[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people]
His father was a chief in Sealion-town. [658] His name was
Poor-chief’s-son. [659] One time his father was going to have a
potlatch. Then his father went to invite the Tsimshian. While he was
gone, Gasî′na-ᴀ′ndju [660] began to gamble. After he had gambled for
some time, he lost all of his father’s property. Then he put a bladder
full of grease into his gambling-stick bag. And he put it on his back
and went away.
After he had traveled for a while, he went in [661] at White-rocks. As
he went he ate all kinds of leaves. [662] Presently he wanted to
defecate, and he defecated at a rotten stump. And after that he again
went about eating leaves. After he had gone along for a while, he
passed over the bones of two human beings upon which moss was growing.
And, after he had gone on a while longer, he came to where two streams
flowed down from Djū′tcꜝîtga, [663] near which lay the fresh bones of
two persons. One stream was red. The other was blue. Djū′tcꜝîtga’s
manure made it red, they say, and his medicine made it blue. Those who
drank from the red one died there.
Then he took the grease out of his bladder, and he greased his insides.
Then he put his head into the blue one. After he had drunk for a while,
he lost consciousness. When he came to himself he was standing in front
of a big house with a two-headed house pole. And they told him to come
in. At once he entered.
The chief [664] in the house said to him: “News of you has come,
grandson. You gambled away all of your father’s potlatch property.”
Then the chief had a small box brought to him, and he took a hawk
feather out of it. Then he put it into the corner of his (the youth’s)
eye. After he had twisted it around there for a while, he pulled it out
and took out blood [665] and moss from it.
After he had finished both he said to him “Let me see your gambling
sticks,” and he gave them to him. He squeezed them. Then blood[665]
came out. And, after he had touched his lips to his hands, he cut
around the middle of one of them with his finger nail. It was red. And
he said to him: “Its name shall be Coming-out-ten-times.” And, after he
had touched his lips to his hands again, he cut around on another of
them near the end. The end of it was red. Then he said: “Its name shall
be Sticking-into-the-clouds.”
As soon as he brought out his gambling sticks to him, he named them. He
continued to name them: “Thing-always-carried-along,”
“Always-running-off,” “Bloody-nose,”
“Shaking-his-head-as-he-goes-along,” “Common-one,” “Rattling-bone,”
“Elderberry-roots,” and “Russet-backed-thrush” (?). [666]
Large canoes were piled up in the corner of his house. That meant that
the Tsimshian had come during his absence. And two young fellows who
looked transparent were in his house. He said that one should go with
him. “This one will go with you. He will take away your djîl when you
gamble first. [667] Do not choose the fine cedar bark out of which
smoke comes. Take that that has no smoke. After you have counted seven,
take the one out of which smoke comes. Then begin with
‘Coming-out-ten-times.’” After he had got through telling this to him,
he said to him: “Go home.” Lo! he awoke.
Then he went out at the same place where he had started in. Below the
stump from which he had defecated lay a sea otter. He looked at the
sea. The sea otter was drifting shoreward. Then he went down to it,
took it, and dried it. And he went from there to Sealion-town.
When he had almost reached it, he came to some dogs fighting with each
other for a gambling-stick bag which lay on the left side of the place
where the broad, red trail came out. The dogs fought for the fat which
was in it. And he looked into it. A small copper was in it. He took it,
and he came home.
And he came to the ten canoes of the Tsimshian who had arrived. He went
in to his mother and ate as usual. He also drank water.
Next day gambling began. He went out and staked the sea otter. They
tried to get ahead of one another in playing for it. The Tsimshian
wanted to gamble with him. Then one came to gamble with him. The
Tsimshian handled the sticks first. And he did not take the one which
smoked. After he had counted seven he took the one which smoked. He got
the djîl.
Then he took up “Coming-out-ten-times” as they had told him. [They
said] “He is losing as he always does.” Then he handled the sticks. He
counted ten. He had “Sticking-into-the-clouds” and this one [besides
his blank] left. [668] With them he won. He stopped missing it. He
handled the sticks. Then he held the blank over his shoulder. He took
it away. [669] They did not see it.
He won every single thing from the Tsimshian. After he had all of their
property he also won their canoes. By and by a little old man behind
the crowd of his opponents, who had just bathed and had the right side
of his face marked with paint, wanted to gamble with him. And, after
they had staked property, the Tsimshian handled the sticks. Smoke came
out of both heaps of cedar bark. Then he selected that which smoked the
most. He got one of those with many marks. [670] And he handled them
again. He took the one with the smaller smoke. Again he got one of
those with many marks. It was a good day for him (the Tsimshian). That
was why he (Gasî′na-ᴀ′ndju) could not see his djîl. He was the only one
who beat him.
Then his father’s potlatch was over. They gave the Tsimshian their
canoes. Then he had the breast of his son tattooed. He had the figure
of a cormorant put on him. He had its neck run through him. He had its
wings laid on each side of his shoulders. He had its beak put on his
breast. On his back he had its tail put. He was the only Raven who had
the cormorant for a crest. No one had it that way afterward. The
Tsimshian went home.
He had his father’s house pole made like Djū′tcꜝîtga’s. At that time he
named the house “Two-headed-house.” The Seaward-Sqoā′ładas own the
gambling-stick names.
All Haida families do not have distinctive family myths as is the case
among the Kwakiutl and Bella Coola. Some, however, have stories telling
how they obtained the right to certain names, crests, etc., and the
following is one of that number. It explains the origin of the names
employed by the Seaward-Sqoā′ładas, a Raven family of Skidegate inlet,
for the sticks in their gambling sets, and at the same time how the
Sealion-town people, an Eagle family, obtained the right to a certain
style of house pole with two heads. One of the old Kaisun houses,
Na-qā′dji-stîns, “Two-headed-house,” was named from a pole of this kind
which stood in front of it.