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Source: Boas, Jesup North Pacific Expedition, i, 73
In a place on Bella Coola River, there used to be a salmon-weir. A chief
and his wife lived at this place. One day the wife was cutting salmon on
the bank of the river. When she opened the last salmon, she found a small
boy in it.
She took him out and washed him in the river. She placed him near by,
entered the house, and said to the people, "Come and see what I have found
in my salmon!" She had a child in her house, which was still in the
cradle.
The little boy whom she had found was half as long as her
fore-arm. She carried him into the house, and the people advised her to
take good care of him. She nursed him with her own baby.
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When the people were talking in the house, the baby looked around
as
though he understood what they were saying. On the following day the
people were surprised to see how much he had grown, and in a few days he
was as tall as any ordinary child. Her own baby also grew up with
marvelous rapidity. She gave each of them one breast. After a few days
they were able to walk and to talk.
The two young men were passing by the houses, and looked into the
doorways. There was a house in the centre of this town; there they saw a
beautiful girl sitting in the middle of the house. Her hair was red, and
reached down to the floor. She was very white. Her eyes were large, and as
clear as rock crystal. The boy fell in love with the girl. They went on,
but his thoughts were with her.
The Salmon boy said, "I am going to enter this house. You must watch
closely what I do, and imitate me. The Door of this house tries to bite
every one who enters." The Door opened, and the Salmon jumped into the
house. Then the Door snapped, but missed him. When it opened again, the
boy jumped into the house. They found a number of people inside, who
invited them to sit down. They spread food before them, but the boy did
not like their food. It had a very strong smell, and looked rather
curious. It consisted of algae that grow on logs that lie in the river.
When the boy did not touch it, one of the men said to him, "Maybe you want
to eat those two children. Take them down to the river and throw them into
the water, but do not look." The two children arose, and he took them down
to the river. Then he threw them into the water without looking at them.
At the place where he had thrown them down, he found a male and a female
Salmon. He took them up to the house and roasted them.
The people told him to preserve the intestines and the bones carefully.
After he had eaten, one of the men told him to carry the intestines and
the bones to the same place where he had thrown the children into the
water. He carried them in his hands, and threw them into the river without
looking. When he entered the house, he heard the children following him.
The girl was covering one of her eyes with her hands.
The boy was limping, because he had lost one of his bones. Then the people
looked at the place where the boy had been sitting, and they found the
eye, and a bone from the head of the male salmon. They ordered the boy to
throw these into the water. He took the children and the eye and the bone,
and threw them into the river. Then the children were hale and well.
After a while the youth said to his Salmon brother, "I wish to go to the
other house where I saw the beautiful girl." They went there, and he said
to his Salmon brother, "Let us enter. I should like to see her face well."
They went in. Then the man arose, and spread a caribou blanket for them to
sit on, and the people gave them food. Then he whispered to his brother,
"Tell the girl I want to marry her." The Salmon boy told the girl, who
smiled, and said, "He must not marry me. Whoever marries me must die. I
like him, and I do not wish to kill him; but if he wishes to die, let him
marry me.
The woman was the Salmon-berry Bird. After one day she gave birth to a
boy, and on the following day she gave birth to a girl. She was the
daughter of the Spring Salmon.
After a while the girl's father said, "Let us launch our canoe, and let us
carry the young man back to his own people." He sent a messenger to call
all the people of the village; and they all made themselves ready, and
early the next morning they started in their canoes. The young man went in
the canoe of the Spring Salmon, which was the fastest.
The canoe of the Sock-eye Salmon came next. The people in the canoe of the
Calico Salmon were laughing all the time. They went up the river; and a
short distance below the village of the young man's father they landed,
and made fast their canoes. Then they sent two messengers up the river to
see if the people had finished their salmon-weir.
Soon they returned with information that the weir had been finished. Then
they sent the young man and his wife, and they gave them a great many
presents for the young man's father.
The watchman who was stationed at the salmon-weir saw two beautiful salmon
entering the trap. They were actually the canoes of the salmon; but they
looked to him like two salmon. Then the watchman put the traps down over
the weir, and he saw a great many fish entering them. He raised the trap
when it was full, and took the fish out.
The young man thought, "I wish he would treat me and my wife carefully",
and his wish came true. The man broke the heads of the other salmon, but
he saved the young man and his wife. Then he carried the fish up to the
house, and hung them over a pole.
