And her
mother went inland, made a house out of old cedar bark at a certain
mountain, and wept there. All that time she held her hands toward the
sky.
By and by her thigh swelled up. Before ten nights had passed it burst,
and a child came out. Then she washed him. And not a long time
afterward he wept for a bow. Then she broke off a hemlock branch and
made one for him. Then he went out and brought in a wren. [721] He
skinned it and dried the skin.
The next time he went out he killed and brought in a song sparrow that
went whistling along. And he also skinned that. He went out after that
and brought in a robin, [722] and he ate its meat. There was nothing
[else] to eat.
After he had been bringing them in in this way for a while, one day he
killed a black bear. After he had killed all kinds of animals, he
killed a grizzly bear. That he also brought in to this mother.
By and by he asked his mother: “Mother, why do you live here all
alone?” Then she said to her son: “My son, they destroyed your uncles.
Your sister was married. Then your uncles went to her. There they were
destroyed. They also came after us. I escaped from them. Therefore I am
very careful where I go. I am afraid to look at the town.”
Then he asked his mother: “Where is the town?” And she said to him: “It
lies over there.” And he said: “Mother, to-morrow, I am going to see
it.” “Don’t, my child, they will kill you also.” “Yet I will see it.”
And next day he went down to see his sister. With his copper bow he
went down to help her. He had concealed it outside from his mother,
they say, and, when he went out, he threw away that she made for him
just outside and took his own.
Now he went to the town. And he sat behind it and thought of his
sister. He had something round his neck. It was made of copper. Then
his sister came to him and he asked her questions. He asked her how he
treated her. And she told him that he treated her badly.
Then he pulled off what he had round his neck and gave it to his
sister. “Tell him you found this for him. And, when it begins to burn a
little, run out from him with it and come to me again.”
Then the woman went in and said: “Here is something I found for you.”
When he took it, fire flashed out from it, and she ran out from him.
Then her brother handed her his bow: “Say the same thing to him and run
out from him.” Then she went in and she gave him the copper bow. And at
once she ran out. And behind her there was a great noise of burning
inside of the house. The whole town burned the way (i.e., as rapidly
as) a grouse flies away. [723] Not even one was saved out of it. He did
it on account of his uncles.
Then he went with his sister to where his uncles had had their town.
And he asked his sister: “Where do my uncles’[720] bones lie?” And she
said: “They lie behind the burned town.” Then they went there and put
their bones together. And, after he had spit medicine upon them four
times, they sat up. Then his uncles[720] settled in the empty houses.
Then he went to get his mother. Now his mother was already an old
woman. And he spit medicine over her, and she became young. Then he
settled his mother down in the town. And he spit medicine upon the old
people they had killed, and they also became young. [724]
And he went out in the evening and came in next morning, and he told
his mother he had killed a whale. And, when they went down to see it, a
whale lay there. Then the town people cut it up. And the next evening
he went out and came in in the morning. And he pulled some strings of
halibut in in front of the town.
One day he called the people. At that time he gave them all kinds of
food. The things in the trays were not consumed. Then they went away.
Those he restored to youth were married. Then he said: “I will give you
ten whales to eat.” And, after they had returned home and the next
morning had come, ten whales were floating in front of the town.
And after that he looked about in the neighboring towns for a wife. In
the evening he went out. He came in very early. All that time he
concealed the things with which he was born. Only his sister knew about
them. By and by he prepared to ask the chief’s daughter in a
neighboring town in marriage. Presently he was accepted and all the
town people went with him to get her. And she came in with him.
Then his uncles gave him the town. And he frequently gave them food.
When he sent to call them in he told them to go out aimlessly and get
things for him. It was as if things flowed in through the doorway, and
he fed them.
After some time had passed he went to his father-in-law. Then all his
uncles again went with him. But instead of receiving him kindly they
used supernatural powers against him. Before anything they tried
against him came to him, it was gone. By and by his father-in-law
pulled him against a cloak he wore which was covered with needles. Then
the needles dropped from it, and he threw it into the corner.
Then he said: “Did you lie to me formerly?” And he began to give his
son-in-law something to eat. And, after he had got through feeding him,
he arose very early next morning, and, when he went to the fire,
something near him made a thundering noise. Now he sent his uncles
home. And he remained behind. After he had received food there a while
he asked his father-in-law to take him over. Then he took him over, and
his father-in-law [returned without] going into the house. Then he
said: “I am giving you ten whales.” And the morning after they got back
ten whales floated in front of the town.
And he again feasted the people. By and by one of his uncles came in to
him, saying he was not in good circumstances. And he said to him (his
uncle): “Live over there. You will be well off over there.” And, after
he had given his uncle food, he told his uncle he had better go. “Go.
You will cease being poorly off. When I have food brought to you,
invite your elder brothers.” He went at once. Food came in of itself
after him. Then he called the people for it.
And then his wife became pregnant. And her thigh was swollen, as that
of his mother had been. Out of it came a woman. Within ten nights she
started to walk. She was he himself born again.
And before he went away he stole a look at his father-in-law. Then he
prepared to leave [him]. “I will go to renew my town, which has become
old.” And one evening he started. He was gone for good.
And he came to his town. His town was old, and he spit medicine upon
it. It was as it had been before. Then his wife went back to her
father’s town.
And one of his uncles who was in the town went out one evening.
Something took him up. Then he took their wives also to the town. That
was the Moon who was helping them, because she raised her hands and
wept. Then he took all of his uncles up and let them become his
servants. There he took good care of them.
This was told me by an old man who had spent much of his youth among
the Kaigani, and it is probably a mainland story.
THE WOMAN AT NASS WHO FLED FROM HER HUSBAND
[Told by Jimmy Sterling of the Stᴀstas]
A married woman consorted with a man. She grew to be very much in love
with him. Her child was rather a large boy. When he (her lover) went to
visit her she said to him: “I will let myself fall sick, and I will let
myself die. I will tell them to place me on a tree top. On the night
when they place me there go quickly and get me. When you get ready to
come up for me get some wet, rotten wood, out of which the water will
run and which will just fit the box.”
After she had gone with him for a while she let herself fall sick. She
then gave her husband directions: “When I die place me on the top of a
tree. I do not want to be on the ground.” As soon as she died they put
her into the box and put a strong cord around it. They then put her
between the two tops of a tree.
He who was in love with her went at once to her in the night. As soon
as he had found some wet wood he untied the ropes which were around her
and let her out. He then put the wet, rotten wood in her place. She had
told him to do this in order that the water might drip out of the wood
and they might think that it was the grease from her body.
He then told the woman where to wait for him the next day. And he let
her go before him. On the next day he went after her. He told his
friends that he was going to get furs.
They at once set out to go far inland; and, after they had traveled
about for a while, he built a house for them far inland, and they began
to live there.
Her husband constantly came weeping with her child to the place where
she had been placed on high. By and by [what he supposed was] the
grease from her body began to run down. That was the liquid running out
of the rotten wood. The man who went for furs disappeared moreover. His
friends thought that a grizzly bear had killed him.
Where they stayed, far inland, there was plenty of all kinds of
animals, which he killed for them. They had plenty of all kinds of
berries and salmon. And they wore hides sewed together. They became
like Wood Indians. [725]
Moreover, they began there to sing songs. The woman danced the whole
time. She also made up new words. During all that time she taught her
husband. She made up new words in order that when she went back they
should not know her. After they had stayed there many years they went
away. They carried on their backs skins of all kinds of animals
prepared in unusual ways. Furthermore, the woman dressed herself
differently. She wore things such as the Wood Indians wear. But the man
did not dress himself so. They now came back to the town.
The man said that he had come to a town while he was hunting far
inland, had there married the woman, and had remained there. One night
he said that his wife would dance. All the while she spoke the words
that she had composed for her husband. But her husband said that it was
her language.
All the people of the town then went into the house where she was, and
she began to dance before them. Her dances and her songs were strange.
Nevertheless she made them desire to come in and look at her.
Whenever she danced her former husband and her child came and looked on
with them. When she ceased her dancing she pointed her finger at her
child and said something. Her husband then explained her words. She
said, [he explained], that she had a child like him in her own country.
She then called her child, and she cried.
When she first danced her former husband recognized the motions that
she used to make, and her voice. Although he recalled the one who was
dead, he did not believe that it was she. That was why he continually
went to look. Because she kept them up all night to see her dance they
were all asleep in the morning. They learned her songs.
After a while, having positively identified his wife, he climbed up to
where she had been put and untied the box cover. Only rotten wood was
there. Some time after he had seen this, very early one morning after
she had danced, while they still slept, he went thither. Then, after he
had pulled from her face the thing that she wore as a hat as she slept,
he saw it was his wife. And while they slept he killed them both.
Then they discovered it, but the woman’s friends were ashamed. The
man’s friends were also ashamed. Nothing happened. [726]
A similar story from the Alaskan Haida will be found in Memoirs of the
Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Volume V, part 1, page 263.
THE REJECTED LOVER
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o.]
At Qꜝadō′ a certain person fell in love with a woman. She then refused
to have him, but she told him to pull out his hair, and then she would
fall in love with him. He went again to talk to her. She then told him
to pull out his eyebrows and his eyelashes; she would then fall in love
with him. After that he went again to speak with her. That time she
told him to pull out his mustache and the hair on his body. Only then,
[she said], would she fall in love with him. After that he again went
to her. Then she absolutely refused him.
He ceased going abroad among the people. When he needed anything he
always went out at night. He began to work inside. He whittled. After
he had done this for a while he had filled two boxes. And, when a
moonlight night came, he went out.
He then shot the sky. He picked up another arrow and shot it into the
notch of the first. He did the same thing again and again. After he had
shot away his two boxfuls it hung a bow’s length from the ground, and
he laid the bow upon them. He at once went up upon it.
After mounting for some time he came to a town. That was the Moon’s
town, they say. After he had gone about the town for a while some one
said to him out of a big house: “Your grandfather invites you in.” And
he entered. He (the Moon) then had him sit at his right hand in the
rear of the house.
After he had sat for a while looking at him, as he sat near him, he had
a box brought to him. He saw that all of his hair was gone. At that
time he saw only one box. After he had pulled them apart five times he
took a small comb out of the inmost one.
He then had water brought and began to make his face look as it ought
to look. Each time he wet his hands he rubbed them upon his eyes. When
he had made him good-looking he began to comb his hair. He ran the comb
down along half of his head, and when it had passed below he took it
off. And after he had done this to him three times he stopped. After
that he also made his eyebrows with the comb, and his eyelashes, and he
also brought out his mustache.
When he first came in he said to him: “Grandson, news had come that you
were going to come up to let me set you to rights. I will make you
quite proper.”
He straightway made him good-looking. He finished him. He was there
many nights. Then he gave the chief directions: “When the one that you
loved, who made you pull out your hair, comes with the others to look
at you do not turn your face toward her. Turn your back to her.”
He then went down again upon the arrows. Now he sat erect in his
father’s house, and all the town of Qꜝadō′ came in to look at him. Then
the one with whom he had been in love looked in at him, and he turned
his back upon her. By and by, fascinated by the sight of him, she died.
The first part of a longer Masset story resembles this. See Memoirs of
the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, volume V, pages 228 and 229. Also
compare the story of Big-tail of the present series. The scene of this,
like many others, is located at the Tsimshian town of Qꜝadō′; see the
last episode in the story of A-slender-one-who-was-given-away.
HE WHO GATHERED FOOD FOR AN EAGLE
[Told by Jackson, late chief of Skidegate.]
He had ten uncles. They gathered food at a certain salmon creek. Then
he went up, got very many salmon, and filled his canoe. An eagle sat on
a sand bar. He split open the salmon, threw them off there, and paddled
away with an empty canoe. On the next day he again went out, split the
salmon open, and threw them off. After a long time the people came to
know about the eagle.
They then gathered all kinds of berries. His mother was a widow. His
mother looked after his youngest uncle’s wife. For that reason he
picked wild crab apples and cranberries and gave them to his uncle’s
wife. And, when they moved away, since he and his mother had done the
best that they could for his youngest uncle’s wife, they stayed with
them. The minds of the rest of his uncles became different toward him,
because he had gathered food for the eagle.
Now they came to the town. After they had stayed in the town for some
time, and it was spring, they became hungry. He then went to the wife
of one of his uncles, but she said to him: “Live upon the food that you
gathered for the eagle.” He went out and entered another house. There
they said the same thing to him. He went into the houses of his ten
uncles, and every time they said the same thing to him. When he went
into the house of his youngest uncle’s wife, they gave him the dorsal
fin of a salmon, and he chewed it.
Now, when it was near the end of spring, they moved away from him. They
did not leave even a small piece of old cedar bark in the town. And his
youngest uncle’s wife explained to his mother. “When they start off,
dig about in the place where I sit down to defecate.”
Now, when they pushed off, she was the last. And he dug about in the
place where she had sat to defecate. He then found a bag holding a
humpback split open and small pieces of food of various kinds. That was
the only food obtainable where they were.
And his youngest uncle left them a little old canoe. And the boy also
started off, not knowing whither he was going. [727]
[Told by Wī′nats, chief of the Seaward-gîtî′ns.]
Far away from where they left him was a rock. One day a young eagle sat
on the top of the rock. When it flew away, he (the boy) went to the
place. Beside the rock lay the tail of a spring salmon. He picked it up
and brought it to his mother. She steamed it, and they drank the soup.
The next day he again looked toward the place where the eagle had sat.
It sat there again. And he again went thither. A larger piece lay there
than the one he had found before. Every morning they became larger
until a whole spring salmon lay there.
One day, just at dawn, [728] he looked for the eagle that helped him.
It sat there, and he went thither and found a porpoise tail lying
there. He then took it to the house, and she (his mother) steamed it.
There was a larger piece every morning until a whole one lay there.
One day the eagle sat there again, and he went thither. The tail of a
black whale lay there. He cut it up and took it over to the house. The
pieces of whale became larger every time until a whole one lay there.
Then there were more whales. At last there were ten.
Then the slaves of his uncles went out to look for him. He felt their
presence, brought them to the house, and gave them some food. And he
watched them while they ate. He watched to see that they did not hide
any mouthfuls. When they went away he told them not to say that he was
being helped. And they went off.
The slaves returned home. They said that they had not seen him. They
then went to bed. In the night something choked the child of the head
slave, and they made a light for him. They tried to take out the object
with their fingers. They pulled something fat out of his mouth. They
then put it on a hot stone. It sizzled.
They then began to ask them about the thing, and they answered: “You
ought to see how the one you abandoned is living. Black whales are
floated ashore in front of him like driftwood.”
His uncles then dressed up their daughters, because each thought he
would have his nephew marry his child. But the daughter of his youngest
uncle was lame. She was the one who had left food for him. They then
went to him, but he refused the women and waited for the one who was
lame.
Her father brought her last. And he invited her father into his own
house. He then married her. She was not pretty, but he married her
because she had left food for him. [729] And because the woman helped
him to live coals he brought down food to her father. But his nine
[remaining] uncles began to buy food from him. Because he gathered food
for the eagle they (the daughters) did not marry him. For that reason
he, too, would not give them food.
This is said to be the family story of a Tsimshian family called
Nîstoy. As the two parts were obtained from different sources there are
several inconsistencies, and I suspect that the first story-teller
would have completed the tale somewhat differently.
QŌ′ŁKꜝĒ
[Told by Jimmy Sterling of the Stᴀstas.]
He used to say that he would not let himself become a gā′gix̣īt as
others had done. One time he went to get firewood. He went alone. Only
a dog that he owned was with him. After cutting firewood for a while he
filled his canoe and went away. While he was on the way a strong wind
came upon him. He then upset.
Then he and his dog got safely ashore. He had cut the firewood with a
stone ax. As he swam he held it in his mouth. As soon as he reached
safety he began to cut firewood. He was handling heavy things and
warmed himself by doing so. He also cut hemlock limbs and made a house.
After he had been busy at this for a while, and had finished it, he
started to make fire with a drill. When it burned he built a large fire
in front of himself. At the time when he reached safety he found a flat
stone, and, whenever he would sit down, he sat upon it. When evening
came he sat on it near the fire.
When he first saved himself he saw a large fire at some distance, and
near it a crowd of people talking. He longed to go to it, but he
steadfastly set his mind against it. He had heard that when one goes to
it the fire goes before him, and he goes on forever. That was why he
did not go to it.
In the evening, when his fire and his house were ready, he killed his
dog, and he skinned it. He cut it open along the breast. He then left
its skull there. And he rubbed its blood upon his face, head, and body.
He pulled out an ulna and ground it on a stone. After it had become
sharp he constantly kept it in his hand. Evening now came upon him.
After he had sat near the fire for a while something came and rapped on
the place where he was sitting. The creature that makes people
gā′gix̣īts [730] came and rapped in order to go into his anus. When it
could not get in it kept saying to him: “Ho Qō′łkꜝē’s anus is closed
tight.” He did not see it; he only heard its voice.
At the time when he upset it turned dry and cold. It was north weather.
During the whole time he remained awake all night long. He was afraid
to sleep. When day came he stopped up the chinks in his house. He then
cut a block of wood and hollowed it. He wanted to urinate in that only,
and in that he did urinate. Again he stopped up all the crannies in the
house very tight. Again night came upon him.
During all that time wherever he sat down he had the stone with him. He
always sat upon it. During all that time something tried to get into
his anus. Something kept saying to him: “Ho Qō′łkꜝē’s anus is closed
tight.” He only heard the voice.
When night came upon him he sat near the fire. During all that time he
let it burn every night. After he had sat there for a while, a woman
came in to him holding in her hand a basket containing something.
“Brother Qō′łkꜝē, I bring food for you.” She gave him chitons.
He then was glad. He set them in front of himself, and he had her sit
on the opposite side of the fire. He then took out one and put it into
the fire. Then, however, wood ticks ran away from the fire. He then
threw all into the fire. There was nothing but wood ticks running away.
He then gave her her bucket. She now said to him: “Hu, brother
Qō′łkꜝē,” and she went away from him.
He wore on his head the skin of the dog, showing its teeth. The rest of
the skin hung down his back. He was covered with blood. He was not
agreeable to look at. During all that time the north wind blew
strongly. In the place from whence he had gone after wood they were
troubled about him, but the wind was too strong. There was no way to
search for him.
On the next evening something again came to him with food. That time it
brought mussels to him. He put those, too, into the fire. Minks ran
away from it. For a second time he returned to her her empty basket. A
mink which had changed itself into a woman brought him food. They gave
it to him in order that when he ate it he would become a gā′gix̣īt. But
he was too cunning. Although he knew that something had changed its
form [to harm him], he did not touch it (the woman).
During all that time something kept tapping upon his buttocks. During
all that time it could not get into him, and it said: “Ho Qō′łkꜝē’s
anus is stopped up tight.” But he only heard the voice. He always held
the dog’s ulna. And he did not let the stone ax go. The woman came in
every evening. He had her then sit directly opposite to himself.
At one time, when she came in to him, she brought him the following
news: “To-morrow your friends are going to come for you.” During all
that time he urinated nowhere but in his box. On the next day many
people, as many as ten, came to him by canoe. In it his sister sang a
crying song: “Ha, brother Qō′łkꜝē.” He looked out of the hemlock house.
During all that time he wore the dog’s head. Again he did not sleep.
While they were still out at sea he went down to meet them. When they
got in front of him, in truth, his younger brothers were there. His
sister was also there. He recognized them all. They feared for some
time to go in to him.
And, after they had remained there for a while, they came in to him.
Then, as he pulled it up, he thrust the dog’s bone into the end of the
canoe. It went in easily. And, when he passed down to the middle, the
same thing took place there. The whole canoe was like that.
Then all got off, and he tied all their paddles together and went up to
the house with them. He then brought them into the house and stood them
on end near the door. He then had the canoe people sit in a circle. His
sister sat with them next to the door.
And he intended to let them wash their hands in urine after they had
sat there for a while. He put it first in front of the one nearest to
the door. While he washed his hands he turned his head away and
snuffled. As each washed his hands he did the same thing. He then knew
that these were Land-otter people. He picked up his urinal and put it
back into its place behind him.
After that he put the paddles into the fire. Lo! minks ran away. When
he clubbed those that had come after him, they did not any longer
conceal the fact that they were land otters. He straightway placed
himself just inside the door and clubbed the land otters to death. But
he did not touch the woman. The Land-otter people changed themselves to
make him a gā′gix̣īt. If he had gone with them he would have become a
gā′gix̣īt.
During all that time he fasted. Again he did not sleep. He feared to.
During all that time the woman brought him food. And every time he put
it into the fire different things ran away from it.
At one time, when she came in to him, she again said that they would
come for him. By and by ten more persons came after him in a canoe.
Again a woman sang a crying song in it. “Brother Qō′łkꜝē” were the
words she put into it. He again went down. Those, too, were afraid for
some time to come in to him.
By and by they came in. He recognized all. When he pulled up their
canoe he also stuck his dog’s bone into it, and it went in easily. He
gathered all their paddles together, bound them, and went up with them.
He again stood them on end near the door. As before, he told the canoe
people to sit on each side of him. He again seated his sister nearest
to the door.
Then he again had them wash their hands in urine. He saw them again
turn their heads away as they washed. He saw that these were also land
otters. He again rose and put their paddles into the fire. They all ran
off again as minks. He stood then in the doorway and began to club the
land otters. Again he preserved the woman only.
During all that time it was north weather. [731] Soon after he had
killed these there was fine weather. The wind had been strong for ten
days. When it was a fine day his friends really came in search of him.
He went to them. Without waiting, they came up in front of him.
Then he tried to push his bone into the canoe bow. He could not. And he
knew it was a real canoe. But he still did not believe that they were
his friends. He also gathered their paddles together and took them up
to the house. He again stood them near the door. He again told the
people to sit opposite him.
Then he took up the urine and had them wash their hands in it. The one
in front of whom he first put it now washed his hands in it after the
usual fashion. His sister was really in the canoe with them. Those who
had come before were only like her. When they got through washing he
shoved their paddles into the fire. They burned, and one of them rose
quickly and pulled them out.
And, after he had sat there for a while, he rose quickly and struck at
the one sitting next to him, who caught his club overhead. During all
that time he wore the skin. They were afraid to look at him. During all
that time he also fasted. He always remained awake. He was nothing but
bones.
During all that time they talked to him: “Qō′łkꜝē, it is we. Come with
us.” He struck at one who was near him, and they caught his club above
him. All at once he started to go with them. He had fought all the ten
canoe people. The canoes of those who had come before had turned into
large logs.
He now embarked with them. After he had gone along for a while with
them he struck at the one next to him with his stone ax. Every time
they caught it above themselves. They came to the town with him. When
the townspeople came down to meet him he also tried to fight with them.
They stopped him quickly every time.
When he came into the house they gave him some salmon to eat. He put
one piece into the fire. It burned, and he put it back [into the dish].
After he had sat there for another space of time he struck at the one
who sat next to him, and they quickly stopped him. During the whole
time they called to him: “Qō′łkꜝē.” He also kept the stone under his
anus whenever he sat down. When evening came he was afraid to lie with
his wife. He even tried to kill his wife. But the next day he ate in
the usual manner. He put a part of all the things he ate into the fire.
When it burned, he ate of it. They [the land otters] were unable to get
him.
This story, which is apparently Tlingit, gives an excellent idea of
Haida and Tlingit notions regarding the gā′gix̣īt, “wild men,” and the
relations that land otters were supposed to bear to them. See also the
story of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, note 19.
TWO CHILDREN’S STORIES
[Told by my interpreter, Henry Moody, of Those-born-at-Qā′gials]
I. “Habababē⁺, here is younger brother [or sister] crying.” “Give your
younger brother the large clam’s head (qꜝoñg̣osqadjā′⁺) that I put away
for him.” “Where is younger brother?” “I do not know. I destroyed him
(qꜝoñg̣osqa′djîg̣ᴀn) as you told me to do.” [732]
II. Song-sparrow [733] lived with his grandmother. Whenever his
grandmother soaked salmon Grizzly-bear [734] stole the soaked salmon.
One day Song-sparrow saw Grizzly-bear doing this. He said then to his
grandmother: “Grandmother, I will kill him.” And his grandmother said
to him: “Do not try, my child; he will swallow you.” “That will be all
right, grandmother, for I shall have a fire drill in his belly.”
He then made a bow and arrows. The people did not like him and his
grandmother. By and by, when Grizzly-bear came there again, he shot
him. He did not know then what happened to him. And, when he was in his
belly, he came to himself. He then thought of his fire drill and made a
fire in his belly. When it burned it burned through his belly. And he
killed Grizzly-bear.
He then brought the news to his grandmother. “Grandmother, I have
killed Grizzly-bear.” And his grandmother told him that he lied. Then
he went again to it and cut some pieces from it. As soon as he showed
it to his grandmother his grandmother put on her belt. He and his
grandmother began at once to cut it up.
After they had taken all into the house he went to the neighboring town
for some live coals. When he came through the doorway they asked him:
“What do you come for, Song-sparrow?” And he said: “I come for live
coals, skia′ldjîgut skā′ldjigut skētcꜝē′gut.” [735] After he had said
this he spat out the blood of a piece of the grizzly bear that he had
in his mouth.
They were surprised at this, and the townspeople ran toward his house.
They took away at once all of the grizzly bear. As he also ran toward
it he said to his grandmother: “Grandmother, keep hold of the biggest
piece.” And, while he was running, they took all of his meat away.
After he and his grandmother had cried for a while his grandmother went
to sleep. Then, while his grandmother slept, he cut off his
grandmother’s vulva. And he put grease and feathers upon the place. He
then cooked this. And when it was cooked his grandmother woke up.
“Grandmother, get up. I found a small thing in the dirt of the trail
where they have been walking. I cooked it for you.” His grandmother got
up at once and ate it.
Then he took his grandmother’s urinal and went up to the top of the
house with it. And he used his grandmother’s urinal as a drum. He began
then to sing: “Ha′haha hē′eee, grandmother ate her cut-off vulva. In
the place [I put] grease. In the place [I put] feathers.” His
grandmother then used hard words toward him: “He was born at the roots
of the salmon-berry bushes. [736] He is a wizard. He was born at the
roots of the ferns.[736] He is a wizard.”
[The following version of the latter was obtained by Prof. Franz Boas]
Once upon a time a boy and his grandmother lived in a hut made of
twigs. The boy was always going out to shoot birds. One day he saw a
large bear, which he tried to kill with his arrows. Then the bear
snuffed him in. The old woman waited in vain for her grandson, and
finally thought he had died. The boy was not dead.
While he was in the bear’s stomach, he thought: “I wish grandmother’s
fire drill would come to me!” It came at once. He made a fire in the
bear’s stomach, which killed him. He then carved the carcass and
carried the meat to his grandmother’s house, which he filled entirely.
The old woman had no fire; therefore she sent her grandson to the town
to ask for some fire. Before he left he cut off a piece of the meat and
took it into his mouth. He then went to the door of one of the houses.
He put down a piece of skin near the fire, chewed the meat which he had
taken along, and spit the fat into the fire, so that it blazed up. The
people asked him: “What are you holding in your mouth?” He then showed
them the bear’s meat. Then they all went to his grandmother’s house,
and they received presents of meat and of fat. They distributed almost
all of it.
He then said to his grandmother: “Gather some fuel.” She did so, and
started a fire. Then the old woman fell asleep sitting near the fire.
While she was asleep the boy cut off a piece of her vulva and put down
upon the wound. When she woke the next morning he sent her again to
gather fuel; and, while she was away, he roasted at the fire the piece
that he had cut from her body. When his grandmother returned he said to
her: “I roasted a little of the bear meat for you.” She entered, and he
gave her her own flesh to eat. As soon as she had eaten it he ran out,
singing: “Grandmother ate her own vulva!”
A RAID ON THE TLINGIT
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns]
Qä′ndawas was going to make a potlatch in Masset. She owned ten slaves.
And she had eight storehouses in the Kaigani country. [737] She was
going to have [her property] brought over from there.
And she owned a copper plate worth ten slaves. She intended to sell it
for that price in the Tsimshian country. They offered her nine slaves
and an 8-fathom canoe. Thereupon she said that she would not part with
it because there were not ten slaves. They then returned. And they came
to Raven creek. [738]
And, after they had sailed from there to House-point [739] with a south
wind, a strong land breeze came upon them (i.e., a west wind). They
were then carried away. And it carried them to the Kaigani country,
where some Tlingit were gathering seaweed. Then the Tlingit invited
them in. And they got off. After they had given them food they killed
them.
The slaves saw then that they killed those who were on shore, and the
five who had remained to take care of the canoe put up the sails. And,
after they had sailed along for a while, they ran upon a reef and
capsized there. The canoe, filled with the property, then sank. It was
a 10-fathom canoe.
Thinking of this while we were growing up, we grew up to war with the
Tlingit. [740] In the very middle of winter we began to drink medicine,
and right from Qa-itg̣a′og̣ao, [741] where we were fishing for black cod,
we went to war in two canoes. We camped for the night at Kwaitg̣ᴀ′nʟ.
[742] On the following night we camped at La-ut-g̣ᴀ′nʟ̣as. [743] On the
next day we crossed.
And, while it was yet daylight, we came in sight of the rocks along
shore. We then waited for night. And, when evening came, we went in to
land. At daylight we pulled up the canoes. Then we drank there four
buckets of salt water. We were thirsty and ran to the fresh water, and
we drank fresh water out of spruce bark sewed together and ran to the
sea. [744]
And, keeping a sharp lookout unobserved by them we saw four people
going along in a canoe. And, after they were gone, we drew up our
canoes again. There I smoked, after which I was dying of thirst. They
did not think it well to put fresh water on me then, [745] and they put
sea water on me.
After that we went to look for people. We knew that people lived there.
Then we saw smoke far up the inlet. And when evening came we started
thither. Just before daybreak the canoes came in front of it. There
were four houses there. Below was a long stretch of steep shore.
And, when we got off, A′nkustᴀ [746] whipped the peoples’ souls. He
then told us to go up to look at the houses. And two persons went to
look. Just as they got there a big dog barked at them. And when they
came back A′nkustᴀ performed again. He then pretended to tie fast the
dog’s mouth. And he said: “Now, friends, go to look at the houses
again. Now, although he sees you, he will not bark.”
I then went with two others to look. Only a mat hung in the doorway. I
lay down in the doorway. They were snoring in the house. And, having
fastened my knife upon my hand, I entered. I found by feeling that
there were only women there.
And, after we had come to where our people were sitting, I said:
“Chiefs that I have for elder brothers, strengthen yourselves.” They
then divided to enter the house. And they said: “Huk” (“Go on”). [747]
I let Xᴀ′nxaogu′tg̣as go ahead, and his younger brother followed me.
And, when we were about to run in, I looked toward the beach [and saw]
that, instead of coming after us, they were preparing to shoot. We
started away then in disgust. We got into the canoe. There they asked
us why we came down. And we almost came to a quarrel.
We then started off. And, when we landed among the driftwood, Gana′-i’s
canoe came up behind us. They were going to land after us among the
driftwood. He said then: “Come, friends; light a fire here for the
sockeyes, which are good to eat.” But I scolded them for it, [748] and
they got in against their will.
And they remained there still. And, after they had talked for a while
about parting company with the other canoe, I said: “My father-in-law
is a chief. If those who have been in your company kill people and he
receives nothing, you will feel sorry for it. Let us go down the inlet
after them.”
We then followed them down. After we had gone along for a while
Gana′-i’s canoe passed out of the inlet around a point. I then said:
“Let us paddle after them. Paddle after. Paddle after. They might meet
somebody.”
And, when they had nearly rounded another point, they pulled back. Some
time after that guns sounded, and they went ashore. Some Tlingit came
then in a big canoe. They stood in lines in the middle. There were a
great number of guns in this. We then started out to head them off.
As they paddled away from us they shot at us twice, when something
struck me in the head and I lost consciousness. I came to myself lying
in the canoe. By and by, after I grew stronger and had fastened my
knife upon my hand, they said to me: “G̣ᴀ′nx̣oat was killed.” I then
looked at him. He was hanging over into the water. And I told them not
to let him fall in.
The Tlingit then shouted at us. They made a noise on the edges of their
canoe: “A′lala a′lala.” Upon this Gā′ala stood up in ours, and he shot
the man in the stern, so that he fell into the water. Then we said the
same. We, too, said: “A′lala a′lala.” When they shot me two bullets
went through the skin of my head.
And, when Skᴀ′ngwai’s father stood up and aimed at the one next to the
stern, who was paddling and moving his head as he did so, and shot him,
he also fell upon his face in the bailing place. We then again said the
same thing. We rapped on the edges of our canoe, saying at the same
time: “A′lala.” And, when he shot again, another cried out in it. They
stood in lines in the middle of the canoe. Others paddled at the sides.
They then bade us cease shooting. They motioned us away with their
hands. We did then accordingly. The canoe was so large that the people
in it could not be counted.
Then Gana′-i’s canoe went quickly to it. And, when they got close by, a
Tlingit in the middle stood up with a gun. He pointed at this one and
that one among them. Someone in Gana′-i’s canoe speared him with a bone
spear that had a short handle. He dropped the gun. The Tlingit then
quickly sat down. He pulled out the spear. His intestines came out at
the same time. He broke it. And, when he started to shove the spear
back into the wound, someone in Gana′-i’s canoe jumped in to him, and
the people in the canoe stood up.
Then our canoe went thither. And I went to the bow and jumped into it.
All had long knives. I fell in the stern. And the one I fell near
stabbed me. When he struck my shoulder I felt my insides come together
[with pain]. Nevertheless I struck him in the side, and his insides
fell upon me. After that another one came toward me from the bow. I
stabbed him also in the side. When I struck him again he died.
After that another came at me. When he tried to stab me I dodged him.
And when I struck him he grew pale. I told Gā′ala, who came behind me,
to kill him. A youth having no knife then made with his hands the
motion of surrender to me from the bow. And I picked him up, and I
threw him into our canoe. When another came at me I struck him. It
grazed him. He went at once into our canoe. He let himself be enslaved.
I made a cut down his back. He was a brave man. People did not pass in
front of his town. They were afraid of him. When it was reported that
he had let himself be enslaved the Tlingit became boneless [with
astonishment]. They did not believe it. His name was Yāñ.
After we had fought for a while some one called to me from the middle:
“So-and-so’s grandfather, they are too much for me.” I then ran to him.
And they had one of our friends in the bottom of the canoe. A Tlingit
whose knife had dropped from him was moving it toward himself with his
feet when I struck him.
And while I was striking one after another some one shouted to me from
the stern. A Tlingit was lying upon one of our young men. And, pushing
away his knife, I cut off his head. After that I saw some one who got
in out of our canoe and a Tlingit strike each other at the same time.
The Tlingit fell upon his breast. Some time after that he (the Haida)
called to me: “So-and-so’s grandfather, they have broken my arm.” I
looked at him. There was a wound in his right arm. They shot him from
beneath hides lying near. I did not hear the sound of the gun. Neither
did he hear it. Those who were with us instead [of helping us] stood
near looking on. They were afraid.
