[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns.]
The Skidegate people went once to trade at Port Simpson [796] in sixty
canoes. The Pebble-town people [797] also went there. And they traded
with dry halibut. They lived outside. There a Tsimshian, who was with a
white man, came to them. Sticks were given around to them (the Haida).
And afterward he took the sticks back again. They planned to destroy
them during the winter. That was why they counted them.
A woman of the Gîtî′ns’-servants [798] named Bufflehead [799] sold dry
halibut to the wife of Lgiäx. [800] She said it was too small and she
wanted to exchange it for more. Bufflehead then refused to give her
more in exchange. And they threw the dry halibut at Bufflehead. She
then threw the dry halibut in the face of Lgiäx’s daughter, and she
went home crying.
Some one shouted, and I went out. They were throwing stones at each
other. They gave each other a thorough stoning. By and by they stopped.
And some time afterward a gun went off. Some one shouted: “They killed
so-and-so.” Some time after that another gun went off. Another was
shot. Then it stopped for a while. When evening came they began to
shoot at us. All through the night they shot at the Skidegate people.
During all that time they shouted out [the name of the person shot]. I
was then without a gun, and I borrowed one. I held it and two cartridge
boxes. They shot at the sail houses on the beach in which we lived.
There was nothing behind which we could shelter ourselves. Then I dug a
hole for myself in the sand and lay in it.
I then shot at some one who lay behind a log and was shooting, back
from the sea. I shot off his hat. When I shot at him again I shot his
gun away from him. He then ran away.
A hill lay behind us, from which they were shooting at us. I also began
to shoot at those. They also ran away. After they had shot at us for
five nights they stopped for a while.
Then the Tsimshian came to dance. They wanted to make peace because we
had killed Lgiäx’s nephew. We also enslaved two women who were walking
seaward from the town. By and by they started to dance. We then gave
them some property. After this had gone on for a while they made the
following arrangements. They said that we might go with them to
Laqꜝalā′m. And we said that we would give them more property. We
thought then that it was all right, and we went to our canoes. While a
part of the provisions lay on shore the Tsimshian took the provisions.
We then got into our canoes. I pushed my canoe off with the many which
were there. When the canoes got away two remained. I then ran toward
the fort at Port Simpson. [801] There was yet a crowd of Skidegate
people there. And, while I stood there, two canoes with the dancers
[802] in them were still there. Then the Tsimshian pursued. They shot
into the canoes, pulled themselves close alongside, and in a short time
they drifted along empty. Then, when the two that were there started
off, I ran down from in front of Port Simpson house. I jumped into the
stern. Then the two dancers[802] [in their canoes] paddled backward. I
took a gun and shot them both. At that time I scared them. Those who
first went off took their property. A south wind was blowing. Canoes
drifted off empty.
They then shot much at us from Laqꜝalā′m. There was no gun in my canoe.
After that they again shot at us. We then fled. During all that time
the Tsimshian pursued us. That was a great disaster, though the story
of it sounds well enough. They pursued us far out to sea. I was in my
wife’s canoe.
When they got far out at sea they returned. They enslaved very many of
the Skidegate people.
Then they (the Skidegate people) landed at ʟꜝg̣a′odana-i. [803] At that
time a heavy rain set in. They called it
“The-rain-upon-the-skins-of-dead-bodies.” And, when daylight came, I
built a big fire. Then the wounded sat around the fire. On the
following day, when we started off, a man of Those-born-at-House-point
[804] was angry, because, he said, we went off first. Then he and I
were going to shoot each other. They held us apart. And they went away.
And on the next day they stood crying in front of ʟꜝg̣a′odana-i. The
Pebble-town people did not cry, however, because all of them escaped.
Fifty canoe loads were destroyed. The weather was bad. And, while they
lay there, the one who had quarreled with me came to me and pulled up
his canoe alongside of ours. He then made peace with me. He gave me
whisky. And, after we had sent food through the fire to those who had
been unable to escape, we spent the night in our canoes. We remained
awake. We were afraid. We thought that they might pursue us again.
And when day broke we went away. About noon they sailed over to
Skidegate. They laid the blame on Bufflehead, who had escaped. They
then asked her for property. Her husband was named Lū′g̣ot. [805] Then
they began to give away property. He was about to make a potlatch. His
house pole lay there for good. He gave the town all of his property.
Some time afterward Gudiqā′yiñao’s father came back. They had been
unable to get away from Port Simpson house, whence they came. Before he
could ask for blood money the Gîtî′ns’-servants came there, with
paddles on their shoulders. They said that they had come to go to war
for him.
