[Told by my interpreter, Henry Moody, of Those-born-at-Qā′gials]
I. “Habababē⁺, here is younger brother [or sister] crying.” “Give your
younger brother the large clam’s head (qꜝoñg̣osqadjā′⁺) that I put away
for him.” “Where is younger brother?” “I do not know. I destroyed him
(qꜝoñg̣osqa′djîg̣ᴀn) as you told me to do.” [732]
II. Song-sparrow [733] lived with his grandmother. Whenever his
grandmother soaked salmon Grizzly-bear [734] stole the soaked salmon.
One day Song-sparrow saw Grizzly-bear doing this. He said then to his
grandmother: “Grandmother, I will kill him.” And his grandmother said
to him: “Do not try, my child; he will swallow you.” “That will be all
right, grandmother, for I shall have a fire drill in his belly.”
He then made a bow and arrows. The people did not like him and his
grandmother. By and by, when Grizzly-bear came there again, he shot
him. He did not know then what happened to him. And, when he was in his
belly, he came to himself. He then thought of his fire drill and made a
fire in his belly. When it burned it burned through his belly. And he
killed Grizzly-bear.
He then brought the news to his grandmother. “Grandmother, I have
killed Grizzly-bear.” And his grandmother told him that he lied. Then
he went again to it and cut some pieces from it. As soon as he showed
it to his grandmother his grandmother put on her belt. He and his
grandmother began at once to cut it up.
After they had taken all into the house he went to the neighboring town
for some live coals. When he came through the doorway they asked him:
“What do you come for, Song-sparrow?” And he said: “I come for live
coals, skia′ldjîgut skā′ldjigut skētcꜝē′gut.” [735] After he had said
this he spat out the blood of a piece of the grizzly bear that he had
in his mouth.
They were surprised at this, and the townspeople ran toward his house.
They took away at once all of the grizzly bear. As he also ran toward
it he said to his grandmother: “Grandmother, keep hold of the biggest
piece.” And, while he was running, they took all of his meat away.
After he and his grandmother had cried for a while his grandmother went
to sleep. Then, while his grandmother slept, he cut off his
grandmother’s vulva. And he put grease and feathers upon the place. He
then cooked this. And when it was cooked his grandmother woke up.
“Grandmother, get up. I found a small thing in the dirt of the trail
where they have been walking. I cooked it for you.” His grandmother got
up at once and ate it.
Then he took his grandmother’s urinal and went up to the top of the
house with it. And he used his grandmother’s urinal as a drum. He began
then to sing: “Ha′haha hē′eee, grandmother ate her cut-off vulva. In
the place [I put] grease. In the place [I put] feathers.” His
grandmother then used hard words toward him: “He was born at the roots
of the salmon-berry bushes. [736] He is a wizard. He was born at the
roots of the ferns.[736] He is a wizard.”
[The following version of the latter was obtained by Prof. Franz Boas]
Once upon a time a boy and his grandmother lived in a hut made of
twigs. The boy was always going out to shoot birds. One day he saw a
large bear, which he tried to kill with his arrows. Then the bear
snuffed him in. The old woman waited in vain for her grandson, and
finally thought he had died. The boy was not dead.
While he was in the bear’s stomach, he thought: “I wish grandmother’s
fire drill would come to me!” It came at once. He made a fire in the
bear’s stomach, which killed him. He then carved the carcass and
carried the meat to his grandmother’s house, which he filled entirely.
The old woman had no fire; therefore she sent her grandson to the town
to ask for some fire. Before he left he cut off a piece of the meat and
took it into his mouth. He then went to the door of one of the houses.
He put down a piece of skin near the fire, chewed the meat which he had
taken along, and spit the fat into the fire, so that it blazed up. The
people asked him: “What are you holding in your mouth?” He then showed
them the bear’s meat. Then they all went to his grandmother’s house,
and they received presents of meat and of fat. They distributed almost
all of it.
He then said to his grandmother: “Gather some fuel.” She did so, and
started a fire. Then the old woman fell asleep sitting near the fire.
While she was asleep the boy cut off a piece of her vulva and put down
upon the wound. When she woke the next morning he sent her again to
gather fuel; and, while she was away, he roasted at the fire the piece
that he had cut from her body. When his grandmother returned he said to
her: “I roasted a little of the bear meat for you.” She entered, and he
gave her her own flesh to eat. As soon as she had eaten it he ran out,
singing: “Grandmother ate her own vulva!”