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Kwakiutl Tales: 29. Nô'aqaua (Wisest-One)

(Recorded by George Hunt.)

The ancestors of the SE'mxôlidx^u lived at the head of Rivers Inlet at SE'mxôl. They had Copper-Maker for their chief, and their second chief was Wisest-One. Wisest-One had four children, all boys. At one time he had five; namely, also a girl, the eldest one. She had gone to pick berries, and she had staid away at the place where she was picking berries in the woods. She was the first one of the ancestors of the SE'mxôlidx^u who had staid away when they went to get fuel in the woods. The women also tried to pick different kinds of berries, and staid away in the woods. Now, almost all the men and women of the SE'mxôlidx^u were gone, and one man was alive of those who had picked berries. He had seen the smoke of a house at the foot of a large mountain called Supernatural-Face-Mountain; and the smoke had different colors, the same as the rainbow; and it was that from which the women had never come back when they got near to it. There was also smoke that looked like lime. Those who came near it also staid away. That was the house of the Grizzly Bear,--the one that had the smoke the color of lime; and the smoke of the house of Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World had the many-colored smoke; and white-colored was the smoke of the house of the Mountain-Goat.

Now, the SE'mxôlidx^u were really few, and they were really hungry; and the four men, the sons of Wisest-One, took their bows and each four arrows, and they were ready to go mountain-goat hunting, The grandmother of Wisest-One was sitting in the corner of the house of her grandson. Then she called the eldest one of her great-grandsons,

Immediately the four children went out. They started, and went into the woods behind their village site. They came to the foot of the mountain of SE'mxôl. Then they went up; they went up upon it, and they arrived on the top of the large mountain. Then they went down behind it. Then they came to a pretty place. Then the eldest brother discovered the rainbow smoke of the house at the foot of a large mountain. At once the second brother spoke to the eldest one. "Let us go and look at it!" Thus he said. At once all the brothers agreed to what he had said. They forgot the words that their father had said to them. They had not been walking long when they arrived at the house. The eldest one led when they entered the house.

At once the eldest one discovered, sitting on the floor of the house, their sister, Treated-Like-a- Chief, for that

Then the eldest brother, True-Fool,--for that was his name,--was whispered to by an old woman sitting in the corner of the house, who Was rooted to the floor of the house. Then the woman who was rooted to the floor of the house requested him not to stay long in the house. (She continued,) "else you will be dead, that you may arrive in time at your house before Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World comes; for, as soon as he sees you, he will eat you right away. Go on!" Thus she said to him.

Immediately Setting-Right spanned his bow, took one arrow, and put it on his bow. Then he said to his elder brothers, "Let us try and shoot through that hole in the corner of the house." Thus he said. Immediately the elder brothers guessed what he meant. They all spanned their bows, and True-Fool was the first to shoot. He

As soon as their sister, Treated-Like-a-Chief, the wife of Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World, had discovered that her brothers had run away, she arose, went out of the house, and shouted aloud. She said, "Come, Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World! In vain meat came to you, Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World!" Thus she said four times. Then the young men heard Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World crying "Hap!" on top of the large mountain named Supernatural-Face-Mountain, and they heard his whistles sounding. Then the four brothers were really running, and Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World was coming near quickly. They were not halfway up the mountain when Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World nearly caught up with them.

Then (the eldest one) threw the comb backward. Immediately there was a thicket of crabapples [?]. Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World was tangled up in it. Then the brothers crossed the mountain, and again they heard him coming near behind. Then his brothers ran along level ground, when Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World approached again.

Then the eldest one threw the stone backwards, and

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it at once became a mountain. The brothers were on one side of it, and Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World walked beyond it. Then the brothers went a long distance, and again they were pursued.

Then (the eldest brother) threw the hair-oil backward. Immediately it became a large pond. Then the brothers saw their house. It was not long before Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World nearly caught up with them again.

Then the eldest brother threw the cedar-wood backward. At once it became a thick cedar-tree, which moved to and fro on the ground. Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World tried to go from one end to the other, and it only moved along on the ground.

Then True-Fool shouted to his father, Wisest-One, and said, "Wisest-One, tie (ropes) around your house, for we are pursued by this Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World." Thus he said. Therefore Wisest-One at once tied up his house with cedar ropes; and when he had finished, his children came in. Then he barred the door; and as soon as he had finished, Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World came and went around the house. Four times he went around it; then he went up to the roof of the house. He opened the roof and he put his head through. Then Wisest-One spoke, and said to him, "Oh, my dear! I invite you and your wife and your child to come to-morrow morning and eat for your breakfast my four children." Thus he said to him. Immediately Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World drew back his head which he had put through, and went home to his house.

Immediately Wisest-One requested his children to dig a hole in the rear of the house. At once the young men dug a hole one fathom wide in the rear of the house, and its depth was two of our fathoms. It was not yet

As soon as this was finished, Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World came and cried "Hap!" at the door of the house. He entered with his wife and his child. Immediately Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World went to the young men, who were pretending to lie down dead. Then Wisest-One led him to the settee where he was to sit in the house. At once Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World went and sat down on the settee. Then Wisest-One sat down on one end, and he told his guest, "O Son-in-law! let me

As soon as Wisest-One believed that they were really asleep, he called his children, who were pretending to be dead, to come to help him. Then they took hold of each end of the mat on which the wife of Cannibal-at- North-End-of-World was sitting, and put it down on one side of the house. Then Wisest-One asked his children to take hold of each end of the seat of Cannibal-at- North-End-of-World and of his child, and to roll them over into the hole in which the stones were. As soon as they were in, they covered the hole with the settee, and at once Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World shouted, "Hap!" and he only stopped when he had become ashes. As soon as he stopped crying, Wisest-One looked at him, and Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World and his child had just been burned to ashes. Then Wisest-One took a small mat and fanned the ashes, and the ashes began to fly about. They turned into mosquitoes, and some into horse-flies. Then Wisest-One said, "You shall eat the flesh of later generations." Thus he said to them. Thus the ashes turned into horse-flies and mosquitoes.

As soon as he had finished, he awakened his wife. At once she was angry with her brothers when she discovered that her child was dead; but she was tamed by her brothers and her father, Wisest-One. As soon as she

x^uhok^u Cannibal-head-mask, and the Raven Cannibal-head-mask, and the Crooked-Beak Cannibal-head-mask, and the Hô'x^uhok^u-on-Top Cannibal-head-mask, and also many whistles, and also four head-rings of red cedar-bark, and four neck-rings of red cedar-bark. He took them out and put them at the place where the woman rooted to the floor was sitting.

Then the woman rooted to the floor advised him what to do with them; and the brothers gathered the dried goat-meat and carried it on their backs; and the wife of Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World, Treated-Like-a-Chief, requested (of) her father, Wisest-One, that one of his children should disappear; "that he should take the place of Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World; and should be Cannibal-Dancer." As soon as True-Fool had disappeared, the three younger brothers carried the goat-meat on their backs. They were carrying it for four days. Then Wisest-One tried in vain to dig out the roots of the one rooted to the floor. The roots of her rump only grew larger. He only gave it up. He just carried on his back the cannibal masks when the Cannibal was caught. Treated-Like-a-Chief, the wife of Cannibal-at-North-End-of-World, taught them the ways of her dead husband and his songs. Then Wisest-One

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