Some time afterward a great many Masset people went to trade. They came
to the Gyînxᴀngī′g [806] family. They say that there were sixty canoes.
After they had been there for a while they started off. And, after they
had traded, a Tsimshian shot at the canoes. The bullet then struck the
canoe of a man of the Point-town family [807] named X̣ᴀ′na.
His son then seized a gun and shot into a crowd standing on shore. And
he shot one down. They at once shot after them. They immediately
started off. The Tsimshian chased them. They made them upset by
shooting. They also destroyed them. They took them also for slaves.
They also enslaved many of the Rotten-house people. [808]
At that time they destroyed a canoe at Laxanē′st [809] out of which two
men and a woman escaped. Many nights afterward, when some persons came
there for wood, they got away in their canoes. And in them they came
across. They were saved.
Those in Port Simpson house who could not escape were afterward
presented with a canoe by the Iron people, [810] who let them escape.
Those also got home. Then, too, it was not a good time.
Gîtqōna′-i’s father went to Masset, and five families [811] banded
together and began to drink sea water. During the whole time they
practiced how they would fight. A cartridge box then caught fire, and a
man was burned.
After they had drunk sea water for six nights they set out to war in
ten canoes. And, when they reached the mainland, some stopped at
Qꜝadō′. [812] After they had looked for enemies on the opposite side as
well, [they saw] two canoes go out from Siwā′łins [813] after salmon.
They then quickly pulled toward them. They shot the man in the stern,
so that he fell over into the water, after which they closed with the
canoes. When they ran into them to fight they upset them. They then
even struck them in the sea. Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′lîña killed three people at that
time. The Tsimshian had killed his wife, of whom he was very fond. Four
persons were in the canoe. They also destroyed two canoe loads which
were farther off.
After they had watched for a while longer [they saw] three more canoes
sailing along. They killed all the people in those. They took the heads
of them all. After they had watched for some time longer two canoes
came with sockeyes. They went out also to those people and killed them.
On that day they destroyed seven canoes. On that day they killed
twenty-eight people. They enslaved one brave man of the Tsimshian.
The Masset people were then happy. They went off singing songs of
victory. And they came to Masset singing songs of victory, for they had
made accounts even. But the Skidegate people did not come out even.
But Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′lîña’s canoe was unfinished. When he had finished it he
brought over to his brothers-in-law at Gᴀsa′n [814] the news that their
sister had been killed. His brothers-in-law belonged to the Sand-town
people. [815] When he came they, too, raised their canoes. He also went
with them. The Sand-town people went in four canoes.
They then began to watch Tcꜝidᴀlqꜝeda′-i. [816] After they had watched
for a while four Tsimshian canoes came there. They then shot at them.
They made them upset, and they enslaved six women. They killed many
men. There Gî′tg̣ax̣ī′lîña got some slaves. He gave them to his
brothers-in-law. Afterward they went home happy. They sang songs of
victory as they came to Gᴀsa′n.
Three days later news came to Gᴀsa′n that one of the Yä′dᴀs [817] had
been killed at Howkan. [818] The Yä′dᴀs then went to Howkan to fight,
and killed six people there. And afterward the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people
also went to fight at Gᴀsa′n. There they also killed many of the
Yä′dᴀs. They then began to war upon each other. In all that time many
were killed on both sides.
Some time afterward some of the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał [819] people went to
visit one of their friends who had married in Masset. After they had
stayed there for a while and were on the way home many of them upset. A
chief named Voice-at-evening was drowned. In the winter his nephews
went for his grave post. When it was almost finished the Yä′dᴀs came
there to fight and killed five of the Town-of-Tcꜝā′ał people. The grave
post lay there for good.
They at once began fighting again. Wherever they met they killed one
another. They killed each other during many years. They did not make
peace with one another. Some are still bad to one another.
Some time afterward news came that one of the Sqoā′ładas [820] had
killed one of the Cod-people [821] at Kꜝiū′stᴀ. [822] He was a great
chief. He had a house hole at Tꜝī′g̣ᴀn. [823] His nephews then killed a
shaman, Tcꜝā′nūt, belonging to the Sa′gua-lā′nas. [824] They shot ten
bullets into him. He was town chief. He owned the town of Qᴀñ. After
they had shot him and had walked around him for a while one of his
bunches of matted hair, which was lying on the ground, rose up and lay
over his head. It went on in that way until all came to lie over his
head.
