Part 15
The white-faced deer went first. They looked so big that Wus was scared; he didn’t touch them. The last to go was a fawn. Wus told him to wait, and when the big ones were out of sight, Wus killed the little one.
Kaiutois ate him and complained that he hadn’t enough. He said: “It is just as if I hadn’t eaten a mouthful. I didn’t tell you to catch that little lean fawn; I told you to kill a big, white-faced deer. To-morrow you must call to the wŭyĕs (mountain sheep). Maybe it will be easier to kill one of them. They live among the rocks.”
The next morning Wus called: “Those who always live among the rocks, come and dance. The man who runs after you and kills you is going to die, and I am glad. When he killed a deer, he drove me off; he never gave me a bite. Come and dance with me!”
Wus watched, and when he saw them coming, he told Kaiutois.
Kaiutois said: “Wrap me up tight. When they are through dancing, kill one that has never had young; they are the best.”
When the wŭyĕs were in the house, Wus took up a club, and they all began to dance. They danced a long time and raised a terrible dust. When they were ready to go, they looked so big that Wus was afraid; he let them all go but the last one, a little fellow. He held him back, and said: “Wait, wait a minute, you will get pushed down if you go in that crowd.”
When the large ones were out of sight, Wus killed the little one and told Kaiutois to get up and eat.
Kaiutois couldn’t stand up; he was too sick; so Wus fed him. Kaiutois said: “This meat is too soft, and there isn’t enough of it. I shall never get well if I don’t have plenty to eat. You must kill something that is fat and old.”
Wus said: “Maybe I could, if you would help me.”
Kaiutois found him a heavier club and told him to call the antelopes. Wus called: “Antelopes, come and dance with me. The man who has eaten so many of your people is almost dead. He will die quickly if we dance.”
When Wus saw them coming, Kaiutois said: “Cover me with something thin; maybe I’ll catch one.”
Wus stood on the top of the house and danced, and sang: “I’m glad Kaiutois is going to die. He always drove me away when he had anything to eat.” When the antelopes were all in the house, Wus told them to stand around and see him dance on Kaiutois. He jumped up and down on Kaiutois, while Kaiutois looked at the antelopes and picked out the one he wanted,—the fattest one. When they were through dancing, and ready to go, Wus caught hold of the fat antelope. It came near carrying him off, but Kaiutois jumped up and killed it.
Kaiutois ate the meat and fat and gave the intestines to Wus. He felt stronger then, and said: “Maybe I will get well if I can get out in the woods. Maybe I can kill big game again.”
Wus helped him out, and after a while Kaiutois told him to call deer. He said: “I’ll go into the house and wrap up in a blanket, and when they are almost through dancing, you must say: ‘This man is dead. Throw him out!’ When they throw me out, I will run at them and kill as many as I can.”
Wus called: “I want everybody who lives on the mountains and among the rocks to come. Kaiutois is almost dead. This is his last day, we must all dance!”
Everybody came, for everybody was glad. When they had danced enough, they threw Kaiutois out and started for home. Kaiutois ran after them and killed a great many. Wus helped him all he could. Kaiutois told him he should have as much as he wanted to eat, but when the deer were piled up in the house, Kaiutois drove Wus away, told him to go and hunt mice for himself.
Kaiutois stayed in the house till he had eaten all the deer meat. Then he turned to a wolf and went off to the mountains. He never had a home again.
BLAIWAS AND THE HEAD
CHARACTERS
Blaiwas Eagle Dásläts Panther Ndúkis Hawk Tcûskai Weasel Wûlkûtska Marten
Blaiwas, Dásläts, Wûlkûtska, and other strong men, lived in a house on a high mountain. They were head men, and all the people around brought them meat. One day, Blaiwas said: “We had better let old man Ndúkis divide our meat.” They called Tcûskai, a fast runner, and sent him for Ndúkis.
Ndúkis had four brothers and a mother, and he lived in a brush house—just as we did long ago. Ndúkis went to Blaiwas’ house and divided the meat; he ate some, but he didn’t carry any to his mother or his brothers.
The next morning, when the head men were starting off to hunt, Ndúkis went with them. He hunted all day, but caught only one mouse. He ate the mouse and went home.
Blaiwas sent again for Ndúkis to come and divide the meat; when he had divided it the men began to make fun of him for being such a poor hunter. They made him open his mouth and then they threw meat into it. When he had swallowed all the meat he could, they sent him home.
