Lulus-Dewieas A Sweet Root; Dewieas means a Great Eater, a
Glutton
Old man Lulus-Dewieas and his son and daughter-in-law lived in the
country where the lava beds are now. They ate a great deal of sweet
lulus; it was the old man’s medicine. Always when the son went to hunt
for deer, he told his wife to take good care of his father, and be sure
to give him food before she ate herself, or gave any food to the
children. If she didn’t, she would bring misfortune on herself and the
children. The woman remembered what her husband said, and she always
gave the old man food first; he was glad and fed his grandchildren.
One day, early in winter, the son said to his wife: “There is plenty of
game now. I want to kill a good many deer before deep snow comes. While
I am gone, you mustn’t forget to feed my father before any one else.”
The old man was white as snow; he was very old and was almost blind.
The next morning, when the young man was starting off, he said: “I had
a bad dream last night. I don’t want to go, but the children are always
crying for fat meat. I dreamed that I came home and found only a deep
hole where our house is now. You must keep the children away from their
grandfather. Don’t let them bother him; he might get mad. As long as
you treat him well, he won’t harm them.”
When the young man got to the top of the mountain, he looked back; he
could see his house, but somehow he felt lonesome and scared. He kept
listening, as if he expected to hear something. It was the first time
that he had felt that way. He found a deer and drove it on to a hill,
and shot at it. Right where it stood, it disappeared. Then he knew that
something was going to happen to him. He said: “This is the first time
I have lost a deer after shooting it.” When he got tired of looking for
the deer, he sat down to rest.
After her husband was gone, the young woman got a heavy stone and began
to pound seeds. While she was pounding, she made up her mind to find
out what her father-in-law would do if she put the seed away without
giving him any. When the seed was fine enough, she put up the mortar
without saying a word. When the old man saw her do that, he crept out
and sat down on the south side of the house. As he sat there, he began
to swell up. He took black paint and painted himself in stripes. Right
away he began to turn and turn, and to throw up dirt. His hair grew as
red as fire, and when the hole he made was large enough, he sank into
it.
When the little girl saw her grandfather going down in the ground she
screamed: “Oh, grandfather, come back!”
The woman heard the child cry, and she ran out to see what the matter
was. When she saw what had happened, she called: “Oh, father, come
back. I’ll give you lots of seeds to eat! Come back!”
But the old man had gone too far, and was too mad; the house, the
woman, and the children all sank into the hole.
The old man went on, boring as he went. Everywhere he broke and threw
out the earth. Once in a while he raised himself up a little. At such
places the earth would be level for a short distance, then it would
sink down in a deep hole and leave a wide opening in the ground.
The son heard a terrible roar and he knew that his wife had made his
father mad. People living a long way off heard the roar. They knew what
kind of an old man that was; they stayed in their houses and fastened
up their doors. As the old man traveled, he kept calling his own name:
“Lulus-Dewieas, Lulus-Dewieas!” When the young man came to where his
house had been, he found only a wide gap in the earth. He followed the
sound of his father’s traveling and called to him; but the old man
didn’t hear him.
He traveled under the ground till he got beyond Mount Shasta and came
to where there was water. He stopped there, but stayed under ground.
The son stood above the place and spoke to his father.
The old man said: “You must not feel badly; my spirit belongs to this
earth. You must go away from me; you must not try to follow me. I shall
live forever under the earth.”
Lulus-Dewieas could hardly speak when he said this. The son left him,
and ever after wandered around in the world. He felt sorry and
lonesome.