After we had fought for a while, and had killed nearly all, I ran to
the bow. The many women, who sat in two places, I pushed apart. I
passed between them to the bow. Then the one who had concealed himself
in the bow rose. When he was about to strike me, I struck him in the
side. He at once tried to close with me. I kept striking him. By and by
he died.
And in the stern out of Gana′-i’s canoe they struck a certain one. He
jumped then into the water and struck the edges of the canoe with his
knife. They jumped upon the Tlingit and stabbed him.
And after I had gone about in the bow for a while I looked toward the
stern. They were already pulling in slaves. And when I went thither I
saw a woman left. She had been shot in one leg. And I did not take her.
One that I had struck acted as if he were crazy. Then I jumped into
[our canoe], and, when I was about to stab him, he held up his hands to
me. I then tied his legs together with a rope, and I tied his hands
behind his back.
The property was captured at once. Into Gana′-i’s canoe they took ten
severed heads. There were only nine slaves. And after Skᴀ′ngwai’s
father had brought five heads into ours they found fault. He stopped
then. And they took all the property.
In front of the place whence we had been wrangling a whale swam about
with its young one. And we shot at the young one. We killed the young
one. We took its oil to Port Simpson [749] to trade. There we bought
all kinds of stuff. We carried the things away. And, when the canoes
were filled with property, some was left behind.
The warriors now got in. And, as they went along, they began to sing
war songs. It was hard for me. Two of my younger brothers were killed,
and I sang differently from them.
When they were almost out of the inlet some one shouted “Ix̣iâ′⁺ī, they
are pursuing us.” Full canoes were behind us. The canoes were close
together. They were brave in Sg̣ā′gia’s canoe (the narrator’s). And the
people in Gana′-i’s canoe began to paddle away from us. I then stood up
and I said: “Chiefs whom I have for fathers-in-law and my sons-in-law’s
nephews, do not tell a bad story about us. For that we are out here.
That is why they will kill us. Before they destroy us we will destroy a
whole canoe load of them.”
After we had paddled away for a while in fright I looked back. Instead
of my seeing them they were gone. It was nothing but driftwood, on the
top of which sea gulls sat.
Then the people of Gana′-i’s canoe started a fire in a creek where
there were many humpbacks. There they roasted humpbacks for us. When we
were done eating we went away. We also gave food to the Tlingits.
We then went to Cape Charcon. [We crossed, and], while we were going
along together, some one ahead of us shouted: “What warriors are
those?” Then Skᴀ′ngwai’s father said: “These are Sg̣ā′gia’s warriors.”
And they came out from their concealment. They had guns with red
outsides (i.e., new ones) and two cartridge boxes apiece. No one could
touch me [I was so dirty]. I had on a white shirt, and I wore a blanket
doubled. Where they ate humpbacks I tied cedar bark round the arm of
the man that they shot. And the one shot in the head also returned to
life. He told us he would not die for some time yet.
And, when we came round the point, they came down in a crowd opposite
us. They had had a Kaisun man living at Masset question us. They gave
him the following directions. “If you recognize them ask them ‘Is it
you?’ and if you do not know them ask ‘What warriors are those?’” That
was the way in which he questioned us. They then called ashore from our
canoe a Masset man who was born in the same place with a certain one
[of them]. We four stayed then in the canoe. But no one got out of
Gana′-i’s canoe.
A man of the Sg̣adji′goał lā′nas [750] then stood near them, holding a
gun. Two cartridge boxes hung from his side. They said he was a brave
man. He said: “Tell me, Pebble-town people, [751] what did the Tlingit
do to the people of your family in former times? When the Tlingit
formerly beat them every time why do you do this? I could do something
to you for your foolishness. You might be shot to pieces.” And, when he
aimed his gun, he pointed it at us. His name was Stᴀwa′t.
I felt as though I had been struck in the face. He had pointed a short
gun at me. I seized then a long one, and I jumped off. I ran to him. I
struck him at once with the gun. I struck him in the neck. And when he
was about to strike me I got my gun ready for him. “Now, if you strike
me, I will shoot you.” Two of my friends who were ashore then struck
him with their guns. And Natqā′g̣oñ said to him: “This is not the first
time [men of his family have done such things], and they are also
brave. Why don’t you strike back?”
Then some one said to us: “Cease doing it to him. You have struck him
more than enough for his talk.” We then stopped, and they took us over
to the camping place. A part of our people went round the point. Then
Gustᴀmᴀ′lk invited us. And there they pulled in the two canoes. There
were a great number there of my father’s nephews, born in the same town
with me. They set us then in a line.
And, after he had begun to give us food, the Masset people went down to
the canoes in a crowd. And, when they had nearly reached our slaves, I
handed my gun to Skᴀ′ngwai’s father. I then ran down. I made fast my
knife in my hand. I then pushed them away and anchored the canoes
outside.
They then began to give us food. And we had on our cartridge boxes. We
also kept our guns at our right sides, and we had our knives hanging
down in front. At the same time we ate. Then we finished, and they gave
us tobacco.
And in the evening those born with me and my father’s nephews gave me
tobacco. Besides, they made me an offer for one of my slaves. They
offered sixty blankets for him, an unused musket, a whole suit of
clothes, two bags of shot, a big canoe, many things of all kinds. I
refused them.
We remained awake that night. A part of us slept ashore. I was all
covered with blood from fighting. Very early on the next day they
started in this direction. And, when we were ready to go, Skᴀ′ngwai’s
father went after some water. He was gone for a long time. While he was
still away, Gana′-i’s canoe started. The wind was in the north. I then
left the people directions what to do about him. And we left him.
The Masset people afterward took him in. They landed him at Rose spit.
He walked home from there. And on that day, when it was almost evening,
we sailed by in front of Skidegate. The Skidegate people came out in a
crowd to us. We did not stop. [752] They stood behind us [watching]. We
spent that night at Water-hole. [753] The one in our canoe whom they
had wounded was still alive.
And we started off from there at night. Then we made a camp fire on the
inlet above Tcꜝā′ał. [754] From there we started very early to
Qa-itg̣a′og̣ao. At that time we sang a war song.
We then went into Qa-itg̣a′og̣ao, singing songs of victory. Hu hu hu hu.
When we were going up to the houses we landed the slaves. Some of them
carried children. After having fought we sang songs of victory for many
nights.
Here is all of this story.
This and the following eight stories and that on page 104 practically
constitute one long account of the Haida wars, or rather raids, which
have taken place within recent times, except only those related by
Abraham of Kloo, which succeed. The story-teller was an interesting old
man who, as will be seen by the texts, had himself taken part in many
of these expeditions and had lived a life full of adventure. He
belonged to the Middle-gîtî′ns (Ya′ku-gitina′-i), a branch of the
Pebble-town Gîtî′ns of the west coast, but, while still a young man,
had gone to live with members of his family in Alaska. After that he
and his uncle were in the employ of the Hudson Bay Company for a long
time, until he finally came back to Skidegate to live. He was
acquainted with some myths, but war stories were his “specialty.”
WAR BETWEEN THE WEST COAST AND NINSTINTS HAIDA AND THE GÎTÎ′SDA
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns]
The Ninstints people [755] came to Kaisun in four canoes to ask us
[756] to go to war in their company. We then went along in four canoes.
And, after we had gone across, we entered Lᴀlgī′mi. [757] During the
night we went in opposite to a fort. Some people were then camping in
the inlet. We began to shoot at them. There Amai′kuns was killed.
Gayî′ns [758] was wounded. Qoyā′ [759] was also wounded. He was one of
the brave men among us. There we took two slaves.
We went out from there. And those who went in advance came upon some
who were sailing along. The sound of two guns was heard. Afterward an
empty canoe drifted away. They enslaved two women. And we went thither.
And, while we were close to land, rejoicing over the slaves, some
persons came sailing round a point near us, and, when they saw us, they
jumped off. Then some landed behind them.
I then prepared myself and got off. And I pursued one who was running
along near the sea. After I had chased him about for a while in the
woods he jumped into the ocean. I took from him his yellow cedar
blanket with some of his hair. And, when he emerged farther out, he
held up his hands before my face. He then swam to me. When he came near
me he dove again. And he came to the surface out at sea. I then began
to shoot at him. And he swam landward and squeezed himself tight
against the face of a cliff. After I had shot twice at him there, I
stopped. He then climbed up a tree that stood against the face of the
cliff. And, although there was some space between its top and the
cliff, he bent it over, got a hold on the face of the cliff, and went
into a hole there. He could not climb thence either down or up. We said
one to another that he would die there.
We then went away. We next made a fire and began to give each other
food. And after we left we began to fight against the fort. We could
not get away then. We could not get away. [760] But afterward they got
us back [into the canoe]. And they shot one who was crawling about on
the top of the house so that he fell down. And after they lay out to
sea for a while a man wearing a dancing skirt and cedar-bark rings
dragged down a canoe. A woman also came after him. She came to us and
talked to those who were in Ldō′gwañ’s canoe. They told her then to
come closer. And some called to them to shoot the man so that he would
fall into the water. Ldō′gwañ refused to allow it and started away from
them. They then went off in fright. We ran out of ammunition. Then we
went away.
We then started from Point-djī′dao and, after we had spent four nights
upon the open sea, we came to G̣ᴀ′ñxet-kun. [761] After traveling two
nights from there we came to Kaisun. We had really brought nothing with
us from the far country.
This is the end of the story.
My interpreter understood that the tribe attacked at this time was, as
stated above, a Tsimshian tribe, but he may have been mistaken. In that
case it must have been some tribe related to the Bellabella.
RAID BY THE NINSTINTS HAIDA ON THOSE OF THE WEST COAST
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns.]
The Pebble-town people warred with the people of Ninstints. The East
Coast people [762] were also at war with them. They were all at
G̣ētgā′ñ. [763]
From that place the father of Qꜝaolga′s went to hunt. Then they saw a
war canoe pass a place named Gia′g̣ēs lying toward the south. It came
along close to the shore and passed behind an islet. And they did not
know those who were in it.
And when it was far off he started straight out to sea. And, when the
rocky shore had nearly passed out of sight, he turned about. At evening
they heard the sound of his guns at G̣ētgā′ñ. He had seen the enemy.
Then they went for two shamans who were there. And they whipped the
souls of the enemy. At that time they said that a white raven flew into
the inlet. After they had drunk salt water for two nights all the
warriors went out to meet the enemy.
After they had crept along close to the shore for a while they feared
to round ʟuqā′łgᴀłdᴀs. [764] So they stopped there. Some of them said
that Kaisun could be seen from there. By and by, however, they went
thither. They then saw some persons walking on the beach at Kaisun.
After some time had passed the canoe came in front of them (those at
Kaisun). They got into it and went seaward. In the middle was a shaman
whipping the souls of his enemies. Then one [Ninstints man] in it saw a
strange sight. “Look at the cormorant flying about. It has no head.”
And, when they looked at it, its head was lacking. Kꜝadja′-i alone
[765] did not see this.
After they had gone on for a while a shot was fired at them. At once
[the guns shooting] downward resounded everywhere. It (the canoe)
turned bottom up. And as they came alongside they shot at them. And
after they had destroyed them and had turned the canoe over one person
was in it. He alone they saved. When the first gun sounded, the war
chief said: “Sqas, take the gun away. It is not time for that.”
They then went away. Now they sang war songs. And the next day they
went to get the heads. They then cut them off and dried them in the
sunshine. The shaman who had whipped the souls of his enemies had his
hair bunched together. [766] He had told them to go back. On the way
they (the Ninstints people) saw portents. They heard the sound of
drying frames dropping from above. And Tia [767] also called near them.
He called, and blood spurted out of his neck.
This encounter was referred to by others. See Memoirs of the American
Museum of Natural History, volume V, part 1, page 31.
FIGHT BETWEEN THE KAIGANI AND WEST COAST HAIDA
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns.]
They had occupied Thin-fort. There were many black cod there. Then they
saw portents. The black cod, the day after they were brought in, moved
their mouths. And at one time a headless cormorant came there. [768]
Some time after that, they say that [the children] who had a little
fire in a cave below them and were picnicking there, ran out of it.
Some small being with disheveled hair and a yellow-cedar-bark blanket
over its shoulder came out of the cave. It was Supernatural-slave [769]
who was among them, they say. Its belly was big, they say. Then they
feared to play in the cave.
After that the rotten gills lying about groaned. Another day Tia flew
over to the fort from the opposite side. He said “Tia, tia,” and blood
spurted out of his neck.[768]
One day, while they were away fishing for black cod, they (the enemy)
came upon them. These were the Kaigani, Sta′stas, and Middle-town
people. Then they shot up at the fort. My grandmother was born among
them. That was why they did not touch her people. [770]
One man then shot from the fort. When his ammunition failed they went
up to the fort. They enslaved all of the Pebble-town people. And, going
out to those who were fishing, they destroyed half of them also. Some
escaped to Kaisun.
When the warriors started off they were told about a child of the
Middle-gîtî′ns, [771] whose cousin was carrying her on her back. They
would have taken her back, but were afraid. When they had recrossed her
friends adopted her. [772] At the end of the following autumn they
brought her back.
After that they sent word by canoe that they wanted to make peace. They
(the West Coast people) then went thither. When they arrived at Tꜝē
[773] no attention was paid to them. And, since their food was gone,
they wanted to buy food from one who lived opposite. He was stingy, and
they laid hold of him. Although he was a chief they enslaved him. They
also fought the people of Tꜝē. And they killed many of them, and those
they enslaved were many. The Pebble-town people made matters even.
And, after they had talked over where they should have a fort, they
made one on the west coast. Two were staying at Kꜝiū′stᴀ. After some
time had passed the Kaigani people came to make peace. When they
stopped in front they began to shoot at them. When they fled they met
the two persons [774] in a canoe. When they were going to enslave them
they jumped into the water. And they swam over to an islet. They now
fled in terror.
Some time after that they went to the Kaigani country to fight again.
Then they destroyed some people there. They enslaved ten and killed
many. And, while they were on the way back, the wind was strong, and
they threw some slaves overboard. They did this to four. The Kꜝiū′stᴀ
people then came to them. And they took the slaves away from them and
split up their canoe. They then started home around by the West Coast
shore. They went to Tcꜝā′ał. [775] They came to Lagî′nda, [776] where
people were catching salmon. A single slave was with them. The chief
finished sending food through the fire. [777]
WARS BETWEEN THE STIKINE AND SITKA TLINGIT
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns]
The nephew of Cēks lived at Sitka for the sake of some woman. He was
killed there. Then all the Stikine people went to Sitka to fight. At
that time they had a pitched battle there, and they destroyed many
Sitka people. After that the Sitka people also started out to war.
At that time the eulachon were running into the Stikine. After they had
filled the ground with holes they went out to get stones. They did not
have the right kind of stones there. They had only whetstones. And,
when they came from it, a man passed out by them to get some. His name
was Daoł. [778] Then he gave them the following prediction: “They will
kill me [and my family] when the tide is on the ebb, and I shall never
come back.”
As soon as the tide was out they went out to fight. The warriors came
upon him at the place where he was gathering stones. Then they took him
into the war chief’s canoe. He had left his gun behind. They then made
fun of him by telling him to do various things.
While they were talking to him the warriors (his friends) came into the
bay. They asked him then: “One-who-is-always-mentioned, are you still
alive?” “Yes,” he said. He also asked: “Did you bring my gun? Did you
bring my knife?” “Yes.” “Give them to me.” They then got his things to
him.
When he put on his cartridge box some one shouted: “Ixiâ′⁺ī, [779]
One-who-is-always-mentioned has his weapons in his hands.” Then,
forgetting himself, he shot. Straightway they all shot. And he also
said that he pulled out his knife and kept striking them as he moved
forward. They then destroyed the Sitka people. They stabbed those who
there escaped to the woods. They said that two young fellows then came
from watching for their enemies. They took them into Cēks’s canoe.
They then went away. On the next day they collected heads. Some of them
got twelve. Others got ten. The heads were drying in the sunshine,
looking like clothes drying on a line and bellying in the wind. Then
Cēks, having called the people together, told them to stop fighting. He
told them that they had destroyed the Sitka people.
By and by they let the two youths that they had enslaved go. They then
ripped open the seams in a little, old, 3-fathom canoe. In it they
started off. They also gave them a small paddle. They thought then that
they would drown. In the summer after that they heard that they had
escaped.
Some time afterward the Sitka people were coming to make peace. And
they got ready for them. They thought it well to make peace [they
said]. Then Cēks again called the people together, and they agreed to
destroy them. They then talked over how they should preserve themselves
from injury.
By and by the Sitka people came in many canoes. After they had danced
for a while in front of the town they came ashore, and the dancers
entered the house and danced there. Then property was given to them.
They gave them four or two slaves apiece as blood money. After that
they also danced in Cēks’s house. When nearly all were in they shut the
door, and they killed those outside and threw their bodies over the
cliff in front.
After they had killed all of those they crowded against each other near
the door. They then quietly pulled out one after another, stabbed each
one, and threw out the bodies. At that time a woman looked in through
the smoke hole. She held a knife. She made the motion of cutting off
heads. She said that they were going to destroy them. Those who were
dancing paid no attention to her. After they had killed on for a while
they began to discover it for themselves. But still they kept dancing.
Although only ten were left they kept dancing. Presently they killed
all. Six that they saved they let go home.
Some time afterward they began to visit back and forth. Once a great
many went to [Sitka], and Qała′x [780] paid a great sum to the
Russians. Then many canoes came there and, when all the Stikine people
were inside the stockade, Qała′x began to fight them. And they
destroyed the Stikine people.
Some time after that they became good to each other. They began
visiting back and forth again. Then ten canoes came to the Stikine, and
Yaqoa′n began to kill them. And they destroyed all of them. At that
time they stopped visiting each other.
Some time after that Qała′x’s nephew was in love with the daughter of a
Russian. For that the Russians killed him. They then killed the
Russian’s son. They said that the Russians were going to fight them
with Qała′x, and they fortified themselves. They built the walls out of
big cedars. And they built the houses inside. They put flat rocks along
the fronts and sides of the houses. [781] And, after they had lived
there for a while, the Iron people [782] came in a vessel to destroy
them. After they had shot at them ten times they called for Qała′x.
When he answered they shot at him still more.
After they had done this for a while they came off to fight them in
three boats. All had guns with bayonets. They came on land at once.
And, after they had prepared for them in the house, they went out. They
then shot at them. While the Russians were shooting by command they
shot into them. They also threw out their cartridges quickly and shot
again. After they had done this for some time they destroyed the
Russians. Only those who had charge of the boats got to the ship. Then
the warship sailed away. [Meanwhile] they strengthened the fort.
After two months had passed they came to fight them with two warships.
They then shot at them from both sides. At that time they called to
him: “Qała′x, are you still alive?” “Yes; I am not afraid of the cannon
you use against me.” The cannon sounded then still more.
After some time had passed they went to get him. They then fought again
with the Russians. They also destroyed those. At that time they took
guns, coats, hats, and swords. After some time had passed, they (the
Russians) brought property over to the winners. “Qała′x, are you yet
alive?” “Yes; I am still alive. I won. Now it is all right for you to
kill me.” When he said this, they raised the flags. They then gave him
clothing, food, rum, and ammunition. They let him win. Many of the
Russians were killed.
My informant heard this story from an old Tlingit from the Stikine. It
is of peculiar interest as containing a native account of the struggle
between Baranof and the Indians at Sitka. It differs from the Russian
account, however, in so many particulars that it is evident that few
real facts are preserved.
FIGHTS BETWEEN THE TOWN-OF-TCꜝĀ′AŁ-GÎTÎ′NS AND THE MIDDLE-GÎTÎ′NS
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns]
When I was still young I knew how to handle a gun. They went then to
Dadag̣ē′ni. [783] The Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people [784] fought together
there. They fought while they were drinking whisky. [785] At that time
G̣ᴀla′-i’s nose was bitten off. Then they began to fight. They shot at
each other all night, and they killed a great many there.
Some time after that another fight broke out. The grandfather of
Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a [786] then owned two slaves. He went thither with them
and a gun. Although we tried to stop them, they then went thither. They
then fought there with them. They took the ramrod from one of the
slaves who then held Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a’s gun. They went then to ask for
it. He held it for payment he said. At that time they did not make a
disturbance about it.
Some time afterward a vessel of the Iron people [787] came there.
Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a then went out to it. While he was away
Sitting-chieftainess went to Brave-in-his-belly [788] to get the
ramrod. And they who were there pushed her down. Then Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a
came ashore. The Iron people had given him all kinds of food. He
brought a lot away. There was a great quantity of all sorts of things.
They did not say a word to Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a. After they got through
eating I told him. But he laughed. He called Gax̣ī′łdia-i (one of his
slaves) and told him to go out and make an announcement. Then
Brave-in-his-belly also sent out to make an announcement. And after
that they killed four slaves belonging to him. [789] And
Brave-in-his-belly owned one slave. He killed him.
On the following day they gave him (Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a) a great amount of
property—ten slaves, three hundred blankets, five big canoes, a great
quantity of property. At that time he summoned the people. Slaves and
property were given to the Middle-town people, [790] Earth-eaters,
[791] Dogfish-house people, [792]
People-of-the-house-where-they-always-have-plenty-to-eat,[792]
Raven-house people,[792]
People-of-the-house-that-went-away-discouraged.[792] They gave one
[slave] to Unable-to-do-anything. [793] They gave one to Qołgî′t.[793]
They gave one to Far-away,[793] to Qōta′n,[793] to Nasta′o,[793] to
Tcꜝix̣ī′.[793] After that they gave to all the house chiefs.
On the day after that they sent for Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a, and on that day
they twice called us in. After several families had called us in the
Earth-eaters invited us. They had been giving us food for a while, when
a noise arose in the direction of a canoe that they had given us. As
soon as some one said that the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people had broken it up
the Earth-eaters went thither. They told us then that we had better not
go out. We all had guns. They told us not to go out. But still we stood
together among them.
Then the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people stood in lines around the edges of the
canoe, holding their guns ready. After they had quarreled for a while
Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a came out, and a boy of the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people shot
at him. I, too, at once shot one. They then shot into the
Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people. The dead bodies lay far apart on the ground.
Some sat up. Some tried to squirm up from their buttocks [having been
shot in the legs]. Four dead bodies belonged to the Earth-eaters. Two
others they wounded.
They at once began again to shoot each other. Many more of the
Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people were killed. After they had given us food for a
while they took us over to Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a’s house. When they got us in
the sound of fighting ceased.
After that they also shot into our house. The house had three
stockades. Not a single bullet reached the house. They shot at us from
around the house while we ate. Early in the next day Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a
called four families. And while they ate in the house the
Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people again began to shoot at the house. And after
they had done this for a while we went down with our guns into a trench
extending toward the beach. And, while the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people were
shooting into the house from near by, we in turn shot at them. We
killed two. And afterward we ran in through the doorway, one after
another. We told of those we had killed. Then the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał
people went away.
And when they were done eating, he gave them all coats and good
clothing. Early in the next day he called the Earth-eaters. Then they
again shot at the house. They did not reach the inside. These also went
away.
After that they began to shoot at our house. After they had shot at our
house for four nights Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a told us to get up very early.
And, after we were done eating, he had us wash our faces. He gave us
tallow, and, when we had put it on our faces, [794] we painted them. He
then emptied out a big box of clothing. And as soon as we had fitted
ourselves we put it on. After that he emptied out black handkerchiefs.
We tied them around our heads. He was a great chief.
After that we sang a song. After we had sung four times we went out to
fight. We then began shooting at the four houses of the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał
people while the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people drew up around us from the
woods. And, after we had shot at each other for a while, my gun became
hot, and I put it into the water.
Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a stood on the top of his house all of this time. He held
a large horn in his hand through which he talked to us. We then waved
something white that he could see. He knew by that that not one of us
had been killed.
After we had fought for a while, and when the sun was almost set, the
Middle-town people and the Earth-eaters came to fight. They broke
through the many Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people who were around us. They told
us then to go home, and we went home. But they fought in our places.
When I came in they said that my breeches were bloody. I then felt
there. The back part of my thigh was torn. I at once became faint.
Early in the next day they shot at us again. And, after they had shot
at us for five nights, Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a told us to begin fighting again.
When we first fought many of the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people were killed.
There were also many wounded. And, after we had fought for a while, and
evening was come, the Middle-town people and the Earth-eaters came and
helped us. They let us go home. But they had a pitched battle in our
places. Some time after dark they stopped shooting.
They shot intermittently at our house for more than a month afterward.
They began shooting at our house just before daylight. One day we did
not hear a gun go off. Then someone knocked at the door. “Open the door
for me.” That was Djig̣ē′g̣as. “The Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people are gone.”
They went away very early.
On the day following Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a gave property to the Earth-eaters.
He gave them eight slaves, as blood payment for the four persons that
had been killed, and three hundred and twenty blankets. Because Qołgî′t
was very sorry on account of his canoe he gave him a young slave. He
was very glad to have him. And he also had his canoe repaired. The day
after he called them [to a feast].
After that they again came to fight with us. Then the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał
people shot at us for two nights. After they had acted toward us in
this way for three months a ship of the Iron people came.
Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a then told the Iron people about himself. Then they left
us all kinds of ammunition.
After fifteen nights were passed they came after Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a. And
then, too, the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people came to fight with us. After they
had shot at us for two nights they went away again. They (the Iron
people) then took Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a with them. His heart was not strong
enough to go without me. So they took me as well.
We then started off. Some time afterward we came to Nass inlet. Two
vessels lay there. Then they started to settle there. They put a
stockade around the house, and the Nass people brought in cedar bark.
They paid a blanket for the bark of two cedars to be used as roofing.
[795] When the house was completed they finished the warehouse.
They began at once to buy furs. All sorts of people brought furs there
to sell to them. During the whole time what was dropped upon the ground
from the tobacco that they sold I put up into a sack. When my father
came from Masset I gave it to him. And Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a gave him many
blankets from the trading house. My father gave him a canoe. In it they
went to the head of Nass inlet with property to trade. At the end of
ten nights the 10-fathom canoe was full of furs.
At that time Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a threw chips into the water and shot at
them. One youth then wanted the gun very much. And he asked how much it
cost. They told him then that they would let him have it if he piled up
furs to the muzzle as it stood on end. They then stood the gun on end,
and they piled up beaver skins alongside it. And, when they reached the
muzzle of the gun, they pressed them down. And when [the pile] got
lower they piled on more. By and by, when it got even with the end,
they stopped. And he also bought a longer one. And he gave six
land-otter skins for the ammunition. He also gave six land-otter skins
for a bag of bullets.
They then went away. After five nights were passed they returned. After
they had lived there three years it was found to be too cold, and they
removed to Port Simpson. There also I lived with them seven years.
Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a lived at the house of the Iron people. After that he
lived there all the time.
Here is all of this.
This story gives us an idea of what intestine conflicts were like among
people on this part of the Northwest coast. Strife having arisen
between the Tcꜝā′ał-lā′nas and Ya′ku-qe′ig̣awa-i, or Ya′ku-gitina′-i, to
which latter family my informant himself belonged. The Raven families
among the Kaigani joined the weaker, and apparently the aggrieved,
party. The feud was not ended, however, until the chief of the
Ya′ku-qe′ig̣awa-i went away to live with the white people.
FIGHTS BETWEEN THE TSIMSHIAN AND HAIDA AND AMONG THE NORTHERN HAIDA
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns.]
The Skidegate people went once to trade at Port Simpson [796] in sixty
canoes. The Pebble-town people [797] also went there. And they traded
with dry halibut. They lived outside. There a Tsimshian, who was with a
white man, came to them. Sticks were given around to them (the Haida).
And afterward he took the sticks back again. They planned to destroy
them during the winter. That was why they counted them.
A woman of the Gîtî′ns’-servants [798] named Bufflehead [799] sold dry
halibut to the wife of Lgiäx. [800] She said it was too small and she
wanted to exchange it for more. Bufflehead then refused to give her
more in exchange. And they threw the dry halibut at Bufflehead. She
then threw the dry halibut in the face of Lgiäx’s daughter, and she
went home crying.
Some one shouted, and I went out. They were throwing stones at each
other. They gave each other a thorough stoning. By and by they stopped.
And some time afterward a gun went off. Some one shouted: “They killed
so-and-so.” Some time after that another gun went off. Another was
shot. Then it stopped for a while. When evening came they began to
shoot at us. All through the night they shot at the Skidegate people.
During all that time they shouted out [the name of the person shot]. I
was then without a gun, and I borrowed one. I held it and two cartridge
boxes. They shot at the sail houses on the beach in which we lived.
There was nothing behind which we could shelter ourselves. Then I dug a
hole for myself in the sand and lay in it.
I then shot at some one who lay behind a log and was shooting, back
from the sea. I shot off his hat. When I shot at him again I shot his
gun away from him. He then ran away.
A hill lay behind us, from which they were shooting at us. I also began
to shoot at those. They also ran away. After they had shot at us for
five nights they stopped for a while.
Then the Tsimshian came to dance. They wanted to make peace because we
had killed Lgiäx’s nephew. We also enslaved two women who were walking
seaward from the town. By and by they started to dance. We then gave
them some property. After this had gone on for a while they made the
following arrangements. They said that we might go with them to
Laqꜝalā′m. And we said that we would give them more property. We
thought then that it was all right, and we went to our canoes. While a
part of the provisions lay on shore the Tsimshian took the provisions.
We then got into our canoes. I pushed my canoe off with the many which
were there. When the canoes got away two remained. I then ran toward
the fort at Port Simpson. [801] There was yet a crowd of Skidegate
people there. And, while I stood there, two canoes with the dancers
[802] in them were still there. Then the Tsimshian pursued. They shot
into the canoes, pulled themselves close alongside, and in a short time
they drifted along empty. Then, when the two that were there started
off, I ran down from in front of Port Simpson house. I jumped into the
stern. Then the two dancers[802] [in their canoes] paddled backward. I
took a gun and shot them both. At that time I scared them. Those who
first went off took their property. A south wind was blowing. Canoes
drifted off empty.
They then shot much at us from Laqꜝalā′m. There was no gun in my canoe.
After that they again shot at us. We then fled. During all that time
the Tsimshian pursued us. That was a great disaster, though the story
of it sounds well enough. They pursued us far out to sea. I was in my
wife’s canoe.
When they got far out at sea they returned. They enslaved very many of
the Skidegate people.
Then they (the Skidegate people) landed at ʟꜝg̣a′odana-i. [803] At that
time a heavy rain set in. They called it
“The-rain-upon-the-skins-of-dead-bodies.” And, when daylight came, I
built a big fire. Then the wounded sat around the fire. On the
following day, when we started off, a man of Those-born-at-House-point
[804] was angry, because, he said, we went off first. Then he and I
were going to shoot each other. They held us apart. And they went away.
And on the next day they stood crying in front of ʟꜝg̣a′odana-i. The
Pebble-town people did not cry, however, because all of them escaped.
Fifty canoe loads were destroyed. The weather was bad. And, while they
lay there, the one who had quarreled with me came to me and pulled up
his canoe alongside of ours. He then made peace with me. He gave me
whisky. And, after we had sent food through the fire to those who had
been unable to escape, we spent the night in our canoes. We remained
awake. We were afraid. We thought that they might pursue us again.
And when day broke we went away. About noon they sailed over to
Skidegate. They laid the blame on Bufflehead, who had escaped. They
then asked her for property. Her husband was named Lū′g̣ot. [805] Then
they began to give away property. He was about to make a potlatch. His
house pole lay there for good. He gave the town all of his property.
Some time afterward Gudiqā′yiñao’s father came back. They had been
unable to get away from Port Simpson house, whence they came. Before he
could ask for blood money the Gîtî′ns’-servants came there, with
paddles on their shoulders. They said that they had come to go to war
for him.
Some time afterward a great many Masset people went to trade. They came
to the Gyînxᴀngī′g [806] family. They say that there were sixty canoes.
After they had been there for a while they started off. And, after they
had traded, a Tsimshian shot at the canoes. The bullet then struck the
canoe of a man of the Point-town family [807] named X̣ᴀ′na.
His son then seized a gun and shot into a crowd standing on shore. And
he shot one down. They at once shot after them. They immediately
started off. The Tsimshian chased them. They made them upset by
shooting. They also destroyed them. They took them also for slaves.
They also enslaved many of the Rotten-house people. [808]
At that time they destroyed a canoe at Laxanē′st [809] out of which two
men and a woman escaped. Many nights afterward, when some persons came
there for wood, they got away in their canoes. And in them they came
across. They were saved.
Those in Port Simpson house who could not escape were afterward
presented with a canoe by the Iron people, [810] who let them escape.
Those also got home. Then, too, it was not a good time.
Gîtqōna′-i’s father went to Masset, and five families [811] banded
together and began to drink sea water. During the whole time they
practiced how they would fight. A cartridge box then caught fire, and a
man was burned.
After they had drunk sea water for six nights they set out to war in
ten canoes. And, when they reached the mainland, some stopped at
Qꜝadō′. [812] After they had looked for enemies on the opposite side as
well, [they saw] two canoes go out from Siwā′łins [813] after salmon.
They then quickly pulled toward them. They shot the man in the stern,
so that he fell over into the water, after which they closed with the
canoes. When they ran into them to fight they upset them. They then
even struck them in the sea. Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′lîña killed three people at that
time. The Tsimshian had killed his wife, of whom he was very fond. Four
persons were in the canoe. They also destroyed two canoe loads which
were farther off.
After they had watched for a while longer [they saw] three more canoes
sailing along. They killed all the people in those. They took the heads
of them all. After they had watched for some time longer two canoes
came with sockeyes. They went out also to those people and killed them.
On that day they destroyed seven canoes. On that day they killed
twenty-eight people. They enslaved one brave man of the Tsimshian.
The Masset people were then happy. They went off singing songs of
victory. And they came to Masset singing songs of victory, for they had
made accounts even. But the Skidegate people did not come out even.
But Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′lîña’s canoe was unfinished. When he had finished it he
brought over to his brothers-in-law at Gᴀsa′n [814] the news that their
sister had been killed. His brothers-in-law belonged to the Sand-town
people. [815] When he came they, too, raised their canoes. He also went
with them. The Sand-town people went in four canoes.
They then began to watch Tcꜝidᴀlqꜝeda′-i. [816] After they had watched
for a while four Tsimshian canoes came there. They then shot at them.
They made them upset, and they enslaved six women. They killed many
men. There Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′lîña got some slaves. He gave them to his
brothers-in-law. Afterward they went home happy. They sang songs of
victory as they came to Gᴀsa′n.
Three days later news came to Gᴀsa′n that one of the Yä′dᴀs [817] had
been killed at Howkan. [818] The Yä′dᴀs then went to Howkan to fight,
and killed six people there. And afterward the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people
also went to fight at Gᴀsa′n. There they also killed many of the
Yä′dᴀs. They then began to war upon each other. In all that time many
were killed on both sides.
Some time afterward some of the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał [819] people went to
visit one of their friends who had married in Masset. After they had
stayed there for a while and were on the way home many of them upset. A
chief named Voice-at-evening was drowned. In the winter his nephews
went for his grave post. When it was almost finished the Yä′dᴀs came
there to fight and killed five of the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people. The grave
post lay there for good.
