/

Kwakiutl Tales: 27. Lâ'gelêqEla (Surpassing)

27. Lâ'gelêqEla (Surpassing).

Tradition of the Gwa?sî'la.

(Recorded by George Hunt.)

I shall talk about the ancestor of the North people, the Xô'los. He lived in the world above us, and sometimes

Night came; and in the morning, when day came, he looked at his salmon-weir; and as soon as he arrived at his salmon-weir, he heard men and women making a great

Then Surpassing went to purify himself in the river. As soon as he had finished purifying himself, he started to take home the four alder-tree persons to his house. As soon as the men had entered, Surpassing left. He was going to find blankets for the four alder-tree persons. He saw one old man, and an old woman, his wife. As soon as the old people saw Surpassing approaching them, they arose at once and danced. He did not hear a sound. As soon as Surpassing came nearer, he questioned them, and said, "O old people! why are you dancing?" Thus he said. Then the old man spoke, and said, "O child! we do this because we thought you had lost your way in the woods." Thus he said. Then Surpassing questioned the old mail, and said, "O friend! what is your name,

Then Surpassing spoke, and said, "I am not your son; I am Surpassing, who came from the upper world to (the mountain) Right-on-Top." Then he said, "O friend! you shall be our nephew." Thus said the old man to Surpassing. Surpassing was just glad on account of what he had said, and he left them. Then he lassoed one deer, and he skinned it at once; and he saw many geese, and he clubbed the geese, and he skinned them; and after he had skinned the geese, he went home to his house.

As soon as he entered his house, one of the alder-tree men spoke, and said, "O lord! what did the geese say to us?" Thus he said. Immediately Surpassing questioned him, and said, "Tell me what they said to you." Thus he said. Then the other one said, "This is what they said: 'The good chief Surpassing, is making a salmon-trap.'" Thus they said. Immediately Surpassing laughed, and said, "O tribe, that is it! they meant that I am the only one who came down from the upper world; that I came to make right everything that is wrong in this lower world; and that is what they meant (in speaking) about me." Thus he said.

Then he gave the deer-skin and the goose-skin to his tribe for blankets; and Surpassing questioned the old people, that married couple, and he said, "O old people! how many children have you, and where are they?" Thus he said. Immediately they replied to him, and said they had four boys and four girls who had died. They had

// More from Native American

[8 texts]See all >

American Indian Fairy Tales

Aztec

California

Cherokee

Hopi

Inca

Iroquois

Maya