Part 28

The Wiĕs people had two trails up the mountain, one for men, the other for women. Djáhdjai always waited for him at the end of the men’s trail.

Djihens thought: “Now I know why she comes home with an empty basket. She comes here to see Wiĕs; she draws him to her with her love song. How nice it sounds!”

After a while Djihens crept away, went off to the flat to dig roots. The next morning she followed Djáhdjai again. She listened to her love song and saw Wiĕs come to meet her. That night she said to her husband: “Don’t make new moccasins for Djáhdjai; she doesn’t care for you.” The man didn’t believe her; he thought she was jealous of Djáhdjai.

Djihens always knew what he thought. She said, “If you don’t believe me, go and listen to her love song.” Then she told him how Djáhdjai stole her roots and said she had dug them herself.

The next day, after Djihens had carried her roots home, she went to watch Djáhdjai. The woman spent the whole day with Wiĕs, then she dug a few roots and went home.

The man had been a good hunter, but after Djáhdjai fell in love with Wiĕs, he couldn’t find a deer, couldn’t find even a fresh track. One day he went home early and asked Djihens: “Where does Wiĕs come from when he comes to meet Djáhdjai?”

“I don’t know,” said Djihens. “I see him first on the rocks. He looks around, then he comes straight down the mountain.”

When Djáhdjai came home and found her husband there, she said to Djihens: “Why did you leave me and come to the house? I hunted a long time for you.”

The man said nothing. He made believe he loved Djáhdjai more than ever. But he said to Djihens: “To-morrow I will watch her myself.”

The next morning Djáhdjai said: “I am going to dig roots to-morrow; to-day I will stay at home and rest.” When she didn’t see her husband, she asked where he had gone.

Djihens said: “He can’t find any deer on this side of the mountain. He is going to the other side. That is why he started so early.”

Djáhdjai said she was going to stay at home, but as soon as Djihens was gone, she started off toward the mountain.

The man hid by the side of the trail Wiĕs came on. He hunted for his most poisonous arrow and was going to shoot him. Then he thought: “No, I will just watch them to-day.” Soon he heard Djáhdjai singing. When he saw a big man stand on the rocks and look down at her, he was so jealous that he cried. After a while he went home.

That day Djáhdjai said to Wiĕs: “My husband hunts all the time. I am afraid he will see you.”

The next morning the man got up early and went to the mountain. As he went, he talked to the mountain and to the earth; said: “Draw him toward me. You, Earth, see everything; you know everything; you know what Wiĕs has done. I want to punish him. Draw him to me.”

That day Djáhdjai wanted to stay at home. She didn’t know why her husband went off so early mornings, but Djihens said: “I am sick. One of us must dig roots; you had better go.”

The man tracked Wiĕs, then sat down to watch him and see where his life was. As Wiĕs went toward the top of the mountain, the man saw that he kept his life in his neck. He shot at him. Wiĕs ran off northeast and fell among the trees. The man found him, cut up his body, and carried home some of the flesh.

Djáhdjai looked up at the mountain and sang her love song; she sang a long time, but Wiĕs didn’t come. When she got home, she said to her husband: “You have killed a deer. Why don’t you cook some meat for me?”

He gave her a plateful. She ate it all; she liked it. Then he said: “That was Wiĕs’ flesh. Did you like it?” The woman was scared. When she tried to run away, the man shot her through the body. The arrow went in under one arm, and came out under the other. It left a hole in each side.

Then he said: “Hereafter you will be nothing but a grasshopper, but your name will be what it is now, Djáhdjai. I hope that in later times a man will never have such a wife as you were.”

To this day grasshoppers have a hole in each side.

KAI AND HIS FATHER-IN-LAW, NATANATAS

CHARACTERS

Kai Rabbit (Jack) Góshgoise Rabbit (Small) Natanatas

Kai and his little brother, Góshgoise, went to Natanatas’ house. Kai wanted to marry Natanatas’ daughter. He left Góshgoise outside. Old woman Natanatas gave Góshgoise seeds and roots, but he wouldn’t eat them.

“What does Góshgoise eat?” she asked.

“He likes the tips of grass and of weeds,” said Kai. She gathered some and gave them to him; then he ate.

