36. Close-cut-Hair.
(Lower Uta' mqt.)
(cont.)One night lie left home, went into his canoe, and paddled up the river to one of the underground houses. Here he asked the people to give him their marriageable daughter for a wife, and gave them his copper club 1 as a marriage-present (tce'xamin). They consented, for a copper club1 was coil. sidered a valuable article, and he took the girl away with him. After paddling downstream some distance, they came to an island. Here he made his bricle divest herself of all her clothes, and cut her hair short. After making her go ashore, he pushed off into the stream and began to whistle. As soon as lie did this, a cold wind started to blow. Leaving the girl thus, he went home and slept. His sisters noticed that he would not eat any food. On the following morning early- he repaired to the island, found the body of the girl, that had been frozen to death, ate it up, and left nothing but the bones.
One night, some time after this happened, he took his canoe and paddled up the river again to another underground house, where he gave a similar present, and obtained the marriageable girl of the house for his wife. He took her away, and, landing her on the same island, made her strip naked, and cut off her hair. Then, taking her clothes away, he pushed off into the stream and whistled, thus causing a cold wind to blow. She was frozen to death, and next morning he went there and ate her body, leaving only the bones.
After a time he went to the third underground house and did the same thing, with like results. When he had returned home and gone to sleep after putting the fourth girl on the island, the sisters became angry at their brother; and they pitied the girl, and also the people who had thus lost three of their daughters. So, taking some robes and their brother's canoe, they went to the island, where they found the girl nearly frozen. They wrapped her up warmly in the robes, and told her what to do. They made a hole for her to hide in close to the landing-place, telling her to remain there until Close-cut-Hair had fastened the canoe and gone up the island, when she was to jump in and push off. The sisters then returned and tied up the canoe where it had been before. Early next morning Close-cut-Hair repaired to the island, expecting to have a choice breakfast. He landed in the usual place, and hastened up over the island to look for the body. Then the girl jumped into the canoe and pushed out into the stream. As soon as Closecut-Hair saw this, lie turned back and begged to be taken on board.
1. Spik a war-club or short-sword generally made of wood or horn, and sometimes of bone. Those of wapiti or elk horn were the commonest kind in use.
