Blaiwas Eagle
Iúnika Dusk or Twilight
Kaiutois Wolf
Lok Bear
Pap Gray Fox (a short name for fox)
Tsmuk Darkness
Wus Fox
Lok and other people lived on a flat where there were wild cherry trees
and plum trees. Wus was in love with Lok’s daughter. When she went with
the other women to get cherries, he turned into a nice-looking young
man and tried to get near her. Sometimes he braided his hair and put a
big feather in it, but Lok’s daughter always knew him, for she could
see hair between his toes, no matter how he was dressed. (Wus had toes
like a man’s toes, but between the toes were long hairs. He could never
hide his feet.)
One day, when Wus had on a blanket and leggings covered with beads and
porcupine quills, and looked like a rich young man, he tried to talk
with Blaiwas’ sister, but she saw his feet and knew he was Wus. When he
caught hold of her, she pulled away, and said: “I know you. You are
Wus.”
“How do you know that I am Wus?”
“I can see the hair between your toes.”
Wus was mad; he left her and went back to the mountain, to Piéamtcir,
where he and his mother lived.
Wus never bothered Kaiutois’ daughter, for he called Kaiutois brother.
One day she said to him: “You should go away from here. The girls don’t
like you; they always see the hair between your toes.”
That night Wus’ mother said: “If you don’t stay at home, you will get
into trouble with the chief. He doesn’t want you to bother those
girls.”
“I want Blaiwas’ sister for a wife,” said Wus.
“Don’t think about her,” said his mother. “Blaiwas has given her to a
man who lives in the lake.”
“I don’t care if he has; I will have her.”
His mother told him to let the girl alone, but he was so mad he
wouldn’t listen to her. The next morning he said: “I am going to catch
Blaiwas’ sister to-day. After I have caught her, I will go to Blaiwas’
house. If he don’t like me, he can throw me out.”
His mother said: “That young man has taken her away.”
“If he hasn’t more power than I have, I will get her,” said Wus.
When he came to the flat where the girls were picking cherries, he
asked: “Where is Blaiwas’ sister?”
“She has a man now,” said Kaiutois’ daughter. “She has gone away with
him.”
“Who is he?”
“He is the youngest of the five Kûlta brothers. He lives in the East,
far from here.”
The next day Wus told his mother he was going to travel around to see
people, and he started off.
As Wus traveled, he sang his love song. One day a Kûlta girl heard him
and told her father that some man was coming. “You must stay in the
house,” said the father. “That is Wus. He feels badly because my nephew
has taken Blaiwas’ sister.”
Old Kûlta was fishing. He called to the fish, and said: “I want to feed
that young man.” Then he put his basket at the edge of the water, and
said: “Come now, come into my basket!” Right away his basket was full
of fish. When Wus came to the river, Kûlta said: “This is the first
time you have visited me. You feel badly because my nephew has taken
Blaiwas’ sister away from you.”
Wus was mad, but he didn’t say a word.
Kûlta said: “Women have sharp eyes; they can tell if a man is smart.
They don’t want to marry a common man.”
Wus didn’t speak. He ate a few fish, washed his hands, and started off.
“Why didn’t he say good-by?” asked Kûlta.
“You made him mad,” said his daughter. “He never eats much; he travels
all the time.”
On the way home, Wus met Kaiutois’ daughter, and she told him that
Blaiwas’ daughter had come back to see her father, and Kûlta was with
her.
“Will they go home soon?” asked Wus.
“Yes, but you mustn’t harm them.”
“I never harm people,” said Wus. “You shouldn’t think that way of me.”
When he got home, his mother asked: “Where have you been?”
Wus said: “I don’t want you to ask me things all the time. If you
bother me, I will go off and not come back.”
The next day Blaiwas’ sister and Kûlta started for home. The woman
walked, but the man traveled in the lake. Wus watched him. Once, when
Kûlta put his head up out of the water, Wus was right there.
“Oh, you scared me!” said Kûlta.
“Why should I scare you?” asked Wus. “I am a living person like
yourself.”
“You are in my way,” said Kûlta.
“How can I be in your way? I came here to get a drink.”
Kûlta went off under the water; he felt badly, felt lonesome. When the
woman came to the bank, he got out of the water and walked along on dry
land.
Kûlta said: “Somebody is coming.” He stubbed his toe and fell; Wus made
him. That minute Wus was there. His clothes were covered with beads,
and he looked nice.
Kûlta was afraid; he asked: “Why do you bother me? I didn’t know that
you wanted this woman. I know you; you are Wus.”
Wus said: “I don’t want her. I never saw her before. I am not Wus. Does
Wus look like me? Does he dress in beads? I never saw Wus. My house is
over there where you have been.”
Kûlta didn’t want to talk. He started on, but Wus got ahead and walked
in front of him.