Old woman Wûlkûtska and her two daughters lived at the foot of the mountain. There was no one to kill game for them, and sometimes the mother was almost starved. One day she said to her daughters: “Great hunters live on the top of the mountain; they always have lots of deer meat. You must go there and get husbands.”
One of the girls asked: “How can we go; we don’t know where their house is?”
The mother said: “There is only one big house. You will know Blaiwas when you see him, for he flies without moving his wings.”
When the girls came to the top of the mountain, they sat down to rest and watch for Blaiwas. They hadn’t been there long when they saw Ndúkis coming.
He was out of breath, for it was hard for him to fly high.
The elder sister said: “There is Blaiwas; he flies just as mother said he did.”
The younger sister said: “No, that isn’t Blaiwas.” They watched him till he flew down among the rocks; then the elder sister said: “His house is down there; we must follow him.”
When Ndúkis got home, he was so nearly dead that he fell into the house. His mother jumped on him, and asked: “What is the matter?” (He knew that the girls were watching him and he had tried to fly as Blaiwas did.) The old woman kept asking what had happened, but Ndúkis wouldn’t tell.
When the sisters came in sight of the house, the elder said: “That is Blaiwas’ house.”
The younger said: “Mother told us that Blaiwas’ house was large; that one is small. It isn’t Blaiwas’ house.” The elder sister scolded her and pulled her along.
When Ndúkis saw the girls coming, he told his mother to hurry and fix a good place for them to sit.
“What shall I fix it with?” asked the old woman. They had no mats or blankets.
“Oh, anything,” said Ndúkis. “You must watch, and if the girls sit down near the house, you must bring them in. They are sisters; they saw me flying and they followed me.”
When the girls came to the top of the house, the old woman told Ndúkis. He turned his eyes up, as Blaiwas did, and sent her to bring them in. The girls saw him turn his eyes, and the elder said: “Yes, that is Blaiwas. See what big eyes he has.” She went in and sat down by him.
When Blaiwas and the head men came home, they sent Tcûskai to tell Ndúkis to come and divide the meat. Ndúkis said: “Why do they always send for the chief to divide their meat? I am tired of it.” He didn’t want to leave the girls.
When the meat was divided, the head men told Ndúkis to open his mouth. Then they amused themselves by throwing pieces of meat at him. They fed him the livers and intestines, parts which they didn’t like. When he had eaten all he could, he started for home; on the way he thought: “What shall I feed those girls with?”
When he couldn’t think of anything else, he said: “I will cut some of the meat off from my legs,” and he did so. When he gave the pieces to his mother to cook, she asked: “Why didn’t you bring more? Here isn’t half enough for the girls to eat.”
The younger sister tasted of the meat, and said: “This isn’t deer meat. This tastes badly.” The elder sister scolded her. The younger said: “You think this man is Blaiwas, but I know he isn’t.”
Ndúkis acted as much like Blaiwas as he could.
The next morning Blaiwas and the head men went to hunt for deer. Ndúkis didn’t go; he wanted to stay with the girls. At night the hunters came back with deer hanging in their belts, as men hang squirrels in their belts now.
Blaiwas said: “Old man Ndúkis is getting lazy. Tell him to come and divide this meat.” Ndúkis held back, scolded, and said: “Why do they always send for the chief? I won’t go.” But he wanted to go and have plenty to eat.
After he had been gone a while, the younger sister said: “Let us go and see how that man divides meat.” They followed his trail till they came to a big house. They crept up carefully and looked in. Ndúkis was sitting by the ladder, and men were throwing meat into his mouth. The sisters saw Blaiwas and then they knew that it was his house.
The elder sister was ashamed, and they both started for home.
Ndúkis knew what had happened, and so did Blaiwas; and they followed the girls. Blaiwas caught up with them first, and when Ndúkis came, the two men began to quarrel. Blaiwas’ four brothers came and so did Ndúkis’ brothers, and there was a big fight.
The eldest Blaiwas said to the sisters: “I am going to cut off Ndúkis’ head and carry it above the sky. You mustn’t look up. If you do, the head will fall and kill my brothers.”
