7. The Crane

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Crane, Coyote, and Heron lived together. Every day they went digging clams until the flood-tide set in. One day Coyote said: "How many Oq!ô'xôL have you for your sweethearts?" Crane replied: "Two canoes full and some must walk." Coyote said: "How few sweet hearts you have! I have five canoes full and some must walk." Heron remained silent. Five days they dug clams, and the nights they slept on a prairie. When Crane was sleepy Coyote rose and cried: "An Oq!ô'xôL comes down to the beach!" Crane shouted; he had fallen asleep. Then Coyote said: "I have only deceived you," He did so often. Now they fell asleep. Then Oq!ô'xôL came to the beach and put them into her basket. She put Coyote at the bottom, Crane in the middle, and Heron on top. She carried them inland. Now Heron awoke. He took hold of a branch and hung there. When the monster had gone a long distance Coyote awoke. He looked around but remained quiet. Then Crane awoke. He shouted, but Coyote said: "Be quiet, be quiet, the monster carries us away." She brought them to her house and to her children. One she had lost. Then she said to her eldest daughter: "Go and get two spits; bring straight huckleberry sticks." Her daughter went out. Then Coyote said to his friend: "Bend your neck when she is about to roast you." When the spit was brought Crane bent his neck. Then she said to her daughter: "Bring a crooked spit." Coyote said: "When a crooked spit is brought, stretch out your neck." The girl brought a crooked spit, then Crane stretched out his neck." Five times the girl, the daughter of Oq!ô'xôL, went; then she became tired. Oq!ô'xôL said: "We will make them our

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slaves." At that time Crane's tail was half a fathom long. Coyote said to him: "Look here! We will deceive her, I shall sing my conjurer's song and you will help me." They gathered pitchwood and when the house was fall Coyote sang his conjurer's song. He put the snake on as a headband. He said to Crane: "I will put the snake on your head as a headband." Then Crane shouted; he was afraid. Now Coyote sang his conjurer's song. Four nights they remained awake; on the fifth night Oq!ô'xôL and her children fell asleep. Then be took a digging stick and rammed it into the ground so that only the handle remained visible. He tied the hair of Oq!ô'xôL and of her children to the digging stick. Then they went out and lit the Louse. Crane's tail caught fire. Then Coyote said to him: "Stay on this prairie." Crane did so and the prairie caught fire. "Stay in this fern." He did so and it caught fire. "Stay in this dry wood." He did so and it caught fire. At last Crane's tail was wholly burnt. Then Coyote thought: "Stay in the water." Thus Crane's tail was burnt. Now the monster caught fire. She awoke and saw her house burning. She said to her children: "Rise, Coyote will burn our house." She wanted to rise, but her hair pulled her back. She and her children were all burnt.

Now Coyote and Crane went to Nix*kElâ'x. They went up the river to its rapids. Then they built a house. Coyote made holes in the stones and said: "Perhaps fall salmon will jump into my hole. Silver-side salmon will jump into my hole. Calico salmon will jump into my hole. All kinds of fish will jump into my hole." Crane made a harpoon shaft and a harpoon and stood near the water. When a male fall salmon or a silver-side salmon passed him, he speared them. He caught many fish. Then he split them. Every day he did so. Bad fall salmon and female silver-side salmon jumped into Coyote's hole. Sometimes a good one would jump into it. Now their house was full of fish. The dry salmon of Crane was fat. When Coyote looked up his salmon was all grey and no fat was on it. Coyote thought: "I will kill him and take his dry salmon." Now he sang his conjurer's song and Crane helped him. Coyote had a large baton. Crane stretched out his neck when he helped Coyote. Then he struck at his neck, but Crane bent it. Coyote was ashamed because he had missed him. Crane put all his dry fish into a basket. So did Coyote. They were angry with one another. Crane and Coyote were angry. Crane carried his dry salmon on his back. He came back several times until he had carried them all. Coyote, however, was too lazy to carry them on his back. He placed all those fish in a row. The trail led across the hill to Nix*kElâ'x. Coyote thought: "I shall try to drive them." He put a roe into his quiver which he hung over his shoulder. Then he drove his fish. Crane had already gone down the river. The trail went a little downhill when it approached the river. Now Coyote drove the baskets in which his fish were. When they came near the water, they

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began to roll rapidly. The first basket arrived at the river and rolled into it. The next one arrived at the river and rolled into it. All rolled into the river. He ran after them in order to hold them. He took hold of his fish, but he was pulled into the water by the roe in his quiver. Then he took off his arrows and went ashore. All his fish had disappeared. Then he said: "I think the people shall do thus: When they move from one place to the other they shall not drive their food. Even I could not do it. They shall work and become tired, carrying it on their backs when they move." That is the story; to-morrow it will be good weather.