25a. Battle of the Birds
(Lower Uta'mqt.)
(cont.)After some days the woman reached her parents' house, and shortly afterwards gave birth to two young Bald-Headed Eaglets shaped like eggs. These followed her wherever she went. She was desirous of getting rid of her egg-children, and also of Eagle's head, which continually went out from and came in to her vagina ; so she asked her brother's advice. He told her to sweat-bathe, and went himself and prepared a sweat-house for her. When his sister entered, he made the place very hot with steam, and the eggs and head burst. Then they took the head and transformed it, saving, "You shall henceforth be an ordinary bald-headed eagle, and shall never again be able to enter woman's privates or make her pregnant."
25b. Battle of the Birds.1
(Lower Uta' mqt.)A woman and her sister lived together in a certain country, and in the neighboring country-were many men who all lived in two underground lodges. In one lodge lived Bald-Headed Eagle, Fish-Hawk, and most of the small birds and water-fowl, while the other lodge was occupied by the Golden-Eagle (hala'u), Chicken-Hawk, Owl, and all the land birds of prey.
One day the woman was washing herself in a stream, and Bald-Headed Eagle, happening to see her, approached her and asked her to become his wife. She consented, and accompanied him back to his house. When GoldenEagle and the Hawks, etc., learned that their neighbors had a woman in their house, they made up their minds to steal her. -Next night they visited Bald-house and engaged the occupants in a game of lehal. Some of them put a great deal of additional fuel on the fire, and made the house so hot that the woman had to go outside to cool herself. As she was on her way to the creek to wash herself, Golden-Eagle pounced on her and carried her off to his lodge.
Next morning Bald-Headed Eagle repaired with all his followers to the house of Golden-Eagle, and challenged the occupants to fight. Then all the inmates, headed by Golden-Eagle, came forth and gave them battle. Now a very sanguinary engagement took place, and all the birds on both sides were slain, excepting tci'x tcuxt, who alone remained alive. Being the only survivor of the conflict, he claimed the woman as his wife; but she did not care for him, and afterwards ran away from him. As she passed over the battle-field, she saw the dead body of Bald-Headed Eagle on the ground, and urinated on his head.2 Continuing her journey towards her sister's house, she became aware that she was pregnant, and shortly afterwards gave birth to two eggs which resembled Bald-Headed Eagle's head. These rolled after her as she walked.
1 See Shuswap, p. 684.
2 Some say that she also urinated on the head of Fish-Hawk: and when she gave birth to the eggs, one resembled the head of Bald-Headed Eagle, and the other that of Fish-Hawk.
