25b. Battle of the Birds.1
(Lower Uta' mqt.)On arriving at the lodge of her sister, the latter asked her what these eggs were that followed her. She answered, "These are my children." Then her sister threw them into the fire, and they burst.
Now, after the woman had deserted him, the tci'x tcuxt felt very lonely, therefore he put the head of each bird back again on its body, and they all became alive again.26. Wren (Tsetso')1
(Upper and Lower Uta' mqt.)The people of the upper world (or sky country) stole the wife of Swan, who was very angry at this outrage and called all the people of the earth to a council. They agreed to make war on the Sky people, and, under the direction of Swan, they all gathered together with their bows and arrows. Then they fired arrows at the sky, but all their arrows fell short.
After they had all tried it, Wren fired an arrow. The people watched it ascend until lost to view; but, although they waited for some time, it never came down again. It had stuck in the sky. Then Wren fired another arrow, which also disappeared and did not come down again. It had stuck in the nock of the first one. After he had fired many arrows, the people at last saw the arrows sticking one in the end of the other, like a chain suspended from the sky.
Wren continued firing arrows with the same result, until at last the arrow-chain reached the earth. Then all the people ascended one behind another over the chain of arrows, and, entering2 the upper world, they fought the Sky people, some of whom consisted of Grizzlies, Black Bears, and Elks. A great battle was fought, in which the Sky people were victorious, and the Earth people began to retreat in great haste down over the chain of arrows. When about half the people had reached the bottom, the chain broke in the middle, and many were killed by the fall. Others, who were on the chain above where it broke, had to ascend again, and were either killed or made prisoners by the Sky people. Those who reached the earth represent the people, animals, birds, and fishes to be found on the earth at the present day. There were formerly other different animals and birds on the earth, but they either were killed in this war or remain in the sky to this day.
1 A slightly different version of this story is also current among the Lytton and Fraser River bands, Boas, Sagen p. 17. See Shuswap, p. 7;9.
2 Some say they tore a hole in the sky alongside the place where the first arrow had struck.
