Traditions of the Thompson River Indians (cont.)
[ Nkamtci'nemux.]
At one time there was a group of underground lodges somewhere in the Nlaka’pamux country.218 In one of these lived a very pretty girl, who had numerous suitors or lovers, all of whom she refused. Her real lover was the Otter, a young man who had spent much time in training, but who was too bashful to ask for the girl by her parents, seeing that so many others had been rejected by both the parents and the girl; moreover, he had never been able to see the girl himself. One day, one of the rejected suitors threw a sickness on the girl, so that she died in a few days. The night after she was buried, the Otter repaired to the grave, and dug her up, and tried to resuscitate her until daybreak, but without avail. He then hastily buried the body again. During the daytime he sat sullen and sorrowful, without talking to any one, neither would he partake of food. At night he again dug up the body of his love, and tried to resuscitate her until daybreak. He did this four successive nights, and on the fourth he brought her so far back to life, that she was able to sit up and speak to him. He then took her on his back, to her father's house, laying her down in the same place she had occupied when in life, and which was not yet occupied by the people.219 He then lay down beside her, spreading her robe over both. The people woke up in the morning, and were startled to see a couple sleeping there in the place of the dead girl. Her father and mother cried out, "Whoever you are, don't sleep there, for evil will befall you." But the couple never moved. The people wondered who they might be, until the Coyote, who was sleeping in one corner of the house, said, in his usual peculiar manner of speaking "It is the Otter, and he has dug up his sweetheart out of the grave, and brought her home." The people would not believe the Coyote until the Otter arose and told the girl to do the same. When the people saw it was their daughter brought back to life again, they were both astonished and pleased. Messengers were sent out to cry with a loud voice; and all the people gathered its the lodge to verify the statements, and to see the man who had restored her to life. The Otter then became a mighty shaman. One day he was lying down in the house with his wife, when a lad came in, and said to him in a whisper, "How did you manage to bring your wife back to life again? My sweetheart is dead and I want to resuscitate her." The Otter, for fun, said, "I dug her up, and carried her home, then I tickled the soles of her feet, and she came to life again." The boy at once ran away. The Otter's wife said to her husband, "Why did you tell the boy that? He will go and do it." About midnight the boy stole softly into the underground lodge carrying the body of his dead sweetheart. He laid her down and at once commenced to tickle the soles of her feet. He tickled until near daybreak, but there was no appearance of life coming. He became frightened, and took the body on his back to go and bury it again. But going up the ladder of the underground lodge his packing-line broke, and the body fell down with a thud. He hastily tied it up again, and mounted the ladder; but the line broke a second time when he was half way up, the corpse falling as before. He did this four times, the line breaking each time, and at last the people awoke. They inquired what was the matter. The fifth time he got outside with the corpse; but as some one came up the ladder behind him, he became afraid, and let the body down, and ran. The people were surprised to see the body of the girl there, and knew that some one had been carrying it. They buried it again.
The Otter was not only a noted shaman, but also a very successful fisherman, and used to catch immense numbers of fish.220
XXII. THE GRIZZLY BEARS AND THE BLACK BEARS.
[Nkamtci'nemux]
Once upon a time a man221 lived in the mountains who had two wives, the Grizzly Bear and the Black Bear. He loved the latter, so that the former became jealous, and made up her mind to get rid of her rival. One day she said to her husband, "I am going to dig roots. Come along with me, and help to carry them home." He accompanied her. About sunset she turned to him and said, "It is time we were going home; but there is no great hurry. Come here and lay your head on my lap. I will louse you." He did as requested, and, after picking over his head a little while, the Grizzly wife said, "What a quantity you have! It is a wonder the wife you love so much does not louse you." Then she bit him in the throat, and killed him. She then cut off his genitalia, put them in her basket, and went home. Here she said to the Black bear, "Our husband left me and went shooting, but did not come back." After dark she put her husbands genitalia in the ashes to roast. One of the young Black Bears saw her when she was raking the coals, and shouted, "She is baking my father's genitalia." But the Grizzly Bear made fun of the child, and peace was restored. After the meat was cooked, the Grizzly arose from her bed and ate it.