The five Blaiwas brothers killed the five Ndúkis brothers: then the eldest brother cut off Ndúkis’ head and flew away with it. He was almost to the sky when the sisters looked up; they couldn’t help it. That minute the head fell to the ground. It flew at the four Blaiwas brothers and killed them all.
The head was the husband of the two sisters. The younger sister was afraid of the head; she wouldn’t stay where it was. The elder sister put it in her basket and carried it on her back; she cried all the time.
After a while, the head asked: “What do you see?”
“I see a deer,” said the woman.
“Climb up as high as you can, then take me out of the basket, and put me down, looking toward the deer.”
The woman got as high as she could and put the head down. “Now look,” said the head. It flew straight at the deer and killed it. The woman put the head back in her basket, then camped.
The head said: “Put me where I can watch you.”
She made a sort of scaffold and put the head on it. Then she cut up the deer and hung the meat on a tree to dry. When the meat was dry and the woman was ready to go home, the head said: “You must put meat in the basket; then put me in, and put meat on top of me.”
The woman thought she would go and see Kumush, for maybe he could do something for her husband. On the road she wouldn’t speak; she was afraid that if she saw a deer the head would kill it, and she would have to dry the meat.
When Kumush saw the woman, he said: “I must have that woman for my daughter,” and he asked her: “Have you anything to eat?”
She put down the basket, and when Kumush looked at the meat, she said: “Don’t take much.”
Kumush thought: “Why does she say that? Maybe she is hiding something,” and he began to pull the meat out of the basket.
The woman went into the house, for she was afraid. The head had great eyes and long hair, and when Kumush came to it he was scared; he threw down the meat and ran into the house.
The head called out: “What are you doing? Take me into the house, I don’t want to stay out here.” (The head could fly when it got mad or wanted to kill something, but not at other times.)
Kumush said to the woman: “This head is your husband; we must bring it in.” He fixed a place for it and carried it in. The next morning, Kumush said: “I am going to make a sweat house for this man. I like him; I will make a body for him.” (He wanted to kill the head.)
Kumush made a sweat house and covered it with five kinds of stones. He heated rocks red hot and put them inside, and carried the head in and put it down by the rocks; then he went out and fastened up the place with stones.
Soon the head called out: “I’ve sweat enough. Take me out!” Nobody came. It screamed louder: “Take me out quick! If you don’t, I will get out and kill you both!” When nobody came, the head flew up and struck the stones on top of the house. It broke four of them, then its strength gave out, and it died.
Kumush said: “I don’t hear any noise; maybe your husband is dead.”
The woman said: “Wait a little; don’t open the place yet. If he is alive, he will kill us.”
When Kumush opened the sweat house, he saw a beautiful young man lying on the ground; but he was dead. Kumush felt sorry. The woman felt sorry, too. Kumush took the body out of the sweat house; then he piled up logs and burned it. When it was burning, he said: “Hereafter, people will do this way: When their friends die, they will burn them as I am burning this man.” And that is the way we did till white men came.
WUS AND HIS TROUBLES
CHARACTERS
Kuyas Red Ants Pshagéknik Gopher Slikwis Fire-drill Tálwas Hot-Water Baskets Wus Fox
Ten Tálwas brothers lived in two houses, five in one house, and five in the other; near by, in two other houses, lived the ten Slikwis brothers. One day Wus came from the west and went into the house of five of the Slikwis brothers.
“Oh,” said Wus, “what are these nice long sticks here around the fire for? They would make good gambling sticks. I will take them. If I meet people, I can gamble with them and beat them with such nice sticks.”
He took all five of the Slikwis brothers in one hand.
As soon as he had them, they blazed up high. They were mad at him for picking them up.
He threw them down and ran out screaming: “What can those things be? Are they people?” He cried, for his hand was burned.
When he came to the second house, he looked in and said: “Those look like the same kind of sticks, but I will try to pick them up. I could beat everybody if I had such nice gambling sticks.” As soon as he took the sticks up, he screamed, threw them down, and ran out of the house. His hands were burned and his hair was singed. “Oh,” said he, “I never heard that such kind of people lived around here. I don’t like them; they are bad people.”
He went farther and came to the house of the five Tálwas brothers. When he went in, he saw water baskets standing near the fire.
