"Is this Sehinom Chabatu's house? I cannot find him. He is not among
these people. Perhaps this is not his house at all. I should like to
see Sehinom Chabatu. If he is brave, he will come out. I am Sutunut."
Others cried, "I am Hus!" "I am Chutuhl!" "I am Koip!" "I want to see
Sehinom Chabatu!"
All the people outside were killed now, except Chir Chuma. The
Siriwits had carried him home. Sehinom Chabatu was left in the
sweat-house. It was about the middle of the forenoon when all were
killed, and the strangers set fire to the sweat-house. There was a log
at each side of the door for people to sit on. Sehinom went into the
ground, and came out under the log on the left side. He dug forward,
as the fire moved, till he came near the end of the log. It was burned
out now except a very short piece. He stopped under that.
Sutunut's people stood around watching for him.
"We should like to know where he is," said they. "The sweat-house is
burned. He was not there or he would have run out." They pushed the
cinders about,--found no trace of his bones. "He cannot be under this
log," said one man; but he did not touch the burning log.
At last, about dark, when the log was burned almost to the very end,
Sutunut and all his people went away.
Sehinom Chabatu heard everything they said. When they had gone and all
was silent, he crept out from under the ground; he saw his friends
lying dead, the houses destroyed, and the sweat-house burned down. He
cried all night,--mourned for his friends, mourned until daylight. At
daylight he walked around everywhere; looked at the ruins; did not
know what to do; walked around again and again.
Just before sunrise he heard something and stopped to listen. There
was a sound like the cry of a little dog. He looked, and saw at last a
piece of bark of the yellow pine. The noise came from under that bark.
"What can be under this bark?" thought Sehinom, and turning it over he
found two little boys lying in each other's arms and crying. He
stooped down and took them up.
"Now, brother," said one of them, "we had luck. We hid here and
escaped."
They were Tsudi boys. Sehinom Chabatu took the boys to care for them.
He buried all the people he could find, took the two little boys, and
went up Pui Mem to get kopus wood for arrows. He found the wood,
brought it home, and made four hundred arrows. Then he made five bows
of yew wood.
The two boys grew very fast. Sehinom gave a bow and forty arrows to
each of them and said,--
"I wish you could do something for me, but you are so small I don't
like to send you."
"We can go wherever you send us," said the elder boy.
"Well, my little brother," said Sehinom next morning, "go and tell my
two sisters, Kawas Loimis in Waiti Nomken to come here. Tell them that
I am hungry, that I have nothing to eat. Say that I am starving. Tell
them to bring food to me. From my sisters go to my brother Kichuna; he
lives at Kenwinis Pom. Go next to Wai Hau, at Hau Buli, then to Nomel
Hiwili at Waiel Nomeltos. Go to Dokos Hilit; you will find his house
by inquiring; from there to my father-in-law, Nom Sowiwi. Tell these
people to come to me and bring all their forces."
Then, turning to the other brother, he said: "I will send you, my
little brother, down south. I want you to go to Tidok Kiemila at Tidok
Waisono. This old man and his people have plenty of feather dresses
for war. Go to the Tede Wiu brothers; go to Hokohas Herit. Go eastward
to Dokos Herit, at Dokos Hleï Puriton; go to Kaisus at Kaisansi
Haraston, tell all to come to-morrow and bring their people."
The elder Tsudi brother came back in the evening. "Your sisters will
come to-morrow morning," said he, "and the others will all come."
The younger brother came back a little later. "All the people will
come to-morrow morning," said he: "all the Hokohas people with their
elkskins, all the Tidok people will come with their feather
headdresses. When I went to the Tede Wiu brothers, they said: 'Sehinom
Chabatu has great trouble.' I said: 'He has, indeed; my brother and I
are all that are left.' 'He is our brother,' said they; 'we must help
him.'"
Next morning the two Kawas sisters came, bringing many things. Each
brought two elkskins and a great many arrows and otter-skins.
"Now, brother, eat and feed the two little boys," said they, taking
out food.
People began to come. They came from every direction, from all sides.
All that day they poured in; in the evening and night they kept
coming. Sehinom Chabatu had to wait some days for all to come. The
Kawas sisters had food for every one.
"We heard that you were killed," said the Tede Wiu brothers when they
came. "We are glad to see you living."
"I am alone," said Sehinom. "I do not know what saved me. All my
people were killed except these two little boys."
The Tede Wiu brothers were the first to come from the south. Next came
the Tidok people. They came in crowds, in thousands, and every one had
a feather net on his head. They began to come in the morning, and kept
coming all day, all night, on the morrow, and second night, without
stopping. They came without stopping for twelve days and nights, they
came till there was no room for them anywhere around. More Tidoks
remained at home than came, and more Tidoks came than all other people
put together.