During the night the young man and his wife resumed their human shape. The
youth entered his father's house. His head was covered with eagle-down. He
said to his father, "I am the fish whom you caught yesterday. Do you
remember the time when you lost me_ I have lived in the country of the
Salmon. The Salmon accompanied me here. They are staying a little farther
down the river. It pleases the Salmon to see the people eating fish." And,
turning to his mother, he continued, "You must be careful when cutting
Salmon.
Never break any of their bones, but preserve them, and throw them into the
water." The two children of the young man had also entered into the
salmon-trap. He put some leaves on the ground, placed red and white
cedar-bark over them, and covered them with eagle-down, and he told his
mother to place the Salmon upon these.
As soon as he had given these instructions, the Salmon began to come up
the river. They crossed the weir and entered the traps. They went up the
river as far as Stuick, and the people dried the Salmon according to his
instructions. They threw the bones into the water, and the Salmon returned
to life, and went back to their own country, leaving their meat behind.
The Cohoes Salmon had the slowest canoe, and therefore he was the last to
reach the villages. He gave many presents to the Indians. He gave them
many-colored leaves, and thus caused the leaves of the trees to change
color in the autumn.
Now all the Salmon had returned. The Salmon-berry Bird and her children
had returned with them. Then the young man made up his mind to build a
small hut, from which he intended to catch eagles. He used a long pole, to
which a noose was attached. The eagles were baited by means of Salmon. He
spread a mat in his little house, and when he had caught an eagle he
pulled out its down.
He accumulated a vast amount of down. Then he went back to his house and
asked his younger brother to accompany him. When they came to the hut
which he had used for catching eagles, he gave the boy a small staff. Then
he said to him, "Do not be sorry when I leave you. I am going to visit the
Sun. I am not going to stay away a long time. I staid long in the country
of the Salmon, but I shall not stay long in heaven.
I am going to lie down on this mat. Cover me with this down, and then
begin to beat time with your staff. You will see a large feather flying
upward, then stop." The boy obeyed, and everything happened as he had
said. The boy saw the feather flying in wide circles. When it reached a
great height, it began to soar in large circles, and finally disappeared
in the sky. Then the boy cried, and went back to his mother.
The young man who had ascended to heaven found there a large house. It was
the House of Myths. There he resumed his human shape, and peeped in
at the door. Inside he saw a number of people who were turning their faces
toward the wall. They were sitting on a low platform in the rear of the
house. In the right-hand corner of the house he saw a large fire, and
women sitting around it. He leaned forward and looked into the house. An
old woman discovered him, and beckoned him to come to her. He stepped up
to her, and she warned him by signs not to go to the rear of the house.
She said, "Be careful!
The men in the rear of the house intend to harm you." She opened a small
box, and gave him the bladder of a mountain-goat, which contained the cold
wind. She told him to open the bladder if they should attempt to harm him.
She said that if he opened it, no fire could burn him. She told him that
the men were going to place him near the fire, in order to burn him; that
one of them would wipe his face, then fire would come forth from the
floor, scorching everything.
The old woman told him everything that the people were going to do. Now
the man in the rear of the house turned round. He was the Sun himself. He
was going to try the strength of the visitor. When he saw the young man,
he said to the old woman, "Did anybody come to visit you_ Let the young
man come up to me. I wish him to sit down near me." The young man stepped
up to the Sun, and as soon as he had sat down, the Sun wiped his face and
looked at the young man (he had turned his face while he was wiping it).
Then the young man felt very hot. He tied his blanket tightly round his
body, and opened the bladder which the woman had given him. Then the cold
wind that blows down the mountains in the winter was liberated, and he
felt cool and comfortable. The Sun had not been able to do him any harm.
The old man did not say anything, but looked at his visitor.
After a while he said, "I wish to show you a little underground house that
stands behind this house." They both rose and went outside. The small
house had no door. Access was had to it by an opening in the centre of the
roof, through which a ladder led down to the floor. Not a breath of air
entered this house. It was made of stone. When they had entered, the Sun
made a small fire in the middle of the house; then he climbed up the
ladder and closed the door, leaving his visitor inside. The Sun pulled up
the ladder, in order to make escape impossible. Then the house began to
grow very hot.
When the boy felt that he could not stand the heat any longer, he opened
the bladder, and the cold wind came out; snow began to fall on the fire,
which was extinguished; icicles began to form on the roof, and it was cool
and comfortable inside. After a while the Sun said to his four daughters,
"Go to the little underground house that stands behind our house, and
sweep it," meaning that they were to remove the remains of the young man
whom he believed to be burned. They obeyed at once, each being eager to be
the first to enter. When they opened the house, they were much surprised
to find icicles hanging down from the roof.