They at once began fighting again. Wherever they met they killed one
another. They killed each other during many years. They did not make
peace with one another. Some are still bad to one another.
Some time afterward news came that one of the Sqoā′ładas [820] had
killed one of the Cod-people [821] at Kꜝiū′stᴀ. [822] He was a great
chief. He had a house hole at Tꜝī′g̣ᴀn. [823] His nephews then killed a
shaman, Tcꜝā′nūt, belonging to the Sa′gua-lā′nas. [824] They shot ten
bullets into him. He was town chief. He owned the town of Qᴀñ. After
they had shot him and had walked around him for a while one of his
bunches of matted hair, which was lying on the ground, rose up and lay
over his head. It went on in that way until all came to lie over his
head.
When the Sqoā′ładas on the west coast heard that they had killed Gîtkū′
[825] they also went to war. They killed many of the Cod-people. They
also enslaved one of them.
After that one of the Sg̣adjī′gua-ał-lā′nas [826] in Masset, named
Kiłtcꜝāñ, invited the people. And he had a dance. He pulled out ten
slaves that he owned in a string [holding each other’s hands]. After
they had taken home food one of the Middle-gîtî′ns [827] named Łnē′kꜝî,
shot one of the Cod-people in the arm from between the houses. Upon
this his two younger brothers acted as if they were drunk. They killed
there a chief, Gā′la. He belonged to the Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i. [828] He did
not die at once. He died afterward. His entire family shot at once at
the house of the Cod-people. They killed two persons.
For ten days and nights they fought in the town. No one had a fire. No
one had water. When the chiefs’ wives, thinking that they would not
touch them, went for water the Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i smashed their buckets
with stones, and they returned. At the end of ten days the
Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i suggested making peace. They then stopped shooting at
the house.
By and by an old man, their uncle, came behind the town singing
catastrophe songs. He belonged to the Cod-people. After he had sung for
a while he made a good speech: “Chiefs, my brothers-in-law, the war
trail and the feather trail came out together at Na-i î′ndjawa in the
middle of the town. I went up by the war trail. I came out upon the
feather trail. ‘What town is this? What town is this?’ ‘Chief, my son,
this is the town of Gā′la, your father. You started up on the war trail
which comes out in the middle of your father’s town. Your fathers were
troubled [829] about you. You came out upon the feather trail.’” He
also spake so: “Is it my father’s town? Is it indeed my father’s town?
[I thought it was] some other.” [830]
They then started to dance. After they had been for two days in the
woods, they were called toward the house. They came then and stood in a
line in front of the house. They had their guns ready. Presently the
Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i stood in lines opposite. They struck each other with
their guns. They struck each other with their knives.
By and by the Cod-people picked up two chiefs [of the
Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i]. [831] There was a great crowd of people. They picked
them up and laid them upon a bed of feathers in the rear part of the
house. Then two slaves were tendered as blood money to
Those-born-at-Ya′gun. [832] And they refused them. They afterward
tendered them two more. Those they refused also.
Then Tcꜝā′nut said: “Do I ask four slaves of you? My uncle is worth ten
slaves and four hundred blankets. I will not dance.” There were many in
the house. They did not pay any attention to the bad words that he gave
them. [833]
By and by the Middle-gîtî′ns began rapping on the front of the house.
They presently went in and got the dancers. They took them up. They
then brought them into the house of the Middle-gîtî′ns because they had
started the trouble. [834] They brought these in [to give to them
property]. They (the Middle-gîtî′ns) gave them the four slaves. They
also gave them a great quantity of property. They (the
Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i) began to dance in the house at once.
At that time the Gîtî′ns [835] also gave property to them. It reached
beyond their expectations. After they had danced for four nights the
Cod-people came and got them. They also gave them six slaves as blood
money. And they washed their faces and began to dance. Then the
Skîtg̣a′oqao, [836] Middle-gîtî′ns, and Cod-people gave them more
property. They gave them seven hundred blankets.
Then Tcꜝā′nut married his uncle’s wife, and they made him take his
uncle’s place. And, when he kept staying away from his wife, the
Middle-gîtî′ns talked roughly to him. After they had spoken to him for
a while they told him to leave the house.
But on the next day his wife had him call in his friends. He called in
all of the Eagles. After he had given them all kinds of food, and
evening was come, they left him. On the next day he called in the
Ravens. After he had fed them for a while it was evening, and they went
home. On the day after that he again called in the Eagles. After those
had gone home he again called in the Ravens. When eighty boxes of
grease and berries had been used up he invited the Eagles to ten more,
and they assigned while in the house the work on his uncle’s grave
post. [837]
They went to get it. After they had been four days away they came home.
My father carved the grave post at once. It was finished. He then
raised it, and the potlatch was over. He gave away four hundred
blankets, and slaves with them. They gave my father slaves and twenty
blankets for carving the grave post.
After that Tcꜝā′nut quarreled with his younger brother. He asked him
then why he had not evened accounts at the time when they killed his
uncle. And his younger brother made him ashamed. On that night he shot
one of the Cod-people through the smoke hole. Again they shot each
other. After two days had passed they stopped fighting. And they gave a
lot of property for [the one killed]. They made them feel good then.
WAR BETWEEN THE EGGS-OF-SKÎ′TG̣AO AND THE INLET-REAR-TOWN PEOPLE
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns]
They lived together in the town of Masset. In the fall they went up the
inlet to dry salmon. They camped then on both sides of A′-în. [838]
After they had dried salmon for a while some of the Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao
went off in the night to hunt hair seal.
He (the leader) remained then during the night on one side of an islet.
There, while he was trying to get a chance to shoot hair seal, a gun
sounded from across the point. Then a boy who was in his canoe shouted
like one who is shot. “Wa′nanî, wa′nanî; they shot me.”
One who was with him jumped off then. Then he asked: “Who did it? Who
did it?” Instead of answering, they pulled away from him, and he shot
toward them in the darkness. He shot the man in the bow, so that he
fell into the water. He [839] then went home and told his friends.
Some time after that, during the night, the child came home crying. He
told his friends what had happened. The Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao and the
Inlet-rear-town people at once began fighting. They shot at each other
through all the fall. Their wives being between the families (i.e., of
different families), their sons got dog salmon for them. [840]
By and by they went away. After the men of both families had got into
two canoes they fought in their canoes all the way down. But the women
came behind in canoes. [841] And when they landed they fought each
other again on land. They shot at each other there all night. There
many of the Inlet-rear-town people were killed.
On the next morning they fought each other again. And, since the
Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao landed at White-slope [842] first, the Inlet-rear-town
people passed by in front. At that time they began to settle at Yan.
[843] And they had a fort on an islet there.
After that they again began to fight each other. Then many were killed
on both sides. They fought through the winter and through the summer
around it. By and by, after they had settled at Yan, one of the
Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao went over to them. Thereupon they stabbed him in front
of the town. [844] Then they again went across to fight. They killed
four of the Inlet-rear-town people.
Some time afterward a whale floated into the inlet. They went then to
get it, and with the Inlet-rear-town people they jointly cut it up. One
of the Inlet-rear-town people was killed there with a war spear. They
started at once to fight again. They then again killed each other. At
that time all the sharpshooters among the Inlet-rear-town people were
destroyed.
Some time afterward a chief of the Inlet-rear-town people destroyed a
whole canoe load of the Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao. The war began again at once.
While they were still trying to kill one another, when I was yet a boy,
there came a great pestilence, [845] and, when the people on the Haida
islands were being destroyed, they stopped fighting. Then there was
peace.
The first of these families was spoken of in “Story of the House-point
families” notes; the second was one of several divisions of the
Rear-town people referred to in note 6 to “Story of the
Food-giving-town people.” My informant’s father belonged to the
Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao or to a related family, hence his sympathies were
rather on their side.
WARS WITH THE NISKA AND TSIMSHIAN AND CONFLICTS BETWEEN HAIDA FAMILIES
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns]
One of the Point-town people [846] lived in Nass. Word came that he had
been killed there. Then the Point-town people started to war. After
they had drunk sea water for a while they raised their canoes. In the
canoes Skîlqē′xas [847] and Gia′ołins were the war chiefs. Presently
they started. They had their town at House-point. [848]
They then went by way of the Tlingit country. They even traveled during
the day. They discovered some dried salmon at Lᴀ′mas. [849] They (the
Nass people) thought that they did not care about the man who was
killed. After they had waited there until evening they went out early
in the morning. They killed then many of the Nass people. They also
took slaves. At that time Qogī′s ran after some. He ran quickly to some
women who were sitting together. He started to bring out ten by the
hair. He got only six of them out.
They got then all the heads of the Niska people. They got sixteen
slaves for Gia′ołins, and they got thirteen for Skîlqē′xas. Then they
occupied a fort at House-point.
After some time the Niska people came to fight in five canoes. That
time they began to fight at House-point. Five of the Point-town people
were killed. And one canoe load of Niska people was destroyed. They
then went away.
And the Point-town people again went to war. That time they fought at
Nass village. They enslaved ten for Skîlqē′xas. They also enslaved
eight for Gia′ołins. They then returned to House-point, singing songs
of victory.
And while they were living at Łi′elᴀñ [850] the Nass people came to
House-point to fight. The town of House-point was empty then, and the
Nass people burned the town. And the Nass people also seized the
provision house [851] of Skîlqē′xas behind the town.
Then the Point-town people again went to Nass to fight. At that time
they met four canoes below the town of Lag̣ᴀ′mkꜝida. [852] And they
destroyed three. They again took some slaves that time. They came away
to Łi′elᴀñ, singing songs of victory.
After they had lived there for a while, they thought the Nass people
too powerful for them, and they moved to Masset. After they had lived
there some time, the Nass people came to Łi′elᴀñ to fight. When the
Nass people came upon it very early in the morning they found the town
empty, and they burned it. And, when they saw the smoke from Masset,
the Point-town people went thither to fight. At that time they had a
pitched battle. They fought all day. Many were killed on both sides.
Four of the Up-inlet-gîtî′ns [853] went to fight with them. Two of them
were killed.
And, when they came back, the Up-inlet-gîtî′ns asked the Point-town
people to pay something for them. They gave then one slave for the two
men. And the Up-inlet-gîtî′ns went away and left the slave. That
evening they killed two of the Point-town people. The Up-inlet-gîtî′ns
began at once to fight with the Point-town people. Many were killed on
each side. After they had fought all winter they talked of peace. They
then gave many slaves back and forth as blood compensation. Then there
was peace.
When summer came the Point-town people went to the Nass to war. After
they had been unable to find an opportunity to do any damage for some
time three canoes came along, and they pursued them. They killed all
who were in them. But they were Tsimshian. They enslaved them.
On account of that the Tsimshian came to fight. Then they had a pitched
battle with the Point-town people. At that time many were killed on
both sides.
After that the Point-town people again went to fight. Some campers were
then drying halibut at the mouth of the Skeena. They destroyed them
all. They also took many as slaves.
After that the Tsimshian again came to war. At that time they took nine
women as slaves out of four canoes in which the people had gone out to
pick berries. They belonged to many families. They also killed three
men. Some escaped to the woods.
Many families went at once to war together. They destroyed then many
Tsimshian who were camping out. At that time they also enslaved a great
number. Then they came to Masset, singing songs of victory. Then they
did not come again to fight. When it was summer the Tsimshian came to
make peace. And, while the whole town danced together, they gave them
property. When that was over they wanted the Masset people to go across
in their turn. Those also then went over to make peace. They also gave
them a great deal of property.
The news then reached the Niska that they had made peace. And they also
came to dance [without having sent word in advance]. When the Nass
people landed in front of the town they shot at them. Many of the Nass
people were killed. Part escaped, and some time afterward they came to
fight. At that time many were killed on both sides.
Then the Point-town people also went to fight. They came to
Lag̣ᴀ′mkꜝida. That time the Nass people won. They killed many of the
Masset people. When they went to war the next time they killed many of
the Nass people. And they killed a town chief named Sqatꜝî′n. The Nass
people were very sorry on account of him. They wept and scratched their
faces. The others returned singing songs of victory.
And when they went thither to fight again the town of Lag̣ᴀ′mkꜝida was
empty. They then burned the town. They captured many boxes of grease.
When they returned Skîlqē′xas summoned the people. He said that he
would send feathers to the Niska. Then some of them did not like it.
And Gia′ołins also summoned the people. He said the same thing. Then
all agreed. And they took over feathers to the Tsimshian. After that
they carried them up to the Niska.
Some time afterward they came in ten canoes. They then carried the
dancers into all the houses. At that time they gave them a great deal
of blood money. They gave three slaves for the chief they had killed.
At that time there was not a single slave left in Masset. They gave
them all away as blood money. Then they went joyfully away. Some were
dancing; some were singing canoe songs. At that time they also left
feathers. They wanted the Masset people [to visit them].
They then also went over. They gave them a great deal of blood money.
They had then a true peace with each other. The Nass people also told
them to come and get boxes of grease, and they went over to get them.
They [the Niska] then settled again in the burned town. The Nass people
gave them boxes of grease.
And when they came home the Point-town people again fought with the
Up-inlet-gîtî′ns. Five chiefs of the Point-town people were killed.
After they had fought for a while the Point-town people carried over
two copper plates to Qꜝayā′ñ. [854] There they threw them into the
water. Then those, too, had peace with each other. They gave slaves
back and forth as blood money. And they had women on each side marry
with the opposites, because they feared that they would be angry again.
Now there was peace.
Afterward, when they had been visiting among the Tsimshian for some
time, one of the Rocky-coast-gîtî′ns [855] was killed among the
Tsimshian. When they came to make peace on account of him they were so
easy to kill on the coast that they destroyed them. Then they brought
those [dead bodies] home also.
At that time some went behind the town of Masset to keep watch. And
when the Tsimshian had almost got ashore behind Masset they shot at
them. They drove the warriors away. Then the Rocky-coast-gîtî′ns went
to war. They killed many Tsimshian.
Afterward, when the Tsimshian came to fight, they enslaved nine of the
Masset people. Then all the families again started to make war on the
Tsimshian. At that time they continually killed each other.
At one time, when they went to war and had approached some who were
living in a lonely place, one came out on shore wearing a grizzly-bear
crest. They then thought that he was all right. [856] They suggested
making peace. The warriors returned. And the Masset people went to make
peace. They then gave a great deal of property to the Masset people.
After they had started away they shot another Tsimshian. The Tsimshian
then did nothing in return. They shot down the one who was going to
take Lgiäx’s [857] place without his saying a word. Then he did not
want his nephew to be killed for nothing and came to make peace. That
time they gave a great amount of property to him. Then there was peace
again everywhere.
At that time he (Lgiäx) felt very good and went to visit the Kaigani.
After they had gone along for a while they fell into the hands of the
Middle-town people, who were going to war upon the Niska. They then
shot at each other. The Gîtsqoalʼâ′tcꜝî [858] they completely
destroyed. Nine escaped along with Lgiäx to the woods. They also broke
up five canoes. Part of the Middle-town people were also killed.
After two nights had passed the Tlingit came to him. During all that
time they lived on the food which had been thrown overboard and had
floated ashore. The Tlingit then carried news about Lgiäx [to his
people]. And the Tsimshian went to get him in four canoes. Then he said
that he was too great to be taken away. “Do you come after me because
you think that our grandfathers ever got into strange canoes? Lgiäx
does not get into a stranger’s canoe.” [859]
He then sent word to have food brought to himself. And, after they had
started away, they made a 6-fathom canoe. When it was finished he came
to his town. Then the house chiefs came and danced before him.
Some time after they prepared for war. They set out. At that time the
Tsimshian destroyed the fort of Sidī′kun. [860] They enslaved many of
the Middle-town people. They killed then many of the renowned men of
the Middle-town people.
The Middle-town people began at once to eat medicine, and did so all
winter. When summer came they went to war. At that time they killed or
enslaved many Tsimshian. They went up directly [among the Tlingit] to
sell them. They got a lot of ammunition and guns in exchange. Then they
again fortified themselves.
Some time afterward the Tsimshian came against the fort. At that time
the Middle-town people went out in their canoes. They shot at each
other on the ocean. Only five of the Middle-town people were killed
then. But many of the Tsimshian were killed.
And, after the Tsimshian had started off, they said that they would
raise their canoes. On the very next day after they had raised them
they went to fight. They enslaved then very many women who were out
after berries. At that time they came to the fort singing songs of
victory. They remained there then on the watch.
By and by the Tsimshian came to fight again. And again many were killed
on both sides. Some time afterward they settled at Kꜝᴀgā′ni.
And, after they had lived there for a while, a 3-sail canoe came. The
Middle people were going to destroy it then because a man of the Eagle
side who lived with them had gone to Masset and had been killed there.
One of the Middle-town people then came out to talk to the Middle-born.
[861]
After it (the canoe) had approached the town for a while, the
Middle-born got ready for it. And when the canoe came in front they
upset it by shooting. The Middle-town people and the Middle people at
once had a pitched battle outside. Some of the Salᴀ′ndas [862] who were
neutral went to look at the canoe. Under it they found the owner of the
canoe and his wife.
After they had fought and killed each other for a while they said that
Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′liña [863] was killed. He was kept under some slaves, but
still he was killed. Many also were wounded. When they told his
grandfather, he said: “Be careful how you tell me that Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′liña is
killed.” He thought he was too great to be killed. He went then to see
him sitting up. Then he turned around quickly. There was a high cliff
there. He was going to throw himself over, when they seized him.
Afterward, as he went crying around the fire, he dashed himself against
a [white man’s] anvil.
Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′liña’s elder brother, Î′ldjiwas, [864] was sitting at the time
in front of his younger brother. They then stopped shooting one
another. And Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′liña’s parents got ten slaves from the house of
the Middle-town people. Then Î′ldjiwas asked the Middle-town people to
stay awake with [the body of] Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′liña. Although they had just
shot at each other, they were called for it.
Then they came in a crowd. They were afraid to enter. By and by they
came in. They let them stay awake there. They were ten nights in the
house. All the time they gave them food. And, after they buried him,
they gave property to the Middle-town people to pay for the wake. After
that Î′ldjiwas started to kill the Middle-town people. [865] Each time
much property was given as blood money.
By and by Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a went off on a vessel. After that, when a
vessel came with him and they went out to trade, Gîtkudja′os approached
Î′ldjiwas to kill him. Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a said to him: “Take care, they
are coming to kill you.” At that time Î′ldjiwas shot Gîtkudja′os
alongside the vessel, so that he fell into the water. The crowd of
people who were about then fled to their homes. When all had got in he
went home. They then shot at him. He escaped into his house.
The Middle-town people and the Middle people at once fought together.
Then they again gave a great deal of property to each other. Some time
afterward a vessel again stopped there with Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a on board.
He then remained there. After they had drunk whisky [866] one of the
Middle-town people shot at Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a, but his gun missed fire.
He, however, killed the Middle-town man. They fought again at once.
After peace had been made the father of Î′ldjiwas bought a pistol for
him which was all silver. And, when he had it in his hand in front of
the town, his father’s younger brother asked to look at it. At that
time he told him that people could not be killed by it [but only
wounded]. So he shot his father’s younger brother with it. And they
again began fighting.
After that they also killed Î′ldjiwas. They wounded him. After he had
remained alive for fifteen nights he held his gun loaded and said:
“Now, they are coming down for me.” He then shot through the smoke
hole. And he talked again. “I am going up, and I will throw down the
planks that are inside his house. I will also throw down his burning
coals.” Then he said: “Now, I am going up to be with him.” After he had
finished speaking he was as those who go to sleep.
And, when evening was coming on, something made a slight noise in the
air. Then something red fell out of the sky. It happened as he had
said. [867]
Afterward Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a killed one of the Middle-town people, and
they again had a fight. They again made peace with each other after one
of the nephews of Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a was killed. After they had given
property to him, Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a went away and settled among the
Tsimshian. His nephews lived at Kꜝᴀgā′ni.
At that time a youth, Sg̣ā′gia, lived with Sg̣atcꜝîdā′łgîñ, who took care
of him. Then he treated Sg̣ā′gia badly. Getting angry with him, he drew
blood. And two nights afterward he killed Sg̣atcꜝîdā′łgîñ. He then took
his three slaves. When he was going to kill his wife also she used good
words to him. He went away in his canoe.
He then passed right by in front of Kꜝᴀgā′ni. He crossed the sea. He
went to Tcꜝā′ał. [868] Sg̣ā′gia’s gun was heard to sound at Kaisun [869]
as he came along. And, when he landed and stood among them, he related
his adventure.
All that summer, while they were fishing for black cod, he kept a watch
for war people. After they had caught salmon, they moved to Skidegate
inlet.
When we camped for the night [we heard] a Tsimshian named Xagu′n of the
Gîtgwî′lgiaodjî, [870] who had enslaved some Pebble-people, sing songs
of victory in front of us.
Some who were returning home from Skidegate were enslaved by the
Tsimshian. We then carried the news to Skidegate. At that time we
started to live at Xā′na. [871] They then asked property of us on
account of what we had done to the Tsimshian. [872] After that, when we
were living at Kaisun, more news came. They said that some canoes had
been destroyed in Skidegate passage. Part of the people were enslaved
also. It happened to three families. They did it to the
Gîtî′ns’-servants, [873] Those-born-at-Stasa′os, [874] and
Those-born-at-Pebble-town. [875] The Tlingit were the ones who did it.
When we came to Xā′na Those-born-at-House-point [876] asked property of
us for some who had been captured. Then they first gave us property.
After that we also gave them property. When we came to Tcꜝā′ał
Those-born-at-Stasa′os also asked blood money of us. We also gave to
them blood money.
After that the Ninstints people invited the people of Kaisun. The
Kaisun people went thither at once. And, after they had been there for
a while, they went after house planks. The Ninstints people went out
also to fish near by. Some time afterward they discovered enemies. The
Bellabella [877] destroyed or enslaved those who were out fishing. At
that time the Bellabella killed many of the Ninstints people. They also
enslaved many of the Sand-town people [878] of high rank. Then they at
once stopped getting the parts of the house. Things went badly. We went
away immediately.
FIGHT BETWEEN THOSE-BORN-AT-QĀ′GIALS AND THOSE-BORN-AT-SKEDANS
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo]
They were encamped in G̣a′ogîts [879] to gather fish eggs.
Those-born-at-Qā′gials and Those-born-at-Skedans lived on opposite
sides.
Once Koa′gians [880] won from Kusʟxa′s a large knife that his dead
father had owned. And he refused to give it to him. They wrangled then
with each other. Then Koa′gians went out and announced the day that
they had agreed upon for fighting. On the appointed day they put on
their armor. They used helmets, war coats, and gorgets.
Then Koa′gians asked: “Whom shall I use for my fighting skirt?” [881]
And Sounding-property said: “You shall use me for your fighting skirt.”
He was a youth. They even broke up their canoes to use the pieces as
gorgets.
Presently, when they were ready, they approached each other in lines.
Koa′gians acted as leader of Those-born-at-Skedans. Sounding-property
protected him below his breast. And Qagi′t acted as leader of
Those-born-at-Qā′gials. He, too, was a brave man, and he determined to
fight with Koa′gians. As soon as they were all engaged in battle,
Qagi′t speared Koa′gians, so that he fell. Then Qagi′t pulled him
toward himself and stabbed him with a knife. Sounding-property also lay
dead in front of him.
And, after they had fought for a while, Those-born-at-Skedans and the
Town-of-Djī′gua [882] people were driven back. And they did not go near
the place where they used to live. They went instead toward the woods.
And Those-born-at-Qā′gials pursued them.
Then the great chief South-east [883] rested on two strong youths, and
they helped him up the mountain. And he heard the Skedans people
calling from behind: “They are taking your beaver.” But still he went
away. South-east owned a beaver dish. That was what they meant when
they called to him. [884]
While they carried him along he repeated: “My beaver.” And when they
reached the top of the mountain all the men and women sat with him, and
he began to weep for his beaver:
“𝄆 𝄆 Hī-ī-ī-ī-ī-ī⁺ 𝄇 𝄆 Wadīkâ′lᴀm tcâlī′-ī-ī-ī-ī 𝄇 [885] hī-ī-ī-ī⁺ 𝄇
hī-ī-ī-ī⁺, hī hī hī.” They then started away from there. And they came
to Dju-î′tga. [886] And, when he saw the inlet open out, he sang
another song:
“𝄆 Wâ yī′a hē ē ī ē 𝄇 I look upon it, xē ē ē ē
“𝄆 Wīya hī yē hē yē 𝄇 There is now daylight (i.e., the trouble is
partly over). [887]
“𝄆 Wayī′a hē′ē ē ē 𝄇”
And after that they occupied Mountain-fort. [888] Then the women of
Those-born-at-Skedans gathered a supernatural medicine. And, after they
had collected it, they gave it to One-going-to-be-the-elder-Sqaa′n.
[889] They put it then upon a charmed necklace, and they also put some
upon a looking-glass. One-going-to-be-the-elder Sqaa′n then sent the
charm over to Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn. [890] And she sent over to Tcinxā′da[890] the
mirror on which she had put the medicine.
As soon as they reached Skedans Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn wore the charm and Tcinxā′da
looked at himself in the mirror. They felt [the effects of] the
medicine at once. Tcinxā′da’s face, which had been touched by a war
spear’s point, had not healed. They went from Skedans at once to get
wives. And a large number went along.
When they got near Mountain-fort they stood up. And they began to sing:
“One will not even feel where he fell, ā′hiya.” [891] Then someone in
the canoe repeated: “That is the way it will happen.”[891]
At that time Qꜝayū′s got ready for them. He said that they might get
off the canoe, but perhaps he would not let them in. When they had gone
ashore they entered the house. When [Those-born-at-Skedans] acted in an
unfriendly manner, as if they were ready to do something, all escaped
to their canoe.
And, after they had gone up the inlet some distance, they came to their
brother-in-law. And he asked: “Say! brothers-in-law, why did you come
up here?” And they said to him: “They almost destroyed us. We escaped
by sea.” Then he said: “Come back then. I think they did it to you
because I was away.” Then they returned with him.
When they fought at G̣a′ogîts they had killed his nephew. He called upon
his brothers-in-law to go back because his mind was sick on account of
it. So, after they landed at the fort, they killed them. They afterward
made peace with each other. After that they ceased to treat each other
badly.
The first of these families was the principal family at Skedans; the
second, the ruling family at Kloo. The one was Raven; the other, Eagle.
They were so closely connected by intermarriages that quarrels seldom
arose between them, and the one narrated here seems to have been
thought remarkable for that reason.
WAR BETWEEN THE PEBBLE-TOWN PEOPLE AND THE SLAVES
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o]
Sg̣agᴀ′ño [892] went from Tcꜝā′ał to visit Always-ready. [893] After
they had gone along for a while on the sqā′djañ [894] they came to
Songs-of-victory town. [895] And, when they came near the shore,
Always-ready shot an arrow into the canoe. When he turned away he said:
“Mine strikes in the way that it does when something is killed.” And
Sg̣agᴀ′ño paddled back behind Fin island. Then they took things out of a
box for the one who had been shot and put him in its place. And they
fastened a rope around the box and came to the town again.
They then landed, and the town people carried up the things. With the
rest of the property they brought up a big, heavy box. And, after food
had been given to them to eat and evening was come, Sg̣agᴀ′ño’s
companions went to a flat rock lying in front of the town and sat
there. Then Sg̣agᴀ′ño, with two youths, went toward the upper end of the
town.
They (the town people) then untied the heavy box. A dead man lay in it.
Then all of the town people reached for their war spears. They ran down
to the others, who were lying idly about, and killed all.
Then the chief looked behind him. And he started into the woods with
the young fellows. At that time he shook this entire island. [896] On
account of that they began to assume the name “Island-shaker.”
Then the two youths and Sg̣agᴀ′ño went away. Many nights passed over
them. By and by they came to one who was making a canoe behind X̣i′das.
[897] The youths wished to kill him. While they were talking Sg̣agᴀ′ño
came to him. When he (the stranger) saw him he said: “Alas! he must
have been doing as he always does.” [898] Then, without even putting
away his tools, he went down before them. The man was a good
canoe-builder, and he was a good bear-hunter. He then went in and
spread out three bear skins for them, and his wife cooked food. And,
when he had it set before him, Sg̣agᴀ′ño said: “Stranger, [899] I shall
not eat this food. This ground might see me.” [900] Only the youths ate
the food. He then let them go in a new 5-fathom canoe.
He gave them mat sails, paddles, and mats and food for the youths. Then
Sg̣agᴀ′ño said to the man: “You had better not stay where the people of
Sqā′ma-qꜝe-u [901] camp this summer. Stay near some sandy beach. When
we return from fighting we will put off in front of you your friends
who have been taken as slaves.” He then went to Tcꜝā′ał with the
youths.
Then the Ninstints people began to live in a fort on the top of Sqas.
But, although they were afraid, the one who gave his canoe to Sg̣agᴀ′ño
lived toward the sea at Ga′-igᴀn-kun. [902] Then the people of Tcꜝā′ał
went to war in successive parties. And they were on the water in front
of the fort.
Always-ready then came out of the smoke hole, and he walked about on
the roof wearing his armor. They shot at him then with arrows. They did
not pierce him. He then went back and shot at them in turn. The next
time they went to war they climbed up to the top of the cliff. They
tried to roll down stones upon them. These did not come near the
houses. The stones all skipped over the houses. And they again went
home.
And, after they had held them besieged for a while, they were
straitened for food. Then Always-ready told his brother-in-law to make
ten bows for himself. And, after he had worked upon them for a while,
he finished them. Fine feathers were fastened near the tips. And his
brother-in-law gave them to him. He was glad to have them. Then he gave
up the big cedar bow he always used in favor of these new ones.
The people of the town began to dislike him. His sisters and his
brothers-in-law were affected with the same feeling, because, on
account of him, they were always hungry.
One day his brothers-in-law came in from fishing. His sister gave him
the white part of the belly of the halibut they had caught. On account
of that he went out fishing with three persons. He took his ten bows
with him, and he took his two arrow boxes. But he left his cedar bow
behind.
And on the day after he went fishing, very early, they again came to
fight. And, as he used to do, one came out on the top of the house and
said “Ha-ha.” And when they shot up at him he went in. When they again
shot down from the fort, one of the floating arrows stood on end in the
water. They brought it in. From it hung a small stone. Then they handed
it to an old man among them, and, after he had thought about it for a
while, he said they did that as a sign that he (Always-ready) was out
fishing. The ten canoes then started seaward.
Five went out on each side of Xē′na. [903] They looked for him as they
went along, and, when they had nearly met at the end, they saw him
lying out to sea. Then they went to him. When he discovered them he
walked about in the middle of the canoe awaiting them. And when they
got near him he took one bow. He broke it. He took another. He also
broke that. When he had done that for a while he broke all ten bows.
His brother-in-law who had made his bows for him had notched the
rounded side of the bow under the feathers. All broke just there.
He then threw the broken pieces of the bows and the two arrow boxes
into the sea. He did not scratch anyone’s skin. They were afraid of
him. When he threw his arrows away they went to him. And they killed
the three who were fishing with him, but him they captured.
He then got into Sg̣agᴀ′ño’s canoe. They felt too glad to know that they
had taken him. Their minds were very good on account of him. After they
had gone along with him for a while they encamped at a long sandy beach
which is called G̣ᴀ′nʟ̣ī. [904] They there set him ashore. They sat
around him on the beach. They had heard that he was brave, so they
wanted to see him.
And, after they had looked at him for a while, they wanted to see how
well he could shoot. They then stood up a stick on the beach, and
Sg̣agᴀ′ño had something white hung upon it. They then gave him a bow and
arrows. He did not like the arrows. They handed him then one with an
iron point. And, when he had set the arrow on the bow, he turned around
quickly to where Sg̣agᴀ′ño’s nephew sat behind him and shot him. He fell
backward from the box on which he was sitting.
They bound him then and brought wood. And they built a large fire upon
the beach for him. They then laid him down with his back to the fire.
And, while the skin of his back was blistering from the heat of the
fire, they picked up live coals and rubbed them upon his back. They
asked him: “Always-ready, does it hurt you?” And he answered: “Ha-i,
no. The one whom I killed just now hurts you. He went up before me. I
shall go up after him.” [905]
He was then burned to death, and they looked at his entrails. One lobe
of his liver (?) was short. That was why he was brave. They laid him
then just back of the place where they were, at the edge of the grass.
[906]
He was gone from among the families. The trouble then stopped. And they
also put the chief’s son into a box and started sorrowfully away.
When he (Sg̣agᴀ′ño) ran into the woods at Songs-of-victory town, and
after he reached Tcꜝā′ał, a woman of the family composed a crying song
for him:
“Grandfather (i.e., Raven) shook the supernatural beings when he moved
grandly.” [907]
The first of these families was the noted Raven family that owned
Tcꜝā′ał, on the west coast of Moresby island; the latter, one of the
most noted Raven families among the people in the Ninstints territory.
WAR BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF KLOO AND THE PEOPLE OF NINSTINTS
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo]
When they (the Kloo people) lived at People’s-fort [908] South-east
[909] had two wives. One was a woman of the Sand-town people, [910] and
one was a woman of the Pebble-town people. [911] He loved the Ninstints
woman, because she was pretty. For that reason the Pebble-town woman
wanted her to do something wrong.
Then she began helping her to do it and told her husband that she was
receiving a man of the Town-of-Djī′gua people. [912] He then took her
outside naked and whipped her. The-elder-Sqaa′n [913] loved her. And
she said of the Pebble-town woman, too: “I know also about her lover.”
Then South-east heard it, and he began whipping her also.
The next day both had disappeared. They did not know then whither the
two women had gone. The news reached Tcꜝā′ał. [914] News also reached
the other mother in the Ninstints country. One morning both mothers
appeared together in front of People’s-fort. Both sang crying songs for
their daughters. The Pebble-town woman and the Sand-town woman both
sang one [as follows]:
“On account of this my child moved about. On account of this, when my
child moved about, they ought to have heard the thunder, when my child
moved about on the way home.” [915]
He then let them come into the fort, and he gave them blood
compensation. He gave a slave to each of them, and he also gave a great
deal of property to each of them. Then the canoes parted. The women
went away satisfied.
When it was near summer he went to ask in marriage the younger sister
of the Sand-town woman whom he had married. And he came to Many-chiefs
at Sqā′djigît·awa′-i. And, after he had stayed a while with his
brother-in-law, he went away.
Before he had gone far the mother of Many-chiefs said to him:
“Many-chiefs, are you a man?” [916] He then became angry and took his
gun and his paddle. Then they pursued South-east. And while they
pursued him Many-chiefs was left behind. He did not have enough canoe
men.
Then South-east got off. As he fled into the woods he stepped under a
fallen tree, a small limb scratched his forehead, and a small stream of
blood flowed out down over his cheeks. Then the Ninstints people all
came to him. They encircled him. They waited for Many-chiefs.
One who was out of his senses said: “Why do you let him sit there? Even
for the blood that is running down his face you will be in a
predicament.” [917] He then shot him. The name of him who shot him was
Skᴀ′ndal. And they did not kill those who were with him. Those they let
go.
