"Oh, my brother," said the smaller one, "we are very thirsty."
Their hair was clipped close to their heads. Tulchuherris stepped back
toward the north, struck the ground with his heel, and clear, cold
water sprang up in a stream. He drank himself, and said, "Come and
drink."
The first of these strangers was Anakurita (orphan), the second
Biahori (lone man); only these two were left of all people in those
parts. Sas had killed all the rest. "The last of our relatives were
killed at this spring," said they. "We alone are left. We are going
home."
"If you come here again," said Tulchuherris, "do not go near the
spring at the house. That is a bad place. Drink this good water which
I have given you."
The two went away. Tulchuherris put the sharp end of his bone through
the heads of the snakes which the dogs had killed, there were hundreds
of them. The ten grizzly bears he carried home in one hand.
"I have something outside," said he to Sas's daughters. "You call them
birds, I believe; they are all the birds that I found at the brush
house. Tell your father to look at them."
Sas went out and began to cry. He enlarged his wife's grave and buried
them. "These are my children," said he; and he sang and danced as
before.
Sas rose early next morning. "My son-in-law," said he, "your wives ask
me to get fish for them, but I am too old. When I was young I used to
fish, but now I cannot see. You are young; I will show you a good
place for trout. My old pole and spear points are there; you may use
them."
They started, came to a river with a bridge over it formed of one
hair. "My brother," said Winishuyat, "this is a place where Sas has
killed many of our people."
"My son-in-law," said Sas, "cross this bridge and catch fish; I will
go home."
"Very well," answered Tulchuherris, who put his foot on the end of the
bridge and crossed with one spring. On the other side he went to the
fishing-hut, fixed so that a man could look up and down the river
while fishing. Tulchuherris had his own spear-shaft, a sky-pole; the
string was a sky-strap. He had his own point, too.
He waited for fish, and at last saw something come slowly from the
south. It stopped, and then looked at him. Tulchuherris saw a face and
a head with long hair tied in a knot with a band of woodpeckers'
scalps, a long band wound around many times. Tulchuherris wore just
such a band, but the scalps were of mountain woodpeckers.
"Ah, my brother-in-law," called out the person in the water, "let us
exchange headdresses."
"I am sorry for you, my brother-in-law," said Tulchuherris. "I hate to
kill you, but I must, for my father-in-law sent me to kill you."
"Go ahead, go ahead," said Winishuyat. "Don't spare him. Sas says he
is a fish. He is Sas's son, Supchit. You must catch him or suffer."
Supchit turned, as it were, to go back. Tulchuherris hurled the pole,
speared him under the arm, and the point went through to his other
side. Supchit rushed toward the east with great force. Tulchuherris
held to the spear with one hand, grasped tule grass with the other,
used all his strength. Then he let the spear go, and held the strap.
Though strong, he could not stop Supchit. He was drawn into the water
to his waist, then to his breast, and at last to his chin.
"My brother," said Winishuyat, "do you wish to drown? Call your
gopher"--he had a gopher in his moccasin--"send him to fill up the
escapes, to block all the doors to Supchit's houses."
Tulchuherris sent his gopher to fill every hole, all Supchit's doors.
Sas was at home now. He heard the great struggle, and said,--
"Oh, Tulchuherris, my son will finish you. This is your last day."
The gopher stopped every opening, and Supchit went from place to
place. Every door was closed. He had to stay. Tulchuherris came out of
the water little by little, and pulled till he drew Supchit to the
bank, where he died. He carried him home in one hand, as if he had
been a small fish.
"My father-in-law," said Tulchuherris, "I saw no fish except one
little trout. I speared and brought home that little trout."
Sas went out; the two sisters went. "That is our brother!" cried they.
"That is my son," called out Sas, "the best son I had."
The old man buried Supchit with his head north, looking southward, and
sang the same song that he had sung for his wife and the grizzlies.
