8. Ênts!X

p. 119

Ênts!X's grandmother was Upê'qciuc. She always asked him to go elk hunting. Early every morning he started, but he killed only chipmunks and squirrels; sometimes he killed mice. Oftentimes he went and stayed on a prairie. He shouted: "Come down from the woods, elk! we will fight, we will dance." Down came the rabbit. "You are the one I have called, your ears are like spoons with long handles." Then the rabbit cried and went back. Then he called again: "Come down from the woods, elk! we will fight, we will dance." Down came a deer. "You are the one I have called, your eyes are like huckleberries." Then the deer cried and went back. He called again: "Come down from the woods, elk! we will fight, we will dance." Down came a female elk. "You are the one whom I have called!" He called again: "Come down from the woods, elk! we will fight, we will dance." Then a male elk came down. Now Êntsx danced and sang: "Where shall I go into him? Where shall I go into him? I think I will go into his mouth. No, he will spit and I shall get full of saliva. I think I will go into his nostrils. No he will snort and I shall get full of mucus. I think I will go into his ear. No, he will shake himself and I shall fall down. I think I shall go into his anus. No, he will defecate and I shall get full of excrements." After some time he entered his anus. Now he cut his stomach to pieces. After a little while the elk fell down and died. Then Êntsx skinned and dissected it. He cut off the hind-legs; he cut off the fore-legs. He cut off the head, the neck, the ribs, and the rump bone. Then he went home. When he came to his grandmother he said: "I killed an elk, grandmother!" "Perhaps it was a mouse." "No, it has horns, it has horns, it is an elk." "Then perhaps it was a snail." "No, no, I killed an elk, an elk." "Perhaps it was a chipmunk." "No, no, I killed an elk, an elk." "Perhaps it was a squirrel." Then she got tired and they went into the woods. They arrived at the place where the elk lay. Êntsx asked: "What do you want to carry, grandmother? Do you want to carry its head?" "It will pull me down headlong, grandson." "What do you want to carry, grandmother? Do you want to carry its neck?" "It will pull me down headlong, grandson." "What do you want to carry, grandmother? Do you want to carry its hind-legs?" "They will pull me down headlong, grandson." "What do you want to carry, grandmother? Do you want to carry its fore-legs?" "They will pull me down headlong, grandson." "What do you want to carry, grandmother? Do you want to carry its breast?" "It will pull me down headlong, grandson." "What do you want to carry, grandmother? Do you want to carry its back?" "It will pull me down headlong, grandson." "What do you want to carry, grandmother? Do you want to carry its rump bone?" "Tie it tip, tie it up, grandson." Then he tied it up, she put it up, she raised it on her back. The old

p. 120

woman ran ahead of her grandson, who carried the rest of the elk. They went home. After a little while he came near his grandmother, who had put her load on the ground and pushed it to and fro, singing at the same time.

He reached her and asked: "What are you doing there, grandmother?" "It pulled me down headlong, grandson." Then she took it again on her back and ran. He went on. Then he saw her again sitting down and pushing her load to and fro and singing. [He asked:] "What are you doing there, grandmother?" "It pulled me down headlong, grandson." Five times he overtook her, when they reached home.

[Êntsx said:] "Now go and bring some water, grandmother, we will boil the elk." His grandmother took five buckets and went out. She went a short distance, urinated and filled all the buckets. Then she went home. Her grandson asked her: "Where did you get that water, grandmother?" She named a river. Then he took up another bucket and asked: Where did you get this water, grandmother?" "This I took from the upper fork of Bear creek," she replied. Thus she named a new creek for each bucket.

Now they boiled the elk. The old woman turned her back toward the fire and made holes in Êntsx's shell spoons, wooden spoons, and born dishes. When the food was done they took it away from the fire. Êntsx said: "Bring me my shell spoon which I used when I was a child." "There is a hole in it, grandson." "Then give me my wooden spoon which I used when I was a child." "There is a hole in it, grandson." "Then give me the spoon made of mountain-sheep horn." "There is a hole in it, grandson." "Then give me my toy canoes which I used when I was a child." "There are holes in them, grandson."

"Have they all holes?" he said. Then he took the boiling food and poured it over his grandmother,. She was scalded and her legs and arms became doubled up. Then he rolled her up in the elk skin, threw her into the river and she drifted down to a place where Winter Robin and Blue-Jay were fishing with a dipnet.

