17. WILDCAT.
(cont.)Wildcat would never leave the house, but would lie about with his head covered up. They had nothing to eat. After a while Wildcat took pity on the girl. He told her to dig for him a hole in the ground outside of the camp, where he could bathe. She did this, and filled the hole with water, and then put stones on a fire and heated them, and then put the hot stones into the water. Early in the morning she carried Wildcat down to the bathing-place and left him. After Wildcat had bathed in the hot water, he walked down to the stream and bathed in cold water. When he washed himself, the scabs fell from his body, and he became a young man. He called to the girl to bring his clothes; and when he put them on, he was a fine young man. Along toward evening, he took his bow and arrow and began to hunt. He killed two deer. Every morning after that he hunted, and they had all the food they could eat. The baby grew fast.
About a month later, Magpie happened to think of this girl. He said to himself, "I will go and see if they are dead." When Magpie saw the camp, he wondered what new person had come there. The baby was playing with some deer-tallow outside the lodge. When Magpie alighted and began to eat the tallow, the baby cried, and the woman came out and invited Magpie to enter. She gave him food to eat there, and more to take home. The woman said to Magpie, "Get your belongings and come back to-night and live with us, but do not tell any one except your own family."
Now, it had been foggy ever since Wildcat uncovered his head, after being abandoned by the people. Magpie waited until dark before going into camp, then he gave the meat to his wife and children. Some people looked in at the door, and saw the Magpies eating a meal, while every one else was hungry. After this, he told them where he had obtained his meat. Then Coyote made another speech, saying, "Magpie has been back to our old camp, where we abandoned those persons. They have plenty of meat there." Next morning he made another speech. He said, "Everybody get together their belongings, and we will move back to the place where Wildcat lives." When the people returned, Wildcat never allowed it to be foggy any more, and he became the head chief of the village
Little-Raccoon (kaikáiyuts) used to hunt crawfish along the edge of the creek. One day, after catching all he could eat, he became sleepy, and climbed an alder-tree to an old crow's nest. There he went to sleep with his tail hanging over the side of the nest. GrizzlyBear was travelling along the creek, when she happened to look up and see Raccoon's tail. So Grizzly-Bear went there, shook the tree, and woke up Raccoon. Then she said, "How did you get up there?" and Raccoon replied, " I backed up." So Grizzly-Bear also backed up the tree.
She said to Raccoon," Now, Raccoon, you may louse my head." But the Raccoon could find no lice in the head of Grizzly-Bear, only little frogs. She was lying with her head back, and Raccoon dropped a little frog down her ear. He said to Grizzly-Bear, "Aunt, I dropped one louse down your ear." She replied, "Then dig him out." Raccoon put in his finger, but could not reach the frog. Then Grizzly-Bear thought of her long bone needle, and she gave this to Raccoon to dig out the louse. Raccoon put the needle in place in the ear, and then gave it a heavy blow with his fist and killed Grizzly-Bear. Then Raccoon climbed down out of the tree, and started for home.
Raccoon told his grandmother that he had killed Grizzly-Bear. Then they went and cut her up. Now, Raccoon's grandmother had taken off her leggings, and by chance had scratched her leg; and when Raccoon saw the blood on her leg, he said to her, "You must go home, you are having menses."2 She did not wish to go, but he compelled her to do so, lest she spoil his luck.
Raccoon dug a roasting-pit, and roasted the bear-meat in it. When all was ready, he went home, and said to his grandmother, "A large crowd has come to see me, and I do not think there will be any meat left for you." Then he went out to the roasting-pit, where he made a fine speech and ate, and then made another fine speech and ate, until he alone had eaten up all the bear-meat. Then he told his grandmother she had better take care of the hide, because that was all that was left.
The old woman did not like the way she had been treated; so, after Raccoon had stepped outside, she put on the hide, and thus changed herself into a grizzly bear. Raccoon came back after the old woman had gone off into the brush. He could not find her around camp, so he tracked her out into the brush. Then he heard the sound of pounding; and he thought she was making bread of kaus-roots for him, but instead she was pounding the ground in anger. It was almost evening. When Raccoon called to his grandmother, "Are you making kaus-bread for me?" she replied, "Yes!" And then, when he came close, she caught him and killed him, and then went off into the mountains.
1 See RBAE 31 : 762.
2 Nez Percé women are carefully segregated during menstrual periods and at childbirth.
