[Told by John Sky of Those-born-at-Skedans]
There lay Flat-slope [107] town. At that time there was sickness in the
place. Da′tcꜝi-kî′lsʟas’s [108] daughter,
Woman-whose-feet-make-a-thunderous-noise, owned a knife that shut up.
[109] Then Woman-whose-feet-make-a-thunderous-noise died at
Tcixodᴀ′lx̣a. [110] They said that something carried her off on account
of the knife. They then took the body of
Woman-whose-feet-make-a-thunderous-noise to Flat-slope town. They also
said that the knife belonged to Pestilence, [111] and they took it to
the middle of the inlet. They then put feathers on it and let it sink
easily into the water. On account of the knife they owned the sea
water. [112]
Some time after that Tꜝā′giao began hunting with dogs. One time, while
he was going after his dogs, the bear turned upon him. Then the bear
pulled the skin of his head from him. They went out and got him. And
they brought him away. They laid his body away, and again they owned
the sea, the land, and all the inlets. [113]
Then the Common-food-steamers [114] gave them a plate of copper for
their inlet. He was Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn’s son. [115] He was the one [the bear]
killed at Kꜝial. And a woman of the Town-of-Cumshewa people [116] also
gave a plate of copper to Those-born-at-Skedans for her inlet.
After that Skî′ltꜝakîñañ [117] began to hunt with dogs. And his dogs
began barking at something at Łg̣a-i. [118] While he was following them
his leg slipped into some [crevice]. His leg was scraped to the bone.
He died there. And again they claimed the sea water, the inlets, and
the land. The Common-food-steamers put out another copper plate for
G̣ałî′ns, [119] and the Town-of-Cumshewa woman put out another copper
plate for Qa′na.[119] They claimed all the islands along with them.
There was no land lying vacant.
Some time after that Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn again came there (to Skedans) to live.
And he had a daughter, Flowing-property, [120] when they settled at
Skedans. After that Flowing-property went to Skedans bay for something.
And a woman of the Witch people [121] went with her. A woman of the
Common-food-steamers[114] also went with her. While they were going
along they upset. Then Flowing-property, with the woman of the Witch
people, was drowned. Then the people wept, wept, wept. Presently they
sent food to them through the fire, and in the same house laid claim to
the sea and the islands. [122] Those-born-at-Skedans owned them.
After the death of Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn another Wā′nᴀg̣ᴀn who came to live in his
place had Gîtko′na [123] as his son. It was he who built [the house]
Gutkwa′-ida. [124] Gîtko′na married a woman of
Those-born-at-Qꜝā′dᴀsg̣o-creek. [125]
One day he went out to hunt seal on Gwai′ya. [126] When he went with
his spear for some hair seal that lay on the rocks, outside of the hair
seal lay a small killer whale with two dorsal fins and white stripes.
It looked pretty. And he speared it.
And, when the killer whale wriggled away from the spear, it went along
the surface of the sea blowing. It went under at Corner-of-mouth. [127]
They fled at once. When they came abreast of Gwī′g̣ᴀl [128] all the
broad water was crowded with killer whales. They were jumping over the
canoes. He looked southward. The surface of the sea was covered. He
looked northward. It was the same. The mats [129] rolled toward him and
stopped near by. The stringers[129] also stood up on end and fell close
to them. Tcꜝa′g̣ᴀnsqꜝa′gida-i[129] also fell near by.
After they had fled for some time they landed at Gwī′g̣ᴀl. They then
turned over the canoe among the driftwood. At that time the killer
whales were jumping about upon their tails on the dry land. By and by
they (his comrades) said to Gîtko′na: “Come, let us try to do
something.” Big killer whales lay in the canoe cove. At that time they
took out tobacco for them. When they laid it down with calcined shells
behind it the g̣ō′tgadugᴀmłg̣al [130] took it into its mouth. The big
creature at once moved seaward. Immediately, all vanished into the
ocean.
When they got home the shamans did not say anything good about him.
