Page:Tlingit Myths and Texts.djvu/37

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TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS
23

which fastened the big man's spear point to the shaft and swam off with the point. Upon this the big man pulled his shaft up, looked at it and said, "My spear is gone." Then he went downstream. In the meantime Łq!ayā′k! came ashore, got out of the fish, came up to his usual station on the lowest limb of the tree, and sat down there. They had him sit below because he talked so much, and because he was the most precipitate.

That night the one-legged man did not sleep at all on account of his lost spear. He was using it in working for the bear people. When he came up next morning he had a quill in his hands which would tell him things. He took this about among the trees, and, when he came to that on which the brothers were sitting, it bent straight down. Then he cried, "Bring my spear this way." Although he saw no one, he knew that there were people there who had it. Then he came to the bottom of the tree, seized Łq!ayā′k! and tore him in pieces. So he served the next two brothers. But Kack!a′lk! had his dog, which he was able to make small, concealed under his coat and, after his brothers were torn up, he let it go, and it tore the big man all to pieces. Because he had his red paint, rattle, and dog he cared for nothing. Now he put the red paint on his brothers bodies and shook the rattle over them so that they came to life.

Next morning they got into the same tree again. Then they saw a man with two heads placed one over another coming up the stream. It was the bear chief. He hooked a great many salmon and put them on pieces of string on each side of his mouth. Next evening a little old man came up. Łq!ayā′k! came down and asked, "What are you doing here?" He said, "I have come up after salmon." But he could hook none at all, so Łq!ayā′k! caught a lot for him. Then Łq!ayā′k! asked him: "What does that double-head that came up here do?" The old man said, "I will tell you about it." So they said to him: "Now we want you to tell the truth about this? What does he really do when he gets home with his salmon? We will get you more salmon if you tell us truly." And the old man answered: "When he gets home with a load of salmon, he leaves it down by the river. Then he takes off his skin coat and hangs it up." This is what he told them.

The next time the two-heads came up and began to throw salmon ashore, it said all at once, "I feel people's looks."[1] As soon as he came opposite the place where they were sitting, Kack!a′lk! threw his dog right upon him. It caught this big bear by the neck and killed him. Every time thereafter, when the little old man came up, they questioned him about the people in the place he came from.

At last they caught a lot of salmon and prepared to descend. Then Kack!a′lk! put on the bearskin, placed his brothers under his arms


  1. Meaning "I feel that people s looks are on me."