Kûlta said: “You can have this woman.”
When she wasn’t willing to go with Wus, he said to her, “I don’t want
to give my life for you. You must go with him.”
“He will never pay for me; why should I go with him?” asked the woman.
Kûlta had a piece of soft, white stone that he could paint with. Wus
asked for half of it.
Kûlta said: “No, I can’t give it to you; my father told me never to
part with it. I had rather give you the woman.”
“Can the paint do anything? Has your father any power? I have power, I
can do anything. See, off there is where Blaiwas lives.”
The woman looked, and right away she turned to a common eagle. As she
flew off, Wus said: “You will no longer be a person. You will be a
bird. The people to come will use your tail feathers to doctor with and
to wear for an ornament.” Then he said to Kûlta: “You will no longer be
a person. You will be an animal that even a woman can kill. I am Wus; I
can do anything.”
When Wus got home, he said to his mother: “When I travel around, I hear
Tsmuk’s daughter singing. I am going to find out why she always sings
about me. She lives off by the great water. Those people always live by
the great water. I shall be gone a long time.”
It took Wus a good many days to make the journey. At last he came to
the top of a high mountain, and looking down, he saw Tsmuk’s house.
Tsmuk’s daughter saw him, though she was in the house. She said:
“Momáltciks (Big Eyes) is coming,—the man who is always after some
girl.”
Daytime was night for those people. There were people living near
Tsmuk’s house, and when it was growing dark, Wus saw that they were
getting ready to dance. He fixed himself up, put blue shells in his
hair, and put on a blanket covered with nice beads, then he went down
to the flat.
When the people saw him coming, they stopped dancing and asked one
another: “What strange man is that?”
Pap was there. He knew Wus; he was his cousin. Pap asked: “Why did you
come here?”
“I wanted to look around; I got tired of staying at home,” said Wus.
Pap said: “These people will give you one of their young women.”
“I don’t want one. Where is Tsmuk’s house? I came to get his daughter.”
“What could you do with Iúnika?” asked Pap. “You can see her only a
little while just before dark. No one can see her in the night or in
the daytime. That is why she doesn’t get a man. I don’t think you can
go into Tsmuk’s house. You must dance with us.”
“What kind of a dance is this?” asked Wus. “Where is the hair you are
dancing over?”
“This isn’t that kind of a dance. We dance to stay at home and be
glad.” (When they had a war dance they danced over a hair out of an
enemy’s scalp.)
Wus danced better than Pap or any of the other men. The people liked
him and wanted to give him one of their young women.
Pap said: “Iúnika won’t have anything to say to you. I have listened to
her, and she always sings against you. When she gets angry, she can do
almost anything. She knows a great many things that we don’t know.”
“I know as much as she does,” said Wus. “Maybe I can’t take her home,
but I will try. You must go with me. If we can’t get into the house, we
will come back.”
That night Wus danced better than he had before. Pap’s wife asked:
“What does that young man live on? He hasn’t eaten since he came here.”
“I don’t know,” said Pap; “he travels around all the time. No matter
how far away a place is, he goes there.”
Toward night Wus went off to a green spot, and, looking toward the sun,
he saw lots of black spiders in the air. He caught the spiders in his
mouth and ate them. After he had eaten a great many, he went back to
Pap’s house and said to his cousin: “You promised to go with me to
Tsmuk’s house.”
“I am afraid to go,” said Pap. “They may make our eyes dark, so we
can’t see in the daytime. Iúnika will know you.”
“If you are afraid, I will go alone,” said Wus.
“No, if you go I will go, too.”
It was just dark when they got to Tsmuk’s house. Wus made his eyes
bright and told Pap not to look at him.
“What can you do?” asked Pap.
Wus turned his body dark blue, and Pap couldn’t see him. “Where are
you?” he asked.
“I am right here,” said Wus. “Now do you think I can do things? You can
go home. I will go into the house. If I get into trouble, I will come
back to you.”
Wus went into Tsmuk’s house and sat down by Iúnika. He was as dark as
she was. When he touched her she screamed; she knew Wus was there.
Wus was scared; he ran out of the house and back to Pap’s.
Pap was afraid that old man Tsmuk would blame him, so he left his wife
and went home with Wus (that is why there are Paps in Oregon; there
were none there till that man went home with Wus).
They didn’t camp on the road; they traveled day and night.
Old woman Wus was glad to see her son. She said: “Blaiwas is angry
about his sister.”
“Why does he blame me?” asked Wus. “I have traveled over a great many
mountains. I have not been around here. I started long ago. What does
he say?”
“He says that you killed Kûlta and his wife.”
“I am not going to stay here,” said Wus. “I am going to travel around.”
After that he and Pap wandered from place to place. The old woman
stayed at home.