36. THE MAN WHO MARRIED COLD'S DAUGHTER.
(continued)She told him what the fourth test would be. She said, "My father will send my mother for my elder sister and myself, and he will place us together. We are exactly alike, and you will have to point out which of us is the one you want for your wife. If you choose my elder sister, you will die. Look into our eyes, and I shall wink. Thus you will recognize me." Cold set the fourth task. The youth looked into the eyes of the sisters, and chose correctly.1
Then Cold said, "You have performed all the tasks. Now you are my son-in-law. Go to my daughter's house, and live with her. You must not attempt to leave or take her away." In the house of each sister was a flute which played by itself. When they were at home, it played sweet music loudly; when they were out, it played faintly and discordantly; when they were away a certain distance, the music stopped entirely. Thus their parents knew when they were at home, and they could not go away without being discovered. For two years the youth lived with his wife, and they had a son, who grew very fast. The boy cried for his grandparents. The young woman asked her husband if his parents were alive, and inquired about his relatives. He told her that his parents were living, and that he had two younger sisters, three younger brothers, and many other relatives. She said, "Let us go to them! Our child cries all the time to see them." He was afraid, because he thought they might be killed. He also thought his wife might be killed by his relatives, who were Heat people. At last, however, he agreed. He told the flute in the house to keep on playing, and they all left. When the music stopped, Cold sent his wife to find out what had happened. She came back, and reported that the young people were gone. Cold sent his wife in pursuit. The young man was now far away. He was using his staff as a guide to lead him home. His wife said, "My mother is pursuing us, and will soon overtake us. I shall transform you." She changed him into an old duck, their child into a duckling, and herself into a lake. Her mother arrived, and saw nothing but a small lake with two ducks on it. She returned, and told her husband, who said, "Those were our children. Our daughter is strong in magic, and has deceived you." He sent her out again. When she was about to overtake them, the girl changed her husband and child into a gray-haired and bent old man and a little child, and herself into an old decayed loghouse. The mother asked the man if any one had passed that way; and he answered, "We have been here for a great many years; we have grown up and gotten old here, but we have never seen any one passing." The mother returned, and told her husband what she had seen. He said, "They have deceived you again." She gave chase; and when about to overtake them, the girl changed her child into a priest, her husband into a bishop, and herself into a church. Her mother came into the church, and asked the bishop if they had seen any one pass. He answered, " I never lie. I tell you, we have seen no one come here. You can ask the priest; he also never lies." She returned, and reported to her husband what she had seen. He said to her, "They deceive you every time. I shall go myself. Soon they will reach the country of the Heat people." She said, "If you go, you will kill everything, even our daughter. Everything will freeze up where you go."
After he had started, the girl said, "Now, my father is pursuing us. I can do nothing against him. He will overtake us and kill us. He is very cold, and he is angry now." Heat-Man said, "We are near the house of my parents. Let me deal with your father!" They had barely reached the house, when Cold appeared behind them. The north wind blew with snow-storms. It blew harder and harder, and it became intensely cold. The Heat people became sick. Heat Man pulled out his staff and set it up in the lodge, but nevertheless Cold was freezing them. Ice was forming around the house, and all were about to die. Then Heat-Man cried to his father (or grandfather), "We are perishing! Cold is killing us!" Then the old man Heat drew the Chinook wind from a bag which he carried at the right side, and the air became warm. The ice melted, and the people revived. Cold saw that he was beaten; but he remained, trying to win the contest. He became sick. Heat said to him, "I have overcome you. You shall never again get angry. You shall return to your country and live there. Your daughter shall not go back." Cold pleaded, saying, " I love my daughter. May I not come once a year and see her for a short time?" Heat chief agreed: therefore Cold now comes once a year to see his daughter, and stays for a short time. Then it is winter. He never grows very angry, and therefore the winters are not hard. If the old chief Heat had not granted the desire of Cold to visit his daughter, we should now have no winter. Heat Man had told his wife how kind and good his friends the Heat people were, how everything loved them, how the salmon and the deer played in his country, how the birds sang and everything was green, how the grass grew and the flowers bloomed and leaves came out on the trees. Now she saw that what her husband had told her was true, and she loved the Heat people and their country. She did not wish to return to her people. Because Heat-Man had married Cold-Woman and had a son by her, therefore the Heat people's temper was lessened, and they became more moderate. Therefore some warm winds are not as hot as others, and none are unbearable. Heat-man's grandmother told him to keep the staff. He threw it into the river, and since then gold has been in the rivers. Because gold was associated with the Heat people, therefore, after a Chinook wind has blown, gold is more easily seen in the sand, and along the shores of the river. The Heat people were like the Indians. They liked the Indians, lived among them, and they intermarried. The Cold people were different, and never associated with the Indians. They were bad people.
1 Blackfoot PaAM 2 : 118; Assininboine PaAM 4 : 199; Arapaho FM 5 : 401, 410.
