Wishram texts / by Edward Sapir ; together with Wasco tales and myths, collected by Jeremiah Curtin and edited by Edward Sapir.
- Edward Sapir
- Date:
- 1909
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Wishram texts / by Edward Sapir ; together with Wasco tales and myths, collected by Jeremiah Curtin and edited by Edward Sapir. Source: Wellcome Collection.
294/344 page 274
![IV. AT!AT!A'LIA STORIES.' 1. Two Children escape from an At!at!aTia. Two Ikinickwai^ children went out to gather flint. A boy and his sister went every day for this purpose. They had each five good paddles, the sixth was full of holes its entire length. The little girl said, “ Hurry and pick up the flints; the At!at!adia may come.” And sure enough, she was right there. The moment the words were out of the girks mouth, she looked behind, and there was the At!at!adia. The brother and sister ran with all their might. The boy had one of the flints in his hand; he held it tight. The At!at!adia caught them, put them in her great basket, and tied the mouth of it with buckskin strings. She was all spotted and striped, a terribly ugly-looking creature, and very large. She lived on people, and was especially fond of eating children. She hurried along with the two children. The girl was larger than the boy; she sat on his foot in the basket. His foot was tender from the itch which he had had on it; she hurt him greatly, and he said, “Sister, you hurt my foot where I had the itch.” The woman said, “What is the matterMy chil- dren are burning up, surely.” The girl heard what she said, and felt that she could frighten her. She repeated 1 These five myths show that the At!at!a'iia story, the story of the stupid, child- stealing ogress, who at the end has the tables turned on her, is a well-marked Upper Chinook type, similar in content to the familiar ogre fairy-tales of European folk-lore. The Atlatla'ha is characterized by her immense size, striped body, fondness for children’s flesh, and stupidity; her own children she feeds on frogs, lizards, and such other food. Her Kathlamet correspondent is called Aq’.asxe'nasxena. Compare Kathlamet Texts, pp. 9-11; Wishram, pp. 35-39^ 165-171, of this volume. 2 Translated by Curtin as “a kind of fish.” [274]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24877852_0294.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
