VIII. - HISTORICAL TALES.
110. War Story' (Lkwe'ixen and Slemti'tsa).
Formerly there lived two Tcawa'xamux brothers by name NLkwe'ixen2 and Slemti'tsa.3 The latter was the younger and a man of large stature. They were warriors, and noted as blood-thirsty and quarrelsome. Although they lived in Nicola, where they ranged the country hunting and fishing as far east as Douglas Lake, they were of pure NLaka'pamux blood. Slemti'tsa killed seven or eight men of his own tribe. Once the' Uta'mgt were rather
short of food, and a number of them came down the Coldwater River, and arrived in Nicola to hunt and fish. The brothers went to Nsi'sqEt, where the Uta'mqt were camped, and killed a man called Ta'uta, whereupon the others at once struck camp and went home. Shortly after this a noted Uto'mqt named No'ea4 raised a large war party, and went to Nicola to search for the murderers. They surrounded and attacked the house of a heading Stewi'xamux,5 called So'xkokwas,6 who defended his house alone, and challenged the leader of the Uta'mqt to single combat. He asked them why they attacked him when he had never harmed any of their people, and they answered that they wished to catch the two brothers who had murdered Ta'uta, and thought. they were living there. So'xkokwas told them they were living up at Pena'asket's camp, near Douglas Lake, whereupon the war party departed. As soon as they were out of sight, So'xkokwas sent a boy on horseback up through a gulch in the mountain, and then around to Douglas Lake, to warn Kauli's and Kenuxe'sket7 with whom the brothers were staying.These men were relatives of his own, as well as relatives of the brothers. When they received the news, they made ready to shift down to Nicola Lake. As they were only distant relatives of the murderers, and bore a good name, they did not think the Uta'mqt would seek revenge on them. After telling the brothers to be on the alert, they rode ahead with the pack-train and the women and children, of whom there was a large number.
1 All the parties mentioned in this story were known personally to the oldest Indians now living. Someof the events happened within their memory.
2 Probable meaning is "little black foot" (nL- probably Okanagon diminutive; kwei, related to the Okanagon word for 'black;" -xen, compound form for 'foot').
3 The latter part of the name, i'tsa, is the compound form of the word for "skin"or 'covering.'
4 'Beaver."
5 'People of Stewi'x," one of the Indian names for the Nicola country. As s tribal name, it is generally applied to those people of Nicola who were of Athapascan descent
6 Means "sun," derived from `sko'kwat, the common Ntak-a'pamu term for sun. The present So'zkokwas, who lives at Sulu's, is the descendant of this man.
7 Means ,help," or "helping day," from kenu'xem, 'to help," and -is'ket, the compound form of the word for 'day