When the Sqoā′ładas on the west coast heard that they had killed Gîtkū′
[825] they also went to war. They killed many of the Cod-people. They
also enslaved one of them.
After that one of the Sg̣adjī′gua-ał-lā′nas [826] in Masset, named
Kiłtcꜝāñ, invited the people. And he had a dance. He pulled out ten
slaves that he owned in a string [holding each other’s hands]. After
they had taken home food one of the Middle-gîtî′ns [827] named Łnē′kꜝî,
shot one of the Cod-people in the arm from between the houses. Upon
this his two younger brothers acted as if they were drunk. They killed
there a chief, Gā′la. He belonged to the Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i. [828] He did
not die at once. He died afterward. His entire family shot at once at
the house of the Cod-people. They killed two persons.
For ten days and nights they fought in the town. No one had a fire. No
one had water. When the chiefs’ wives, thinking that they would not
touch them, went for water the Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i smashed their buckets
with stones, and they returned. At the end of ten days the
Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i suggested making peace. They then stopped shooting at
the house.
By and by an old man, their uncle, came behind the town singing
catastrophe songs. He belonged to the Cod-people. After he had sung for
a while he made a good speech: “Chiefs, my brothers-in-law, the war
trail and the feather trail came out together at Na-i î′ndjawa in the
middle of the town. I went up by the war trail. I came out upon the
feather trail. ‘What town is this? What town is this?’ ‘Chief, my son,
this is the town of Gā′la, your father. You started up on the war trail
which comes out in the middle of your father’s town. Your fathers were
troubled [829] about you. You came out upon the feather trail.’” He
also spake so: “Is it my father’s town? Is it indeed my father’s town?
[I thought it was] some other.” [830]
They then started to dance. After they had been for two days in the
woods, they were called toward the house. They came then and stood in a
line in front of the house. They had their guns ready. Presently the
Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i stood in lines opposite. They struck each other with
their guns. They struck each other with their knives.
By and by the Cod-people picked up two chiefs [of the
Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i]. [831] There was a great crowd of people. They picked
them up and laid them upon a bed of feathers in the rear part of the
house. Then two slaves were tendered as blood money to
Those-born-at-Ya′gun. [832] And they refused them. They afterward
tendered them two more. Those they refused also.
Then Tcꜝā′nut said: “Do I ask four slaves of you? My uncle is worth ten
slaves and four hundred blankets. I will not dance.” There were many in
the house. They did not pay any attention to the bad words that he gave
them. [833]
By and by the Middle-gîtî′ns began rapping on the front of the house.
They presently went in and got the dancers. They took them up. They
then brought them into the house of the Middle-gîtî′ns because they had
started the trouble. [834] They brought these in [to give to them
property]. They (the Middle-gîtî′ns) gave them the four slaves. They
also gave them a great quantity of property. They (the
Ya′gun-gîtîna′-i) began to dance in the house at once.
At that time the Gîtî′ns [835] also gave property to them. It reached
beyond their expectations. After they had danced for four nights the
Cod-people came and got them. They also gave them six slaves as blood
money. And they washed their faces and began to dance. Then the
Skîtg̣a′oqao, [836] Middle-gîtî′ns, and Cod-people gave them more
property. They gave them seven hundred blankets.
Then Tcꜝā′nut married his uncle’s wife, and they made him take his
uncle’s place. And, when he kept staying away from his wife, the
Middle-gîtî′ns talked roughly to him. After they had spoken to him for
a while they told him to leave the house.
But on the next day his wife had him call in his friends. He called in
all of the Eagles. After he had given them all kinds of food, and
evening was come, they left him. On the next day he called in the
Ravens. After he had fed them for a while it was evening, and they went
home. On the day after that he again called in the Eagles. After those
had gone home he again called in the Ravens. When eighty boxes of
grease and berries had been used up he invited the Eagles to ten more,
and they assigned while in the house the work on his uncle’s grave
post. [837]
They went to get it. After they had been four days away they came home.
My father carved the grave post at once. It was finished. He then
raised it, and the potlatch was over. He gave away four hundred
blankets, and slaves with them. They gave my father slaves and twenty
blankets for carving the grave post.
After that Tcꜝā′nut quarreled with his younger brother. He asked him
then why he had not evened accounts at the time when they killed his
uncle. And his younger brother made him ashamed. On that night he shot
one of the Cod-people through the smoke hole. Again they shot each
other. After two days had passed they stopped fighting. And they gave a
lot of property for [the one killed]. They made them feel good then.