I. COYOTE'S WARS.
(cont.)So the boy got him a basket, and Coyote stepped outside to do as Elk had done. He stuck his knife up his anus, but all he could get was blood. Coyote could not produce his guest's dinner by magic. So Elk took pity on him and cut a stick as before, and put it into the fire, telling Coyote to take it out when it was done. Then he also filled up the basket.
That night Coyote, said to his boy, "We will go and see the next oldest girl." They set out next morning. On arrival, they entered and sat down for a while. Mountain-Sheep heated water in a willow basket. Now, his wife was sitting with her back to the fire. Mountain-Sheep took hold of her dress and cut away a piece of it at the back, and put this piece into the cooking-basket. Coyote shut his eyes; and when he opened them, the dress of the woman was whole again. When the food was cooked, they sat down to dinner. Coyote thought to himself, "I do not care at all about eating my daughter's dress." The boy started to eat it, and Coyote then saw that it was the very best mountain-sheep meat; so he ate it too. Then Coyote said to Mountain-Sheep, "Come and visit me tomorrow."
The next morning Mountain-Sheep went to Coyote's camp. Coyote said to his boy, "Go down to the creek now and dip up some water, and we will get something to eat for your brother-in-law." While the boy was gone after the water, he put some rocks on the fire and heated them. He took these rocks and put them into the water and sharpened his flint knife. He caught his wife by the back of the dress and cut the dress away as far down as the waist. His wife asked Coyote, "What is the reason you are cutting my dress that way?" He said, "You crazy old woman! I must have some meat for my son-in-law." So he cut up the back of the dress in small pieces and put them into this boiling water. He took out the old skin when he thought it was done. He took it out, and it was nothing but elk-skin. Coyote's wife's dress did not come back like that of the Mountain-Sheep's wife. When the Mountain-Sheep saw that Coyote was trying to imitate him, the Mountain-Sheep pulled off his shirt and cut away all below the waist. He told Coyote to boil this, and they have would some meat. The shirt-tails came back on Mountain-Sheep's shirt.
Coyote said to his boy, "Tomorrow we will go over and visit your brother-in-law Otter." So next morning they went out to see Otter.1 They got over there, and went into the house. As Coyote went in at the door, he saw five thorn withes lying on the floor. So Otter said to his wife, "Bring me those five sticks, and I will go and catch some fish for him to take home." So Otter took the five sticks and went to the river. He had five holes cut in the ice in a row, near the middle of the river. Coyote was watching him from the door to see what he was going to do. Otter went down to the hole farthest down river. He laid down four sticks beside this hole, and dove down into the river with one stick. When he came up, the stick was all strung with fish. He left that stick on the ice, and took a new stick and dove down the next hole. (He did this five times, once at each hole, and brought up a string of fish each time.) They cooked some of the fish for Coyote, and had him take the rest home. Coyote said to Otter, "I want you to come and see me to-morrow." So Otter went to see him. He arrived at Coyote's house. That morning Coyote got up very early and cut five holes in the ice. He then got five good thorn switches. Then Coyote said to his boy, "Get the switches and give them to me, and I will go down and get some fish for your brother-in-law's dinner." Coyote ran down to the last hole down the river. He laid down four of the sticks, and dove down into the river with one of them. When he dove down into the river at the last hole, he drifted downstream under the ice and got no fish. He drifted down to the rapids, and then came out almost drowned. Otter rescued Coyote and took him home; then he dove down as before, and came up with the sticks full of fish. He filled all five sticks at the five holes.
After a day or so, Coyote said to his little boy, "Tomorrow we will go and see Fish-Hawk, your brother-in-law." When they arrived, they went into the camp and sat there a bit. Coyote saw that Fish Hawk had five sticks laid out, the same as Otter had had. There was a dead tree just below Fish-Hawk's camp, leaning over the river. Fish-Hawk had five small holes cut in the ice just under the leaning tree. Fish-hawk flew out of the house, circled around in the air, and alighted on the tree. Then he flew off and dove for the lowest hole. He had left four sticks down on the ice, and taken one with him. At this time Coyote was peeping out of the door, watching Fish-Hawk. Fish-Hawk hit the hole and went down out of sight. He had only been away a little while when he came back with a whole string of salmon-trout. He got two more strings of salmon-trout, and two strings of suckers and other small fish. Coyote and his little boy took the fish and went home with them. Coyote said to Fish-Hawk, "Come and see me to-morrow." So he went to see Coyote next day. He went in and sat down. Coyote went to the river and cut five holes in the ice under a leaning tree. He told his boy, "Get those switches for me, I want to get something for your brother-in-law to eat for dinner. Coyote took the switches down to the river. He laid four sticks down on the ice, and then he climbed the tree. When he got to the top, he looked around a bit and then he dove down. He went down head first, missed the hole, and broke his head against the ice. After a while Coyote came to. When he came to, he found that his visitor had gone.
1 See RBAE 31 : 694.
