III. The Lost Brother

Yana Texts, by Edward Sapir, [1910], at sacred-texts.com

III. THE LOST BROTHER. ³³⁹

Pine Marten's brother Weasel was stolen by Lizard (k!uwi'lla). Pine Marten was living at Big Bend. ³⁴⁰ He went out to hunt and left Weasel at home. He told him to hide under the edge of the sweat-house roof. Weasel did so. By and by something came into the house saying, "Tsä, tsä, tsä." Weasel looked and saw that it was Lizard. Weasel thought Lizard very pretty, jumped out, and played with him. He gave him fat to eat. As Lizard ate more and more, he grew bigger and bigger. Weasel was seared and began to cry. Lizard put Weasel in his quiver and went off.

Pine Marten came back. "Where are you, my brother?" he said. There was no answer. He knew he was stolen, and cried all night. He hunted for him everywhere; he asked all things where he was, but in vain. Mouse had an arrow of tules that was very long. Pine Marten took this and leaned it up against the sky. He climbed up, reached the sky, and traveled to the east. He made a fire in the trail, and saw Moon coming traveling

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to the west. He had a basket on his back and carried two daughters in it. As he walked he said, "Wahāki, wahāki." Frost came out of his nostrils. Moon came along, saw Pine Marten, and stopped. He said, "Well, son-in-law," and put down his basket. He. came up to the fire. Pine Marten said, "It's cold. Father-in-law, I'll throw you up into the sky. I came to ask you something, for you ought to see everything. Have you seen my brother?" "Yes," said Moon. "See over there, somebody is being hung up by Lizard." Pine Marten asked Moon what he should give him as a gift. Would Moon have beads? "No!" Pine Marten then asked if he would have red and blue ones; Moon said, "Yes." Pine Marten gave them to him, and we see them as a halo around the moon. Moon told Pine Marten to go back to the earth, to the place where he had seen Weasel. He did so, went back to his house.

Lizard went out of his house, went south to get pitch-wood in order to cook Weasel, whom he was going to kill. Pine Marten slipped out of his house and followed; Coyote came also. He made himself into an old woman. He called for a basket and beads; they came, and he made himself look like a woman. He wore a tasseled buckskin apron. He came up to Lizard; Lizard could not seem to split the wood well, he knew that some one was watching. Coyote began to cry out; Lizard heard and thought it was Coyote fooling him. Coyote came up and said, "I am your aunt. I hear you stole Pine Marten's brother and are going to kill him. I hear you are going to have a big dance." Lizard answered, "Coyote, you are trying to fool me." Coyote answered, "No, I'm not Coyote. I'm your old aunt." Lizard then believed him.

Coyote cried for pitch and asked for fire. He asked if Lizard wanted to eat, as he had some bread in his basket. Lizard said, "No, there is going to be a big dance." He made up a big load of wood. Pine Marten was far off, watching. He blew "hw+, hw+," toward Lizard, made it very cold. Lizard said, "I'm cold. I'll go and get warm." He tried to lift the load of wood, but it was so heavy that he could not, for Pine Marten had said as he blew, "Be heavy!" Coyote offered to push it upon his back. So he came up behind and made believe to get ready for lifting

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the load. But instead he gave the ground a great kick; it opened and Lizard and his load of wood went down out of sight. All the people at Lizard's house heard Lizard fall down into the ground. All said "ī, ī" and thought their chief was dead. But the Spider Woman said, "No. I made the noise by hitting the ground with my acorn pestle."

Pine Marten now came up to where Lizard was buried. He dug him up, skinned him, and put on his hide. He went to Lizard's house. The people inside said, "That must be a stranger." Another said, "No, it's our chief." Lizard had eight or nine wives, ducks. When Lizard used to come home, he used to drink three baskets of hot water. Pine Marten called for them, but drank only two. This made the people think that there was some trick. All got up and began to cry out. Pine Marten whipped them, so they all became quiet.

Night came. Weasel was hanging up close by the post of the house, and was to be killed that night. Pine Marten took him down, however, and left only a shadow of him hanging there, to fool the people. He put Weasel in his quiver. Pine Marten then asked all the people to come to a big sweat. All sweated, then sat down. Pine Marten said, "Let us dance. Then we will sleep." They did so. Then Pine Marten said, "Let us sleep," and blew "hw+, hw+." All fell at once into a deep sleep. Pine Marten then put pitch all over the house, inside and out. Then he set it afire at the smoke-hole and at the door. He jumped out himself. All the people were burned but one woman, a duck.

Footnotes

214:337 That is "wished" for it by means of his supernatural power.

214:338 Pitch was daubed on the face as a sign of mourning.

214:339 Compare the Pit River myth in Dixon, "Achomawi and Atsugewi Tales," Journ. Amer. Folk-lore, XXI, 167, 168.

214:340 See note 245.