Old man Natanatas thought: “My sons want something to eat. I don’t like this man Kai; I will kill him, and they can eat him.” He knew that Kai didn’t eat fish and never went to catch them; but he said: “Sometimes I get so many fish that I can’t make the canoe go; the net is too heavy. I want you to come and help me.”

Kai went with his father-in-law; he didn’t like to refuse. When they got to the lake, Natanatas said: “Get into the canoe; I fish out in the lake.”

When they were in the middle of the lake, the old man said: “I feel tired. We will sleep a little while; then we will feel better and can work.”

Natanatas lay down in one end of the canoe and Kai in the other. Kai slept a long time; when he woke up, he shook the old man, and said: “Here, old man, wake up; the wind blows. We are going to get tipped over and drowned.”

Natanatas pretended to be asleep, but he was making the wind blow; he wanted to tip the canoe over and drown Kai.

Kai screamed: “Wake up! The canoe is full of water.”

Natanatas didn’t move. Kai pulled him around, shook him and pounded him. The wind blew harder and harder. Kai was scared; he was wet and freezing, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t waken the old man. Just then a white eagle feather that was flying along the bank called to Kai: “Why do you stay out there? Old Natanatas is trying to kill you. Pull five strands of seaweed from the bottom of the canoe, tie them together, twist them, and throw them into the water; then jump on to them and come ashore.”

Kai did that, and got to land. He dried himself and went back to old Natanatas’ house.

Some of Natanatas’ sons lived under the water; when their father drowned a man, they caught and ate him.

Natanatas didn’t know which way Kai went. He said to himself: “Maybe he fell into the lake, and my sons have eaten him.” He was glad. He made the wind stop blowing. Then he rowed to the bank, pulled his canoe out of the water, and went home. When he went into the house, he asked: “Has Kai come?” Just then he saw him lying by the fire, asleep.

When Kai woke up, the old man said: “I didn’t know where to hunt for you. The wind blew so hard I thought you were drowned. I felt badly. I went all around the lake looking for you. I thought you were dead and I cried.”

The next morning Natanatas went for rocks; he wanted to heat them and sweat. When he came home, he said to Kai: “I saw a big deer right here near the house; you could track it, but you haven’t anything to kill it with.”

Kai’s wife cried; she said: “Father is trying to kill you. He kills every man who comes here. He doesn’t want a son-in-law.”

Soon the old man said to Kai: “You must go to the lake and get some reeds. I will make you arrows to shoot deer and ducks with; I am tired of eating fish.”

Kai went to the lake, but he couldn’t see any reeds. He looked all around; then he saw some growing on an island out in the middle of the lake. He sat down and thought of what he was to do, thought for a long time. Then white eagle feathers called out to him: “Why do you sit there so long? You should think of us, then you would get the reeds.” When he thought of the feathers, he rose up in the air and went to the island. He got the reeds and went home.

When Kai gave the reeds to Natanatas, the old man made believe he was glad. He said: “You thought it was far; you didn’t want to go, but you found it was easy. Now you must bring me two round stones to straighten the arrows. There is only one place to get them; that is down by the river.”

Kai went to the river. It was deep and ran very fast. Under the water he saw the stones his father-in-law wanted. He didn’t know how to get them. He looked for others, but couldn’t find them; then he sat down and thought about what he was to do. He felt lonesome; he knew Natanatas was trying to kill him.

Then white eagle feathers called out: “Why do you sit there so long? The old man is waiting. Why don’t you think of us?”

He thought of white feathers. Right away the river dried up. Kai took the stones and went home.

Old Natanatas made believe he was glad; he said: “Those are like the stones I used when I was a young man. Now I must have feathers to put on the arrows. In a tree near here there is an eagle’s nest; I saw eggs in the nest. Maybe the little eagles are big enough to have long feathers. You must go and see.”

When Kai got to the tree, he looked up and saw an eagle in the nest. He took off his clothes and began to climb. As he climbed, the tree grew. Kai didn’t look back; he didn’t know that the tree was getting taller and taller. He climbed for a long time. At last he got to the nest. When he looked down and saw how high up he was, he was scared and began to cry.