Half of the Town-of-Djī′gua people were at Łtā′na. The news had not yet
reached them. And there there lived a man of
Those-born-in-the-Ninstints-country [918] who was unmarried. He had
just won in gambling three sea-otter skins owned by a man of the
Town-of-Djī′gua people. His (the latter’s) name was Alder.
Then he (Alder) went out on Sg̣aalū′tꜝx̣ᴀs and ate medicine. There he
spent the night with the medicine on his stomach. He came home the next
day, and the day after that he began eating and drinking. His sister,
West-coast-clouds, gave him birds’ eggs to eat.
He had just picked up one and was shelling it when some one came crying
from a point at the end of the town. He then laid the egg down directly
and stopped all of them, for they had started the cry.
Then Alder, with his younger brother, went out to a ship [to which the
Ninstints man had gone]. [919] And he said to his younger brother: “I
will kill him even if he has gone up on deck.” He was still on the
water below, and he held his canoe against it on the starboard side.
They then went thither. They looked at him (Alder) while he was still
far away, and they asked them: “Why are they weeping on shore?” Then he
replied: “I do not know. After we got away from land, they wailed
behind us. They mentioned something about a child falling into the
water.” He deceived him in that way. And the Ninstints man was yet
below them on the water, and he put the canoe alongside of his. His sea
otters lay behind where he was sitting.
After he had remained beside him for a while he stabbed him. And he
said: “The chief has been killed. They are bringing home his body.” He
then took back his four sea-otter skins.
And, as soon as he had killed the Ninstints man, he went at once to
Strait-where-no-waves-come-ashore. [920] He went for gunpowder and
bullets which South-east had stored behind it. He also brought the news
to Strait-where-no-waves-come-ashore.
Then Ginᴀ′skilas [921] set a Sand-town woman outside to kill her. And
Alder stopped him. “Do not do that, chief, my nephew. You are of the
same skin dirt.” [922] And he let her in.
He then went over to the storehouse, crossing to it on a trail. When he
came out there Ninstints people were going away. And, when he came down
on the shore and stood opposite them, they said to him: “Alder, do you
not see that your leg has been cut off? [923] I wonder what you are
going to use as weapons.” And he replied: “Yes, you have cut off my
leg. I shall not have a single thing as a weapon. Yet two nights from
now I shall have procured weapons by selling you as slaves.”
He then went away by canoe. He started at once with his younger
brothers toward the south. And they concealed their canoe some distance
down the inlet from the fort. They then went up into the woods. After
they had gone along for a while Alder led them across a point covered
with trees.
After he had gone inland he came to a storehouse. And, having thrown
aside some skins and hides [924] stored there, [he came to] a box of
sea-otter tails that was among them. They afterward went away.
They started to watch by the fresh water opposite the fort. When the
tide rose high some people came singing from the fort. There were three
young women and a man of goodly size.
They then began to shoot at them. They killed the man and one woman and
enslaved the two others, and they went off in their canoe.
From the fort they heard his gun go off. They were in canoes in lines,
awaiting him. He then went into the midst [of them]. And, when he came
near, they moved apart for him. He passed through. He sang a fleeing
song: [925] “Wahō-ō-ō hē-ōōō wahō-ō-ō hē-ō-ō-ō⁺.”
And after he had fled for a time one of the Ninstints men held his hand
toward him with fingers outspread. [926] And he said: “I wonder to what
place of safety Alder is paddling.” Then he answered: “Slave,
Hemlock-bark-scraping-knife, chase me as fast as you can. Kill me as
soon as you can.”
And, when they came up to the place where they had killed the chief,
they talked one to another. They became frightened. “He is leading us
to enemies near by; he is leading us to enemies.” They then went back
away from him. And he easily escaped them.
He reached home and set ashore the two slaves for Ginᴀ′skilas. They
took the two slaves to Skedans [927] to sell them, and traded them for
guns and ammunition only. They gathered ammunition for war as one
collects food.
Now for a long time the war went along slowly. By and by the war
expedition started. After they had paddled along for a while they came
near the fort in the night. There was no noise of talking at the fort,
and they felt strange about it. And they let morning dawn upon them
opposite the fort. And when it dawned they saw that the fort was empty,
and they went to it. Nearly all of the property lay in the houses. They
then burned down the fort. They burned the houses. They had no idea why
the people had gone.
And, after they had started out of the inlet, they stopped at a large
bed of kelp. All made themselves fast to the kelp with their paddles.
Then Qꜝā′siêk [928] began to perform in a canoe as a shaman does. After
he had performed for a while he began to whip the souls of the enemy.
And when he pulled toward himself something he had seized in the air
all the kelp broke.
Then all went on. After they had gone along for a while they saw smoke.
And Alder landed in front of Songs-of-victory town. He went quickly
then to the other side. When he had come to the other side he came out
behind a man who was carrying along driftwood at the end of the trail.
He shot him from behind.
The Ninstints people discovered their enemies at once. Many-chiefs held
a new gun. Those left to care for the canoes then came round the point.
After they had anchored their canoes one came running out from them
(the Ninstints people). He had no gun. He held a spear. “The
Town-of-Djī′gua people are always like that (i.e., cowards). Shall I
stop before I get there?”
They at once ran together, shooting. The Ninstints people were driven
back. The first time he fired the flintlock on Many-chiefs’ gun broke
in two. Nothing could help him. When they went back Many-chiefs was
wounded. He escaped with them into the woods. Very many Ninstints
people were killed then. Not one was killed on the other side.
After they had gone into the woods after them for a while they came
back. Then Ginᴀ′skilas stood in the place where they had encamped near
a whale. If one had two slaves, he gave him one. If one had three, he
gave him two. If one had one, he did not give it to him. At that time
he became still more of a chief. In exchange for those slaves he had a
house built. [929]
And, after the Ninstints people had gone along for a while in the
woods, they lived in the mountains. Their kettles and all of their
property had been captured. They steamed whale in things that they
hollowed out.
While they lived there, before Many-chiefs’ wound was healed, he
practiced how he was going to fight. He opened again his unhealed
wound. He died there. They then started away and came out opposite
Red-cod island. [930]
And those who had gone to fight went out again the next year to fight
on account of South-east. At that time they did not know where they
(the Ninstints people) lived. After they had gone along for a while
they came to a reef lying out from the mouth of a strait.
There Smoke got off. When he looked seaward he dropped to the ground.
He did so, because he saw fishing canoes.
On that day they had given to Kiä′nskina-i [931] the white part of a
halibut. That was why he was out fishing. They at once went out from
Kꜝîl [932] toward them, and they destroyed the people. Among others
they killed the chief. They then seized Hemlock-bark-scraping-knife on
the water. “Hemlock-bark-scraping-knife, when the chief was chased,
did you not stop them?” “No,” he said. And they struck him on the lips
with the short sinker strings that they held. They killed him with
them.
They then skinned Kiä′nskina-i’s head, and were happy to have it, [933]
and they returned home with it. They ceased to think about Southeast.
They stopped warring.
A FIGHT BETWEEN THE XĀ′GI-TOWN PEOPLE AND SAND-TOWN PEOPLE
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo]
At the town of Xā′gi [934] a woman of the Slaves [935] went outside
before she went to bed. She did not return. But instead of saying
anything they kept the matter in their minds. They did not know from
what town people had come to get her.
Some time afterward they discovered that she had been taken by a man
from the town of G̣a′-idi [936] who had been in love with her. It was a
man of the Sand-town people. They went then in a large canoe to demand
the property which was given when a woman deserted her husband. And
they came there at low water.
When the tide was well up he (the seducer) went out and played with his
wife between the houses. He who had formerly had her as his wife was
the bow man. And, when he paddled shoreward, he said: “Shoreward!
Future people shall always remember me.” He then took a bow and two
arrows and jumped off with them. And he ran up and shot his wife.
Afterward he shot the man. At that time he escaped into the canoe. They
went away and landed. The man’s mind was happy.
And Wada′ [937] thought his town was too great to have a woman taken
out of it. Then she (his wife) said to her husband: “Make it all right
with property.” He would not agree. He said they thought his town was
common. By and by she told her husband to go ahead: “Make a stir about
it. My children are clear of it.”
And the people of Chief-discovered’s town [938] said the same things to
him that Wada’s wife had said. They could not stop him. He also thought
that his town was too great. By and by they announced a fight. They
cleaned their spears. They agreed upon a day on which to fight.
When the day at last arrived they came around Sqas point. [939] One in
the town shouted: “It is becoming dry [with the number of canoes].”
They landed at once at the end of the town. Then they went to the town
of Xā′gi. The people of Wada’s town stood in lines on the beach
awaiting them.
When they came together all the women went into the woods. After the
lines had approached each other for a while they got within a spear
cast, and one from Wada’s side shouted: “Bring on the
spear-whetstones.” [940] One on the other side from among
Chief-discovered’s people also said: “Ho, ho, you are not the only ones
to have them.” They thought that they had called spears
spear-whetstones when they answered. What they really intended was to
call out ten persons who were reckless and brave.
As soon as they came down they began to spear the people of
Chief-discovered’s town. At the very beginning Chief-discovered fell.
Wada′, however, escaped.
The people of Common-town [941] came in front and looked on from their
canoes. Only five canoes [of the Sand-town people] escaped. He
destroyed the people of Chief-discovered’s town. After they had pulled
the spears out of the slain they (the people of Common-town) brought
their canoes in front of the people of Chief-discovered’s town and
carried in the dead bodies. They did not wish to fight.
And the women came back. Wada’s wife, with her children, did not come
back. Although they hunted for her body they could not find it. And the
others carried up their dead. They did not, however, take up the body
of Chief-discovered. The canoe was rolled about by the waves with his
body in it. He floated about in the bilge-water. They treated his body
in that way because they had lost so many friends through him.
These were both Ninstints families of the Raven clan. The former was
named from an islet in Skincuttle inlet, which is said to have been the
first land to appear above the waters of the flood raised by Raven’s
uncle; see the story of “Raven traveling.” From this they claimed to be
the oldest Haida family. The Sand-town people have been referred to in
“Story of the Food-giving-town people,” note 4.
WARS BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF NINSTINTS AND THE PEOPLE OF SKIDEGATE
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo.]
In the times before they had muskets the Skidegate people went toward
the south end of the island to fight. The entire town, including both
clans, went along and presently saw a fort on the landward side of
Kî′ntcꜝuwit. It was named Standing-fort.
After they had been fishing from the fort for a while something talked
with a woman who was cutting a fish. “Come, cut a little piece of fish
[942] for me, younger sister.” They did not know what it was that
spoke. This portent happened because the fort was going to be
destroyed.
There was no way to climb up to the fort. They then laid a long pole up
the side of it. They used that to climb up on. Presently the Skidegate
people came in a crowd to the bottom of it. When they were ready to go
up some one shouted down from it: “Do not kill me. I belong to the
Cumshewa-town people. [943] I am here with them only for a short time.”
They called to him then to come down. But he did not believe them and
did not go down.
By and by they started up the ladder. When they got halfway up the
ladder they poured whale grease down upon the ladder. They got up over
it with difficulty. They killed all the men and cut off their heads.
The rest [of their bodies] they threw down from the fort. The space
around it was filled up. After they had destroyed them they enslaved
the women and children.
And, when the war canoes started off, some young women and some young
men who had gone after spruce bark came out on the shore at the time of
their departure. They wished to go. They would not take them. And they
went to the fort after they (the warriors) had gone away. And, while
they were still some way off from the fort they heard a great sound of
voices. And, when they arrived there, the air and blood rushing out of
the mouths of the severed heads made a great noise. At that time the
Ninstints people were destroyed.
Gᴀ′nx̣oat [944] and the people of his village went to war later. And
after they had gone along for a while they landed. At that time the
Ninstints people were at Djig̣u′n. [945] And a man of the Sand-town
people [946] who had gone out from the town after something saw
unobserved that enemies were in a certain place. And, after he had
watched them for a while, he shot one. No one was about.
He then cut off his head. With that he brought the news to the fort.
His name was Great-drum. Then the Ninstints people launched a large
canoe. They did not know that the Skidegate people were lying in wait
for them on the shore near the fort. After they had gone along for a
while they shot at them. They upset the canoe.
Then Tasgie′n and Gā′da-kuła′ns got ashore with ammunition. Both
belonged to the Sand-town people. They shot at the Skidegate people
from behind rocks which leaned toward the sea along the edges of the
water. As soon as it was seen from the fort that they had been upset
they went to help them. Those were the Ninstints-gîtî′ns and the
Sa′ki-qe′ig̣awa-i. [947]
Then they landed. And they came behind the Skidegate people. At that
time Yū′wa-i came to Gᴀ′nx̣oat, who was taking a bath in the woods. He
feared then to shoot him, he was such a great chief. Then he finished
“night-picks-up-the-village” (his daily fast). [948]
Laginᴀ′ñdigūdañ also tried to help his sons by shooting. Then Yū′wa-i
came behind the Skidegate people and shot one. He (the man shot) was
all alone. He then cut off his head and put a string on it, and he came
out with it at the end of the lines of Skidegate people. “Ho ho ho, ho
ho ho, ho ho ho, Skidegate people, I am Yū′wa-i. I am eating you up
from behind.” And, when the Skidegate people saw the head that he had
on his back, even their sinews gave out [they were so discouraged].
[949]
The Sand-town people lost an advantage by their foolishness. Their new
muskets and ammunition were sunk. Not long before a trading vessel had
come there.
And before this, after things had been going on quietly at the
[Ninstints] fort, Blown-away went out from the fort to fish. When he
came back from fishing his gambling sticks were gone from the house. He
then went to where they were gambling. He came to where his nephew was
using the gambling sticks.
Then he scolded his nephew on account of them. And he (his nephew)
threw the gambling sticks over a cliff. He then pulled his nephew down
on one side and stabbed him repeatedly. And he ran toward the house.
Then his (the murdered man’s) younger brother ran after him. When he
had almost got in his younger brother also stabbed him twice in the
abdomen. He, too, soon after was lying on the ground. A woman was also
killed the same day.
Here is the end of the story about this.
WARS BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF SKIDEGATE AND KLOO
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsgo]
In the days when they used arrows the Skidegate people went to Kloo to
war. There they kept watch. Near by were some women alone, digging
roots. Near where the women dug they had a large fire. They already had
stones heated. Then they steamed their nettle roots. The warriors were
peering at them from behind. And the nettle roots were cooked, and were
cooked well. As they slipped the skins off they kept saying
“Wᴀha-iwa′n.” [950]
And, when they had finished this, they came out to them. They enslaved
the women. And, after they had brought them to Skidegate, they also
owned the made-up word there that they had obtained on the expedition.
They said “Ha-iwa′n” when they did anything. The Kloo people then
learned that they had captured the made-up word. And four canoe loads
of people went from Kloo to Skidegate to make war.
They then pulled up their canoes on the inner side of Gū′łga and
concealed themselves there. After they had remained in hiding for a
while three persons went by below them in a canoe. The one in the
middle was light-looking and stout. His hair hung down loose.
They then passed behind a point. Then they launched one good-sized
canoe and pursued them. And they saw that they were near. One of those
in the bow then caught up a bow and shot an arrow over them. When it
fell near the bow all three at once looked around. And they said to
each other that it was Owner. [951] They came then alongside of his
canoe and killed them all.
They took the head of Owner, and they did the same to those who were
with him. Then they had their three heads stuck up on poles at Kloo.
The Town-of-Djī′gua people made immediately another new word,
“without-even-looking-back.” [952] And when the news of that reached
Skidegate they, in turn, were ashamed.
After some time had elapsed the Kloo and Skidegate people began again
to visit back and forth. Then the Skidegate people came to Blood-fort.
And, having determined to kill them, Koagia′ns counted the people. They
then destroyed them. Not even the skin was scratched on their own side.
And, after they had killed all, a youth was missing from among them.
They then launched a canoe and hunted for him. He had jumped into the
water. He sat close to the edge of the sea on the point on which the
fort stood. They then found him. The Skidegate man begged for mercy. On
account of that they called the place “Begging-for-mercy-cove.” And
they killed him, too. Then a great quantity of blood ran in the fort.
So they called it “Blood-fort.”
Some time afterward a woman of the Common-food-steamers [953] who was
married among the Ninstints people brought over food to her friends in
Kloo. They found Kloo empty. They were afraid because they had
destroyed the Skidegate people at Blood-fort. They were all at Tꜝā′łdi.
[954] It was then that she arrived.
They slept then in the woods near the town of Kloo. One of the two
slaves who were with her told them to camp there [instead of on the
beach]. And he also heard the sound of paddling. He said then to his
mistress: “I say, let us go in over there. Some people passed here in
the night in canoes.” But his mistress did not believe what he said,
and they passed in on the south side of the island.
When they were going across the inlet they plainly saw some people
launching their canoes at a good sand beach. And they (the strangers)
chased them back. They then drove them ashore in terror. Her companions
escaped to the woods, and she remained behind alone. She did not let
them pull her in, but laid her head on the edge of the canoe.
And she said: “Hurry, cut off my head. I do not want to be a slave. I
do not want to run away frightened either. Cut off my head quickly.
Just here, my brother used to say, yours were easily cut off.” [955]
She made a mark around her neck, and she kept talking. They then cut
off her head. And all that were with her escaped into the woods.
They got the news at Tꜝā′łdi, where all were living. They were shut up
there for a while as if they had been surrounded in one house. By and
by the Skidegate people again came to war. Opposite to the place where
they had drawn up their canoes some one was chopping down a cedar for a
canoe. He felled it and went away.
Then they (the Skidegate people) asked the oldest of the warriors:
“When you used to chop down a cedar how did you think about it during
the night?” “I thought all night what one does when the woman he is in
love with accepts him. He will come to it again very early.”
They then took three men over to it during the night. When he came
there early in the morning, they killed him. Then they went over and
got them. [956]
They then fell unexpectedly upon some who came out of Tꜝā′łdi by canoe.
One drew himself up into a tree which bent over the water. He alone
escaped. They killed the rest.
During all that autumn, until the very beginning of winter, there were
enemies around them. They were never free from them.
Then the man whose sister had been killed up the inlet from Kloo could
not get a canoe. By and by Ginᴀ′skilas [957] lent him a 5-fathom canoe
without thwarts fastened in it. And he and his younger brother finished
it. After they had finished it he (Ginᴀ′skilas) changed his mind [about
lending it]. And Alder called out to his younger brother: “Kꜝwi′dᴀña-i,
[958] cut off the cedar limbs from the canoe at once. If he says a word
against it I will kill him.” He then cut them off. They took no notice
of it. And he could not get a canoe.
All winter no one took a step anywhere. By and by one of them went out
to sea for something, yet came back safely. They saw that spring was
already beginning to come on. Then Alder and Grandson went to Skidegate
to war together.
Those who remained behind felt that the earth was different. The ground
shook, and the thunder rolled directly over them, and there were
landslides. A woman of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o,
Woman-too-dirty-to-be-touched, [959] owned four large clam shells, duck
feathers, and duck grease. She laid them (the clam shells) down and put
the duck grease into them. She put duck feathers along the edges. She
sat talking to them: “Be careful, your duck grease might spill.” And it
stopped. She believed it was stopped by her actions. [960]
The warriors arrived at Skidegate. Then they all (those left behind)
got ready to move at the same time. They had their canoes loaded and
anchored at the mouth of the creek. By and by, all started off
together. That day they encamped at Xō′tdjix̣oa′s. [961] That night they
remained awake. Amasa′n and his family acted as sentinels.
The day after that they went off again. And, after they had moved on
for a while, they camped at Sqē′ługîts. The two who had gone to fight
were also away. And, after having escaped from confinement, they ate
anything, having mussels and things in the woods for provisions.
Ginᴀ′skilas then went out to examine a peninsula opposite the camping
place. And a woman of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o, West-coast-clouds, and a
slave also went out. And, as they went along, they met the [two
returning] warriors. Two scalps hung out of the stern of the canoe. And
they told her how they killed them.
“We found Skidegate empty. But still we did not go into the houses.”
Then they came back [to the canoes]. They concealed their canoes at the
seaward end of Skidegate. Afterward they went to look at Skidegate.
They found there sixty boxes of grease, stowed away. They then broke
them open with an ax. And the one whose sister’s head had been cut off,
while she was still alive, in the same way cut off the heads of four
youths who came after devilfishes.
And she went along before the fighters shouting. From the place where
Ginᴀ′skilas had gone to make an examination some came along. And she
shouted: “Ix̣iâ′⁺! Alder and Grandson found the town of Skidegate empty.
Their canoes are full.” She went toward a large canoe coming toward
her, telling the news. When she came near she recognized Gᴀ′nx̣oat’s
[962] canoe, named Sea-gull canoe. [963] She at once paddled the canoe
around, and they escaped to land. Alder and Grandson also landed there.
And Grandson’s canoe was carried away by the wind. But before the
Skidegate people arrived Kī′dja-i [964] swam over to the canoe which
was drifting away. And he did not care for the canoe, but he took the
two scalps and swam ashore with them. He moved backward, sitting down
with the two scalps in his mouth. “Now, Gîtî′ns, [965] I am glad to
meet you.”
And the Skidegate people got off to fight there. The Kloo people also
came near from Sqē′ługîts. They came together at once among the woods.
Hu hu hu hu, there was a great sound of guns there. A man of the
Skidegate-town people [966] and one of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o [967]
used to be good friends, and the Skidegate-town man shouted to him:
“Property-always-running-about, are you among them?” “Yes.” “Go home.
When the Gîtî′ns become angry not even the grizzly bear can stand
against them.” “Indeed, I will go home. I was born a grizzly bear from
my parents, who are grizzly bears. They had me at the front [in war].”
After they had fought there for a while Amasa′n and a Skidegate man
shot at each other over a thin rock at the edge of the woods, and they
kept it up. Behind Amasa′n were two persons, one of whom held a spear.
He asked for it. They refused to give it to him. He said that he would
run over to the Skidegate man soon after he had shot him. [968] They
did not give him the war spear.
Then they fought there. After they had fought there for a while, and
evening was coming on, Tā′-iłgwai fell. He was wounded. On the other
side Gidagā′ñgu also fell. They then called out to each side to stop.
[969] They then ceased shooting at each other, and the Skidegate people
got into their canoes. And the Town-of-Djī′gua people also got into
their canoes when it was very dark.
When they (the women) escaped to land in fright Flood-tide-woman went
up among the mountains. When it became dark she went down cautiously
toward the place where they had camped. She was within a month of
giving birth to a child.
When she came near she heard some people laughing. And she (a woman
among them) recognized the voice of Gwai′îs. “Uncle Gwai′îs” [she
said]. And he answered: “Ā′waiya, [I thought] they had taken you.” She
(Flood-tide-woman) had come to the one with whom he had been in love.
[970]
And after they had camped there for a while one day, when the sea was
smooth, they went away. They looked at an island which lay seaward from
them. Half of them refused to use it. The rest wished to use it. The
place was good for houses, but there was no water. They remained there
all the day.
And they went away from it to Qꜝo′nakoa fort [971] and landed there.
All said it was good. It was a good place to keep canoes. Then they
built little houses at the fort. When they were finished they began
living in them.
Before the stockade and houses were completed one of the Peninsula
people [972] who had married a woman of the Common-food-steamers
brought over news to his brother-in-law. He brought the news that
Î′ldjiwas [973] had his canoe dug out in the rough. He had done that in
order to go to war.
Before he brought the news three persons in a canoe were fishing with
floats. It was raining in the inlet where they were. And, while they
had the canoe turned bottom up over them, the Skidegate people quickly
turned over the canoe and killed them.
He (the Peninsula man) stayed all night at Qꜝo′nakoa fort and went off
the next day. When evening came his smoke [was seen] rising from an
island lying seaward. [974] Then the strongest men went out from the
fort to see him. Where he was floating, at Land-point, a big whale was
drifting. He raised a smoke for his brothers-in-law on account of that.
The people of the fort then all went out for whale. And they encamped
at G̣ᴀ′ldjida for the whale. There they cut it up.
Î′ldjiwas then had his canoe in the woods at Chicken-hawk town. [975]
They observed the Town-of-Djī′gua people cut up the whale. By and by
Two-voices went to Chicken-hawk town to cut łg̣ēt [976] with two young
men. After they had gone there they heard the sound of guns. They shot
Two-voices only. His companions they spared.
Shortly after the guns sounded he (Î′ldjiwas) sailed by in front of the
camping place. He went too fast for them to even think of going out to
him.
And after they had waited a while for a good day they loaded the whale
and went off with it. And, although they wanted to go to Qꜝo′nakoa
fort, the canoes were so heavy that they went ashore at Dog-fish fort.
[977] This fort was the best of all. And they cleared away the bushes
and started to live there. Ginᴀ′skilas owned blankets ornamented with
duck bills (lit., “duck teeth”). He hung them all around upon the
stockade on account of a canoe that had come [with visitors]. And, when
these were not quite enough, he bought ten with a slave that a woman
owned. They used to get twenty slaves for a sea otter.
In the following year all who were in Dog-fish fort went to Skidegate
to war. And, after they had pulled up their canoes into the woods in
the inlet above Skidegate, they were discovered. All of the Skidegate
people followed them at once. They shot at them. They shot one then in
the canoes of the Kloo people. They got off on the inner side of
Ku′nga-i. [978]
At that time the Town-of-Djī′gua people took to the woods. When they
fled the one who had been wounded sat in the canoe. Just before
Tā′-iłgwai got off he called to him: “Skî′lg̣atgwᴀns,” he said to him,
“try to get off. Sit at the foot of a tree in the woods. When I get to
Cumshewa [979] I will borrow a canoe and get you as soon as I can.”
Then he consented. He said: “All right.”
The Skidegate people then pulled off their canoes. Not long after that
the one they had wounded made a fire for his head. They then went over
from Skidegate and cut off his head.
And the Town-of-Djī′gua people went around by the point, camping here
and there. They had nothing to eat. And when they camped they were
cold. By and by they found a sea otter floated ashore. They made a fire
for it and steamed it in the ground. When it was cooked they set some
in front of Ginᴀ′skilas. But he said: “You put this in front of me to
eat, but I will not eat it. The gravel might see me.” [980]
They then started off and came to Cumshewa. And they attacked
Tā′-iłgwai, because he did not do as he had promised [to the wounded
man]. They then borrowed a canoe at Cumshewa and went to Skedans. [981]
They (the Skedans people) took them over to the fort.
And, after they had remained there for a while and it was again fall,
they again went to Tꜝā′łdi. And, after they were through with gathering
food, they again settled at Dog-fish fort.
And the summer after the succeeding winter some posts fell out of the
stockade. Later more fell. Then Gwi′sukūnas called his nephew and said
to him: “Chief’s son, the women can now go anywhere they want to.
Fighting lies on its back. War is over.” From that time it was ended.
At this time chief Ginᴀ′skilas died. When Qā′-idjît became chief in his
place they had a town at Sea-grass. [982]
Here is the end of this story.
WARS BETWEEN THE TOWNS OF KLOO AND KITKATLA AND BETWEEN THE KLOO
FAMILIES
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o]
Once South-east [983] and the people of his town went trading. He came
to I′nūł. [984] And, after they had given them food for a while,
berries were dropped upon the face of South-east, and Alder [985] did
not like it. Then they began to fight at the fort. And they destroyed
the men and enslaved the women.
They then discovered Axłua′ls swimming from the fort. Some youths
pursued him. And, when they got near him, one held a spear over his
shoulder ready for him. He said to him: “Spare me brother-in-law,” but
still he speared him. He broke his back.
They towed the body of Axłua′ls ashore. Those taken as slaves then sang
the same song for his body that had been sung for him when he acted in
the secret societies and got power from the sea otter and when he
performed sleight-of-hand feats.
Lawē′⁺ huwā′⁺hō⁺ hō⁺ lawē′⁺ī iä′⁺ la⁺wē′⁺ huyä′ u ō⁺ lawē′⁺ hu wä⁺
ō⁺ lawē′⁺ hē⁺ iyä′⁺ ō⁺ ōō⁺ lawē′⁺ī⁺ iyä′⁺ō⁺
ō⁺ lawē′⁺ yē⁺ huwä′⁺ ō⁺ hō⁺ lawē′ēē⁺ hēhē⁺
iyä′⁺ ō⁺ ō⁺ lawē′⁺ hē hē iyä′wâ wâ⁺.
At that time they took forty slaves for South-east. All together, they
took seventy at that time. When they came home they started to fortify
themselves at Thin-fort. [986]
And, after they had been there for a while, Djē′basa [987] came with
many canoes. They stopped in front of the fort and bought them (the
slaves) for grease, hides, and slaves. And, after he had bought all and
had started off, a woman whose lip around her labret was broken
through, the only one left, came out and stood there, and said:
“Djē′basa, chief Djē′basa, are you going to let your property rot at
such-and-such a place where it is stowed? [988] Are you going to let it
rot at such-and-such another place where it is stowed?”[988]
Then the canoe was backed toward her, and he gathered the boxes of
grease which were in the canoe together and landed them in exchange for
her. Then she also got in, and they went away.
When they first arrived there Djē′basa ate dry fish and grease in the
canoe. They saw that his mind was good. And South-east began to speak
of building a house with what he had obtained in exchange for the
slaves. And they were glad, and the Town-of-Djī′gua people sang a song
outside.
Wai⁺ aiyā′⁺ aiyā′⁺ aiyā′⁺aiyā′ uyâ⁺ uyâ⁺ ayā⁺ ayā⁺ wâ
ai′ya⁺ aiyā′ha⁺ aiyā′ha aiyā′ha haiyā′haho haiyā′hahē, etc.
At the time they sang they made a forward motion, and when they moved
much the platform fell. No one was injured. Then one of them asked his
child: “Hî′ndju, is your brother there?” They then sang another song:
“Hî′ndju, is your brother there?”
They removed then from the fort to Chicken-hawk town. [989] But there
they built houses. After this a long time elapsed before there was
another fight. South-east was dead, and Ginᴀ′skilas [990] was also
dead, and Qā′-idjît [991] succeeded to his place. Then they cleared the
town of Sea-grass. [992] He built Cave-house [993] there.
And while Qā′-idjît was sitting idle in front of his house with a
Pebble-town woman, [994] whom he had married, Those-born-at-Skedans
[995] came from Skedans [996] to fight with him. They shot at him, and
his wife fell dead without uttering a word. But he got in safe. Then he
kept sending food through the fire to his wife. [997] That made him
soon forget about his wife.
And when summer came he married a woman of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o.
[998] The brother of the one that was killed also stayed there. His
name was Lū′g̣ot. [999]
One day Qā′-idjît painted himself and tied weasel skins in his hair, in
order to set out to eat berries. He started off. Lū′g̣ot had made a
canoe and was smoothing it there. When his brother-in-law was on the
point of starting off he ran down toward his brother-in-law. And he
threw sand into Qā′-idjît’s face. [1000]
And he asked for two guns which were in the bow. They were afraid to
hand them to him then. By and by they handed him one, and he shot his
brother-in-law. He shot true and killed him.
Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o bestirred themselves at once and fired at him.
They shot him in the elbow. Then he lay there. That day three were
killed. Qā′-idjît was made to sit on the sand. But still Qā′-idjît
escaped into the house. And he lay in the back part of Cave-house. He
had two large blankets over him. Over these he also had a cotton canoe
sail.
Now those who had done that to him went to a lonely camping place. And
afterward they were afraid he was alive. They came to kill him. It was
moonlight. A boy who was sleeping with him woke him. He then pulled
himself out from under the blankets. And, while he moved back from the
fire, one was moving a pistol [1001] about in the smoke hole. He tried
to shoot him. Twice his pistol failed to go off. Then two guns were
pointed through the smoke hole. When they went off there were large
holes in the blankets.
One day, some time afterward, he went out in front of the house and sat
idle. After he had sat there for a while they stepped toward him. He
heard the sound of running feet. And, after he had aimed his gun in
that direction for some time, Naskiä′ł [1002] stuck out his head, and
he shot at his face. He fell there on his face.
Of those who came to attack him from the camp Naskiä′ł was killed. And
the one who was with him went away. And another family looked after the
body. Afterward Qā′-idjît went to Gᴀ′nx̣oat, who was living in
Big-house. [1003] There he died. And his grandfather put him into a big
box.
Then the people who had shot him and were holding a fort in Lake inlet
[1004] brought over a peace offering. [1005] They brought over one
slave. And the next year they also held a fort up the inlet from
Sea-grass town. Thither Two-in-one came from Daog̣ā′iłgᴀłgîñ, which lies
seaward from Skedans, and got him. They came and got Naskiä′ł [1006] to
go to war with the Gîtā′mat. [1007] He went at once.
They then set out. There, at Gîtā′mat, they took many slaves for him.
Two-in-one, [1008] however, had three. And, when they returned, they
built two large houses at Atā′na. [1009] Presently they came to him to
ask for blood money. They gave then five slaves. And
Those-born-at-Skedans named their island “Sunny-fort.” [1010] By
selling the slaves that remained Naskiä′ł built a house. There they say
he began to potlatch. Now they went from Sea-grass town to get his
house timbers. And they built his house at Sea-grass town. This is how
they got back to Sea-grass town.
After that time they procured more expensive seats [at the feasts and
potlatches]. [1011] They now ceased to have trouble at Sea-grass town.
Here this ends.
Kitkatla was an important town and tribe belonging to the Tsimshian
stock. The town was on Dolphin island.
WAR BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF KLOO AND THE TSIMSHIAN
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o]
The people at Chicken-hawk [1012] town were at Wā′nats [1013] prepared
for war and had done raising their canoes. They were going to Kitamat.
[1014] And because the tides began to run too high for them to make the
start from Chicken-hawk town, they prepared at ʟłasū′g̣a-i. When the
tide was high they started off.
Then some Skedans [1015] people met them. And they gave them the
following news. Bufflehead had thrown a dry halibut at Î′ngîlîn, [1016]
on account of which there was a fight. [1017] They heard that a woman
of the Town-of-Djī′gua people [1018] had been killed. Then, instead [of
keeping on], they went toward the Tsimshian. [1019]
They went on and took all the dry salmon a slave was getting in
Skidegate creek [1020] away from him. They took a large number of
bundles of salmon out of the canoe of one who was coming back from war.
After they had left that place they took away all the property of some
people who were living at Da′x̣ua. [1021]
They then went seaward and came to the mouth of the Skeena. And they
went toward Metlakahtla [1022] and pulled their canoe up into the
woods. Close behind them were very many people in a temporary camp.
After some time had elapsed they began to make a noise. They then went
to fight.
When they came out of the woods a Tsimshian shot a Haida. “A,” he was
glad to have shot him. Then some Tsimshian got into a medium-sized
canoe and paddled off in fright. And the Kloo people also got into one.
The Tsimshian had one paddle, and the fighters also had one.
And after they had chased them for a while, they chased them ashore and
seized them at the edge of the water. Only one escaped to the woods.
When they seized his wife she cried out, and he turned around quickly
with a knife. Then Djix̣ia′al ran toward him. When he got near he
shouted at him. He (the Tsimshian) shook, and he seized him.
They then got into the two canoes and went over to the place where they
had come out. They went over to the war canoes that were there. On an
island on which stood one tree, near the place where they came out, sat
Nî′swas. [1023] And the people of his town also sat there. The Kloo
people were unaware of it.
