When the animals reached the sky, they found themselves in a valley near a lake, where the people of the sky were fishing. Coyote wished to act as scout, but was captured. Then the Muskrat dug holes along the shore of the lake, and Beaver and Eagle1 set out to obtain the fire. Beaver entered one of the fish-traps and pretended to be dead. They carried him to the chief's house, where the people began to skin him. At this time the Eagle alighted on a tree near the tent. When the people saw the Eagle, they ran out, and at once Beaver took a clam shell full of glowing coals and ran away. He jumped into the lake, and people tried to catch him in nets; but the water was drained through the holes Muskrat had made. The animals ran back to the arrow-chain, which they found broken. Then each bird took a quadruped on its back, and they flew down with them. Only Coyote and the Sucker were left above. Coyote tied a piece of buffalo robe to each paw and jumped down. He sailed down on the skin, and finally landed on a pine-tree. On the following morning he showed off his wings, but was unable to take them off again, and was transformed into a bat. The Sucker had to jump down, and was broken to pieces. The animals fitted his bones together; and, since some were missing, they put pine-needles into its tail. Therefore the sucker has many bones.
Bald-Headed Eagle (Pakamiaken) fell in love with the wife of his elder brother Hail-Storm (Selusken). One day Bald-Head found an eagle's nest between Omak Lake and Omak Creek. He asked his brother to accompany him and to get feathers for a head dress. The brothers made a rope, and Hail-Storm let down his elder brother to the ledge on which the eagle's nest was located. There his brother deserted him. He found the young eagles in the nest, and a dead groundhog which the old eagles had left there. When the mother eagle returned, she attacked the man, who, however, succeeded in catching her wing and tying her. Three days later the male eagle appeared, and he tied him also. Then he tied the young eagles to the same rope, jumped down, and was carried down safely by the eagles. After he had returned, his friends killed the treacherous brother.2
An old woman warned her daughter not to go up a brook when picking service-berries, because Kelauna, a female grizzly bear, lived there and would attack her. Since berries grew thick and large there, the girl disobeyed. While she picked berries, the grizzly killed her. Her unborn child was laid upon a rock and left unharmed.
When the young woman did not return, her grandmother searched for her and found the infant boy. She took him home and cared for him. She named him Hesken. When he was a year old, she told him of his mother's death, and always kept the idea of revenge before him.
When he was twelve years old, she wanted to test his courage, and sent him at night to a rock of supernatural power, which he was to mark with a painting of his own design. The next day she went to look, and found that he had drawn a grizzly bear's head.
A summer and winter passed. Then he was sent across two mountain-ranges, across two valleys, and to a high peak. There he built a monument, and remained twelve days without eating or sleeping. Then his guardian spirit came to him in the form of a bird, and a song was given to him. He became very brave. He was told by a voice where to find poison with which to tip his arrows to revenge his mother's death.
He returned to his grandmother. She inquired what he had learned, but he refused to tell her until after he had revenged his mother. She suspected that he had obtained power, and she instructed him in the knowledge of magical power that she herself possessed.
Then she sent him to a distant mountain on which dwelt in a cave a huge supernatural snake. "When you enter the cave," she said, "do not be afraid, although his eyes shoot forth lightning and his tongue flame."
The boy went to the cave and saw the great snake, which lay coiled in the centre. The Snake spoke to him; and he answered, "I am not afraid of you, for you are the spirit of my grandfather, and I have come to you for poison with which to tip my arrows to avenge my mother's death."
The Snake saw that he had courage and knowledge. He took a tooth from his mouth and offered it to him. The boy refused it. It was not what he wanted. He put his arms around the Snake's neck and begged for the real poison. Another tooth was offered him, but that also was refused. He begged for the deadliest one the Snake had. Then the Snake gave him a front tooth, saying, "Touched with that poison, a victim gives one look and dies."
Hesken returned home, and cut wood for his bow-stave, and service-bushes for his arrows. He made arrows, and covered the flint tips with poison taken from the snake-tooth. His grandmother asked why he made five arrows when he needed but one. He replied that he needed five. She asked, "Why don't you make more, then?" He replied, "I need but five."
1 See Lillooet JAFL 25 : 299.
2 This is told as a true story. See, however, BBAE 59 : 286.
3 See p. 188, also pp. 46, 90, 175, of this volume.