“Oh,” said he, “I am glad to see water; I am dry. Everybody is gone; the water is left to cook with when they come back.” Wus looked for something to eat, and when he couldn’t find anything, he said: “I will wash my hands in one of these baskets, and I will drink out of another.” He put his hands into one of the baskets; the water boiled up and scalded him. He screamed, then all the baskets boiled up and threw water. Wus was terribly scalded. He ran out of the house, then looked back, and said: “What can that be? I am almost dead!”
He went on till he came to the second house. He looked in, and when he saw five other baskets, he said: “They would kill me; I won’t touch them.” He hunted inside and outside of the house for something to eat, but couldn’t find anything. He was so dry that he crept up to one of the baskets and put his little finger into the water; it was cold water. He thought: “Now I will have a good drink. This is just water; that over there is something else. This is such water as I drink when I am traveling.” He began to drink out of the smallest basket.
That was the youngest brother, and he didn’t get mad. He knew how his brothers had scalded Wus and he felt sorry for him. He thought: “Let him drink of me if he wants to; I will be cold for him.” But the other brothers began to jerk and gurgle and bubble up; they were mad at Wus. Wus got scared and ran out.
He stood at the door and looked in. The four brothers boiled up and threw water over the house. Wus was terribly scared; he ran as fast as he could till he came to two other houses. Those were the houses of the ten Kuyas brothers. He went into the first house; there was a big fire burning. He looked around and wondered where the people were who built the fire. He thought: “I will wait till they come; maybe they will give me something to eat, since they are going to cook.”
Wus waited till the middle of the day, then he said: “I am tired of waiting; I’ll hunt around and maybe I can find something to eat.” He couldn’t find anything, then he said: “I will stay till night; they will come when it gets dark,” and he lay down by the fire.
The five brothers were sitting around the fire, but Wus didn’t see them. When he lay down, one brother bit him. He jumped up and screamed: “What bit me?” Another brother bit his leg, a third one bit his hand. Wus screamed: “What can it be that bites so?” And he threw burning coals around the house to kill what had bitten him. The five brothers were mad, and they all bit him.
Wus ran out of the house, came to the second house, looked in and saw a fire burning. Five brothers were sitting around the fire, but Wus couldn’t see them. Those five brothers jumped on him and bit him; the other five came in and helped them. Wus screamed with pain, but they didn’t stop biting. They killed him and had almost eaten him up when Pshagéknik came in.
He saw Wus, and asked: “Old man, why are you sleeping so long?”
That minute Wus jumped up, and said: “Oh, I’m sleepy!” He went out of the house and traveled on toward the north.
CEDAR BIRD’S DAUGHTERS MARRY BULL SNAKE
CHARACTERS
Kéis Rattlesnake Kékina Lizard Kéwe Eel Kûlta Otter Moi Squirrel Ndúkis Duck-hawk Tcoóks Crane Tusasás Joker (Skunk) Wámanik Bull Snake Wískäk Cedar-bird Witkátkis A Hawk Ygiak A Bird “that never sleeps.” (English name unknown.)
Ndúkis’ house was on the bank of Klamath Lake and near it was the house of old man Tcoóks. On the south side of the lake lived Wískäk and her two daughters. The daughters liked the Shasta people; they went often to see them and carry them presents. Once, on the way home, the girls stopped to dig roots west of where Ndúkis and Tcoóks lived. Ndúkis saw them. He thought: “Those are nice-looking girls. They dig roots fast. I like those girls.”
Now Witkátkis came to visit Ndúkis and his son; they were kin. Ndúkis’ wife said: “I’m glad you have come, there are nice-looking girls living right south of here. They are good workers; they dig roots summer and winter, you should get one of those girls for a wife.”
“I am afraid they wouldn’t like me,” said Witkátkis.
“Where do they live?” asked Ndúkis’ son.
“You have traveled all around,” said his mother. “You ought to know where they live. When you are on the mountain, look toward the south, and you will see a big house; they live in that house.”
The next time the sisters came from Shasta, they camped on the way, and in the night one said to the other: “I can’t sleep; I feel that somebody is looking at me.”
“I feel that way, too,” said her sister. They got up and started for home.
Ndúkis’ mother said: “If you want to see those girls, you must go to the mountain and watch for them. After a while you will see them digging roots. Don’t go to their house. Wait a little while and watch them, then go down the mountain till you come to a small house. An old man lives in that house. He is kin of old man Tcoóks. Go in and talk to him.”