And, when they started off, one [Tsimshian] who was a good hunter
started after something [from the camp of Nî′swas]. He shot at them.
Then they started back.
They came across then, and the warriors came to Raven-creek. [1024] Two
canoes landed at a house that stood on the farther side of High-point.
[1025] After they had remained for a while in that house a Skidegate
man who used to be on good terms with a Kloo man ran in through the
doorway. Instead of sitting idle, Qena′-i’s father [1026] picked up his
weapons. One of them held ready before the door an ax which he had in
his hands. He brought news over in advance that people were coming over
from High-point town[1025] to fight them.
Then they (the assailants) went back. And they also went away. When the
sun had passed behind the hills, they arrived at Chicken-hawk town. At
that time they sang a high song. They had brought in ten slaves.
Then one whose canoe was empty went into Kitamat for a short raid.
After he had been gone for a while they heard the sound of his guns.
While they were living at Kloo he brought in two slaves. They took them
for Kog̣ogwa′ñ. By trading these he built a house. It was named
“Î′ngîlîn-house.” [1027]
Some time after this they went to war on the Tsimshian in two canoes.
Gîtku′n [1028] and Gitagᴀ′ñgiasʟas went. After they got into the
Tsimshian country they landed their canoes near Metlakahtla. After they
had sat there for a while five persons came in a canoe after devilfish.
There were three women and two men, and the warriors ran toward them in
the woods.
The chief did not get off. But the others walked about on shore. They
took then the wife of Nîsʟā′ganūs, and they also took the wife of his
nephew. And they seized the other woman in the woods. She was very
pretty, and they lay with her there and let her go.
They pushed them along then to the place where the canoes were. And,
when they started off, Nîsʟā′ganūs’s nephew walked about on the
opposite shore. He shot at them many times, but the gunpowder only
flashed. By and by they pulled out of range. And they went seaward to
Sqä′g̣ał. And, when they started across, they sang a high song at Kloo.
[1029] And they owned her (the chief’s wife) there. The winter was not
long for him (Gîtku′n). [1030]
The Tsimshian then came to fight for her in a crowd. And, when they
camped at Qal, [1031] Häl [1032] sent a canoe to talk with them. He had
them tell the people that he was going to come for her. When harvest
time [1033] came, after he had said he would come back in many canoes,
a great many Kîtkatla people came by canoe to Skedans. It was a
veritable crowd.
They stayed at the town of Skedans. The Kloo people also crossed
thither. The great Häl got Kꜝuia′ns’s [1034] sister and another woman
who had been taken south to the Bellabella. [1035] He brought both
over.
On the night when the Kloo people came he began to dance. After he had
done this for a while he sent the two Ninstints people [to the Kloo
people] by striking them on the back. They struck Gîtku′n with a slave,
[1036] and Gidᴀ′ñgiasʟas also went away with one. The chiefs were in
Mother-house. [1037]
After he had ceased dancing, Gîtku′n also started to dance. After he
had done so for a while, and had stopped, they had the wife of
Nîsʟā′ganūs stand up, and the other with her. And, when they struck her
on the back to send her to the other side, she almost touched the
ground with her lips. They did the same thing to the other one. In this
way they exchanged.
After they got back to Kloo Kꜝuia′ns and Kꜝadja′-i paid for their
sisters. Kꜝuia′ns paid two slaves for his sister, along with sea
otters. Kꜝadja′-i also paid a slave for his sister, besides much
property and many guns.
After this winter came. When spring came Gîtku′n joined the secret
society. At the end of two days he disappeared into the woods. On the
next day all the Kloo people went to Skedans. When they set out they
launched his canoe, which was called “Reef-canoe.” [1038]
After they had loaded for a while, some came down in a crowd out of
Cave-house with a sail pulled tightly around them. Inside of it many
horns sounded. They got into the canoe and started across. It went
along in the midst of the other canoes, and something whistled inside
of the sail. All thought that Gîtku′n was in it.
When they got near Skedans Reef-canoe changed still more. They let the
one who had fallen [that is, joined the secret society] at Kloo be
inspired at Skedans. When they stood in front of Skedans, he (the
spirit) suddenly made a noise behind Skedans, and Skedans was in
commotion. Hu hu, hu hu hu, Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn [1039] also acted ū′lala in a
different place. At this time they were so much taken up with it that
they did not know what they did. When they got Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn into
Mother-house, the companions also attended to Gîtku′n. They got him
into Rotten-house. [1040] They then came ashore.
The day after this, about noon, Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn went out and bit the arms of
the sons of Skedans chiefs belonging to good families. [1041] After a
time he bit the arm of Gā-iñᴀ′ldᴀña-i-yū′ᴀns, when he too joined the
secret society. He was inspired. On the day after that
Gā-iñᴀ′ldᴀña-i-yū′ᴀns went out and [feigned to] eat a Bellabella woman
that his mother owned. [1042] As he sat and moved around her she pushed
him from her and made a sound as if she feared him. By and by he seized
her and began to eat her. When he began to bite her neck she died. The
companions took care of him. He ate to the middle of her.
One day, when the secret society was at its height, it was foggy. At
that time the two brothers of Nîsʟā′gañūs’ wife came to fight. They
were Nīstadâ′ and Nîsūłna′tc.
During three days and nights it was foggy at sea. After that, when they
made land very early in the morning, they saw it (land) all at once.
They then pulled up their canoe on Gwa′-idjats. [1043]
Just at daybreak the sound of the bad secret society came to their
ears. When day broke they discovered that they were coming out to them
in a canoe. In the bow of the canoe persons were acting under the
influence of the spirits of the bad [1044] secret society. They made
noises, and they said to each other that they smelt them. They fled
then. They forgot the board which holds the foot of the mast. Then some
who had gone after sea eggs shouted as they came back [at seeing] their
white sail pass out to sea from Skedans. Then they split in two some
boxes of grease that they had and made a hole in the bottom with an
adze. Then one of them, lying on his back, held it there with his feet.
When they were some distance away they passed round in a crooked
course. Then they made a board to hold the foot of the mast at
Skidegate creek. After this time the people of the two islands had the
board to hold the foot of the mast nailed down inside the bow.
The next fine day after this they went home. They found their minds
were different, and they found their own country.
And, when the secret society was all over, they (the people) returned
to Kloo. When the middle of the following summer arrived they came to
get something for having had their sister enslaved. They were allowed
to land without disturbance. Before any food was given to them they
started to dance. [1045]
“Hō⁺ hō⁺ hī hō⁺ hī⁺ hō⁺ hī⁺ hō⁺ hī⁺ hō⁺ hī hō⁺ hōga haaa hoga hog̣a ha
ha gudixē′” [they sang].
They put a dance hat on Nīstᴀdâ′. They also struck Nîsūłna′tc with a
copper plate (that is, they gave it to him). And he danced, holding it
by means of his neck [and chin]. Hu hu hu hu, it was a great dance. The
town people also struck him with some property.
This is the end. They had peace with each other.
WAR BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF KLOO AND THE BELLABELLA
[Told by Abraham of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o]
One time, when they were ready to go fishing toward the south, Waters
was dead at Sea-grass town. [1046] A Tsimshian named Wās was a close
friend of his and came to send food through the fire to him. He had
four canoes loaded with boxes of grease. From him they learned the
news. The Tsimshian told them that the Bellabella [1047] of the whole
inlet had their canoes all ready to make war on the Eagle people.
[1048] They did not believe the news.
After they had bought their grease they went away. Then the Kloo people
also went southward, and after they had gone on for a while they landed
at a long sandy beach, and a shaman named Dī′g̣a-koya′ku [1049]
performed there. His supernatural powers saw that the Bellabella were
coming that day. He said that his powers had looked at something out at
sea.
A Ninstints man who had been taken before acted as pilot for the
Bellabella. His name was Youngest-chief’s-son. And toward evening the
Bellabella saw the fires. They asked Youngest-chief’s-son: “Which have
the bigger fire?” And he said: “The Ninstints people’s fire is the
larger. The fire of Gîtku′n’s [1050] people is the smaller.” The
Bellabella then turned toward that.
The canoes then gathered near the camping place. After they were
assembled [on shore] they ran out quickly. One then seized a woman who
was behind the house, and she knocked the Bellabella down. The
Bellabella still clung to her. The woman then seized a short stick and
struck him on the head with it. She then ran away from the Bellabella.
And afterward the Bellabella canoes came along. Two also walked along
on shore. There they enslaved a Kloo man and his wife. And they
enslaved seven Kloo people at Qꜝo′na. [1051]
And after he (a certain one) had tried to shoot [some one] near Gī′tgua
fort he came to one who was hammering silver. And, when he got near
him, he pulled the trigger of his gun without taking aim. It went off,
and he ran quickly to him and tried to cut off his head. But, since he
was looking to see if any were coming after him, he cut on the chest.
The Bellabella took in the body and went to G̣adō′. And they breakfasted
there and slept in their canoes on the farther side of G̣ᴀ′nʟ̣gîn. [1052]
And, while it was yet daylight, the singing of a child came to their
ears from the other side of Xēna. [1053] Winōʟalū′sila, who had taken
no one, went to the place where the child was singing. They were
encamped behind the trees, and had a mat hung up on account of the
mosquitoes. He softly pulled it down. He saw those lying behind it. At
that time some one said to him “Nda′, nda′.” He thought it was a dog.
And, after he had also looked on the other side, he went again to the
place where they were camping.
He then told them how many there were, and he said that he alone would
have them. And he went thither. As he went toward the place his gun
went off. And those who were behind ran up. When they got near he had
come out near them on shore. He had cut off a head. His skin was
covered with blood. Holding the head hanging from his mouth, he crept
down with two knives in his hands. There they enslaved five.
They told them there that many people were encamped at Xēna-point. The
Kloo people told that to the Bellabella. They then went to Xēna-point.
And they arrived there, and, after they had gathered together, they lay
in lines along the edges of the grass. Presently they went to get them.
After they had gone in a line toward them for a while, they said “Hūk”
[1054] and threw themselves upon them. And there, too, they enslaved
many Kloo people. Some, however, escaped into the woods.
After they had got them into the canoe a north wind was blowing. They
then put up their sails. Many dead bodies were left behind them. And,
when they got far out to sea, they pulled off the head of a man of the
Cumshewa-town people [1055] named Sʟins who sat in the canoe, and threw
his body overboard while it was still alive.
Then those who had escaped into the woods met at Skwa′-ikun island. And
they went toward the mainland on rafts. They then made a big smoke
toward Ninstints. And they came after them at once and took them over
to Ninstints. Afterward, when evening came, they took them over to
where they (their own people) were fishing. It was a great piece of bad
news. There was no peace for a single family.
They stopped fishing then and went to Sea-grass town. After they had
gone along for a while they came to the body of the man whose head they
had taken off, floating near the shore. They put it into the fire
there. [1056] And they took along his bones. They reached Sea-grass
town. Hu hu hu hu hu, there was great wailing. They now prepared for
war. After they had prepared slowly for a while they went off.
At that time they were not acquainted with the mouth of Bellabella
strait. Then, without knowing [where they were], they pulled up their
canoes into the woods early in the morning. And, when day dawned, they
saw Wawayiê′la’s fort. The fort was named Lai′ʟaikꜝia-i.
And, when evening came, they wanted to see which side was the best one
on which to get off. And they went around it while the Bellabella
slept. Many log houses were on the lower part of the point of the
island. They saw it, and they went away. They then talked it over, hu
hu hu hu hu. [1057] On the day after the next they went toward it just
before daylight.
And, after they had gone along for a while, when the bows were coming
in in front of the log houses the bundles of masts in the bows pushed
back the canoes.
The fort people had sung all night for Wawayiê′la, who was acting in
the secret society, and slept for weariness from using their voices.
When they were asleep they (the Haida) came in front of them.
After some of them had got near some one came out to urinate and
discovered them. The Bellabella then began to shoot at them. And when
daylight came the Town-of-Djī′gua people [1058] went ashore by a reef
lying off the point of the island. They then shot on their side. Hu hu
hu hu hu, there was a great noise of guns.
By and by they mentioned to Gūnana′otx̣a [1059] that they might make
peace, but, when the Kloo people came out on the reef, they began to
shoot at them again. At that time they killed a chief of the
Town-of-Djī′gua people. They tried then to get his body, which was high
up on a rock, from behind. And some one thought of a hook he had in one
of his boxes. They then fastened this to the end of a pole, pulled it
through the skin, and by pulling a little at a time they got it in.
They shot at each other all day. By and by they got into their canoes
and started away. They shot at them from the fort. They also shot into
some who were ashore. When all got away they pursued them from the
fort. They were so strong that they escaped at that time by canoe.
They came back then empty-handed. And they (the people at home) felt
good, because while the warriors were gone a man and his wife had
escaped and had returned. But, when they brought back the dead body,
they felt still more sorrowful than before. They could do nothing.
That winter news came to the Bellabella through a canoe from the
Kitkatla people that when summer came Gîtku′n was going to sweep out
the inlet from its head like a contagion. Then the Bellabella people
said: “When Gîldā′-ił [1060] can never be entered how are you going to
sweep it out from the head?” When that news came through Kitkatla,
[1061] the Town-of-Djī′gua people said they would destroy everything
before them as when one spits out something.
At that time Ya′koeʟas was showing how he would act when they got hold
of him. Ten Bellabella young men seized him, and he threw them about.
He said that he would do that to the Kloo people. And in the very
middle of summer they went southward fishing. They fished there for a
long time. They observed the war taboos there for a long time. They
drank medicine. And, when they had more than enough dried halibut, they
went away.
When they found a good sandy beach they landed. Thence they started off
to war. Hu hu hu hu hu, the great crowd of them! After they had
prepared for a while they went off. While they were away the women
observed the rules in two smokehouses. After ten nights had passed, and
the bows [of the warriors’] canoes were turned about, and they had
started home, they turned around their sleeping places. [1062] One
night after that they came home. The noise of guns was heard.
Hu hu hu hu hu, there was a great noise of guns. When they got near,
the sound of the war songs came rolling along. In Waters’s canoe the
highest war song was sung. [1063] When they landed they brought in many
slaves. Among them was the great chief, Ya′koeʟas.
At that time they went up into the inlet. They spent many days in it.
And when they smelt smoke some went out to scout. They then saw the
house, and before daybreak they set out for the house in a line.
When they got near a white man’s dog barked at them. At that time
A′nkustᴀ [1064] performed as shaman. He then made a threatening motion
toward the dog. It stopped barking. And it came among them and licked
them.
When they got near they shot at them. Hu hu hu hu hu, they finished
shooting and ran in. Some went through the doorway and some went in
through the sides of the house. They dropped in quickly in any way.
They seized at once upon those inside.
By and by one of them seized Ya′koeʟas. He threw him from him, and he
almost fell on his hands near by. But he did not loosen his hands.
Those in the house did not know, on account of the confusion, what they
were doing. One lay upon some one and called for his family. Others
pulled away his arms. [1065]
They now got all into their hands. At that time they lay upon some
slaves owned by Ya′koeʟas who had married each other. The woman then
said to her husband: “Cut him up among them.” And her husband said to
her: “Any place where water is drunk is all right.” Their minds were
not disturbed, because they were slaves already.
Then the chief, Ya′koeʟas, refused to leave the place. The Kloo people
then seized him, and he threw them off with a jerk. He then moved
himself little by little in the place where he had lain. He moved
toward an ax that was there.
After they had struggled with him for a while one of them found a big
coil of rope near the door. They tied him then. And they carried him to
the canoe. At that time he was put into Waters’s canoe. The canoe then
moved as if some one shook it. It shook because he was afraid, and they
were afraid of him.
The one who had escaped from among the Kloo people first captured by
the Bellabella then threw a spear at him out of another canoe, and he
raised his palm toward it, so that the spear ran into his palm. On that
account he also struck Ya′koeʟas in the face with a paddle. He
[Ya′koeʟas] did not turn away. He held up his head as before.
After he had been shaking [with fear] for a while Waters put on him a
cedar-bark ring that they had taken. Then, knowing that the cedar-bark
ring protected him from insult, he found that his life was safe.
When it was broad daylight the Bellabella said that some people lived
below on the inlet. Two canoes of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o [1066]
started off. These were not anxious for their lives, because they had
taken nothing.
And after they had gone in that direction for a while they saw smoke.
Then Tcîsgoa′n led, and two others went with him. A child was playing
at the time at the side of the house farthest from that to which he
came. He then ran toward him. And he chased him to the house. Unable to
catch him, he chased him into the house. When he took hold of his
mother he took him and his mother both. Those in the house were
frightened. He-who-was-going-to-be-Gia′gudjañ came in after him.
One person went behind the house. Five persons went out, and he seized
one. He was an old man. And, when he laid hold of the other four, a
terrible fellow (a Bellabella) got hold of him. That (i.e., the Haida)
was Gilᴀsta′gu. He let these four go. Then the Bellabella began to stab
him. After he had struck him four times his younger brother came to
him. And he also turned quickly upon him. And another one who came up
with a pistol he slapped on his nose. He knocked him down. Then he (the
Haida) shot him. He shot true, but he did not feel it. He then struck
him with his own knife. After he had done this several times he fell,
and he cut off his head. They say that the trunk afterward got up.
They then went to look for those who had gone into the woods. They
shouted out near by: “Ho ho ho′ho ho′, I am Łtᴀ′nqawōns.” There they
got six persons. They also killed one.
When they went away and passed out of the inlet they saw a canoe in the
distance. They then remained behind a point. They talked jealously as
to which canoe should take it. There were four. Three were women. They
then began to shoot at them.
Then they upset it, and Gi′tgoa swam over to one whom they had wounded.
The man ran then into the woods, and they pursued him and struck him in
the back of the head with a stone. And they also broke his legs. They
cut off his head. But they took the women. Making an end of this, they
went away. Afterward they went home.
After they came to Kloo all the chiefs talked over where they would
have their fort. They discussed the merits of a certain island. By and
by they all thought Town-fort [1067] was a good one, because it was
within easy reach of Tꜝā′łdī, [1068] whither they went after salmon.
The men then went to it. After they had been putting up house frames
for a while, they also brought cedar planks there. Then they put them
up. Afterward they also brought the women there. They worked upon the
houses. After they had worked upon them for a while they were done.
After they had lived there for a while an old Bellabella man whom they
had taken died. They then dragged his body to a steep place. Just
before they threw it over they cut off the head. Then they threw him
down. And his little grandchild almost pushed one of the Kloo men over.
He grasped something at the edge of the cliff.
After they had lived there for a while they went to Skedans to get a
wife for the chief’s child, and they stayed there all night. On the
next day they came away. And, when they came in sight of the fort, they
(the fort people) saw Kūdjū′ł (the woman they had come for) sitting in
the canoe. Their minds feeling good, they sang a paddling song. When
evening came her father-in-law called the people to give them Indian
tobacco. When they had the tobacco in their mouths some said one to
another: “To-night we will fool them.” And they went home.
After we had lain in bed for a while all at once the fort moved. There
was a great catching up of weapons. Two Kloo people were shouting
behind thin rocks which stood near the fort. They heard at the fort the
echo of their voices resounding from the shore. They said that it was
the Bellabella.
They then tied up the slaves. And an old man living down toward the
shore added lies to it. He said that canoes had come below and gone
away from him. By and by a shaman who was there performed. He had a
knife in his hand. They sang a song for him there. Some spirits
straightway went out of him. He said he could not find anything
terrible by striking with his knife.
A brave chief of the Town-of-Djī′gua people had his house at a distance
from them. They shouted to encourage him as he came from it. They made
a sound [like a snare drum] in front of the houses: “A-a-a-a-a-a
wa-a-a-a-a-a.” He came down with a knife to meet anyone [who might be
there]. He passed down the trail that leads from the upper inlet and
came quickly out upon the trail on the side toward the sea.
At that time some went away from the fort. They carried the news to
Skedans. They came quickly the next day to help them. And they landed
there. There they gave them a great deal to eat.
When fall came they were at Tꜝā′łdī. In the summer after the following
winter a slave that they had, whom young men used to watch, began to
defecate in bed so that they were afraid of him. He did this because he
had planned to get away. By and by he escaped with four women. And they
launched canoes and looked for him. They could not find him anywhere.
He went off with a gun, a cartridge box, and a blanket.
And some Masset chiefs were also there. They had expected to trade [the
runaways] for some Kloo people that they had taken. Those also went
away. They then took two slaves from Qōgī′s. [1069] There they also
took up weapons against each other.
Afterward, when the planting was over and the salmon berries were ripe,
they started southward. They again fished for halibut. Not the smallest
human being remained behind. And, after they had gone along for a
while, they landed at the place where they were always accustomed to
fish. They fished there. After the fishing had gone on for a while they
stopped and went away. They then landed at a certain long sandy beach.
And Gîtku′n sent some young men after something that they had forgotten
at the place where they had fished. A part of them also went after
salmon berries, and some hunted. And, while they (the young men) were
on the way one discovered mats belonging to the Bellabella spread out
to dry at the foot of the trees standing back of the shore. And the two
who were sent in search reached the place where those were sleeping
from whom they had parted and escaped. They came to know about the
enemy.
He (the head man) went at once toward the place where they had landed.
And he discovered enemies about that place. The Town-of-Djī′gua people
immediately went thither in two big canoes. And Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o
followed. And, when those who had gone, came into the inlet they saw
the enemy unobserved by the latter. They then got off their canoes for
them. And before they got opposite some one shot at them. They then
began shooting into them.
Then they pursued [the Bellabella] who led them along to where there
were eight more canoes in the woods. And the Town-of-Djī′gua people
began to watch in front of the canoes. At evening
Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o also came there. After they had been there for
a while, Lda′ogwañ [1070] called out from among the Bellabella:
“Father, are you in one of those canoes? I am Lda′ogwañ.” Then Waters
asked: “Why is there such a crowd of people?” “Some want peace; part
want war.” And he said to his daughter: “People always use feathers in
making peace. They are inviolable.”
After she had talked [to the Bellabella] they heard the sound of a
canoe in the darkness. Then two persons put feathers on the chiefs. And
one of them asked for Gîtku′n, but they pointed out to him a different
one. [1071] He then put feathers on him first. But afterward he put
feathers on the chiefs.
Then Lda′ogwañ said: “Do not let Skîtg̣adē′s talk, father. The
Bellabella are afraid only of his voice.” A while after this Skîtg̣adē′s
stood up. “Wawayiê′la, Wawayiê′la are you sure of peace, sure of peace?
then let me hear the sound of some peace drum.” Some one at once beat
on the thwart of his canoe. “Alas! that is a poor peace drum.” [1072]
After the night had worn on for a while day dawned, and the Bellabella
took to their canoes. After they had begun to launch their canoes and
had begun to get into them, those who had come to fight went away. The
Bellabella also went after them. The Bellabella man who had escaped
from Sea-grass town was with them.
After they had paddled almost past them they shot to one side of the
Bellabella. They again put in their cartridges and again they shot.
They then sang a chasing song. And they left the Bellabella behind.
Not long before daybreak those who had gone to fight came around the
point. They said they had come near enemies. While they were still
telling the news the warriors (that is, the Bellabella) also came. They
gathered at an island that lay seaward from them. The land is called
Stiū′djîn. [1073]
At that time Wawayiê′la asked Lda′ogwañ: “Do people always carry out
what Gîtku′n bids?” And she said: “Yes, one of his uncles always speaks
good words for him. He (the uncle) will come.”
By and by Lā′ma went out with three men. He had a great feather bag
that Gîtku′n owned under his arm. He stood up in front of the place
where they were. At that time the slave who escaped from Kloo had a
yellow cedar-bark blanket over his head in the stern of Wawayiê′la’s
canoe. He tried to hide himself. They then left a broad space open for
Lā′ma between the ten canoes which were there, but he went in at
another place between the large canoes. Lā′ma recognized the one who
had escaped, jumped toward him, and seized him by the hair. “Are you
Gia′oîstîs?” he said to him. and he pulled his hair up and down. The
Bellabella looked at him.
By and by he put feathers on them. He put feathers on Wawayiê′la. He
also put feathers on Gūnana′otx̣a. After he had put feathers on all of
the chiefs he went in.
After they had looked on a while two Bellabella came in the canoe. All
then went down to the beach. One Bellabella jumped ashore, but they
picked up the other, taking hold of him by the nose. They made fun of
him. But Lā′ma and another remained with the Bellabella. They took one
into Gîtku′n’s house; one they took into the house of Waters. [1074]
By and by the Bellabella started toward the place where the camp was.
Presently they came in. Then all were afraid. By and by they got in
front of them. After they had been there a while, Ya′koeʟas went and
stood outside. What he said when he talked in the foreign tongue was:
“Bellabella; why, Bellabella, do you let yourselves be killed on my
account? Come in nearer.” When he ceased talking all picked up their
anchors and placed themselves farther in.
After some time had passed, a [secret-society] eagle made a noise
behind the town. Those in the canoes became ashamed. [1075] After they
had held their heads down for a while Gūnana′otx̣a stood up in one
canoe. After he had sung a song by himself they began to sing for him.
At that time he jumped up and down as he danced.
Wa⁺ u⁺ ho ya ē waho yo ya ha⁺ wa yä yī wa wo häyä′ ī ha wä
Lasaxā′nokwa ʟa sūwa ō hī ōx̣iä wa hā′ ya ē, etc. [1076]
At that time they took Ya′koeʟas out. They brought Lda′ogwañ ashore at
once. Afterward all came ashore. Then the women carried their things
up. The things (guns) might go off against each other [therefore the
men held themselves ready]. The Bellabella also held their guns. They
took up their things into the houses into which they had invited them.
They carried off their mats into the woods. [1077]
The Bellabella were hungry. “Come and eat halibut after having had a
long fast.” And that day they went off. After the others had left the
uncle of a child that [the Haida] had captured gave them a Skidegate
man and much property for it. They now became good friends forever.
They ceased to fight with the Bellabella people. And the following day
they returned.
Here is the whole story about this.
WAR BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF KLOO AND THE GÎTÎ′SDA
[Told by Abraham, of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o]
After they had spent some time in preparation they started
off—Those-born-at-Skedans, [1078] the Town-of-Djī′gua people, [1079]
and Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o. [1080] They spent the night on the open
sea. When they approached Gîtgia′gᴀs [1081] day dawned for them. They
were in eight canoes.
Then four went sailing southward of them along in front. And then they
passed in at Gîtgia′gᴀs island, which stretched out before them. After
a little while the noise of guns arose there. Afterward three persons
came along in a canoe, the one in the middle standing up. He was a
Kitkatla man, who also called himself an Eagle. [1082]
He asked them then: “What war is this? What war is this? I am Lawā′y.”
He then invited us. He invited the chief, Gîtku′n, and all. These
people were going to hunt sea otter. He gave them a great deal of food.
[1083] And they stayed there over night. During the night plenty of
salmon [1084] came in. The next day they went away.
They kept then out at sea. They landed at Point Qᴀ′lg̣a-i. They now
began to keep the war rules there. The next morning they began to drink
sea water. [1085] They had three shamans. After they had drunk sea
water for a while G̣ᴀ′ndox’s-father [1086] performed. He said then: “War
people, which will be good? Here is Town-singers; here is Days.” [1087]
By and by he told the war people to get their paddles in a hurry. And
they got their paddles. And they carried him away on their paddles from
where he sat on the sand. He then looked at them. After some [other
power] had gone out of him Łᴀ′gua [1088] went in. He told them to put
their hands upon his hair. All did so at once. His hair was long. Very
many warriors pulled his hair. When they let go he had few hairs left.
Afterward another performed. After they had sung for him a while he
rolled over and over in front of the eight fires which stood in a line.
When he came to the last one, he said “wa” in pain, because they were
going to leave one dead.
On the next day they went away. And they stayed at Diâ′g̣ᴀl all night.
On the day after that they reached the mouth of the inlet. They hunted
now for a suitable place to land canoes, because they were cold at
night. Then they landed the canoes. At daybreak they brought up two
buckets of sea water, a small bucket and a large bucket. And, while
they drank, Gᴀ′ndox’s-father performed. He again asked the war people:
“Which will be good? Here is Town-singers. Here is Days.” And, without
thinking, they chose Days.
After they had sat there for a while Gᴀ′ndox’s-father said: “To the
woods, to the woods. I feel strange because my eye twitches.” And after
they had gone into the woods a canoe came along. After it, another;
after it, another. Lo! seven canoes passed in front of them. Those were
the Gîtî′sda people. They could not do anything. They were waiting for
the day that the shaman had appointed. Although the [Haida] canoes
stuck out [of the woods] they did not see them.
During a previous war expedition a man whose wife was steering for him
passed in front of the place where they had landed. And the woman came
toward them. After she had come along for a while, picking berries, she
discovered the war canoes. She turned about at once and ran away. Her
husband in the canoe held a gun. At that time six of them chased her.
He-who-was-going-to-be-Gia′gudjañ ran in after the woman. By and by he
shot [the man]. He floated still upon the water. They pulled him in.
Then, however, they shot into him and killed him.
On this night they camped at the same place where the person had been
shot. When day broke, a white canoe sail passed up in the middle of the
inlet. On that night they landed farther up. Lda′ogwañ [1089] acted as
pilot. They were near the place to which they were bound.
They went along that night and stole up on the side opposite the fort
of those that they were going against. And those who went in advance
jumped off under a cliff. They got off where two canoes were anchored.
They pulled the canoes off. The fort people were gathering
salal-berries. And they smashed the canoes. On the shore near them a
slight crackling noise was heard.
Day began to dawn. Then they landed a little way off from this, near
the place whither they were bound. And two were sent to reconnoiter.
They came back at once on the run. They said that there were very many
salmon hooks stuck into the ground at the edge of the water.
They now got off the canoes. I also got off with them. They crossed a
salmon creek in a crowd. Those who were friends kept together. Two
persons acted as leaders. These gave commands. They told them to sit
down. They sat down at once. By and by one of those who had gone
scouting came to them. He searched in his box, and they thought he was
looking for a weapon. Presently a crackling arose in the woods, and
they lay on the ground.
By and by, when they said “hūk,” [1090] they ran into the house. I went
in with them. Wa wa wa wa, they tried to take each other for slaves.
Presently all got out. They discovered it [their mistake]. They then
went out at once. And Gia′gudjañ’s companions came along at the same
time. [1091] Then [one canoe] had gone after some who went to pick
berries, and all went after it.
They followed them then for a while. They went to the place where the
canoe was to get the mats that were there. And they jumped off and vied
one with another in getting the mats. A certain one got off last. While
they were standing about in the place where the mats had lain [he saw]
a new mat, and he was glad to have discovered it and went thither.
There two women were lying. He then seized them. He raised his voice
and called his name. When they came there and reached the two women
they were sound asleep on the top of the rock where they were sitting.
When they took them into the canoes one of them talked with Lda′ogwañ.
[1092] She afterward said to the warriors that they might take the
fort. “There are no guns there,” she said. They then placed themselves
behind a long, narrow point on the inlet above the fort. From there
they looked at the fort.
After they had been there some time Skîtg̣adē′s [1093] stood up and said
that he would go there. He summoned the brave men out of all the canoes
to go with him. They went then with him, the brave ones. And they gave
out the following plan: “We are going toward the place where they
always steam hemlock bark.” And they told the rest to follow them.
Coming along as if they were visitors, they moved their paddles slowly.
The people of the fort gambled in lines without paying any attention to
them. When they came near land the remainder also came on. But they
still did not concern themselves about them.
When they got near those who were in advance discharged their guns. And
the remainder also landed there. Hu hu hu hu, they shot into them. Some
had fled from the fort. They all landed in fright on the shore opposite
the back of the fort.
A man of the Gîtî′sda people then did the fighting. He ran about on the
top of the fort. Presently he shot a Kloo man dead. And, as he ran
about on the tops of the houses, they shot him, so that he fell down
between them. Two boys were with him. They went back a short distance
from the fort and began to shoot down upon them (the Haida) from above.
Now they (the Kloo people) fled. Seven canoes went out to sea at once.
We placed ourselves in hiding close by. By and by some one shouted from
out at sea: “They are running down to the fort.” These were three Kloo
men who had hidden themselves there. At that time they enslaved two
children.
We went thither. Those that were out at sea also came in. They started
at once to seize the fort. Hu hu hu hu hu, they went into the houses in
a crowd. At that time I went for tobacco only. They enslaved all who
were sitting in the houses. They took all sorts of things.
Presently some one shouted: “Î′ldjiwas’s father [1094] fell.” They
immediately went to the canoes. When I passed between the houses I came
upon a dead body lying there. And one who came after me cut off the
head. I then moved down the face of a steep place toward the sea in a
sitting posture. A part of the people were off on the water in their
canoes. I was glad when I got into [a canoe]. [1095]
Gia′gudjañ captured a box. After he brought it out and while he was
sitting near it he was shot. He was wounded. They got him in. Half of
them they could not get away from the fort. By and by three stood in
Reef-canoe. [1096] One began to load their guns. Presently they started
toward it. Sky [1097] steered for them. As they went [toward the fort]
he shot toward the place from which they had been firing.
By and by they reached the fort. After they had gone up into it they
started back. At once they shot at them from the place out of which
they had shot before. After a while they got out safely. When they got
away the [Gîtî′sda] people came out to the fort. They (the Haida) took
away a small part of the property. The body of the Kloo man was left
there.
Now they started away. The two canoes of Gîtku′n [1098] and his sons
went empty. The other people sang songs of victory. Then a mat sail
came along toward them. And one was in the canoe. Gîtku′n enslaved him.
This person said that some people lived farther down on the inlet. He
(Gîtku′n) could not persuade them to go after them.
They got ashore then and sent tobacco to the Kloo man through the fire.
[1099] At that time Gîtku′n said to the Sqoā′ładas [1100] man who had
the severed head: “Say, brother-in-law, [1101] let me have his head
instead of you.” He threw it over to him at once. This is how the
saying “Somebody’s head cut off” [1102] started.
When they afterward came out into open water they came out directly
opposite a big canoe that was going along the open coast. They then
pursued it, and it distanced the Kloo people. Afterward they came to
Kloo.
The Gîtî′sda, or Kittizoo, constituted the southernmost division of the
Tsimshian, being situated on Seaforth channel, an extension of Milbank
sound. Unlike most war stories, this does not begin by describing some
previous injury inflicted by the people attacked. The breakdown of old
customs was evidently beginning at this time, and it is said that no
expeditions of importance have occurred since this one. As is seen, my
informant accompanied the expedition.
NOTES
[1] The half-rock woman in the corner, or the woman rooted to the
ground, is very common in Haida stories.
[2] Many versions of this story say water, which, indeed, seems to be
more appropriate, but fire was still oftener regarded by these people
as a means of communication between natural and spiritual beings.
[3] Animal souls have the human form and act very much as men do on
earth.
[4] Fish eggs are usually collected on hemlock boughs.
[5] The most important set of supernatural beings to a Haida were the
Killer whales, who, living in the sea, were supposed to call human
beings “common surface birds” (xa′-iʟ̣a xetî′t gī′da-i), employing the
term used here.