Soon somebody said right there near him: “Why do you sit here crying? Pull feathers out of the young eagles; then think of us and you will go down the way we do.”

Kai pulled the feathers, then he floated down as feathers do. When he got home, the old man said he was glad, said: “There is where I used to get my feathers; those eagles always have a nest in that tree.”

Natanatas had the bow and arrows ready. He gave them to Kai, and said: “Now you must kill a deer, and we shall have sinew to tie the feathers on with. I will show you a place where deer always come.” He went with Kai, showed him deer tracks, and said: “Sit down here. I will go farther and scare deer so they will run this way.”

Old Natanatas had a son under the ground, and he went to get him to help kill Kai. When Kai was alone, he got up and went off; he didn’t stay where the old man told him to.

The old man told his son to take the form of a deer and run at Kai and kill him. “Put your heart in your foot,” said he. “Kai can’t shoot at your foot.” Then he called out: “A deer is coming! A deer is coming!”

Góshgoise’s heart was with his brother and it kept calling to him: “Pets, pets, pets! Pets, pets, pets!” (Foot, foot, foot!) It did that to help Kai and tell him that he must shoot the deer in the foot, for its life was there.

When the deer got near, Kai thought: “Maybe my brother is telling me to shoot the deer in the foot.” He shot; the arrow went through the deer’s foot and killed him.

When the old man came, he asked: “Where is the deer?”

“I fell asleep,” said Kai; “the deer passed me.”

“I told you to sit still, and watch for it.”

“I shot at it once,” said Kai. “Maybe I hit it.”

“Where is it?”

Kai told him and he went to hunt for the deer. When he found it, he felt badly. He tried to look glad, but he didn’t say much. He only said: “We won’t cut up this deer till we kill another one. There are five paths here where deer run. I will show you a good place. This time you must sit still; you mustn’t lie down and go to sleep.” When they got to the place, Natanatas said: “Sit here and watch; I will go and scare the deer.”

When a deer ran toward Kai, he hid. The deer looked for him, and the old man called: “Deer is coming! Deer is coming!” Again little Góshgoise said, “Pets, pets, pets!”

The deer couldn’t see Kai. Kai shot it in the foot and killed it.

When Natanatas came, Kai said: “A deer ran by. I shot once; maybe I killed it. We will go and see.”

When the old man saw the dead deer, he said: “It’s almost dark; we will leave the deer here till morning.”

When they got home, Kai’s wife scolded her father; she said: “You will kill all my brothers trying to kill Kai, but you won’t kill him. He has more power than you have.”

The next morning Natanatas said: “My son-in-law, you are afraid of a deer. He has horns and you think he will hit you. He won’t hurt you. Sit right still and shoot when you see him coming.”

Kai thought: “This time I will sit where he puts me.”

The deer saw Kai, but Kai shot it in the foot and killed it. When the old man asked: “Where is the deer?” Kai said: “It saw me and ran off. I shot once, but maybe I missed him.”

Natanatas thought: “I have only two sons left, but I will try once more.” Tears were running down his face. He said to Kai: “I have been running; I am sweating.”

Kai killed two more of the old man’s sons. Natanatas wouldn’t let Kai touch the deer. He said: “We will come to-morrow and cut them up.” (He was going to bring them to life.)

Little Góshgoise was getting lonesome; he thought: “If my brother is going to stay around here, I will go home. He is away every day, and I am alone all the time.”

The next morning old Natanatas said: “There are big fish in the lake; we will go and spear one.” (He had turned his sons to fish, and they were in the lake.)

This time Kai took Góshgoise with him. He knew that his brother was lonesome.

The old man said to his sons: “As soon as you see Kai’s spear, catch hold of it and pull him into the water. Then eat him.”

When Kai got to the lake, he was frightened, and thought: “I won’t spear fish.” Then he thought: “I must do everything the old man tells me to do.”

Soon he saw a big fish coming. It threw up water in great waves. It caught Kai’s spear and pulled, pulled hard, but Góshgoise took hold of the spear and helped Kai. They pulled the fish out on to the sand, and Kai sent his brother to tell the old man to come and see it. When Natanatas saw the fish, he said: “You have done enough for to-day; we will go home and play games.”

