Part 24

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.