"You people," said Sehinom Chabatu, when all had come, "I did not
cause this war and fighting. I did not begin. The war was made by the
Tede Wiu brothers and Norbis."
"Now, my brothers," said Sehinom Chabatu to the Tede Wiu brothers,
"people far off talk of me; but you caused the trouble. You began it,
and you must do your best to help me. We must leave here to-morrow
morning."
They started next morning early. Sehinom Chabatu gave orders to travel
in parties. They moved toward the southeast. The last party of the
first day left in the evening. When night came the van of the army
camped and the rear marched all night.
When Sutunut's forces came northward from the edge of the sky in the
south to attack Sehinom's people, they made a trail coming and going.
Now, Sehinom's army followed this trail. They travelled the second day
till they reached a camping-place of the returning southern army.
There they spent the night. At noon of the third day they sent Kaisus
and Bulibok ahead to look for the enemy. They went to the south. On
the following morning they came back and said,--
"We found a cañon where they camped; you can camp there."
The army moved on. The two Kawas sisters had food to give the whole
army; the two baskets were never empty, and all had enough.
They stayed three days in the cañon, and the Tidok people never
stopped coming.
"We have far to go; you must hurry," said Sehinom next day; and the
Tidok forces began to travel faster. Sehinom sent forward Hus as a
scout. Before daybreak all rose and travelled till evening. Hus came
back and said,--
"I have been very far down. I found another place where they camped. I
went farther south then, till I saw fire and smoke far away. We can
rest to-night in their camping-place."
"Sleep well, all you people," said Sehinom Chabatu that night; "you
must be fresh to-morrow morning."
Next morning Hus was sent forward again, and the army started soon
after. They travelled all day. At sunset Hus came back and said,--
"I found the next camping-place; it is not far from here. Then I went
south a great way till I came to a hill which runs east and west. I
went to the top of that hill and looked down. On a broad flat I saw
fires and a great many people. Their camp is very wide from east to
west, and runs south as far as my eyes could see. Now, our friends, I
have seen the enemy; we must do the best we can."
When they reached the camping-place Sehinom said: "We will rest here
to-morrow, not travel till the next day."
On the second morning they rose and started early, went slowly,
resting occasionally. About sunset they came to the hill and camped on
the north side of it.
"I want to send some one to see how many people there are in that
camp," said Sehinom Chabatu.
Bulibok went. On the end of the ridge was a tree with one limb
sticking out toward the east. Bulibok went on that tree, sat on the
limb, and looked down. He saw the people moving around, playing, and
dancing. He could see a long distance. Pretty soon people below, who
were looking around everywhere, saw Bulibok, and one of them asked,--
"What is that sitting on the limb up there?"
"I don't know," answered another. "It looks like some person. Let us
throw at it and see if it will move."
Notudui Ulumus, who always wore a sling around his head, took it off,
put a stone in it, and said,--
"There must be some one there. I have never seen that thing on a limb
before."
"Oh, that is nothing; that is always there," said others.
"I have never seen anything there before. I will sling a stone at it."
Notudui hurled a stone, which just passed Bulibok's head; he didn't
move. Notudui hurled another stone, almost grazed Bulibok's nose, but
he never moved.
"Oh, that is a part of the limb," said some of the people: "it sticks
up in that way."
"A man would move if a stone came so near him," said others.
"That is somebody; that is somebody watching us," cried a third party;
and they disputed. The people watched for a while, but Bulibok sat
there as motionless as the limb till, tired of watching, they went
away, and forgot all about him. He slipped down from the tree then,
went home, and said,--
"I sat on a tree, saw everything, and know now the best way to go.
People saw me and hurled stones. They came near hitting me twice, but
I did not stir, and they let me go."
"Now, my people," said Sehinom Chabatu, "this war was not made by me.
I hate to take you to a place like that which is before us, but we
must go there. I will go first; I will go alone and look at the
place." He mounted the ridge, and from the top of it went underground
till he came out in the chief house of the enemy. Then, thrusting his
head up, he looked and saw a great many people. Soon someone saw him
and said,--
"Why do you people not watch? Sehinom Chabatu may come. You say that
he is dead--that you burned him to death in the sweat-house; but I
don't believe that you killed him."
"Oh, he is dead long ago. We killed him; we burned him!"
Sehinom stuck out his head a second time. Again some one saw him and
asked,--
"What is that over there? Maybe it is Sehinom Chabatu. I think he
might come."
"Oh, he is dead long ago. Let's throw at that and see what it is."
Some one hurled a stone. It grazed Sehinom's nose and he dropped into
the ground. "That is only a squirrel!" said a number of people,
"Sehinom Chabatu is dead."