The old man said to one of his sons: “I am going to run a race with Kai. When we run along the bank of the river, you must make a river on the other side of us, and as we go between the rivers, you must push Kai into the water. Your brothers will catch him and eat him.”

When Kai and old Natanatas were between the rivers where the trail was narrow, Natanatas’ son sprang out of the water, ran up behind Kai, and gave him a push. Kai was falling into the water when white eagle feathers saw his trouble, and called out: “Think of us!”

Kai did, and right away he floated off in the air. Then Kai called to his father-in-law: “You can’t beat me!”

The next time they ran the old man said: “You must run on the left side of the trail.”

“No, I will go on the right side,” said Kai. He went on the right side, and when they came to a deep place and his brother-in-law ran up behind him, he turned and pushed him into the river. The brothers, who were waiting to eat Kai, ate their brother.

The old man said to Kai: “I will run with you again, but you must run on the left side.”

Kai ran on the left side; his father-in-law pushed him off many times, but he didn’t strike the water. He floated away, a feather, and when the old man looked back, there was Kai. At last he pushed Natanatas into the water.

Natanatas called out: “Don’t eat me! Don’t eat me!” His sons thought he was Kai and they ate him, but his spirit escaped and he was alive again. He scolded his sons, said: “Why don’t you kill this man? You must run with him and kill him. We have more power than he has.”

Kai ran another race, pushed his brother-in-law into the water, and his brothers ate him up.

Then the old man said: “We won’t run again. My sons feel badly, their brother is dead.”

Kai’s wife scolded her father, told him he had killed his sons, that she didn’t like him any longer, and wouldn’t stay where he stayed. Then she and Kai and Góshgoise crossed a high mountain, and came down to a meadow. They built a house and lived there always.

THE SPIRIT OF THE TULA GRASS

CHARACTERS

Blaiwas Eagle Ndukis Hawk Tusasás Joker (Skunk)

Not far from Knekuks lived a woman and her little grandson, the last one left of her kin. The boy often wanted to go to the village, but his grandmother said: “You are too small; you might get lost, or those people might kill you. They killed your father and mother.”

One day the boy started off without saying anything to his grandmother. When she found that he had gone, she cried and felt badly. Tusasás lived in the village; he saw the boy and said: “I will take that little fellow for a servant; he can bring water for me.”

“Keep still,” said Blaiwas; “you talk too much.”

The man who killed the boy’s father was there; he said: “That boy has come to see me. Maybe he wants to kill me.” He was making fun of him.

The boy went into each house to find out what people would say to him. Some were sorry for him; others drove him away. When he went home, his grandmother said: “Those people are waiting for you to grow up a little; then they will kill you.”

After the first time, he went away every evening. One evening he saw, on the trail, an old dry spear of tula grass. He stepped on it and broke it; the spear screamed out, just as a person does when hurt. The boy stepped off from it quickly, and said: “Well, well, I never heard anything of this kind scream before.” He picked up the pieces of grass. That minute he fell down. The grass made him fall; it was the spirit of a skoks.

The boy lost his mind and was almost dead. He thought the spirit said: “You have broken my back; now I want you to fix me and use me for a cane. If you meet enemies, use me against them.”

When the boy got back his mind, his mouth was bloody. It is always that way when a child is going to be a doctor. (Medicines sometimes travel evenings to meet young boys.) He got up and went home.

When his grandmother saw him, she was scared; she said: “I don’t like to see you this way. Doctors are killed as well as men who fight; you won’t live long if you are this kind.”

That night the boy dreamed that the tula cane told him how to make a regular medicine cane. He made the cane, and the next time he went to the village he took it with him. It was stronger than the tula grass cane.

Tusasás said: “Little boy, I am glad you brought me a cane; I will sing for it.”

Blaiwas said: “You shouldn’t make fun of that boy; let him alone.”

“If we let him alone, he will kill us all,” said Tusasás.

The man who killed the boy’s father tied feathers in the boy’s hair to make fun of him, and said: “I want to eat you, but if I don’t eat you, you will have to carry water for me.”

Tusasás said: “He is mine; I will make him work when he is a little larger.”