When they were climbing down the ladder, the youth arose and scratched
them. The youngest girl was the last to step down. The girls cried when
the youth touched them, and ran away. The Sun heard their screams, and
asked the reason. He was much surprised and annoyed to hear that the young
man was still alive. Then he devised another way of killing his visitor.
He told his daughters to call him into his house. They went, and the young
man re-entered the House of Myths. In the evening he lay down to sleep.
Then the Sun said to his daughters, "Early tomorrow morning climb the
mountain behind our house. I shall tell the boy to follow you." The girls
started while the visitor was still asleep. The girls climbed up to a
small meadow which was near a precipice. They had taken the form of
mountain-goats. When the Sun saw his daughters on the meadow, he called to
his visitor, saying, "See those mountain-goats!" The young man arose when
he saw the mountain-goats. He wished to kill them. The Sun advised him to
walk up the right-hand side of the mountain, saying that the left-hand
side was dangerous. The young man carried his bow and arrow.
The Sun said, "Do not use your own arrows! Mine are much better." Then
they exchanged arrows, the Sun giving him four arrows of his own. The
points of these arrows were made of coal.
Now the young man began to climb the mountain. When he came up to the
goats, he took one of the arrows, aimed it, and shot. It struck the
animals, but fell down without killing it. The same happened with the
other arrows. When he had spent all his arrows, they rushed up to him from
the four sides, intending to kill him. His only way of escape was in the
direction of the precipice. They rushed up to him, and pushed him down the
steep mountain.
He fell headlong, but when he was halfway down he transformed himself into
a ball of bird's down. He alighted gently on a place covered with many
stones. There he resumed the shape of a man, arose, and ran into the house
of the Sun to get his own arrows. He took them, climbed the mountain
again, and found the mountain-goats on the same meadow. He shot them and
killed them, and threw them down the precipice; then he returned. He found
the goats at the foot of the precipice, and cut off their feet. He took
them home.
He found the Sun sitting in front of the house. He offered him the feet,
saying, "Count them, and see how many I have killed." The Sun counted them
and now he knew that all his children were dead. Then he cried, "You
killed my children!" Then the youth took the bodies of the goats, fitted
the feet on, and threw the bodies into a little river that was running
past the place where they had fallen down. Thus they were restored to
life.
He had learned this art in the country of the Salmon. Then he said to the
girls, "Now run to see your father! He is wailing for you." They gave him
a new name, saying, "He has restored us to life." The boy followed them.
Then the Sun said, when he entered, "You shall marry my two eldest
daughters."
On the next morning the people arose. Then the Sun said to them, "What
shall I do to my son-in-law_" He called him, and said, "Let us raise the
trap of my salmon-weir." They went up to the river in the Sun's canoe. The
water of the river was boiling. The youth was in the bow of the canoe,
while the Sun was steering. He caused the canoe to rock, intending to
throw the young man into the water. The water formed a small cascade,
running down over the weir. He told the young man to walk over the top of
the weir in order to reach the trap.
He did so, walking over the top beam of the weir. When he reached the
baskets, the beam fell over, and he himself fell into the water . The Sun
saw him rise twice in the whirlpool just below the weir. When he did not
see him rise again, he turned his canoe, and thought, "Now the boy has
certainly gone to Nuskyakek." The Sun returned to his house, and said to
his daughters, "I lost my son-in-law in the river. I was not able to find
him." Then his daughters were very sad.
When the boy disappeared in the water, he was carried to Nuskyakek; and he
resumed the shape of a salmon while in the water, and as soon as he landed
he resumed human shape and returned to his wife. The Sun saw him coming,
and was much surprised. In the evening they went to sleep. On the
following morning the Sun thought, "How can I kill my son-in-law_" After a
while he said to him, " Arise! We will go and split wood for fuel."
He took his tools. They launched their canoe, and went down the river to
the sea. When they reached there, it was perfectly calm. There were many
snags embedded in the mud in the mouth of the river, some of which were
only half submerged. They selected one of these snags a long distance from
the shore, and began to split it. Then the Sun intentionally dropped his
hammer into the water, and thought at the same time, "Do not fall straight
down, but fall sideways, so that he will have much difficulty in finding
you." Then he sat down in his canoe, and said, "Oh! I lost my old hammer.
