68. Tcine'i's War for the Salmon; or, The Introduction of Salmon.
(cont.)It was very sharp. He threw it with great force, and it disappeared entirely in the soft flesh of the approaching monster. The latter rolled about, trying to rid himself of the arrow; but it was so far in that he had great difficulty in getting hold of it. Thus the people gained so much time that the salmon were now far up the river.
The monster however, continued the pursuit, and Tcine’i and his three sons stopped again to meet it. They shot arrows, and hurled darts and spears at it; but the monster caught all the missiles in its mouth, and then swallowed the men and their canoe. This made him heavy, so that he could not swim as fast as before. The men could find no way of escape, but at last the youngest son found a small hole (the vent of the monster), which he tore open wide enough to squeeze through. The other two brothers, in coming out, made the hole still larger, and at last their father, dragged the canoe out, and made the hole very large. This killed the monster, who floated
away dead.1The birds drove the salmon up to the upper Columbia and into all the tributary streams. They kept them there until they had spawned, and then allowed them to return to the sea. They took some of the salmon-roe and flew to the Nicola, Thompson, Fraser, and other rivers, where they let it drop. Thus salmon began to run in these streams also. Ever since, the salmon return to their birthplaces to spawn. Tcine'i said, “Henceforth all people of the interior will have salmon to eat. Salmon will return to their spawning-grounds every year. Salmon-fry will go to their home in the sea; but they will never forget the places where they were hatched. When they are grown, they will return and deposit their spawn.” Then Tcine'i transformed Fish-hawk into the bird of that name, saying, “Henceforth you will be a fish-hawk, and will catch fish by diving from a great height. You will always obtain plenty.” He also transformed Raven, saying, “Henceforth you will be an ordinary raven. When people catch salmon, you will come and eat the refuse. You will always have plenty to eat.”
Although Tcine'i had introduced salmon into the interior, he was worse off than most of the birds, for he was unable to catch them. He tried many methods, but all were equally futile. One day, while trying to spear salmon with a pole sharpened at the point, Old-One came along, and, pitying him, showed him how to make a salmon-spear. He also caused a spatsan-tree to grow, stripped off the bark, and showed Tcine'i first how to make twine, and then how to make a dip-net. He said to the spatsan-tree, “Henceforth you will grow in this country, for people require your bark.” Afterwards he showed the people how to split and dry fish, and how to make fish-caches.
After this, Tcine’i and his people lived easily; but the people of other countries did not know how to make fish spears and nets, and thus were not approaching in dug-out canoes made of cedar.
1. Some say the water rushed in through the hole, and sank him.