Everywhere the boy went they made fun of him because he was so small. One night he said: “Grandmother, I want you to fix my head.” She shaved off all of his hair but one tuft on the top of his head; that she braided, and it stuck up straight. She painted his head and his face red.

“Haven’t I any name?” asked the boy.

“No,” said his grandmother. “You have never given yourself a name.”

“Call me Sápkokis” (the name of the twist of hair on top of his head). “And call me by my name every time I come in or go out; it will make me stronger each time I hear it.”

The next night he stuck his medicine cane over the place where he slept, took down his tula cane, and said to his grandmother: “I am going to the place where they make fun of me. If my medicine cane falls, it will be a sign that I am in trouble.”

When he got to the place, the man who killed his father asked: “Why do you come so often? I wish you would keep away from me. I don’t like you; you look just like your father. Give me your cane!”

Sápkokis wouldn’t give up his cane. He ran off to old woman Ndukis’ house. She said: “Why do you come to this village so often? That man over there will kill you.” When he didn’t start for home, she screamed to him to hurry, that the man was following him. She tore a hole in her house and told the boy to crawl out and run home as quickly as he could.

Sápkokis crawled out, but he went around on one side and struck the man with his tula cane. The man fell in two pieces.

The people said to the dead man: “That comes of your talking so big!” They shot at Sápkokis, but couldn’t hit him; he darted around and hit men with his tula cane. Each man he hit died right away. One man said: “I never killed any of your people; I have always been kind to you.” He let that man live.

Sápkokis went home whooping and singing; he was glad. The women of the village told all the people living what the boy had done.

Sápkokis said to his grandmother: “I am going to a place where there is high grass; I am not going to stay here and fight people.”

He went to the mountain and stood in the high grass on one side of the trail. A great many men started out to kill Sápkokis. When he saw them coming, he met them, and asked: “Where are you going?” No one answered. He said: “Here is the best place to fight.” They tried to kill him, but his cane never failed; it killed every man.

In the evening Sápkokis went home whooping and singing. When his grandmother saw him coming, she said: “He has killed everybody; that is why he whoops and runs so fast. It was bad enough to make him an orphan, not to make him think of his people. That is the way: if they know, they can never forget. Those people should have let him alone.”

Sápkokis traveled around and everybody knew that he was a great fighter. One day he told his grandmother he was going to see Kûlta. She said: “If you go, don’t harm him; he is your kin.”

Kûlta said: “My grandson, I am glad to see you. I hear women mourning. You must be on the watch; somebody may come here and kill you. You must cover your father and mother and relatives enough so you won’t think any more about them.” (He meant that he must kill all of his enemies.)

Sápkokis asked: “Do you feel lonesome for people?”

“No,” said Kûlta, “my sons never did any harm, but men killed them. I am glad to have you kill those men.”

When Sápkokis went home, Kûlta carried the old grandmother fish. He was glad that his grandson was such a strong man.

Sápkokis said: “You mustn’t make any tracks around here. If you do people will think that you taught me all these things.”

After this, Sápkokis and his grandmother lived in peace. There were only women and children left around their place.

A MEDICINE STORY. NUMBER I

CHARACTERS

Blaiwas Eagle Ktilisúnak Ktilis’ Son Skoks Spirit Skoksun Kalo The Land of Spirits

Ktilisúnak (Ktilis’ son) was so young that he couldn’t talk plainly. He lived with his grandmother. His sister was married and lived on a broad flat near the mountains. The grandmother was tired of taking care of the boy, and one evening she threw the little fellow out; then she threw him his bow and arrows, and said:

“Go off now! Maybe you will be a big chief and have many wives!”

The boy was naked and cold, but he got up and started off to see if he could find his sister’s house. He cried all the way. When he got to the flat, he saw a woman coming with a great pack of old ragged mats on her back. The boy was scared; he trembled all over. He could see the woman’s head and pack, but he couldn’t see below her waist. He thought: “That isn’t a living person,” and he grew as cold as ice.

When he thought: “That isn’t a living person,” the woman screamed out, and right away the boy changed. He could see the woman, and he said: “I am not afraid of you now. My grandmother has thrown me out; I will give myself to anybody I meet.”