I had it at the time when the Sun was created." He looked down into the
water, and did not say a word.
After a while he said to the young man, "Do you know how to dive_ Can you
get my hammer_ The water is not very deep here." The young man did not
reply. Then the Sun continued, "I will not go back without my hammer."
Then the boy said, "I know how to dive. If you so wish, I will try to get
it."
The Sun promised to give him supernatural power if he was able to bring
the hammer back. The youth jumped into the water, and then the Sun ordered
the sea to rise, and he called the cold wind to make the water freeze. It
grew so cold that a sheet of ice a fathom thick was formed at once on top
of the sea.
"Now," he thought, "I certainly have killed you!" He left his canoe frozen
up in the ice, and went home. He said to his daughters, "I have lost my
son-in-law. He drifted away when the cold winds began to blow down the
mountains. I have also lost my little hammer."
But when he mentioned his hammer, his daughters knew at once what had
happened. The young man found the hammer, and after he had obtained it he
was going to return to the canoe, but he struck his head against the ice,
and was unable to get out. He tried everywhere to find a crack. Finally he
found a very narrow one. He transformed himself into a fish, and came out
of the crack. He jumped about on the ice in the form of a fish, and
finally resumed his own shape.
He went back to the Sun's house, carrying the hammer. The Sun was sitting
in front of the fire, his knees drawn up, and his legs apart. His eyes
were closed, and he was warming himself. The young man took his hammer and
threw it right against his stomach, saying, "Now take better care of your
treasures."
The young man scolded the Sun, saying, "Now stop trying to kill me. If you
try again, I shall kill you. Do you think I am an ordinary man_ You cannot
conquer me." The Sun did not reply.
In the evening he said to his son-in-law, "I hear a bird singing, which I
should like very much to have."
The young man asked, "What bird is it_"
The Sun replied, "I do not know it. Watch it early to-morrow morning." The
young man resolved to catch the bird. Very early in the morning he arose,
then he heard the bird singing outside. He knew at once that it was the
ptarmigan. He left the house, and thought, "I wish you would come down!"
Then the bird came down, and when it was quite near by he shot it. He hit
one of its wings, intending to catch it alive.
He waited for the Sun to arise. The bird understood what the young man
said, who thus spoke: "The chief here wishes to see you. Do not be afraid,
I am not going to kill you. The chief has often tried to kill me, but he
has been unable to do so. You do not need to be afraid." The young man
continued, "When it is dark I shall tell the Sun to ask you to sit near
him, and when he is asleep I want you to peck out his eyes."
When the Sun arose, the youth went into the house carrying the bird,
saying, "I have caught the bird; now I hope you will treat it kindly. It
will awaken us when it is time to arise. When you lie down, let it sit
down near you, then it will call you in the morning."
In the evening the Sun asked the bird to sit down next to his face. When
he was asleep, the bird pecked out his eyes without his knowing it. Early
in the morning he heard the bird singing. He was going to open his eyes,
but he was not able to do so. Then he called his son, saying, "The bird
has blinded me."
The young man jumped up and went to his father-in-law, and said, "Why did
you wish for the bird_ Do you think it is good_ It is a bad bird. It has
pecked out your eyes." He took the bird and carried it outside, and
thanked it for having done as it was bidden. Then the bird flew away.
When it was time for the Sun to start on his daily course, he said, "I am
afraid I might fall, because I cannot see my way." For four days he staid
in his house. He did not eat, he was very sad. Then his son-in-law made up
his mind to cure him. He did not do so before, because he wanted to punish
him for his badness.
He took some water, and said to his father-in-law, "I will try to restore
your eyesight." He threw the water upon his eyes, and at once his eyes
were healed and well.
He said, "Now you can see what power I have. The water with which I have
washed my face has the power to heal diseases. While I was in the country
of the Salmon, I bathed in the water in which the old Salmon bathed, in
order to regain youth, therefore the water in which I wash makes
everything young and well."
From this time on, the Sun did not try to do any harm to the young man.
Finally he wished to return to his father's village. He left the house,
and jumped down through the hole in heaven. His wife saw him being
transformed into a ball of eagle-down, which floated down gently. Then her
father told her to climb as quickly as she could down his eyelashes. She
did so, and reached the ground at the same time as her husband. He met his
younger brother, who did not recognize him. He had been in heaven for one
year.
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