10. Wî'wag*êsawê?.

Tradition of the Lê'LEgêd, a clan of the ?wâlas Kwâ'g*ûl.

(Dictated by Yâ'gôLas, 1900)

The people lived at Xukwê'k*în. They staid at the salmon-weir. Then they went up river to see whether salmon were jumping. Then one jumped. Wî'wag*êsawê? started and went up the river to look at his salmon-weir. The fish went right into his salmon-weir. It was a sockeye. Then he went on up the river to look for jumping salmon. Then he saw two jumping. He walked up the river to look at his salmon-weir. Then two were in his trap. He took them and roasted them. Day came again. He went on up the river to look for jumping salmon. Then

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three were jumping. He went up the river and looked at his salmon-weir, and three were in it. He took them and roasted them. And day came again. He went up the river. Then he discovered a pretty woman on the trail. He went right up to her. "I will have you for wife," he said. "Yes, I will have you for husband," said the woman. Then Wî'wag*êsawê? sat down on the ground and put his arms around the neck of the woman. He waited to cohabit with her. Then they cohabited.

Then Wî'wag*êsawê? arose. "Come, and let us go home."--"Go on," said the woman. Then Wî'wag*êsawê? started and turned his head back, and there was a big frog sitting on four coppers; and he went home and sat down in the house. Then his stomach was sick. Night came, and he had a swollen belly. His belly sounded. Frogs whistled in the belly of Wî'wag*êsawê?. Then he was brought to Land-Slide, the frogs being in his belly. He continued to groan on account of the sickness of his belly. Then (a whale) was heard blowing, and the noise arrived the beach. A man who had a cape on went up from the beach. "What is the matter with you!"--"Has it not unfortunately gone wrong with me? I tried in vain to get supernatural power. Behold! it was she who is named Copper-Noise-Woman. I tried to get her for my supernatural treasure." Then the man said, on his part, "Put me on your body. Do you recognize me?" said the man. "I am Property-Noise. I am Whale." A whale was the man. He had only come and struck the beach and landed. Then he treated Wî'wag*êsawê? with medicine, and squeezed out the belly of Wî'wag*êsawê?. There were a great many frogs. Then he did away with them all. "Now you are alive," he was told by the Whale. "Have you no x*ûlê?" said the Whale. "What is called x*ûlê?" said, on his part, Wî'wag*êsawê?. "This, that belongs to the

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salmon."--"Oh! this is salmon-roe," said, on his part, to the Whale. "Now I am going," said the Whale. "Now your name shall be Property-Body. Now your name shall be Reef. These shall be your names. Go to the place where you came from."

Then Wî'wag*êsawê? went up the river to his place, K*!â'lk*!ämEndzês. There was no salmon. Then he went up the river, walking along the rocks. Then he discovered people at the salmon-weir. He shouted to them, "What are you doing at my river?"--"Is that your river?" said the men. "Is it yours?" said Wî'wag*êsawê?. "It is ours," said the men. "But what is the name of your river?"--"You are foolish that you want me to say this, that I should give the names of my salmon-weirs. Isn't this G*îp!ä'? Isn't that Dâ'yuxwîwê^?? Is not that on the other Tsê'sk*as? These are my salmon-weirs. To what tribe do you belong--you funny fellows?"--"Are we not Ravens?"--"Oh, wonder! really the river is yours. Now I will go up to my traps." Then he followed the Ravens to his river at Xukwê'k*in.

Then he went down the river, and built a house at the lower side. He made a house site and dug up the ground, and he made an embankment of soil; and the house site of the Ravens was called K*!î'msê?las.