The Salish People: Volume I. Charles Hill-Tout
with the boat in such a condition, and that the only possible way to cross would be for her to sit down in the hole, and thus prevent the water from entering. This the grizzly consented to do, and straightway sat herself down on the hole, telling Groundhog to hurry. “Now, don’t move on any account,” said he, as he pushed off, “or we shall both be drowned.” The boat had not gone far when the little trout began snapping at that portion of the grizzly’s body which protruded through the hole. At the first snap the grizzly gave a start, and half rose from her place, so that the water rushed in. “Sit down, and don’t move again, I beseech you,” cried Groundhog, “you’ll drown us both if you are not more careful. Is a flea-bite enough to make you risk our lives?” The grizzly had scarcely settled herself in the hole a second time when the bigger trout made a dash at her, biting big pieces out of her. She cried out and moved again; but seeing the water rush in, and urged by the remonstrance of the ferryman, who pretended to be greatly alarmed for their safety, she was fain to stop the hole with her body once more. The salmon-trout now attacked her, and again the pain made her rise from the hole, only to drop back into it a moment later; for the boat was now more than half full of water, and she believed that they would surely go down, as the groundhog vehemently pointed out, if she suffered any more water to enter the boat. And thus the wretched grizzly was torn and bitten first by one fish and then by another, rising out of the hole after each bite, and declaring she could stand it no longer, only to drop back again a moment later, as the rising water urged her to stop the leak for her own safety’s sake, until the great sturgeon rushing at her tore her entrails out and she dropped dead in the boat. Thus did she miserably perish and suffer for her misdeeds. The boys had waited in hiding on their side of the river; and when they saw the grizzly’s end, they thanked Groundhog for his help and continued their journey with easy minds.
When they had gone on their way some little distance further, they began to feel very hungry, having eaten nothing since they left home. Moreover, it was camping time; so a halt was proposed, and while the two elder brothers sat wondering how they should procure food for themselves, the younger one strolled off by himself. He had not gone far when he observed a large elk before him. Straightway transforming himself into a little humming-bird, he flew at the elk, and entering it by the fundament passed clean through and came out of its mouth, thus causing it to fall dead where it stood. Having done this, he assumed his boy’s form again and sat on the antlers of the elk to await his brothers, who, having missed him, now came to look for him, and were greatly surprised to find him sitting on the antlers of a recently killed elk. When questioned, he pretended ignorance of its presence there; but the second brother suspected that he knew more than he would tell, and was in no way surprised at events which befell later.
Next day as they went on their way, they came to a large beaver pond. Said the eldest brother, as he saw the beavers: “How I would like some beaver-tail for supper tonight; there is nothing so delicious as beaver-tail.” The little one said nothing; but presently, when the camp-ground had been chosen for the night, he strolled off by himself along the edge of the lake, and stooping down drank of the water till the lake was quite dry. He then took a stick and killed all the beavers one after the other as they ran out of their holes, and piling them one on top of another sat down upon the topmost and awaited his brothers’ presence. Seeing him seated on what appeared to them a tree stump they called to him to come to camp; but as he took no notice of them, they came to fetch him, and great indeed was their astonishment to see what they had taken for a tree stump was a pile of freshly-killed beavers. “Now, brother,” said he to the eldest, “you will be able to have beaver-tail for supper.” The second one was now quite sure in his mind that his little brother possessed great medicine, or power, and recalled to the elder one’s memory the mysterious way their supper of the night before had been provided for them, as he endeavoured to persuade him of the same. But the elder brother laughed at the idea, and would not believe in this suddenly-acquired power of his little brother. The little one himself had offered no explanation of the beavers’ presence, only requesting that his brothers should take out all the beavers’ eyes for him and thread them on a cord. This they did, and he bound the string of eyes round his head and lay down to sleep.
On the following morning the eldest brother arose early and waked the other two, but the little fellow declared that he was not ready to start yet. At this the eldest brother threatened to go on and leave him behind. “All right,” replied the little one, “go on if you want to. I shall not come yet.” The eldest brother did so, taking with him the second brother, who was very reluctant to leave his little brother, whom he had hitherto carried all the way on his shoulders. He tried to persuade the other to wait, but he would not hear of it. After they had started, the second brother kept looking back as they proceeded, hoping to see his little brother coming after them; but he still slept by the fire and made no effort to follow them. And now suddenly there arose a great flood, and the waters spread rapidly over the land. The two brothers made for some rising ground close by, the second one looking anxiously back from time to time in the direction of their late camp. “Our brother will surely be drowned. Let us hasten back and wake him,” said he; but as he spoke they both saw from the higher ground that the waters were raging and roaring along the path by which they had just come, and that a return to the camp was now impossible. As they stood watching the rising waters, they were surprised to see the smoke still ascending from the camp fire and the outlines of their brother’s form lying peacefully by its side. Wondering how this could be, as the camp lay in the valley by the side of the lake, they perceived that a strange and wonderful thing had happened. They saw that the water, instead of burying the fire and their brother several feet beneath it, surrounded the spot like a circular wall standing straight up over their brother’s sleeping form and the fire, and wetting neither. As they watched the strange sight, they saw the waters subside as suddenly as they arose, and retire to the lake again. Immediately following this, the little brother awoke, and seeing his brothers’ trail took it and soon caught them up. From that time onward, the medicine of the youngest brother was acknowledged and reverenced by the other two, who ever afterwards did what he bade them and regarded him as their leader.
From this place they travelled on, till they came to a small village, where there lived only one man and his wife. As they neared the place, they observed the man sitting on the roof of his keekwilee house,5 crying and lamenting as he sharpened a knife which he held in his hand. "Why do you cry so bitterly, old man, and why are you sharpening that knife?” asked the youngest. The man made no reply, only wept and sobbed the more. The boy repeated his question, and then the old man answered: “I am crying because I am so miserable and wretched. Once again a child is about to be born to me at the cost of its mother’s life. When my first wife — for I have had many — was about to be delivered, she was unable to bring the child to the birth; and I was forced to deliver her at the cost of her life with this knife I am sharpening. The child was a girl whom, when she had grown to womanhood, I took to wife; and when she bore her first child I had to do the same for her as I had done for her mother. And thus it has been ever since with all my wives; for as soon as my daughters were old enough they became my wives, and thus it is at this present time with my present wife, and I was just preparing myself to do for her as I have had to do for all the others; and my heart aches, and I am sorrowful at the thought of the task before me.” “Your case is indeed a sad one,” observed the lad, “and I am sorry for you. But don’t grieve any more. I will help you, and your wife shall not die this time. Tell me, have you any strong cherry-bark string in the house?” The old man replied that he had, and gave the lad a piece. The boy immediately entered the house and found the woman in the throes of childbirth. Taking the cherry-bark string, he threw one end of it between the woman’s legs. The string became attached to the child, and he pulled upon the other end. It held for a moment, then broke in his hand before the babe was born. This failure seemed to distress him; and the old man, who had followed him into the house, seeing his ill-success, burst out crying again. “Don’t cry, old man,” said the lad, “all will be well; only get me a stronger cord. Give me some neck-sinew, if you can find any.” The old man brought the lad what he asked for; and he spent a little time in first moistening and stretching and working it, till he got it into the condition he wanted. When it was ready for use, he did with it as he had done with the cherry-bark string, only this time it bore the strain and did not break; and by its help a moment later the child was born. This time it was a male child. The lad then told the old