They said he had better not go anywhere on the ocean for four years. He
had struck the son of Corner-of-mouth. The shamans told his father and
himself that the supernatural beings were talking about him—whether
they would let him fall from a steep place, or let him fell a tree upon
himself, or let him capsize. The shamans said that they would give him
up at the end of four years. During all that time he did not go out to
sea for anything. During all that time he did not go after anything at
all.
Skilanʟî′nda spoke to him as follows: “I see something strange near
you, and I will break something you love.” [131] One day they made a
box for him. He kicked it. The box then burst. Gîtko′na at once lay
down in bed [for sorrow].
While he still lay there a white animal [132] swam into Skedans harbor.
He at once told his father not to allow anyone to go to it. So his
father directed. Then he set out after it with three canoe companions.
They pursued it. After he had shot at it in the inside of the harbor
for a while it led him out. At the same time a fog enveloped him. They
then beat drums for him and they threw skids one against another. After
two foggy nights had passed it cleared in the morning. Then some went
toward Lake inlet. [133] Some also went to Rock-point. [134] They
picked up his paddle. They again owned the sea. They again owned the
land.
After that his father died, and G̣oa′łdao took his place. [135] His son
was Lg̣akꜝia′o. At that time they went to Gwai′ya to fish. He (the son)
begged some boys to accompany him thither. And they went out in a
crowd. Then, as soon as they had taken out hadja, [136] they plucked
off their feathers and made fun of them.
After they had been doing this for some time they went to
I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as [137] after ʟꜝkꜝia′o. [138] They then let down
Lg̣akꜝia′o into a crevice. After he had taken off ʟꜝkꜝia′o and given
them to the children for a while he tried to get out. The walls were
jammed in against his head. The tide was coming up to him.
They at once carried the news to his parents. His parents immediately
took hides, paints, and feathers and went thither. They then started a
fire there and put these into it, and talked [through the fire] to
I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as. [139] They asked to have him let out. When all the
property was destroyed the crevice became large and they pulled him out
of it. They (supernatural beings) started to take him because he made
fun of the hadja of I′ʟꜝga-i-ᴀ′ndjusg̣as.
After that they again went for birds. Then again, as soon as they had
plucked the hadja, they let them fly away. They made fun of them. While
they were going along the edge of a cliff Lg̣akꜝia′o fell down. And he
fell from the cliff. When he was caught halfway down they told him not
to move. But still he did move, and fell again. That time he was
smashed to pieces below.
Then, when the children went home, his father told them not to enter
their houses. At once the parents of the children gave him property.
They paid him many moose skins. They then set him (i.e., his body) up
there. They made four posts for his grave. [140] It is the one on [a
post of] which there is a tree. After that boys stopped playing with
boys of Those-born-at-Skedans, because they had paid for this injury.
[141]
Before that a woman of Those-born-at-Skedans became a shaman. When she
began to perform she told her father to tie a dancing skirt upon her.
Her father did so. The supernatural power spoke to her. He promised her
ten whales.
After she had fasted for a while she went out, and something made a
noise near by, such as a person makes between his lips. When she looked
toward the noise she saw some mussels. Those were the souls of whales.
She said they were going to be in Skedans creek. After ten nights had
passed they went to look. Whales floated there. There was a row of
them. They found ten whales in the creek. Even at this day their
vertebræ are to be seen there.
They said something against a supernatural power which was walking on
the seaweed [on an island owned by Those-born-at-Skedans]. One day a
certain person entered Gutkwā′-ida and said: “Some one is walking about
on Island-that-turns-about-with-the-tide.” [142] She then went out and
called toward it: “Who is it on that island, A′wiya kūdā′lła.” [143]
Then, they launched a canoe quickly, and went over to look. There was
nothing on it to be seen. And when they got back they wept much in
Gutkwā′-ida.[124] She had spoken against the supernatural being. She
died.
This was told by the best story-teller in Skidegate, himself a member
of that family. It was that division to which the town chief of Kloo
belonged, and was reputed to be one of the most powerful Eagle families
on the islands. Part of the family lived at Skedans, and, as may be
inferred from the story itself, the town chief of that place was
generally father of the town chief of Kloo, who therefore lived at
Skedans before assuming his position at Kloo itself.