[6] Because at that time of the year human beings hurt them by laying
down hemlock boughs.
[7] Compare an episode in the story of
A-slender-one-who-was-given-away.
[8] The closing sky is also spoken of frequently. Compare the story of
A-slender-one-who-was-given-away.
[9] An exclamation used when the salmon is seen to jump.
[10] When mourning they covered their faces with pitch and burned off
their hair.
[11] Compare the story of Łᴀguadjî′na.
[12] The usual way in which one who had almost been turned into an
animal recovered his senses.
[13] This duty usually fell to the nephew of the deceased who was to
obtain his supernatural helpers and the power that went with them.
[14] So the word Kꜝiū′stᴀ was somewhat doubtfully translated to me. It
stood near the northwestern angle of Graham island opposite North
island.
[15] A song supposed to have power in calming storms.
[16] Fearing to expose themselves to possible danger from an entirely
strange man. There was no assurance of safety between man and man
unless both were of the same family or peace was known to exist between
their respective families. The verbs in this quotation have the
past-experienced ending, -gᴀn. Had this been related by a person who
had learned the facts from somebody else they would have taken the
past-inexperienced ending, -an.
[17] Accidents like this were often supposed to be brought about by the
unfaithfulness of a man’s wife, and it is not unlikely that the chief
may have suspected that he had suffered in this way.
[18] Tlingit words.
[19] This is evidently mythical. The same thing used to be said of the
Pitch people. See Memoirs of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, volume
V, part I, page 91.
[20] He speaks of his new friends as if they belonged to his own family
at End-of-trail town.
[21] A stream flowing into the Pacific about 1½ mile east of Kaisun.
[22] I have not identified this bird with certainty, although the name
is very much like that given me for the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius
phœniceus, Linn.).
[23] A common expression to indicate the excellence of carvings.
[24] Yen xagî′t are long, narrow clouds, probably stratus, said to
indicate that there will be fair weather next day.
[25] Devilfishes were usually employed to bait the hooks for halibut.
To catch a halibut of supernatural character they secure a devilfish of
the same kind.
[26] The halibut fishing grounds were all named and were owned by
certain families.
[27] These incantations are uttered to induce the halibut to take the
hook.
[28] In another story this creature is called Mother-of-halibut.
[29] These various clouds are represented as Shining-heavens with his
different bird blankets on. Clouds are more often thought of as the
clothing of The-one-in-the-sea.
[30] An inlet or river. My interpreter suggested that it might be
Qanō′, an inlet north of Kaisun, but the name that occurs here is quite
common. A river of this name flows into the sea near Frederick island.
[31] The word used here is also applied to the sons of chiefs who can
not be touched without bringing trouble upon the aggressor.
[32] When Shining-heavens presides, or, in other words, when these
clouds are seen, it will be calm at sea.
[33] Compare the story of “The one abandoned for eating the flipper of
a hair seal,” note 17. The word used here is wa′nwai, one of doubtful
meaning.
[34] ʟla-djat, “Fine-weather-woman,” is often referred to in the
stories. One of the winds, the northeast wind, was named after her, and
by the West Coast people at least she seems to have been identified
with the Creek-woman at the head of Djū.
[35] Master-carpenter went to war because Southeast had given the
people too much bad weather. The southeast wind along this coast is
both rainy and violent, Sqa-i was the southernmost town upon the Queen
Charlotte islands, lying just east of Cape St. James.
[36] Therefore even a foolish person may sometimes make wise
suggestions.
[37] See Story of The-supernatural-being-who-went-naked, note 24.
[38] One or two more are given, however, in a Masset story.
[39] But the shamans said that he went back to his own place.
[40] And therefore Southeast did not like to have anyone else use the
word.
[41] This is said to have been the Pillar, a rock on the north coast of
Graham island (Haida name, Łg̣adā′djiwas).
[42] The skiä′msm or skiä′mskun. See A-slender-one-who-was-given-away,
note 1.
[43] The one with a blue hole in his heart made by the wren. The Haida
supposed the heart to be situated just under the breastbone.
[44] Probably the one who had carved their paddle.
[45] The one in whose hair they had tied the hawk feather.
[46] Probably he who held out his blanket on top of the house.
[47] Referring to the time when he had been put into the fire.
[48] Her husband mistook her own hands, which she held clasped about
herself, for those of some man.
[49] Djū is a stream near Kaisun, prominent in the myths.
Fine-weather-woman’s story is told in How Shining-heavens caused
himself to be born.
[50] His name is explained in the next sentence.
[51] An island lying a short distance south of Kaisun.
[52] These words are spoken ironically.
[53] The word “friends” here, as in most places where it occurs in this
set of myths, refers to clan friendship.
[54] North was a definite personality. Compare the story of
Łᴀguadjî′na.
[55] That is, clams, mussels, chitons, etc.
[56] North cape (Qꜝaku′n) is the name by which this cape was supposed
to be known to the supernatural beings. By human beings it was called
House point (Na-iku′n), probably from the town that once stood there.
[57] See the story of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, note 2.
[58] Passing over to their new owner.
[59] According to another man it was the cedar screen in his father’s
house, which cuts off a retiring room.
[60] Compare the story of Raven traveling, page 111.
[61] My interpreter called this birch, but the identification is rather
uncertain. The birch is not found on the Queen Charlotte islands.
[62] Not identified.
[63] In this game a bunch of sticks was covered with fine cedar bark,
divided into two or three smaller bundles, and laid before the
opponent. The latter then had to guess in which was a certain stick,
usually left almost undecorated, called the djîl. As often as he failed
he kept on up to ten, which constituted the game. When the second man
handled the sticks the first guessed ten times plus the number of times
his antagonist had previously missed.
[64] The two sticks with designs were alive and pulled out the djîl so
that it could not be pointed out by an opponent.
[65] He was also said to live in a place within sight of the Land of
Souls and, when a gambler died, he came over to gamble with him,
staking dog salmon against souls. If he were successful, there would be
many deaths; if the gambler won, there would be a great run of dog
salmon.
[66] Compare the story of
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger.
[67] The construction of these deadfalls was described to me as
follows: The hadjigā′ñwa-i (a, fig. 1) are four posts, two on each side
of a bear trail. These are fastened together in pairs by the
kiutꜝa′skꜝî (b). Between them lies a timber called the qꜝatᴀ′nłanu (c),
while the deadfall proper consists of a timber called sî′txasqꜝa′gida
(d) hung above this at one end and weighted at the other end, which
rests upon the ground. The suspended end is held by a loop (łqꜝō′ya-i),
which passes over a short stick, the x̣ā′ña (e), which is supported in
its turn by one of the kiutꜝa′skꜝî. A rope is fastened to the inner end
of this x̣ā′ña and carried down to the notch in another stick called
sqaołg̣ai′wa-i (f), which is fastened to a stake at one side of the bear
trail. Other cords, qa-ī′tu (g), are then fastened between the two
front posts and carried down to this loop. The bear, coming against
these latter, in its endeavors to get through pulls the loop (h) out of
the notch in the sqaołg̣ai′wa-i. This in turn releases the x̣ā′ña,
allowing the sî′txasqꜝa′gida to fall upon the animal’s back.
[68] The fringe or row of puffin beaks.
[69] This paragraph represents an afterthought of the story-teller and
should have been inserted farther back.
[70] Sleep, as in the present instance, is often represented as a
substance called Qᴀñ. Among my Masset stories is one of the Sleep-bird
(Qᴀñ).
[71] A half mythic town on the northeast coast of Moresby island, just
south of Spit point.
[72] Creek-woman at the head of Skidegate creek; see below.
[73] One of the greatest Raven families among the Haida. They lived
afterward at Dadens, on North island, and later moved to Klinkwan and
Muddy-stream town, Alaska. Some are still living at the former place.
The Pebble-town people of the west coast are considered a branch of
this family, and there was another offshoot, the Inlet Middle-town
people in Masset inlet. They occupied the middle row of houses in
Sqē′na, which was a five-row town. It is from this circumstance that
they are said to have derived their name.
[74] There were two families of this name reputed to have come from the
same stem. One occupied many towns on the southeastern coast of Moresby
island, but is now almost extinct. The other settled first at Tꜝē, on
the northwest coast of Graham island, and subsequently emigrated to
Kasaan, Alaska, where their descendants still live. They are supposed
to have received their name from having occupied the row of houses in
Sqē′na next the beach.
[75] This family is said to have been so named because they occupied a
row of houses which ran out on a point. They are supposed to have
occupied a similar position at Rose spit, with which tradition connects
them much more plausibly. They afterward lived at the mouth of Hi-ellen
river and in Masset inlet.
[76] Said to have been so named because they occupied the rear row of
the five in this town. They are reputed to have occupied a similar
position in the old town at Rose spit, and are more plausibly connected
with that place. They settled later on Masset inlet, although a branch
moved to the west coast of Graham island.
[77] The same are mentioned in the story of Cloud-watcher, note 7. This
is an Eagle family, and probably should not have been mentioned here.
The remaining five families (leaving out the Food-giving-town people),
which are Raven, are the ones universally assigned to the five rows in
this town. The Witch people seem to have been brought in merely because
their territory was near, and at one time they appear to have lived
still farther north.
[78] Given by this old man as Tcan xā′-idᴀg̣a-i, but more often spoken
of as the Qꜝoē′tas, “Earth-eaters.” These constitute a small family
that formerly lived on the northwest coast of Graham island along with
the Middle-town people and part of the Sand-town people, whom they
accompanied to Alaska. They there owned the town of Sukkwan. According
to the Sqē′na tradition they were so named because they lived near the
trails, where there was much mud.
[79] Probably means something like “People’s town.”
[80] The Haida name for this signifies “Raven’s knife.”
[81] Or merganser. According to one informant, the word used here,
ʟꜝłgia′, is applied only to the female merganser.
[82] Perhaps rows of meshes were meant rather than meshes proper.
[83] Commonly used for twine, but unidentified.
[84] A bay lying outside of Spit point.
[85] Descent being in the female line, this man in giving the creek to
his son gave it out of his family and clan. Therefore the women of his
clan did everything they could to anger the river spirit.
[86] This is the only case that I remember in which the river spirit
was a man.
[87] Said to mean “where people continue to live,” or “where people
settle forever.”
[88] This is as often, or more often, given as a halibut (xā′gu).
[89] Probably means “perhaps it is a beak,” or “I wonder whether it is
a beak.” This was Raven, the episode recounted having taken place among
these people.
[90] Or Greatest-cave-spirit.
[91] The tā′xet is described as a small, bluish salmon. By some it was
said to be the sockeye, but others thought it a different fish.
[92] Nowadays stingy people are said to be so because she was.
[93] A cliff standing back of Skedans.
[94] The inner and smaller of the two islets in front of Skidegate.
[95] Tā′xet’s house was a sky mansion, whither all went who were killed
in battle or murdered. This part of the myth has evidently been built
up on the apparent identity of his name with that of the salmon above
referred to, but the former is from the Tlingit Ta hît, “Sleep house.”
Just above Skidegate village and nearly opposite Tree island are two
rocks, almost covered at high water. It is said that one who goes
between these two will see Tā′xet’s trail.
[96] Names belonging to the Food-giving-town people.
[97] The Gîtî′ns’-servants, or Gîtîngī′djats, were a division of the
Gîtî′ns of Skidegate of low social rank. They formerly occupied a
village called Kꜝîl, “peninsula,” in Shingle bay, from which
circumstance they came to have close relations with the
Food-giving-town people.
[98] See the story of He-who-travels-behind-us, note 6.
[99] They repeat these words, at the same time throwing gravel at the
net, in order to get many salmon. The word for “insides,” which also
means “manure,” is wa′dᴀg̣a-i, only used by the old people.
[100] Because the house resembled, either in construction or name, one
owned by a supernatural being.
[101] His wife had her arms wrapped around herself, but he mistook them
for those of a man; see the story of the Canoe People who wear
Headdresses.
[102] See the story of Tcꜝaawu′nkꜝa, note 2.
[103] She was motioning them to take away the dogs and muzzle them.
[104] That is, the man who went down to his house.
[105] Or “Holder-of-the-days,” a mountain not far from Salmon-point.
[106] The thunder-bird is a crest of the Raven clan.
[107] It was built upon a steep hillside on Louise island.
[108] Kî′lsʟas, “chief.” He was chief of Those-born-at-Qā′gials.
[109] Literally, “a knife that opens its mouth.” This statement places
the date of the story subsequent to white contact.
[110] A salmon creek.
[111] See the story of Big-tail, note 16.
[112] They claimed the sea water as blood money for the death of a
member of their family, the cause of that death having been sunk in it
and it being the home of Pestilence.
[113] Again, this was because their chief had been killed in that
country and his death might have been due to one of the supernatural
beings inhabiting it.
[114] A division of Those-born-at-Skedans of low social rank.
[115] Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn being town chief of Flat-slope town.
[116] Another name for Those-born-at-Qā′gials, the ruling family of
Skedans.
[117] A chief of Those-born-at-Skedans. The name means something like
“property sounding.”
[118] Skedans bay.
[119] That is, they pay blood money for his death instead of
surrendering the inlets or salmon creeks so named. G̣ałî′ns and Qa′na
are the inlets referred to above.
[120] I am not absolutely sure of the correctness of this translation
of Tꜝaogwā′g̣anat.
[121] The Eagle family of Cumshewa, a town situated on the north side
of Cumshewa inlet, near its mouth.
[122] Still another time, for the death of their kinswoman.
[123] Said to be a Tsimshian word. It was one of the favorite names of
the chiefs of Kloo.
[124] Very likely this should be, when given at length,
Gut-qwē′g̣a-ga-xē′gᴀns, “[House]-upon-which-the-clouds-thunder.” At any
rate, the house of one of the town chiefs of Skedans was so called.
[125] A Raven family of Kloo, descended from the Raven families of the
west coast.
[126] Big Low island.
[127] Name of a cape.
[128] An island.
[129] Various sea creatures, whether fabulous or not I do not know. The
Tcꜝa′g̣ᴀn sqꜝagida-i are said to be long sea animals that roll
themselves up and unroll on the water.
[130] A creature resembling a porpoise, except that it has large dorsal
fins.
[131] These words are said to have signified that his wife was
unfaithful to him. When this happened to a man he would be unlucky,
perhaps losing his life in hunting or war.
[132] A young sea otter.
[133] Skincuttle bay.
[134] Between Copper bay and Cumshewa point.
[135] As chief of Skedans.
[136] This bird burrows to lay its eggs, except in rocky places. It was
much hunted by the Haida with torches.
[137] A point at the eastern end of the larger Low island.
[138] This creature is probably something like a chiton.
[139] The “Old-woman-under-the-fire” usually carried messages from men
to the supernatural beings.
[140] That is, the box in which his body was placed was supported by
four posts.
[141] The story-teller affirmed that, when he was young, children of
other families did not want to play with him for the same reason.
[142] One of the Skedans islands. See the story of
Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and Upward, note 35.
[143] An exclamation of astonishment used when something happens
suddenly.
[144] The word for chief used here, Halī′x̣ias, is supposed to be that
employed by the Black-bear people or perhaps generally by the
supernatural beings. It is used as a refrain and often is repeated many
more times than I have represented.
[145] The black bears are supposed to have had a trail from one end of
the Queen Charlotte islands to the other, and back of Tasoo harbor
there was supposed to be a hole in the mountains through which they
passed.
[146] Referring to the episode narrated just below.
[147] Explains the reference in the last song. The first part of this
episode tells how Marten danced for his younger brother Black-bear, who
was being killed in the deadfall, and sang the same songs that came out
through the hunter; the remainder goes back farther to explain the
words of the last songs. Either Black-bear left none of the salmon but
the worthless parts for Marten to carry home or Marten ate them
himself.
[148] See the story of
The-one-abandoned-for-eating-the-flipper-of-a-hair-seal, note 3. The
word translated “gills” (djixu′l) is supposed to be in the Marten
language.
[149] The bear’s sister is supposed to sing this.
[150] Probably also supposed to be sung by the bear’s sister.
[151] One of the leading Raven families of Skidegate inlet. See notes
to the story of the House-point families.
[152] Chief of the family afterward known as Pebble-town people (see
below). They were originally part of the Middle-town people.
[153] Even in Haida the construction of this sentence is awkward, and
translation makes it worse.
[154] His anger was so great that he could not control his arm.
[155] Because he was always ready for a fight.
[156] That is, “as if I were away.” The woman taunts him that he who
was always foremost in fighting should be in that condition, and he
replies that the warriors succeed better when he is along than when he
is away.
[157] According to another informant the Pebble-town people won, but
fled to the woods for fear of the blood vengeance sure to follow. This,
however, seems to be a mistake.
[158] See notes to the story of He-who-travels-behind-us.
[159] A Raven family at Tcꜝā′ał on the West Coast.
[160] A camping place of the West Coast people.
[161] Because the Haida spoke Tlingit with a foreign accent.
[162] One of Richard’s brothers, that is, one belonging to his family
in the large sense.
[163] A mountain on Banks island, which lies on the east side of Hecate
strait.
[164] A bay that is close to Spit point at the entrance to Skidegate
inlet.
[165] A sarcastic reference to their nonsuccess.
[166] The Haida name means “strait island,” referring no doubt to the
narrow strait which separates it from Graham island.
[167] A place still of considerable importance, having large canneries,
on the west side of Prince of Wales island.
[168] This part of the narrative is somewhat obscure.
[169] He characterizes himself as of low caste in compliment to them:
“Save me, your poor servant.”
[170] “Language of the strait people.” It is almost identical with the
Haida dialect of Masset.
[171] Forrester island; see the story of Łᴀguadjî′na, note 4.
[172] See story of Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, note 31.
[173] The first six of these stories belong to one series and are said
to have been formerly recounted at Skedans in the same order.
[174] That is, the Queen Charlotte group.
[175] Probably belonging to the Actinozoa.
[176] The principal family of Cumshewa.
[177] The proper habitat or dwelling of a human or supernatural being
is described in Haida by this word tcīa.
[178] Rock from her hips down.
[179] That is, he could get along just as well under water as in the
air.
[180] The black pebble was to be placed in the water first, then the
speckled one. A piece of each was to be bitten off and spit upon the
remainder.
[181] Literally, “One-lying-seaward,” or “Seaward-land.”
[182] By ʟdjîñ the Haida understand the coast of British Columbia from
the borders of the Tsimshian southward indefinitely. The people living
along it, be they Kwakiutl, Nootka, or Salish, are all called ʟdjîñ
xa′-idᴀga-i (ʟdjîñ-people). Djîñ = “far.”
[183] A version of this episode obtained by Professor Boas runs as
follows: “On his travels Nᴀñkî′lsʟas saw a large salmon (tā′un). He
said to him, ‘Come nearer. Jump against my chest.’ He did so, and
Nᴀñkî′lsʟas almost fainted. Then he made a hole in the rock. He called
the salmon a second time, asking him to jump against his chest. The
salmon did so and finally fell into the hole.”
[184] Lēn are joyful songs, usually containing Tsimshian, but more
often sung in the houses than out of doors.
[185] Djiā′djat qagᴀ′n, lit. “Women’s songs,” were employed
particularly when totem poles and house timbers were towed in during a
potlatch.
[186] According to the best informed this was Bentinck arm, perhaps
South Bentinck arm, in the Bella Coola country, and this would agree
with Dawson’s statement that the Bella Coola are called Ilghī′mī by the
Tsimshian.
[187] Probably the same as tco′lgî, a mainland animal like a mink, if
not that animal itself.
[188] That is, toward the Queen Charlotte islands.
[189] The word used for “Eagle” here is sʟg̣ᴀ′m, a story name. It is
evidently identical with sʟqᴀ′m, the Masset word for “butterfly.” Among
the Masset Haida, Butterfly takes the place of Eagle as Raven’s
traveling companion.
[190] An exclamation of warning.
[191] Here there is repetition. The great lake formed by the last fresh
water poured out was at the head of Skeena river.
[192] The derivation of this word is uncertain.
[193] The story name of the marten, Kꜝux̣ugîna′gîts, is here used. The
common name is kꜝu′x̣u.
[194] This was a small bird which I have not identified. The word is
said to mean “Swift-rainbow-trout,” and it was thought to be the
fastest of birds, just as the marten was supposed to be the fastest
animal.
[195] Qadadjâ′n, the owner of the eulachon, is a mountain on the south
side of Nass inlet at its mouth.
[196] A basket with an open weave, in which fish could drain.
[197] A tall, stiff grass growing near the shore of the sea. Not to be
confounded with a variety of kelp with large floats which has the same
name.
[198] The object to be projected was placed on one end of a flexible
stick, which was then drawn back and released.
[199] This word can not be fittingly translated. It is used in speaking
to one’s very closest relations.
[200] That is, the food received from the family of the bridegroom when
she married.
[201] Sg̣ō′łg̣ō-qō′na was one of the many names of Cape Ball, a prominent
bluff on the coast between Skidegate and Rose spit, Graham island. He
was called the controller of the tides.
[202] “The-one-who-is-going-to-order-things.”
[203] Said sarcastically. A man’s nephews, who were also to be his
successors, lived on terms of perfect freedom with his wife.
[204] The men of his adopted father’s clan at House-point.
[205] The west coast of Moresby island or part of it.
[206] Qî′ñgi is said to mean “Looking-downward,” because this mountain,
which is in the Ninstints country back of Lyell island, hangs
precipitously over the sea.
[207] An exclamation indicating very great wrath and used only by great
chiefs.
[208] One race came from each corner of the house.
[209] “Sitting-around-snuffing-like-a-dog,” the woman who lives at the
head of Telel creek and owns all the fish that go up it.
[210] “Croaking-raven,” the woman at the head of the creek which flows
into Skedans bay.
[211] From another man I learned that her name was Sg̣ā′na djat ʟg̣ā′gᴀn
at nā′nsg̣as,
“Supernatural-woman-who-plays-up-and-down-with-her-own-property,”
referring to the fish, but in the story on pages 71–85 it is given as
Supernatural-woman-in-whom-is-thunder.
[212] Meaning by “upon” upon the mountain called Qî′ñgi. This is
probably given as the reason why there are so few mainland animals on
the Queen Charlotte islands.
[213] “A hair-seal canoe” (xōt-ʟū) is continually referred to as a
canoe used by supernatural beings.
[214] The “you” is here plural, dalᴀ′ñ, all on the same side being
referred to.
[215] See note 24.
[216] The word used for rainbow here, qwē′stᴀl, seems to mean “cloud
cliff” or “sky cliff.” It is not the common word for rainbow, which is
taol.
[217] That is, the carving on it sang.
[218] Each of these speeches contains a sarcastic reference to the
destruction of Qî′ñgi’s people.
[219] Probably Platichthys stellatus, Pallas; Haida skᴀ′ndal.
[220] Or Oregon Junco.
[221] These were feminine genitalia.
[222] Supernatural beings were unable to bear the odor of urine, the
blood of a menstruant woman, or anything associated with these.
[223] The people of the Raven clan, to which Raven’s sister necessarily
belonged, were thought to have better morals than the Eagle people.
[224] I was unable to get my interpreters to tell me what these words
were, but they are contained in stories taken down on this coast in
previous years.
[225] Certain rocks at this place are said to be the bundles of cedar
bark which the birds left there.
[226] This sentence was contributed by an old woman of the Stᴀ′stas
family living at Skidegate. She said that the meaning of qᴀlaastī′s had
been forgotten, but thought that Raven used it because he was hungry.
[227] Or Master Canoe-builder, a favorite Haida deity.
[228] Here Raven is called Wī′gît, a name by which he is sometimes
known, especially when he is identified with the being who determines
the length of a child’s life when it is born.
[229] I do not know the English equivalent. They are described as birds
like ducks and as having white spots.
[230] Therefore it is always roily about the places where herring are
spawning.
[231] The beginning of this episode seems to have been omitted. Eagle
caught a black cod, which is full of grease, while Raven caught a red
cod, which has firmer, drier flesh.
[232] The old man first started the story at this point, but next
morning he said that he had been talking over the proper place to begin
with an old woman, and at once recommenced as in this text. Perhaps the
real reason was that he disliked to start in immediately with a
stranger at the beginning of the “old man’s story,” which is the most
venerated part of the whole.
[233] An exclamation indicating that great crowds turned out.
[234] The skids upon which canoes were hauled overland.
[235] The halibut slid him over their backs into the canoe.
[236] Or “Supernatural fisherman,” the God of Fishing.
[237] Compare second version of story, given below.
[238] Meaning carnal knowledge.
[239] Using insulting and indecent words.
[240] This is where the division was made by my interpreter. It is not
impossible that much that precedes may have been included in the “young
man’s” story.
[241] The proper place to insert this episode is uncertain, but this
was thought the best by my interpreter.
[242] Haida qꜝā′djî.
[243] An exclamation meaning “pretty” or “nice.”
[244] Name of the labret.
[245] Or the American dipper.
[246] My informant would have told this as two episodes had it not been
for his wife, who objected that it was simply repetition.
[247] The same as G̣ᴀnō′; see note 2.
[248] The figure of a mallard was sometimes carved on shamans’ rattles.
[249] It was customary to turn the heads of halibut toward him who
caught them.
[250] This word, sîñ, refers particularly to the day-lighted sky. It
also means “day.”
[251] “Raven’s mustache” is a kind of seaweed from which fish eggs were
sometimes gathered, but it did not serve as well as hemlock boughs.
[252] See note 24.
[253] Skᴀñ is an epithet applied to a person who refuses to reply when
questioned.
[254] Said to be a tree similar to an alder.
[255] a Sqā′djix̣ū or sqā′djigu, a univalve identified by Dr. C. F.
Newcombe as Fissuroidea aspera, Esch. b Raven pretends to be a great
chief and only communicates with others through Eagle.
[256] An island on the Tsimshian coast.
[257] When they stopped laughing he knew that they were asleep.
[258] Probably related to the chitons.
[259] Referring to the way in which the Haida strip these animalcules
of their outer skin.
[260] He-who-was-going-to-become-Nᴀñkî′lsʟas.
[261] See page 118.
[262] Or Qᴀ′lg̣a-djā′adas, the name of Raven’s aunt.
[263] The old town at Dead Tree point; see the story of
Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, note 3.
[264] Probably means “Halibut pool.”
[265] Old Kloo on the eastern end of Tan-oo island.
[266] Perhaps Qwē′g̣ao-qons; see the story of Sounding-gambling-sticks,
note 9.
[267] A fern.
[268] See the story of He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side, note 11.
[269] See the story of Łᴀguadjî′na.
[270] The western robin (Merula Migratoria propinqua, Ridgwood).
[271] The bufflehead; see the story of Fights between the Tsimshian and
Haida and among the northern Haida, note 21.
[272] See note 63.
[273] From this it appears that these were flickers.
[274] This is inconsistent with the previous statement that she
accompanied them.
[275] Told to explain beaver tattooings.
[276] Ta′ʟ̣at is the word for rainbow trout or charr; ada means
“different.”
[277] Spit point.
[278] Or Rose spit.
[279] The hawk here referred to is called skiä′msm, or skiä′mskun, is
described as of a bluish color, and is said to live on the higher
mountains. Artistically, little difference is made between this bird
and the thunder-bird, and the two are sometimes said to be identical.
The custom here referred to is presumably connected with the potlatch,
though I did not hear of it elsewhere.
[280] See the story of Raven traveling, note 40.
[281] Sky blankets are worn by many supernatural beings, but I have no
notion what the Haida imagined them to resemble.
[282] One slave was usually placed over all the others.
[283] As is often the case in America, the sky is represented as a
solid vault, which rises and falls at regular intervals.
[284] The supernatural being who represents and confers wealth.
[285] It was thought possible to accomplish certain things by the mere
exercise of one’s mind or will.
[286] See the fifth paragraph of the story. The important fact that
this hat had been given to the girl’s father as a bridal present was
omitted from the original text.
[287] This was what is commonly called a Chilkat blanket. The design
woven in it is represented as able to speak. It is weary at being
obliged to wait so long to be completed.
[288] See the story of Raven traveling, notes 11 and 12. “Canoe Songs”
or “Women’s songs.”
[289] Sea water was warmed and taken into the stomach to clear the
system out, both for one’s physical and spiritual welfare. The
following paragraph indicates that some of the story has been omitted.
The slave either promised at this time to reward Mink-woman for her
silence, or met her before and engaged her help. This is why, after he
whispered to her, she exclaimed that what she had smelt was the
blankets of the ten servants who had accompanied the chief’s daughter.
[290] The word here used, dañqa-iyē′tg̣a, was only employed by chiefs.
[291] The supernatural beings had old shells only.
[292] This exclamation indicates the length of time he had been absent.
[293] That is, all ten canoes were lashed together by means of two long
poles placed one from bow to bow, another amidships.
[294] The wife of the younger son was so powerful that he could not
injure them.
[295] They came out alternately from either half of him.
[296] Gada′-i, the word used here, is one often employed in addressing
a woman of the upper classes.
[297] The Haida supposed that supernatural beings called human beings
“human servants” (xa′-idᴀ gī′djats), “human slaves” (xa′-idᴀ
xᴀldā′ñg̣ats), or “common surface birds” (xa′-iʟa xetî′t gī′da-i). When
he appears upon the ocean clothed in cumulus clouds people may go out
fishing because it will then be calm.
[298] Urine was formerly used for washing.
[299] I. e., the cradle.
[300] My interpreter added the bracketed section to complete the story.
Just such a shoal is marked upon the Admiralty charts, and perhaps it
is the one here referred to.
[301] Anciently the planks which formed the front and rear of a house
were laid together upon the ground, fastened with twisted cedar limbs
and raised all at once; in later times the planks were run into slots
cut in the timbers above and below.
[302] Like the shamans. Tlingit shamans were much respected by the
Haida.
[303] Haida, ʟdjîñ; see story of Raven traveling, note 9.
[304] Said to be an ancient form of salutation.
[305] Small lines running crosswise of the gunwale.
[306] Probably meaning “Who will marry the daughter of Ga′oax?”
[307] In most of the stories containing this episode all of the beasts
and all of the birds are supposed to have offered themselves and to
have been refused.
[308] He places a post in the proper situation, and, when he removes
it, one nevertheless remains there. So with the plank. Thus one post,
one plank, one stringer, etc., multiply themselves so as to produce the
whole house.
[309] The word in brackets is said to be Tsimshian.
[310] Nᴀñ-giū-gaos, “One without ears,” is the name given to a heedless
fellow continually appearing in stories. He is more especially one who
has no regard for the national beliefs.
[311] The fire is the commonest means of communication with
supernatural beings.
[312] Tia, the Killer, is the deity who presides over death by
violence, and he appears or is heard by those about to be killed. When
seen he is headless, and from his severed neck blood continually flows.
[313] There were many towns in Metlakahtla narrows, but this is
Qā′łoqā′łi, said to have been the name given to Metlakahtla proper,
where the modern town stands.
[314] That is, the town chief.
[315] Milt is probably what the word qꜝā′dji refers to. It was said to
be “white stuff found in some salmon instead of roe.” The translation
of kꜝō′sgul as “heart” is somewhat doubtful.
[316] The dog dug up a salmon creek.
[317] It is difficult to follow the old man’s descriptions, but the
accompanying diagram shows how my interpreter illustrated the
construction of this fish trap to me.
The trap is seen to be triangular with the apex pointing upstream. The
two sides of the triangle next this apex form the trap proper or
gī′g·awai (a). The third side is flush with a weir running to the bank
of the stream on either side, the two parts of which are called the
x̣ia′-i (b) or “wings.” Entrance to the trap is given between two
slanting sections called the gīgwᴀ′ñgīda (c), which are far apart at
the lower end, but almost come together at the upper. The remaining
sections on either side of the gīgwᴀ′ñgīda which close the trap are
called łg̣aiyî′ñgadadji (d), were made one fathom higher than the other
parts, and were painted on the upper section on the side downstream. In
construction, posts were driven into the stream bed along these lines
and horizontal pieces laid between and secured with cedar limbs. The
salmon in their course upstream were led along by the “wings” to the
opening between the łg̣aiyî′ñgadadji, forced their way through the apex
into the space above, and were unable to get farther or to return.
[318] The łg̣aiyî′ñgadadji looked roundish.
[319] The drying frames were constructed as illustrated in the diagrams
on p. 189, the first of which represents the frame looking from above,
and the second, one end. There were two such frames in each smokehouse,
each occupying one side. The slant of the upper poles accompanies the
slant of the roof. The position of the fires is also marked.
Smokehouses in town were without any smoke holes, as they were not
occupied as dwelling places, while the smoke holes at camp were covered
when they began to dry fish. Boards were also placed above the fire in
order to spread the heat out and facilitate drying. The Kꜝia′sᴀnai
actually extended over all three sections.
[320] ʟ̣a, the word used here, can not be literally translated for want
of an equivalent. It is only used when addressing a brother, sister, or
very near relation.
[321] I learned nothing more about this supernatural being than what is
contained in this story, except that it was said to be like a bear. The
word is Bellabella.
[322] See story of Raven traveling, note 54.
[323] Qꜝol-djat is somewhat difficult to render. It is the feminine of
one word for chief, qꜝol, but “chieftainess” would convey a false
impression, because it is associated with the idea of the exercise of a
chief’s power by a woman. A qꜝol-djat was not one who exercised the
power of a chief, but a woman who belonged to the ranks of the chiefs,
whether she were a chief’s wife or a chief’s daughter.
[324] Supported by ropes, because he was too full of arrows to rest
upon the ground.
[325] A man always communicated with his father-in-law and his
mother-in-law through his wife.
[326] The Haida word used here is the same as that for “one,” and
appears to mean “oneness in clan,” since to marry the same man both had
to belong to the opposite clan. One of my interpreters said that this
term might also be applied by a man to the husband of his wife’s
sister.
[327] Canoes were brought to land stern first unless the occupants were
in great haste. Among the many things the supernatural beings were
supposed to do in an opposite manner from men was to land bow first.
[328] The Haida at this point is somewhat obscure.
[329] Every animal and every human being is supposed to be provided
with a “thread of life,” an idea not found elsewhere in America so far
as I am aware. Līs, the word used here, is also applied to threads of
mountain sheep wool. Another name, wa′nwa-i, is given in the story of
How shining-heavens caused himself to be born.
[330] A person’s luck in hunting would be destroyed by his wife’s
unfaithfulness.
[331] See the story of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked.
[332] “Something-white,” name given to the skin of some mainland animal
obtained in trade by the Haida.
[333] Meaning “How pretty it was!”
[334] In the Masset version of the Raven story, Raven tells Woodpecker
to go to the dead tree which is to be his grandfather.
[335] From Tlingit Kātsꜝ.
[336] Sealion-town (Qā-i-lnaga′-i) was an old town a short distance
above Skidegate, on the same side of the inlet. It was occupied by the
people of Kaisun before they moved to the latter town.
[337] I do not know the true name of this cetacean. It was described as
“like a porpoise, only lighter in color.” The Haida word is qꜝāñ.
[338] An old story town near Dead Tree point, on the northern side of
Skidegate inlet, near its entrance.
[339] Łg̣o′tg̣o is perhaps a synonym for Da′gu sg̣ā′na, the usual name for
the supernatural being who tries the strength of heroes.