Ndúkis went to the mountain and soon he heard the girls singing. They always sang when they worked. He watched them and saw how quickly they dug roots; then he went to Tcoóks’ house.
Tcoóks had been fishing. He was cooking fish when Ndúkis got there. “What did you come for?” asked the old man. “You never thought of me before—young men should travel around and see people; that is the way to be strong. Do you want some fish?”
Tcoóks’ wife said: “Ndúkis never eats our kind of food; he eats ducks.”
“Cook him a duck,” said Tcoóks, but he thought in his head: “Why doesn’t he eat fish?”
The old woman cooked a duck and gave it to the young man. He ate all around the neck, but didn’t eat the rest of the duck.
“Why don’t you eat?” asked Tcoóks. “My old woman is kin to you; you should eat lots. In a strange house it would be right not to eat much; here it’s different.”
“He never eats much,” said the old woman. Ndúkis didn’t say anything.
“You are a young man, you should have a wife,” said Tcoóks. “There are nice-looking young women in the next house; they are great workers.”
“They wouldn’t like me,” said Ndúkis.
“Once Kûlta tried to buy those girls,” said Tcoóks. “They wouldn’t go with him. They said they didn’t belong to the water and they wouldn’t marry a man who lived in the water. Maybe they will go with you; you live on land. Every time a rain is over, they bring out nice things,—beautiful shells, and beads.”
“I want you to go and buy them for me,” said Ndúkis. “I am kind of scared.”
Tcoóks went to old woman Wískäk’s, and Ndúkis went home.
Tcoóks said: “Don’t you get tired of your girls sometimes? They are old enough to get a man. They have lived single a long time.”
“Kûlta wanted them but I couldn’t make them go with him,” said Wískäk.
“My nephew wants them,” said Tcoóks. “He told me to ask you for them. He will give you nice things.”
The girls were digging roots; when they started for home, and were near the house, the elder said: “I hear somebody talking. Some man is in our house. Let us sit down outside.”
“No,” said the younger. “It is better to go in.” They went in, sat by the fire, and held their heads down. The elder whispered: “I wonder what Tcoóks is here for?”
Their mother asked: “Will you marry this man’s nephew?”
The elder sister asked the younger: “What will you do?”
“Ndúkis lives on high rocks,” she said. “Maybe we would fall off. I don’t like high rocks.”
Wískäk said: “I knew you would say something bad.” Then she asked the elder sister: “Will you go with him?”
“No. Why do you ask a second time? Ndúkis is not like us. He doesn’t live the way we do. I wish you would let us alone.”
Tcoóks said: “I am afraid of Ndúkis. He can beat everybody by getting up early. That is the kind he is. If you go around digging roots, he will be watching you. He won’t want you, but he will be mad. That is his way.”
The next morning, when the girls started off, they said: “We are going to Mlaiksi.” [14]
“Why do you go there so often?” asked their mother. “You had better not go to-day, you might meet Ndúkis.”
“We will go where we like,” said the elder sister. “We are not afraid; Ndúkis can’t hurt us.”
They started early, but Ndúkis was on the mountain, watching for them. The elder sister walked ahead. Every step she took she stumbled, as if the steps were telling her that she was going to meet somebody. At last she said to her sister: “My steps stumble. That means something.”
“Tcoóks told us Ndúkis was a bad man when he got mad. It is your fault if we meet trouble,” said the younger girl.
They looked around as they climbed the mountain, but Ndúkis was sitting on the highest rocks and they didn’t look high enough to see him. When they were on the other side of the mountain, the younger sister looked back. She saw Ndúkis and screamed. She ran one way, and her sister ran another. They were frightened. They went into thick bushes and stayed there a long time. Ndúkis sat on the rocks and laughed to see how frightened they were. He sat there till midday, then went home.
That day young man Moi was out hunting for deer. He was fine-looking. He wore a beaded buckskin band around his head. All at once he came upon the Wískäk girls hiding in the bushes. “Who are you?” asked he. “You scared me.”
The elder sister said: “I know you; you are the little chief who lives by the river. You are our kin.”
“Come out of the bushes,” said Moi. “Who frightened you?”
“We saw Ndúkis watching us,” the elder sister said.
“He is a nice young man,” said Moi. “He won’t hurt you, but you can go with me if you are afraid of him.”
“No,” said the elder sister, “we are going to Mlaiksi.” And they traveled on.