Sas and his daughters cut their hair in grief over Supchit.
"My son-in-law," said Sas, next morning early, "be up; I will show you
a place where I used to play often when I was young. I am old now, and
cannot play much, but I will show you the place, and I may play with
you a little."
"I will go," said Tulchuherris; and they started.
"Now, my brother," said Winishuyat, "we are going to the place where
Sas himself has always killed everyone who baffled him elsewhere. No
man has ever escaped from the place to which Sas is now taking you. He
will take you to a tree; he will ask you to climb it; he will bend it
and let it spring back again; he will kill you if you are not
careful."
They went to a very wide, level plain; in the middle of the plain
stood a tremendous, big pine-tree, leaning to one side somewhat.
"My son-in-law," said Sas, "when I was young I used to play here. I
cannot play much now, but I'll show you how to play."
"My brother," said Winishuyat, "I will tell you what to do. Sas will
try his best now to kill us. Do not kill him to-day; try him, lead him
on, make him go higher and higher on the tree, and wait till
to-morrow."
Sas climbed the tree some distance and said: "Now, my son-in-law, I am
ready!"
Tulchuherris seized the top of the tree, pulled it toward him a
little, and let it fly back. Sas kept his hold and slipped down.
"Now, my son-in-law, go up; go higher. I used to go very high when I
was young like you." Tulchuherris went to where Sas had been.
"Go higher," said Sas.
"I wanted to stay where you were," answered Tulchuherris; "but I will
go a little higher."
Sas took hold of the tree at the top, pulled it to the earth, and let
it go. It sprang back into the sky with a noise like thunder.
Tulchuherris held on and slipped down unhurt.
"Well, father-in-law," said Tulchuherris, "try again."
"I cannot go high," said Sas; "but I will go a little higher than I
did the first time. Don't give the tree a big pull." He went up.
"Go higher," said Tulchuherris.
"My son-in-law, I cannot go higher; I am old."
Tulchuherris teased him till he went a little higher; then he gave a
harder pull than before. Sas held on without trouble and slipped to
the ground.
"Now," said Sas, "I'll give you a swing." Tulchuherris went up.
"Go higher," said Sas. He went higher.
"Go higher; you are young," urged Sas.
"I don't like to go up," said Tulchuherris. But he went a little
higher.
Old Sas gave a good pull, stronger than before. Tulchuherris held on
and came to the ground safely. Going to one side, he said: "Whu, whu!
let this day be made short!" So the day was made short; evening came
soon.
"Well, father-in-law, you try now."
"Very well," said Sas, "give me a small pull; my arms tremble; I am
old. I cannot hold on, I am so weak." Old Sas went up.
"Go higher," said Tulchuherris.
"I cannot; I'm old."
Tulchuherris pulled down the top of the tree, but not so far. While
he was pulling, Sas said: "Oh, my son-in-law, don't let it go hard."
Tulchuherris gave a pull that would leave Sas on the tree, and he came
down unhurt.
"Now try once more," said Sas, "and we will go home."
"Very well," answered Tulchuherris.
"Now, my brother," said Winishuyat, "this is the last time to-day. He
will try hard to kill you. Jump off before he lets the tree go."
Tulchuherris went up two-thirds of the way. Sas pulled the tree to the
ground and thought that he would kill Tulchuherris surely; but just
before he let it go, Tulchuherris slipped off behind him and rushed
away. The tree flew up with the noise of heavy thunder. Sas looked
everywhere, but could not see Tulchuherris.
"Now, Tulchuherris," said he, "I have finished you at last. You are
nobody, you are dead;" and he started to go home, talking to himself
as he went.
"Father-in-law, what are you saying, to whom are you talking?"
Sas turned around, amazed. "Oh, my son-in-law, I am glad that you are
here. We must go home. We have no wood; we must get wood."