[340] Gū′łga is the Haida name for the small inlet above Skidegate,
where the dogfish oil works now stand which until recently were owned
and operated by Mr. Robert Tennant of Victoria. It figures largely in
the myths, and many human bones have been turned up there.
[341] Xā′na is the name given to a small stream which falls into
Skidegate inlet above Lina island. It was probably from this that
Skidegate inlet was called Xā′na qā′łi.
[342] G̣ōdañxō′sgî is said to be a tree like a wild crab apple.
[343] Described as “a short, tough bush found in open spaces.”
[344] Haida, Djigula′og̣a. Usually it is Mouse-woman (Kꜝa′gᴀn-djat) who
is met in this way, and farther on in this same story the old man
inconsistently relapses into the customary name.
[345] A small pond lying buried in the woods back of Gū′łga.
[346] Such seems to be the proper translation of xa′xa wai′gi
djīgînā′g̣ē.
[347] The two trunks of the tree were sprung apart at the middle and
held there by a cross-piece as follows:
[348] This favorite Haida lake monster is represented with the body and
head of a wolf and the fins of a killer whale. It went after whales at
night and could bring back as many as ten at once upon its back, behind
its ears, and in the curl of its tail.
[349] See note 9.
[350] Referring to a scandal involving Djila′qons and another
supernatural being called Swimming-russet-backed-thrush.
[351] This paragraph is very interesting, since it appears to imply
that most of the supernatural beings belonged to the Raven clan.
Stone-ribs and his mother were Eagles.
[352] The Haida here is somewhat obscure. By thrusting himself under
her blanket Swimming-russet-backed-thrush confirms the suspicions
regarding his relations with Djila′qons.
[353] She is the edible butt of a certain fern.
[354] That is, he had come out from his wā′sg̣o skin during the night,
thus winning by trickery.
[355] See story of Raven traveling, note 21.
[356] This is how String-of-the-days or String-of-heaven (Sîns da′gîl)
was put in place from top to bottom of the pole which extends from the
breast of Sacred-one-standing-and-moving to the firmament above.
[357] This is on the eastern end of Maude island, in Skidegate inlet,
and became known to the whites as New Gold Harbor because the Haida
from the neighborhood of Gold harbor, on the west coast of Moresby
island, established a town here before moving into Skidegate.
[358] At or near Cape St. James, with the exception of the Isles
Kerouart, the extreme southern point of the Queen Charlotte islands.
[359] Ninstints people of the best classes, used in addressing one
another expressions which elsewhere were only employed by or to the
lower orders of people. Skᴀ′mdal was one of these. Others are given in
note 47.
[360] The word for “help,” used here and in many other places, means
help given in a way entirely beyond the control of the person helped.
It is usually applied to the help given by supernatural beings.
[361] A creek on Louise island flowing into Cumshewa inlet from the
south. Anciently a town stood there, and one of the Haida families took
its name from the place.
[362] This stood on the shores of Moresby island, opposite the later
town of Ninstints. It is said to have been owned by the Skīda′-i
lā′nas, a branch of the G̣ᴀ′ñxet gitina′-i.
[363] Qꜝā′g̣awa-i was the name of an islet near Ninstints and of the
supernatural being who lived under it. He went about in the form of a
killer whale with five fins.
[364] Though not specifically stated, there are probably a number of
stones here into which these people were supposed to be turned.
[365] Intended as a polite request for help.
[366] Tcꜝā′ał, or Old Gold Harbor, as it is sometimes called, was the
most important town on the west coast of the Queen Charlotte islands,
and stood on the northern side of a southern entrance to Skidegate
channel. This southern entrance is the Tcꜝā′ał inlet referred to.
[367] The canoe passage through Spit point.
[368] A name given to the sculpin (qꜝāl) on account of its spines. This
episode accounts for the shallows on the north side of Cumshewa inlet.
[369] My interpreter said he had always heard this episode treated
differently—in the way in which it is told in the second version of the
story.
[370] Skedans is one of the few towns prominent in Haida story that
have been occupied in recent times. It stood on a tongue of land at the
northeastern end of Louise island. The name is a white corruption of
the chief’s name. By the people themselves it was called Qꜝō′na, or
Grizzly-bear town. Seaward from the site are several islands and reefs,
of which Island-that-wheels-around-with-the-current (Dalgā′-iłgałgîñ)
is the closest in and Farthest-one-out (Ga-ig̣oqꜝā′-idjūsg̣as) the
outermost.
[371] See introduction to notes.
[372] The exact meaning of the archaic words used here (xa′u-ū
łî′ñgîñgwañ) has been forgotten, but this is the idea involved.
[373] See story of A-slender-one-who-was-given-away, note 12.
[374] Spoken sarcastically. See story of
A-slender-one-who-was-given-away, note 19.
[375] Canes half blue and half red were often carried by the
supernatural beings. Compare story of The one abandoned for eating the
flipper of a hair seal, page 181.
[376] See story of Raven traveling, note 40.
[377] Haida Kꜝī′watcꜝas, a trail which runs up the inlet from Skedans.
[378] Half a mile from the town.
[379] Breaking the exogamic law, for they were both Eagles.
[380] The word used here for Raven is Wī′gît. Every fall Wī′gît was
said to come over to the Queen Charlotte islands from his home in the
Tsimshian country.
[381] This youth was apparently appointed to apprehend Upward after he
should escape in the form of a cinder.
[382] Łᴀ′ndal and lakꜝî′l were “common words” not employed by the upper
classes unless in addressing those beneath them. Compare note 24.
[383] Kꜝō′djix̣ū, the word used here, is said to be the same as
tcꜝa′tcꜝa, identified by one of my informants with the Rusty Song
Sparrow, though this identification is somewhat doubtful.
[384] ʟdas is the east coast of Graham island.
[385] Woman-under-the-fire repeated to the supernatural beings
everything that was said near it. But, if charcoal were instantly
rubbed upon the lips of a person who had said anything they did not
want the supernatural beings to hear, Woman-under-the-fire knew that it
was not intended.
[386] Tcꜝī′da is an island on the west coast in front of Kaisun.
[387] Nastō′ is the Haida name for Hippa island.
[388] That is the personal form of the spit did so.
[389] The same who appears in the Raven story.
[390] I′ʟꜝgas, the word used here for “chief,” is a common name for
supernatural beings. It was also one of the names of Cape Ball.
[391] That is, weak supernatural beings or powers acted through him,
rendering him also weak, unlike his elder brothers.
[392] The cry raised to summon opponents to a contest, especially to a
trial of strength or to a gambling contest.
[393] See preceding story, note 5.
[394] See preceding story, note 2.
[395] See preceding story, note 3.
[396] See preceding story, note 6.
[397] See preceding story, note 7.
[398] See preceding story, note 8.
[399] See preceding story of A-slender-one-who-was-given-away, note 3.
[400] The same inconsistency noted in the preceding story, note 9, is
here repeated.
[401] Haida sqa′otcꜝîl, which is said to give the idea of a grouse with
a red thing on its back. This is a mountain between the abandoned coal
mine, near the head of Skidegate inlet, and the west coast.
[402] ʟꜝū means “wedge,” but I did not learn the meaning of the
remainder of the word. It is a mountain lying in the opposite direction
farther down Skidegate inlet.
[403] A low herb said to be found growing on dead trees, with leaves
like clover, and a bitter taste like that of pepper.
[404] The wrestling took place by a rock almost buried in the beach
gravel at Gū′łg̣a. Presumably it was this rock into which the strange
wrestler was transformed.
[405] Compare the preceding story, note 40.
[406] Halibut hooks were usually made out of the stumps of limbs which
had rotted out of hemlock trees. Into these the monster was
transformed.
[407] See the preceding story.
[408] Supernatural beings hunt during the night and get home before
ravens begin calling. If they are detained in any way so that they hear
the raven, they at once fall dead.
[409] A man who just saved himself from drowning was supposed to be
deprived of his senses by land otters and become transformed into a
creature called gā′gix̣īt. This being had land otter fur all over its
body, an upturned nose, and a face covered with fish spines. It
traveled all over the Haida country with the utmost ease. See my memoir
in series of Jesup North Pacific Expedition, volume V, part I, pages 26
and 27. It was owing to this transformation that he did not recognize
his own blankets when he felt of them.
[410] This is the probable meaning of the word tcî′sgu. They are not
found on the Queen Charlotte islands.
[411] In reality this was Skidegate channel between Graham and Moresby
islands, the two largest of the Queen Charlotte group.
[412] This was Nᴀñkî′lsʟas, or Raven, the hero of the story of Raven
Traveling.
[413] A bowl of water was the ancient Haida looking-glass.
[414] On the mornings of days that are going to be windy red streaks
are seen in the clouds which pass away quickly. This phenomenon is
often referred to in the stories, and one or both of the cloud designs
here spoken of may represent it.
[415] One of the two west coast Haida towns, of which it was the older
and the greater favorite in the myths. Instead of a “water hole,” a
creek named X̣uadō′s is sometimes mentioned.
[416] An island opposite Kaisun, prominent in story.
[417] Name given to a slave. “I am without,” because he was worthless.
[418] Said sarcastically.
[419] People who went to the west coast found the food supply so
excellent, owing especially to the presence of black cod, that they
were loath to leave, and this expression was applied to them. This is
supposed to have been the first time it was heard.
[420] I understand meshes to be here referred to.
[421] Everything that is thrown, or that falls, into the sea passes
under the floor planks of the house of The-one-in-the-sea, the greatest
supernatural being in the ocean.
[422] He-who-has-spines-for-earrings usually sits near the door of
houses of the supernatural beings, and can take away anything unbeknown
to the owner. Because he took away this black cod there are now none of
these fish on the east coast of the Queen Charlotte islands. He is
supposed to have stolen the black cod heads from
Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, and the latter, aware of this fact,
refers to it in the usual indirect way.
[423] Perhaps some magic is referred to. Otherwise the sentence is
obscure.
[424] This star was in reality the door of another room in which lived
his present wife’s daughter. Nᴀñkî′lsʟas was in love with her and the
marten tail which passed in there belonged to his marten cloak.
[425] This is probably the same as the round object obtained by Raven
from Cape Ball’s wife, and appears to have been the thunder or to have
had power to produce it.
[426] Apparently Raven adopted this as a crest, but among men the
wā′sg̣o belonged to the Eagle side.
[427] Raven was able to make it appear that he was in one place, when
he had actually moved. His form was seen upon the bedstead while he
himself had gone down to the woman.
[428] Perhaps this is another story of the origin of the canoe people
referred to in the story of “Canoe people who wear head dresses.” The
mother and daughter became mountains.
[429] Or varied Thrush. Haida, sqꜝax̣ia′o.
[430] These two sentences, which sound ridiculous in English, are
rendered necessary here by the fact that Haida has only one personal
pronoun for the third person singular.
[431] The ancient doorway through the foot of the house pole was closed
by a plank hinged at the top.
[432] Ḷ indicates the shape of a bow. When a supernatural being was
born he grew up quickly, and soon cried for a bow, but would only be
satisfied with one made of copper.
[433] The Western Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis pacificus, Baird).
[434] The Rusty Song Sparrow (Melospiza fasciata guttata, Nutt.).
[435] Anas boschas, Linn.
[436] The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis, Linn.).
[437] See the story of Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, note 2.
[438] Or Harbor Seal (Phoca largha, Pallas).
[439] Balænoptera retifera, Cope.
[440] The Northwestern Flicker (Colaptes cafer saturatior, Ridgw.).
[441] The name for all woodpeckers is the same.
[442] Louisiana Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana, Wils.).
[443] I have not identified this bird. It is said to be small.
[444] The word for blue jay here is rather unusual and is so nearly
like that applied to the kinglet (łtᴀ′ndjîget) that my interpreter may
have made a mistake. Generally the blue jay is called ʟꜝai′ʟꜝai. One of
my native informants applied this name to Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta
stelleri, Gmel.).
[445] His story comes next.
[446] A variety of the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias, Linn.).
[447] Letting out the bones of the inhabitants of this town whom he had
swallowed. Perhaps the story of how this town was destroyed should have
preceded.
[448] A low plant with white seed vessels. There are said to be sharp
points around the bottom of its stalk, referred to as Î′nłîñ-tcꜝîñ or
Î′nłîñ-teeth.
[449] Or Cohoe (Onchorynchus kisutch, Walbaum).
[450] Onchorynchus keta, Walbaum.
[451] I do not know just what insects are referred to under the names
of ku′ndax̣uñ and sqā′-i.
[452] Compare the story of Łᴀguadjî′na.
[453] This is the commonest Haida tree, the word for spruce and that
for tree being, indeed, identical.
[454] That is, “human beings.”
[455] That is, he instructs Heron how he is to act in future times, or
how men are to see him.
[456] Grus mexicana, Mull.
[457] Haida, ʟga.
[458] Certhia familiaris occidentalis, Ridgw. This identification of
the Haida name is a little uncertain.
[459] The word for cousin indicates a woman of the other clan, which in
this case must have been the Eagle clan, the hero being himself a
Raven. It would thus seem that tobacco was supposed to have belonged
originally to the Eagle clan.
[460] Łg̣ā′xet is a word applied to round stones lying on the beach.
“Pebble” seems to be the nearest English equivalent, although the Haida
word perhaps denotes a somewhat larger variety of stone. This town was
once occupied by the Sea-otters, who sold it to another family, the
Łg̣ā′xet-gu-lā′nas, and moved to a place east of Skidegate called
Qꜝo′stᴀn-xana. More often the scene of the story is laid at this latter
place.
[461] That is, they were not to cut it because he was going to take
all.
[462] A creek on the east coast of Graham island where the Haida of
Skidegate inlet used to assemble before starting for the mainland.
[463] Compare Story of the House-point families, notes.
[464] The locally famous Rose Spit that runs out for miles at the
northeastern end of Graham island between Dixon entrance and Hecate
strait. It was called Na-iku′n, “House point,” by the Haida; but by
supernatural beings it was supposed to be called Qꜝᴀ′kun, as in the
story. This probably means North-point.
[465] Sg̣îl, the word translated “duck,” is said to be applied to the
Surf Scoter or “Coot” (Oidemia perspicillata, Linn.), and also to the
White-winged Scoter (Oidemia deglandi, Bonap.).
[466] I have not identified the root to which the Haida word Tag̣ᴀ′nskia
is applied.
[467] Some seemed to think that Qonā′ts and He-who-travels-behind-us
were the same person. The word translated “behind us” means “back from
the shore,” “inland,” or “back from the houses.”
He-who-travels-behind-us is also identified with
Supernatural-being-on-whom-is-thunder (Sg̣ā′na-gut-hī′lᴀñwas).
[468] Slate creek, which flows into Skidegate inlet near its head, and
along which the famous slate is found, carved so extensively by the
Haida.
[469] The native name for Masset.
[470] As in the story of Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, note 25.
[471] Said to be “the greatest ones who got power from what they
heard.” Compare story of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, note 32.
[472] Changing them into fine articles.
[473] While they were watching to see him enter through the doorway he
came out of the ground.
[474] See the story of He who hunted birds in his father’s village,
note 7.
[475] Or Master Canoe-builder.
[476] This seems to mean that they went of themselves.
[477] The creek next north of Telel on the east coast of Graham island.
[478] See second version.
[479] At this point the two women appear to resolve themselves into
one.
[480] That is, the burning alder.
[481] The stick used in getting devilfish is made of hemlock and has a
sharp, bent point to pull up rocks and stones.
[482] The ligaments by means of which these bivalves close their shells
are called in Haida “eyes.”
[483] This was the way that supernatural beings lighted their fires.
[484] Owing to the destruction of his hostile supernatural powers.
[485] My interpreter added that, while they were encamped near Cumshewa
point during this journey,
He-who-got-supernatural-power-from-his-little-finger awoke in the night
and found his wife gone. She had been lying next to the fire. For this
reason, when people camp, they now place the women next to the wall.
[486] That its blood might not injure the fur.
[487] Great Haida chiefs often had two or three of these “watchmen” on
the tops of their house poles.
[488] Cry raised when the first canoe came in from fishing; also on
other occasions; see the story of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked,
note 2.
[489] In the Masset story these are said to have been red cod spines.
[490] My informant could not remember the names of the remaining
children.
[491] Forrester island, which lies about 20 miles out to sea from Dall
island, and is said to be covered with birds’ eggs during the breeding
season.
[492] Compare story of Sacred-one-standing-and-moving.
[493] Said sometimes when a fish is hooked, in order to strengthen the
line.
[494] The word used means that they were bathing in winter. Had it been
summer a different expression would have been employed.
[495] According to others they said to him at this time, Wā′nᴀñ,
qea′ga-i, “A little farther off, brother-in-law,” a sarcastic reference
to his relations toward their sister.
[496] Said sarcastically.
[497] See the story of Raven traveling, note 21.
[498] This was The-one-in-the-sea.
[499] According to another account he said these words to Łg̣ᴀñā′ʻo, who
replied: “Awī′t kîtgū′tꜝᴀłda łᴀ” (Hasten to tip it over).
[500] A species of bird which I have not identified.
[501] Said sarcastically.
[502] Compare the story of the Canoe people who wear headdresses.
[503] These dead falls may have been constructed something like the
dead falls used for marten (Kꜝū′x̣u sqā′baga-i), which were described to
me as follows:
A stake (a) was driven into the ground, and a small stick (b) carrying
the bait (c) at one end was fastened to this about midway up. Another
stake (d) was then driven into the ground some distance in front of
these and to one side. Over the top of this another stick was laid
extending toward the bait. At that end it was held to the stick b by a
noose lying in a notch just back of the bait. The bait was also
fastened to this noose. The other end of the stick e supported one end
of the stick f, which constituted the dead fall proper. This was
weighted along the end g next to the ground; and it also had four posts
(h) to guide it in its descent. They were curved over from each side
and fastened together at the top. To prevent the animal from
approaching the bait in any other way similar stakes were continued up
to and around it. Now, when the bait was pulled off, the noose came
away from its notch, whereupon the stick e flew up, letting f down upon
the animal’s back. The Haida name for d is x̣ā′ña kꜝudjigā′ño; for e,
x̣ā′ña-i; for f, sî′txa sqā′gîda. The weights are called qeng̣ałā′ño.
[504] Only the roots of this plant were used.
[505] That is, “Has the snow melted from the roots of the
łkꜝiê′nkunᴀn?”
[506] Human or supernatural beings who have become animals are usually
identified in this way.
[507] In spite of having medicine in his mouth.
[508] They not only “became rocks,” but also continued to live under
them.
[509] As was once customary with the sons of chiefs.
[510] Canada geese.
[511] Plants with edible roots growing around the mouths of creeks.
[512] Such as were used to make awls and gimlets out of.
[513] Supernatural beings are often said to be tickled by having some
one merely look at them.
[514] This is undoubtedly the pole held on the breast of
Supernatural-being-standing-and-moving, which rose in the middle of the
Haida country and extended to the sky.
[515] Master Hopper (Łkienqā′-ixōñ), referred to in many other places
throughout these stories. He was a one legged supernatural being, or a
supernatural being having one leg shorter than the other. Here he is
represented as only a half-man.
[516] That is, the man became a sea gull.
[517] Pitch wood supplied the place of a lantern.
[518] That is, by the land otters. One had looked at her while she was
drinking water. When this happened one was seized with fits, soon died,
and went to live among the Land-otter people.
[519] Haida, kꜝał, identified by Doctor Newcombe, of Victoria, as the
kelp crab (Epialtus productus, Randall).
[520] Another version says that the land-otter brother-in-law also
turned the man’s canoe over when he was ready to work upon the inside.
Canoes were first roughly shaped upon the outside and then turned over
so as to be hollowed out on the inside.
[521] If a land otter forgot to take along the mat used to cover the
knees of a canoe-man while paddling, he was sure to be killed by human
beings.
[522] One way of concluding a story. More often they say Hao ʟan l’
g̣e′ida, “Here it comes to a stop,” Hao ʟ a′sga-i kundjū′ga, “Here it
comes to a point,” or something similar. See the conclusions of the
various stories. When a story is too long to be told at one sitting,
they break it off by saying, Lᴀ ʟ sītꜝē′djî, “Let us make a knot.”
[523] See the story of Stone-ribs.
[524] So as not to be hurt by the arrows.
[525] See the story of Upward, note 35.
[526] The distinction shows that Haida zoology was fairly well advanced
in at least one respect.
[527] Identified by Doctor Newcombe, of Victoria, as Tresus Nuttalli,
Conv.
[528] That is, Skedans continues to be occupied and abandoned
alternately.
[529] La′lłgīx̣iwas, another name for Many-ledges.
[530] The western robin; see the story of Raven traveling, note 97.
[531] Anciently a man’s nephews, or at any rate the one who was to
succeed him, lived on terms of complete familiarity with his wife.
[532] The word is said to mean “growing alone,” and is applied to a
very large variety of mussel which grows by itself.
[533] The word used here is xᴀ′ñē, “eyes,” the ligaments which hold the
shell together being supposed to perform that function.
[534] Compare name of Cloud-watcher in story bearing that title.
[535] A horizontal or slanting beam of some sort is supposed to stand
at the end of an eagle town. The birds sit upon this before starting
out for food.
[536] This bivalve (sqao) is identified by Doctor Newcombe as
Glycimeris generosa, Gould.
[537] Sīs or sī′ga-i means the broad expanse of ocean away from inlets
and bays.
[538] Or “friends;” Haida, łta′x̣ulᴀñ.
[539] The story-teller also said that there was a great pile of bones
here from the animals the eagles had killed and eaten.
[540] The pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps). Cf. story of Raven
traveling, page 111.
[541] See the story of Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, note 2.
[542] Compare the story of Raven traveling, pages 118, 119.
[543] Thus singularly suggesting the narwhal.
[544] Sqa-i and Stasqa′os are town sites lying very near to each other
and close to Cape St. James.
[545] See the story succeeding. It is said that this has now become a
high place from the amount of earth thrown into it.
[546] Nor that killer whales are always in love with common whales.
[547] According to the shamans this was because the supernatural beings
did not want anything dirty, like human beings, upon them. The man who
told this story asserted that he had felt a reef shake under him, as
here described.
[548] Compare preceding story.
[549] On the west coast of Prevost island. It was owned by the
G̣ᴀ′ñxet-qē′g̣awa-i, and this is the story of its foundation.
[550] The Haida word is ʟ̣a (see the story of The one abandoned for
eating the flipper of a hair seal, note 8).
[551] See the story of “The man who married a killer-whale woman,” note
1.
[552] One of the southernmost points on Prevost island, but, according
to Doctor Newcombe, not identical with Cape St. James.
[553] An inlet.
[554] See the story of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, note 31.
[555] According to the statements of the shamans.
[556] That is, sarcastic or insulting expressions or insinuations. The
use of “bad words” is constantly referred to in the stories as a cause
of trouble.
[557] Unlike other people, shamans’ bodies were set up in little houses
on points distant from the town.
[558] See the story of “The one abandoned for eating the flipper of a
hair seal,” note 15.
[559] These were generally roof-shaped with the gable ends at the front
and back.
[560] The usual way of removing disease.
[561] Compare the story of the “Canoe people who wear headdresses,” pp.
38, 40.
[562] That is, he was able to accomplish more for the human being than
the others because he had more power and more property.
[563] Mouse-woman belonged to the Qā′gials qē′g̣awa-i of Skedans; he was
born into the Seaward-Sqoā′ładas.
[564] Fasting, drinking sea water, etc., to assist the shaman.
[565] This supernatural being lived under a reef in front of Dead Tree
point. He is said to have been identical with Qonā′tc (see the story of
He-who-travels-behind-us.)
[566] The outer (i.e., eastern) point of Alliford bay on the southern
shore of Skidegate inlet.
[567] Welcome point is just east of the preceding.
[568] That is, what will happen when one uses the songs belonging to
this dancing hat.
[569] One of the elaborate kind, with rows of weasel skins hanging from
the back part. He obtains sea otters with this instead of whales.
[570] Bare island, the outer of the two islands in front of Skidegate.
[571] They became so numerous that he did not bother to count just how
many he got.
[572] That is, they now found the whales in the places where, at his
command, they had before hunted unsuccessfully.
[573] An onomatopœtic word imitating the blowing of a killer whale.
Having just been with the killer whales, he makes this noise when he
wakes up.
[574] His wife’s name: Haida, Yakułsī′.
[575] See story of “How Master Carpenter began making a canoe to war
with Southeast.”
[576] The noted ancestress of the Eagles (see stories of Stone-ribs and
Djila′qons) and Creek-woman at the head of a stream flowing into the
West Arm of Cumshewa inlet.
[577] Creek-woman at the head of Telel creek, east coast of Graham
island. See story of “Raven traveling,” note 36.
[578] In recent years more particularly associated with the smallpox.
[579] See the story of “How Master Carpenter began making a canoe to
war with Southeast.” Tidal-wave owned the tube full of water which
produced a wave by being suddenly opened.
[580] In other words, he was wearing one of those composite masks of
which such numbers have been taken from this coast.
[581] Or “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving;” see story quoted in note 17.
[582] All ate from one long piece stretched around the entire room.
[583] A kind of berry which I have not identified.
[584] The word used here, tag̣ᴀ′nsgia, refers to a certain kind of root.
[585] Fire being the gateway between the material and the spirit world.
[586] I′ʟꜝgas, one of the names of Cape Ball, but applied to many other
supernatural beings also.
[587] The proper rendering of this sentence is doubtful, but the sense
is as here indicated.
[588] Spit point, which closes the southern side of the entrance to
Skidegate inlet.
[589] According to some Qonā′tc became
Supernatural-being-looking-landward at the end of his career, but
others said most emphatically that it was
Supernatural-being-at-whose-voice-the-ravens-sit-on-the-sea. Both
lived, however, in the same neighborhood.
[590] That is, Ne-koon or Rose spit; a long sand spit that runs
northeastward from the corner of Graham island between Dixon entrance
and Hecate strait. It is surrounded by dangerous tide rips and is much
dreaded by the Indians for natural and supernatural reasons.
[591] An old town site just north of Lawn hill at the northern entrance
of Skidegate inlet.
[592] Toward Rose spit and toward Skidegate.
[593] That is, the fern women; see the story of
Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, note 18 and accompanying text.
[594] In the neighborhood of Da′x̣ua.
[595] A place near the site of New Gold Harbor at the eastern end of
Maude island, Skidegate inlet.
[596] Selwyn inlet.
[597] Unidentified.
[598] A cape in the inlet.
[599] It belonged to the Sa′ki qē′g̣awa-i, the greatest Eagle family at
Ninstints and that of chief Ninstints himself.
[600] My informant added that all of the people drank sea water with
him for ten days and repeated everything that he said. Every time he
spoke he began with the word Ha′gugwâk. He said to them: “Shall I get
this?” pulling at something meantime with his teeth and hands. At the
end of ten days he got it and told the singers that he had pulled it
ashore with his teeth, some of which were broken by the strain. It was
his supernatural helper.
[601] The shaman treats this iron just as he would a whale. Compare
Memoirs Jesup North Pacific Expedition, volume V, part 1, page 139. It
is said to have been part of some vessel.
[602] Masset inlet was called simply the Inlet as being preeminent and
the people there were called Inlet people. At the same time this latter
expression was so extended as to cover all the Haida of the northern
coast of Graham island; all of those in short who are now known as
Masset people.
[603] Haida, Xᴀldā′ñg̣ats, one of the leading Raven families of
Ninstints.
[604] The man appointed to go with him.
[605] Raven’s son; see the story of Raven traveling.
[606] Said to be Tsimshian words.
[607] Haida, Tꜝanū′; but known to the whites as Old Kloo. The “old” is
used to distinguish it from a place in Cumshewa inlet, where the Kloo
people settled for a while before moving on to Skidegate.
[608] See the story of “How Shining-heavens caused himself to be born.”
[609] At the western end of Louise island. The three towns were
Cumshewa, Skedans, and Old Kloo.
[610] He was a shaman belonging to the Witch people of Cumshewa. There
was much sickness at that time, probably the smallpox, but all who
stayed with him were well. “A rival Tlingit shaman once threw a tree on
him, but he was uninjured.”
[611] See above.
[612] Meaning, perhaps, “Rocks.” It is an islet north of Hot Spring
island.
[613] The word used for “grandchild” applies to descendants generally,
and elsewhere this spirit is spoken of as the Moon’s son.
[614] Chief of Skedans. He is talking to the spirit.
[615] The words are in Tsimshian.
[616] This song was Tsimshian, but no words accompanied it.
[617] See preceding story, note 4.
[618] Really he only fell in a faint or a fit.
[619] A shaman among the Land-otter people. The word is evidently
Tlingit.
[620] See story of Raven traveling.
[621] Lā′nas- = “town” or “village”: kꜝīsqꜝe-ū′ = “upper or smaller
part of stomach.” This is one of the creatures that were supposed to
bring wealth to the one who possessed himself of them.
[622] See the story of Big-tail.
[623] The word used is one applied to descendants generally.
[624] See the story of Cloud-watcher.
[625] A good dancer, whose name is probably compounded from dī′lᴀ, the
word for Sand-hill crane; see the story of
He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side.
[626] This is an attempt to reproduce the sounds used in this song,
which is very likely Tsimshian.
[627] The ruling family at Tcꜝā′ał, the principal west coast town.
[628] See the story of A-slender-one-who-was-given-away, note 6.
[629] That is, before the spirit over the town.
[630] It would be interesting if we could trace the word Bᴀlê′la to its
origin, for it was certainly connected in some way with the first
appearance of white people in northern British Columbia and with the
first efforts of Christian missionaries. Bī′nĭ evidently = Peni, from
ni “mind,” a Carrier Indian, who, immediately after the appearance of
the first Catholic missionaries, claimed remarkable supernatural powers
and started a kind of sporadic cult which spread throughout much of the
northern part of British Columbia. (See Morice, Hist. of the N.
Interior of Brit. Col., p. 235.) At Masset I discovered that certain
songs there had been obtained, or were supposed to have been obtained,
from a Jesuit missionary on the Skeena. The Christian influences
apparent in this story evidently emanated from the same source, as
Bᴀlê′la’s and Bī′ni’s songs are all said to have been revealed at a
place up the Skeena river at the same time and to have spread from
there.
[631] Evidently Bᴀlê′la is landing like a white man.
[632] Haida name for the white people.
[633] Supposed to resemble the songs or cries of white people. When
they sang the shaman made a motion as if waving his hat, and all
followed suit. This has very much the appearance of an imitation of a
hearty Yankee or British cheer. The Haida themselves assert that it
happened before any whites were seen.
[634] A little lodge or tent of canoe sails.
[635] He is now dressed like a white man.
[636] The story-teller said, “like a bicycle.”
[637] This sentence is obscure, referring to an adventure of which I
have no clue.
[638] One of the shamans spoken of in the last story.
[639] Wu′ltcꜝixaiya, the moon’s son, thus seems to have been identified
with the Christian deity.
[640] A level spot back of the town.
[641] A hill south of Rose spit.
[642] The present Haida name.
[643] Aythya americana, Eyt. So identified by the story-teller himself
in the museum at Victoria. Haida, qadjî′ñ-g̣ᴀl-g̣a′ksʟa-i.
[644] Inserted between the layers of cedar bark to be lined for
roofing.
[645] Of the kind called skiä′msm; see the story of
A-slender-one-who-was-given-away, note 1.
[646] Said to be similar to the next piece mentioned.
[647] According to a Masset version Those-born-at-House-point were
driven from the town.
[648] One of the villages near Cape Ball.
[649] This was a portent of the destruction of the town mentioned
below.
[650] The words are used for ditches or stream beds running through
level ground, or when some upright object falls over.
[651] People of Masset inlet.
[652] Or rather the place where trees have been burned off.
[653] That is, Cape Ball’s.
[654] Not far south of Rose spit.
[655] Tow is an English spelling of the Haida name Tao. Whether the
same or not, it is identical in form with the word which means
“grease.”
[656] The Haida expression is “upward,” which means toward the Stikine
country.
[657] See “Story of the Food-giving-town people,” and notes.
[658] At Skotsgai bay, near Skidegate; compare the story of
Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, note 1.
[659] Probably intended in a reverse sense.
[660] He was also called Sîns-nᴀñ-qꜝā′-igiaos, “He-who-chews-the-days,”
because that was all that he had to live on during his fast and
wanderings. He belonged to the Seaward-sqoā′ładas; his father to the
Sealion-town people.
[661] Into the woods.
[662] The words for leaf and medicine are identical.
[663] A mountain.
[664] Djū′tcꜝîtga. A song comes into this story somewhere the words of
which were given me by the last survivor of the Seaward-sqoā′ładas.
They are as follows: Gᴀm dī dā qê′ñg̣ᴀñga, “You do not see me” [because
I am too great to be seen]. Probably this was Djū′tcꜝîtga’s song, heard
before or at the time when Gasî′na-ᴀ′ndju was taken into his house.
[665] This condition was usually supposed to be brought about by the
sight of a menstruant woman.
[666] The Haida name for this stick was Wī′dᴀwit, which appears to be a
duplication of wit, the word for russet-backed thrush.
[667] Compare the story of Sounding-gambling-sticks, notes 7 and 8.
[668] That is, he had Coming-out-ten-times, Sticking-into-the-clouds,
and his djîl left. For a further explanation of this game see story of
Sounding-gambling-sticks.
[669] That is, the transparent being did.
[670] The djîl, which was the one desired, had few or no marks upon it.
[671] And he was a member of the above family, an Eagle family on the
west coast.
[672] In this case “brothers-in-law” is synonymous with the entire
family of his wife.
[673] According to the stories a person who lived entirely upon greasy
food came to be afflicted with mental lassitude; see the story of
A-slender-one-who-was-given-away.
[674] First the western entrance of Skidegate channel (G̣a′oia) is
referred to, then the channel proper which was called Kꜝē′djîs, a word
applied to the stomach and intestines of an animal or man.
[675] Close to Lawn hill.
[676] These are two rocks near the steamer entrance to Skidegate inlet.
[677] The word used here, I′ʟꜝxagidas, is applied to a house chief and
is almost synonymous with “rich man,” there being no caste limitations
to prevent one from becoming a house chief.
[678] There were several Haida towns so named. This stood near Hewlett
bay, on the northwest coast of Moresby island.
[679] Given at length the name means “putting rocks into fire to steam
food.” He was chief of the town of Kaisun before the Sealion-town
people came there.
[680] By destroying his kelp line he cut off their only source of food
supply, and, as a result, the fort was destroyed.
[681] All except one man, who was found there by the Sealion-town
people on their arrival, and of whose strange actions and unusual
abilities many stories were told.
[682] A similar story occurs in my Masset series where the old woman
was used as a kind of bugaboo to frighten children. The same was
probably the case at Skidegate.
[683] Hā′maiya, the Haida word employed here, is one used to indicate
very great terror.
[684] This was the usual picnicking place of Kaisun children.
[685] The Haida word, Î′ldjao, used here is said to have a similar
meaning to “gentleman” and “lady” in English.
[686] Perhaps another playground. The last syllable, qꜝēt, means
“strait.”
