25a. Battle of the Birds
(Lower Uta'mqt.)
(cont.)The Birds made up their minds to take the woman, and laid their plans accordingly. They went over to Bald-Head's house and engaged him in a game of lehal. While they were playing, Bluejay put much wood on the fire, so the place became very hot. The woman went outside to cool herself; and Golden-Eagle and tci' x tcüxt,1 who were waiting outside, at once led her to their house, where she became the wife of Golden-Eagle. BaldHead was very wroth when he learned the trick that had been played on him: therefore next morning he donned his collar of white birch-bark, went to Golden-Eagle's house, and challenged the Birds. Golden-Eagle sent the Birds out one at a time to fight him, the weaker and smaller ones first. The woman painted the face and combed the hair of each Bird before he went out to battle, but Bald-Head killed each one in turn after a very brief contest. Now there were only- three left. Then the ha'tahat 2 went out, but after a severe fight he was killed. Next Golden-Eagle went out himself, and engaged his enemy. After a severe and protracted struggle, he was killed; but he had managed to break the bark armor of his antagonist, so his neck was now unprotected. The woman wept when she saw that her husband had been killed. Last of all, the tci'x tcüxt went out. After a long fight, he managed to kill and behead Bald-Headed Eagle, but he was badly wounded himself in the encounter. Then the woman bound up the tci' xtcüxt's wounds and asked him to put the heads on all the other Birds. He went outside, and, passing by- the head of each of the Birds in turn, their heads jumped back to their bodies, and they came to life again. They sat up and scratched their heads, saying, "We must have been asleep a long time.” He did not pass by the head of Bald-Headed Eagle, therefore the latter remained dead where he was.
Some time after this the woman bore a son to Golden-Eagle. When the boy grew up, he asked continually to see his grand-parents: therefore Golden-Eagle told his wife to take him on a visit to her parents. After she had started on her journey, the head of the dead Eagle followed her, and at night crawled up her vagina. Next day, as she was travelling along, she saw a band of deer3 on a hill close by. She said, " If there were only a man here to kill them!" Then Eagle's head came out of her privates, and said, "I am a man, and will kill the deer for you. Wipe me with your hand.' She wiped him as directed, and he rolled over the ground to the deer, and, entering the buttocks of one after the other, killed them all. Then, rolling back again, he entered the woman as before.
1. Tci'xtcüxt, a large species of hawk. I don't know the English name. The Indians say it is the best fighter of birds.
2. Ha'tahat, a species of barge hawk.
3. Some say there was only one deer.
