9. THE RIVAL SUITORS.
(Continued)While he was working, his sister-in-law1 called him from outside: "Come out and shoot this little bird for me!" He refused, saying, "Why do you want the bird?" She coaxed him; and finally he went out, shot the bird with a broken arrow, and threw it at her, saying, "There is the bird. What do you want it for?" Then he went in.
Soon he came out again to cut more arrow-sticks. While he was gone, his sister-in-law went in and scratched her face with the claws of the bird. Then she lay down. The young man's dog saw the whole performance. When her husband came home and saw her lying there, he asked, "What ails you?" She did not answer, and he asked again. Finally she replied impatiently, "See what your brother has done to me! He tried to force me; and when I resisted, he scratched my face." The grizzly-bear dog lay there and watched, and heard everything. The man turned around, and, seeing the boy's arrows, broke them and threw them into the fire.
The young man now came in and asked, "Where are my arrows?" No one answered, and he asked a second time. Still there was no answer. Then he saw the ends in the fire. Finally his brother spoke, and said, "So you did not want to go out hunting this morning, did you? You wanted to force your sister-in-law." The boy got up and took his bow and arrows,2 and went out. His dog followed him.3 He left the house and wandered off on his travels. He crossed five mountains. The fifth mountain was very high. Here he undressed, and told the dog to stay below and wait, while he climbed a tree. He climbed higher and higher until he was out of sight.4 The dog waited at the foot of the tree several days, howling all the time.
His brother now began to reproach himself. "What have I done?" he said. "I have wronged my brother." He went out and followed his trail. When he had crossed three of the mountains, he heard the dog howling. As he crossed the fourth, the sound became much more distinct, and soon he came to the place where the dog was. He approached him,5 and the dog growled. Then the man spoke, and said, "O dog! where is your master?" The dog did not answer, but acted as if it wanted to kill the man. Walaetitsa begged and begged, until the dog finally said, "You cruel man! You have done wrong. My master has left me, and I am here alone." Walaetitsa asked again, "Where is your master?" The dog at last replied, "He has ascended the tree, saying he would not come back. He has gone for good." Then Walaetitsa said to the dog, "Tell me, how did it all happen?" The dog said, "I was lying outside, and heard your wife calling my master to shoot a bird," and he proceeded to give an account of everything that had taken place, -- how she had scratched her own face, and how his master had done no wrong. "If that is so," Walaetitsa said, "I shall leave you here as a grizzly bear. You shall kill people when you must, but not always. I shall go home and kill my wife, and then go to the village to live." With that they parted.
Walaetitsa approached his home, and saw his wife outside dressing a skin. He drew his bow and arrow and aimed at her. "Are you going to shoot me?" she asked him, laughing. He did not answer, but merely drew his bow and killed her.6 Then he went into the house, swallowed all his fine things, and went to the village. Walaetitsa was a rather large man; but when he had swallowed all those things, he became very small and extremely ugly. He and his brother had been the best-looking men in the village.
He went to the village,7 and came to the first water-hole in the ice. He was almost naked. Some young girls were there drawing water. When they saw him, they asked, "Who are you, little boy?" He answered, "I am Walaetitsa." At this they laughed and scoffed. "You do look like Walaetitsa," they said. Then they went on home. He came to the second water-hole, and the same thing happened. The girls pushed him over8 and spilled water on him. He received the same treatment at the third and fourth hole. As he came to the fifth hole,9 a young girl, Eagle's daughter, was just coming down. She asked him, "Who are you?" He replied, "Walaetitsa." The girl said nothing, but went up and told Walaetitsa's grandmother, "There is a boy down there who says he is Walaetitsa; he must be your grandson." The old woman went down and brought him up.10 She asked no questions, for she knew what had happened.11
On the following day Eagle called Coyote,12 and said, "I am going to give my daughters in marriage. I shall place two eagle-feathers on top of the highest tree, and whoever hits them with his arrows shall have both girls as wives. Go out and announce my offer." Coyote obeyed, and the young men prepared for the contest. They met at the place designated.
1 She was cleaning hides outside.
2 Two arrows that were left.
3 He tried to send the bear-dog back, but it insisted on following him.
4 He climbed into the sky and entered Spider's house. He never came back. The Bear waited for him, and finally decided to live in the mountains. See p. 120.
5 He asked the Bear four or five times about his younger brother. Then the Bear answered.
6 He shot her twice.
7 The farther he went, the uglier he became.
8 They kicked him.
9 Near this hole lived an old woman and a pretty girl. The boy was nearly frozen.
10 She sent the girl to bring him.
11 The boy was so stout that he used to fall over himself. The old woman made bow and arrows for him from deer's rib. With these he killed birds. He was the laughingstock of the village.
12 BBAE 59 : 292.
