Tlingit myths and texts / recorded by John R. Swanton.

  • John R. Swanton
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Tlingit myths and texts / recorded by John R. Swanton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    friend,” but he paid no attention to them and kept on pursuing Dry^- cloud. Then he came to the wolf people and stayed there. One of the wolf chiefs thought a great deal of Fire-drill’s son. One time the wolves began talking about all those things that can run ver} fast, and finally they spoke about the mountain goats, how they can travel about easily among the cliffs, and said that they were going out to hunt them. When they set out, all ran hard to see who could kill the first one, but Fire-drill’s son’s dog killed a great number before anyone could get near them, so many, in fact, that Fire-drill’s son took only the leaf lard home to show how many he had gotten. Then the wolves all went up and brought down the dead goats, and they felt very much ashamed that they, who were noted runners and hunters, had gotten nothing. They wondered what they could do to get even with Fire-drill’s son. Then they took a quantity of long stringy vines called mountain-eel (cayall'tli), made them into rings and began playing with them. They would let these roll down the sides of the mountains and jump through them when they were at full speed. Anyone who got caught in one of these would be cut in two. Fire-drill’s son’s wolf friend said to him, however, “My friend, don’t go near those people that are playing. You do not know any- thing about the things they are using. They will kill you.” He answered, “Ho, I will not play with them, but let us watch them. So they w^ent out and watched them. Then Fire-drill’s son said to his dog, “Nowq you play there and throw' it as high as you can.” So the dog played with it and threw' it as high as he could. It was a fine moonlight night, and the ring rolled right up to the moon, where it became the ring you see there whenever there is going to be a change in weather. After that his friend, the w'olf chief, said to the rest of the w'olves, “You know' that this son of Fire-drill is a w'onderful fellow'. He can do anything. Do not tr}' to injure him in any w'ay, fiut treat him as a friend. ** After that Fire-drill’s son and his w'olf friend w'ent ofT together, and the wolf said, “Some strange being walks around here. Don’t 6 ‘'This story is relerrcd to in drawing tho moral that one should never do anything sP'teful or t^ to get ahead of one who knows better. If he does he will always get the worst of it. This is wh>Mn oldM times the Indians looked up to tho chiefs and those of high caste, knowing that they had been brought up and instructed bettor than themselves, and never tried to get ahead •‘It is alL brought up to the people how Fire-drill’s son fed the young hawks inst^d of billing them If a young person is very cruel they say to him, ‘If the hawk can bo made a friend of mankind, t hy can lot you make friends with your enemies? If you want to be respected do not make enemies, but '“eyShl young people that a bad fellow is always liketheone-eyed man. trying to get advantage of a good persom He is qLk to say whatever comes into his mind, while the good man always thinks ?rst TheLore whatever the latter says people know is right. They ask their children to choose which of tho two they would rather resemble. ^ > „ mnrrinrer ••Because the one-eyed man said, 'I did not kill your uncles or your mother s friends a murdo nowadays will never come out and say, ’I am the one who killed that man hav?!omellUnrto Mt to el innocent person suller. As the onoeyed man’s wife invited this boy to have something to eat in
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