Tsimshian Texts (Nass River Dialect): Supplementary Stories: TsEgu'ksku

TSEGU'KSK^U

In the town Lax-anLôE, below G*iLwunksî'Lk, was a shaman who owned a rattle and a carved squirrel, which became alive as soon as it was dark. There was a village on the opposite side of the river, whose inhabitants were enemies of the shaman. One night he sent his squirrel across the river to kill his enemies. It obeyed and killed all the people, with the exception of a few men, among them a shaman, whose name was TsEgu'ksk^u. After the squirrel had killed all the people, TsEgu'ksku and three other men got into a canoe and descended the river. He had a long board in his canoe which was painted red. They landed near Cape Fox. There TsEgu'ksk^u lay down on the plank and covered himself with a mat made of cedar bark. Then his friends made a small fire on the end of the plank and burnt meat, tallow, and berries in the fire. They turned their faces away from the plank, and when they looked again the plank with the fire and TsEgu'ksk^u had disappeared. They heard a noise, from the depths of the sea. TsEgu'ksk^u had been taken into the house of the chief G*itk*staqL, who lives at the bottom of the sea. The chief sent for a box drum. The three men heard the following song coming from the deep:

Wudē', wudē', wudē', hē'yi, wudē, wudō'.
Hwîl nE-gEbgā'bEL pLô'ôn qanL näqL, iē',
Hwîl g?ōL-qa1gā'l qabā'q iē'.
Hwîl g?ōL-diē'qat wī-Ts?egä'uks ts?äuL, wī-hwî'lpsqat G*îtk*tsEm wâ'ōpElē'.

That is, "Fastened together are sea otter and killer-whale; scattered are the cockles where TsEgu'ksk^u walks about in his great house at Wâ'ôpEL" 1

Then G*itk*staqL gave TsEgu'ksk^u a club in shape of a land otter and a small box, the lid of which was carved in the shape of a fin of a whale. Furthermore, he gave him a chamber-pot made of wood. He said to him," The river is frozen now. Take this, it will break the ice for you." Then TsEgu'ksk^u was sent back. All of a sudden he was seen again in the canoe, and by him were the presents of the chief from

u was alive and well. They placed his intestines in a canoe, which was pushed into the river. It sank at once, and his intestines are still at the bottom of the river. They cause the noise of the rapids.

Once upon a time TsEgu'ksk^u traveled down the river in his canoe. The canoe capsized, and when he was about to be drowned a great number of gulls came to his rescue. They took him on their backs and carried him up the river to his village, singing:

Hâ de-k*â'etnē hagun-dE-hwî'lēL qē'wundeL an-dā'x*L lax-ha'.

That is, "I am taken along on the water, I am taken around the world by gulls."

After a short time an epidemic of smallpox visited the villages. TsEgu'ksku placed a pole, which he had painted red, in front of his house to ward off the disease. But, nevertheless, he became sick. He called all the great shamans of his village, and asked them if he would recover. Finally one of them replied that he would not recover. Then he made a bow and four arrows, which he painted red. He ordered one of his friends to shoot the arrows up to the sun. His friend did so, and the arrows did not return; but every time he shot, blood began to flow from TsEgu'ksk^u's forehead and from his cheeks. When TsEgu'ksk^u felt the blood, he said, "I shall not remain dead." He took his rattle and went around the fire twice, following the course of the sun. Then he asked for a coffin box. He crawled into it and died. Then the people took the skin of a mountain goat, cut ropes out of it, and tied the box tightly. Then they placed it on a large bowlder behind the village. On the fourth night after the burial a noise was heard proceeding from the box. When the people went Out to see what it was, they saw that TsEgu'ksku had broken the thongs, and that he was sitting on the box. He had assumed the shape of a white owl. One man tried to catch him; but as the owl flew away, he became afraid and returned. Then a second man, whose name was Lō-gwisgwā's, tried. He did not succeed. After four men had tried, the owl suddenly fell back into the box, and the thongs were replaced by magic. The staff which TsEgu'ksk^u had raised in front of his house fell to pieces and was seen to be rotten all through. Before the owl fell back into the box, it said, "WuL dEmā'ndē;" that is, "Nobody will be left." The epidemic continued for some time, and all the people died. This was the first visitation of smallpox.

Footnotes

231:1 A place near China Hat.

TSEGU'KSKU

Footnotes

TSEGU'KSK^U