[687] Or, more at length, “that is probably it.” Haida, Ūdjiga′-i.
[688] That is, he did not lose his senses, as usually happened when one
was carried off by a land otter.
[689] A burl cut out of the side of a tree and used as a ball.
[690] Probably a word made up for the occasion.
[691] As all girls were compelled to do at puberty.
[692] Old pieces of cedar bark thrown away while making mats.
[693] Although snow continued to pile up, by rubbing their feather on
the house fronts they kept these clear.
[694] This name Sîns-kꜝū′da is a little uncertain. The being referred
to may have been identical with Power-of-the-shining-heavens.
[695] A mainland animal, said to resemble a mink.
[696] That is, she thought she did so, but in reality she took out her
daughter’s.
[697] I am not quite certain of the correctness of this translation of
sqēnā′wasʟīa.
[698] The word indicates a rich man or house chief.
[699] That is, “Merely pretend to eat it.”
[700] Making a noise as if she were killing the frogs.
[701] A town near Metlakahtla prominent in story.
[702] A mountain on the south side of Nass inlet.
[703] This is a passage into Nass river.
[704] Isnē′g̣ał is the name of a mountain.
[705] That is, it was excavated beneath and the earth held back by rows
of retaining timbers.
[706] Inserted at the instance of my interpreter.
[707] See the story of “Raven traveling,” notes 20 and 21.
[708] So łgī′yutsin was translated to me, though this is not the mouse
usually spoken of in the stories, which is Keen’s mouse.
[709] Identified by Doctor Newcombe as Putorius haidarum, Preble.
[710] To find a good day for hunting.
[711] The unfaithfulness of a hunter’s wife would cause him to have
poor luck or even bring about his death. Such was the case also in war.
[712] This word for grouse is a general one. The sooty grouse or “blue
grouse,” however, is said to have been called łkꜝî′ng̣a sqa′owa-i, “wood
grouse.”
[713] Townsend’s Sparrow (Passerella iliaca unalaschcensis, Gmel.).
[714] Perhaps the Red-winged Black Bird (Agelaius phœniceus, Linn.).
[715] See the story “How Shining-heavens caused himself to be born.”
[716] This bird was caught like the wā′sg̣o, in the story of
Sacred-one-standing-and-moving.
[717] All the spirits in the woods, be they quadrupeds, birds, or the
spirits of trees, sticks, and stones.
[718] A mountain on the south side of Nass inlet.
[719] That was why he lost.
[720] Brothers-in-law, brothers, and uncles are to be understood as
applying to large bodies of men who are members of the same or of the
opposite clan.
[721] See the story of He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side, note 4.
[722] The Western Robin (Merula migratoria propinqua, Ridgw.).
[723] A common metaphor.
[724] Although restoration to life is common enough, restoration to
youth is spoken of nowhere else in the stories I have collected.
[725] Tcꜝa′ogus, the word used here, is identical with “Stick Indians”
of the Chinook jargon and is applied to all interior Indians, such as
the Athapascan tribes and the interior Salish. In this case it would
refer either to the Athapascans or to the Kitksan of the upper Skeena.
[726] Both parties were so ashamed that no fight resulted and no blood
money was exacted.
[727] But according to Wī′nats (see below) he and his mother continued
to remain in the town. Possibly Jackson would have finished the myth
like “How something pulled a row of eagles into the water” and “Story
of one who saw an eagle town.”
[728] Old words are used here.
[729] According to Jackson it was this girl’s mother who left it.
[730] Said to be a small mouselike animal always running about on the
rocks. Children call them sʟgu, the usual term for “land otter.”
[731] On this coast the north winds bring clear, cold weather, but
often high seas, while the southeast wind brings wet weather. Fine
weather to a Haida’s mind depends not so much on clear skies as on
smooth water.
[732] Repeated over and over to a crying baby. The point is in a play
upon two Haida words.
[733] The word used here, Tcꜝa′tcꜝagusga-i, is the story name of this
sparrow; the common name is tcꜝa′tcꜝa. See the story of
He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side, note 5.
[734] The grizzly bear appears in this story because it was a great
bugaboo to children. To quiet a crying child they said to it: “The
grizzly bear might get after you.”
[735] The meaning of these words, if they have any, is unknown.
[736] These birds always lay their eggs among the salmon-berry bushes
and the ferns.
[737] The Haida name means literally “Strait-country.”
[738] See “Story of the House-point families,” note 15.
[739] See the above story.
[740] The Haida sentence conveys the idea that they caused themselves
to grow up for no other purpose than to make this war upon the Tlingit.
[741] A camping place about halfway between Tcꜝā′ał and Kaisun.
[742] A stream 2 miles north of Telel.
[743] Another creek. I do not know the location.
[744] One of the purificatory war regulations was to drink a great deal
of salt water and then take fresh water after it, when the whole would
be ejected. The same thing was done at other times.
[745] That is, they thought that the use of sea water was more in
conformity with the regulations.
[746] The shaman. Each war party was provided with one.
[747] The war cry raised when rushing upon the enemy, like the Dakota
Añhē′.
[748] Because they had not yet met an enemy or taken a slave, and
therefore had no right to break the fast regulations.
[749] The Haida word for this place, Î′ngilin, looks as though intended
for “English.” The principal Hudson Bay Company post of this district
was there.
[750] An Eagle family at Masset. It was formerly regarded as one of low
rank, but the head of that family is now chief of Masset.
[751] So called from the name of their old town on Skidegate inlet.
This is not a family name, the members of this expedition belonging to
the Gîtî′ns.
[752] The people of Skidegate, when they had an opportunity, were wont
to intercept West Coast war parties on their return through the channel
and take their slaves away from them.
[753] A camping place on Maude island.
[754] See the story of “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and
Upward,” note 31.
[755] Or people of G̣ᴀ′ñxet, a point near Cape St. James. These people
comprised the Xā′gi-town people, Sand-town people, Xᴀldā′ñgats,
Sa′ki-qe′ig̣awa-i, G̣ᴀ′ñxetqe′ig̣awai, and some minor divisions.
[756] In Haida the third person plural is here used as is often the
case where the first person would be used in English.
[757] This name is said to be applied to the Bella Coola by the
Tsimshian. Perhaps the inlet so called included Milbank sound, Seaforth
channel, and Dean inlet.
[758] Perhaps this name means “floating.”
[759] The word seems to mean “precious” or “valuable.”
[760] The landing party found itself unable to withdraw without great
danger.
[761] See the story of “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and
Upward,” note 23.
[762] The usual word applied to the east coast of the Queen Charlotte
islands means “The coast where canoes can land easily.”
[763] A camping place about 1½ miles from Tcꜝā′ał.
[764] Probably means “Canoe-going-about.”
[765] The one who was saved.
[766] A shaman might not touch his hair with his fingers, and in
consequence it became long and matted.
[767] The supernatural power that presided over slaughter and made his
presence known at a time when it was about to take place. See Memoirs
of the American Museum of Natural History, v, pt. 1, p. 31.
[768] Compare the preceding story.
[769] A being who appeared to persons that were about to be enslaved.
[770] Since his grandmother belonged to one of these families or to a
closely related family they let her people alone.
[771] See the story of “A raid on the Tlingit,” notes.
[772] That is, members of her family in the Kaigani country.
[773] A town on the northwest coast of Graham island formerly owned by
the Sand-town people and later probably by a branch of the Rear-town
people. Richard pronounced the name Tꜝī′x̣ī.
[774] The two persons just referred to as having remained at Kꜝiū′stᴀ.
[775] See the story of “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and
Upward,” note 31.
[776] A creek on Graham island, running into the channel between it and
Moresby.
[777] To the souls of those who had been slain.
[778] The Tlingit equivalent of Dī′lᴀ, “sand-hill crane”.
[779] An exclamation indicating extreme terror.
[780] The chief at Sitka. He was really named Katlian.
[781] Rocks were filled in between two walls of timber.
[782] That is, the white people; in this case, the Russians.
[783] This must have been a camping place, as I have never heard of a
regular town that was so called.
[784] A prominent Eagle family among the Kaigani. They were named from
their old town of Tcꜝā′ał on North island. After the emigration to
Alaska they owned the town of Howkan.
[785] In Haida spoken of as rum (“lam”).
[786] His full name was Nᴀñ-gut-sa′nʟ̣ans tcî′ng̣a,
“One-upon-whom-there-is-daylight,” but it is usually given in a
shortened form as Nᴀñ-gut-tcî′ng̣a, and, since this is much less
awkward, I have retained it throughout the story.
[787] See the story of “Wars between the Stikine and Sitka Tlingit,”
note 5.
[788] A chief, and probably head chief, of the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people.
[789] To put his rival, who had not so many, to shame.
[790] See story of the Food-giving-town people, note 3.
[791] See the above story, note 8.
[792] The four subdivisions of the Middle-town people.
[793] Evidently, the respective chiefs. At any rate, Qołgî′t was chief
of the Earth-eaters. His name was also supposed to be that of a shaman
among the Land-otter people. Far-away (ʟdjîñ) is the same name as that
which is applied to the Kwakiutl and their neighbors.
[794] Tallow or grease was put on before the face paintings were
applied.
[795] So I understand this sentence. It is so abbreviated as to be
obscure.
[796] The word used here, Laqꜝalā′m, is properly applied to the tongue
of land running out to the modern Indian town.
[797] Meaning the people of all the families of Tcꜝā′ał.
[798] See “Story of the Food-giving-town people,” note 27.
[799] The Buffel duck (Charitonetta albeola, Linnæus).
[800] The head chief at Port Simpson.
[801] The Hudson Bay Company’s stockaded inclosure.
[802] Those who had come to procure blood compensation for Lgiäx’s
nephew.
[803] The last camping place before heading for the Queen Charlotte
islands.
[804] See “Story of the House-point families,” notes.
[805] This was one of the names of the chief of the Seaward-sqoā′ładas.
[806] Given by Professor Boas, from Tsimshian sources, as Gyina
angyī′ek, “people of the mosquito place.”
[807] See “Story of the Food-giving-town people,” note 5.
[808] One of the subdivisions of the Gîtî′ns of Skidegate. So called
from a house that they once owned which the chief did not have property
enough to replace until it rotted very badly. There were several of
these people at Masset.
[809] A long island south of Port Simpson.
[810] That is, the white people.
[811] These were the Skîtg̣a′oqao, the Middle-gîtî′ns, the Gîtî′ns of
Ya′gun river, the Inlet-rear-town people (G̣ao-sʟꜝan-lnaga′-i), and the
Point-town people.
[812] In Metlakahtla harbor.
[813] A creek into which very many sockeye salmon run.
[814] Written by the whites Kasaan, the northernmost Haida town,
situate on the east coast of Prince of Wales island.
[815] See “Story of the Food-giving-town people,” note 4.
[816] A narrow passage near the entrance of Nass inlet.
[817] An important subdivision of the Stᴀ′stas family living at this
time mainly at Gᴀsa′n.
[818] The largest Haida town in Alaska, owned by the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał
people.
[819] See the preceding story, note 2.
[820] A Raven family of considerable importance which formerly lived
between Rennell sound and Hippa island. They afterward moved to
Tcꜝā′ał, and from there into Skidegate.
[821] A Raven family at Masset. Formerly they lived near Hippa island.
[822] One of the chief Haida towns in ancient times. It stood on the
north coast of Graham island, opposite North island, and was owned by
the Stᴀ′stas, an Eagle family of great importance. The name is thought
to signify “where the trail comes out.”
[823] The principal town on the west coast of Graham island. It stood
just south of Port Lewis and was owned by the West-coast-rear-town
people. The name is thought to mean “slaughter village.”
[824] An Eagle family that is supposed to be a branch of the
Tcēts-gîtᴀna′-i. Their town was, as stated, Qᴀñ, which has a beautiful
situation and a fine harbor just inside the mouth of Naden harbor.
[825] The circumstances of his death are not related.
[826] See the story of “A raid on the Tlingit,” note 14.
[827] See the notes to the above story.
[828] The Masset people did not mention any family under this name, but
the Sagui′gîtᴀna′-i (Up-inlet-gîtî′ns) are probably intended. They
once had a town at the mouth of Yagun river.
[829] More often “are troubled about” is expressed by the word
gutxîsg̣alᴀ′ñg̣an, different from that used here, which is ñaigu′lgᴀn.
[830] The speaker affects not to have known that the town in which he
has been fighting is that belonging to his father’s people. He goes up
into the forest by the war trail—that is, fighting—and comes out upon
the feather trail—that is, in peace.
[831] When peace was made one man from each side was generally taken up
and borne around upon the shoulders of his opponents. He was called the
“deer.” The order seems to have been somewhat different in this case,
two men being taken from only one side. It was evidently considered
that only that family had a grievance.
[832] A synonym for Ya′gun-gîtᴀna′-i.
[833] The bargaining is broken off at this point by the coming of the
Middle-gîtî′ns, and is resumed later when the Cod-people gave six
slaves.
[834] It will be remembered that the trouble was started by a man of
the Middle-gîtî′ns shooting one of the Cod-people in the arm.
[835] The Gîtî′ns of Masset, as the name might imply, seems to have
been the largest Eagle family. There were two principal divisions of
this—the Mamᴀn-river-gîtî′ns and the River-Sqadjî′ns-gîtî′ns, named
from streams flowing into the head of Masset inlet, on which they
camped.
[836] Or Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao. This was the leading Raven family in Masset,
and formerly they owned that town.
[837] He and his friends, the Eagles, assigned work to the opposite
clan, the Ravens. A man’s opposites always took care of his funeral.
[838] A stream, still so named in the charts, which flows into the
upper expansion of Masset inlet from the west.
[839] The companion of the man who had been shot, or possibly the man
himself had merely been injured.
[840] Descent being counted through the mother, sons were bound to
their mothers by closer social ties than were husbands to wives.
[841] Wives being of the opposite clan, other families would have been
dragged into the struggle had any of the women been struck. To avoid
this their canoes followed at some distance.
[842] The native name for most of what now constitutes the town of
Masset.
[843] This was on the opposite side of Masset inlet, farther down. Many
of the house frames are still standing.
[844] He is said, however, although covered with wounds, to have been
preserved from death by a medicine which he had gone on purpose to
test.
[845] The smallpox.
[846] See “Story of the Food-giving-town people,” note 5.
[847] Means something like “seeing property.”
[848] Rose spit.
[849] See the story of Gunanasî′mgît, note 5.
[850] At the mouth of Łi′elᴀñ river, the Hi-ellen of the charts, and
close to Tow hill.
[851] Many of the chiefs had houses, concealed in the woods in various
places, in which to cache their valuables.
[852] Or Lak-ungida (Dorsey in American Antiquarian, volume 19, 1897,
page 279). According to the same authority this was once a large town,
but the population is now not over 50.
[853] They were so called from their situation in Masset inlet with
relation to most of the other families. Tradition says that they
formerly constituted one family with the Seaward-gîtî′ns of Skidegate
when the two were on the east coast of Graham island. In comparatively
modern times they settled in and owned the town of Qꜝayā′ñ, just above
Masset. See also the story of “Fights between the Tsimshian and Haida
and among the northern Haida,” note 33.
[854] Lying just above Masset on the same side of the inlet. The
Up-inlet-gîtî′ns settled this town first, but afterward the Point-town
people joined them and occupied half of it.
[855] The coast referred to is that between Masset inlet and Virago
sound. The Rocky-coast-gîtî′ns must be the four related families called
Wī′dja gîtîna′-i, Tcētsgîtîna′-i, Tꜝō′łkꜝa gîtîna′-i and Djūs xadē′.
[856] On account of the crest he was wearing. This belongs to the Raven
side among the Haida, and was worn by the Point-town people.
[857] Head chief at Port Simpson.
[858] I can not identify this name in other lists of Tsimshian
families.
[859] He would come home only in his own canoe; they therefore went
away and made one for him.
[860] A cape on the Kaigani coast.
[861] Another name for the Middle-gîtî′ns; see the notes to “A raid on
the Tlingit.”
[862] An Eagle family among the Kaigani. Before the emigration they
owned much of the northwest coast of Graham island. Afterward some of
them intermarried with the Tlingit of Sitka and the Tongas.
[863] Chief of the Middle-gîtî′ns; see the second story back.
[864] The word means “nobleman.”
[865] He broke the peace several times in this way.
[866] Haida, lam (i.e., “rum”).
[867] This story is told in many other connections.
[868] See the story of Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, note 31.
[869] See the story of Supernatural-being-who-went-naked, note 25.
[870] Probably the Gyitwulgya′ts of Boas.
[871] Near the upper end of Skidegate inlet.
[872] By attacking the Tsimshian they had brought the latter against
other families. So the latter collected damages from them.
[873] See “Story of the Food-giving-town people,” note 27.
[874] See the story of “War between the West Coast Haida and the
Tlingit,” note 1.
[875] Said elsewhere to have been part of the Pebble-town-gîtî′ns.
[876] See “Story of the House-point families,” notes.
[877] The name used would cover the Kwakiutl, giving that term its
broadest application, the Bella Coola, the coast Salish, and the
Nootka.
[878] The Ninstints branch of this family; see “Story of the
Food-giving-town people,” note 4.
[879] Selwyn inlet.
[880] One of Those-born-at-Skedans.
[881] The person who acted in this capacity defended the lower part of
a warrior’s person, which was not so well protected by the native armor
as the upper part. He answered somewhat to the Oriental “armor-bearer.”
[882] See the story of Cloud-watcher, notes. They were always allied
with Those-born-at-Skedans.
[883] One of the greatest names of the chief of Kloo.
[884] The beaver was a valued crest belonging to this family, and,
although their opponents, being Ravens, could not wear it, the capture
of an object upon which it was figured disturbed in a measure their
right to the crest.
[885] Tsimshian words.
[886] Dana inlet.
[887] The word sî′ñx̣i (“evening”) was often used as a synonym for
“grief.”
[888] On an islet between Dog island and Lyell island.
[889] Niece of the town chief. Sqaan-qꜝai′as (“The-elder-sqaan”) was
the highest name for a woman among Those-born-at-Skedans.
[890] Nephews of the town chief at Skedans, and the ones who stood next
in succession to his position.
[891] Conciliatory expressions.
[892] Chief of the Pebble-town people.
[893] Chief of the Slaves.
[894] The name of the common type of Haida canoe used in old times.
[895] This stood on Moresby island opposite Hot Spring island.
[896] It is quite possible that an earthquake occurred at this time,
the cause of which Sg̣agᴀ′ño attributed to himself.
[897] Probably an island.
[898] Always-ready was continually making disturbance.
[899] The word also means an indeterminate person and may be rendered
“So-and-so.”
[900] He does not wish even the ground to see him in such a plight.
[901] Another name for Songs-of-victory town. Sqām is said to be the
name for a woman’s needlecase.
[902] Or Ga′-igᴀn point.
[903] Ramsey island.
[904] Fresh water or a fresh-water stream is called g̣ᴀnʟ.
[905] Most persons who died by violence were supposed to go to Tā′xet’s
house, which was suspended from the sky.
[906] This was probably done out of respect, for the bodies of slaves
were usually thrown into the sea. The word translated liver is qꜝā′djî.
[907] This refers to the earthquake and likens Sg̣agᴀ′ño to his
grandfather Raven, who belonged to the same clan. One name assumed by
the head chiefs of this family was Nᴀñkî′lsʟas, which was also one of
the names of Raven.
[908] Situate on an islet off the north shore of Tan-oo island, about
midway between its east and west ends.
[909] Chief of Kloo; see “Fight between Those-born-at-Qā′gials and
Those-born-at-Skedans,” note 5.
[910] A Ninstints family; see “Story of the Food-giving-town people,”
note 4.
[911] See “Fight at the Town of Da′x̣ua,” note 2.
[912] See the story of Cloud-watcher, notes.
[913] One of the most prominent women among Those-born-at-Skedans; see
“Fight between Those-born-at-Qā′gials and Those-born-at-Skedans,” note
11.
[914] See “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and Upward,”
note 31.
[915] Intimating that she was too great for anything to have happened
to her without something being heard about it.
[916] Taunting him with having suffered his sister to be whipped
unavenged.
[917] Blood having been drawn from the chief, they would suffer for it
in any case.
[918] Or the G̣ᴀ′ñxet-gîtîna′-i, a prominent Eagle family among the
Ninstints people.
[919] He was about to trade the skins he had just won for European
commodities.
[920] In earlier times this was the site of a town belonging to the
Xā′gi-lā′nas.
[921] At Masset the following explanation of this name was given: A man
desiring to become wealthy once ate a common plant called xat-gī′na
(i.e., “common xat”) mistaking it for the true xat, which is supposed
to be a powerful property medicine. Nevertheless he became wealthy and
assumed the name Ginᴀ′skilas, a contraction of Xat-ginᴀ′skilas
(“Wealthy-by-means-of-common-xat”), in commemoration of the fact. This
Ginᴀ′skilas succeeded South-east as town chief of Kloo.
[922] They now live in the same town and form parts of the same
household.
[923] That is, his means of carrying on war had been destroyed.
[924] The hides of some mainland animals.
[925] A song supposed to prevent pursuers from overtaking one.
[926] The worst insult that could be offered.
[927] Haida, Qꜝō′na; see “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs,
and Upward,” note 35.
[928] A Tlingit name, like many of the names used by Haida shamans.
[929] This one was erected at Skedans, where a part of
Those-born-at-Skedans always lived.
[930] Commonly called Ninstints from the name of its chief.
[931] Chief of the Sand-town people of Ninstints.
[932] This is the name of a reef opposite Ninstints which is supposed
to have been the very first land to appear above the primeval waters.
[933] Because he was a family chief, and his death paid for that of
their own family chief.
[934] Either on the island of Xā′gi, referred to above, or on the
mainland opposite.
[935] See “The story of him through whom Łᴀ′gua spoke,” note 5. They
were considered a part of Xā′gi lā′nas.
[936] On a small inlet east of Huston inlet. G̣a′-idi is the name of a
fish said to resemble a smelt somewhat. This town was owned by the
Sand-town people.
[937] Chief of the Xā′gi-town people. The word was one used when
detaching certain bivalves from the rocks. If these were taken by
surprise this could be done with ease.
[938] That is, G̣a′-idi.
[939] Near one end of Xā′gi.
[940] The word they coined for the occasion, giving to it this
application in order to deceive their enemies.
[941] Or “Bad town.” It is said to have been owned by the Sa′ki
qē′g̣awa-i; see “The story of him through whom Łᴀ′gua spoke,” note 1.
[942] The word means a piece of fish not kept for drying.
[943] Another name for Those-born-at-Qā′gials, the great Raven family
of Skedans.
[944] Town chief of Skidegate. When I was at Skidegate the remnants of
his grave box and of the Chilkat blanket that was wound around his body
were still to be seen.
[945] An island.
[946] See “Story of the Food-giving-town people,” note 4.
[947] See “Story of him through whom Łᴀ′gua spoke,” note 1. These
families came out to relieve the Sand-town people. Unlike the latter
they are both Eagle.
[948] The chief was fasting for property and success, and his fast was
called “night-picks-up-the-village.” He probably took internal medicine
at the same time.
[949] Probably thinking that their chief had been killed.
[950] Sometimes a made-up word so tickled the fancy of the people that
a whole town would take it up and repeat it upon all occasions.
[951] Chief of the Skidegate-town people; see note 17. This episode
preludes the main narrative because it was regarded a great thing to
kill a chief.
[952] Referring to the chief’s lack of watchfulness.
[953] See “Story of Those-born-at-Skedans,” note 8.
[954] A salmon creek.
[955] She taunts them by referring to the Skidegate people whom the
members of her own family had killed.
[956] Those who had killed the man.
[957] See “War between the people of Kloo and the people of Ninstints,”
note 14.
[958] Probably means “mentioned” or “talked of.”
[959] Either to be understood in a contrary sense or, more probably,
indicating that she belonged to too high a family to be injured with
impunity.
[960] All this is explained in the story of
“Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and Upward.”
[961] “Hair-seal-low-tide,” meaning the town where there are plenty of
hair seal visible at low tide. It was formerly a town of the
Xā′gi-lā′nas, but lay on the extreme border of Ninstints territory, on
Lyell island, near the northern end of Darwin sound.
[962] The Skidegate chief; see the preceding story.
[963] Each family had its own list of canoe names.
[964] Perhaps this should be Kꜝē′dja-i, “entrails.”
[965] The predominant Eagle family at Skidegate.
[966] A leading Raven family in Skidegate inlet, one which formerly
owned the town itself. After losing this to the Gîtî′ns they moved up
the inlet to Lina island, where they had a noted village called
Drum-town.
[967] See “Story of Those-born-at-Skedans,” note 19.
[968] After the man had been shot he would finish the job.
[969] Battles in armor often lasted for a long time without material
injury to either side.
[970] This paragraph is a difficult one, but I understand it is as
follows: The spirit of the uncle Gwai′îs, about to be reborn through
Flood-tide-woman, calls out. Just at that time she comes to where the
woman that Gwai′îs formerly loved is lying, and the latter, recognizing
the voice, supposes it is indeed he. She speaks to him and is answered
again.
[971] “Above-the-edges fort,” on Alder island, north of Burnaby island.
[972] A part of Those-born-at-Qā′gials who received their distinctive
name from the fact that they originally lived on the outer point of the
tongue of land on which Skedans was built.
[973] One of the Skidegate chiefs. The name means “nobleman.”
[974] Signals were often given by means of columns of smoke. A
discontinuous pillar of smoke was a signal for help.
[975] On the eastern coast of Lyell island.
[976] A plant. The same word is used for yew and for bow.
[977] On an islet northwest of Murchison island.
[978] Welcome point.
[979] A Haida town on the north side of Cumshewa inlet, near its
entrance. It was owned by the Witch people.
[980] Compare “War between the Pebble-town people and the Slaves,” note
9.
[981] See the story of “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and
Upward,” note 35.
[982] Or Old Kloo, on the eastern end of Tan-oo island.
[983] Chief of Sea-grass town. The whites’ name for this place, Kloo,
is a corruption of his own name, Xeu.
[984] A fort of the Kitkatla people.
[985] The one who appears in “War between the people of Kloo and the
people of Ninstints.”
[986] Situated at the northeast angle of Lyell island.
[987] Chief of Kitkatla.
[988] Referring to his storehouses; see “Wars with the Niska and
Tsimshian and conflicts between Haida families,” note 6.
[989] See the preceding story, note 26. The house that South-east built
at that time was so large that he named each half of it separately. The
house pole was covered with abalone shells.
[990] See “War between the people of Kloo and the people of Ninstints,”
note 14.
[991] See the preceding story.
[992] See note 1 and the preceding story, note 33.
[993] A house was sometimes so named because it had a very deep house
hole, making it dark inside.
[994] See “Fight at the town of Da′x̣ua,” note 2.
[995] It is curious that this was the very family to which the town
chief of Kloo himself belonged. The section living at Skedans comes to
make war upon the chief of the one living at Kloo.
[996] See the story of “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs, and
Upward,” note 35.
[997] See the story of Moldy-forehead, note 2.
[998] See “Story of Those-born-at-Skedans,” note 19.
[999] Also one of the names of the chief of the Seaward-sqoā′ładas.
[1000] Because he did not think that Qā′-idjît had honored his sister
enough.
[1001] Haida, “short gun.”
[1002] A shaman, who was also chief of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o. This
was the name of his supernatural helper.
[1003] This house was probably named after the original one which gave
its name to the ruling branch of the Gîtî′ns of Skidegate.
[1004] The usual name given to Skincuttle inlet. Skincuttle is said to
be a corruption of the Haida sqꜝên-g̣atł (“Sea-gull-went-up”), a name
used by some of the Skidegate people.
[1005] A peace offering sent over as a sign that they would make proper
reparation for the death of the chief.
[1006] Another chief of Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o, of the same name as
the one who was killed.
[1007] The northernmost tribe of the Wakashan stock; called by whites
Kitamat.
[1008] A man of Those-born-at-Skedans. The chief of Ninstints was also
so called; in fact, that is the meaning of the word Ninstints.
[1009] Hot Spring island.
[1010] This was near Hot Spring island.
[1011] The placing of chiefs at potlatches and feasts was regulated in
accordance with their wealth, the richer sitting nearer the inside
house pole, in the back part of the house.
[1012] See “Wars between the Peoples of Skidegate and Kloo,” note 26.
[1013] A place where the Kloo people were in the habit of camping
before starting on a war expedition.
[1014] See preceding story, note 25.
[1015] See the story of “Sacred-one-standing-and-moving, Stone-ribs,
and Upward,” note 35.
[1016] Port Simpson; see “A raid on the Tlingit,” note 13.
[1017] Given in the story of “Fights between the Tsimshian and Haida
and among Northern Haida.”
[1018] See notes to the story of Cloud-watcher.
[1019] The word used here, Tcîmᴀskî′n, is less common than Kî′lgat.
[1020] See notes to “Story of the Food-giving-town people.”
[1021] See notes to “Fight at the town of Da′x̣ua.”
[1022] See “The one abandoned for eating the flipper of a hair seal,”
note 1.
[1023] One of the great Tsimshian chiefs.
[1024] See “Story of the House-point families” and note 15 under it.
[1025] Cape Ball. High-point town stood just north of Cape Ball.
[1026] Mature particularly old men were generally known by the names of
their children, as in “Story of the shaman, G̣ᴀ′ndox’s-father.”
[1027] Or “Port Simpson house,” the inside house posts being carved to
resemble white people.
[1028] Chief of Kloo.
[1029] Given in previous stories. It was thought so much of that it was
only used upon very special occasions, of which my informant remembered
five.
[1030] He was so happy over his success.
[1031] Bonila island.
[1032] A name of Djē′basa.
[1033] So my interpreter translated the word. It was probably the
season when berries were gathered and roots and potatoes dug.
[1034] This was the name of the chief of the Sand-town people, a Raven
family at Ninstints. It means “dressed-up.”
[1035] See the story of “Raven traveling,” note 9.
[1036] Cant word, meaning “to give.”
[1037] A house belonging to the Qā′gials qe′ig̣awa-i. The name probably
means “mother of houses,” referring to its size.
[1038] See “Wars between the peoples of Skidegate and Kloo,” note 14.
[1039] Chief or nephew of the chief at Skedans.
[1040] The word for house here, dā, is properly applied to the
retaining timbers used to hold back the earth in houses having an
excavation beneath them.
[1041] This biting only produced a very slight wound. In later times, a
chief’s son having died of blood poisoning, it was made still milder.
[1042] This eating was a pretense.
[1043] One of the islands outside Skedans.
[1044] Because the novices, or the beings inspiring them, were violent,
and the people feared them.
[1045] Payment of kꜝa′da, remuneration for having enslaved a person,
was accompanied by dancing; payment of wał, remuneration for having
killed or wounded a person, was not.
[1046] Kloo.
[1047] Used in its general sense, this word answers most nearly to the
Haida ʟdjîñ xā′idᴀg̣a-i, although the latter is even more comprehensive.
[1048] The word for Eagle people used here is the usual Tsimshian word
for the Eagle clan and is given by them to the Haida of Kloo, who are
for the most part Eagles.
[1049] Probably a Tlingit word.
[1050] Chief of Kloo.
[1051] The Silver islands.
[1052] Hot Spring island.
[1053] Ramsey island.
[1054] See “A Raid on the Tlingit,” note 11.
[1055] See “Wars between the people of Ninstints and the people of
Skidegate,” note 2.
[1056] I was told that this was done to enable the soul to go to
Tāxet’s house; see story of the Food-giving-town people, note 25.
[1057] Meaning that there was a great palaver.
[1058] See the story of Cloud-watcher, notes.
[1059] One of the leading Bellabella chiefs.
[1060] Said to be the native name for the inlet on which these
Bellabella lived.
[1061] A Tsimshian town, also the Tsimshian part of the population of
Porcher and the neighboring islands. They lived always on terms of
friendship with the Raven people of Skedans.
[1062] While the men were at war their wives observed certain
regulations of a symbolic nature, supposed to assist the warriors. Many
slept in one house, with their heads lying in the direction that the
warriors had taken, and, when the war party was supposed to have
started back, they all slept with their heads turned in the opposite
direction.
[1063] Referred to in the preceding story, note 18.
[1064] See the story of Cloud-watcher.
[1065] After the contest was over the various families struggled to see
who should carry away the most slaves.
[1066] See “Story of Those-born-at-Skedans,” note 19.
[1067] On an islet off the north shore of Tan-oo island. This was the
second time it was occupied. The first time was when South-east was
chief. On this occasion it was renamed Laiʟaikꜝia′-i, after the
Bellabella fort.
[1068] See “Wars between the peoples of Skidegate and Kloo,” note 5.
[1069] Name of a chief of the Point-town people. The escape of these
slaves prevented the Kloo people from recovering some of their own
friends who had been taken to Masset, whereupon they became angry and
took away two slaves from this chief.
[1070] Daughter of one of the Kloo chiefs, captured in the previous
Bellabella raid.
[1071] Probably fearing treachery.
[1072] The words imply that it was such as a man of low family might
use, and was consequently of little value.
[1073] Stiū means “sea eggs.”
[1074] Exchanging hostages.
[1075] Because they were not provided with anything that could match
the eagle.
[1076] I have recorded these words as well as I could, thinking that
they might be identified at some future time.
[1077] Stealing the mats of the visitors. When visitors arrived the
townspeople often had sport with their property in taking it up,
breaking open the bundles, and playing pranks with it generally.
[1078] See notes to “Story of Those-born-at-Skedans.”
[1079] See notes to the story of Cloud-watcher.
[1080] See “Story of Those-born-at-Skedans,” note 19.
[1081] Perhaps Aristazable island.
[1082] The Tsimshian word for Eagle, Laxskī′yek, is here employed.
[1083] This was a striking violation of the war taboos.
[1084] This sentence is a little obscure.
[1085] See “A raid on the Tlingit,” note 8.
[1086] The one whose deeds are narrated in a previous story.
[1087] The people did not know what he meant by this.
[1088] See “The story of him through whom Łᴀ′gua spoke.”
[1089] The woman who also appears in the previous story.
[1090] See “A raid on the Tlingit,” note 11.
[1091] This appears to mean that the other attacking party joined that
to which my informant belonged.
[1092] She being acquainted with their language.
[1093] See the preceding story.
[1094] Perhaps the father of the Skidegate chief of this name.
[1095] The descent was so arduous.
[1096] The Kloo chief’s canoe.
[1097] The one who related to me “Story of Those-born-at-Skedans” and
the six great Skedans stories from “Raven traveling” to
He-who-was-born-from-his-mother’s-side inclusive. Owing to his conduct
at this time he claimed to be numbered among the “brave men.” I esteem
it fortunate that this old man’s life was preserved.
[1098] Chief of Kloo.
[1099] See the story of “Canoe people who wear headdresses,” notes.
[1100] See “Fights between the Tsimshian and Haida and among the
northern Haida,” note 25.
[1101] The word sta is used, he being of the opposite clan.
[1102] Said by a man of one clan to a man of another and equivalent to
“Let me have a part of it.”
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAIDA TEXTS AND MYTHS ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
