17. Ckulkulô'L

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There was Ckulkulô'L [the salmon-harpoon] and his elder sister. Once upon a time the latter said to her brother: Do as the other people do and catch steel-head salmon." Now he did so. He made a harpoon. On the day after he had finished it his sister went digging roots. Now he went to catch salmon. He speared a steel-head salmon and went home. When he arrived at home he roasted it and when it was done he said: "I will give the head to my sister to eat. No, else she will get a fish's head. I will give the belly to my sister to eat. No, else she will get a fish's belly. I will give the back to my sister to eat. No, else she will get a fish's back. I will give its tail to my sister to eat. No, else she will get a fish's tail." Now he ate the whole fish. He ate the belly, he ate the back, he ate its tail. Then he lay down to sleep. Now his elder sister came home. Her brother was asleep. She heated stones and roasted the roots. Then she gave them to him to eat.

On the next morning she went again digging roots. After some time her younger brother arose and went to catch salmon. After some time be speared a large steel-head salmon. "Ah, Ckulkulô'L behold! he does not give anything to his sister," said the people. His sister thought: "Oh, they make fun of my poor brother." Now Ckulkulô'L went home. When he arrived he roasted his salmon. It was done. Then he said: "I will give the head to my sister to eat" [etc., three times, as above].

Now she smelled the smell of grease in their house. On the next morning she went again digging roots. Then her brother went again to catch salmon. Again she heard: "How large is Ckulkulô'L's salmon!" "Oh, perhaps they make fun of my poor brother." Then Ckulkulô'L speared a salmon and went home. When he arrived he roasted it. Now its head was done. He said: "I will give the head to my sister to eat. No, else she will get a fish's head. I will give the belly to my sister to eat. No, else she will get a fish's belly. I will give the back to my sister to eat. No, else she will get a fish's back. I will give its tail to my sister to eat. No, else she will get a fish's tail." Now he ate the whole fish. He ate the back; he ate the tail. Then he lay down to sleep. Now his elder sister went home. When she came home she heated stones and roasted her potentilla roots. When they were done she gave them to her younger brother. Now she found some grease in the house. "Oh, indeed! Behold how he acted against me. He never gave me anything to eat." Now she found a salmon-egg in his mouth. She placed it on top of a shelf. Then she gave him the roots. Then she took that salmon egg and gave it to him. "Oh, somebody gave this to me." When he saw it he became afraid. "Look, she found me out." On the next morning she made herself ready and said to her younger brother: "Leave the house."

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[paragraph continues] Then he arose. "Your name shall be Humming-Bird. Henceforth you shall not eat steel-head salmon." Then she went away and left him.

She went and went. She went a long distance. Then she saw a house. She entered and roasted ten roots in the ashes of the fire. Then she took a salmon roe and ate it. Then a man arrived who took her and struck her [on the nape]. The salmon roe fell [out of her month]. She was ashamed and went out of the house. She went again a long distance. Then she saw another house. She went and opened the door. The house was full of dried salmon. When she had stayed a little while a steel-head salmon fell down. She took it and put it back. It fell down again. She took it and put it back again. Now she roasted ten roots in the ashes of the fire. She lost two of them. She searched and searched, but did not find them. Now a salmon roe fell down. She took it again and put it back. After some time a man arrived. Then the fire crackled. He said, "Ah." The fire crackled again, and he said once more, "Ah. Heh, why did you not take the food which she offered to you? She took two of your roots and you searched for them in her month. Do you think the man whom you met was a human being? Fish-hawk is the name of that danger." Now she became pregnant. She gave birth to a boy. Now the child cried and the man put it on top of the fire. She gave one jump and took the child. "Ah, why do you put our child into the fire?" "Why do you take it away from the old woman? She will look after it." He continued: "When you gather wood go only this way. Do not go down the river." Now she did so, and gathered wood only above the house. Now one day there was no wood above the house. She had taken it all. Then she went down the river. She found a long stick and broke it. It was red where she had broken it. She broke it again and it bled. Three times she broke it audit bled profusely. She went home. When she opened the door she saw her husband lying there. He had three [deep] wounds. Now her child cried. She blew the fire, but it was extinguished. Then she took her child and left.

After she had gone a long distance she became tired. "I will desert my child," she thought. "I will leave it here." She carried it to a maple and left it. Then she went far away. Now a man was working at a canoe [nearby]. He heard a child crying and searched for it. He found it and carried it to a place near his house. Then he went into the house, and said to his wife: "I found a child. Feign to be pregnant." Thus they deceived their daughter. They said to her: "Your mother begins to be in labor. Perhaps she will give birth to a child." Then their daughter stayed there. But when it was almost morning she fell asleep. Then he fetched the child. [He said to his daughter:] "Arise, your brother has been born." Then his daughter arose. "Ah, my brother," she said. Now, the boy grew up, and [his father] made arrows for him. He went about following his sister. She was bad and said:

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[paragraph continues] "You are not my brother. My father found you. You are the salmon spear's son." Then her brother became angry. When they came home, he said: "She always says the salmon-spear is my father." Her father said: "Naxaxâ'x, why do you always say so to your brother? "He took a stick and whipped her. Now the boy became tired [of her teasing and thought]: "I will kill her." On the next morning they went again. Then he shot her several times and she was dead. He left her, but when he turned round she followed him again. Now he became a youth. One day he dreamt: "If you want to kill her, you must break her finger. Then a round thing will jump out of it, and that you must squeeze to pieces. Then she will die. She will say: 'Kill me!'" On the next morning they went again. Then he killed her at a stone. He cut her finger and a round thing jumped out of it. He squeezed it and she said: "Kill me" [but he squeezed the round thing to pieces]. Now she was dead and he left her.

He went a long distance. Now he [assumed the shape of] a spotted dog. He came to a place where there were many women. They said: "See, how pretty is that dog. Let us take him! "They called him often, but he did not allow himself to be taken. Now only their chieftainess [had not tried]. They said: "Now you call the dog." She called him. He went to her and she took him. Then the women went home. They said: "Oh, we found a dog; our chieftainess took him." Then Blue-Jay said: "I will go to see him." He entered her house and saw the dog. He took a bone and offered it to him, but he did not eat it. Then he struck him. [The chieftainess said:] "Let my dog go; you will kill him." Then Blue-Jay went home and said to his elder brother: "Robin, that is a man and not a dog." "Oh, be quiet, do you think you alone can see?" "Ha, he is the elder one, and he ought to know everything sooner than I," retorted Blue-Jay. After about three days Blue-Jay went again. He entered the house and saw the dog eating gamass. Then Blue-Jay took a stick and struck him. "O, my poor dog," said that woman. Then Blue-Jay went home and said to his elder brother: "He is a man, Robin, he eats gamass." When it got dark the dog said to his wife: "Blue-Jay makes me tired. He will break my bones. I shall throw away my dog-skin blanket." At night he threw it away. When it got day again he had another blanket. Now Blue Jay came in. [When he saw him, he said:] "Eh, I said he was a man and Robin would not believe me." Now he remained there.