Sacred Texts Native American California Index Previous Next
At Mount Shasta he grew with his brother. He said to him, "Let us go visiting." They started out. They came to Nûndilwintediñ, one of the Salmon mountains. They fished in the lake with a hook and caught a water monster. They skinned him and went on.
When they had traveled some way the elder brother said, "You stay here. I will hide from you." He went on, and when his younger brother came along he jumped out of the brush dressed in the skin of the water monster. His brother almost died of fright. "That will answer," he said.
Then they went on until they came to Nadēiltcwûndiñ (Tule ranch). "You stay here," he said. "I will go on alone." He put on the water monster's skin. He took two elder sticks and removed the pith. Then he put his vitals inside of them, slipping one stick over the other.
He went on until he came to Xoñxauwdiñ (Masten ranch). He went into the house where two women were sitting. One of them said to him, "You better go back. This is the place that no one comes in." "No," he said. After a time he heard the men coming home. One ran in and threw the deer he was bringing onto the bank back of the fire. Again one ran in. Then
they kept coming in until the ninth had run in. Last of all the head-man came in. His eye was hot when he looked at him. He pulled out the fire-like arrow. "Here in my breast shoot me." said the visitor. He shot him in the breast. It felt very hot where he shot him. The guest jumped up. He jumped through the smoke-hole. "Stop, give me my arrow-point," said the one who shot. He jumped up river and across to the other side. He took out his vitals. One only of the elder sticks was burned through. Again he went on jumping along until he came to Nadēiltcwûndiñ. Then they started toward home.
The wound was so hot he was nearly burned. When they came to Weitchpec Butte he said, "I wonder how it will be when Indians come." He looked around and saw something standing 1 there. He pulled it up and chewed it. He became cold again. "This is the way it will be," he thought.
328:1 Told at Hupa, July 1902, by James Marshall. Compare pp. 117,118.
331:1 Woodwardia radicans.