Tulchuherris thought: "My father-in-law wants to kill me. To-morrow I
will do what I can to kill him. When my grandmother spoke to me of
Sas, I knew nothing; I paid no heed to her. When she warned me, I did
not listen, I did not believe; but I see now that she spoke truly when
she told me of Sas's house."
He rose in the night, turned toward Sas, and said: "Whu! whu! I want
you, Sas, to sleep soundly."
Then he reached his right hand toward the west, toward his
grandmother's, and a stick came on it. He carved and painted the stick
beautifully, red and black, and made a fire-drill. Then he reached his
left hand toward the east, and wood for a mokos (arrow-straightener)
came on it. He made the mokos and asked the fox dog for a fox-skin.
The fox gave it. Of this he made a headband and painted it red. All
these things he put in his quiver.
"We are ready," said Tulchuherris. "Now, Daylight, I wish you to come
right away, to come quickly."
Daylight came. Sas rose, and they started soon after for the tree.
"My son-in-law, I will go first," said Sas; and he climbed the tree.
"Go higher!" said Tulchuherris. "I will not give a great pull, go up
higher."
He went high, and Tulchuherris did not give a hard pull. Sas came down
safely.
Tulchuherris now went high, almost to the top. Sas looked at him, saw
that he was near the top, and then drew the great pine almost to the
earth, standing with his back to the top of the tree. Tulchuherris
sprang off behind Sas and ran away into the field. The tree sprang
into the sky with a roar.
"You are killed now, my son-in-law," said Sas. "You will not trouble
me hereafter!" He talked on to himself, and was glad.
"What are you saying, father-in-law?" asked Tulchuherris, coming up
from behind.
Sas turned. "Oh, my son-in-law, I was afraid that I had hurt you. I
was sorry."
"Now, my brother," said Winishuyat, "Sas will kill you unless you kill
him. At midday he will kill you surely, unless you kill him. Are we
not as strong as Sas?"
"Father-in-law, try again; then I will go to the very top and beat
you," said Tulchuherris.
That morning Sas's elder daughter said to her sister, after Sas and
Tulchuherris had gone,--
"My sister, our father Sas has tried all people, and has conquered all
of them so far; but to-day he will not conquer, to-day he will die. I
know this; do not look for him to-day, he will not come back; he will
never come back to us."
Sas went up high. "I will kill him now," thought Tulchuherris, and he
was sorry; still he cried: "Go a little higher; I went higher, I will
go to the top next time. I will not hurt you, go a little higher."
Sas went higher and higher, till at last he said, "I cannot climb any
more, I am at the top; don't give a big pull, my son-in-law."
Tulchuherris took hold of the tree with one hand, pulled it as far as
it would bend, pulled it till it touched the earth, and then let it
fly. When the tree rushed toward the sky, it made an awful noise, and
soon after a crash was heard, a hundred times louder than any thunder.
All living things heard it. The whole sky and earth shook. Olelbis,
who lives in the highest place, heard it. All living things said,--
"Tulchuherris is killing his father-in-law. Tulchuherris has split
Sas."
The awful noise was the splitting of Sas.
Tulchuherris stood waiting, waited three hours, perhaps, after the
earth stopped trembling: then, far up in the sky he heard a voice,
saying,--
"Oh, my son-in-law, I am split, I am dead. I thought that I was the
strongest power living; but I am not. From this time on I shall say
Tulchuherris is the greatest power in the world."
Tulchuherris could not see any one. He only heard a voice far up in
the sky, saying,--
"My son-in-law, I will ask you for a few things. Will you give me your
fox-skin headband?"
Tulchuherris put his hand into his fox-skin quiver, took out the band,
and tossed it to him. It went straight up to Sas, and he caught it.
"Now will you give me your mokos?" Tulchuherris took out the mokos and
threw it. "Give me your fire-drill!" He threw that.
Another voice was heard now, not so loud: "I wish you would give me a
headband of white quartz." This voice was the smaller part of Sas.