Robin saw an elk skin drifting down and said: "Ah! an elk comes down to me." Then Blue-Jay said: "Robin, do you hear? they call us?" Then Robin said: "Ah! an elk comes down to me." Then Blue-Jay said: "Ah! hahahaha." Five times Robin said: "An elk comes down to me." Then Blue-Jay understood what he said and called himself: "Ah! an elk comes down to me." "Where does it come?" [Blue-Jay pointed out.] "Here, here, here" [pointing in all directions because he did not see it]. Then they saw the elk and took it. They put it into their canoe [and saw that] it was tied up. They unfastened the strings and [out came] their aunt. "Oh, behold our aunt!" "How shall we wail for her, Robin?" Then Robin sung: "O Êntsx, Êntsx, he killed her, he killed her, our aunt, our aunt." "That is a good song," said Blue-Jay. Now they went home, and when they came near their

p. 121

town they began to wail. Oh, the poor ones, how they do wail?" said the people. They sang: "Êntsx, Êntsx, he killed her, he killed her, our aunt, our aunt." They landed and the people went down to see them. Then they carried the body of Upê'qciuc up to the house. They tried to cure her. After a while she recovered. Then they asked her: "What [?]." She named [a bird]. "She named the eldest one," said Blue-Jay. "Pull his canoes into the water." Again they asked her. She named Robin. "She named the eldest one," said Blue-Jay. She named all the people. Last of all she named Blue-Jay. Now they launched his canoes and they went to make war upon Ênts!x. Two canoes full of people went.

They went a long distance and met two people asleep, a man and a woman. Blue-Jay went ashore. He took the man by his hair in his right hand and he took the woman in his left. Then he took them to his canoe and made them his slaves. When they traveled along these two persons were dancing [in Blue-Jay's canoe]. The latter said: "Robin! These two persons were our grandfather's slaves; they always carried me on the, back and led you by the hand. They were our great-great-grandfather's slaves." "Iä-a, they are only your slaves. Do you think that I do not know my slaves?" replied Robin. "Pshaw! he is older than I am and does not remember it!" Now the two persons danced and sang: "Near the trees we always dance, watlala guyu, guyu, guyu, guyu."

Then Blue-Jay said: "They always say: 'Close to the trees, close to the trees'". "Iä" replied Robin, "thus they will run away from you." And indeed so it happened. [When they got a little farther they came to] a tree which hung over the water. [The man and the woman] jumped up and escaped by running [over the tree]. Blue-Jay ran in pursuit. He came inland. Then he called anah, anah. When he came back to the canoe his legs were full of blood [and he said to his brother Robin]: "Why did you not go inland? They nearly killed me. That man took hold of my head and the woman struck my legs." [Robin laughed and replied:] "Iä, they were the squirrel and chipmunk whom you caught."

They traveled on. They went a long distance and met one man who was sitting in his canoe. He fished with a dipnet. Blue-Jay said: "My nephew, you have a pretty canoe." "I borrowed it." "My nephew, you have a pretty paddle." "I borrowed it." "My nephew, you have a pretty bailer." "I borrowed it." "My nephew, you have a pretty dip-net." "I borrowed it." "My nephew, you have a pretty mat in your canoe." "I borrowed it." [Then Blue-Jay got angry and said:] "Do you borrow everything?" He took hold of his head and threw him into his canoe. He said: "Give me that rope and I will tie him." [The man whom he had caught replied:] "I shall scratch your ropes to pieces." [Then Blue-Jay said:] "Give me a rope of spruce limbs." "I shall scratch it to pieces." "What shall I take to

p. 122

tie him with? Give me strings of dentalia. "I shall scratch them to pieces. "Ha, ha, ha," he cried then; "sea-grass, sea-grass!" "Give me sea-grass, give me sea-grass, quick Robin." Now he tied the hands and the feet of that man. Then he threw him into the water. The water began to boil where they had thrown him down. [Blue-jay cried:] "O, my nephew, he scolds. I killed my nephew." [Robin remarked:] "Iä, he is laughing at you here." "Pshaw, a man does not laugh when he is thrown into the water" [said Blue-Jay].

Now the people went on, and after awhile they saw a person who held arrows in his hands. [He said:] "Tell me the news, Blue-Jay!" "I have nothing to tell you, only that I threw my relative down there into the water." "I am the one," said that person. "Iä," cried Robin, "that is the one whom you threw into the water."

They went on to Ênts!x's house. They surrounded it and set it on fire. When it began to burn Ênts!x flew out through a knothole. When the, whole house was burnt, Blue-Jay found a [mink's] head. "Oh that is Ênts!x's head!" he shouted. But Robin said: be went out already." Now the people went home and left Ênts!x.