1 g. The Bad Boy; or, The Sun and the Lad.
(Lower Uta'mqt.)
(cont.)While he was away in a patch of bushes playing, the people packed up their goods and left. Upon his return, the boy found the houses all deserted, and began to search for the people. He heard whistling in the woods all around, and, thinking the people were siding, and playing some joke on him, he hurried from one place to another (where ever he heard a whistle) until he became completely wearied. For pie purpose of misleading the boy, in case he might overtake them, the people, before leaving, had spat on the ground, broke wind, urinated, and defecated on the ground in different places all around; and their spittle, wind, urine, and excrement had whistled until dry, thus misleading the boy.
(The rest of the story is exactly the same as Tale 7, "Traditions of the Thompson River Indians," p. 51, except the following additional.1)
The four blankets were of rat-skins, mouse-skins,. bluejay-skins, and magpieskins respectively.
When the lad gave Sun his blankets, he made him promise to be cooler. Before that, Sun was very hot.
20. The War of the Fishes2
(Upper and Lower Uta'mqt.)Formerly the Indians lived at Lytton, the Animals in the Nicola country, A the Fishes in the Uta' mqt and S'a'tcinko countries.3
A number of Salmon went up in a canoe to visit the people of Lytton. When they were returning, Humpback-Salmon stole a girl from that place. Next year the Fishes said, "Let us conduct her4 to Lytton-" so they all accompanied the bride and her husband on their visit to her relatives. Meanwhile the Animals had heard of the arrival of the Fishes at Lytton, so Marten, Fisher, Wolverine, Lynx, Fox, and many others, went there with the intention of stealing Salmon's wife. The Fishes tarried a long time at Lytton, and the woman gave birth to a son there.
One night the Fishes were playing lehal with the Lytton people; and some of the Animals, starting a very large fire, made the lodge so hot, that the women had to go outside to cool themselves. Humpback-Salmon Said, "Do not make the place so hot, your sisters are sweating;" but the animals paid no attention to what he said, and put on more wood. When Salmon's wife went outside, she was seized by some of the animals who were lying in wait, and carried off by them to the Nicola country.
1 Among the skamtci'nFmux the boy has the name Sihi'xa.
2 Compare this story with Tale 26, Traditions of the Thompson River Indians, p. 77.
3 Along the Lower Fraser River, - all the country below Lytton.
4 Okaha'its a conducting ceremony. The bride or bridegroom is escorted on a return visit to their parents.
